Easter Firsts for Our Family

I had intended to post this yesterday but my to do list was a mile long and my family and home-keeping comes first. So this may seem like old news but our Easter was made up with a lot of firsts for our family and thought I would share them with you.

It was our first Easter living in Kansas away from all our family. It was also our first Easter at a new church.

It was the first Easter where I was responsible for the ENTIRE meal. I was a little intimidated having the weight of an expensive piece of meat on my shoulders but I guess with ham, unless you overcook it and dry it out, you really can't mess it up.

It was the first time I attempted making a pie crust. I wanted my Grandma's recipe but I couldn't get a hold of her in time. I used this recipe instead from AllRecipes.com. If you have a great pie recipe you use feel free to send it to me. It turned out okay for my first try but I made it a little thick. I know to roll it more for next time!

We also started something new with the egg hunt. I added scripture verses into the eggs that were about Christ's death, burial and resurrection. Eian put them in the order they happened. Since he's 10 I had to come up with something challenging for him. He seemed to like it and it helped me by writing out all the verses and bringing the Scriptures closer to my heart. I would have typed them but the computer was acting up and processing slowly. I appreciate writing them now though. :)

Although I missed being near extended family, it was nice spending some much needed family time with my three guys. I hope you all had a wonderful Easter!

This post is linked to Titus 2sday

Simple Recipe: Chicken Florentine w/ Penne Pasta

It's been awhile since I shared a recipe and Keli at Feeding Four on $25 a Week is hosting What's Cooking Thursday's and thought I would join in!

I wish I had this phenomenal, one-of-a-kind recipe to share but I don't. It is a really tasty one though and easy too. It's Chicken Florentine w/ Penne Pasta. The secret is Kraft's Philly cooking cream, regular flavor. I'm sure I could come up with my own "cooking cream" but the prepared cream really did make it easy. Now I must confess that there was a recipe on the container similar to this but I put my own twist on it.

Ingredients

3 lg chicken breasts-diced

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 container Kraft cooking cream, regular flavor

1/2 cup of milk

1 tsp minced garlic

2 tsp Italian seasoning blend

1 small pckg of frozen spinach, thawed

1 cup of grape tomatoes, halved

3 cups cooked penne pasta

Shredded Mozzarella or Grated Parmesan (optional)

Directions

In large skillet saute' the chicken in the heated oil over medium high heat until browned. Drain spinach and press firmly in paper towel to release any excess water. Add spinach, cooking cream, milk, garlic, and seasoning blend to chicken until mixture bubbles. Add tomatoes and cook for an additional minute. Serve over prepared pasta. Sprinkle with cheese if desired.

This was sooo delicious. I can see myself making this one again for sure. I've been trying to incorporate more veggies into our diets. Italian food is always an tasty way to sneak those in and have the kids still eat it. I thought this would be a home run and then I look over to see a pile of green on Eian's plate! He was picking out the spinach. Oh well I guess I'll have to step up my game and hide it a little better next time!

Make sure to go visit Keli's blog for more great recipes!

New Favorite Cookie Recipe

I'm really enjoying getting back into the blogging groove. The problem? I have sooo many deep thought provoking, soul sharing, enlightening (or so I think) posts but they take time in putting my thoughts into some sort of organization. Time is tight around these parts as I still continue to unpack, move things around and then move around some more, and get organized with my daily routine.

But until then I have yet another recipe to share. I posted the other day about my new/old best friend. These double chocolate cookies are the first of many recipes I tried using my "new" mixer. Actually the story behind these is it's a recipe we found in a Family Circle magazine at the doctor's office last week. David was drooling so much he asked the nurse to copy the page for us!

It was a very user friendly recipe and they are great cookies for bake sales or for gifts. You can find the full recipe at the Family Circle site here. Enjoy!

New Beef Stew Recipe

I hadn't planned on doing a post today but I thought it might be nice to share this recipe I tweaked. Unlike some of the blogs I read, I am not a master in the kitchen! I love to cook though and try new recipes but everyday it seems I learn something new about food, baking, etc. so I am by no means an "expert".


I have been making beef stew for years now but it just never seems quite right or something's always missing. I finally think I have a good one to follow! I never really make it the same way twice (kinda like meatloaf) but I think I will be following this recipe for years to come. I know this isn't the best picture but trust me, it's good!



Ingredients

Beef Stew Meat

2-3 TBSP flour (seasoned optional)

2 TBSP cooking oil

4-5 chopped carrots

4-5 medium chopped potatoes

1 pckg dry onion soup mix

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 -2 cups beef broth or water



I coat the meat in flour and usually add a blend of garlic powder, seasoning salt and whatever else I have on hand. I'm not really sure if makes much of a difference though. I brown the meat in the oil on high heat just until slightly brown.


Combine soups and broth with a whisk in your slow cooker. Add meat, carrots, and potatoes to cooker and cover. Cook on low 6-7 hours and enjoy!

DIY: Flour Tortillas

Okay so those who know me know I like to be domestic and try to be domestic. However, they also know the truth is I have had many more flops and failures than successes when it comes to various organizing attempts, home decor ideas and especially kitchen related projects.

Now that I'm home more though, I have become a bit more proficient in the culinary category and am a little more adventurous in my recipe choices.

I have also come to realize how much JUNK my family consumes in easy convenience foods. I'm not a huge health nut or anything, and am certainly not suggesting a ding-dong free diet. I do like the idea of recreating some of those convenience items here at home though with ingredients I know how to pronounce and are just that, ingredients and not some chemical compound.


So in my pursuit of wholesomeness, I have found a great "5 Minute Bread" recipe that we all love and tonight I will attempt to make homemade tortillas!!! I have heard the rumor in the blogosphere that the time isn't really worth it to make these from scratch, so I'm a little nervous this might be a total waste of time or another one to add to my flop list. For us though, tortillas are one of those items that we never seem to have when the craving for Mexican comes around. So I shall continue my expedition because I would love to say the next time my husband or kids ask for enchiladas, sure let me just whip some up! This is a response I would rather give them versus the hurried trip to the store where I end up getting way more than just the tortillas, thus wasting money and gas!

I will keep you all updated on my findings, if they're worth it to make from scratch or not. What convenience food have you started making from scratch? I would love for you to share or feel free to email me stefani0521@hotmail.com and do a guest post!

New Favorite Appetizer Recipes

I was curious, did any of you try new recipes this Christmas that are now mainstays? If so, it'd be so cool if we could all share either by comment on this post or post your own on your blog. Just link back to me so I can come check it out! I'm always looking for new recipes to try!

I don't know if any of you visit Kraft Foods for recipes. It's one of my favorite sites. All their recipes usually use ingredients I already have or are easy to get and for the most part they're pretty quick and simple. Quick and simple is crucial in this house!

So for Christmas I wanted to have some appetizers while the rest of the Christmas dinner was baking but I needed something simple but tasty and I found two!

Creamy Crab Dip and Spinach & Artichoke Dip. They were both sooo good. You'll have to go to the Kraft website to get the recipes but I'll share with you my substitutions and omissions.

Creamy Crab Dip
The only changes to mine were omitting the shredded cheese, switching out the green onions with 1/2 cup regular yellow onion, and using imitation crab (not by choice, price won) instead of the canned stuff. I was skeptical about the Grey Poupon at first but it really gave it the zing it needed. Oh it was sooo good. We served this with the Town House Toppers Garlic & Herb crackers.

Spinach & Artichoke Dip
We made this just as is but served it with tortilla chips. I was craving the dip from TGIFridays and this was definitely a very close runner up!

I hope you enjoy these as much as we do!

Fall Fave Recipe- Loaded Baked Potato Soup

As I mentioned in an earlier post, Kim at a Homesteader's Heart is hosting a giveaway for a Gooseberry Patch Cookbook. One of the ways to enter is to post one of your favorite fall recipes on your blog and let Kim know about it.

One of my fave's that we have quite often in cold weather is Loaded Baked Potato Soup! I can't remember where I found it but thank you to whomever or what ever site I got it from, it's so good and easy!

Please keep in mind that the amount of ingredients listed is a good amount if you have a small family or want no leftovers. I usually double this since we usually have seconds and I like to take it to work for lunch!

Ingredients:
Soup:
1 can cream of potato soup
3-4 cups milk (depends on how creamy and thick you like your soup)
2 cups of home style (cubed) frozen hash browns
1/2 stick of butter
salt & pepper to taste

Topping:
2-3 tbsp bacon bits
2-3 green onions chopped
Shredded cheese to your liking

Directions:
Mix soup, milk, frozen taters, and butter in a medium to large saucepan and preferably non-stick. Heat until a slow boil (watch carefully so it doesn't scald the milk) and simmer for about 10 minutes or until frozen taters are heated through and tender.

Top with bacon, onions, and cheese. Viola!!! A delicious semi-homemade potato soup in less than 15 minutes. We like to eat this with grilled cheese and bacon sandwiches and dip them. Hmmm, so good! I hope you gals like this one.

The Casserole Queen

I was not an experienced cook when David and I met nearly nine years ago. I had just turned twenty-two and although did not have a plethora of dishes I made I felt I had a little more to offer in the culinary category than my fellow twenty something chicas.

We lived in Orlando at the time and I was slowly becoming homesick. So therefore I loved making comfort food that made me feel back at home and thus my future hubby dubbed me The Casserole Queen!

He may tease but there are a few staples to our cooler weather eating habits that have become a mainstay in our home. I'd like to share a few with you. I should point out that a few of these are new ones that I've attained over the past nine years.

Tater Tot Casserole (thanks to Crissy for this one!)
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees

Ingredients
1 lb hamburger
1 small onion
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup milk
garlic powder
salt & pepper to taste
2-3 cups frozen tots (about 1/2 a regular pckg)
Velveeta slices or chunks

Directions
Brown hamburger and cook onion with it then drain. Add soup, milk, garlic powder, salt, and pepper to skillet and stir till blended. Pour into a 13 X 9 casserole dish. Cover mixture with velveeta slices or chunks. Top with an even layer of tots. Place in oven for 25-30 minutes or until bubbly and tots are browned.

Taco Pie
Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Ingredients
1 lb hamburger
1 cup diced green pepper
1/2 cup diced onion
taco seasoning packet
1 small can of tomato paste

1/3 cup water
10 small refrigerated biscuits
2 cups colby jack cheese
sour cream to taste for garnish

Directions
Brown hamburger, green peppers and onions together and drain. Place back into skillet. Add seasoning packet, tomato paste, and 2 tbsp water or whatever packets directions call for. Heat mixture on medium high heat until simmering and thickened.

Add biscuits to bottom of 9 inch pie plate sprayed w/ cooking spray. Press biscuits into bottom of plate until they form a continuous crust. Add half of the meat mixture and spread to cover crust. Spread half of cheese evenly, add remaining meat mixture and top with cheese.

Place in oven for about 20-25 minutes or until biscuits look browned.

Serve with a dollop of sour cream and a salad.

Well there's just a sampling of the Casserole Queen's recipe box. I hope you enjoy them as much as our family has and continues to!

Blessings,
Stef

Sailin' Through Saturdays

I just love my Saturday's these days. I used to feel like I DESERVED to sleep in till 10 and then slither to the recliner and veg on TLC and HGTV shows and throw my kid a pop tart if he got hungry. I used to play this poor me act and deceive myself into thinking I needed my "Me" time after a long week at work.


Well I am so glad that I have been saved from a self-centered lifestyle! I still have my moments but I realize that no day truly belongs to me. They are all days the Lord has given to me as a gift. We all know, believers or not, that you can be here today but gone tomorrow so why shouldn't I make the most of any day, especially Saturdays, to be a blessing and to make the most of them?

So my NEW Saturdays include getting up around 6:30 or 7am (most days), Bible study, exercising, catch up on chores, soccer game mid-day, lunch and then get caught up on tedious projects at home that I can't get done during the week, grocery shop and sometimes a playdate at the park. Today however, I have been feeling a little "sluggish" and have been blog lurking. I turned my "lurking" into productivity though!

This afternoon I made homemade tomoto soup that I got from Tammy's Recipes. My mom and dad had a great crop of tomatos this year and I needed to do something with them before they went bad. I have to say, this is the BEST tomato soup. It beats the canned stuff for sure! It does take a lot more time obviously but I made a large enough batch to have a few bowls right away and then froze the rest in baggies. It made so much soup that I'll have enough for several months. Not to mention that I can turn some of the soup into pizza sauce and spaghetti sauce. The best part? It's super cheap.

I also decided to try to make my own iced coffee. It's a great recipe I got from another blog I lurk in from time to time. How ingenius is it to freeze leftover coffee? Why didn't I think of this before? I always have just a wee little bit left in the pot when I leave for work and now I just pour the last few drops into the ice tray. I just made mine and it is delicious! I made a little different variation though. I added a little vanilla extract and some of Eian's Nesquick to make it an Iced Coffee Vanilla Mocha! Instead of feeling guilty for being wasteful and leaving a few drops of leftover coffee I'll now look at those last wonderful drops as my little Saturday treat!

Well I'm off to have some Momma and Son time and finish a few chores! Enjoy the rest of your Saturday and I pray you have an even better Lord's Day tomorrow!

I am domestic, hear me roar!!!

I had always considered myself pretty"domestic" in my own right. Until... I discovered the Blog World (darn you Sami!) and found all these blogs by seemingly normal women. It wasn't until further inspection of their blogs did I discover their hidden talents. Most of the blogs I was reading were from SAHM and Homeschooling Moms. Ironically enough, I am neither but felt drawn to these blogs (maybe the Holy Spirit's trying to tell me something?)

Long ago when I first became a mother, I used to think of SAHM's as whiney crybabies. I remember thinking, when I briefly became a SAHM until my son was nearly 2, "What the heck are they complaining about? Why do women think being a SAHM is soooo hard? Big stinkin deal, you get stay home and play with your kid all day, so what? The REEEEAAAAL work is out there in the REEEAAAL world, not at home!" Now just hold it right there and wait a minute before you click on my comment link to shoot me a few nasty words!

Please keep in mind that I was first of all, not a follower of the Lord and was very selfish. I resented staying home (which was mostly my husband's desire) and bought into the lie of the world that a women's real worth has to be found in a job, a career or anything else outside of the home. Secondly, I found no real passion in really wanting to keep up my home let alone wanting to make it my family's retreat. I did keep things fairly clean though but it was just routine, no joy put into it what so ever.

I was saved nearly 3 years ago and that's when my viewpoints and outlook on this began to change. It hasn't been until recently though that my respect and admiration for SAHM's has really grown strong. So here I am, a Working Full Time Out of The Home Momma (posts to come soon on why I do this) who is learning through my Bible study on my role as a woman, wife and mother and comes onto the blog scene. I soon discover this wonderful network of SAHM's who are Amazing Domestic Diva's! You girls rock!

I have learned to make my own homemade buttermilk and now my new fave... 100% Whole Wheat Sourdough Bread (using the homeade buttermilk =0) and learned more ways to stretch a buck than I can list! My next project may be homemade yogurt and cream cheese, we'll see! I've also gained so many new recipes and cooking tips that you just can't get in the Betty Crocker Cook Book! My Domestic Senses are tingling and I love it. I think my hubby does too! ;o)



You can check out Candy's blog http://myblessedhome.blogspot.com/ for the recipes.



My Son Going to Town "Punching" the Bread

Homemade

Buttermilk

Pancakes I made
With the Buttermilk!



My son loves pancakes but weekday mornings around here are too crazy for homecooking in the AM hours! Soooo... I made a whole batch of these over the weekend, let them cool and wrapped them up in plastic wrap to freeze. This allows me to take 2 or so cakes out of the freezer, stick them on a plate and nuke for about 20-30 seconds and viola!! Homemade pancakes!

Helpful tip: Put plastic between each cake so they don't stick together when you take them out of freezer!