Christmas Recap

Hi everyone! So nice to back! I hope you had a fantastic Christmas with your family and friends, and I wish you a blessed new year!! 

Now, being gone for a week I missed out on sharing some Christmas goodies with you. Let's recap...

Yes, there were lots of treats! I love treats! 

Oreo balls
     Mint Oreo balls
          Peanut butter pretzel balls
                Saltine toffee
                     Dipped Nutter Butter Snowmen
                             Dipped pretzels with fun sprinkles (!!)
                                   Pretzel Turtles
                                        Cashew raisin clusters
                                              Marshmallow snowmen on sticks
                                                    Cut outs, of course
                                                           Peppermint meltaways

Travel bags

Potato cleaner & cutting board :) Tee hee. This was a $5 gift exchange. 

I got earmuffs for my $5 gift!

I love 'em!!! :)

Best Buy!

Hmm... no explanation. 

Merry Christmas! Hallelujah our Savior is born! 

I hope to recap Mexico soon... there's just so much to do! 

Download pics to FB, print copies from Wal Mart, arrange in a photo album, oh yeah... clean the house and do laundry! :) 

I will share my highlights with you of course.

Carrot Cake Pancakes

Happy Saturday, December 17!!!!

4 more days of work...

8 more days until Christmas!

9 more days until Mexico!!!!

I hope you're enjoying the season too!

I made Christmas candies yesterday with Mom & Grandma. I haven't taken pictures yet, but the holiday parties are coming! And I can't wait to share some of my creations with you!

Today, however, I have a twist on the regular Pancake recipe.

Carrot Cake Pancakes
From Iowa Girl Eats
Serves 2

Ingredients:

1 cup just-add-water dry pancake mix

1/2 cup finely shredded carrot

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

pinch of nutmeg

small pinch of ground cloves

1 cup water (maybe less, maybe more)*

Directions:

1. Pre-heat skillet or griddle to medium low. Combine ingredients from pancake mix to ground cloves in a bowl. Add water and stir until all ingredients are thoroughly combined. *Depending on your dry mix, you may need to add more or less water to get the batter to pancake consistency.

2. Spray the pre-heated skillet with non-stick spray and pour the batter into four, equal-sized pancakes. Flip when bubbles appear on top and continue cooking until both sides are golden brown.

3. Serve with butter and syrup.

 Uh oh... last bite!!

These were really delicious! Aaron & I were surprised how just a few additions to regular pancakes = this deliciousness!

Cornbread Muffins

I've cracked the code!!!!

Can't believe it, and we're all probably in B-I-G trouble! 

Photo(s) Source

I've found a recipe that essentially re-creates Famous Dave's cornbread muffins!!

Photo(s) Source

Umm, ya. See? We're in trouble. They are so so so good! 

Thanks goes to Tada Creations for the recipe. I tweaked it just a little bit.

Famous Dave's Cornbread Muffins

2 C yellow cornmeal
9 oz pkg yellow cake mix (half a regular box mix)
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 C milk
1/2 C buttermilk
1/4 C vegetable oil
2 eggs

3 Tbsp brown sugar

3 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp real mayonnaise
Honey Glaze (see below)

Mix all dry ingredients together. Mix all wet ingredients & brown sugar together (except for mayo) and add them to the dry and mix gently until there are no lumps, being careful not to over-mix. Fold in mayonnaise and let it rest, covered in the fridge for 60 minutes or overnight. (This is very important, please don't skip the resting step. The resting time allows the batter to get more "cake-y" and yummy. I didn't rest very long the 1st time I made them, and they were very dry.)

Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Drizzle with honey butter (this just soaks in the muffins and makes them tasty!) Makes about 18 muffins.

Honey Butter
1/2 C butter
1/4 C honey

Melt butter in pan and add honey. Simmer, stirring occasionally. 

Make sure you eat them with extra butter & honey... so delicious! Look at that golden color!!

Well, I better be going... only 5 more minutes until The Next Iron Chef is on! 

Photo(s) Source

I hope Elizabeth Faulkner wins! She is my favorite! I think they could use another female iron chef... right now they only have Cat Cora. She would be cool!

Ok... one more tempting picture, to make you want to bake a batch...

Greek Burger

Hello Everyone! You wanna know 2 secrets??!!

It is 6 days until I get to make Christmas candy!!! YAY!

And.....

It is 16 days until I go to Mexico!!!!! YAY!

I'm excited for both! 

I have a super-awesome burger to share with you. Like *totally* super-awesome! You're going to love it! 

From none other than.... Iowa Girl Eats of course! I love her recipes!

Ingredients:

Burgers:

2 teaspoons olive oil

1/2 small red onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

salt and pepper

1 box frozen spinach, thawed & squeezed dry

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 Tablespoon grill seasoning

4oz crumbled feta cheese

1 1/3 pounds ground turkey breast

Sauce:

1 clove garlic

1/3 seedless cucumber, grated

6oz plain Greek yogurt

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 lemon, juiced

salt and pepper

Additional ingredients needed:

4 buns

Red onion, sliced

2 tomatoes, sliced

1/4 cup pitted kalamata olives, sliced in half

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a medium-sized skillet over medium heat. Saute onion with salt & pepper until soft, about 5-6 minutes. Add in garlic and saute for another minute, stirring constantly. Remove to a plate to cool.

2. Combine all ingredients for sauce in a small bowl. Set aside.

3. Combine cooked onions with spinach, oregano, grill seasoning, feta cheese, and turkey breast. Form into 4 patties and grill on high for 5 minutes a side, or until cooked through.

4. Top burgers with sauce, sliced onion, tomato and kalamata olives.

This burger was so juicy, tasty, and fun... they were gone within a day!! :)

Tomato Sauce

Hello! Are you enjoying the snow? It's just a little chilly! :)

It's lovely to think that in a few short weeks I will be laying on the sandy beaches of Mexico!! :) YAY! 

I have a fantastic-ly easy tomato sauce for you today. It is simple, clean, and easy... and VERY TASTY!!! 

All you do is put the following in a sauce pan--
           2 large cans whole tomatoes
           1 stick butter
           1 onion, sliced in half
           Salt and pepper to season

Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, for about 30 minutes. Stir occasionally and "smush" tomatoes. At the end of cooking I put some of the big tomatoes in the blender to get them "saucy". 

Serve over pasta and top with cheese!

Warm up with a bowl of Vegetable Turkey & Barley Soup

IT'S HERE    !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sweet
        White
              Fluffy
                    Gorgeous
                             Fun
                                Beautiful
                                        SNOW   !!!

Yes, I know I'm crazy... but I do just adore it! Coming down so softly today without wind or ice... just beautiful big flakes!


I probably rushed out too soon to take my pictures... I should've waited til all 2-3 inches were on the ground... oh well! :) I couldn't wait!

So, to help you warm up today I have a great soup recipe with kind of a "tongue twister name". 

Vegetable Turkey & Barley Soup  (this soup originally was Veg Beef Barley soup... so you can easily make it with ground beef. Ground turkey was cheaper in the store and I love it. It tasted great!)

By: Iowa Girl Eats  (My favorite blogger, if you haven't learned)

Ingredients:

1lb ground turkey

1 small onion, processed or chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 bag baby carrots, processed or chopped

3 ribs celery, processed or chopped

2-14.5oz can petite diced tomatoes

2-14.5oz can cut green beans, drained

58oz beef broth, divided (4-14.5oz cans)*

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

1 bay leaf

3/4 cup barley

salt & pepper

Worcestershire sauce

Directions:

1. Heat a large soup pot over medium high heat. Add ground turkey, onion and garlic, and season with salt & pepper. Cook until turkey is no longer pink. Add carrots and celery and continue to cook under carrots are tender, about 3-4 more minutes.

2. Add in tomatoes, green beans, beef broth, basil, bay leaf and barley. Season with more salt and pepper. Bring soup to a boil then place a lid on top, lower the heat, and simmer for 60 minutes, or until the barley is tender.

3. Add a couple dashes of Worcestershire sauce and season with more salt & pepper to taste before serving.

*If you reheat soup for left overs, you may need to add more beef broth... the barley soaks it all up! :)

Tasty! Go grab a bowl!

Chicken Enchilada Pasta

Hi Everyone! Happy post-Thanksgiving! I hope you had a great time celebrating with your family & friends! Are you hungry? No? Oh, you ate too much turkey too! :) 

My recipe tonight is something different, but has some traditional comfort food flavors for you to love! 

Chicken Enchilada Pasta
By Iowa Girl Eats 
 

2 medium-sized chicken breasts, cooked & shredded

1 Tablespoon vegetable oil

1/2 medium onion, diced

1/2 zucchini, diced

salt & pepper

1 garlic clove, minced

1 3/4 cups red enchilada sauce

1/2 teaspoon Tabasco sauce

1/2-4oz can diced green chilies

1 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1/2 cup sour cream

8oz rotini pasta

Directions:

1. Cook chicken and shred. Set aside.

2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat and sauté onions until tender, ~5 minutes. Add zucchini and cook until tender, ~5 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant.

3. Add enchilada sauce, Tabasco sauce, green chilies, salt, chili powder and cumin into the skillet. Stir to combine then simmer for 10 minutes, stirring every so often.

4. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and return to hot pot.

5. Turn the heat on the skillet down to low and add in the 

cheddar cheese. Stir until it completely melts, then add in the chicken and sour cream. Stir until combined.

6. Pour cooked pasta into the sauce and mix. Serve garnished with avocado, tomatoes, green onions and/or sour cream.

Yum! I loved this! Tasted just like enchiladas, but the pasta was so fun! :)