why do I always forget about monkey bread?

3 cans of biscuits, I buy the small four pack

2/3 cup of sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 stick butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

Cut biscuits into 4 pieces.  Shake and toss pieces in sugar and cinnamon. Layer in pan. Put butter  a little sugar and splash of vanilla in a pan and bring to a slow bubbly stage.  Pour over biscuits.  

Bake for 35 minutes at 350.

I remember my mom making monkey bread when I was a little bitty girl.  It was one of my favorite things on earth.  I have to say I've been a pretty smart girl since I was that bitty.  Anything with a stick of butter equals smarts. Butter is my bestie.

I love that this recipe card was written by my mom.  I have some really good recipes still handwritten.  Even with all the Internet options I pull up old posts from here (click on the sidebar, RECIPE) or I grab my recipe book for old favorites.  Speaking of favorites, this cake might just be the best cake on the planet.  You can always find my jalapeno ranch dip on the blog too. 

pumpkins and pecans

We did all things fall today.  

We drove around this afternoon house hunting and then the kids were excited to get home to play with pumpkins.

Gary is the pumpkin carver in our family and he always does a wonderful job.  I'm thankful he does it because I don't think my carving skills are up to par.  I'm sure I would embarrass myself if I tried to carve a pumpkin.

Hayden was more than happy to stick his hands down into the pumpkins and clean it out.  Gross.  Layla dug down inside her pumpkin also, but Hayden actually had fun.  Layla had fun painting her pumpkins.  She looks forward to that every single year.

I had fun taking pictures of all our crafts and then I baked a cake.  I found this cake recipe on Pinterest.  It is called southern pecan praline cake with butter sauce.  It is seriously one of the best cakes I've ever made.  Just search Pinterest for the recipe because I can't take credit for it.  You'll love it though, it is so yummy!

It's such a great fall cake.  I wasn't sure if the kids would like it but they did.  

We all loved it and it was a great end to our fun 'fall' Sunday!

these are a few of my favorite things

Gary has been loving his new schedule.  He has a new job in which he gets off work at a consistant time.  He is off on Saturday and Sunday.  Before he worked most Saturdays and now he usually works a half Saturday a month.  It is really awesome for our whole family.  We'll love it even more in the fall during football season and when the kids start sports events in the fall!

He's loving cooking more and I'm loving sharing the kitchen duties.  We were all craving ribs and so he smoked a few racks of ribs but we couldn't think of a side dish.  Finally I remembered my love for the grilled sweet potatoes we made a few weeks ago, so that was one of our sides with ribs.  It was a nice easy meal and everyone in our family was happy!  

All you do is thick slice the sweet potatoes and toss them in some olive oil and cinnamon.  Then you grill each side to get a few marks on them and then place them in a grill pan with a foil lid.  Let them sit for about 8 minutes or longer if you want them softer. Oh my goodness, so yummy and pretty healthy too.  We sure do love summer foods!

winner winner cauliflower dinner

Hayden loves this weird chili recipe I make.  

It's really simple and is tasty on a tortilla with cheese.  You can use any chili packet mix and add tomato sauce and pinto beans and either ground beef or ground turkey.  I love to use leftovers on eggs or on a baked potato.  It's basically a mild chili con carne lazy girl style.  

Hayden requested chili the week of his birthday and so I thought I'd share my mock baked potato meal.  I just steamed cauliflower and topped it with the chili and cheese.   

I feel like cauliflower is the forgotten broccoli.  I prefer it over broccoli any day of the week.  Thankfully my family does also!  Yum! 

waffled biscuits

Why is that because my oven is broken and has been for almost a month do I want to bake everything?  I want biscuits and other yummy things I honestly do not need to be eating right now.  My eating has been all over the place and with my birthday coming up I think I'm letting myself indulge with that as an excuse. I'll get myself back on track but until then I'm finding alternate ways to make my goodies.

Canned refrigerated biscuits on the waffle iron are fabulous!  I was impressed and so happy to try them.  I then allowed myself to buy canned refrigerated cinnamon rolls, for the children of course!!  I haven't tried them yet, but I bet they'll be fabulous.  Hopefully by the end of this week, or even on my birthday I'll have a new oven again!  My goodness, the joys of a home warranty company, and being a renter. :-) 

the most refreshing summer salad

I'm back to the hot Texas sun and a refreshing salad always takes the edge off the heat.  When I lived in Ohio one of my best buddies, Annika, made this salad for book club.  I seriously could have eaten the entire bowl.  It was so good even in the not so hot Ohio heat!

I posted a picture on Instagram when I made this on Friday night and got several requested to share the recipe, so here she is....

6 cups bite size watermelon 

4 cups bite size strawberries 

1/2 chopped red onion

2 TB lime juice

1 diced Serrano pepper

2 TB chopped cilantro

1/4 cup olive oil

salt to taste

Whisk together onions, lime, salt, Serrano, and cilantro. 

Add mixture to watermelon and strawberries and toss.

While I was shopping at HEB for the ingredients Layla was in charge of the list and she talked me into using a jalapeno instead of a Serrano pepper. It was still good, but it wasn't as nice as the Serrano.  Go big and get the hot pepper because all the other flavors take the bite out of the hot pepper. 

I'm into bowls lately

I am loving throwing food into a bowl and tossing it around and calling it a meal.

This is a taco salad of sorts.  I had it for lunch.  Spinach, black beans, red onion, ground turkey taco meat, avocado, cheese, jalapenos and tomatoes.  That's it!  I topped it with salsa and called it a taco salad bowl.

Here is where I'm cooking these days.

I'm using all the old stuff from all our other houses for this house.  I mean isn't that what we all do.  The rug bugs me because it should be larger, but it's a rug and this is a rental blah blah blah....  

I have a cute kitchen with plentiful storage so I'm happy.   

I get to cook and put the food into bowls.

This one is pinterest inspired.

It is a sushi bowl with brown rice, cocktail shrimp, shredded carrots, avocado, cucumber slivers and green onions.  I topped it off with soy sauce and yum yum sauce.  

Hello easy sushi bowl!!

The whole family ate a variation of this bowl and we all liked it.  In our 1950's kitchen.

Stay tuned for the 1950's bathroom. 

soup soup soup

My favorite broccoli cheese soup from way back in 2012 is still a family favorite!

Tonight we decided to buy some huge rolls and make our own bread bowls.  I think that makes this the best Wednesday ever!  The kiddos were fans fo sho!

strawberry slush

The kids love strawberry drinks.  I throw frozen strawberries in the blender with apple juice and serve it right up.  Do it!  It's amazing!

spaghetti tacos

Last night Layla said, "What's for dinner?" and I said, "Tacos!"

 Layla and Hayden have been on an iCarly binge.  These two munchkins will pick a tv show and watch every single episode from start to finish.  Kinda like what Gary and I did with Breaking Bad and Justified.  Our binges aren't quite as annoying as iCarly.  I just have to leave the room sometimes when they're binging.  Those characters are cray cray, but in a good way.

Why am I telling you this?  

I'm telling you this because Spencer, Carly's crazy older brother served spaghetti tacos.  Doesn't that sound amazing yet interesting?  

When I told Layla we were having tacos she asked if we had spaghetti sauce and pasta.  We did and as you can see this was their dinner. I actually passed on the spaghetti taco, but they cleaned their plates!  Yay!  I'm not posting a recipe because it's pretty simple, and as usual I always sneak zuccini into the meat sauce.  

Now you....go make spaghetti tacos!

a great fall snack mix

I thought I'd do something special for the kiddos since it's Friday!  We love the weekend!

Sometimes I get sick of buying the same old granola bars and crackers for snacks.  I thought I'd try something different for fall.  S'mores themed snacks are always fun, so I grabbed one of each of these fall themed items and decided to toss them into a bowl for a trail mix treat.

The Krave cereal is amazing.  I love that stuff!  The marshmallows taste just like regular marshmallows and the chocolate chips are always yummy for the kiddos.  They loved the idea and really love all things fall just as much as I do!

a few football appetizers

Look how easy this is:

Go buy your favorite sausage and slice it up.  

Open a can of pineapple chunks and reserve the juice because someone will drink it.  Layla loved it!  Anyway, top the slices with a pineapple chunk and a toothpick and put on a cookie sheet.  This is a great way for kids to help cook; it's an easy job and fun too.  

[I lined the pan with parchment paper for easy clean up.] 

Bake in the oven at 375 until the edges of the sausage are slightly browned.  

Ahhhhh!  It's that easy and the flavor is so yummy.  I think it's a perfect football appetizer!

Next up, is a chicken tamale casserole I mixed up and instead of putting in in a casserole dish I scooped the mix into muffin tins.  This is a tasty appetizer to grab and go!

This picture is awful, but you get the idea.

1 box of Jiffy cornbread mix

1 can of cream style corn

2 eggs

1/3 cup of milk

1 can of enchilada sauce, I used red

2 1/2 cups of shredded chicken

2 cups of shredded cheese, your choice, I used taco blend

a couple sprinkles of cumin

Mix it all together, pour into muffin tins and bake on 375 for 45 minutes.

  I just say watch them.  Ovens vary and I had to bake these little babies longer.  Start with 30 minutes and see how they look.  Stick a toothpick in them because I took mine out of the oven and had to put them back in.  You want the final product to be a little soft, but the outside can have a tad bit of crunch.  Top them with cheese and bake 'til cheese melts.  So yummy!

I've posted this chicken dip before, back in 2011! It seems crazy I've been making this that long.

 It's pretty easy too 'cause I'm all about easy.

8 ounces cream cheese softened

1/4 cup ranch dressing

1/4 cup blue cheese

1/2 cup wing sauce

1 cup shredded cheese

3 cups shredded chicken

Mix it up and bake at 350 for 25 minutes.

I almost always substitute ranch for the blue cheese dressing.  I always have all the stuff in the pantry for homemade ranch, but don't usually keep blue cheese in the fridge.

Happy eating friends! 

the vet and homemade pizza rolls

The puppies had their first appointment with the vet here in Georgia today.  Thankfully we have healthy pups and they haven't required medical attention recently!  Today was just about shots and checkups.  Everyone is all good!

The children stole my phone and took a selfie.  Oh my goodness!  At least they didn't change my iPhone background picture.  They love to pull that trick on me!  

The doggies had great visits with the veterinarian.  Daisy was not a fan of the doctor at all.  She growled and barked at him.  Oh my!  Lily just wanted to lick everyone in sight.  She loves to make friends!

When we got home Layla made dinner for her and Hayden.  She is the best little cook.  I have to say I love it.  I just sat in the kitchen at the table and scrolled through Instagram and browsed Pinterest.  She cooked everything and only needed a little direction from me!  It's so fun to see her being independent!

She took biscuits, and flattened them.  She filled them with pepperoni and mozzarella cheese.  Then she gave them an egg wash bath and sprinkled them with Parmesan and Italian seasoning!

Bake at 425 for 18 minutes and serve with pizza sauce for dipping!  Viola!  What a great summer meal for the kiddos.  They love pizza. It's much more fun to make and way less expensive than ordering pizza.  Win Win!!

Southern Style Bloody Mary

Gary is great at making adult beverages.  I guess it's all those years ago when he was a bartender.   Anyway, sometimes I crave a nice spicy Bloody Mary and if Gary knows anything it's spicy.  I decided to share his recipe because it's just too good not to.

I feel so healthy when I drink a Bloody Mary.  You know you have to get your veggie in! ;)

Cheers friends!

chicken tortilla soup

I love Chic Fil A's chicken tortilla soup and I think I could eat it every single day! 

 As with most recipes I fall in love with I try to duplicate them at home in my own kitchen.  It was a fun task and I was happy with the results.  I love all the beans and shredded chicken in the soup.  I'm not usually a chicken fan especially shredded, but I loved the way this soup turned out and I didn't even have an aversion to the shredded chicken.  Each bite was full of chicken and the perfect amount of spice and flavor.

I looked on Pinterest for ideas and browsed a few recipes, but I didn't have the ingredients for most of the recipes I found.  

Here is what I came up with what I had on hand:  

3 boneless skinless chicken breasts cooked and shredded with two forks

1 can yellow or white corn 

1 can of black beans drained

   (I don't like the color they add to food so I always drain them.)

1 can white (cannellini) beans 

2 cups of milk

2 cans of low sodium chicken broth, I used the broth from cooking the chicken breast

(more if you like it more soupy.  I wanted a 'stoup' consistency.)

1 cup of saffron rice or whatever rice you want 

(you can omit this, but I used the rice to thicken the soup and I had it leftover in the fridge)

3 tablespoons of taco seasoning

2 tablespoons of Goya Adobo all purpose seasoning with cumin

cumin 

(just sprinkle and taste, sprinkle and taste.  I like A. LOT.)

Cayenne pepper 

(I wanted it hot.  I didn't have green chilies or Rotel on hand so I spiced it up quite a bit with all the seasonings including cayenne)

salt and pepper

I usually add sauteed garlic and onion to everything I cook, but this time I didn't.  Shocker huh?!?  You can add them if you like, and maybe some chopped and sauteed red pepper would be good, but this time I skipped it.

I started with the broth and veggies and just started pouring the ingredients into a dutch oven on the stove top.  I added the chicken last and then added the spices.  The soup sat on the stove and hung out for 2.5 hours simmering.  As it simmered I tasted it and added more spices to please my taste buds.  I added more milk to make it look and taste more creamy.  I also added the cayenne and didn't measure it, so I can't give you an exact measurement.  I will say Gary and I like our soup spicy and the kids didn't eat a bowl, so it was caliente.  We like spice!

I was lucky we had a snow day so I had time to baby this soup.  If  you want to you could throw it all in the slow cooker.  Dinners are always easier in the slow cooker.

Let me know what you think if you make it!

the food images on my camera roll

I have a problem. If you really know me you know about my problem. 

I love taking pictures of my food.  

I always have high hopes of posting the pictures somewhere.  I want to write blog posts about my meals, but I don't.  I was just scrolling through my photo feed a minute ago and I decided I must post what we ate last week.   

I really think with a little work I can clean up our menu a bit.  I see so many clean eating pictures on Instagram.   Sigh.  Some days I want to eat more healthy and other days I don't really care.  Not so much bread, stop eating beef.  Do you get me?  I do so well during the day, salad for lunch, fruit and nuts for snacks.  I usually make good choices and then my evening meal I tend to just eat whatever.  

Anyway, clean or dirty here is what our little family of four ate last week.  

Monday Gary worked half a day and he grilled steaks for dinner.

This is a beef fillet on the grill with steamed broccoli and scalloped cheesy potatoes.  I sliced the potatoes with my veggie slicer and added some milk and cheese to a casserole dish and baked them for about 30 minutes.  Wow...maybe not so much cheese on the potatoes next time, huh?!  But I LOVE CHEESE and you know, its for the kids.  

Tuesday I fought a headache all day long.  

This is a quick decision meal.  I didn't know what to make for dinner, so I grabbed 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts and seasoned them with spices. I added a can of low fat cream of mushroom soup mixed it with water and threw it in a baking dish.  I added sliced yellow squash to the mix and baked it for 25 minutes.  

When it was done I sliced the chicken into chunks and plated it on a bed of saffron rice.

Wednesday was a BLT wrap.  

I found some multi grain 'infinity' shaped wraps and loaded them with fresh warm strips of bacon, lettuce, and tomatoes.  You can bet the dogs were swarming the kitchen while the bacon was frying.  They can't resist the smell of bacon.  Who can?   I served the wraps with pizza dip and my favorite organic tortilla chips from Aldi.

Thursday I was feeling yuck from a head cold.  It was one of those things where I never sneezed or coughed, but the sinus pain and congestion was awful!  

I needed comfort.  I made black bean and green chilie chicken enchilada casserole.  First line a casserole dish with canned enchilada sauce.  Second, in a separate bowl mix a softened block of cream cheese and green chilies with shredded cheddar and diced chicken breast (2 cooked breasts).  Layer the shredded tortillas, the mixture of chicken and more enchilada sauce until all the ingredients are in the pan.  Top with shredded cheddar and bake until the top cheese is all melty and brown.  Maybe 375 for 25 minutes.  I am an eye-baller when it comes to casseroles, so just bake it until it's warm when all the ingredients have already been cooked.

Friday was pizza night.  

We have been dying for the bacon cheeseburger pizza from Papa John's.  I was so excited to over indulge and then when I tasted it I only ate one piece.  I had one piece of bacon cheeseburger pizza and half a piece of the kids pizza.  They ordered hamburger, pepperoni and black olives.   I just wasn't that hungry, still with the sinus mess I guess.

Saturday we decided to go out to dinner.  We went to our favorite Mexican food restaurant and I didn't take my phone out of my purse.  Shocker huh?!?  I ordered chicken fajitas and they were amazing!

Sunday isn't really part of last week because I feel like Sunday starts a new week, but I'm posting our burgers anyway.

Mine was the first picture.  It's just a plain ole yummy cheeseburger with lettuce tomato and onion on a seseame seed bun.  Gary's is an insane burger.  He always stacks his burger to the sky and the kids love watching him make it.  We also had oven baked fries and we tried a new kind of canned baked beans.  They are pulled pork flavored and they didn't disappoint.  They were very good!

Now, I am off to do a little meal planning for this week.   I'm thankful the nasty sinus headache and congestion is gone. Woohoo!

taco soup the second time

Gary has been out of town.  On his was back into town yesterday he sounded awful, so I decided to make a batch of taco soup.

I browned some turkey meat and added a taco packet.  I added tons of veggies, garlic, zucchini, onions, celery, carrots, a can of rotel, corn and black beans.  It let it simmer for over an hour and it was ready to go.  We added a scoop of Greek yogurt and a sprinkle of cheese and called it soup.

This morning we decided to drain some broth off the soup and add it to an omelet!

I added a bit of mild Taco Bell sauce and another dollop of yogurt.  

Mmmmm Mmmm Good!

I just love food sooo much!