Couscous Recipe

Are you ever falling behind in your daily activities, and in need of a quick fix for dinner?
Yeah, me too!
Couscous is a tasty and very quick side dish that can be whipped up in less than 15 minutes. It pairs nicely with chicken, so on those busy evenings, you can grab some leftovers or one of those rotisserie chickens from the grocery store, a quick salad or frozen veggie, and the couscous, and dinner is on the table in less than a half hour!
Nice, right?

Surprise Recipe Swap: Turnips 2 Tangerines

It's Surprise recipe swap time! If you don't know what the Surprise Recipe Swap is, you can hop on over to Hungry Little Girl and visit our wonderful host, Jutta, and read more about it.
This month, I was paired up with an exciting food blog called Turnips 2 Tangerines, and let me tell you... if you are a foodie, you are going to want to put this site on your reading list! There are so many yummy looking recipes, complete with beautiful pictures!

Double Chocolate Cake Mix Cookies

I love making cookies.  They are probably my favorite treat to bake. Sometimes I am short on time and need a quick and easy recipe. This is where cake mix cookies come in.
I have been making cake mix cookies for years. They turn out nice and soft, so if you like a crispy cookie, this recipe isn't for you. If you are like my family, and like a nice soft cookie, then you will definitely want to try these. Theh are also lerfect for your chocoholic side!

Surprise Recipe Swap: The Vanilla Bean

Yay! it's Surprise Recipe Swap reveal day! Surprise Recipe Swap is hosted by Jutta at Hungry Little Girl. If you want to join in the fun, just click the button at the bottom of this post!
This month, I was partnered up with a great foodie blog called The Vanilla Bean. Looking through the recipe list, I once again found it difficult to choose which recipe I wanted to try first... then my chocoholic side took over when I saw the Brigadeiros recipe!
What are Brigadeiros? Say it with me... bree-gah-dea-eros.
They are yummy little chocolates rolled in nuts or cocoa powder or whatever you want.

Tuna Salad... Hold the Mayo

I love tuna salad sandwiches, but when it comes to mayo... no thanks!

Our home is a no mayo zone. In fact, I think the only time in the last 22+ years that I bought mayo was about  18 or so years ago when I used part of a small jar to make a mayonnaise cake... you know... the moist chocolate cake that uses mayo instead of  eggs. The cake was just ok, and I threw the rest of the jar in the garbage.
So how do I make my tuna salad?
My not-so-secret ingredient is Italian Dressing.
Seriously. It compliments the tuna perfectly, adding just the right amount of zing and yummy flavor.

{Lemon} Oreo Balls

Do you remember last week when I revealed the blog I was paired up with for this month's Surprise Recipe Swap (hosted by Jutta from Hungry Little Girl)? If not, you can read about the yummy meatloaf I made HERE. Anyway, there were a few other recipes on Who Needs A Cape that  really wanted to try, too. One of them was Oreo Balls. They looked oh so yummy!
These Oreo Balls are an easy no-bake dessert that are sure to be a hit! They need a little time in the fridge, but other than that, the actual work part doesn't take too terribly long.
I decided to make them with a little twist- LEMON!

Surprise Recipe Swap: Who Needs A Cape?

It's that time again! I am excited to reveal my surprise blog for the Surprise Recipe Swap hosted by Jutta from Hungry Little Girl! Are you ready?
My Surprise Recipe Swap is.....

Homemade Doggie Treats

My girls have a couple of doggie friends that they just love. They wanted to make a special treat for the doggies, so I set out to find a recipe. I looked over quite a few, and finally decided .... Okay. I will be totally honest with you... I'd been promising them that I would help them make some for a couple of weeks, but we never seemed to have all of the ingredients at once, so I kept putting it off... they kept asking... I caved and adapted like 3 recipes to what I had on hand and helped them make some.

Surprise Recipe Swap: Couponing and Cooking

I can't tell you how much fun I have been having so far with the Hungry Little Girl's Surprise Recipe Swap!

Garlic Bread Sticks

Who doesn't love the smell of freshly baked bread? Add the hint of garlic in the mix, and it's even better. These garlic bread sticks are perfect accompaniment to a pasta dinner or a nice soup.

Surprise Recipe Swap!

I am super excited to be participating in the Surprise Recipe Swap started by Jutta from Hungry Little Girl!
This month, I am "assigned" to the blog Life Tastes Good written by Marion. I really, really recommend that you check out her blog! She makes some truly amazing stuff!

Plumb Jam {Rice Cooker Recipe}

Remember when I made oatmeal in the rice cooker? If not, you can read about it here. The success of that meal, got me thinking about what other things I can make in the rice cooker. I tried cream of wheat, but it requires more stirring, so that it wouldn't burn, and it is just faster to make on the stove top.
I tried beans... that works GREAT and will be the subject  of another post, another time, since I forgot to take pictures! Oops!
This time, I wanted to try jam. We had a bag of plumbs that were about to "turn", and I didn't want them to go to waste. I figured a jam would be perfect!

I made a small batch, but the recipe can easily be doubled.

Mini Banana Muffins

Little muffin... BIG flavor!!!

You know how when you buy bananas, and you put them in the plastic produce bag at the grocery store? Well, some people don't use the bag, but we do.
Anyway... you know how you are supposed to take them out of the bag so that they don't over-ripen too fast? AND... You know how when things are busy and a bit chaotic, and you are sometimes in a hurry to just get the groceries out of the grocery bags and put away... and you forget to take the bananas out of the bag, and they do ripen too fast?
Yeah... that.
It's okay, though! You now have the perfect excuse to make these yummy muffins!!! See? It all works out! *smile*

Quick Pork With BBQ Sauce Dinner

One of our favorite quick, easy, family friendly, budget dinners is Pork with BBQ Sauce.

My husband and I first started making this when our oldest was just a baby. Back then, we could but a couple of small pork steaks for just around $2. A 2 lb bag of rice was only a dollar, and the bottle of cheap BBQ sauce was about 60 cents! Spend another dollar on some veggies, and that's a cheap dinner! Back then, the bottle of bbq sauce lasted 2 meals, and the bag of rice lasted us at least 2 weeks! We're talking budget, here!

Over the years, our family has gown, and prices have gone up. This meal remains a favorite... I just make more of it!

Doesn't that look yummy?

Recipe Roundup- New Years Eve Party!

I thought that New Years Eve would be a fitting day to post my Recipe Roundup. After all, this day (or night, rather) is known for its parties! When I think of parties, I think of FOOD!

I've shared many recipes with you over the past months. Here are some of my favorites:

Fluffy Dinner Rolls

LeftoverMashed Potato Soup

Cheesy Potato Patties

Baked, Breaded Chicken Strips

Red Chile For Burritos

Snickerdoodle Cookies

Pumpkin Roll

Make Your Own Granola

You can find the rest of them on my FOOD page.

Are you a true "foodie" or even just starting out cooking? I have been a member of a super, awesome cooking forum for years, now! We'd love to see some fresh, new faces in the group! If you like to talk food (and many other things), like trying new recipes, like sharing recipes, and like to share how a recipe you tried turned out, this is the place to be. Just sign up at The Quality Cook. The security settings are set pretty high, so leave me a comment (or message me), and I will inform the admins that you are joining!

There are a number of other sites that I love looking to for recipes, but when it comes to tried and true recipes, I love looking to other blogs.

I have a number of bloggy friends who frequently post some awesome recipes. Whether you are looking for family friendly, healthy, or special diet, I'm sure you will find a site (or 5) on my list that you'll love!
Here they are:

Canola Oil & Butter Spread

Have you looked at the ingredients in most of the buttery spreads in the grocery store?
Scary, isn't it?
Making your own spread is super easy, and pretty frugal!
All you need is butter, canola oil, and something to whip it up with.

This is what a half-recipe looks like in a 15oz container.

One of the great things about this, is that you can customize it with garlic and herbs to make an easy herb spread that will taste great on pasta, garlic bread, rolls, etc.
Another great thing is how easy it is to make!

Brownie Mix Cookies

Are you looking for a great, quick last minute cookie to leave for Santa Clause? I have it on good authority that Santa LOVES these cookies. (At least at my house he does!) If you like chocolate, I'll bet you will like these, too!
Do you like the chewy, yummy brownie edges? Yes? You'll love this cookie!
Do you like the chewy, yummy brownie edges, and you like EASY? Of course! You'll love this cookie even more!
Just look at them! YUM!

I've been making these cookies for years, and my family loves them.
I've also learned a coupe things in my years making them. First and foremost... butter, grease, or spray that cookie sheet! If you don't... they will stick.
I mean, chocolate brownie cookies sticking to a cookie sheet does not necessarily mean that they won't get pried up bit by bit with a spatula, fork or fingers and eaten anyway, but it certainly doesn't make the cookies look pretty and suitable for a cookie tray or a gift.
What??? Let's be honest here... you'd do the same thing, right?

Reindeer Food {Guest Post: Laura}

My son and me on the first day of school this year.

I'm Laura over at Now Things are Cookin', where I'm learning to cook all over again, and A Special Den Leader, where I discuss activities we do with my 8 year old son's Wolf Scout den.  It's so nice to be visiting Susie's blog again.  She featured me in her Searching for Super-Mom series a few months ago.  I'd like to thank Susie for having me here again to share with you a Christmas tradition my son and I enjoy.

Measuring ingredients.  Check out his tongue.  Is that not the cutest thing ever?

A few years ago when my son was really starting to really get into the whole idea of Santa, he wanted to know what we could fix for Santa's reindeer.  It was Christmas Eve and we had no carrots in the house, which was my first thought.  My son didn't think that was a very good idea anyway.  Probably because he hasn't met a vegetable yet that he likes.  So rather than making a frenzied dash to the grocery store for carrots, I turned to my good friend Google.

By typing in "reindeer food," we came up with several recipes for a yummy, easy treat for Santa's reindeer when they stopped by on Christmas Eve.  The ingredients are simple and it's friendly for any other critters, like my YorkiePoo, who might happen upon the leftovers.

Stirring.  And still the tongue is sticking out in concentration.

Even though this year my son "knows" who Santa is, (anyone who has love, goodness, kindness, and generosity in their hearts, of course), he still wants to make reindeer food.  In fact the other day he told me "Mom, reindeer are just like regular deer, except they can fly.  When can we make reindeer food this year?" I felt a little sad that he mistakenly thought all reindeer could fly, but very happy he would like to continue our little tradition a little bit longer.

Here's the original recipe for reindeer food that we found on Google.

1/2 cup oatmeal
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup decorators sugar, your color of choice

Mix all ingredients together and sprinkle on lawn.

Finished.  He had to make sure I got the shot.

It's a perfectly fine recipe, but lets be honest for a moment, mommas.  Chances are, your dog, your neighbor's cat, or some random squirrel is going to end up eating the reindeer food.  Frankly, I'm not interested in feeding any of those creatures that much sugar.  So we have traditionally cut both sugars by half.  We used quick cooking oats when we made the batch for this post because I had some on hand to make my own instant oatmeal packets.  Regular oats are fine too.  And because my 8 year old marches to the beat of a drum no one else can hear, he also added some rainbow sprinkles.

The red decorators sugar is more important than the brown sugar.  It sparkles under the moonlight streetlights so the reindeer can see it and come down off the roof for their little snack while Santa is inside.  And truly any color will do.

Close up of the reindeer food.  Don't you think Rudolf will love this?

I have seen recipes for reindeer food that include real glitter.  I do not recommend using real glitter because it's made of mica or plastic particles that could injure digestive systems of wildlife or neighboring animals.  Decorator sugar may not sparkle as much, but it's surprising how much it does sparkle once you get it in the pale light of the moon or streetlight.


Thank you so much, Laura, for this awesome guest post!
You can visit Laura at Now Things are Cookin', A Special Den Leader, Facebook , Google+, and Pinterest.

Cheese Enchiladas

Cheese Enchiladas.

Mmmm... just thinking about them makes my mouth water. 

I mean, what's not to love? You get all of that yummy, melty cheese with a little kick of spice from the sauce, and the corn tortilla to give it that awesome texture. Add in olives and onions, and you have perfection!

Just look at them.

I don't know about you, but despite my horrible photography skills, this pic makes me HUNGRY!

They are pretty easy to make, too!

Zesty Cranberry Sauce

Cranberry sauce is one of my most favorite things about making a turkey dinner...

...next to the turkey...

...and the stuffing...

I like the canned kind in a pinch, but I like making my own much better!

One year, I was reading the directions on the bag of fresh cranberries. Cranberries, water, and sugar. That was it. OK. Easy enough.

But I wasn't satisfied with "easy enough". I wanted a little extra... something.
I wanted my sauce to be special.

I wanted it to be zesty!

Then it hit me...