Birthday!

WHOO HOO! It was my birthday yesterday and my amazing husband made it PERFECT! It was more of a birthday extravaganza weekend! It began with a Greek dinner with a bunch of friends and then drinks with Tuck and Martiena!


Then on Saturday Chris brought me breakfast in bed!!! I know!!! Then we ran errands and sat around and watched movies all night... can't you tell how excited the dogs were?? LOL!






Then on Sunday after church we sat around the house until Chris made me a wonderful Birthday Dinner! FAJITAS! My favorite!






And don't forget the cake! Cookie cake that is! YUMMM!



And when all of this was done we watched the RedSkins BEAT the Cowboys! IN TEXAS! OOOOH YEA!


How perfect!

Ginger Lime Cupcakes

Katie brought these wonderful creations to a bible study at my house and my husband fell in love with them. He was so bummed that he only got one, so I promised to get the recipe and make them. Now mine did not turn our nearly as deliciously fluffy as Katie's but they were still amazing!

Ingredients

1 1/2 c. flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
zest of 1 lime
2/3 c. sugar
1/3 cup canola oil
1/2 c. lowfat buttermilk
3 large egg whites
2 Tbsp grated fresh ginger
1/4 c. fresh lime juice
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp almond extract

4 oz. light cream cheese, room temperature
6 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
zest and juice of 1 lime
1 tsp vanilla extract
pinch salt
2 c. powdered sugar

Directions:
-Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare cupcake pan
-In large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, lime zest, whisk to combine and set aside.
-In bowl of stand mixer, combine sugar and oil, and beat to combine.
-Egg whites one at a time while beating, then ginger, lime juice and extracts, beating to combine thoroughly.
-With mixer on low, slowly add flour mixture and buttermilk alternatively to combine.
-Spoon into prepared baking cups and bake until toothpick inserted in center of cakes is cleanly removed, about 18-20 minutes.
-Meanwhile, in bowl of stand mixer combine cream cheese, butter, lime juice, and zest, vanilla extract and beat on high until light and fluffy.
-Slowly add in salt and sugar mixing until combined thoroughly.
-Place bowl in fridge until cupcakes are cooled and ready to frost.
-Once cupcakes have cooled completely, remove icing from fridge, frost, and decorate to your liking.

Breakfast Pork Dinner!

Return of a Good Camera
Birthday Dinner!


This picture was taken Saturday night curtisey of my NEW CAMERA! OH YEA! My wonderful husband (sitting next to me!~) and his parents went in together and bought me a new camera for my birthday! I was soooo excited! (for those who keep track of such things, my birthday isn't until the 28th, but his dad was off work that night so it worked out well for everyone.
Well I was so exited about this new camera that last night I decided to get creative. Chris called on his way home and asked what I was making for dinner and I told him I was making up something.... his reply: "Oh good, I like when you do that, it's always so good"... he's sooo cute!

Here is my Breakfast Pork Dinner!

Ingredients

Boneless Pork chops (I used 4 small ones because they were cheap)
Salt
pepper
olive oil
onion chopped
Deli Ham
Deli American Cheese
Eggs
Garlic (minced)

Take a few tablespoons of olive oil and heat in a large skillet. Add onions and garlic to it and cook until the onions are transparent. Season the Pork Chops with salt and pepper and put in skillet with onions. Cook until mostly cooked through. Preheat oven to 400 and put pork chops in oven with slices of ham on top of chops. Cook about 10-15mins and then top with cheese. Melt cheese and pull out of oven.


Fry egg in previously used skillet and top each chop with an egg.


Sprinkle with salt and freshly ground pepper and serve... and DON'T make fun of my suddenly pasta! HAHA

Apple Bars Yumm!

Well we can all thank Katie for this wonderful yumminess! I saw these on her blog and KNEW I needed to make them! They combine my favorite desert items, apples and SUGAR! Plus Chris will be back in town today and I knew he would love them so I quickly (seriously it was quick!) threw them together last night!

Ingredients:

2 c. all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp allspice
small pinch ground cloves
1/2 c. butter, melted
1 c. packed brown sugar
1 c. white sugar
2 eggs
1 Tbsp vanilla extract (I must admit I thought this was a typo and didn't use this much but it still turned out great but could have been better I'm sure!)
2 apples, cored and diced (a little less than 2 c.)
cinnamon sugar for sprinkling

Directions:
-Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line 9x13 pan with foil and baking spray.
-In medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves.
-Whisk to combine well and set aside.
-In bowl of stand mixer, combine sugars and butter and beat on medium high until light and fluffy, about 1 minute.
-Add eggs, one at a time, beating well to combine.
-Add vanilla extract and beat to combine.
-Turn mixer on slow and fold in flour mixture a little at a time until just combined.
-Fold in apples.
-Spread mixture evenly into prepared pan and sprinkle top generously (I may have taken this work TOO literally! lol) with cinnamon sugar.
-Place in oven and bake until cooked through, when top slightly bounces back to the touch, about 30 minutes.
-Remove from oven and let cool completely before removing from pan, cutting and serving. (bars will be very soft)

South of the Boarder Casserole

I'm on a Mexican kick lately, must mean I miss my parents! So I came across this recipe here and decided that I must try it. Chris was a big fan... hey if it has cheese and noodles, he's a fan!

Ingredients

1 pound of lean ground beef (I used 93%)
1 jalapeno
1 large bell pepper (I used orange)
1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
28 ounce can of whole tomatoes (I used fire roasted tomatoes, which makes a HUGE difference!)
2 tablespoons chili powder
1-2 tablespoons of cumin
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups reduced fat sour cream
8 oz penne or ziti (I just put a good amount in a bowl and threw it in, I have no way of measuring ounces!)

In a large deep skillet, brown meat until no longer pink. Drain fat. Add the olive oil, peppers, onions and garlic, cooking on medium to high heat. Saute until softened, about 8-10 mins. Add chili powder and cumin. Add the can of tomatoes, breaking up the whole tomatoes with a spoon, but still leaving big chunks. Add sour cream, stir until mixed. Add pasta. Cover and cook until pasta is al dente, about 25 mins. Make sure to stir frequently so the pasta doesn't get stuck to the bottom. Serve with cheddar on top if you're feeling like having a coronary.

I thought the recipe needed more kick so I added in red pepper and it also needed more cheese... or if you're Chris, LOTS of cheese! But it was great!

Chicken Enchiladas!!

OOOOH YEA! You KNOW you want this cheesy yummy gooiness! OOOH YEA! So lets all thank Sing for your Supper for providing us with this lovely opportunity!

The Following was cut and pasted from her site with a few add ins!

(from Renea at Sweet, Savory, Southern)

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and shredded (I used chicken Breast tenders!)

1/2 a green bell pepper, finely chopped

1/2 onion, finely chopped

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 tsp garlic powder

salt and pepper to taste

2 cups chili gravy (recipe follows)

4 flour tortillas

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat.

Add onion and peppers and cook for about 5 min. Add shredded chicken and stir. Add salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Remove from pan and set aside. Using the same pan, make the chili gravy as follows.

Chili Gravy

1/4 cup lard (she used vegetable oil and so did I)

1/4 cup flour

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 tsp salt

1-1/2 tsp powdered garlic

2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp dried oregano (Mexican oregano is preferred if it’s available)

2 T chili powder

2 cups chicken broth (or water)

Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in the flour and continue stirring for 3 to 4 minutes, or until it makes a light brown roux.

Add all the dry ingredients and continue to cook for 1 minute, constantly stirring and blending ingredients. Add chicken broth or water, mixing and stirring until the sauce thickens. Turn heat to low and let sauce simmer for 15 minutes.



Once the chili gravy is done, add 1/2 a cup to the chicken mixture and stir. Spoon the chicken mixture into the flour tortilla shells and roll up. Spread another half cup of the sauce in the bottom of a baking dish and place the rolled tortillas in the dish. Top with the remaining cup of sauce and shredded cheese. Cover with foil and bake for 20-25 min. (I baked for 15 minutes minus the cheese, then added the cheese and cooked for 5 minutes more – just to melt the cheese)



This was sooo good, Chris just LOVED it and you will too!

Mini Cheesecakes

Don't you just LOVE food in miniatures??? Well you might NOT love these because since they are so small and yummy you quickly convince yourself to eat 10!

I got this recipe from Allrecipes and served it during a Redskins game watch Sunday (oh yea and we won!)! Perfect!

Ingredients

1 (12oz) package of Vanilla Wafers (really you will only use like 15 or so, So Don't waste your time, or money, crushing the WHOLE bag like I did! GEZZ!)

2 oz packages cream cheese (I used light cream cheese)
3/4 C White sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 (21oz) can of cherry pie filling (you'll only use like half of it)

Preheat oven to 350 and Line miniature muffin tins with miniature paper liners

Crush wafers and place 1/2 tsp of the crushed wafers into each paper cup.

In a mixing bowl beat cream cheese, sugar, eggs, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Fill each miniature liner with this mixture, almost to the top.

Bake 15 mins. Cool. Top with one cherry each!

Don't worry if your cheesecakes swell up like a cupcake when you pull them out of the oven they'll go down and create a little spot to hold the cherry!

Enjoy!

Eggy Breakfast

So I needed something healthy, quick, and that I could eat at work... well you know how I LOVE talking to myself so we had a quick conversation and came up with Eggy Breakfast!

Ingredients

(Some of these are guesstiments)
1/2 carton of egg whites
3 Eggs
1/2 C Mexican cheese
1/2 C Chopped onion
pepper to taste
3-4oz of Honey Ham shredded/cut (I used my husbands deli meat)

Combine and pour into pam sprayed muffin tins.
Bake at 350 for about 15mins or until you think they are done.

For you weight watchers out there.. one is 1pt and two are 3pts!
I put mine in the fridge and heat up for about a minute in the morning and WONDERFUL!!

Blurry Chicken... Kidding! Um Pantry Chicken~

Pantry Chicken!!

So I had some chicken legs in my house (because Chris is obsessed with chicken legs that have salt, pepper, and garlic on them that are baked... but I make that ALL to the time sooo) and I wanted to make something different. Well I didn't have anything I wish I did, like bacon, or spinach, or feta cheese.... soooo onto the pantry/freezer for ideas!

I had rice, tomato juice, frozen veggies, potatoes, and seasonings! Sweet!
And whala!



Ingredients

4 chicken legs
2 cups of rice (not cooked) i used white rice b/c it's what i had but dirty rice would be great!
However much water the rice box says you need
1 bag of frozen veggies (mine had corn, asparagus, corn, and peas
1 1/2 russet potatoes cut into small pieces
1/2 onion chopped
1/2 c or so of ck broth
3/4 of a small can of tomato juice
LOTS of seasonings
I used sprinkles of oregano, pepper, Cayenne pepper, garlic powder, cilantro, salt, maybe something else??? Basically it's a free for all
I also drizzled the legs with olive oil and a dash of balsamic vinegar

Combine all of this into a baking dish and bake at 400 for around 45mins or until chicken and potatoes are done! Enjoy!

Berry Pie with Crumble Crust

So my mom is known for her Apple Pie (which I WILL make and include, promise) and I am known for my Blueberry pie... but me being the cheap person I am I knew I had a bag of mixed berries in my freezer and so I decided to make my Blueberry Pie WITH different berries! So Since I AM southern and I'm celebrating being able to blog... with slightly hard to see pictures... I thought a Pie needed to be made!



First a tip that since I am very impatient I didn't do... let your frozen berries defrost so you can get a lot of the liquid drained before hand! HA!

Ingredients

1 Pie Crust
4C Mixed Berries
1C Sugar
3 tbsp flour
1/2 tsp grated lemon peal (I didn't feel like going out to buy A SINGLE lemon so i just used some lemon juice from my fridge)
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Make your pie crust (that's another blog to come). Mix all other ingredients together. Put filling in your pie then top with crumble crust... see below.

Crumble Crust
1C flour
3/4 C brown sugar
1/2 C butter
combine using hands to make a clumpy mixture

Put foil covering on pie and cook for 15 mins. Take off covering and cook until top is golden brown!

ENJOY!

Spiced Beef Corn Bread Cobbler

I had a pound of ground beef in my fridge and I wanted to make something different (without having to go out and purchase lots of new ingredients) and I found this recipe on epicurious. I made a few alterations so my recipe is not exactly theirs but I like to believe BETTER!


INGREDIENTS

1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
2 tbsp Veggie Oil
2 tsp minced garlic (mine was from a jar)
3/4 can of corn (drained)
1 lb ground beef
1 tsp sugar
1/2 ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp black pepper
3/4 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp salt
2 roma tomatoes, diced
1/2 tiny can tomato juice

1 box jiffy (made to boxes instructions but also add in 1 tbsp sugar, 1 tsp salt, and 1/2 cup grated sharp Cheddar)... don't bake yet

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray pam on a pie plate. Cook Diced onion and bell pepper in oil in a skillet until edges are golden brown. Add in garlic and cook another minute. Add in beef and cook for a few minutes... once half the beef is brown add in corn and cook until all of beef has browned. Now add in sugar, spices, and 1 tsp salt and then cook another minute. Add in tomatoes and juice and simmer until liquid is about 1/4c. Now move beef mixture into pie plate and then pour cornbread mixture over it. Top with 1/4c of cheddar cheese. BAKE! around 20-25mins... make sure when you enter a toothpick it comes out clean!

Now I know you're reading these spices thinking REALLY???? but YES REALLY!!! IT's so good! It's perfect for a great winter dish... you think it's sweet, then it has a great kick then you get the cornbread! AMAZING!



Now enjoy!

Chicken ala Erin

First I will apologize for any blurry pictures, we received a new camera that isn't the BEST but it was free and has allowed me to open my blog back up so I'll just say THANK YOU FATHER IN LAW (hey he got it for free too... beggars can't be choosers)!!!! Yea! So you'll get the basic idea of how it should look and sometimes maybe a great idea! AND ON TO THE FOOD!!!!

This is my creation, by me, for me (and well others but)... So I was working at the county fair and decided that before I went I should make dinner, because I didn't want to spend the money on fair food nor waste the calories. So I thought to myself "self what is yummy, fast, and filling?" and I couldn't think of anything that wasn't boring so I opened my pantry and WHALA!

I was shocked at the good reviews it got! My husband said it was the best chicken I ever made! WOW! I also made this the other day for my mom and she loved it so much she then made it for her friends! SO without further ado.... Chicken ala Erin!



INGREDIENT'S

(sorry if this isn't exact because I didn't measure as I made it so I'm making my best guesses)
2-3 large boneless skinless chicken breast
1/2-3/4 container of Italian bread crumbs
4-8tbsp Pepper (the more you put the more kick it will have, my husband loves kick)
2ish tsp salt
1-2tbsp Garlic powder
half a large bell pepper
small onion
2-3 stalks of Celery
2tbsp butter
3 eggs
2-3c milk (I have 1% around my house)
2-3tbsp lemon juice

Pre Heat oven to 400 degrees. Chop up chicken so it's in about 3-4 inch chunks/pieces. Chop up the celery, onion, and bell pepper (also known as the trinity) into small pieces and saute on the stove, in butter, until onions start to get a transparent look. While this is cooking combine the milk, eggs, and lemon juice in a bowl. In a separate bowl combine bread crumbs, pepper, salt, and garlic powder. Place chicken into the milk mixture, you can also poke holes in the chicken with a fork to get more liquid into the chicken.

Once the trinity is done stir into the dry mixture. Now take a piece of chicken out of the milk mixture and roll in the dry mixture and place on a non stick pan. Make sure you are taking some trinity with you on each piece of chicken. Continue until all chicken is on the pan (you may want to do more pieces of chicken together at a time because as you keep bringing over milky chicken the bread mixture will start to clump).

Place in the oven for around 15-30 mins (depending on the size of your pieces). I always just cut open one of the large ones to check and see if it's done! And Enjoy!