Red Beans and Rice with Turkey Kielbasa

So I needed something fast and easy and tasty and I knew I had turkey Kielbasa I got on sale a couple months ago.  This hit the spot and all the kids ate it happily! (Sorry no pictures :)

1package Turkey Kielbasa, sliced diagonally
1 medium onion diced
2 cloves garlic
1 can crushed tomatoes
2 cans kidney beans drained
1/2 tsp ground oregano
pepper to taste

Cook the sausage for about 5 minutes, add onion and garlic cook another 5 minutes.  Add tomatoes, beans and seasonings.  Simmer for about 20 minutes (I was busy so it simmered for 40 minutes, it was great).  Serve over rice

CheeZit Chicken

I found this recipe in an old recipe-swap email and since all the the ingredients were on hand I gave it a whirl! SOO glad I did! YUM!

CHEEZIT CHICKEN

BLSL Chicken breasts

Sour Cream

Cheezit Crackers, crushed

1/4 c. melted butter

garlic powder

(yep...really...5 ingredients!)

"Frost" chicken with sour cream. Roll in crackers. Put in a 9x13 baking dishes that has been lightly sprayed with oil. Drizzle with melted butter. Sprinkle with garlic powder.

Bake at 350 for about 50-60 min. or until juice runs clear.

Moist, tender, flavorful... everyone loved it here! :D

Served with mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli.

Homemade Hamburger Helper?

This recipe was taken from my Ward Cookbook, the Bishop's wife contributed it. And my kids LOVE it! Super simple... so why would I ever buy Hamburger Helper again for a quick meal?

 

The secret is in this great Season Salt we found! No MSG!! And it tastes GREAT!

(found at Costco, and more recently at Wal*Mart) 

Cook some pasta, al dente. It doesn't matter which kind, though my kids like the shells for some reason! LOL 

Brown your Hamburger, seasoning generously with the season salt.

Add a can of drained corn, heat through.

Drain the pasta. 

Add the meat to the noodles and smoother with grated cheese.

That is it!!

Isn't she brilliant?

5 ingredients and it is tasty!!!

And no added preservatives or funny "boxed food taste".

Serve with a great side salad and you are done!

Cake Mix Cookies

These are some of our most favorite treats...

Super simple recipe where you can have 2 dozen cookies in less than 20 minutes, perfect for that last minute potluck! And the possibilities are ENDLESS... 

You Need:

1 cake mix (any flavor)

2 eggs

1/3 cup of oil

Mix together, add desired extras, place on un-greased cookie sheet and bake at 375 for 8-9 minutes.

This particular batch was made with our favorite combinations:

Yellow cake mix with semi-sweet chocolate chips & butterscotch chips.

More Great Combos:

Chocolate with nuts and marshmallows, for Rocky Road Cookies

Strawberry with cream cheese frosting

Devil's Food with cream cheese frosting (homemade Oreos!)

Cinnamon, rolled in sugar for great snicker doodles

Plain yellow or white, served with strawberries and whipped cream

Classic Chocolate chip with a butter yellow or white mix

White with frosting for a sugar cookie

Chocolate Fudge with Mint Chips

See??

Endless possibilities! Play with it! Your family will thank you!

Sloppy Joes

I needed a quick dinner... and the canned version did not sound good! I found this recipe in a friend's ward cookbook and I tweaked it! :) Isn't that what we do?  

I added a healty dose of onion powder - as I didn't have an onion.

And I only used 1 lb. of hamburger.

Then I added a healthy sprinkling of our new favorite seasoning! YUM!!

It was the first time that everyone in my household ate a sloppy joe!

Definately a do over! :)

p.s. try this seasoning on steaks... it is divine!

What did you have for dinner?

I have been trying to be good and plan what we will have for dinner. Some weeks I am great at this, others are more fly by the seat of your pants. This last week I was prepared. I tried to gauge where we had to be with how long it would take to make. Here is our list:

Monday: Tacos and Tapioca pudding. The tacos were traditional, the tapioca was the recipe from the box titled Tapioca egg cream. It was really easy to make, I did this in the afternoon so it would be ready for our family night treat. Why this combination? My Grandma Thiriot was known for her tapioca and when we would go to her house for family home evening this was usually what we would have for dinner and dessert. The only difference was that she would heat the corn tortillas in oil. They are tasty that way but a little more fattening than just warming them in the microwave.

Tuesday: This was a crazy day I made some Minestrone Soup and Pizza Grilled Cheese. We only ate the pizza grilled cheese and saved the soup for later.

The soup is souper easy, pun intended:

1 bottle of your favorite spaghetti sauce
1-2 cans chicken broth
1 bag frozen mixed vegetables
macaroni or other small noodles
1-2 cans of garbanzo beans, juice included.
Mix together in a crockpot all day or on the stove for about an hour. Serve with parmesian cheese. You could add meat, but this is one of our meatless meals and is really satisfying.

The pizza grilled cheese are sooooooo yummy:
Butter one slice of bread, place on a hot griddle or skillet.
Top with provolone or mozzarella cheese, pepperoni and another piece of cheese and end with a buttered piece of bread. Cook both sides till golden and the cheese is melted.
Serve with spaghetti sauce as a dip. YUM!

Wednesday: Henry's birthday: Pizza, Root Beer and Cake

Thurdays: Creamy Chicken Taquitos, from Our Best Bites. We had these with rice and beans and they were a huge hit. These will definately be made again. I think I will keep them in the freezer and pop them out when I need them.

Friday: Italian Drip Beef from Pioneer Woman . Oh my, these were so yummy. I only added half the italian seasonings and it was almost too much. I will reduce it next time to maybe a quarter.

Now what are we going to have this week?

Variations of Buttercream

So besides tasty chocolate, this week I made a lemon cake for a funeral at church. I'm not sure why I made lemon, but it sounded springy and it felt like the right thing to do, maybe it would bring joy to someone at the funeral, I don't know. I couldn't decide what to put on the top of the cake. Should I make a 7-minute frosting, maybe some coconut. I called my mom for suggestions and she thought buttercream would be perfect, and of course it almost always is. So here is my variation of buttercream, I call it Lemonade buttercream, it would also be great with orange or lime. Mmmmmmm, yum.

Lemonade Buttercream
1lb powdered sugar
1/4 C butter, softened
pinch of salt
lemon zest from one lemon
juice from half a lemon
milk to the right consistency

Combine the powdered sugar, zest, salt and butter together, add juice and mix. Slowly add milk till it's thick, but not too thick. Spread on just about anything. Yum!

Buttercream Frosting

Oh, this stuff is yummy. It may result in you never, ever buying the stuff in the plastic container on the baking aisle. The nice thing is that it is easy. My Grandma Thiriot was the best cook ever. She even worked as a cook at the daycare I worked at as a teenager and the long-time teachers all remembered Miss Oma and her cooking. When I was little I would go and have impromptu lessons on cooking and making due with what you have. It is still one of my favorite memories of her. One time we were making frosting and I noticed the secret ingredient, salt. She told me it balanced out the sweetness and made it even better. And oh boy is she right. I guess we all need a little salt in our lives to make things sweeter. Try this on a cake, or ice cream cake, which is divine! This is a dump until just right recipe, make it how you like it by adding a little at a time and tasting.

Oma's Buttercream frosting (also good in chocolate)
1 lb powdered sugar
1/4 C butter, softened
pinch of salt
milk
cocoa powder if adding

Mix the powdered sugar, salt and butter together. Add milk in small increments till the consistancy is thick, but not too thick. Add food coloring if desired and slather on a cake, ice cream or graham crackers. Yum.

For chocolate, I alsways add the cocoa powder after I get everything mixed together. I usually add about a 1/4 C, but you can decide how chocolatey you want it and add more or less. Add more milk if it gets too thick.

Homemade Icecream Cake

It's so much prettier when it isn't melting! LOL

25 ice cream sandwiches, unwrapped

1 batch Amy's Butter Cream Frosting

On a serving platter, lay 5 ice cream sandwiches side by side to form a rectangle. Spread top with a layer of frosting. Top with another layer of ice cream sandwiches, followed by frosting, continuing 5 layers high. Cover entire "cake" with remaining frosting. Freeze until firm, about 2 hours. To serve, let soften for about 5-10 minutes. Slice down short side for a very pretty cake! :)

Be creative!

Use cookies and cream or Neapolitan flavored, or colored ice cream, chocolate frosting... sky's the limit with this super simple dessert!

Amy... your turn! (lol) We need a frosting lesson! ;)