More Guacamole

Love Love Love guacamole. Does anyone know any good places in PA that make fresh guacamole right in front of you? I really want to go to a restaurant that does that sometime.

Anyway, I made guacamole again and it was awesome. Which is good to know, because I've had some not-so-great guacamole experiences in the past. 

I used 4 avocados, fresh lime juice, chopped onions, chopped tomatoes, cilantro, a little bit of spice and a guacamole mix packet. Any other suggestions? What do you use to make your guac!?!?!

Check out these fabulous pictures. My sister-in-law let me use her camera, which is obviously a lot nicer than mine. :-)

Showed those avocados whose boss!

Added a little paprika to give it some kick

 Deliciousness.

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Pumpkin Scones!

Made pumpkin pies (see delicious sprinkled masterpiece below) in preparation for the Thanksgiving meal we had down in OBX. As usual, I had extra batter so I mixed in some ingredients to create Pumpkin scones! It didn't quit turn out as dough-like as I wanted it to be, but the final scone production was still amazing. Instead of making individual scones, I made one giant one.

Ingredients:

• Leftover Pumpkin Pie batter --------->
• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 3.5 tablespoons butter
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 dash cardamon
• 1/2 bag of semi-seet chocolate chip morsels

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees
2. Combine dry ingredients
3. Cut in butter & mix
4. Stir in leftover batter (may have to combine in extra flour to make it thicker)
5. Transfer to cookie sheet and shape as desired
6. Top with chocolate chips
7. Cook on baking sheet for 20 to 30 minutes

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This Week's Dinner Menu

It looks like it's going to be a delicious week!

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Pepperoni & Vegetable Quiche

Made some quiche to pair with baked oatmeal over the Thanksgiving Holiday. It's just like the normal vegetable quiche I make, but I had to make it for A LOT more people. I used two large casserole dishes instead of pie pans. 

I used Ore-Ida frozen hashbrowns because that's all I could find in the Harris Teeter in NC. The Country Inn Creations Pepper & Onion style complimented the quiche.


Plus I found these cute lil' pepperoni slices to use. 


My incredibly awesome niece, Madelyn Paige, stopped in to give me a helping hand. She didn't do much but stand there and look cute, but that was all the encouragement I needed. :-)

 

I made the hashbrowns extra crispy and used a ton of zucchini & chopped spinach.

What's the verdict Maddie???

Yay! She's enjoying her quiche!

 Must've been a hit because the family cleaned me out!

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Baked Oatmeal

We're spending Thanksgiving with my husband's family in OBX for the week. So fun! We each took a day to be in charge of cooking & are sharing Thanksgiving day responsibilities. Today, Wednesday is my day. I got up early and I made Baked Oatmeal & Quiche for breakfast. Baking for this many people is a lot of work, but so fun!!!

I'm thankful for wonderful in-laws who love to help and love to praise my food :-)

I've never made baked oatmeal before, only slow cooker oatmeal. I forgot to bring my slow-cooker, so I decided to suck it up and try something new. My sister-in-law is making a pumpkin custard pie for tomorrow and had an extra pie shell that she offered up to me. I'm using graham cracker pie crust for the pumpkin pies that I'm making so I had to come up with a creative use for this particular pie shell. I had excess oatmeal badder so I realized the pie shell was perfect! It came out beautifully.

Later today I took on the challenge of making guacamole again and the always famous Taco Ring. Stay tuned!

You may notice that the pics on this post are much nicer than my usual blog pictures, that's because I was able to use my sister-in-law's fancy camera. So cool. Thanks, Teresa!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of butter, melted
• 3 eggs
• 1.5 cups of white sugar
• 1 tsp of salt
• 1 tablespoon of baking powder
• 1 cup of chopped pecans or other nuts
• 6 cups of oats
• 2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
• 2 chopped apples
• 1/2 cup of brown sugar
• raisins (optional)
• pie crust (optional)

Directions:

1. Mix butter, eggs, sugar, salt, baking powder, pecans, & oats in a large bowl
2. Grease or spray casserole dish or baking pan or place extra in pie crust (optional) and bake it that way.
3. Top oatmeal with apples and ground cinnamon.
4. Bake in 350 degree preheated oven for 30-40 minutes.
5. Serve with cinnamon, raisins, and brown sugar.

It was a hit!!!!

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Two-Cheese Sausage Pizza

 Another great recipe inspired by my Freezers Pleasers book! I used a lot of cheese, probably way more than the recipe called for. Also, feel free to use other veggies like broccoli or spinach. This was yum! Did I mention it was quick??? (even better as leftovers the next day)


Ingredients:

• Pizza dough (already made, or you can by the frozen kind that you shape yourself)
• 3/4 to 1 pound hot italian sausage, chopped
• 1/2 cup onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup green pepper, chopped
• 1 can of pizza sauce
• 2 cups mozzarella cheese
• 2 cups cheddar cheese
• 1 tablespoon of pizza seasoning (or try italian seasoning, red pepper, or garlic salt)
• Olive oil or olive oil spray

Directions:
   1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
   2. Coat dough with olive oil spray
   3. In a large skillet, cook sausage over medium heat. Add onion and green pepper.




   4. Spread pizza sauce over crust. 


   5. Top with sausage mixture.


   6. Cover with mozzarella cheese, then cheddar cheese.




   7. Bake on pizza stone for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown.


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Taco Soup

Taco Soup has become one of my new favorite recipes. It's a perfect large group slow cooker meal. I made this past weekend for my small group. This is a non-spicy version, feel free to make it spicy by adding the appropriate ingredients. 


The picture was taken from an iPhone and it doesn't do it justice because this is before you add the sour cream, cheese, & chips.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound extra lean ground beef
• 1 package of taco seasoning
• 1 can whole peeled tomatoes, mashed or diced tomatoes
• 1 can enchilada sauce
• 3 green onion, chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 cans fat free chicken broth (or 1 can of broth, 1 can of water)
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon of bay leaf seasoning
• 1 package frozen corn
• 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
• 1 bag of fritos
• 1 bag of tostitos
• 1 can of fat free sour cream
• 2 cups of shredded mexican blend cheese

Directions

1. Place ground beef in skillet and brown.
2. Add taco seasoning and simmer for a few minutes.
3. Add ground beef, tomatoes, enchilada sauce, and onions to a large slow cooker.
4. Pour in chicken broth, season with cumin, salt, pepper, and bay leaf. 
5. Stir in corn and cilantro. 
6. Cover, and cook on Low setting for 6 to 8 hours or on High setting for 3 to 4 hours. 
7. When ready to serve, place in large individual bowls, top with chips, cheese, & sour cream. 

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Butternut Squash & Acorn Squash Harvest Soup

I have a really awesome cooking club made up of some talented & caring ladies. We meet once a month and everyone brings a different course to share. Then we sit around and talk about how good each other's food is. Plus we laugh a lot.


This month's theme for cooking club: Autumn!


I had the soup this time and I've always wanted to make something with butternut squash (this is because I have a secret obsession with butternut squash ravioli). I had a lot of fun going to market to get the squash this week.


It was hysterical to watch me cut them open and seed them. It was dangerous! I thought I was going to cut myself open! It's hard to cut the squash into halves before you warm them. I've never cooked with anything like that before. I couldn't stop giggling. And every little thing I did was a mini victory. It was a rewarding cooking experience. The smell & the taste were so good & well worth all the trouble. I'm really happy with how it turned out.

Ingredients:

• 1 butternut squash, halved and seeded
• 1 acorn squash, halved and seeded
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 cup chopped sweet onion
• 1/2 cup of half & half
• 1 quart fat free chicken broth
• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• ground cinnamon to taste
• fresh parsley, for garnish

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place the squash halves cut side down in a baking dish. Bake 45 minutes, or until tender. 

Meanwhile, melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat, and saute the onion until tender.

Remove squash from heat, and cool slightly. Scoop the pulp from the skins. Discard skins.

In a blender or food processor, blend the squash pulp, onion, broth, brown sugar, half & half, cream cheese, pepper, and cinnamon until smooth. This may be done in several batches.

Transfer the soup to a pot over medium heat, and cook, stirring occasionally, until heated through. 

Transfer to slow-cooker to keep warm. 

Garnish with parsley, and serve warm

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Hashbrown Vegetable Quiche

4+ years ago, when I first got married and started getting into cooking there were only 4 dishes that I ever made and I would refer to them as "this is the only dish I know how to make". They were Kielbasa Pasta, the Taco Bake, Chili, & Hashbrown Quiche. Now I'm happy to say that I've grown and I now make more than just these same 4 dishes. But Hashbrown quiche is still one of my favorites to make and I'll add I've really stepped up my game in the past 4 years :-). It's even better than when I made it years ago! Usually I try to make it pretty healthy using egg yolks or egg substitute instead of real eggs, i never use oil or butter. But I made it this weekend and threw all those healthy thoughts out the window. 

INGREDIENTS (1 Quiche):

• 1 box of Betty Crocker seasoned skillets hashbrowns (or 1 package of frozen hashbrowns)
• 1 to 2 medium zucchinis, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup of diced onions
• 1/2 cup of diced celery
• 1.75 cups of water
• 1 package of frozen spinach, chopped
• 1 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese, part skim
• 2-3 eggs
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• salt & pepper to taste
• olive oil spray
• 4 tablespoons of butter
• italian seasoning (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Follow package directions for hashbrowns. Heat water & 2 tablespoons of butter in skillet and stir in package. Push into sides of skillet and cook until brown & crispy. (Hint: if using frozen hashbrowns, you want to dry them out as much as possible)
2. Defrost spinach in a small microwave safe bowl. I usually put it in for 3 minutes. Remove from microwave and mach up with a fork.
3. In a medium bowl whisk together eggs, cheese, salt, pepper, seasoning, & garlic.
4. In another skillet saute zucchini, onions, & celery in 1 tablespoon of butter until brown & tender
5. Add spinach, zucchini, onion, & celery to egg mixture and stir all together. 
6. Spray an 8-inch pie dish with olive oil spray. Add hashbrown and press firmly into sides. 
7. Drizzle the rest of the butter, melted, on top of the hashbrowns. Top with egg mixture.
8. Cook in preheated oven for 30 minutes at 350.

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