do you see what I see???

yes, we have cookies...

YEAH...

we have girl scout cookies...one case of each kind to be exact...we need to sell 100 boxes of cookies...

I love the peanut butter pattie ones and it is dangerous to have that many in my house...took Zoe out last night and she so far has sold like 15 boxes...she was so proud of herself...

creamed chipped beef on toast

hands down...one of my all time favorites along with pea soup that is...this dish was a staple in our huge family of 12 kids, growing up but, us kids did not mind one bit...we all loved this so much and as adults we still do...unfortunately the love for this dish did not carry over to my own family...hubby absolutely hates chipped beef as he says he got too much of it in the Marines (tho I know they make theirs with ground beef...)...my recipe is not the same as the military but, he still hates it...Sam and Chris like it but Tim informed me the last time I made it, that he also hates it...

...now, my mother in law loves it and the last time she visited, I made it and it was the first time that the picky princess (Zoe) declared that she loved it...she calls it ham soup...

so, tonight I am by myself...Tim and the princess are on their way to Tokyo and hubby is at his mom's (since she lives by the airport...) so, I decided to make this for my dinner...

creamed chipped beef on toast...

melt 6 tbs butter...once melted tear up pieces of washed dried beef and cook for a few minutes till beef is cooked thru...take beef out and add 6 tbs flour to the butter, cooking for a few minutes to get the flour taste out...slowly add 3 cups of milk stirring constantly till thickened...

you can either serve over toast, or I dip small peices of toast into the "ham soup..."

this is also good with peas added to it..

when I mean washed dried beef, I put the jar of beef under hot water for approx. 5 min to wash the salt off and then I dry it very well before cooking with paper towels....

risotto cakes

http://stephaniecooks.blogspot.com/2011/01/risotto-cakes.html

I cannot wait to make these...

chicken and wild rice soup...

OMGoodness...I fell in love with this soup at Coco's they have it every Thursday...and those are the days that we go there if eating out...so good...

for myself, when trying to figure out their recipe, I wanted mine a little thicker than their's...I also used to be afraid of soups and when wanting to make one, would have to search the internet for a recipe and try that one...I am proud to say "I am no longer afraid of making my own soups from scratch...here is my version...................

I am also bragging here....it is only 2:30 here in sunny Calif. and dinner is done...



chicken and wild rice soup....yummy...

6tbs butter
6 tbs flour
1 box chicken stock
3 cups of milk
carrots
wild rice
1 1/2 cups of white rice



make a rue with butter and flour slowly add chicken stock and milk stir until thickened...add cooked wild rice and the uncooked white (minute kind) rice...add seasonings to taste and carrots...keep stirring till it starts to boil and then turn off and cover for 10 minutes...

made homemade rolls

and blondies dessert

1/2 cup butter
2 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla
nuts

melt butter and add sugar let cool down a little before adding the eggs...mix in remaining ingredients...bake at 350 for approx 30 minutes

cannot wait for dinner tonight..................................................

alfredo, again???

so, I am on a kick now with alfredo...had chicken out so, here is what I came up with...

bow tie pasta with chicken and alfredo sauce and green beans...

watching Ina Garten on food network, and she said you should always roast your chicken instead of boiling it, as it gives it better flavor...so, I did that...
Sam made her handmade alfredo sauce and we stirred chicken (cut up) and the sauce into the cooked bow tie pasta...
it was really good...
Greg is in a bad mood and did not like dinner but, everyone else did...

tuesday night dinner...

tonight made mini bbq meat loaves, corn casserole, and rice a roni...

I know it sound so yummy but, sorry was so hungry that I forgot to take a picture...

mini meat loaves, the recipe comes from www.bisquick.com
corn casserole, was so yummy, the recipe comes from www.stephaniecooks.blogspot.com....

tomorrow??? who knows???

pot roast...

made pot roast, boiled potatoes, carrots and gravy...

did you really want a picture???

well, instead of a picture, you get a funny (not haha) story on why there is no picture...so, I make dinner, make Zoe's dinner (cause picky princess will not eat beef) even take Crhis and Niki dinner and when I go to get my dinner, there was none to be had...everyone thought I had eaten and left none for me...

guess that is what grilled cheese was invented for, right???

mint juleps and stroganoff

I can hear you guys now...what kind of combination is that??? mint juleps and stroganoff??? has she finally lost her mind??? (I actually did lose my mind a while back, just can't tell by looking at me...) LOL...

let me explain...these are 2 of Tim's favorites...all time favorites...and sometimes I just think he deserves to be spoiled and so it is today...

he loves beef stroganoff...and he loves mint juleps...and I don't think he has ever had them both at the same time before either...

when we go to Disneyland, he has to have his mint juleps...even on the rare occasion when he has not felt well at the "big D..." he still has to have a mint julep...we have even been waiting the first in line for the day to buy one...

so in the new cookbook he bought me was a recipe for mint julep cupcakes...and he has been bugging me non stop till I made them...now mind you, I hate mint...so I will definitely not be eating even one of them...thank goodness the recipe only makes 12 of them...

mint julep cupcakes

1 cup flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

3/4 cup butter

1 cup sugar

3 eggs

1/2 cup bourbon (the non drinker that I am, had none and I put milk instead)

1/4 cup finely chopped fresh mint...

cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy...add eggs one at a time...alternately add flour with baking powder and salt with bourbon (or milk)...spoon into cupcake pan...

bake at 350 for approx. 20-25 min...

now, these are not the light fluffy type cupcakes that I am used to and love (or so people told me,

cause remember how I hate mint?) they are dense and a tiny bit moist...

funny story...had the cupcakes sitting waiting to be frosted when I said that dinner was done...hubby thought they were muffins, split them in the middle and slathered them with butter...

back to the recipe...

frosting

1/2 cup whipping cream

1 tbs butter,

8 ounces of white chocolate

2 tbs creme de menthe (once again had none, but did go to the store and they had none, so I added peppermint extract...)

green food coloring...

heat cream and butter in pan till butter is melted...remove from heat and add white chocolate, stirring until melted...add food coloring and mint flavorings...let cool and stir occasionally and let sit till frosting consistency (about 2 hours...)

frost enjoy...

Tim, Sam, & Zozo loved them and said they taste exactly like a mint julep...and that my friends, is all that matters...right???

you really didn't need to see a picture of the stroganoff, now did you??? my recipe, altho good is really no big deal...it is made with the seasoning packets in the spice aisle of the store and then put over cooked noodles...yummy...

Elk's and chicken pot pie

so, yesterday I made chicken pot pie for Friday night dinner...I was really nervous...I didn't want to run out of food, but, yet I did not want to have too much left over either...it is like a guessing game since you never know exactly how many people are coming for dinner...it could be 20, or it could be 60...you just have to guess...I was first told to prepare for 60...OK...then the previous weeks had been very slow so they told me to re-do the number to 30...(they are also on a drive to save some money...) so, I had invited a few people I know to come have dinner also, and so I made enough dinner for 45 people...can I just say that I made the right decision??? are you ready for the final count???????????? we sold 42 dinners...that is right, folks...42...
can I just say that I am kinda proud of myself???
went to Elk's around 12 and cooked the chicken and started getting the 3 big pans ready...Sam and Tim both came after work and they were a huge help...Greg was supposed to help, but not feeling well...
Marlene brought her homemade cole slaw, Zoe, aka pretty pretty princess made (with my help),blueberry and cranberry muffins, they had green salad and I made my famous sweet potato cake...
I am pretty sure that it went over well...I heard a lot of compliments and some from pretty picky people...
my cake went over really well, even after people knew that there is baby food in it...

february menus

so, I am going to boldly go where no man (really a woman) has ever gone before (at least that I know of, for sure, I have not)...for the month of February, I have planned the month with brand new recipes...I am not going to make one single one that I have tried before...so, saying that, here goes:

February menus...

1. chicken carbona, salad, garlic bread
2. baked and cheese soup, biscuits
3. chicken taco soup, some kind of bread
4. garlic lemon chicken, rice, veggie
5. pulled chicken on slider rolls, cole slaw, baked beans
6. cranberry chicken, sour crm potatoes, veggie
7. chicken and biscuit casserole, salad
8. chicken caccitore, noodles, veggie
9. chicken with walnuts, mashed potatoes, veggie
10.asian beef with noodle bowl, egg rolls
11.slow cook london broil, what sides not decided yet...maybe fried rice
12,peanuts noodles with chicken
13.meatloaf muffins, scalloped potatoes, veggie, biscuits
14.goulash, garlic bread, salad
15.homemade pizzas, garlic bread sticks, cut up veggies
16.gumbo, tba
17.sausage and corn chowder
18.tortellini, sausage and spinach, garlic bread, salad
19.baked spaghetti, the rest tba
20.turkey, cranberry monte cristo, pasta salad
21.risotto
22.fettucini alfredo with chicken, tba
23.somw kind of salad
24.calzones, tba
25.enchiladas, not sure what kind yet, refried beans, etc
26.beef parmesan, tba
27.some kind of hash
28.one night allowed to go out...

so what do you think???think I can do this??? I cook for comfort and use a lot of boxed sides, etc...so, all this goes along with trying to eat a little healthier...
I am actually a little excited about doing this and maybe add a good number of new recipes to my list of current ones...

surprise in the mail # 2

this was such a big surprise cause I did not even remember sending for it...how funny is it that the Pillsbury and the Betty Crocker both for the month of January, have turkey pot pie??? the recipes are a little different but both look good...

feel good present from Tim

how absolutely wonderfully cool is this present??? he is so great and knows just how to make me feel better when I have had the week from .... (do I really have to spell it out???) I am in love with this book and there are so many wonderful recipes that I cannot wait to try out...he wants me to start with the Mint Julep cupcakes...just give me till Saturday after the big chicken pie dinner for 30-40 I am making at Elk's tomorrow night...

tortellini with sausage and spinach...

I am going to admit something here that you might not believe...I had never before in my life ever tried anything with alfredo sauce...I do not care for parmesan cheese, just the smell, or whatever, I am not sure but, have never liked it since I was a kid...therefore never wanted to try alfredo sauce...then, we were invited to some friend's for dinner and I understood it was to be an Italian night and Gerry is well known for his food, even written up in the paper for it...in fact, used to own a catering business...so, I knew the food would be good but, I thought we were only having lasagna and I LOVE me some good lasagna...every Christmas dinner at the in-laws was always lasagna and the real Italian kind with hard boiled eggs and cottage cheese instead of the ricotta...OK...

so we get to our friend's house and everything smells incredible and looked sensational...they started with the best antipasto, really good...then, he brings out this casserole dish and I could tell it was something alfredo but, the good guest that I am, I will try anything so I dish a little bit, a teeny tiny bit onto my plate (wouldn't you know I was the first one it was passed to???) and extremely so carefully I put one tortellini into my mouth and OMGoodness, I loved it...I had thirds of that dish, then ate some lasagna (which was terrific also, Beth...) and then asked to take home leftovers of the tortellini...have asked him for the recipe and am getting the vibes that he doesn't like to give out his recipes so, decided to try it on my own...

so here is what I did...

my own tortellini with sausage and spinach...

I bought a pkg of Bertolli tortellini

italian sausage

frozen spinach

jar of Bertolli alfredo sauce

what can I say??? browned sausage, cooked tortellini in water, mixed all together and baked...this is where I differed from Gerry's recipe, I put mozzarella cheese on top before I baked...

this is definitely a keeper recipe...what would I do different??? Sam says she does a homemade alfredo sauce that is much better than the jar...so;

1. try Sam's sauce

2. not overcook the pasta

3. make more of it...

guess what I am doing now people??? hunting other cooking blogs for more alfredo recipes, so,

are you all proud of me???

Greg said that he likes the recipe a lot and wants it more often...that makes me feel good...

easy peasy dinner...

dinner tonight??? with a migraine???

tuna melts, french fries (homemade of course) and cut up veggies...

you did not have to see pics of dinner tonight, now did you???

I had never heard of nor had a tuna melt until I worked at Centinela Hospital and the guy at the grill was so nice and when we talked I told him I had never tasted a tuna melt...he told me that he would make me the best tuna melt and I would love it...he did and I did...he made it with rye bread...soooooooo good...OMGoodness...

tuna melts are now one of Zoe's staples...

mac and cheese

I simply adore mac and cheese but, don't think I have the perfect recipe that I would cook over and over again, like once or twice a month (that's how much I love it...)

when I was a kid, of course, growing up in a family of 12 kids, we ate mac and cheese quite a bit...but, we always and I mean always ate the kind of mac and cheese that comes in a box with the powdery cheese...

so, I am always looking out for a good recipe that very well could end up as my monthly staple...

have had this one copied for several months now, and I am going to have to re research to see what site I got it from (thinking it was from BHG)...

so, it is just Tim and me home and this was the perfect time to try it...Greg does not like mac and cheese and he is still-um-somewhere...

Tim likes it and Sam came over for some and she liked it also...guess I will for sure make it again, it is not my staple one tho...

bow tie pasta macaroni and cheese...

1 pound box of bow tie pasta

2 tbs butter, or margarine

2 tbs flour

2 cups milk

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp nutmeg (I did not have any)

1 pound of white cheddar (4 cups) (I did not have white cheddar and my local store did not have it either...)

10 ounces frozen peas

1/2 pound finely diced ham...

heat oven to 350...

cook pasta in water for approx. 12 minutes...then drain...

while pasta is cooking, melt butter in saucepan over medium heat, stir in flour until well blended, cook for 1 minute, whisk in 1 cup of milk, stirring continuously until smooth...whisk in remaining cup of milk stirring until slightly thickened, about 5 min.

remove from heat and stir in the salt, pepper and nutmeg...whisk in 2 cups of the cheese until smooth...

in a large bowl, mix together the pasta, cheese sauce and 1 cup of the remaining cheese...stir in the peas and ham...scatter remaining cheese over top of casserole ( 13x9x2)...

bake approx. 30 minutes...

OK, like I said I did not have white cheese and I definitely want to try this another time with the white cheese and the nutmeg...it is a keeper...

smell-a-vision

look what I got up to this morning...that's right...rising bread...

I was so excited...and how super easy is this??? of course, it is Bridge ford frozen bread...you take it out of the freezer, put it into a sprayed loaf pan and leave it overnight, covered with a clean cloth and amazingly this is what you wake up to...and let me add, once baked it makes the most terrific toast...had some left over the other day and made the pretty princess toast and she was in heaven...

my house, this morning smells so wonderful, too bad smell-a-vision has not been made yet...

since Tim and I were alone last night (pretty princess is with her dad and Greg is ...well...somewhere) we made homemade pizzas...he had ham and pineapple and I had the usual pepperoni...then he also made us milk shake mud slides...can I just say I am in love??? I do not drink, but there is something about a nicely made mudslide...OM Goodness...

about the pizzas...they were good, but I need to find a better crust...I had bought the one in the biscuit aisle (that you crack on the counter to open) but to me it was a little doughy and more like bread...read somewhere that Sam's sells some that are really good...will try that next month...

OMGosh pea soup

I love love love pea soup almost more than anything else to eat in the world...if a restaurant says they are serving pea soup that day, I am in pig's heaven and will almost always order just a big bowl of pea soup...

ate it a lot growing up...but, always from a can...and if we were out of enough cans to feed 12 kids, my mom would mix it with a can of tomato soup and actually was pretty good...

now, pea soup from a can is good if that is all you have been used to...and Tim can make a mean pea soup from a can...if he is home, I always have him make it...not sure what he does to it, but, it comes out really good...but OMGosh if you can make it, you must try it...and it really was not that much trouble...

so, over New Year's we had a ham and I saved the bone, thinking I would make pea soup with it...now, I have made homemade pea soup before but, it was just all right nothing special...so, I waited to long to use the ham bone but, pea soup just sounded good today...

so I made it for dinner...

split pea soup

1 bag of split peas (in the bean section of your store)

8 cups of water

now on the package it says to wash and rinse your peas and I wasn't sure why, but I googled it and they said there can be little rocks in with your peas...so I rinsed...

put the 8 cups of water and peas in big pan and boil for 2 minutes...then take off the heat, covered for 1 hour...then put back on to boil then simmer for 1 more hour, in the pan I also added 1 cut up onion...

I don't like the chunks of the split peas so I blended a little at a time with some milk to help it blend...

I then added some cut up potatoes, carrots, bacon and some ham...

this was the absolute best pea soup I have ever had and Tim liked it too...

so with that I had some left over chicken from the chicken pie and I decided to make

waldorf chicken salad

I diced up 2 cooked chicken breast

diced up 5 stalks of celery

diced up 2 granny smith apples (& I leave the skins on)

added cranberries, walnuts and enough mayo to taste...

this also was very good tonight and wonderful on some homemade bread..I got Tim some pita bread to take to work with the waldorf salad...my mom made this many times when I was a kid...

what's for dinner, mom?

well, let's see...

how about oven baked chicken, bacon/cheddar mashed potatoes, mixed baby veggies and orange cranberry muffins...

oven baked chicken...
I melt some margarine on a cookie sheet in a 400 degree oven...I mixed some garlic salt, and pepper with some bisquick and rolled chicken thighs in the bisquick, completely covering the chicken...I put one side down in the margarine and then turn over before putting in the oven so the margarine is covering the tops to brown better...they bake for approx 45 minutes...
cheddar, bacon mashed potatoes
I baked 10 potatoes and once cool, scooped the potato out of the shells, mashed them with a little butter, milk, cheese and some cooked bacon...
orange, cranberry muffins
ok, so I cheated today and used a package mix and actually they were very good...
forgot to tell you that I also made chocolate chip cookies for dessert...
chocolate chip cookies
cream together 1 cup of butter, 1 cup of brown sugar, and 1/2 cup of white sugar, then add 2 eggs...add vanilla (1 1/2 tsp)...once creamed...add 2 1/2 cups of flour, 1 tsp baking soda, and 1/2 tsp salt...then add 2 cups chocolate chips and 1 cup of nuts...
bake 375 for approx. 10 min..
happy eating...

porcupines

yes, porcupines...LOL...

these were a staple, growing up in my huge family of 12 kids...we ate these a lot...when my own kids were little I had them and their friends convinced that they were really eating porcupine meat...silly little kids, like I, their mom would have eaten meat from a porcupine???

when I was a kid, I would volunteer to make the many meatballs it would take to feed 14 people, cause I would sneak them from the pan while they were cooking and eat them...my mom could never figure out why there weren't more of them...LOL...

now, this is one of Tim's favorites, not so much Greg's...but, hey Greg still has the flu so he probably won't be eating anyway...

porcupines...

mix hamburger, garlic salt, pepper, and uncooked rice (this is to your taste...) make into balls and fry...once browned, add one can of tomato soup and 1/2 can of water for sauce...we add a small amt of cheese on top...Yummy...

I served with parmesan noodles and green beans...

my kind of dinner...

souper easy meatball---soup

since everyone seems to have some kind of sickness around here lately, we are eating a lot of soups...for the very few of us that aren't sick, we do not want to get sick and are therefore eating light...soups fit the bill...

tonight???

souper easy meatball soup

8 cups of water

2 packets of beef stew seasoning mixes

mix water and seasoning together in a big pot...set on high...

add 1 pkg of frozen meatballs

once it boils add 1/2 pkg egg noodles

cook till noodles are tender and add

1 pkg frozen peas

I also made homemade bread (well it was frozen Bridgeford bread) buy, hey I got it out of the freezer, and lovingly watched it while it rose (for over 6 hours!!!) and it was so beautiful in the oven and tasted even better...

btw...I was out of frozen peas, so added corn instead...

just a pinch

http://www.justapinch.com/...

if you love to cook, check out this site...neat recipes and they also offer coupons...I have found some really good recipes and it is my new go to site when I am looking for a certain recipe...

I am doing the happy dance...

OMGosh look what my great, wonderful, terrific, neighbors brought me as leftovers from the party last night...

I am so so happy right now...oh yeah...

cranberry, pecan, wild rice salad...

my special kitchen helper

how could I go wrong with a helper such as this??? pretty pretty princess LOVES to help in the kitchen and gets mad if I start without her...to her, tho. the picture is not real unless she throws some flour on her apron "it has to look real grandma..." then, she will call the dog into the kitchen and throw some flour on Gracie's nose and say, "look what

Gracie got into..." LOL...

the girl can make a mean chicken pot pie too...she likes to make her own little pie and now does it with no direction from me at all...

Hallmark....cupcake????

what am I talking about??? a cupcake made by Hallmark??? doesn't it look good enogh to eat??? one of my addictions and I add to it every single year (started when Samantha was a baby in 1975)...are Hallmark Christmas ornaments and this year they came out with a new series, this year being the first one, of cupcakes...when I had the money, all the stores were out of it...but me, being so resourceful, found one on Ebay and won it...

I am so happy...now I cannot wait for the new ones to come out...

wild rice,, cranberry pecan salad

went to a birthday party for my neighbor last night at her mom's house and her dad is such a good cook...I knew the food would be fantastic and it did not disappoint...
some really good slightly sweet meatballs and the best wild rice, cranberry, pecan salad...
searched the internet and this is what I came up with...

wild rice, cranberry, pecan salad...

http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/wild_rice_cranberry_pecan_salad/...

OMGosh you will love this as much as I do...also think of adding chicken to it...

chicken pot pie

on Friday, was going to Elk's but, had chicken out already and so made chicken pot pie...but, forgot to take a picture of it...

also making it for everyone at Elks on Friday the 21st...so, will take a pic then...wish me luck converting my recipe over to feed approx 60 people...hope it turns out all right...at home when I make it, serve it by it's self...but to serve to 60 people, it needs something else...so am thinking....

chicken pot pie
cole slaw
cinnamom apples
some kind of muffins, like blueberry
sweet potato cake

what do you think??????

a promise is, well, a promise

when I promise something, I really try my best to follow through with that...it sure was tempting, however today to not do what I had said I would...

for the Christmas party at the preschool that I am on the board of they have a gift exchange...they put all of the presents in the middle of the room, and then you draw a number and pick a present according to your number...for my gift this time, I really wanted to give something that reflected me, no matter who it was going to...

my idea??? Rite Aid had the cutest gingerbread tin and I typed up a letter that told the person that picked the present they were going to receive a "cookie of the month club" for six months, they will receive 1 dozen cookies on a certain day of each month...that date is tomorrow...the person that got my gift I really really like and I want her to be happy...now, that being said, remember pretty, pretty princess has the bad kind of flu today and I am so worried that I will also get it??? it would have been so easy to tell the person that got my gift, "not today, I had problems at home..." and her being who she is would have totally understood...but, I am doing what I promised, no matter how bad my day has gone...

so;

oatmeal butterscotch cookies

2 sticks butter

1/2 cup white sugar

1 cup brown sugar

cream these ingredients together and add 2 eggs and also add 1 tsp vanilla

then add 1 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

and 3 cups oatmeal

I then added 1 pkg of butterscotch chips

bake 350 for approx 10 min...

OMGosh these are my new all time favorites...think how good they would be with cranberries and they maybe drizzled with white chocolate...YUMMY...

I hope the person that picked my gift likes them as much as we do...I know you will, Carol...

dinner???

chicken fried rice and handmade egg rolls...yum...

was always afraid of both fried rice and egg rolls but, I love both and so, kept trying and trying to perfect my recipes and my family says that I have now done that...

came across a so simple recipe for egg rolls and they are soo soo good...

egg rolls

all you do, is place a small amt of browned sausage and a small amt of pkg cole slaw mix (dry) onto a egg roll wrapper, roll them up and fry them...

how simple can you get???

my version of fried rice

for my family I use 6 cups of already cooked white rice, that I then "fry" in a small amt of oil, add garlic salt, pepper, and enough soy sauce to taste...finish cooking through...

then add: whatever you desire...

today I added cooked chicken, bacon, green onions, green peas, shredded carrots, and of course some loosely scrambled egg...

what else??? cupcakes....

so, anyone that knows me (pretty well at least) knows how much I love to bake...my hubby says that is the only reason that he married me...LOL...

anyways...I have always dreamed of having my own bakery (maybe without all of the work)...and with cupcakes being the rage right now, that is what I would love to do...been to the Casey's cupcakes by Mission Inn and personally I like mine better, no offense...

the first Tuesday night, Greg cooks at Elk's every month...they have bbq hamburgers, chicken, and steak and they have baked potatoes and a green salad...so, when it is Greg's night, I always make my great macaroni salad (which everyone loves) and I make cupcakes...

in the past, I have made my special sweet potato cupcakes , and I have made red velvet ones...tonight I made lemon coconut ones and they are delicious...Sam said they are the best cupcakes she has ever had...

lemon coconut cupcakes

lemon cake mix

1 1/4 cups buttermilk

1/2 cup oil

1 pkg either lemon or vanilla instant pudding

4 eggs

mix all together and bake at 325 for approx 10 min...

macaroni salad

1 box of either salad roni or shell roni (was out of both this time and used elbow)

cut up celery, green onions, dill pickles

diced cooked egg

mustard to taste

mayo to taste

garlic salt and pepper to taste

sliced black olives

cook macaroni and mix all together...

more coupons

Pillsbury is also offering a ton of good coupons...

www.pillsbury.com

think I will start planning menus and grocery lists for February already to take advantage of all of these terrific coupons...

coupons

box tops for education (www.btfe.com) has a bunch of $1.00 coupons right now...

also www.bettycrocker.com has $71.80 worth of coupons on their site...

any little bit helps, right???

at the commissary I had $25.00 in coupons this month, was pretty proud of myself...

surprise in the mail

look what came in my mail today....I had totally forgotten about it...several months ago on facebook, Pillsbury had offered a limited supply of 2011 calendars...I quickly signed up...I am a Pillsbury Doughboy freak...LOL...

January's recipe is turkey pot pie...

so, my calendar came today and it did not disappoint...each month has a full color page recipe...so cool...and they also included each recipe as a recipe card...

LOVE IT...

sorry the pic is sideways...

new cookbooks

this past weekend bought 2 new cookbooks for myself...

Deceptively Delicious, I had several years ago and then lost on a trip to San Antoino, and just now re bought for myself...I like how she adds different ingredients to make meals healthier...

Easy Cupcake Recipes (WAS ONLY 3.00 AT BORDERS) I love to make cupcakes and want to make them for the party when Greg is Exalted Ruler of Elks...there are some really good looking pictures in this book and I cannot wait to try them...

january menus...

so, every month will list my menus...I shop once a month at the military commissary...I just list according to how many days in the month...numbers or dates do not necessarily correspond to the meal...

so, here goes...

1. tacos, refried beans
2. corn chowder, biscuits
3. bbq hamburgers, cole slaw, baked beans
4. spaghetti, salad, garlic bread
5. cheese fondue, veggies, crackers, smokies, french bread
6. mock lasagna, bread, veggies
7. homemade chicken noodle soup, bread
8. meatball soup, bread
9. chicken pot pie
10. baked chicken parts, rice a roni, veggies
11. taco casserole, corn bread
12. twice baked potatoes with ham, veggies
13. sloppy joes, tator tots, corn
14. beef stew, bread
15. bisquick chicken with pineapple, rice
16. meatloaf with bisquick, scalloped potatoes, veggie
17. chili with fixings, hot dogs, corn bread
18. porcupines, parm. noodles, veggie
19. swedish meatballs, noodles, veggie
20. swiss steak, mashed potatoes, veggie
21. grilled cheese sandwiches, chips, raw veggies and dip
22. impossible pies (corn or cheeseburger) NEW RECIPE
23. roasted chicken, hobo potatoes, corn on the cob, bread
24. tri tip as pot roast with veggies...
25. honey mustard chicken (like a stew with apples & potatoes) NEW RECIPE
26. salsbury steak, mashed potatoes, veggie
27. make your own pizzas, bread sticks, cut up raw veggies
28. hamburger, rice, gravy with almonds and chow mein noodles, veggie
29. chicken fried rice, egg rolls
30. macaroni and cheese NEW RECIPE
31. chicken almadine NEW RECIPE
18.

first day...corn chowder, biscuits

corn chowder and homemade garlic/cheese biscuits...what could be better on a really cold day than a nice hot bowl of homemade corn chowder and garlic/cheese biscuits...here in sunny California, it is rainy and in the 40's...made dinner and put a fire in the fireplace...yummy...

corn chowder (easy)

melt one cube butter in pan

add 6 tbs flour and whisk in and let cook for a few minutes to take flour taste out...

add 1 box of chicken stock, whisk to get lumps out...

add 2-1/2 cups of milk...

cook till thickened, add as much corn to your taste (I use frozen), I also add one can of cut up carrots, one can of cut up potatoes, and cooked and cut up bacon...

garlic salt and pepper to taste...

see, told ya it was easy and so yummy...

everyone in my family loves it...even the picky princess...

garlic/cheese biscuits

picky princess made these for dinner tonight...

2 cups of Bisquick

2/3 cups of milk

garlic salt to taste

cheddar cheese to taste

mix all ingredients and drop by spoonful onto ungreased cookie sheet...

bake at 450 for approx 10 minutes...

so delicious...