Is it a waffle...or a slice of cake?

I know waffles have been all the rage...

you can make pretty much anything in a waffle iron...so someone says.

A couple of Sundays ago I had a big fail on a crock pot dinner.

I didn't even post it because it was that bad.

I was hungry...I wanted something delicious...I decided to make some cake.

The waffle iron way.

Make a cake batter...the box kind...the regular old way.

Pour it into a waffle iron...like you are making waffles.

Top that delicious chocolate waffle cake with some ice cream and chocolate syrup.

You will thank me.

Oh...and freeze the leftovers...pop them in the toaster...even better the second time.

Next time I'm topping them with fresh strawberries and whipping cream!

A shower for Coco Bean

I threw a little shower/luncheon for one of my gallies

(the girls I used to work with including my old supervisor who is not a girl:)

She is having a little boy in a few months so we got together to eat and chat and to celebrate her baby belly!

I went super simple using taffy, onsies and a very strange looking teething toy as my center pieces.

I added a little green cardstock and some fabric to make a pseudo table runner.

For food we had some grilled chicken skewars with my favorite marinade.

A yummy spring salad with the best poppy seed dressing my neighbor makes.

Strawberries and apples dipped in a key lime fruit dip (yum!)

A veggie tray with hummus,

and these cute little "caprese bites" that I found on pinterest.

(these are SO simple to make and taste So good)

For dessert I made mini lemon cupcakes with cream cheese frosting.

Last minute I decided to use this trick I learned from Sutton Grace to make "B"s and little rattles.

I had some major drama with some mini key lime cheesecakes and ended up running to my local bakery for some mint brownies. These brownies are my favorite...plus, they have green so they went with my color scheme :)

Crock Pot Sunday: Chicken Enchilada Soup

This past Sunday I tried another recipe from skinnytaste.com. If you have not cooked from this site you must. Low calorie meals that are super delicious...seriously, no one will know that they are eating low cal. I have tried about 20 of her recipes and have loved them all.

This Chicken Enchilada Soup is another winner.

(photo courtesy of skinnytaste.com)

It takes about 10 minutes of prep and cooks for 4-6 hours on low. I actually used 2 tsp. of cumin and 1 tsp of salt from the start instead of adjusting at the end and it was super delicious. Also, you don't even need the shredded cheese if you are really looking for low calorie. 1 small dollop of fat free sour cream and some fresh cilantro and chives tops this off perfectly.

YUM!

Crock Pot Sunday: Corned Beef

.Corned Beef with non traditional cabbage and creamy cauliflower puree.

I have made corned beef a few times. We really love it. My cousin has a corned beef sandwich recipe and then some corned beef egg rolls that you can make with your left over corned beef on her food blog. You should try them both...super yum!

This week for crock pot Sunday, I made my corned beef in the crock pot, but decided to leave my cabbage raw and made a cabbage salad. I made the horseradish cream for the beef and the creamy cauliflower puree from skinnytaste.com.

It was a super yummy meal...and actually pretty low cal.

Oh...and if you haven't made cauliflower puree, you should...it's good.

Cabbage salad/slaw

(I threw this together and made just the amount for my little family)

1/4 head of cabbage chopped

handful of baby carrots sliced thin

chives

1/8 cup apple cider vinegar

1/8 cup olive oil

2 tsp. sugar

salt and pepper

Toss cabbage, carrots and chives together.

Whisk vinegar, oil, sugar, salt and pepper together and pour over salad.

Let sit for at least an hour.

Crock Pot Sunday: Meatballs

This year our church starts at 1pm

and well, that means starving people at 4:10pm when we walk in the door.

Let's just say not even I have the patience to wait for dinner to be cooked.

So I have decided that I am going to use my crock pot each Sunday to prepare dinner...then we can be eating by 4:30...or so!

I decided this last night at the grocery store...so I did a quick search on my phone for crock pot recipes and this is the first one that popped up:

Easy Slow Cooker Meatballs

(I made a few changes...so this recipe is how I made them)

Ingredients:

1 pound (about) ground beef

1 pound (about) ground pork

1 1/4 cup italian seasoned bread crumbs

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

1 medium onion, chopped

1 egg, beaten

salt and pepper

1 (28 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce

1 (16 ounce) can crushed tomatoes

1 (14 ounce) can tomato puree

In a bowl, mix the ground meats, bread crumbs, parsley, garlic, onion, egg, salt and pepper. Shape the mixture into 16 meatballs. In a slow cooker, mix the spaghetti sauce, crushed tomatoes and tomato puree. Place the meatballs into the sauce mix and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Serve over spaghetti noodles.

I also made some rhodes rolls topped with sea salt and rosemary and some fresh green beans. The meatballs were really good. A note on the recipe...when you are mixing the meatballs together they are going to seem a bit dry and like you have too much of the bread crumbs...but trust me...they will be nice and moist when they are all done.

A bonus to this recipe...16 meatballs is way too many for my little family, so we will be having meatball subs later this week...so not only was dinner ready when we came home from church today...but it is providing a second meal later in the week.

Bountiful Harvest

My good friend left on a family vacation for a week.

She left me in charge of her garden.

She and her husband both grew up in Idaho...on farms.

It doesn't matter how crappy our spring was...whatever they touch...

GROWS!

All those tomatoes.

All these cucumbers.

I get that much every other day.

Good thing they are my 2 favorite vegetables.

And good thing I have lots of neighbors who also love to receive fresh garden veggies.

This last batch...and the stuff I get Saturday I actually need and can use.

I am one of the activity day leaders in my ward

and this Saturday is our Mother/daughter activity.

We are having a little luncheon and then they are making bracelets.

So...here is how I am going to use the abundance of veggies.

Tomato/Basil Brushetta (recipe here) served on little crostinis.

This is one of my most favorite things and I am making tons and tons in the hope I have lot of leftovers:) Oh...and I don't have to buy anything because I have 2 huge beautiful basil plants in my garden.

Cucumber Salad (recipe here)

I haven't decided if I am going to use basil, so it goes with the brushetta, or dill because dill and cucumber is Yummy!

And for the "main course": Roasted chicken and bow tie pasta (recipe here)

I haven't tried it...but it sounds/looks delicious...and with those ingredients, you can't really go wrong.

Mini cherry pies...take 1

I decided to try making some mini cherry pies with my leftover homemade cherry pie filling.

They tasted delicious.

I used one of those refrigerated pie crusts. Cut out rounds with a cookie cutter and placed them into a muffin tin. Filled each cup with 2 heaping tablespoons. Then I cut out extra strips of crust for the top. I baked them at 350* for about 35 minutes. They really did taste so yummy...especially with a little vanilla bean ice cream.

Here's what I am going to change for next time:

-The pie crust rounds need to be much bigger so they actually come up over the top of the muffin tin. I was just being too lazy to find something bigger to cut out when I could just use my cookie cutter.

-I'm going to roll the pie crust thinner. One, so I can make more mini pies (I think the one crust, not rolled thinner, made 8...it could at least make 12) and two, so it will cook quicker. The crust wasn't cooking and the longer I cooked it the more the filling bubbled out.

-I'm going to make my lattice top pieces a little prettier:) If the cup comes out of the tin, I could pinch the lattice pieces on better and I think they would look better...not that looks make a difference THAT much...just put it in your mouth!

I'm thinking little apple pies would be good too...oh little pies with anything would be good!

I'm pregnant...I'm eating dessert:)

For the love of rosemary.

When Mr. T and I were in Las Vegas last month, we ate at Craftsteak...so YUM!

Like many restaurants, they brought out some bread after we ordered.

There were 6 rolls in a little cast iron dish and they were delicious...buttery and salty and we ate them up quick.

I'm not really a baker...I use Rhodes rolls for lots of things and I figured that they would taste good buttered up and cooked/served in a cast iron dish. So I found some mini cast iron dishes at Sur La Table and set out to make some yummy rolls.

As I previously professed my love for rosemary...I mean, you can take me to Macaroni Grill any day just to eat their rosemary bread...I thought these rolls would be even better with rosemary added to their buttery salty goodness. Then I remembered reading awhile back that the Pioneer Woman had made these exact things...so I searched it down and found her "recipe".

Then I made some myself...

Okay, I've made them twice...in a week:)

I've eaten more then my share.

I don't care...I'll make them again...and eat them all:)

****

Since my cast iron pan is so little, I actually cut the rhodes rolls in half...so 3 rolls makes 6...it makes me feel a little bit better thinking that I can eat 2 and it's really only the calories for 1:)

Just go with me!

Oh...and make them...you will LOVE them!

A bowl full of cherries

I bought some cherries at the farmer's market last weekend and decided that I needed to do something more with them then shove them in my mouth every time I walk by. Although there is nothing wrong with that, it's just a pain to have to stand and wait till I can spit the seed out...wah wah wah:)

Anyway, I decided to make some cherry turnovers.

Lil D was super excited to use the cherry pitter...super excited.

Who knew it could be so fun?!

He made it through half the bowl, which is pretty good...but Backyardigans came on and well, they are WAY better then cherry pitting!

I found this recipe to make my own cherry filling. Let me tell you, worth the effort...SO much better then any canned version. I may have to buy even more cherries and make up some to freeze...YUM!

I used this recipe for the actual turnover.

(there's turned out way prettier...

but looks don't make things less delicious, right?!)

Oh yes, I added some ice cream with a little chocolate sauce and whip cream...

why not...this pregnant belly ain't counting any calories.

I still have half a batch of the cherry filling left and another pie crust...

I'm thinking mini cherry pies....mmmmmm!

Yes, I'm still cooking.

I haven't been real good about planning out a menu each week.

I hate when I go to the store multiple times a week...but my "plan aheadness" has been lacking so what can you do?!

Last week I made some salsa and some delicious rosemary rolls (I'll share those later) and had all sorts of random produce leftovers...so I did a little searching to find some recipes to use it all up and boy am I glad I did.

I first found this summer corn salad on foodnetwork.com.

What actually drew me to it was the use of the remainder of my produce from my salsa...but it is a MUST make.

Only thing I did different...I used frozen corn instead of on the cob.

Here's my thing. I have done the whole roasting the corn on the cob and then cutting it off...yeah, it's good...but a ton of effort AND the frozen corn from Costco is delicious so why not use it. I "heat it up" in a large pan. Gives it a bit more of a roasted taste. Just spray your pan and heat the corn on medium high till hot....add a little salt and pepper and done.

Add remaining ingredients...stir...and serve warm.

I absolutely LOVED this...LOVED.

I think it will be good cold...maybe mixed with some lettuce and a light vinegarette for lunch tomorrow. If you love corn...and cilantro...You need to make it!

I also had some rosemary to use up. So a little searching led me to this grilled rosemary chicken breast recipe.

I really liked these a lot. But I LOVE me some rosemary. Mr. T was not a huge fan. He said they had a strange after taste...so let me warn you...if you don't LOVE rosemary, you won't love these. I thought they were great...did I say that? When it comes to cooking with chicken breasts, I always use tenderloins, they are smaller portions, so I don't eat as much AND they cook very fast, which I like. I'm wondering if the flavor was stronger because the pieces are small and thin...just a thought. If I make them again I may use half the rosemary and see if Mr. T likes them better.

So there you go.

2 yummy dishes perfect for summer

and a perfect way for me to clean out the produce drawer before I head back to the store...

again:)

Some 4th of July goodness.

I have been wanting to make white chocolate covered popcorn for a long while...I found a great recipe that needed to be tried...and I figured I could make it 4th of July-y and make up a few neighbor treats.

I changed the recipe a bit, to fit our family and what we like, and to keep it as white with red and blue as possible.

2 bags buttered popcorn

1 bag white chocolate covered pretzels

1 bag white chips

1/2 bag mini marshmallows

1 1/2 cups m&ms

(I bought some 4th of July colors when we were in Vegas last week)

Pop the popcorn and separate any duds.

Smash the pretzels up a bit.

Melt the white chips and pour over the popcorn and mix well.

Add in remaining ingredients and mix some more.

Dump onto 2 cookie sheets and let it cool completely.

I had these little metal tins from a BBQ (Target $1 bins) and lined them with plastic wrap and then filled them up with the yummy popcorn mix.

They are SO good!

and really...you can make this any time of year:)

********************************

I really like making Lil D shirts...give me an excuse...and I'll make one.

I got this t-shirt at Walmart for $2.50 and decided it would be perfect for a 4th of July shirt.

I used some more of my freezer paper (I really think this stuff will last till he's 18).

I traced a star cookie cutter and painted it on.

Then I taped off 1 inch stripes for the white.

and then 1 inch stripes for the red.

Of course Lil D loves to help.

and we have a patriotic shirt to wear to the parade.

Hope you all have a happy 4th of July!

Meal Plan Monday #14

Sunday: Balsamic chicken with thyme I didn't do the flour on my chicken or use any olive oil, I just grilled the chicken, made the sauce and then put the chicken back in for a bit...it was good.

Monday: Chicken Taco Pizzas (I'm going to use rotisserie chicken seasoned with taco seasoning and rhodes bread for the dough)

Tuesday: Corned beef sandwiches and sweet potato fries (my own recipes)

Wednesday: Honey lime roast chicken

Thursday: dinner at the neighbors

Friday: lettuce wraps (and some sort of stir fry)

Saturday: out with some family

Meal Plan Monday #13 (must try recipe)

Sunday: cran-orange pork tenderloin (taste of home: december) (recipe below)

Monday: it's our annual Light Up the Night...so dinner will be on the go.

Tuesday: Kielbasa and apple kabobs (taste of home: dec) with homemade mac and cheese

Wednesday: roasted cod and scallions with spiced potatoes (real simple: december)

Thursday: Dinner out to celebrate a friend's birthday

Friday: Mr T's work christmas dinner party

Cran-Orange Pork Tenderloin

Prep/total time: 30 min

Yield: 4 servings

1/4 tsp. garlic salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

1/8 tsp. ground mustard

1/8 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 pork tenderloin (1 lb)

Sauce:

1/2 C dried cranberries

1/4 cup plus 1 T orange juice, divided

1/8 tsp. ground ginger

dash of ground cloves

1 can (11oz) mandarine oranges

1 T. cornstarch

In a small bowl, combine the first four ingredients; rub over pork. Place in baking dish (or on a rack in a roasting pan). Bake, uncovered at 425* for 25-28 minutes or until meat thermometer reads 160*.

Meanwhile, in a small sauce pan, combine the cranberries, 1/4 C orange juice, ginger and cloves. Drain oranges, reserving juice; set oranges aside. Add reserved juice to cranberry mixture. Bring to boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 5 minutes.

Combine cornstarch and remaining orange juice until smooth; stir into sauce pan. Bring to boil; cook and stir for 1 minute (will get really thick). Fold in oranges and serve over pork. (You can slice the pork and pour it over or do it over the whole thing uncut).

This was DE-LISH. Seriously...it was so good. The pork was perfectly juicy and tender and the flavors were awesome. It looked like Christmas on a plate (maybe it will be). I made some very simple sweet potatoes (cut into thick slices with some butter and cinnamon) and a spring salad with dried blueberries and blue cheese chunks. It was such a delicious meal...you really must try this recipe.

Tuesday and Wednesdays meals I have never tried before, so if I like them I'll post those recipes too!

A MUST try recipe

I finally made the squash soup recipe from the Food Network Magazine and let me just tell you...

DE.LISH!

I'm serious...you must try this. I added some turkey bacon and a few croutons and was in heaven...I will be making more next week. I will be making more then one batch. I will be freezing it so I can enjoy it ALL winter long.

Can you tell I like it?! You will too....promise!

Meal Plan Monday #11

Here's what we are eating this week:

Monday: Spaghetti (really it's just angel hair pasta with brushetta)

Tuesday: Lemon-herb roast chicken with pan gravy (I'm totally cheating on this one...see below for real recipe, go here)

Wednesday: Penne pasta with eggplant and mozzarella (Real Simple magazine)

Thursday: Squash Soup (Food Network magazine)

Friday: Girl's night out with my cousin and Aunt :)

Saturday: night out with the fam.

Lemon-Herb Roast Chicken...I'm going to buy a rotisserre chicken at Costco. Then I am going to make the soup mixture and thin it out with some chicken broth...into a gravy and serve it over the top. That's all the time I have on Tuesday:) Besides...Costco chickens are delicious and I think will be just great with that gravy poured over the top...no need for me to cook it myself....but we shall see. I know I will lose the flavor the lemon herb flavor on the chicken, but I'm willing to sacrifice that.

Not so much a meal plan.

Last week's meals were a HUGE success...I love when new recipes taste good enough that even Lil D will eat them. The Sourdough strata got BIG raves from all the family...I was surprised by that one, but pleased. However, next time I am going to half the recipe...makes a ton for my little family.

This week we are only going to be home 2 nights for dinner...that's crazy. So to avoid grocery shopping, we are eating what we have.

Sunday: BLTs with fruit salad and leftover potato salad

Monday: Pork tenderloin sandwiches and bruschetta (leftover pork from last week's dinner)

Tuesday: Boys are on their own (I see Costco pizza in their future)

Wednesday: What ever leftovers I can dig up.

The rest of the week we are out of town. Mr. T and I are dropping off Lil D at the in-laws and heading to Vegas (it seems to be becoming a new yearly tradition).

Ok...so last night I made up a big bunch of bruschetta. I LOVE having so many romas every year...LOVE them...good job garden!

Garden fresh bruschetta:

8-10 roma tomatoes, seeded and diced

1 bunch of basil (more or less depending on how you like it), chopped

1 T. EVOO

salt and pepper to taste (I use A LOT of salt)

Mix it all together and serve on little crostinis.

(I buy mine already prepared, why spend the time when these are SO good).

And then for dinner....Pork Tenderloin Sandwiches. This meal got the boot last week since we decided to head up the canyon and roast hot dogs instead (Thanks Baileys).

I had a full tenderloin leftover from last week's meal. It had a balsamic glaze on it...so I decided to reheat it in more balsamic vinegar. I added about 2 T of olive oil and 2 T of balsamic vinegar to my pan and then added the slices of pork to reheat.

It only took a couple minutes on each side. The meat really soaks up the vinegar, which makes the sandwich even better. I put the pork on some crusty rolls, added a few slices of swiss cheese and then rolled them up in foil.

I put them in the oven at 400* for about 15 minutes...

and they were all warm and toasty and the cheese was melty and delicious.

Slice in half and serve.

You can also add sliced tomatoes and spinach leaves to the sandwich before or after you bake it...so yummy!

Meal Plan Monday #10

I feel like I finally have gotten back in to full swing cooking mode...seriously...Finally! My sister got me a subscription to the Food Network Magazine last Christmas, I got myself one to Real Simple and my mother in law got me one to Taste of Home...and I FINALLY am taking full advantage of all the new recipes. We have even found a few new favorites that have been officially added to the "book".

I have torn out a few super fall and super yummy looking recipes, but the weather here hasn't chilled out enough to want "comforty, fall food" yet, so we are still grilling it up this week.

Here's what we are eating...

Sunday: Dirty P's garlic-ginger chicken thighs (Guy Fieri Food Network Magazine)

Monday: Balsamic glazed pork with lentils (Real Simple mag)

Tuesday: Pizza night (courtesy of papa murphys)

Wednesday: Pork Tenderloin sandwiches (leftover from Monday)

Thursday: Sourdough strata with tomatoes and greens AND spiced maple sausage (food network)

Friday: Birthday dinner for a friend

Saturday: Hamburgers

Dessert: Caramel Apple Cake (Food Network Mag)

We had the garlic-ginger chicken last night...YUM!...seriously, so good! Mr. T even proclaimed it best chicken I have made. It was tender. It was juicy. It had the BEST flavors. A MUST try for all...we will be making it again soon. I served it with grilled sweet potatoes...these have become my new favorite (recipe below).

I also made the Caramel Apple Cake. It was good. I need to tweek it a bit, as the cake had great flavor but was a bit dry...all the yummy caramel helped though. A great fall dessert.

Grilled Sweet Potatoes. You can find Bobby Flay's version here the lime and cilantro are so good. Unfortunately, I didn't have either yesterday, so I made do like this...

Grilled Sweet Potatoes:

I cut my sweet potatoes in half, lengthwise, and boiled for about 20 minutes. Then I sliced them into wedges and coated them with a little (or a lot) of olive oil and a generous amount of salt. I grilled them for about 4 minutes a side (on med) and then sprinkled them with chopped fresh basil. I LOVE them!

I'm linking to Meal Plan Monday.

It's been well loved.

One last night of pizzas...

was too much for this little guy.

It's last night of pizza making...YUM...made myself a bruschetta pizza.

No pizza sauce.

Just olive oil with italian seasoning mixed in and then brushed all over the dough.

(I use frozen rhodes bread loaves...1 loaf makes 2 pizzas).

Mix diced tomatoes with chopped basil and salt (let sit for about an hour).

Cover pizza with tomatoes and top with mozzarella and parmesan cheese.

Should have taken a pic of the pizza:)

So freakin' good!

Some Random Things...

Today I....

painted the laundry room

painted the pantry

painted the bathroom

Today the floor guy...

laid the floor in the living room

laid the floor in half of the kitchen

laid the floor in half of the family room

Today Lil D...

watched too much tv

watched too much tv

watched too much tv (but it really helped me get lots done.

I am a VERY happy camper today...because things are going back together rather then being torn apart!

Also...T's ETC is having a giveaway over at Hope Studios...you should really stop on buy...link up a tutorial while you are at it:)

Also...I'm having a giveaway too, here on Mama Thompson for an adorable tote...you should check it out and sign yourself up!

Meal Plan Monday

This will be my last meal plan monday, until further notice. My sister comes in a week and the deconstruction, painting and mess making begins...I'm hopeful we will be able to still eat at home most nights of the week...but I know better then to try and plan and then feel like a failure 'cause I don't do it...wah wah...whatever...I can't wait for this major renovation to get going...:)

Sunday: Honey Balsamic glazed salmon with rice pilaf and asparagus

Monday: Halibut in artichoke and tomato broth (Giada)

Tuesday: dinner with the neighbors

Wednesday: Cheesy gnocchi florentine (boiled hotdogs)

Thursday: Chicken and cheese burritos (boiled hotdogs)

Friday: Leftovers

Saturday: Eat out

Sunday dinner recipes:

Honey Balsamic Salmon...I have tried lots of different recipes for the honey balsamic glaze...they are all very similar and taste about the same, so this is what I do.

1/3 C balsamic

1 T honey

1 tsp. chopped garlic

4 tsp. dijon mustard

salt and pepper.

I pour over most of the glaze (on both sides) and let marinate for a bit. Then I grilled it (both sides) until done. I pour over the rest of the glaze before serving. (Lil D even eats it:)

I also grilled some asparagus. drizzled with EVOO, salt and pepper and garlic. I have one of those vegetable/fish grill things...works great at keeping my asparagus from falling through the cracks:)

Dessert:

Chocolate Raspberry pie

You MUST make this...seriously the most delicious recipe ever. I use a graham cracker crust...I used a pie crust the first time, and we like it much better this way...so YUM!

I'm linkin' to Orgjunkie's Meal Plan Monday