Y'all know me. Always stretching our food as far as I can, with as little fuss as possible. I love adding beans to recipes...to stretch the protein and the fill up the bottomless pits that I have been tasked with feeding. My boys love beans...love them! As young toddlers, they would snack on beans. Straight up beans...no nothing. Ryan went through a "no thank you" phase with … [Read more...]
Baked Reuben Casserole
We love reubens. I'm always looking for a way to make them easier so I don't have to stand at the stove flipping for hours. By george, I think I've found it! With this recipe, you can just throw everything into a casserole dish and then scoop out sandwich portion onto bread! Baked Reuben Casserole Yield - 7 servings Preparation Time - 10 minutes Cooking … [Read more...]
Three Cheese Spaghetti Bake
This is a classic example of being creative with ingredients you have on hand. I made this for us early last week...using up the tomatoes from Aldi from the week before, and the feta cheese from Monday's shopping trip. Also, this is another example of a meal that uses an "expensive ingredient," that is paired with a few other inexpensive ingredients and pantry staples to … [Read more...]
Slow Cooker Batch Cooking Navy Beans
I really love it when my slow cooker can do the work for me. January usually means a freezer and pantry challenge, including rice and beans. So, about once a month I batch cook some beans to tuck away in the freezer. Especially in the winter months, that means navy beans. Using the slow cooker to batch cook takes only a little pre-planning. You need to rinse and … [Read more...]
Ham and Potatoes with Baked Eggs
If you're looking for a recipe to use up some ham in your freezer that's left over from a holiday meal, then this Ham and Potatoes with Baked Eggs skillet should do the trick. This is easy enough that it could be a weekday morning breakfast. It does take a few minutes to get things sauteed, but only needs a few minutes to bake. So it would be easy to fit into the morning … [Read more...]
Shredded Pork with Mushrooms
I love slow cooker meals. I love how smoothly my days "run" when I've got dinner going in the slow cooker. I love being able to sit on the couch through the "witching hour." (Who am I kidding...I'm don't sit on the couch. And just sit.) So I guess, I love being able to get through the witching hour without being in the kitchen and having little people pulling at my knees or … [Read more...]
Setting the Table – My New Strategy…
Having my kids in the kitchen during "those final moments before dinner is on the table" is not ideal (for me anyways)...they trapse through the kitchen, leaving a trail of toys behind, causing me to almost trip. They dilly-dolly when it comes to getting spoons, cups, forks to the table. I want the boys to be responsible and helpful members of our family...so they set the … [Read more...]
Chicken Ranch Wraps
You can pre-make these and store in the fridge, to grab later for an "anytime" meal, on-the-go fast food, or a late night dinner. I was delighted to find Perdue chicken nuggets in the reduced meat section of our local store. It didn't matter that they were shaped like "cars." My teens didn't mind at all! The lettuce in this reduced package was colorful, convenient, and … [Read more...]
15 Bean Enchiladas Recipe
Melt in your mouth enchiladas... Yep, these are those. I've made all kinds of enchiladas over the years. But never with a random mix of beans like this. Hurst Beans sent me a few bags of beans to cook with and experiment with...and it took me all over 2 seconds to know that I'd use the Cajun 15 Bean Soup mix to make some Cajun-kickin' enchiladas. The beans are cooked … [Read more...]
BLT Sliders with Parmesan Mayo
There is just something so American about BLTs. Something so basic and delicious. I was not a fan of tomatoes until about 7 years ago. Some time during my days in the Dominican Republic, my taste buds morphed and decided to start liking tomatoes. Then I had to break the news to my Aunt Julie (the only family member on my moms side who didn't like tomatoes either), and turns … [Read more...]