Day

Whenever we would go and visit my grandparents when we were kids, it was always so much fun. There was so much to do, so much to see, and Mom and Dad were on vacation so they were a lot more relaxed which was nice. Usually, Grandma would make one of her homemade dishes that I would almost die for today. Other than that, we would go out to eat. It was perfect. The day always came though, when I would say that I was hungry, and they would tell me to get a sandwich. A sandwich? Really? I’m on vacation too… I don’t want a sandwich! That’s boring. Grandma could see the disappointment in my face, but I think that she was tired of cooking at that time too so she helped me in the kitchen.

Now that I have my grand kids coming to my house, I don’t want to ever have to tell them to grab a sandwich, just because I remember how I felt. So, when I knew they were coming, I tried to think of something fun, but yet still as simple. That’s when I came across this recipe on CentLessDeals for a ham and cheese bake.

Say what? Ham and cheese is already my favorite, and what kid doesn’t like that flavor combination? I made this a few days before they came just to make sure it was good, and me and my husband almost ate the entire thing ourselves. Good thing I knew that, so I could make enough when people arrived.

Recipe and photo courtesy of CentLessDeals.

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Quick Tip: Try with some horseradish sauce for an extra zip.

When I first started living on my own, I never knew what to cook. My mom had always done all the work in the kitchen including the meal planning, prep, and cooking. I wished back then that I would have paid more attention, now that I’m responsible for feeding myself. I started out making a lot of chicken breasts. Mainly just because that was something that I could make in a single serving portion. That, and it’s pretty much full proof, meaning that you can’t really mess chicken up. I headed up to the grocery store with some spare time one day, and I decided that I was going to browse around and see what else I could come up with for a main meat entree. That’s when I saw pork chops. Oh yeah! Mom used to make those all the time.

So, I purchased a package and took them home with me. Unfortunately, that’s where they sat for a few weeks. Right in the freezer. Then, I decided I was going to turn them into a casserole with a few other items that I had also purchased. Mom always told me that you can add soup and rice to just about anything and make it good.

The end result turned out a lot like this recipe from South Your Mouth. It looked amazing, and the flavor was even better than what I expected. I didn’t think that I would ever be able to make something this tasty myself, but I did it!

Recipe courtesy of South Your Mouth. Photo credits to Normal Cooking.

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Quick Tip: You can also do this with chicken.

When my Grandma was first coming to see my very first house after my husband and I purchased it, I was so super excited, I could hardly contain myself. She had a big part in raising me and my siblings, so I wanted to show her what she had helped me do. If it weren’t for her, I wouldn’t have made it to the point that I had reached in life, and she deserved to feel proud about her accomplishment just as I was mine. I wanted to be able to serve her a meal in my new kitchen, and I knew her favorite was French onion soup. I considered making it, but it was a hot summer day, so I was highly doubting that anyone wanted a bowl of steaming hot soup that day. Trying to think of what else I could come up with, I started to browse through my ingredients.

Chicken is always a big hit, because it’s so moist and there are tons of ways to fix it up. I saw a recipe on Recipe Lion for a French onion chicken done in one skillet that looked amazing. Not only was it going to be super tasty, it was easy and there weren’t going to be a ton of dirty pots and pans when I was done.

Grandma came over and loved the new house and her chicken meal. I served it with rice and steamed broccoli, but there are a variety of ways that you can present this to your family or your guests.

Recipe and photo courtesy of The Cookie Rookie.

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Quick Tip: Use provolone cheese instead of mozzarella if you wish.

Whenever I get invited to a potluck or a social event, I hold my breath hoping that they don’t ask me to bring a dessert. Salads, meats, cheese dips, just about anything but dessert. Me and baking just don’t get along. I’ve tried cookies, cakes, brownies, pies… all of it. Nothing ever turns out the way that I want it to. If I am asked to bring a sweet treat of some kind somewhere, I usually just stop at the bakery and get something or even buy store-bought. I have such little confidence in my baking skills that I believe those are better than homemade. I was tired of taking the easy route though. I thought that people were thinking that I was lazy or something, which couldn’t be farther from the truth.

I found a recipe on Recipe Lion recently when I was browsing around for a dessert salad that said it only required five minutes and five ingredients to make. I wasn’t even going anywhere, but I was going to try and make that dessert to see what it was all about, and more importantly if I could do it.

The next time I went to the supermarket, I added the items to my cart and proudly walked out with them. As soon as I unpacked everything, I made this instantly. I mean instantly too, it was done in just a few minutes!

Recipe and photo courtesy of Recipe Lion.

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Quick Tip: Try with a different flavor of pudding.

We were having some family fly in from out of state to stay with us for the weekend. It was going to be a busy weekend with an entire group of people taking over our house. On top of that, we had a wedding to attend. Days that we have to get ourselves and our kids ready for things like that are always overwhelming. So, adding the chaos of five more people to the group was going to be a bit much. My husband was all for running up to the drive-thru window on Saturday morning and getting breakfast for everyone. I didn’t want to start the day off filling our bellies full of that stuff though. So, Friday, before we went to sleep, we made up this casserole.

It came together really easily, and then in the morning, before everyone got up, I did all the finishing touches and popped it in the oven. It was completely effortless. I actually went and snoozed on the couch for a few minutes while it was cooking, because I knew we had a long day ahead of us.

When it came out of the oven, it looked a lot like this recipe from Recipe Lion. The smell took over the house and people started coming out to eat. It was the perfect way to start the day and it filled everyone right up.

Recipe and photo courtesy of Recipe Lion.

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Quick Tip: Try it with bacon or ham instead of sausage.

Just Like Granny’s!

Have you ever heard of someone being insanely goofy because of a muffin? I am pretty sure you haven’t. I have though, and it just happened a couple of weeks ago at one of my friends’ house. It was a simple get-together where we just spent the whole day talking and telling corny jokes that we would laugh at anyway just for the fun of it. Lana wasn’t in the best of moods that day. And since we’re friends, we knew when to stop bothering her. While we were enjoying the day and the snacks being served to us, she was quietly doing something with her phone.

A couple of hours later, our friend brought out freshly baked blueberry muffins from the kitchen. The wonderful smell filled the whole living room and we were all enticed so we just started eating. Lana picked one from the basket and started eating too. I mean, who could resist that aroma?

A few minutes later though, Lana just started smiling and laughing as if the bad mood didn’t even happen. She even joined the conversation and was laughing and joking with us. We couldn’t find any explanation other than the blueberry muffins. But then again, that taste will surely lift any mood.

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Quick Tip: Sprinkle flour on the blueberries and shake it up. Then shake off excess flour and put it in the batter. This prevents the blueberries from going to the bottom of the muffin when it cooks.

For 10 Years Already This Has Been My Favorite Recipe

You know how you always end up telling a story because one of the kids in your family starts asking something and you don’t know how to explain it? That happens to me a lot. And since I am the “storyteller” in the family, I don’t get any help from the other adults. They just watch, with amusement, how I am always able to maneuver my way out of the scenario with the inquisitive kiddos. There was this time when the food on the menu was garlic tilapia, right?

We always try to squeeze in a fish recipe at least for one meal a week because fish is healthier than pork, beef, or chicken. While my aunts were preparing the dish, one of my nephews asked why some fishes have obvious scales and some have smooth skin. No one was able to answer because seriously, who cares about the scales of the fishes?

It would have been easier if he asked about the gills, but he asked about the scales! One of my “traitor” cousins led the discussion to me, saying that “Auntie” knows the stories about the fishes. As we were waiting for the main course to be cooked, I ended up telling them about the legend of the mermaids.

The story was a mixture of all the fairy tales I have watched and read like Peter Pan and The Little Mermaid. At least he stopped asking when the food was finally served.  And, might I add, he ate all of his butter and garlic tilapia with a huge smile on his face 🙂

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Quick Tip: Serve over rice and with steamed vegetables on the side.