Archive for 'The Kitchen'

Glazed Donut Muffins

I saw these beauties (Glazed Donut Muffins) on pinterest and had to have them. Like right now. Not tomorrow, not this weekend, right now at 8:00 PM.

I had all the ingredients called for on Lil’ Luna’s site, so I decided to just go for it!

Butter Oil

Now I’m going to recommend you follow the instructions but I’m going to remind you that I rarely do! I started off right, but finishing was… well, we’ll get there. Here I just have the oil and butter in the bowl.

Sugars Added

I added the sugars and let the mixer do the hard work.

Creamed Sugars

I used olive oil because that’s the only oil I use, but it did not alter the flavor of these at all!

Creamed With Eggs

This was the consistency after adding the eggs.

Now the instructions say to add a bunch of other stuff to the batter right now and then alternate the flour and milk at the end… I didn’t do that.

Adding Milk

I threw all the dry stuff together… flour, baking soda and powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Then I added the milk. My milk, by the way, was raw milk I had purchased from the Amish and it had started to sour just slightly, so it was more like buttermilk than sweet milk.

Wet Meets Dry

Then, after adding the milk, I added the sugar and egg mixture and anything else I left out of the recipe. (I’m not lying! You would think everything I make would just be disaster after disaster!)

To the Oven

This batter was like a really smooth frosting. One heaping ice cream scoop per cupcake. I did not make these in my large muffin tins. I didn’t have any cupcake liners, so I just sprayed the tin. Then I put them in a preheated 425 degree oven for 20 minutes. I forgot to turn mine, so I’m reminding you to turn yours at the halfway mark!

Donut Muffins

Wow… look at that rise. And they came out easily after a little jiggle of the top.

While they were baking, I made my glaze. They had to cool for at least 10 minutes before I could get them out of the pan, so I probably could have waited to make it then but I didn’t. I could have used that time to clean up my mess, but I didn’t. I made the glaze while they were baking and watched TV while they were cooling.

Starting Glaze

I added the hot water to the powdered sugar and started the mixer on low.

Adding Butter to Glaze

In an effort to be more efficient, I added my vanilla to the melted butter before I started the glaze so I wouldn’t have to try to measure it while mixing.

Scraping Bowl

I know these pictures are not awesome but I wanted you to see how I scrape my bowl… I rest the spatula where I want it (away from the beaters) and let the mixer do the work.

Finished Glaze

The glaze was very glaze-y!

Dipping Muffins Into Glaze

So I loved the idea of dipping the muffin tops into the glaze but it didn’t really work that well for me. I think my tops were too fluffy… and then after 6 I came to the side that didn’t get baked the same (make sure you turn them while baking), so the top fell off of one into the glaze and I had to fish it out and try to stick it back on for the pictures. True story…

Glazed Donut Muffins

It didn’t work… sticking the top back on… you can see it fell as I was taking the picture. But these are AWESOME!!! The only thing I will change about these when I make them again is that the original, original recipe called for 1/4 tsp of baking soda and Lil’ Luna’s recipe called for 1/2 tsp and I will make them with 1/4 tsp. The soda was just a tad tasty in the final, so I’m going to change this recipe to 1/4 tsp.

Glazed Donut Muffins

Ingredients

  • For the Muffins:
  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/3 cup brown sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup milk
  • For the Glaze:
  • 3 tablespoons butter; melted
  • 1 cup confectioners’ sugar; sifted
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 2 tablespoons hot water

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line cupcake tray with liners or spray with cooking spray.

In your mixer, beat together butter, oil and sugars until smooth. Add eggs and beat until fluffy. Add powder, soda, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt vanilla, milk and flour. Beat well.

Spoon batter into liners and fill to tops.

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until tops are golden and springy to the touch. Rotate pan in oven after 8-10 minutes for even baking. Let cool 10 minutes before adding Glaze.

To make the glaze, mix melted butter, powdered sugar, vanilla and water together. Mix until smooth.

When muffins have cooled slightly, dip the muffin top into the glaze and allow the glaze to harden. Once hardened, dip a second time and allow to harden.

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Loose Meat Sandwiches

The Midwest has enjoyed loose meat sandwiches since the 1920s. Maid-Rite served the first one in Iowa in 1926 and our family favorite diner in Ottumwa, IA, Canteen Lunch In The Alley, is still serving them today. They were made famous the country over by Roseanne Barr. Not only is this not a new concept or recipe, there are so many different recipes for loose meat sandwiches that you could get lost in google links for days! So what I’m highlighting here is that this is a kid-friendly, kid-approved meal. This is one of ChefBoy’s favorite meals!

I laid out a package of hamburger this afternoon but wasn’t sure what I was in the mood to cook with it (this is where menu planning often fails me!) and so ignored it for hours! Suddenly, everyone was hungry. So I asked ChefBoy if he would walk down to the convenience store and pick up a package of hamburger buns while I started some loose meat sandwich meat. He said, and I quote, “If you’ll drive me down there, I’ll cook it.” Ummm… I grabbed the keys quickly… before he could change his mind! Of course we had to pick up some chocolate ice cream to make chocolate shakes with, and barbeque chips!

Cooked Hamburger Onion Garlic

ChefBoy put the 1.25 pounds of hamburger on to cook…

Seasonings

threw in dried onion and garlic and seasoned with seasoned salt. It took him right at about five minutes. He also drained it (after he found where I moved the colander to). I was first in line (as I only am when I’m not the one cooking) and prepared my plate.

Barbeque Bun

I used barbeque sauce because that’s what I was in the mood for. I think Clint used Miracle Whip and ChefBoy BBQ sauce as well. At Canteen, you can have mustard or ketchup; and then you can have cheese (which is like cheeze whiz), onions, pickles, and extra salt. You can order any combination, but those are your only options. And still, people flock there from all over the world! Now I have no idea what their recipe is, I think it has mustard and vinegar in it, but the point here is that it doesn’t really matter. If you make the meat your way, you’re gonna love it!

We had lettuce, tomato, pickles, fresh onions and other stuff we would normally put on a burger, but none of us chose to. These are just awesome the way they are! Let your kids and/or family and friends decide for themselves what they want to top them with! The loose meat sandwiches you get at the Canteen are also very, very greasy! That’s a lot of the appeal. They wrap the sandwich in wax paper to serve it. We choose to drain our meat, but that’s because we still try to eat 80% healthy so the other 20% can be oh so bad for us!

Meat On Bun

I scooped my meat on my bun and yes, it looks like a sloppy joe without the sloppy joe sauce!

Loose Meat Sandwiches Chips

Then I piled my plate with BBQ flavored chips and made myself a chocolate shake. Eating out at home!!

Chocolate Shake

P.S. In case you’re wondering, I scoop up the fallen meat with my chips!!! I have the cleanest plate in the house LOL

I love the Amish Community! Besides having great respect for their simple and plain lifestyle, they have some of the best and cheapest foods around these parts! I try to get up that way at least two or three times a month in the summer and have yet to visit at all in the winter. But no matter how many times I go, I always have to pick up the blueberry muffin mix for ChefBoy. We’ve tried a few other “name brand” type muffin mixes, but none have the right consistency of blueberry that we get with the Amish bulk mix. Now, I love these muffins too, but they are really sweet and almost too light and moist for me. I know, everyone wants that in a muffin. Well, I like my muffins denser and drier than cupcakes. I can’t help it.

I’ve been trying to doctor these muffins up for a couple of years now, but nothing I’ve tried is as good as just adding water. I’ve used applesauce in place of the water and those were pretty tasty, but still too moist for me. So, this morning I juiced pineapple, orange and grapefruit. It made a lot of juice but not a lot of pulp. After drinking our fill, there was still almost a full cup left. And I thought, hmmmm… I could make those blueberry muffins with my juice… and hey, I could put a little of the pulp in there and surely that would add the density I so desire in a muffin!

Blueberr yMuffins Ingredients

So I gathered all my ingredients. Since this was an experiment, I figured I better make them both ways!

Measuring Muffin Mix

Now the package of Amish Blueberry Muffin Mix simply says, “1 cup cold water, 2 cups mix”. That’s it. No other instructions! I had to google how long to bake muffins way back when I first bought this mix! As you can see, I just am not a stickler for those measurements! I stuck my cup into the bag, drug it through the mix to fill, packed it in using the bag as a guide with my other hand and this was a cup of mix.

Muffin Batter

Two cups of mix and one cup of cold water mixed until moistened.

Scoop Batter

Then I literally use an ice cream scoop to spoon the batter into the muffin tins. It took about one and a half scoops in each muffin cup. I set those aside to make my Orange Blueberry Muffins.

Juicing Juice Pulp

Again, I used two cups of the mix but instead of water, I used the leftover juice from breakfast and added about two tablespoons of the pulp.

Orange Blueberry Batter

The batter was much thicker and drier…

Batter Tins

And there seemed to be a little less batter… I used one full ice cream scoop for each muffin cup and then used my rubber scraper to divide what little batter was left in the bowl.

Fresh Out of Oven

I baked both tins at the same time in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes.

Buttered Muffins

Then I slathered them with butter… ‘cuz that’s just how I am. I don’t care how skinny, fat-free, or healthy a baked good should, would, or could be, I am gonna put butter on it!!!

Contrasting Muffins

Contrasting Muffins on the outside…

Contrasting Muffins on the inside

Contrasting Muffins on the inside

ChefBoy didn’t really like the orange muffins, but I loved them! The citrus juice really cut the sweetness and added another layer of flavor to the muffins. They were still too moist for my muffin preference, but oftentimes the taste is all that matters! I will make these again!

Orange Blueberry Muffins

Ingredients

  • 2 cups blueberry muffin mix (the kind that only requires water)
  • 1 cup of orange juice (or a mixture of fruit juice from your juicer)
  • 2 Tbs pulp from the juicer

Instructions

Combine the muffin mix and juice until just moistened and bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 20 minutes.

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No Carb Mexican Style Stew

Last night I was craving soup and I am doing a no carb cleanse this week so I decided I would try my hand at throwing something together. I decided to make a No Carb Mexican Style Stew!

It turned out to be amazing and my husband, who is NOT a stew/soup lover, absolutely loved it!

This No Carb Mexican Style Stew was literally a throw together from scratch meal, but I did remember to take photos so I could share it with you all. You could substitute or eliminate any of the vegetables that you want. These were all items I had already. Mixed all together they made this amazing guilt free No Carb Mexican Style Stew.

Ingredients:

8 Frozen Chicken Tenderloins

3 Small Packages Chorizo Sausage

16oz of Chicken Broth

2 Cubes of Knorr Chicken Bullion

1 Zucchini

1 Yellow Squash

1/2 cup of Shredded Carrots

1 Jalapeno

1/2 Head of Cabbage

1 Can of Rotel Original Tomatoes

1 White Onion

Cilantro

2-3 Avocados

2 Tbls Lime Juice

2 Fresh Limes

Salt/Pepper/Lowery Seasoning Salt all to Taste

Directions:

Start a large pot to boil with Chicken Broth, Bouillon and Chicken Tenderloins. Let this come to a rapid boil cooking the chicken.

No Carb Mexican Style Stew 1

Get a large bowl and add in your sliced Carrots. Dice the Zucchini and Yellow Squash and add them to your bowl.

No Carb Mexican Style Stew 3No Carb Mexican Style Stew 2No Carb Mexican Style Stew 4

Chop your Cilantro, Jalapeno and onion. Add lime juice and add all these ingredients in to the bowl. I use a mini chopper for this. I filled it full of fresh Cilantro and chopped that. Added a cut up de-seeded Jalapeno and lime Juice and chopped that all up finely. I then cut up the onion and added it to the chopper and chopped it finely as well.

No Carb Mexican Style Stew 5No Carb Mexican Style Stew 6No Carb Mexican Style Stew 7No Carb Mexican Style Stew 8No Carb Mexican Style Stew 10No Carb Mexican Style Stew 11

 

Add Rotel tomatoes to the bowl. Cut Cabbage in to small chunks and add to bowl.

No Carb Mexican Style Stew 9No Carb Mexican Style Stew 12No Carb Mexican Style Stew 13

Stir all the ingredients in the bowl together well.

No Carb Mexican Style Stew 14

Take three small packages of Chorizo Sausage, cut them open and add them to a small pan and cook thoroughly until done.

No Carb Mexican Style Stew 19No Carb Mexican Style Stew 20No Carb Mexican Style Stew 21No Carb Mexican Style Stew 23

Keep the broth on a low boil and remove the chicken to shred it. (I use my Kitchen Aid mixer for this and it works amazing!)

No Carb Mexican Style Stew 15No Carb Mexican Style Stew 16No Carb Mexican Style Stew 17

Once the Chorizo is fully cooked add it to the shredded chicken and mix well. Set aside.

No Carb Mexican Style Stew 24

Dice up a couple of Avocados and set aside in refrigerator.

No Carb Mexican Style Stew 25No Carb Mexican Style Stew 26

Cut up the limes and set aside.

No Carb Mexican Style Stew 28

Add all the vegetables into the broth and bring to a boil. Let boil at a slow to medium boil for about 45 minutes to an hour. Check regularly and add salt,pepper and Lowery Seasoning to taste.

No Carb Mexican Style Stew 18No Carb Mexican Style Stew 22

When you are ready to serve this amazing guilt free No Carb Mexican Style Stew, dish out the mixed meat into each bowl. Add in your vegetables and broth.

No Carb Mexican Style Stew 27No Carb Mexican Style Stew 29

Top with Avocado and Fresh Squeezed lime.

No Carb Mexican Style Stew 30

And there you have it! A FABULOUS No Carb Mexican Style Stew! Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

Lemon Strawberry Shortcake

I’m a lover of strawberry shortcake!! It is my favorite dessert. I love cheesecake, but I love strawberry shortcake more! I’m always looking for different ways to make it, like Amanda’s Strawberry Shortcake Dessert Recipe… yum!!

So I’ve seen recipes for homemade shortcake, but I love the packaged cakes from the store because they soak up the juice from the strawberries and just melt in my mouth! But then I saw a recipe on Six Sister’s Stuff for a Luscious Lemon Cake and it took two ingredients and they paired it with strawberries… SOLD!!

Then I looked for different ideas for the strawberries. I’ve always just added sugar and let them sit. I found a site that said use balsamic vinegar and fresh basil. I’d heard of the vinegar in strawberries and there a ton of recipes out there that use them, but the fresh basil was new, so I thought, why not?

Strawberry Shortcake Ingredients

So my cast of characters for this went from a 2-ingredient lemon cake to a 7-ingredient experiment! I am also including my cooking spray in the picture but not in the ingredient count… hmmm… why am I even counting? I don’t know!!

Angel Food Cake Mix

While this is a picture of me dumping the cake into the bowl, it’s really just included to show off that bowl. I am a lover and collector of pyrex and these cinderella bowls just tickle me pink… and aqua!!

Lemon Pie Filling

Yup, I’m dumping the lemon pie filling in… but showing off the bowl!

Mixing Lemon Cake

This was my first time ever using an angel food cake mix for anything! I was quite surprised by the powdered sugar like consistency! As I started stirring, I was beginning to wonder if the two would ever become some sort of batter!

More Mixing

I was actually being very gentle with this and sort of folding the pie filling into the cake mix. It did start to combine, so I just kept patiently folding…

Dough Or Batter

This is a lemon cake, but I gotta tell ya, the batter was really like a bread dough. It was very airy. I’m glad I was gentle with the mixing and would recommend you to be also!

Pour Batter Into Pan

I was even gentle while getting it into the cake pan!

Ready To Bake

I had to spread it into the pan like frosting and it was difficult to keep it level! I put it into a preheated 350 degree oven and set the timer for 20 minutes.

Prepare Strawberries

Then I began preparing my strawberries. I rinsed them for a while under cold water and then sliced the greens off the top…

Cut Away The Bad

I cut away any bruising or mushy parts and then cut the remainder into bit sized pieces.

Bowlfull Of Berries

Two pints ended up being almost 8 cups of strawberries.

Adding Sugar

I was going to use 1/3 cups of sugar, but couldn’t find that measuring cup. When it came time to put the sugar in, I grabbed the 2/3 cup and filled it… then I dumped it in without thinking. (I won’t use that much sugar ever again, but I wasn’t going to let my berries go to waste!!)

Adding Vanilla

And then I added 1 teaspoon of vanilla. I will put 1 tablespoon in the recipe because the teaspoon was not enough!

Stirring Sugar In

While stirring in the sugar and vanilla, I apply a bit of pressure to the berries to get the juices flowing…

Glazed

and it doesn’t take long before the berries look glazed and there’s an awesome sugary, strawberry flavored juice in the bowl!

Lemon Shortcake

I believe the shortcake came out of the oven right about the time I was finished cutting up the berries. It looked perfect and had a little spring in it when I tested it with my finger!

Balsamic Basil

Here’s where the experiment came in. I love strawberry shortcake! I didn’t know if I’d like balsamic vinegar and basil strawberries, so I decided to just add a little fresh basil that I cut with my kitchen shears and about 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar into a small bowl of the glazed strawberries. Regretfully, I didn’t let it sit very long… I just had to know what it would tast like. Ummm… I didn’t like it. The basil was too much.

Strawberry Lemon Shortcake

It sure was pretty though!

Balsamic Strawberry Lemon Shortcake

The green was awesome and I couldn’t wait to take a bite! But, again… not my cup of tea! I probably should have let Clint try it, but I didn’t.

Strawberry Lemon Shortcake Plated

Instead I plated the plain strawberries and lemon shortcake…

Eaten

and ate the whole thing!! Then I plated another to take to Clint who ate the whole thing! Yes, the whipped topping was missing! I didn’t buy any Cool Whip because I was going to get raw milk from the Amish and make my own… that didn’t work. But I don’t care! I love strawberry shortcake, it’s my favorite dessert (did I say that already??).

Lemon Strawberry Shortcake

Ingredients

  • 1 (1 lb) package of angel food cake
  • 1 (15.75 oz) can of lemon pie filling
  • 2 pints of fresh strawberries
  • 1/3 cups sugar
  • 1 TBS vanilla (or almond) extract
  • 2 TBS balsamic vinegar (if you're willing/optional)
  • 1/2 tsp fresh cut/crushed basil

Instructions

In a bowl, combine the cake mix and the pie filling. I was very gentle and folded them together... not sure if mixing with a mixer would change the consistency of the batter or the cake. Spread the cake batter into a a 9×13 cake pan. (I sprayed mine with cooking spray)

Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clean. Cool completely and slice.

Rinse and cut your strawberries into bite-sized pieces. Add sugar and vanilla and mix until the berries are glazed. If trying the vinegar and basil, add them to a cup of the prepared berries. Let your berries sit and "stew" for at least 1/2 an hour before pouring over your shortcake.

Add whipped topping if desired (who doesn't desire whipped topping???)

**If you like the balsamic vinegar and basil strawberries, you will find quite a few recipes online for the combination!

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Chocolate Ricotta Muffins

I made these Chocolate Ricotta Muffins before Christmas last year and have been meaning to make them again ever since. I finally bought the ricotta cheese and decided it was now or never!

Muffin Tins

The recipe says it makes 16 regular sized muffins. Well, I have no idea what a regular size muffin is, but I have these muffin tins (2 of them) and I knew I only wanted the batter to make twelve muffins because I don’t want to have to wash a pan to restart more muffins. That’s called lazy, and that’s just how I am!!!

Dry Ingredients

This muffin is basically made in two parts; dry and wet; and then combined. The directions start with the wet ingredients, but I started with the dry. Why? I’m not really sure, but I think it’s because I didn’t want the milk sitting out. That’s my story…

Cocoa

The original recipe calls for “Dutch Cocoa” because of the flavor and texture, but I don’t have any, so I used regular cocoa. I used regular cocoa last time too and they were awesome. It does say “sifted” so I tried my best to knock out the chunks.

Flour And Cocoa

That didn’t work real well, so I just added the flour and sifted with my fork again… a little better! I was getting some air in there.

Add Sugar

Then I added the sugar and baking powder.

Dry Ingredients Sifted

A whisk would have done a better job, and I’m going to quit complaining and go buy one very soon! However, the dry ingredients look very light and fluffy for dry ingredients!

Wet Ingredients

Then I gathered my wet ingredients. I used half and half because I was out of milk and I’ve been on an iced coffee binge. Everything else was just as the recipe called for.

Creaming Wet Ingredients

I started by creaming the ricotta cheese and then adding each egg separately. While the mixer was creaming, I added the vanilla and half-and-half and then the melted butter.

Wet Meet Dry

It was a bit wetter than I remember…

Hills and Valleys

and looked a little like chocolate milk as it flowed through the hills and valleys of the flour mixture!

Until Moistened

Now the directions clearly say to be careful mixing the batter because if you mess with it too much, the muffins will be tough and dry. I would love to say I stirred until just moistened, but I got carried away and forgot to stop at just moistened.

Add the Chips

I proceeded anyway… I’m cheap as well as lazy, so I wasn’t starting over!! I slather EVERYTHING in butter anyway, so I knew they would get eaten!

Two Scoops

I used two ice cream scoops of batter per muffin…

Ready to Bake

But there was still enough left in the bowl to make another muffin, so I used my rubber spatula to pour the remainder as evenly as possible between the twelve muffins. I did pretty well considering I eye-balled it!

Straight From The Oven

I’d like to say that 20 minutes later these emerged from the oven, but in reality, I got side-tracked and the buzzer was going when I finally remembered I was baking!!

Butter On Top

I just slathered them with butter and let it melt…

Chocolate Ricotta Muffins

And these were just as moist and delicious as I remember! Clint and I both ate one while they were still very warm. Then I went back for another… they are very filling, so eating two is not a good idea! My tummy hurt! I couldn’t resist though and then I was afraid I might be tempted to eat a third, so I threw the rest in the freezer! Now, when I want one, I just nuke it for about 90 seconds in a wet paper towel.

Now, before you think these aren’t very healthy for muffins, please consider that they are homemade and there is absolutely NO high fructose corn syrup in any of the ingredients I used. That’s pretty healthy in this day and age!!

Chocolate Ricotta Muffins - adapted from joyofbaking.com

Ingredients

  • 1 cup ricotta cheese
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 1/3 cup milk (I used half-n-half)
  • 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
  • 4 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour (I use unbleached)
  • 1 1/4 cups granulated white sugar (I would usually use unbleached)
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 2/3 cup Dutch processed cocoa powder, sifted (I used regular cocoa)
  • 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Spray muffin tins with a non stick vegetable spray.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and cocoa. Set aside.

In a medium sized bowl, whisk the ricotta cheese and then add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the milk, vanilla extract, and cooled and melted butter, mixing well. (I let my mixer do this part)

Add the ricotta mixture to the flour mixture. Stir just until combined and then fold in the chocolate chips. Do not over mix this batter or the muffins will be tough when baked.

Divide the batter among the muffin cups using two spoons or an ice cream scoop. (I made 12 large muffins. My muffin tins are much larger than my cupcake tins.)

Place in the oven and bake about 20 minutes or until lightly browned and a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool.

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Goulash Recipe

I am sure there are many different versions of Goulash Recipes. This is the one I use most often.

This Goulash Recipe is extremely easy. It is also low cost, tastes amazing and is very filling. I usually make extra and we eat it for several days.

I am going to share with you the ingredients of what I put in my Goulash this last time I made it. Please know that you can throw just about any vegetables/beans you like when making this. You can also make less or more of it as you need. This is one of those dishes that tastes better the next day or so. Additionally, this time I put everything in the slow cooker. Many times, after mixing, I put this in a large glass pan and bake it in the oven. Both ways work great.

Goulash Recipe 4

Ingredients:

1 Tbls Butter or Oil

1 Pkg Ground Beef (One pretty good sized package)

1 Diced Onion

1 Can of Red Kidney Beans

1 Can of Navy or White Kidney Beans (Any kind will do)

1 Can of Yellow Corn

1 Can of White Corn

1 Can of Green Beans

1 Can of Rotel Tomatoes (I use Hot)

1 Small Can of Tomato Sauce

1 Small/Med Box of Elbow Pasta

Shredded Cheese (If desired)

 

Directions:

  1. Place your diced onion in the pan with your butter or oil and cook until translucent.
  1. Add in your ground beef with the onions and cook until done while breaking it up.

Goulash Recipe 1

  1. Boil your elbow macaroni per the directions on the box.
  1. While your ground beef and noodles are cooking open and drain all your vegetables. Do not drain the Rotel Tomatoes. Add all of the canned vegetables to your slow cooker and mix up well.

Goulash Recipe 2

  1. When your ground beef and noodles are done cooking drain them both and add them to the slow cooker. Mix up well with the vegetables. NOTE: Wait to cook and add the noodles if you are planning on cooking this in the slow cooker all day. I added my noodles about two hours prior to serving. You can add the noodles just before serving if you want, but do not leave them in the slow cooker all day.

Goulash Recipe 3

You can cook this on high for 4 hours or you can put it on low and let it cook all day. Make sure you stir is occasionally.

Serve warm with Texas Toast or Rolls.

I also put shredded cheese on mine before serving.

Slow Cooker Apple Pie Cake

My future sister-in-law has a lot of slow cookers. I don’t know why exactly, people tend to give them to her, but I was fortunate a while back to be the recipient of one of her slow cookers that the latch had broken on. Yup, that’s the only thing wrong with it! A few days later, Crystal Ponti shared her recipe for an apple pie cake in the crock pot. I’m pretty sure it was divine intervention and I was meant to adapt her recipe and post how I made this fabulous cake myself!!

You all should know by now that a recipe is just a guideline to me and I tend to rarely have the exact ingredients on hand to make a recipe from start to finish, so I used what I had and doubled the original recipe and set out to make my first slow cooker dessert!

Dry Ingredients

I would say I carefully measured, but you would know I was fibbing because I’m just not programmed to follow directions EXACTLY as given no matter what the task is! But I did manage to have flour, sugar (white because I haven’t been grocery shopping yet), and baking powder. I sifted them together with my fork (still need a whisk, too!) and set it aside.

Eggs Vanilla

I didn’t have egg beaters so I just decided three eggs would be the same as 2/3 cups. I have no idea if that’s right, but it was perfect for my purposes! I added the vanilla and beat them together.

Dry Ingredients Take 2

After peeling all my apples and preparing to slice and dice them, I had an epiphany about this being an apple pie cake… there should be some kind of spice… so I took another look at the recipe and realized I had forgotten the cinnamon. I added and re-sifted!!

Diced Apples

I diced my apple slices straight into the flour mixture…

Flour Coated Apple

And then stirred them around after every two apples. To truly double this recipe, I would have used eight apples, but after six, it looked good enough to me!

Add Eggs

Then I added the egg/vanilla mixture…

Mix Until Just Moistened

Stirred until just moistened…

In The Pot

And then poured the batter into the greased slow cooker. It was very dry so it didn’t really pour, it plopped! But I remembered that slow cookers maintain the moisture! Then I added four pats of butter on top anyway. I can’t help it. I love butter. Apple pie has butter.

I put the lid on, turned it on high and prepared to wait for three hours.

An Hour In

I just happened to be in the kitchen about an hour later and snapped a picture through the slow cooker lid. Looked perfect!

Done

Then ChefBoy got home from track practice and immediately lifted the lid. I slapped his hand and then felt the top of the cake and it was springy. Then I used a butter knife in the center and it came out clean. It had cooked for two and a half hours.

Upside Down

I turned the slow cooker off and let it sit for about 15 minutes. Then I couldn’t stand it any more and I turned it out upside down on a platter. I learned at that point that my slow cooker is like my oven and does not cook evenly. I personally love slightly overcooked, caramelized sugar so it looked fantastic to me!!

Slow Cooker Apple Pie Cake

And it was fantastic! The side that got overcooked just had a crispy crust. The other side was perfectly moist and oh so apple-y good! I will make this Slow Cooker Apple Pie Cake again and again!!

Slow Cooker Apple Pie Cake

Ingredients

  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 4 teaspoons baking powder
  • 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 6 medium-sized cooking apples, chopped
  • 3 eggs
  • 4 teaspoons vanilla
  • 4 pats butter

Instructions

Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt

Add apple pieces and stir to coat after every couple of apples

Beat eggs and vanilla together and then add to dry ingredients. Stir until just moistened

Pour batter into a greased slow cooker and top with butter pats

Cover. Cook on high 2 1/2 to 3 hours... (this is very dependent on cooker, so start checking for doneness at 2 hours)

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Nine years ago when we bought our house, “The Hartness Ranch”, we went into it knowing we had a project on our hands. The house was not in horrible shape, but there were things here and there that needed to be done. Over the years we have tackled one project after another. In the back of my mind I have always wondered what we could do about the hardwood floors that would not cost us a fortune. The house is a ranch style with yellow pine hardwood floors throughout. I disliked these floors from day one. They have never been “pretty”. They have a sort of orangish stain on them and they are just beat up. They are also impossible to “get clean” in my opinion.

For the past several years I have seen many pictures here and there of painted hardwood floors. I have often times wondered about painting the hardwood floors in our house. It has been an up and down conversation in our household for quite some time. Brandon has disagreed with me about this option for the past several years and so I had put the thought on the back burner.

Several weeks ago we decided to re-do our laundry room that also serves as our pantry. In doing so Brandon conceded to let me try the painted hardwood floors in this small room to see what we thought of it. The floor in this room was exceptionally bad. The previous owners had a washer that leaked and it had ruined a portion of the floor. No matter what I did over the years I could not get it cleaned. So, our thoughts were that the floor in this room really could not get much worse than it already was!

Painted Wood Floors 1

 

Painted Wood Floors 2

 

Painted Wood Floors 3

We purchased the paint from Home Depot. It is a paint specifically designed for wood decks and outdoor weather. After some searching we decided that this would be the easiest, most cost effective and most durable way to go to get the look we wanted for the painted hardwood floors. You can choose between a low-luster or a high shine. I chose the low-luster.

Painted Hardwood Floors 17

 

Painted Wood Floors 4

The paint was not even dry in the laundry room before we both fell in love with the look of the painted hardwood floors. Brandon kept commenting on how much he liked the look of it. Taking advantage of his satisfaction with the laundry room floor, I decided the following week  to tackle the floors of the adjoining room which is our kitchen.

Painted Wood Floors 5

I started by touching up the cabinets just to give them a fresh coat of paint as well. I then sanded the floors all over with an electric sander. When I did the laundry room I sanded the floor by hand. I highly suggest the electric sander instead. It took me all of about 20 minutes to sand the whole kitchen. I went over the entire floor twice to make sure I did not miss any spots.

Painted Wood Floors 6

Tip: Clean after you sand. I cleaned the entire kitchen before I sanded and had to come back and do it all again. I did not think that through very well.

Painted Wood Floors 7

After the sanding, I went over all the edges with a brush to cut in all the edges and corners. I used the same basic technique as if I was painting a wall. I then rolled the paint on to the rest of the floor. I allowed that to dry and applied two additional coats. It dried fairly quickly in a bout 20-30 minutes per coat.

Painted Wood Floors 8

We allowed this color to sit and cure for the weekend and then we decided to start on a design for the painted hardwood floor in the kitchen. We bought the same type of paint in a different color.

Brandon did a bit of internet research and decided on the best way to set out the design. I saw this design called several different things, but finally decided that the most popular name for it was harlequin pattern. Brandon was awesome at laying out all the lines for the harlequin pattern on our painted hardwood floors. After he got them all measured and drawn out with pencil he marked which squares were to be painted with the darker tan color. He started the painting of the squares in the darker color. His plan was to tape, paint and un-tape each one individually. He got as far as he could with that method and the next day I took over.

Painted Wood Floors 9

 

Painted Wood Floors 10

I taped up all the ones I could without overlapping any and painted them all at once. I let the paint dry and then came over it with an additional coat. I repeated and completed this step the following day.

Painted Wood Floors 11

 

Painted Wood Floors 12

In the span of about a week we completed this project of painted hardwood floors in our kitchen. We are both ecstatic with the result. It made an enormous difference in the look of the kitchen and it gave it a real farm house look, which I love!

Painted Wood Floors 13Painted Wood Floors 14Painted Wood Floors 15

 

Painted Wood Floors 16

I have no illusions that the finish we have now on these painted hardwood floors will last forever and I am completely aware that we will have to touch up over the years. So far, it has turned out to be very durable. We moved in a new washer and dryer and have had all kinds of traffic in and out with no causalities to the floor yet! It is also surprisingly easy to clean. I used a mix of baking soda, apple cider vinegar, Dawn dish soap and water and it came clean with just a wipe down.

When Brandon laid out the pattern on the floor he planned for it to end up in such a way that we would continue the darker tan color into our next adjoining room which is our dining room. We will be working on that soon and I will update the results when we get it finished. All in all we are very pleased with the outcome of these painted wood floors.

 

 

 

 

This Strawberry Shortcake Recipe is VERY easy to make and it tastes phenomenal! I highly recommend this!

 

Strawberry Shortcake Dessert

Strawberry Shortcake Dessert Recipe

Strawberry Shortcake Dessert

Strawberry Shortcake Dessert Recipe

Ingredients

1 Angel Food Cake (I used a Sugar Free One)
1 24 oz. container frozen strawberries, sliced with sugar added, thawed (I would have preferred to use Sugar Free, but could not find any!)
3 cups sugar free vanilla pudding
16 oz. container of whipped cream, slightly less than the whole container
Fresh strawberries, blackberries, bananas, blueberries or any fruit you like for garnish

Directions

  1. Thaw frozen strawberries and cool whip.
  2. Make the pudding and let it sit in the fridge to set.
  3. Tear angel food cake into medium pieces.
  4. Begin layering cake, strawberries, pudding and whip cream in a large clear glass bowl.
  5. Continue irregular layers, filling the bowl.
  6. Top entire dessert with a solid layer of whip cream.
  7. Slice a few fresh strawberries and add any fruit you would like for garnish.
  8. Refrigerate overnight or at least 4 hours before serving.

Enjoy this Strawberry Shortcake Recipe any time of year with your family and friends!

 

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