Quick and Easy Recipes

With outrageous gas prices and an economy that seems to think we have money trees in our back yards, I’ve been trying to find new ways to cut my spending.  Sadly, I’m one of those people who just lets the cash fly - I  spend it like the economy has me convinced those trees really exist!

One of the things I’m trying to do is go to the store fewer times.  Each time I go, I spend more than I need to.  Especially since my Grocery Store was kind enough to build a Starbucks right inside the store… right by the exit.  I’d need a clothespin on my nose, skates on my feet, and blinders on my eyes to make it by.  They all know me so well, as it is, they practically have my drink waiting on me

It didn’t take me long to realize that Starbucks was one area I wouldn’t be cutting back on!

I have begun to find fresh ways to utilize leftovers.  My latest trick involved one of the best sauces on the market (Country Bob’s) and meatballs.

We’d had spaghetti one night last week and I’d made up a large batch of meatballs.  I always serve them separately, since one of our daughters is a vegetarian.  I knew we had more than enough, so I put about half of them in a plastic container, covered them with Country Bob’s All Purpose Sauce and put them in the refrigerator.

The next day, we had Country Bob Steakball Hoagies for lunch. I sauteed an onion, 1 tsp garlic, and a can of mushrooms in a small amount of butter. Meanwhile, I slowly warmed up the Country Bob Steakballs and lightly toasted some sesame-seed hoagie buns.

When everything was ready, I assembled the hoagies by putting a slice of Swiss Cheese on the bottom of each hoagie, then the steakballs, then the onion mixture. I topped each off with shredded lettuce and sliced tomatoes.

You might want the bottle of Country Bob’s to add more to the hoagies.

These are amazing! Another great thing about Country Bob’s is that he “gets’ that money trees only exist in our dreams. The quality of the sauce is on par with all the other sauces, but the price is much, much friendlier.

The money I save just fattens up my Starbucks fund.  Thanks for that, C.B. !

You know what sounds good right now - I mean really, really good?  A bowl of homemade guacamole and some really fresh, crunchy tortilla chips.  Ever since the Attack of the Infested Tomatoes started playing out, my obsession with salsa has understandably faded.  It’s been challenging to find ways to substitute what was always a frequently used staple in my kitchen.

I never really realized just HOW frequently I used tomatoes until now.  Sliced on sandwiches, cut up in salads (which my family eats just about daily in some fashion or another during the warm months), in tacos, cooked with pasta, and…sigh… in salsa and pico de gallo.

With salads, I’ve been replacing tomatoes with radishes and/or red pepper.  Some people like sun dried tomatoes in salads, but I’m still on the fence.  I think they’re amazingly good in pasta dishes, though.  They can fill the void nicely.  Then, too, there’s always the cannded tomatoes.  They mingle well with pasta. 

I also stir the petite diced tomatoes into taco meat for tacos.  They’ll do in a pinch for salsa, too.

But back to my overwhelming desire for guacamole.  I love this stuff and can’t get enough of it.  At the moment, I want it to show up for lunch with it’s tortilla chip friends, but it’s versatile enough to show up with a lot of other sidekicks.

For Example, you have to try the following:

1. Lightly toast some quality bread.  Spread the inside with guacamole.  Add a few sliced of smoked turkey, a slice of swiss cheese (optional), shredded lettuce, and a few slices of bacon.
2. A South of the Border Burger:  Grill, fry, or bake your burger patties.  Lightly toast your buns.  In no particular order, add your meat, sliced onion, a dollop of guacamole, jalapeno peppers if you’re brave, and a teaspoon or so of store bought picante sauce (I usually get Pace.)  Serve with fresh tortilla chips and enjoy being alive.
3. Toast a wheat english muffin.  Spread on some fresh guacamole.  To this you can add either a little picante sauce or hot sauce, if desired.  Now top it off with a poached egg.  Oh, come on now!  It’s good, I promise.
4. Cut up some cooked chicken.  I most recently used mesquite roasted chicken (YUM!), but grilled or baked chicken are delicious, too.  In a bowl, combine the chicken, some guacamole, and a little bit of salt and pepper.  Add as little or as much guacamole as you desire.  Use your chicken mixture to stuff lightly toasted pita pockets or wrap a warmed tortilla around and create a delicious wrap.
5. Serve guacamole beside your grilled steak or chicken.
6. Use guacamole as a potato topper - give sour cream the night off.
7. Slather on top of baked potato skins.
8. Serve with the Ruffles Pinch of Salt Chips and/or Frito Corn Chips I told you about in the last post!

Did you know that early Spanish settlers called guacamole the “butter of the poor?”  It got the name because it was flavorful, could be used a lot of different ways, and was inexpensive to make.  At least it’s still diverse and flavorful!

I like the way the month of June thinks. Petunias, walks in the park, yards filled with birds, lots of baseball, grilling… Now, she’s gone and topped herself. June has declared herself to be National Tea Month. Are you kidding me? I’m SO there!

You name the tea and I love it dearly. Black tea, white tea, green tea (!!!), red tea (although it actually took longer for me to get used to than green tea), Chai tea - my mouth’s watering just thinking about all of that goodness.

Being from the south, I naturally prefer my tea sweetened. I’ve always sweetened my iced tea with white sugar and my hot tea with honey. Hot tea and honey were just meant to go together. Like a good marriage, they bring out the best in one another. Recently, though, I’ve been sweetening my iced tea with honey as well. I love the special little zing and swagger that it gives the tea - especially green tea. You just try it without honey… you’ll be sorry, it isn’t for the faint of heart.

Below are three AMAZING recipes for Iced tea using my new sweetheart, honey. They are courtesy of the National Honey Board and I thank them very much - for the recipes, of course, but even more so for honey. Sweet stuff. Mmmm… I just thought of something else that I love honey on: Peanut butter, toast, and bananas. I toast the bread, usually wheat, spread on the peanut butter, add a sliced banana, then (this is where it gets sticky) drizzle my honey on top of the bananas. I top it off with the other slice of toast, sit down and enjoy life.

Try it sometime, you’ll be impressed. Also, give these recipes a try. You’ll make them over and over and over again.

Honey Mint Iced Tea
-Makes 4 servings-

Ingredients:
4 cups boiling water
1/2 cup fresh mint leaves
2 tea bags, green or black
1/4 cup honey*

*Suggested pairing: Wildflower honey. Wildflower honey is amber to dark amber in
color with mild floral overtones. Extremely versatile, it is delicious in fruit
and vegetable salad dressings, excellent in baked goods and makes a delicious
table honey. Clover honey may also be substituted for wildflower.

Directions:
In large heat-proof pitcher, pour boiling water over mint and tea bags. Whisk in
honey. Let steep 5 minutes. Remove tea bags; cool. Refrigerate until ready to
serve. To serve, pour over ice.

Icy Fruit Tea
- Makes 6 servings -

Ingredients:
4 tea bags
1 cup boiling water
1/2 honey*
1/4 cup crushed, packed fresh mint leaves
1 cup orange juice
3/4 cup pineapple juice
1/4 fresh lime juice
Ice cubes
1 1/2 quarts carbonated water

*Suggested pairing: Orange blossom honey. Orange blossom honey is a white to
extra light amber honey with a pronounced aroma of orange blossoms. It has a
sweet, fruity taste and is a great table honey. Orange blossom honey also excels
in fruit and vegetable salad dressings, and in marinades for fish and poultry.

Directions:
For concentrate, place tea bags in medium bowl. Add boiling water and steep 10
minutes. Remove tea bags. Add honey and mint; mix well. Mix fruit juices in
1-quart container. Add tea mixture and refrigerate until ready to use. For tea,
fill 12-ounce glass with ice cubes. Add 1/2 cup each concentrate and fill glass
with carbonated water.

Serving Suggestions:
Garnish with a pineapple spear and mint sprig.

Honey Raspberry Iced Tea
- Makes 4 Servings -

Ingredients:
2 cups freshly brewed tea
2 cups cranberry-raspberry juice
1/4 cup honey*

*Suggested pairing: Raspberry honey. Raspberry honey is light amber in color
with a mellow, smooth flavor and unique raspberry finish. This sweet honey pairs
well with vanilla flavors, champagne, chocolate and with fresh fruit, such as
pears and peaches. If raspberry honey is unavailable, clover honey may also be
used.

Directions:
In a large, heat-proof pitcher, whisk together all ingredients until thoroughly
combined and honey dissolves. Chill until ready to serve. Pour over ice to
serve.

Food Tv.com (a.k.a. Food Network.com) has a delicious section filled with the most amazing Memorial Day recipes you could hope for.  But don’t take my foodaholic word for it, see for yourself.   Be warned, though, if you’re on a tight grocery budget (Aren’t we all these days?), you’ll be extremely tempted to throw the budget out the door.  I honestly want to make about 20 different recipes right now!

My printer’s trying to catch its breath and my own budget’s scratching its head, wondering if it ever really had a chance.  To answer its question, “No.  Not really.”

Some of the recipes you’ll want to seek out first:

Corn, Avocado, and Tomato Salad

Coconut Lime Pudding Cake

Grilled Bread

Summer Pudding

Blackberry Lemonade

Blueberry Lemonade

Grilled Chicken Sandwich with Grilled Mushroom Vinaigrette

Zesty Grilled Tilapia

Crab Cake Burgers

Mini Chipotle Burgers with Fire-Roasted Garlic Ketchup (!!!!!)

Mini Chipotle Burgers with Fire-Roasted Garlic Ketchup.  I just had to fixate on it a little longer.

COPPERED CARROTS  (Make the day before serving!)

1 pkg. raw carrots
1 cup tomato soup
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 T. vegetable oil
1 T. sugar
1 small onion, minced
1 small green pepper, chopped
dash of salt
dash of pepper
dash of garlic powder

Scrape, clean, and slice the carrots into circular slices (”coins”).  Cook in boiling water or steam until tender when approached with a fork.  Don’t overcook them, however, you don’t want mushy coins!

Drain.  Mix the soup, apple cider vinegar, oil, sugar, minced onion, freen pepper, and seasonings in a pan.  Bring to a boil.  Pour this sauce over the carrots and refrigerate overnight.  These flavorful carrots can be served cold or heated.  This recipe makes a great appetizer OR sidedish.

Makes 6 - 8 servings.

2 pkg (8 oz each) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

1 TBS milk

2 TBS MAXWELL HOUSE Instant Coffee

1 ready-to-use chocolate crumb crust

Mix the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla with an electric mixer on medium speed until creamy and well blended.  Add the 2 eggs and mix well.

Microwave milk on high for 15 seconds.  If you don’t have a microwave, of course, you can simply heat it on the stovetop in the tiniest pan imaginable!  Stir instant coffee into milk until dissolved.  Stir into batter and pour into crust.

Bake at 350 degrees fro 35 to 40 minutes or until center is almost set.  Cool.  Refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight.  (You’ll barely make the 3 hours before diving in, so you’d better go with that one.)

This delicious, yet simple, recipe is from a little recipe booklet that I got YEARS ago in a Dollar General Store for, like, $3.  It’s a “PHILADELPHIA” Cream Cheese Cookbook called, “A Little Taste of Heaven:  Appetizers, Cheesecakes, and More.”  It was put out in 2003, so it might be a little tricky to find (think e-bay!), but if you can get your hands on it, it’s pure gold.  Cream cheese is one of my favorite things to bake with; like buttermilk, it just makes everything better.

You’ll love this recipe!  Coffee combined with chocolate AND cream cheese?!?!  I could eat this every day for the rest of my life.

Dancing Snacks- Set of 3 Tin Sign
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Okay, I’ll admit it - I’m a snack junkie. My whole family is. It’s actually my fault, really. After all, I’m the one who instituted Monday Night Football snacks, Survivor snacks, American Idol snacks, St. Louis Cardinal ballgame snacks, etc. I even make snacks for The Biggest Loser - but at least I make darn sure they’re healthy snacks. I usually pull them right from The Biggest Loser cookbook.

My family has gotten so spoiled to special snacks, they’ll call or text (or Steph will just come find me in whatever room I’m in!) and ask, “What are we having during (insert the television event of the night)?!” Normally I make something special, whether it’s my killer Spinach Artichoke dip and tortilla chips, guacamole, enchiladas, cupcakes, cookies, or other dessert. Last night I was running verrrry late on time, so I grabbed a bag of Frito’s - a new flavor, Lime and Salt. Delicous! As soon as you see this on your shelves, grab a bag - whether there’s anything on tv that night or not. The tanginess of the lime is absolutely perfect with the deliciousness of the Frito’s.

They’d be really good served alongside Taco Burgers or tacos.

A good snack for the health-conscious crowd is this simple idea: Take store-bought granola bars, regular flavor, and spread creamy peanut butter on top. You can leave it at that OR you can sprinkle sunflower seeds on top. Another option is to slice a layer of banana and lay it on top of the peanut butter. YUM!

Having special snacks for special family gatherings just makes it even more enjoyable. It lets your family know that nothing in the world is as important to you as the time you spend with them.

1 Tbsp. butter
1/2 cup sesame seeds
1/4 1/4 cup grated Parmesan Cheese
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 cup sour cream
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. vinegar
1/4 chopped green peppers
2 Tbsp. chopped onions
3/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. garlic salt
1 head of lettuce
1 bag of baby spinach

Melt butter - add seeds and brown slowly. (Don’t leave them unattended even for a second!) Cool.

Add cheese and mix well. Set aside.

Combine remaining ingredients, except for the lettuce and baby spinach. Just prior to serving, toss the lettuce and spinach with dressing and 3/4 of the seed mixture. Sprinkle more seeds on top right before digging in.

I’ve been experimenting a lot with different salads lately. There’s just no excuse to go the tomato/lettuce only route! The options and variations are absolutely endless and I’ve found that working your way through them is deliciously entertaining!

Hot Chocolate Art Print
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Just typing the words Hot Chocolate made me crave a mug. But if the “hankering” will be still for a few minutes, I’ll try to get through the post before I run to the kitchen.

First of all, this is my absolute favorite way to make hot chocolate. I’ve been serving my family this hot chocolate for years and they lick their mug clean while singing my praises with every lick. I always preach that buying name brands is almost always the only way to go, right? Well, one of the few places where I step outside of my own sermons is baking cocoa. I buy the Kroger brand of cocoa and one of the main reasons is the recipe on the back for hot cocoa. Here it is:

HOT COCOA
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup Kroger Baking Cocoa (I go a good 3-4 tablespoons past that!)
4 cups milk

Blend the sugar and cocoa in a large saucepan - gradually add 1/3 cup of the milk, stirring constantly until smooth.

Stir in the remaining milk and cook over medium heat until hot. Stir frequently and DO NOT BOIL.

The recipe above makes about 4 servings for reasonable people or 2 for people like my oldest daughter and I, chocolate addicts of the highest order. After you’ve poured the liquid Heaven into the cups, top with a heaping tablespoon of whipped topping and then…and then…and then drizzle a little bit of Hershey’s chocolate syrup on top. Not the kind in the plastic bottles. Go old school and buy the gorgeous little can.

This is the most amazing hot cocoa or hot chocolate you’ll ever have in your life.

Another amazing Hot Chocolate recipe comes courtesy of the adorable cookbook, “More than Moonshine.” (How’s that for a title? And, yes, of course it’s about cooking in Kentucky.)

HOT CHOCOLATE
1/4 cup cocoa
1/2 cup sugar
1 TBS flour
1 cup hot water
1 cup whole milk
1/4 tsp vanilla
pinch of salt
marshmallows (optional)

Mix the first three ingredients together in a saucepan. Add the water and boil until “somewhat thickened.” Add the milk, vanilla, and salt, and stir well.

Heat but DO NOT BOIL. Put a large marshmallow (or however many smaller ones you desire) in the bottom of each cou and pour the hot chocolate to the brim!

This recipe makes 2 cups.

Enjoy!

1 pound ground beef
3/4 cups green peppers, chopped
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
2 - 1/2 tsp. chili powder
1 cup chopped onion
1 large can tomatoes
1 large can kidney beans, drained
1 tsp salt

Brown the ground beef, drain.

Add the remaining ingredients to the beef. Simmer for at least 1 hour.

Optional: During the last 10 minutes, you can add a little fresh cilantro to the dish. Some people like to serve Chili Con Carne with a tablespoon of sour cream on top along with chopped green onion. I love to serve Pico de Gallo alongside my Chili Con Carne. But then again, left to my own devices, I’d serve Pico de Gallo alongside everything.

This is a dish you just can’t go wrong with.