Yummy Chicken Rice and Broccoli Cassarole

Hello everyone, I am so sorry about being absent for so long. I promise (for real this time) That I am going to do better.

Lots has happened since I last wrote in August. We got a new cat....yes I know, another one haha. He is adorable and I have to share pictures!!!

 SOOOOOOO CUTE!!!!! His name is Batman Cassanova...yes very dramatic type sounding name...
He is getting his manhood taken away today  (poor little baby)


I have also dyed my hair. RED!!!!!! and I LOVE IT!!!

I had a birthday, so another year older. I had a blast with most of my friends and family there to help be bring in this new year for me.


I think that about catches you up.

I have to tell you, I have become the laziest person ever when it comes to cooking lately. Hence the easy casserole recipe that I found and tweaked.

I have made two this week alone...its wonderful, and casserole is a perfectly acceptable breakfast...right?



So what you need:

about 4 chicken breasts cut into chunks
1 12oz bag of frozen brooccoli cuts ( I prefer the baby broccoli)
1 can of cream of chicken soup
1 can of cream of mushroom
(Side note: the original recipe I found uses 2 cans of campbells creamy cheddar soup)
1 cup of UNCOOKED rice (do not precook this)
salt and pepper to taste and a dash of garlic powder is optional
 2 sleeves of ritz or a type of buttery cracker
3-4 tbsp of melted butter
Here is how it goes:


Spray a 13''x 9'' baking dish with no stick spray and set aside

In a bowl mix together the cans of soup

chunk up your chicken

take a cup of the soup mixture and mix together with the rice and spread evenly on the bottom of the baking dish. Make sure that the rice is covered with the mixture well as the soup mixture helps cook the rice while it is in the oven.

After the rice/partial soup mixture layer your chicken on top, then the broccoli on top of that and add in the rest of the soup mix on top.

Cover TIGHTLY with tin foil and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour and 15 minutes.

crush up the ritz/buttery type crackers with the melted butter and sprinkle on the top and return to the oven for 15 minutes uncovered.

After the 15 minutes uncovered take out your beautiful casserole and let it sit for 15 minutes. This step is very important for letting the rice finish cooking.


Just as a warning this stuff is like crack. SOOOO ADDICTIVE! I added a little ranch dressing on mine because if you ask the beloved I put it on everything.

See you all next Friday for the New Weekly Post! Until then I wish you well and all the wonderfulness that you deserve! Good Night!

Super Easy Taco Dip

Hello everyone, my name is Rachel and I am an inner fat kid. A couple of weeks ago, my sister and I, went up to the lake. We laid on the dock, my uncle and Aunt were awesome and took us for a very long wonderful boat ride, we finally, after years of waiting to be old enough, both of us were able to go to the outdoor bar that had live entertainment! It was amazing!!!! We had made plans to make some simple things like chicken salad for us to make sandwiches with, some cherry tomatoes,  lettuce, pita pockets, etc, you know the normal stuff for a girls weekend....oh did I mention the wine! hehe! Anyways, I had been wanting to make a really good dip because that is my new obsession. So here it is, this dip will make enough to feed 10-12 people or 2 girls on a lake weekend hehe. We ate nothing but this dip, it was amazing!

Easy Taco Dip!

1 can each:
black beans
corn
diced tomatoes with green chili's (the green chili's is optional, I personally like it.)

1 packet of taco seasoning, choose your flavor or hotness
1  15-16 oz container of sour cream
8 oz. of cream cheese room temp/sofened
2 cups of cheddar cheese

cream together the sour cream and cream cheese, mix in the other ingredients and stir together. serve cold or hot, we did cold since it was in the 80's or 90's up at the lake. serve with chips, in a pita thin as a sandwich etc. it goes with everything! too bad I didn't get a picture of it!

Summer....Slow Down!!

Well the 4th has came and passed already...ugh. This summer is going by incredibly too quickly, pretty soon it will be time for sweaters and football again...which don't get me wrong, I enjoy those things, its just I don't want what comes after that.

We went to the beloveds parents house for the 4th, His mom is an amazing cook and I stuffed my face with entirely too much food. I contributed to the desserts even though she had already made two. I made a layer cake (I cheated and bought a pound cake premade, but the icing and filling and layering and the decorating with fruit I did hehe) I only cheated because I am a rebel and a rule breaker...I, being a southern-ish woman...don't own a bundt pan...I know...stone me now lol or chime in with a "bless your heart!"


Anywho! here is the recipe for the lemon filling, it is quite possibly better than the lemon filling in the Krispy Kreme doughnuts...and no I'm not kidding or exaggerating.


Lemon Filling

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 6 Tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 3 egg yolks, beaten
• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 1 Tablespoon lemon zest

Directions:

1. Stir together the sugar, salt, and cornstarch in a saucepan. Add in the lemon juice.
2. Cook over medium low heat until smooth. See note at the bottom, Add the egg yolks and butter.
3. It might take a bit for this step to come together but it will, have faith. Stir this constantly until it thickens and comes together.
4. Add 1 1/2 cups boiling water and continue to cook for 2 to 3 minutes more. The mixture will thicken. 

 
*A note on this, I took my step number 2 get smooth and then I had m egg yolkes in a separate bowl and I tempered them a little with the mixture so that way you won't cook your egg.* Tempering means that you take about a 1/4 to 1/2 a cup of your hot mixture and add it in with the eggs and stir fairly quickly so that your eggs don't cook. Then place it all back in the hot pot. 

   

mixture before you add the egg yolks and butter

mixture post egg yolks and butter

Ta Dah!!! Finished Product

cake after it was done

 

Back In the Saddle Again!

Hello!!!!! It has been forever since I have been able to write! I almost feel like Genie on Aladdin, I'm Back!!!!!!

I have made some things since I have been away, just haven't really had the time to sit down and keep you posted.

The kitties have gotten huge, they are running around right now as we speak and are being fun little lovers. The beloved is wonderful. We successfully moved, are unpacked (except one or two boxes of stuff that isn't really necessary). I started a new job working at an assisted living facility and I'm really liking it, its a blessing to be able to help others that need it!

anyways enough of the chit chat, I am severely out of practice for any and all food blogging things, meaning I cook, I just forget to take pics etc. So instead of the food recipe for this post, I wanted to show off my gardening. Usually I have the black thumb of death and destruction (not being dramatic just truthful) for any and all living plants. I even killed a cactus...a cactus...that is supposed to live in the most harsh of climates killed over when I brought it home. BUT maybe the curse of the black thumb has left. I have had these plants for probably over a month and they are still living! I even have grown a couple of seedlings that will soon be foxglove and columbine flowers from seeds, they have sprouted from the ground like happy little green lover plants!!!! I'm happy!!! You can also see that I have way better luck for living creatures as the little lover babes (the cats) are still alive and well!

Loaded Baked Potato Casserole 

1 bag shredded hashbrowns (thawed)
1 16. oz container of sour cream
1-2 cups cheddar cheese (depending on how cheesy you like it)
3-4 oz of real bacon bits/pieces (I cheat and buy them in a bag from wally world hehe)
chives or green onion (optional used as a garnish)

spray a 13"X 9"  dish with non-stick spray set aside. In a large bowl mix together the hash brown, the sour cream, and half of the cheddar cheese (about 1 cup)  and most of the bacon bits, leave enough of them to just toss on the top with the  remaining cheese. spread out into the casserole dish, top with remaining cheese and bacon bits. bake at 350 for about 30-45 minutes. Enjoy!!!!

Does this smell okay to you?

Good news everyone! Spring is here...Bad news everyone...the pollen decided to come along with it haha! Just kidding, it sucks for my allergies and sinuses but its a good thing for the flowers and plants etc.

So I made this awesome not to bad for you dish the other day, I couldn't smell any of the ingredients but I could sort of taste them. Just to be sure that it was okay to eat I had my beloved, David try it and see if it was any good, he seemed to like it pretty well so thats a good thing.

Spaghetti squash, Pretty sure that this little angel was made just for me...and anyone else that really likes spaghetti squash I guess LOL.

Does anyone else watch the other drivers (like the actual person) while they are driving? Any of my readers? I do, but I think that I made several people feel bad this past week. As some of you may know, we moved to a new place in the same town, we had people come and help us with the big stuff and then we (David and I) (along with my saint of a Mother one day..shout out to super Mom!!) moved all of the little stuff. Well...as this past week progressed, all of the moving dust, mixed with pollen, mixed with the new air/heating system of the new house I have looked like a puffy faced, snot nosed, Rudolph resembling, cry baby looking person. Let me set the scene for you, I am driving in my little car down the street. It is piled up to the gills with clothes, dishes, anything else that I/We own. I am looking like I am bawling my eyes out because my eyes are watering so bad, this poor woman next to me facing the opposite way in the traffic jam that it 5 Pm in this place looked over and saw my car was all packed up. I am not sure exactly what she thought, maybe I was moving out of my parents house for the first time, or maybe I had just been evicted (the sloppy way I looked could probably corroborate that theory), maybe even broken up with my boyfriend/husband type situation....I don't know so I can't say for sure but she even tried to check on me by cocking her head to the side and giving me the okay question hand gesture....I nodded and reached over and grabbed the roll of paper towels and blew my nose for the 500 billionth time for that day. Allergies suck. Just sayin.

So back to the spaghetti squash dish.

Spaghetti squash (cooked, seeded, and scraped from the shell)
chicken broth
can of diced tomatoes (you can use the Italian seasoned kind  that would be perfect)
can (big or small depending on your love of) mushrooms
italian seasoning
basil
oregano
lime juice (small squirt)
little  sugar
a small little bit og garlic
onion powder
and surprisingly cinnamon

what you do is spray your skillet ( I use a deep one from Rachael Ray) add in your garlic on a medium heat and let that brown up slightly.
add in the tomatoes
add in the mushrooms
add in the chicken broth to where it comes to the top of the mixture, you can cover it all of the way because the spaghetti squash is going to soak this up.
Season it with whatever seasonings you like, I listed all of the ones I used up top.
 Add in your spaghetti squash and cover the skillet and let cook stirring frequently for about 20 minutes. You may need to add a little more chicken broth, this is 100% okay. Just have fun with it and add in and do what makes you happy.

The time has come

Well moving is slowing coming upon us. We have people coming to move the furniture this week!!! Ahhh! and Eeeeeeeeee!!!! You never really realize how much stuff you can have before you go to pick it up and move it to another location. My little car has been stuffed to the gills with things haha!

No cooking for me this week, so far the only thing that I have made is a box of mac and cheese. Its just to crazy to cook, I have been looking on Pinterest before I go to sleep so once I am settled in the new place you can bet your bottom dollar that I will be churning out some good stuff! I am so excited for this new kitchen, its bigger, and has way more cabinet and counter space...and an island!!! Eeeeeee!!! (hopping up and down!)

Anyways, the kittens have been growing like weeds (my how quickly the time flies) We will be taking them and getting them fixed soon (poor little babies)! They are each developing their own personalities, Moxie is a mommy's girl, she cuddles with me the most and most nights she will sleep with me. Luna is sort of a loner, but she is a jumpy little thing, just about everything scares her, but she is getting better, they both have discovered that they can make it to the top of the cabinets in the upper row of the kitchen, just like little man. Luna makes it up there and sleeps, but when it comes time to get down, I think she gets scared and she freaks out and starts meowing and crying and being crazy until you come and get her down from the top of the refrigerator.

I hope that all of you are doing well, I want to apologize that I haven't been a faithful blogger like I have been previously, but I promise that I will start back up when I have the time.


Thanks for reading this, here is a few pictures that will hopefully brighten up your day!

All Good News

It's all coming up roses or daisies (whichever one sounds right to you)!

Just a quick little backstory for part of the good news this month so far. Isis who was the grouchy little lover girl that we had that didn't like being confined to the apartment that went to stay with my parents ran away. She was gone for a long long time. She had never pent more than an hour probably total outside in her life previously to this time. We all thought that something like a coyote  or a bobcat or something got her. WE WERE WRONG!!!!! Hallelujah!!!! She came waltzing back onto my parents porch and just strutted inside when my Mom opened the door like the owned the place. She is very very skinny but otherwise she looks in good shape for being gone almost a month. The story of her going missing is that she knocked over one of those pretty thermometers with the glass bulbs filled with the different color liquid and got the kerosene smelling stuff on her. Isis being Isis ad the dainty princess she is didn't like this one bit. When my mom went to go let her other cat Cleo in the house Isis darted out and was never seen again until now!!!! But she is back and she is alive!!!!!!! I/we are so happy!!!!

See!! Isn't she beautiful!

Just so you can see the progress of the other little lovers ( I am animal obsessed I know!!)

I might as well just start a list of good things that have happened as well as the negative things jut to give you guys some perspective.

Pro
We are moving into a bigger place!
My beloved (David) had a birthday!
My health is going great so far and so is my family's (sans a poor little cousin with strep...sad face)
The little lovers are growing and being great
My Gerbera Daisy my sister bought for me that i thought died, is sprouting new leaves
I have a something else I want to add here but I don't want to spoil it in case if it doesn't happen. Don't worry its professionally related.

Con
I lost my job last week :-( I really enjoyed it there for the most part and I really loved my co-workers. They are wonderful and I wish each one of them the best of luck, love, peace, happiness, harmony and, any other good wonderful fantastic thing you can think of.

I have been applying to a ton of places so hopefully God will see me through yet another obstacle or as I am beginning to call them lessons/character building times. Prayers are appreciated.

So with just one con on the list I think that so far April might be amazing. I hope that all of you will be having an amazing April as well as the rest of the year. I am making a new resolution for May that I will be more diligent on writing this blog. I really enjoy doing it, but with everything going on so far this month it's been hard to find the time. I will add more recipes etc. I will be throwing together some old reliable favorites for the crock pot these next couple weeks while we move. If you have a recipe that you have tried and liked please feel free to leave a comment or to send me an email and I can feature it! landoffoodandkitties@gmail.com

Stay wonderful, happy and in love!
Rach

Live from the Deck

Hello everyone! Hopefully the week is going wonderful for you all! I am sitting in the sun on my back deck enjoying this glorious weather! Its beautiful here today, and yesterday, and I think the day before that!! I am sooo happy! Spring time is coming (well technically it is already here according to the calendar but you could have fooled me, ice and snow this past weekend, boo!) If you haven't been able to guess, I sort of really have an intense dislike for all things cold, and winter. I am a summer person, and spring. It makes me happy. Being outside is the best thing, especially when you are cramped up in an office all day long like a lot of people are around here. Makes me miss living in the country where you can be outside all of the time.


The recipe of today is something that I made some time ago but forgot to put on here. We were all starving so sorry that I didn't get a good picture before it got half demolished. This recipe is pretty easy to do, bakes up nicely.

Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

INgredients

1 whole Cooked Chicken, Bones Removed, Meat Diced Or Shredded (rotisserie Chicken Is Excellent, Should Be 5-6 Cups Of Chicken
1/2 pound of thinly sliced ham roughly chopped (I used Honey ham and it turned out great)
1/4 pound of thin sliced Swiss cheese

For the Sauce ingredients

 4 Tablespoons Butter
4 Tablespoons Flour
3-¼ cups Milk (I Used Whole Milk)
2 Tablespoons Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice
1 Tablespoon Dijon Mustard
1-½ teaspoon Salt
½ teaspoons Smoked Paprika
¼ teaspoons White Pepper

For the Topping
 6 Tablespoons Butter
1-½ cup Panko Bread Crumbs (I would recommend only using 1 cup. I used the 1.5 C and it was to much)
¾ teaspoons Seasoning Salt
1-½ teaspoon Crushed Dried Parsley


1) spray your dish with nonstick spray,
2) place the chicken in the bottom of the dish
3) then the ham
4) then the Swiss cheese

5) then you start on the sauce, melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
6) stir in the flour and let cook for a couple minutes until bubbling and smooth
7) slowly start to add the milk, cook until thickened.
8) add the lemon juice, the mustard, salt, paprika, and white pepper. Bring to a boil then remove from heat.
 9) pour the sauce on top of the cheese layer of the casserole.

10) to make the topping melt the butter, stir in the bread crumbs, the seasoning salt, and parsley. (I took away the seasoning salt and added Parmesan cheese instead)

11) place the topping on the top of the casserole. Bake at 350 until the top is golden brown and the sauce is bubbling (I baked mine for about 45 minutes or so) 

  

Chuck It

Just a quick little blurb for today. I experimented with a recipe that my Nana has, It is amazing and the best thing in the world when she makes it. I'm not sure of the correct name of it, but I call it Nana's Orange-Peach Chicken. I wanted to see if I could come up with a similar thing for the crock pot since we all know by now that I am addicted!!


Crock pot Orange Peach Chicken

1 regular sixed can of sliced peaches
1 lb of chicken breasts (can be thawed or frozen)
1.5 C orange juice (I used tropicana with some pulp since it's my favorite)
 Italian dressing mix packet

Add all ingredients to the crock pot and cook on high for 4 hours or on low for 8. Shred the chicken, this goes great with rice and veggies!!


Any Feedback would be great if you guys have a recipe you would like me to try please feel free to comment or shoot me an email at landoffoodandkitties@gmail.com!

My Fair Lady

So late last night, after I soaked in the tub for a while (had a rough pt day) I decided to pop in my DVD of My Fair Lady. It, by far, is the best musical in the world, right beside of Singing in the Rain.

There are several reasons that this movie is my go to feel good movie. When I was a little girl, my Nana (Dads Mom) lived almost 2 hours away, and my sister and I would get to go stay with her every once in a while, and it was always the best times, we would bawl like babies when we would go and leave. The wonderfulness (I'm making this a word if it isn't one already) that happened at her house I will never forget. We would dress up to the nines in costume jewelry and dresses and have outlandish turbans and things, ya know typical girly girl stuff. We (my sister and I) would put on fashion shows for her in the living room. She would throw together these amazing tea parties, nobody in the planet made a better tea party than my Nana...nobody! :-) So while we were having tea in the living room we would watch old movies and things and just hang out, one of these movies was My Fair Lady.

There are so many life lessons and cute little tidbits in that movie. I don't get to see my Nana as often a I like still to this day, but I think about her a lot. Especially when I see this movie, or some of the others that we watched like Daddy Long Legs or The Last Unicorn. Those are the memories that I will cherish forever, and one day I hope to be as amazing and a good role model as she was.

Moving onward and upward to the recipe for today! Yay!


Cajun Shrimp Fettuccine Alfredo

8

• 8 ounces fettuccine or your favorite pasta
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 pound shrimp, peeled and De-veined
• 1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/4 cup dry white wine or chicken broth
• 1 cup heavy/whipping cream
• 1 cup parmigiano reggiano (Parmesan), grated
• 1/2 tablespoon Cajun seasoning or to taste - link this
• 1/4 cup green onion, sliced(optional)

1) start cooking your pasta according to package instructions.

2) in a skillet melt the butter

3) coat the shrimp in the Cajun seasoning and then place in the skillet on medium heat. Cook on each side about 2-3 minutes. Remove and set aside.

4) add the garlic to the pan and cook until fragrant, about 30-45 seconds.

5) pour in the chicken broth (or wine), swirl around in the skillet. Add in the cream, the parmesan cheese, and Cajun sseasoning and cook until thickened 5-7 minutes or so.

6) dump the sauce on the pasta, and stir it all together. Serve it up and munch down!!

Everything in the Bathroom Sink

 Ashes has taken to sleeping in the bathroom sink. He is so cute, I think he goes up there on a little kitty-cation to be away from the little kittens that like to jump on him and play every second of the day.

This is his "Hey Girl, What's Up?" face

 The little kittens have been playing and growing, They tend to sleep with me at nighttime and cuddle with me after they get fed. I think they are happy here, and I would urge anyone to go and adopt a pet/s. There is absolutely no reason to pay a fortune for a dog or a cat when you can go to your local humane society and bring a pet into your home, including worming, shots, spay/neutering. They are truly a blessing for me and I think they would be for you too.

Ash and Luna sleeping next to me on the couch

Moxie cuddled up for her beauty sleep

With all of this winter weather business I am primed and ready for some warmer weather. Hot, warm, temperate, I would even settle for less chilly than it is. NO SNOW! Or ice for that matter. If I ever win the lottery (although my chances would be higher if I actually played haha) I am going to buy myself an island somewhere where it is sunny and warm most of the time, then I will vacation to West Virginia (because it will always be home for me) where I will have a farm or something that I can go and have fun on. Not to mention that I would have a big house and provide for my family etc. charities and other philanthropic venture will surely benefit if I win. I guess I should just start playing so that this master plan can come into effect hahaha! I would probably have more luck getting hit by a bus.

I found this recipe on pinterest. It was very good, I think the way that the original recipe was lacked something so I tweaked it a bit.

Mexican Chicken Taco Bowls

Ingredients

• 1.5 lbs. chicken breasts (you could use less or more depending on the size of the package you buy)
• 1 (16 oz.) jar salsa
• 2 (15 oz.) cans black beans, drained
• 12 oz. frozen corn
• (one of the changes that I made when I made this again was to add a packet of taco seasoning mix. It added the extra flavor that it needed because the rice kind of blanded (not sure if that is a word) (made it more bland) out the flavor)
• 1 Tbsp chili powder
• 2 tsp cumin
• 3 cloves minced garlic
• ½ tsp dried oregano
• cracked pepper to taste
• 2 cups dry rice
• 8 oz. shredded cheddar
• ½ bunch cilantro or green onions (optional,I don't usually ccare for onions so I omitted these)
• sour cream and salsa for topping.  

Directions                                                                                             

1) add the chicken breasts (can be frozen), the salsa, black beans, corn, 1/2 cup of water (so everything stays moist) and spices to the crock pot and cook on low for 8 hours. About 45 minutes before serving take the chicken out and shred it and return to the pot to cook the remaining 45 minutes.

2) cook the rice per package instructions.

3) serve by placing a scoop of rice in the bottom of the bowl, topping with the chicken mixture, add cheese, sourcream, cilantro, green onions, and/or salsa to garnish it with.

We really liked this dish once we got all of the spices worked out, Its cheap, easy, and works great for left overs!

Flowers Equal Happiness

So my sister, A.K.A superwoman, bought me a couple of amazing gifts this past week. She got me some awesome shamrock St. Patties Day socks, and a plant. Not just any plant, but my favorite plant in the whole wide world ever. Gerbera Daisies. Pink Ones!!! Ahhhh!! They are right now sitting in the sun being beautiful.

I am making more bread today, seeing if I can start to master this whole trying to get the bread to rise above the bread pan type thing. So far it has been one failure after another...but, I will keep trying...and trying....and trying haha!

One thing that I have made that has been a success is White Chicken Lasagna...and let me tell ya, its\pretty awesome. a 9x13 dish lasted less than 2 days. Half of it was gone the night I made it, and that is just with the two of us eating it. It's creamy, and hearty, but yet light at the same time. A definite must try!


White Chicken Lasagna

4 chicken breasts trimmed of fat, cooked and cubed (I boiled mine with pepper and with some chicken granules for a little bit of extra flavor)
1 box (8oz) oven ready lasagna noodles
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 8oz block of cream cheese room temperature
1 8 oz container of sour cream
1/2 C milk
2 C mozzarella cheese


1) cook your chicken, I boiled mine with pepper and some chicken granules then take it out and I shredded mine instead of cubing it.

2) cream together the soups and the cream cheese until smooth (this might take a little bit to break up all of the pieces of the cream cheese, but it happens eventually). I promise.

3) Mix in the chicken, sour cream, and milk into the soup mixture.

4) coat your baking dish with no stick spray then place a layer of the chicken mixture to cove the bottom, add the noddles on top, then the chicken mixture again so on and so forth. I got a total of bout 3 layers on mine, if you can only fit two that is fine, no worries.

5) top the lasagna with the mozzarella cheese cover in aluminum foil and bake in a preheated oven at 350 for an hour.

6) serve up and enjoy!

And because I haven't posted about the kitties in a while, they are doing great! Little furballs of joy hehe! right now they have a plastic lid to a disposable ramekin (little plastic containers that the dressing comes in sometimes at restaurants) they place their two front paws on it and scoot around with their back feet. Its been comical all day to watch them!

No other words but OH MY GOODNESS!! (Apple Pie Cupcakes)

First off I want to thank everyone for letting the blog hit over 2,000 hits in under 2 months!! This is an amazing feat and I never thought that it would happen! So thanks readers! Hopefully all of the things that you made from this blog turned out wonderfully!

Secondly, I want to apologize to all of the readers mentioned above because I haven't written in a couple of weeks. Sickness is starting to seriously annoy me. First the brain problem, then once that starts to improve, I get this horrible, would not wish it on anyone ever stomach bug. Thankfully it was just a bug, I had never had stomach pains like this before, so I thought it was my gallbladder, I had all of the symptoms, but after testing etc. it looks like its good to go. They said that if it happens again that i should come in for a recheck. Fingers crossed it won't happen again!

I have been feeling better some this week, its still touch and go on the things I eat. Which let me say, when you have a stomach bug and you are a foodie, it is the most difficult thing in the world to not be able to stuff your face with the food around you. My beloved came home one evening while I was sick, with a HUGE Ruby Tuesday's salad...In case you don't know me personally this is one of my favorite things in the world. Period. I'm pretty sure the fact that I had only been able to drink Gatorade for 2 days in a row had something to do with the fact that I as having thoughts of grabbing the salad bowl and running away and locking myself in the bedroom to eat it. BUT I didn't. My mama taught me manners, although I'm sure that stealing salad wasn't a specific lesson in manners that she taught, but I figured that if it should come up in conversation that I would appear like the bad guy hahaha!

Anyways been cooking for the past couple days and I am going to post the recipes that I have tried out! I have 3 little words for you. Apple. Pie. Cupcakes. Yes, you read that correctly, apple pie cupcakes....This is probably the best thing Ive had in a very long time dessert wise. Its pretty easy to make and it is amazing!!!

Apple Pie Cupcakes

Ingredients

• 4 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter
• 2 large granny smith peeled, cored and, chopped into small 1/4 inch pieces (or apple of your choosing, just any good baking apple will do, I used Gala because they are my favorite cooking apple)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp of salt
• juice of half a lemon
• 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 can (12.4 oz) Pillsbury refrigerated cinnamon rolls
• whipped cream (optional)
• caramel-flavored syrup (optional)

Heat oven to 400 degrees, spray a regular size muffin tin (8 spaces of it) with no stick spray.

Peel, core, and dice up your apples and place them in a medium skillet with 2 tbsp of unsalted butter.

Cook on medium heat for 5 minutes, then add in your cinnamon, salt, and 2 Tbsp of the brown sugar and cook for another 5 minutes (or until soft, I like my apples super soft so I let them go about 10 minutes on a low heat. Once they start to soften add your lemon juice.

While they are cooking, make your crumble topping by adding flour, remaining butter, and remaining brown sugar. mix together until crumbly.

Take the cinnamon rolls out of the package and press them flat (it will just be a round disc, you want it flat enough that it will cover the walls of the muffin tin).

Place the cinnamon rolls in your lightly greased muffin tin and press against the sides to make little cups.
Spoon in apple mixture evenly among the cups, then top with an even coating of the crumb topping.

Bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes

let cool for about 10 minutes and remove from pan, add whipped cream and caramel sauce on top for a little extra. (I didn't and I still think they were awesome!)

My sister and I made these tonight for a small little treat, since I had bought 2 cans of cinnamon rolls we doubled the recipe.

Catching Up

Today has been wonderful. I slept in, got up and played with the kitties, made some bread, watched some tv, and caught up with some old friends!

It is always so nice to talk to someone and see how their life is going, to share little things that you like, things you don't...conversation..its a good thing, people need to do that more.

On a separate note, anyone that has good baking skills needs to email me or comment...My bread hates me and it doesn't rise as good as it does in the original recipes. OOh well, Practice makes perfect I guess.

This is by far the best tasting bread that I have made thus far. It makes one loaf, which for 2 people is perfect!


Honey Wheat Bread

1 and 1/4 cup warm water

2 Tbsp. honey

2 tsp. active dry yeast

3 Tbsp. olive oil

1/2 Tbsp. salt

1 and 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

2-3 cups all-purpose flour

Combine the warm water, yeast, and honey in a large bowl. Stir with a spoon to dissolve the yeast and allow the mixture to sit until the top becomes foamy. Takes about 10 minutes or so.

Mix in the oil, and salt and stir. 

Add in the whole wheat flour and mix it up. 

1/2 a cup at a time add in the all-purpose flour. Mixing until dough becomes lumpy and you can't stir it with a spoon. Toss it out onto a lightly floured surface or clean surface and start kneading in the remaining flour. A note on this: Depending on the moisture content of your environment and your flour, you may not need to use all 3 cups of the all-purpose flour. I only used about 2 cups. Just add flour and keep kneading until you have soft, elastic dough that is not sticky. Knead the ball of dough for about 3-5 minutes by applying pressure with the heel of your palm and rotating the dough in 1/4 turns.

Form the dough into a ball and put in lightly oiled bowl and set in a warm place to let rise until doubled in size. This will take 45 minutes to an hour. 

After it has risen, take it and shape it into a log shape that fits your loaf pan. Coat your loaf pan in non stick spray or with oil then place dough in the loaf pan, cover with a dish cloth or something similar and let rise again for about 45 minutes till an hour. 

Heat the oven to 425 deg F. and cut a slit down the center of the bread (the long ways) and bake for 25-30 minutes. 

remove from the pan immediately and let cool on a rack before slicing.