Meat Lovers Delight

I am NOT a meat lover. Never was. Never will be.

I am giving this meal a 5 out of 5 stars rating. 

Why?

Read on ;)

This past weekend 6 out of the 9 family members were together. It wasn't a long weekend get together but I take whatever I can get. I cooked all day Saturday so that the kids could have some meals for the upcoming week. One of the meals I eked out was this French Dip Sandwich.

I LOVED the ease of dumping the ingredients in the crock pot, hitting the "low" button and not thinking about dinner for the entire day. Hence, the 5 outta 5 rating. PLUS, all 6 consumers of dinner enjoyed this meal :)

You can't have French Dip Sandwiches without French Bread

 Since I have become an almost regular bread maker, I don't like spending the $$ on store bought bread. Have you seen the prices of healthy, aka no preservatives/ingredients you can pronounce/limited number of "ingredients" in the recipe, store bought bread these days---about $4 for ONE tiny loaf---NO THANKS! I'll make my own for pennies, or better yet, I'll get the hubby to make the bread for pennies ;) Hubby, who is from South Jersey (Philly)/BEST BREAD IN THE USA area, made 3 dozen of these babies and gave them a 2 thumbs up. Although he would like to "tweak" them a little to get a more crusty on the outside, spongy on the inside texture, he enjoyed these nonetheless.  

** I served roasted potatoes, yams and asparagus so I could get my vege "fix"

BIG Flavor in 1 Tablespoon

I LOVE MEXICAN FOOD!

JUST LOOK HOW YUMMY THAT LOOKS! If you could smell how good this looks, you would dive in. I just love, love, love Mexican. I used to say "Tex-Mex" food was the best. But, then I had Mexican cooking straight from the cute Mexican lady cooking in the back of the "divey" restaurant/joint while residing in Texas. This was back in the day, long ago when horse and buggies were the mode of transportation ;)
Anyway, back to the article at hand. I tried several homemade taco mixes I found online and was minimally impressed. I KNEW there was something better out there (of course, I was not willing to stand in the kitchen trying to figure it out myself).
The flavors of this mix comingle together to create a very rich, very scrumptious experience.
THIS will now be in the house for ETERNITY!!!! I kid you, NOT!
Your palate will NOT be disappointed. It's worth every penny you spend purchasing all the ingredients.

I use this on my bean quesadillas, tacos, chili, tortilla soup, as a rub, etc...OH, the possibilities...

*TWEAKED*
-3/4 tsp of crushed red pepper
-3 tsp of pepper
-I usually use less then what recipe calls for to a pound of meat/chicken. I have one person who does not enjoy spicy.

Anything coated in sugar CAN'T be bad

Photo courtesy of: Maryann

I've made these Pumpkin Poppers and brought them to a few parties and they're always gone in 5 seconds. I "wasn't allowed" to go to a friend's Halloween party without bringing these. I used whole wheat flour the second time I made them and they still tasted just as good, no one noticed. My boyfriend's whole family LOVES them too. When his mom makes them, she coats them with powdered sugar instead of butter/cinnamon/sugar. They're delicious every time.
So, if you're interested in making dessert-y things, give it a try and let me know how you like them!

HERE is the recipe for these scrumptious pumpkin yummy-ness treats

Guest post courtesy of Lauren AKA "Nawww-Knee" <3

Outta the Ballpark Ono

Photo courtesy of : Malcolm Bedell

CHICK-FIL-A COPYCAT CHICKEN SANDWICH
FromAway

I was very excited to try this recipe. I don't eat fast food unless it is an absolute must. My kiddies were a little shocked that I voluntarily planned to make something new that wasn't REALLY healthy.  I like an occasional (MAYBE once a year) Chick-Fil-A Chicken sandwich, chemicals and all. There is something about all those flavors melding together that makes my taste buds scream, 

"YES! WE WANT CHICK-FIL-A!" 

So I pulled out my organic, free range chicken (Something about this meal had to be healthy to justify consuming this treat)  from Here and went to work.

I loved the ease and speed of making this recipe. I doubled it knowing that if it was worthy of its name, many of us in this household would be going for 2nd's, 3rd's, 4th's, etc. 

People were searching high and low in the fridge for this delectable treat (yes, its considered a treat and NO this WON'T be frequenting the menu rotation-sorry kids).

ENJOY!

Tweakings by ME: 

-Olive Oil instead of Peanut Oil

-Almond Milk instead of regular milk

-left out dry milk

-didn't use as much butter (soy instead of regular) as recipe called for

Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala

photo courtesy of: mealplanning101

For those of you out there who LOVE Indian cuisine, specifically, Chicken Tikka Masala, and don't have the time to make it properly(in other words, hours of preparation), here is a recipe that is a GREAT substitute! I have seen this particular recipe all over Pinterest :)
In this house, 6 out of 8 LOVE Indian cuisine. I have made this too many times to count :)
Without further adieu, here is the link for this yummy dish.

Chicken Tikka Masala

I went Here and found a Naan recipe that had numerous positive feedback.

"BEST PANCAKES EVER!!!"

Finding a meal that my entire, picky family will all agree to love has been one of the most difficult, stressful parts of feeding my family. So, when I make something that we all love,  we will eat it forever because I dare NOT try anything new to replace the love it meal.
I have a pancake recipe that we all love. It's quick and easy. I make the appropriate modifications for one of us who has a food allergy and no one complains. So, when I decided to try this recipe, I really didn't think it would become the go to pancake meal.  In fact, I only made 2 batches with different flours. 
To my utter amazement and delight, the kids and I LOVED the pancakes and wholeheartedly agree with the recipes' title, "BEST PANCAKES EVER!!!" One of the kids wanted pancakes at 11pm but, sadly, there were NO leftovers. There is ALWAYS next time....
Below is the original link and recipe. Enjoy!

coleen's recipe

Thank you, Coleen, in Alaska :)       (photo courtesy of Coleenrecipes)

Update: since making these babies the kids have asked for these almost daily. One child was overheard saying to dad, "oh man, you missed it! Mom, made the BEST PANCAKES EVER!"

Tweaks to original recipe:
I replaced regular flour for White Whole Wheat flour. One child, who will go to their grave saying they can tell the difference between regular flour and wheat flour, could NOT tell me which pancake was wheat and which was regular flour :)
I soured milk using coconut milk and vinegar-worked like a charm!