Christmas Icicle Candy

Well, I decided to try my hand at a variation of a recipe I found online for some homemade hard candy. These are basically twisted strips of candy -- we learned some tricks along the way, and intend to make this again in a few weeks with some better success.

Definitely tasty and delicious though. And very fitting for this time of year.

We'll wait to post the recipe until we try this for the second time.

Once a Month Cooking Week!

I'm doing a Once a Month Cooking (OAMC) marathon this week. Some of the recipes I do will be ones that I have already shared for you in this blog, but I'll be doing a lot of other stuff too! I will be putting up some new recipes this week, so be sure to check back!

Today I started the week off by buying all the meat at Costco. When I got home, I immediately began browning the ground beef. I still have about 8 lbs of it left to go, but I'm almost there. I will also be baking several pans of chicken breasts, which will be cut up and added to a number of recipes, including enchiladas, tortilla soup, and my sweet and sour chicken recipe. Before the day is over, I'll also be putting together some ingredients to make a quick and easy Roast Beef Au Jus, which you must remind me to share with you if I forget!

Here's the complete list of what I plan to make:
Sloppy Joes (x3)
Chili (x4)
Beef Tips (x2)
Beef Pot Pie (x2)
Taco Meat (x4)
Roast Beef Au Jus (x2)
Sweet and Sour Chicken (x3)
Chicken Enchiladas (x2)
Taco Soup (x3)
Tortilla Soup (x3)
Chicken Cilantro Enchiladas (x2)
Beef Stew (x2)
Teriyaki Meatballs (x2)
Barbecue Meatballs (x2)
Chicken Pot Pie (x4)
Spaghetti Sauce (x5)
--------------------------
45 meals

Yes, I know this will last me well over a month, but I so love to double or triple recipes when I can, and it makes it so much easier to do OAMC when you aren't making 30 different recipes!

So, that's what I'm up to this week!

Aunt Mary's Sloppy Joes

My mom's Aunt Mary (the sister of my grandma) use to have the most wonderful recipe for sloppy joes, which she use to make all the time and never shared with anyone. It was her super secret recipe. Sadly, around the time I was in junior high she was diagnosed with cancer. She died when I was a freshman in high school. Thankfully, before her death, she finally agreed to share her recipe with everyone, for which we will always be thankful. This recipe brings back wonderful memories of being at her house as a little girl, sitting by the pool, eating sloppy joes, potato chips, and a big glass of Minute Maid fruit punch. I hope that someday I'll have the privilege of sharing this meal with my grandchildren and grand nieces and nephews, too :)

Aunt Mary's Sloppy Joes
2 lbs. ground beef
1 pkg. onion soup mix
1 pkg. burrito seasoning
1 8 oz. can of V-8
1 can tomato soup

Brown ground beef. Drain fat. Mix in onion soup, burrito seasoning, V-8 and tomato soup. Cover and allow to simmer until thick. Serve on potato rolls or hamburger buns.

Andrew's Strawberry Scones

This is a recipe that Andrew came up with, and we all loved it! I always love it when Andrew makes breakfast for the family :)

Scones with Strawberries
2 1/3 c. Bisquick
3 Tbs. Sugar
3 Tbs. butter, melted
1/2 c. milk
Sliced strawberries
Whipped cream

Preheat oven to 425 F. Mix Bisquick, sugar, butter and milk until soft dough forms. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls into 6 mounds on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown. Split scones in half and spoon strawberries in the middle, and top with a dollop of whipped cream.

My Favorite Waffle Recipe

So, I will be the first to admit that while it is nice to be able to make things from scratch, there are certain things that I have stopped attempting to make because it never tastes as good as what you can buy in a store. Lasagna is probably my biggest example because I cannot beat Michaelangelo's or Costco's brand, but waffle mix is another one of those things. I love the Krusteaz Waffle Mix. However, a few years ago, I came across a problem. Our family was rapidly expanding and the little boxes that I was buying at the grocery store weren't going very far. So, we started to buy the bulk bag from Costco or Cash 'n Carry (a bulk grocery store in our area that caters mainly to businesses). When I first made waffles using the mix from the bulk bag, I realized instantly that they didn't taste the same as the mix in the box that I was use to. I can't even begin to say how disappointed I was by this, and went back to buying the box. However, very soon it became apparent to me that the recipe on the bulk bag was different from the smaller box. I wondered if the bulk mix was made differently from the box, but after comparing their ingredients side by side, I realized it was the exact same mix, only Krusteaz was omitting two ingredients in the recipe on the bulk mix. So, I started adding oil and eggs to my bulk mix, and the waffles came out perfectly. So, for anyone who is interested, this is the CORRECT way to make a Krusteez waffle (you know, just in case you buy the bulk mix, too, and it doesn't turn out that yummy!)



Krusteaz Waffles
For 2-3 7-inch Round Waffles:
1 1/2 cups Krusteaz Belgian Waffle Mix
1 Egg
3 Tbsp. Oil
3/4 cup Water

For 4-5 Waffles:
3 cups Waffle Mix
2 Eggs
1/3 cup Oil
1 1/2 cups Water

for 8-10 Waffles:
6 cups Waffle Mix
4 Eggs
2/3 cup Oil
3 cups Water


Preheat and lightly grease waffle iron. Blend all ingredients together with a wire whip until smooth. Pour about 2/3 cup batter onto preheated and lightly greased waffle iron. Cook waffles 3-4 minutes until golden brown, or according to waffle iron's instructions. Serve hot! We like to serve waffles with whipped cream and fresh sliced strawberries on top. It's a Flanagan favorite :)

Strawberry Baked Brie

Every year around Thanksgiving we make a baked cranberry brie, which everyone always loves. I have played around with recipe I have a bit, making it with different types of crusts (phyllo, puffed pastry) and different types of fruit topping (cranberry sauce, raspberry preserves among other things). Well, a month ago I was participating in a marketing campaign for President cheese and received a coupon for a free cheese item of my choice. I naturally decided to go with a brie wheel. Since it was spring, I thought I'd try to update my basic baked brie recipe to find something that would be more appropriate for a sunny spring day.

Strawberry Pecan Baked Brie
5 sheets Phyllo dough, thawed
1 round brie
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup pecans, finely chopped
1/2 cup sliced strawberries

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a round cake pan with non stick cooking spray. Lay one layer of brie in pan and lightly brush with melted butter. Lay a second layer on top of the first, overlapping slightly so that it is not completely on top of the first. Brush second layer with melted butter. Continue until all sheets of phyllo have been layered. Place brie in center of the phyllo sheets and gently press phyllo against the sides of the brie to make a "nest". Cover the top of the brie with chopped pecans. Bake for 20 minutes, or until phyllo is a golden brown. Allow brie to cool off slightly before placing sliced strawberries on top. Serve with crackers!

Quick and Simple Chili

During the fall and winter months we have chili and cornbread a lot. It's a very simple and hearty meal to make, and the boys generally like it. I have played around with this recipe a lot over the years. The basic recipe has always been the same, but I have added different ingredients from time to time. I like to at least double the recipe so I can freeze half for later. Corn bread is a must with this recipe- a classic favorite is the Jiffy brand corn bread mix, although we also really like the Trader Joe's cornbread mix. One of these days I'll try to make my own!

Chili
1 lb ground beef
1 packet taco seasoning
1 can Hunt's fire roasted diced tomatoes
1 can dark red kidney beans, drained (light red also work, I like the look of the dark better!)
3 stalks celery, chopped
1 cup frozen corn
Shredded cheese


Brown ground beef in a large pot. Drain fat. Add about 1/2 cup of water and place pot back on the stove. Add taco seasoning, tomatoes, beans celery, and corn. Cover pot and simmer on low for 30-60 minutes. Before serving, sprinkle with shredded cheese and serve with a generous portion of corn bread!

I'm Still Here!!!

Things have been busy around the house, so I haven't had much time to post. However, I have been meaning to post recipes for my chili, Andrew's Strawberry Scones, and something else I can't remember off the top of my head... I promise I'll get to all these things soon!

Frozen Berry Meringue Squares

I first tried this recipe last summer at my baby shower for Liam. One of the ladies at our church made it as the dessert, and I immediately fell in love with it. This dessert is wonderful for the summer, and best of all? It can be made ahead of time and stored in a freezer, so you can make several pans of this and have a delicious dessert ready at a moment's notice. The original recipe makes one 13x9 inch pan, but for this recipe I have doubled the crust portion of the recipe, and found that I could divide it into 3- 8x8 square pans, which is a more manageable sized dessert for our family, even if we include a few guests. If you don't plan to eat this dessert right away, I suggest using foil bakeware so you don't tie up the use of your normal bakeware!!! Another word to the wise- for the berry portion of the recipe, make sure not to get any egg yolk or whipping cream in the meringue mixture or else it will not form stiff peaks! I learned that the hard way the first time I made this recipe!!!

Frozen Berry Meringue Squares
2 cups sifted all purpose flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup chopped nuts (I like pecans!)
1 cup butter, melted

2 egg whites
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 cups fresh sliced strawberries or raspberries*
1 cup whipping cream, whipped

Stir together flour, brown sugar, nuts and butter, spread evenly in a shallow baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Sprinkle 3/4ths of the crumbs into 3- 8x8 pans (or 1-13x9 and 1 8x8!). Allow to cool. Combine egg whites, sugar, berries and lemon juice in large bowl and beat at high speed for about 10 minutes until stiff peaks form. Fold in whipped cream. Spoon over cooled crumbs and top with remaining crumbs. Freeze for 6 hours or overnight. Before serving, allow to slightly thaw and trim with whole berries.

*You can also use one 10 oz package of frozen berries partially thawed if fresh berries are not available. Make sure to reduce the sugar added to 2/3 cup.

Salsa Chicken

I got this recipe yesterday on a friend's facebook page. Someone from my college gave it as a quick and easy crockpot recipe. I dug through my pantry and discovered that I had all the ingredients in my house, so I threw it together really fast. 6 hours later we had a meal, which was nice because my eldest son had T-Ball practice in the late afternoon and I had no time to cook. It took me less than 10 minutes to prepare and the whole family loved it.

Salsa Chicken
1 cup salsa
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 packet taco seasoning
Frozen chicken breasts
Cooked white rice

Combine salsa, soup and taco seasoning in a crock pot. Add frozen chicken breasts. Cook on low for 4-5 hours. After chicken is finished cooking, mix some of the extra sauce with cooked white rice for a nice side dish.

Sweet and Sour Chicken

This is a newer recipe to our family. I started making it a couple years ago when I was pregnant with my third son and doing Once a Month Cooking. I have made a bunch of adjustments to the original recipe to meet the needs of our family. The biggest change has been to double the recipe. I like to make a huge batch of this, bake part of it for dinner, and divide and freeze the rest of it. Originally I was able to get 4 meals out of the doubled recipe but as the family has grown I typically divide it into thirds. The original recipe also called for canned mushrooms, which I have omitted, and I have added bamboo shoots instead. Feel free to play around with the vegetables- this recipe is very flexible. It would probably taste really good with some roasted peanuts or cashews mixed in, but I never seem to have any nuts when I make it!

Sweet and Sour Chicken
1 cup sugar
6 Tbs. cornstartch
3/4 cup white vinegar
2- 20 oz cans pineapple chunks (reserve juice)
1 cup soy sauce
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. crushed garlic
1 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. ground ginger
4 large celery stalks, chopped coarsely
1 large onion, chopped coarsely
8 chicken breasts
4 green bell peppers, chopped coarsely
2 8-oz cans sliced water chestnuts, drained
2 8-oz cans bamboo shoots, drained

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake chicken breasts for 1 hour, or until no pink remains. Remove from oven and chop into 1 inch pieces. If serving dish immediately, keep oven on.

In a large pot, combine sugar and cornstarch; stir in white vinegar, juice from pineapple chunks, soy sauce, salt, garlic, paprika, ginger, celery and onion. Bring to a boil; reduce heat. Simmer, stirring constantly until thickened. Remove from heat. Stir in pineapple chunks, chicken, bell peppers, water chestnuts and bamboo shoots. Divide into smaller portions and freeze any portions that you will not be serving immediately.

To prepare for serving, thaw meal (if frozen) and put in a baking dish treated with nonstick spray. Bake uncovered in preheated 350 degree oven for 45 minutes. Serve over rice.

Rheinlander Lentil Soup

I have always loved lentil soup, and my mom made it for us quite often when I was a kid. I have always loved how hearty and flavorful it is. About 5 years ago my husband and I had the great pleasure of being able to eat at the Rhinelander restaurant in Portland. The Rhinelander serves German food and is one of my dad's old favorites. One of the things that I remember the most about that experience was their lentil soup. I later found the recipe for that soup online, which I was very excited about! I still make my original lentil soup recipe from time to time (and will promise to post that recipe at a later date), but I like to make this version when we're having guests over for lunch. The plus about this soup (and other soups in general) is that it's easy to freeze the leftovers for later!

Rhinelander Lentil Soup
1 cup dry lentils [I use the whole bag]
5 bacon slices, chopped into small pieces
1 cup potatoes, chopped
1 cup celery, chopped
1 cup carrots, chopped
1 cup onions, chopped
3 1/2 qts water [I only use 3 quarts]
4 tbsp olive oil
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 beef bouillon cubes
2 bay leaves
1 pinch ground nutmeg
1 pinch ground white pepper [I use black pepper]
1 tsp dried thyme
2 tsp salt

1. Combine the oil, bacon, celery, carrots, and onions. Place them in a large pot, over a medium high heat then saute for 5 minutes, or until bacon becomes crisp. Mix in the flour until it's dissolved and creates a paste-like consistency.

2. Gradually add the water, stirring frequently. Now, add the lentils, potatoes, beef base, bay leaves, nutmeg, white pepper, thyme, and salt. Combine well, and allow the mixture to come just to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 3 hours [or until lentils and potatoes are soft].

Rainbow Cupcakes

Here's another fun dessert for spring. I promise I do make more than dessert in this house- the reason behind all the dessert posts is simply that my mom asked me to be in charge of Jello and dessert for Easter this year, so I thought it would be a fun way to start out this blog.

For Easter this year I decided to make pastel rainbow cupcakes instead of the bright colored ones I made for St. Patrick's Day. I simply did this by decreasing the amount of food coloring I added to the batter. I don't have the exact amount of drops I used- I pretty much eye balled it, and slowly put in a few drops at a time until I was happy with the hue of the batter. I will, however, be giving the exact drop measurements for the bright rainbow cupcakes in this recipe!

Rainbow Cupcakes
1 white cake mix
Food Coloring
Frosting or whipped cream topping

1) Prepare white cake mix according to directions, then divide batter equally among 6 small bowls. Following this chart, dye each bowl of batter a rainbow color.

Purple: 9 Red and 6 Blue Drops
Blue: 12 Drops
Green: 12 Drops
Yellow: 12 Drops
Orange 12 Yellow and 4 Red Drops
Red: 18 Drops

2) Line 16 muffin pan wells with baking cups. Evenly distribute purple batter among the cups, then the blue, and so on, following rainbow order. As you go, gently spread each layer of batter with the back of the spoon to cover the color underneath (though, if the batter seems unwilling to completely cover the previous layer, plopping it in the middle and continuing with the next color can make some interesting results, too!)

3) Bake cupcakes according to cake recipe's directions. Before serving remove the paper wrapping, and if you like, top each cupcake with frosting or whipped cream topping.

Strawberry Pretzel Salad

We love Jell-O in this house. I tend to make it, in some form or another, for pretty much every holiday or big event throughout the year. So, you will find a lot of jello recipes from me!

When I first heard about this recipe, my initial thought was that it sounded really gross. I love pretzels, but the idea of mixing them into a jello salad sounded rather unappetizing. However, one bite and I quickly fell in love. My children also really love this recipe, and we often make it for Sunday dinner, which is the biggest meal of our week. It is good enough to be a dessert, but we tend to serve it as a side dish during the meal!

Strawberry Pretzel Salad
2 cups crushed thin pretzels (I use a food processor , but you do not want them too fine- small pieces is great!)
4 Tbs. sugar
3/4 c. butter, melted
8 oz. package cream cheese
8 oz. carton Cool Whip
1/2 c. sugar
1 lg. box Strawberry Jello
2 c. boiling water
2 (10 oz) packages frozen strawberries, thawed and drained
1 small can crushed pineapple (I sometimes omit this)

Mix pretzels, 4 Tbs. sugar, and melted butter. Pour into greased 13x7 baking dish, cover bottom and pack down with a spoon or the bottom of a measuring cup. Bake at 400 degrees for 6 minutes. Allow to completely cool, about 1 hour.

Beat cream cheese, cool whip and sugar until creamy. Spread over the top of cooled pretzel crust.

Combine strawberry jello and boiling water, mix until Jello is dissolved. Add frozen strawberries and pineapple, if desired, and allow to slightly congeal before pouring on top of cream cheese mixture. Refrigerate until firm.

Cake Balls

So, yesterday I showed you how to make Mint Oreo Balls. Today I am going to share my recipe for cake balls. The beauty of this recipe is that you can make whatever flavor you like! The first time I made it, I used a red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting. The second time I used a German chocolate cake with caramel pecan frosting (which was too delicious for words!), and for our Easter celebration this year I used a confetti cake with rainbow chip frosting for one batch, and a strawberry cake with strawberry frosting for the other batch. I haven't tried them yet (saving it all for Easter!), but my favorite taste tester, my husband, said they were pretty good! So, I encourage you to be creative with this recipe, and then share what you did! I'd love to hear your suggestions!!!

Cake Balls
1 box cake mix, any flavor
1 15 oz. can frosting, any flavor
Chocolate bark or Wilton Candy Melts

1. Bake cake in 13x7 inch pan, according to directions. Allow cake to completely cool.
2. When cake is completely cool, break entire cake up into crumbs in a bowl and then mix with can of frosting. I use my hands for this because it's easier than using a spoon!
3. Roll mixture into 1 inch balls and place on a cookie sheet.
4. Place balls in the freezer for an hour, until firm.
5. Heat chocolate bark or candy melts according to directions.
6. Roll balls in chocolate until completely covered, then place on sheet of wax paper. Allow to harden before storing in the refrigerator.

Mint Oreo Balls

This is a new recipe that I have made twice now. The first time was for our annual St. Patrick's Day party. The remainder of the balls were left out after church the next Sunday, and they were fought over! I had nothing but compliments about these, and I even had someone ask me where I had purchased them!

Mint Oreo Balls
1 pkg. Double Stuf Oreos – Cool Mint Flavor – (1 lb. , 1 oz. pkg.)
• use 22 cookies with cream centers included
• use 10 cookies with cream centers discarded
1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, room temperature
chocolate bark or Wilton candy melts

1. Finely crush the cookies in a food processor or a ziploc bag with a rolling pin.
2. Stir in softened cream cheese. Use the back of a large spoon to help mash the two together completely.
3. Roll the mixture into 1″ balls and place on wax paper covered cookie sheet.
4. Place covered in freezer or refrigerator for a few minutes to help retain shape when dipping in melted chocolate.
5. Melt chocolate or candy melts as directed on the package and then dip balls into chocolate, tap off extra and set aside on wax paper covered cookie sheet to dry.
6. Refrigerate and enjoy!

My Recipe Blog

Hi! My name is Sarah and I am a busy wife and mother to four little boys under the age of 6. I also run a small at-home business, which takes up a lot of my time. When I have free time, I love cooking and baking for my family. I like to find recipes that are easy to make, are kid friendly, and can be prepared ahead of time in order to freeze. The simpler the better. I especially look for recipes that my husband and I enjoy as well as the boys. I have had a number of friends ask for my recipes, so I thought it would be nice to have a place to compile them all, so everyone can enjoy them. Keeping recipes a secret is no fun! So, I'm going to be sharing the love! If you have any recipes that you think I would like, I'd love for you to share them with me, too!

~SARAH~