Leftover Taco Breakfast Scramble

This morning I opened up my fridge, as I do most mornings.  I'm not sure what I expected to see, since I'm the one that does the shopping and the cooking and I know exactly what is in my fridge all of the time.  But today for some reason it dawned on me how many leftovers we have - ALL OF THE TIME!!!  Seriously.

Now, that may not seem like a bad thing, but sometimes it's so hard to reheat something and eat it again.  Today our leftovers consisted of rice, bbq pulled pork, and stuff for tacos.  Hmmm....pass.   I grabbed the eggs and the butter and thought I would just scramble some eggs for breakfast.  But then I decided I wanted an omelette or something and I didn't have any ham, so I grabbed the chopped onions and taco meat and scrambled them all together with my eggs.  It was so amazingly good.  And that got me thinking.  What else can I revamp my leftovers into?  Stay tuned.  I think this might be a fun challenge for me.

Leftover Taco Breakfast Scramble

2 eggs
1 TBSP butter
1/4 c chopped onion
1/4 c leftover taco meat


Melt butter in a frying pan.  Then add onion and cook till tender, about 1 minute.  Next add your eggs, scramble them while cooking.  Add taco meat and cook till eggs are done and meat is warmed through.  Salt and pepper to taste.

I added tomatoes, avocados and cheese after my eggs were cooked.  You could also heat up some re fried beans.

 Do any of  you have a really great revamped leftover recipe?  We would love to hear about it.

Buttermilk Syrup

Fall has finally arrived here.  It's been raining a bit and the air is turning colder.  That means more time indoors and more time for family breakfast on the weekends. 

One of our favorite Saturday morning breakfasts is waffles.  But, who am I kidding?  I pretty much love waffles all of the time.  I'm not a giant fan of maple syrup though.  Typically I put peanut butter and a tiny bit of maple syrup on my pancakes and waffles.  Which is ok.  But I wanted something different. 

In searching through some old recipe books and came across this recipe for Buttermilk Syrup.  It is delicious.  Light, buttery, and foamy.  Yeah, foamy, like it froths up when you mix in the baking soda and it is so good.  Hope you all enjoy.

Buttermilk Syrup
1 c buttermilk
1 c sugar
1 cube butter
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla

In a  medium saucepan, bring buttermilk, sugar and butter to boil.  Boil for 1 minute.  Remove from heat and add vanilla and baking soda.  The syrup will bubble up so allow room in pan.  Serve warm over pancakes, french toast, crepes, or waffles.  Store leftover syrup in fridge.

Easy Freezer Meals

This month in our town it has been all about emergency preparedness.  With so much going on in the world, and disasters happening all over the place, even very close to home, we have been feeling a sense of urgency to work on our food storage. 

We were also counseled a couple of weeks ago to live within our means.  For me this meant that I needed to work on my budget.  The place we spend the most money is our food and unfortunately, even though I cook a lot, most of it takes place on the weekend.  During the week we are so guilty of eating out.  We eat out A-LOT!!!!  I mean a ridiculous amount.  So my sisters and I decided we would use recipes we already have, things we know our families love, and spend an afternoon making freezer meals. 

They are just nice to have on hand for all sorts of things.  Meals on the fly for when we are in a rush, or sick, or just don't feel like cooking. 

We chose 5 of our favorite dinners, 2 kinds of cookies, and 2 breakfast items.  We went shopping and kept the receipts because we wanted to be as accurate and we can be for those of your wanting to try it.

We also opted for the throw away pans, press n seal, heavy duty tin foil, and gallon size zip lock freezer bags for storage.

Before all the madness began, we stacked all of our groceries on the table.  We looked over our recipes and decided that one of us would start cooking our meats on the stove, while the other mixed her batch of cookies.   We had our sister Mary, and my daughters there helping us assemble things as we went along.

 Mary and Paige cooked the french toast sticks, while MaKady scooped the chocolate chip cookies onto the cookie sheets to be frozen. 

Meanwhile Tabitha put together the Shepherds Pie.

 After my batch of cookies I got my chicken enchiladas put together.

 We covered our pans with press n seal, then covered that with tin foil to help avoid freezer burn.

 We both shared the table so I could put together the lasagna and Tabitha scooped the chili into gallon size freezer bags.  We used freezer bags for things that don't need to bake in the oven in it's own container, like chili that will cook in a crock pot or on the stove, and Samoan chicken, which will get cooked on the grill.

 Next Tabitha made sugar cookies while I put together some breakfast burritos.

Here is what we made:

Shepherd's Pie - 3x this recipe (makes 48 servings)
Lasagna -2x this recipe (makes 38 servings)
Samoan Chicken - (makes 20 servings)
Chicken Enchiladas - 2x this recipe (makes 36 servings)
Chili - 3x this recipe (makes 60 servings)
Chocolate Chip Cookies (makes 6 dz, about 36 servings)
Sugar Cookies - 2x this recipe (makes 6 dz, 36 servings)
Breakfast Burritos - no recipe on this.  We scrambled 18 eggs, cooked 1 lb sausage, 1 lb bacon, 1 bag of cubed potatoes (in the freezer isle) and 30 flour tortillas.  Cook everything, mix together, then spoon into tortillas.  Roll and place in bags to freeze.  (makes 30 burritos, 30 servings)
French Toast Sticks - 2 loafs of bread, 18 eggs, a little bit of milk and cinnamon.  Cut each slice of bread into 3, dip in egg batter, then fry.  (Makes 8 dz, 24 servings)

In total, we have 328 servings of food.  Our groceries cost $150 for everything, with the exception of a few spices and flour that we already had on hand).

Each serving cost $0.46.  You guys!!!!  Seriously.  Compare that to what you would spend getting a pizza, which is about $1.00 per serving, or eating at McDonald's which is about $5.00 per serving.  You can see that a little bit of time is so worth it.

It took us 4 hours to get all this food done, and there were 4 of us working together.  Just a couple of notes:

1.  Plan ahead.
2.  Select meals that you know your family will eat.  It doesn't do anyone any good picking meals if your family won't eat them.
3.  Label your meals.  Write what it is, cooking instructions, and the date it was made.  
4.  Many hands make light work.

Now our freezers are full and we don't have to worry about spending money eating out.  Woohoo!!!

Chocolate Zucchini Bread

The kids are back in school and our summer is winding down.  The air is turning colder, and the days are getting shorter and fall is well on it's way.  But, the zucchini...it is still going strong around here. 

We decided to try something a little different this time with our zucchini.  I still wanted my kids to eat it, because it's a fantastic vegetable.  But I wanted something fun  and sweet for a treat instead of our standard zucchini bread.

I searched through some of my cookbooks and found a recipe for zucchini bread and thought it would be amazing if it was chocolate.  So I left out 1/2 c of flour and replaced it with cocoa powder and added chocolate chips.

The end result is amazing.  The whole family loves it, which is always my goal when trying a new recipe.  This one is definitely a keeper.

Chocolate Zucchini Bread
3 eggs
1 c oil
1 TBSP vanilla
1 c granulated sugar
1 c brown sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 TBSP cinnamon
1/2 c cocoa powder
2 1/2 c flour
2 c grated zucchini (not peeled, unless its a bigger zucchini, you might want to remove the seeds)
1 bag milk chocolate chips (about 2 cups)

In a bowl, beat together eggs, oil, vanilla, and sugars.  Add salt, baking powder, soda, cinnamon and cocoa.  Mix till well blended.  Then add zucchini and flour, mixing until all combined.  Stir in chocolate chips.  Pour into two loaf pans, greased.  Bake at 325 for 1 hour.

*As a side note, zucchini freezes really well.  I usually just cut mine open, remove the seeds, then grate it.  I store it in freezer, zip lock bags in 2 cup measurements.  That way you can have zucchini ready all winter long when you feel like making a treat.

Yogurt Waffles

At my local Walmart, there is this cute checkout lady.  Every time I go through her line and I buy yogurt, she just raves about yogurt pancakes.  So one day I tried making them and they were absolutely delicious.  I thought that if the pancakes were good then adding butter and milk to make waffles must be a good idea too.   I was right!!!  These waffles are seriously the best!  Make them One time and you will be hooked!  They are the perfect crispy on the outside and the perfect softness on the inside.  Plus the tiny bit of yogurt you put in gives it a subtle sweetness (raspberry is my favorite so far).  


Yogurt Waffles

2 c. pancake/waffle mix (the kind that is just add water)
1 yogurt container
1/4 c. melted butter
1/2 c - 1 c milk

This is the brand I usually get, just good old Great Value.

Mix together the waffle mix and yogurt...

I will become a crumble....

Then add the melted butter...

And add the milk, a little at a time... stirring and adding until the right consistency for waffles....

If you can get a cute helper to whisk it all up...

Add the mixture to your waffle maker,  the amount will vary, depending on your waffle iron.

Cook according to your machine and how light or dark you like them...

Add butter and syrup as desired,  or just eat plain because they are that good!!

BIG two hour cinnamon rolls

These are some of the tastiest, most yummiest, biggest "sweet Rolls" (as my father in law likes to call them) EVER!!!    I found this recipe online a few years ago and I have searched to find the original but I can't seem to find it. :( Sorry if it's yours, we love to give credit where credit is due!!  But they are just too delicious not to share!  I have put the original recipe (which makes 24 giant rolls!!! 2 sheet cake pans full)  and a halved recipe (makes 12 rolls, 1 sheet cake full)

Big two hour cinnamon rolls   


makes 24 rolls
makes 12 rolls


3 1/2 c. warm water  1 3/4 c.
3/4 c. sugar 1/4 c. + 2 T.
1/2 c. oil 1/4 c.
6 T. yeast 3 T.
1 T. salt 1 1/2 tsp.
3 eggs 2
10 1/2 c flour 5 1/4 c.
extra oil or Crisco to oil the counter.
1/2 c. butter divided 1/4 c.
cinnamon and sugar mixture (I mix mine in a jar with holes poked in the lid for easy shaking out)


Mix together the water, sugar, oil and yeast and let sit for 15 minutes or until frothy.

Then add: salt, eggs, and flour and mix for 10 minutes,   then sit for 10 minutes.

Oil the counter, divide the dough in half if making the large batch (it will be a little sticky, so use the oil on your hands as well) spread one half into a rectangle using your hands.   Melt half of the butter and spread evenly over the dough.  Cover in as much cinnamon and sugar as desired.  Roll long ways and cut into 12 equal pieces.

Grease a large sheet cake pan/cookie sheet and place 12 rolls on it.  Repeat with other half of dough..  Let rise,  mine usually doesn't take more than 30 minutes, (they will also get bigger while cooking so don't let them rise too big!!!!)

Bake in a 400* oven for 12-15 minutes.  let them cool slightly then slather them in frosting!!

Frosting

mix together
1 cube butter 1/4 c.
2 dashes salt 1 dash
2 tsp. vanilla 1 tsp.
6 cups powdered sugar 3 c.
add milk until desired consistency, usually only a quarter cup or so..

Blackberry and Banana Smoothie

My husband and I have been trying to loose some weight lately.  We were both stuck and unhappy with how our bodies felt, so we started working together.  One of the best things we did was to start drinking more smoothies!  Ones with whole healthy ingredients and full of yummy goodness.  If I have one for breakfast I will sip on it all morning, and because these are packed with healthy calories you will feel full.  I make a big one and take it with me to the park so I'm not tempted to snack on whatever sugary things my kids are eating,  I've even had them for dinner when in a hurry.  There are so many countless things you can mix to make these, the possibilities are endless.  Here is just one of my favorites!

 

Blackberry and Banana Smoothie

In a blender mix together:
-2 bananas
-1/2 c. blackberries
-1/2 c. rolled oats
-6oz. (small can) of pineapple juice (make sure its pure and not from concentrate)
-1 c. baby spinach leaves (you can add more or less depending on your likes)
-1 T. chia seeds (if you haven't heard of these, look them up!  I bought mine at Costco
            and they can go in anything and really make you feel full!)

after fully blended you can add 1/2 c. of ice if you want it cold but don't add too much or it will make it watered down.  Blend until it is as smooth as you can get it and enjoy!

Strawberry Streusel Muffins

I love this time of year! Especially here in Southern Utah, it's perfect temperatures and cool breezes make being out side amazing!  This past weekend we went to the park twice, played pickleball, went hiking, played in out backyard more times than I can count, and started getting our yard prepared for spring/planting season!!  But with this weather comes my cravings for crisp salads and BBQ on the grill and Strawberries!  Lots and lots of strawberries!  We had a few left over from our valentines dinner where we dipped them in chocolate, so for the holiday yesterday (presidents day) I made these yummy morsels for breakfast!


Strawberry Streusel Muffins

1 3/4 c. flour
1/3 c. sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 beaten egg
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup cooking oil ( I used coconut but you can use vegetable or canola)
1 cup chopped fresh strawberries


Grease your muffin pan and preheat your oven to 400* F. In a mixing bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.  Make a well in the middle of it.  In another bowl combine the egg, milk, and cooking oil... then add it to the well in the middle of the dry ingredients and stir till moistened.  Fold in the strawberry pieces and a spoonful at a time drop into the muffin cups. (should make 1 dozen)

Then to make the streusel topping:
Mix together 5 T. flour
5 T. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon

then, cut in 3 T. cold butter with a fork or pastry cutter until it becomes course crumbs.

Spoon on top of each muffin.

Bake in the oven for 18-20 minutes.  Enjoy!

Raspberry Vanilla Bread

Its seems like our breakfast gets stuck in a rut.  Same old thing, day in, day out.  Cold cereal, yogurt, blue berry muffins, oatmeal, cream of wheat, eggs and pancakes.  This is our weekly rotation and then we start again.  Boring...Plus it's cloudy and glum here.  We are longing for our summer days and just really trying hard to beat the winter blues.

I keep frozen fruit in our freezer to make milk shakes because typically that's the only way I can get my kids to eat fruit.  I know, it's weird, but they just don't like it plain.  My neighbor brought us the most amazing pound cake for Christmas.  We all stood around it in the kitchen and ate the whole thing.  It was delicious. 

Yesterday my mind was racing and as I was making my grocery list and menu and searching the Internet for meal ideas I kept  thinking of the pound cake, rich, moist, delicious.  Oh so good.  I opened the freezer to get a corn dog out for my little boy because that's his go to meal and a bag of raspberries fell out.  Bam!  This amazing bread was created.  I made it this morning for our Sunday morning breakfast and we've been snacking on it all day.  It is so good  (and almost gone).

Raspberry Vanilla Bread

1 1/2 c sugar
1 c butter (room temperature)
1/2 c sour cream
3 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 c flour
1 1/2 c frozen or fresh raspberries

(If you use frozen raspberries, thaw them out and drain them before use)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a medium bowl mix sugar and butter.  Add eggs, sour cream and vanilla.  Mix till well blended.  then add baking soda and flour.  Prepare 2 loaf pans with non-stick spray or butter/flour them.  Carefully stir raspberries into bread mixture.  Spoon into loaf pans.  Bake 40-50 minutes until golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center of the loaf. 

Pancake designs made easy!

This is just a simple and quick tip we're sharing on the blog today.  Nothing fancy but sort of an AH-HA! moment.

Growing up our mom made pancakes pretty much every weekend.  She could do all sorts of shapes and designs, sort of like Gru on Despicable Me.  She is still so awesome at it and I... well I suck at it.  Even the good old mickey mouse face always comes out lopsided and not like mickey at all.
So to make better (because my art could use a little help) pancake designs here is what you'll need.

a griddle
pancake batter
a funnel
and a squeeze bottle ( found mine in the isle at Wal-Mart with the measuring cups)

 

make your batter, turn on your griddle, and pour batter into the bottle using a funnel.

 

 

Then squeeze away into any shape you want, Or whatever weird things your family start yelling out at you. And cook like your would regular pancakes.

Happy Tuesday!

Homemade Granola

One of my favorite things about growing up were the amazing smells that always seemed to be drifting from the kitchen.  My Mom was always cooking something.  I especially looked forward to breakfast.  It is honestly my favorite meal of the day, right along with lunch, and dinner, oh, and let's not forget about brunch and dessert!!!  I love food. 

This week while cleaning out my pantry I came across a can of oats that I wanted to use up, along with 1/2 bag of coconut from when I made cupcakes the other day and a jar of the most amazing honey (my father in law is a bee keeper).  In the back of my mind I remembered my moms homemade granola.  The amazing smell, the golden color, the sweet flavor.  I knew I had to make it and share with you. 

Homemade Granola
2 c rolled oats
1/2 c flaked coconut
1/2 c sliced almonds
1/2 c honey
1/3 c vegetable oil

Combine oats, coconut and almonds.  In a separate bowl combine honey and oil.  Stir honey mixture into oat mixture.  Spread evenly onto a greased cookie sheet.  Bake in oven at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes until lightly brown or golden.  Remove from oven and  let cool.  Break into clumps. 

You can eat this alone as a snack or with some milk.  I added dried blueberries to mine, but my daughter likes fresh strawberries with hers.  It would be good with lots of different berries or bananas, or fresh peaches.  The possibilities are endless.

*Seal granola in an airtight container or self-sealing plastic bag.  Store at room temperature for 1 week or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Banana Bread

Banana Bread (2)

1 c sugar
2 eggs
1/2 c butter
1/2 c sour cream
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 c flour
3 bananas, mashed

Cream sugar, eggs, and butter together.  Add the sour cream, baking soda, salt, and flour, mix well.  Then gently stir in the bananas.  Pour into 2 loaf pans, sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.  Bake at 325 degrees for 50-60 minutes or until golden.

It seems like I always have extra ripe bananas on my counter.  Usually they go in a milkshake but this time I wanted to make some banana bread. I love this recipe since it turns out moist and delicious every time.

Strawberry French Toast and Home Made Whipped Cream

Who needs an idea for a Valentines day inspired breakfast?!?!  This one is going to make your families really love you!   With the fresh strawberries and the gourmet flavor you can't loose.
I love stuffed french toast!  Every time we go to IHop that is probably what you will see me get.  So a few years ago when this recipe showed up in my Gooseberry Patch Calendar  I knew it was going to be a real winner!   

Strawberry French Toast

8 oz. ricotta cheese
3 T. powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
16 slices french bread
2 eggs
1 c. milk
*heavy whipping cream (I get the small containers... about 2 cups)
*1/2 c. granulated sugar (more or less to taste)
sliced strawberries

In a bowl, mix together the ricotta cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla.  Spread a little of the mixture over 8 slices of bread and top with remaining bread (like a little french bread sandwich).
Beat eggs and milk together in a dish big enough for the bread to lay in.  Soak the sandwiches in the egg mixture for 30 seconds to a minute on each side and then cook on a hot, greased griddle or pan for a few minutes on each side or until golden brown.  ***In a big bowl mix together the whipping cream and granulated sugar on high with a hand mixer until soft peaks form.  When french toast is done top with whipped cream and sliced strawberries!!  Happy Valentines Breakfast everyone!!

Oven Bacon

Bacon is a fairly simple thing to cook.  It can get pretty messy and splatted and smokey if you cook it on the stove top though.  So we always cook ours in the oven,  I never thought about putting the how to for it on here because its not really a recipe but when my Mom called the other day to see how I do it I figured other people might like to know as well.  So here you go....

Oven Bacon

Bacon

cooking spray

cooking sheet

tinfoil or parchment paper

I usually cover my cooking sheet in tin foil, my mom loves parchment paper, but for the pictures I just sprayed a pan with cooking spray.  It works the same any way you do it but on the parchment paper you don't have to flip them.

Lay out your bacon doing your best not to over lap them,  a little over lapping if fine but it's easier to get them apart if they aren't touching to much.

Put it in a preheated oven at 400* F.  for 10 minutes.

After 10 minutes the bacon looks like this.  I flip each piece over just so they don't burn to the pan and they are easier to get off when you are done.

Put back in the oven for 5 more minutes.

15 minutes is usually the perfect bacon for my family... you can test it and do a little more time for crispyer or less for more fatty.