Blueberry Butter

There are those special mornings when I get tired of plain butter and syrup for my pancakes. I decided to give my pancakes a kick with blueberry butter. This is a lightly sweetened butter mashed with fresh blueberries that is sure to put a smile on your face. 

INGREDIENTS

1 stick butter, salted and softened

1 1/2 tablespoon Confectioner's sugar

3/4 cup fresh blueberries

DIRECTIONS
Combine the butter and sugar.

Mash the blueberries with the butter until the butter is lightly colored from the blueberry skins. 

You will still want to maintain lots of blueberry chunks, so be careful not to overmash.

Store in the fridge for up to one week. 

Tex-Mex Chicken Spaghetti

Yum, yum, yum, yum, and yum again! I am not much of a casserole fan but this just hits the right places. It makes my mouth drool and my tummy happy. After making this once, I was asked again and again to include this in my monthly rotation. Everyone is happy on the night that I make this! 

INGREDIENTS
1 whole chicken

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 can of rotel tomatoes (mild or spicy....it's up to you)

1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce

1 large onion diced

1 large bell pepper diced

1/2 stick butter

1 package (16 oz) Mexican Velveeta Cheese

1 small box of spaghetti

First, I like to prepare my chicken ahead of time. Place chicken into a stock pot and add just enough water to cover the chicken about an inch above. Boil your chicken with some salt until done. Remove from water and set on a plate to cool. KEEP YOUR WATER IN THE STOCK POT!!!! After chicken has cooled, shred and put into a bowl.

Add a 1/2 stick of butter to a large pan. Chop bell pepper and onion and add to pan with butter. Cook vegetables on medium heat until translucent and soft. 

When vegetables are done, add the cream of mushroom soup, rotel, and tomato sauce. Stir until all ingredients are well blended. 

Chop Velveeta into small cubes and add to the tomato mixture. Stir frequently until the cheese has been completely melted.

Add the shredded chicken and stir until well blended.

Before you make your sauce, take your left over chicken broth water and return it to a boil. Add in the pasta and cook until al dente. Drain

Add cheese and sauce mixture to your pasta and stir until well blended. Turn into a 9x13 baking dish, cover with foil,  and cook at 300 degrees F for one hour. 

When done, remove from heat, remove foil, and enjoy one of the best meals of your life! 

Pico de Gallo and Guacamole

I am a mexican food fanatic and I love some guacamole and fresh pico de gallo! So the next time you are cooking mexican or having a party, add this to your list! Your guests will rave! 

Pico de Gallo

These are the yummy ingredients you will need! Roma tomatoes, cilantro, onion, jalapenos, and a lime

Add ingredients into a bowl. There should be equal amounts of tomato, onion, and cilantro. If you want your pico hot, do not seed the jalapenos. If you want your pico mild, be sure you seed the jalapenos :)

Stir to mix.

Guacamole

For guacamole, mash up the avocados

Add in desired amount of pico de gallo. 

Pico de Gallo

INGREDIENTS
Roma tomatoes

Cilantro

Onion

Jalapenos

Lime

DIRECTIONS
Dice roma tomatoes

Chop cilantro

Dice Onion (I use white and add purple for pretty color) 

Dice Jalapenos

Add to a bowl and mix

Squeeze out  the fresh lime juice (I start with 1/2 a lime and go from there)

*The key to perfect pico de gallo is equal amounts of cilantro, onion, and roman tomatoes. 

Guacamole

INGREDIENTS
Pico de gallo

Avacados

DIRECTIONS
Hull out avocados and place them in a bowl

Mash them up real good

Add the desired amount of pico de gallo

*You can use 4 or 5 for a party size bowl of guacamole

Jalapeno Hamburgers

Oh my my! If you like grilling and hamburgers then you are in for a treat. I came across this recipe by accident. I was bored with my hammy's so I decided to start experimenting with different ingredients to make it more of what I was looking for. This hit the spot! If you are grilling this summer, try it out! You may by surprised! 

OK, so first off I am just going to say that I prefer organic ground buffalo. I have found that it stays together better, it sticks with you longer, and it just tastes wonderful! You can use any meat ya like but if you have never tried ground buffalo (whether it is organic or not) you must try it at least once! 

Take 100 g meat and put it into a bowl. Add black pepper, chili powder, kosher salt, onion powder, garlic powder, diced jalapenos, a few shakes of Worcestershire, and a dash of liquid smoke. 

Combine into a patty and grill indoors or outdoors! 

Make hamburger to your likin' and enjoy the yumminess of this sensational treat!

INGREDIENTS
100 g buffalo or any other meat ya like

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon diced jalapenos

A few shakes of Worcestershire Sauce

A dash of liquid smoke

DIRECTIONS

Add all of the ingredients into a bowl

Mix together and form a patty

Grill outdoors or indoors

Fix it up the way ya like!

*This is on for 100 g of meat. I make these for two people not for large parties. Adjust accordingly to you liking! 

Strawberry Jam

Strawberries are a sign of summer time. They are widely appreciated for their characteristic aroma, bright red color, juicy texture, and sweetness. They are also good for you! 1 cup contains only 45 calories and are an excellent source of Vitamin C and flavonoids.  You can do many things with strawberries. I love strawberry pie and strawberry jam! There are only two ingredients! It turned out amazing and I have been making it ever since. Now it is your turn to experience the joy of summertime strawberry jam! 

I like to use about 1 quart of strawberries. I have found that this is usually what is in one container of strawberries. These were big and so very juicy! 

Pick strawberries over carefully and wash, removing stems, hulls, and debris and slice.

Place berries in an enamel or stainless steel pot. Crush well with a masher or spoon, and simmer over moderate heat until berries soften. Measure the strawberry pulp. For every cup of pulp, add 1/2 to 3/4 cup of sugar, depending on desired sweetness. Return berries and sugar to a boil until the temperature of the jam reaches 221 degrees on a candy thermometer. Keep an eye on the jam and stir frequently.

When jam is ready, carefully ladle into sterilized jars, seal, and process according to jars manufacturers instructions.  

 

Creamy Chicken with Cranberry-Pecan Wild Rice

Oh yummy! This is what I made for dinner tonight. It has become one of my staples in my monthly rotation. It is so quick, easy, yummy, and gourmet. The flavors meld so well together and the taste is amazing! 

These are the ingredients that you are going to need for this amazing meal: Pecans, chicken broth, crasins, wild rice, olive oil, thyme, flour, cream cheese, green onions, and of course chicken. 

You will make a flour mixture with the thyme and coat the chicken in this mixture. How you do this is up to you. I put the flour, thyme, and some pepper in a large plastic bag, mix the spices, drop in the chicken, and shake the bag until the chicken is fully covered. You can use a plastic tub with a lid or a bowl and drudge the chicken through the spices. 

Next, it is a good idea to cut up the onions, chop the pecans (if they are not already in pieces) and throw them into a bowl with the crasins and set aside. 

You will want to get your wild rice cooking because it usually takes 25 minutes to make. I buy the Uncle Ben's Original Wild Rice with the spices. One box is usually enough. Cook according to the package directions. 

Pour 1 cup of chicken broth and set it aside. 

Take 6 ounces of cream cheese and dice into small cubes. Set aside

Now that your rice is cooking and your ingredients are prepared, you are ready to cook the chicken. Pour about 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a pan and cook chicken on medium heat for about 5 to 6 minutes each side. When chicken is done, remove from pan and set aside. .

After the chicken is removed, you should have some brown bits left in the pan. 

 Pour in the chicken broth and whisk until heated through and brown bits are mixed in. 

Add the cream cheese and whisk until thoroughly melted.

Your sauce should be creamy like this picture. 

Mix in the crasins, pecans, and green onion with the wild rice after it has been removed from heat. 

Put a spoonful of yummy rice on your plate, place the browned chicken on top, cover with cream sauce, and garnish with green onions. Oh my this is heaven!!!!

INGREDIENTS
2 tablespoons of flour

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

6 small or 3 large boneless skinless chicken breasts halves

2 tablespoons of olive oil

1/2 cup dried crasins

1/2 cup pecan pieces

6 green onions, sliced and divided

1 package long grain and wild rice side dish, prepared as directed on package

1 cup chicken broth

6 ounces cream cheese, cubed

DIRECTIONS
1. Start cooking rice according to package

2. Mix flour, thyme and pepper; coat chicken with flour mixture

3.Chop green onions and set 1/3 cup in a bowl.

4. Add pecan pieces and crasins into the same bowl with onions.

5. Pour 1 cup of chicken broth and cube cream cheese; set both aside. 

6. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat.

7. Add chicken to skillet and cook 5 to 6 minutes on each side.

8. Remove from pan and set aside.

9. Add broth in the skillet and stir to break down browned bits from the bottom of skillet.

10. Add cream cheese and cook 2 to 3 minutes or until cream cheese is melted. Stir constantly

11. Remove rice from heat and stir in the crasins, pecans, and onions.

12. Spoon rice onto plate, add chicken on top of rice, spoon some sauce over the chicken, and sprinkle

     with remaining onions. 

13. Serve remaining sauce on the side.  

Homemade Granola

Howdy guys!!!! So, I am a major snacker.....a "not so good for you" snacker. I have been searching lately for a few new recipes because I am on a lifestyle change to eat better and take care of my body. I wanted something that would be more filling and healthy for you as well. A double benefit, right? Well, I was on Facebook one day and I saw that my cousin Beth had posted these wonderful looking pictures of her homemade granola! It looked so delicious that I had to ask her for the recipe. She told me where she found it and I decided to give it a try. It was SOOOOOOOO good that I am going to share this recipe with you. 

This recipe was so good that I decided to make a trip to Sam's. I bought the large bags of rolled oats, walnuts, almonds, and pecans. It was expensive but you will get MANY batches from these sizes. Trust me, it is that good. You can also just buy them individually from your local grocer in a normal size. Also, the jar you see is my homemade maple syrup. The recipe is located in one of my recent posts so use it instead of store bought! Of course, you can use store bought. I will not be upset :)

Combine the oats, wheat germ, oat bran. almonds, pecans, and walnuts in a large bowl.

Stir together the salt, brown sugar, maple syrup, honey, oil, cinnamon, and almond extract in a saucepan.

Bring to a boil over medium heat. 

Pour over the dry ingredients.

Stir to coat. 

Spread the mixture out evenly on the baking sheets. 

Bake in the preheated over until crispy and toasted. This should be about 20 minutes. Stir once halfway through. Cool. Stir in raisins, cranberries, coconut, chocolate chips, or anything else that makes you happy before storing in as airtight container. 

Ingredients

8 cups rolled oats

1 1/2 cups wheat germ

1 1/2 cups oat bran

1 cup finely chopped almonds

1 cup finely chopped pecans

1 cup finely chopped walnuts

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup maple syrup

3/4 cup honey

1 cup vegetable oil

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon almond extract

Your happy add in's 

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C) 

2. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or aluminum foil 

3. If using foil spay with baking spray to help with sticking

4. Combine the oats, wheat germ, oat bran, almonds, pecans, and walnuts into a large bowl 

    (I did not have a large enough bowl so I used my stock pot) 

5. Stir together salt, brown sugar, maple syrup, honey, oil, cinnamon, and almond extract in a 

    sauce pan .

6. Bring to a boil over medium heat

7. Remove from heat, pour over dry ingredients, and stir to coat

8. Spread out mixture evenly over the baking sheets

9. Bake in the preheated oven until crispy and toasted, about 20 minutes

10. Stir once halfway through

11. Remove from heat and either cool before adding in your "happies" (like chocolate chips) 

      or stir in "happies", stir, and press down to make stiff, let cool

*This makes a LOOSE granola that will be great with milk, on yogurt, or cottage cheese. Even by itself

Maple Pancake Syrup

Yum! Yum! Yum! How many of you have been in the middle of breakfast and have went to grab the syrup and you realize you are out? I hate it when that happens. So, today I am going to share with you my recipe for homemade pancake syrup! It's sure to go past your lips and straight to your hips! :)

INGREDIENTS 

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup water

1/2 cup Karo white corn syrup

1/2 tsp maple flavoring

DIRECTIONS

Bring the sugar, brown sugar, water, and Karo syrup to a boil

Remove from heat and stir in 1/2 tsp maple flavoring 

Pour into container and let cool

So easy and delicious. :) Much cheaper than buying it in the store. I like to store my in a Mason Jar in the fridge. You can also play around with flavorings. Maybe you want blueberry, or strawberry, or snauseberry (Willy Wonka)!  I have only used maple. It's yummy yummy to my tummy!

*you can make a thicker version by omitting the karo, adding two cups of brown sugar, 1 tablespoon of maple flavoring, and after it comes to a boil, continuing boiling for three more minutes. Put into container, let cool, and store in fridge, Very thick the next day!

Apple Pie in the Sky!

I absolutely can not bake BUT this recipe is easy and AMAZING! My dear friend came over one day with sweet intentions of teaching me how to bake. We started with this recipe that she pulled out of a 1970 something Southern Living Cookbook. When I pulled this pie out of the oven I COULD NOT believe that I had actually baked something this pretty! Most of my baking endeavors end with crooked cakes and things falling apart! It tasted divine and I am now going to share this recipe with you!

First, ya need to know what ya need to  make this yummy pie!

INGREDIENTS

Pastry for a double crust pie

2 pounds of Granny Smith Apples

1 Tbsp lemon juice

1 cup sugar

2 Tbsp all purpose flour

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp apple pie spice

Dash of ground nutmeg

1 Tbsp butter

Cinnamon and sugar to sprinkle on top

Now, what to do with it!

DIRECTIONS

Bring pastry to room temperature.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Prepare and roll out pastry. Now, I have to say that I use the pre-made pie crust dough found in the roll refrigerated section. I have asked several bakers and they have all agreed that this pie crust tastes just as homemade as actually making the crust yourself. I can not offer my opinion on this matter because I CAN  NOT BAKE! lol

Line 9 inch pie plate with pastry.

Trim excess pastry to the edge of the pie plate.

Peel and core your apples.

Cut up apples and put into a large deep bowl.

Sprinkle with lemon juice.

Combine sugar, flour, cinnamon, apple pie spice, and nutmeg in a mixing bowl. MIX WELL

Add this mixture to the apples and toss to mix.

Fill pie plate with apple  mixture and dot with little sliver slices of butter.

Sprinkle lightly with cinnamon on top.

Place pastry on top on apple mixture.

Tuck the top pastry under the bottom pastry.

Press together to seal and flute the edges.

Sprinkle cinnamon and sugar on top.

Cut slits in the top of crust for escape of steam.

To prevent over browning, cover the edge of crust with foil or pie rim.

Bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes.

Remove foil.rim and bake for 25 minutes more until crust is golden brown.

Cool pie on a cooling rack and serve with vanilla ice cream.

If you have been really sweet, sprinkle cinnamon with ice cream.

VOILA and enjoy!!!!