Surprise!!!!

Well yes, it HAS been over a month since I've blogged.

But here is the real reason!

I'm pregnant, about 15 weeks along and due January 25th, Hubby and I are super excited.

Now that I'm feeling a little bit better I'm hoping to start posting again, thanks for being so patient!

---Christina

Crockpot Chili

I know I know, shame on me, I've been a horrible blogger.

Here's something I've made twice in the last two weeks because hubby liked it so much he wanted it again!

Ingredients

2 lbs Ground beef- browned
2 cans Diced tomatoes
2 cans diced fire roasted w/ garlic tomatoes
1 can Cannelini beans- rinsed
1 can Pinto beans- rinsed
1 can Chili beans
2 tsp Red Pepper flakes
2 Tbsp Salt
2 Tbsp Pepper
2 Tbsp Chili Powder
4 Tbsp Spicy Garlic Wing Sauce
2 Cups Water
3 Cloves Garlic (minced)
1 Medium onion (minced)

Makes : 12 large servings

This is so easy. Brown your meat.

Throw everything in your crockpot and cook for at least 2 hours on low!

Freeze some for an easy meal to pull out when you need it.

Have a great 4th of July!

Would you like an E-cookbook?

A friend of mine sent me an E- cookbook that has recipes from a WHOLE BUNCH of different restaurants.

Since I've been such a bad blogger and haven't given you any new things I thought some of you may like it.

If you would leave a comment with your email address and I'll send it along!

Have a great day and God Bless!

Yup

Well alright. I've been a bad blogger. But it's because I'm being a good wife!

Hubby is taking Master's classes this summer and for last week and this week he has to borrow my laptop because he has class in the am and pm and stays on campus all day.

So I've been without my computer (and photo uploader).

Don't worry, I'll be back !

Thanks for your patience!

Our Niagara Falls Fun!

Have you been to Niagara Falls (we were on the NY side)? It's a fun place. Hubby had never been and I had only seen them in passing ( I know I lived in NY for 21 years, what can I say).

We took the cave of the winds tour, which let me tell you was sweet. They give you sandals and a poncho. You take an elevator down and then you walk around on a bridge and get to go nearly IN the falls.

It was awesome. I just wanted to share the pictures! Enjoy and God Bless

(can you see my hubby?)

( he doesn't enjoy smiling, so he cheeses)

Fruit and Rhubarb Pie

Well for my first post back it sure will be a fun one. I haven't had much time to cook since I've been home. Work has kept me very busy. Hopefully this next week will slow down some and I can get back in the kitchen. I just got all my new Pampered Chef stuff, so I'm looking forward to using it!

When I was home, my mom had bought some rhubarb but wasn't sure how she wanted to use it. So I made this pie. We had some great fruit in the house so I didn't go the basic Strawberry Rhubarb style.

This turned out great!

Ingredients
2 Pie Crusts (one for top and bottom)- I used Pillsbury, I didn't want to make one.
6 Stalks Rhubarb (trimmed and leaves removed *did you know they are poisonous*)
4 Small apples
1 Container Strawberries
1/2 Pint Blueberries
3/4 Cup White Sugar
1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
3 Tbsp Cornstarch (to thicken the juices)
2 Tbsp Vanilla Extract
1 yolk + 1 tsp water lightly beaten
White sugar to top

Place one Pie Crust in a Pie Pan.

Slice up Rhubarb into 1/4-1/2" pieces. Slice Apples thinly (leave the skins on, it's good for you).
Slice Strawberries thickly.
Add Blueberries.

Put them all in a big mixing bowl. Add all other ingredients and mix.


Pour into your pie tin and flatten as much as possible.
Now you can get fancy pants like me and make a lattice top (which is really easy by the way- if you need a good tutorial check out Smitten Kitchen's ).

Then take your beaten egg and water mixture and brush it on top, this will help it to brown. I always like to dust mine with some sugar. So take a pinch of white sugar and put it all on the top. Yum.

Put in the Oven at 400* for 20 min and then reduce to 350* for another 20-30 minutes until pie is lightly browned. Allow to rest and then enjoy!

Have a great Saturday and God Bless

A few days....

Well everyone as much as I'd love to say that I can get some posts up, it will probably be a few days, I'm swamped at work!

Keep checking back!

I'm Back

Well I'm back from the trip, we had a great time and I even made some recipes while there. I'll try and post my Fruit and Rhubarb pie today or tomorrow, now I am trying to get back into the swing of things!

Reminder

Just reminding everyone that there won't be much in the way of Food on the Blog for the next 2 weeks, I'll be outta town and very busy!

I'll be going to my dear friend Jen's Wedding (she's on the right)

I'll be visiting my family!

And seeing beautiful Upstate New York and Hiking with my Hubby
Have a great few weeks and God Bless!

Peanut Butter and Jelly Cupcakes

Well it is another Taste & Create recipe for the Month of May. I have to tell you there was plenty on HoneyB's website for me to want to make. But these struck me as something different. And they came through. These puppies will RISE so don't overfill, how do I know. Just trust me.

The peanut butter icing was AMAZING and the cupcake batter was perfect. Everyone I gave these to thought they were awesome. Thanks Honey B!


Peanut Butter & Jelly Cupcakes
from Peanut Butter and Jelly Co.

1-1/2 cups flour
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1/2 cup whole milk
3/4 cup strawberry jam
2 cups Peanut Butter Frosting (recipe will follow)

Makes 17 cupcakes

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 17 muffin cups with paper baking cups.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt, and set aside.

In a separate bowl, cream together the butter, sugar, and vanilla with an electric mixer. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition, then add the milk. Slowly add the flour mixture and combine until the batter is uniform. Do not overmix.

Fill each cupcake liner halfway with batter. Drop a tablespoon of the jam in the center of each cupcake and then top with more batter so they are a little more than three-quarters full. (do not overfill)

Bake for 20 minutes or until the cupcakes spring back when touched lightly. Let them cool completely before icing with Peanut Butter Frosting.

Peanut Butter Frosting
1-1/4 cups (2-1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup peanut butter (smooth)
5 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup plus 1 tbsp whole milk (I used 2% here also)

In a large mixing bowl, use an electric mixer to whip the butter and peanut butter together.
Add the confectioners' sugar, salt, and then the milk. Add additional tablespoons of milk or sugar to loosen or tighten the icing, respectively. For best results, use immediately.
Have a great day and God Bless!

Blog slowness expected

So Thursday early AM I am boarding a plane to Buffalo, NY to be in one of my dear friends Weddings and then DH and I will be vacationing for a week.

Tomorrow I hope to get up my Taste and Create Submission which are Peanut Butter and Jelly Cupcakes (and are SO good).

But after that probably not too much until June 1st.

So check out the archives and YOU keep cooking! If you make something of mine leave me a comment and let me know!

Chicken and Summer Vegetable Pasta with Lemon Garlic Cream Sauce

Ingredients
2 Zuccini's Quartered and sliced
2 Yellow squash Quartered and Sliced
1/4 Onion, chopped
2 Boneless skinless Chicken breasts-cut into bite sized pieces
1 Bag Pasta
1/2 Stick Butter
3 Tbsp+ 2 Tbsp Canola Oil
1/2 Cup Sour Cream
1/2-3/4 Cup Milk
1/3 Cup Parmesan Cheese
2 Cloves Garlic- Minced
Zest of 1 lemon
Juice of 1 lemon
Salt and Pepper to taste

MMMMMMmmmmmm this turned out wonderfully. It was just something I threw together after seeing The Pioneer Woman 's baked Lemon pasta dish. Mine isn't much like her's but I feel like I should say that seeing that inspired me to make my own.

Hubby absolutely loved this, he gave it the highest rating of anything so far. He couldn't stop commenting on how good it was. It makes a wife feel good for sure, I'm glad God paired the two of us together.

So first things first. Chop up your chicken into bite sized pieces. While you are doing that warm up a big skillet over medium high heat and put your 3 Tbsp canola oil in there.
Transfer your chicken pieces and salt and pepper generously. Cook for about 3-5 minutes each side or until cooked through and then remove and put in a bowl for later.

While your chicken is cooking cut up your zucc's and squash, I sliced and quartered them because I wanted them to be small-ish. I had some leftover onion chopped up from the other night so I used that too (but it was only about 1/4 cup).

Take your pan that is now over medium heat add your butter and 2 Tbsp canola oil. Once combined add everything you have chopped. Toss around so that it is coated and cook for 10 minutes or until they are tender.

Mince 2 cloves garlic and zest 1 lemon. Add this in at the end of the cooking of the zucchini and squash and cook together while you make the sauce.

In a pot combine sour cream, milk, parmesan cheese and the juice of one lemon. Add the chicken back in and cook over medium heat to warm.

Once it is warm combine the pan of veggies to the sauce.

Ladel over cooked pasta and enjoy! Yum!

Have a great Monday and God Bless!

Broccoli Slaw (or the best stuff EVER)

Let me just tell you, oh.my.goodness. This is phenomenal. I'm SO glad I made a double batch! I was perusing Smitten Kitchen's website and found being pregnant is causing her to crave broccoli so she made THIS recipe. There really wasn't much need for me to make adjustments but I will note them in Red. Also remember I doubled her recipe, I'm going to post those as well.

2 heads of broccoli ( I used 4 medium to large broccoli heads)
1/2 cup thinly sliced almonds, toasted ( I used 1 cup Dry Roasted sunflower kernels)
1/3 cup dried cranberries ( 2/3 cup)
1/2 small red onion, finely chopped (3/4 medium onion, minced)

Buttermilk Dressing
1/2 cup buttermilk, well-shaken (I used 1 cup whole milk, plus 2 tbsp white vinegar)
1/3 cup mayonnaise (I used 2/3 Cup)
2 tablespoons cider vinegar (I used the same, whoops)
1 tablespoon sugar ( I used the same)
3 tablespoons finely chopped shallot (I didn't add more than the 3/4 from above)

Salt and Pepper to taste

First off I HATE doing dishes, yuck! So I always try to use as few as possible. So I made the dressing first.

Put your mayo in the bottom of a big bowl ( I used a cute tupperware one, so I could put it all in the fridge, and covered later).

In a pyrex measuring cup, measure your milk and vinegar (or buttermilk if you are way cooler than me) and let it set for a few minutes.

Then pour that into the bowl with the mayo, add the sugar and cider vinegar, salt and pepper and whisk until smooth.

Now take your broccoli and slice them off just where it starts to stem to each piece. Then I just cut off the floret cut it in half (or thirds depending how big it was), cut the stem in half and threw them into the dressing mixture. Repeat until you've cut all of that yummy goodness up (Did you know broccoli is a good source of calcium?). Broccoli is my favorite veggie. If you couldn't tell.

Cut up your onion, mince it. Throw it in.

Now measure out 1 Cup Sunflower Kernels (oh man this was a great substitute in my book)

Then 2/3 Cup Cranberries.

Now grab your salad fork and spoon and mix, making sure to coat everything.

Then I covered it and put it in the fridge for an hour so it was nice and cold.

This was all I could have wanted and more, sweet, tangy, fairly good for you, with tons of broccoli. Let me suggest trying it with the sunflower kernels, mmmm.

Have a great day and God Bless!