Oh My....

Can I just say that we've been busy around this place?  I have no other excuse... my evenings seem to be a lot shorter and if I have time to blog I try to focus on the Family Blog  (which is also being neglected horribly). 

I think I'll just post links to the recipes I've made in the past couple weeks with some comments about each one.  There've been some good ones!!

I bought this GREAT cookbook a couple weeks ago at Sam's:  Taste of Home Comfort Food Diet...and I've found many of the recipes online so I'll just pass them your way!

Beef and Wild Rice Medley  This has become a quick family favorite!  It gets requested weekly...  I simply use one of those Uncle Ben's wild rice packets and add it to the beef and veggie mix at the end and warm together.  So yummy!

Southwestern Goulash  This is a great family friendly recipe....and very adaptable.  I will be making this often.

Chicken Piccata with Pasta and Mushrooms  I had leftover mushrooms for some reason so I searched for a recipe that highlighted a good amount of them.  This was really good.

I'll have more to post once I figure out what else I've cooked/baked over the last few weeks... Stay tuned..  :)

A New Week!

I am SO over Freezer and Pantry Clean Out Week.  Ugh.  A favorite part of my day is to try new recipes so I am excited to get going this week...

But before I post this week's recipes, I must share with you the cake I made for my Mom's birthday this weekend.  O.M.G.  Seriously good. 

One Bowl Chocolate Mocha Cream Cake

I made this Makeover Tater Tot Casserole Monday night and it's a keeper!  Next time, though we decided to not bother with the turkey and just use 1 lb ground beef...and add more french fried onions.  They were a GREAT addition to this casserole!

I'll only be making one more new recipe this week since we have leftovers for the other nights.  Savory Onion Chicken, like the recipe above come from a new cookbook I bought:  Taste of Home Comfort Food Diet.  It's a GREAT cookbook for my family.  I can't wait to keep trying recipes out of it...

Not Much New...

I haven't been making any new recipes lately...we've been enjoying some old favorites:  Beef and Bean Chili Verde, Chicken Curry, Beef and Barley Soup...  I was also pretty sick with a chest cold and sinus infection...and then we were out of town...

This week I am only making meals with items in my freezer and pantry!  I am excited about this because it all really needs to be cleaned out...but I did warn the family that our meals might not be top notch this week...

Tonight's meal was a HIT!  I threw some chicken wings into the oven with a honey/soy sauce glaze and we all gobbled it up!  Here's the recipe I based mine on.

BEST. COOKIE. EVER. seriously.

When I saw the name of these cookies I knew they had to be good.  They did not disappoint.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Sea Salt Cookies

These are my favorite cookies right now.  And that is saying A LOT.  I also figured out the nutritional info for them and I made 57 cookies which came to 108 cal. each.  Not bad!!!

Catching Up...

Sorry for the delay... We've had "the croup" in our house and now I've got a nasty chest cold so I haven't had much energy to do anything... But, the sun is shining today and things seem to be looking up!

A couple weeks ago I made the 4 Packet Roast and didn't report back on it...IT. WAS. GREAT.  I cooked mine with carrots and that was the best part for me.  I loved the carrots soo much...

Last week I made the following recipes:

Whole Chicken in the Crockpot:  Such a simple and economical way to do it!  I overcooked mine a bit so it was a little dry...but at least I'll know for next time!  We didn't have enough leftovers for an entire 2nd meal so next time I'll also make a bigger one!

Beef and Barley Soup:  This was THE BEST SOUP of this winter!!  We loved this.  It recommends making this the day before so that the flavors have time to blend.  Such a great idea to throw together on a weekend before a busy week.  We'll be  making this again in the next couple of weeks.


Simple Crusty Bread:  We had this with our Beef and Barley Soup and it turned out PERFECT.  We were all loving our meal that night!  And I have enough dough left in the refrigerator for 3 more loaves!

Easy Pie:  I made this recipe except I made it with my own filling (strawberry-rhubarb) and it tasted great.  The only problem I had was that the filling flowed over the edges of the pan and I smoked out the house.  Oopsies!  Now I know I don't need quite as much filling....and I need a pan on the lower rack to catch any drippings...

Couple of Snacks/Treats

I made  Hot Cinnamon Apple Bars and some Whole Wheat Snickerdoodles last week.  Both were keepers!

This Week's Menu

So, last week's menu got switched around quite a bit and I never got around to the Mini Fritattas...  Bummer.  Thursday nights are going to turn into leftover or fend night because Britt isn't home all day...so I won't be planning much for those days..

Su- 4 Packet Roast with Carrots and Mashed Potatoes
M- Spicy Shrimp Wraps  (recipe from my sister...I'll try to find it online)
T- French Dip made w/leftover roast
W- Breakfast for Supper (haven't decided what just yet)
Th- Leftovers/Fend
F- Homemade Pizza

OH...and last Saturday I made these Honey Lime Drumsticks (along with Baked Buffalo wings for Britt) and they were a big hit with Odin!!