Monday, October 31, 2011

Happy Halloween!

I hope everyone is having a great Monday and a Happy Halloween! A few months ago when the stores began putting out Halloween decorations and costumes, I was shopping with Baby Chef when she turned to me and said "Mom, I resent the fact that you never let us go trick or treating." I laughed and said "I think you and your brothers grew up just fine without trick or treating."

I guess maybe I'm terrible in the fact that my children never went trick or treating. I didn't like Halloween as a child. It was always scary and I don't like scary! When my children were small, I didn't feel like it was important to follow the "norm" with trick or treating. We always dressed them up and went to our church's fall festival and they seemed to enjoy themselves.Now that they're grown, I'm discovering all kinds of things about my children. I'm anxious to find out Baby Chef's opinion about our Thanksgiving celebration, which is my absolute FAVORITE holiday!

Here's a great recipe to try tonight. It's not hot like it's name...but it's a wonderful "comfort food" casserole

Firecracker Enchilada Casserole
2 lbs ground chuck
1 tbsp chili powder
2 - 3 tbsp cumin
1 1/2 c. shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1 can rotel
1/2 can milk
1/2 onion, chopped
1 tsp salt
1 can ranch style beans
1 c. shredded sharp cheese
1 can cream of mushroom or cream of celery soup
6 flour tortillas

Brown meat and onion. Add chili powder and cumin. Mix well. Put meat in 9 x 13 casserole dish. Layer the beans then tortillas. Mix rotel, soup, and milk and pour on top of layer of tortillas. Sprinkle cheeses  on top and bake uncovered for 45 minutes to 1 hour at 350 degrees. Serve with chips, picante sauce, lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream, and olives. Serves 6 to 8

Monday, October 24, 2011

Oh October Where Have You Gone??

It's hard to believe that almost 3 weeks have passed since my last blog. I honestly don't know where the time goes or why it has to go so fast! We celebrated Gma's 82nd birthday on October 9th. It was a great day for her and for us because there have been times this year when we didn't think she would make it til her next birthday.

In addition to Gma's birthday, October has been a crafty month for me. I blame Pinterest for this and I hate to say I'm addicted to it. So far this month, I've made 2 bulletin boards and curtains for my office, a cupcake tower, and several wreaths.

I'm getting excited about November because it brings Thanksgiving, which is my favorite holiday!

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Quick and Easy Dinner Recipes

I've had a request for some "dinner recipes." Hope you enjoy these!

Easy Chicken Pot Pie
Rotisserie chicken - torn into pieces
2 cans of Veg-All, drained
1 can cream of chicken soup
3 dashes sage
salt & pepper to taste
pkg of Pillsbury pie crusts in refrigertor section

Preheat oven to 350. Place 1 pie crust in pan and brown slightly. Mix ingredients and spoon onto slightly browned pie crust. Place remaining crust on top and make several slits in the top. Bake for about 30 to 40 minutes until slightly brown and bubbly.





Easy Breezy Vegetable Beef Soup
1 pkg of stew meat, cut into bite size pieces
1 onion, diced
1 can of Veg-All Homestyle Veggies, drained
1 large can of Veg-All Original, drained
1 large can of V-8 or store brand vegetable juice
Garlic salt & pepper to taste

Place stew meat and onion in pot and cover with water. Season to taste and cook until meat is done. Pour drained veggies and V-8 juice into pot with meat and onions and taste (you'll probably need to add more garlic salt and pepper). Simmer for at least an hour (this will make the meat tender). Serve with cornbread or crackers.

Brand New October

Hey everyone! I hope ya'll are having a great week! Thankfully, October hasn't started out as busy as September, so maybe I'll get a few more posts in.

I love this time of year when it starts getting cooler. It makes me want to try out new recipes, which is what I did this past weekend. I tried out Baby Chef's pumpkin muffin recipe which turned out great. I made a batch of them and shared with the people at the nursing home. They were all gone in about 5 minutes! I also tried this recipe which is now Gma's new favorite.

Easy Apple Pie Muffins
2 eggs
Can of apple pie filing
8 oz. of sour cream
1 box of spice cake mix

Mix and bake in muffin cups or loaf pan at 350 for about 25 minutes for a loaf pan or 15 minutes for muffins.

I'm continuing my daily visits to the nursing home. Gma is much better except for her vocabulary which is ranked up there with a sailor's. At my visit last night, someone on her hall died, and I was sequestered in Gma's room, which wouldn't have been so bad had her roommate not been ill and decided to have an eruption from both ends, and Gma screaming "She's s******* all over the place, WE GOTTA GET OUTTA HERE NOW!" You would have thought we needed to save ourselves from a bomb...literally. Needless to say, when I left, I went straight home and went to bed. It was only 8:30.


This is it, I've found it, I'm in hell. Ouiser