Oatmeal and Hot Sauce? . .I Am Not Kidding!

Ok . .. you are probably saying to yourself . . she has got to be kidding . . .who in the world eats oatmeal and hotsauce?????? Well, my friend Lisa and I do. You have to understand . . .we eat crazy combo's. When we go to the movies on Sunday nights our favorite snack is popcorn and jalopeno's . . yep . .. you read right LOL You take a bite of popcorn and a bite of the pepper at the same time . . .you have got to try it . . it's sooooooooooooo good. Actually we have to give credit to that combo to our friends Nathan and Kathleen . . they were the originator's of the popcorn/pepper combo.

Lisa then got me hooked on Oatmeal with Hot Sauce. It is so good you have to try it! I start out by cooking it in my Pampered Chef Microwave pan and lid. You will also need a 1/2 cup measuring cup.
You will also need oatmeal (I like the quick oats because the oats are creamier but you can use whole oats too) , hot sauce, butter and salt.

Put a 1/2 cup of Oatmeal and 1 cup of water and a couple dashes of salt in the pan. Cover with lid.
Cook in the microwave for a minute and a half.After it cooks add butter and hot sauce to taste . . then mix together.
Then enjoy!!!!!!! Yum!!!!!!!!!!

Cavatini

Tonight I made a new recipe called:

Cavatini

1 lb Italian Sausage

1 (32 oz) jar of spaghetti sauce

7 - 9 ounces of shell macaroni

2 cups shredded mozzarella

1( 8 0z) can of mushrooms, drained

1 package of sliced pepperoni

Brown sausage, drain. Add spaghetti sauce. Prepare macaroni according to package directions; drain.
Starting with macaroni. layer ingredients in 9 x 13 pan baking dish; pour in meat mixture. Top with cheese and mushrooms, cover with pepperoni. cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting.

Cheesy Mini Meatloaf

Tonight my wonderful husband worked from home today. I had a few projects I needed to finish so we both worked on our "stuff" all day. It was fun spending the whole day with him even though we were working.

Every Tuesday night I take a Prayer Apprenticeship class so I always need to have dinner finished early. This evening I made Cheesy Meatloaf. This recipe is great and excellent for entertaining too.

Cheesy Meatloaf

1 1/2 to 2 pounds of ground beef

1 egg

1/2 oats

1/2 chopped onion

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 cup cheddar cheese

3/4 cup milk

Mix the above ingredients in a bowl.

Then shape the mixture into mini loaves and place on a Pam sprayed pan. I like to use the Pampered Chef bar pan.. I was able to get 7 loaves out of it.

Then make the sauce:

2/3 cup catchup

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 1/2 T mustard

On a sidenote (I double the sauce)

Take the sauce and spoon it over all the loaves. Bake in a 350 degree preheated oven for 45 minutes.

We were so hungry that I forgot to take a picture of the finished product . . .they look pretty similar to the above picture but just cooked :-) I served this with mashed potatoes and corn.

After dinner I gathered my Bible and study materials and headed to my class. It was a great class. The class tonight was on studying the Bible . . .Esther . . the teacher taught us how to really pick apart a verse . . . it was great! After the class, my friend Edwin was still playing in his electric guitar so I asked him if I could join him on the keys . . I really need practice playing with others. So, I ran out and grabbed my song book and started to play a few worship songs. We then grabbed Esther to help us sing and Tony who played the drums. It was great practice for me and it felt good to play with "a band". We played for about 30 minutes and then called it a night.

I am now home and watching American Idol . . .thank goodness for DVR!

Tuna-Swiss Cheese Pie

Tuna -Swiss Cheese Pie Tuna Swiss Cheese Pie

1 9 inch pastry shell
12 to 13 oz of tuna drained, flaked (I only had canned chicken and it tasted great)
1 cup shredded swiss cheese
1/2 cup chopped onion
3 eggs
1 cup real mayonnaise
1/2 milk

Pierce pastry shell with fork and bake at 375 degrees afor 10 minutes. In a large bowl, toss together the tuna, cheese and onion. Pour into pastry shell. In bowl, stir together remaining ingredients. Slowly pour over tuna mixture. Bake 50 minutes at 375 degrees or until knife inseted into center comes out clean.

Golden Smothered Porkchops /Guacamole

Tonight we had Ken, Lisa and the kids over for dinner. I tried a new recipe called Golden Smothered Porkchops. I also made rice and baked up some crescent rolls. Lisa made a greens salad and homemade Guacamole. I made my O'Henry Bars for dessert.

Golden Smothered Porkchops

INGREDIENTS
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 3/4 cups Swanson® Beef Broth
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
vegetable cooking spray
6 bone-in pork chops, 1/2-inch thick
1 medium onion, sliced

DIRECTIONS
Mix cornstarch, broth and black pepper until smooth. Set aside.
Spray skillet with cooking spray and heat over medium-high heat 1 min. Cook chops 10 min. or until browned. Set chops aside. Remove skillet from heat.
Spray skillet with cooking spray. Add onion. Cook over medium heat until crisp-tender.
Stir cornstarch mixture and add. Cook until mixture boils and thickens, stirring constantly. Return chops to skillet. Cover and cook over low heat 5 min. or until chops are done. Place porkchops on a platter and then pour the gravy and onions over the chops OR pour the gravy into a gravy boat and serve that way.

Homemade Guacamole

INGREDIENTS
2 avocados
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 ripe tomato, chopped
1 lime, juiced
salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS
Peel and mash avocados in a medium serving bowl. Stir in onion, garlic, tomato, lime juice, salt and pepper. Season with remaining lime juice and salt and pepper to taste. Chill for half an hour to blend flavors.

Chicken Souvlaki

My friend Kristine posted this on her blog back in September. I was looking around today for something new to try and I remembered this recipe - Chicken Souvlaki

CHICKEN SOUVLAKI
3 T. oil
2 t. lemon juice
1-1/2 T. dried oregano, crumbled
1/4 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
1.5 lb. boneless, skinless chicken, in 1" cubes or less

In a small bowl, combine the oil, lemon juice, oregano, salt, and pepper. Toss the chicken cubes in the oil mixture. Put the bowl in the fridge and leave there for an hour or so. (I believe you could leave it longer if you wanted to.) 2 c. plain yogurt (I used non-fat) (NOT vanilla!)
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, grated
1 t. salt
1 garlic clove, minced
1/8 t. pepper
1/2 t. dried dill

Put the yogurt in a strainer lined with a coffee filter, or a paper towel, and set it over a bowl. Let drain for 15 minutes. In a bowl, combine the cucumber with salt; let sit for 15 minutes. Squeeze cucumber to remove liquid and put back in the bowl. Stir in drained yogurt, garlic, pepper, and dill.
Heat the broiler and grill chicken over high heat or broil, turning once, until done, about 5 - 7 minutes in all. Transfer the chicken to a plate or bowl for serving.

6 pitas, cut in half ( I used whole wheat)
3 T. butter1 small onion, sliced in rings
2 tomatoes, cut into thin wedges
1/3 c. Kalamata olives (or other black), pitted

Melt butter in fry pan over medium high heat. Brown pitas quickly in butter, turning once, and removing from heat.

To serve: Put everything, including onion, tomato and olives, on the table individually so everyone can choose their own toppings.

Next time I will make ahead the yogurt sauce and let the chicken marinade ahead of time to make things go a little quicker. I didn't see that helpful hint on Kristine's blog until I was almost finished :-)
Note to Kristine: Thanks so much for this recipe. It was a huge hit with my whole family. Next time I am going to double the recipe because many of us wanted seconds. I also loved it because I am Greek and I LOVE Greek food:-) Thanks again!

Last Minute Shopping and Christmas Eve Cooking

We wokeup today to find Carlos and Todd heading out the door to the local coffee/breakfast shop. They have had a ritual each morning since we have been here of heading there each morning. Steph and I got dressed and headed out to run last minute errands and to head to the grocery store. Tonight for Christmas Eve service we decided to have most of it catered. We had them make Chicken White Chile and Chicken and Rice Soup. Also, we had them make 20 wraps . .all different kinds. Then to go with that we made a relish tray, we will have chips and dips, Philadelphia cream cheese jelly appetizer and a few more goodies. For dessert I made my O'Henry Bars and Chocolate Chip Cookies.

Steph also made her Orange Tapioca Salad and I made my Breakfast Casserole for tomorrow morning which is a Christmas morning tradition. While we were cooking all day Steph through together this great Low Fat Bean Dip. The best thing about this dip is that it DOESN'T taste low fat. I didn't believe it until I tasted it. Great job Steph!

Low Fat Bean Dip

3 cans Fat Free Refried Beans

2/3 cup low fat mayo

8 ounces fat free sour cream

1 package taco seasoning

Take the beans and spread into a 9 x 13 pan. Mix then next three ingredients together and spread over beans. Top with shredded lettuce, cheese, black olives, chopped tomatoes and/ or whatever ingredients you would like to add. Put in fridge for about 30 minutes and serve with your favorite chips.

My breakfast casserole is put together the night before and then baked the next morning. This picture shows it before it goes into the fridge for overnight.
Stephanie also surprised Sierra and Abigail with Hannah Montana dolls today. They were so excited!

The soups and wraps just arrived from the caterers so now we just all have to get dressed and then get ready for dinner. We are then heading to Steph and Michelle's church for Christmas Eve Service.

Greek Chicken Pasta

Today I stayed in most of the day wrapping up Christmas presents and getting the kids stockings filled to see what else I need to buy. Also, there were three Bare Escentual shows on QVC so I DVR'd the early morning one and then watched it later in the morning. There was another show at 1 pm and another one tonight at 9pm. I love watching these shows because they give you great application techniques.

After the kids came home from school I headed to the feed store to pickup some feed for Farley and then I went to the gym to workout for an hour. I came home and got dinner started. Tonight I tried a new recipe called Greek Chicken Pasta. The picture that you see of the finished product does not look that appetizing in the picture but it was good :-) Here is the recipe.

Greek Chicken Pasta

1 pound of Rigatoni uncooked

1 to 2 T of olive oil

2 cloves garlic pressed

1 small red onion chopped

3 boneless skinless chicken breast cut into bite sized pieces

1 large tomato chopped

1/2 cup feta cheese crumbled

2 T lemon juice

2 tsp oregano

salt and pepper to taste

In large pot, bring water to boil for pasta. Cook till al dente, drain and set aside.

While pasta is cooking, in a large skillet heat olive oil over medium high heat. Add garlic and onion, and saute till translucent but not brown. Add chicken and cook until chicken is done, about 5 minutes.

Reduce heat to medium low and add tomato, feta, lemon juice and oregano. Add pasta. Stir until completely heated through, salt and pepper to taste. If you notice the dish looks a little dry add more olive oil and toss.

Kristine's Lentil Soup

This morning I went to the gym and got in an hour workout. I then headed home to change and freshen up before heading out again to the grocery to pickup items for dinners for the week. I decided that tonight I wanted to try my friend Kristine's Lentil Soup. (Click on this to get her recipe!)

This is the pot of soup after it has been cooked. I then took my masher and mashed it up a little bit.

As you can see we all loved it and in fact Landon had two bowls of the soup! Thanks Kristine for a great recipe!I also made a loaf of homemade bread.And also a homemade Pumpkin Pie.
After dinner I headed to Bible School and then it was home and now I am so tired I can barely keep my eyes open. Good night!

Cilantro Lime Steak Tacos

I tried this new recipe tonight and it was a HUGE hit!

Cilantro Lime Steak Taco's

1 1/2 pound flank steak

4 limes (2 of these you will juice) (the other 2 will be sliced for the taco's)

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1 small onion chopped

Romaine Lettuce chopped

Cheddar Cheese shredded

Tomatoes chopped

Sour Cream

Salsa

Flour Tortilla's

Prepare marinade for steak by using the juice from 2 limes, salt, pepper,cilantro and chopped onion. Place all these in a plastic zip top style bag along with the flank steak. Refrigerate overnight or at least 8 hours.

Preheat grill, barbecue, George Foreman or oven broiler. ( I used my George Foreman)

Grill steak for about 6 minutes on eah side. If you use the George Foreman I would recommend 6- 8 minutes. I did it for 6 and it was a little to red for our liking so I put it on for 2 more minutes. After grilling let it rest before cutting steak into slices about 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick. Wrap in foil to keep warm until ready to eat.

Chop vegetables and bring out the cheese, sour cream, lime slices and salsa. Also, microwave tortilla's to warm them up for about 45 seconds. Another fun way to eat these taco's is to use whole Romaine Leaves to wrap up the taco instead of the tortilla's.

This is our favorite store bought salsa. You can get it at SAM's in the refrigerator section of the store.

A New Recipe - Goulash and Pumpkin Bars

It has been a week since I have really blogged and I am going to slowly get back into it. I also took about 3 weeks off from working out but I started my routine again yesterday. I take the kids to school and then workout from 9:15 am to 10:15 am. My goal is to workout Monday through Thursday's if possible. So far I am two for two this week.

After working out today I ran to the bank, to the post office and then went to the barn to give Farley his wormer and to give him a bath. I forgot to bring my camera but boy did that horse look good when I was finished with him :-) I then headed home to wash up and change so I could head to the grocery store to pick up items I need for the next 3 nights worth of meals.

For some reason I have been craving a meal that my mom use to make for us when we were little . .. it is called Goulash. I could not remember how to make it and I have had a hard time reaching my mom so I found a recipe that sounded kind of similar on the internet. I ended up making it tonight for dinner. What's funny is . . .when I was halfway done preparing it my mom ended emailing me her recipe which ended up being a little different from the one I prepared tonight so next time I will try hers.

Easy Goulash

Ingredients
1 (15 ounce) can whole-kernel corn (I used frozen corn)
1 (17 ounce) can diced tomatoes

1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 cup shredded cheese, if desired
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 pound ground beef
2 cups macaroni

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.Brown beef with onions and green peppers. Drain. Add tomatoes,sauce and corn. Cook until heated well.Cook macaroni and drain. Add to beef mixture. Add salt and pepper to taste. Pour into baking pan. Bake for 15 minutes. If you want add a little cheese to the top and bake just a minute or two until it melts.

Sorry for the missing pieces in the picture but we dug in before I remembered to take a picture.

I also made a load of homemade bread and for dessert Pumpkin Bars. Here is the recipe:

Pumpkin Bars

4 eggs

2 c. sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

2 c. flour

1 cup oil

1 cup pumpkin

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp baking powder

Pour in a greased 10 x 14 cookie sheet (with sides)Bake at 350 degrees for 20 -25 minutes

FROSTING3 oz Philadelphia Cream Cheese6 T butter melted3 c. powder sugar1 tsp vanilla1 tsp milk. Pour and spread on warm cake

Lisa called me after I finished making these so I told her to stop over and I would send home a plate for them. When she came to pick them up she ended up "kidnapping" me and brought me home. We really haven't had a chance to visit since they got home from New Jersey. This Christmas is going to be different for us this year. We are going to Indiana to celebrate Christmas with both my sisters and their families. Because we are leaving around the 18th we decided as a family not to do too much decorating. This was a difficult decision for use because normally our house is decked out inside and outside. We did put up the tree but we haven't had time to decorate it yet or pass our the kids new Hallmark Ornaments. We usually do this the Saturday after Thanksgiving but with the mountain trip to northern GA over Thanksgiving that didn't happen. So, we are not sure what traditions we will get to this holiday but I am sure it will all workout and in the long run when we are on our way home in January . . . I am sure then we will be happy we didn't decorate how we normally do.

Tonight I decided to pass out the girls Christmas pajama's. We normally give these on our Annual Decorate the House for Christmas Day too.

Every year we do a Christmas Devotional. This year I found a new one that we are going to do. It is called: Just 25 Days Til Christmas We ended up starting it tonight instead of December 1st since we will be leaving early for Indiana and I would like to finish it before we leave.
We also have been watching Christmas movies each night that the Hallmark Channel is running. I have cried during everyone so far . . .but then I cry when I watch a Hallmark commercial LOL I also have been using our DVR to record the movies too so we can watch them when we have the time to all sit down together.

Well, it is my bedtime so I am signing off for now. It's good to be back to blogging. Have a great night!

Homemade Chili and Cheese Biscuits

I already post my chili recipe so I won't repeat it. Here is the link if you all would like to see it.http://emilys5blessings.blogspot.com/2006/11/my-trouble-areas-and-tomorrow.html I also made cheese biscuits. These are similar to the biscuits that Red Lobster serves.

Cheese Biscuits
2 cups Bisquick
2/3 cups milk
1/2 to 3/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Mix together and then add spoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet. I used my Pampered Chef Round Stone. Bake at 450 degrees for 8 - 10 minutes. Take a small saucepan and melt one stick of butter and stir in 1/4 tsp garlic powder. Brush this on to the baked biscuits.

It was fun to eat with all the windows open and the kids really enjoyed the chili and biscuits.

Emily's Bean Enchilada's

Tonight Jordan wanted his favorite Enchilada's. I made extra so he could have leftovers tomorrow! These are so easy! Emily's Bean Enchilada's

2 cans of refried beans

2 cans of mild enchilada sauce

10 -12 large flour tortilla's

3 - 4 cups of Fiesta Blend shredded cheese

Mix in a large bowl the beans, 1/2 to 3/4 of the cheese and about 1 cups of the sauce. Warm the tortilla's and then fill them with the filling. Wrap them up and place them in a PAM sprayed 9 x 13 baking dish. Pour the leftover sauce over them and top with leftover cheese. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes.

Taco Casserole

Taco Casserole Taco Casserole

1 pound hamburger

1 small bottle of taco sauce (you can use more if you want. . . I would of liked a little more)

1 cup frozen corn

crushed Doritos

2 cups cooked shell macaroni ( 1 cup uncooked)

2 cups grated cheddar cheese

Brown the hamburger. Drain off the fat. Add to the meat the taco sauce, corn and cooked macaroni; cook 5 to 10 more minutes. Put in casserole that has been sprayed with PAM. Cover with grated cheese and top with crushed Doritos. Bake 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

I served this with a Greek Salad and Fruit.

Mom's Famous Meatloaf and Another Niece Stops By

This afternoon I had another niece of mine stop over . . .Lauren. She and Alexia decided to take a swim . . . .that was until they put there feet in the water and then they quickly changed their minds. I think our solar heating stopped working. Tonight I made my mom's famous meatloaf for dinner.
MOM'S FAMOUS MEATLOAF

1 1/2 - 2 pounds of ground beef

1 cup of Pepperridge Farm Stuffing Mix (I had to use dried bread crumbs tonight)

1 egg

3/4 tsp salt

8 ounce can tomato sauce

1 T worstershire sauce

Mix together and put in loaf pan.

Then mix up sauce:

3 T brown sugar

1/4 c ketchup

1 T mustard

Pour over meatloaf and then take a fork and pierce the meatload so the sauce is able to go through the meatloaf. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour. I baked it for an hour because I used 2 pounds of ground beef.

I had to include this other plated picture of the meatloaf because you can actually see the steam rising off the top.

We also had corn, mashed potatoes, rice ( Taylor doesn't like the potatoes), and fruit salad.
We loved having Lauren join us for dinner. Carlos and Jordan were running late due to a meeting.

As I was making the meatloaf I found remnants of my mom around my kitchen. (Remember, she was here watching the kids while we were in Italy) She is totally into eating healthy and organic. When I went to pantry to get the tomato sauce I grabbed a can that I had never bought . . .it's organic . .
Then I went to the fridge to grab some butter for the potatoes and I noticed . . .the butter was organic too.This made me really starting looking around . . I found organic jelly

and even organic juice. The list goes on and on. I guess this is mom's suttle way of helping us to eat better.
After dinner I gave Landon a haircut, did homework with Sierra and now I am heading to the gym to workout. I can't wait because it has been since before Italy since I have hit the gym.