Friday's Fixins ~ Roast Beef

Okay, so I just had to have the 10lb beef roast on sale at the grocery store last week.... it had been so long since I had cooked a good roast.... here is how I decided to fix it.....

Turned to oven on to 250* then got out the roast and put in my roasting pan. Poured 1 can of beef broth over it and let it fill the bottom of the pan. Then I added some left over chopped onion (about 1 good cupful ... ya'll should know by now I wing it and don't really measure, right?), then sprinkled on some seasonings .... garlic pepper, season salt, and actually some veggie grill mix. Put the top on the roasting pan and popped it in the oven .... leaving it there for about 6-7 hours at 250*. I did not sear it first, not did I start it out at 400* then bring down the temp... just left it at 250 all day... I did pull it out every couple of hours to dowse the meat with the broth mix from the bottom of the pan to help keep it nice and moist. And when I pulled it out to cut ... it was so tender and just fell apart...mmmmmmm! I gathered up the broth mix and made a nice gravy to go with the roast... had some homemade mashed potatoes, green beans, sweet carrots, sqwash casserole, and of course no meal around my house is complete with out some sweet tea according to my family! I had enough that we were able to eat on the left overs for a day or two! Nothing like homemade!

Friday's Fixins ~ Cucumber Salad

Here is an easy summer side dish.... (I know its early but... looking forward to Eric's garden this year!)

1 cup mayo or salad dressing
1/4 cup sugar
4 tsp vinegar
1/2 tsp dill weed
1/2 tsp salt (optional)
4 medium cucumbers
3 green onions - chopped

Peel and slice cucumbers. Mix with the chopped onions and set aside. In a large mixing bowl combine the rest of the ingredients mixing well. Toss in the cucumbers and onions. Cover and chill for at least 1 hour. Serve cold.


My kiddos love this! Thanks to my cousin Jalana over at A Writer's Garden Spot for this recipe years ago! (And glad you have started blogging too my dear!)

Friday's Fixin's ~ Chocolate Peanut Cake

Okay... this is the most scrumptious homemade cake! I have not made it in years but came across the recipe and had to add it.... perhaps I will make it soon too!

Cake:

2cups All-purpose flour

1&1/2 cups sugar

1/2 cup unsweet cocoa

1/2 cup butter

1 cup water

3 eggs

1/4tsp. baking powder

1tsp baking soda

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup mini semi-sweet choc. chips

In a large mixing bowl combine all cake ingredients. Beat at low speed until well mixed. Pour batter into a well greased and floured 13x9 cake pan. Bake 30 to 40 min at 350* or until done. Let the cake cool.

Frosting:

2/3 cup softened butter

1/3cup peanut butter

4 cups powdered sugar

4-5tblsp. half/half or milk

1 cup mini semi-sweet choc. chips

1/2 cup chopped salted peanuts

In medium mixing bowl combine butter and peanut butter. beat until light and fluffy. Add powdered sugar and continue beating - adding milk or half/half as needed until creamy. Frost the top of cake then sprinkle with the choc. chips and peanuts.

This cake is amazing!!!

Friday's Fixin's ~ Cooking with no Refrigerator

Two days after Eric filed our taxes he called me at work to let me know that the refrigerator when out.... we unplugged it let it "thaw" the rest of the way...cleaned the coils and such...and plugged it back in hoping that it would reset.... no such luck. Well, we are looking at it as a blessing that it went out before we could use our refund for something else and that we can put money aside for a new one before we had spent the refund on something else (such as paying off the Suburban). Let me just tell you that going with only a dorm sized refrigerator for the last couple of weeks has been difficult (we are having the new one delivered tomorrow)...we have never had a brand new refrigerator so we bought one and paid for an extended warranty...... So our menus for the last couple of weeks have been drastically different than they would have been had we been able to cook and keep left overs as normal..... Mia has done great about cooking and judging the fewest remaining leftovers possible so we would not have much to store. We also have had to do without some things like relish, or salad dressings because everything is either up at Granny's house in her refrige.... or it went bad and we have not replaced it.

Friday's Fixin's

Okay, I say I'm gonna post more and then I miss several days... sorry... this week has been a very busy week not only at the pharmacy but with preparations for LLL Bible Bowl and our 60 + Banquet for our "Golden Aged" members. We have both events tomorrow morning with the written exam for Bible Bowl and tomorrow night the banquet.... and we are part of the entertainment. So... busy... busy... busy...lol.

For my Friday's Fixn's post I wanted to tell all about a system here at the house that we are working on... since I now work until 6 (sometimes after) I'm not much for cooking dinner after a long day... Eric and Mia have been the main cooks the last year ... with occasional help from Travis and Amaris... but we are using the Google Calendar to set up a menu plan that we can use to help .... Eric and Mia are good cooks but often have a problem deciding what to fix so this way they can have it planned out. First I asked everyone to list some of their favorite dinners (both favorite to eat and to fix because everyone is going to be helping more) and I am trying to get the recipes/tips for the meal in the description area of the calendar event. They may not always use it but they will have something that they can fall back on if they cannot think of anything to fix. This should also help Eric out with the grocery shopping as well since he now does most of that too! We can set the menu to repeat monthly so I only really had to come up with 31 meals to begin with but on some days there are 2 meals listed so that they can take their pick. This is still in the works for us but I thought it might be a good tip.

Friday's Fixins ~ A day early....

I made my own hamburger buns tonight! The family loved them and I will be using this recipe again!

Easy Hamburger Buns (using the bread machine)

Put the ingredients in your bread machine in order...

1 & 1/2 cups warm tap water
1/4 cup oil
2 tblsp brown sugar
2 tsp salt
2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups bread flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
2 tsp yeast

Set your machine for the dough cycle... take out and separate into balls and pat down just a bit on a greased baking sheet. (Let rise to twice the size.)Bake at 350 for about 25 min or until they sound hollow when thumped. Brush the tops with a bit of oil to keep them soft.

Sloppy Joes for dinner along with some seasoned fries... mmmmmm...mmmmm...good!

Friday's Fixins ~ Chicken-n-Dumplins

Comfort Food. That is what Chicken-n-Dumplins are..... pure comfort food.

Now, I make my dumplins just a bit different than most.... so here goes.

First, cook your chicken until it is ready to come off the bone (I am using chicken breasts here.)



Then, after the chicken has cooled enough it can be handled take all the meat off the bones and pull the meat apart into bite sized pieces. Then return the chicken to the stock.






Now, while the chicken is going into a boil, make your dumplin mix..... this is where my recipe differs from others.... see, I make a drop dumplin mix and do not roll them out and cut them.... just drop the mix by spoonfuls into the stock and chicken. This makes for a thick and fluffy dumplin.

Dumplin Mix:
Mix 2 cups self-rising flour, 1 egg, 3/4 cup of milk, and 1 tblsp of oil together (the dough mixture should be wet.... can add more milk if needed.) Drop by spoonfuls into chicken and stock at a rolling boil. .



Add a touch of milk to help to thicken it and salt and pepper to taste......




Talk about some good eating on a cold winter night!



The cost of this meal was just about 7 dollars..... I did cook extra chicken and put the meat back for a meal later in the week..... Chicken Enchiladas!

Friday's Fixins ~ Feeding a Crowd on the cheap side....

Ever find yourself in need of something to take to a potluck or Sunday Social for a large crowd? I have a cheap and tasty solution. These muffins are quick and easy and go a long way. They make a great addition to a chili, soup or stew meal as well!




Easy Sausage Corn Muffins

Ingredients:

2 pounds of breakfast sausage (found this on sale for 99cents per 1 lb roll)
6 boxes of Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix (found these for 33 cents per box)
2 cans of cream corn (45 cents per can)
4 large eggs ( I get 5 1/2 dozen for $7.98 .... so that is 6 cents each)
1& 1/2 to 2 cups of dry milk (reconstituted) not even gonna try to do the math on that once just yet....LOL

Total cost: about $5.10

Directions:
Cook the sausage in crumbles and drain. Set aside. Grease muffin tins how you prefer.... I use a non-stick spray. In a large bowl mix 3 boxes of the Jiffy Corn Muffin mix with 2 eggs, 1 can of cream corn and 3/4 to 1 cup of milk. ( I mix 3 boxes at a time to keep from having to have a monster bowl out and to keep my stirring arm happy!) Spoon in the batter to the muffin tins only about half way full. Then spoon in the crumbles of sausage into each muffin. Bake at 350F until golden brown. (About 12-15 minutes for my oven.) This makes about 3 dozen (or more) muffins. You can also just put the mix into a cake pan, add the sausage and cut into squares after they are done. I always get good reviews on this recipe. And at just over 5 dollars you cannot beat the price.

** Note** This is not a very spicy muffin ..... however it can be modified to make it spicy by adding some jalapenos or other hot peppers into the batter and by the flavor of sausage you get.

Friday's Fixins ~ Gooey Butter Cake

1 (18.25-ounce) package yellow cake mix
1 stick butter, softened (1/2 cup)
2 large eggs
Preheat oven to 350*F (175*C).

Mix cake mix, butter and eggs together. Spread in well greased and floured 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan. (This is a bit sticky....I butter my fingers and press the batter in the pan.)

1 (1-pound) package powdered sugar (4 cups)
2 large eggs
1 (8-ounce) package of cream cheese, softened

Additional powdered sugar for sprinkling

1. Beat eggs and cream cheese together. Mix in powdered sugar. Spread mixture over cake mix.

2. Bake for 35 minutes. Cool and sprinkle powdered sugar over the top.(Optional)
   

This is a very sweet and rich cake. And one that is made only rarely!

Feeding a big family for less....

With the economy all in a mess.... the price of gas going up, up and up..... and rising cost of just about everything in general I thought I would share some of how I try to feed our big family for less. Well, last night I got out my ingredients and my calculator and fed all 6 of us.... along with my mom..... for about $8.

Here is my list of ingredients and their cost:

1 roll of sausage (found on sale) 99cents
1 pkg of dirty rice mix 99cents
1 can cream of celery soup 49cents
1 can cream of mushroom soup 49cents
1 sleeve saltine crackers 25cents
1 cup grated cheddar cheese 50cents (I get the block cheese and grate what I need)

3 cans of green beans 49cents each = $1.47

1 sleeve of graham crackers 50cents
1 pkg cream cheese (on sale) 99cents
4 oz of cool whip (found on sale) 50cents

tea bags to make a gallon of sweet tea 8cents
sugar for all of meal about 40cents

margarine
sour cream
vanilla

Total..............$7.65

I did not add in the price for the margarine,sour cream, or vanilla because I just keep those things all the time and the amounts were so small..... but you get the picture.....

I made a sausage and rice casserole ...... fry up the sausage cook up the rice mix... add the cooked & drained sausage to the rice mix. Then add the 2 cans of cream soups and mix well... put in a casserole dish and bake for about 20 minutes... take out and top with shredded cheddar cheese and crushed saltine crackers (I do mix the crushed crackers with a bit of margarine) and put back in the oven until cheese is melted and the cracker topping is golden.

Cook green beans for a side dish.

For drinks I made a gallon of sweet tea.

Dessert: No Bake Cheesecake

Crush graham crackers and mix with margarine for a crust.. push into a pie plate....

Mix cream cheese (room temp) and cool whip until smooth. Add about 1/2 cup of sugar, a tablespoonful of sour cream and a dash of vanilla flavoring and mix until smooth. Pour mixture into crust and chill before serving.


A very filling and satisfying meal!

Stretch those dollars!!!!

Anniversary Dinner....

I invited my mother over for dinner tonight.... its always good to visit with her. I made fried apples (I left the peel on most of the apples.... they were so small I was afraid they would turn into mush) ..... I like to add a handful of quick oats in the last few minutes of cooking my apples... it gives such a great texture.


Squash fritters (they are so easy to make) ...... Travis loves these..... if there are any left I will be very surprised!

Squash Fritters:

Grate 2 medium summer squash
Add 1 cup self rising flour , and 1/3 cup self rising cornmeal
a dash of salt and about 2 tbsp sugar and 2 beaten eggs... mix all together to form a wet dough.

Then fry in a pan of oil (I use veg. oil) until each side is golden brown. Drain on a paper towel and serve.




I did a few bacon wrapped chicken fillets and then breaded the remainder of the strips.


We also had scalloped potatoes and for dessert... Mandarin Orange cake....



****UpDate****

Due to the fast response of my good friend Denita ..... here is the recipe for the Mandarin Orange Cake...

Mandarin Orange Cake:

1 (18 1/2 ounce) package yellow cake mix

4 large eggs

1 cup vegetable oil

2 (11 ounce) cans mandarin oranges

1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed (Cool Whip or store brand)

1 (3 1/2 ounce) box instant vanilla pudding

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x13 Pyrex dish. In a large bowl mix the cake mix, oil and eggs along with 1 of the cans of mandarin oranges with the juice. Mix until smooth and you see small bits of the oranges. Pour into pan. Bake for about half an hour or until cake is golden and a cake tester comes out clean. Let cake cool completely.

Mix the whipped topping, the other cans of Mandarin Oranges (with the juice) and the pudding mix together until smooth. Spread over cooled cake. Serve. Store remaining cake in the fridge.

Yummy!

Not a bad Anniversary dinner if I do say so myself.

Look and see what I've been up to today......

So Eric's grandmother had given us the last of the peaches off of her tree so..... I made peach freezer jam.....




Peach Freezer Jam

Ingredients:

4 cups peeled, crushed fresh peaches
1/4 cup fresh strained lemon juice
1 package (1 3/4 ounces) powdered fruit pectin
1 cup light corn syrup
5 1/2 cups sugar

Directions:

Measure peaches into a large kettle; add lemon juice. While stirring with a wooden spoon, slowly add the pectin. Let stand 20 minutes; stir every 5 minutes to blend pectin with fruit. Add syrup and blend well; add sugar and blend well. Cook over low heat to about 100°, just warm to the touch. Do not allow mixture to become hot. Pour jam into jars to within 1/2-inch of top. Cover jars at once. Let stand until jelly consistency. Store in freezer until ready to use. Store in refrigerator once jar has been opened.
Makes about 8 half-pint jars. (I got 9 out of it today)

Then ..... you remember those fresh blueberries.....yep... more freezer jam....


I had such a hard time keeping Mia out of the blueberries.....

No Cook Blueberry Jam
Ingredients:

1 qt. fresh blueberries (or frozen)
4 c. sugar
2 tbsp. lemon juice
1/2 bottle liquid pectin

Directions:

Have ready 5 or 6 jelly jars (about 8 ounces) or freezer containers. Remove stems from berries; discard wilted ones; rinse well. Mash with large spoon or potato masher. Mix berries and sugar well. Mix lemon juice with pectin; add to berries and stir well for 4 to 5 minutes. Pour into containers. Let stand room temperature overnight. Store in refrigerator or freeze.

I doubled the recipe and got a total of 11&1/2 jars of the blueberry jam.



I have also hung out 3 loads of laundry and the girls have had their school lessons, and I made a quick trip out to Wal-mart..... now we are resting up just a bit before we go and take down the laundry..... it sure is hot....95 F but feels like 101...... whew.

Blueberries!

Well, our very good friends David & Heather gave us a gallon of fresh blueberries! Whooohooo!!! How great is that! ........SOOOOOOO..... I made a Fresh Blueberry Crisp for dessert tonight......

Here is the recipe....

Blueberry Crisp

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups blueberries

• 1/4 cup margarine, softened

• 3/4 cup white sugar

• 1 cup self-rising flour

• 1/2 cup milk

• 3/4 cup white sugar

• 1 tablespoon cornstarch

• 1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

• 1 cup boiling water

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.Place the blueberries into an 8x8 inch square baking dish. In a medium bowl, cream together the margarine and 3/4 cup sugar until smooth. Stir the flour into the creamed mixture alternately with the milk. Spoon batter over blueberries. Mix together the remaining 3/4 cup sugar with the cornstarch and pumpkin pie spice. Sprinkle over the top. Pour boiling water over the whole thing.Bake for 1 hour then let set for 10 minutes to set..... serve with vanilla ice cream (or whipped topping).

Can you believe I even stopped long enough to take a pic before digging in....lol!




MMMmmmmhhhhhmmmmmm good!!!!

For Michelle.....

Just for you Michelle....


Zucchini Brownies....

1/2 cup oil
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups shredded zucchini

Preheat oven to 350º F. Grease and flour a 9x13 inch baking pan.

In a large bowl, mix together the oil, sugar, and vanilla until well blended. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt; stir into the sugar mixture. Fold in the zucchini. Spread evenly into the prepared pan.

Bake for 25-30 minutes until brownies spring back when gently touched. Frost as desired or sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Friday's Fixin's

Bread from the second-hand bread machine.....

So as many of you know from reading about my yard sale finds.... I got a much wanted breadmachine. However, it did not come with a manual. So I found a great simple to follow article about breadmachines on the Hillbilly Housewife. I made a small loaf to just see if the machine worked properly the other day (and it does) so now for a good loaf of bread..... yippeee! The HBHW also has several good recipes for bread in the breadmachine..... the basic is what I started with the other day.

I do not have bread flour on hand so I used the all-purpose flour instead..... I think my next big shopping day will include some bread flour to see how the difference is. I'll post pics later in the day!





I lost all of the Pics...... hit the wrong button and they are deleted! Ughhh! will try next time!

Friday's Fixin's

Well, I tell you I am making strawberry freezer jam tonight.... (Thanks David and Heather for the strawberries!) and to tell you the truth..... this is the first time I have ever attempted it. I have wanted to make it before but have never done it.... so this is the DAY for it!

So I have ended up with just shy of 8 cups of fruit after I crushed them....


So I added the pectin according to the directions on the Sure Jell package and have ended up with 16 half-pint jars full and one larger jar for the refridge.... plus enough left over to put over some homemade shortcakes tonight!!!


So...... I hope it turns out!!!

Friday's Fixin's

Homemade Teething Biscuits....

When Jed was teething I wanted a teething biscuit that was inexpensive and good for him.... these fit the bill.



2 & 1/4 cup whole wheat flour

1/4 cup cornmeal

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoon sugar

1 egg

2/3 cup milk

Mix dry ingredients together in bowl. Mix in beaten egg and milk until a ball forms. On a floured surface roll out the dough to a thickness of about 3/8 inch thick. Cut with a cookie cutter in a easy to hold shape (I used a dog bone shape..... it was easy for him to hold , but we did get some really interesting looks!) or cut into shapes with a knife. Place each biscuit on a parchment lined baking pan, then prick holes in each with a fork or toohpick , and bake on 325 for an hour.... these should be hard (like hard tak) if you need to place them back in the oven for an additional 10 minutes or so.... these store really well in an air tight container and they also freeze well.

Jed loved these biscuits.... he would chew on these all the time..... and the shape I chose was just to funny!!!

Friday's Fixin's

Zucchini Casserole

6 cups sliced zucchini ( I like to also use 1/2 yellow squash in the recipe)
1/2 onion sliced
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup sour cream
1 cup shredded carrots (optional)
1 pkg stuffing mix (stove-top)
1/2 cup melted butter


Boil zucchini (and yellow squash if using ) and onion in salted water for 5 minutes. Drain. Combine soup, sour cream and carrots. Fold into zucchini and onions. Mix the melted butter and stuffing mix. Cover bottom of 9x13 casserole dish with 1/2 of the stuffing. Add zucchini mixture. Top with remaining stuffing. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

This makes a great side dish.

Friday's Fixin's

Okay, more leftover recipes here..... I had some "free meats" given to us over this past weekend.... some pulled pork (from the B-B-Que we served at Youth Rally on Saturday) and some chicken left over at my mother/brother's restaurant ...... so why not reinvent the leftovers into something my family will enjoy and not mind eating the same meat once again..... So.....We decided on something with a Mexican flavor to it......enchiladas.

Sour Cream Enchiladas:

chicken (cooked and shredded)
tortilla shells (i personally like to use the small flour ones)
8oz of Sour Cream
1 can of Rotel
1can of Cream of Mushroom soup
1 can of Cream of Chicken soup
shredded cheese



First we mixed each meat with a half can of Rotel (mixed diced tomatoes and chilies) and about 1 cup of shredded cheese (Cheddar and Monterey Jack is what we used last night). This is the chicken mixture.


Then in a mixing bowl we mixed the Cream of Mushroom soup and the Cream of Chicken soup with the Sour Cream... blending it together with a wisk. Then after heating up the tortilla shells up just a bit so they would fold better we spooned on just a bit of the cream mixture on each shell and spread out just a bit in the center.



Then added a good amount of the meat mixture, remembering I must be able to fold the tortillas.



Placing the folded tortillas in a baking dish I have sprayed with non-sicking spray.



Then top with the rest of the cream mixture and some more shredded cheese. Then its off to bake at 350 for about half an hour or so.



I made a double batch so I could feed my army.....and company.

Friday's Fixin's ~ Caramel Cookies

Caramel Cookies



1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp salt
2 cups rolled oats

Melt butter in a sauce pan over low heat. Remove from heat and mix with brown sugar and salt. Mix in oats.
Press onto a greased or parchment paper lined 9 x 13 inch cookie sheet. Bake at 400 degrees until melted together and lightly brown, about 8 minutes. Watch carefully and don't let them overcook! Cut while hot.

These are also great with chocolate chips.