Spoiled Brats and The American Homemaker-Mobile

I love these two.... but sometimes they make me crazy!  I settled into bed after a long day, looking forward to relaxing and turned on Man vs Food... Within minutes these punks were manipulating me into getting up at 11pm and making them a "gourmet" hot dog plate featured on the show.  I put my own spin on it and they found it delightful!  They named the dish "Spoiled Brats" after themselves :)

 Spoiled Brats

Heavily butter hot dog buns and place butter-down on a hot griddle to get them nice and toasted.

Spread with jam.  I used fresh strawberry jam.

 Meanwhile, slice hot dogs in half lengthwise to split them open.  Fry in butter on both sides until hot and bubbly.

When done, top with sliced cheddar cheese and let melt.

According to my spoiled brats, these Spoiled Brats were the best hot dogs ever!

 

I don't know if I've ever mentioned how much I love old cars...

Lookie what Eric and I got!!!  It's The American Homemaker-mobile!  It's so hideous I love it!  I can't wait to get it painted!  Isn't it cool?  It's a 1978 Ford LTD Station Wagon.  It seats 8 and has a rockin' big motor in it!  Nina told me I "ruined her life" by bringing such a car into our lives! Haha!  Gotta love teenage girls.  I'm really excited to pretty it up and start driving it around!

Chicken Caesar Salad & Fun Container Gardening

We LOVE salads!  I'm especially trying to add more fresh veggies into our diets right now because of how dang stressed out I am... I'm tired all the time and not feeling amazingly well so I'm trying to balance the stress with healthier eating.  Hey, it makes sense in my head *grin*

Leftover grilled chicken paired with romaine lettuce, corn, boiled eggs, croutons and light caesar dressing makes for a delightful dinner or lunch!  I teamed our salad up with bread and hummus... delish!  Most leftover meats taste great on a salad for a quick, light and cool summer dinner!

Last summer I spend my yard-working days trying to clean things up from years of neglect and only got to spend a little time on prettying up the yard... Speaking of which, awkwardly the guy I bought my house from came in to pay his storage unit bill while I was working.  I so wanted to make a snide remark about the mess he left me with, but instead I put a smile on my face and didn't even let him know that I remembered him and the hours/days/weeks of work he left me with on the house.... Grrrr

This summer I get to focus on making the yard awesome!  Eric loves yard work too and he's been helping me out a ton so we can create a yard to be proud of.  We've got a long ways to go, but it's looking better already!

I love using random things to plant flowers in!  The trick with container gardening is to keep them watered every day (twice a day in extremely hot weather).  They don't have the cool ground to protect their roots, so flowers need extra water in pots.  If you top the soil with rocks or bark it will help keep the soil from drying out as quickly. 

This blue bowl was a thrift store wooden salad bowl.  I painted it with craft paint and placed it on a $3 thrift store wooden box.  They look nicely together.  The bowl decided to crack this year, so this may be its last season... Good thing wooden bowls are easy to come by!  I've also used metal mixing bowls (spray painted of course!), tea pots, baskets, water pitchers and just about everything else you can think of to plant flowers in over the years!

This bucket was found on a farm and given to me by a friend.  I spray painted it red and placed it on a $1 plant stand that also got a coat of paint.

Another farm bucket made happy with spray paint!  I love summer flowers!

Crockpot Mushroom Beef Gravy

I love using my crockpot on busy days!  Summer is a great time to slow cook your food so you don't heat up your house using your oven or stove!  This gravy is delightful on toast, pasta, rice or potatoes!  I like doing toast because it's fast and doesn't require messing up more dishes or using the stove.

Crockpot Mushroom Beef Gravy

beef roast finely chopped (you can buy it chopped or chop it yourself)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can milk
mushrooms
worcestershire sauce

Cook in the crockpot all day on low.  Before serving stir in:
8 oz sour cream
8 oz cream cheese

Serve over toast, rice, pasta or potatoes.

I promise you they DID like the dinner... they just didn't want the camera in their faces... *smile*

Italian Soup and more!

The other day I was talking about canning tomatoes and I started to crave the tomatoes I had in lovely jars from last year.  I whipped together a delightful soup using Italian-seasoned turkey burger, Italian tomatoes, tomato soup, water, chicken bouillon, whole wheat pasta and green beans.  We topped it with mozzarella cheese and served it with flat garlic bread and sparkling apple cider!

As I was cooking, Eric and Caleb worked on getting Caleb's pinewood derby tank painted!

It came out so great!  I have to brag about the dowel/gun... Eric whittled it from a stick he found in the yard!  He has some old school talent!

While I'm bragging, look how beautiful Nina looked for her 9th grade formal dinner at a fancy restaurant!  She got to eat at La Caille and loved every minute of it!

Macaroni & Cheese Casserole

The place was Eric's house, the day was busy with meetings, my tummy was hungry, his fridge was empty... I whipped up this yummy casserole for lunch with items from the cupboard!

Macaroni & Cheese Casserole  


1 box mac & cheese (off brands work great!) & butter to make
1 can diced tomatoes (not drained)
1 can tuna fish, drained
1 can cream of mushroom soup

Make the mac & cheese as directed on the package leaving out the milk (the tomatoes have enough liquid).  Add remaining ingredients and heat until hot.  Serve.

 After shoveling in the food it was back to business!  We have several businesses in the works and it's GO GO GO all the time.

I'm excited, but so tired and overwhelmed.  My website will be ready to launch soon... finally.  How many times have I said that in the last 4+ years?  I'm sure at least three...  This time is for real.

Vintage Mexican Recipes

These recipes came from a stash that were my grandma's.  They would have been from the '60s or early '70s most likely since that's when they lived in Mexico.  I thought it would be fun to share them for Cinco de Mayo! 

Click on the picture to enlarge it!

click to enlarge

Chicken Pot Pie, Shepherd's Pie and Glazed Carrots... Oh My

My last cooking class topic was "comfort foods".  I really enjoy teaching.  Sometimes I feel like I'm just rambling on for an hour and people can't even keep up with my hopping from one story to the next, but I think it's really fun.  I demonstrated four recipes last time and I think it went well.  I made Chicken Pot Pie, Shepherd's Pie, Glazed Carrots and Oatmeal Fudge.  All turned out delicious!

Chicken Pot Pie
You can double this and bake it in a 9x13 for a larger family.

1 lb boneless chicken, cooked and cubed
frozen veggies (I use peas & corn)
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 c biscuit mix (I just buy the Walmart brand)
1/2 c milk
1 egg

 Heat oven to 400. Mix the chicken, veggies & soup in an ungreased 9" round pan. I like to microwave mine for a couple of minutes just to thaw the veggies and speed up cooking time, but it's not necessary. In a bowl, combine biscuit mix, milk and egg with a fork until combined. Pour over chicken/veggie mixture. Bake 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Shepherd's Pie
This is one of my favorite dinners!  I make it a lot when my monkeys are gone for the weekend.

1 lb hamburger, browned & drained
1 can tomato soup
1 can green beans, drained
mashed potatoes
cheese

Mix the hamburger, soup and green beans together. Place in a 9x13 pan. Top with mashed potatoes and cover with cheese. Bake at 350 until hot.

Glazed Carrots
This has been our stand-by cooked carrots recipe for years and years!

1 (16 oz) pkg baby carrots
1/4 c butter
1/4 c brown sugar
1 env ranch dressing mix

Place carrots in a saucepan; add 1 inch of water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and cook for 8-10 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain. Add butter, brown sugar and ranch mix. Cook and stir over medium heat for 5 minutes or until glazed.

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