Random Thursday - Easy Recipe Edition

I am in love with the topic today.  I can be sooooooooooooo lazy with cooking and I can't be bothered with weird ingredients or too many steps, especially on busy nights after school.

I like to eat a lot of chicken and I like anything with Mexican flavors, so I pretty much always keep cheddar cheese, black beans, taco seasonin packets, etc. on hand.  Here is a little list of some of my go to dinners with links from the interwebs.

Ranch Cheddar Chicken - this one is easy and yummy and is one of those rare meals that everyone in the family will eat.  I have used Fiesta Ranch mix before instead of regular ranch and that was yummy too.

Chicken Enchilada Pasta - this is SO YUMMY.  Don't be intimidated by the longest list of ingredients.  It is not hard to make.

This is my go to pasta salad for barbecues or picnics.  We also have it as a main dish quite a bit.  I always leave the olives out BECAUSE OLIVES ARE DISGUSTING!

This isn't a main dish but I posted here about ridiculously easy pumpkin muffins.  I made them last Thanksgiving and people were so impressed and they are really almost embarassingly easy.  

These two recipes are from a cookbook and are also easy go tos.

Fiesta Quesadillas

1 (11 oz) corn with red and green peppers, drained

1 (4.5 oz) chopped green chiles

1 cup fat-free refried beans

8 (8 to 10 inch) fat-free tortillas

1 cup (4 oz) shredded colby-Monterey Jack cheese blend

1. Mix up corn, chiles and refried beans. Spread 1/4 of the mixture on a tortilla. Top with another tortillas

2. So the book tells you to put these on the grill, but I don't have one. It also suggests the broiler. I usually just put it in a frying pan with a little Pam on low heat for about 3-5 mins. I turn it over with a pancake turner and do the other side for about 3 minutes, making sure all the cheese is melted.

3. Cut into wedges and eat. I had mine with tomato soup. I'm a big soup person.

Makes 4 quesadillas (450 calories each).

Nacho Bean Soup

1 (14.5 oz) can ready-to-serve vegetable broth 1 cup of milk 2 tablespoons all purpose flour 1 (15.5 oz) can pinto beans, drained, rinsed 2 cups (8 oz) shredded taco flavored cheese blend 1 (4.5 oz) can chopped green chiles 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro (I didn't have any, so I just used dried) 1 cup broken tortilla or corn chips

1. In large saucepan, combine broth, milk and flour; blend well. Cooke and stire over medium heat until mixture comes to a boil.

2. Stir in beans, chiles, cheese and cilantro. Cook 5 mins or until thoroughly heated and cheese melted, stirring constantly. Sprinkle individual servings with tortilla chips.

Makes 3 (1.5 cup) servings.

While it doesn't exactly fall into the "healthy" category (590 calories!) it definitely was easy and delicious. 

Linking up with Lin and the other girls.  Can't wait to some new recipes. 

oops

I fell asleep before I could post yesterday.  Ryan came home from work a little before ten and found me asleep in bed with all of the lights on and my laptop in my lap.  Which ruins my 30 day streak.  Booooo.  Hiss....  I am going to post twice today and call it good. 

Update to 101 in 1001

9. Try 50 New Recipes

• Secret fruit salad - I ended up accidently hosting a Mary Kay party (long story) and I made this for the girls to eat.  I am not a fan of fruit salad, but it got rave reviews from everyone who tried it.  This recipe is making it's way all over Pinterest.  The recipe says it serves 3-4 but I think it makes WAY more than that. 
• Chicken enchilada pasta - This recipe was from Mel's blog which is a great one for easy family friendly recipes.  This was SO DELICIOUS and it will definitely be becoming a part of our regular dinner rotation.  I did skip the olives though (blech!). 
• Taco Casserole - was from this blog.  Ryan randomly requested a taco casserole and this was one of the first hits Pinterest yielded.  It was very easy to make, but it almost seemed like an appetizer more so than a main course.  We all liked it though, so I will probably make again.
• Breakfast pancake - This was one of those dead pinterest pins with the recipe in the description and no link.  I made it on a random Saturday morning for breakfast when we had Ryan's sister Katherine staying with us.  At first I thought I must have done something wrong because it looked like this when we pulled it out of the oven:

          but it was actually delicious!  It is kind of a cross between French toast and pancakes. 

33. Read 50 Books

• I brought Jodi Piccoult's Lone Wolf to take along with me to Florida.  It was just okay.  I enjoy her as an author, but this was my fourth book in a row by her and they are  all pretty much the same.  Her characters have some sort of unsolvable dilemma which culminates in a court case where a big secret is revealed. I think I need to move onto a different author for a while.

Quickies

I woke up today singing the Gummi Bears theme song. So random! I haven't even thought about that song in ages.

We are finally getting back to normal around here after being housebound for Monday and Tuesday. Power was out in some of the elementary schools, so I ended up being off Wednesday too (Isaac had a 2 hour delay). We weathered the storm by watching a ton of movies, clearing out the DVR, organizing closets, FINALLY catching up on the laundry, and cooking and baking. I was so lucky that I didn't lose power at all as we have during previous storms.  We also got our pumpkins carved (in the living room, so as not to miss any of the NBA game)

We didn't even really have damage to anything either. Before the storm Isaac pointed out that our little tree in the front yard had one little leaf clinging to it. We were definitely tickled to see that it hung on after the storm.

Halloween was a big success.  Ryan agreed to hand out my candy this year, so we didn't have to be the super lame people with a bowl of candy left on the front porch. 

 

 

He even rigged up a whole Halloween scene complete with spooky music and sound effects and a fog machine. 

I was impressed!  My little werewolf Isaac got a whole pile of loot, and as usual, about an hour in declared he had enough and was ready to go home.

 

 

You would think only having to work two days this week would be a piece of cake, but it was a particularly rough day back.  We were supposed to have a potluck lunch.  I showed up with my plate of deliciously decadent cookies, only to discover I had misread the email and the potluck had been rescheduled to NEXT Thursday.  So I had no lunch.  I was forced to go out for lunch (which is always an adventure when you only have 30 minutes), but due to a long series of unfortuneate events I had no access to any of my money, so I wasn't able to buy any lunch.  Also, earlier that day my Albright advisor showed up at school and yelled at me about some paperwork which was really a big miscommunication, but still left me in tears.  Needless to say, I packed up my stuff and pretty much RAN out of the school building. 

I finally made myself go out to Kelli's to stamp last night. I have only been once since the school year started, but after my terrible-horrible-no-good-very-bad-day at school, I decided to go. Look at these cute cards I made!

If you are lucky, maybe I will send you one.

Happy Friday everyone!

 

 

 

 

a pair of pinterest recipes...

 

I have been on the search for some super easy crockpot recipes. It is sad how long I have had my crockpot and how rarely I use it. With the hecticness of long school days and soccer I figured it was time to dust it off and start building up an arsenal of go-to recipes.

This recipe from Six Sister's Stuff seemed promising-- only three ingredients and serve it over rice.  I also have a rice cooker I use on occasion, so it was pretty much, like, the easiest recipe ever.  I really liked this one and would definitely make it again.  The only thing is it was a tiny bit spicey, so if you don't care for that, maybe this isn't the recipe for you. 

Saturday night I went to a party where we were expected to bring some food to share.  There are so many fun "fallish" dessert recipes floating around Pinterest, I figured I would try something new.  This image was what caught my eye; they are applesauce cookies with caramel frosting.

Here is the link to the recipe.  The cookies were very light and yummy-- almost too light.  I wasn't sure if I had done something wrong because the dough seemed more like pancake batter and the baked cookies almost had the consistency of a muffin top--- very fluffy and soft.  In scrolling through the comments on the post though, I see that almost everyone else had the same result.  It isn't a bad thing necessarily, it is just different.  While I rate the cookies as just okay, the caramel frosting was AMAZING.  The author says that it is her new favorite icing and it is not hard to see why.  I will definitely use that recipe again.  Also, as a heads up, the cookie recipe makes TONS of cookies (and you really only need to drop a tiny spoonful of dough as it really does expand) but not that much icing. 

See my other pinterest completion post here.

Linking up with Jamie....

Insta-Friday

 

A few randoms from this week:

 

These were in five dollar bin at Target.  These were two of my favorite movies when I was a kid.  We have rewatched them both this week.  "Did he just say funky butt-loving?"

 

So I made a few new recipes this week successfully.  I'm on a domestic roll. These strawberry muffins were to DIE FOR.  Ryan doesn't like chocolate OR peanut butter (*gasp*), so I am always on the lookout for desserts that don't have either of those.  This oatmeal spice cake with brown butter frosting was a winner with all three of us.

 

 

Ryan has a new job which means he officially quit 7-11 [insert Hallelujah chorus here].  The tiny old Walmart in town is finally getting the facelift into a huge nice Super Walmart and Ryan is in charge of all of the new departments (meat, bakery, frozen, produce, dairy and the deli).  His new job comes with a much shorter commute, an employee discount, and no overnight shifts!  They gave him a few days off before he begins training and we have been loving having him home.  

 

 

We tried to squeeze in a Labor Day trip to Dorney Park and Wild Water Kingdom but the weather didn't cooperate...

 

 

 

I had a quick trip to Lancaster.  This is always a familiar sight when I am at my mom's.

 

 

 

When I was there my mom had picked me up this hot pink shirt from H and M.  You can't really see from the picture but the top part is sheer fabric.  I LOVE LOVE LOVE that it is neon and pink. (Ryan is coming to the realization that I will probably be one of those old ladies in gawdy polyester pantsuits). 

 



 

Lastly, I finally had to force myself to retire my favorite Zebra bag.  It has been such a good, faithful purse for many years.  I am on the lookout for a good replacement. 

 

 

How is your weekend shaping up?  We have soccer, I am doing a wedding workshop at the Paper Source that will hopefully result in getting my wedding invitations out. 

This...

was dinner and lunch this week... (minus the olives).  Recipe and photo from The Sister's Cafe.  So yummy and so easy!!  I think I see that becoming a staple meal around here.

what we've been up to

I decided I wanted to do something fun for our last weekend before school starts (for me). So Isaac and I went to the Camden Aquarium for one last weekend of fun***. I didn't take any pictures, but it was pretty neat. I haven't been there since my Melmark days (and actually, we encountered a group of Melmark adults in the line for our tickets). They had tons of hands on exhibits. We got to touch a jellyfish, a shark, star fish, anenome, and sting rays. We went to the 4D movie about Sea Monsters which was a tad on the scary side for Isaac. It was a little dark inside the exhibits for cell phone pictures, but I did snap this one at a fountain near the parking lot.

(see those pale white thighs? When he's in the tub he looks like he is wearing a pair of white swim trunks)

We stayed until we had enough. As we were driving home and passing the exit for the Smith Memorial Playground, we decided spur of the moment to stop there for a while and ended up staying for like 2 hours. If you have kids and live anywhere close to Philadelphia, I highly recommend it. It was a really lovely day.

I'm exhausted now but craving brownies. Since I don't have any mixes handy, I gave this one a try. It's a super easy and delicious recipe. Even the cat loved them. She was licking the batter from the bowl when I turned my back. I am going to assume that cat germs are like alcohol and will burn off in the oven....

My parents randomly stopped by Thursday night. They were in the area visiting a friend who is in the hospital. I didn't tell Isaac they were coming and he was sooooo adorably surprised. My dad works for the Bon Ton now, which is a department store in central PA. He picked up a whole bunch of stuff from sample sales for us. My mom brought me a ton of cute clothes she got on super clearance at a Penny's sale. It was like Christmas!

Anyways, I'm officially registered for my first grad class. It's education technology and it has no required textbook, so that's good. I have to go to campus on Monday to get a parking pass and a student ID. I'm really looking forward to getting back in the swing of things again and maybe even picking up some good knowledge about my job, since, lets face it, technology isn't really my forte. It will make me feel a lot more secure about my employability once

I finish up the second certification. I'm only kicking myself for not taking care of it sooner.

I also went and spent some time at Domestic Relations this past week when Isaac was at camp. I had to pick up some paperwork in order to add M. to Isaac's birth certificate. During the Great Argument of 2011, M. gave me a laundry list of things that I had done that had hurt him. Leaving him off of the birth certificate was (understandably) on the list. I was extremely bitter towards him when I was filling out the paperwork in the hospital and decided to leave him off, purely out of spite, but I don't feel that way any longer. Of all of his grievances, I figured this was one thing I could easily fix. So I trekked out to the Norristown Courthouse, fed a meter an astonishing amount of change (a quarter bought you seven and a half minutes.... seriously). It's always an interesting crowd there, but the clerk was actually friendly and helpful, even if he did refer to me as "madam" more than once. So the paperwork is all completed. Monday I will drop it in the mail. Go me for productivity.

My stint at Domestic Relations did afford me some time to keep working my way through this novel:

I know two people have read it. The first loved it and called it "life-changing". The second had a hard time getting into it. I'm leaning more towards the latter. This book is really depressing. I'm nearly done it, but only from a sense of obligation to finish it, not because I really care about what happens. I can't say I really love it (sorry Jami).

What did you get into this weekend?

***Incidently, I did inform M. that I was taking Isaac out of the state. The last time I took Isaac to New Jersey for the day, he had a fit when he found out because I took Isaac out of the state without asking. Which is being totally ridiculous. New Jersey is a 15 minute scoot over a bridge from his house. It's not like I flew Isaac to Texas without his knowledge. BUT ANYWAYS, he got his obligatory "I'm taking Isaac to Camden" text, so I hope he's happy.

Christmas, Christmas Time is Here

Isaac woke us up at 7:30. We managed to get Joe out of bed and we started in on our stockings and then the presents. Isaac's big present was a bright red Wii from Joe. He recieved a lot of complimentary gifts relating to that (extra controller and nunchucks, several games) and we had fun trying some out. Jenny and Drew had me in the sibling gift exchange and they sent me Dance Dance Revolution and an extra controller. I'm extremely excited about this. Mom and Dad gave me a much needed food processor. I've been making lots of soups lately and I've been relying on a small food processor that only holds one cup. I can't wait to try it out. The kids all got my mom an accuquilt die cutter and she was really excited about it which was great. I wasn't entirely sure if she would like it or not.

Playing with the new Wii Tom showed up later in the morning.

Everyone got a kick out of reading Joe's new book "Here's the Situation: A Guide to Creeping on Chicks, Avoiding Grenades and Getting in Your GTL at the Jersey Shore".

Reading some new books from Jenny and Drew.

Isaac gave my dad a football for Christmas and he was so excited to get all the guys out and play. You can see Joe's new puppy Bailey who joined us this year running along too.

After much debate, they settled on playing touch instead of tackle football.

Gifts of time and love are surely the basic ingredients of a truly merry Christmas." ~ Peg Bracken. Christmas! The very word brings joy to our hearts. No matter how we may dread the rush, the long Christmas lists for gifts and cards to be bought and given--when Christmas Day comes there is still the same warm feeling we had as children, the same warmth that enfolds our hearts and our homes." ~ Joan Winmill Brown, American author and editor.

Good food was eaten. Naps were taken. My german chocolate cheesecake turned out amazingly. We talked to Drew and Jenny, Aunt Kathy and other loved ones who are far away on the phone. And I decided to crash at my parent's one more night. =)

In the words of my mom "Merry Christmas one and all!"

"but just as summer's hold was fleeting"

So getting back to the roots of this blog-- my failed attempts at being domestic... I don't think I have blogged about this yet, but starting over the summer I decided to make a concerted effort to cut the amount of meat I eat. I started reflecting on it and was sort of grossed out by the amount of meat I consume each day. Also, there are so many benefits (financially, environmentally, to your health) to not consuming meat. Starting in about July, I cut out red meat completely, which wasn't hard at all. Anyways, I'm on a quest to find more meat free meals that are easy to make. Here's a tasty one I ate tonight. It's from a cookbook my sister left at my parents house which I inherited. It's a really great cookbook because the recipes are all really easy to prepare and don't call for any crazy ingredients. Also, they only make 2-3 servings which is really all I need. Here's one I tried tonight:

Nacho Bean Soup

1 (14.5 oz) can ready-to-serve vegetable broth 1 cup of milk 2 tablespoons all purpose flour 1 (15.5 oz) can pinto beans, drained, rinsed 2 cups (8 oz) shredded taco flavored cheese blend 1 (4.5 oz) can chopped green chiles 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro (I didn't have any, so I just used dried) 1 cup broken tortilla or corn chips

1. In large saucepan, combine broth, milk and flour; blend well. Cooke and stire over medium heat until mixture comes to a boil.

2. Stir in beans, chiles, cheese and cilantro. Cook 5 mins or until thoroughly heated and cheese melted, stirring constantly. Sprinkle individual servings with tortilla chips.

Makes 3 (1.5 cup) servings.

While it doesn't exactly fall into the "healthy" category (590 calories!) it definitely was easy and delicious. Another good one from the same cookbook:

Fiesta Quesadillas

1 (11 oz) corn with red and green peppers, drained

1 (4.5 oz) chopped green chiles

1 cup fat-free refried beans

8 (8 to 10 inch) fat-free tortillas

1 cup (4 oz) shredded colby-Monterey Jack cheese blend

1. Mix up corn, chiles and refried beans. Spread 1/4 of the mixture on a tortilla. Top with another tortillas

2. So the book tells you to put these on the grill, but I don't have one. It also suggests the broiler. I usually just put it in a frying pan with a little Pam on low heat for about 3-5 mins. I turn it over with a pancake turner and do the other side for about 3 minutes, making sure all the cheese is melted.

3. Cut into wedges and eat. I had mine with tomato soup. I'm a big soup person.

Makes 4 quesadillas (450 calories each).

It was a pretty great weekend. Isaac was with his dad. Friday I went over to one of my coworker's house with a few friends. She is really into stamping and cardmaking. I have always enjoyed scrapbooking but I have never gotten into stamping. She had everything you could ever want for Halloween cardmaking and I am totally hooked (although the last thing I need is another hobby that requires purchasing tons of materials).

Here's a few blurry cellphone shots of a few I made (if you are lucky, you might get one in the mail!):

She is going to have us over again in a few weeks to make more cards and I can't wait.

Saturday I cleaned my whole house from top to bottom which was extremely satisfying. Then my friends Becca and Jamie came over and went shopping at the outlets. I got a fabulous new pair of boots and a Columbia jacket (marked down to 75 bucks!). We had a dinner at Ruby Tuesdays (which, incidently, has almost no vegetarian options. They are both vegetarians). Then we decided to check out the haunted house at Pennhurst. a former state asylum which is literally about five minutes down the road from me. When got our tickets and got in line and waited and waited and waited... It turned out the line was THREE HOURS LONG, which is definitely the longest line I have ever waited in. The attraction was cool, but after that long almost anything would have felt like a let down.

And now here it is, Sunday night, sitting on verge of another 5 days of work.

How was your weekend?