Baked bean Casserole and Apple betty for dinner.

Good morning to you all.  Last night for dinner I made a dinner that is a favorite in my house.  Baked bean casserole, mashed potatoes, and for dessert Apple betty.  My bunch with the exception on M loves baked bean casserole.  He doesn't  like beans.  Both are easy recipes and they are below.  Mashed potato recipe isn't because just about everybody has their own recipe for that.

Baked bean Casserole
( family of 5)

• 1 lb hamburger meat
• 32 oz pork n beans (canned or fresh made) 
• 10 splashes of  worchestershire sauce
• 3 tbsp of minced onion
• 1/4 c brown sugar

Brown the hamburger meat in a large cast iron skillet,  then add the pork n beans with all the juice,  Worchestershire sauce, onions, and brown sugar stir and throw in the oven for about 20 minutes at 350.  

 Apple betty

• 1 quart of Apple pie filling (I use my canned apple pie filling if using store bought pie filling 2 cans)
• 1 cup flour
• 1/4 c sugar
• 1/4 c brown sugar
• 1 tbsp  cinnamon 
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 stick of butter softened

Pour in your pie filling  then mix the other ingredients in another bowl then pour on top and bake at 350 for 45 minutes until the filling is bubbling up and the crust is browned.

3 MRCs (meals ready to cook) with Potato flakes

When I find real potato flakes (pearls or buds) on sale I stock up.  I know I can repackage them for Long term storage.   Potatoes are a great hearty filling meal or side dish.  My family with the exception of Miss S loves them in all shapes and forms.  Miss S who can't really do with a bunch of potatoes to begin with hates them in all form.  She doesn't even like french fries.  Yep a little odd for a 4 yr old.  She would rather have fresh carrots and ranch dressing.  I am not complaining, at least she takes a healthy substitute right?  I thought I would share 3 of my recipes for long term storage MRCs.  

First:
Hearty Ranch Potatoes 

1 1/2 cup dried mashed potatoes
2 tablespoon Ranch dressing mix

1/2 cup Dry evaporated milk

2 tbsp dried chives

In a 20 oz bottle or a mason jarl, layer above ingredients.

to make

Hearty Ranch Potato Mix
1 cup  water
2 tablespoon butter or margarine

cheese 

bacon bits

In small saucepan over medium heat, place water and butter. Bring to a low simmer and pour over ingredients in mug. Mix well, cover and let sit for 5 minutes. Fluff lightly with fork.

Second:

Fiesta Ranch Potatoes

1 1/2 cup dried mashed potatoes
1 package of Fiesta Ranch mix 

1/2 cup Dry evaporated milk

In a 20 oz bottle or a mason jarl, layer above ingredients.

to make

Fiesta Potato Mix
1 cup  water
2 tablespoon butter or margarine

Cheddar cheese 

In small saucepan over medium heat, place water and butter. Bring to a low simmer and pour over ingredients in mug. Mix well, cover and let sit for 5 minutes. Fluff lightly with fork.

Third:

Hearty Potato Soup

1-3/4 cups instant potato flakes
1-1/2 cups dry milk powder
2 tablespoons chicken broth powder
2 teaspoons dried minced onion
1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/8 teaspoon turmeric
1-1/2 teaspoons seasoning salt (like Lawry’s)

Combine all ingredients, mixing well to make sure everything is combined.  A quart canning jar with a screw top lid makes a good storage container.

To use:  Put a 1/2 cup of the mix in a soup bowl.  Add 1 cup boiling water and stir to mix.

All 3 are simple and all 3 are yummy.

Sick days-MRCs

I went to Kroger Grocery store yesterday (not my normal store).  I found little bags of mini pastas for $0.39 and they weren't on sale.  Hey that is a great price no matter how you do the math. I got 3 bags of Mini alphabet noodles and 3 bags of mini wheels. So this morning while I was packing them up for longer storage, I had a stroke of genius. Soup for the kids when they are sick.  These noodles would be perfect for that.  And when Miss S is sick her restrictions on diet are pretty much gone.  So this would be a really fun treat for her to have. I kept it simple for her though.

Chicken noodle soup MRC

• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp minced onion
• 1 tsp poultry seasoning
• 1 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1 tbsp garlic
• 2 tbsp parsley
• 1/2 cup dehydrated or Freeze Dried carrots
• 1 1/2 c noodles ( I used alphabets)
• 2 cubes of chicken boullion 

Layer in a bottle in the order from above and seal with an oxygen absorber.

To make 8 cups of water to a boil and add MRC, Makes 8-10 servings at 8 servings the carbs are 21g.

Beef noodle soup

• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp minced onion
• 1 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1 tbsp garlic
• 2 tbsp parsley
• 1 tsp tomato boullion
• 1/2 cup dehydrated or Freeze Dried carrots
• 1 1/2 c noodles ( I used wheels)
• 2 cubes of beef boullion 

Layer in a bottle in the order from above and seal with an oxygen absorber.

To make 8 cups of water to a boil and add MRC, Makes 8-10 servings at 8 servings the carbs are 32g.

Enjoy!

Recycle, reuse, and Pea soup.

I read an article yesterday about the Amish.  It is not uncommon to find an Amish millionaire.  Well, I am impressed.  In the article it talks about they buy things with multiple purposes, and they reuse things that most of us throw away.

I got to thinking about it.  I do this quite a bit, I use soda and food bottles for food storage.  I have read some articles and blogs that say things like, "soda bottles are okay if you are on a budget, but.."  I don't see it that way.  They are made to be water tight, air tight, and to hold food and drink.  Gee in my book that makes them more than okay for food storage.  And the big plus for me, they are free.  I mean I am reusing what I would have thrown away.  So I get my soda, I get a place to store food, and I am saving it out of the landfill.  I think that is a win, win, win situation.

This morning I got to work bottling up some meals in a bottle.  These are cheap and easy.  I made french onion pea soup.  When you get ready to prepare it, boil water and dump.  That is easy in a stressful situation, like a storm and no power, or worse.  Anyways, here is the recipe to feed 5:

French onion pea soup:
1 1/4 c split peas (you can use whole peas if you want)
1 package of onion soup (not brand specific)
1 packet of ham flavoring
1 oxygen absorber

Combine in a bottle (I used a 12 oz bottle)

To make bring 5 c water to a boil and dump the bottle and cook until peas are the desired softness (personal taste)

There are 24g carbs per serving in this.  So it is fairly low carb.  If you have a diabetic this is a great meal.

Enjoy!

Busy bee, and then it got cold.

I have been a busy little bee for a few weeks, then today in May in Texas, it is cold.  Like turn the heater on cold.  Seriously there are parts of Texas getting Freeze warnings tonight.  Luckily I am not in those areas but seriously, we are a little over a month away from the official start of Summer.  And I do remember the summer I had M, from April 15- October 1 that year there were only 5 days that weren't 100 degrees or more.

Now mind you, I don't believe in Climate change ( at least not due to global warming).  Seriously I believe that like an Inconvienant Truth is the same kind of truth as Al Gore  invented the Internet. And remember his wife forced the music industry to start putting stickers on music to prevent perverted or violent music out of peoples hands.  Anybody remember the outcome of that?

What do I believe in, well, I believe weather comes in cycles.  If you look back at recorded weather and read the farmers alamenacs.  It all goes in cycles, just like earthquakes, hurricanes, ice ages, and eclipses.  It all goes in cycles, that is the way God created it.

So for dinner tonight I am making speghetti with meat sauce, and homemade garlic bread.  Doesn't that sound yummy.  Yes it does, well until after dinner when the acid reflux kicks in.  But it is worth it.  Pain is good.  Pain is just fear leaving the body.    And as my typical behavior I will be canning my leftovers.  Well just the sauce.  Noodle don't can well.  They become some nasty starchy brick in the bottom of the jar.

Special Speghetti sauce

• 6 pints of tomato sauce
• 1 pint of diced stewed tomatos
• 1 pound of browned hamburger meat
• 1 cup of lemon juice
• 1 1/2 red wine (make sure you would drink it otherwise it will taint your sauce)(if you don't want to use wine use sparkling red cider it works too)
• seasonings to taste: minced onion, garlic powder, orgeno, italian seasonings, parsley, pepper, 
• 6 packets of stevia (you could use sugar but I have to cut carbs somewhere)

Cook for about 20 medium heat, jar up hot and can, I am using 10# pressure for 20 minutes with quart jars and 1 in head space.

Sunday Morning tradition!

At our house we have a tradition on Sunday mornings and special days, Moma, me, makes a special breakfast.  It is different every week and holiday.  This morning it is homemade cinnamon rolls.  (recipe below)  Past ideas are reindeer pancakes for Christmas, Bunny butt pancakes for Easter, Texas for Texas Independence day.  Miss S loves pancakes and ask for them nearly everyday, and she can have them with Sugar Free syrup. My family has gotten so used to sugar free syrup that when I got some lite because it was free, the boys asked to have S's instead.  To us it taste better, I know most of you are turning up your noses at the thought, but you get used to it.

I have to brag on my pageant girls.  I guess I need to back up I have a pageant system that is non profit.  Yesterday we had a pageant and despite less than 10 contestants we still collected 170 items and 3 trash bags of clothes for the families in West, Texas where the fertilizer plant exploded.  If you really start to think about it.  The Oklahoma City Bombing did that much damage with only a Ryder truck full of fertilizer, this was an entire plant of fertilizer and a very small town.  But I am so proud of these girls, they didn't get anything in return.  So next time somebody talks down about pageants or you see Drama on Toddlers and Tiaras, remember what I just said these pageant girls did for strangers.

Today is also a very special day in history.  I don't get political on this blog and I am not starting now but many will take it that way.  Today is the 152nd anniversary of the beginning of what Southerns call "The War of Northern Aggression", although the rest of the country knows it as the Civil War.  I personally call it the War of Northern Aggression, being the good southern girl I am.  That was not a war over slavery as they teach now, the South did not like the Northerns "Yankees" and DC taking some of their rights away and imposing their beliefs on the south.  Sound familiar?  Just food for thought.

Back on topic:

Here are some pictures of other "special" Breakfasts.

Bunny butts for Easter.  The kids thought these were so funny.  Even the 14 year old loved them.

Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer pancakes.  

Not to bad free hand if I do say so myself.

Today's Cinnamon rolls are proofing now then into the oven and make some icing.

Cinnamon Roll recipe
Ingredients:
1 cup warm water
1 pkg active dry yeast
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
3 tbls softend butter I used Texas Road cinnamon butter (recipe below)
1 egg, beaten
3 1/2-4 cups flour

Method
Put water and yeast in large mixing bowl and add next 4 ingredients. Beat with dough hook until well blended. Add 3 1/2 to 4 cups flour and mix until soft dough forms (should not be sticky). Put out onto floured board and knead a few times until smooth. Place in greased bowl, cover until dough doubles, Then roll out on a floured surface until about 1/3 inch thick and rectangular.  Brush on more of the Texas Roadhouse cinnamon butter across the entire top of the dough, sprinkle lightly with brown sugar.  Then roll from on end longways to the other side.  Then with a dough cutter (or pizza cutter) cut about an inch thick rolls off.  Place on a WELL GREASED cookie sheet.  Then let it rest and raise again for about 15 minutes.  Then bake for 20 minutes at 350.  

Icing: 
 1 stick of butter
1/2 cup of shortening
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 milk
1-3 cups of powdered sugar To your desired thickness.

Mix until creamy.


Texas Roadhouse Cinnamon Honey Butter

·         ½ cup butter

·         ½ cup powdered sugar

·         ½ cup honey

·         1 tsp. cinnamon

melt the butter and mix well.

Rolls are in the oven.  And I am starving

Pinto Bean Pie

I know pinto bean pie sounds gross at first thought, but before you turn your nose up at it, try it!  When my friend Miss R told me about it I was very skeptical.  I made it for my family and without telling them it was pinto beans.  They loved it.  J knew that it was pinto beans and his comment was it taste just like pumpkin pie.  Yes it does. And the best part of it is that it can be made from food storage items.  I have spoken in earlier post about the need for comfort items and to keep things normal well at my house a cake or a pie every now and then is made just for the heck of it.  

Pinto Bean Pie

• 2 cups pinto beans
• small potato
• 1 tbsp baking soda
• 2 pie crust (store bought or handmade will have a blog post about that later)
• 1  c sugar (or 1/2 c stevia)
• 2 eggs
• 1 cans evaporated milk (1 1/2 c if mixing powder evaporated milk)
• 1 tsp vanilla

Next 3 can be adjusted but I like mine pumpkin pie every spicy if you don't then cut in half.

• 3 tsp ground ginger
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground cloves

First you have to cook your beans:

add the 2 cups of pintos to a large sauce pan add the baking soda and potato ( I am told the baking soda and potato help lessen the gassiness) add 4 cups of water and cook your beans as normal.  Until they are soft.  When they are done drain and remove the potato ( save for stew or mashed potatoes)

Next you preheat the oven to 350

In a blender or food processor ( or by hand)  mush up the beans until they are smooth.  Then in a large mixing bowl mix the sugar, beans, milk, eggs, vanilla, and seasonings together.   Then pour into the pie shells.  Place the pie pan/s on a cookie sheet to help with clean up just in case.  Bake for 45-60 minutes.  Until you can insert a butter knife in the center and it comes back clean.

I promise it is Yummy!!! M liked it and he is picky and typically hates beans of any kind. 

Happy Yummy Sunday!

My son, E, is always giving me a hard time about looking at what my family calls "food porn".  Well after last night I might have put a stop to it.  Yesterday before my walk with the family, I found a recipe on Facebook that looked and sounded so yummy.  It was Bacon Cheesy Pull Apart Bread.  It is so good!!! I mean really really good.  The recipe calls for Sourdough bread, well I didn't have any and I was not going to run to the store for that.  I made mine with home made bread. I can not explain how good it is.  The best part is can be a meal and I have all the stuff put up in my food storage so if something did happen I would still be able to make this yummy treat.  Well I guess I should share the recipe for both the bread and the yumminess.  

Cheesy bacon pull apart bread

Ingredients

1 lg	unsliced round sourdough bread (I used homemade bread)
8 oz	block of cheddar cheese, sliced into thin slices
1/4 lb	bacon, cooked and crumbled, more or less
1 stk	butter, melted I substituted my ranch dressing mix 1 tsp instead of the following.
1/4 tsp	each of dried chives, parsley, dill weed, and garlic powder
1/8 tsp	each of onion powder,salt and pepper

Directions

1

 Using a sharp knife cut a cross-hatch pattern into the bread. 
To do this slice the bread into 1/2 inch slices, making sure not to cut into the bottom crust. After you make the cuts in one direction, it is easiest to get an extra set of hands to squeeze the loaf together to cut it in the other direction.

2

 Place the bread onto a large piece of foil and curve up the edges to form a packet.Melt the butter. Then all the dried herbs and spices. Mix all together and let it sit for a minute. Pour the butter herb mixture all over the bread. Then place the thin slices of cheddar cheese in between the cut slices. Then sprinkle the top with the crumbled bacon.

4

 Wrap the foil all the way around the round of bread and place on a baking sheet.
Place in preheated 350^ oven and bake for 15 minutes.

5

 Unwrap the bread and bake for another 10-15 minutes or until the cheese is melted and begins to brown.

My homemade bread and roll recipe

Ingredients
1 cup warm water
1 pkg active dry yeast or 1 tsp
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
3 tbsp softened butter
1 egg, beaten
3 1/2-4 cups flour

Method
Put water and yeast in large mixing bowl and add next 4 ingredients. Beat with dough hook until well blended( I continue to stir with a wooden spoon). Add 3 1/2 to 4 cups flour and mix until soft dough forms (should not be sticky). Put out onto floured board and knead a few times until smooth. Place in greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise in warm place approx. 45 minutes. Punch down and turn out onto floured board. Shape into 12 rolls and place in greased Cookie sheet. If making bread shape into a loose round shape or place in a greased loaf pan.  Let rise again about 30 minutes. Bake 350 for 20 minutes. Brush tops of rolls/bread with butter. Recipe is easily doubled.

I guess you are going to need the recipe for the ranch dressing mix.

Ranch Dressing Mix

2 cups dry parsley flakes, minced
1/2 cup instant minced onion
2 tablespoons dry dill weed
1/4 cup onion salt
1/4 cup garlic salt
1/4 cup onion powder
1/4 cup garlic powder 


Dump all ingredients into a blender or food processor and blend until completely powdered. 


To make dressing: combine 1

 Tbsp. dry mix, 1 cup of may & 1 cup of buttermilk.

Now go try it because it is Yummy!  J wants me to make it again today.

Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.  We have all heard it, but do we practice it?  I try to most days, I get up and fix a breakfast meal not just cereal.  Well this oatmeal recipe will get you a nice hearty start in the mornings fairly easily.  This recipe also has about 15 g carbs per serving and oatmeal is heart smart.

Apple Cinnamon  Oatmeal
serves 5          15 carbs per serving

2 cups oatmeal
1/2 c evaporated dry milk
3 packets of Stevia
2 tbsp cinnamon
1/4 c dehydrated or freeze dried apples

Combine in a bottle and add an oxygen absorber

To mix add 1 1/2 c water.


I hope you enjoy this.


Leave some feed back!

Black Eyed peas ready to make.

Ready to make black eyed peas.

These are easy to make up and store for later.  We all know that we are supposed to eat black eyed peas for New Years.  Make these up in summer when your peas come in and for later.

Black eyed peas

2 c black eyed peas

1 ham  seasoning packet

tsp salt

tbsp pepper

2 tsp pepper flakes ( adjust to your taste)

Layer in a clean dry bottle add an oxygen absorber and seal. 

To cook add 4 c water and enjoy.

This has 5 servings about 18 grams carbs per serving.  So it is Diabetic friendly. You can adjust the seasonings to what your needs and taste.  When I cook black eyed peas fresh, I add a whole jalapeno, so I substituted it with Red pepper flakes.