Best Sloppy Joes

So before we moved up to UT my dad was already living up here with my brother and working. Although I did miss my dad, my mom, sister and I had a lot of fun with it just being the girls. My dad isn't necessarily picky when it comes to food but I know there was stuff we'd make that we all liked that he may not have been a fan of. We were trying new stuff out and getting creative with some of our already favorite recipes. Well one such evening, my mom and I came up with a great idea for some dang good sloppy joes.

So normally you think ground beef with some manwich on a hamburger bun. Pretty good or maybe not appealing to some, but pretty plain and basic. Well we decided to make it a little bit better. We bought some nice crusty rolls. Spread on some butter/margarine... whatever you like. Then on that you put a little bit of garlic salt. We love garlic salt in our family. When we don't use bbq sauce on something, its garlic salt. Such a great basic seasoning for everything... turkey, steak, roast, chicken... whatever. Yum yum. Then over that you put some cheese slices. I love sharp or extra sharp cheddar. Lots of bold flavor. So you take that and toast it. I have a toaster oven so its easy to do that way. You can probably just pop it in the oven and broil it for a min or until the cheese is starting to bubble. That should toast the bread enough too. Once you've got those yummy cheesy toasty rolls you put your meat mixed with manwich (I prefer ground turkey) on there. Then you have one yummy sloppy joe. These are one of Scott's favorites and the first time we made them for my dad when we moved up, he was in heaven. They're so good and spice up the average sloppy joe. You should try it out or maybe you can come up some other creative ways!

3-d framed flowers

So I need to give credit where credit is due. I got this from make it and love it. I love her blog. I follow it. She has some amazing ideas. I just need to learn how to sew before I can do some of them. But I was looking for a little something original to do in my house so I followed her tutorial for a 3-d framed flowers. Mine came out like this. Not perfect but not bad.

Once I can get some black spray paint I'll probably spray these frames black but other than that I love these colors together. Like rasta colors... but more earthy :)

Pies in a ramekin

So I don't have a picture of this (go me) but its a super easy dessert. I like it because its a nice little size and the perfect little dessert. I guess if you like pie that is. Plus there are endless possibilities... just like making a normal pie! I start off with a frozen marie calendars pie crust. They are a little more expensive than other brands but I just love theirs. They come in two packs so I just use one for 4 ramekins. Once it thaws I roll it up together and divide it into 4 equal parts and roll those into balls. Then I roll those out with a rolling pin until pretty thin. You're gonna kinda press it into the ramekin and have a little extra hanging over the edge. Then you'll take a pie filling of your choice and fill the cup. Then just fold over the extra crust to close off the top. Also make sure you poke some holes in the top with a fork to vent. Then I put them on a baking sheet covered with aluminum foil and bake at the temp according to the pie filling directions. You'll have to watch it. I think it bakes for like 20-25 min. Basically until its golden brown. Just keep your eye on it. Then once they cool you can top it off with a small scoop of ice cream and eat it right out of the ramekin. I've used cherry and apple pie filling so far and both are so good. Next I'm trying blueberry. I also want to try cooking the crust then doing a homemade chocolate pudding filling and top with whipped cream. You can really do a lot with it. I love my ramekins. Its a great investment to have a little set of those things. I use 'em all the time! If you don't have some and want to buy them make sure you get a set with lids. Since I can make 4 little pie things with mine I just put lids on the other two and keep them in the fridge. Same when I make homemade pudding and other things. Much more convenient. Hope you'll give it a try! It's so easy!

Thanksgiving Point Gardens Giveaway

It's been a while since I entered a giveaway. I saw this one and had to! Over at Love Stitched they are giving away 4 family passes to Thanksgiving Point's Tulip Festival. I wanted to go so bad this year but we just don't have the money. I wanted to go last year too but lack of money then too. I've heard its amazing and beautiful and I love doing stuff like this. I'm a total nerd when it comes to this stuff. You can enter too and even if you don't want to go, if you win, you can give them to me! :) So anyway check it out! Here's the link again: http://lovestitched.blogspot.com/2011/04/thanksgiving-piont-tulip-festival.html

Apple Nachos and Coffee Klatch Kolaches

So I tried out a couple recipes I saved from my Taste of Home magazine.

One night Scott and I had a little sweet tooth and I looked around to see what we had. I had a couple apples that were on the verge of turning soft and a couple bags of caramel bits, some mini choco chips, and some marshmallows that I don't remember buying and opening but did at some point but somehow were still soft. So I was thinking..... apple nachos! I had seen this recipe a while back and really wanted to try it. I was missing the peanuts and sprinkles but its ok. They were still quite yummy. Charlotte was loving them. Definitely not the healthiest way to eat an apple but pretty good none the less. I'd type up the recipe but when I have the link... why do that? Hopefully you don't have to be a member to view it but if so you can add your info or just tell me and I'll cut and paste it.
http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/Apple-Nachos
Oh and here's my pic of them. Mine were pretty ooey gooey.

The other recipe I did was Coffee Klatch Kolaches. Also another Taste of Home recipe. They had some more traditional type pastries from other countries and this happened to be a Czech one. Since that is where some of my ancestors come from I thought it'd be fun to try. My parent's had invited us over for breakfast before the Sunday morning session of conference. I thought my mom might have had something similar to this before. She said my grandpa used to make something like it but with a very similar name. They're pretty easy to make. Just takes some time while waiting for the dough to rise and what not. I used cherry pie filling and then tried the more traditional version with the prune filling. I liked both but would love to try and do some other pie fillings. Yummy little pastries. Here's the link for that one:
http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Coffee-Klatch-Kolaches
And here is my picture of mine. Not as perfect as the ones in their pictures but that's ok. Not too bad.

A to Z

I'm not really sure how many people actually check out this blog but I'm boycotting cleaning at the moment. I just did a bunch of stuff and really don't feel like getting to the kitchen yet so her I am not cleaning. Saw this on Liz's blog and thought it'd be fun to do to take a little break.

A. Age: 27.... holy moly it looks weird writing that down.

 

B. Bed size: a sad sad queen that needs to be replaced. Oh how I long for a cali king!

 

C. Chore you dislike: Hmmm... I actually do like cleaning. It's a stress reliever for me. But when I have no stress to relieve I get kinda bored. If anything I think washing the dishes gets old the quickest because sometimes its multiple times a day and standing on hard floor like that is terrible on my ankles, knees and lower back.

D. Dogs: 1...he's cute but he can be a pain when he wants. He's more like our first kid.

E. Essential start to your day:A good day would start with a great big breakfast... healthy breakfast I might add. Maybe a nice big omelet with lots of veggies. Not all days are like that so heck... if I can just eat breakfast I think that's a great start.

F. Favorite color: green in so many different shades. I love green

G. Gold or silver: Silver... but I don't mind a little gold now and then

H. Height: 5'8"

 

I. Instruments you play(ed): Big fat 0. Tried to learn the piano but I hated trying to read music and gave up. I like sports better anyway. I'd rather listen to music than play it.

J. Job title: Homemaker

 

K. Kids: 2 if you count the dog

L. Live: Lovely Tooele, UT.... when you tell most people that they either think you're white trash (those that have heard of it) and everyone else can't even repeat the name of it back to you.

M. Mom’s name: Diane

 

N. Nicknames: Aud, Audie, Audder pop, Potty, Podder pie, Pod... the list goes on and on

O. Overnight hospital stays: I think just when I had Charlotte. Everything else I was released the same day.

P. Pet peeves: In UT... a lot driving stuff. I don't know what these people learned in drivers ed but it was totally backwards from what I learned. In CA... fake people and the competition. Everyone is always competing for the best stuff. Who cares. It's all crap anyway.

 

Q. Quote from a movie: Oh my goodness. I have so many quotes from movies. My life is movie quotes. Half of mine and my husbands conversations are movie quotes. Most recently a lot of them are from Nacho Libre since that's Charlotte's new favorite to watch. Like "Chancho, when you're a man, sometimes you wear stretchy pants in your room, just for fun."

 

R. Righty or lefty:Righty

 

S. Siblings: 1 Brother and 1 Sister

 

T. Time you wake up: Anywhere between 7 and 8 usually. Pretty much whenever Charlotte does

 

U. Underwear: Garments

 

V. Vegetables you don't like: hmmm...not sure if I've ever met a veggie I didn't like. Maybe brussel sprouts. But I'm willing to try them again just maybe prepared differently

 

W. What makes you run late: Usually Charlotte

 

X. X-rays you’ve had: I don't know... quite a few. I had a few for my sprained ankles and some for hurt wrists or badly jammed fingers. Never a broken bone though.

 

Y. Yummy food you make: I think most stuff I make is pretty good. I think Scott likes most stuff I make. I'd have to say I excel in the dessert area. Horrible thing for someone trying to lose more weight.

Z. Zoo animal favorites: All of them. If I had millions of dollars my house would be a zoo with tons of animals for me to interact with. I love animals more than most people. I'm jealous of Noah. That was a sweet deal he had.

Pesto Pizzettas

This was so new for me but I had to give it a chance. You use polenta. What the heck is polenta? Like grits I guess? I was blindly searching for it at the grocery store. I guess they sell it pre made in a tube but I couldn't find that but I just stumbled upon dry polenta so I searched the internet and made it myself. You basically mix it up like you're making malt o meal and then spread it on parchment paper on a cookie sheet and let it cool in the fridge. Then I used a round cookie cutter to cut the shapes. So anyway... here's the recipe. I really liked it and a couple of these can make for a nice snack or you can have like 3 of these with a couple cups of salad and a little fat free dressing and a cup of fresh berries for lunch. Here we go:

Ingredients:

1 (24 oz) tube precooked, ready to heat polenta (usually found refrigerated in the produce dept. or near dried polenta in the pasta isle.... I found mine near like flax seed and whole wheat bran)
1/4 c low fat marinara sauce
2 tbsp bottled pesto
1/4 roasted red bell pepper, cut into thin strips (I used the ones in the jar)
4 artichoke hearts, thinly sliced
3/4 c shredded low or reduced fat mozzarella or Italian cheese blend
Fresh basil or thyme

Preheat oven to 400

Spray the polenta slices lightly with olive oil cooking spray and place them on a baking sheet. Bake the polenta for 8 minutes. While it's baking, place all the toppings in small bowls for quick and easy assembly. Turn the polenta slices over and bake for 8 minutes longer. Remove the polenta from the oven and turn on the broiler.

Top each baked polenta round with 1 tsp of marinara sauce. Add 1/2 tsp pesto, a strip of roasted bell pepper, artichoke slices and 1 tbsp of cheese.

Broil the pizzettas for about 3 minutes, or just until the cheese is melted, bubbly, and light golden. Remove the pizzettas from the oven and top them with the fresh herbs. Serve immediately. Leftovers heat well the next day.

(I usally just make enough for what I'm going to eat then since it gives you the measurements of exactly what goes on it so you can do that too)

Vegetable Soup

I'm a big fan of anything with a bunch of mixed vegetables. All the color and flavor... mmm mmm mmmm.... So I made this Biggest Loser recipe. It is so healthy. For a 1 cup serving there are only 70 calories, 3 g protein, 12 g carbs (7g sugars), 2 g fat (no sat fat), no cholesterol, 3 g fiber and 380 mg sodium. It's a nice colorful soup and makes quite a bit. I froze a bunch so I've got lots of leftovers. Plus you can use the veggie scraps to either make your own veggie broth or if you do your own compost you can toss this in the pile and add lots of goodies to your soil. So here's the recipe:

Ingredients:
1 tbsp olive oil
3 cups chopped yellow onion
1/2 c thinly sliced carrots (about 8 medium baby carrots)
1/2 c sliced celery (medium stalk)
1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, finely chopped
1 green bell pepper, finely chopped
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 (14.5 oz) can fire roasted tomatoes
1 tbsp. chopped fresh oregano
2 tsp. chopped fresh thyme
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
6 cups fat free, low sodium chicken broth or veggie broth
1 c. cooked lentils
1 med zucchini, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
1/4 c. fresh cilantro or Italian parsley
1 tbsp. grated lemon peel

Heat olive oil in a 5 qt saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for about 5 minutes, or until soft but not browned. Add the carrots, celery, and bell pepper and cook for about 4 minutes, or until vegetables are soft. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute, but don't allow the garlic to brown.

Add the tomatoes, oregano, thyme, cumin, and chili powder. Simmer for about 5 minutes.

Carefully add the broth and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and add the lentils and zucchini. Cook for approximately 4 minutes, or until the zucchini is just tender. Stir in the cilantro or parsley and lemon peel.

More clips

Here's some more clips I made. I've been looking online at other people's stuff and thought, I could make something kinda like that. So I got some feathers to try it out. Here's what I've come up with so far:

New headbands and clips

So while Charlotte napped the other day, I decided to make some more headbands and clips since I have a ton of the stuff to make plenty. So here's some of my new stuff I made.

Peanutty Spread

This one is really yummy if you use it to dip jicama, or celery or even baby carrots. I think jicama is my fav since it doesn't have much flavor to it. Plus it is so nice and cool and crisp.

Ingredients
1 c (about 9 oz) silken tofu, drained
1/3 c peanut butter
4 tsp honey
2 tsp lime juice

Place tofu, peanut butter (I use Jif all natural), honey, and lime juice in a blender or food processor and blend or process until smooth. Add a few teaspoons of water if necessary. Store in the refrigerator.

Makes 12 (2 tbsp) servings (1 1/2 cups)

Per serving: 60 cal, 3 g protein, 4 g carbs (3 g sugars), 4 g fat (.5 sat fat), 0 mg cholesterol, 1 g fiber, 30 mg sodium

Egg Foo Young

This recipe is great breakfast dish. This paired with a piece of Ezekiel toast, a tangerine, some herbal tea and glass of milk is a great way to start the day and fill your tummy up.

Ingredients
1/2 c finely shredded cabbage or fresh bean sprouts, rinsed and drained
1/4 c thinly slices mushrooms
1/4 c thinly sliced or finely grated carrot
2 tbsp finely sliced scallions
2 tbsp chopped red bell pepper
1 tsp chopped garlic
1 tsp chopped fresh ginger
6 large egg whites and 1 whole egg, or 1 1/4 c egg substitute
2/3 c diced lean turkey, chicken, lean pork or cooked shrimp
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro or scallion

Lightly coat a large nonstick skillet with olive oil cooking spray. Over medium-high heat, cook the cabbage, mushrooms, carrot, scallions, bell pepper, garlic, and ginger for about 3 minutes, or until they're almost tender but still bright. Transfer the vegetables to a bowl to cool. Clean the skillet to use again.

Beat the eggs well. Add the vegetables, turkey, and black pepper. Stir to combine.

Again, lightly coat the skillet with cooking spray and place it over medium-high heat. When the skillet is hot, add the egg mixture. Cook for 1 minute, or until it is set around the edges. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the eggs are set in the middle. Remove from the heat and allow the eggs to rest, covered, for 2 minutes. Fold the eggs in half, then cut them in half again before transferring to 2 large plates. Garnish with cilantro or scallion and serve hot with low sodium soy sauce.

Makes 2 servings (I usually cut the recipe in half since I'm the only one home eating it)

Per serving: 130 cal, 21 g protein, 6 g carbs (3 g sugars), 2 g fat (.5 g sat fat), 30 mg cholesterol, 1 g fiber, 360 mg sodium

Doc's Chili

This recipe is so great. One of my most favorites. It makes a large amount so for our family of 3 I can freeze it and always have extra on hand. It also goes really well with some whole grain tortilla chips. I think between a serving of the chili and the chips its 300 cal or less so not bad at all!

Ingredients
3 cups chopped yellow onions
1 1/4 lbs. 99% lean ground turkey or lean turkey sausage
3 cups diced tomatoes or 1 can (28 oz.) roasted diced tomatoes, undrained
1 1/2 cups cooked pinto beans or 1 (15 oz) can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1 1/2 cups cooked black beans or 1 can (15 oz) black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup fat free, low sodium chicken broth
2 tbsp. chopped garlic
2 tbsp. chili powder
1 tbsp. chopped fresh oregano or 1 tsp dried
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. mustard powder
1/2 c. sliced black olives
1/2 c. chopped scallions or chopped fresh cilantro

Coat large saucepan or Dutch oven with a few sprays of olive oil cooking spray. Add the onions and cook over medium-high heat until they're soft and just starting to brown. Add the ground turkey or sausage and cook over medium high heat, breaking up the meat with a spoon, for about 6 minutes, or until no longer pink. Add the tomatoes, pinto and black beans, broth, garlic, chili powder, oregano, cumin, and mustard powder. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to low. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

Garnish with the olives and scallions or cilantro.

Makes 12 (1 cup) servings (2 1/4 quarts)

Per serving: 150 cal, 16 g protein, 17 g carbs (3 g sugars), 2 g fat (0 g sat fat), 20 mg cholesterol, 5 g fiber, 150 mg sodium

Shabby Shack Creations giveaway

Scott's awesome cousin Karly is doing a giveaway on her blog http://karpluswade.blogspot.com/2011/02/giveaway.html for this really neat site that makes super cute headbands you can find here: http://shabby--shack.blogspot.com/

So cute! Who wouldn't wanna win one?

This is one of the many I like:

Hummingbird Cake with Cream Cheese Icing

I can't remember where I got my Magnolia Bakery cookbook but it has some great cake recipes and this one is my favorite out of it. I've made it a few times and absolutely love it. It goes great with their cream cheese frosting recipe. So here are both recipes that I hope you'll try!

Cake ingredients
3 c. all purpose flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 1/4 c. vegetable oil
2 c. sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 c. mashed, very ripe bananas
1 eight oz. can crushed pineapple in unsweetened juice, drained
1/2 c. chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 325 degrees

Grease and lightly flour two 9 in round cake pans, then line the bottoms with waxed paper

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, the cinnamon, the baking soda, and the salt. Set aside

In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat the oil with the sugar until smooth, about 3 min. Add the eggs one at a time and beat until light, about 1 or 2 min. Add the vanilla extract. Add the bananas and pineapple. Add the dry ingredients in thirds, beating after each addition until smooth. Stir in the pecans. Divide the batter between the prepared pans and bake for 40-50 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into center of cake comes out clean. Let cakes cool in pans for 10 min. Remove from pans and cool completely on wire rack.

When cake has cooled, ice between the layers, then ice top and side of cake. Garnish with pecans if desired.

Cream Cheese Icing Ingredients-
1 lb. (2 eight oz. packages) cream cheese, softened slightly, cut into small pieces
1/2 c. (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened slightly, cut into small pieces
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
5 c. sifted confectioners sugar

In a medium size bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and the butter until smooth, about 3 min. Add the vanilla extract. Gradually add the sugar and beat until well incorporated.

Apple Pancakes with Maple Syrup Butter

This is one of my favorites. I haven't made it in a while but it's so yummy!
I got it from this book. I really need to get this book out more and cook from it. Some very yummy looking recipes in here I really should try!

Ingredients:
scant 1 1/2 c. self rising flour
1/2 c. superfine sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 egg
scant 1 c. milk
2 apples, peeled and grated
1 tsp. butter
MAPLE SYRUP BUTTER
3 oz. butter softened
3 tbsp. maple syrup

Makes 18 pancakes to serve 4-6

Mix the flour, sugar, and cinnamon together in a bowl and make a well in the center. Beat the egg and the milk together and pour into the well. Using a wooden spoon, gently incorporate the dry ingredients into the liquid until well combined, then stir in grated apple.

Heat the butter in a large nonstick skillet over low heat until melted and bubbling. Add tablespoons of the pancake mixture to form 3 1/2 in circles. Cook each pancake for about 1 min, until it starts to bubble lightly on the top and looks set, then flip it over and cook the other side for 30 seconds, or until cooked through. The pancakes should be golden brown; if not, increase the heat a little. Remove from the skillet and keep warm. Repeat the process until all the pancake batter has been used up (It is not necessary to add extra butter).

To make the maple syrup butter, melt the butter with the maple syrup in a pan over low heat and stir until combined. To serve, place the pancakes on serving dishes and spoon over the flavored butter. Serve warm.