Poptarts-better than poptarts

Ok so floating around pinterest is yet again some recipes for poptarts. I didn't really follow any certain recipe (because you know me) But here is what I did.

So it is a snow day (well what they call a snow day here)and G-man wants a poptart. So I decided to make them.

I have a go to pie crust that has never-ever failed me. Here it is (without a food processor) and when my food processor was alive I used this one. Both are equally yummy. And if you are super lazy Buy refrigerated crust- it is just as good).

I also made a quick jam filling (please don't pass out when you see the sugar content) I used 16 oz bag frozen strawberries and 1 cup of sugar. I put it in a large pot and let it slowly come to a boil ( you can use store bought jam too)

once the strawberries broke down I cranked the heat a bit and stirred, and stirred until I got the consistency I wanted (it coated the spoon)

That Jam is hot and when I say hot I mean melt your skin off hot-be careful!

Ok so here is what you need:
Pie crust
jam
icing (optional)I personally think they are toooooo sweet with the icing but the kids loved it (naturally)
(the icing is just a simple glaze powdered sugar tad of vanilla and a couple drops of water or milk)
sprinkles (optional)
One egg beaten for egg wash

Roll your dough out into rectangles and and a small amount (I made small poptarts so I used about a TBSP) of filling in the center

top with the other half and pinch/crimp together with fingers or a fork.
Place poptarts on cookie sheet (ungreased) and brush tops with beaten egg bake at 450 for 6-10 minutes depending on your oven or until the edges are browned. top with icing and sprinkles if using. Let COOL COMPLETELY (trust me)

Now for the grownup version I added cream cheese filling to mine It was so full I had to eat it with a fork (whoops) but here is what I did.

I used a little less that the half block of cream cheese I had left, sprinkled some sugar (oh eyeball it, you can taste it after you beat it together I would say about 1 1/2- 2 TBSP) a capful of PURE vanilla a drop or two of milk and some fresh grated lemon zest

Beat it all together

Meatloaf Muffins.

Meatloaf: An inexpensive versatile meal that is sure to please. I read a lot of Old cookbooks, My great aunt sent me a huge pile of them. Many of them come with instructions on how to be a "perfect housewife". I am positive that meatloaf served with canned fruit cocktail and a green (beans or salad) at least 2 times a week in the 50's. Any way. Here is what I did. Remember, I hate to measure and my family is strange.

1lb lean ground beef (I actually only had 80/20 here which worked great but I suppose you could go much leaner or even use Bison)
1 Carrot
1/2 of an onion
1 Large Garlic Clove
About 1 TBSP Oregano
2 good pinches of celery seed (or if you have celery on hand add it instead, (I would say 1 stalk would be sufficient)
3/4-1 cup panko bread crumbs
1 egg
1/4 cup ketchup and 1/2 cup ketchup mixed with 1 1/2 TBSP of Worcestershire sauce)
Salt and pepper to taste

(Funny note, no one says Worcestershire sauce right, except for My husbands Cousin who is of course from London. Except he calls it sauce, apparently it is automatically known that when you ask for sauce that is what is given)

Preheat oven to 350

So Because my family is stranger than strange I grate all vegetables so that they have no idea of the contents of what they eat, sad but oh so true.
With a cheese grater (largest holes) Grate your onion (and celery if you are using stalks instead of seed)
With the small holes grate the carrots and garlic

In a skillet with a small amount of butter (or olive oil) saute the veggies until they are completely tender.

While those are cooking get your meat ready Add your meat, egg, 1/4 cup ketchup, salt, pepper, oregano, celery seed (if using) and bread crumbs.

Add your sauteed veggies (it is best if you let them cool so you don't cook the egg or meat and you don't want to burn your hands ;) Live and learn baby, live and learn)

Mix together well but do not over mix, the more you handle it the greasier the meat will become.

Grease your muffin tin I got 8 muffins out of this. Make small balls and press them gently into the cups of your tin. Top each one with a generous amount of the ketchup/Worcestershire sauce mix.

Bake for 25 minutes at 350
I topped 3 of mine with a colby/jack cheese (after they were done I cut the oven off and popped it back in until cheese had melted) and I wish I had topped them all!

Eating Healthy on a budget is fun. Baked/Stuffed Zucchini

So Again inspired by a pinterest pin seen here I set out to try something new. I love squash, almost as much as I love Avocado which is almost as much as I love asparagus... When I saw this pin and this picture of these pretty little zuchinni boats perfectly stuffed to perfection I knew I had to have it. For the most part I followed Kayotic's instructions (and even if I had to the tee this still would have been amazing!) I did everything she did except I added some black beans I didn't even use half a can so the rest are in the fridge waiting for their debut in another meal. I also added Parmesan into the stuffing mixture along with a tad of mozzarella (not much because then I decided when I turned the broiler on I would top it with a tad more cheese) I didn't add Curry because I was too lazy to dig for it, I added a tad of cayenne pepper (thought about topping it with jalapenos and after eating it, I wish I had.) I baked them the same as she did but as I said just before I turned the broiler on I popped some more (not much maybe a TBSP) cheese on the top.

It was delicious, so delicious I ate both "boats" Next time I think I will substitute the sour cream for Cream cheese and add pickled jalapenos to the stuffing. That ought to give it a kick!

Loveocado

Avocado. You either love it or hate it. There is no in between. Well me, yeah I love it!

This meal will serve two if you do this with both avocado halves.

I have been absent from the blogging world because I have been cheating on blogger with pinterest, I have an addiction. :) Recently this pin has been floating around It is a baked egg in an avocado. Well if you know me you know I can't do anything by following instructions I have to make it mine! (and you should too!) I saw this as awesome potential. So here is what I did. I baked my egg and avocado (per instructions) but then popped it under the broiler to get that "crisp" outside but ooey gooey inside...

I prepared my bacon drained and crumbled it. In a skillet just before the egg was done I put the teeniest dab of olive oil and threw my minced garlic in there until tender (don't burn it!!!) once it was done I turned off the heat added 2 diced cocktail tomatoes and one large leaf of basil chopped and the crumbled bacon, removed it from the heat and swirled it around so that the tomatoes juice just started flowing (not to slimey though- yuck) topped my Eggvocado then topped with some fresh paremsan cheese.

Let me tell you, it was amazingness.

Cinnamon Struesel Muffins

So my Cousins came in to stay with me for a few days. I Feed 'em pretty good I think :) We had leftover chili with Chips Thursday night and Seafood Alfredo last night (recipe coming soon). Then last night while we were talking one said how she loved cinnamon struesel so I made a mental note and this morning got to work.

These were so moist and good warm right out of the oven with a tad of butter.

Streusel I eyeballed most of this. (see I told you I eyeball a LOT)
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3 pads of salted butter (about a TBSP each)

Muffins
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 1/2-2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt (I actually used a healthy pinch of kosher salt)
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled a bit
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg, beaten

Heat the oven to 400°F with the oven rack in middle. I used liners but you could just use your muffin tin but spray or grease them generously

Streusel
Combine the flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a small bowl. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender or fork or like me use your hands until the mixture is coarse crumbs (some will be larger than others)

Combine the flour, sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl.

Mix the milk, melted butter, vanilla, and egg in another bowl Make a well into your dry ingredients and Pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture, only mix until the flour is moistened, scrape down the sides of the bowl, batter will NOT be smooth.

Divide the batter into prepared muffin tins then top evenly with the struesel topping.

18-20 minutes until greatness is done (or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean, we really need an abbreviation for the toothpick method.)

potato cakes Breakfast for under $3

Potato cakes. Man these things take me way back. I loved having mashed potatoes with supper because I knew mom would make Potato cakes for breakfast in the morning. I would (as a child) smoother it in ketchup luckily my palate has matured a tad now :)

For potato cakes you need Left over Mashed potatoes (I had oh about 2 1/2 -3 cups left over) 1 egg beaten About 1/4 - 1/2 cup flour (plus some for light coating), salt and pepper to taste and optional diced onion (they are really good with onion in them but I used my last one in chili last night) *to make these gluten free substitute flour for rice flour or your favorite blend, lightly coat the potato cakes in either your flour blend or corn meal)

In a bowl combine your potatoes beaten egg, salt and pepper and about 1/4 cup of flour (add it a little at a time) you want it to get a little thick but it will still be sticky.

on a shallow pan or plate have flour ready for coating (season this with a bit of salt and pepper as well). With an ice cream scoop, scoop some potatoes and place in the flour plate shake around coating the entire ball.

In a skillet heat about 1 tbsp of oil (I used vegetable oil today some people use shortening or bacon grease but I am trying not to die of heart failure) Place the coated balls in the heated oil and

gently press down into "cakes"

Do not flip until a golden "crust forms" (don't do this on high gear medium heat is sufficient) Flip them once.

Place on platter (with a paper towel if you wish to drain them).

Fry an egg to put on top

Or top with Cheese and sour cream

The potatoes are leftovers so they are actually free the eggs are only about 10 cents each you could even use a little bit of sausage to patty up some mini patties you don't need a lot because the potato cakes are very filling!

This meal is easily made for under $3.

Chili when it is Chilly

Ok as promised. The chili recipe.

I love making chili because I can usually substitute for what I don't have on hand.

Tonight we have:

I dug through the cabinet because the tomatoes aren't a big deal, just as long as you have at the very least 3 cans (I used Rotel HOT, Delmonte with green chilies and Wal-mart brand chili ready) You have to have 2 large cans of Kidney beans, I use one light red and 1 dark red and another must is the Bush's Chili beans in sauce. I also have 3 LBS of Ground beef and I cheated tonight with 2 packets of McCormick Chili (original) spice packets and 1 onion, If I have green pepper (or Jalapeno) on hand I use that too. (this really is a throw together meal.


Now, I like my chili chunky but if you've been following my husband is picky So here is what I do, you can skip the puree step and you can dice (instead of grate your onions)

Brown and drain Ground beef

Add all the tomatoes and the grated onion (or any other veggies you may have) into your pot. Simmer until flavors meld and onions begin to break down (you can also saute your onions, peppers etc with your ground beef if you are not pureeing)

Puree the sauce. I have one of those handy dandy hand blender deals, got it on clearance for like $5 and LOVE.IT.

Drain your Red Kidney beans well.

Add your beef, Beans (chili beans WITH sauce, Kidney beans drained) And add your 2 packets of Seasoning (this has Gluten so if you are trying to stay Gluten free Try adding
4 teaspoons chili powder
1 tablespoon crushed red pepper
1 tablespoon dried minced onion
1 tablespoon dried, minced garlic
2 teaspoons white sugar
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons dried parsley
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
If you want a thickening agent you can use flour (rice if you are Gluten Free) or Cornstarch (which also works with Gluten free I think)

With the 2 seasoning packets I add about another TBSP of Chili powder a shake or two of onion powder and a good healthy squirt of Sirachi sauce (which is optional, but again, if you follow we are addicted to it)

I add anywhere from 1-2 Quarts of water, Depending on how long I am cooking it, today I added 2 Quarts because it was going to simmer for hours, if I am cooking it last minute then I don't add as much but stir constantly. Some like it soupy, some like it thick so it is totally up to you.

Now it is done,

Jason likes to top his with Canned Jalapenos and cheese
I like sour cream and cheese on mine.

Now you have plenty for tonight, plenty for the fridge/freezer

Great meals with Chili besides chili are

Chili Mac and cheese

Chili stuffed baked potato (oh my heavens, it is heaven) I have a picture for this but I cannot find it. hmph.

Chili bacon cheese fries (or Chili Cheese fries)(I have a sure fire way to make Cheese fries and make them PERFECTO)

Top hot dogs or burgers

Nachos (oh man is that ever good, I will have to do this recipe for you guys too!)

Top potato skins Here is my potato skin recipe just don't use the BBQ sauce if topping with Chili!

And last but not least Chili dog pizza I kid you not, it is a real thing. See recipe here