Meals from Shandra

Deals to Meals is quite a spectacular blog- Shandra is great and  I just recently signed up for her program and I think its great. She is also doing a sun over giveaway! Hence me talking about her blog and how much i really do love it. I check it all the time for recipes and ways to use my food storage items to make meals.

So right now we are up to our ears in zucchini and while I was looking around on her blog, I found this amazing recipe: Chocolate Zucchini bread- (who doesn't want chocolate with their zucchini?) and decided to try it out.

So you can be proud of me at this moment because I practiced my food storing skills.

I whipped out my wheat that I've had stored away (that I've had for years and never opened...)

 and after about 2 hours of trying to pry off the dang lid, and finding out later that there is a tool to open bucket lids... I was good to go.  

I then pulled out my hand grinder, that i've also opened for the first time in years.

 and after an half an hour of turning the wretched crank, my arms where happy we had got enough ground wheat to bake the bread.

Then for the main course for dinner, we tried Shandra's  Tortilla White Bean Soup. 

It is made quite easily with food storage items and it is a soup that will get your taste buds a'dancin. 

Basically I've loved knowing about Shandra's blog, I have got so many ideas for recipes and grocery saving techniques. If anything you should take a look at her blog and see all the yummy recipes she comes up with.

Just Peachy

Since today is my anniversary and I am away from my lover, I thought I would share a fancy looking and EASY dessert. If we were together and I had peaches and crepes on hand, you betcha I would be making these babies.

Check out out here. And you can thank me later

Macaroni Pasta Dish

Okay so this is super easy and I actually found this on the back of DaVinci Macaroni Pasta. I never know whether to trust those things but I tried it out and oooh is it DeliCious!

2 c. diced tomatoes
2 c. tomato paste
1 c. water
2 cloves finely chopped garlic
1/2 c. finely chopped onions
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 c. chopped parsley
1/2 tsp pepper
1 lb of ground beef
1/2 lb pasta
4 ounces cream cheese
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 c. grated swiss cheese (or cheddar)

Combine tomatoes, tomatoe paste, water, garlic, onions, pepper, salt, sugar, parsley and oregano in a pot. simmer for 1 hour on medium heat. Saute ground beef until done. combing with tomatoe mixture and simmer on low heat for 15 to 20 mins. Use 9X13 pan. Layer pan with sauce. Add a layer of cooked pasta. add a tbsp of cream cheese in each corner. scatter grated parmesan cheese and swiss cheese over pan. repeat. Bake for 30 mins @ 350. Scatter any remaining cheese on top and cook for 5-10 mins.

My own way of doing this. I didn't have ground beef the times I made it so I just added more cheese and the cream cheese you can add as much or as little as you want it worked better for me to put little chunks all over. I'm sure it tastes wonderful with the beef and I even thought about when i make it next to add spinach to it. Yum.

Enjoy

Chicken Piccata

This is another recipe i got from a sister in-law. It is mouth watering. I didn't have mushrooms so i left those out, (I tend to leave alot of ingredients out of recipes lol)

4 chicken breasts cut into strips
1/2 cup flour
salt and pepper
4 slices swiss cheese
2 cups of chicken broth
1 package mushrooms
2 cloves of garlic
2 lemons
Fresh parsley

Dredge chicken into flour/salt and pepper mixture. Brown in a skillet until it is cooked through. In a separate pan...saute sliced mushrooms and minced garlic until brown and tender. Lay the swiss cheese over the chicken to melt. Pour chicken broth and lemon juice into the pan with the chicken. The cheese will sort of start to become part of the sauce. Add mushrooms and garlic to the skillet so you have one big mixture. Let simmer for 5 minutes until the sauce thickens.  If the sauce doesn't seem thick enough...sometimes I add a little cornstarch/water mixture to move things along. Add fresh chopped parsley and serve over white rice. Delicious!

Yummy Cookie Bars

So here are some to die for Yummy Cookie Bars! My sister in-law Jen had these had her house when we helped her move and I think I had about 3 at least. Scrumdidilicious

2 cubes butter, softened
2c brown sugar
2 eggs
1T vanilla
1 3/4c flour
1t soda
1/2t baking powder
1t salt
1 3/4c oats
1 3/4c Rice Krispies
3/4c coconut
2c chocolate chips

can add nuts if you like them.  I don't so I don't put them in.

Preheat oven to 350.  Mix all ingredients in a large bowl.  Spray 9x13 pan with Pam, add cookie dough.  Use your fingers to push the batter down and make it even.  Bake for 25-30 minutes.  Done when golden brown and toothpick comes out clean.

Easy July 4th treat

Talk about easy peezy! You can get the directions here

this is a great idea for ANY holiday or party

Pink Lemonade Pie

I wanted to share this because I have made it a few times and am asked for the recipe. I think it is perfect for the summer because it is fruity and light and involves very little cooking. 

The recipe comes from
http://www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com/2010/10/pink-lemonade-pie.html

Lemonade Pie

Crust:
100 Ritz Crackers, crushed (3-4 sleeves of crackers)
1/2 c. powdered sugar
2/3 c. butter, melted

Mix cracker crumbs and powdered sugar together until well blended. Add melted
butter and stir until mixture is crumbly and sticks together. Press 2/3 of it in
the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish. Set the remaining 1/3 of the crumb mixture
aside.

Filling:
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
1 can (6 oz) pink lemonade concentrate, thawed ... (you can use any concentrate
really)
1 (12 oz) tub frozen whipped topping, thawed
red food coloring (I made mine a little more pink)
Combine sweetened condensed milk and lemonade, whisk together. Fold in whipped
topping and food coloring. Pour into prepared Ritz crust. Spread evenly. Top
with crumb mixture. Freeze for a couple of hours.

Worms in dirt: fast version

Because sometimes you just need it RIGHT NOW!

The toddler didn't want to wait and neither could I since she seemed to cry nonstop until she got it. And I had things I had to finish up

Hunts pudding (4 pack for $1 that was in food storage)

Oreo's (also from food storage.... don't you store oreo's?)

Gummy worms ($1. They come in handy more often than I would have thought)

Carmel apple cheesecake bars

Base:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

Cream Cheese Layer:
2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Apples:
3 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and finely chopped
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Streusel Topping:
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup quick cooking oats
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened

1 cup caramel sauce (homemade recipe below)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a small bowl, stir together chopped apples, two tablespoons sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine all the streusel topping ingredients and mix until crumbly. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine flour and brown sugar. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or two forks until mixture is crumbly but combined. Press evenly into a 9X13-inch baking pan lined with aluminum foil. Bake for 10 minutes or until lightly browned.

While the crust is baking, in a large bowl, beat cream cheese with 1/2 cup sugar until smooth. Then add eggs, one at a time and then the vanilla. Mix well. Pour over the warm crust.

Spoon the apple mixture evenly over the cheesecake layer. Sprinkle the streusel topping over the apples. Bake for 30 minutes until the filling is set.

Cool the bars to room temperature. Drizzle with the caramel topping (or plate individual slices and drizzle with topping one by one).

Caramel Sauce:
4 tablespoons butter
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
½ cups half-and-half or cream
Pinch of salt
1 tablespoon vanilla

Mix butter, brown sugar, half-and-half or cream, and salt in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook while whisking gently for 5 to 7 minutes, until thickened slightly. Add the vanilla and cook another minute to thicken further. Turn off the heat and pour the sauce into a jar. Refrigerate until cold. If the caramel sauce has cooled in the fridge long enough to harden, warm slightly before drizzling on bars.

Balsamic Chicken

Oh my stars this is good chicken

I thought I would pass along the recipe. You can get it here.

I made three pans tonight. 

1-For me

2-my boss

3-my bed-rest friend.