I am so far behind blogging…..oh well. It was beautiful today but very windy. We had cheese grits for breakfast with toast & Smucker’s strawberry preserves….yummy! : )

Sam worked with the maintenance guy and I went to Publix for a few deals.

I’ve been trying to organize my recipes in a notebook….just about done. Now to work on my coupons and get them better organized.

We’re having chicken quesadillas for supper with Mexican veggies and salsa.

There is one camper tonight.


Tuesday, Jan. 19th

We took Kyle home yesterday after having him here since Saturday. I sure do miss him when he’s gone, but he had school today. The weather was not good over the weekend….too much rain. We stayed inside most of the time, playing cards and games, watching movies and cooking. On the DVR, we watched the original Star Wars and Kyle really liked it. The next night he wanted to watch the 2nd one, The Empire Strikes Back. Guess we’ll watch number 3 the next time he’s here.

Sunday night we had Creamy Chicken Enchiladas and Mexican Veggies, two new recipes out of Taste of Home’s Cooking for Two. (There was plenty for three). : ) They were good and I will definitely have them again.

Yesterday and today are great at 62 degrees and sunshine. We had cereal and muffins for breakfast and “deviled” ham sandwiches & chips for lunch. We have a movie, World’s Greatest Dad, to watch before we take it back tonight before 9:00. It was a freebie from Redbox, the movie kiosk at Walgreens. We also need to make a trip to the library before they close at 8:00.

Sam’s working today with the maintenance man and I have been doing little jobs around the camper. I arranged the DVD player and the DVT box so the DVR unit would fit under the TV in the opening for such items. The DVT box sits on top of the DVD player so that the DVR player will sit beside them.

No campers tonight.

Crock Pot Cooking

With the weather so hot, I drug out the crock pot and tried to come up with some ideas for dinners. Vegetable Beef Soup is a good old standby. The gas stove and oven tend to heat up the camper but eating hot soup in a cool camper works for us.

In a rare twist the temp outside yesterday was so low, due to the overcast skies, that we were able to cook cornbread in the oven to go with the soup. I even did blueberry muffins while the oven was on to have for breakfast this morning.

Vegetable Beef Soup

Ground beef and/or turkey, browned

Package of frozen vegetables

Can of white beans

2 Cans of diced tomatoes

32 oz. Chicken broth

Salt and pepper, to taste

Mrs. Dash, Oregano, Red Pepper Flakes,

all to taste.

And any other frozen, canned, or leftover vegetables you may want to throw in.

Cook on High 4 hours or Low 6 hours.

Enjoy!

Chocolate

My favorite chocolate fix........Texas Brownies

I'm trying this one on Sunday:

CROCKPOT CHOCOLATE MESS -

This fabulous, decadent chocolate pudding cake is made in your crockpot.
Prep Time: 20 minutes, Cook Time: 7 hours.

Ingredients:
·1 pkg. two layer chocolate cake mix
·3 oz. pkg. instant chocolate pudding mix
·4 eggs
·1 cup water
·2 cups sour cream
·3/4 cup vegetable oil
·3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
·1/4 cup milk chocolate chips
Preparation:
Spray a 4 quart crockpot with non-stick cooking spray and set aside. In a large bowl, combine the cake mix and pudding mix. In a medium bowl, beat the eggs with the water, then add the sour cream and oil and beat until smooth. Add to the dry ingredients and beat well. Stir in the chocolate chips.
Pour into crockpot. Cover slow cooker and cook on low for 6-8 hours, until top springs back when touched very lightly with finger. 8-10 servings

Project 365 Day 77 - Spaghetti Pie

I found a recipe for Spaghetti Pizza Casserole that looked good. I just called it Spaghetti Pie. It was okay. I've made this from leftovers before and it was just as good. Just take leftover spaghetti noodles, mix in bowl with an egg or two and 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese. Spread mixture in a 8x13x1" pan. Top with your choice of spaghetti sauce, mushrooms and mozzarella cheese. Bake about 30 minutes at 350. Enjoy!

Project 365 Day 69 - Desserts

Dessert Row from last night's Pot Luck.....yum, yum.

Project 365 Day 68 - Marinara

A good day for cooking.....

Today is overcast and chilly....a good day to make a big pot of multipurpose Marinara Sauce. Here are the ingredients.

The recipe came from Cooking Light Magazine a few years ago. It's great for any pasta dishes, chicken dishes, or even pizza. Also good for a dipping sauce for bread or crudites and as a spread on a meatball sandwich or burger with provolone cheese.

The best thing about this marinara is it's low fat and low calories. And for Weight Watchers, it's 100% Core with no points.

Basic Marinara

Use a large Dutch oven or stockpot. Recipe yields 12 cups. Cook at low simmer - just a few bubbles every few seconds will yield the deepest taste.

• 3 T olive oil
• 3 cups chopped yellow onion (3 med.)
• 1 T Splenda
• 3 T minced garlic (6 cloves)
• 2 t salt
• 2 t dried basil
• 1 1/2 t dried oregano
• 1 t dried thyme
• 1 t freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 t fennel seeds, crushed
• 2 T balsamic vinegar
• 2 cups fat/free less-sodium chicken broth
• 3 (28-oz) cans (no-salt added, opt.) crushed tomatoes

Heat oil in large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion; cook 4 minutes, stirring frequently. Add splenda and next 7 ingredients (thru fennel seeds); cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in vinegar; cook 30 seconds. Add broth and tomatoes; bring to simmer. Cook over low heat for 55 minutes or until sauce thickens, stirring occasionally. Yield: about 12 cups (serving size: 1/2 cup).

Calories 50; Fat 1.8 g; protein 1.3 g; Carb 8g; Fiber 2.1g. Refrigerate for up to 5 days or freeze up to 4 months.

Project 365 Day 67 - Steak

I always forget to take the food pictures until it's half eaten, but here is our 'homemade' steak dinner with baked potato and salad. This makes up for the not so great dinner out on Saturday night.

Project 365 Day 46

By popular demand....here is the recipe for the Hashbrown Casserole we had for our Christmas dinner last Saturday:
Hashbrown Casserole

2 lbs. frozen hash brown potatoes
1 cup diced onions
1 can cream of chicken soup
16 oz. sour cream
1/2 cup melted margerine
2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Thaw potatoes for about 30 minutes. Place potatoes in large mixing bowl and add the rest of the remaining ingredients. Pour mixture into a 9 x 13 inch dish. Bake at 350 for 1 hour.

Project 365 Day 44

It must be good.....they're eating!

Menu:

Honey Baked Ham

Hashbrown Potato Casserole

Creamed Corn Casserole

Green Beam Casserole

Sweet Potato Souffle

Macaroni & Cheese

Cranberry Salad

Dinner Rolls

German Chocolate Cake

Brownies

Chocolate Pudding Cream Cheese Dessert

Cup Cakes

Sweet Tea, Beer, Wine, Cokes

Project 365 Day 25

For leftover sweeet potatoes......Sweet Potato Muffins

Sweet potato muffins with butter, shredded sweet potatoes, milk, spices, and walnuts or pecans.

Ingredients:
6 tablespoons butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cup sifted all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup evaporated or regular milk
1 1/2 cups peeled finely shredded sweet potato
2/3 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
Preparation:
In a large mixing bowl with hand-held electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla until well blended.
In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Stir into the butter mixture alternately with milk, mixing just until dry ingredients are moistened. Stir in sweet potato and chopped nuts. Spoon batter into greased muffin cups, filling about 2/3 full. Bake at 375° for 25 to 30 minutes, or until centers spring back when pressed with fingertip. Cool in pan on rack for 5 minutes. Remove from pan and serve muffins warm. Makes about 1 dozen sweet potato muffins.

(I'll add the real thing picture tomorrow)

~ Project 365 Day 16 ~

"Bambi" chili. Tasted no different than beef.....just a little milder. I just have a mental block that prevents me from actually eating it.