Tater Tot Casserole

This is great "comfort food". I also think this will be a new kid favorite. I recently read somewhere about this dish and thought, "My kids would probably really like that." Doesn't everyone like tater tots? I was surprised how many recipes you'll find online when you do a search of this one. Then I remembered seeing this on the Duggar's website. Read their version of the recipe here.
I came up with my own version and it turned out really tasty.

Tater Tot Casserole
2 1/2 pounds of lean ground beef, (browned and drained of any grease)
season the beef with garlic, salt, and pepper
1 can of green beans drained
1 can of corn (drained) save the liquid
1 can Healthy Request cream of chicken soup
1 can of milk (after you dump in the soup, fill up the can)
1 cup of sour cream
1 1/2 cups of shredded cheese
32 ounce bag of tater tots

While you browning the ground beef, spray a 9x13 glass casserole dish. Preheat oven to 375*. Layer corn, green beans, and ground beef in the dish. Whisk together the soup, milk, sour cream, and most of the liquid from the corn. Pour over the meat evenly. Add a layer of cheese. Add tater tots. I put them in one at a time to get a "full dish". Bake covered for 40 minutes and 15 minutes uncovered to brown the tater tots.

Blueberry Desert

Ingredients:

2 cups of fresh blueberries

half a box of graham crackers made into crumbs (approximately 2 cups of crumbs)

1/3 cup of sugar (omit this if you want less sugar)

1 stick of butter melted

8 ounces of cream cheese brought to room temp.

2/3 cup powdered sugar

1 large container of cool whip

8 ounces of chopped walnuts

Directions:

Preheat the oven at 350*. Mix the cracker crumbs, half the walnuts, sugar, and melted butter in a bowl. Spray a 9x13 pan with non stick spray. Press crumb mixture into the bottom of your pan. Bake for 10 minutes and cool. Refrigerate until cold and set.

Use your mixer to combine room temperature cream cheese and powdered sugar. Mix well. Spread this over your graham cracker crust. This will be a pretty thin layer. Spread your blueberries over the cream cheese. Top this with cool whip. Sprinkle with remaining chopped walnuts. Refrigerate and serve cold. This is a great desert to make a day ahead. It tastes best the next day.

This is one of Tommy's favorite deserts. We used the blueberries from our bushes to make this for his birthday last weekend. I make 2 9x13 pans for my family.
*Note: You could buy graham cracker pie crusts from the grocery store. Homemade is better though!*

Ranch Dressing

1/3 cup light mayo (the kind made with olive oil has no sugar)
1/3 cup sour cream or plain yogurt
1/3 cup buttermilk
1/2 tsp parsley
1/2 tsp dill
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
salt and generous pepper
Add all of the above to a jar with a lid. I am using a glass jar with a metal lid that from the natural peanut butter that we buy. It has a nice wide mouth and is perfect for shaking the dressing. Wendy is the best shaker!
*note- i don't really measure the spices, so adjust to your taste buds :) *add enough buttermilk to make the dressing the right consistency for you also *the flavors blend and it tastes even better the next day!

Menu Plan Monday

Quiche with broccoli, cheddar, and turkey bacon

recipe at the end....

Breakfast Choices:

granola cereal

grapefruit

cream cheese toast and jam

applesauce muffins

pancakes

Lunch Choices:

pbj

ham biscuits

fried eggs

beans, biscuits

fruit

Dinners:

1. enchilada casserole, (doubled) rice, green salad
2. quiche with broccoli , cheddar, and turkey bacon
3. taco soup, tortilla chips
4. grilled trout, mashed potatoes, mixed veggies
5. stuffed shells, green salad
6. homemade pizza
7. McDonald's

Deserts: whole wheat chocolate chip and peanut butter cookies

Quiche with broccoli, cheddar, and turkey bacon

Ingredients:

6 large eggs, beaten

1 1/2 cups whole milk

salt and pepper, and a dash or two of nutmeg

2 cups broccoli

4 slices turkey bacon

1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese

1 pie crust for 9 inch pie pan

Directions: Fry bacon and chop into small pieces. Saute or lightly steam broccoli. Preheat oven to 375* Form crust into pie pan. Beat eggs with milk and salt and pepper. Layer the cheese bacon and broccoli in bottom of crust. Gently pour egg mixture over the layers. Bake 35 minutes or until eggs are set in the center. Cool for 15 minutes and serve.

Note: I make two for my family.

This is the recipe I used as a guide.

Menu plan monday is being hosted by $5 dinners this week!

Amish Baked Oatmeal

I've made baked oatmeal once before and it turned out kinda cake-y and we didn't love it. I kept reading about people making it and making it regularly because it was really good. I came across this recipe again recently and it seemed different than what I made before and was described as "like a cookie". And because I don't turn down a cookie, it was a go!
Here is the original recipe. And the following is the recipe with adjustments and approximate cost:

• 3 cups old fashioned oats 0.75
• 1 cup brown sugar 0.50
• 1 cup milk 0.25
• 1/2 cup butter melted 0.50
• 2 beaten eggs 0.25
• 1 tsp. baking powder 0.05
• 1 tsp. salt 0.05
• 1 tsp. cinnamon 0.05
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract 0.10
• milk, nuts, fruit for toppings 0.50
• Total cost: $3.00, (and probably less, but I guessed on the high side)

Directions: Combine the ingredients and mix well. Spread evenly in 2 greased 13x9 baking dishes. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes. (mine was done at 25m) Serve warm.

Everyone loved this. Some ate it with milk and fruit and nuts, some just plain. But, everyone loved this. I am serving a lot of oatmeal and this will be a regular on the menu.

I poured about an inch of milk in my bowl and warmed it in the microwave, then spooned in the baked oatmeal and topped with coconut and walnuts. YUM!

This post is a part of Frugal Friday.

Pink Smoothies

Rose is patiently waiting with her cup for a smoothie.

I used to serve smoothies most days of the week. Now that I'm serving nine, it's more of an occasional treat. I may be able to serve them more if I can get back into making yogurt or keifer (a yogurt type drink).

Ingredients:

frozen strawberries

bananas

vanilla yogurt

milk

Add one and a half bananas and four spoonfuls of yogurt. Fill the blender halfway with milk. (orange juice makes a great smoothie too) Blend this until smooth. Add about four handfuls of strawberries. Blend until smooth and serve right away.

We make this twice to serve everyone.

This is so good. Making it with milk makes it taste like a strawberry milkshake. Add a little whipped cream on top and you've got yourself a gourmet desert.

This post is a part of Kitchen Tip Tuesday , hosted at The Finer Things in Life.

Menu Plan

Monday-
B- cheerios, bananas
L-ham and cheese sandwiches
D-beef hot dogs, left over chili, oven fries

Tuesday-
to do-start soup
B-oatmeal, fruit and nuts
L-chicken soup with rice and carrots
D-quick pizzas (basically any bread with pizza sauce and toppings toasted)

Wednesday-
B-biscuits and gravy
L-pbj and apples
D-calzones with ham, cheese, and broccoli
to do-(soak beans, two crock pots, cook one for weekend)

Thursday-
B-eggs and toast
L-potato soup
D-chili, chips, and cheese

Friday-
B-granola cereal, bananas, milk
L-left overs
D-penne pasta with alfredo sauce, mixed veggies

Saturday-
Brunch-pancakes with strawberries and whipped cream
D-meatloaf, potatoes, gravy, peas

Sunday-
B-oatmeal and toast
D-taco salad with cheese salsa and sour cream
desert-preacher cookies

Preacher Cookies
1/3 c. cocoa
2 c. sugar
1/2 c. milk
1 stick of butter (real butter tastes the best!)
1 tsp. vanilla
3 c. oatmeal (I use old fashioned, can use quick)
1/2 c. peanut butter (smooth or crunchy)
Mix cocoa and sugar in a heavy pan. Add milk and butter. Bring to a rolling boil for1 minute. Remove from heat. Add vanilla and peanut butter. Stir until melted. Add oatmeal. Spoon on waxed paper or cookie sheets sprayed with cooking spray and let cool.

This Week...In Pictures

Afternoon tea...Celestial Seasonings Coconut Chai with cream and a little sugar!

The girls are enjoying their new hot sticks that Abigail got for Christmas!

Lily knocked on the bathroom door to Jacob after his shower stopped

and asked, " Are you curling (emphasis on"rl") you hayah (hair)?"

funny, funny little girl!

Josie and Dee Dee

"What?! Us?! That wasn't us you heard barking at the neighbors who might possibly

have been coming or going or doing nothing to make us bark at them?!

Our "new to us" furniture.

Lemon Bliss Cake

Jacob and Josie

Abigail and Rose

Menu Plan Monday

Monday
B-cereal, toast with cream cheese and strawberry or blackberry jam
L-homemade macaroni and cheese
D-strawberry and banana smoothie,scrambled eggs
desert after tree trimming....honey bun cake ( recipe at the end, and I will add a photo after it's done) Thanks Marie!

Tuesday
B- cereal, bananas
L-turkey sandwiches, pickles
D-whole wheat fettuccine alfredo, peas

Wednesday
B-cinnamon bread, grapefruit or juice
L-beans with cornbread
D-baked chicken, potatoes, steamed mixed veggies

Thursday
B-eggs, oatmeal
L-smoothie, pbj
D- grilled cheese, fries

Friday
B-cereal, bananas
L-beans and rice
D-Roasted whole turkey, sweet potato casserole, dressing and gravy

Saturday-
B- muffins
D-leftovers

Honey Bun Cake
1 box yellow cake mix
3/4 cup oil
4 eggs
8 ounces sour cream
1 cup brown sugar
1 tblsp. cinnamon

Mix together first four ingredients stirring by hand. Pour half of batter into 11x13 pan. Sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon. Pour remaining batter on top and swirl the batter. Bake at 325 degrees for 40 minutes.

Icing:
Mix together 2 cups powdered sugar with 4 tablespoons of milk and 1 teaspoon of vanilla. Punch top of cake with fork, pour over hot cake.

Don't forget the giveaway to celebrate my blog-a-versary! If you haven't already go leave a comment!

Crock Pot Applebutter

I was inspired to make applebutter in my crock pot by this post from my cyber-twin Monica! And since I am all for cooking if it doesn't keep me in the kitchen all day, this was the perfect recipe for me! I had done this once before with some so-so applebutter that we had purchased and made the so-so applebutter into the best we had ever had...of course I did not write down how I came to that result. I am trying to take more notes on these little adventures in cooking, so when it turns out good I can actually reproduce it! This turned out really good, not perfect, but really good. Worth trying just to smell it cooking!

The ingredients:

2 large jars of no sugar added applesauce

(rinse out one of the jars to store the finished applebutter in)

1 1/2 cups organic sugar

4 tblsp. ground cinnamon

1 1/2 tsp. ground cloves

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

1 adorable 3 year old assistant (Lily)she loves and insists on helping me cook

Mix the ingredients in the crock. Cook on high for 12 hours and low for another four hours. Once it really started to simmer, I vented the lid with a butter knife placed across one end of the crock under the lid. This allows the sauce to reduce and thicken. I did stir it occasionally just to see how it was thickening, and to keep it from scorching around the edges. My crock pot gets pretty hot!

This is the finished sauce after I transferred it to a bowl, so we could have some warm and to let it cool before I put it in the jar. The two jars of applesauce made about one jar of applebutter.


Read more Kitchen Tip Teusdays at Tammy's Recipes!
Read Homemade Thursday at Ship Full of Pirates!

Making Caramel Apples

This was fun and easy and not nearly as messy as you might think! And they were delicious! We prepared these before dinner and popped them in the refrigerator. After dinner we went to the library and came home to enjoy our apples. Lily and Wendy could hardly wait!

Here's how we did them...

Anna washed and dried eight golden delicious apples

Anna and Lily unwrapped the caramels and put them in a glass dish.

I had planned to melt the candy in the crock pot, but she was busy baking potatoes for dinner! So I microwaved the caramel a minute at a time stirring after each minute. It took about three and a half minutes.

While the girls unwrapped candy, I put the sticks into the apples. The bag of Kraft caramels came with five sticks, and we saved some sticks from popsicles to use on the rest.

I chopped peanuts and made a pile of sprinkles.

We rolled the apples in the caramel, and scraped the excess caramel off the bottom of the apple with the edge of a knife. Then roll in the nuts and sprinkles. Some wanted only one topping, some did half nuts and half sprinkles.

It was best to tilt the bowl and roll the apple against the side to evenly cover the apple with caramel. We had to melt the caramel a couple of times for 10 seconds between apples.

I sprayed the glass dish lightly with cooking spray so they wouldn't stick.

Lily ate the WHOLE THING! I had more fun watching these two eat than eating my own!

Menu Plan

A little later than usual, but not too late! The fall weather calls for more cooking don't you agree. We continue to enjoy buying and cooking food from local farmer's at the farmer's market. Here's our fall inspired menu, though partially eaten:)

Monday
B-Cereal, toast
L-ham and cheese, leftovers
D-chili dogs, tater tots

Tuesday
B-biscuits with gravy
L-scrambled egg burritos, apples
D-broccoli, rice, and cheese casserole, grilled trout

Wednesday
B-blueberry muffins, hot tea
L-boiled eggs, leftovers, apples
D-baked potato bar...butter, sour cream, steamed broccoli, cheese
desert...crock pot caramel apples

Thursday
B-scrambled eggs, oatmeal
L-pbj, bananas
D-baked chicken, rolls, sweet potato casserole

Friday
B-apple scones
L-pbj, boiled eggs, leftovers
D- spagetti, veggies

New foods for Baby Rose...butternut squash, sweet potatoes.

You Need To Try This

If your family hasn't tried whole grain pasta yet, this is the one to start with. I buy it at Kroger and Wal-mart also sells it. The recipe and directions are on the back of the box, you use the pasta straight out of the box, no need to cook it first! I follow the recipe as it reads except I use cottage cheese in place of the ricotta and ground turkey instead of beef, and add an extra 1/2 cup of water. I add the water because we like our lasagna a little saucier! I double the recipe and make two pans so we can have it a second night or freeze one for later!
Here are the ingredients as listed on the box...
durum whole wheat flour and semolina blend, whole flaxseed mill (adds the heart healthy omega 3's), wheat fiber, thiamin monotrate, niacin, riboflavin, iron, folic acid.
Now go buy some, cook it up and try it, you will like it!

Healthy Snack Cake

This is an adapted recipe from The Bread Beckers Recipe Collection book. I have had their book for years and it is a great book if you want to learn to bake with whole wheat flour. In the book it is called Streusel Coffee Cake. Calling it coffee cake just confuses my kids, so I like to call it snack cake. This is guiltless cake because it is full of fiber and nutrition. You could add nuts, raisins or dates, sunflower seeds, flax seeds, or coconut...whatever your family likes. We keep it simple here! In the pictures we ate this as a mid morning snack and we ate the whole thing except for the two pieces we saved for Tommy for lunch!

4 cups hard white wheat flour(or a combination of hard and soft pastry wheat)

2 tblsp. baking powder

1 tsp. sea salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 cup oil

3/4 cup organic cane juice crystals(or your choice of sweetener)

2 cups of milk (enough to make the it a little thicker than pancake batter)

*note- I often don't measure liquids, so the milk is an estimate here)

topping:

4 tblsp. butter

2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 cup organic cane juice crystals

2 tblsp. flour

blend topping ingredients together with a fork or pastry blender in a separate bowl

Directions....Combine cake ingredients until the consistency of pancake batter and pour into a well greased 13x9 baking dish. Crumble topping evenly on top of the cake batter. Bake at 375 for 30-40 minutes or until done in the center. Shield with foil if getting too brown. Best eaten warm right out of the oven!

Join The Natural Mommy for thursday's recipe swap. I enjoy her blog because she is funny and "real"!!

Poppy Seed Chicken Casserole

This meal has become a favorite for us. A sweet family at church brought us this meal after Rose was born. I found this recipe and made a few changes to make it a little lower fat and a "hair" cheaper.
Poppy Seed Chicken Casserole

• 5 cups of cooked, diced chicken (I have used a rotisserie chicken and skinless boneless chicken)
• 1 can of Cambell's healthy request cream of chicken soup
• plus one can of milk
• 16 ounces of sour cream
• one tablespoon poppy seeds
• one sleeve of Ritz crackers, crushed
• 1/4 cup melted butter

Directions...

1. preheat oven to 350
2. combine the first five ingredients
3. pour into 13x9 casserole dish
4. cover with crushed crackers and drizzle with butter
5. bake 30 minutes or until bubbly around the edges and crackers are golden brown

We serve this over rice so it's more filling. We could easily eat two pans:)

Our Granola Recipe

(with approximate cost)

1 cup honey (have used browm sugar) $1.00

1 stick of butter (have used canola oil) $0.50

6-7 cups old fashioned oatmeal $1.50

1/2 box Multi-grain flakes (great value brand from W-mart) $0.75

Cinnamon $0.05

Total $3.80

Melt the honey and butter together in a large stock pot over low to medium heat. Add in oats and flakes and toss to mix well. Spread onto cookie sheets. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Bake at 250 degrees for 20 to thirty minutes, until toasty and slightly browned. Let cool completely(try to keep your kids from eating half of it before you can get it put away:) Store in an airtight container.

Some great ideas for add-ins, after it is baked

raisins

nuts or seeds

coconut

banana chips (with walnuts makes a great banana bread flavor)

Another tip for larger families...Use a 1/2 cup measuring cup to help the kids practice portion control. This is such a hit around our house it rarely last more that a couple of days!
Visit The Natural Mommy for the recipe swap!

Abby and Anna Made Bread

Abby age10, Anna age 8, and Wendy age 3

Abby and I have talked for probably a year about teaching her to make homemade bread. Time really flies! We normally make whole wheat bread when we bake. Although taking time to grind flour is not very time consuming, it is something the girls are not confident about doing on their own yet. Our grinder is called a Whisper Mill, but it is very loud. Since I knew the girls would basically be "on their own" and I would be caring for Rose, we followed the recipe as it read and used unbleached white flour. This is a delicious and wholesome recipe with the added oatmeal.

Abby and Anna did a great job as you can see. Wendy watched and "helped" her very patient big sisters. Don't ever think your kids are too young to learn to help in big ways! We had one loaf for dinner and finished the rest for breakfast the next morning.

Here is the link to the recipe we used. http://www.recipezaar.com/72787

Approximate cost for two loaves...$1.55

Read more over at Crystal's Frugal Friday http://www.biblicalwomanhoodonline.com/blog.htm

Kitchen Tip Tuesday-Icey Morning Treat

I woke up Sunday morning, a very cold and icey Sunday morning, wanting to bake something yummy. Hardee's cinnamon raisin biscuits came to mind. Since we weren't going out in the bad weather, we decided to make some instead! This is not an exact recipe, just something I threw together. Biscuits are really easy to make:)

4 cups of self rising flour

1/2 cup of sugar

3 tsp cinnamon

1 stick of butter or margerine

couple handfuls of raisins, add as many as you like

2 cups or so of milk or buttermilk

Blend dry ingredients. Cut in butter with two knives or a pastry blender. Add milk or buttermilk, enough to form a soft dough, make sure your dough is not too dry(this makes dry biscuits) you can always add a little flour when kneading to get the right consistency. Dump dough onto generously floured surface and knead just enough to form a nice ball of dough. Flatten dough with your hands (the more gentle you are with the dough the fluffier your biscuits will be:) Cut biscuits, place on pan, brush with melted butter, bake at 400 for 15 to 20 minutes or until lightly browned on top.

While they are baking mix a simple icing...

1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar

2 tblsp. or so milk

couple drops of vanilla

Mix this with a fork and spread on biscuits after cooling them for 5-10 minutes.


Some of us enjoyed our biscuits with orange juice and hot chocolate. For me, I enjoyed a cup of Millstone Holiday Peppermint coffee with half-and-half. Yum! Get more great kitchen tips at http://tammysrecipes.com/taxonomy/term/53