MYO: Orange Vinegar Cleaner

A couple weeks ago, a friend on Facebook (I don't remember who) posted a picture of a mason jar full of orange peels (I don't remember from where) with instructions on how to make Homemade Orange Vinegar Cleaner. 

Just the day before a friend (I actually remember who) had given me a gigantic mason jar that I had high hopes of doing something cool with. We also had a huge bag of oranges in the refrigerator, so I knew that Homemade Orange Vinegar Cleaner and I were meant to be. 

The instructions were simple: 1) Place orange peels in a jar. 2) Fill jar with white vinegar. 3) Put lid on jar. 4) Let jar sit for 20 days. 5) Pour liquid into bottle. 6) Clean with it. 

So...that's just what I did. 

 I'm no stranger to cleaning with vinegar. I've been using it for years for a variety of things (Mental Note: Write post about the many uses of vinegar.). But this, adding orange peels to vinegar, was completely new to me.


20 days later I am pleased to report that my Homemade Orange Vinegar Cleaner is marvelous. It smells fantastic and works really, really well. I'm loving it!

We had a bunch of grapefruits that had been hanging out in the fridge for longer than I care to admit, so after I bottled my cleaner, I cleaned out my giant mason jar, filled it with grapefruit peels and vinegar and it's sitting on top of my kitchen cabinets waiting for it's day to come (which is April 11th, in case I forget).

How To Make Oreo Cookie Balls

These Oreo Cookie Balls are de.lic.ious. and so easy to make! 

Here's what you need:

(1) package of Oreo Cookies (knock off brand works too)

(1) package of Cream Cheese (8 oz.), softened

(1) Block Melting Chocolate (I use Vanilla or Chocolate Almond Bark) 


Here's what you do:

1) Crush the cookies up. I dump them in a gallon Ziploc bag, seal it and then crush them - cuts down on mess. Then dump the bag of crumbled cookies into a mixing bowl and add a package of softened cream cheese. Mix to combine completely.

2) Roll the mixture into small balls and place them on a cookie sheet covered with wax paper. Pop the cookie sheet in the freezer to firm them up for 10-15 minutes. This will help them to stay together when you plop them in the melted chocolate.

3) Melt chocolate according to directions on package. Dip cookie balls in chocolate and place on cookie sheet covered with wax paper. You can top your balls with additional crushed cookies or jimmies (aka sprinkles). Refrigerate and enjoy!

    

Balsamic Chicken & Onions

I took out a package of boneless, skinless chicken breasts to thaw this morning, around came dinner time and I still had no idea what I was doing with it. I've mentioned my love of balsamic vinegar before, here's yet another delicious recipe using it: Balsamic Chicken & Onions!

Here's what you need:

Boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar (In hindsight, I feel like 1/4 cup each of oil and balsamic might have been enough.)

Salt and pepper, to taste (I used course ground sea salt and fresh ground black pepper)

(1) onion, sliced

Here's what you do:

1) Preheat oven to 400. Wash chicken, pat dry. Remove excess fat and funk. Season with salt and pepper as to your liking. Place chicken in a gallon size plastic bag.

2) Pour oil and vinegar into bag. Seal bag. Shake like crazy to mix and coat. Use tongs to remove chicken from bag, place chicken in a baking dish.

3) Scatter onion slices on top of chicken. Pour oil/vinegar mixture over top of chicken.

4) Bake for 20-60 minutes, depending on the thickness of the chicken.

Doesn't it look yumbly?

Pour a little extra juice on each piece of chicken as you serve it. :)

Super Simple Burger Recipes

Memorial Day Weekend is this weekend. It's the kick off to the summer here at the Jersey Shore! And with summer comes barbeques! There's nothing better than a hot, juicy burger fresh off the grill! Unless you're a vegetarian...then I guess there is something better.

At any rate, here are (2) super simple recipes for making easy, delicious burgers!

Your Signature Burger 


My longest and most favorite burger recipe of all time.

Original Ranch Burgers 

The most recent new burger recipe I've tried, it's quickly become a favorite.

Mayonnaise Murdered Chicken

This morning I pulled a pack of thin cut, boneless, skinless chicken breast out of the freezer and popped it into the fridge with no plan as to what I was going to do with it. As of 4:30 this afternoon I still had no idea. I dug around in the back of the fridge, looking for inspiration and found a half empty jar of mayonnaise. Beings that I really needed another jar to collect change in anyway, I decided this mayonnaise was destined to be a part of dinner. Right next to the mayonnaise was a container of Parmesan cheese that at first glace I thought was empty, but low and behold, about a 1/2 a cup of cheese remained. Yep, I knew I had to use up that Parmesan too.

And so, Mayonnaise Murdered Chicken was born. And it was good. Really good.

Here's what you need:

Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Mayonnaise
Parmesan cheese
Garlic powder
Dried Parsley (only because the mix looked dumb without a little color, totally not necessary)
Bread crumbs ( I used Italian style Panko. I love, love, love Panko! If you're not familiar with it, it's a Japanese bread crumb that's big and crunchy. When I first started using it, they had just one kind at the grocery store. Now several brands make it in several varieties and you see it on Menus in many restaurants. Try it, you'll love it. I seldom use traditional bread crumbs anymore.)

Here's what you do:

1. Defunk your chicken breasts, rinse and pat dry. In a bowl, combine mayonnaise (I scraped what was left out of the jar, it was about a cup full), Parmesan cheese (about a 1/2 a cup), garlic powder (1 teaspoon) and parsley (a few pinches), mix well. Place bread crumbs in another bowl. Line a cookie sheet with foil and preheat your oven to 400.

2. It's Mayonnaise Murdered Chicken because you smother the chicken in the mayonnaise mix. Stick each piece in the bowl and cover it completely. Then cover it in bread crumbs and slap it down on the cookie sheet.

It'll look something like this. Bake for 20-25 minutes, depending on the thickness of the chicken. I served it with scalloped potatoes and broccoli. Delish. :)

Shepherd's Pie (Made Easy)

Shepherd's Pie is one of my favorite dishes to make when I've got ground beef that I don't know what to do with (it's also one of my oldest son's favorite dinners). It's super easy to throw together and you probably have everything you need already on hand. My Irish ancestors are probably rolling over in their graves, but here's my recipe for Shepherd's Pie Made Easy...

Here's what you need:

1 1/2 - 2 lbs. of lean ground beef
1 onion (white or yellow), diced
1 can of beef broth (which is about a cup and a half)
2-3 tablespoons of minced garlic (from a jar of course, who has time to mince garlic themselves?)
1 bag of frozen peas, carrots & corn (about 2 cups)
1 box instant mashed potatoes (this is the main reason my ancestors are ashamed)
Salt & pepper
2 tablespoons butter
1 egg

Here's what you do:

1. Cook ground beef (seasoned with salt & pepper) in a skillet over medium-high heat. Just before the meat is fully browned, add onions and garlic and continue to cook until the meat is done. If you're not using lean ground beef or if you are and there's still excess grease, drain the meat, onion and garlic mixture before continuing. Return ground beef, onions and garlic to skillet and add beef broth. 1 can of beef broth is about 1 1/2 cups. If you're using 2 lbs. of meat, you'll want to use the whole can. If you're using less meat, you'll want to use less broth. Some of it will cook off, but not much. You want enough broth so that the meat is wet, but not drowning. Something like this:

2. After you've added the beef broth, add frozen vegetables. Bring to a boil. It looks a little prettier after you add the veggies. :)

You can use whatever frozen vegetables you have. Traditionally it's peas, corn and carrots. I use a mixed vegetable medley that includes those as well as green beans. Transfer meat mixture from skillet to a 13 x 9 baking dish. I use a slotted spoon so as to not have too much broth. Spread evenly in pan. You can add a little extra juice (broth) if you feel like it needs it.

3. Next prepare the instant mashed potatoes as per the directions on the box. I use these:

You'll need both pouches. These loaded mashed potatoes give your Shepherd's Pie a little extra flavor kick. When the potatoes are finished, let them sit for 5 minutes to help them stiffen up a bit. Then add an egg, beaten, to them and stir well. The egg will help stiffen the potatoes while it bakes.

Spread the mashed potatoes in the baking dish on top of the ground beef. I use a fork to make a design of sorts so it looks nicer than just mashed potatoes plopped on top of meat. Break 2 tablespoons of butter into tiny chunks and sprinkle sporadically on top.

4. Place baking dish in the oven, preheated to 400 degrees, for 30-35 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes before serving.

The finished product:

No need for a side, your meat, starch and vegetables are all in one.

Homemade Oven-Fried Pertater Chips

Really, really yummy and really, really easy to make, I give you Homemade Oven-Fried Pertater Chips....

Here's what you need:

(4) Baking (Russet) Potatoes, washed, peeled and sliced as thin as you can get them
1/2 stick of butter, melted
Course salt to taste

Here's what you do:

1. Wash potatoes.  Peel potatoes. Slice potatoes as thin as you can. A mandoline would be realy helpful for this. I don't have one. Pat the potatoes dry between paper towels. Butter a cookie sheet (this is in addition to the 1/2 stick) or use non-stick cooking spray. Arrange the potatoes in a single layer on the cookie sheet. With 4 decent sized potatoes you'll probably have enough for two batches.

2. Brush the potatoes with melted butter. Bake them in a preheated oven at 500 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Sprinkle them with course salt (I use sea salt).

Before:

After:

They're not exactly real potato chips hence the "pertater", but they're definitely just as addicting!

Tuity Fruity Bananas

We struggle with breakfast at our house. The boys want toast every. single. day. I'm about to have a "Mommy Moment" with you, that moment where you bare your farfromperfect mommy soul to another mother, a mother you know (or at least hope) will understand.

There have been days, several of them if I'm being honest, where I've sent Sean off to school with as many as 6 pieces of toast in his belly. That's so much bread. Too, too much bread. Plus bread at lunch most days and almost always a starch with dinner. Somethings got to give with the damn toast.

My kids are hard to feed. In the morning anyway.

They both despise eggs, which throws a lot of traditional breakfast options out the window. Sean has always hated eggs. Sine the first time I tried to feed him scrambled eggs when he was just a little guy. He won't even eat homemade french toast because he knows the bread is dipped in egg. Daniel previously LOVED eggs, like really loved them...which was super exciting given that my first born wanted nothing to do with them. About a year ago, he suddenly decided he would no longer eat eggs under any circumstances. And that's been that.

Pancakes, waffles, french toast and anything else that would require the accompaniment of syrup is out on school days as we get our baths/showers in the evening before bed and my kids require soaking and scrubbing after consuming syrup.

They eat cereal, but only dry cereal in a bowl - no milk - and they only eat specific parts of different cereal. Only the marshmallows in Lucky Charms, only the certain colored squares in a box of Chex.

You get the idea. It's rough.

I've been trying to come up with new and healthier breakfast options for them and this one has been a big hit. 

It makes a great breakfast or after-school snack. It's fast, it's fun, it's nutritious and it's so easy that your kids can do it themselves.

Step 1: Pour cereal (we've been working with a big bag of imitation Fruity Pebbles) into a small plastic bag and seal. Let your child use their hands to crush up the cereal. Pour contents of bag onto a plate or in a bowl.

You can use any type of cereal you like.

Step 2: Have your child peel a banana and use a butter knife to cut it up into chunks. Dip banana chunks into cereal and get your breakfast on. You have the goodness and nutrition of a banana and the hint of sugary cereal deliciousness.

My Taco Noodle Casserole Recipe

Yesterday I shared my recipe for how to make your own taco seasoning. I use taco seasoning in my kitchen quite often and for way more than just plain old tacos. This recipe is one of my favorite uses for taco seasoning, it's a family favorite for sure.

TACO NOODLE CASSEROLE

Here's what you need:

1 package of egg noodles
1 small yellow onion, chopped
1 lb. lean ground beef
1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
1 cup milk
2-3 tablespoons of homemade taco seasoning OR1 packet taco seasoning mix
Shredded Mexican cheese blend
Corn chips (like Tostito's), crushed up


Here's what you do:


1) Cook noodles to al dente, whatever the package says, usually 7 or 8 minutes. Drain, dump in large bowl.

2) While you're waiting for the water to boil, season ground beef with salt and pepper and brown, add onion a few minutes before beef is done. Drain excess grease, return to frying pan.

3) Add taco seasoning, tomato sauce and milk to ground beef and onion, stir, bring to a boil and cook 2 minutes.

4) Pour meat mixture into bowl with noodles and mix it all up. Pour a layer of noodles/meat into a casserole dish sprayed with nonstick cooking spray, spread evenly, top with cheese. Spread remaining noodles/meat into casserole and top with more cheese. You can never have enough cheese, right? Right.

5) Put crushed up corn chips all over the top and bake uncovered for 20 -30 minutes at 350.

Serve with salad or corn. You can use additional taco seasoning to give it a stronger taco flavor. I use a little less than I might otherwise like so doesn't have too much bite for the kids. 

Tomorrow's Cinco De Mayo! - Make Your Own: Taco Seasoning

Tomorrow is Cinco de Mayo and White Moms all over America will be making tacos for dinner because tacos are the only Mexican food we know how to make.

It doesn't get much easier than browning ground meat in a pan, draining the grease from the pan, opening a packet of taco seasoning mix, sprinkling it on the meat, adding water and heating it up. 

What's in that taco seasoning mix? It's just spices and herbs, right? Wrong. Here is the list of ingredients from a packet of Old El Paso Taco Seasoning Mix:

*Maltodextrin
Salt
Chili Pepper
Onion Powder
**Spice
*Monosodium Glutamate
Corn Starch
Yellow Corn Flour 
Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil
*Silicone Dioxide (anticaking agent)
**Natural Flavor
*Ethoxyquin (preservative)

*=Say what?
**=Can you be more specific? 


Are you ready to make your own taco seasoning and never spend $1.00 on one of those sodium stocked, preservative filled packets again?

Here's what you need (and you probably already have all of it in your kitchen):

4 Tablespoons Chili Powder
2 Tablespoons Cumin
2 Tablespoons Paprika
2 TBS. Garlic Powder
1 TBS. Onion Powder
2 TBS. Dried Minced Onions
1/2 TBS. Cayenne (red) Pepper
1 teaspoon Oregano or Cilantro
1 teaspoon Sugar
1 teaspoon Salt 

Here's what you do:

Dump all ingredients into a jar. Put lid on jar. Shake vigorously. Voila, homemade taco seasoning mix. Store in an airtight container (I use an empty spice bottle). Add 2-3 tablespoons of seasoning per 1 pound of ground meat and 3/4 cup of water.

Shroom Fly Pie

Last night for dinner, we had Mushroom Pie, first cousin to a quiche. If you're anti-shroom, this recipe is obviously not for you...but if you are a fungi fan, read on...

Here's what you need:

(1) ready-made pie crust shell, if you wanted to be fancy you could make your own
2 tablespoons butter
1 lb. fresh mushrooms, any variety you like, sliced
(1) onion, I used a white onion because that's what I had, sliced (If you're not a fan of onions, you could leave them out...but I'd venture to say that if you don't like onions, you probably don't like mushrooms either.) :P
2 tablespoons minced garlic
Salt & pepper, to taste
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup milk
1/3 sour cream
2 eggs
A pinch or two of nutmeg
A handful of fresh chopped parsley
1 cup Monterey Jack cheese, grated

Here's what you do:

1. Follow the package directions to bake your pie shell. This generally involves letting the dough come down to room temperature, laying it in a pie dish, using your fingers to make a pretty scalloped edge and baking it for 10 minutes or so.

2. Melt butter in a large frying pan, add mushrooms and onions, stir to coat them with butter, Kick the heat up and stir constantly. You will not believe the amount of moisture the mushrooms will release. You'll need to cook it off and let most of it evaporate, it'll take about 10 minutes. Lower the heat back down to medium and add garlic, stir it around for a few minutes, then kill the heat.

Mushrooms, onions and garlic lovin' on each other

3. Spread the mushroom mix into the bottom of the pie crust. Beat eggs, sour cream, milk and cream together in a bowl. Add salt, pepper and nutmeg to your liking...a little nutmeg goes a long way. Stir in cheese and parsley. Pour the cheese and cream mixture over top of the mushroom mixture. 

4. Bake for 35-40 minutes at 400. Remove from oven and allow to cool and set for 10 minutes before serving. 

This is a delicious meatless meal that's great for breakfast, brunch or dinner.

Crack For A Snack

Warning: Crack is dangerously delicious.

Here's what you need:

40 saltine crackers
2 sticks of butter
1 cup of light brown sugar
8 oz. semisweet chocolate chips

I said it was good, I never said it was good for you.

Here's what you do:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil. Arrange 40 saltine crackers on cookie sheet like so:

2. Put butter and brown sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat:

As it starts to melt, it will look like this (and smell like Heaven on Earth):

Bring the butter and brown sugar to a boil and then continue to boil for 5 minutes. Stir, fast and furious.

3. Pour the butter/brown sugar mixture over the crackers and do your best to cover them evenly.

Put the cookie sheet into the oven and watch it like a hawk. You want to remove it just when it starts to bubble. It will take 4 or 5 minutes.

4. Remove the cookie sheet from the oven and sprinkle chocolate chips all over the top.

The chips will start to melt, use a butter knife to spread the chocolate all over the top.

5. Pop the cookie sheet into the freezer and leave it there for 20 minutes. The crackers will form one big sheet.

6. Break it into pieces and store in an airtight container. You'll think  it's good the first day...you won't want to live without it the second day. Enjoy!

Super Simple Chocolate Monkey Bread

Here's a recipe for a sweet treat that's super simple to make and only requires three ingredients, Chocolate Monkey Bread.

Here's what you need:

(1) tube of crescent roll dough (if they have the seamless dough that is not perforated, get that, it'll be easier to work with)

Nutella Chocolate Hazelnut Spread (about 1/2 cup)

1/2 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips

Here's what you do:

1. Preheat your oven to 350. Spray the inside of a bundt pan with non-stick cooking spray. Spread a piece of wax paper over a cutting board. Spread the crescent roll dough into one flat rectangle on the wax paper.

2. Use a butter knife to spread about a 1/2 cup of Nutella onto the dough in thin layer. Sprinkle 1/2 cup of mini semisweet chocolate chips over Nutella.

3. Next, roll the dough into a log, starting by rolling in one of the long sides. Cut the log into 1" chunks.

4. Arrange the dough chunks side by side all around the bundt pan. It may look sparse, but they'll expand upon baking. Pop the pan into the oven and bake for 20 minutes, until the dough has risen and is nice and brown.

5. When it comes out of the oven, let it sit for 10 minutes and then dig in. This recipe makes the perfect snack for our family, but you can easily double or triple it to feed a larger crowd. Just pop the dough pieces on top of each other and increase the cooking time to make sure the dough cooks all the way through.

YUM!

Italian Trail Mix?

If you happen to be my friend on Facebook, you may have seen this photo that I uploaded the other night of my latest recipe creation. I call it "Italian Trail Mix". Everyone was all gung-ho for it until I said it was pasta with tomatoes, nuts and raisins.

If you decide to make it, take a picture of it and I'll send you a dollar. It takes some courage to put nuts and raisins in a red sauce with pasta. People always think I'm Italian and I think this dish speaks pretty clearly that I'm actually not. :) But it's good, I promise.

Italian Trail Mix was born out of desire to use up some of the stuff that's been sitting in my kitchen cabinets taking up space for Godonlyknowshowlong. Like a huge unopened box of raisins that I'm sure I bought for a specific purpose at some point, less than half a bag each of walnuts and almond slivers and a lonely can of chickpeas.

Here's what I used:

(1) box of bow-tie pasta (you could use whatever pasta you have on hand)
2 or 3 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil
3 or 4 tablespoons of chopped garlic
1/2 cup of chopped nuts (I used about a 1/4 cup each of walnuts and almond slivers, you could use whatever nuts you have sitting around or omit them all together) 
(1) can of crushed tomatoes
(1) can of chickpeas, (rinse and drain)
1/2 teaspoon of salt
Anywhere from 1/4 teaspoon to 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (depends on your preference for heat, I probably used about a 1/2 teaspoon and it had just enough of a kick without being super hot)
1 cup raisins
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Some parsley to give it a little color, it definitely lacked color

Here's what I did:

1. Put a big pot of water on the stove and bring it to a boil. Once it starts to boil, add salt as recommended on the pasta box, bring the water back to a full boil and then add pasta. Cook as per directions, 10 or 12 minutes. While you're waiting for the water to boil, put 2 or 3 tablespoons of oil in a skillet and warm on low heat. Then add 3 or 4 tablespoons of chopped garlic, cook and stir 3 or 4 minutes, until it starts to smell really yummy and gets darker in color. Then add chopped nuts, stir and give the garlic and nuts a few minutes to get jiggy. I had never cooked garlic and nuts together before, and let me tell you, it looks and smells divine.

2. Next add a can of crushed tomatoes, chickpeas, salt and red pepper flakes. Stir it all up and let it simmer about 15 minutes. Before you drain your pasta, dip a measuring cup in scoop out a cup of the starchy water. You'll probably need it to thin out the dish when it's done. Drain pasta.

3. Add raisins and cinnamon to skillet, stir and continue to cook for a few minutes, just long enough for the raisins for soften and the flavors to blend. Turn off the heat and add pasta to skillet. Stir it up to combine, add pasta water as needed to thin out the sauce. I used about a half a cup. Top with parsley to give it a little color. Next time I think I'll use tri-color pasta and maybe throw some spinach in to give it some color.

How To Make Cookie Bark

It doesn't get much quicker or easier than Cookie Bark. All you need are two ingredients: cookies and chocolate.

I made some Oreo Cookie Bark for the kids for an after school snack yesterday. It's so easy to do that the kids can get in on the fun too.

Here's what you do:

1.  I used Oreo cookies and Vanilla Almond Bark. You can use any kind of cookie and any chocolate you like.

The almond bark is nice because it melts so easily (microwave) and hardens so quickly. Melt the chocolate as per the package directions. Pop your cookie sheet into the freezer for 10 minutes to help the chocolate harden faster when you're done.

2. Put the cookies in a plastic bag (I used 15 Oreos) and use your hands to crush them up. Your kids will be particularly fond of this part.

3. Then combine the crushed up cookies and the melted chocolate in a bowl.

4. Line a cookie sheet with wax paper. Pour cookie mixture onto cookie sheet and spread it out with a spoon. Crush up a few extra cookies and sprinkle them on top, use your hands to push them into the melted chocolate so they stick. Place cookie sheet in the freezer for 10 minutes to harden.

5. Lift the entire piece of wax paper off the cookie sheet and use your hands to break the bark up into pieces.

ENJOY!

BV/BS Pork Chops

I have a mild obsession with balsamic vinegar. It's one of those things that I have to have in my kitchen and I use it as often as I can.

You may just associate balsamic vinegar with salads or salad viniagrettes, but it has many other delicious uses. 

• I love it drizzled over eggplant parmesan!
• You can add a few tablespoons to just about any dark soup, stew or red sauce to give it a unique zing.
• It's great on fresh and grilled vegetables.
• It's an amazing marinade for meats.
• And, believe it or not, fresh strawberries take on a whole new flavor when they're drizzles with a little balsamic vinegar and sugar. Trust me, just try it.

I've done a recipe for grilled flank steak (otherwise known as London Broil) for a while now, where I season the meat with a little salt and pepper, throw it in a Ziploc bag with balsamic vinegar, brown sugar and rosemary, let it marinate in the fridge for a little while and then slap it on the grill. Delicious!  


I adapted that recipe and made Balsamic Vinegar/Brown Sugar Pork Chops for dinner last night and they were so tasty I had to share it. It may just be my new favorite way to make pork chops.


Here's what I did:

I used boneless, thin cut pork chops. Gave them a rinse, patted them dry with paper towels, trimmed the little bits of excess fat off, seasoned them with a little salt and pepper on both sides and placed them in a 13"x9" glass baking dish.

Then I poured balsamic vinegar over the pork chops. I was pretty generous with it, but I think a few tablespoons over each pork chop would be fine. Next I sprinkled brown sugar and rosemary over each pork chops. Maybe a teaspoon or two of brown sugar on each pork chop? And maybe a teaspoon or two total of rosemary divided over all the pork chops (I made 8)? I'm an eyeballer. I don't do a whole lot of measuring. 


When I was done, it looked like this:

I popped the whole dish in the fridge for about 20 minutes, then flipped the pork chops over and put it back in the fridge for another 20 minutes. Before I put it in the oven, I flipped them back over again. You could probably skip all of that, but I never seem to be able to leave well enough alone. It's a recurring theme in my life.

I baked the pork chops for 20 minutes at 400 degrees. Your cook time will depend on the thickness of the pork chops, the thicker the longer. 

They came out absolutely delicious, the perfect combination of tangy and sweet. I served them with scalloped potatoes and broccoli. 

Let me know if you try it. :) 

Toad in the Hole

Toad in the Hole is a traditional English dish. It consists of sausages cooked in a Yorkshire Pudding batter. This recipe jazzes it up a bit by adding onions and grainy mustard to the batter. It's quite tasty and a little different than your average American dinner. It's also really cheap to make and really easy to make, which is always a plus. :)

Here's what you need:

8 sausages (about a pound total) *I used chicken sausages. You could use turkey sausages or sausage sausages. :P

2 onions, quartered *I used yellow onions because that's what I had on hand.*

2 tablespoons butter *If you're looking to make it healthier, use 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil instead.*

1 cup flour

1 teaspoon salt *Again, if you're looking to make it healthier, you can easily reduce or even eliminate the salt all together. You'll get plenty of flavor from the sausage and onions.*

2 eggs
1 1/4 cup milk

3 tablespoons grainy mustard *I used Grey Poupon's Country Dijon with coarse ground whole mustard.*

Here's what you do:

1) Cook the sausage. I put mine in a frying pan, covered them with water and let them simmer 10 minutes. Cook yours however you like. You could do the sausage and onions in the same pan if you wanted to...I was concerned about things getting too greasy so I opted to do them apart.

2) Place the sausages in a 13 x 9" baking dish. Melt butter in pan, add onions, cook them a few minutes, just long enough for them to get soft and start smelly yummy. Scatter onions over sausages in dish.

3) Next, whisk flour and salt together in a large mixing bowl. Whisk eggs, milk and mustard together in another bowl. Add wet mixture to dry mixture and whisk until smooth. Pour the batter over the sausage and onion. Bake @ 475 until puffy and golden for 30-40 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes and serve it up.

I'm never sure what kind of vegetable to serve with it, so I go with raw carrot and celery sticks. 

This recipe serves 6 (at least). I averaged it out to about $1.00 a serving.

How To Make Rainbow Cupcakes

We kicked off the first day of summer vacation today with a Rainbow Brite Play Date for the boys and a few of their favorite girls. I uncovered one of my favorite movies as a little girl, Rainbow Brite and the San Diego Zoo Adventure, and my guys quickly became obsessed with it!

Our Rainbow Cupcakes were a big hit! They're fun and easy to make, here's how:


1) Prepare a yellow or white cake mix as per the directions on the box. Then divide the cake better evenly into six small bowls. There's no need to measure, it doesn't have to be perfect, just eyeball it. Each bowl of batter will be made into a different color of the rainbow by mixing in food coloring.

For red - 18 drops of red

For orange - 12 drops yellow,4 drops red
For yellow - 12 drops of yellow
For green - 12 drops of green
Blue - 12 drops of blue 
Purple - 9 drops of red, 6 drops of blue 


2) Place baking cups in cupcake pan. Divide the purple batter evenly between in cup, then the blue on top of the purple. Then green, yellow, orange and red. Bake cupcakes as per the directions on the box. 

The result is really cool rainbow or tie dye cupcakes. I'll definitely be making these come next year for St. Patrick's Day! 

Super Simple Crock Pot Chicken & Stuffing

I'm all about anything that will make my life easier. Especially in the kitchen. That's why I'm such a huge fan of crock pot cooking. I plan to share many of my favorite recipes here on my blog, a lot of which are crock pot recipes.

We tend to associate the crock pot with the winter months, pot roast, chili, etc. Now that the weather’s warming up I’ll be using my crock pot more than ever. Running my oven in the summer turns my little house into Dante’s inferno, so the crock pot is a lifesaver.

This recipe is one that I've made many, many times. It's super simple and really yummy.

Super Simple Crock Pot Chicken and Stuffing

What You Need:

4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, (1) can Cream of Mushroom Soup (you could use any 'Cream of' soup if you're not a fan of mushroom- I happen to love mushrooms, but I bet this would be good with Cream of Chicken too), 1/3 cup of milk, (1) box instant Chicken Stuffing, 1 1/2 cups of water and salt and pepper

What You Do:

1) Wash chicken breasts, pat dry. Season to your liking with salt and pepper on both sides. Place in crock pot.

2) Mix soup and milk together in a bowl, pour over chicken.

3) Combine stuffing and water (with a wee bit of salt and pepper if you choose) in a bowl. Allow stuffing to soak up the water. Spoon over chicken and soup in crock pot.

4) Cover and cook on Low for 6-8 hours

It doesn't get much easier than that. I serve this with cranberry sauce and corn. It’s a family favorite for sure.  

 
P.S. - Love these slow cooker liners from Reynolds. They make clean up a breeze.
 

When life hands you rotten bananas...

                                       ...make Banana Bread!

Because I can't bare to part with anything, (even rotten fruit) when my bananas go bad, I make banana bread with them. I love this recipe because it takes less than 10 minutes to throw everything together and you don't need a mixer...I'm not so good with machines. It's moist and delicious all on it's own. Great for breakfast or a snack. 

Here's what you need:

Rotten bananas (You don't want them totally decaying with flies buzzing around them, but you want them super soft with lots of brown spots. 3 or 4 will do, you'll need at least 3 decent sized bananas. I generally just use as many as I have. I used all of the cute little bananas shown in the picture for one loaf and the 3 larger ones for another loaf.)

1/3 cup of melted butter (Which is a little over 5 tablespoons.)

1 cup of sugar (You can easily reduce this to 3/4 cup or even half a cup if you're looking to cut back on sugar.)

1 egg

A splash of milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon baking soda

A pinch of salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

A pinch of nutmeg

1 1/2 cups of flour

Here's what you do: 

1) First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Peel rotten bananas and place them in a large mixing bowl.

Then use an old-fashioned potato masher to mash the bananas up until they look something like this:

2) Add 1/3 cup of melted butter to mashed bananas. Gram says you should only melt butter in the microwave 10 seconds at a time or it loses it's flavor. Gram is never wrong. So if you're nuking your butter to melt it, make sure you do it in 10 second intervals until it's melted. In a separate bowl, beat an egg with a splash of milk. Pour egg into mashed bananas as well as sugar and vanilla.

3) Mix it all up. Then sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mix and mix in. Next add cinnamon and nutmeg and mix.

4) Last but not least, add the flour.

Mix the flour in. If you've ever made bread before, this dough won't be sticky like other dough, it'll still be fairly slimy and will look something like this:

5) This recipe makes enough for one loaf of bread. My bread pan is 4" x 8". You could use the same amount of mix for a larger pan or use smaller pans and make several little loaves. Butter your bread pan and pour mix into it.

6) Bake at 350 for one hour. I'd suggest pulling it out and popping a tooth pick in it after 45 minutes just in case, as oven times and temperatures vary. Cool on a rack.

Remove from pan, slice and serve. Sooooo good. My kids tear it up every time I make it.