Baked Stuffed Squash

INGREDIENTS:

1 small squash of your choice

1/2 cup cooked meat hamburger or stewing beef

1/2 cup of mixed veggies of your choice

1 cup tomato sauce

3 oz shredded marble cheese or any kind

1 tsp parmesan cheese (optional)

METHOD:

Hollow out your squash and sprinkle Parmesan cheese inside. Mix meat, veggies, and tomato sauce in a bowl and fill inside cavity of squash with the mixture.  

Place in casserole dish, standing in 2 inches of water. Put squash top sideways in the water...not on top of the squash.  Cook for 1 hour on 375 F or until squash is soft. Melt cheese on top, under broiler, at the end of cooking. Let sit 10 minutes before serving.  

Enjoy!:)

Note: you may need more meat and veggies to fill your squash, depending on the size of it. 

Homemade Pork Stew

This recipe can be made as thick as you desire. I don't like my broth too thick but if you do...no problem. :)

INGREDIENTS: 

3-4 pound picnic pork roast

8 cups boiling water 

1 large sweet onion

1 small bag baby red potatoes washed but unpeeled

1 small bag pre-cut julienne carrots

1 cup butternut squash

1 cup turnip

1 cup green string beans

I cup halved cherry tomatoes

salt and pepper

bay leaf

5 Tbls flour

1/2 cup cool water.

METHOD:

Remove meat from bone but place bone in stew pot. Cube meat into bite size pieces and fry in skillet until dark golden brown. Remove any access grease and add half the onion in the last 10 minutes of cooking.

Add boiling water to skillet, to remove all the brownings and then pour the meat, water, and onions, into the soup pot with the bone. Bring to a simmering boil and cook for 40 minutes, before adding the other half of the onion, bay leaf, and some pepper. 

Add your turnip and cook for 10 minutes before adding your potatoes and squash.Then add your julienne carrots and string bean pieces in the final 10 minutes of cooking. Add tomatoes in the last five.

To thicken the stew broth: in a mason jar, vigorously shake flour and cool water together so there are no lumps. Slowly add flour and water mixture to stew while stirring, until desired thickness has been reached.  

Allow stew to sit away from the heat for 10 minutes, before serving. 

Makes enough to feed the entire family or have some for the freezer!  

Enjoy! :)

Mississippi Mud Cake

I am lucky to have inherited giant piles of handwritten recipes from my husband's great grandma. Here is one of our favorites!
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Mississippi Mud Cake

2 c sugar
1 c butter (no subs)
2 Tbsp cocoa powder
4 eggs, well beaten
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 c flour
1 1/3 c shredded coconut
1/4 tsp coconut extract
1 1/2 c chopped nuts (optional)
1- 7 oz jar marshmallow cream

Cream together sugar, butter and cocoa.  Add well beaten eggs and vanilla. Stir in flour and beat well. Add coconut flavoring and nuts, spread in greased 9×13 pan and bake at 350° for 30-40 minutes.  When done, immediately spread marshmallow cream on top and let cool completely.
When cool frost with the following::

1 lb. Powdered sugar
1/2 c butter
1/2 c evaporated milk
1/3 c cocoa
1 tsp vanilla

Mix all together until smooth.

Frost cake and cover with foil, refrigerate until served.

Homemade Hamburger Helper!!!

Of course there are several different ways that this can be made but the following is one of my most favorite ways of all. So tasty and Mexican-ish!  :)

INGREDIENTS:

3 lbs extra lean hamburger meat

1 large onion

3 cups boiling water

500 ml jar hot, medium, or mild salsa

1 large cubed zucchini (or veggie of your choice)

3 Tbls tex mex spice

1 tsp pepper

1 bag whole wheat egg noodles

METHOD:

Cook hamburger meat in a large skillet pan until dark brown, then add the onions and cook for five more minutes before adding the boiling water. Remove the excess grease from the meat before adding the onions or water. 

Bring to a simmering boil, then add tex mex and pepper spices, along with the jar of salsa. Simmer 10 to 20 minutes...or until thickened. Add zucchini pieces in last 10 minutes of cooking.

Mix beef and zuchinni mixture with cooked whole wheat egg noodles and serve.  

You may add corn niblets or beans to this recipe...I've done both in the past.  Use your imagination and change up my recipe as much as you like...I often do too!  It can even be served over mashed potatoes! 

Enjoy! :)

Cheesy Black Bean Taco Pasta

That day before grocery day is called "Invention Day" at our house. This is super easy, quick and filling. And always lots of leftovers!!
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1 16 oz bag cavatapi pasta
1 16 oz can black beans, rinsed
1 can diced tomatoes and chilies
1 jar Cheese pasta sauce (such as Ragu)
1 packet taco seasoning

Boil pasta until tender and drain. Mix all ingredients in pot. Warm through. Serve with crusty garlic toast!!

6-8 servings

Cranberries & Cream Bark

This is the easiest recipe you'll ever make...but one of the most delicious! EXCELLENT for the holidays! 

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 to 1 lb white baker's chocolate

2- 3 cups dried sweetened cranberries

nuts (optional)

no-stick spray

METHOD:

On a very low heat, melt down the white chocolate after cutting the slabs into small uniform pieces. Be sure not to have the heat too high or to melt your chocolate too quickly, or it will be grainy instead of silky smooth. I prefer to melt mine on # 2 heat or on low. 

After the chocolate is fully melted, stir in your cranberries and optional nuts if you desire...and mix well. Spread the mixture onto a greased plate or cookie sheet and wait for it to harden before cutting into bars.

The bars will keep for a long time in the freezer.  

Enjoy! :)

Nutty Pom Pom Chewy Brittle

INGREDIENTS:

5 large pomegranates
1 1/2 cups water
2 cups sugar
3 Tbls lemon juice 
2 cups mixed unsalted nuts with raisins
1 cup granola or cereal
1 tsp butter or no-stick spray 

METHOD:

Remove the pomegranate seeds from the white membrane and place in a large pot. Mash the seeds down to release the juices but do not remove them. Add lemon juice and water. Bring to a boil on medium to high heat, then add sugar, stirring constantly for 25 to 30 minutes until mixture has thickened into toffee and is harder to stir...

Remove from heat. 

Add nuts and cereal and stir through. Spread mixture on buttered or sprayed cookie sheet and use a spoon to press it flat. Allow to cool and harden before cutting into bars.  

The secret to success of this recipe, is cooking the pomegranate mixture into candied toffee form.  This longer the mixture is cooked, the harder the bars will be.  

OPTIONAL: This chewy brittle is very sticky and so you may want to dip the pieces in chocolate, shredded coconut, or rub them with coconut oil...this will take away from the stickiness.

May be stored at room temperature for a week or in the freezer for 3-6 months.

Enjoy! :)

Beef & Veggie filled Squash bowl!

This recipe can be made with whatever kind of squash, meat, or veggies you have on-hand, but I'll give the recipe that I made tonight.  :)


INGREDIENTS:

1 white swan squash 
1 package of stewing beef
1 medium onion
1/2 cup broccoli 
1/2 cup cauliflower 
1/2 cup red pepper  
1/2 cup yellow pepper
1 tsp butter
salt & pepper 


METHOD:

Cut your squash in half and clean the halves out...then butter and pepper them. Bake the squash halves in the oven at 350 F for 40 to 45 minutes,  skins down, in a caserole dish with an inch of water on the bottom. 

In a pan on the stovetop, cook the meat and onions until nice and brown. Then add the veggies and cook until crisp-tender.  

Scoop the meat & veggie mixture into the squash bowls and voila! 

Enjoy!  

Pears, pears everywhere

Fall is upon us. Trees are changing colors, gardens are slowing down, and the scent of cinnamon floats in the air.

One of my favorite things to do is can and preserve anything I possibly can. So when it's white and frigid, I can open up a jar of fruit butter or tomato sauce, and for one blissful moment feel the sunshine on my face.

Pears are abundant at our house. So much so, a person can begin to run out of ways to fix them. When no other recipe sounds good I fall back to a Mish mash recipe I make for pear butter. I use tons of warm, fragrant spices and as an added bonus I cook it in the crockpot so there is minimal mess!

Pear butter:

12 cups of peeled, cored and chopped pears

1/2 c. Water
1 1/2 c brown sugar
1/2 c. White sugar (optional if you want extra sweetness)
1/2 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp cardamom
1/2 tsp cloves
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Put all of the ingredients in a 5 quart crockpot. Stir it. Inhale it. Drool over it. Cover it up and let it cook for up to 6 hours on low. Unless your pears are already super ripe. Then just cook it until it is mushy. Uncover it and spoon it in batches into a blender or food processor.  Or even use a fancy immersion blender. When you get it smooth, return it to your crockpot and cook it uncovered until it reaches butter consistency.  This happens for me after about an hour or hour and a half. It all depends on your crockpot. Spoon this gorgeous pear butter into containers with lids or into mason jars. If you choose to just put it in a bowl, it should last in the fridge for 2 or 3 weeks. In a mason jar, water bathe it for 10 minutes in a boiling water canner and let it cool 24 hours on the counter. This will preserve it for up to a year if stored in a cool, dry place!

Amazing. Delicious. And truly a piece of fall in a jar!

Welcome to our blogging kitchen

Hi everybody!
I'm guessing if you found me then we share a common interest already...Food. I love food. I love to cook it, I love to eat it, I love to share it. I'm lucky because my husband and kids are brave enough to try anything I make, even if it looks questionable. I'm not a fancy cook. I'm not a health fanatic, although I try to feed my family fresh food as often as possible. I'm a true believer that indulgence in small amounts is good for the soul. I'm new to this blogging thing. But I thought perhaps I, along with a few of my close friends would share an ongoing journey into our world of food. Follow along as we share pictures and recipes from our homes to yours.
:)