breakfast for dinner

I love evenings spent in. I love windows open and birds singing in the trees while I make dinner. I love the smile on the Mr.'s face when he walks in the door after a long day at work. I love to make breakfast for meals other than when it is traditionally eaten. I love big chocolate chip pancakes. I love that I can sneak in some flax seed for good health & no one notices. Heaven forbid one would try to make something like chocolate chip pancakes a little healthy ;)






I'm off to race my 7 year old on the wii.  I have a feeling she's gonna kick my trash.

XxOo,
--Anna

good eats: pumpkin pielettes

I was feeling somewhat domestic recently & tried my hand at making mini pies.  I had some pre made dough on hand, along with canned pumpkin in the pantry.  

My verdict on the dough is that is not meant to be rolled out a second time.  It's pretty impossible to re-roll it.  Unless you have mad skills.  So I'll be making pies using homemade dough from here on out.

But they turned out pretty & delicious.  Tot & Nonee loved them, which is huge since I normally can't get them to eat anything that resembles a normal piece of pie.  These pielettes, as I like to call them, are just the perfect size for their little hands to hold.  

Have you made something delicious lately?  Please share :)

Happy Monday,

--Anna

good eats: easy crockpot chicken & apple slices

Hello friends.  It's been a few days.....

The kiddos are home for a week for Fall Break.  We went to church on Sunday & spent time with family that we haven't seen in a while.  The beautiful weather was calling my name on Monday so I got brave and took all the kids with me on a long walk.  Some did not like the walking as much as others.  But we all made it home in one piece & they swear they want to go with me again.  Today, I am taking care of a sick little boy that decided to grace one of our bathrooms with his morning breakfast, if you know what I mean. He's taking it easy on the sick couch (what our loveseat is called when someone is sick.  when someone is sick, that is where they get to sit.) watching Justice League and playing with Star Wars action figures.

 I made our weekly menu yesterday before heading to the grocery store.  I  was in need of something quick & easy to make for dinner so I hopped onto Pinterest & found a chicken recipe that made my mouth start watering. 

forkinit.blogspot.com

So I made my own version of it - just throwing 3 skinless/boneless chicken breasts into the crockpot with a dash of pepper & most of a bottle of honey barbecue sauce and about 1/2 cup water (mix the sauce & water before putting it into the pot).  I let it cook on low for 4 hours and turned the meat every 15 minutes during the last hour.  Once it was done & looked delicious, I shredded the meat in a dish & poured the remaining sauce over it.  Can we say delicious?  Oh yes.

And we had apples.  I have one of those apple/peeler/corer/slicer things from Pampered Chef.  The kids love their apples this way.  I usually can't get them to eat apples any other way.

Happy Tuesday,
--Anna

good eats: pretty cupcakes

The kids requested cupcakes for Dessert Night (we only have dessert once a week at our house - Thursdays) so I bought a box mix and got to work.  I topped each one with some homemade frosting & flowers I made for a cake class I took a few months ago.  The result was almost too pretty to eat.

This boy may or may not have gobbled up a few.

The homemade frosting is a recipe I watched my mother & grandmother make as a young girl.  They would never measure anything and somehow frosting was magically perfect every time.  I make it the same way, but can give you the gist of how it's done.

You'll need:

1 pkg. confectioner's sugar (one pound)

1 teaspoon vanilla (I just use the cap of the vanilla bottle)

dash of salt

2 Tbsp. milk + some more

1 stick butter ever so slightly softened (I use unsalted butter)

I throw everything in at once into a bowl & turn on the mixer.  It will be a little on the dry & clumpy side.  Add a dash of milk and mix some more.  If it is still too dry, add more milk.  I like my frosting to hold its shape and not flop over.  If it flops {or is too runny} then add more confectioner's sugar.  I told you that for me, it's not an exact science.  If it's too thick, it will not spread on the cupcakes well.  If it's too thin, it will run right off the cupcakes.  So just thick enough is perfect.  

Have a yummy day!

--Anna

good eats: turkey dogs & sweet potato fries

I love this time of year when sweet potatoes are a'plenty at the grocery store and I get to bring some home to make delicious eats with them.   This time, I wanted to try something different - sweet potato fries.  I just peeled 2 large sweet potatoes, washed them thoroughly, and cut them up into fry stick shapes.  Actually, my stick shapes look more like chunks.  Meanwhile, the oven was heating up to a nice 375.  I laid the fries on a stone cookie sheet (I'm sure a regular metal cookie sheet works fine too) and drizzled them with olive oil.  Once in the oven, they cooked for 35 minutes.  No salt or pepper are necessary, although my kids like to eat them with ketchup.  I like them plain.  These are so good & so easy to make that I am sure they will be on our dinner table again soon.

My kids are slowly learning to like them.  I did hear once that you have to put a new food on your child's plate 10 times before they'll try it or like it.  We've had sweet potatoes - in some way, shape or form - about 6 times, so they are well on their way to liking them ;)

What's your favorite sweet potato recipe?

--Anna

Good Eats: chocolate dipped treats

I had a craving for chocolate.  It was bad.  Luckily I had a bag of milk chocolate chips in the fridge.  I am strictly a milk chocolate kind of girl.  I don't like much else - except those chocolate oranges that seem to come out in large quantities at the grocery store right around Christmas.  The very same chocolate orange that magically makes its way into my husband's Christmas stocking every year.  Hmmmm.  I wonder how that happens??

So the kiddos & I gathered pretzel sticks, large marshmallows & bananas - all good things for dipping in chocolate.

And then we dipped to our hearts content.

And stuck them in the fridge for an hour to harden.  It seemed like a ridiculously long hour.

 

And then it was time to eat.

Now go dip something in chocolate.  You won't regret it.  I promise.

--Anna

Good Eats: beef stew

I love making soups and stews in the crockpot.  There is little prep work involved and the end result is delicious.  Plus, my house smells heavenly all day.

Today's Good Eats recipe is beef stew.  It's super easy to make so let's get started.

Ingredients
3 stalks celery, washed & sliced
4 medium carrots, washed & sliced
4 potatoes, washed & cubed
1/4 small onion, finely chopped
1 container beef stew stock
stew meat, cooked & drained
water
ketchup to taste
pepper to taste

Instructions
1.  Wash & cut celery, carrots, potatoes and onion.  Add to crockpot.
2.  Pour in container of beef stew stock {found in the soup isle at your grocery store}.
3.  Cook stew meat.  Add to soup mixture.
4.  Add water.  There is no real exact amount to add - it depends on your soup preference.  If you love broth, add more water.  If you don't like broth much, add just enough water to cover your ingredients.  If you're like me, you add lots of water & then put some in jars to use for soups in the future {store it in fridge, of course.}.
5.  Add ketchup and pepper to taste.  Ketchup gives it good flavor.  My kids love the broth much more when I add ketchup.
6.  Cook on high until it boils.  Let boil for 5-10 minutes and then set crockpot to low heat.  Let simmer all day.
7.  Enjoy for dinner.  If it's too hot for the kids, add some ice cubes to their bowl to cook it off faster.

Enjoy!!
--Anna

Good Eats//ice cream sandwiches (recipe found!)

Remember this delicious post?  I'm pleased as punch to share the recipe with you!  Of course it was hiding under some random paper on my kitchen counter that I would never think to look under.  So here it is:

Ice Cream Sandwiches
(taken from a magazine & I have no idea which one - I've had this in my recipe box for years)

Ingredients
8 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1 ounce unsweetened chocolate
1/2 cup confectioners sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cocoa powder
1 tsp. vanilla extract
pinch of salt
1 large egg
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 cup all purpose flour

To Make
1. Preheat oven to 350.  In a medium saucepan over medium heat, stir butter and chocolate till melted.  Remove from heat and stir in sugars, cocoa, vanilla, salt & egg.  Then sprinkle baking powder over chocolate mixture & add flour to pan too.  Stir until well combined. {Let your older kids do the mixing if you feel like passing on building some nice upper arm muscles.}
2.  Put chocolate mixture onto a 10x15 inch ungreased baking sheet.  Press dough to the edges, making sure the surface is equally thick on the sheet.
3.  Bake 12 - 15 minutes.  Remove from oven and allow to  completely cool.  Cut into desired sized squares.  {The longer you cook it, the crunchier it will be.  I cut 14 pieces, making 7 cookies total.}
4.  Slightly soften ice cream of choice.  If you're not worried about perfection, just take a large spoonful of ice cream and put it on top of bottom cookie.  Then smash the top cookie on top of it.  Voila!  You have a yummy, crunchy ice cream sandwich!
5.  If you are not going to eat them immediately, individually wrap your sandwiches in plastic wrap, place on a clean baking sheet & return to freezer.

I hope you enjoy these as much as we did.  Warning: Boo has braces and had a hard time eating the cookie part because of its crunchiness.   Chew these sandwiches at your own risk, he he.  I'm pretty sure I'll be making some softer sandwiches in the near future {and will share with you, of course ;) }.

Have a lovely weekend,
--Anna

Good Eats: banana yogurt smoothie

Smoothies have become a regular snack item in the Buis household (Yes, Buis is my last name.  You pronounce it like the car Buick, but replace the "ck" with an "s".  Dont' worry if you didn't get that - people mispronounce it all the time.)  I love to throw a banana, 2 big spoonfuls of plain greek yogurt, one or two cups of milk (depending on how much I want to drink myself or share), and a quick squeeze of Hershey's chocolate syrup into a blender. 

Be sure to blend until smooth.

Then pour & share :)

Wanna kick it up a notch?  Forget the chocolate syrup and add blueberry greek yogurt instead of plain greek yogurt.  It's so good. 

What's your favorite smoothie?  I'll share another soon!
--Anna

Good Eats: potato soup

Remember that plethora of potatoes I mentioned a few posts ago?  Well I decided to put a few of them to good use & make something new - potato soup.  I found a recipe in my Better Homes and Gardens cookbook (given to the Mr. & I as a wedding gift 13.5 years ago).  It's my go-to cookbook and we always like everything I make from it.  The recipe makes enough for about 4 people but I wanted to make a little more since we are hearty soup eaters.  So I tweaked the recipe a bit & this was the delicious result:

Ingredients:
5 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 1/2 cups chicken broth, plus 3/4 cup
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons dill
Salt & Pepper to taste
2 cups whole milk

To Make:
Boil peeled and cubed potatoes till soft.  Remove potatoes from water and place in large bowl.  Mash straight up and down with a wood spoon.  The more you mash it, the mushier it will be.  So if you want your soup a little chunkier, don't mash it as much.  Add chicken broth to the bowl of potatoes and stir gently.  Let sit.  In a large pot, melt butter on medium-low heat.  Add flour and dill.  Stir with wood spoon till mixture bubbles for one minute.  Add potato mixture to pot.  Stir.  Add milk.  Stir.  Add 3/4 cup chicken broth.  Stir.  Let soup heat through.  Pour into bowls and serve.  Add salt & pepper to taste.

This soup is perfect for warming you up on a cold winter day.  I had my 9 year old help me & was surprised  at how easy it was to make.   Enjoy!!

Happy Eating,
--Anna

Good Eats: Chimichangas

This week's Good Eats will make your mouth water.  I'm drooling right now just thinking about the super delicious (AND super easy, I might add!) chimichangas we had last week for dinner.  I got this recipe from the amazing Stephanie at Crockpot 365.  She cooked a meal in her crockpot every single day for an entire year.  I know, amazing, right??  She's got all of her recipes on her blog & I just couldn't pass up making her recipe for chimichangas. 

To make things easier, follow this link to her delicious chimi recipe.

Note:  The recipe doesn't mention when to add the onion.  I added it at the same time as the cans of tomatoes.



We had tons of leftover meat, so I took it to my son's Cub Scout Bike Rodeo that Saturday.  We served the meat with hamburger buns.  I brought barbeque sauce just in case someone wanted it, but no one did.  I was busy helping my little ones ride their bikes, but my hubby said everyone LOVED it.  I'm definitely gonna throw this recipe into my Make This Again pile :)

Good Eats: Chicken Taco Soup

Today is Good Eats post day!  Horray!  Or should I say... Yum!  So I must put it out there first that my kids are very picky eaters.  I make the plainest food ever & still get complaints.  I always tell them that they are lucky I don't make weird food - whatever that might be - & that they should be grateful for all the work I put into feeding them.  Guilt trips only work about 60% of the time.  And I should also mention that because we are plain food eaters, I got in a rut of making the same ol' things for us to eat.  That is no bueno.  So on Tuesday, I decided to spice things up a little bit.   With Rachel Ray's Chicken Taco Soup to be exact.  I didn't follow the directions exactly, but it gave me something to go off of.  Here's my oh so yummy version:

Chicken Taco Soup
by Rachel Ray (altered by Anna)

Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion
1 clove garlic
3-4 skinless boness chicken breasts
1 1/2 cups salsa verde
1 quart Rachel Ray chicken stock
3 Roma tomatoes
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
black pepper to taste
shredded yellow cheese
tortilla chips

Preparation
In a large, deep pot (you'll be using it later to cook the soup in too), add olive oil & pressed garlic into pan over meduim low heat until garlic becomes golden brown.  Chop half an onion into small pieces & add to garlic.  When onion becomes soft, add chicken (I wash & pat mine dry with paper towels first).  Flip the chicken every 5 minutes & stir everything in the pot every 2 minutes (so the onions don't burn).  Once the chicken is cooked through, remove all of the chicken from the pan & put it on a cutting board.  Put your burner on low heat & carefully pour the chicken stock & salsa verde into the pot.   Stir.  Now cut your chicken into pieces.  Shredded-type pieces are best for this soup.  Put chicken back into pot.  Cut tomatoes & cilantro into small slices.  Add to pot.  Stir.  Add desired amount of pepper (you don't need much).  Turn up your burner's heat to medium & let the soup boil for 1 minute.  Then remove the pot from the burner to let the soup cool down.  Turn off your burner.  Serve in bowls with cheese sprinkled on top.  Add chips on the side.  Enjoy!

**My hubby LOVED this & my kids actually ate most of theirs.  I'll definitely be making this again :)

Hope you like it!
--Anna