Sour cream brownies

May 20, 2013 by Leave a Comment

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I have made a TON of brownies, from the box and from scratch and NOTHING beats these. They are so moist and the sour cream gives them a creamy-ness that regular brownies lack. I am telling you, if you try one new recipe make it this one. As soon as I discovered this recipe about two months ago, I have been making them just about every week and they don’t last long around here! They are a dream brownie…not too rich, the perfect about of chocolatley-ness, crumbly as a brownie should be but moist enough to make real good, big, chunky crumbs. You guys feel me?

ADD BROWNIE

I am in love with Tastefully Simple’s Classy Chocolate Pound Cake mix, I use it quite a bit with I need a fast dessert. (peanut butter swirl chocolate pound cake was another one of my favorite uses for this mix)

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Ingredients

Instructions
  1. In a large mixing bowl, mix together pound cake mix, melted butter, and sour cream.
  2. Pour into a 9×13 baking pan.
  3. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Are you all enjoying this weather? It is beautiful by us but it looks like rain the rest of the week, which I feel like that is God being like “hey, now you don’t have any more excuses not to start your laundry missy! The weather is rainy so just get it done!” Oh laundry. One time I was like if I do a load of laundry every single day from start to finish maybe I can keep up with the laundry! Yeah! Well right now I have two baskets full of folded laundry waiting for me to put them away and piles and piles of dirty laundry waiting to be washed, so ask me how that worked out for me. How does one keep up with laundry for 5 people, especially in the summer time when clothes are getting sandy and wet and the kids are needing a few outfits a day? I would like to know how! I think laundry is like one of those things that when you run into parents who have grown kids they say,  you will miss all the laundry piles when the kids are grown and gone. And to that I say, don’t even get me started about my kids leaving me or the tears will start a-flowin’!

Did you enjoy all that boring laundry talk? Hey, you know what you should do instead of your laundry? MAKE THESE BROWNIES.


 sourcreambrownies

 

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Stuffed pepper soup with quinoa

May 17, 2013 by Leave a Comment

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One morning I woke up craving stuffed peppers. You know the cheesy rice & meat filled ooey gooey kind, that you ate growing up that you can never make as good as your mother made them? But it was a cold and rainy day so I was thinking I would try this stuffed pepper sensation in a good soup. Still having quinoa on the brain, I decided to skip the rice all together for this recipe and opt for a healthier option (quinoa) without sacrificing the flavor.

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I went into the recipe kind of expecting it to be a total failure because I had no guide what-so-ever. But remember how I said my best recipes come from just using what I have on hand, to try and make a new recipe? Winging it when it comes to cooking is kind of my thing, and this recipe is the best proof. I was so surprised at the flavor of this soup and I think Ralph was equally as surprised about how delicious it was. I kept saying things all day like, ” don’t get your hopes up for supper, this may be a total disaster!” Luckily that was not the case.

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This soup isn’t a whole lot of work either. Once you get everything in the pot you just let it heat all day and make your house smell amazing. You could make this in your crock pot instead of on the stove if that’s your thing. The recipe says “chopped” for all the veggies but we like things chunky around here so I left my veggies a little bigger. You can adjust that if you would like.

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Stuffed pepper soup with quinoa
 

Ingredients
  • 1 container chicken broth (32 ounces)
  • ½ cup uncooked red quinoa
  • 1 yellow pepper, chopped
  • 1 orange pepper, chopped
  • 1 red pepper, chopped
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • 4 stalks celery, chopped
  • 1 jar of chunky, mild salsa
  • 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
  • 1 lb ground beef
  • 1 handful fresh parsley, chopped
  • 1 handful fresh cilantro, chopped
  • ½ can of any kind of beer
  • 1 cup water
  • ½ tablespoon salt
  • ½ tablespoon pepper

Instructions
  1. In a large pot on low heat, combine chopped peppers, chicken broth, salsa, parsley and cilantro.
  2. In another skillet, fry up the ground beef. Drain and add to your large pot.
  3. In the same skillet (rinsed out), heat chopped onions and celery with the beer on medium heat until onions are translucent and celery has changed color.
  4. Add entire celery/onion/beer mixture to your large pot.
  5. Add uncooked quinoa, and water to the large pot.
  6. Season with salt and pepper.
  7. Cover and heat on low for at least 3 hours but up to 8.
  8. Add cheese 10 minutes before serving.

Notes
You may need to add water once the quinoa cooks.

AHH the weekend is here again and we are excited for it! Last weekend (Mother’s day weekend) was great minus the fact that I was battling migraines all weekend. I made the mistake of drinking REAL caffeinated coffee on Friday after months of drinking decaf, and it welcomed my migraines back almost immediately. NEVER AGAIN. At least I know that caffeine is my migrane trigger I suppose! We still managed to do our family Color Burst 5k, and go to a couples comedy night at church featuring Kerri Pomarolli and her husband Ron McGehee. They were absolutely hilarious…we loved their act! Ralph let me take a good long nap on Mother’s day which might possibly be the best gift ever, because if you know me, I NEVER nap. And then we spent time with the best mom’s in the world–all in all, a dream weekend, migraines aside. My boys treated me well, but then again, they always do.

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Filed Under: crockpot, gluten-free, It's What's For Dinner, life, meals, soups Tagged With: , ,

Merlot meatballs

May 9, 2013 by

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Did you ever just crave a really good, hearty meatball with an ooey gooey sauce? I know I am not the only one. This recipe will be sure to take care of those cravings, no problem. I usually only make meatballs for holidays but one rainy day I just had a hankering for some comfort food and my husband is crazy for meatballs, especially mine :) –So I whipped these up with some roasted red potatoes, steamed broccoli and they went over really well, even with one picky little 2 year old.

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There is something so comforting and homey about a juicy meatball with the right sauce, I’m not quite sure why.  These meatballs are made using Tastefully Simple’s Merlot Sauce, which has always been a favorite of mine and I think they really make the flavor of this sauce stand out. I love using Merlot Sauce as a steak sauce alone but it is great in my meatloaf recipe and delicious in these savory meatballs. If you need some Merlot Sauce you can find it here.

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Ingredients

Instructions
  1. In a large mixing bowl combine ground beef, garlic, seasoned salt, merlot sauce, salt, pepper, onion, breadcrumbs, and beaten eggs.
  2. Mix ingredients with your hands and roll into ½inch-1inch balls, depending on your preference.
  3. Place on a baking stone or greased baking pan.
  4. Heat meatballs at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. Be sure not to over cook or the meatballs with get tough.
  5. Remove meatballs from oven and use tongs to place them in a slow cooker.
  6. Whisk together maple syrup, ketchup, honey and grape jelly in small bowl.
  7. Pour sauce mixture over meatballs and heat on low-medium for at least 10 minutes or until you are ready to serve.

 

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We have been out all week enjoying the sunshine-y, summery weather, doin’ summer things! I even have a slight tan! Thanking God for this beautiful week! Although it is supposed to cool down for this Mother’s Day weekend, we have some fun things planned! I hope all you mothers out there have a lovely weekend and I tip my hat off to you all. Being a mother is the hardest job ever with the most rewarding results. We all deserve a day totally devoted to us mommys!

 

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Filed Under: appetizers, crockpot, gluten-free, It's What's For Dinner, meals, sauces Tagged With: ,

Banana creme truffle

May 3, 2013 by

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THIS TRUFFLE. All my dreams came true when I took my first spoonful of this creamy, decadent pudding. I am a huge banana cream pie fan so this recipe is right up my ally. I really can’t put into words how silky and creamy and delicious this really is. You MUST try this recipe and I promise you will love it. Also- there is something really amazing about whipping your own cream…like that feeling you get when your dough rises? I dunno maybe its just me but it gives me a huge sense of accomplishment in the kitchen. This pudding puts Schreiners(the best place to get a homemade pie in our town) banana creme pie to shame which believe me, I never thought could be possible. This is a really simple recipe with really rewarding results! I suggest making this when you have somewhere to bring a dish to pass, it makes a lot and if it stays in your fridge you will devour the entire bowl, late at night, when one gets hungry, with your husband.

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Banana creme truffle
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Ingredients
  • 1 16 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
  • 1½ cups cold water
  • 1 3.4 ounce box of instant vanilla pudding mix
  • 3 cups heavy whipping cream
  • 1 box of nilla wafers
  • 4 bananas, sliced

Instructions
  1. In a kitchen aid mixer or in a large bowl (use a hand mixer), beat the sweetened condensed milk and water for about 2 minutes.
  2. Add the pudding mix to the milk mixture and continue to beat for another 2 minutes.
  3. Cover the bowl and store in fridge overnight.
  4. Again in your kitchen aid mixer or in a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer, whip the cream until stiff peaks have formed. (This step took me about 6-7 minutes of whipping)
  5. Next stir in the chilled pudding mixture gently, until combined.
  6. Layer wafers, banana slices, pudding and continue in a large serving bowl, or use individual serving dishes.

Happy weekend! In case you missed this exciting news: my gluten-free Mexican pizza recipe got its own little blurp in the May 2013 issue of FAMILY FUN MAGAZINE. It is only  my absolute favorite parenting magazine so naturally when an editor contacted me a few months back I was really really excited. They always have the best craft and food ideas for your kids, you should look into getting the magazine if you don’t already!

mexican pizza

 

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Filed Under: desserts, It's What's For Dinner Tagged With: , , ,

Cilantro lime quinoa salad

April 25, 2013 by

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This salad completes me. It is everything I love about mexican food with an added boost of protein and that guilt about eating a flour tortilla, GONE. This will surly take care of those mexican cravings of yours without all that extra calorie and gluten nonsense. Oh and the dressing. Don’t get me started on the dressing. Tangy and fresh with a little kick.

quinoa salad mexicanAlong with my quinoa veggie salad with lemon basil dressing, this salad will definitely be on repeat throughout the warmer months. It keeps in the fridge for a good week, you may just have to add a little squeeze of fresh lime to moisten it up a bit. I added a little extra cumin myself because I like it spicy. I also added a bit of extra cilantro to my individual serving because I am the only heavy cilantro lover in my family.

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Cilantro lime quinoa salad
 

Ingredients
  • 1 cup uncooked quinoa
  • 1 (15oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1½ cups frozen corn, thawed
  • 1½ cups cherry tomatoes, quartered
  • 1 red bell pepper, diced
  • 5 green onions, diced
  • ¾ cup chopped cilantro
  • ⅓ cup olive oil
  • 1 tsp. cumin
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • Juice from 1 lime
  • ¼ tsp. salt

Instructions
  1. Cooke quinoa according to package.(add 2 cups of water per 1 cup of quinoa, bring to a boil, and simmer until quinoa is tender or about 20 minutes)
  2. While quinoa is cooking make your dressing.
  3. In a bowl whisk together olive oil, cumin, garlic, lime juice and salt. Store in fridge.
  4. In a large mixing bowl combine the cooked quinoa, peppers, green onions, cilantro, cherry tomatoes, corn and black beans.
  5. Pour dressing over ingredients and stir to coat.
  6. Store in fridge for at least an hour and serve cold for best results.

 

And the sun is still hanging on over in our neck of the woods! Yesterday we played outside all day with some friends–boy do I appreciate the days we get to play outside, bedtime is such a breeze! Tonight we are heading to a cook out and this weekend is supposed to be sunny and in the high 60′s….we’ll take it! I like to really get excited about little victories, being a stay at home mom of 3, and right now the weather is one of them! Happy weekend to you all!

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Filed Under: appetizers, gluten-free, It's What's For Dinner, meals, sauces Tagged With: , ,
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