Don't forget to head over to my other blog for all my new recipes! www.jessicamiddour.blogspot.com HERE!!!!

Moving Link

As I said in my last post I am moving over to my personal blog. It's an attempt to be more on top of posting more recipes but as a mom of 4, I am quite busy! www.jessicamiddour.blogspot.com

So go and check it out!!!

Thanks everyone!
Love you all!!!
Jessica

Moving!!!

Hello friends! I want to say thanks for the love and following here! I have good news! I am going to post recipes over at my personal blog in an attempt to post more regularly! Good news right?? I thought so too :) so just head on over to...

www.jessicamiddour.blogspot.com

Ps you will need to copy & paste the address in your browser bar until I can get it to link up :)

Easy Roasted Veggies

Hello! I apologize for how long it's been since I last blogged! Life has been so busy with 2 older kids who are almost teens. They have a lot going on after school and then school work. I also have a toddler and a newborn who need my attention plus my hubby to connect with :) whew!!! A lot, I know right? So one easy thing I like to do is roast up veggies with dinner. I do this quite often, at least 7 times per month. My family LOVES them. The standard mix I use is zucchini, yellow Squash, onions, sweet potatoes. Sometimes I add sweet bell peppers, tomatoes & thinly sliced carrots. The thing to remember is that some veggies cook faster than others so you will have to cut or dice accordingly. Once you cut your veggies & put them in a large bowl, preheat your oven to 425( very warm!) drizzle a nice amount of extra virgin olive oil and some sea salt, pepper, & any other seasoning that you like. Give it a good mix and pour onto a cookie sheet. Sometimes I have had to use 2 :) place into oven for 20 min or until veggies are tender. Enjoy!!!

Baked Oatmeal

I have tried many different baked oatmeals and this recipe is my favorite by FAR! Pumpkin Baked Oatmeal  It turns out just right! Last night I made another kind and you can find that recipe here Raspberry Baked Oatmeal. I did add a half cup of plain yogurt to the raspberry one and added 1 cup fresh blueberries. Here is another good recipe too!

Thanksgiving Menu

Greetings! Thanksgiving is upon us and I'd like to share my menu with ya :)

Roasted Turkey Breast

Apple Sage Stuffing

Smashed Taters

Sauteed Brussels Sprouts(we LOVE them!)

Roasted & Smashed Squash with honey& cinnemon

Maple Glazed Carrots

Pumpkin Dessert Bars

Almost all the recipes are Taste of Home or Betty Crocker and if you Google it, you'll find it.

Sorry I am not posting them...I have stuff to prep and 4 kids to take care of! :0) 

      ciao for now!

 HAPPY THANKSGIVING! 

Hello Again and Pork Steaks

Most of you know I was expecting a baby Mid-October. I went into labor 5 weeks early and my son was born Mid-September. So needless to say I haven't kept up with the blog here very well. So hello again! I look forward to posting something here regularly. Hello to any new followers! Welcome!

Pork Steaks with Cream of Mushroom Soup

Ingredients:
Pork steaks for your family size
1 can of mushroom soup(I use reduced sodium and u can sub any kind you want)
a little milk
pepper
oil
3-4 cloves chopped/minced garlic

Heat a skillet to med heat and add oil and garlic
Pepper lightly and sear each pork steak till golden
mix soup and milk together in bowl and add to pan
reduce heat and cover and simmer for 20 min or until done

I like to roast sweet 'taters and other winter veggies in the oven for 30-40 minutes at about 400' drizzled with olive oil and seasoned with your favorite seasoning. I use Mrs. Dash and sea salt :)

This is a good hearty fall/winter meal that I think you'll enjoy!

Indoor BBQ Ribs

The other day I decided to make ribs but my hubby had to work late and we had to eat by a decent time. He usually smokes ribs on the grill/smoker and I really don't know how. So I started looking online for ways to cook ribs. Let me be upfront: I am really picky about ribs because my mom was good at cooking them and my hubby perfected his on the smoker. DELISH!!!  I don't like them cooked in a bunch of watery sauce-PICKY right? I know :( I had the recipe I found, made them, and we all LOVED it! Cooks.com was where they were Here is the link. I followed the recipe except decreased the salt a little and added a touch more sugar. Other than that I did everything it said and they were very good. Moist and tender with little crunchy areas! I am picky about BBQ sauce as well and this is what I used-a Kansas  City style sauce. Let me tell ya, if you want a great sauce that will not disappoint, this is the one! We found it in the meat area of our local store, right by the steaks and stuff. All of his sauces are super good.  

Rhubarb Cake

With spring & summer comes an abundance of Rhubarb! Here is a tasty way to use it up and it is quick to whip up, ALWAYS a bonus!

The Recipe: Rhubarb Cake

1 1/2 Cups brown Sugar

(if your wondering why it looks odd, it's because I used a combo of brown sugar and organic sugar but it's 1 1/2c total)

1/2 cup shortening 

Cream these two together

Then add:

1 Egg

1 Cup Buttermilk

2 Cups Flour

(you can use all purpose or whole wheat)

1 teaspoon Baking Soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 1/2 Cups Fresh Diced Rhubarb(I use a little extra)

Blend but take care not to over mix.

Grease a 13x9 baking dish and spread batter evenly into pan. 

Mix 1/2 Cup sugar

with 1 teaspoon Cinnamon.

Sprinkle evenly over top.

Bake @350 degrees for 40 min.

This recipe was given to me by a friend :)

Easy Chicken Enchiladas

Looking for an EASY creamy chicken enchiladas recipe? Here is one I have found that our family LOVES and is super fast. It calls for cooked chicken that is shredded and it is really easy to do ahead of time and set aside or even freeze the chicken.  Hope you try this yummy easy enchiladas recipe!


1 small onion chopped
1 clove garlic
1 lbs cooked chicken breast shredded
4oz (half Package) cream cheese
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro  (nice but not necessary)
1 Teaspoon cumin
1 cup salsa divided
1 cup cheddar jack or Monterey jack cheese divided
8 to 10 flour tortillas-soft taco size

Preheat oven to 350
Heat a large skillet with cooking spray or olive oil on med heat. Add onions and garlic and cook 2 min or till tender. add chicken, 1/4 cup salsa, cream cheese, cilantro and cumin mix well. cook 5  min or until heated thru stirring often.  Add 1/2 cup cheese and stir.
Spoon 1/4 to 1/3 cup of mix in each tortilla down center and roll. Place seam side down in 13x9 baking dish sprayed with cooking spray. When done top with remaining cheese and salsa. Bake 15 to 20 min till heated thru and ENJOY :)

Stuffed Bell Peppers

Today was kinda snowy so I thought I would make a cozy comfort food meal. Stuffed Bell Peppers are yummy and somewhat easy.

You need:
6 Green Bell Peppers
1 Jar of Traditional spaghetti sauce
2 cups cooked rice OR boil in bag type rice(my fav!)
1 lbs ground beef or turkey
1 small onion

1. Put a pan to boil a good amount of water and add a little salt to the water.

 Wash and cut tops off and put a small sprinkle of salt in side the peppers and set aside for the boiling water. When water is rolling add peppers and boil for 5-6 min until kinda tender.

 Dice onion and some of the edges of pepper and soften in a pan with a little olive oil.
When the peppers are done in water I add the bags of rice and cook them till done.
Also add beef to the onion mix and brown and season with salt & pepper to taste.
When beef is done add about a half cup of sauce and mix. Add rice when done.

 Spoon mixture into peppers in a 13x9 dish and top with remaining sauce and bake in a 350 preheated oven for 15-20 min. Top with cheese and serve.

*variation-You can omit the sauce and add cheese to rice mix and bake for the same amount of time.

Pot Roast

Here is an unusual way to cook a pot roast that turned out very well!

You will need one 2-5 lbs roast

1 8 oz jar of real horseradish 

1 cup of water or beef broth

In a dutch oven or similar style pot with a lid heat to med heat and brown roast on all sides.

Then sprinkle on some salt & pepper.

THEN cover all sides of the roast with the horseradish.

I know it sounds odd and when I came across this recipe I thought REALLY???

BUT let me tell you the horseradish mellows out and just adds a nice flavor that is not spicy or strong, just DELISH!!!

Add water/broth bring to boil and cover and reduce heat to simmer and slow cook about 3-4 hours. 

I roasted parsnips, rutabagas and sweet potatoes in the oven to go with :)

Hope you will try this and come back to let me know how it turned out :)

Easy Mulligatawney Soup

A delish soup with a funny name. It's a little taste of India that you make at home and it is SUPER easy!

2 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 cup water
1 cup chopped apple
1 cup chopped carrot
1 7 1/2 oz can of tomatoes cut up reserve juice for soup
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/3 cup long grain rice
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup raisins
1 tablespoon chopped parsley or cilantro
1-1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 course ground pepper
1/8 teaspoon mace OR nutmeg
1 1/2 cups cooked chopped chicken

In a large saucepan combine broth, water, apple, carrots, celery, tomatoes and the juice that you reserved, uncooked rice, onion, raisins, cilantro, pepper, curry, lemon juice, and mace or nutmeg. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer 20 min. or until rice is tender. stir in chicken until heated through. Makes 4 servings. ENJOY!!!!

Even my little ones enjoy this mildly sweet and curry Indian soup that you can make at home.

A Taste of Summer

I think most people are ready for something to remind them about summer. If you are one of them then I a have something for you! Frozen Fruit Smoothies...




You will need 1/2 cup to one cup milk (any kind will work, soy, almond, cow, goat, etc.) for 1-2 servings (you can  add more for a bigger crowd)
1 cup of frozen fruit , no added sugar (we like cherries, blueberries, peaches, mixed berries and/or strawberry slices) 
1/2 yogurt flavored or plain
Keep in mind the more milk you use the more fruit and yogurt you will too
Occasionally I make these with bananas and peanut butter but also add ice cubes to make it cold and frothy


I add the milk first then the fruit. depending on your blender you can pulse it or set it to ice crush untill the fruit is all bended with milk then add yogurt and blend 30 seconds more.
The possibilities are endless with a smoothie like this! Sometimes I add fresh mango with frozen peaches or strawberries with cherries or whatever you can think of. So GOOOD to remind you that summer is coming and good for you too! Hope you try these for a healthier alternative to a milkshake or other dessert! Our family love these especially the kids!

Taco Soup

Yesterday I was wearing my flip-flops! Today many layers and hats and scarves and coats on this rainy-dark-cold-day! So today I decided it was time for an old family FAVORITE !!! TACO SOUP!

You need: 4-6(or more dep. on fam. size) for our family we use 6-8cans of various beans-use whatever you like!

1 can of Mexi-corn or reg corn

1 lbs or ground beef or turkey(or for a no meat option leave out)

1 packet o f Taco seasoning

1 packet of dry ranch seasoning

Grated cheese

Sour cream

Tortilla Chips

Brown Meat,if using, sometimes at this point I add garlic and/or onions but totally optional

 Add cans of beans and corn and at this step you can add the liquid in the can or drained and add water back to the pan. Up to you :)

Add seasoning packets.

Bring to a boil and simmer. Sometimes I simmer for 20 min. or up to 2 hours. This again is totally up to you and it doesn't change the soup except adding more flavor!

Serve topped with cheese and sour cream and dip tortilla chips or crush on top of soup. ENJOY!!! 

This versatile recipe was given to me by my sister-in-law and we have loved it ever since!

Part 2! Quick blueberry coffee cake

This is a paula dean recipe.
Preheat oven to 375
You need: grands buttermilk biscuits cut into fourths
A brown sugar cinnamon mixture to taste(about 1/2c worth)
1-2 c blueberrys frozen or fresh mixed with a little granulated sugar
Quick cooking oats
3/4 stick of butter melted(u can use more if you like)the original recipe calls for a whole stick.
Dip the biscuits into butter, then sugar mix and layer into greased 8x8 dish. sprinkle with some oats and then some berries and repeat bake 20 min.

Crazy Cake Recipe

Sorry it has been so long friends! After my laptop suffered a virus i am left punching this out on my phone!

Well this is called Crazy Cake. Not too sure where it's from but has been in my family for 4 generations I'm told :)

Dry ingrediants: 3c flour

-2 tsp baking soda

-2c sugar

-2 tsp salt

-1/2 c baking cocoa mix well in big bowl

Wet ingredients: 2 1/2 c water

- 1/2c oil

-2 tsp vinegar

-2 tsp vanilla

Mix in seperate bowl then mix into big bowl with the dry. 

Bake 13x9@325 for 25 min.

Easy FAST Desserts

This past weekend was really busy! Family photos with B*Pretty Photography and a harvest party. Good times and very busy! These are the yummy treats I made to take along.   REALLY super easy desserts that take NO TIME at all-REALLY!

 # 1. Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Bars 

 2 rolls of refrigerated choc. chip cookie dough

2 pkges of cream cheese(or I used the 1/3 less  fat version...cut corners where ya can!)

2 eggs

1/4 c. sugar

soften cookie dough and cream cheese for 15-20 min before you start 

preheat oven to 375

grease 13x9 

press 3/4 of the cookie dough in to bottom of pan

mix cream cheese, eggs and sugar with an electric mixer till smooth and creamy and spread on top of cookie dough.

take remaining cookie dough and break into Small pieces and sprinkle on top of cream cheese mixture.

bake 35 min.

ENJOY!

#2. S'mores Bars

1 roll of refrigerated cookie dough 

1 cup chocolate chips

3 cups mini marshmallows

2 tablespoons shortening

preheat oven to 375

grease 13x9 pan

press cookie dough into pan and bake for 12 min till edges are golden

top with marshmallows and bake for 2-3 min.

put chocolate chips into resealable food baggie with shortening and microwave at 30 second intervals until melted and smooth. cut a tiny hole in one corner and drizzle over marshmallow. cool in fridge till set and ENJOY!!!

I really hope you make and love these easy dessert bars!

Thanks for stopping by   

Jessica :)

Lasagna for Dinner UPDATE!

OK today I would like to talk about LASAGNA! My last lasagna post was about if I could not OR could make a decent delish lasagna. Well I may have succeeded... It's of off the back of a Barilla No Boil Flat Home-style Lasagna Noodles. It is very good and it also passed the leftover test in my house! I know that if my family will eat it a day or two later and STILL comment on how good it is, then it's a KEEPER!

Keep in mind that if you wanted to use whole wheat no boil noodles you can and they do make them. No boil makes it much easier and faster for week night dinner.

Also my Hubby doesn't like soft cheeses so I omitted that and the eggs and used shredded cheddar and mozzarella. You can find this recipe on the back of the box too!

Ingredients:  1 box of Barilla no boil lasagna.2 eggs.1 15 oz container of ricotta. 4 cups shredded mozzarella(divided).1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese. 1lbs of Italian sausage or ground beef(brown, crumble & drain). 2 jars of your fav sauce.

Preparation: Preheat oven to 375. Spray 13x9 pan with cooking spray. in medium bowl mix ricotta and egg.stir in the parm and half the mozzarella. 

To Assemble: When layering lasagna, slightly overlap noodles. The noodles will expand during cooking. Be sure to seal in the edges so that during the cooking. 

Layer in the following order *this is where I did my own thing because I didn't use the ricotta filling* but this is what the box says...

1. Spread 1 cup sauce on bottom of pan.
2. layer 4 UNCOOKED sheets, 1/3 ricotta mix, half browned meat, 1 cup of mozzarella and 1 cup sauce.
3. layer 4 uncooked sheets, 1/3 ricotta mix, and 1 1/2 cups sauce.
4. layer 4 uncooked sheets, the remaining ricotta and meat and 1 cup sauce.
5. layer 4 uncooked sheets, remaining sauce and cheese. 

Bake covered for 50-60 minutes, uncover and cook 5 min or till cheese if fully melted. 12 servings. SO EASY and GOOD! If you try this and like to share how it turned out...POST in comment box! :) Thanks for reading :)

Whoopie Pies (Guest post)

Hello! I am so happy to be invited to share with you! Although I don't enjoy cooking like my wonderful friend Jess. I am all about working ahead in my kitchen so I don't have to think about baking or cooking for a few days. ( or weeks) First let me share a bout my little (younger by 2 yrs.) sister. She has an inspected Commercial kitchen where (before her 4 babies) she baked oodles of yummy stuff to sell at local Farmers Markets. So every once in a while she has a need to get elbow deep into sugary stuff and she invites me to help! We mix up HUGE batches of batter. I mean these mixing bowls are so large that i could bathe my 2 yr. old in them! So amid the clouds of flour and powdered sugar we are chatting our hearts out like only sisters can... and at the end of the day we have PILEs of these yummy Whoopie Pies to put in our freezer. And never fails, one day I sent one of my daughters to the freezer to bring us some dessert and they say 'all gone'. And like always I will say 'You've got to be kidding me! How could we eat all those whoopie pies in such a short time?" So here you go! try your own hand at this Pennsyvania Dutch tradition!

"A whoopie pie (alternatively called a gob, black-and-white, bob, or 'BFO' for Big Fat Oreo) is a baked good made of two round mound-shaped pieces of chocolate cake, sometimes pumpkin cake, with a sweet, creamy frosting sandwiched between them.[1] While considered a New England phenomenon and a Pennsylvania Amish tradition,[2] they are increasingly sold throughout the United States.[1] According to food historians, Amish women would bake these (known as hucklebucks at the time) and put them in farmers' lunchboxes. When farmers would find these treats in their lunch, they would shout 'Whoopie"