chewy molasses spice cookies

These were a new holiday treat recipe I wanted to try this year and they will remain on my baking list every year...these prompted Aislynn to claim that I am the best cook ever, ha! They were sooooo delicious that they barely lasted 24 hours here:) Check out the recipe here and I followed the reviews and baked for exactly 11 minutes=perfection.

a yummy, super easy chicken recipe

We have been back in town awhile, but with all the laundry, getting back in the routine, decorating for Christmas...this ole blog has been neglected. Whenever we get back in town or if we have been eating out too much and want to start cooking more, I have certain recipes that are easy and quick that I always start with. I wanted to try something new and saw this recipe on Baked Bree and it looked simple enough so I decided to try it. It was amazing, even Kieran ate it and Aislynn said it was her favorite thing I have made, ha ha! I can't get Bree's site t pull up to link the recipe, so here it is here:
Kelly's Overnight Chicken
Ingredients:
1 tbsp curry powder
4 tbsp soy sauce
1/3 cup Dijon mustard
1/2 cup honey
4 chicken breasts

1. Mix the curry powder, soy sauce, Dijon mustard, and honey in a bowl.
2. Place chicken breasts in glass container or plastic Ziploc bag and pour marinade over the chicken. Seal and place in refrigerator overnight.
3. The next day, place chicken with sauce in baking dish and cover with foil. Bake at 350 degrees for one hour. Take out, uncover, baste chicken and bake for 15 more minutes.
4. Ta da! I poured some of the sauce in my rice to flavor it and served it with green beans. Yum yum yum and so super easy:) This is definitely getting added in to my dinner rotation.

the simple things

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls.

Yum. I did have a bit of trouble with them rising (which was totally just me being impatient). I froze one half to bring with us to my in-laws for Thanksgiving...but our half is gone so we'll see;)
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Are you getting in the Christmas mood? I am hoping to share the base for my December Daily project this week+a cool advent calendar I am almost finished with (SO EASY to make too!). I've also got a new ad challenge for you tomorrow and I'll pick a winner for this month's Tuesday morning.
Hope everyone had a great weekend!

slow-cooker turkey breast+corn casserole

After Halloween is over, I start getting the itch for Thanksgiving food. I usually can't wait until Thanksgiving for delicious turkey+sides, so we usually have a pre-thanksgiving meal a couple weeks before. One of my favorite things to make in the crock-pot is a whole turkey breast. It is incredibly easy and yummy:) If you are having a big crowd for Thanksgiving, this would be perfect if you wanted more white meat. Here is what I do:
1 whole turkey breast (I usually try to get one between 4-5 lbs)
3 tbsp melted butter
1 1/2 tsp of the following: dried parsley, dried thyme, salt, dried rosemary (I normally would use sage but we were out)
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 onion, cut into wedges
***
1. Place the onion wedges on the bottom of your slow cooker.
2. Pat your turkey dry with paper towels and place on top of onions.
3. Lift up the skin of the breast and pour/rub melted butter all over. Rub spices/herbs under the skin on to the breast and pull the skin back over the breast.
4. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.
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One of my favorite sides is Paula Deen's corn casserole. I discovered this maybe 3 years ago and I always make it for Thanksgiving or any big potluck type meal. And it always flies off the plate...seriously it is like a treat almost. It is soooooo good and it only takes about 5 minutes to prepare (45 to bake), plus if your kiddos like to help out, this is a great one for them to help with because you just dump everything into the bowl. If I am making 2 pans, I make one with the cheese and one without. If I am making just 1 pan, I usually leave the cheese off...the one without the cheese usually disappears first:) Try it...I promise you will be asked to make this from now on:)

recipe review: corn bread tamale pie

I recently checked out Joy of Cooking from the library. What a fabulous cookbook! I love the way it is written and there are so many sections that teach you how to store food, freeze food, pair food with wine, and tons of other things that are useful!
There is a section on meals that freeze well, and I am a big fan of making a dish and freezing half for another time, so I gave one a try. I did make some changes with the spices and the next time I make this, I will probably do it differently, but here is what I did this time:

Corn Bread Tamale Pie
1 lb ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
1 cup canned black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup drained canned or frozen corn
1 cup of tomato sauce (I used an 8 oz can)
1/2 cup diced green bell pepper
1 cup water or beef or chicken broth
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup cornmeal
1 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
1 tbsp vegetable oil
***
1. Brown the beef with the onion until the beef is brown and the onions are translucent, about 10 minutes.
2. Add the beans, corn, tomato sauce, water (or broth), green pepper, garlic powder, chili powder, cumin, paprika, black pepper, and 1/2 tsp salt. Simmer 15 minutes.
3. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, all-purpose flour, sugar, baking powder, and 1/2 tsp salt.
4. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, and vegetable oil. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and stir until well combined.
**To make it easier (and a bit sweeter) I would totally just use jiffy cornbread mix with 1 egg and 1/3 cup of milk, I just happened to have cornmeal on hand***
5. Spread the meat mixture into a greased 3 quart casserole dish (I used a 9x13 inch pan) and cover that with the corn bread mixture. Bake until the cornbread is brown, about 20-25 minutes.
***
So here is what I will do differently next time. I probably will skip the 1 cup of liquid AND the corn bread topping. Instead of using 1 cup of tomato sauce, I will use 1 cup of salsa. Then I will use the meat mixture to fill corn tortillas and bake those for about 20 minutes in a 350 degree oven. I think Aislynn will like this better...she didn't like how it looked so was weary to eat it, but rolled up in a corn tortilla I am certain she would gobble it up:)
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Aislynn is out of school tomorrow for Veteren's Day, so I've got plans to make these:)

downeast maine pumpkin bread and a share

I discovered this recipe last year on allrecipes.com. I have made it tons of times...it is so yummy! To make it a little healthier, I make it with whole wheat flour and replace the 1 cup of vegetable oil with 1 cup of applesauce. It is so moist and scrumptious and as the reviews say, it does get even better the next day. Here is the link to the recipe: the most delicious pumpkin bread ever:)

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I received this e-mail from snapfish and wanted to share. Follow this link and sign up. Then from November 15 through January 1, they will send a special offer everyday. I can imagine they will be pretty good...there was an offer from them that ended a few days ago (this should teach me to read all of my e-mails!) that was buy 1 photo book and get 2 free. Kicking myself over missing that one. Anyways, it can't hurt to check it out:)

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Just a note on how to schedule your posts...in the bottom left (right above the publish post button) there is a link that says post options. When you click that, to the bottom right there will be a box that says post date and time. Just adjust that for when you want the post to schedule:)

candy corn parfaits

These are ready to go to Aislynn's Halloween party at school tomorrow. Aren't they adorable? I wanted to do something different besides the typical cookie/cupcake and when I saw these on the Baked Bree blog, I knew I wanted to make them! They were super easy, I wish could have gotten a better picture of them.
Check out the steps HERE and while you are there, look around. She had some gorgeous food pictures and awesome recipes! I made the Baked Potato Soup a few weeks ago and it was ridiculously good!! The macaroni and cheese was tasty too:)

mmm...chili

So my chili yesterday was a success. A big one. I have been searching for a couple years for a recipe that says "This is the best chili ever," but I haven't found one (until now). I think it's because we all have different ideas of how chili should taste. So to me and the hubby, this is the best chili we have had:) I took 2 recipes+my own chili making experiences and came up with this:
*Chili*
Ingredients:
2 lbs ground beef
1 (29 oz) can tomato sauce
1 onion, chopped
1 (15.5 oz) can light red kidney beans
1 (15.5 oz) can dark red kidney beans
1 cup prepared salsa (I used Pace chunky medium)
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1 extra large or 2 med-large garlic cloves, minced
1 large tomato, cut into bite-sized chunks
4 tbsp chili seasoning (recipe for this follows)

1. In a large skillet, brown the ground beef with the chopped onion. Drain the grease.
2. Dump the beef, along with all of the other ingredients into a slow cooker and stir well to combine.
3. Cook on high for 3 hours or low 6-8 hours.
4. Top with desired toppings (sour cream, green onions, shredded cheddar cheese, tortilla chips, etc) and serve with cornbread...yum yum yum:)

*Chili Seasoning Recipe*
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
2 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp crushed red pepper
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp dried parsley
2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp dried basil
2 tsp white sugar

Store in an airtight container-makes enough for approximately 2 batches of chili.
***
Enjoy! Please let me know if you make this and tell me what you think!

homemade bread

For awhile I have been wanting to start making my own bread. I finally got the courage and was pleasantly surprised by how it came out and loved how easy it was (Aislynn helped me too)! I have made it twice now and we go through a loaf super super fast. We love carbs in this household...especially freshly made ones;)
Here is the recipe link: Simple Whole Wheat Bread Recipe

One night we had blt's with it...I had picked up some arugula at the farmer's market and the peppery taste was perfect with the bacon and the slightly sweet bread....yum yum!

Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend! I finished up Aislynn's Princess Leia costume, which I will post next week+I am hoping to get some scrapping in tomorrow sometime...wish me luck!

chicken and chili stew

Now that cooler weather (for FL!) is here, I love to make soups and stews about once a week. We usually have it for dinner one night and then I will eat the rest for lunches. I got this recipe from my Mom:)

Chicken and Chili Stew
Ingredients:
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast
2 1/4 cups chicken broth
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 to 2 medium jalepeno chilies, seeded and diced
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 medium red bell pepper, diced
1 medium carrot, sliced
1 cup whole kernal corn
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro

1. Cut chicken into cubes. Heat 3/4 up of the broth to boiling in large pan. Add chicken and cook about 5 minutes.
2. Remove chicken and add garlic and chilies. Cook over medium-high heat for 2 minutes, and stir in flour. Stir until thickened.
3. Add remaining broth, chicken, and remaining ingredients. Heat to boiling.
4. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer about 20 minutes.

I usually make cornbread with this and it is soooo yummy together:) Enjoy!