Oatmeal muffins

Howdie all! It’s been a while since my last post. I have a great recipe for ya. This one I have made a couple times now and it turns out great each time.  I found it on Pinterest and have made a couple different versions.

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups Oats (I used quick recipe calls for old fashioned, I assume for more nutrients?)
• 1 cup plain low fat or non fat yogurt (I used greek more protein) *I didn’t have enough yogurt so I added in apple sauce; also you can use a flavored yogurt I did that too
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup honey (I use local raw)
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 Tbsp flax see (mine is already ground but won’t matter you will see why)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 ripe bananas

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray your muffin tins generously.

Put oats into blender (I guess you could use food processor too). Blend till is like flour, you will see flakes still, blend about 30-45 seconds. Add in remaining ingredients, blend till smooth.

Pour into muffin tins.

Now here is where I changed it up a bit, I added chocolate chips in a batch, dried cranberries in a batch, and fresh blackberries in a batch. I just dropped them on top of the muffin batter in the muffin tin. I also poured the batter into a separate  bowl and mixed in chips.

Bake 15-18 minutes. Turn out to cool completely put in air tight container.

Options: I have been toying with the idea of using grated zucchini and herbs for a savory muffin, maybe adding in cheese.

Enjoy!

This is the blended oatmeal and honey, I had already started when I remembered to get the camera!

View from the top, all remaining ingredients.

Now this is NOT the muffins. This is my first attempt at a pound cake for Gina’s school pet show tomorrow. I have said it before and I will say it again, I am not a baker!!!

And then there are the kids….

So haven’t posted anything really for a while, been busy. I don’t like when Easter is in March it throws my whole middle year off…having said all that we have done a couple things. Me and the kids, while the hubbs is at Fire fighter school on Saturdays, thought I would share some of them with you and Easter.

 

Easter Bunny visit at Casey’s preschool….

Saturday visit to Country Junction store in Lehighton, PA….it was cold….

Decorating Easter eggs…..

Easter morning…baskets from Grandma….one basket to share from Easter Bunny…..

Easter dinner with Hearn family in NJ….Great Grandma Hearn and cousin Emily….

Girl Scout trip to local diary farm…hayride….

Girls with cows being milked and farm Jimmy and his wife…..

Farmer Jimmy telling us where and how the milk goes from the cows…..

Uncle Richie and Casey taking pictures of the chickens…..city boy!!!!

After the farm visit we had Gigi over or her birthday dinner. I made The Pioneer Woman’s strawberry shortcake cake…. here is the link for the recipe, I used my cookbook, but it is the same…

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/05/strawberry-shortcakecake/

Gina and I went to a Girl Scout function, a Mad Hatter Tea Party that an older girl troop (high schoolers) put on to raise money and to let the younger girls see that staying is Girl Scouts is cool….it was really neat….

 

Enjoy!

Needs a Name….

I am trying to spring clean, not only my house, but freezer and pantry. I found some beef chuck cubes in the freezer and while I wanted to use them, I didn’t want to make soup. Which is what I probably bought them for, that and it was on sale. So I looked in the pantry to see what else I could use with them. I found a can of fire roasted tomatoes and great northern beans. Now as you may or may not know chuck roast needs to cook low and slow, so I decided to make a quick like beef shred. (Hey maybe that could be the name of this recipe?)

So help me with a name for this recipe……

Ingredients

• 2 lbs cubed beef chuck steak
• 1 can fire roasted tomoato
• 1 can great northern beans
• 1 onion chopped
• S&P
• 2 Tbsp home made Taco seasoning mix (that recipe will come at another post)
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 2 tbsp EVOO

Heat dutch oven or oven proof pot add in EVOO and chuck steak. Season in pot with S&P, stir to brown as much as you can. Add in onion, then tomatoes, and chicken stock. Cover and put into 275 Degree oven for about3 hours. Check and make sure it doesn’t burn, mine almost did, I let the liquid cook out almost to burn.

The way to see if the meat is done is to take your spoon and smoosh the meat, if it shreds then it’s done, if not then keep cooking, adding water or more stock if looks dry.

Smoosh the meat and stir with spoon then add in can of beans, I did not rinse but you could if you want to. Add in the taco seasoning mix, if you don’t have any homemade than add in packet, just be careful amount of salt will be a lot higher.

Warm it all through and serve on rice, mashed potatoes, grits (cheesy or not) in tacos, quesadillas; with a side of corn, green beans; over lettuce/salad green.

Enjoy!

Pot Roast

The hubbs does not usually like pot roasts. I guess it is because they are usually blah tasting and his quote is “it just doesn’t do anything for me”. Well he can not say that anymore. I made this pot roast for the second time this past weekend and once again his response was “MMMMMM, this is so good”. Now I had orginially made this based on The Pioneer Woman’s recipe the perfect pot roast, but as usual added my own touch.

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2011/09/2008_the_year_of_the_pot_roast/

Ingredients

• 3-4 pound chuck roast (mine was about 3.5 pounds)
• 1 large onion wedged, or couple smaller ones
• baby carrots or large carrots washed and chunk-ed (just depends on how much you really want)
• 1 tsp dry thyme (can use fresh but I only have dry)
• S&P (for the roast)
• 2 cans of beef broth
• 2 Tbsp Olive oil (or canola is fine too)
• 1 package brown gravy mix

Preheat oven 275 degrees.

Now heat your dutch oven (or oven proof roasting pot) to med-high heat, add in 1 Tbsp oil and your onions and carrots. let them cook about 5 minutes stirring frequently, the purpose here is to not only get brown goodness on bottom of your pot but to give the veggies a roasted flavor by browning them in spots too.

Remove all veggies from pot, then add in remaining oil. Salt and pepper your chuck roast on both sides well (this is the only salt and pepper that will be in this dish as the brown gravy mix has salt and seasonings in it). Sear your roast on both sides, I believe I seared mine about 2 minutes per side.

Next add the veggies back in, add in your broth, and thyme, mix together. Cover and put in your preheated oven. Let roast for 4-6 hours.

Adding in the packet of brown gravy mix is the trick here. It gives it the thick gravy my family likes and has great flavor. I know it is high in sodium, but that is why I didn’t add any salt except to sear the meat.

After about 4 hours check to see if meat is falling apart, if not cover and put back in at least another hour. Add water if you think looking dry. Once meat is falling apart, take out of oven, place pot on stove top, and take out meat (you will be shredding it). This is when you turn on your stove top to medium, and add in your brown gravy mix. If you think there isn’t enough liquid add some water, cook till gravy starts to thicken, add meat back in. Turn heat to low, cover and let simmer 10 minutes.

I have to go through and pick out any remaining grissel or fat, since the hubbs is particularly sensitive to eating it, big baby! There really shouldn’t be too much, it cooks away to flavor.

Options: adding in celery and garlic. I wouldn’t put in potatoes, because of the gravy mix, but do as you please. I served this with mashed potatoes, side salad. Would be good over rice too!

Enjoy!

Reubens and memories

Since tomorrow is St. Patrick’s day the grocery stores have all the “Irish” fair on sale. Now I decided to not make a boiled corn brisket this year, since I have a perfectly good, needs to be eaten chuck roast in fridge. But today I found myself going on an unexpected trip to the grocery store for Gator Aid and saltine crackers, as Casey boy has got a little stomach bug. So having given the weekly grocery store ads the once over I decided on a store, mostly because of the sale items.

I was craving a good Reuben sandwich (which usually is made after the corn beef brisket dinner with the leftovers) and decided to just buy some deli corned beef, some rye bread, swiss cheese, and sauerkraut. After getting home, and making the kids their soup (alphabet for Gina and some Disney cartoon for Casey) I made myself my sandwich. *OH did you know that they now make mini Saltine crackers in a box? I had to get them, and the kids thought they were “so cute”.

So here is my sandwich, and the reason the title says memories is because the first memory of having a sandwich like this is at my Uncle Ronnie’s house. I don’t know how old I was, but I remember sitting in his kitchen and him cooking this sandwich. We would often stop by his house for brunch after church on Sundays, as we had to drive right by his driveway. This was one of the many sandwiches he would make for my family and his wife and daughter, others were sausage biscuits with miracle whip and yellow mustard (don’t knock it till you try it) and Aunt Jo’s favorite, BLTs.

For this blog I am not doing the ingredients list, just step by step pictures for ya. You can handle it!

Rye Bread, swiss cheese, corned beef.

Warming up some canned sauerkraut, to be honest with you this is the reason I love Reuben sandwiches, not the 1000 Island dressing like everyone else. I pile on the kraut!

Dressing (my hubbs calls this Russian dressing, guess it’s a Philly thing) and butter for the bread.

Slather one piece of bread with butter pop in hot skillet top with cheese first so it melts and is ooey gooey good.

Top cheese with as many slices of corn beef as you wish.

Top that with as much kraut as you wish….mmmmm…..

Drizzle on dressing.

Top all with another buttered piece of bread.

Warm through, flip over to toast up other side, slice open and eat. I also put little dressing on side of my plate, cause I am a dipper!

You can make this with turkey, but this is the real deal. And my hubbs likes whats called a Rachel, which is creamy coleslaw instead of kraut.

 

P.S. Here is picture of Gina from last night, went to a Me and My guy dance for girls scouts. It was a 1980′s theme. She chose her clothes, I did hair, pretty proud of poof since with my curly short hair I didn’t really get to have one.

And her is Casey in the toilet box from couple weeks ago when the hubbs replaced their toilet.

Enjoy! Hope you get a visit from the lucky little Irish one!

1 year ago on the 11th

Well it has come to my attention that a year a go on March 11th I started this thing called a blog. I know I haven’t been the best at it, or the most kept up with it (that can’t be proper grammar). I had every intention of blogging more recipe posts, really I did, and still do. However, life just gets in the way. I forget to capture whatever it is I made for dinner or lunch or breakfast on camera. And lately haven’t been in the mood. I am trying to start spring cleaning, and to get over these winter blues, called Cabin Fever.

I will be posting my quilt soon, as I am 99.5% done, and am quit proud of it. Of course there are the spring planting in milk jugs again, and we will be taking more outings as spring is in the air and outside is the where. Sorry been reading too many Dr. Seuss books to Casey.

So for all that have “followed” this blog, I can’t promise that there will be more blogs on recipes, but I will try. I can’t promise I will blog on all the spring activities, but I will try. I can promise that whatever I do share, it is with all my gratitude that you choose/chose to even look to see what ever it is I put out there.

Here are some pics from a year ago for ya…..

Playing outside, soon we will be doing this again.

Pictures of my old fashioned iris, my Easter flowers are coming up, so soon pictures of those. And finally the picture that started this all, or rather the recipe that started it all….Spaghetti (Pizza) Eggs, posted on March 11, 2012.

Enjoy!

 

Pineapple cheese ball/spread

Still going through folders of recipes and food I have already made and taken pictures of but haven’t posted yet.

This one I did a while back, it brings back memories of my childhood, especially around the holidays. Someone in the family would always make this cheese ball (this is back in the 1980′s when it was en vogue for cheese balls) and bring to the Christmas holiday party or 4th of July picnic.

I made it as a spread mainly because I knew I would be the only one eating it and I didn’t need it to be pretty. I just wanted it for the taste. Spread, sha-meer it on bread, crackers, bagels, rice cakes, whatever it is oh so good.

 Ingredients

• 8oz. softened cream cheese (full fat or not it’s up to you)
• 2 Tbsp of minced green onion
• 2 Tbsp of minced onion
• 1 Tbsp of season salt
• 1-2 tsp of Worcestershire sauce
• small can of crushed pineapple, drained and squeezed as dry as you can get it

 

Mix all ingredients well in bowl and enjoy! Or you can let it set in fridge for 30 minutes let flavors marry, the more it sets the better it tastes.

Now if you want o make this into a ball, you will also need 2 cups of finely chopped (I use a food processor to get them fine; I can remember using my mother’s nut grinder with the handle you turned to get them fine—–still looking to get one of those). After you have the cheese mixture incorporated, get a piece of plastic wrap and dump onto. Using the wrap form a ball, cover with the wrap and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes to set it up.

Then you will just roll the ball in the nuts till is is covered. You can also add some of the nuts into the cheese ball if you really want to, I personally do not like them in the cheese ball just on outside.

If you want to add a little spice to it, add in 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper.

Enjoy!