Showing posts with label recipes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label recipes. Show all posts

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Recipe: Apple spice cake

I have always wanted to make an apple spice cake, but I've never tried. I have several family members who can make an apple spice cake, and I've always found it to be the perfect fall recipe. It tastes wonderful with coffee, and it will make your house smell amazing!


As always, I like to use recipes that only use pantry staples. Most commercially printed cookbooks these days contain recipes with hard to find ingredients and I have a hard time being able to buy all the ingredients. This is why I love church cookbooks and old cookbooks :)

The only thing I changed was not using the walnuts. I have some friends who are allergic to tree nuts and wouldn't be able to enjoy this recipe. I also used an 8x8 nonstick pan instead of a bundt pan. You can also make muffins with this. The top of the cake is just brown sugar and cinnamon.

Here is the recipe for apple spice cake. I hope you enjoy it! As always, right click the card to save to your computer. For best results, change your paper size to 5x7 and print on an index card.


Tuesday, October 13, 2015

DIY gift ideas: Homemade Hand Scrub

Today, I'm taking a break from my typical recipe post to bring you a different kind of recipe. A recipe for a DIY gift idea: Homemade hand scrub!

This is by no means an original idea. I've seen this all over Pinterest, and I've even received a few jars of this from students as a gift. We are actually now making a few jars of this not only for ourselves, but for teachers and some of the women in our family. 

First, you will need a small container. We have found that small Mason jars work the best.


Next, fill your jars 2/3 of the way full of Sugar in the Raw. You can find this at any grocery store. 

Then, fill the jar 1/3 full of Dawn Hand Renewal Dish Soap. Stir well. 

You want the consistency at this point to be wet but not runny. You may have to add in more sugar/hand soap until the consistency looks like a thick cream. 

This is super cheap and easy to make, and it smells soooo wonderful!! It also makes your hands feel so good.


I hope you enjoyed this recipe! Now, I'm going to go make some more hand soap. As you can see, I've still got some jars to fill :)

Linking to StonegableWorthing CourtCedar Hill FarmhouseConfessions of a Plate Addict, and French Country Cottage!



Tuesday, October 6, 2015

Fall favorites round-up

My favorite season is fall, hands down. The weather is cooler, the fall foliage is beautiful and football is on all weekend long. There are pumpkins, apples, and holidays involving delicious foods :)

That being said, I thought I'd put together a list of my fall favorites. These are all taken from websites and blogs that aren't mine, but I have given credit where credit is due. Enjoy!!

Fall decor and crafts:

1. 23 Free Fall Printables and Inspiring Vignettes, from Ella Claire Inspired
These Free Printables are the perfect way to add little Fall touches to your home this season by Ella Claire.:
So many fun ideas here- can't wait to try them. I especially love the cutting board with the pumpkins. 

2. 10 Free Fall Printables from On Sutton Place
F. Scott Fitzgerald Quote Free Printable | On Sutton Place:
I love F. Scott Fitzgerald- he gave us The Great Gatsby...and this lovely quote. When I buy some colored ink, I'm so printing this. 

3. This vision of loveliness from Autumn Tumblr Picks: Bold and Beautiful Blog
...voy a borrar de la memoria  las sombras, se hará la luz, recuperando la esencia tomo aliento para saltar, respiro mi destino, sé lo que vendrá,  pasión que enciende el alma, ganas de volar. Sentada frente al sol sin nada que ocultar, respiro mi destino sé lo que vendrá...:

Fall recipes: 
1. Homemade Starbucks Caramel Apple Cider, from My Frugal Adventures
Copycat Starbucks caramel apple cider recipe. So delicious and so easy to make at home!:

2. Pumpkin Banana Bread, from Real House Moms
Pumpkin Banana Bread | Real Housemoms | This bread combines two of my favorite fall treats!:

3. Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup from Cooking Classy
Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup - this soup is seriously delicious!! Hearty and comforting also GF.:

And other things: 

Super cute fall outfits like these two: 
Cozy In Chambray By Qtpiekelso On Polyvore  I Need To Get Off Of This Island So I Can Have An Excuse To Buy And Wear Fall Clothes!!:
              [source

Long plaid boyfriend shirt, leggings, knee socks and boots. Nice Fall weekend outfit.:
  [source

Some fall children's books (we have a few of these) from Buggy and Buddy 

Fall themed picture books perfect for toddlers, preschoolers and primary grades! (Our Favorite Children's Books for Fall)~ buggyandbuddy.com:

I hope you enjoyed this fall round-up! Stay tuned for more fall recipes and fall fun soon!

Linking to StonegableWorthing CourtCedar Hill FarmhouseConfessions of a Plate Addict, and French Country Cottage!




Thursday, July 23, 2015

Recipe: Baked Zucchini and Cheese



We were given some zucchini earlier this week by my father-in-law. I have to confess, I'd only ever eaten zucchini fried or baked into zucchini bread. A friend of mine gave me this super easy recipe and it was delicious. My family enjoyed it so much that I didn't even get pictures until someone had already been sampling :) To make this, you just wash and slice the zucchini. Then, you pour olive oil into a glass baking pan. Line your pan with zucchini. Sprinkle garlic powder and pepper on the slices, and then cover the slices in mozzarella cheese. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Monday, July 13, 2015

Recipe: Southern Skillet Fried Chicken

I realized this week that it has been FOR.EV.ER. since I posted a recipe! I used to post two of them a week, so I can't believe this. I decided to redeem myself and get some cookin' done! I decided to share my super easy skillet fried chicken recipe.

All you need is thawed chicken (either breast or tenderloins), all-purpose flour, margarine, and eggs.

I started by heating some margarine in my skillet on medium heat. Then, I dipped my chicken tenders in some whisked eggs. I rolled them in flour, and then I dropped them into the skillet.

After that, just make sure the internal temperature reaches 170 to 180 degrees. Keep it on medium heat, though, because if you don't, the outside of the chicken will be burned before the inside is cooked.


The flavor was awesome. You should totally make this!

Linking to Stonegable and French Country Cottage!
As always, here is your handy-dandy printable recipe card. For best results, right click on the card and save it to your computer prior to printing. To print on a 5X7 index card, change your paper size to 5x7. 

Wednesday, June 3, 2015

Recipe: Sauteed Italian Chicken



There is a wonderful Italian restaurant near my home that I love. It isn't a chain; it's an independently owned restaurant. They have many things on the menu I love to eat, but one of them is amazing. It's called "chicken French," and it's a type of breaded chicken with some sort of lemon and olive oil sauce.

I found this recipe on the back of a bread crumbs box and thought that it might come close to tasting like chicken French. It wasn't too far off, but I couldn't quite figure out the sauce.

Monday, June 1, 2015

Recipe: Sunday Brunch Casserole


Boy, does it feel good to be back! Teachers often find the last few weeks of school are the busiest and most stressful. That was definitely true to me, so I took the past two weeks off from blogging. I'm glad to be back with you- I feel like a farm boy happy to be back in the tractor seat. 

I can already tell you pictures of this dish won't be very pretty. Don't judge the book by its cover- for all the ugliness it has, the flavor is spectacular. This dish contains some of my favorite things- sausage, cheese and eggs. I appropriately made this dish for my family on Sunday morning. My husband immediately commented that it would make a great cold-weather food. 

Wednesday, May 6, 2015

Recipes: easy baked ziti

We love Italian food at our house. My husband and I have two restaurants we frequent, and both have amazing food. One of them has a baked ziti my husband always orders. It's delicious, and I've been trying to find a similar recipe for a long time. I wouldn't dare say my ziti is anywhere close to the restaurant's, but it is pretty darn good. I made it for my husband recently and he definitely gave his approval.

It's fairly easy and cheap to make. All you need are cooked ziti noodles, shredded mozzerella, Ricotta cheese, and some alfredo sauce (store bought is fine- I used Classico).

Forgive me, but I only took one picture...and not a very appetizing one. Trust me when I say this is VERY good.



As always, here is the recipe card. Right click on it and hit "save" to save it on your desktop. To print it on a 5X7 recipe card, change your printer paper size to 5X7.


I

Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Recipe: Easy country style steak with mushroom gravy

This recipe was my childhood favorite. My mother used to make this all the time when I was growing up. It's a great recipe because it is easy, but also because there are several different ways to make it and you can't ruin it. It's also pretty cheap to make. If you know me, you know things that are cheap and things that are easy are right up my alley.

First, pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees, so it will be ready when you finish preparing the meat.
Warm vegetable oil or vegetable shortening in a nonstick skillet on medium heat.
Next, roll thawed out cube steak in flour, salt, and pepper. Make sure both sides of your meat are well-coated.
Then, brown the meat lightly on both sides in the vegetable shortening/oil. You don't want to thoroughly cook it, but simply just brown it.
Next, mix two cans of cream of mushroom soup and one can of milk in a 9X10 glass baking dish. Make sure the mixture is thoroughly mixed.
Add the browned meat to the mixture and cover it with aluminum foil.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes, or until the meat is 170 degrees Fahrenheit in the center.
Note: You can also make this dish in the crockpot, by cooking it on low for 6 hours. Another option is to pour the gravy into the skillet, (after browning the meat), and let it simmer, rather than baking it in the oven.

As always, you can download the recipe card below by right clicking on it, and saving it to the desired folder on your computer. To print on a recipe card, please make sure your paper size is set to 5X7 prior to printing.




I hope you enjoy this recipe!

Thursday, April 16, 2015

Recipe: Easy hamburger steak

I'm a full-time teacher, a mother to an active little child, and a wife, who also has a house to keep up. Needless to say, this girl has lots to do. I am always looking for quick and easy recipes. This one is one of my favorites, because it is cheap to make, and after the prep work is done, I can put it in the oven and forget about it for an hour.

This easy hamburger steak tastes great and is so easy to make, you won't believe it. All you need is a pound to a 1.5 pounds ground beef, worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper and a patty press. Patty presses are relatively cheap- I've found them in the grocery store before.

Here is everything you need:

Tuesday, April 14, 2015

Recipes: Easy apple cinnamon muffins


We love muffins and breads at our house. I realize this is not the healthiest of food groups, but muffins are easy and fun to make, and they tend to disappear fast around here. My daughter likes to help make them. I have been trying to save money by eating lunch at home lately, and muffins are a great "grab-and go" breakfast item. I just take them out of the pan, wrap them in saran wrap, and pop them in the microwave for 10 seconds when I want to eat one.

Monday, April 6, 2015

Recipes: Brown sugar glazed pork chops



My husband and I made these wonderful pork chops last week. They were absolutely delicious and I will definitely make them again. I will say this: We have attempted to make these twice, but the first time, we tried to make them in our George Foreman, and all the rub stuck to the grill plates and burned. :( When we tried again, we made it just like this recipe says. They were definitely a hit.

Monday, March 30, 2015

Recipes: Nana's Famous Meatloaf


Every family has a treasured recipe. Something that you eat frequently when you're gathered in the same place for a holiday or special occasion. In my family, we are blessed to have many good cooks, so we have lots of recipes. One of my all time favorites is my grandmother's meatloaf. 

Thursday, March 26, 2015

Organized and Simplified cooking: Easy Chicken Tacos



This chicken taco recipe is one that I have made a lot. Because both of us work full time, we don't always have time to cook a big meal on the stove. This is why our crock pot and George Foreman get so much use :)

Thursday, March 19, 2015

Recipes: Scratch-made peach cobbler


Almost six years ago when my husband and I got married, I received one of the neatest gifts for my bridal shower at church. There is a lady at my church who was first introduced to me as "the best cook in the county." It wasn't an exaggeration. She has baked countless delicious treats for church gatherings, and even made our groom's cake at our wedding. She's also just a super-nice person who is fun to be around. 

Thursday, March 12, 2015

Organized and Simplified Recipes: Oven-baked Macaroni and Cheese



My mom makes some really good macaroni and cheese. It's a favorite dish in our family and one we almost always request when we gather for a meal. I acquired the recipe as a young, single woman- I was planning to cook a meal for a man I'd just started dating. He is now my husband and we have a sweet little girl. Did the macaroni have anything to do with it? Maybe. It IS pretty good.

Monday, February 16, 2015

Simplified cooking: Easy Taco Soup

Lately, as the weather is getting colder, I am on a quest to find delicious soups I can make that will also make more than one meal and are not expensive to prepare. I've never made taco soup before, but a local restaurant makes an amazing taco soup. I decided to attempt to make a copy cat version.

 The most expensive part of this meal was the ground beef, at $5.29 for 1.2 pounds. The Ro-tell and Dell Monte diced tomatoes were each $.97, and the taco seasoning and ranch packets were about $1. I paid $.92 for the pintos, kidney beans, black beans and corn because I bought store brand.