A Simple Meal

French Bread Pizza

Ingredients:
1 loaf unsliced French bread (not sourdough)
2 cups of spaghetti sauce
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup grated Mozzarella cheese
3 oz pepperoni slices (half a pkg)

Place on baking sheet
Slice the loaf in half length wise.
Put sauce on open portion of bread.
Top with Mozzarella, pepperoni, and Parmesan.
Put in oven on broil and watch. You will want to take it out when cheese is melted and bread is crisp enough for you.
This meal is cheap, easy, and kid friendly. Prep and Cook Time: less than 20 minutes.

Another Goal for 2013 Complete

8. Try a new recipe.

Crock Pot Chicken Noodles

Ingredients:
4 chicken breasts
2 cans of cream of chicken
1/2 stick of butter
2  15 oz cans of chicken broth ( I used Swanson's 32 oz and it turned out great)
24 oz bag of Reames frozen noodles

Directions:
Put 1st four ingredients in crock pot on low for 6-7 hours.
After letting the chicken cook for 6-7 hours on low take the chicken out and shred it.
Put the chicken back in the crock pot after shredding it.
Add your frozen noodles and continue to cook on low for an additional 1-2 hours.
* You can serve this over mashed potatoes. We served mashed potatoes and lima beans with this dish.
* I started this early so we went with 7 hours on low and 2 hours for the noodles and it was excellent! This is so easy and yummy. This makes a lot and is still very delicious as leftovers.
* As always use the crock pot liners they save so much time!!!
* This recipe was given to me from a fellow colleague.

Mexican Salad Recipe

This goes great with fried chicken, grilled hamburgers, and enchiladas. 1 head of lettuce (or a bag of romaine lettuce) Spring onions (optional and I don't use them) 6 slices of bacon, fried crisp and crumbled 1 cup of shredded sharp cheese 1 can of dark kidney beans, drained and rinsed until you no longer have any juice Fritos to taste Mix with Catalina dressing just prior to serving. Serve immediately and enjoy. Does not keep well. Please help if you know what happened to blogger. I cannot make lists anymore which is REALLY FRUSTRATING!

Soup Link Up

This is one of my favorite soups: Potato Soup 5 lbs of potatoes (diced-peeled) 1 onion (chopped) 1 can of cream of chicken soup 1 small size of velvetta cheese 2 tab. bacon drippings 6-8 slices of cooked bacon and crumbled Put potatoes and onion in pot and pour enough water to cover. Cook and when soft, drain. Add remaining ingredients, cooking slowly. Add milk to desired thickness Go to Kelly's Korner for lots of great recipes for soups.

The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies Ever

Recipe from the Oxley's
2/3 cup oleo
2/3 cup Crisco (butter flavor)
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
Cream the above ingredients together then add in the following ingredients in order and mix.
2 tsp. vanilla
3/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp. baking powder
2 eggs
3 cups flour
12 oz chocolate chips
Make and put cookies on cookie sheet.
Bake 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes
ENJOY!!!!

Product Review & Recipes & How to....& Books

I must say I love these slow cooker liners by Reynolds. I made some Crock Pot Mac and Cheese and all I had to do to clean up was take out the liner. This is awesome having a black pot for my crock pot since it is not easy to clean. They even put in a few recipes and some look pretty good. I am also going to share a few recipes that would work great with these great liners.
****Maybe they will send me some great coupons or free liners for this post. :)

Crock Pot Mac and Cheese Thanks Kathy Davis
1 10 ounce package of elbow macaroni cooked and drained
1 large can evaporated milk
1 1/2 cups of regular milk
1 tsp of salt
1/4 cup melted butter
12 ounces grated cheddar cheese (save 1/2 cup cheese for topping)
1 egg beaten

Spray the liner just a bit to cover the inside of the crock pot
Mix all ingredients well
Pour into crock pot, top with remaining 1/2 cup cheese
Cook on low for 3 hours and 15 minutes


Continental Chicken Thanks Pat Box
4 to 6 boneless chicken breasts
4 to 6 slices bacon
1 jar dried beef
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup of sour cream
1/4 cup flour

Put in your liner. Spray the inside lightly. Arrange dried beef in bottom of crock pot. Wrap each chicken breast with bacon and lay on top of beef. Mix soup, flour, and sour cream together and pour over chicken. Cover and cook on Low 8 to 10 hours or High 3 to 5 hours.

Serve with rice & If you make 6 pieces of chicken we have found that using 2 cans of cream of mushroom soup makes the chicken more moist. The soup mixture tastes really good on top of your rice and chicken use it as a gravy.

Now to the how to portion of the post:
How to easily clean your microwave and make your kitchen smell wonderful in the process:

Get a medium sized bowl
Put in Cinnamon Sticks, Whole Cloves, and Whole All Spice ( It is up to you the amounts of each)
Cover above ingredients with warm water.
Place in the microwave and heat for 3-5 minutes causing your microwave to steam.
Wipe out your microwave with a damp cloth.
Enjoy the lovely smell in your kitchen and your clean microwave. You can keep your homemade scent out on the kitchen counter too.

I also cleaned out the refrigerator today with a little baking soda, lime juice, vinegar, and warm water. I used this mixture to clean the walls, shelves, and drawers in the fridge and it did not stink of vinegar because I just used a very small amount. Wipe everything down then dry with a towel so that no streak marks will be left.

I guess I am nesting or something because I keep thinking of things to do and clean. I normally clean but now I am deep cleaning things. Maybe next I will start baking and making casseroles for after the baby is born and we are home.

I have started a series of books and I highly recommend them they are the O'Malley Series by Dee Henderson. So far I am on book 4 of the series and I am already dreading the end of the last book in the series. I have totally gotten to know the characters and as always with a good series you hate for it to end.
The Books in order:
The Negotiator
The Guardian
The Truth Seeker
The Protector
The Healer
The Rescuer

Awesome Dessert Recipes for Summer

Strawberry Ice Cream Pie

Ingredients: (For Pie)
1 baked 9 inch pie shell
1 (10 oz) package frozen strawberries
1 (3 0z) box of strawberry jello
1 pint vanilla ice cream

For Topping:
Whipped Cream

Directions:
Thaw and drain frozen strawberries, reserving syrup.
To syrup add water to make 1 cup; bring to a boil.
Remove from Heat.
Stir in Jello until dissolved.
Add ice cream by spoonful, stirring until melted.
Chill until thickened.
Fold in strawberries.
Pour into baked pie shell.
Chill until firm. (In freezer)

To serve, garnish with whipped cream.
~Make either the night before you want to serve or make at least 5 hours before you wish to serve. (Take out of freezer about 10-15 minutes before serving.) Store remaining pie in freezer.


Oreo Ice Cream Shop Pie

Prep: 15 minutes plus freezing time.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup hot fudge dessert topping, divided
1 Oreo pie crust (6 oz)
1 tub of Cool Whip whipped topping (8oz), thawed, divided
1-1/4 cups of cold milk
2 pkgs. of (4 serving size each) Jello Oreo Flavor Instant Pudding and Pie Filling (If you can't find Oreo use Cookies and Cream.)

Directions:
1. Remove 2 Tbsp of the fudge topping; set aside. Spoon remaining topping into crust; spread to evenly cover bottom of crust. Top with half of the whipped topping; freeze 10 minutes.
2. Pour milk into large bowl. Add dry pudding mixes. Beat with wire whisk 2 minutes or until well blended. (Mixture will be thick.) Gently stir in remaining whipped topping. Spoon over whipped topping layer in crust.
3. Freeze 4 hours. Remove pie from freezer 15 minutes before serving. Drizzle with remaining fudge topping. Store leftover pie in freezer.

Another Yummy Meal

Famous Butter Chicken

From allrecipes.com submitted by Haulbur

Prep-15 min

Cook Time-40 min

Ingredients

2 eggs, beaten

1 cup crushed Ritz crackers

1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

ground pepper to taste

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

1/2 cup butter, cut into pieces

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F
2. Place eggs and cracker crumbs in two separate shallow bowls. Mix cracker crumbs with garlic salt and pepper. Dip chicken in the eggs, then dredge in the crumb mixture to coat.
3. Arrange coated chicken in a 9x13 inch baking dish. Place pieces of butter around the chicken.
4. Bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear.

I really enjoyed this chicken. I think some great sides would be Lima beans, mac and cheese, and pineapple casserole. Thanks again allrecipes.com for another great main dish. If you have never checked out the site I highly recommend it.

One Good Meal

The following recipe is really easy, yummy, and doesn't make a big mess-which is great if you don't have a dishwasher.

Cheese Ravioli Lasagna

Ingredients:

1 pound of ground beef

1/2 (25 oz) package of frozen cheese ravoli

1 (26oz) jar spaghetti sauce

1 (14.5 oz) can of diced tomatoes, drained

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

1 small package of ricotta cheese

sliced mushrooms (optional)

1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese

9x13 dish (no need to grease pan)

aluminum foil

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F
2. Crumble the ground beef into a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook and stir until no longer pink. Drain grease, then stir in the spaghetti sauce and well drained can of tomatoes.
3. Spread 1/3 of the sauce on the bottom of your 9x13 dish. Arrange 1/2 of the ravioli over the sauce. Sprinkle 1/2 the mossarella cheese and 1/2 Monterey Jack. Place small dollops of ricotta over the entire pan. (Add in mushrooms if you wish). Repeat layers, ending with the last of the sauce on top. Cover with aluminum foil.
4. Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over the top before serving.

Serve with garlic bread and salad if you wish. Enjoy and let me know what you think.

Strawberry and Banana Smoothie

8-10 strawberries (cut off green stem & half them)
2 bananas ( cut into 4's)
5-8 ice cubes (I use 6)
1/2 cup of plain yogurt
1/3 cup milk
2 tsp of sugar ( I will slowly be taking this out)
Blend until smooth
~This was my yummy breakfast this morning. Also, this is enough for 2 mornings or 2 people. It hit the spot after my workout.

Chocolate-Covered Oreo Cookie Cake

Here is the recipe for those that want it. I found it in a Kraft magazine about a year or two ago and just tried it out.

Prep: 20 minutes Total: 1 hour 20 minutes (Maybe after you have made it once or twice, but hey that is what they say!)

1 pkg. (2 layer size) devil's food chocolate cake mix
4 squares of Baker's Semi-Sweet Baking Chocolate
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, cut up
1 pkg. (8oz) Philadelphia Cream Cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups thawed Cool Whip Whipped Topping
12 Oreo Chocolate Sandwich Cookies, coarsely crushed ( I think I used 16 cookies)

PREHEAT oven to 350 degrees. Prepare and bake cake mix as directed on package in two 9 inch round baking pans. Cool 5 min.; remove from pans. Cool completely on wire racks.

MICROWAVE chocolate and butter in small microwaveable bowl on HIGH 2 minutes or until butter is melted. Stir until chocolate is completely melted. Cool 5 minutes.

BEAT cream cheese and sugar in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Gently stir in whipped topping and crushed cookies. Place 1 cake layer, top-side down, on serving plate. Spread top of layer evenly with cream cheese mixture. Cover with remaining layer, top-side up. Spoon chocolate glaze over top of cake. Let stand until set. Store in the refrigerator.

Makes 16 servings

Health information if you make it with the 12 cookies and not the 16:
Calories 400, Fat 25g sat 10g, chol 60mg, sodium 290mg, carb 44g, fiber 2g, sugars 29g, protein 5g, vit A 6%dv, calcium 4%dv, iron 10%dv