Monday, April 24, 2023

Ideas for Easy Freezer Cooking



I love the idea of freezer cooking but you don't want to spend all day in the kitchen cooking? Easy freezer cooking is for you. Well, like a lot of other things, the the thought of one day in the kitchen cooking for a month is absolutely overwhelming to me.



Here is how I cook ahead with easy freezer cooking:

1. Whenever I cook a meal that is freezable I make at least two and sometimes three meals so I can cook one that night and freeze the others. Tonight it is lasagna. Of course having a small freezer our garage makes this possible. Now that there are only 4 of us in the house I can easily make two meals and pop one for later in the freezer.

Thursday, February 2, 2023

Gluten Free Blueberry Breakfast Pie

 I have had to give up gluten and trust me when I say GF cooking is hard. This gluten free blueberry breakfast pie recipe I make at least twice a month. The whole family loves it and you know that is when a gluten free recipe is a good one. Enjoy!


Gluten Free Blueberry Breakfast Pie

Ingredients:

3 large eggs separated

3 Tbl maple syrup

1 Tsp vanilla

dash salt

1/2 Tsp baking powder

1/3 cup almond flour

1/3 cup tapioca flour

1/2 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

cooking spray

Instructions:

Separate your eggs and use a hand mixer to whip the egg whites till nice and fluffy. In a medium sized bowl place the egg yolks and stir to mix well and add the rest of the ingredients (except egg whites) and thoroughly mix together. Next, fold the egg whites in and mix to incorporate the egg whites. Pour into a round pie pan that is preferably sprayed with non stick cooking spray but you can grease too. Top with blueberries. Bake 350 degress 15-20 mins depending on your oven. Keep watch and bake until the top is a nice golden brown. Slice and eat plain but we like it with butter and a little maple syrup.

**Note: I prefer cooking spray for the pan because the tapioca flour makes the pie stick more to the pan and it come out nice and easy I have noticed when I use cooking spray.

 

Wednesday, December 28, 2022

Christmas 2022

Happy New Year. Thought a quick Christmas wrap up post was in order. We had a nice holiday at home with our kids. The usual: lots of food and gifts and merriment. I hope you all are well and wish for all a healthy and happy 2023.

This year Dean and I did all the decorating over Thanksgiving weekend. Boy, were we tired but it was nice to have it all done.


I have to have a kitchen tree. I spend so much time in this room that I love the glow of a tree. I bought some cupcake lights off of Amazon. I think they added a whimsical feel to the tree.


I am a vintage gal and I think I love how it reminds me of my mom's kitchen. Some of my Pyrex was hers.





The old vintage graphics on boxes were just the best don't you agree? I think they should go back to the colors and images of the olden days. I am so drawn to vintage Christmas gift tags. I think they remind me of presents under the tree as a child.


I found cute vintage inspired gift wrap at Walmart this year.




I just am a sucker for cute ribbon and kept some out so I could wrap extra little gifts I had picked up.










Happy little boxes of goodies ready to be handed out on Christmas Eve.


In the summer we had to say goodbye to our 17 year old chihuahua but we also have welcomed a new member of the family. Someone dumped a little cat near our house and she was screaming and crying and only 4lbs when we coaxed her to come eat in our yard. After a few weeks we finally caught her for a vet visit and some shots and then a week later to fix her. She has gone from a very scared feral little thing to feeling right at home and now spends most of her time sleeping on our furniture.


Her name is Peanut and you can see she has made herself at home.


Dean and I (and Tugg and Luns) wish you all the best and again a Happy New Year. Thank you for coming by and reading this very long post.






 

Tuesday, December 13, 2022

Sees Copycat Bordeaux Candy Recipe

 


Sees Copycat Bordeaux Candy Recipe


Sprinkles or Jimmies for Garnish

Instructions:

1. Over medium heat, melt butter and brown sugar together in a heavy pan. Bring to a boil and boil for 2 minutes.

2. Stir in whipping cream, coffee, and salt and bring back to a boil. Stir constantly for 30 seconds and remove from heat.

3. Let cool for 10 minutes.

4. Add in powdered sugar and mix well.

5. Chill until mixture can hold shape of a ball. Roll into 1.5 to 2 inch balls. Chill again to firm.

6. For the dip, melt chocolate in the microwave in 1 minute increments or over a double boiler. Add the crisco to the melted chocolate and mix well. (I usually temper chocolate instead or use Ghirardelli melting chocolate) Melting Chips like Wiltons are the best. You can find them here: Wilton Candy Melts

7. Using a toothpick and fork dip candy balls to coat in chocolate and put on wax paper or parchment paper to dry. Add sprinkles on top before chocolate sets.


Sunday, June 20, 2021

Summer Supper Salad

In summer, when the temps are high summer salad ideas are where it is at. Often a big salad full of crunch and some protein are all you need to not heat up the kitchen and make a delicious summer supper salad.


In summer we often have big crunchy salads for dinner. I served it along with cheesey bread. Simply sour dough with melted shredded sharp cheddar toasted in the broiler. Tomatoes and cucumbers were from the garden. Yum! This recipe came from a friend and I knew I had to add it to our summer dinner recipes.

In summer we often have big crunchy salads for dinner. I served it along with cheesey bread. Simply sour dough with melted shredded sharp cheddar toasted in the broiler. Tomatoes and cucumbers were from the garden. Yum!

Summer Supper Salad
Chopped lettuce
Cooked diced chicken breasts
Whole wheat noodles boiled al dente
Toasted pine nuts
Cucumbers
Feta cheese crumbled (or a cheese you like)
Diced tomatoes
Crumbled turkey bacon
Dressing of your choice
Toss together and enjoy!

Another favorite summer supper salad is a chef's salad of whatever I have in the pantry and fridge to add a lot of flavor and yumminess.

And my recipe page is back up on the blog. Lot's more dinner ideas there and recipes for breakfast lunch and dinner and more.

Monday, June 7, 2021

Cute RV Storage Organizers

 I am all about the cute RV storage containers and organizers. Space is limited in our trailer so RV organization is a must or I frankly will not enjoy camping as much. You want to find everything quickly and know where your stuff is so good travel trailer hacks for cheap are my go to to keep camping fun.

RV storage hacks, camper organization


RV organization

trailer storage hacks

Lightweight stick on baskets for RV


Our new travel trailer which I did a post about, has I would say average RV storage space, but the flat surfaces would always collect items like phones, leashes, dog walking items, sunglasses, so I went searching for something I could put by the door that was lightweight, cheap and something I could honestly secure and stick to the little side table top so I didn't have to keep moving it for travel.

You can find these cutest soft sided storage organizer baskets with dividers online by clicking the link. Of course I wanted some thing cute and they have so many patterns and colors and I went for a red plaid sort of cabin decor theme.

rustic storage ideas


Next, I used a great RV hack and got large pre cut strips of velcro to adhere the basket to the table so it can live there without moving while the RV is in route but if needed we could just release it by pulling the top part off of the velcro fastener. These velcro strips are cheap on Amazon and really work.

velcro adhesives for RV organization

I loved this basket so much that I bought one for my RV bathroom as well. I cut the handles off of the living area basket and probably will with the bathroom one. I love that they are lightweight and don't add much of any weight to the trailer.

Check out my post on RV organizing in our older trailer.

Monday, May 24, 2021

Tour Of Our New Trailer 2020 Grey Wolf 23MK

 Actually our trailer is almost a year old but I am giving you a first tour of it and boy do we love this trailer. It is a Forest River Grey Wolf 23mk and my mini review of how we love the layout of this trailer and how a couples trailer works great for family of three.

camper pillow, trailer tour
You can get the pillow here...

We had sold our old trailer and being life long campers plus the lock downs, we knew it was time to hit the road last year so we would travel and do it safely enjoying outdoor spots in the mountains and at the beach. We camped six times last year from May to October and it was so fun. A great way to do something fun and stay distanced.

We have it dialed in and this is a great couples camper because of a nice back bedroom but we take our daughter and we have a cozy spot all set up for her in the front of the trailer.


trailer bedding

We decided it was time to go for parental comfort so we chose a large bathroom and a bedroom with a walk around queen sized bed.

We have on kiddo left at home and she sleeps on the table slide out we just keep as her cozy nook with curtains that slide shut at night. We like to eat and cook outside so the table never really gets used much so for ease we just leave it converted to her bed.

trailer tour, trailer decor


The kitchen is wonderful and more counter space that I have ever had in any of out trailers. I have space for my mini K cup brewer and a nice farmhouse sized sink. 

trailer kitchen organization

Mini K Cup Coffee Maker




Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Most Frugal Soup - Garbage Soup Recipe

The Most Frugal Soup Recipe Ever!

Garbage soup is probably one of the most frugal soup recipes you can make. Garbage soup is basically a recipe made from all of our food scraps that would get thrown away.

Do you just hate throwing away food? So Do I. My solution to this is to save up soup type ingredients to make a pot of soup. In our freezer is a big tub that I put all the leftover vegetables and meat that I would have to toss from not being eaten. I am always looking for what to make with leftover cooked vegetables.
vegetable soup recipe, frugal recipes, cheap crockpot soup recipe


What Leftovers Can You Save For Your Soup:

  1. Always error on the side of caution. I save meat only a few days and it has to be frozen and freezing vegetables for future soup is easy and can be saved after a little longer from the refrigerator. 
  2. Think about what you save and if you would like it and the flavor of it in your soup. I once saved baked beans and tried that and yuck! Let me just say they can't just go in a veggie soup.
  3. If you have some carrots or onions that are not cooked but getting ready to be tossed go ahead and chop and add to your freezer future soup container. Same goes for celery.
  4. Rice is great to add to soup but I try if I can to add that at the last minute so it does not get too mushy. If it is already mixed in the soup bucket, no worries just add it.
  5. Potatoes are tricky. Leftover potatoes can become mushy so I don't usually save them for soup. I might scramble up with some eggs and use them up like that. Now if you have leftover mashed potatoes I have the best potato cheese soup recipe to make from leftover mashed potatoes so check that out here...frugal potato soup
  6. If the meat I have saved is mostly chicken, I use a chicken broth, if it is mostly beef then beef broth and vegetable broth is great with both.

Preparing The Soup:

  1. Crock pot or stove top is fine. I usually add broth to the pan first and add my ingredients, adding more broth if needed. This is really a cheap crockpot soup recipe.
  2. Thawing the ingredients isn't necessary but I try to take the container out that morning as I save cook time (saves money) and I can separate out any ingredients I need to.
  3. Add a can of diced tomatoes if you like a tomato base for your soups.
  4. If you want to really jazz up the soup then you can add some shredded cheese on top or a small bag of frozen meatballs.
  5. You can of course add some boiled noodles as a filler if your soup is too brothy.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Cuban Sandwiches


Quick, what to make for dinner that is quick and easy but filling and yummy. Enter the Cuban sandwiches. Grilled cheese and ham and a few extra tangy ingredients deliver the yummiest grilled sandwich ever!

grilled sandwich, panini recipes, Cuban sandwiches


The real recipe does not call for tomatoes but my husband and I wanted them on there and boy what a taste. So good!!

grilled ham sandwich, Cuban sandwiches

How To Make Cuban Sandwiches

Sliced sour dough bread or any other sturdy bread
sliced ham
cheddar cheese
mustard
sliced pickles
butter


  1. Butter the bread first on the outside and assemble the sandwiches while your pan is heating up.
  2. Add mustard to the inside of your bread slices.
  3. Layer, cheese, ham and pickle slices. (We added fresh garden tomatoes too).
  4. Grill on both sides until cheese is melted.

DIY Panini Press

 You could just make these grilled Cuban sandwiches but if you want them pressed and don't have a panini maker like me, then you can use two pans. You are supposed to fill a tea kettle to set on the top pan for pressing but I don't have one right now so I filled a pan with some water which was a little wonky but worked. Just toast on one side and then flip for a couple more minutes.
Sometimes I use my iron skillet and just press real firmly with the backside of a spatula to act as my own panini press.
Some cool creamy potato salad would be the perfect side to this hot tangy sandwich. You can find the recipe to my mom's famous potato salad on our recipe page.



Friday, August 30, 2019

How To Make A Smoked Peach Pie In Your Treager

With all the fresh peaches available in summer you have to take baking outside and bake a smoked peach pie on your Traeger or smoker. Hands down we all agreed this was the best pie I had ever made.
So if you are like me the oven doesn't get much use in the summer. I just can't heat up the whole kitchen to bake something. But, I had all these wonderful peaches off our tree and wanted to make a pie so we baked it on our Traeger/pellet smoker grill out on the patio. 

Boy, it came out perfectly and the flavor was oh so good. The crust was perfect and flaky but had the most delicious slightly smokey flavor. Oh my that contrast with the sweet tangy peach pie filling made for the best pie recipe ever!

grilled peach pie, BBQ pie

Baking A Pie On Your Traeger/Smoker Grill

First, either prepare your favorite crust from scratch or like me, buy premade crusts and make life easier.

Second, go ahead and use your favorite peach pie filling recipe. I switch around to my faves online.

peach pie recipe, grilled desserts


Third, assemble the pie and add a few dollops of butter on your peach filling.

Lastly, brush the top of your pie crust with an egg wash. An egg wash makes the pie come out so beautiful and shiny.

peach pie filling

Time To Bake Your Pie On Your Traeger

Preheat your Traeger to 400 degrees for 15 minutes and place the pie in a metal pie pan right onto the grill. Close the lid and bake for 50 minutes. The Traeger website says 50 - 60 minutes baking time but we pull our pies off at about 50 minutes and they are perfectly done so bake to your liking.

pie on the smoker, barbecue dessert recipe