Gift Bag Pocket

My little brother's birthday is coming up this week, and as I was wrapping his gift, I thought the package looked a little boring. I got the plain, brown bag from Caribou Coffee when my husband got coffee beans. I don't like throwing them away because they are nice, sturdy, and they make good gift bags. Unfortunately, they just look a little too "brown paper baggish".

I decided to dress it up with a pocket to fill with candy! I used an old pair of Tony's shorts that had holes in them. I knew I was hanging onto those old things for something. ;)

**If you don't have cargo pockets, denim would be really cute, too!

Texas Caviar

While visiting Tennessee this past summer, my mother-in-law shared a snack with the family. She pulled out a large container filled with a fresh vegetable mixture and a bag of tortilla chips. It was Texas Caviar and it was delicious! Everyone couldn't stop eating it, and my husband commented that we needed to get the recipe. Unfortunately, I never remembered to get the actual recipe from her, so Tony and I attempted to make it tonight to the best of our memories. I'd say it turned out pretty close! :)

*I'm pretty sure she put corn in hers, but we didn't have any on hand. If you have some, go ahead and throw it in! 

Ingredients

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 can whole kernel corn, rinsed and drained, optional

3/4 cup red onion, diced

1 c. tomatoes, diced

1 c. sweet bell peppers, diced (green, red, and yellow)

1-2 Tbsp. canned spicy jalapeno peppers, minced

1 Tbsp. cilantro, finely chopped

2-3 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 c. lime juice

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Directions with Photos

Rinse and drain the black beans and place in a medium-sized bowl.

(You could also use black eyed peas, if you prefer.)

Dice remaining ingredients.

(If you like spiciness, add more jalapeno. If you don't like the heat, you can omit the jalapeno completely.)

Add lime juice and gently stir.

You can eat it right away, but it's best after it's refrigerated overnight so the flavors meld together.

Serve with your favorite tortilla chips. :)

Mummy "Suckers"

Inspired by Halloween decor everywhere, I decided to browse the interwebs for some cute Halloween treats!  I thought this one was so great---and easy.

All moms out there, your kids will love these. 

While making these though, I have a couple tips---buy wax paper and get double stuffed oreos.  :)  I will explain in a bit. 

Things needs:

DOUBLE STUFFED oreos

White Almond Bark

Any chocolate candy you want--for the eyes

Lollipop sticks

WAX PAPER

Directions below with pictures!

Gather your ingredients! 

Don't laugh at my double boiler. :) If you don't have one, you make do.  Grab a pan, put water in, top with a bowl.  Works great! 

Using your double boiler, melt almond bark.

 While the almond bark is melting, carefully separate the oreos.  This is where it would be nice to have double stuffed oreos.  When putting the lollipop stick between, because there wasn't much filling, the oreo didn't want to stay together.  I used the melted almond bark as "glue".  It worked but it would make this project easier if there was more filling. 

 Carefully dip the oreos in the melted almond bark. 

 Make sure they are covered well. 

 Using a piping bag, I drizzled the almond bark over the already covered "suckers".

 Place candies to look like eyes.  Allow to cool.  This is where the wax paper would come in handy. It was very difficult to get these off the cooling rack.  I was successful but the wax paper would make it very easy.

ENJOY!  Happy (almost) Halloween!

Zucchini Pumpkin Muffins

Zucchini. 

 Pumpkin. 

Enough said! :)  I love zucchini bread! So when I saw a recipe for bread that called for zucchini and pumpkin...I knew I needed to give it a try! I altered a few ingredients and made muffins instead of bread. I thought they were fabulous. My kiddos agreed.

In a medium bowl, you will need to add: 

 3 eggs, lightly beaten 

 1 cup canned pumpkin 

 2 cups white sugar 

 1 cup butter, melted 

 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract 

Mix well. 

 *Note: Next time I make these muffins I will use 1 cup white sugar and replace the second cup with brown sugar. I think they will be even better! (A little tip I learned from our Mom!)

In a separate bowl, mix together: 

 3 cups all-purpose flour 

1 teaspoon baking soda 

1/2 teaspoon baking powder 

1/2 teaspoon salt 

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg 

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves 

 Add the wet ingredient mixture to your dry ingredients. 

 Mix well.

Stir in 2 cups shredded zucchini. 

(When I shred my zucchini, I simply use a box cheese grater.)

Fill lined (or greased) muffin tins about 3/4 full. 

This will make approximately 30 muffins. Some for now and some for the freezer. :)

Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes. 

Serve with butter (just cuz). ;)

Banana Pumpkin Oatmeal Muffins

I have made several kinds of muffins.....these definitely got added to the "Favorites" list! :)

 

Here's what you need to do... 

 Step 1: 

Combine in a large bowl: 

 1 3/4 cup flour 

 2 tsp baking powder 

 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice 

 1/2 tsp salt 

 Step 2: 

Combine in a medium bowl : 

 3/4 cup canned pumpkin 

 1/2 cup brown sugar 

 1/3 cup milk 

 1/4 cup oil 

 1 egg 

 1/2 cup ripe banana (mashed) 

 Step 3: 

Now combine your wet mixture and your dry  ingredients. 

Spoon into greased (or paper lined) muffin cups, filling 2/3 full. 

 Step 4: 

In a small bowl, combine: 

 1/4 cup brown sugar 

 1/4 cup whole rolled oats 

 1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice 

Sprinkle on muffin batter. 

 Step 5: 

Bake at 375° for 20-24 minutes. Makes 12 muffins. 

These are super yummy while still warm!

Favorite Bars

This recipe stirs up memories for my family.  These yummy

bars are a recipe from my dad's mom, Connie.  Even

though I never had the chance to meet her....I do know she was

an awesome cook and baker!  Thanks Grandma Wagner!  Love you!

INGREDIENTS

1 CUP PEANUT BUTTER

1 CUP CHOCOLATE CHIPS

2/3 CUP BUTTER

3 CUPS QUICK OATS

1 CUP BROWN SUGAR

SUPPLIES

MEASURING CUP

MEDIUM SIZE BOWL

SPATULA

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees

ADD

 3 c. quick oats

1 c. brown sugar

2/3 c. melted butter 

Mix all 3 ingredients together

 in medium size bowl.

Press the mixture to the bottom of a 9x13 pan.

Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven

After the 15 minutes are up, get one cup of chocolate chips.

Add 1 cup of peanut butter

 to the chocolate chips.

Put in the microwave for 1 to 2 minutes.

Mix every 30 seconds.

  Then, spread the chocolate mixture over the bars.

Put it in the fridge to cool.  Enjoy!



Vegetable Beef Soup

On a chilly fall day like yesterday, I always appreciate a good bowl of hot soup. However, I don't make soup often. Mostly because Tony isn't a big fan of it, but also because, unless I'm following a recipe, I don't know how. Yes, I know that's weird. What girl from a family of 11 kids doesn't know how to make a basic soup with her eyes closed?  

I've made the loaded baked potato soup, as well as a tomato basil (both with recipes!), but I'm not like my mother who can just dump things in a pot and make amazing soup every time. I wish I could, but making soup is one of the many things that doesn't come naturally for me.

A few weeks ago, my sister-in-law made a vegetable, beef & barley soup that was delicious. So, when I was craving soup this weekend, I decided to make vegetable beef. It's a very simple soup, but I figured I would post it anyway. Maybe it will be useful for someone else that has soup making impairments like me. :)

Ingredients

1 lb. beef, cubed

4 large carrots, diced

4-6 stalks of celery, diced

1 onion, diced

3-5 garlic cloves, minced

2-3 large potatoes, diced

32 oz. beef stock

salt & pepper, to taste

additional seasonings to taste, optional

Directions

Season beef with salt & pepper, then saute in a large pan.

While the beef is sauteing, mix carrots, celery, garlic, onion, salt & pepper in a large pot on medium heat for about 10 minutes.

Add potatoes and another pinch salt & pepper. 

Continue sauteing for 5-10 more minutes. (It may stick to the bottom.)

Add a little beef stock and scrape the browned bits off the bottom of the pot.

Pour in remaining beef stock and the cooked beef.

Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat to keep it simmering.

Let simmer at least 30 minutes, or until vegetables are cooked thoroughly.

*Just a tip: a simple soup tastes awesome when served with some good old fashioned "church bread"! :)

(Directions with Photos)

Season beef with salt & pepper, then saute in a large pan.

While the beef is sauteing, mix carrots, celery, garlic, onion, salt & pepper in a large pot on medium heat for about 10 minutes.

(If you noticed, I don't have any onion in there. Totally forgot about it....not sure how I managed that. Like I said- I have soup-making difficulties.)

 Add potatoes and another pinch salt & pepper. 

Continue sauteing for 5-10 more minutes. 

(It may stick to the bottom like in this picture.)

Add a little beef stock and scrape the browned bits off the bottom of the pot.

Pour in remaining beef stock and the cooked beef.

Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat to keep it simmering.

Let simmer atleast 30 minutes, or until vegetables are cooked thoroughly.

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If you're in a "soup-making" mood, try the Loaded Baked Potato Soup next!

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