bbq'd lasagne...

We had birthday party #2 for Emily yesterday... my parents, sister, and grandmother celebrated our sweet girl with us. Here are the girls with their Deeda... she'll turn 97 in August!

 The weather this weekend was beyond awesome so we took full advantage and ate out on the deck. Julianna (our "Food Network" contributor wannabe) decided that we should have bbq'd lasagne for dinner, and it turned out great! I provided all the fixin's... a hot crockpot of sauce, recipe ready noodles (the no boil kind) broken in half, spinich, ricotta, grated mozzarella and cheddar, and tin foil for wrapping. We layered noodles, sauce, ricotta, spinich, cheese, noodles, and a little more sauce... then wrapped twice in foil to prevent leaks. Looks great, Emily!

No, you can't eat it yet! Close it up!

On to the bbq for 10-15 minutes or so each side...

Unwrap carefully... it's HOT! Add a little ceasar salad and some garlic bread and enjoy!

sweet & sour farmer sausage...

Best.
Dinner.
Ever.

Click here for my friend's wonderful recipe.

Mmmm... tastes like summer...

Emily made a wonderful dinner for us last night, and the best part about it was that it was all summer fresh! Roasted new potatoes from the farmer's stand down the road... fresh caught halibut that the next door neighbours shared... homemade tartar sauce... and a handfull of summer blueberries from the neighbours across the street. I think that dinner was one of my favorite things from this summer! Thanks a bunch, Emily... it was awesome! {Wanna cook tonight too?}

pizza * pie

Last night for dinner, Julianna made (from scratch!) a bacon & arugula / ham & pineapple pizza with a bran crust... and for dessert, Emily made (from scratch!) a lattice topped rhubarb / strawberry / apple pie.

 

And it. Was. So. Good.

bbq cups...

Emily made dinner the other night and it was so good that I have to share the recipe! {Recipe found in the Gooseberry Patch Family Fun booklet}

~BBQ Cups ~

2 c biscuit baking mix (Emily used Bisquick)

1/2 c+ cold water

1 lb ground beef

minced garlic, about 1 clove

1/2 c diced onion, she used dried onion

1/2 c bbq sauce

1/2 grated cheese

Mix together biscuit mix and water to form a soft dough. Divide dough between 12 ungreased muffin cups (she used a silicone muffin pan) Press dough on bottom and up sides of each cup with floured hands. Cook beef, garlic, and onion until browned: drain. Stir in bbq sauce and heat through. Spoon mixture into cups, sprinkle cheese on top. Bake at 400 degrees for about 15 minuted till crist is golden. Makes 12... and they're yummy!

greet the day with a song...

...yay for sunshine! By about 11 or so yesterday morning, the snow was gone and the sun was shining... you've gotta love Spring! Today I'm in capris and flip flops! Still, after yesterday's little touch of Winter in the Middle of April, I thought a crockpot of Lumberjack Stew would be a good choice for dinner. (And we all know that a meal cooked in the crockpot means more sewing time for Mom, right?) Speaking of sewing... I got my new table topper finished off and run through the wash. Here it is... so perfect to help me greet the day with a song!

And this is my MIL's wonderful recipe for Lumber Jack Stew... enjoy!

2 lb or more stew beef

2 Tbsp oil

4c boiling water

1 Tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp Worchestershire sauce

1 clove minced garlic

1 medium onion, chopped

1-2 bay leaves

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp paprika

1 Tbsp salt

1 tsp sugar

6 carrots, cut into chunks

2 large potatoes, cut in chunks

1 cup frozen sweet peas

Brown meat in hot oil. Add everything but carrots, potatoes and peas. Cover and simmer for 2 hours, stir occasionally. Add vegetables and cook until done, Thicken with flour just before serving. (Overall, takes about 3-31/2 hours to prepare)

dinner's in 20 minutes!

Check out this pizza Julianna made from the dough up... it's complete with a bacon-cheeseburger section, a grilled chicken-parmasean section, and a ham & pineapple section. It'll be ready in about 20 minutes but you'd better hurry because I doubt there'll be anything left by the time you get here! Hmmm, for some reason, I'm thinking Pepsi would taste good with it...

Meal Planning {on a} Monday...

I've been making a real effort to stay on top of meals so there's never again the late afternoon "what's for dinner" rush. When I cook, I cook lots, and freeze ahead for a rainy day. Well, today it's raining and not just outside. I awoke with the flu and am more than thankful that there is leftover chicken pot pie and potato salad in the fridge for the fam. I'll pull a lasagne out of the freezer for tomorrow (+ leftovers one other night), and I plan on serving pulled pork on buns, BBQ chicken breast, and waffles with strawberry/blueberry sauce through the week. I love it when I have a plan!

And did I mention that I'm thankful for today's leftovers?

now THAT'S a lotta lasagne!

So we've got a snowfall warning up for tonight and tomorrow... good thing I spent this morning at my girlfriend's place cooking up a storm. If you care to brave the elements, would you like to come for dinner? I think we're having lasagne.

my, oh my... chicken pot pie...

Ok, this is the best recipe I've made in a long time and I love that it took no time at all to put together! It's from the Gooseberry Patch Cheap & Easy Recipes book... and it's fan-stinkin- tastic.

2c cooked chicken, chopped

15 oz frozen mixed vegetables (I added frozen broccoli as well, yummo)

2 cans cream of chicken soup

1 c milk

10 oz tube of refrigerated biscuits

Combine first four ingredients, place in (I used a) 9x13 baking dish. Bake at 400 for 20 minutes. While baking, cut biscuits (use your kitchen scissors!) into quarters, set aside. Remove dish from oven and stir. Arrange biscuit pieces on top of hot chicken mixture, bake until golden 10-20 minutes.

yogurt muffins & lotsa lasagne

I really needed to bake yesterday. My poor kids had nothing decent for their lunches. The guilt was eating me up that they had nothing to eat up. So I made muffins. And believe me, this is one of the best, most versatile muffin recipes you'll ever find. My mom has made it for years and we love them.

Yogurt Muffins

Mix in one bowl,

4 cup flour

1 teaspoon salt

4 teaspoons baking powder

In another bowl,

Mix 500 g (or so, a little more is fine) yogurt

2 teaspoons baking soda

(this mixture will grow a bit)

In a third, large bowl,

Mix 1 cup sugar

1 cup oil

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

Alternately add the flour mixture and the yogurt mixture to the sugar mixture. Mix just to blend. Add 1 cup of your favorite add-in. My muffins are chocolate chip, so I used vanilla yogurt and 1 cup chocolate chips. You can try berries or fruit, along with a fruit or vanilla yogurt. Try different combos!

Sprinkle sugar on top before baking. Bake 20-25 minutes at 350 degrees. You should get about a dozen and a half muffins from this recipe, and they are fabulous.

I also needed to cook yesterday. Father's Day is coming, and I really didn't want Robyn and my Dad to have to BBQ... hey, even the guys need a day out of the outdoor kitchen once in a while! So I made and froze lasagne... and more lasagne. This is the 'before' picture... when these babies came out of the oven they looked even better! (Sorry - no recipe! This one's entirely out of my head and it's never made the same way twice!) And now, I'm off the hook for kitchen duty for a while! That's the one good thing about your husband being away and it just being the girls at home - meals are what we want, when we want!

Mmmmarinade...

Hey, give this marinade recipe a try this weekend... I just threw a roast in the oven for dinner and thought I should share... not the roast, but the recipe!

1 cup brown sugar
2 Tbsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp seasoned salt
1 Tbsp salt

Mix in a small bowl. Use on beef (steak, roast, whatever you like) or chicken (thighs and breasts are divine) When I do a roast, I usually pack the dry marinade mixture around the frozen meat and let it thaw and mingle all day in the French White roaster I cook it in. Then, into the oven! The au jus is sooo yummy over carrots and potatoes... You can even do your roast in the crock pot. Marinade your steaks and chicken for a day or even longer... then throw on the BBQ. Excellent for company.

Enjoy!

Emily's turn in the kitchen...

Don't you love it when kids WANT to cook?

French toast with blackberries.
And the chopsticks...? Who knows?
She's 11 years old in every way!

Potatoes a'la Julianna...

My girls both have a thing for watching the "Food Network" every time they're at my parents' house.

Tonight Julianna begged to make baked potatoes HER way... they were awesome!!

Breakfast is ready...

...and we're not even out of bed yet! But we can smell this yummy crock pot oatmeal just waiting for us to dig in...

Overnight Raisin- Nut Oatmeal

1/4 c brown sugar

1 T melted butter

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 c uncooked quick-oats

1 c apple, cored and peeled

1/2 chopped nuts

2 c milk

Place ingredients into greased slow cooker; mix well. Heat on low setting overnight, about 8 or 9 hours; spoon into bowls to serve. Serves 4.

Be blessed today!

~Kimberly

recipes & reindeers

I have a couple of minutes of downtime this evening (surprisingly!) and would like to share some of our favorite Christmas recipes. I have these goodies packaged and ready for the sales...

Nuts & Bolts

2lb salted peanuts

1 box Shreddies

1 box Cheerios

1 box Chex or Crispix

pretzles

hard cheezies

2c oil

2 tbsp worchestershire sauce

1 tbsp garlic powder

1 tbsp seasoning salt

(use up to 1 1/2 times the amount of the

spices if desired - I do!)

Mix spices and oil.

Pour over cereals etc.

Use large baking pan.

Bake at 250 for 2 hours, stir every 15 minutes.

Whipped Shortbread

1/2 c icing sugar

1c softened butter

1 1/2 flour

Combine and beat for 10 minutes.

Drop by teaspoon onto cookie sheet.

Bake 350 for 15-17 minutes. Divine!!

Breton Brittle

28 Breton crackers

1 c butter or hard margerine

1 c packed brown sugar

1 1/2 c choco chips

1/2 c chopped pecans

Overlap crackers in foil lined pan.

Do 4 crackers across, and 7 down.

Stir butter and brown sugar over heat till boiling.

Pour carefully over crackers.

Bake 400 for 5 minutes. Remove from oven.

Scatter choco chips over crackers and let sit till spreadable.

Spread to cover. Scatter with pecans.

Store in fridge. Break into pieces to serve.

~~~

...and... nearly finished are the adorable rocking reindeer. Love these guys! Hmmm... maybe I should name one Ruldoph! Once their twiggy antlers are in place, they'll be ready to rock!

Goodnight!

~Kimberly

Potato salad and other good things

First of all, I need to say a huge thank you to everyone for your kind words, well wishes and prayers. My great uncle was 91 years old when he passed away, and it was not unexpected. I hadn't really seen him in a number of years, even though we lived in the same town, but I have wonderful memories of visiting them when I was smaller. I hope you've had a chance to have a listen to my video post from yesterday...

Second of all, I would love to share my recipe for potato salad because so many of you commented on how good it looked... all 10 pounds of it! (Did you catch that I photographed it on a scale?) And, if I may say so, it is the best potato salad you will ever make ;)

10-12 chopped hard boiled eggs

10-12 chopped boiled potatoes (any kind)

1 lb chopped Schneider's maple bacon, fried crispy and drained (can you get Schneider's in your parts? I really think the maple is a must!)

If you don't have bacon, fry up some thinly sliced pieces of farmer sausage...mmmm

4-5 chopped dill pickles - drip the juices into your bowl as you chop

1 chopped red, orange, or yellow pepper

Hellman's Real Mayonaise... no substitutes! (You can use "light")

Mustard

Seasoned salt

Garlic blended spices

pepper

Chop all ingredients and combine into large bowl. I pre-chop my potatoes before I cook them - less work in the end! Mix well. For the mayo, mustard, and spices... add for consistency and taste. Absolutely best when made while the potatoes and meat are still warm. Refrigerate until serving, or serve while slightly warm...Yum!

If you make this, let me know how you like it! Thanks :)

...And thirdly, my girlfriend Andrea and I just got home from a sneak peek at Country Quilts' Annual Open House. We are not able to be there tomorrow for the official event because we're doing the Mt. Lehman Fall Fair, so Cheryl let us in a bit early... thanks again Cheryl! And, as usual, it was not a disappointment! I managed to decide on some new fabrics (what a surprise!), a couple of patterns, and some little ornies for my home.

Tonight we pack up (again) for our sale tomorrow. It really looks like fall has arrived... brown boots instead of flip flops, here I come!

...and remember, I'm having a little giveaway... if you haven't entered, check my older posts... my draw is Sunday... good luck!

Take care,

~Kimberly