Brown Sugar Meatloaf

Ok, so we have been super busy lately! Soccer is finally coming to a close. Seems like I had something every night last week and this week hasn't been much better! So I have been looking for meals that don't take much effort! I am just too tired to slave all day over a home cooked meal....Plus I have a VERY busy 3 year old that keeps me hopping!

Last night we had Brown Sugar Meatloaf. My 9 year old (as of today!) loves meatloaf. I like it too but only if there is a hint of sweetness! What can I say, my sweet tooth carries over to all areas of my life! Usually to attain this sweetness, you have to make a glaze for the meatloaf. Not with this recipe! It is more like an upside down cake in that you start with a layer of brown sugar in the pan! Yup, it makes its own glaze! Awesome! Can't get much easier than that! However, I am still waiting for the day that I live in a Jetson type house. A home cooked meal that the home actually cooked would be great! But until that day...


Brown Sugar Meatloaf

1/2 c packed brown sugar
1/2 c ketchup
1 1/2 lbs lean ground beef (I used turkey)
3/4 c milk
2 eggs
1 1/2 t salt
1/4 t ground black pepper
1 sm onion, chopped ( I used dried minced..about 1 T)
1/4 t ground ginger
3/4 c finely crushed saltine crackers (I used panko bread crumbs)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly grease a 9x5 loaf pan.  Press the brown sugar into the bottom of the loaf pan and spread ketchup over the sugar.  In a bowl, mix remaining ingredients together and shape into a loaf.  Place on top of ketchup and bake for 1 hour or until juices run clear. 

Originally from bookcooking.net

Meatball Sub Casserole

So this recipe is one of my most requested.  Mainly, by my little sister, but hey, she is still requesting it.  When this dish is on the menu, I have to let her know, so that we can find a time that she can join us for dinner.  Well, I made it Tuesday without consulting her.  No worries though, she same by today to bring me a wig for my Halloween costume and she got to have the leftovers.  It does reheat really well.  Typically if my sister is here, she and the hubby eat about 3/4 of a 9x13 casserole!  I have posted it on my facebook page in the past and everyone that has it, loves it.  I got the original recipe from Taste of Home Quick Cooking 2000, but in typical Julie fashion I have changed it up to make it easier and a tad healthier! 

Meatball Sub Casserole

Loaf of Italian bread, sliced 1" thick (I didn't have that on Tuesday, so I used 2 sub rolls, YUMMY)
frozen meatballs of your prefernce (or you can make your own)
1 8 oz pkg of cream cheese ( I use the light version)
1/2 c mayo
1 t Italian seasoning
2 c shredded mozzarella, divided
1 24-26 oz jar spaghetti sauce

Line a greased 9x13 pan with bread slices in a single layer.  Mix together cream cheese and mayo with Italian seasoning.  Spread over bread.  Sprinkle 1c of cheese over cream cheese mixture.  Place meatballs over cheese.  Pour spaghetti sauce over the meatballs.  Sprinkle remaining cheese over sauce.  Bake for 30 minutes or until heated thru in a 350 degree oven. 

(Original recipe called for adding water and garlic powder to the sauce.  I don't because it makes the bread kind of soggy and we like it crunchy!)

Sorry, no pic again!  Gotta remember to take a picture before we eat...I promise one will appear some day! 

Forgotten Chicken

Ok, so yesterday I tried out three new recipes.  Two I will post here, one is still being tested out!  Anyway, I had pinned Forgotten Chicken a while ago, and just kept skipping over it when planning out our meals.  Why?  Well, because it has rice!  I am not a huge fan of rice.  Unless it is hidden in a delicious sauce or with veggies.  My dad used to cook his rice and then add milk, sugar and butter.  That is what he called dinner!  My brother and sister would also eat this concoction.  I would go without...Even thinking about it now, grosses me out!  Anyway, this recipe finally made it onto the menu and I have to say it was quite tasty.  The recipe calls for canned cream of soups, so I tried a recipe from pinterest to make homemade cream of anything...That one is still being tested!  The recipe also calls for dry onion soup mix.  I found a homemade version on pinterest that is yummy!  I will be sticking with that from here on out!  So here are the recipes for Forgotten Chicken and homemade dry onion soup mix.

Forgotten Chicken



4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 c minute rice (I used instant brown for added nutrition)
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of celery soup
1 pkg dry onion soup mix
1 1/4 c. water

Mix together water, rice and soups.  Spread into a buttered 9x13 pan.  Place chicken breasts on top of rice.  Sprinkle onion soup mix over chicken.  Cover with foil and bake at 250 for three hours or 350 one to one and half hours.   (I actually did mine in the crockpot on low for 4 hours.)

Original recipe from darlingdoodles.blogspot.com

Dry Onion soup mix

2/3 c dried, minced onions
3 t parsley flakes
2 t onion powder
2 t turmeric
1 t celery salt
1 t sea salt
1 t sugar
1/2 t ground pepper

Mix all together in an air tight container and shake well.  Shake before each use.  Four tablespoons eaquals one packet of soup mix.

Original from selfreliancebyjamie.blogspot.com

A little something chocolate

Last week, I made a wonderfully, scrumptiously, delicious little dessert called Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cake.  Now don't let the oatmeal throw you!  This cake is amazing!  My friend who is avoiding gluten at the moment couldn't even resist it!  She asked for the recipe to try and make it gluten free for the time being!  It really is just that good!  It also made my kitchen smell amazing!  I like to bake before people come over so that they think I spend all my time baking instead of cleaning!  Anyway, I got this recipe back in college.  I printed it off on April 12, 2000 to be exact from online-cookbook.com.  Don't know if it even exists anymore!  So without further ado, here is the recipe!  Sorry no pics...We ate it all before I could snap a picture....

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cake

1 3/4 c boiling water
1 c oatmeal, quick or old-fashioned
1 c lightly packed brown sugar
1 c sugar
1/2 c margarine or butter
2 large eggs, slightly beaten
1 3/4 c flour
1 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
4 T cocoa
12 oz chocolate chips (1 pkg)
3/4 c chopped nuts, optional

Pour boiling water over oatmeal.  Let stand at room temperature for 10 minutes.  Add sugars and margarine. Stir until margarine melts.  Add eggs, flour, baking soda, salt and cocoa to sugar mixture and mix well.  Add about half of the chocolate chips.  Pour into greased 9x13 pan.  Sprinkle nuts (if you want), remainder of chocolate chips and 1/4 c additional sugar on top.  Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean.

Chicken, Spinach and Cannellini Bean Quesadillas

Ok, so when you look at the title of this post do you think yum?  Or do you automatically go YUCK?  My children tried the latter response with me, which means they got no dessert.  Well, two of them did get dessert because they tried the quesadillas.  I must admit, I like all of these ingredients in other dishes, but would never have thought of putting them together.  I am glad that someone thought to do so.  These were super yummy!  Hubby ate like two or three whole ones (by that I mean the whole tortilla cut into 6 pieces!  They were easy to make, especially since I cheated on some of the recipe...I went to the grocery store and got some of the ingredients from the salad bar!  You have got to try them!

Chicken, Spinach and Cannellini Bean Quesadillas

1 1/2 c - 2 c of seasoned, cooked, diced chicken breasts (I bought cooked chicken off the salad bar)
1 T olive oil
1 c diced onion ( I just shake in dried minced onion)
1 c diced red pepper (I got the diced red, orange and yellow pepper mixture from the salad bar)
1 banana pepper, diced (skipped, because we don't like a lot of heat)
pinch of red pepper flakes (skipped for above reason)
salt and pepper to taste
1 clove garlic, minced
1 (heaping) T all purpose flour
3/4 c chicken broth
4 c baby spinach, roughly chopped with stems removed
1 (15.5 oz) cannellini beans (white kidney beans), rinsed and drained

Cooking spray
flour tortillas
shredded cheese (whatever kind you like)
avocado and sour cream, optional (to serve with cooked quesadillas)

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium high heat.  Add onion and diced peppers; sprinkle with red pepper flakes and salt and pepper.  Saute until veggies have softened; about 6-8 minutes.
Add garlic and saute another minute or two.  Sprinkle the flour over the veggies and stir to combine.   Whisk in chicken broth and stir until bubbly and smooth.  Add the spinach and cook until spinach is wilted.  Add chicken and beans; remove from heat.

Spray a large skillet or griddle with cooking spray and heat over medium to medium high heat.  (I have a quesadilla maker and just heated that baby up!)  Place one tortilla on grill and spread cheese over the top.  Spread one half with chicken mixture.  When tortilla is browned, flip the side with cheese only over.  Remove from heat and cut tortilla in half. 

Originally from www.othersideoffifty.com

Popcorn!

I have been intrigued by the pins that I have seen saying that you can take a plain old brown paper bag and put in 1/2 c of popcorn kernels and have microwave popcorn.  Sounds way too easy and way too cheap!  Well, yesterday soccer was cancelled due to rain and we were just chilling.  I all of the sudden thought, "I can go experiment with the popcorn."  Off to the kitchen I went.  Took out my brown paper bag, got 1/2 c of popcorn kernels, poured those in my bag, folded it down twice and popped that sucker in the microwave.  Set the timer for 1 1/2 minutes and waited for the magic to happen.  Know what?  Popcorn actually pops in that plain old bag.  Those expensive prepackaged bags are all a bunch of hooey!  And you know what else?  Fresh, unseasoned popcorn isn't half bad!  I did have to up my next bag to 2 minutes.   I had a lot of old maids in the bottom of my bag.  Poor old girls, they missed the big dance! 

After popping 1 c of kernels and ending up with about 12 cups of popped popcorn, I decided to go one step further and try out the marshmallow carmel popcorn recipe I had pinned.  So easy!  So simple...The kids didn't care for it (Well, the three year old never knew we even popped popcorn, napped thru it all), but Daddy and I ate the whole kit and kaboodle of it!  I did pay for that one later that night with a monster tummy ache!  But it was really good when I ate it!

Marshmallow Carmel Popcorn

1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 c butter
4-5 large marshmallows

Microwave sugar and butter for about 1 1/2 minutes on high. I stirred it at about half way.  Add marshamllows and microwave for another   1 1/2 to 2 minutes.  I again stirred the mixture about halfway.  Pour over popcorn and mix. Enjoy!



Original recipe found at www.pincookie.com

Parmesan Tilapia

So we like to mix things up in this house when it comes to food...Well, I do anyway.  The rest of the fam is kind of ok with the daily routine.  You know my three kiddos have the same breakfast every day...toast with pb and nutella (the three year old does switch back and forth between strawberry jam and nutella), cereal and yogurt.  Lunch for my three year old is almost always pb&j.  He is a three year old boy after all.  Anyway, taking this all into consideration, imagine how announcing having fish for dinner went over the other night.  Yup, you guessed it, like a lead balloon!

I must first admit that we are not huge fish eaters.  Mainly because it is not their favorite and also because what I like is beyond my culinary skills!  Well, I found this recipe and thought I could sneak it in.  I mean tilapia isn't very fishy tasting and who wouldn't want fish that is slathered in butter and parmesan cheese!  The kids may not have loved it, but Daddy and I loved it!  I loved how it smelled while I was making it!   I felt like I was at Red Lobster.  A little fish smell mixed with a nice butter, cheesy smell (so smelled like cheddar bay biscuits).  I will most definitely make this again and I will be taking the parmesan topping and trying it on other things...Yummy!



Paremsan Tilapia

2 lb tilapia filets (I used 1 lb and halved the rest of the ingredients)
2 T lemon juice
1/2 c grated parmesan cheese
4 T or 1/2 stick of butter, room temperature
3 T mayo
3 T finely chopped green onions (I used minced)
1/4 t seasoned salt
1/4 t dried basil
Black pepper to taste
dash of hot pepper sauce (didn't use)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Arrange fish in single layer in butter 9x13 baking dish.  Brush tops with juice.  In a medium bowl, combine cheese, butter, mayo, onions and seasonings.  Bake fish for 10 to 20 minutes, or just until fish starts to flake.  Remove from oven and spread the parmesan mixture over the fish.  Bake until golden brown, about 5 minutes.

original recipe at www.recipe4living.com

Colossal Reese's Pieces cookies

Hmmm, Colossal sounds so large!  Kind of daunting....Well, these cookies are huge, but they are most definetly not daunting to make.  Maybe being able to eat a whole one is daunting.  Case in point:  My hubby loves dessert.  He loves reese's pieces (Not my fave, something very important is lacking....Hmm, what is it?  CHOCOLATE!) even if he can't pronounce it right he calls them reesies instead of the proper reese's.  Still love him though.  So I stumbled upon this recipe while pinning away one day and thought...I better make them to show him how much I love him.  So I did.  He came home on Monday to find 15 of these huge cookies (I measured 4" around) in the kitchen. (I did have 18, but I shared one with 3 year old and I CAN eat a whole one!).  He got a glass of chocolate milk and proceeded to dig in.  He didn't make it!  It was too much for him and he had to stop mid cookie!  Ha!  I am the bigger cookie monster in this house!  So you see they could be daunting to some individuals!   So without further ado, I will let you make your own decision regarding the dauntingness (new word!) of these cookies!

Colossal Reese's Pieces  (chocolate chip) Cookies

3 1/4 c. flour
1 1/2 t baking soda
3/4 t salt
1/2 c unsalted butter, at room temp
1/2 c creamy peanut butter
1 c light brown sugar
3/4 c sugar
2 eggs
4 t vanilla
1 1/2 c semi sweet chocolate chips
1 c peanut butter chips
1 c reese's pieces


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease cookie sheets.  In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.  Cream together butter, peanut butter and the sugars in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy.  Add the eggs and vanilla and beat until combined.  Reduce mixer to low speed and gradually add the flour mixture, mixing until it is all incorporated.  Add the chocolate chips, peanut butter chips and reese's pieces; mix until they are distributed evenly through mixture.  Roll 1/4 c of dough into a ball and place on the cookie sheets.  Flatten until it is about 1/2" thick.  Repeat with the rest of the dough.  You should end up with about 18 large cookies!  Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until edges are a light golden brown.  Cool on the baking sheets for about 2 minutes and transfer to a wire rack.  Store in an air tight container for up to 5 days. 

From www.browneyedbaker.com

Naan Chicken Alfredo Pizza

So, I did spend quite a bit of time in the kitchen yesterday!  Shoot, I didn't make it out of the house unitl I had a Thirty-One Party at my friend's house!  You know those days, most people stay in jammies all day and whatnot, I have to shower and dress, but it was a day that you get to dinner time and you go "Hey, I haven't brushed my teeth yet!"  I made Colossal Reese's Pieces cookies in the morning (recipe to come later!) and then one of my favorites, Naan Pizza.  I created this all on my own.  I love wood fired pizzas, but can't go out to eat all of the time.  Nor do think hubby will let me get one of those nifty ovens installed in our kitchen!  Anyway, this is one that I just brainstormed and came up with.  Super easy and so easy to make to suit your own tastes! 


Naan Pizza
Garlic Naan (for those who are unfamiliar with this it is an Indian flat bread) I use 2 for lite eaters...
Alfredo sauce (I totally love Classico's light varieties!)
Shredded cheese (again, I use whatever strikes my fancy...Last night was pizza blend)
Cooked chicken (don't care how it gets to this stage, just get it cooked)
olive oil
assorted veggies (I usually put torn spinach on mine!)

Ok, so I have a grill pan that I use, but a large griddle or skillet would work as well.  Heat it up to medium heat.  Brush one side of the naan with olive oil and place that side down on griddle or skillet; brush other side with olive oil.  Allow to warm up and get a little toasty, then flip.  Now spread alfredo sauce on the naan.  Arrange chicken and cheese over the top.  Place a lid on top to help trap some of the heat.  Cook until cheese is melted!  Enjoy!!! 

Like I said you can go wild experimenting with these!  Hope you love them!

Pumpkin Pancakes

Thought I would post the pic right away to tempt you all!  Aren't they gorgeous! 

Since we don't have church until 10 on Sundays now, I get to bake more often and have a lazier Sunday morning.  I have been wanting to try these babies since I pinned them about a month ago.  I love having my kids eat their veggies for breakfast (although, I can't remember if pumpking is vegetable or fruit, but who cares, it is loaded with nutrition!).Today seemed like a good pumpking pancake day!  You know frost on the rooftops, chilly house ( I am not turning the furnace on when we are supposed to be up in th 70s again!) and it is October! 

The pancakes were easy to make.  I as usual did my substitiutions!  I didn't have buttermilk, so I added 1T of white vinger to milk to make a cup.  I also did 1 cup of whole wheat flour and 2 cups of all purpose flour instead of 3 cups of all purpose.  Anytime I can sneak in the fiber, I will take advantage of it!  I also tried to make jack-o-lantern faces with chocolate chips on one side, which failed!  And when I make these in the future I will be adding mini chocolate chips to the batter!  That is how we roll in this house!  Chocolate makes everything better!

Pumpkin Pancakes

3 c flour
3/4 t salt
2 t baking soda
1/2 t cinnamon
1/4 t nutmeg
1/4 t ginger
3 T brown sugar
15 oz can pure pumpking (not pumpkin pie mix)
3 c. buttermilk
3 eggs

In a large bowl mix together flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and brown sugar; combining well.  Add pumpkin, buttermilk and eggs to dry ingredients.  Mix gently (if the batter seems too stiff, add some water until it can easily be spooned on the griddle).  Heat griddle to medium heat and grease lightly ( I do this at the beginning because mine takes so long to heat up).  Scoop about 1/3 c of batter onto griddle and let cook until lightly browned, about 3 minutes.  Flip and let other side cook until lightly browned.  Repeat until all batter is used.  Makes about 16-20 pancakes. 

Original recipe comes from highheelsandgrills.blogspot.com

Glazed Pork Chops

Ok, so tonight we did try a new recipe.  My little angel loves pork chops.  Yes, I do realize I have an anamoly for a daughter (meatloaf and pork chops are both on her faves list).  Anyway, who wouldn't love a pork chop that you make by rubbing a brown sugar mixture on it?  I am all about adding some sweetness to dinner, so I thought, why not!  Anyway, they did not disappoint and like anything I make it was super easy.  I even let them brown a little longer and cook a littler longer than the recipe called for.  Hello, I was watching season 3 of Downton Abbey on the laptop.  Who can pull themselves away from that?  Not me!  But back to the pork chops.  They recieved raves reviews from all of the fam, even my very picky 3 year old!  So without further ado, here is the recipe! 

Glazed Pork Chops

4-6 pork chops (I used bonless, but you could probably get along with bone-in; just adjust the    cooking time to make sure it is cooked)
1/4c. brown sugar
1/2 t. cayenne pepper (or to your taste)
1/2 t. garlic powder
1/2 t. paprika
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper
2 T olive oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix together brown sugar and spices. Rub over the pork chops.  Use all the mixture.  Place in a heated skillet with the olive oil.  Brown on both sides.  About 5 minutes per side (or more if you are watching a TV show!).  Remove the chops to a foil lined baking sheet.  Bake for an additional 5 minutes or until cooked thru!  Enjoy!!!! 



So I must also to take this time to admit that the photos are not my own!  I have been using the ones from the sites the original recipes come from.  Give me time.  Once I have this blogging thing down, I will add food photograpy to my talents! 

This recipe comes from budgetbytes.blogspot.com

PS.  I did add some lowfat frozen yogurt to my Dr. Oz cherry smoothie, so much better!

Snickerdoodle Blondies

Alright, I didn't actually try a new recipe last night.  Yes, I used a recipe that I had pinned, but who wants to hear about meatloaf when you can hear about blondies, and snickerdoodle blondies to boot!  The recipe is from myownsweetthyme.com and she just raved about them.  Wanting to see if they were all that and a bag a chips, I decided to give it a try.   I had been meaning to make them for about a month now, but they just kept getting pushed off the menu by busyness or laziness or something really good to watch on Netflix during nap time!  But not last Wednesday, I had no excuses and I needed a snack for my small group that night.  So I took the plunge!  And boy am I glad I did.  They were so soft and chewy and buttery and so not-good-for-you-at-all!  I think it would take 24 hours of Zumba to burn off the calories I consumed.!  You see, I didn't want my family to eat too many and have the unhealthiness floating around in their bodies, so being the sacrifical mom that I am, I ate my fair share!  I also sent a plate with hubby to work, where they were gobbled up!  So if you are looking for something easy and chewy and delicious, these are it! 


Snickerdoodle Blondies

2 2/3 c flour
2 t baking powder
1 t salt
2 c packed brown sugar
1 c butter, at room temperature
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 T vanilla
2 T sugar
2 t cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly grease a 9x13 baking pan.  In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.  Set aside.  In a large mixing bowl, beat together the brown sugar, butter, eggs and vanilla until smooth.  Add the flour to the egg mixture and beat until well blended.  Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan.  In a small bowl, combine the white sugar and cinnamon.  Sprinkle the mixture evenly over the batter.  Bake for 25-30 minutes or until it springs back when gently touched (mine didn't do this, but when I stuck a toothpick in it came out clean).  Cool on a wire rack.  Cut with a knife while still warm.  Enjoy!!!

A little about me

Ok, so I probably would've never dreamed of being a blogger, but someone suggested it and here I am.  My name is Julie.  I live in Wichita, KS and am a stay-at-home mom to three very active children (read hungry, always hungry...and no teenagers yet), ages 9 (almost), 6 and 3.  I am married and love to try new recipes on my family.  They are very (VERY) honest with their opinions!  I have a very thick skin and I do choose to veto their votes on numerous occasions!  Anyway, back to the reason for this blog...I love to pin recipes and YES I do try them.  And yes, I do have opinions about them.  And so does my little family!  So I have basically been asked to be the guniea pig and to let you know what I think of my every growing list of recipes.  So here goes!  

We will start with Dr. Oz's Cherry Smoothie that is suppposed to speed up your metabolismwhile you sleep and help you sleep as well.





Doesn't it look yummy!  Well, sort of! 

The recipe is as follows:

1 c tart cherry juice (I found 100% black cherry juice at Wal-Mart)
1/2 banana
1/2 c soymilk
5 ice cubes
1/2 t vanilla extract

Blend all ingredients in a blender and enjoy. 

Ok, so I did that last night.  I was worried that my cherry juice wasn't the tart variet.  Silly me!  It was very tart.  Mine also didn't turn out with a smoothie consistency.  So I am going to try it again, but I do have to tweak it!  Yes, I tweak everything to make it suit my tastes (as should you).  This time around I am going to add some frozen vanilla yogurt.  Now I realize some of the healthiness just went down the drain (as did half of this smoothie), but at least I am not using full fledged ice cream.  Plus frozen yogurt is used by tons of  "healthy" people.  So deal with it!  I added a few extra calories, but I am sure my sped up metabolism will take care of them.  I am also only going to do half of the recipe as I ended up with a large sized smoothie...Too  much for this girl before bed! 

Anyway, my inaugrual blog is done!  I can't promise these will happen every day, but I will blog because I do keep cooking!