Loaded Baked Potato Soup

4 med. Baking Potatoes, unpeeled
2 (14oz.) can Chicken Broth
2 cups Milk
6 slices Bacon, cooked and crumbled
2 cups shredded Cheddar Cheese
2-3 Green Onions, sliced
4 oz. Sour Cream

Wash potatoes. Pierce potatoes with a fork.
Microwave on high for 5 minutes. Cut potatoes into chunks.
Combine potatoes, broth, and milk in soup pot.
Cook on medium heat 10-15 minutes
Add cheese, sour cream, bacon and onions.
Cook on low heat one hour or until potatoes are fork tender.

Tuna Cakes

This a new family favorite. I served these yummy cakes with jasmine rice and mixed vegetables.

Here is the original recipe.

I added an egg and eliminated the shredded carrot.

Sausage Breakfast Braid

12 oz Breakfast Sausage
1 small Onion, chopped
1/2 of a Green Pepper, chopped
1 Garlic Clove, minced
4 oz Cream Cheese, cubed
4 Eggs
1/2 cup Cheddar Cheese, shredded
1 tube(8oz)refrigerated Crescent Rolls
1 Egg, lightly beaten

In a large skillet, cook the sausage, onion, green pepper and garlic until meat is no longer pink and vegetables are tender. Add cream cheese. Cook and stir over low heat until cheese is melted. Add eggs. Stir and cook for 1-2 minutes.

Unroll crescent dough on a greased baking sheet; seal perforations. Roll into a 12x10 rectangle. Spoon sausage mixture to within 3 in. of the long sides and 1 in. of ends.

Sprinkle cheddar cheese on the sausage mixture.

On each long side,cut 3/4 in. wide strips 3 in. into center. Starting at one end, fold alternately strips at an angle, forming a braid.

Brush dough with egg. Bake at 350* for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

Autumn Minestrone Soup

7 1/2 cups of Chicken Broth
1 1/2 tbsp Tomato Paste
1 tsp Dried Oregano
1/2 tsp Dried Rosemary
2 cups Butternut Squash, peeled and diced
1 tbsp Butter
1 tbsp Olive Oil
1 Onion, diced
4 Tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1 6oz. bag of Fresh Spinach, chopped
1 (15oz) can of Chickpeas, drained
1 cup fresh Basil, sliced or 1/4 cup dried
2 cloves of Garlic, minced
1 lb Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast, cooked and diced
2 cups cooked Bowtie Pasta

In a large stockpot add chicken broth, tomato paste, oregano, rosemary,(if using dried basil add it now) stir and bring to a boil.
Stir in squash and cook for 10 minutes; set aside.
Heat butter and oil in a skillet; add onions and saute for 3-5 minutes.
Add onions, tomatoes, spinach and chickpeas; heat for 10 minutes.
Stir in the fresh basil, garlic, chicken, and pasta; heat through

S'more Treats

4 tbsp Butter
6 oz Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips*
1 tsp Vanilla
4 c Mini Marshmallows
6-7 cups Golden Grahams


Melt butter in large pan.
Add marshmallows, vanilla and chocolate chips. Stir constantly until smooth.
Add Golden Grahams. Stir until all is mixed.
Pour onto parchment paper and smooth out to desired thickness and let cool.

*You can also use milk chocolate chips, white chocolate chips or carob chips

Chocolate Coconut Granola Bars

4 1/2 cups Rolled Oats
1 cup Flour
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
2/3 cup Butter, melted
1/2 cup Honey
1/3 cup packed Brown Sugar
1 cup Semisweet Chocolate Chips
1 cup Coconut

Preheat oven to 325*. Lightly grease one 9x13 inch pan.

In a large mixing bowl combine the oats, flour, baking soda, vanilla, butter, honey and brown sugar. Stir in the chocolate chips and coconut.


Press mixture into the pan. Bake for 18-22 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool for 15 minutes then cut into bars. Let bars cool completely in pan before removing or serving.

Creamy Mushroom Chicken

4 boneless skinless Chicken Breasts
1 (10 3/4 oz) can of Cream of Mushroom Soup
1 envelope Onion Soup Mix
1 cup Milk
4 tbsp Cream Cheese


Place chicken into crock pot.
Mix the cream of mushroom soup, onion soup mix and milk together. Pour over chicken.
Cook on low 5-6 hours.
During last hour of cooking add cream cheese.
Stir and serve over rice.

In The Spotlight

Several weeks ago Julia, from A Little Bit of All of It, interviewed me for her Reader Spotlight. If you click on the button below you can read the interview. Julia blogs about well, a little bit of all of it. From her faith in Christ, to being a wife and mom and whole lot more.

Homemade Play Dough

2 cups Flour
1 cup Salt
4 tsp. Cream of Tartar
Food Coloring
2 cups Water
2 Tbsp. Oil

Combine all ingredients in medium saucepan.
Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until very, very, thick. Turn out onto counter; cool; knead.

Homemade Cleaning Wipes

1 roll of Paper Towels
1 Plastic Food Storage Container
1 cups Vinegar
1/2 cup Rubbing Alcohol
1 1/2 cups Water



For best results, select an extra-large roll of good quality paper towels for this project.

Use an electric knife to cut the paper towel roll into two shorter rolls. Be patient! It may take up to two minutes to cut through the towel roll and cardboard tube inside.

Place one short paper towel roll inside plastic food storage container. Using a liquid measuring cup, gently pour cleaning solution over the top of the paper towel roll.

Wait about 5 minutes and take the cardboard tube out of the center.

Homemade Mosquito Repellent

1 tsp. Lavender Essential Oil
10 tsp. Rubbing Alcohol
20 tsp. Water

Combine ingredients and put into a spray bottle. Shake before using.

4th of July Giveaway Winning Recipe: Fruity Peacock

Here is the winning recipe by Cortney:



Choose a watermelon that is not too big and fairly round. Cut a little bit off one end so it is stable on your plate. Take either a toothpick, pencil or marker to sketch out the shape you will eventually cut. In the picture, I made the tail round, but you could do scallops or a zig-zag even. The shape of the head is important. Follow the picture to give you an idea.

Then take a knife and follow your line. Cut out your shape and leave the chunks that you cut off as big as you can so you can use the fruit within. If you take just little bits at a time, it won't be as usable.

When you've got most of your shape cut out, take a melon ball utensil and gut the watermelon. As you can see in the photo, I was able to get many melon balls, but also wedges taken from the chunks that I cut out. When using a melon ball utensil, take care not to dig too deep into the white flesh. You don't want the rind too thin and it's better if the inside is all the same color, preferably red.

The skewers are the next important part. Use 5 or 7 wooden skewers and load with fruit chunks. An odd number is best since one would stick straight up and the rest would be even. It's ideal if you can do a pattern of large fruit, small fruit including peeled and sliced kiwi. Kiwi is a little difficult to work with since it's so soft, but the effect is awesome since they represent the "eyes" in a peacock's tail. If you can't or don't want to work with kiwi, other large, round slices of another fruit would be okay. Make sure all the skewers are loaded with the same pattern of fruit.

Stick the first skewer right in the top of the "tail". Stick it down far enough that it won't fall over. Make sure there is no skewer showing above the top fruit. Add the other skewers around the "tail" at even intervals.

Blueberries are the next important element. Use three toothpicks. Cut about 1/3 off two of the picks. Using the picture as a guide, put a blueberry on each toothpick and place on the "head" of the peacock. Use the 1/3 that was cut off and place a blueberry on that and stick on front of "head" as an eye.

Put whole peacock on decorative plate that has a lip. Juices may drain! Add cut fruit to peacock bowl and around plate for garnish. Enjoy!

BBQ Chicken Roll Ups

14 oz. Coleslaw Blend
3/4 cup Coleslaw Dressing
1 small each Green Pepper and Red Pepper, Cut into strips
1 small Onion, thinly sliced
Salt, Pepper and Garlic Powder to taste
4 Bonless Skinless Chicken Breasts
18 oz bottle of your favorit BBQ Sauce
10 Flour Tortillas

Place chicken and bbq sauce in crock pot for 5-6 hours.
Shred chicken and put the chicken back into the sauce.
Toss coleslaw blend with coleslaw dressing; set aside.
Season the green pepper and onion with salt, pepper,and garlic powder and saute until tender.

Spoon chicken onto tortilla. Then add some of the pepper and onion mixture. Then add some of the coleslaw. Roll up and eat!

Sweet and Tangy Chicken

4 boneless skinless Chicken Breast
3/4 cup Sour Cream
2 tbsp Honey
1/4- 1/3 cup Dejon Mustard
1/4 cup Milk
Salt and Pepper

Place chicken in slow cooker.
Mix the sour cream, honey, dijon mustard,milk, salt and pepper together.
Pour over chicken.
Cook on low 5-6 hours.

Serve over rice.

Red, White and Blue Cookies

1 log of Sugar Cookie Dough
Red Food coloring
Blue Food coloring


Take the cookie dough and divide it into 3rds.
To one 1/3 add 15-20 drops of blue food coloring and mix well.
To another 1/3 add 20-25 drops of red food coloring and mix well.
You now have your red, white and blue cookie dough.



Now you are going to take the colored cookie dough and take bits of it and stack it up and form it into a log.



Wrap the log in plastic wrap.



Now put the wrapped cookie dough into the refrigerator. Leave cookie dough in refrigerator 45-60 minutes.

Take cookies out of plastic wrap and slice and put on cookie sheet.



Bake at 350* for 11-14 minutes.

HAPPY 4th OF JULY!!!

Winners of the 4th of July Giveaway

Thank you to everyone who entered!!

The winner of the towel set is Margaret. Congratulations Margaret and thank you for entering.

The winner of the tablecloth is Courtney. Congratulations Courtney and thank you for entering. Courtney entered a recipe for a Fruity Peacock. I will post Courtney's recipe later this week.

White Bread

1 cup warm Water
2 tbsp Butter, softened
1 tsp Salt
3 1/4 cup Flour
1 egg, room temperature
1/4 cup Honey
3 tsp yeast


Put ingredients into bread machine in the order listed above. Set machine for the dough cycle. When cycle is done remove dough from the machine. Cut dough into two loaves and place into two greased bread pans. Heat oven to 350*. Let the dough rise for about 20-30 minutes.

Bake for 25-30 minutes.

Rainy Day

We have had very interesting weather since 7pm last night. Interesting in the fact that we spent time in our downstairs bathroom due to tornado warnings. Of course I ran out of bread. And of course we needed bread for dinner tonight. We had BLTs.

So, I pulled out my bread machine put it on the counter and then stood there looking at it. You see, I have yet to find a white bread recipe for the bread machine that I like. After staring at the machine for a second, I looked outside to see if the weather was really that bad. It was, so I sat down, turned on my laptop and started looking for a recipe. Then I went to my cookbooks and looked in them. I took a little bit from different recipes and made my own recipe.

I put the ingredients in the machine and turned it to the dough cycle. I don't like the square loves that the machine makes so I make the dough in the machine then bake it in the oven. The dough cycle finished and I cut the dough in half and put each half into a bread pan. I let it rise and then popped them into the oven for about a half hour. Between the sound of the rain and the smell of fresh bread baking my home felt very homey and comforting.

By the time the loaves had cooled it was time to make dinner. I sliced the bread and made the BLTs and served my family dinner. They LOVED the bread and so did I. Here is the recipe for the bread

4th of July Giveaway!!!

I am very excited to have my first giveaway!!! I am giving away a set of Pampered Chef Patriotic Kitchen Towels and a Pampered Chef Patriotic Table Cloth.

To enter, leave a comment here on this blog, or on my Facebook page, with your favorite 4th of July recipe tradition and a little bit about why it is your favorite. You may enter on both sites and double your chances to win. Not only will you automatically be entered to win one prize, but my favorite recipe will also receive a prize and your recipe will be posted on the blog! Leave your comment by noon (EST) Saturday, June 25th.

The first giveaway that you can win, just by entering, is a set of Pampered Chef Patriotic Towels ( the winner will be chosen randomly)


For the second giveaway I will choose my favorite recipe. Your recipe will be posted on the blog and you will receive a beautiful Pampered Chef Patriotic Tablecloth.

Product Review: Oscar Mayer Carving Board Turkey

I discovered this product a couple months ago. I love it! There are countless ways to use this product. You can make a turkey sandwich. Or you can chop it up and make turkey salad. You can put it in casseroles. I like to heat it up and pair it with stuffing and corn and make a hot lunch for my kids.

Homemade Pizza

I have gotten so tired of ordering pizza or buying the frozen pizza so I tried my hand at making homemade pizza tonight. I used this recipe. I did change one thing. Instead of using sugar, I used honey. The pizza came out great!

Cowboy Cookies

Here is a classic recipe for you...

1 cup Butter, softened
1/2 cup Sugar
1 1/2 cups Brown Sugar
2 Eggs
2 cups Flour
1 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Vanilla
2 cups Rolled Oats, uncooked
1 cup Flaked Coconut
6 oz Chocolate Chips
6 oz Butterscotch Chips

Cream butter and sugars.
Add eggs and beat well.
Mix in remaining ingredients.
Drop by spoonfuls onto a greased baking sheet and bake at 350* for about 15 minutes.

Oatmeal Blueberry Muffins

1 Egg
1 cup Buttermilk*
1/2 cup Brown Sugar, firmly packed
1/3 cup Butter, softened
1 cup quick-cooking Oats
1 cup Flour
1 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Salt
1 cup Blueberries**

Beat egg in a medium mixing bowl.
Stir in buttermilk, brown sugar and butter and beat well. Mix in oats, flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt until batter becomes lumpy.
Fold in blueberries.
Fill muffin cups 2/3 full.
Bake in a 400* oven 20-25 minutes or until light brown. Immediately remove from pan.

* Here is a substitute for buttermilk:
Take a 1 cup measuring cup and put 1 tbsp lemon juice in it.
Add regular milk to the lemon juice until it measures 1 cup.
Stir together and let stand for 3 minutes.

** You can use any kind of fresh or frozen berry.


I used mixed berries for these.

Creamy Tortellini

5 cups Cheese Tortellini, cooked according to package directions.
2 boneless skinless Chicken Breasts, cooked and cut into bite size pieces

Sauce:
1/2 cup Butter
1 clove Garlic, minced
1 - 1 1/2 tbsp Italian Seasoning
1 cup Heavy Cream
3 tbsp Flour + 1 cup cold Water
1-2 Tomatoes
1 cup shredded Parmesan Cheese

Saute garlic in butter with Italian seasoning.
Add cream. Cook 4 minutes over medium heat.
Whisk in flour mixture, bring to a simmer, until starts to thicken.
Turn to med-low heat and add tomatoes, cook 5 minutes.
Take off heat and mix in cheese.
Toss tortellini and chicken in sauce.

Candy Bar Apple Salad

1 1/2 cups Milk
1 pkg. (3.4oz) instant Vanilla Pudding mix
1 (8oz.)carton frozen Whipped Topping, thawed
4 large Apples, chopped
4 Snickers candy bars,cut into 1/2 inch pieces

In a large bowl, whisk milk and pudding mix for 2 minutes. Let stand for 2 minutes or until soft-set. Fold in whipped topping. Fold in apples and candy bars. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Why I Started This Blog

When I was first married I felt the need to make very fancy meals. I would watch cooking shows and then try and make the meals. You know the kind of meals that require you to go to several stores just to hunt down one ingredient that you will only use for the one dish. The kind of meals that take three days to make. Yes, I exagerate a bit but some of those meals feel like they take three days to make.

After I had my children I did not have the time or energy to go "hunting" anymore. I also did not have time to spend hours on end in the kitchen to make one meal. I knew there had to be other moms out there that felt the same way. So here ya go. Meals that don't take three days to make and you don't have to go "hunting" to find the ingredients.

Peanut Butter Muffins

1 3/4 cup Flour
1 tbsp. Baking Soda
3/4 cup Milk
1/2 cup Peanut Butter
1/2 cup Honey
1/3 cup Oil
1 Egg
1/4 cup chopped Peanuts
1/2 cup Chocolate Chips

In a bowl combine flour and baking soda.
In a separate bowl, beat together the milk, peanut butter, honey, oil and egg until smooth.
Slowly add the flour mixture until all mixed together.
Fold in the peanuts and chocolate chips.
Fill muffin cups 2/3 full.
Bake in a 400* oven for 15 minutes

Jenni Penni's Meatloaf

1/2 Onion, chopped
1 Egg
1 lb. Ground Beef
3/4 cup stuffing
1/2 cup Sharp Cheddar Cheese, grated

Combine all ingredients.
Put meat mixture in loaf pan.
Bake at 350* for 40-45 minutes

Chicken & Broccoli Alfredo

8oz Linguine
2 cups Broccoli Flowerets
2 tbsp. Butter
1 lb. boneless, skinless Chicken Breasts, cubed
1 (10 3/4oz) can Cream of Mushroom Soup
3/4 cup Milk
l/2 cup grated Parmesan Cheese
1/4 tsp. Garlic Powder
Salt and Pepper

Cook linguine according to package directions; add broccoli during the last 4 minutes of cooking time. Drain; set aside.

Heat butter in a 12" skillet; add chicken, garlic, salt and pepper. Heat until juices run clear when chicken is pierced with a fork; reduce heat. Stir in soup, milk, cheese and linguine mixture; heat through.

Honey Peanut Chews

1 1/2 cups Flour
2/3 cup firmly packed Dark Brown Sugar
1/2 cup Butter, softened
2 Egg yolks
1 tsp. Vanilla
1/2 tsp. Baking Powder
1/4 tsp. Baking Soda
1/4 tsp. Salt
3 cups Mini Marshmallows
1 (10oz) package Peanut Butter Chips
2/3 cup Honey
1/4 cup Butter
2 tsp. Vanilla
2 cups Crisp Rice Cereal
2 cups Salted Peanuts

Preheat oven to 350*
In a large bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, 1/2 cup softened butter, egg yolks, vanilla, baking soda, baking powder,and salt. Beat the mixture with and electric mixer on low speed until crumbly.

Firmly press the mixture into the bottom of a 9x13 baking pan. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven.

Immediately sprinkle the marshmallows over the surface. Return to the oven for 1-2 minutes more or just until the marshmallows begin to puff. Remove from the oven; cool while preparing the topping.

In a large saucepan, stir together the peanut butter chips, honey, the 1/4 cup butter, and vanilla. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the chips are melted and the mixture is smooth. Remove from heat; stir in the rice cereal and peanuts. Immediately spread the cereal mixture over the marshmallow layer.

Cover and refrigerate about 2 hours or until firm. Cut into bars. Store in a covered container.

Blueberry Pound Cake

1 cup Butter (no substitutes), softened
3 cups Sugar
1 1/2 tsp. Vanilla
1/2 tsp. Lemon Extract
6 Eggs
3 cups Flour
1/4 tsp. Baking Soda
1 cup Sour Cream
3 cups Fresh Blueberries

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar.
Beat in the vanilla and lemon extracts.
Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Combine flour and baking soda; add to creamed mixture alternately with sour cream.
Fold in blueberries.

Spray 2 9x5x3 loaf pans.
Bake at 350 for 60-65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.
Cool for 10-15 before removing from pans to wire racks.

Easy Crock Pot Chili

1 lb. Ground Beef or Ground Turkey
1 cup Onion, diced
2 (16oz) cans Diced Tomatoes
1 (15oz)can Chili Beans
1 cup Salsa
1 tbsp. Chili Powder
1 tsp. Cumin

Heat large skillet over medium heat.
Add beef and onion; cook until beef is browned and onion is tender.
Drain.
Place all ingredients into crock pot.
Cook on low 5-6 hours.

Easy Chicken Parmesan

4 Breaded Chicken Patties
1 24oz Pasta Sauce
8oz Spaghetti
8oz Italian Blend Cheese

Cook chicken patties and pasta according to package directions.
On low heat, warm pasta sauce.

To plate the meal:
Place pasta on plate
Place chicken on pasta
Cover with sauce
Sprinkle with cheese

I like to serve this meal with garlic bread and steamed broccoli

Baked Mostaccioli

1 lb. Ground Beef
1/2 Onion, chopped
1 Bell Pepper, chopped
1 clove Garlic, minced
Salt and pepper to taste
1 lb Mostaccioli
2 cups Italian Blend Cheese

Brown ground beef, onion, bell pepper and garlic. Make pasta according to package directions, drain. In large bowl combine meat mixture, pasta, sauce and 1 cup of the cheese. Pour into a 9x13 dish. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes.

Biscuit Topped Beefy Casserole

1 lb. Ground Beef
1/2 cup chopped Onions
1 can (10-3/4 oz.) Tomato soup or Sloppy Joe mix
1 1/2 cups frozen mixed Vegetables
1 Egg
3/4 cup Milk
1 cup of shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese
1/2 cup chopped Green Onions
1 1/2 cups Bisquick

Preheat oven to 400*.
Brown meat in large nonstick skillet on medium-high heat; drain.
Return meat to skillet. Add onions and mixed vegetables; cook and stir 5 min.
Stir in soup; cook 3 min. or until heated through.
Spoon into 8x8 pan.

Beat egg and milk with wire whisk in medium bowl.
Add cheese and green onions; mix well.
Add Bisquick; stir just until moistened.
Spred batter over meat mixture.

Bake 30-35 min. or until biscuit topping is golden brown and cooked through.

Chicken Soup

1 Chicken, I get the one that is already cut up.
32 oz. Chicken Broth
2 Celery stalks, chopped into large pieces
1 medium Onion, chopped into large pieces
salt and pepper
3 medium Potatoes, peeled and chopped
16 oz. frozen Mixed Vegetables

Put chicken, onion, celery, salt and pepper into soup pot.
Pour in chicken broth.
Add water until chicken is covered, about 3 cups

Bring to boil.
Lower heat to med-low.
Simmer for 2 hours or until chicken is done.

Remove chicken from pan and let cool for 1 hour.
After chicken is cooled remove the meat.
Add chicken, potatoes and vegetables to broth.
Bring to a boil.
Lower heat to med-low.
Soup is done when potatoes are fork tender.

*When I remove the chicken I also remove the onion and celery. My kids do not like the onion and celery but I like the flavor that it gives the broth.