Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies

I usually only make these around Thanksgiving time, but Matt loves them so much, that he has been asking for them more often. I've used cinnamon in place of the pumpkin pie spice and the cookies taste just as yummy.


2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/3 cups quick oats
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice or cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup pumpkin (I use canned)
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract


1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or a silpat sheet.

2. Combine the flour, oats, baking soda, pie spices and salt in a medium bowl.

3. Beat butter and both sugars in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Add pumpkin, egg, and vanilla, mixing well. Add flour mixture slowly, mixing well.

4. Drop by rounded tbps onto baking sheets. I use a scoop.

5. Bake 14-16 minutes or until lightly browned and set in centers. Cool on baking sheet for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Who doesn't love Chocolate Chip Cookies? It is my husbands favorite cookie and has to beg me to make them. I have made them so often, that I have memorized the recipe. I made a batch last night and so far I have only had 4 of them. Here is the recipe that I follow.

2 sticks of butter, softened

3/4 cup white sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar, packed

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 1/4 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

2 cups chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350°F .

2. Mix the butter and both sugars until creamy. 

3. Add eggs, one at a time and mix until incorporated. Add vanilla and mix.

4. In a separate bowl, sift the flour and baking soda together.

5. Slowly add half of the flour mixture to butter mixture and mix. Add remaining flour and mix well.

6. Add chocolate chips to bowl and mix well by hand. 

7. Scoop onto parchment (or Silpat) lined cookie sheets and cook for 10 minutes.

8. Cool a couple of minutes on cookie sheet before transferring to cooling rack.

Enjoy!

Sloppy Joes

I grew up eating sloppy joes, but out of the can. That Manwich stuff. I didn't really care for it. I wanted to create a sloppy joe mix that doesn't use any can stuff, as much homemade stuff as you can.

This is what I came up with:

1 1/2 lbs ground beef
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 cup green pepper, chopped
1 tsp garlic, minced
1 tsp yellow mustard, dried
1/2 cup ketchup
1/4 cup Barbecue sauce (homemade is best, but bottled is okay)
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp tomato paste
salt & pepper to taste
1/2 cup water

1. Cook green pepper and onion until onion is translucent. Add garlic and cook a couple of minutes. Add ground beef and cook until brown. Drain fat.

2. Add ketchup, barbecue sauce, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, tomato paste and water. Cook until thickened, about 10 minutes or so. Add salt and pepper to taste.

3. Put mixture on a bun and enjoy. I like to use onion rolls.

Venison Marinade

As a hunting family, we like to eat venison. We only have a little bit left from last year. The hubby needs to get out there very soon and fill our freezers up.

This is the marinade that I like to use for the steaks and tips. Deer meat is very lean and needs fats to cook with it so it doesn't dry it out. This marinade does that perfectly.

3 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 Tbsp soy sauce (I use lite so it isn't as salty)
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp garlic, minced
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp pepper

Mix all ingredients together and cover the meat with the marinade. I like to use a ziplock bag with the air taken out to marinade the meat. Marinade for a few hours then cook your meat. I love to cook venison steaks and tips on the grill.

Vegetable Beef Soup

While checking out things on Pinterest, I came upon a recipe for vegetable beef soup. I had pretty much everything for it on hand, except the lima beans, so I made it for supper. It was a good recipe, but I changed it up to fit what my family likes and to add a bit more flavor.

Here is the original recipe: A Homemaker's Journal

Here is mine: *Warning This makes a ton of soup! I froze 2 meals after eating 2 meals worth.*

6 potatoes, diced
1/2 head cabbage, chopped
6 large carrots, diced
5 celery stalks, chopped
1 cup froze peas
1 cup frozen corn
2 jars (I can my own) green beans
1/2 bag spinach
2  8 oz can tomato sauce
2  1 quart bottles V-8
1 large onion, chopped
2 lbs ground beef (I always use a 80/20 ratio tastes the best imo)
2 cups beef broth
2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp dried parsley
salt & pepper to taste

1. In a large stockpot, add tomato juice, tomato sauce, beef broth, potatoes, carrots, celery and cabbage. Bring to a boil and cook for 15-20 minutes.

2. In a skillet, cook onion and ground beef until beef is brown and onions are translucent. Drain fat.

3. Add meat, remaining veggies and seasonings to broth pot. Boil for another 10 minutes longer to make sure everything is heated through and potatoes are fork tender.

Enjoy!

Cottage Pie

Cottage pie is basically the poor man's Shepherd's Pie. An authentic Shepherd's Pie is made with ground lamb. An authentic Cottage Pie is made with ground beef.

I made this for dinner tonight so I could visualize the amounts of ingredients that I put in it. I have made this for so long, that I don't measure anything anymore. Some add cheese to the top or even a pie crust, I don't do either. Hubby doesn't like cheese (oh the horror!) and my family has never made it with a crust before. This is my take on the Cottage Pie. Hope you enjoy it!

Cottage Pie

1 lb. ground beef
1 small onion, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and diced
1 cup fresh or frozen corn
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup beef broth
1 tsp tomato paste
3 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbsp flour
4 large potatoes
4 tsp butter
1/4 cup milk
Salt & Pepper to taste
1/2 tsp dried parsley


1. Chop potatoes and add to salted water. Cook until tender. Drain water. Add butter and mash. Add milk and continue to mash. Add salt and pepper.

2. Cook the ground beef with the onion. Drain off any fat. Add garlic and cook a minute or two. Add flour and mix well to cover beef.

3. Add carrots and corn to beef mixture.

4. Mix the tomato paste with the beef broth. Add beef broth to meat/veggie mixture. Add Worcestershire sauce. Cook until thickened.

5. Add salt, pepper and parsley. Put mixture into 9x9 baking dish. Top with the mashed potatoes

6. Cook at 350°F for 30 minutes. Serve and enjoy.

Grilled Zucchini

My garden is overflowing with zucchini and summer squash this year. Last year we had like two summer squash, so I am eating that pretty much as soon as it comes off the vine. I am needing to come up with ideas to use up the zucchini, other than bread.

Tonight for dinner, I was grilling burgers, so I decided to throw some zucchini on with them. I may have to cook it like this all the time. I had a few zucchini that were hiding under the grass that has taken over the garden, so they were kinda big. They were perfect for the grill though.

I cut the zucchini into 1 inch slices and drizzled olive oil on them. Then I sprinkled on some oregano, salt, pepper and powdered garlic.

I already had the grill warmed up because of the burgers already on it. I put the zucchini slices on the grill with the seasoned side down and then repeated the seasoning and olive oil on the other side, so both sides had herbs on it.

I cooked it for about 5-6 minutes per side. I like a little snap to my zucchini when I bite down into it. These were so yummy! My son ate his before he ate his burger. He always preferred veggies anyway, but he really isn't a fan of zucchini. I changed his mind tonight. He asked me to make them like this again.

How I Freeze Beets

I planted beets for the first time this year. Never grew them, so wasn't sure how they would come out. I think they did pretty well. Beets have anti inflammatory benefits, so I figured I would give them a try. Anything to help keep my inflammation from my RA down.

After I picked them all, I washed them up good. Leaving both the root and leaves on. I cut the leaves off about 3 inches above the beet and saved them for later. You can eat them too. Double food for little money.

I boiled them for about 45 minutes or so or until fork tender. Then put them into ice water. It makes taking off the skin so easy. It just slips off.

Once the skin is off and the stems and roots trimmed off, You can either cut them in slices or chunks. I did both.

Look how beautiful red they are. Love how you can see the rings in them. Because I am the only one in the house that is going to eat these, I put single serving sizes in individual bags then placed the small bags in a large freezer bag. Keeps it organized and gives it extra protection against freezer burn.

Clean up was pretty easy too. My white cutting board was covered in beet "blood". It looked like I murdered someone in the kitchen after I was done with everything. The beet juice just rinsed off, never stained me or the board.

Max was enjoying himself checking out the greens. He kept eating the grass that was mixed in with the beet greens.

Homemade Banana "Chips"

The hubby has been coming home with a ton of bananas. I have a bunch in the freezer to use for breads and my chocolate chip banana muffins. This last bunch of bananas wasn't as ripe as I like for the breads, so I decided to dry them. I love banana chips that I buy from Trader Joe's, but they are pricey for the little package you get. So here is how I did it.


Cut your bananas in 1/4 inch slices and put them in a bowl with some Fresh Fruit solution. It helps prevent them from turning brown. Lay all the slices on your dryer trays, making sure to leave space between each slice. I used up 3 trays of my 5 tray dehydrator.

Dry at 140°F for 10 hours. I turned them over after 8 hours and then did the remaining 2 hours. They are really sticky and flexible, but not wet. Make sure to take them off the trays right away while they are still warm. It makes it easier to remove.

This was my tray after the 10 hours of drying. As you can see there are some little pieces. Those parts got stuck on the mesh. I did get them off and ate them right away. hehe

Store them in glass jars with an oxygen absorber in each jar. Matt ate half a jar right away. I don't see these lasting long.

Homemade French Bread Pizza

The other day, we got a call from the little store up the street from us that they have a bunch of bread for us. They were going to throw away the leftover bread they use to make their sub sandwiches because it didn't get used.

Last time they gave us bread, I made more Bread Crumbs, Garlic Bread, and Croutons. This time I used most of it to make French bread pizzas for a quick lunch option for Matt and I.

They are so easy to make, it doesn't really need a recipe for them. I made pepperoni pizzas from the first loaf (we had 5 loaves, but I made more garlic bread from 2 of the loaves) and will make sausage and hamburger for the second loaf. Not sure for the last loaf yet.

I can get 6 pizzas out of one loaf of the french bread that I get. I cut the ends off because they are usually really tough after cooking. Then I cut the bread in three parts and cut those parts in half.

Then each part gets covered in your favorite pizza sauce (I use jar sauce that I didn't make, oh the horrors hehe).

Then covered in cheese. This is a pizza blend with a few different kinds of cheese in it.

Finally the toppings of your choice. When I do the sausage and hamburger, I cook up the meats and let them cool before putting them on the pizzas.

Once your pizzas are all made, then put them on a cookie sheet and cover with plastic wrap. Place the whole thing in your freezer for a few hours to freeze up good.

Once they are all frozen, wrap each pizza up individually. I like to use that Press N' Seal stuff for this. Pop them in a freezer bag, label and date and trow back into the freezer. You can also write the cooking temp and time on the bag if you choose. I cook the pizzas it at 350° F for 18-20 minutes.

Homemade Garlic Bread

About a week or so ago, the hubby was given 7 loaves of french bread from the store up the street. They were just going to throw them away because they didn't get used that day. They get a new shipment of bread in daily. The hubby happened to be there when they were closing, so we got the bread.

This company is in Massachusetts and we thought we weren't going to be able to get the bread once we moved up to NH. So glad to see that they order the bread in everyday. We love their bread!

Now these aren't aren't the small loaves you get in the grocery store, these are over 2 feet long. I got excited and knew what I was going to be making the next day or two. My homemade garlic bread croutons and bread crumbs.

On to my recipe:

Now I apologize, but I do not measure anything for this. I just know what smells and looks right.

You need garlic, minced or powder. I usually used powder, but have been in a garlic mood, so the minced went into this batch I made.

You also need softened butter, I use Country Crock, Parmesan cheese and dried parsley.

Now put a bunch of the butter in a bowl, add a bunch of garlic powder or a couple tablespoons of the minced. I love garlic, so I used a lot. Mix it up really good. The butter will be easier to stir over time.

Then add in the Parmesan cheese, I probably use about 2 tablespoons or so. Mix it in really well.

Add some parsley. I used the parsley that I grew and dried so I had to crush it. I probably had about 1-2 teaspoons of it. Mix it in well.

Take your french bread, cut it in half length wise. Smother each half in the butter, don't be shy.

These four halves was one loaf of bread. I had to cut it in half width wise then length wise to make sure it fits in my freezer.

Put the two halves back together. I wrap each half in plastic wrap then aluminum foil before putting them in the freezer. Make sure you take off the plastic wrap before you heat them up in the oven.

To heat them up, I set the oven at 350° unwrap, slice and then re-wrap in just the foil. Bake on a baking sheet for about 20-25 minutes or so. If you want a crispier garlic bread, skip the foil and lat out each slice or half whole on the baking sheet and bake.

Enjoy!

Herb Rice Pilaf

I was tired of making the boxed rice pilaf because of all the additives in them, not to mention all the salt. So I decided to make my own. Hope you enjoy it!

1/4 cup butter
2 cups uncooked white rice
1/4 cup uncooked orzo pasta
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 basil
4 cups chicken broth

1. In a large skillet, melt the butter and cook the rice and orzo pasta until the pasta starts to brown.

2. Add the herbs and mix well.

3 Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Cover and lower heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Do not lift the lid or stir the rice until done.

4. Fluff rice with a fork and serve. This recipe make a ton of rice.


Next time I am going to add some chopped up spinach to the rice for a little change. Love spinach. Funny thing is I hated it growing up. Maybe it was because of the way it was cooked for me.

Homemade Whipped Cream

Why have I never made this before? I have always got my whipped cream from a can or from a tub of Cool Whip. Never again! Not sure if it is cheaper to make your own, but it sure tastes way better. I made some last night to top off my chocolate pudding pie. So yummy!

Here is my little recipe for whipped cream.

1 cup heavy whipping cream
3 Tbs powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Add whipping cream to a large mixing bowl and beat at medium speed until soft peaks start to form. I do not recommend you do this by hand or with a hand mixer. It took me forever to do it with a hand mixer. I use my stand mixer to make it now.

2. Stop mixer and add powdered sugar and the vanilla extract. Beat until all ingredients are combined and the mixture has thickened up a little. Taste it to see if you want more powdered sugar. I like a sweet cream, but not crazy sweet.

 Keep cool until serving time or top on your pudding pie and enjoy.

Topped my chocolate pudding pie with some of the whipped cream. Made it so yummy!

Kinda messy looking, but it is sooo yummy. My homemade graham cracker crust was used to make this.

Had plenty of leftover whipped cream. It won't last long around here.

Homemade Graham Cracker Crust

Like a lot of people, I have always bought one of those premade graham cracker crusts to use when I make my cheese cake. Costs about 2.50 here for one. A box of graham crackers costs a little bit more, like 3.50, but you can get three shells out of it. I use this to make my cheese cake and my chocolate pudding pie. So, here is how I make my own shell. So easy!

1 sleeve graham crackers (I like to use the cinnamon ones)
6 Tbs butter, melted
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed

1. Break up and add one sleeve of graham crackers to a food processor and pulse until you have fine crumbles.

2. Melt butter in a microwaveable bowl. Add the crushed graham crackers and the sugar.Mix together until all is wet from the butter.

3. Dump the crumbs into a pie plate and press the crumbs in the pie plate to form a crust. Make sure that there are no thin areas.

4. Put it in a preheated oven at 375° and bake for 8-10 minutes.

5. Let cool completely before adding the filling in it.

Corn Chowdah

I love me some creamy corn chowder on cold nights. Being from the Boston area, growing up and living there until 4 years ago, I have still a little bit of my Bostonian accent. We don't pronounce "R" at all. Hence the Chowdah. That is how we pronounce it.

Lots of the recipes for corn chowder I have seen hardly uses any corn. Well, it should have more corn than anything in it cause it is a CORN chowder. I have also seen lots of bacon in them.  I use bacon in it to flavor it, but not over whelm it. You can adjust the bacon amount to what you like.

Corn Chowdah

4 Tbsp butter
1/2 cup flour
2 cup water
5 cup milk
4 chicken bouillon cube
1/4 lb bacon
1 small onion, diced
3 potatoes, cubed in 1 inch pieces
3 cloves garlic, minced
4-5 cups corn (I like to use the corn I grew)
salt & pepper to taste


1. Melt the butter in a large pot. Add the onions and cook until transparent. Add the garlic and cook a couple more minutes. Add the flour and mix to absorb the butter. Cook a couple minutes more.

2. Add the 2 cups of water to the butter/flour mixture. I like to have already dissolved the bouillon cubes in the water before added, but not needed. Stir until no more lumps of flour and the mixture is thickened.

3. Add one cup of milk and stir until thickened. Add the remaining milk and the bouillon cubes, if you did not dissolve in the water already. Bring it to a simmer, but do not boil.

4. Add the potatoes and cook until almost soft. Add the bacon, already cooked crisp and broken up. Add the corn. Add salt and pepper to taste. I like to use a lot of pepper, but that is just me.

5. Let simmer until the potatoes are cooked. It may seem a little runny still, but it will thicken up more. I like to add a little bit more bacon to the top of the soup once poured into bowls.

Homemade Hot Chocolate

Nothing is better on a snowy day than some hot chocolate. Today we got a little bit of snow. So far we only got a dusting to maybe an inch, but are not expected to get much more.

Hot Chocolate Mix

10 2/3 cups Instant Dry Milk
3 cups Powdered Creamer, Non-Dairy
4 cups Powdered Sugar
2 cups Unsweetened Cocoa

Mix everything together. Store in a glass jar or another air tight container.

How much you use per cup depends on how big your cup is. 1/3 a cup or more. I used a 1/2 a cup for our large Pooh and Tigger cups. Add some whipped cream or marshmallow fluff and enjoy!