How to cut a watermelon - Aunty style

The other day Mommy showed you how she cuts a watermelon.  I thought I would share how I cut a watermelon.  I learned this way from my sister-in-law.  I like it because you don't have to cut the rind off of each ring/slice.

1- cut your watermelon in half and lay the cut side down

2- cut the rind off of the sides

3- cut the rind off of the top part

4- the rind is all cut off!

5- slice it one direction

6- lay your slices down and slice again

7- turn your pile and slice one more time so you have cubes

8- all ready to eat!!!

Chili Mac

Chili Mac is something that I learned in college.  It is a great way to stretch a box of Macaroni and Cheese and adds some protein too.

1 box macaroni and cheese

1 can chili

Prepare the macaroni and cheese per box directions.  Put it back in the pan and add the can of chili.  Warm until heated through and enjoy!

It's HOT! Time for a Milkshake!

We've been playing outside this morning, and it's hot.  Now I think we need something cold and yummy.

Banana Milk Shake

1 C. Milk

1 Banana

2 C. Vanilla Ice Cream

Blend it all in the blender until smooth.  Make more by doubling your ingredients.

Crepes with Strawberry Jam

Now that we have fresh jam in house we need something to eat with.

Time for some Crepes!

Crepes

2 Beaten Eggs

1 1/2 C. Milk

1 C. Flour

1 T. Oil

Dash of Salt

Combine all ingredients, stirring just until combined.

In a warmed, greased, round-skillet pour about 1/4 C. batter, then lift skillet and tilt it around in a circle to spread the batter thinly, thus forming a crepe.

Crepe making takes some time, so I will warm the oven to about 200 deg., turn it off and then place finished crepes on a cookie sheet in the oven to stay warm until I have finished cooking all of the batter.

To eat: place a small amount of jam down the center of a crepe.  Roll crepe up and watch them all disappear.

Strawberry Freezer Jam

We have been picking a plethora of strawberries, which can only mean one thing: 

Time for making JAM.

Freezer jam is very easy to make.  

There are only 3 ingredients: fruit, sugar, and pectin.

I can't tell you specific amounts because it depends on the pectin--which will have a recipe--but I do recommend using dry pectin over wet.

Note: Pectin can normally be found by the canning jars at the store.

Here are the basics of putting the jam together.

1. Wash fruit, cut off greens, and place in blender.

2. Puree in blender just long enough to get each berry through the blades, you want to have some berry chunks instead of just liquified berries.

3. Read your pectin recipe to know how many berries and how much sugar to prep.

4. Wash and dry jam containers: these can be glass jars, plastic containers, but keep it small-ish.

5. Combine, by mixing, pectin and sugar.

6. Mix pectin/sugar with berry puree for a few minutes.

7. After this mixing you will be able to see that the kam has thickened.

8. Pour jam into containers, leaving the top half inch unfilled.

Freeze and use as needed.

Mouse Alfredo

DIY Daddy put a few mouse traps up in the attic...but has yet to catch anything.

However, it was a Mouse Alfredo kind of night.  

What, you say, is Mouse Alfredo?  Alfredo sauce with a tablespoon of pesto aded in.  I happened to use a sun dried tomato pesto, but standard green pesto is just as delicious.  So my short recipe would look something like this:

Mouse Alfredo

1 jar Alfredo Sauce

1 Tb Pesto

1/2 lb shredded Chicken

Cooked pasta

"But why is it called Mouse Alfredo," you beg.

Because this pesto-alfredo sauce is a copycat of an alfredo sauce found on pasta entrees at Disneyland, would be the answer.  So the mouse part is thanks to Mickey.

Eat up.

Trifle

 

I am a few days behind...but here is the yummy dessert my hubby made me for Mother's Day (at my request).  It is a trifle!  I just think they are fun maybe because there are lots of different layers and you can see them!  Here is what we used:

milk chocolate cake, cooked per box directions
one batch vanilla pudding (I wanted to use a box but uncle insisted on the from scratch variety)

whipping cream (or cool whip)

strawberries, bananas
mini chocolate chips

Put a layer of each of your ingredients in and then repeat!

Some trifle bowls will let you put an 8" round cake in whole, ours doesn't so we just broke the cake up into big pieces.  If you don't have a trifle bowl, use a glass bowl, or any other bowl (you just won't be able to see the layers).

You can do whatever flavors you want.  Have fun making a yummy trifle!

 

Marshmallow Cheerio Bars

I had a little dilemma today. I had some sticky marshmallows that needed used but no rice crispies.  Now what?

Enter substitue cereal--Cheerios.

It turned out delicious.

Marshmallow Cheerios Bars

4Tbs Butter

10oz bag of Marshmallow

5 1/2 C. Cheerios

Melt butter and marshmallow over medium heat, in large sauce pan.

Stir occasionally. Grease 9x13 pan while it melts. 

Add cheerios, stir, then pour into 9x13 pan.  Flatten into pan using wet hands--thus avoiding the stickyness and heat.

"healthy" chocolate chip cookies

I had a hankering for cookies today (surprise, surprise).  I have made these cookies once before and decided to make them again today.  They use about half the fat and less sugar than regular chocolate chip cookies, plus no eggs.  They still taste like cookies.  Not too shabby!

I found the recipe here and followed it almost exactly except that I did 1 cup whole wheat flour and 2 cups all purpose flour.  I also like them better with some oatmeal in them rather than without oatmeal.  I threw in about 1 tablespoon of ground flax seeds for good measure too.

The dough doesn't stick together as well as regular cookie dough, but I kind of press it together with my cookie scoop as I form the cookies and it works out great.

A note on bean puree:  Bean Puree is just cooked beans (either dry beans that you cooked or beans from a can that have already been cooked) that you puree with a little water if needed.  I used great northern beans because that is what I had on hand and pureed it in my little tiny food processor.  You can freeze any extra puree for later.

Chewy "Healthy" Chocolate Chip Cookies
You and your kids can eat all the dough they would like since there are no eggs! These cookies are lower in sugar, lower in fat, and lower in cholesterol. You can't get much healthier than that and still enjoy a cookie! This is the result of a year's worth of experiments. I'm so glad I didn't give up!
½ cup butter	2 tsp baking soda
½ cup white bean puree	1 Tbsp vanilla
⅔ cup sugar	¼ cup vegetable oil
1 cup brown sugar, packed	1 cup chocolate chips
3 cups all-purpose flour	Oatmeal, coconut, chopped nuts (optional)
Cream together butter, bean puree and sugars. Add flour, baking soda, and vanilla. It will look pretty dry at this point. Slowly add in the oil and mix until it has pulled together into cookie dough consistency. Stir in chocolate chips and any other optional ingredients you'd like. Roll into balls and place on greased baking sheets. Bake at 350° F for 8–10 minutes. Pull them out of the oven just as they are beginning to turn light brown in a couple of spots. They still look pretty doughy overall. Allow to rest on baking sheet for about 5 minutes to set and them move to a wire rack to cool. Makes 3 dozen.

Homemade Oreos

Homemade Oreos are one of my favorites, plus they are super simple to make!

Homemade Oreos

1 box devil's food cake mix

1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, melted

2 eggs

frosting

Mix cake mix (unprepared), butter and eggs together.  Drop by tablespoonful onto a cookie sheet. (Or use a cookie scoop.)  Bake at 325 for 7-9 minutes.

When the cookies are cool, spread frosting (store bought or homemade) between two cookies to make a sandwich.

Fresh Fruit Salad

During Spring and Summer we often have Fruit Salad as a dinner side dish.  There's just something about fruit when its warm outside-- it's lite, it's sweet, it's cool.

As a "dressing" to "glue" the salad together I use either:

2T Cool Whip

1T Orange Juice

Or

2T Cool Whip

2T Fruit Yogurt

Either one ties all the fruit together and makes the salad taste great.

Edible Cookie Dough

Okay, so in my opinion, all cookie dough is edible, but...eating something with raw eggs in it does mean there is a risk of salmonila.

With that in mind, when I really want cookie dough, and not cookies, I make egg free dough.

It's Simple!

Just substitute each egg in the recipe with 1/4 C of milk.

Happy doughing!

Buttermilk Oatmeal Bread

I tried a new bread recipe yesterday.  It turned out really good.  We already ate a whole loaf (which is a lot for two adults, a toddler and a baby)!

Buttermilk Oatmeal Bread

2 tsp. yeast
1/3 c. warm water

1 1/2 c. rolled oats
1 c. boiling water
1 1/2 c. buttermilk (or 1 1/2 c. milk plus 1 1/2 T. vinegar)
1/2 c. canola oil
1/2 c. brown sugar
2 1/2 c. whole wheat flour
2 1/2 c. bread flour
1 Tbs. salt

1. Combine water and yeast. In a separate bowl, combine the oats and boiling water. Let both mixtures stand 8-10 minutes. The yeast should look creamy and foamy.

2. Place all ingredients except salt into a mixer. Knead with dough hook for 2-3 minutes, then let rest for 20 minutes. Add salt and knead with dough hook in mixer on medium for an additional 15 minutes.

3. Turn the dough out into a well oiled bowl. Turn the dough to coat it, then cover and let rise for approximately 1 hour or until it has doubled.

4. Punch down the dough and cut in half. Talk one half and place on a lightly oiled (sprayed) surface and press into a rectangle shape.  Fold into thirds, letter-style, smashing it with the side of your hand after each fold to distribute the dough evenly.  Fold the bread in thirds again, this time going the other way (90 degrees from before) then roll up. Pinch the seams closed and place seam side down into your prepared loaf pan.  with the other half of the dough.

5. Lightly brush with water and sprinkle a few additional oats onto the top of the loaf. Very gently press into place (this makes it look pretty, but I would be fine without it). Let rise in a warm place for an additional 30-60 minutes.

6. Bake in a pre-heated 375 degree oven for 30-40 minutes, or until crust is golden brown and the internal temp reaches 190-200 degrees.

Layered Chicken Cordon Bleu

 No more chicken flattening!

I'm all about easier and quicker dinners, hence this layered no fuss version that tastes just as delicious.

 

Layered Chicken Cordon Bleu

Ingredients: Chicken, Ham, Swiss Cheese, Bread Crumbs, Grated Parmesan, Basil, Garlic.

 Directions:  Layer Chicken, Ham, and Swiss Cheese.

Top with mixture of Bread Crumbs, Grated Parmesan, Basil, Garlic--drizzle with melted buter.

Bake at 350 deg. for 30 min or until Chicken is cooked.

 

Strawberry Shortcake

Strawberries were on sale and that means time to make some Strawberry Shortcake!  We use a recipe that Uncle's mom created.  It includes strawberry sauce which I personally am ok without, but you can decide how you like it.

Sauce

1/2 c. sugar

2 1/2 T. cornstarch

1/2 small package strawberry jello

1/2 package strawberry kool-aid

Mix sugar, cornstarch, jello and kool-aid in a medium saucepan.  Add 1 cup boiling water, cook until bubbly stirring constantly.  Add 1 cup cold water, refrigerate until set.

Shortbread

1/2 c. butter

1 c. sugar

2 eggs

1 c. milk

1 t. vanilla

2 c. Bisquick

2 1/2 T cornmeal

Cream butter and sugar.  Add eggs; mix.  Mix in milk and vanilla.  Add Bisquick and Cornmeal; mix until incorporated.  Bake at 350 for 30 minutes in a greased 9x13 pan.

Serve your shortcake with the strawberry sauce (if desired), sliced strawberries and whipped cream (or cool whip).

Oven-Fried Chimichangas

Tonight was yet another Mexican Dinner Night.  We tried a new recipe that was really good (and not as bad for you as the traditional deep fried version).  

Oven-Fried Chimichangas

2/3 c. salsa

1 tsp. ground cumin

1/2 tsp. dried oregano

1 1/2 cup cooked, shredded chicken or 1 (12 oz) can chicken

1 c. shredded cheese

6 (8 inch) flour tortillas

2 T. butter, melted

Mix chicken, salsa, cumin, oregano and cheese.  Place 1/4 cup chicken mixture in the center of each tortilla.  Fold in the ends of the tortilla and then roll it up.  Place seam side down on a baking sheet.  Brush with melted butter.  Bake at 400 deg for 25 minutes or until golden.  Serve with salsa, sour cream and cheese on top, if desired.

Breakfast Burritos

My daughter requested a quesadilla for breakfast this morning, I wasn't sure that was the best thing....so we made breakfast burritos instead.  

Here's what you need:

breakfast meat (sausage, bacon, ham (we used turkey bacon today))

eggs

veggies (bell pepper, onion, tomato, etc)

tortillas

toppings (cheese, salsa, avacado...)

Cook up your meat and take it out of the pan (you could leave it in if it is sausage or cut into pieces), add your veggies that you want sauteed (onions, peppers), when those are ready add your scrambled eggs to cook.  Put the meat and eggs in your tortilla and add the toppings (cheese, salsa).  Yummy!

Easy Lasagna

I used to take the time to soften an layer lasagna noodles.  But no more.  My new "mix it all together" version is easier and more kid friendly.  Plus it takes a lot less time.

Easy Lasagna

9 oz.  Bow tie pasta or penne cooked
16 oz. Cottage Cheese
1 egg
1/4 C Grated Parmesean
1 jar Spaghetti Sauce
1 1/2 C. Mozzerella or Cheddar
1/2 lb. Ground beef or Roll Sausage
1/2 C. Mozzerella, for top

Mix all ingredients in casserole dish and top with final Mozzerella.
Bake at 350 for 30+ mins. until sides are bubbling.

Hint: while I'm cooking noodles and meat I mix up everything else and put it in the oven to beggin heating.  This way the dish is done sooner: when you add the meat and noodles they're already warm. :)

Semi-Homemade Donuts

Our inexpensive, weekend, alternative.

Donuts

Canned buttermilk biscuits (not grand)

Oil--heated to 300 degrees

Cinnamon and sugar in a bowl

Remove biscuits from can and tear holes in centers.

Fry in heated oil, turning/removing when browned.

Set on paper towels to drain off some oil.

Coat in cinnamon and sugar mixture.

Whole process takes about 15min for 1 can, 20min for 2 cans.

 

Chocolate Lasagna

My brother-in-law came to visit this weekend and decided that we needed to try this dessert recipe that he had come across.  I can't say no to dessert, so we did.  It is pretty yummy (even if the picture isn't the greatest).  The recipe that we found called it Chocolate Lasagna but we had discussions about other names instead (because apparantly "lasgana" makes some people think about noodle, which this does not have) some other ideas were Chocolate Strata and Chocolate Goodness.  Whatever you decide to call it, it is pretty addicting!

Chocolate Lasagna

INGREDIENTS
1 package regular Oreo cookies (Not Double Stuff) – about 36 cookies
6 Tablespoon butter, melted
1- 8 ounce package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 Tablespoons cold milk
1- 12 ounce tub Cool Whip, divided
2 – 3.9 ounce packages Chocolate Instant Pudding.
3 1/4 cups cold milk
1 cup mini chocolate chips


DIRECTIONS
1. Begin by crushing 36 Oreo cookies. I used my food processor for this, but you could also place them in a large ziplock bag and crush them with a rolling pin. When the Oreos have turned into fine crumbs, you are done.
2. Transfer the Oreo crumbs to a large bowl. Stir in 6 tablespoons melted butter and use a fork to incorporate the butter into the cookie crumbs. When the butter is distributed, transfer the mixture to a 9 x 13 inch baking dish. Press the crumbs into the bottom of the pan. Place the pan in the refrigerator while you work on the additional layers.
3. Mix the cream cheese with a mixer until light and fluffy. Add in 2 Tablespoons of milk, and sugar, and mix well. Stir in 1 and 1/4 cups Cool Whip. Spread this mixture over the crust.
4. In a bowl, combine chocolate instant pudding with 3 and 1/4 cups cold milk. Whisk for several minutes until the pudding starts to thicken. Use a spatula to spread the mixture over the previous cream cheese layer. Allow the dessert to rest for about 5 minutes so that the pudding can firm up further.
5. Spread the remaining Cool Whip over the top. Sprinkle mini chocolate chips evenly over the top. Place in the freezer for 1 hour, or the refrigerator for 4 hours before serving.