Chili Recipe

ever try to make something several times before you feel like you finally got it right? well, here is my jillionth time at chili.

Chili (makes about 6 quarts)

2 lbs ground beef (I used ground chuck b/c it was on sale)
1.5 tsp minced garlic
1 medium onion, diced
1 small to med greed bell pepper, diced
2 cans green chilis
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1 can dark red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 can chili beans (I used mild)
1- 29 oz can tomato sauce (yes, the bigg’un)
1- 29 oz can petite diced tomatoes
2 cups water
1 pkg chili seasoning mix
1 pkg taco seasoning mix
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
salt and pepper to taste

Cook the diced onion, bell pepper and garlic over a medium high heat until tender. Add in the ground beef and cook until browned. Drain off all fat. In a large stock pot or crock pot (my method) add beef and seasonings. Stir. Add all other ingredients and cook on low all day. (I didn’t have to add anything during the day. You can choose the hotter version of the chili/taco seasonings if you like it spicier. This was plenty for me, though.)

Hope it turns out well for you. I like to serve this with cheese and Jiffy corn muffins...or sometimes Fritos. Depends on how well I’ve done on my diet for the week, haha! This filled my 6 quart crock pot so we’ll have plenty for another time.)

Homemade Chicken Pot Pie (Freezable)

because sharing is caring...

The Recipe: (which is picky eater approved)

2 cups shredded cooked chicken

1 can 98%Fat Free cream of chicken soup

1 can 98%FF cream of celery soup (trust me on this)

1 can cream of potato soup (doesn't come in FF, sadly)

1 small can corn, drained

1 small can sliced carrots, drained

1 small can sweet peas, drained

1 refrigerated pie crust, cut into strips

Directions:

Cut pie crust into strips and set aside. Mix all other ingredients together, adding a little salt and pepper to taste. Fill a casserole dish or individual aluminum pot pie holders with the pot pie mixture. Place enough strips across the top to cover, but allow spaces for the steam to rise. At this point, you can cover with foil and freeze (which is what I did.)

From Frozen: Do not thaw!! Remove aluminum foil and bake at 350 for 30 minutes, then 400 for 30 minutes. My crust didn't even think about burning using this method!!

From fresh: I'd start with baking at 350 for...25 minutes? Until bubbly and crust starts to brown.

Because I am the best...it's 5 Weight Watcher pointsPlus per serving before you add the crust...and it serves 6!! (you would add 3-4 more points per serving, depending on the pie crust nutritional info...but don't forget, this serves 6 as i have it divided. 32 for the filling, total.)

enjoy that bad boy and thank me later!!

a month's worth of cooking...again

in addition to getting ready for school to start, i've been otherwise busy. I'll be back with first day of school pictures as well as some recipes, if you want them!

who needs wendy's?

peeps, it needs to be known that i absolutely adore most any kind of asian chicken salad. it's basically all i order anytime to go to applebee's and what i always used to get when the hubs wanted a chicken sandwich from wendy's (although the ones i make at home have way less fat...but whatevs. sometimes you just want the goodness, ya know?) anyway...sometime this last year, wendy's became dead to me when they REPLACED their oriental/asian/mandarin...whatever...chicken salad with the apple something or other salad. SO WRONG. i have been on the quest to make it the same way at home...the problem was that i couldn't find the dressing. and the dressing makes a lot of salads. especially if they are...we'll say "themed". today, i have achieved my goal. the mission is complete! it probably could have been done easier, but today is when the missing ingredient finally made it what i wanted it to be. the dressing needed a little bit of honey. i'm not a honey eater, so it was escaping me...until now!

so...if you ever liked the wendy's salad...here's what you need:

Lettuce (today i used what i had, which was butter lettuce)
1 Grilled Chicken Breast, diced or sliced (i used the pre-cooked frozen ones that i get at walmart and keep on hand alllllllll the time.)
Mandarin Oranges
Sliced Almonds (i used the Almond Accents roasted version)
Chow Mein Noodles
Publix brand Roasted Asian Sesame salad dressing
A Squeeze of Honey

layer as listed. mix a little bit of honey into your dressing and coat thoroughly. love it! a perfect summertime salad. you are welcome.

if anyone is actually still around to read this nonsense, i thank you. Real life is insane, as i'm sure it is for all of you. But we are wrapping up the school year/sports season, so I should have time to catch up soon!

on the hunt

today, i'm on the hunt for a water bath. a what? a water bath. that's what i said. wanna know why? b/c this precious little thang that we all know and love posted a recipe for apple butter last year and danggit imma make it tomorrow. problem...i gotta get one of those there water bath thingies. in the off season.

Tasty tuesday::peanut butter texas sheet cake

I found this recipe in the Gooseberry Patch Our Best Quick & Easy Recipes Magazine. "Texas Sheet Cake" is usually chocolaty, fudgy goodness. this is obviously a different twist. and since i am a firm believer that peanut butter is the next best thing to chocolate, i thought i'd give it a try. and i'm glad i did. give it a try!! you won't be sorry!

Peanut Butter Texas Sheet Cake
2 c all purpose flour

1/4 c creamy peanut butter
2 c white sugar

2 eggs beater
1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp baking soda

1/2 c buttermilk
1 c butter
1 c water

peanut butter icing (see below)

chopped peanuts for garnish

Combine flour, sugar, salt and baking soda in a large bowl and set aside. Combine butter, water and peanut butter and a saucepan over medium heat: bring to a boil. Add to flour mixture and mix well and set aside. Combine eggs, vanilla and buttermilk. Add to flour mixture. Spread batter into a 15x10 jelly roll pan. Bake @ 350 for 25-28 minutes or until cake springs back when gently touched. spread peanut butter icing over warm cake and garnish.

Peanut Butter Icing
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/3 c + 1 T milk
16 oz powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
Combine first 3 ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat; bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Stir in powdered sugar and vanilla. Mix until spreading consistency. (careful, it will drip a little over the side of the cake so keep bringing it back to the center.)

tasty tuesday

wow! it's been a while, huh? life does that, especially this time of year. (i assure you that my going to see New Moon 3x has absolutely nothing to do with my absence.)

Susannah called me out on her blog for a recipe that i KNOW i have posted on here before. but for the life of me i can't find it. so here we go again. she called them "butterscotchies". i call them chocolate covered peanut butter krispies. but you know how i am with naming food. but here you go. perfect for the upcoming holidays. (let your belt out now!!)

You will need:
6 cups rice krispies
1 1/2 cups peanut butter
1 cup corn syrup
1 cup sugar
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup butterscotch chips

Mix PB, sugar and corn syrup on medium heat until the sugar and PB dissolve. Pour mix over cereal and stir until well blended. Spread into a 9x13 pan. Melt all "chips" together and stir until smooth. spread over the top of the krispies. put in refrigerator to set.

from the kitchen...

i have a lot more going on in my kitchen this week than is my usual. don't get me wrong, i cook mostly 5 nights a week plus sunday lunch. and that is enough to make me a little nutty. not the cooking part...the cleaning up part, if i'm honest. and my husband is a huge help. but dishes are like clothes and as soon as they are all washed, there are more waiting on you. (and while i'm at it, i think that is part of the rut i have been in. the continuous monotony of cooking, cleaning, wiping, washing, etc.)

anyway, like i was saying...more cooking this week. i'm not good at taking pictures while i'm doing something, so you'll have to be patient and visit the links. there are a few favorites i've done plenty of times before and then there are a few i haven't tried before.

yesterday, i made Harriette's chicken spaghetti for lunch. i made a double batch because i have a friend i'm taking supper to on friday. this double batch filled up a disposable 13x9x2 pan for the freezer, and 2 pie plates (one for us yesterday and one for the freezer that will probably go to another friend when she has her baby next week.) kids, that's economical. all of that with 3 chicken breasts, 2 boxes thin spaghetti noodles, 1 lb velveeta, 2 cans rotel, 1 can cream of chick, 1 can cream of mush, 2 pkgs dry ranch dressing mix. you can't beat that.

then i moved on to trying out the Pioneer Woman's cinnamon roll recipe. my intent being to make them and freeze them to take some to the afore mentioned friends and to have some for the holidays. let's just say that i have never made any kind of dough from scratch. i have been scared silly of yeast. always afraid that i'd have my liquid too hot and ruin the yeast. i stepped out of my comfort box and embraced the yeast. let me say that if you don't have a lot of counter space, you may want to start with 1/4-1/3 of the dough instead of 1/2. trust me. oh, and refrigerate that dough first. you'll never get it to roll tight enough to keep your rolls in shape otherwise (coughnot like i would know anything about thatcough.) so with the 2nd half of the dough, i had success and still it made about 50 rolls. no LIE!!

this saturday is the fall festival at luke's school. and let me just say, i'm the mom that will always sign up to send food to something. with 2 kids still at home and no babysitters, i may not be able to volunteer for much, but i can cook and take stuff to the school. no problem. they have a cake walk and i'm making red velvet cake balls that i found over at Kelly's Korner Recipes. i really want to see how they turn out. don't know about yall, but with the holidays coming (and me trying my darndest to lose and not gain weight) i'm more likely to commit to a cake ball and not the whole thing.

we'll also be having meatloaf, mexican lasagna (i think i'll have to owe you that recipe), granola and a few other various things that we (micah and i) love around here. i wish yall could come over!!

oh, and we are making progress on the picky eating front. sort of. the rule is that you have to try one bite of whatever i fix for supper. the daddy has not always upheld this rule. but here's how i abide by it...i fix supper. i fix a plate for me and ally claire. i sit down and eat. if they want something else, it was up to micah to do it b/c i stand firm. i now have the daddy on board. seth has always been pretty good to try most things. not luke. i have had an hour stand off with him over biting a chicken nugget (he doesn't eat meat as a general rule.) he has now tried 3 different things and i couldn't be more proud. so proud i may not should mention the insta-gag reflex. but he does it. and that is progress. soon we'll move to 2 bites and so on. i mean, he's only 6.

tasty tuesday and tubes

this precious angel right here...she is FINALLY getting tubes tomorrow. just say a little prayer that all goes well and that we have NO problem with her 5-10 minutes of anesthesia...and that she'll forgive me for handing her off to a stranger. she's a little attached to mama these days. i honestly know it will be a breeze of a surgery, but still. you know how it is. don't tell me you could resist that face. cause i know you can't. and yes, she wears those necklaces alll the time. i think i'll get her some pink and purple ones for being a big girl tomorrow. i can find those at the DG right? i'm still kind of a newcomer to the "pink aisle".

With the cooler temps in north alabama brings all things comfort. At our house this week that means homemade granola and chicken stew...but not together. I am kind of a granola snob. I got this recipe from Micah's mom and it is completely delish! And that also means it has been tested by picky eaters and approved (sorry Micah and Laura, but some things are just the truth.) You can add anything you like to this basic recipe...dried fruit, chocolate chips. I asked Micah if it was the same as he remembered since it was my first time to make it. He said (while it was still baking and making our house smell about 900 kinds of good) "well, it smells the same. so far it looks the same. i know it made a bunch, although mom usually ruined half of it by adding raisins." you people see what i have to work with?? all those things said were true, but it DID get a rave review the next morning.

Granola
1 one lb box of old fashioned oats
4 cups (1 jar) wheat germ
1 bag coconut
1 lb brown sugar
1 cup oil
1 cup water
1 Tbsp salt
3 Tbsp vanilla
3 cups sunflower seeds

Mix all dry ingredients (I used a 1.5 gallon tupperware bowl that has a lid and just shook it all together.) Mix wet ingredients together and pour over dry. Mix all together until well coated. Bake at 225 (yes...two hundred twenty five) for 1.5 hours until good and dry. (this fills 4 cookie sheets and will require you to make it in 2 batches--unless you have more than one oven...or have a huge one...i guess) rotate your pans 1/2 way through. pour out on to wax paper when done and crumble. store in air tight container. thank me later.

next week...chicken stew.

What's for Supper Wednesday?

sorry i didn't get this out yesterday. i had every intent to get you a recipe on tuesday. but alas, tuesday got away from me. i have added a list on the right side of all of my upcoming projects. so if i go missing for a while, i'm probably weilding a paintbrush and continuing my quest to make our house a home (i mean, we've only lived here 7 years!) and so...

Broccoli Chicken Casserole
(your hubby that doesn't like broccoli, will have 2 helpings. i PROMISE!!)

you need about 2 cups of chopped cooked chicken

and about 2 cups of chopped fresh broccoli (i don't prefer stems...so this is about 2 heads of broc)

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 can cream of celery soup

3/4 cup of sour cream

8 oz. velveeta

mix soups, sour cream and velveeta and heat in the microwave until the velveeta is almost all melted. in the mean time, sautee broccoli with a little butter until it becomes tender. then mix broccoli and chicken into soup mixture and pour it all into a 13x9x2 pyrex dish sprayed with pam. bake at 350 until bubbly.

when bubbly, add a sleeve of crushed ritz crackers and some french fried onions pieces. spray that with butter spray (or you can melt some of the real thing and pour it over!) bake until topping is slightly browned.

dish it up and yummmm!! serve it with some sister schubert's.

Tasty Tuesday::back by popular demand

popular as in i think only 1 or 2 said "yes...please bring it back!" the good news is that i took pictures. well, some. i am TERRIBLE at tutorials. i always forget a step or picture. this post is no exception. i got this basic recipe in college. only it included english peas. and harriette has a similar recipe that adds cream of chicken and ranch dressing mix, but no peas. and i also added corn. so is it mine b/c it is tweaked? ah, who cares. it it delish. try it. you can't go wrong. so without further adieu:

Southwest Chicken Spaghetti

What You'll Need:
2 cups boiled/chopped chicken
2/3 box spaghetti noodles boiled in the leftover chicken broth
1 can Rotel
1 can cream of chicken
1 8 oz pkg velveeta
1 small can of corn (oops...not pictured!)
1 pkg dry ranch dressing mix
handful or 2 of shredded cheese

mix together chicken and noodles.

in a saucepan, mix together rotel, cream of chicken, velveeta, corn and dressing mix until everything is melted together.

pour over chicken and noodles and mix thoroughly. spray an 8x8 pyrex dish (warning...it will be FULL!! you can also just do your regular 9x13x2 dish also.) pour in casserole dish.
sprinkle with remaining shredded cheese. cover and bake until bubbly.
serve with salad

and your my favorite dressing that you can get at sam's.

wednesday webipe (web-i-pee)

(photo compliments of their webpage)

because we all know my love for the duggars, last night, in honor of their big announcement, i decided to give their famous tater tot casserole a try. (let me go ahead and tell you...i altered it. is that sacreligious??) and because i like to give credit where it is due, i will list their original recipe, and then give you the changes i made. let me just tell you, i can see why it is a kid favorite.

Duggar Tater Tot Casserole

2 lb ground turkey cooked, seasoned, drained
3 2lb bags tater tots
2 cans cream of mushroom
2 cans evaporated milk
2 cans cream of chicken

Brown meat & place in large cass. dish. Cover with tater tots. Mix soup & milk together.Pour over top. Bake at 350 for 1 Hour. (One of Daddy’s Favorites!) Makes 2- 9”X13” pans.

and now....

Tucker Tater Tot Casserole

1 lb ground beef (cause it's what i had...i'm not anti turkey in any way) and seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic and onion powders
3/4-1 bag tater tots
1 can evaporated milk
1 can cream of chicken/mushroom
1 can cheddar cheese soup
4 oz sour cream

brown beef with seasonings and drain. line bottom of pan (i used my square pampered chef stone). top beef with tater tots (and i used the rounds, not the regular ones, cause again...it's what i had.) mix soups, milk and sour cream. pour on top of tater tots. bake at 350 for 1 hour.

while it's NOT gourmet (and nothing i make is), i'd eat it again. i almost wanted to add tomato sauce or something with the GB. not sure. anyway, give it a whirl. your kiddies will surely like it!!

tasty tuesday-santa cookies

this one is a two-fer girls. the first one i saw in a magazine and haven't tried, but they are darn cute. the second is the recipe we use to make cookies for santa every year. the good thing is that you can change the M&Ms accordingly and then they can become easter bunny cookies. enjoy!!


Nutter Butter Santa Cookies


Tucker Family Santa Cookies (M&M cookies)
1 cup shortening
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup regular sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups M&Ms divided


Cream together shortening and sugars. beat in eggs and vanilla. sift together dry ingredients until combined. add in 3/4-1 cup of M&Ms. roll into tsp or Tbsp size balls onto a cookie sheet (i use a stone baking pan). slightly press the top and add 2-3 M&Ms on top. bake at 350 for around 10 minutes or until lightly golden. yields 2 1/2 dozen Tbsp size or 4 dozen tsp size.

Luke & Seth 2007

Luke 2006

I just noticed that neither one of these pictures depict the M&M cookies in their entirety (is that a word?? oh well, you get the gist.)
do yall remember going to albertson's when we were little and going to the cookie section? well, they had the BEST cookies, in my little opinion, and these taste a LOT like those!!

Tasty Tuesday

Confetti Meatloaf

(makes 2 loafs, but is easily split)


2 lbs lean ground beef
2 cups ground Stove Top stuffing mix (i use a small food chopper)
4 Tbsp worcestershire sauce
4 Tbsp ketchup
2 Tbsp spicy mustard
2 eggs, beaten
salt, pepper, garlic powder (just enough to season)
veggie mix (i grind 1 cup carrot, 1 cup celery, 1 cup onion and 1 cup bell pepper in my mini chopper b/c it holds one cup. this mix is also good for other meat sauces like spaghetti.)


Mix all of the above ingredients together in a bowl and divide into 2 loaf pans. (one can be frozen for later.) bake at 350 for about 40 minutes, depending on the thickness of your loaf pan. then cover with sauce and bake an additional 15 minutes. if you need this to bake quicker, or you want to be sure to get a certain amount of servings, then divide it out into a muffin tin!


Sauce:
1/2 cup ketchup
2 Tbsp brown sugar
2 Tbsp worcestershire
1 Tbsp mustard

Menu Monday

cause i'm bored and avoiding TV and all the ads today...

Sunday- chicken enchiladas, rice
Monday-meatloaf, mashed potatoes, peas
Tuesday-me out for ellen's bday, boys hotdogs
Wednesday-chicken casserole, butter beans, and some other side
Thursday-BBQ pork loin, baked beans, corn on cob
Friday-Swedish meatballs, rice, green salad

i'm tweaking my recipe for meatloaf today, so i'll try to remember to post it tomorrow. also, in all of that goodness, do you know what my kids will eat??? cereal. i tell them they have to try one bite. if they don't...cheerios. i just don't believe in sending them to bed hungry b/c they are huge, growing boys. but it does mean they only get one thing. i'm sure i should be stricter, but none of you have had an hour and a half stand off with a stubborn mule who will just hold a chicken nugget in his mouth...CHICKEN NUGGET...yeah. you do what you can.

seems like i'm always a day late...

in honor of yesterday being tasty tuesday, and my heater being fixed and not having to run on emergency heat anymore, and the fact that it is HONKIN' cold in north alabama this week (low last night was below freezing...when they start talkin that nonsense...i just put my fingers in my ears and say "i can't hear you...")

[seth around 16 months old]

wait...what was i saying?

[luke around 14 months old]

oh yeah...tasty tuesday on wednesday. here is a couple of quick recipes you should have to warm you up quick, fast and in a hurry this winter.

Quick Potato Soup

1 pkg Simply Potatoes shredded hashbrowns (found in the refrigerated section, usually near the bacon at walmart)

1 box chicken broth

1 small to medium onion, diced

1 pkg country gravy mix (not the sausage flavored kind--just the regular white country gravy)

sautee diced onion with a few sprays of butter (or you can use the real thing if you want.) next add in potatoes and cook them until they start to turn just a little (like cooking real hashbrowns). next add in gravy mix and chicken broth. bring to a boil then simmer for 25 minutes. garnish with cheese and bacon pieces.

Homemade Hot Chocolate Mix

1- 8 quart box powdered nonfat milk
1- 2lb can Quick
1 lb box confectioners sugar
1 lb jar coffee creamer

Mix all ingredients in a very large container. To make hot chocolate mix ½ cup mix to 1 ½ cup hot water for an average coffee cup. (This makes 1.5 gallons of dry mix.)

and obviously add marshmallows!!

stay warm, kiddies!!

tasty tuesday

White Chili

(wish i had a pic, but i haven't made it since last year. but i'll try to remember to take one later in the week when i DO make it.)

2 cups cooked chopped chicken (can use canned if in a hurry)
1 medium onion chopped
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp oil
2 cans great northern beans rinsed and drained
1 can chicken broth
2 cans chopped green chilis
1 can mexicorn
1 tsp each oregano, cumin, salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 cup sour cream
1 cup milk

sautee onion and garlic in oil until tender. add in all ingredients but sour cream and milk. simmer 30 minutes and then add in milk and sour cream until blended.

this is soooo good and a different way to have chili for the winter!

it's tasty tuesday

well, this was not what was originally on the menu today, but it's what we are having. it was a long day with mother's morning out for luke and our house showing for the 2nd time in 3 days after a month long drought, which meant i just stayed out all morning b/c we live 20 minutes the opposite direction from school. i dropped luke off after making we were all ready and the house was all a snazz, and headed with seth and ally claire to the mall to the play area. (everyone should have one of those. it has spongy carpet and soft rubber toys that can be climbed on and jumped off of. after playing for an hour that included 2 trips to the family restroom (seriously, another must have!!), we picked micah up from work and went around the corner to bridge street for some lunch. we decided we would try connors steak house b/c they were supposed to have really good stuff for good prices at lunch. i wasn't all that impressed. but that was probably b/c i had to box mine right up b/c sister just doesn't feel the need to nap in public very well so i had to leave and walk her around...which meant seth wanted to come with me and use the potty for what would be his 4th visit since leaving the house 2 hours prior. (and he pottied 2 more times before we got home, giving him an average of every 30 minutes...seriously, he will go to every potty under the sun when we are out, but won't walk the 5 feet to his own potty half the time anymore.) so we didn't really get to eat lunch with daddy, but we did hit up some maggie moos for some super yum ice cream. (did i mention the 10 lbs i had gained back? i'm sure birthday parties and ice cream lunches do NOT contribute to it.) but the chocolate better batter was good and i didn't mind missing out on my cheese steak, which wasn't good reheated, so i tossed it. and chocolate better batter is just that...it tastes like chocolate cake batter...i die!!) sister screamed her head off all the way to get luke, then all the way home (total time in car was 30-40 minutes) and then i fed her a bottle and put her in the bed, where she is still sleeping. seth's nap was short and luke's was non-existant. early bed for everyone tonight!! (did i mention that seth came to our room last night with a bad dream about a ferris wheel?? he and luke are on a new "i'm scared" kick.)



all of that to say, you probably have this recipe, but we are having breakfast casserole tonight and this is my recipe!



Breakfast Casserole

1 tube refrigerated crescents, rolled out and seams pressed together

1 2/3 c frozen shredded hashbrowns

1/3 c cooked bacon pieces (i use the hormel kind in a bag--or whatever meat you want. sometimes i use diced ham and add bell peppers!)

2/3 c shredded cheese blend (whatever you like)

5 eggs, whisked (can use egg beaters in equal amount)

salt & pepper



press the cresents together in the bottom of a 13x9x2 pyrex dish. scatter the hashbrowns, then bacon, scrambled eggs, cheese, salt and pepper. bake at 350 until eggs are set and crescents have browned. serve with fruit. (you can also omit the hashbrowns from the casserole and serve them on the side!)

tasty tuesday on wednesday

ok, so my last post was kind of deep and i only had 2 comments, so i'll move on. (booooooo to the lurkers who read and didn't want to comment. i'm sad.)



moving on...

Chicken Quiche

1 lb cooked shredded chicken (you can even use canned)

1 *9 inch pie crust (i use the frozen)

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup mayo

1 1/2 cups shredded cheese blend

1 tbsp corn starch

1/3 diced white or yellow onion (i use onion powder sometimes, just a few shakes)

salt and pepper

mix milk and cornstarch together. whisk in mayo, eggs, salt and pepper until smooth. add in onion, chicken and cheese. pour into pie crust. (you can use 1 deep dish or this will make 2 regular if you need to make it go a little farther.) bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until golden brown and the center is set for a deep dish or about 30-35 minutes if you use the 2 regular pie shells. also, if you are using deep dish, you may want to cover your crust before or during cooking as this long of a time may cause them to burn a little bit.

Tasty Tuesday

My new favorite treat...



1-6oz Yoplait Light Key Lime Pie Yogurt
Cool Whip Lite
Teddy Grahams or Mini Nilla Wafers

I have a small trifle dish/parfait dish. So cute and I love it! In the bottom of a dish put a dab of cool whip. Next put 4-5 of the grahams or wafers. Next put 1/2 of the yogurt. repeat all layers one more time and end with one last dollup of cool whip. (and i am a complete snob when it comes to name brand on whip cream. everything else breaks down too easily and we use cool whip on a daily basis at our house.)


i'll try to get back to posting menus and recipes b/c we all get in ruts. click here for a list of menus i made up earlier this year. if you are interested in a recipe, just email me and i'll get it to you that way quicker than listing it here. ([email protected]) if you don't already get it, subscribe to the kraft food & family magazine. their fall issue has some good looking and easy recipes in it that i'm gonna try. also, ACs "aunt harriette" has a recipe blog. the crockpot chicken and dressing is to die for!! (she's only ACs aunt b/c she was her NICU nurse, even though i know she'd claim the boys as well!!)