Egg McMuffins

After the kids both tried to eat my Egg McMuffin a couple of days ago, I thought I'd try making my own. I thought it was really good...the verdict is still out on what the kids think.

Here's what I did...

1. Spray ramekins with nonstick spray. Crack an egg into each one. Then use a fork to break the yolk. You don't have to stir it up, just kind of spread it out a little.
2. Place the ramekins on a baking sheet and place in the oven on 350 for about 15 minutes. I kept checking on mine, so it took a little longer.
3. While the eggs are cooking, toast up some whole grain English muffins.
4. Top the muffins with a slice of cheese and a slice or two of Canadian bacon.
5. Once the eggs are set, remove them from the oven. Run a knife around the edge so the eggs will slide out cleanly. Place on top of the cheese, and sandwich the two sides together.

It was easy, and the good thing is you can make as many or few of these as you need.

So, it's been a while...

I have two blogs. One is for my running. And this one is for things related to my home and children. Running makes me a better me so that I can do the things around the house and with the kids without too much screaming. But having two blogs makes me feel like I have a split personality or alter ego. I haven't figured out how to rectify that, so here's a random post for this side of me.

Today, food is on my mind. Specifically, I'm thinking about trying to eat healthier. It's summer, and I'm home with the kids. It's so easy to eat out, especially when we're busy, busy,  but I'm really going to try and eat at home for the majority of our meals. It's expensive either way, to be honest, but I know it's not as expensive to eat at home.

One of the best things I've found lately are rolls of turkey meat. They have the plain turkey, taco seasoned, Italian seasoned and breakfast sausage. They are cheaper than ground beef and they're really good.

 We've used the Italian flavor for make-your-own pizza and for a baked pasta dish.

We've used the taco one for nachos and tacos (duh, right?), but it would be really good for a taco ring.

I've got black beans soaking right now to go in the crockpot this evening. I'm going to use them in a huevos rancheros cups recipe I saw on Melissa D'Arabian's 10 Dollar Dinners  recently. I'll freeze the rest to use later in other recipes (maybe a black bean burger?).

I've got a few new recipes planned for this week. I'll try to post those later.

New dessert

Now, I realize this is totally simple, but it's new to us. Here's what we made for dessert tonight...

I'm calling ours triple chocolate treat, but the inspiration came from Pioneer Woman's recipe for Frozen Cappuccino Cups.

Here is what I actually did:

24 Oreos crushed (this made too many and I should have used my food processor)
2 Tbps melted butter

Mix these two together and put in the bottom of 12 foil liners in the muffin tin.

Chocolate ice cream, softened (the small carton, I have no idea what size that is)
About 1/4 cup of mini chocolate chips
About 1/4 cup of the leftover crushed Oreos
A dash of cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla

Mix all of this together and layer on top of the Oreos in the muffin tin.

Top with softened Cool Whip and freeze until set. These can be put in a Ziploc after they have fully refrozen. I added a drizzle of chocolate syrup before eating.

I can just imagine all sorts of possibilities! Think of vanilla sandwich cookies topped with strawberries mixed into vanilla ice cream. Or graham cracker crusts topped with chocolate ice cream with chocolate chunks and marshmallows. It's endless!

Hot Vanilla Drink

With this being Day 4 of being at home due to the snow and ice, I've been able to try new things (which also attests to how much time I've had to look at recipes online). It's finally not in the teens for temperatures, so the kids and I headed outside this morning for some snow fun, which gave us the perfect chance to try this: Hot Vanilla. It is so simple to make and delicious! If you don't want to click on the link for the Family Fun site, here's what you do:

Heat up 1 cup of milk and 2 tsp. sugar for each drink you want to make. Add about 1/2 tsp. vanilla per drink after it's warmed. That's the basics of the drink, but the best part is the topping. The recipe calls for making your own whipped cream, but I had Cool Whip on hand so I used that. Add about a tablespoon of chocolate syrup and a dash of cinnmon to the whipped topping before putting it on the hot vanilla. Drizzle a little more chocolate syrup and sprinkle a little cinnamon on top. It's a really "pretty" drink (if there is such a thing) and it's warm and cozy.

Trapped in the house = cooking

Yesterday, I attempted to make homemade pretzels. Ok, attempted isn't the right word because they were delicious! I used this recipe: Butter Soft Pretzels. I followed it pretty closely, but I did take the advice of one reviewer and started with 4 cups of flour with the intention of adding more if needed. However, it didn't need more. My dough didn't want to rise, but it worked anyway. I was really impressed with the dough...very smooth and stretchy. I was also impressed with the baking soda/water dunk before baking. It really did make a crispy crunch on the outside. I doused mine in melted butter as they came out of oven and sprinkled them with a cinnamon/sugar mix. I did one with salt, but with this dough, I'd stick with the sweet. They were really, really good...as in, I think I ate 3 or 4 of the dozen I made.

See, don't they look tasty?

I'm sure we'll tackle another recipe right now, but first, we're going to do some crafting. I'm getting all the crafty stuff out and letting the kids play away. We'll see what they come up with :)

Trying new things

Tonight's new thing? Brussel sprouts. Or is it Brussels sprouts? Whatever. It's the same thing when you're eating it. And no, technically, brussel sprouts aren't new, even to me. I distinctly remember hating them as a child. But I saw a recipe for some roasted brussel sprouts the other day in some magazine or on some website...helpful, I know. I can never remember where I see these things. Then I spend ages looking for them again. And end up making something I hope comes close to what I originally saw.

So tonight, I partially thawed some frozen brussel sprouts in the microwave so I could cut them in half. I put them in a glass 9x13 pan and tossed them with some oil, squeezable garlic (love this stuff), and kosher salt. I put them in the oven at 375 and stirred them every 5 minutes or so. I really liked them! I'm impressed with myself! Diva Daughter even ate one half of one!

I bought some polenta at the store today too. That will be a new recipe for later this week. I haven't quite decided what to do with it though. I'm thinking slice it up and pan fry it for something...if the tomatoes had looked decent at the store, I would have made some of my yummy sauteed tomatoes for it. Instead, I'm thinking either melted cheese with marinara or a fried egg and salsa.

And we've got some cooooooollldd weather moving in...it's super windy right now, and I'm pretty sure it's sleeting. We don't get weather like this often. Everyone was going crazy this afternoon at all the grocery stores stocking up on food and gas. I did go to the store, but only for stuff to make chicken noodle soup in the crockpot tomorrow and to have stuff for breakfast and lunch if we do end up not going to school tomorrow.

Yum!

I tried a new soup in the crockpot today...very yummy, I have to say. I found it online at the Tasty Kitchen website, which is part of The Pioneer Woman's site. Gotta say I love that site. The recipe was called Sausage Corn Chowder, but I made a few adjustments. Here is what I made:

1 pound smoked sausage sliced (the big U-shaped link sausage)
several small red potatoes, quarted (but I should have cut them a little smaller)
2 stalks of celery, sliced
2 carrots, sliced
1 can cream-style corn
1 can cream of chicken soup
15 oz. chicken broth
a sprinkle of dried minced onions (because I didn't have the real thing)
salt and pepper
1/2 cup of half and half
1 1/2 Tbs. corn starch (that's approximate...I just put a big spoonful or so in the half and half)

Put everything except for the half and half and cornstarch in the crockpot and cook on low for 6 hours. I put everything in the crockpot and then in the fridge. My hubby had the job of putting the crockpot on low while he was home for lunch. Then, I mixed the cornstarch with the half and half and added it to the crockpot. I turned it up to high for a little while (about half and hour) to let it thicken up.

I really liked this and am actually looking forward to the leftovers tomorrow!

Crockpot cooking again

I'm so excited that I've got the crockpot out for tomorrow! It's been a long time. I hadn't looked at my Facebook group called Crockpot Cookers in a while. I forgot how many really good recipes we had collected there! I can't wait to try to a few of of them out soon.

The first one I'm trying out is the one I have ready to go for tomorrow. It's from one of my dearest friends. Here it is:

Ham and Bean Soup
1 lb. white beans
1 carrot (or more), diced
1 celery stalk (or more), diced
2 quarts water
2-3 ham hocks (which, by the way, I don't have)
1 lb. cooked ham, diced
1 onion, diced
spices (she suggests salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder)

Soak beans for 12 hours. Rinse and drain. Simmer with 2 quarts of water for 30 minutes. Place in crockpot with the rest of the ingredients. Cook on low for 10-12 hours.

I may change a few things about the recipe, but we'll see. I was thinking of adding a little chicken broth or bouillon. I have a little half-and-half in the fridge, so I thought about adding that at the end to make a creamy soup. We'll see.

That hit the spot!

The rice pudding was yummy! Here's what I did (after looking at tons of recipes):

I made brown rice last night.

Then, this morning, I peeled and chopped some apples and cooked them in a couple tablespoons of butter with a dash of cinnamon and a dash of pumpkin pie spice.

Once they were tender, I added 1/4 cup of brown sugar, 2 cups of milk, a large box of raisins (as opposed to the mini boxes) and 2 cups of the cooked brown rice. I brought this to a boil, reduced it to a simmer and let it cook for 15 minutes. I loved it! Ryan was sick this morning so he didn't even try it. Sarah Beth ate some of hers, but not as much as I'd hoped.

The only thing I'd do differently is add a little vanilla when I add the milk. I wish I'd thought of that sooner.

Estimated nutritional value- For 1/6 of the recipe: 190 calories, 5g of fat, 2g of fiber, 4g of protein.

Procrastination

I finally (finally!) got around to making homemade granola bars with Sarah Beth...Ryan didn't want to help. They turned out really well...chewier than expected, but I like them that way.

I tweaked the Playgroup Granola Bar recipe off of Allrecipes.com and came up with this:

Dry Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups old fashioned oats
1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup brown sugar (fairly packed)
1 heaping teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 craisins (or more)
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup mixed nuts and seeds (I used pumpkin, sunflower, and slivered almonds)

Wet ingredients:
1 egg, beaten
1/2 canola oil
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 teaspoons vanilla

Mix all of the dry ingredients in a big bowl. Make a well in the center and add the wet ingredients. Use a spatula to mix the best you can; then use your hands to finish mixing well.

Use waxed paper to pat into a sprayed 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 for 25 to 30 minutes. They'll be chewy when warm but will harden some as they cool. In other words, cut them into small rectangles before they cool.

Nutritional info if you cut this into 24 fairly small bars:
Calories: 160, Total fat: 15.5 g, Protein, 2.4 g

PLEASE NOTE: This makes 24 small bars. If you eat more than that, you'll have to adjust the calories.

Picnic in a Jar

I'm trying something new today...I stole the idea from Melissa D'Arabian, but I didn't like the flavors she used. However, I loved the idea of a layered picnic in a jar, so I'm stealing the idea and making it my own. I'll be layering the following things in a jar...whether or not we actually picnic with it will be determined later:
1. veggie pasta spirals with Italian dressing
2. chickpeas, seasoned with garlic and onions
3. shrimp
4. veggies (zucchini, squash, carrots, mushrooms, tomatoes, and spinach)

I'm making this for us as well as Chad and Kayla. I think there's a concert in a park somewhere we could go to with this, but I don't know if we will. I'll give the verdict later on how this turns out.

***The Verdict: While I liked it, the rest of the family did not...so I won't try it again, at least not this way. I'm thinking maybe a chicken/tomato sauce/veggie combo might be better...or maybe a bbq pulled pork/coleslaw/beans one?

Crazy Me

What possessed me to plan two birthday parties, on the same day, back-to-back, in my house?! We are having a rock star party for SB...it will be her first "kid party." They are decorating some white, cardboard guitars to get things started, followed by karaoke (yes, I realize that 5-year-olds can't read and therefore karaoke is really pointless). Then we'll have cake (store-bought, thank goodness) and open presents and end with a guitar-shaped pinata.

Then, right after that, we've invited our families as well as a couple of our friends with boys R's age to stay for hotdogs and an all-star party as a way of celebrating his birthday. We're switching decorations to sports themed centerpieces, and to top it all off, I'm making baseball and football cake balls. The baseballs are funfetti cake with vanilla frosting. The footballs are devil's food cake with chocolate frosting. I've yet to dip or decorate them and I'm already regretting this idea. Why didn't I just book Jump for Joy or Chuck E. Cheese or Gymnastics Sport Center?!

But, for those that have never tried making cake balls, here are the steps. I had the passing thought to take pictures while I made them, but like I said, it was a passing thought, one that didn't even hang around long enough for me to find the camera. But...I will try to post pictures of the finished product.

Ok, back to the steps. Boy, these thoughts are passing like crazy.

1. Bake a cake, any flavor, according to the directions on the box. Yes, you can bake a cake from scratch. But why would you?
2. Let the cake cool for a few minutes and then crumble into a big mixing bowl.
3. Add 1/2 to 3/4 a can of frosting. Your choice in flavors. Make sure it goes with the cake though. I'm not to blame for your choices. It will be hard to mix. Use your hands if you want. A spatula will work though.
4. Let this chill for a while. Actually, don't. I tried cooling it today. It didn't work as well.
5. Form into balls, or in the case of the above-metioned footballs, weird pointy oval shapes. I use a cookie dough scoop, but you'll want to roll them a little to smooth them out. Place these on waxed paper and chill. This time, you really want to chill them.
6. Melt some almond bark or other coating, if you prefer, and then dip the balls to coat. I use two forks. It's messy no matter what you use. Put them back on the waxed paper. You can decorate with another color coating or sprinkles or icing. I'll be using icing to make the laces on the balls.
7. Enjoy. You'll want to hide at least half of them, or they'll be gone before you really meant to serve them.

My crockpot is my best friend

I love my crockpot. I've had such good luck with what's coming out of it here lately. Yum! And since I'm definitely a morning person, it works so well for me to get up and get something in the crockpot and then not have to try and battle two kids at dinner time. Here are my latest meals from that slow-cooking miracle worker :)

Pulled Pork Sandwiches
4 pound boneless pork roast
1 sliced onion
1 cup apple juice
1 cup water
Seasonings (salt, pepper, garlic powder, grilling seasoning, etc...whatever you like)
Your favorite bbq sauce

Slice the onion and put in the bottom of the crockpot. Put the roast on top, fat side up. Season with whatever floats your boat.

Pour in the apple juice and water (around the roast, not on top). Set on low for the whole day.

*Note: I put my roast in not quite thawed, so when I got home, I flipped it over and switched it to high for an hour or so.

About an hour before dinner, pull the pork out and dump whatever's left in the pot (including the onions...if you want onion in your pulled porked, add a fresh one now...the ones that started off in there have soaked up way too much fat). Shred the pork, discarding the fat. Return it to the crockpot with a bottle of your favorite bbq sauce. I poured a little water to the bottle (almost half full), shook it up, and added it to the crockpot as well. Let warm on low for another 30-45 minutes. I served it on buns with coleslaw on top, but no one else in my house eats the coleslaw.

Minestrone
1 pound cooked ground beeft
2 cans diced tomotoes with juice
1 can mixed veggies, drained
1 stalk celery, chopped
2 or 3 carrots, sliced thin
1 container beef stock (32 oz, I think)
Parsley and basil (dried...maybe a teaspoon of each?)
Pasta (about 1/2 to 1 cup)
Zucchini or summer squash, sliced thin

Add all but the pasta and zucchini to the crockpot. Set on low for the whole day. About an hour before, add the zucchini and pasta. Serve with whatever you like with soup...bread, cornbread, crackers, cheese, etc.

Potato Soup
Ok, I learned the hard way that even though the recipe says 3 hours, it needs more than that.

6-8 potatoes, peeled and diced (about 1 inch or slightly smaller)
2 stalks celery, sliced
3 carrots, sliced
0nion (although it really is optional...if I'm cooking for my mom, I don't use onion)
4 cups chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon basil (dried)
1 teaspoon parsley (dried)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup flour
1 1/4 cup cream (or half-and-half)

Combine potatoes, onion, carrots, celery, chicken broth, and seasonings in crockpot. Cook on high for 3 hours (like I said, it takes more...at least 4).

Stir together flour and cream; stir into soup. Cook another 30 minutes.

Served with cheese, bacon bits and sour cream on top.

Yummy!

Ok, tried a new recipe today and loved it! It was originally Karen Johnson's crockpot chicken enchiladas, but I'm lazy and didn't want to roll the chicken in tortillas and then put them in another dish I'd have to wash. So here's what I did instead (with my alterations):
Southwestern Chicken'N'Dumplings
4 frozen chicken breasts
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can of green chiles
8 or 9 small flour tortillas

Put the chicken breasts (yes, frozen) in the crockpot. Top with soups and green chiles. Cook on low all day. Shred the chicken in the crockpot and add the tortillas (cut in half and then into strips) into the mixture (stir). Let cook on low another 30 minutes to an hour. Top with shredded cheese if you want and let it melt before serving.

This was so easy and so good!