Mock - Orange Julius

Orange Julius (dairy free & sugar free)
1 can frozen orange juice (12 oz)
2 cups ice water
2 cups unsweetened almond silk
1 cup granular spenda
2 tsp vanilla
Blend together in your blender.

Then I use this mix to make about 8 - 10 drinks. We place 4-6 ice cubes in our magic bullet, cover with juice mix & blend away.

We always enjoy one fresh then I put away the extras for snacks throughout the week. Juice mix stores in the fridge for about 1 week. Enjoy!

Wk 1 and a Few Confessions

• We survived the first week of Big Daddy's current deployment. Here are a few of the highlights. . .

Picture Credit

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  So, as you can see from the picture above, I think I might be the one who leaves the toilet paper roll empty. Sorry, Big Daddy, I have blamed you plenty in the past.


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  Miss Priss announced proudly as we were leaving the airport: "If Daddy dies, we will be fine." She was very matter of fact about it and wasn't upset at all.


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  Things that have broken this week: the master bathroom sink stopper, Big Daddy's drivers window won't go down, and the second scrubbing bubbles automatic shower sprayer (I keep killing them - not sure how but if it makes a sound like an elephant trumpeting underwater, it will stop working in less than 48 hours)


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  We have had one adult chicken die. Not sure why. . . Three of the 6 baby chicks we transfered over to the big coop also died - I'm sure that was the pecking order.


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  The roof on the house is finished! Yay!! I about went bonkers with all the pounding. Now the only thing left is to paint the rest of the vents.


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  I officially joined the gym and have had good sore muscles and I'm liking it. I still prefer my old gym but distance makes it impossible to go.


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  I've opened Big Daddy's deodorant and smelled it twice. I miss his smell. Not the Ooh, honey I just got done working out give me a big ol' hug smell but his nice clean smell.


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  Made a great recipe for dinner this past week : Mango Chicken Rice it was super yummy and a keeper recipe for our family


• 
  
  Diva got her progress report and all looks good 6 A's and a B


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  Cowgirl has a for sure contagious laugh. She starts to giggle and in no time others have joined in.


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  I've enjoyed a few solid cadbury chocolate eggs with the pastel coating on them. Thank you Walgreens for marking down the individual packs in your after Easter sale to $0.18 each. I'm praying the 5 bags I bought last a while (remember they are tiny bags). I do love chocolate!


• 
  
  On Sunday, we played a game in senior primary where we sang some opera and silly monster voices. I LOVE singing opera style and the kids love it too. My silly monster voice was a ridiculously high squeaky voice and the kids were laughing so hard. I do enjoy my calling!


• 
  
  Drama Queen was wanting to test out the Lord by asking Him multiple times the same question hoping He would change his answer for her. She has since talked to me and says she doesn't think it would be a good idea to test the Lord like Joseph did when Martin Harris wanted to take the 116 pages of translated materials. Thank goodness the girl must have thought about it on her own.


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  I've slept with all the lights out! That's a biggie for me.

Loose Meat Burgers

Don't these look delish?? These are a family favorite. We have never lived in the mid-west and tasted one of these at an "authentic" loose meat burger joint. However, we did see a Food Network special on the best burgers and a burger similar to this one was featured. I sought out many recipes and found one our family liked and have tweeked it more to our family's tastes.

Loose Meat Burgers

2-2.5 lbs. Lean Ground Beef (90% lean or better)

1 Cup Water

Place the meat and the water in a large deep pot. Cook of medium high heat and stir constantly. You want to have a nice crumble on your meat. Once the meat is cooked and is about 1/2 done you want to add:

2 Yellow Onions (minced in the food processor or finely chopped)

1 Tablespoon Garlic (fresh - I use the jarred stuff)

Continue to stir and cook until all the meat is browned. (If you did not use super lean meat, you will need to drain your beef. I prefer using the lean meat so I skip this step.) Now you are going to add:

2 Tablespoons Yellow Mustard

2 Tablespoons White Vinegar

3 Packets Splenda (2 Tablespoons granular Splenda)

Mix into your meat and continue to boil until moisture is cooked out 15-20 minutes. (If you had to drain your meat, you want to cover your meat with water and simmer it off. Don't skip this step.) Salt and pepper to taste.

Serve over toasted buns with pickle slices and lots of mustard. Enjoy!

This can be gluten free if you serve them naked without the bun! Super delish in a bowl as left-overs the next day.

Easy Corn Chowder

Gather your ingredients:

• 4 medium sized potatoes peeled and diced
• 1 large onion, diced
• water
• 2 cans creamed corn
• 1 can mexicorn, drained
• 2 cans evaporated milk
  Dice potatoes and onion and place in pot. Cover with water, just enough to fully cover. Bring to a boil and boil about 10-15 minutes until potatoes are tender.

Add drained mexicorn, creamed corn and evaporated milk. Turn down the heat because the sugars in the creamed corn with burn on the bottom. Heat through & serve.

Enjoy in a yummy bread bowl and serve with some fresh veggies.

Bread Bowls

1 1/2 cups warm water

1 tablespoon yeast (or 1 packet)

2 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons salt

3 cups white flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 tablespoon vital wheat gluten

Dissolve sugar in warm water. Add yeast and stir to dissolve. Let rest until creamy - about 10 minutes. Measure dry ingredients into kitchenaid mixer bowl. Add creamy yeast mixture and set on 2. Once all the dough comes together, allow to continue mixing (kneading) for about 5 minutes. You can add up to 1/2 cup more flour if needed. Form dough into a large circle. Cut into 6 wedges and form each wedge into a ball. Place on greased baking sheet. Let rise 30 minutes (I do this in my dryer). Bake at 425*F for 20-25 minutes. You can use a basic egg wash or spritz the bread bowls with water several times during the baking process for a crispier crust.

Ravioli Chicken Not-sagna

The ingredients (there's only 4):

• Your Favorite Pasta Sauce
• Your Favorite Frozen Ravioli
• Frozen Chicken Strips
• 8 oz. Shredded Mozzarella

Grab a 9x13 baking dish. Start with the sauce put about 1/2 into the bottom. Place a layer of chicken strips and then a layer of ravioli. Top with the remaining sauce. Cover and bake at 400*F for 40 minutes.
Remove from oven and top with cheese. Return to oven for 10 minutes to melt the cheese. I always broil mine for the last few minutes. As you can see, I got distracted and my cheese got a little too browned. :o)
See, super simple quick fix! Yum and kid friendly to boot!

1/31 - 2/6

Monday 1/31 - Ravioli Chicken Not-sangna

Tuesday 2/1 - Corn Chowder in Bread Bowls

Wednesday 2/2 - Beef Stroganoff

Thursday 2/3 - Peanut Butter Pancakes & Eggs

Friday 2/4 - Meatball Pizza

Saturday 2/5 - Concert & Fair Food

Sunday 2/6 - Chicken & Dumplings

I'm gonna start posting more of my recipes. I'll link them up once I enter them in.

This week is a little busy but not too bad. All the girls have dental appointments today. So far, Miss Priss had a perfect check up! Yay for her! We were told by the dentist to plan on braces for her in about 2 years. Yep, I knew that would happen.

Wednesday night for Activity Days we are going to be learning how to make bread. We will supply the bread for our next sacrament meeting which will be the 13th of February since we have stake conference this next weekend. I'm really looking forward to it. I hope the girls learn something new and fun.

I'll be posting more later. . . I've gotten pretty bad at not blogging. . . guess that's what happens when life is busy. . .

Southern Broccoli Bread

5 eggs
12 oz. cottage cheese
10 oz. chopped broccoli
1 med. chopped onion
1 box of jiffy cornbread mix
1 stick of butter
Melt butter in a 9x13 glass baking dish. Mix eggs, cottage cheese, broccoli (thawed and drained if using frozen) and onion in a bowl. Add corn bread mix. Pour batter into baking dish on top of the melted butter. Place in oven and bake for 20-30 minutes at 350*F, until golden brown or until a knife inserted in center comes out clean. Good warm or cold. Enjoy!

Recipe courtesy of Mary Erma Fairchild - Mississippi Gal

(no picture - I haven't taken one because it comes out of the oven and gets cut up and eaten)

Crepes with Buttermilk Syrup and Bananas

Doesn't this look delicious?

Guess what?! It's super simple!First you start with the Crepes. They are fairly simple to make. If you've got a kiddo who loves to help in the kitchen, this would be a great one to let them help with if they are 10 or older.

Buttermilk Syrup

• 1/2 cup butter - has to be the real stuff
• 1 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Combine butter, sugar, buttermilk and corn syrup in pan and bring to a boil. Boil for 3 minutes. Add vanilla (I use mexican vanilla) and stir. Turn off heat and add baking soda. Stir quickly. The syrup will foam up. Let rest 5 minutes then stir and serve.

So, this is the set up. Make your crepes. Place your desired number of crepes on your plate, drizzle with syrup and top with sliced bananas. You will be in heaven! Trust me!