Monkey Bread for Bubba

My love for cooking has taken a back burner to my need to restore some kind of order in my home before school starts up again, which unfortunately means I haven't been able to post much for recipes here lately!  There is one recipe, however, that I just had to take the time to add because I hear requests for it from Bubba EVERY morning!  "Mom, can we have monkey bread for breakfast?  Mom, is there any monkey bread left over that I can have for breakfast?  Mom, will you hide the last of the monkey bread so no one else eats it for breakfast before I wake up?"

I must admit that it is pretty good and I have to restrain myself from actually making it every day like Bubba asks!  But here it is-you have to have it for breakfast tomorrow, you just have to!

Monkey Bread

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

2 can refrigerated biscuits

3/4 cup melted butter

1 cup brown sugar

In a bag, mix the sugar and cinnamon together, then throw the biscuits that you cut into quarters into the bag.  Mix them all together to coat the biscuits.  Spread into a greased bundt pan.  Mix the melted butter and brown sugar together until mixed.  Pour over the biscuits in the bundt pan.  Bake in oven at 350 degrees for approximately 30-35 minutes.  Let set for 10 minutes before inverting onto a plate and eating!

I'm telling you, if you have kids in your home, this recipe will not disappoint!  Until next time!

Chicken Saver

Who knew that the summer could be so busy!  I thought that once school got out, I would have all the time in the world to do everything I want to do, but alas, I've been so busy that I haven't had the chance to share anything new.  I keep thinking when I make something that I need to stop and share it on my blog, but the time just gets away from me!  Even today, I find myself hurrying to share this recipe with you.

If the Man of the House knew I was sharing ANYTHING chicken related, I would be in SO much trouble, because we raise beef, you know.  It's practically a sin to even eat chicken in our house, but you know what, I like to live on the wild side, so I make AND eat it! :)

I just found this recipe last week and already I love it!!!  The chicken is so juicy and tasty and there are so many different seasonings that you could add in to make the flavor different.  I do this and then shred the chicken to use in recipes.  Last week I made the Ultra Dirty King Ranch Chicken recipe-google it-you will not be disappointed!  And yes, I did the Ultra Dirty Doritos version, because remember, I like to live on the wild side!

Crock Pot Chicken

In the bottom of crock pot, place onion. (I use dried onions and just sprinkle to cover the bottom.)  Add chicken breasts (as many as you want-I usually use 4 because that's what fits in the bottom layer of my crock pot).  Add seasonings as you desire.  I usually use salt and pepper and today I added Tastefully Simple's Garlic Garlic Seasoning.

It smells wonderful!!!

Tomorrow I am off to torture myself by walking a half marathon and yes, I do hate myself and am also thinking that if I never walk again, I won't mind! :)

Graduation Salad and a Promised Crock Pot Recipe

I just finished reading my last post and I must say that I do honestly feel bad that I never got to that crock pot soup recipe...in fact, I am trying to remember what it may have been!  But today is the first day of summer vacation for me-HOORAY!!!  It has been a great day already and I am already sitting down to my blog again.  I know you are excited, too, and that you missed me!

Back to the first day of summer vacation now.  My garden was ready to be planted this morning.  The Man of the House and Bubba took off to build corral and left Nannie and I to fend for ourselves.  We decided that if we were going to be out all morning planting garden, we didn't want to have to come in and cook lunch, so we put lunch in the crock pot.  What a little helper Nannie is-she cooked and gardened right along side me all morning!

When we all got back to the house for lunch, what a relief it was to know that it was already finished!  And would you believe that it was a Bubba hit!  Those are few and far between in my house, but I'm learning that pretty much anything with the word "pizza" in it is golden.

Crock Pot Pizza

1 1/2 lbs. hamburger

onion, chopped

1/2 a big bag of noodles

sliced pepperoni

16 oz. pizza sauce

mozzarella cheese

cheddar cheese

Brown beef and onions.  Drain.

Layer half of each of the following, in the order given, in crock pot:  beef, noodles, pepperoni, pizza sauce, cheddar and mozzarella cheese.  Repeat layers.

Cover and cook on Low for 3-4 hours.

I used spiral noodle, but use whatever you have handy.  I also just used enough pepperoni to make a layer-use however much you want.  I also didn't tell you how much cheese to add on because cheese is a personal thing, I say.  I myself have a bit of a love affair with cheese and I'm pretty sure you can NEVER have to much of it in your life!  But, to each their own...  Oh, and just as a little side note, here is a little crock pot secret I always use-spray cooking spray in your crock pot before adding anything.  It makes cleanup SO much easier in the long run because the food doesn't stick quite so bad.  I know they make crock pot liners, but they are expensive and I use my crock pot a lot, so I just do a quick spray and I'm good to go!

Now, as I read over that last post I had written, I was talking about my oldest nephew being a senior, right?  Well, he is now a high school graduate and boy, am I proud of him!  His list of scholarships was like a mile long!  Anyway, for his reception, his mother, AKA my sister, asked me to make a salad.  And me being the kind of person I am, never make something to take to a public gathering that I've already made.  That would be too calm and easy.  No, I like the suspense of whether or not that new recipe is going to work out.  Will I have to quickly whip up one of the tried and true recipes when the new one flops, or is it going to be a hit.  Crazy, I know, but I guess I live on chaos!

Anyway, I was meandering around on Pinterest, my new obsession, and found an amazing recipe that I just had to try out for my nephew's reception.  And would you believe that it was a hit, a really big hit!  It was such a hit that I made it again to take to the in-laws for Mother's Day and it was an even bigger hit there!  Here it is, in all it's glory!

Cheesecake Salad

1 1/2 small tubs whipped topping

18 ozs strawberry yogurt

1 package cheesecake pudding

1 lb strawberries

bananas

miniature marshmallows

Mix the first three ingredients together and let sit in the refrigerator for an hour or so.

Cut up strawberries into whatever size you want and add to cooled mixture.

Right before serving, add cut up bananas and marshmallows.

Then, stand back and watch it disappear!  :)

P.S. If you aren't already on Pinterest, send me your email address and I will get you an invitation, because you NEED to be on Pinterest.  It is simply one of the more amazing internet concoctions they have come up with recently!

It has been so long since I have sat down to grace you with my cooking goodness.  Don't think that I haven't thought of you, because I have, a lot.  Every time I try a new recipe and it's a hit, I think, I have got to get that on my blog!  But, alas, time is precious these days with school in session and many miles to travel a day.  I need to find an app that will take my speech and type it up for me.  Then all I have to do is post it and viola, you are graced!  And I have no doubt that there is an app out there for it, because there is an app for EVERYTHING!!!

Well, because it has been so long, I wondered what recipe I should start with first.  There have been so many and let me just say that there really were some great ones and in time they will all be posted for posterity.  But which one recipe out of all of those should come up first to say, hey, I've been busy, but look what I have to show for it?  Drumroll, please...

Spanish Rice Burritos

1 package spanish rice
1 lb hamburger
cheese and tortillas

Brown hamburger and set aside.  Make spanish rice according to directions and then mix in hamburger.  For a little extra, you can add in corn or beans or whatever else you desire.  Add as much shredded cheese as you desire and melt.  Using warmed up tortillas (you warm them so that you can close the ends without them tearing!), spoon in your mixture and add whatever you feel like adding...cholula sauce, lettuce, more cheese.

These are a HIT at my house.  Even the Man of the House thinks they are great and can it really get any easier than this?  I used this recipe first just so you know that I really have been busy and these kinds of recipes are a premium at my house-fast, easy and ingredients you can have on hand!  LOVE IT!

I promise that I will get better and just to entice you until my next gracing, my next recipe will be a crock pot one...it was SO good and the leftovers were just as amazing!  And when it cools down some, one of my and my kids' favorite soup.  Oh the agony of waiting!

I should ask you if I need to sing you the "Patience" song...how many of you know that one???  My kids HATE it when I start to sing it.  Let me know if you remember it!!!  "Have patience, have patience.  Don't be in such a hurry.  When you get impatient, you only start to worry.  Remember, remember, that God has patience, too.  Just think of all the times when others have to wait for you!"

I'm pretty sure that my mother used to sing that one to me and I started singing it to my nephews.  And now my oldest is a SENIOR!!!  Just looked at his senior pictures last month and my has he grown into a fine young man!  I even got to enjoy seeing pictures of him in the local newspaper cleaning up the town in preparation for his last Homecoming.  Hmmm...I wonder if he will sing the song to his kids...

PS-I just looked over this post to spell check and realized how spacy I sound!  I was told one day at a summer school workshop that this is called ADDOSS...Attention Deficit Disorder-Oh look Something Shiny!!!  HaHaHa  I personally like my sister's better-ADDS-Attention Deficit Disorder Squirrel!  If you haven't seen the Disney movie Up, go watch it and then come back to that quote!

Please don't think badly of me; I know that ADD is a very serious problem for people and I am not trying to make light of it.  I'm a teacher...I know.

Too Hot to Cook...But It's Got To Be Done

The official lazy days of summer have hit me BIG TIME!  I'm finding it hard to do anything, especially cook.  Even worse, it is so miserably hot that I cringe at the mere mention of turning on my oven.  That's where I was at about an hour ago when I was pondering supper.  That is, until an idea struck me!

My sister gifted me a Pampered Chef Grill Basket for my birthday last week AND I just went to the store and scored some really awesome looking peppers-red, yellow and green!  Why oh why didn't I think to pick up mushrooms, because this marinade is THE BEST for them.

Anyway, my sister came up with this amazing marinade that she used with veggies a couple of weeks ago and I'm trying it on my steak tonight, too.  Stay tuned...

Marinade

2 TBSP lemon juice
3 TBSP soy sauce
2 TSP brown sugar
2 TBSP olive oil
1 clove garlic

Mix all together in a plastic bag until sugar dissolves.

For the veggies, I used red, yellow and green peppers, an onion fresh out of the garden, and curse me Perry the Platypus but I had no mushrooms to add to the mix.  Yes, the kids are having a hard time with the lazy summer days, too, hence we have lots of Phineas and Ferb!

I am just about as excited as my lazy body can get about supper tonight because these veggies are amazing grilled.  I could actually care less about the meat, which for me, is unusual!  I'm sure you could make kabobs out of this as well, but my grill basket is just a little lazier side step, so I'm going for that!

Man, I feel like a slug...

Ode To My Crock Pot

An old college friend of mine messaged me today wondering if I had ideas for a get-together without warming up the house with the oven.  Instantly, as would anyone else, I asked about a grill.  Darn it, no grills allowed, so my next question was crock pot.  She replied she was afraid of her crock pot.  OHHHHHH THE HORROR!!!!!  To be afraid of your crock pot is a sadness upon my heart, my dear.  I myself have a love/hate relationship with my crock pot.  Love it because I can come home during the school year to a warm already made meal and hate it because the darn thing just won't fill itself! HA!  Or wash itself for that matter.  I know, I know, they make those crock pot liners, but that just goes against my frugal tendencies that come from my mother who still washes and reuses her plastic bags...now that's another story for another day, and really, you can't blame her, because I think she learned it from her mother!

For a vast majority of my crock pot cooking, I use the Fix It And Forget It crock pot cookbook.  Tons of great recipes-get one.  Which one, you say...crock pot, cookbook?  Get one of each, I say.  But really, who doesn't already have a crock pot.  Everyone received one as a wedding gift.  It's just a matter of finding it for some of us!

But now, my favorite crock pot recipes.  I'm not sure you can even call it a recipe it's so easy.

Shredded Ham Sandwiches

Warm up ham roast in crock pot.  Shred it.  Mix in appropriate amount of taco seasoning for size of roast.  Taste it-you'll figure it out.  Put in crock pot to stay warm.  Serve on homemade hamburger buns (I say homemade because they are the best...do I usually use homemade hamburger buns???  Are you kidding me-do you really think I have that much time or patience in my life???)

And this recipe is SO versatile.  Watch this.

Shredded Beef Sandwiches

Cook beef roast in crock pot (I use pretty much anything but a chuck roast-I hate chuck roasts and chuck roasts hate me-I think they multiply in my freezer...)  Shred it.  Mix in appropriate amount of Italian seasoning for size of roast.  Taste it-you'll figure it out.  Put in crock pot to stay warm.  Serve on homemade hamburger buns (see above notation regarding homemade hamburger buns...)

I would elaborate more on my love for my crock pot, but alas, it's like 100 degrees out and I'm a crock pot soup and stew kind of girl and it's just putting me off right now.  Just wait a few months and I'll be poppin' those crock pot recipes out like none other!

Little Kid Kind Of Salad On A Lazy Day In Summer

Just in case you had forgotten, I'm not much of a salad maker.  After pondering why this is, I think it's because I'm not much of a salad eater.  If I don't eat it, why would I make it, right?  Growing up is good for the palate, however, and I do find myself enjoying more and more salads in life.  But this one, I would have loved even when I was little and the idea of something crunchy or even mushy in my mouth was revolting!

I'm again, not sure where I rounded this recipe up, but it is a keeper!

Ranch Potato Salad

2 lbs potatoes, cubed into bite-sized pieces
8 oz Ranch Dressing
1 cup cheddar cheese
2.8 oz bacon bits
onion powder and garlic salt to taste

Cook the potatoes until they are just tender.  Don't cook too long or they will fall apart!  Run cool water over potatoes until they are cool.

In the meantime, mix the rest of the ingredients together.  Once the potatoes are cool, mix they in with the rest.  Refrigerate for at least 2-3 hours.  Don't judge the taste until you let it cool for a while!

How easy is that???  It's a salad, but there's nothing in there that is offensive to the little ones-well, unless you are Bubba who doesn't like Ranch dressing.  What's up with that?  What kid doesn't each Ranch dressing?  Mine, apparently!

As a variation that I haven't tried yet, instead of using the 8 oz of Ranch dressing, use 1 cup of sour cream and one package of dry ranch dressing mix.

My sister just let me know that her family called the salad a hit, too, and was sad that I brought it home with me last night!  Hooray for me!  Hooray for me what, though-for making a salad that everyone likes or hooray for me for bringing it home so now I can eat it for lunch myself! :)

As an aside, can you believe the hot weather?  I went out to feed and water the animals this morning and by the time I was done I had pretty much decided that that was about all I was going to do today.  That's why they are called the "lazy days of summer", right?!  Heat indexes of 108 degrees are not my idea of good, well, pretty much anything, weather.  On my way back to the house, I stopped by the mini garden patch to check out the peas and saw that the rhubarb plant was in need of being baked, so I pulled about 4 cups worth of stems.  I was in need of a good Rhubarb Crunch fix anyway.  But when I got back to the house and cleaned and cut them all up I realized that now my oven is going to have to be on for a WHOLE HOUR???!!!  What was I thinking???  Oh well.  I guess when the crunch comes out of the oven, I'll just have to have a bowl topped with nice, cold ice cream to overcome the heat! :)

Stay cool everyone!