What's Cooking Wednesday: Joanie's Heavenly Corned Beef & Cabbage

Today's recipe comes right in time for St. Patty's Day, which is also my birthday! Growing up I didn't like corned beef and cabbage, but I think it is mostly because it was tradition to eat it for that Green Day and I probably was wanting Red Robin or Mac n Cheese for my birthday dinner instead! With this recipe, I am begging for corned beef and cabbage for my birthday!


Corned Beef (I like Bailey's from Costco the best)
Yellow MustardBrown SugarPotatoesCarrotsCabbage

Trim some of the excess fat but not all. (it adds flavor)
Put in crock pot and cover with water. Sprinkle with some Pickling Spice. Cook on low for about 8 hours or until fork tender. When done take it out of the water, but don't throw the water out. Now remove any extra fat. Then place the meat on foil lined cookie sheet and spread yellow mustard all over the meat. Then cover it with brown sugar. Bake at 325 for 20 min or so. The brown sugar/mustard will make a bubbly crust on the meat. Put the water in a separate pot to boil vegetables. Cook cut up potatoes and carrots in the reserved water (you will need to add more water to it) in the last 8 min of boiling time add cut up cabbage.

What's Cooking Wednesday: Creamy Chicken and Asparagus Pasta

Who doesn't love a good pasta dish? Pasta is comfort food. Pasta with bacon and a creamy sauce is naughty and divine. I found this recipe off of Cooking Classy with a Sprinkle of Fancy and knew it would be a favorite. We had this for dinner last night and I am counting down the hours until 11:00 when I can have leftovers. 11:00 is a perfectly acceptable lunch time when it is something you cannot wait to eat. Here is the recipe.

Read on for a few little hints that made this easy. Super easy. I cooked this with a sick toddler at my feet. Heating already cooked bacon would be the easiest, but next easiest is cooking your bacon in the oven. Follow this link to find out how to do that. Or maybe that is a known way to cook bacon? It's fairly new to me and it cooked the bacon to perfection while the pasta boiled and asparagus steamed. I bet the homemade alfredo is tasty, but my store bought jar of alfredo did the trick and saved me time and thinking. I always bake my chicken in the oven ahead of time and then chop and sauté it with garlic when I'm ready to use it. Warning: this recipe does use lots of pans- one for the asparagus, pasta, chicken and then the cookie sheet for the bacon, but it is so worth it. Cook it on a night your not on dish duty! Or maybe you have a husband like mine who has declared the dishes his job since the day we were married. I'll save that mushy stuff for Marriage Monday. Anyways, I simply drained my pasta, added my jar of alfredo and some fresh shredded parmesan cheese and gently mixed in my bacon, chicken and asparagus.

Delish! Hope your family enjoys it as much as mine did. Comment on this post and let me know what you think of it. I promise I'm not exaggerating how good it is! Is it 11:00 yet?!

Picture courtesy of Cooking Classy. 

Gingerbread Playdough Friend Gift

My girls love playing with playdough. This year they decided to make playdough for a few friends in the neighborhood. Gingerbread Playdough smells delicious and my girls love using our gingerbread cookie cutters to make little gingerbread families. 

2 cups flour

1/2 cup cinnamon 

1/2 cup salt

2 Tbs cream of tarter

2 Tbs oil

2 cups water

Mix dry ingredients then add wet ingredients. Stir and cook over medium heat until dough sticks together in a ball. Store in an airtight container. 

We bought plastic tupperware with the red tops to store the playdough in,  printed the "Wishing you a very merry Christmas" printable we created, that you are welcome to use, added a cute little gingerbread cookie cutter bought at Michaels Craft Store and some red tulle and we have a cute little gift my girls cannot wait to deliver!

Polar Express Hot Chocolate "as thick and rich as melted chocolate bars"

Tonight we made the most amazing hot chocolate to drink as we read The Polar Express. Not only was it thick and rich and taste like melted chocolate bars, just like is described in the book, it was super easy and only uses 3 ingredients. 

ingredients:

1 package of mini 3 musketeers

2 cups mini marshmallows

3 cups milk

( I don't think you can really go wrong with the measurements. Use as many candy bars and marshmallows to taste and as much milk to make it the consistency you prefer. )

Melt 3 Musketeers in a microwave safe bowl. Melt in 30 second increments, stir and heat. 

Once melted add in milk and marshmallows. Heat for 1 minute at a time until marshmallows are melted.  Wisk until smooth. Enjoy!

Makes about 3-4 servings. 

recipe adapted from this Candy Bar Hot Chocolate on food.com

6 Super Breakfast Ideas

1. Smoothie Kits- in a quart size ziplock freezer baggie add two cups of frozen fruit and 3-4 cubes of pre-made cubes of yogurt that have been frozen in ice-cube trays. You can buy bags of frozen fruit  or use these tips to freeze your own fresh fruit. 

2. Frozen Breakfast Burritos

3. Homemade Instant Oatmeal Packets from Super Healthy Kids (one of my favorite sites) Save money!

4. Breakfast on the go- peanut butter/banana roll up!  Take a tortilla spread Peanut Butter first then the jelly place banana on one end then roll, then eat up!

5. Breakfast Bites (5 minutes or less!) 

6. Muffins- great to make ahead! Serve with a banana or some fruit and viola! Love these homemade blueberry muffins from Our Best Bites

What's cookin' Wednesday: Buttermilk Syrup

We went to a pajama & pancake birthday party the other day and they had the most delicious syrup. I just had to get the recipe and have made it a couple times since. It would selfish not to share, so here it is! It is from Allrecipes.com

1 1/2 cups white sugar

3/4 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup butter

2 tablespoon corn syrup

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

In a saucepan, stir together the sugar, buttermilk, butter, corn syrup, and baking soda. Bring to a boil, and cook for 7 minutes. Remove from the heat, and stir in the vanilla.

* As a side not be careful not to let it boil over... 

Valentine's Breakfast

Valentine's Day is coming up! Here are a few cute breakfast ideas! 

Make easy heart shaped pancakes by putting the batter into a squeeze bottle. Add some chocolate chips for a little extra love! 

Last year we made berry smoothies to go with our breakfast. My little one loved helping. To make it more festive we decorated mason jars with heart stickers to drink from. Let's not even talk about how little my girl was! 

Heart Shaped Cinnamon Rolls are a must in my book! I go the easy route and buy pillsburry rolls to bake. Last year however I bought the wrong kind that didn't open to shape! Don't make my mistake!

Heart ka bobs? So cute! 

heart shape bacon? Why not! My hubby would love this!

And heart shaped eggs are sure to be a hit! 

Don't forget some cute Valentine's plates and napkins! You can find those even at your local dollar store, but it would make things even more festive! 

What's cookin' Wednesday: Tried & True Skinny Taste Recipes

In an effort to eat more healthy around here we are trying to eat less meat and more veggies. I have seen several recipes from the website Skinny Taste pinned on Pinterest, so I decided to give some of them a try. Let me just say I was a little skeptical on some of these, but we were not disappointed. They were all delicious. Every single one we would make again. So, here you are! A few tried and true recipes from Skinny Taste! 

loaded sweet potato

taco stuffed zucchini boats

cheesy baked spaghetti squash boats with grilled chicken

butternut squash and black bean enchiladas

turkey taco lettuce wraps

What's Cookin' Wednesday: Clean Eating Pasta

There isn't really a recipe to this... it is more of just an idea. A healthy alternative to the carb loaded pasta. Simply boil water and cook the broccoli slaw to the desired texture. Add some pasta sauce and a little bit of parmesan cheese and your done! I was a little skeptical, but I was pleasantly surprised. It will filling and I didn't even think twice that I wasn't eating the "real deal." It would also be an easy way to sneak a little extra veggies in for you kids. Give it a chance. It really is good and has become my new favorite pasta! 

What's Cookin' Wednesday: Spiced Pumpkin Donut Holes

I love anything pumpkin flavored. It is part of the reason Fall is my favorite seasons. I have made a lot of Spiced Pumpkin Muffins, but today I tried Spiced Pumpkin Donut Holes and let me tell you... they are absolutely delicious. They are simple to make too. They would make a yummy Halloween Breakfast or just a fun Fall treat. A couple things to note: You may eat them all right out of the oven. If you somehow manage not to, they do not hold up well being stored  – the outside has a tendency to get soggy from the extra butter. (Which is why there are no pictures! I will be making these again and adding pictures later!) The good news is that this doesn’t effect the taste or inside texture. If you want them to last longer you could always hold off on dipping all of them in butter and cinnamon sugar and just wait to do this step whenever you are ready to enjoy a bite of fall!

Donut Ingredients

1 3/4 cups of all purpose flour

1. 2 tsp of baking powder
2. 1/2 tsp of salt
3. 3/4 tsp of cinnamon
4. 1/2 tsp of nutmeg
5. 1/2 tsp of pumpkin pie spice
6. 1/2 cup of vegetable oil
7. 1/2 cup of packed brown sugar
8. 1 egg
9. 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract
10. 1/2 a can of pumpkin puree (about 6 oz.)
11. 1/2 cup milk

Donut coating

1/2 cup sugar

1. 2 tbsp cinnamon
2. 1/2 a stick of unsalted butter

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and pumpkin pie spice . In a separate large bowl, combine the oil, brown sugar, egg, vanilla, pumpkin and milk until smooth. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until just combined. Be careful not to overmix the batter.

Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups, about 1 tablespoon in each cup. (You will have batter left over for about another dozen.) Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until passes the toothpick test.

Let cool enough to handle. If you would like to have the donuts look more like holes than muffins you can remold them as they are still warm

For the coating: Roll each donut hole into the melted butter and then put  butter-coated donut holes into a gallon sized ziplock bag with the cinnamon/sugar,  shake to coat (working with 1 dozen donuts at a time).

Adapted from A Step in the Journey with my own tips & tricks added.

Chicken Fajitas

Freezer/Crockpot Chicken Fajitas 

3-4 chicken breasts
2 bell peppers. (I use 1 red and 1 yellow)
1 onion sliced
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons cumin
1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon minced or powdered garlic
2 tablespoons lime juice

*If you do not have all the spices or if you prefer, a packet taco seasoning works as well.

Add all ingredients to the freezer bag.   Seal, label and freeze!

It's delicious wrapped in a tortilla with cheese, tomatoes, lettuce and sour cream or plain greek yogurt.

What's Cookin' Wednesday: World's Best Cooked Playdough

I got this recipe from an instructor of mine in one of my child development classes many years ago and it really is the best. I have tried several other recipes and always regret doing so.  

2 cups flour

2 tbs cream of tarter

2 cups water

1/2 cup salt

2 tbs oil

optional: food coloring/Kool-Aid

Mix dry ingredients then add wet ingredients. Stir and cook over medium heat until dough sticks together in a call. Store in an airtight container. 

We make a batch of playdough just about every week. Next week we will be adding some pumpkin pie spice to it! Last month we made it red and added cinnamon and nutmeg; it smelt just like apple pie. 

Sometimes we even add some glitter. The possibilities are almost endless.

Enjoy!

What's Cookin' Wednesday: Crockpot Pesto Chicken

I am hesitating to post this recipe this week because I just devoured the rest of this without thinking and did not take a picture! Let that just confirm that it is that good! It has quickly became a family favorite. (I will take and add pictures to this post next time I make this, which will be soon!)

Pesto Chicken
3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 packet of Ranch dressing mix
1 cup prepared *pesto
1/2 cup chicken broth

Mix ingredients together and pour over chicken in crockpot. Cook on low 5-6 hrs. or high 3-4 hours. Serve over pasta or rice, top with fresh diced tomatoes, fresh mozzarella or parmesan cheese or fresh basil.  I found a new parmesan cheese that I love. I don't think I will ever be able to go back to the regular Kraft cheese. I found this new paremesan at Walmart by Mama Francesca. They have several "flavors". I have only tried the Parmesan, Basil & Oregano, but it is amazing. My sister -in- law took a taste of the presto chicken and thought it would also taste delish in tacos as well.

* I cannot for the life of me find the recipe I used to make cilantro pesto, but it is divine. So from the best of my memory...

Cilantro Pesto
1 bunch of cilantro
juice from 1 lime
1 tsp minced garlic
pinch of salt
pinch of pepper
olive oil

Blend all ingredients together, slowly adding olive oil until you get the desired constancy.

The best thing about this is that it makes a great freezer meal as well. Mix ingredients together and pour over chicken in a gallon sized freezer bag. Seal, label and freeze. Crockpot low for 6 hrs or high for 3-4 hours.