Super Simple Recipe: Homemade Ice Cream

Being that we have been on a bit of an ice cream kick lately (its been hot and I'm pregnant, in case justification was needed) and making homemade ice cream was on my Summer Bucket List, when I stumbled across this blog post with ice cream recipes that did not require the purchase of yet another kitchen gadget (which means less stuff in my house and money saved), I was all over trying this out!
Ingredients:
2 C heavy whipping cream
14 oz. sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp vanilla (optional)
Directions:
Mix the whipping cream for several minutes, add sweetened condensed milk & vanilla (if you choose).
Pour into freezer safe container, cover and freeze at least 6 hours.
It was delicious and very creamy!!! A simple recipe that was kid friendly and the ingredients were easy to come by. A win in my book!
We pulled it from the freezer the next day and served it over warm brownies which was a perfect combination!






We enjoyed this treat in our picnic nook:)









- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Super SIMPLE Recipe: Apple & Feta Cheese Pizza

We had this pizza at a museum cafe and I thought I could duplicate it at home. It was tasty!!

Ingredients:

1 premade pizza crust

1 C feta cheese

2 C cheddar cheese

apple, cut into thin slices

bacon (optional)

Directions:

add all toppings and bake as instructed on pizza crust package.

Seriously easy. And so, so good!

~Angela

 

Super SIMPLE Recipe: Thai Chicken Pizza

This was delicious and easy.

 

Ingredients

1. Premade pizza crust

2. Peant sauce (I used 1/3 jar from Trader Joes)

3. Chicken- cooked and cut into pieces

4. Mozzarella cheese

5. Cilantro (fresh or dried)

 

Directions:

spread peanut sauce on crust, add chicken, cheese and top with cilantro. Bake according to instructions on pizza crust and desired crust doneness -yes, that is a word:)

Then, enjoy!

~Angela

 

Super SIMPLE recipe for shucking sweet corn

Sweet corn means summer is officially here. (In case we needed more reminders than the heat). And although it is one of my favorite summer foods, it has always been a pain to shuck and eat. Until now. I found this video on Youtube and although the music in the video is lame, the trick works! So great in fact, that we have been making sweet corn this way for weeks and LOVE it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnBF6bv4Oe4.

If you choose not to watch the video, here are the steps:

1. Place the corn on a microwave safe plate...without shucking it.

2. Cook in your microwave for 4 minutes per ear. I usually cook 2 at a time (8 minutes)

3. Remove corn (Warning it will be HOT!) and cut off the end. The corn will slide out of the husk, clean as can be!

4. Then enjoy:)  I prefer to slather with butter and salt first.

~Angela

Simplify your Day-to-Day Tasks

We have taken a few small steps to simplify our day to day tasks and they have made a drastic difference in how much smoother our weeks ago:

1. Having a family calendar!!!! And using it. The separate planners/online calendars did not work for us. At all. We now have one spot to keep track of everyone’s activities.



2.  Delegating meal preparation- I am in charge of meals during the week; my husband is in charge of meals on the weekend. (this is why I have become an advocate of eating out during the weekJ). Being that each of us is rather competitive, we are each looking for tasty new ideas to try and share. It has made cooking a bit more fun!

 Here are a few of my favorite go-to recipes:

Thai Curry Chicken Noodle Soup



Sausage & Broccoli & Egg Muffins



Crock Pot Taco Casserole

Bloody Mary Chili

3. If we cannot all get outside as a family to bike/run together, I work out in the morning; my husband in the evening.

None of these ideas are earth shattering new ideas, but they are new to us and have seriously saved us so much time because we understand the expectations and can plan ahead. For us, it works. And if you can benefit from any of these ideas, please do so!!

And for my husband’s help in raising our little girl together, making our house a home I am always grateful.

~Angela

Super SIMPLE Recipe: Taco Casserole

This recipe started out when I planned on making crock pot spaghetti but the only ground beef I had was seasoned for tacos, so I improvised. And this is a new favorite recipe for my family.

Ingredients:

Box of noodles, cooked and drained

1 lb ground beef or turkey, browned, drained and seasoned with taco seasoning

2 cans Fire Roasted Tomatoes (like RoTel, but I substitute generic)

2 C shredded cheese.

Put in a crock pot on low for 4 hours (or high for 1 hour).

Easy, right? And tasty!

~Angela

Super SIMPLE Recipe: Bloody Mary Chili

Our neighbors recently made us delicious chili (what a treat!!!) and although this is not their recipe, it made me think that I should post this on my blog. I originaly posted the recipe on a friend's blog a few months ago.

If you are like me, you enjoy an occasional Bloody Mary, but still have a large portion of the bottle of mix leftover. I stumbled across a recipe for a breakfast bake that called for Bloody Mary mix and it got me thinking about what else I could add the mix to. Since I happened to be making chili that week, the partnership was born! 

Here is my super SIMPLE Recipe for Bloody Mary Chili:

Ingredients:

1 lb Ground beef or ground turkey (I used turkey)

Fire roasted tomatoes (2 cans)

Chili beans (2 cans)

optional: fresh or canned mushrooms

Bloody Mary Mix (I used about 1-2 cups)

Yep, that's it!

Brown the turkey or beef and drain

 

Then add all ingredients to a crock pot. Set on high for 3-4 hours or low for 6-8 hours.

I like to top my chili with cheddar cheese and sour cream. 

Then, enjoy!

~Angela

Super SIMPLE recipe: Wild Rice

I love wild rice, and I love how easy it is to make. I found out about this trick from one of my coworkers.

 You prepare the wild rice, go to bed, wake up and it is done. My kind of recipe:

1. Preheat oven to 500 degrees
2. In a glass baking dish, mix 1 C uncooked wild rice with 3 cups water and 1 boullion cube.
3. Cover.
4. Put the dish in the oven and turn the oven OFF.

The next morning, you will wake up to perfectly cooked wild rice:

NOTE:  I have left the wild rice in the oven for as few as 7 hours and as many as 11- it has turned out perfect each time.

It makes about 3 cups so I put the portion that I don't plan to use in Ziploc freezer bags for later.

The bags store so compact and are ready (quickly) for the next meal!

~Angela

Super SIMPLE recipe: Potato Soup

Ingredients:

1 30oz. bag of frozen, shredded hash browns

3 14oz. cans of chicken broth

1 can of cream of chicken soup

1/2 cup onion, chopped

1/4 tsp. ground pepper

3/4 C shredded cheddar cheese

1 pkg. cream cheese ****don’t use fat free.  It WON’T melt!!!

In a crockpot, combine everything EXCEPT for the cream cheese.  Cook for 6-8 hours on low heat.  About 1 hour before serving, add cream cheese shredded cheese and keep heated until thoroughly melted.  Serve with ham, bacon bits, green onions, or whatever else you want as well.

Then, enjoy:)

~Angela

Super SIMPLE recipe: Italian Pork Shops

I am always looking for ways to simplify my life and cooking easier, healthier, quicker meals is just one area. I am loving my crock pots. Today I have a chicken wild rice soup awaiting us for dinner and yesterday I made

Italian Pork Chops and Potatoes:

package of pork chops
6-8 baby red potataoes cut into slices
packet of Italian seasoning mix (.6 oz)
1/4 C water
onion

Put in crock pot for 8 hours on low.

How easy is that!? And it was tasty!

~Angela