Snickerdoodle Chex Mix

We made this very tasty snack today that we found on the back of the Cinnamon Chex box. I also found it on the Chex website.

Snickerdoodle Chex Mix
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 cups Cinnamon Chex cereal
2 cups Chocolate Chex cereal
4 cups popped popcorn
1/4 cup butter or margarine

1. In small bowl, mix sugar and cinnamon; set aside. In large microwavable bowl, mix cereals and popcorn.
2. In 1-cup microwavable measuring cup, microwave butter uncovered on High about 40 seconds or until melted. Pour over cereal mixture, stirring until evenly coated.
3. Microwave uncovered on High 2 minutes, stirring after 1 minute. Sprinkle half of the sugar mixture evenly over cereal mixture; stir. Sprinkle with remaining sugar mixture; stir. Microwave 1 minute longer. Spread on waxed paper or paper towels to cool. Store in airtight container.

I couldn't find the Chocolate Chex so I used Chocolate Cheerios. This is a really yummy snack and I keep grabbing handfuls from the counter....I think it's cool enough now to store away so I don't keep eating it! I just have to keep telling myself it's for the kids!

Dinner Tonight

For dinner tonight we had an easy and tasty meal. I just thought I would share because we love both of these things and make them often. And I haven't posted a recipe in a while.  We had Lemon Garlic Chicken and Herb-baked potatoes.

Lemon Garlic Chicken
Marinade:
1/2 cup of olive oil
Juice of 2 lemons (I used the bottled lemon juice)
3 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced (Again, I used the kind from the jar)
Lawry's Seasoned salt

Place chicken in a large marinating dish. In a small bowl mix together lemon and olive oil, then pour over chicken. Lightly sprinkle each piece of chicken with the seasoned salt (both sides) and use a fork to poke holes in the meat so that the flavors can really penetrate. Sprinkle garlic over the marinating chicken.

The original recipe grills the chicken, but I did mine over the stove in a frying pan and they turned out really juicy. I've also marinated it for 30 minutes one time and a couple of hours another time. I always forget to put stuff in the marinade until it's time to make dinner, but obviously the longer you marinade the stronger the flavor.

Herb-baked potatoes
4 medium potatoes (I have also used the small red potatoes)
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2-1 tsp. dried herbs (oregano, thyme, rosemary, basil)
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Wash potatoes and cut into cubes. Place olive oil in large baking sheet, add potatoes and turn over until all sides are well oiled. Sprinkle with herbs. Bake for 20 min. until potatoes are crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.

I actually don't measure anything for this recipe, I just do how many potatoes I need and adapt the oil and herbs to that.

(No Tot School post this week. We had visitors over and we just did a lot of shopping. I'm preparing for this week though!)

Soft Sugar Cookies

Last year I wanted to make sugar cookies for Halloween. When that didn't happen I said Christmas. That didn't happen either, probably because I just had a baby. My last attempt was Valentine's Day. Did it happen then? Um, no. So here we are to Halloween again and I finally made them! They aren't hard to make, just time consuming so I would always tell myself, oh I can't start them now, I don't have time to mix them up, roll and cut them out, bake them all and then frost and decorate them. This year I told myself If you want to do something, Just do it!


M&M and I made these cookies using this recipe: (from my sister-in-law)

Soft Sugar Cookies
1 c. shortening
2 c. sugar
4 eggs
1 (16 oz.) tub sour cream
2 tsp. vanilla
8 c. flour (reserve 1 c. to work in as you roll out and knead a few times)
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking soda
3 tsp. baking powder

Cream shortening and sugar, beat in eggs one at a time. Beat in sour cream and add vanilla. Add flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder. Roll as thin as you can. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes. I didn't count them, but I would say that they make about 4 dozen.

M&M really liked using the spatula to scoop the cut cookies off of the counter.


These cookies are SO soft. They aren't too sugary tasting, but the frosting that you put on them will surely make up for that! I made them Monday and they are still soft.

Stuffed Pizza Rolls

Friday nights usually consist of pizza (either frozen, take-out or semi-homemade) and a movie as a family before the kids go to bed, but this past Friday I decided to make a slight change. I found a recipe for Stuffed Pizza Rolls. These were so easy and fun to make with M&M and they tasted really good as well. They are a great alternative to the other pizza choices out there. I'm feeling lazy so I am just going to link up to the recipe instead of typing it all out. Check it out here.

Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Treats

So I've been reminded by a couple comments about the recipe I promised to post. I'm glad to be reminded because I'm very forgetful like that. So here it is.

Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Treats
1/2 cup margarine or butter
10 oz. mini marshmallows
1/2-1 cup peanut butter
6-8 cups rice krispies

In large saucepan melt butter and marshmallows. Remove from heat. Add peanut butter, stir until smooth. Stir in rice krispies. Press mixture into well buttered 9x13 pan. (I used cooking spray, it worked just fine.) Cut into 24 squares.

I thought that this would be really fun to make with M&M, but as I started I realized she wouldn't be able to help much because most of it was on the stove, but she did love to stir everything when I took it off of the stove. Enjoy!

Yummies!

I've made 2 desserts in the past 3 days. They are totally different, one is fruity, the other one is chocolatey. I thought I'd share the recipes since they are so yummy!

I made this first one in honor of my most favorite time of year, Fall! Peach Cobbler always reminds me of Autumn. This recipe is one I've eaten my whole life. It's so easy and so good! (Oh, it's actually a Crisp, not a cobbler, but I think it's even better than cobbler.)

Peach Crisp
2 cans (16 oz. each) peaches, drained
3/4 cup Bisquick baking mix
1/2 cup quick-cooking oats
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
3 Tbsp. margarine or butter, softened
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Arrange peaches in 8x8x2 inch dish. Mix remaining ingredients until crumbly; sprinkle over peaches. Bake until peaches are tender, 30-35 minutes.

This recipe doesn't make a whole lot. I haven't tried it yet, but I think next time I make it I'll double it because it is always gone way too fast!


I love to go camping during the summer, but that was when I lived in my home state in the mountains. It is way too hot where I am now to sleep outside. (I really don't know how I've lasted these last 3 summers.) Anyway, I hope we go camping later on this month or the beginning of next month when it is cooler. So instead of roasting marshmallows over a campfire I decided to make this next recipe instead. (There's a lot of instructions, but it's really not that hard to make.)
Smore's Galore
20 graham crackers
6 Hershey chocolate bars or 2 1/2 c. chocolate chips
1 pkg. small marshmallows
6 Tbsp. butter
3 Tbsp. milk

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. In an 11x14 inch. pan lay 12 graham crackers on bottom, filling in any holes with broken up pieces. Toast 2 minutes in oven, let cool. In microwave-safe bowl combine 3 cup marshmallows, 3 Tbsp. butter and 3 Tbsp. milk. Melt in microwave for 1 minute. Stir and add 3 chocolate bars. Whisk really good. Spread mixture over graham crackers.

In another bowl, break up the rest of the graham crackers into quarter/nickel size. Melt 3 Tbsp. butter in microwave and the pour over broken up graham crackers. Mix up with hands. Add the rest of the bag of marshmallows. Spread over chocolate mixture. Sprinkle 1 1/2 c. chocolate chips or the rest of the hershey bars broken up. Bake @ 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Cut with pizza cutter.

Zesty Roasted Chicken and Potatoes

We had this for dinner last night and it is so good. I love red potatoes. This is one I had in my recipe box from a while ago. Both hubby and M&M gobbled it up.

Zesty Roasted Chicken and Potatoes
6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 lb. small red potatoes, cut into fourths
1/3 c. mayonnaise or salad dressing
3 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
chopped fresh chives, if desired

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 15X10X1-inch pan with cooking spray.
2. Place chicken and potatoes in pan. In small bowl, mix remaining ingredients except chives; brush over chicken and potatoes.
3. Bake uncovered 30-35 minutes or until potatoes are tender and juice of chicken is clear when center of thickest part is cut (170 degrees). Sprinkle with chives.

I had a few variations with this recipe. I only used 3 or 4 chicken breasts because that is all the people we need to feed around here and we don't eat leftovers very well. I don't know how many potatoes I used, I just guessed at how many looked like could fit in the pan. I usually use dijon mustard, but realized I only had honey mustard last night. I like the Dijon better. I'm not one to chop up garlic cloves so I used the already chopped kind in a jar. I also just used a 13x9 pan because that's what was easiest.

We also had a salad that is our favorite. There's no recipe, just ingredients that we put together that we really like.

Spring mix salad greens
feta cheese
cashews
chopped green apples
chopped green onions
poppyseed dressing

My husband doesn't like the green onions so I rarely put that in. I saw this great idea somewhere on how to chop up green onions. Instead of using a knife, use kitchen scissors! Okay, so many of you probably are like, duh, I knew that already. I'm still a budding chef so anything that makes my life and making dinner easier and faster is wonderful news!

Menu Plan Monday

This is my first time joining up with Menu Plan Monday. I'm really excited about doing this and getting better at doing it and following through on making the meals I plan. For right now I will just be putting main dishes down for dinner because I have a really hard time putting together side dishes beforehand...*sigh*. I will get better though, that's why I'm doing this. (Recipes to follow.)

Monday: Cheese-filled Jumbo Shells

Tuesday: Orange Chicken with bacon

Wednesday: Baked potatoes

Thursday: Tater Tot Casserole

Friday: Pizza

Cheese-filled Jumbo Shells
12 oz. Jumbo Shells
4 cups ricotta or cottage cheese
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
3/4 cup parmesan cheese
3 eggs
1 Tbsp. chopped parsley
3/4 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
3 1/2 cups spaghetti sauce

Cook jumbo shells according to pkg. directions for about 10 minutes; drain well. Cool in a single layer on wax paper to prevent sticking together. Mix together cheeses, eggs, parsley, oregano, salt and pepper. Fill each shell with about 2 Tbsp. of cheese mixture. Spread thin layer of sauce on bottom of 9x13-inch baking pan. Place the shells, open side down, in a single layer in the pan; over with remaining sauce. Sprinkle with additional parmesan cheese, if desired. Cover with aluminum foil; bake at 350 degrees for about 35 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Fills about 36 shells.

Orange Chicken with bacon
8 unskinned chicken breasts
Grated rind of 1 orange
3 Tbsp. white vinegar
3 Tbsp. soy sauce
3 cloves fresh garlic, pressed
1/3 c. fresh orange juice
1 finely chopped onion
16 slices of bacon

Marinate chicken in all ingredients except for the bacon overnight. Before cooking wrap two slices of bacon around each breast and secure with a toothpick. Grill over medium hot coals for approximately 35 minutes or until moist but firm. Chicken can also be baked in the oven at 375 degrees for 40 minutes.
Source: www.funcraftsandrecipes.com

Tater Tot Casserole
1 lb. ground beef
1 onion, diced
1 can of cream of mushroom (or celery) soup
1/4 cup sour cream or 1/4 cup milk
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1 bag of frozen tater tots

In a skillet, brown ground beef. When beef is nearly done, toss in diced onion and cook until meat is done. Remove from heat, stir in soup and sour cream/milk. Taste, and add salt and pepper if needed. Spread in square (8 or 9-inch) casserole dish. Top with grated cheese and as many tater tots as can possibly fit (in one layer). Bake at 375 degrees for about 30 minutes, until bubbly and hot in the center.
Source: www.dinnersonme.blogspot.com

Family Traditions and a recipe

Growing up my family had many traditions for holidays, etc. We also had things that we didn't do at a certain date and time, but we just did whenever we felt like it. One of these things was watching "Sound of Music" while eating Abelskievers. I loved doing this and couldn't wait to do it with my own family. At three years old, M&M loves loves loves Mary Poppins. She'd watch it everyday if I would let her. She loves the singing and dancing in it and so I thought maybe she'd like the Sound of Music as well. On Monday night, our family night, I broke out the Abelskiever pan (AKA Pancake Puff pan) and the Sound of Music DVD. M&M really liked the song parts of course, but wanted us to "pause to the next song" as she put it. It was really fun implementing a tradition I used to do as a kid into my own family now.

Warning: This recipe is not healthy in any way, shape, or form.

Abelskievers

Separate egg whites of 3 eggs, beat to high peaks. Set aside. Beat 3 egg yolks.
Add 2 c. buttermilk.
To buttermilk mixture add: (then beat well)
2 1/2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. nutmeg

Fold in egg whites and then add 2 Tbsp. melted butter. Drop mixture into Abelskiever pan in which hot shortening has melted. (Put in more shortening each time you add new batter) Cook, then roll in powdered sugar. Eat them while their hot!

F.Y.I. The Sound of Music is based in Austria. Abelskievers are Scandinavian. These do not correlate in any way. It's just something we did as a family and I wanted to continue it.

Side note: As I was looking on the internet about the Sound of Music I saw that they are going to do a remake of it. I don't know how I feel about that.....Mmmmm. If you're a Sound of Music fan, what do you think?

Ultimate Chicken Fingers

In my quest to ensure that my family has dinner on the table every night I have been in the search for more recipes as I am only in possession of a handful. I found this recipe on the box of Bisquick.
My daughter doesn't really like chicken except chicken nuggets, but anytime I make these she gobbles them down. It's definitely a keeper.

Ultimate Chicken Fingers

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch strips
2/3 c. Original Bisquick mix
1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp. salt or garlic salt (I use garlic powder)
1/2 tsp. paprika
1 egg, slightly beaten
3 Tbsp. butter or margarine, melted

Heat oven to 450 degrees. Line cookie sheet with foil; spray with cooking spray. In 1-gallon resealable plastic bag, mix Bisquick, cheese, salt and paprika. Dip half of chicken strips into egg; place in bag. Seal bag; shake to coat. Place chicken on cookie sheet. Repeat with rest of chicken. Drizzle butter over chicken. Bake 12-14 min., turning halfway through bake time with pancake turner, until no longer pink in center. (I don't turn mine over and it works just fine.)

I love how it's shaken in a bag because my daughter loves to help me make dinner and this is something that is fun for her to do.

Easy Chicken Enchiladas

I found the time to try out a new recipe. I will be doing this a lot more because I'm getting back into the swing of things. It only took me 6 months after having a baby, but oh well.

I found a recipe for Easy Chicken Enchiladas on the Make and Takes website. I've had this recipe for a while now and I should have made it sooner because it really is easy. I made it even easier on myself by getting a rotisserie chicken.

I don't really have an actual recipe with actual amounts for things, but here are the ingredients you will need:

Chicken (cooked and shredded)
Tortillas (flour)
Enchilada sauce
Cheese



As simple as this. You can go to the link to find out how they did it, but I will tell you what I did.



I shredded the meat from one side of the chicken because we only have 3 people to feed here. Added half of the can of enchilada sauce to the chicken and then added as much cheese as I saw fit. Spooned the meat mixture onto tortillas, rolled them and placed them in a small pan. (They used an 8x8) I used a smaller version of a 9x13 pan. I poured the rest of the sauce over the top of the enchiladas and sprinkled cheese, again just how much I thought was good. I baked it at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

It was super easy and my husband LOVED it. Even M&M ate some, which is a miracle in and of itself. Once more tip. I used the medium sauce and even though is was a little hot for me it was still good, I just put some sour cream over the top of mine to cool the sauce down. If you don't like spicy you can get the mild kind. More recipes to come!

Spaghetti Pie recipe

This blog is not all about Tot School although that has been my main focus lately because that is the part of my life that needs the most attention right now. Even before having Bubba I was not doing so well in the cooking dinner area and my husband can vouch for that. He has been so patient in having to come home some nights and make dinner for himself and M&M. This past week we had guests for dinner so I cooked up one of my favorite recipes: Spaghetti Pie. I got this recipe from my mom. Don't moms always have the best recipes? Thanks mom. This is one recipe that I can do almost from memory because I've made it so much. Here it is:

Spaghetti Pie

Ingredients:
1 pound ground beef (I almost always use extra lean)
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
2 (8 oz.) cans tomato sauce with 1/4 tsp. garlic powder mixed in
1 1/2 c. low-fat sour cream
1/2 cup chopped green onions (Sometimes I leave these out because my hubby doesn't like them as much)
1/4 c. 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened
4 cups hot cooked spaghetti (8 oz. uncooked pasta) (I never measure, I just put a bunch in)
1 1/3 c. shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cook meat in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until browned. Drain well and return mean to pan. Stir in salt, pepper and tomato sauce. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer for 20 mins. Combine sour cream, green onions and cream cheese in a bowl, set aside.
Place spaghetti noodles in a 2-quart casserole dish coated with cooking spray. Spread sour cream mixture over spaghetti noodles. Top with meat mixture. Sprinkle with cheddar cheese. Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350 degrees for 25 mins. Uncover and bake an additional 5 mins. or until cheese is bubbly.

Chicken Mozarella

My husband is so excited that I tried out a new recipe this week. I found it here and chose it because it looked really easy, but good.

Chicken Mozarella

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts halves (about 1 pound)
1 can (10 3/4 ounces) Campbell's® Healthy Request® Condensed
Tomato Soup
1/2 tsp. dried Italian seasoning OR dried oregano leaves, crushed
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese


Place the chicken in an 11 x 8-inch (2-quart) shallow baking dish. Stir the soup, Italian seasoning and garlic powder in a small bowl. Spoon the soup mixture over the chicken. Bake at 400°F. for 20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Sprinkle the cheese over the chicken. Let stand for 5 minutes or until the cheese melts.

This was a huge hit and I will definitely be making it again.

Pot Roast Recipe

My hubby made dinner for me today for Mother's Day. He made this recipe that we both absolutely LOVE! It's fast and easy and super delicious. My husband made it so it has to be easy. Hehe. Anyway, I've made this recipe a lot and thought I would share it. This is the actual recipe that I have, but I will share my tips on how we do it. Sorry, I don't have any pictures to show the steps or anything.

Slim but Saucy Pot Roast

3 lbs. pot roast, trimmed of fat (I've used all different sizes of pot roast up to 3 lbs.)
2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
2 med. onions, sliced (I usually only do one onion sometimes as well)
8 oz. can tomato sauce (we actually use two cans to make more sauce)
4 oz. can mushrooms (we don't like mushrooms, so we don't put these in)
1/2 tsp. oregano
1 can cheddar cheese soup

Place roast in a large crock pot. Mix all ingredients together and pour over roast. Cook on crockpot's highest setting overnight. Serve over rice or noodles.
We actually don't cook it overnight, just start it in the morning and it works just fine too.

If you try it out let me know how you like it!