I'm back & My Pumpkin Soup

It's been way to long since I've written here.  In fact it's been almost a year and a half!  I really need to get back into writing.  Writing posts on my blog had always helped me relax, concentrate, feel better when I was down....basically my therapy.  And I need my therapy now.  In all honesty, I also miss sharing with you all!  What's sad is that I don't even know if I have an audience anymore.  Hopefully someone out there will read this.  I want to get back into writing, at the very least, once a week. There is still a lot I need to do to update this blog which I hope to do this week so it will make it easier for all of you to navigate and find things here.  I will update you about what all has been happening in my life this week as well since it's been so long since I was last on here.  I hope all is well with all of you and I'm looking forward to reconnecting with old friends and making some new.

So, I thought that I would start this blog back off by sharing a favorite soup recipe of mine that I will be making tonight.  It's my Pumpkin Soup Recipe.  It's so savory and good that I look forward to making it every year about this time.  If I'm serving it at a party I will usually double this recipe.  What is your favorite soup recipe?  I'd love to know as I'm always looking for new ones to try.  Let me know if you try this one.  ENJOY!

Pumpkin Soup

INGREDIENTS:

6 cups chicken stock
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
4 cups pumpkin puree (can use canned)
1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
5 whole black peppercorns

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat stock, salt, pumpkin, onion, thyme, garlic and peppercorns.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 30 minutes uncovered.
2. Puree the soup in small batches using a food processor or a blender.  I used an immersion blender in the pot and it works just fine.
3. Return to pan, and bring to a boil again.  Reduce heat to low, and simmer for another 30 minutes, uncovered.  Stir in heavy cream.  Pour into soup bowls and garnish with fresh parsley or some cracked pepper.

Doing More Cooking From Scratch ~ Bisquick Mix

Last year I did some items in the kitchen from scratch and I have to say that I really enjoyed doing them.  I now find that they are easy to do, better for us and cost so much less than buying the pre-made items at the store.  One that I do often is homemade Bisquick.  I don't remember where I found the recipe so I can't give credit to the right person.  I did try to search for it again but couldn't find it.  But through my research to find it I came upon a FANTASTIC site!  It's Simple Bites.  Their post Eat Well, Spend Less: Homemade Substitutes for Grocery Staples has me jumping for joy.  I can't wait to get started on making some more staples for my kitchen/pantry.  They do have one very good word of advice.  Don't try to do it all at once.  Start with a few and once you have those down start adding to what you do.

Here's the recipe that I've been using.  Sorry there are no pictures to share with you of the delicious foods that I've made with this mix...but by the time I remember everything has been eaten.  They taste so much better!  It's amazing how taking out all those preservatives can make such a HUGE difference.

Homemade Bisquick Mix

Ingredients:

• 6 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
• 3 tablespoons baking powder
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1/2 cup cold butter

Directions:

Measure the sifted flour, baking powder and salt into a large bowl. Use a wire whisk to blend thoroughly.
Cut in cold butter using a pastry cutter until thoroughly incorporated.


Store refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 4 months or freezer for up to 6 months.

Tasty Tuesday ~ Pumpkin Pound Cake

It's Tuesday and time to share some recipes over at Tasty Tuesday!  Just click on the button above and enjoy all the amazing recipes!

Thought I'd share with you a recipe that I tried awhile back and shared it with my Sunday School class.  They all loved it!

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Pumpkin Pound Cake

Ingredients:

Cake:

• Cooking Spray
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar (I used light brown sugar and it was just fine)
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 4 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 cups all-purpose flour (about 13 1/2 ounces)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup fat-free buttermilk

Glaze:

• 1/3 cup fat-free buttermilk
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1/8 teaspoon baking soda

Preparation

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• To Prepare the cake, lightly coat a 10-inch tube pan with cooking spray; dust with 1 tablespoon flour.  Spread pumpkin over 2 layers of paper towels; cover with 2 additional layers of paper towels.  Let stand about 10 minutes.  Scrape drained pumpkin into a bowl.
• Place 3/4 cup granulated sugar, brown sugar and 1/2 cup butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed for 3 minutes or until well blended.  Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Beat in pumpkin and vanilla.  Lightly spoon 3 cups flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife.  Combine flour and next 4 ingredients (through salt) in a bowl, stirring well with a whisk.  Add flour mixture and 3/4 cup buttermilk alternately to sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture.
• Spoon batter into prepared pan.  Bake at 350 degrees F for 55 minutes or until a wooden pick insterted into the center comes out clean.  Cool in pan 10 minutes on a wire rack.  Remove from pan, and cool completely on wire rack.
• To prepare glaze, combine 1/3 cup buttermilk and remaining ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat; bring to a boil.  Cook 1 minute or until thick, stirring constantly; remove from heat.  Drizzle cake with glaze.

100 Joys ~ #33 ~ Tasty Tuesday ~ Another Cookie!

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Joy # 33

I made quite a bit of cookies this year and I tried quite a few new recipes.  I think one of them has stood out above all the others though.  Luckily it's a cookie you can make year round!  Woo Hoo!  This is a recipe from Betty Crocker and it uses one of their cookie mix pouches.  I know, I know, I know...I normally do not use mixes...but I'm telling you now....YOU NEED TO TRY THIS ONE!  To see more wonderful recipes just click on the Tasty Tuesday button above and start exploring.

Cranberry Cream Cheese Snickerdoodles

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Ingredients:

1  pouch Betty Crocker® snickerdoodle cookie mix

4  oz (half of 8-oz package) cream cheese, softened

1/4  cup butter, margarine or spread, softened

1  tablespoon water

1  egg

1  cup sweetened dried cranberries 

Directions:

Mix cream cheese and butter in bowl untl smooth. Open cookie mix; remove cinnamon sugar packet; set aside. Add water, egg and cookie mix to cream cheese mixture until soft dough forms. Stir in cranberries. Cover; refrigerate 30 minutes.

Drop dough by rounded teaspoonfuls into bowl with cinnamon sugar packet; roll to coat. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake at 375°F for 8 to 9 minutes or until edges are set. Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheets to cooling rack. Cool completely.

100 Joys ~ #16 ~ Tasty Tuesday ~ Chicken Noodle Casserole

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Joy # 16

My 16th Joy comes weekly.  I don't participate as much as I'd like to and I hope that will change.  But life comes first.  I love to cook and bake for my family and seeing them enjoy what I make gives me great joy.

It's Tuesday and time to jump on the Tasty Tuesday Blog Hop. If you've never participated before it's a lot of fun. Just head on over to 33 Shades of Green to see what it's all about. You can link up there, here or on anyone that has the blog hop on their post! It's a great way to find new recipes!

I've shared this one before but it's going into the oven tonight!  For this time of year it's not only a great main dish but also a fantastic side dish as well.  Thinking that I might make it again next week when my family is in town.

Here are the ingredients in the pan before the soup and milk were added and after.  The third picture was one taken the last time we had it.  Delicious!
 

Chicken Noodle Casserole

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups chicken (or turkey), cooked and cubed
2 cups elbow macaroni, not cooked
2 cups milk
2 cans condensed cream of celery soup
1 cup cubed processed cheese
2 cups onions, chopped

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a 9x13 baking dish combine the chicken, macaroni, milk, soup, cheese, and onions.  Mix all together, cover the dish and let it sit over night in the refrigerator.  If not overnight at least 6 hours.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

3. Bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees F.

MY NOTES:

Mix the soup and milk together before adding it to the rest of the ingredients.  This may be a basic and simple recipe but don't let that deceive you.  It's AMAZING!  Feel free to change the meat, add veggies or change things up a bit.  But the main key to this recipe is letting it all sit together for at least 6 hours.  If you make this one I implore you to make it as it appears here first before you change it up.  ENJOY!

100 Joys ~ #2 ~Cookies!

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It's Joy #2!  

During the holiday season I love to bake! And the thing that I love to bake the most is cookies. I'm sure this comes from watching and helping my mom make cookies and treats. I also look forward to trying a new one every year. This year I made flour-less Peanut Butter Cookies! I found this recipe on the Diabetic Living website and knew that I had to try them.  These are making my favorites list and will do them again!  I may not even wait until Christmas either.  These would be great anytime of year.

Can't wait to share more of my 100 Joys with you.  I'm seeing them around me all the time now.  Camera is in hand!  I'd love to have you join in with me sharing our Joys of the Season!  Click on the button above to learn more about it and then come back here on Sunday to link up!

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Peanut Butter Cookies

1 cup sugar
1 cup peanut butter
1 egg
Sugar

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease cookie sheets and set aside. In a medium bowl, stir together the 1 cup sugar, the peanut butter, and egg until well mixed. Using your hands, roll peanut butter mixture into 1-inch balls; place 2 inches apart on prepared cookie sheets. Flatten each ball slightly with a drinking glass that has been lightly greased and dipped in sugar. Lightly grease a small star-shaped cookie cutter; dip in sugar. Press into the center of each cookie.

2. Bake about 9 minutes or until edges are set and bottoms are lightly browned. Makes 36 cookies.

MY NOTES: I baked mine for 7 minutes because the 9 minute ones came out pretty dark and very crisp. I like mine to have some softness to them.

If you'd like to see more recipes head on over to Smockity Frocks!

Tasty Tuesday ~ Spaghetti Tacos

It's Tuesday and time to share some recipes over at Tasty Tuesday!  Just click on the button above and enjoy all the amazing recipes!

Last week I thought I'd try something fun and very different. I'm pretty sure that it came from a show that Sam watches every now and then, iCarly, and I have to say that they were REALLY GOOD! It's Spaghetti Tacos. Trust me on this one. The two flavors of the spaghetti and the hard taco shells go together like you wouldn't believe. Of course you can really change this one around to your tastes by adding meatballs on the bottom, having just spaghetti noodles and sauce, or spaghetti noodles with a meat sauce (which is what I did). And, changing the flavor of the sauce will change it as well.

Spaghetti Tacos

Ingredients

1. 1 (16 ounce) package spaghetti
2. 1 (28 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce (I used a can of Hunt's Four Cheese)
3. 1 (5.8 ounce) package crisp taco shells
4. 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
5. Optional: Ground Meat or Meatballs

Directions

• Fill a large pot with lightly salted water and bring to a rolling boil over high heat. Once the water is boiling, stir in the spaghetti, and return to a boil. Cook the pasta uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the pasta has cooked through, about 8 minutes. Drain well in a colander set in the sink.

• Return the pasta to the pot, and pour the sauce over the pasta; mix thoroughly until reheated. Place the taco shells into a microwave oven in a stack, and fan the stack out to a circular shape so the edges of the taco shells overlap slightly. Cook on High until warmed and crisp, 30 to 45 seconds. Fill the warm taco shells with the pasta mixture. Sprinkle pasta filling of each shell with about 1 teaspoon of Parmesan cheese to serve.

Tasty Tuesday ~ Pumpkin Soup

It's Tuesday and time to share some recipes over at Tasty Tuesday!  Just click on the button above and enjoy all the amazing recipes!

I had an amazing Halloween themed party at my house this past Friday evening and one of the hits of the night was my Pumpkin Soup.  Thought I would share it with you today.  It's super easy to make, makes your house smell good and best of all it's soooo yummy!  I did double this recipe and now have some in my freezer for later.  Can't wait to have it again. 

I'm thinking that I'm going to be making even more soups this fall/winter season.  Do you have any that are just outstanding that you'd like to share?  I'm always looking for new recipes to try.  

Pumpkin Soup

INGREDIENTS:

6 cups chicken stock
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
4 cups pumpkin puree (can use canned)
1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
5 whole black peppercorns

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat stock, salt, pumpkin, onion, thyme, garlic and peppercorns.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 30 minutes uncovered.
2. Puree the soup in small batches using a food processor or a blender.  I used an immersion blender in the pot and it worked just fine.
3. Return to pan, and bring to a boil again.  Reduce heat to low, and simmer for another 30 minutes, uncovered.  Stir in heavy cream.  Pour into soup bowls and garnish with fresh parsley or some cracked pepper.

Tasty Tuesday ~ Cheesy Salsa-Mini Meat Loaves

It's Tuesday and time to share some recipes over at Tasty Tuesday!  Just click on the button above and enjoy all the amazing recipes!

The recipe that I am sharing today is SUPER easy and if, and I do mean if, you have any leftovers they are so easy to either freeze or pack up in your next days lunch.  They are even good cold.

Cheesy Salsa-Mini Meat Loaves

Ingredients:

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1/2 cup finely chopped onions
• 1 egg
• 12 premium saltine crackers, finely crushed (about 1/2 cup)
• 1 1/2 cups kraft mexican style finely shredded four cheese, divided
• 1 cup taco bell home originals thick n chunky salsa, divided 

Instructions:

• Heat oven to 400 degrees F.
• Mix first 4 ingredients with 1 cup cheese and 1/2 cup salsa.
• Press into 12 muffin cups sprayed with cooking spray. Use back of spoon to make indentation in center of each. Place muffin pan on foil-covered baking sheet.
• Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until meat loves are done (160 degrees F). Top with remaining salsa and cheese; bake 3 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Tasty Tuesday ~ Corn Casserole

It's Tuesday and time to share some recipes over at Tasty Tuesday!  Just click on the button above and enjoy all the amazing photos!

Mine this week is soooooo good and so inexpensive to make!  My kind of recipe.  Tomorrow is Wordless Wednesday...so make sure you come back!  On Thursday I'm posting my list for the Fall Into Reading Challenge.

Corn Casserole

Ingredients:

1 (15 1/4-ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
1 (14 3/4-ounce) can cream-style corn
1 (8-ounce) package corn muffin mix (recommended: Jiffy)
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar


Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large bowl, stir together the 2 cans of corn, corn muffin mix, sour cream, and melted butter. Pour into a greased 9 by 13-inch casserole dish. Bake for 45 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from oven and top with Cheddar. Return to oven for 5 to 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted. Let stand for at least 5 minutes and then serve warm.

Wordless Wednesday and Tasty Tuesday ~ Sour Cream Banana Bread

Since I completely forgot to publish my Tasty Tuesday post and now I'm running late in getting my Wordless Wednesday post up I thought I would just combine the two.  Remember that if you'd like to see more Tasty Tuesday posts to click on the button below.  There are always a lot of great recipes to be found every Tuesday.



I must really be liking Banana Bread lately because I've found another recipe that I'm in love with!  In fact I'll be making more today (or tomorrow).  I found this recipe on Food.com. This one makes a great crust and the bread itself is so moist!  The tang of the sour cream along with the sweetness of the bananas....oh my!  You'll have to make this one for yourself for sure!

Sour Cream Banana Bread

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup margarine or 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup mashed banana
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts (omit if you don't like nuts)
• 1/2 cup sour cream

Directions:

1. Grease 1 large loaf pan.
2. Cream margarine, sugar, eggs and vanilla.
3. Add dry ingredients, then bananas, nuts and sour cream.
4. Mix well.
5. Bake at 350 F for 1 hour.

To see more Wordless photos head on over to Wordless Wednesday, 5 Minutes for Mom, Live and Love...Out Loud, Project Alicia and J. Leigh Designz. Now if you're like me and sometimes you can't stay wordless head on over to see some Wordful Wednesday photos at Parenting by Dummies.  Don't forget to sign the Linky below.

Tasty Tuesday ~ Peach Banana Bread

It's Tasty Tuesday and I'm back again to share with you a recipe that I have had people begging me for.  It's a bread that you really can only make during the right time of year because it uses bananas and peaches.  This is a bread that is great as a breakfast bread, snack time bread, dessert bread...heck it's a good bread to have at anytime of day.  It's not only tasty but it's a very moist bread.  Try it today!  If you'd like to see more recipes click on the button above and enjoy.

Peach Banana Bread

Ingredients:

2 Cups    Flour
1 1/2 Cups    Sugar
1 tsp    Baking Soda
1/2 tsp    Baking Powder
1/4 tsp    Cinnamon
1/2 tsp    Salt
2    Eggs
1/3 Cups    Oil
1 tsp    Vanilla
1 Cup   Mashed Bananas
1 Cup   Peaches - chopped into small pieces
3 Tbsp    Cinnamon Sugar


Instructions:


Preheat oven to 350 degrees


In a medium bowl combine flour, sugar, soda, powder and spices.  Make a well in the center.  In a small bowl beat the eggs.  Then whisk in the oil, vanilla and bananas.  Pour wet ingredients into the well you made in the dry ingredients and stir just until moistened.  Fold in the peaches and do not over mix.  Divide between 2 greased 8" x 4" loaf pans.  Sprinkle each with 1 1/2 Tbsp of Cinnamon Sugar.  Bake for 40 - 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Tasty Tuesday ~ Berries and Cream Popsicles

I'm finally moved and have done some creating.  I had some leftover berries that we had over the 4th of July and created some Berries and Cream Popsicles.   ENJOY!

Berries and Cream Popsicles

Berry Layer:
1 Cup Frozen Berries Thawed with juices. (I used Strawberries, Blueberries and Blackberries)
1 Cup Strawberry Koolaid (or you can use Crystal Light Strawberry or an off brand)
If needed....1 packet of sweetner

Cream Layer:
1 Cup milk
3 Tbsp Sweetened Condensed Milk
1 1/2 tsp Vanilla

Place berry mixture and koolaid in a blender and blend to a liquid consistency.  In another bowl you can go ahead and mix together all of the cream layer and place in your refrigerator until needed.  Pour in some of the berry layer and let freeze for one hour.  Then pour a cream layer and freeze for one hour.  Finally pour one more layer of the berries and put in the stick and freeze for another few hours.  I had enough that I made 6 in my molds and 6 more in dixie cups with popsicle sticks.

Sam said that these were the best he's had...and I have to agree!  Can't wait to make more as we've been eating them like crazy ever since they froze.  Looking at making more kinds of popsicles really soon.  Stay tuned.....
 

Wordless and Wordful Wednesday ~ Popsicle!

We are finally in our new house but have yet to finish unpacking. YEAH!  I thought that I would take a break and post my Wordless/Wordful Wednesday post.

With the temperatures we've had lately (in the 100s for days on end and no rain in sight) a good Popsicle is a great way to cool off.  I'm going to be trying some different recipes soon and if they are any good I'll share them with you here.  This one that Sam and I enjoyed today was super simple.  Just make up your favorite jello flavor (we used cherry) according to the package instructions and then pour into your popsicle molds or paper dixie cups and freeze.  I do have to say that frozen jello has a different texture than most popsicles but they are still soooo good on a hot day.

If you would like to see more Wordless photos head on over to Wordless Wednesday, 5 Minutes for Mom, Live and Love...Out Loud, Project Alicia and J. Leigh Designz. Now if you're like me and sometimes you can't stay wordless head on over to see some Wordful Wednesday photos at Parenting by Dummies.  Don't forget to sign the Linky below.

Tasty Tuesday ~ Chocolate Chip Peppermint Cookies

STOP!  Before you do anything else I have a HUGE favor to ask you. Please read this post "HERE" and vote for the school mentioned trying to win the grand prize from Big Lots. You can vote 3 time a day per day until July 4th. It would mean the world to them as they have so little while we all have so much. Then come back here!



Reaching back into my archives again this week to share a recipe with you because we're moving on Friday and I really haven't cooked anything that is really worth sharing.  So today we're going back a few years to a few days before Christmas when I asked Sam what kind of cookies he would like to make and leave for Santa. He told me that he wanted to make peppermint chocolate chip cookies. Okay, I had never heard of that kind of cookie. I told him I would look on the Internet because I had never seen a recipe for them before. Lo, and behold, there were many recipes for peppermint chocolate chip cookies. We made them and I have to tell you...WOW! They are some cookies! And they would be enjoyed anytime of year...not just Christmas.  I found the recipe that I used on Home Baking Association's website. The cookie recipe will follow below. But first, there are pictures to share with you!

Here is Sam putting out the cookies for Santa. The note that he wrote to Santa that year said "Santa! You Rock" on the front.

Peppermint-Chocolate Chip Cookies

½ cup granulated sugar

½ cup packed brown sugar

1/3 cup margarine or butter, softened

1/3 cup shortening

1 tsp. vanilla

1 egg

1½ cups all-purpose flour or whole-wheat flour

½ tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. salt

½ cup chopped nuts

1/3 cup crushed hard peppermint candies
1 package (6 oz.) semisweet chocolate chips (1 cup)

Preheat oven to 375°F. Mix sugars, margarine, shortening, vanilla, and egg in bowl. Stir in remaining ingredients. Drop dough by rounded teaspoonfuls about 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until light brown. Cool slightly; remove from cookie sheet. Cool on wire rack.

Serves 42. Approximate Nutrition Analysis (per serving): calories, 95; protein, 1 g; carbohydrate, 12 g; fat, 5 g; cholesterol, 5 mg; sodium, 55 mg.

My notes: I used all-purpose flour, omitted the nuts, and increased the chocolate chips to 1 1/4 cups. I cooked them for 9 minutes on parchment paper and then cooled them for 2 minutes before putting them on the rack to cool the rest of the way.

ENJOY!

Tasty Tuesday ~ Slow Cooker Sloppy Joe's

STOP!  Before you do anything else I have a HUGE favor to ask you. Please read this post "HERE" and vote for the school mentioned trying to win the grand prize from Big Lots. You can vote 3 time a day per day until July 4th. It would mean the world to them as they have so little while we all have so much. Then come back here!



This week I find myself using a recipe that I posted on here over a year ago for this weeks Tasty Tuesday.  I'm doing so because I'm in the midst of packing up our house and we'll be moving in two weeks.  So, unless I do something new this week it will be reruns again next Tuesday as well.  But I'm hoping not.  This time Tuesday just snuck up on me.

A year or so ago I tried my hand at making Homemade Sloppy Joe's.  I was in the mood to have them but didn't have my usual packet or can of sloppy joe mix.  So to the computer I went to find a recipe because I couldn't find my grandma's recipe.  I thought that I had it but if I do it's not with my recipes or in one of the old church recipe books.  I found a TON of recipes on the Internet but none that really peaked my interest.  So I made it up as I went along.  After reading through so many of them I knew the basics and went to town.  I am turning into my dad when it comes to some of my cooking because when I make it up as I go along I tend to forget what I did and don't write it down.    I used what I had here at the house and if you would like to give it a try here is what I did.

Slow Cooker Homemade Sloppy Joe's

1 pound ground beef
1 pound ground turkey
3 tbs dried onion
1 red bell pepper diced (small to medium size but no larger)
2 tbs of Tastefully Simple Garlic Garlic (this is basically minced garlic, minced onion, salt, garlic powder, and chives)
1 tsp onion powder
2 tsp chili powder
1 can tomato sauce
1 small can tomato paste
3 tbs vinegar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce

Brown the meat and just before the meat was completely browned I added in the dried onions. Drain the meat. Return meat to pan and add in the remaining ingredients. Mix well. Put everything into a slow cooker and cook on low for 4-6 hours.

It turned out so well that we all had seconds! It even made enough that I have leftovers in the freezer for another night.

Tasty Tuesday ~ Peanut Butter Cup S'mores!

It's Tuesday and time to jump on the Tasty Tuesday Blog Hop. If you've never participated before it's a lot of fun. Just head on over to 33 Shades of Green to see what it's all about. You can link up there, here or on anyone that has the blog hop on their post! It's a great way to find new recipes!

A few weeks ago when we celebrated the last day of school by staying up all night we made S'mores.  But since we were at home we made them in the microwave and some of them were made with Peanut Butter Cups!  They are soooo yummy!  Enjoy!

 

PB Cup S'mores

Lay one half of a Graham cracker (2 sections on a microwave plate and add a peanut butter cup to the top.  Microwave for about 10 seconds on high.  Add a large marshmallow to the top of the softened peanut butter cup and microwave 5 to 10 seconds--you'll have to watch it and judge according to your microwave.  You'll want the marshmallow to swell up.  Take out of the microwave and top with the second half of the Graham cracker, smush it together and gobble it up!

Tasty Tuesday ~ Summertime Drinks

What is your favorite summertime drink??

I actually have several. Besides Ice Cold Sun Tea, Ice Cold Diet Coke, and Ice Water; I really like to make the following drinks listed here.  Sorry I only have one picture and that's from the site where I found the recipe.  But next time I make these I'll have my camera on hand before they are all gone...which is usually what happens.

Cool Melon Water:

2 cups ripe watermelon (you can also use cantaloupe) peeled, seeded and cubed
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 to 1/2 cup cold water
Juice of one lemon

Blend all ingredients together. Transfer to tall ice-filled glasses. Serves 6

Lime Mint Slush:

1 banana, coarsely chopped
6 mint leaves
1 teaspoon lime juice
1 cup milk
1/4 cup ice cubes

Place all ingredients in blender and process until slushy. Serve immediately. Serves 2.


Or there is this version that I found on Babble.com. 

Lime Mint Slush: 

7-8 tablespoons lime juice
1 12 ounce can 100% white grape juice concentrate
5 fresh mint leaves
lots of ice (enough to fill the blender)
cold water, as needed

Blend juice, juice concentrate, mint, and ice. Add small amounts of water to help the mixture blend well. Blend on high until ice is smooth. Serve in glasses with sprigs of fresh mint.

Pineapple Zinger:

2 cups pineapple, coarsely chopped
1 cup orange juice
1 banana, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons honey
2 cups ice cubes

Place all ingredients in blender and process until smooth. Serve immediately. Serves 3.

Citrus Cocktail:

1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
3/4 cup orange juice
1/2 cup grapefruit juice
1/4 cup lime juice
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup club soda
1/2 cup ice cubes

In a small saucepan, combine sugar and water. Bring to a boil and swirl to dissolve sugar. Allow to cool. In a pitcher, combine all ingredients, mixing well. Serves 3.

I haven't made these in quite some time but I may just do so some time soon. They are all so good on a hot summer day.

So what are your favorite summer drinks? Please so share!