Orzo With Spinach

I came across this recipe, it was so good I had to share it! This might be the easiest way I ever got my kids to eat spinach!


1 box orzo pasta
2 cans chicken broth
1 bag fresh spinach
2tsp. garlic powder
1 Tbs. olive oil
garlic salt
salt and pepper
1 cup Fresh Parmesan cheese

Bring chicken broth to a boil. Add orzo and cook according to package directions. Meanwhile, pour olive oil into a saute pan and add spinach. Cook on medium heat until wilted. Add garlic and seasonings to taste. When orzo is finished cooking, drain then add to spinach mixture. Stir and sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

Shepherds Pie

One of my favorites.....


1 lb. lean ground beef
salt/pepper
3tbl garlic powder
3tble onion powder
1 can Italian style stewed tomatoes
2 cups fresh or frozen green beans
mashed potatoes (2-3 cups I think)
sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

*Brown ground beef in a skillet and season with salt and pepper (I like a lot of pepper). Add tomatoes and mix well, add garlic and onion powder breaking up any big chunks of tomato. Simmer for a few minutes. Pour beef into a casserole dish. Spread green beans over beef and season with salt and pepper. Spread mashed potatoes over beans and then top with lots of shredded cheese (tastes better if you shred it yourself). Bake at 350 for 40 minutes.

Strawberry Pie

• 1 (9 inch) pie crust, baked
• 1 quart fresh strawberries
• 1 cup white sugar
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 3/4 cup water
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

1. Arrange half of strawberries in baked pastry shell. Mash remaining berries and combine with sugar in a medium saucepan. Place saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil, stirring frequently.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together cornstarch and water. Gradually stir cornstarch mixture into boiling strawberry mixture. Reduce heat and simmer mixture until thickened, about 10 minutes, stirring constantly. Pour mixture over berries in pastry shell. Chill for several hours before serving. In a small bowl, whip cream until soft peaks form. Serve each slice of pie with a dollop of whipped cream.

Our 2011 Easter Eggs

Every year my youngest daughter and I try to come up with a creative way to decorate our Easter Eggs, this is what we came up with this year!

Affirmation Sheets

A friend of mine recently sent me a copy of these affirmation sheets that she uses to help her family, and I fell in love with them! What a great way to teach your kids that they are the only ones responsible for themselves! Thought some of you would love to create your own. If you want me to send you a copy of this one, just email me at paulwilson06@sbcglobal.net and I'll be happy to share!

My affirmation …

· I choose to make today a great day.

· The truth is important to me.

· I am special; there is no one else like me.

· I am proud to be different.

· If I think I can, I can.

· I have great ideas.

· Mistakes are ok; they help me learn.

How I help out

	Mon	Tues	Wed	Thurs	Fri
All Day
I said “please” and “thank you”
I did something nice for my sister/brother.
I made my mom and dad proud
I said or did something nice for someone today
Morning
I brushed my teeth
I made my bed
I dressed myself and brushed my hair
I ate breakfast
I packed for school (homework, lunch, snack, shoes)
After School
I washed my hands
I put my school things away
I did my homework (If no homework, then free check mark
Walked my dog
Before Bed
I picked up my room
I bathed myself
I brushed my teeth
I laid out my school clothes (If no school next day, then free check mark)
I said “I love you” to my mom and dad and sister/ brother
Read my book for 20 minutes

In any week where you get an ‘A’ on your contribution (all checks), the whole family will celebrate! We will do something to honor your contribution and celebrate your accomplishment!

I want to: Eat Out / Get Ice Cream or treat / Rent a movie of my choice / Have game night with the family

Another Easter Idea

My teenager gave these out to all of her friends. I thought it was a cute idea so I added a Sonic gift card and gave them to my little ones teachers!

Easter Idea

How cute is this???


I found this picture, and thought I would share it. I will be making banana pudding tomorrow, and will defiantly add a cute little peep at the top! I think I will fill my pudding in mason jars instead, and maybe tie a cute bow around the lip of the jar.

Here's my favorite recipe for banana pudding:

• 2 cups Milk, 2% Or Higher
• ⅔ cups Sugar
• 3 Tablespoons Cornstarch
• 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
• ¼ teaspoons Salt
• 1 whole Egg
• 1 whole Egg Yolk
• 2 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter
• 3 whole Bananas, Peeled And Sliced
• 50 whole Vanilla Wafers
• 1 cup Heavy Cream
• 3 Tablespoons Powdered Sugar
• ¼ teaspoons Vanilla, For The Whipped Cream

Preparation Instructions

Prepare a 1 1/2 quart casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray.

In a medium sauce pan, whisk together the milk, sugar, cornstarch, salt, egg, and egg yolk. Once well-combined, place the pan over medium heat and cool until thick and bubbling.

Remove the pan from the heat and add the butter and vanilla extract, and whisk until completely melted. Pour the custard through a strainer into a separate bowl and cover with plastic wrap to cool slightly.

In the prepared casserole, place a layer of the sliced bananas, then top that with a layer of the vanilla wafer cookies. Pour over 1/3 of the custard and spread to the edges. Repeat this process twice more, then top the last layer of custard with a layer of vanilla wafers. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least four hours.

Whip the heavy cream with the vanilla and the powdered sugar until it reaches soft peaks. Spread the whipped cream over the chilled pudding. Top with crushed vanilla wafer cookies.

Easy Easy Baked French Toast Sticks

I found this recipe, and loved it so much I just had to share it....

4 eggs
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoon vanilla
12 thick (about 1 inch) sliced bread or Texas toast sliced bread
3-4 Tablespoons butter (optional)

Cut each slice of bread into three pieces.
In a shallow bowl, beat together the eggs, sugar, milk , maple syrup, cinnamon and vanilla with a fork or whisk, until well blended. Dip each bread strip into the egg mixture, coating completely, but do not over soak. You don't want the bread to be super soggy.

Place on a greased cookie sheet. If you want you can brush a little melted butter underneath each strip before you place it on the cookie sheet. I found that worked well! Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Let them sit while the oven is preheating.

Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and brush tops with melted butter and turn them over to toast the other side. Return to oven and bake for 5-10 minutes more or until golden brown.

Now you can either eat or flash freeze (put them in the freezer for a bit so they freeze individually.)and place them in a freezer bag. They make for a great quick breakfast.

My Favorite Basic Lasagna Recipe

My husband love this recipe because it is so meaty!

• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1 pound mild ground sausage
  
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 (4.5 ounce) can mushrooms, drained
• 1 (28 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce
• 1 (16 ounce) package cottage cheese
• 1 pint part-skim ricotta cheese
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 eggs
• 1 (16 ounce) package lasagna noodles
• 8 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions

1. In a large skillet, cook and stir ground beef until brown, and sausage. Add mushrooms and onions; saute until onions are transparent. Stir in pasta sauce, and heat through.
2. In a medium size bowl, combine cottage cheese, ricotta cheese, grated Parmesan cheese, and eggs.
3. Spread a thin layer of the meat sauce in the bottom of a 13x9 inch pan. Layer with uncooked lasagna noodles, cheese mixture, mozzarella cheese, and meat sauce. Continue layering until all ingredients are used, reserving 1/2 cup mozzarella. Cover pan with aluminum foil.
4. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 45 minutes. Uncover, and top with remaining half cup of mozzarella cheese. Bake for an additional 15 minutes. Remove from oven, and let stand 10 to 15 minutes before serving.

Look how cute is it to wrap a cake ball in a cupcake liner!

Easter Door Hanger

With Easter just a few days away, I've been trying to think of creative ways to get in the spirit! I made these cute bunny plaques with a simple dollar tree platter that I painted white, then I cut the bunnies out with my cricut (if you don't have a cricut use your local libraries die cut machine) hot glue a ribbon on the back, and that's it!

Peanut Butter Brownies

These are much easier than they look, and will make you realize that you never have to buy a box brownie mix again!

1/2 lb butter (2 sticks)

1/3 cup cocoa powder

2 cups sugar

4 eggs

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 tsp salt 1 tsp vanilla

1 cup crunchy peanut butter

Frosting:

1 stick butter

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1/3 cup milk

8 large marshmallows

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

3 1/2 cups (1 lb) confectioners' sugar

Preheat oven to 350°. Grease a 13x9x2" baking pan. Melt the butter with the cocoa. cooll. Blend in the sugar, eggs & vanilla. Combine the flour & salt; add to the first mixture.

Bake in the prepared pan for 25-30 minutes. Remove from the oven, spoon the peanut butter over the hot cake & spread as it melts.

For the frosting: Melt together 1/2 cup butter, cocoa, milk, marshmallows, salt & vanilla. Beat in the confectioners' sugar until smooth. Spread over the cooled peanut butter.

Spanish Style Rice

4 strips bacon

1 cup long grain white rice

1 can Rotel Tomatoes with Green Chilies

1 onion, chopped fine

1 small green pepper, chopped fine

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 cup chicken broth

1 tablespoon butter

1. Fry bacon in skillet until browned.

2. Remove from skillet, crumble, and set aside.

3. Do not remove bacon grease from skillet!

4. Melt butter in skillet and add onion, pepper and garlic.

5. Sauté until onions are translucent.

6. Add the Rotel Tomatoes with Green Chiles and chicken broth and simmer approximately 5-10 minutes.

7. Add the rice, cover and simmer approximately 20 minutes.

8. Crumble bacon on top and serve.

Bean and Cheese Burritos

I decided to come up with my version of a fast food bean Burrito, because Susie loves them so much. Not to mention it's not a bad idea for me to get my kids to eat more beans!

BEAN AND CHEESE BURRITOS

Read more about it at www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,162,154177-224205,00.html Content Copyright © 2011 Cooks.com - All rights reserved. 1 1/4 c. dry pinto beans 3 c. water 1 tbsp. butter 1 sm. onion, chopped 1 hot pepper, seeded & chopped (add if you like) 1 clove garlic, chopped finely (add if you like) 1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce 10 (8") flour tortillas 1 c. (4 oz.) cheese, cut up Rinse pinto beans. In a large saucepan combine beans and water. Cover and bring to a boil. Turn heat down and simmer, covered, for 2 1/2-3 hours until beans are soft. Do not pour off water. Turn heat off. Mash beans well in pan. In a small saucepan melt butter. Add onion, hot pepper and garlic; cook for about 3 minutes or until onion is clear. Add tomato sauce and stir. Bring to a boil and turn off heat. Pour half of the tomato sauce mixture into the beans and stir well. Heat tortillas. Put 1/3 cup of beans in center of each tortilla. Top with tomato sauce and cheese. Fold and bake at 300 degrees for 10 minutes. Makes 10 burritos.

Pesto Shrimp with Creamy Sauce

1 pound linguine pasta
1/2 cup butter
2 cups heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup pesto
1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add linguine pasta, and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, or until al dente; drain.

In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Stir in cream, and season with pepper. Cook 6 to 8 minutes, stirring constantly.

Stir Parmesan cheese into cream sauce, stirring until thoroughly mixed. Blend in the pesto, and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, until thickened.

Stir in the shrimp, and cook until they turn pink, about 5 minutes. Serve over the hot linguine