It's Cooking Time........

Okay here are a few of the recipes that I promised to share with you :)

Jalapeno Pinwheels

2 8oz pkg of cream cheese

1 cup ranch dressing

1/4 cup of chopped jalapenos(I used fresh)

1/4 cup of chopped black olives

1/4 cup of chopped green onions

Larger size tortillas of your choice(I used white & wheat)

Spread on tortillas and roll wrap in waxed paper.

Refrigerate at least 1 hour. Unroll & slice

Glazed Meatballs

1 1/2 lbs of fresh ground pork

1 1/2 lbs of ground ham

1 cup of milk

2 cups of soft fresh bread crumbs

1 tsp of salt

Glaze

1 1/2 cups of brown sugar

2/3 cup of white vinegar

1 cup of water

1 tsp of dry mustard

Mix pork & ham add milk, bread crumbs and salt. Shape into small balls. Place in 9x13 pan. Mix all glaze ingredients and bring to a boil. Pour over meatballs and bake @325 for 1 hour.

*Turn once half way through. These do NOT look pretty, but taste really good :)

Cauliflower Casserole

1 med head of cauliflower, broken into florets

1 cup of sour cream

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 cup of crushed corn flakes

1/4 cup of chopped green pepper

1/4 cup of chopped sweet red pepper

1 tsp of salt

1/4 cup of grated Parmesan

Paprika

Place cauliflower and a small amount of water in a saucepan cover and cook for 5 minutes or until tender. Drain and combine all but the Parmesan cheese and paprika. Put in 2 quart greased baking dish. sprinkle with Parmesan and paprika. Bake uncovered @325 for 30-35 minutes.

Okay I have to add one more, I made these today for the boys after school, and they are AWESOME!
JUMBO MULTI-GRAIN RICE- KRISPIE Treats
I used these new Rice Krispie and followed this traditional recipe. These turned out so good, you have to try them!

It is snowing and we are having a snow day tommorow!!!!

The boys are SOO excited, and so am I!
We made this blog friend's recipe and it was very yummy...can you guess what it is :)

Okay after this post, It is so obvious why I am no longer a size 4 :)

Happy Cooking-Everyone!

Hopefully I will have snow pictures to share tomorrow...

This is a wonderful healthy tea that is filled with antioxidants!
I make the whole recipe and heat it up as I want some, all week long.

Spiced Tea

6 individual tea bags (use decaf if you plan to drink this in the evening like I sometimes do when the kids are in bed).

2 tsp. whole cloves

2 sticks cinnamon

4 qt. boiling water

2 C. sugar (I used 1 C.)

2 C. pineapple juice

1 (6oz.) can frozen orange juice, undiluted

¾ C. lemon juice
Pour boiling water over tea bags, cloves and cinnamon; steep 10-15 minutes. Add remaining ingredients. Heat and serve.

This stores well in refrigerator or may be frozen.
I just boil the water in a large pot and add tea bags and then the rest. I added way less sugar, with all the rest it does not need it :)

Yields: 5 quartsTime to make: 20 min .

*Thanks Vicki for sharing this wonderful recipe! I LOVE it!

MMMMM Monday.......

This is a picture of my parents and the boys taken on Thanksgiving 2005(Michael's 1st)

I am gearing up for my yummy Thanksgiving "feast" .... I went to Trader Joe's today and got my turkey for this recipe and a few other things. I plan to finish the rest of my grocery shopping tomorrow.....I will be buying the ingredients for the pumpkin trifle that my friend Julie made this weekend. I will also be making this recipe that I got from my blogger friend Lisa. I will also make my Grandpa's stuffing recipe, mashed potatoes, peas, and broccoli cheese casserole. I love Thanksgiving, because I love to cook and entertain. We will celebrate the day with the four of us, my Dad, my brother, Carol(my mil), my Aunt Susie and???

I always keep an "open door" Thanksgiving..more the merrier :)

What are some of your favorite Thanksgiving recipes???

Pumpkin Trifle

Pudding:
2 (3-oz) pkgs, vanilla pudding
4 cups of cold milk
1 cup solid packed pumpkin
1 3/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 frozen pound cake, thawed(not fresh)
Topping:
1 cup of fresh whipped cream
2 T powdered sugar
3/4 tsp vanilla`
1/4 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1/4 English Toffee bits
In large bowl with wire whisk, mix pudding, milk, pumpkin, and the 1 3/4 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice until thickened; set aside. Cut cake into small square chunks. Line bottom of a 2 1/2 quart deep glass bowl with half of the cake slices, cutting to fit. Spoon half of the pumpkin mixture over cake. Arrange remaining cake slices on top of pumpkin mixture. Spoon remaining mixture over cake. Cover and chill for 4 hours to overnight(less is better).
To Serve:
Beat cream with powdered sugar, vanilla and 1/4 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice until soft peaks form. Spoon over top of trifle, spreading to edges; sprinkle toffee over top. Serves 12.

The Turkey

"Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever."

Psalm 107:1 (NIV)

Jennifer

We had a good weekend....we had a light night on Friday, rented a couple of Wii games and hung out as a family. On Saturday morning Dave and Matthew picked up the Scout for Food bags. Then the boys and I headed to Matthew's friend Tyler's, bowling birthday party. We had a great time :)
After the party, Dave picked us up and we headed to our friends, Matt & Julie's house for dinner. Dave and Matt & Dan(Julie's brother) headed to the "man-cave". Apparently it is cigar shop where men just "hang-out"....They had a great time, relaxing and doing "boy-stuff"....While they were gone, Julie cut the boys hair(I will post pics) it looks soo cute! We are leaving it a little longer, and I love it! We had an awesome dinner, Lasagna, salad, bread and the best part... her Pumpkin Trifle, it was awesome. I planned to post the recipe, but I can't find my copy, so after I ask Julie tomorrow, I will post it. I plan to make it for my Thanksgiving here on Thursday!

Today, we celebrated our Church's 25th anniversary with a special two hour service at a local affiliated high school. Then afterwords we all (several hundred) stayed and enjoyed a wonderful luncheon prepared by our school's chef. It was a great time of worship and fellowship.

Then Dave came home to continue working on the house, while I dropped Matthew off at a birthday party, and Michael and I grabbed a muffie and a coffee, then ran a few errands.

Since we are still in "construction mode" here, after I picked Matthew up from his party, we picked up Dave and headed to Red Robin for dinner. Then stopped by Barnes and Noble to let the boys choose a book, because the school was having their book fair fundraiser day there.

Then we had baths, one Wii game of Sorry Sliders, and books and prayers.......

I had another blessed weekend with family and friends!

I have had a few requests for this recipe so here it is.....

Savory Crescent Chicken Squares

1 3-ounce package cream cheese softened

2 tablespoons butter, softened

2 cups of cooked chicken breast, cubed

1/4 tsp of salt

1/4 tsp o pepper

2 tbs milk

1 tbs of parsley

1 tbs of chopped onion

1 8-ounce package of refrigerated crescent rolls

Melted butter and bread crumbs

• Blend cream cheese and butter until smooth
• Add chicken, salt, pepper, milk, parsley, and onion.
• Separate crescent rolls into 4 rectangles. Seal perforations.
• Spoon chicken mixture into center of rectangle. Pull up 4 corners.
• Brush with melted butter. Place squares on baking sheet.
• Sprinkle with bread crumbs or crushed croutons.
• Bake at 350 for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown.

*I always double this recipe to make 8.

*I also add a jar of drained pimentos

*Is awesome left-over

Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed

Proverbs 16:3

*It was 7 months ago yesterday that my Mom passed away....Hardly seems possible!

Food for Friday...

I decided since Thanksgiving is almost here, I would share a family recipe with you. This was my Grandma's recipe and is a yummy way to use up some of that leftover turkey.

Have great weekend!

Turkey Tomorrow

3 cups cubed cooked turkey
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
4 hard cooked eggs
2 cups chopped celery
2 cups minute rice (uncooked)
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon salt
dash pepper
4 cups crushed potato chips

Combine all ingredients except potato chips. Mix lightly then put 2 cups potato chips in mixture and stir. Put is a 9" x 13" casserole dish and put the rest of the potato chips on top.

Bake 30 - 35 min. at 375degrees.

Here a pumpkin, there a pumpkin....

The boys had so much fun tonight carving pumpkins....I just love this time of the year and all of the fun traditions that we share as a family. Michael just wanted his to have a "cool face". Matthew chose a patriotic one, based on the upcoming election.

I bought these for them to stick inside of their pumpkins, instead of using candles they are much safer and WAY cooler!

I think both of their creations, with Daddy's help, turned out really cute :)

Here is one of my FAVORITE pumpkin recipes to make this time of the year:

Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake

Cake Ingredients:
1 (18 1/4-ounce) package yellow cake mix
1 egg
8 tablespoons butter, melted
Filling:
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
8 tablespoons butter, melted
1 (16-ounce) box powdered sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Combine the cake mix, egg, and butter and mix well with an electric mixer. Pat the mixture into the bottom of a lightly greased 13 by 9-inch baking pan.
To make the filling: In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and pumpkin until smooth. Add the eggs, vanilla, and butter, and beat together. Next, add the powdered sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and mix well. Spread pumpkin mixture over cake batter and bake for 40 to 50 minutes.

*Make sure not to over bake as the center should be a little gooey.
Serve with fresh whipped cream.

YUMMY! YUMMY!

I wanted to end with a devotion that fits this week and my pumpkin post well.

I hope you enjoy it :)

How a Christian is like a Pumpkin

A lady recently being baptized was asked by a co-worker what it was like to be a Christian. She replied, "It's like being a pumpkin: God picks you from the patch, brings you in, and washes all the dirt off you may have gotten from the other pumpkins. Then he cuts the top off and scoops out all the yucky stuff. He removes the seeds of doubt, hate, greed, etc. Then He carves you a new smiling face and puts His light inside of you to shine for all the world to see."

1. Take a pumpkin. "You aren't a pumpkin, but all of us are something like one. God picks you from the patch, brings you in, and washes all the dirt off you may have gotten from the other pumpkins." Talk about how a pumpkin is like us: it has an outside and an inside. The outside is what people see. The inside is like our soul or our heart. A pumpkin left to itself will soon rot and die. We will die some day too."
2. Carve out eyes and a small "o" shaped mouth. As you make the holes and pull out the pieces of rind, ask people what they see inside (yucky stuff). "This is what we look like to others and what we are like when are hearts are not changed. The hearts of men are full of evil and there is madness in their hearts while they live (Ecclesiastes 9:3). How can we get rid of this icky stuff?"
3. "God is the only one who can change our heart. But in order for God to change our heart we must become open to him." Carve an opening in the top of the pumpkin big enough to put your hand through. You might want to quote Revelation 3:20: Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.
4. Put in your hand and pull out the insides. "God scoops out all the yucky stuff inside of us. He removes the seeds of doubt, hate, impurity, and greed." Talk about the cross and how Jesus was willing to become messy for us, so that we might be clean. I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. (Ezekiel 36:25b-27).
5. "But if we leave a pumpkin with just the insides taken out, then it's just hollow. We need to have a light inside that will truly make us alive! Jesus said, 'I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.' Add a light to the inside of the pumpkin. "When Jesus lives inside of you, you can glow! You will want to be kind and honest. You will want to please God, to help others, and to tell other people about your Friend and Lord."
6. At this point you might want to carve the mouth into a smile! "God carves you a new smiling face and puts His light inside of you to shine for all the world to see."

***P.S. Scroll down t o the bottom of my blog and "carve" your own pumpkin :)

Blessings,

Some like it "hot"...some cold

As promised, I am posting the chili recipe that I made for the Chili-Cook Off this weekend. I hope you enjoy it!

Fire Roasted Irish Chili

1 ½ lb sirloin about 1 inch thick (coat with chili powder, cumin and chipotle cook to medium, dice and set aside)

Brown 1 ½ lbs coarse chili beef with the following Ingredients:

½ cup chopped green onion

½ cup chopped red onion

½ tbsp chili powder

½ tbsp chipotle chili powder

½ tbsp ground cumin

Bring to boil 2 14.9 oz cans Guinness with the following ingredients:

2 tbsp Hungarian paprika (adds smoky flavor)

½ cup chopped red onion

2 tbsp chili powder

2 tbsp chipotle chili powder 1

½ tbsp ground cumin

2 tbsp granulated beef soup base

12 oz tomato paste

2 tbsp lt. brown sugar

2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

*Make sure beef base is completely dissolved

Combine drained beef with the grilled sirloin and the Guinness base with 1 28oz can Fire Roasted Tomatoes Drain and rinse 2 cans black beans and 2 cans of red kidney beans in a strainer. Let dry.

1 hour before chili is served, add beans.

Cook on low heat for 3 hours.

This is the ice ream that that I talked about a few weeks ago....It is very yummy and perfect for this time of the year.

Since my post is about food today, I should tell you that I made this yummy recipe tonight and we loved it! Thanks Lisa for being such an inspiration, in so many ways....

Happy Monday!