Easiest Stir-fry ever

School starts soon, which means another busy year is off to a start. I don't have school-aged children but I know many of you do.

So I thought I would post a few simple, quick, healthy and of course cheap (love cheap!!!) recipes.

Here is the world's easiest chicken stir-fry.

Note: When I buy a large pack of boneless skinless chicken breasts (on sale. I never buy it when it's not on sale) I break up the pack and put it in sandwich bags. I will think ahead of what I am going to make and add in marinades.This saves a TON of time.

What you'll need:

2 chicken breasts, cubed

1 cup Teriyaki marinade

garlic

1 bag teriyaki vegetables (I prefer the Eat Smart- not the frozen kind. The frozen kind get mushy)

1 can pineapple chunks in pineapple juice

2 cups cooked rice

Warm up a skillet over medium heat. (I used the electric skillet.)

Place chicken in skillet with marinade. Make sure chicken is fully coated and allow to brown.

Add in garlic and pineapple.

Stir in your vegetables and cook for about 8 minutes. You want crisp veggies not limp brocoli.

Add in cooked rice and stir.

The end!

Cinnamon knots!

I really like cinnamon. I mean, a lot. It's a strong flavor and I love strong flavors. I have been sprinkling it on my coffee for a long time, which I read recently has some great health benefits. Who was ahead of the crowd? This girl!

Anyway, I wanted to make something cinnamony, again. I am using up all my flour before I go on a health kick. If you could all pray for me that would be fantastic.

I made these cinnamon knots Sunday. They were a really nice, lightly sweetened treat and very easy to make.

I thought I would share them as a part of Take it On Tuesday. Betsy was nice enough to feature the Mason Jar Tumbler I made last week.

What you'll need:

4 cups AP flour. You can use whole wheat if you like

1 1/4 tsp yeast or one package rapid rising yeast

1 1/2 cups HOT water - but not boiling

2 tbsp brown sugar

1 tsp kosher salt

2 tsp vanilla (or more if you just want to dump in as much as you want)

2 tbsp cinnamon

topping:

2 tbsp brown sugar

1 tbsp cinnamon

Preheat your oven to 350.

Combine your yeast and warm water. Let thicken. It will look like dirty water when it's ready.(Yuck!)

In a bowl stir flour into the yeast/water one cup at a time.

Then add your sugar, vanilla and cinnamon.

Mix until it pulls apart like elastic.

Flour a surface and roll your dough into a tube.

Shape. 

In a bowl mix your tbsp brown sugar and 1 tbsp cinnamon.

Sprinkle the dough with brown sugar and cinnamon.

Bake at 350 for about 10 minutes.

Sour Cream Cinnamon muffins

Sour cream cinnamon muffins? That doesn't sound good. Girl, you're crazy! That sounds great. And they were great. They were so moist and fluffy. Almost like angel food cake but more sturdy. 

I saw a recipe for sour cream cupcakes. But I have been over doing it with the cupcakes lately. So I wanted to make a lighter base and call it a muffin. Yeah, you can do that. Who is going to tell? 

Beardface loved these. I made him some in my muffin top pan. He ate all of them!

Okay, this is what you'll need:

1/14 all purpose flour 

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

2 eggs

1 cup sugar, spelnda, stevia or sugar substitute. Note: If you use splenda you will need to add 1/4 baking soda.

1 stick butter or margerine or a cup of coconut oil at room temperature.

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup sour cream

2 tbsp cinnamon. I really love lots of cinnamon, so I am guessing that 1 tbsp might be enough. 

Preheat your oven to 350 and spray and line a muffin pan. This would probably also make a killer bunt cake. 

In a mixing bowl combine your flour, salt and baking powder. If you're going to need baking soda add it here. 

In your mixer start creaming your softened butter and your eggs. 

TIP: I learned this the other day, it's a great way to tell if your butter is soft enough. Touch your forehead, your nose, and your cheek. If the butter is as hard as your forehead it isn't soft enough, if it is as soft as your cheek it is too soft, if it is the same softness as the tip of your nose it is golden!

Once your butter is soft and workable start adding in your sugar and vanilla. Don't you love the color of creamed butter? It's gorgeous. 

Then add in your flour mixture in small increments. 

Add in your half cup of sour cream. I added more than half a cup. It was still amazing. 

Add your cinnamon. 

Look at that! Isn't it great? Fill muffin pan and bake for about 20 minutes. 

Meatball Sliders with Pineapple Sauce

Do you get tired of the same old, same old? Yeah, me too.

I feel like I am making the same thing week after week. So I decided to take a week and make either old favorites or new favorites.

A couple nights ago I wanted to make a sweet and sour meatball. But I didn't have sweet and sour sauce, or anything I needed to make it.

So I decided to experiment, throw things in a pot and come up with something. And it was delicious.

It was spicy and savory and sweet all at the same time.

What you'll need:

Meatballs:

1/2 pound lean ground beef

1 cup bread crumbs

one egg

1 tbsp peanut sauce

Pineapple Sauce:

1 can pineapple, drained

2 tbsp brown sugar

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

King Hawaiian buns

Preheat your oven to 350.

In a bowl combine your ground beef, egg, bread crumbs and peanut sauce. Mix with your hands.

Meatballs after baking. But you get the idea about the size, right? Roll into small meatballs. About the size of a quarter or smaller.

Place in oven and bake 20 to 30 minutes.

Warm up a skillet on low.

Drain your pineapple and throw in the blender.

Once blended throw in the blender. Mix in your brown sugar and vinegar.

Let simmer and reduce for about 20 minutes.

Once your meatballs are done place your buns on a cookie sheet to toast.

Then spread with your pineapple mix. Place meatballs on bun and viola!

Garlicy oven roasted corn on the cob

Is there anything better in the summer than fresh corn on the cob? Maybe water melon? Maybe. 

I was looking for a new way to cook corn on the cob this weekend and I think I found it. It was amazing, it was delicious. It made me weep. (Not really.)

Also, it combined all of my husbands favorite things, butter, garlic and corn.

What you'll need:

Four ears of corn, shucked

2 Tbsp melted butter

4 tbsp minced garlic

That is all.

Preheat your oven to 350.

Drizzle the butter over the corn.

Rub with garlic.

Roast in oven for 30 minutes.

That's it. You're done.

Homemade yogurt- easier than it sounds

I love yogurt. My baby loves yogurt. We all scream for yogurt! Okay, we don't scream. It's not like it's Ben and Jerry's but whatever.

We have been eating so much yogurt that it gets expensive. Also, it has a lot of sugar in it. So I decided to make my own, plain yogurt.

It turned out pretty good and I was able to make a gallon for around $4.50! That saves me $.07 an ounce, or 50 percent off. Yes. I did the math. I love saving money that much. Of course, if I hadn't used organic milk and starter yogurt it would have been cheaper.

What you'll need:

A crock pot

1 gallon 2 percent or whole milk 

1 cup plain yogurt (you need it for the cultures)

Jars, etc. for freezing

Turn your crock pot on HIGH and pour all the milk into it. (I lost my crock pot, so my mother gave me her old one. The lid broke so now I use aluminum foil. It's a bootleg crock pot.)

Let it sit for 2 hours, until it reaches a boil. Then take that weird membrane off the top and throw it out.

Once it has boiled and killed off all the germs, let it cool down until it is about 115 degrees. Add your cup of yogurt. (Note: If you are using whole milk you do not need the powdered milk.)

Then cover your crock pot with a towel and stick it in a place where it won't be deserved. Some people stick it in their oven. I just put it on the counter and left it alone.

About 8 hours later I had yogurt!! If you want a thicker yogurt you can strain it through a cheese cloth or coffee filter.

I poured mine into Ball jars and stuck what I didn't need now into the freezer.

Save a cup of your homemade yogurt and freeze it so you have the cultures later. 

If you liked this recipe and you want more DIY ideas, then you really should check out Romance on a Dime. Betsy hosts a great Tuesday link up with lots of projects.

Baked blueberry, banana oatmeal!

Baked banana, blueberry oatmeal! Yes, it's worth an exclamation point. I am literally exclaiming about baked oatmeal.

It is creamy and hearty and delicious and pretty healthy. The banana and blueberry pairing balance each other out very well.

To make it even better I made mine with blueberries my Daddy grew. Why do free blueberries taste better?

2 very ripe bananas, cut into pieces
1 1/2 cup blueberries, divided
1/4 cup honey, divided (I used local, so delicious)
1 cup uncooked quick oats
1tbsp cinnamon, divided
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 cup fat free milk (or any milk you desire)
1 egg

Preheat your oven to 375 and grease a pan. Layer the bottom of your pan with bananas and half your blueberries. Drizzle with honey and sprinkle with cinnamon. Place in your oven and let bake for 15 minutes.

In a bowl combine your oats, the rest of your cinnamon and baking powder. Mix. Sprinkle over blueberries and bananas.

Then, you can use the same bowl your oats were just in, mix your milk, eggs, and the rest of your honey.

Pour over the fruit and oats mixture as evenly as you can. Then sprinkle with blueberries. Bake for 30 minutes.

It will serve 4 - 6 and be so warm, moist and delicious. This is a great recipe for company or brunch or just breakfast for the family.

Fudgy, pecan pie bars

I did something terrible. I did something I shouldn't and now there is no going back. My life will never be the same.

Wait for it. I am not sure I should share because if you do what I did then your life will also never be the same.

I made fudgy, pecan pie bars. Gasp! I know. I know. What's more I made them with bourbon! I know. So. Much. Shame. Delicious, delicious shame.

Remember when I told you here that I had all those pecans my GDaddy gave me? Yeah, well I used them for chocolate evil!

I have told you before that we are not big drinkers in this house. Ever once in a while there will be a glass of wine or a fruity drink, but that is fewer and fewer and far between. We would much rather eat our alcohol than drink it.I bought some bourbon to make a sauce for some bread pudding I made my husband. (I loathe bread pudding. It's soggy bread people.)

So I combined the pecans and the bourbon and it resulted in something so good it can only be truly bad.

You have been warned.

What you'll need:

Fudgy chocolate crust:

3/4 cup cocoa powder

1 1/4 cups sugar

1/2 cup flour

Pinch salt

10 tablespoons butter, melted

2 eggs

Preheat oven to 325 and grease a pan.

In a bowl mix your butter, cocoa, sugar and pinch of salt. In a seperate bowl beat your eggs and then add them to the cocoa mixture. Mix, mix, mix.

It will be thick. It's supposed to be.

Place the mixture into a your pan and bake for 20 minutes.

Pecan pie:

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup light brown corn syrup

2 eggs

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 cup butter, melted

2 tablespoons bourbon

2 cups chopped pecans

Whisk together your syrup and sugar until it is good and smooth. Add in your eggs. Then add your butter and bourbon. Once everything is good and mixed add your pecans.

You will pour this mixture over your baked brownies. Place back in the oven for another 30 minutes.

You will need to let this cool in the fridge for an hour, just like an honest to goodness pecan pie. Then prepare yourself. It is so good your heart will explode.

Veggie Loaded Lasagna Casserole one for now, one for later

How many declarations of my love of a specific food can I make before it is officially declared as sad? Oh, I get a couple more? Okay then, I LOVE LASAGNA!!!

I am fond of any pasta with cheese on it. (And then they solved the mystery of Lydia's giant rear end.)

Last week I wanted to make vegeterian lasagna. Once a week we go meatless for dinner. No fish. No meat. Nothing. I figure if I put enough cheese on it my carnivore husband won't notice. ;)

So I was busy preparing my veggie loaded lasagna when I realized I didn't have any lasagna noodles. But I had seen a recipe for lasagna casserole so I decided to just make that. Only later when moving some things around in my cabinet I found an unopened box of lasagna noodles! For real! I need some sort of pantry inventory system. Suggestions?

At any rate. The casserole turned out fantastic and I had enough to make two pans, one for now and one to freeze.

So here it is folks. YOU will be amazed. (Well, maybe not.)

I made this with several left over ingredients, including some cucumber I blended into the sauce to make it thicker (I have left this part out of the recipe. It is super optional). I also had some leftover kale from making a kale, apple and quinoa salad so I threw that in their too. 

What you'll need: (Note, this makes two pans)

16 ounce box of rotini (or ziti)

1 jar of pasta sauce

2 tomatoes that you pealed or a 12 oz. can of tomatoes

container frozen spinach

1 onion

4 carrots, grated

2 cups Kale

1 cup chopped mushrooms

1 container part skim ricotta cheese (some people use cottage cheese. It turns out really good actually.)

2 cups grated mozzarella

1 egg

dried basil or oregano

Preheat your oven to 350.

Cook your pasta pretty al dente. I would say cook it for only about 6 minutes, then drain but don't rinse.

In a greased skillet cook your onions and mushrooms over a low heat. Sprinkle with some basil.

Get a sauce pan warmed up and put your sauce, tomatoes and carrots in there. Let simmer for about 10 minutes to cook the carrots slightly. You don't want them mushy, but you probably don't want them overly crunchy either.

Once your onions and mushrooms have cooked down a little bit, put the spinach and kale into the same skillet and cover.

In a bowl combine your ricotta cheese, egg and one cup mozzarella. Stir together.

Grease your casserole dish and place a smidgen of sauce in the bottom. Then place some noodles in the pan, cover with the spinach/mushroom/onion/kale mix from your skillet. Add a your ricotta cheese mixture and then stir together. Cover in sauce and cheese and bake for 20 minutes.

If you are making a pan for the freezer, skip the baking part. To bake your frozen pan later, let thaw overnight in the fridge and then bake at 350 for 45 minutes.

Ranch Tacos and a cute baby

My baby has been sleeping through the night for a few months now. It has been glorious. But last night he decided to wake up at midnight rocking some cool crib break dancing moves.

Then he wanted to stay awake for two hours. It took a lot of convincing to get him back to bed. Needless to say, today I was a wee bit tired.

(But how could you be irritated with that face?!)

So today I did no posting (other than the things other people pay me to) until now...

Chicken Ranch Tacos!!! They are so easy even I could do it in my state of near sleep.

They are really simple and require minimal effort. I make them on my George Foreman. They are tangy, creamy and I load them up with vegetables.

What you'll need:

Two chicken breasts

Four Tortillas

Some Salsa

1/2 bottle of ranch dressing

a little cilantro

sour cream

and your taco fixins'

In a bowl I combine my chicken and ranch dressing. You can cut up the chicken first, or you can put the whole breast in there. I make sure it is fully coated and then I place it on my warmed up grill. I put down the lid and I walk away.

In a small bowl I combine about a cup of sour cream and a cup of ranch dressing, a little kosher salt (because it makes everything yummy) and a little cilantro.

Once your chicken is cooked and ready (it will be a little crispy on the outside. Yum!) Put it on your tortilla with your taco fixins'. I like cucumber, salsa and cheese. Then put your ranch/sour cream mix on top. If you want to be healthy you could use Greek yogurt.

I also started some no knead bread tonight. I will bake it in my Dutch oven in the morning and report back/