Produce

I posted on my other blog about the signs I made for a family friend who sells produce.  When I went to deliver them today, I raided his stand, and got a whole bunch of produce.  I walked out of there with:

10 ears of corn (white corn, which is my favorite!)
3 pounds of tomatoes
3 big sweet potatoes
5 pounds of little white potatoes (I am going to post about those in a couple of days when I make them)
2 pounds of squash
8 beautiful apples

And the best part is, I only paid $5 for all of it!  I'd say I came out on the winning end of this deal!

Pretzel M&M's

Look what I found in my mailbox today...it's the new pretzel m&m's.

I have been looking forward to trying these.  Pretzels are my go to snack.  I am not a big chip person, so when I am craving something salty, I grab some pretzels.

Of course, as soon as I opened the package and found the m&m's, I had to try them out.  Check out the inside:

They were so good, too.  The only thing that would make them better is if they had a layer of peanut butter wrapped around the pretzel.  Maybe I need to contact m&m's and let them know about that...it could be their next big seller!

I Want Some Of These

I was reading this months Women's Day magazine, and found a write up they did on these utensils.  They are a Set of 5 Convenient No Mess Cooking Utensils by Lori Greiner.  As you can see, the utensils are bent so that they can hang on the side of the pot or pan you are using, eliminating messes made from laying them on the counter.  Pretty cool. right?  The handles ends are silicone, so they stay cool.

If you prefer a non metal version, try these spoons made by Rachael Ray.  They are not bent like the others, but they do have a notch in the handle that allows them to rest on the side of your pot or pan.

I would love either set, because I think they are both really cool.  They would make the perfect Mother's Day gift for those of you who have moms who love to cook, like me.

Beef And Broccoli With Egg Noodles

This is another family favorite.  I always cook enough to have leftovers the next night, because honestly, it always tastes better the next day.

The first thing I do is cut a London Broil into thin strips, and then into bite sized pieces.  Once that is done, I fry some mushrooms.  I love using fresh mushrooms, but I didn't have any at the time, so I used a jar of mushrooms.  Fry them in a little olive oil until they are brown and yummy looking.

While those are browning up, I put the broccoli in a microwave safe dish, and cook until they are tender.  Junior likes his broccoli a little more done than I do, so I make sure I cook it all the way before adding it to the pan.

When the mushrooms are brown, I add the London Broil to the pan, and let it brown up all around.  I usually have to cover the pan for a few minutes to get the beef cooked through.

While that is cooking, I mix the sauce.  I use Kikkoman's Broccoli-Beef stir fry mix, and it is delicious.  I usually use two packets, because I am cooking the entire London Broil.

Once the beef is done, I add the broccoli and the sauce.  I let this cook together while I get the noodles boiled. 

Once the egg noodles are done ( I like no yolks, and I use the entire package) I add them to the pan, and mix everything all together.

And that's it.  Doesn't it look delicious?  There is enough in this pan to feed my family of five for two nights.  I don't usually serve anything on the side, but sometimes Junior likes to have a bread of some sort.

While writing this post, I have realized that I am not good at writing out the recipes, so I hope you were able to follow along.

Easy Banana Bread

I can not take credit for the recipe.  I found it on the back of a box of Jiffy baking mix.  It's delicious, though, so I thought I'd share:

3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup shortening (I use butter flavored crisco sticks)
2 eggs
2 cups baking mix
1 cup very ripe bananas, mashed
1/3 cups nuts (I never put the nuts)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Cream sugar and shortening.  Add remaining ingredients*.  Mix until blended.  Pour batter into prepared pan. (greased 9X5 loaf pan)  Bake 55 minutes.Cool slightly before removing from pan

*I added the eggs and banana first, and then added the baking mix one cup at a time.

Simple enough, right?  I always double the recipe, and bake two loaves at the same time. 

One loaf doesn't last very long around here.

Bacon Ranch Pasta ~ So Good

Here is my "recipe" for my bacon ranch pasta.  I like it served cold, but Junior prefers it warm.  Either way, it is delicious. 

Now, I know it is not the healthiest side dish, because it has bacon and lots of mayo.  I only make it occasionally, because we are trying to eat healthier.

The recipe:

I cut up the bacon into little pieces before throwing it into the skillet. Cook it until it is nice and crispy, then cool it on some paper towels, to absorb most of the grease.

In a big bowl, mix a packet of dry ranch dressing mix (I use hidden valley) with one cup of mayo and a half cup of milk.  Feel free to use the fat free mayo and skim milk to make it a little healthier, but I don't know how good it will taste.  I use the full fat stuff, which is probably why I have a hard time losing weight.

Boil some water and cook a box of bow tie pasta.  You can use whatever type of pasta you like, just as long as it has texture to grab all the bacon ranch goodness.

When the pasta is ready, rinse with cool water, and add to the ranch dressing mixture.  Sprinkle in the bacon, and mix it all together.

There you have it.  My bacon ranch pasta.  Enjoy!

Why, Mrs.Smith, Do You Have To Make Such Yummy Pies?

Dutch Apple Crumb...my favorite pie in the entire world

Sweet And Smoky Chicken

The other night I was about to make supper, and I had some boneless skinless chicken breasts thawed out. I have a few go to recipes for chicken, but wanted to try something different.

I have a tub of Grill Mates Sweet & Smoky Rub that I have used on pork in the past, and it was really good. The label says it can be used on beef, pork, or chicken, so I decided to give it a try.

I cut up the chicken into cubes, because I wanted to do a quick pan fry on it, instead of baking it. For some reason, when I do chicken in the over, I always overcook it, and it comes out so dry. Anyway, I tossed the cubed chicken in a bowl, covered it in the Rub, and mixed it all together with my hands. I made sure all the pieces were fully covered, then I let it sit for a few minutes while I got the pan ready.

A few years ago, my mom bought me an awesome skillet for Christmas. It is one of those heavy suckers, and I love it! I put a little bit of olive oil in the bottom of the pan and let it heat up until it rippled, then I threw the chicken in.

I let it pan fry for a few minutes, letting the outside get all white and pretty. Then I cover the pan and let it cook for a while longer until the chicken was fully cooked. (don't ask me how long I let it cook, because I don't keep track...just until it is nice and white all the way through)

I have to say, for a quick "who knows how this is going to turn out" dinner, it was delicious! The chicken was really flavorful, and I served it with peas and french fries. (don't pay any attention to my "fine china"...I use these plastic plates at almost every meal because they are divided...I don't like for the different foods on my plate to touch...I know...I have issues) While the chicken was good on it's own, I dunked mine in BBQ sauce, which, in my opinion, makes everything better.

Feel free to share your favorite chicken recipe with me. We eat it about three or four times a week, and it's hard sometimes to make something different.

The First Strawberries Of The Season

Junior's ex-father-in-law Del came by tonight with a surprise for me - fresh strawberries. He got them from a strawberry farm (I guess that's what you call it) that opened for the season today. Don't they look amazing?! Brandi ate a few already, but I am going to cut mine up and sprinkle some sugar on them in the morning.

My mouth is watering just thinking about it...

Taco Salad

Here is a favorite in our family...taco salad.

Ingredients:
1 pound ground beef (I use the lean stuff)
2 packs taco seasoning (you could use one...I like mine extra spicy)
catalina dressing
shredded lettuce
shredded cheese (I use a mexican blend, but you could totally use cheddar instead)
tomatoes
black olives
corn chips

First, brown the meat in a big skillet. Once browned, add the taco seasoning with the recommended amount of water. While that finishes up, put lettuce, tomatoes, olives, cheese, and corn chips in a big bowl. Seriously, use a big bowl, because there will be a lot of mixing. Once the meat is done, add it to the bowl of lettuce and stuff. Add about half the bottle of catalina dressing, and mix well.

This is really, really, yummy. Junior doesn't like eating this the next day, because the corn chips do get soggy. I like putting it in a flour tortilla, and eating it like a soft taco.

Let me know if you try this recipe, and what you think....

Free Sun Chips

A couple of weeks ago, I became a fan of Sun Chips on Facebook. As a thank you, they were giving away free bags of Sun Chips.

Today I got my coupon in the mail, and I can not wait to get get my garden salsa flavored chips. I like the harvest cheddar, too.

I'm not sure if this promotion is still going on, but it couldn't hurt to check it out. Go become a fan.

Thanks Anna!

Anna is my hero! She never hesitates to help me when I have blogging questions, and thanks to her, I love the look of this, my new cooking blog!

I have big plans for this blog...let's just hope I can follow through.