Top 10 Go To Recipes....

So I noticed a fellow blogger commenting about having no clue what to fix for dinner and asking for suggestions. It got me thinking what my "go to" recipes were. You know the ones....where you don't have to pull the recipe out....where you can make it without much thought and even less time....

YEAH!
Those dinners!

You know we all have them. 

The moments you go Awe Crap!

 Is it time to fix dinner already?!?

....Unless your clan is like mine and never stop eating. My kitchen seems to be an endless cycle of snack and meals. Kinda expected with 4 boys. Add in the friends (boys) that are always hanging around (and welcomed) and yeah, the kitchen never seems to close....

Anyway, here is my go to list. I hope it helps get you outa that awe crap rut....

In no particular order:

1. Spaghetti- the boys all love it and score, it's cheap too. Easy to fix from the pantry.
2. Fruity chicken salad- salad, grilled chicken, mandarin oranges, grapes, Parmesan cheese tossed together, topped with poppy seed dressing and you are ready to go. Yep, even the boys enjoy it.
3. Hamburger Casserole- browned hamburger, shell pasta, green beans, corn, carrots, olives, cream of mushroom soup. Mixed together and enjoy. Great cooking from the pantry.
4. Pinwheels- browned hamburger rolled up and baked in biscuit dough like cinnamon rolls, topped with tomatoe soup or gravy. One of my favorite meals.
5. BBQ- anything thrown on the grill= easy, yummy summer meals
6. Taco Salad
7. Chicken Salad wraps
8. Roast- or anything tossed in the crockpot
9. Steak or chicken Fajitas- A1, Worcestershire sauce, onion, peppers, cheese, tomatoes, shells= YUMMY
10. Breakfast for dinner- my boys LOVE pancakes. It's a pantry staple and quick to fix. Add eggs or bacon and my troop is happy.

We buy beef and pork from a rancher friend (the only way to buy you meat!) and keep it in a big chest freezer. Just add vegis and we are good to go. 

So there you are. I have a few others but these will cycle round the month to fill the last minute holes or maybe just fill the hole until I go shopping again. I love to keep recipes on hand that come straight from the pantry. Helps my preparedness skills too.

Mini Pumpkin pies

 These are the miny pumpkin pies in a muffin tin. How to make it all you need is some pie crust is an a can of pumpkin pie filling. What you must do is role your dough out; then take a cup or something big enough to make circles in your dough to have them fit your muffin tin.

Here I am using a turkey baster to take my pumpkin pie (follow can instructions) filling to fill the crusts which have been inserted in the greased muffin tin.

 I had to shoo my brothers away before they ate the mix before it was cooked.

 This is the final product of your effort. If you are wondering what to use the rest for use it for anything. I just put it in pie plates and cooked it.

I found this on pinterest. It is in mom's food board.

The original recipe is from Make-n-Takes

Pumpkin Rice Krispy

OK, so what is big krispy and orange all over? A pumpkin rice krispy treat! That is what has been made this time.

What you do first is you melt butter then add the 1 bag of mini marshmallows and stir 'til melted.

 After melting marshmallows you combine 6 cups of rice krispies and the marshmallows and stir.

 Here I smashed the mixture into a hand sized ball made a impression and put a tootsie role in for part of the stem.

 Now you add small candy strips for the stems and vines I used Rips.

 Enjoy

Chef-in-training posts

We have a chef-in-training in our house. Mr Josh dreams of winning "Chopped" or perhaps a great desert competition. He may not like helping mom cook dinner but he never turns down an opportunity to make a yummy new treat for the family to try. So I decided to build on this. Each week he gets to try a new recipe then post about it for you all to enjoy.

Want in on  a bit of a secret? It was educationally motivated. ;-p I figured he could test his prowess and desire to be a chef; he can put his typing skills to work; learn how to use the internet as a tool and not just a toy; and increase his writing skills. The family gets to taste the yummy goodies. Yeah, I thought it was a win win too. ehehehe

So each week Josh will try something then post for you to read Thursday mornings. Stay tuned. Watch all the good bad and ugly as our nearly 13 yr old tests his skills at cooking. No holds bar. All the oopses and successes will be there.

It's gonna be a "Sweet" adventure.

Oh, and someday his roommates, mission companions and eventually sweetheart will be able to read back on his baby steps to becoming a great cook. No mac-n-cheese or Ramon noodles for this boy.

No Bake Nutella Cheesecake

(This is part of the new weekly series posted by our chef-in-training, Josh)
I saw this recipe on Pinterest and thought it looked fun because it is easy and simple. This is a no bake nutella cheesecake recipe. We love nutella at our house, as in we, put it on every thing from toast to sandwiches. If you don't know what nutella is then let me tell you, nutella is a hazelnut spread with some chocolate in it. 

When I started to make it I thought we were out of cream cheese so I thought I could substitute 8 ounces of cream cheese with cream butter (P.S. not so good it is to buttery with 3 tablespoons more).

 Try this Yourself

For the Crust

12 Oreo Cookies, crushed into crumbs

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

For the Filling

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

2/3 cup Nutella

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 (8 ounce) tub frozen whipped topping, thawed

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, stir together the Oreo cookie crumbs and melted butter. Evenly divide the crumbs between your individual serving dishes and press into the bottoms of the dishes to form a crust layer.

2. In a large bowl, with an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and Nutella until smooth. Add vanilla and mix to combine. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the whipped topping until well blended and no streaks remain.

3. Evenly pipe or spoon the filling into individual serving dishes. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.

4. If desired, garnish with additional whipped topping, chocolate shavings, and/or toasted, chopped hazelnuts.

Spiced Pear Dumplings and Fall cooking!

Here are just some of the reasons I love fall....

Spiced Pear Dumplings..

 3 Tbs packed brown sugar
1/4 tsp grnd cardamom
1/4 tsp grnd cinnamon
1 Tbs butter or margarine softened
Dumpling pastry (see below)
2 large pears peeled and cut in half, cored
1 egg white
2 tsp sugar
1/2 cup caramel sauce or topping.

Pastry
1/2 cup shortening
1 1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
3-4 Tbs water
Mix shortening and flour together until crumbly. Add salt, then add water 1 Tbs at a time until pastry almost cleans sides of bowl. Gather into a ball and roll out.

Mix br sugar, cardamom, cinnamon, and butter together. Tuck a bit of mixture into center of pear. Wrap pear in pastry and seal edges slightly with cool water. Place seam side down in 9x13 greased pan.
Bake at 375 x 40-45 minutes.
Top with caramel sauce.
I didn't have caramel sauce so I mixed brown sugar, cinnamon, and butter together on low heat then poured over the dumplings. It was a hit at our house!

I had some small pears that needed to be used up. I offered several recipes and dear hubby choose this one. I haven't made it in a while. It calls for cardamon (kinda like cinnamon). I had boughten this spices way back when I first made this. I have not used it since so I had to chuckle when I came across the recipe to use some more of this spice.....

I haven't made bread for a while. I found the cost of heating my house and thus using my AC more was just not worth the savings. We are out of bread and I was so glad to have the cooler temps so I could make some more bread.

And chili with cornbread. Fall soups and chilis! Yum! It's a great way to use up all those vegis in the fridge from the garden. Just add whatever is left.

For my chili I usually add hamburger, tomatoes, corn and several cans of various beans. I add a bit of ketchup and brown sugar like when I make baked beans. You can also add a can of jalepenos but my boys don't like the heat so I have started leaving that out.

I have to make a double batch of cornbread and today still ended up making more.
 They devoured it! 

I enjoy the BBQ but I LOVE fall cooking!

The best part was how my house smelled of yummy spices when I was done. 

Home Sweet Home!

A New Cooking Blog!

Well, new to me at least......

I walked into work this week and found a co-worker looking at

Mommy's Kitchen

Ooooh, Leave that up!

I knew I needed to take a look. My menus have been in a rut lately, just waiting for cooler weather to make delicious soups and chili's.

Let me tell you what! I am excited to redo my menu for this coming week. I didn't finish my shopping yesterday and now I'm glad!

Her blog runner is just my style. Family meals, country style hit a nerve for me as well.

Then I scrolled down to find....

Homemade lunchables!

Then we had to search for a Peach Cobbler

ooh, my mouth is watering already! Fresh peaches wrapped in a warm flakey crust. Add a scoop of French vanilla ice cream! Peach Cobbler A la Mode!

My boys are eating school lunch (we are blessed to have a GOOD school lunch, homemade style) but these are good enough to tempt me to return to my old ways...

School Lunch Box ideas

Blackberry Dump Cake

Comfort food... Turkey & Stuffing on a weeknight!

Okay! ENOUGH ALREADY! My belly is growling and I've got work to do. Dinner is still a ways off. I would love to show you more but I just can't handle it. Take a look for yourself. A peek just won't do.

In the VERY unlikely event you can't get enough check out her Sunday Potluck! So many additional recipes linked up. You will definitely have enough to fill your menu!

Check her out! You will be in love!

Bakin' Perfect Bacon

We enjoy watching a bit of Food Networks cooking challenges. My dear hubby has learned (and agrees wholeheartedly) that adding bacon to any recipe, including ice cream, makes it an instant hit. But it is sooo meassy to cook. Not anymore!

My dad recently taught me how to cook the BEST ever bacon.

After years of cooking it poping and sizzling on the stovetop.

No more. Now I cook my bacon in the oven.

Yep, the oven! just 30 minutes at 350 and you will have perfect bacon bites.

The best part? No greasy stove top to clean up.

Just lay your bacon strips out on a cookies sheet and slip it in the oven. While your bacon is bakin' you can flip pancakes or your omlet free of greasy popping on you.

Give it a try. I guarantee you will not go back to stovetop bacon.

It will save you from being "Chopped" at your next family dinner!