Cold weather recipe

This winter has been brutal in Illinois, almost to the point where I don't want to go out once the sun has set. The snow has come down really heavy and the cold has been REALLY cold. We even had cold days at work, COLD DAYS! Keith had 4, I had 2. CRAZY. Now, people have somewhat adjusted to the cold, but everyone is in a bad mood and wear way too many layers, myself included. One of those really cold nights, I reached for one of my favorite recipes. It always warms me up, and it makes me think of my mom's dad, my Grandpa L. This is his recipe for Tater Tot Casserole

What you need:
1/2 a bag of frozen tater tots
1 lb of ground beef
1 can of cream of mushroom soup (we used reduced fat)
milk
2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese

What to do:

Brown the meat. While browning the meat, preheat the oven to 350. Once you cook the meat, drain and place in the bottom of a casserole dish. Like so: 

Next, layer on half the bag of frozen tater tots-still frozen

In a bowl mix the can of cream of mushroom soup and half a can of milk together. Then pour on top the layers of beef and tater tots.

Next, add the cheddar cheese on top. Place in the oven and cook for about 30-40 minutes. I always start checking at like 20 minutes just to double check.

Pull out of the oven and eat! It really is so delicious and filling. It's not great for you, but it's not as bad as it sounds either and it really is perfect on those cold nights where all you want to do is cuddle with a blanket, drink tea and stare at the tv.

Stay warm out there kids.

Recipe: Sausage Rolls

Well, ladies and gentlemen- It's horrible in Illinois. It's freezing and is well below zero. The snow is deep, and the windchill is like negative 40. Keith just ventured out of the house for the first time since Saturday afternoon. Anyway, we have spent the time doing work, watching movies, cooking food and enjoying each others company.

We have been cooking quite a bit in the new year, even though some of our meals has consisted of chicken nuggets and mac and cheese, we have had some gems in there. Keith made a really tasty sausage rolls dish, which was seriously delicious and reminded me of my summer in Scotland. I also was totally impressed with Keith's cooking ability. Anyway, let's get to the recipe.

Recipe: Sausage Rolls

What you need:
One package of puff pastry
1 lb of ground beef
1/2 pound of pork sausage (I got Italian Pork Sausages from Trader Joes)
1 and 1/4 teaspoons of salt
3/4 tsp of black pepper
3/4 ground coriander
1/2 tsp of nutmeg
1 cup bread crumbs
1 beaten egg to brush pastry with

So, here's how:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut open around three sausages and mix them in with the ground beef. Add the seasonings and the breadcrumbs along with 1/2 cup of water to meat mixtures and blend together. Place defrosted puff pastry rolls on cutting board and cut into rectangle pieces. Place meat and spice mixture into the puff pastry, closer to one side, fold together and crimp sides with a fork to hold them together. Make three to four slits in the pastry dough. Brush with egg. Bake for roughly 25 minutes. Check on the meat to make sure it cooked all of the way.

We ended up with roughly six to eight sausage rolls from two sheets of puff pastry dough (or one box). and Boy, they were DELICIOUS.

Sorry, we don't have more photos. You just have to trust me they were so good.

Stay warm you guys. 

Recipe: Taco Pizza

Today is New Year's Eve! It has been one year, great and bad. I am reflecting back on my favorite moments, and I really enjoyed this year as a whole. I am making a goal for myself to make 2014 a fantastic year. I have a list of 14 things that I want to do in the New Year. One of those big ones is to cook more at home. I plan to try a new recipe once a week during the new year, so I have taken the last few days to warm up... 

So, I did this! I combined two of my favorite foods into one awesome food. I love mexican food and I love pizza.

What you need:

One refridgerated roll out pizza dough

One small can of no salt added tomato sauce

One can of refried beans

One bag of shredded mexican cheese

One pound of ground turkey

One pack of taco seasoning

Lettuce

Salsa or taco sauce to taste

So, here's how:

Cook the turkey. Add 1/2 cup of water and taco seasoning and coat the turkey. Follow the rules on the pizza dough roll. For mine I had to preheat oven to 400. The pizza dough needs to be "pre-cooked" for about 5 to 8 minutes before you add ingredients in it. So, while I pre-cooked the pizza, I mixed the can of refried beans and tomato sauce into a new mixture, that will be the base of the pizza. 

Once the pizza is pre-cooked, spread out the bean/tomato sauce mixture onto the dough. Sprinkle on the cheese all over the pizza, then spread out the cooked turkey. I should also note, that you don't need turkey, but we wanted healthier, beef is fine too. If you like tomatoes, you can also add a can of drained sliced tomatoes on top of the pizza. Anyway, cook the pizza another 6-8 minutes until the dough browns. 

After cooking, let the pizza set out for a bit. Then add lettuce and salsa or taco sauce to it.And you're ready to enjoy. 

It didn't look fantastic, but man did it tasted great! I put too much tomato sauce on the pizza the first time, so next time I would change from a whole can to a small can.

Alright kids, have a great New Years! See you next year.

Recipe: Crockpot Mac and Cheese

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. I know there hasn't been a blog post in awhile, I had some personal things come up and wanted to deal with them away from the computer. Keith and I changed our plans and ended up heading to my parents to celebrate Thanksgiving. After a normal 5 hour drive turned into a 8 hour drive, we finally got to Detroit.

We had a small dinner, only my mom and dad and Keith and I. My sister, brother-in-law and niece were visiting his mother, and we all needed a small dinner since only a week ago we gathered to say goodbye to my Grandpa. So, my mom and dad cooked a feast for us! Look at the spread.

However, I wanted to share with you my contribution. I made the best mac and cheese in the crockpot. And lucky you, I am willing to share my recipe!

What you need:
-One box of noodles, I used cavatappi this time but shells also are good
-2 cans of Cheddar Cheese Soup
-4 tablespoons of butter
-1/2 cup of sour cream
-1 bag of Colby jack cheese shredded
-1.5 cans of milk
-salt and pepper

Okay, now how do you cook it?
1.) Add noodles to a pot of boiling water. ONLY COOK FOR 6 MINUTES. You don't want to over cook, trust me
2.) Spray the crockpot with cooking spray. Put in the cheddar cheese soup. Measure out a can and half of milk and put that in. Place butter in and sour cream and mix well.
3.) Add noodles and stir well. Add salt and pepper to season
4.) Cook for about an hour on low. Then add bag of cheese and turn crockpot to high setting for 45 minutes.

Do not overcook the macaroni, I cooked it for about an hour and 45 minutes. If you overcook it, the noodles turn all mushy. I have done this recipe twice now and both times it turned out great! It was a big hit at thanksgiving and was always requested for an upcoming family weekend.

Enjoy!

Recipe: Zucchini, blackbean and rice skillet

Late starts at work mean I get to post about the awesome dinner we made last night. Actually, Keith made most of it, I was just there for support. It was a very easy recipe and didn't take too long, however there were a few things we would have changed doing it a second time. Anyway, here we go!

Recipe: Zucchini, black bean and rice skillet

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon of vegetable or canola oil
1-1/2 cups of zucchini (we used wheels, I would cut it further)
1 cups of mix peppers (we got the pre-cut blend from the grocery store)
1 can of black beans, drained and rinse
1 can of diced tomatoes- we used chili style, however garlic ones would probably be good if you like garlic (we don't)
3/4 cup of water
1 cup of instant rice
1/2 cup of shredded cheese blend- we used cheddar and colby jack

Heat oil in skillet over medium heat. Add zucchini and bell peppers; cook 5 minutes stirring occasionally. Again, if we would do this over again we would cut the zucchini into small pieces.

Add beans, undrained tomatoes and water. Increase the heat and bring to a boil.

Add rice; stir well. Once rice is in, cover and remove from heat and let stand for 7 minutes or until most of the liquid is absorbed. This seems weird, but it will cook the rice. Uncover and sprinkle on cheese. Serve when warm. We got about 6 Jenn servings out of it, and about 5 Keith servings, so depending on your appetite you get quite a few servings out of it. With everything in it, it makes for a really good entree.


Enjoy :) (we sure did!!!)

Recipe: Cinnamon Sugar Breakfast Muffins

I love cinnamon sugar anything. I found out we had a meeting at work and jumped at the opportunity to bake these cinnamon sugar mini muffins for the team (okay, or me...) They are simple to make, and really, really tasty. The only downside, I have a small kitchen and there are quite a few steps for these muffins. So it got a little tight in the kitchen, but it was so worth it. I mean, LOOK AT THEM. You can sees the deliciousness.

I know, beautiful. Okay ready to make them??

What you need:

• 1/3 cup butter, melted
• 1/2 cup of sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 & 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp of salt
• 1 & 1/2 tsp of baking powder
• 1/2 tsp of cake spice (or 1/4 tsp of nutmeg, 1/4 tsp of cinnamon) 
• 1/2 cup of milk

For topping:

• 1/2 cup of sugar
• 1/4 cup of butter, melted
• 2 tsp. cinnamon (not going to lie, I usually do more)

How to make these:

 1.) Preheat the oven to 350. Mix together dry ingredients, including the cake spice.

 2.) In a separate bowl mix your liquid ingredients. I usually start with an egg and milk mixture, then slowly pour in the butter, whipping it the whole time so the egg does not get too warm from the butter. After I mix that up really well, pour it into the dry ingredients, and mix.

 3.) Do NOT over mix. The batter will still have some lumpy areas, but you just want to make sure it's all mixed together.

 4.) Use a scooper to dish out even portions.

 5.) Bake in the oven at 350 for around 10 minutes for the mini muffins, for full size do around 20-25. Of course do the toothpick test and make sure they are completely cooked. Allow to sit in the pan for around 5 minutes.

 6.) In a separate container melt your butter and set aside. In another bowl, mix together sugar and cinnamon. Take a muffin and roll the top and sides into the butter. Be carefully not to do this when the muffin is too hot or if you waited to long. It should be around 5-10 minutes out of the oven.

 7.) Once the butter is coating the areas you want to sugar cinnamon mixture to stick to, roll the muffin in the sugar mixture.

 8.) Place on drying rack to set, then EAT!

These little guys are a perfect sweet breakfast. I brought them in today and almost all of them are gone. Hope you enjoy this recipe! :)