Pinterest Favorite Recipes

I, like everyone else, am officially in love with Pinterest.  Yes, it's true.   Mostly I use it to gather ideas for DIY and craft projects, find new recipes, and organize tutorials and such that I already use in one place for easy reference.  Love love love. 

Since having our third daughter, I have found the absolute best way for me to cook dinner and maintain my sanity - since the dinner-making hours are when the children enter the land of INsanity - is to make pretty much everything in the crock pot.  That way I do all the prep work earlier in the day when children are generally happier and just let it do it's thing!

Here are a few good ones I have tried lately that I will most definitely be making again:

Chicken Cordon Bleu

You know how food seems to taste better when someone else made it?  Like a nice restaurant for example. ;-)  This is how I felt about this chicken.  I served it with steamed broccoli and sweet potatoes with apples and cinnamon.  Also, I dredged it in almond meal instead of flour and browned in coconut oil before putting in the crock pot.  It was lovely.  One more note is that I made 4 (large) breasts and had a ton of sauce leftover.  I might cut the sauce recipe in half next time.

Slow Cooker Honey Sesame Chicken

Tasty, easy and can be easily doubled and frozen for a quick heat and serve meal on a particularly crazy day.  I looove meals that I can double and freeze half.

Crock pot Clam Chowder

I made this for our Valentine's Day dinner because clam chowder is one of my husband's favorite ever foods.  It was a hit. 

Zucchini Pizza 

This is not a crock pot meal but is super fast and easy.  Zucchini pizzas have quickly become a new family favorite.  Since we only have tiny zucchinis available this time of year, I just slice them lengthwise and broil in the ole oven as opposed to grilling.  What a great way to use abundant summer garden zucchini in the future!  My kids gobble these up and beg for more.

Egg Vegetable Casserole

This is not a crock pot meals, but I made this to serve as ready-made breakfasts one week.  Yum!  Next time I will add bacon too.

I could post a few more, but I am needed elsewhere.  Enjoy the pinspiration!  Do you have any crock pot meals you would like to share?  Or any "cooking with small children underfoot" tips for me? ;-)

All photos came from Pinterest and thus the websites to which I have linked under each photo. 

 

Homemade Laundry Detergent

I've been making homemade laundry detergent for roughly three years now using the Duggar family recipe, which can be found here.  This detergent has worked great for our family, and at less than $10 per year, it is a no-brainer for us.

Like many homemade detergents, it uses these ingredients:

photo credit

photo credit

photo credit

Homemade Liquid Laundry Detergent



4 Cups - hot tap water

1 Fels-Naptha soap bar*

1 Cup - Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda*

½ Cup Borax**

1.  Grate bar of soap and add to saucepan with water. Stir continually over medium-low heat until soap dissolves and is melted.

2.  Fill a 5 gallon bucket half full of hot tap water. Add melted soap, washing soda and Borax. Stir well until all powder is dissolved. Fill bucket to top with more hot water. Stir, cover and let sit overnight to thicken. (When it is thickened, it may look sort of "chunky" like egg drop soup. :-)  That is normal - it will not look that way once you follow the next step.)

3.  Stir and fill a used, clean, laundry soap dispenser half full with soap and then fill rest of way with water. Shake before each use. (will gel)

4.  Optional: You can add 10-15 drops of essential oil per 2 gallons. Add once soap has cooled. Ideas: lavender, rosemary, tea tree oil.  (You cannot smell essential oils on your clean clothes so I skip this step.)

Yield: Liquid soap recipe makes 10 gallons.

-Top Load Machine- 5/8 Cup per load (Approx. 180 loads)...I just fill up my laundry soap dispenser cap, which might be slightly less but works great for me.  

-Front Load Machines- ¼ Cup per load (Approx. 640 loads)

*Arm & Hammer "Super Washing Soda" and Fels Naptha soap bar can both be found at Smith’s (Kroger grocery stores), sometimes Walmart, and a variety of other grocery stores in the laundry/cleaning aisle. It is important not to substitute baking soda for the washing soda because it will not work as well - It must be sodium carbonate!!

**Borax (20 Mule Team Borax) can also be found in the laundry/cleaning aisle at Smith’s, or at Walmart and other local grocery stores.


The entire batch lasts me for about 6 months w/ two adults, two kids, and using cloth diapers, and it costs me less than $5 for the whole batch.

Homemade Taco Seasoning

I must have really needed a break from talking about cloth diapers (the series is not quite done), because I'm sort of on a recipe kick for a minute here.

And I don't even like to cook that much.

Last night we had Taco Salad for dinner.  While I was browning the ground beef, I realized that we were out of taco seasoning.  I used to buy seasoning packets until one day, like yesterday, I found myself in a pinch.  I needed taco seasoning but I did not have time to run to the store. So I hunted down a recipe that used spices I normally keep in my spice cabinet.  I immediately loved it, and I have used it ever since.  It tastes much better than the cheap-o off-brand seasoning packets I previously bought.  So yesterday, I looked up the recipe and threw together a fresh batch.  Whew!  Problem solved.  I thought I'd share the recipe. 

Taco Seasoning

1 tablespoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon sea salt (I used Kosher salt this time)
1 teaspoon black pepper

In a small bowl, mix together chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, red pepper flakes, oregano, paprika, cumin, salt and pepper. Store in an airtight container. 
 

 
I like to quadruple this recipe (or more) so that I have taco seasoning on hand for taco meat or soups, and I can just measure out what I need.  If you do it this way, be sure to give your container a good shake before you measure out your seasoning, as larger particles (like my Kosher salt)  may have fallen to the bottom.
 
Give me a shout out if you try it.

Project w/ Princess: Cake Cookies with Sprinkles

There are few things that our Princess likes as much as "pink ice cream."  However, a load of colorful sprinkles is pretty stiff competition.  So, when I saw a delightful post about cake cookies on the V and Co. blog,  I knew that I absolutely had to make them with Princess.  I was actually feeling brave and woke her up early from her nap yesterday so we'd be sure to have time to do this before it was time to start dinner preparations.

This recipe can also be found on pretty much any recipe website ever created.  It's very simple and yummy.  The cookies are light, moist and very sweet - sort of like a soft sugar cookie.

Ingredients:

1 box cake mix
1 egg
1/4 c. water
1/4 c. oil
sprinkles

Mix ingredients, roll dough into small balls and press tops into sprinkles.   Pressing the tops into sprinkles is a good job for little hands. (If dough is way too sticky to work with, add a little flour.  You still want it to be sticky enough to need to flour your hands.)

Lick your sticky fingers.



Place sprinkle side up on an ungreased cookie sheet. 

Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or so and cool on a wire rack.

Eat a cookie.

Share a cookie with your little sister.

Next time I think we will have to try a pink cake mix and have a tea party.   Then I might try a chocolate cake mix.  Hmm...

Oatmeal Pancakes

It snowed a little bit at our house today and is supposed to accumulate an inch or two tonight...but I'm ready for summer.  I'm over Spring even, because where we live Spring is temperamental, and can't decide between cold and warm, usually settling on plain ole windy.  As in, gee I hope I don't actually blow away in the parking lot between the car and the store. ;-)

Today we are nearly out of food (I've been procrastinating in my grocery shopping), so we had breakfast for dinner - pancakes, bacon and scrambled eggs.  Last year I got an amazing pancake recipe from my sister-in-law S, and I loved it so much that when I copied it down, I entitled the recipe "Best Pancakes Ever!"  Lately we've been trying to lay off flour as much as possible just for general health, so I experimented with this pancake recipe by using oatmeal flour instead of wheat flour.  The result is just as moist, a little lower on the glycemic index, and (unless processed in the same plant as wheat, etc.) is gluten free.  You can either buy oatmeal flour or you can throw old fashioned oats in your food processor (or blender) and pulverize it yourself.

Best Oatmeal Pancakes Ever!

1 2/3 c. oatmeal flour (possibly a little more depending on how fine your oatmeal flour is)
1 T. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1 T. honey
1 egg (beaten)
1 c. milk (or 1/2 c. milk and 1/2 c. water)
1 1/2 T. butter (melted)
1/2 t. vanilla

Mix dry ingredients.  Add the other ingredients and stir until just blended.  Then cook pancakes in the usual pancake fashion.  Enjoy!

Beef Broccoli Pie

In my parent's house, if the children were voting on the dinner menu for the night, my sister and I would probably ask for Beef Broccoli Pie. I just made some last week and it is also a hit with my husband. It may not be the most nutritious entree in the world (read: lots of beef and cheese), but man is it tasty! And it is a great way to get some broccoli into your diet. If you want, you can even use less beef and more broccoli for a more lean pie. All I have to say is yum yum yum! Enjoy. :-)


Beef Broccoli Pie

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef
1 – 10 oz. package frozen broccoli (or equivalent of fresh!)
1/4 c. chopped onions
1 1/4 c. milk
3 oz. cream cheese, softened
2 T. flour
3/4 t. salt
1/4 t. garlic salt
1 egg, beaten
6 or more slices of cheddar cheese
2 - pre-made pie crusts (or make your own)

Instructions:

Steam broccoli and set aside.

Brown ground beef with onions and drain.
Stir milk, cream cheese, flour, salt and garlic salt into the ground beef/onion mixture. Cook and stir until smooth and bubbly. Stir one cup of the meat mixture into beaten egg and then return to skillet. Stir until thickened, 1 – 2 minutes of medium heat. Stir in the steamed broccoli and set aside. Prepare crust in the pie pan, and pour filling on top. Then place slices of cheddar cheese on top of the filling and arrange the top pie crust, pinching the edges together with bottom crust. Brush top of pie crust with milk.

Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 40 – 45 minutes. Cover the edges w/ foil for the last 20 minutes if it is browning too quickly.

Cool for ten minutes and serve!

Mocha Hazelnut Cookies

I made this recipe up today because I was craving chocolate chip cookies and coffee at the same time. If you try it, let me know how you like it! As I wrote the recipe, the coffee flavor is very mild. Feel free to alter it as you see fit.





Mocha Hazelnut Cookies

2 1/2 c. flour (I used whole wheat for mine - I love the flavor and texture of whole wheat)
1 t. baking soda
1 t. salt
1 c. (2 sticks) butter, softened
3/4 c. brown sugar
3/4 c. granulated sugar
1 t. vanilla
2 eggs
1 T. instant coffee
1/2 c. raw hazelnuts, chopped
2 c. (or less if desired) chocolate chips

Mix butter, brown and white sugar, and vanilla until creamy. Then add eggs and mix. In a separate bowl, combine salt, baking soda, and flour. Add flour mixture gradually, mixing between. When dough is well mixed, add instant coffee. Mix. Fold in hazelnuts and chocolate chips. Place dough on cookie sheet in 1 or 1 1/2-inch "balls." Bake at 350 degrees, 7 - 8 minutes. The cookies will look like they are not quite done when it is time to take them out, but they will be perfect, soft and moist. If you wish, you may leave them in another minute until the tops of the cookies are slightly brown on edges and ridges. Or if you prefer your cookies to have a little crunch to them, bake for about 10 minutes. Enjoy!