Yummy Hamburgers

Please note: This is not a picture of my hamburger - it just looked really good!

I love that J loves to BBQ and he does it so well. Any chance we get we will fire up the grill. This is my favorite recipe for hamburgers.

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg
1 tablespoon ketchup
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 pound ground beef
1 envelope of Lipton Onion Soup Mix
6 hamburger buns, split

In a large bowl, mix together the Cheddar cheese, Parmesan cheese, onion soup mix, egg, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper. Crumble in the ground beef, and mix together by hand. Form into 6 patties.

Place patties on the grill, and cook for 5 minutes per side, or until well done.

Weekend Wrap Up

Friday night
Lately we have been going to the movies on Friday nights but this week not too much was out (that was kid friendly) so we just stayed in, rented movies and enjoyed our microwave popcorn.

Saturday

It was a very early game for Buddy. His basketball coaches are frustrating the heck out of me! Look at the score - you'll know why. J takes him to practice and says they really don't do a lot of drills - basically just shooting. Our poor boys were having the ball stolen from them left and right! Poor Buddy - but he still loved it.

Buddy and I decided we were going to check out Game Stop to see if they had anything new for the Wii. We both were excited they had Guitar Hero for the Wii in stock. $89.99. He had $65 left over from his Christmas money. I suggested we go home and go through his older GameCube games and trade them in. So home we went and he found about 12 games he no longer played. After a quick lunch we headed to the mall and traded them in. He got $73! Woo Hoo. I paid the extra and we are now owners of Guitar Hero (a.k.a the best video game ever invented). I frickin love that game!

While at the mall I stopped into Forever 21. My new favorite blog is My Super Sweet Fashion Diary. She keeps an on-line diary of her fashionable outfits. I'm not good at putting outfits together - I have to see it and then copy. She's got a knack, a talent and I'm constantly thinking while I'm shopping - what would mssfd wear? I stopped in really quick (Buddy was itching to get home to play his new game) so I quickly found a couple things and headed home. One of which I liked the other - I'm taking back.

I thought this would be cute paired with some tights.

Front


BackI have been wanting to use my new KitchenAid. I cheated a bit with this cake but add orange zest and made a yummy orange glaze for the top. It was so good. Trader Joe's Vanilla cake is quick, easy and not really sweet.

Sunday

We went to church and then I spent the rest of the day cleaning and watching football. Poor Peyton and Romo. I was happy for the Chargers though and for Brett!

Last night I made some yummy Cheesy Garlic Biscuits with chicken and broccoli. So good!!!

Cranberry White Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

I found this recipe recently on a couple food blogs and had them on top of my "must tries". These were the absolute best cookies ever!!! Everyone loved them!
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Ingredients
3 eggs, well beaten
1 cup dried cranberries *Next time I will increase this to 1 1/2 cup dried cranberries
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 ½ cup flour
½ tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp. baking soda
2 cups oatmeal
1 cup white chocolate chips *Next time I will decrease to 1/2 cup*
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine eggs, dried cranberries and vanilla and let stand for 1 hour, covered with plastic wrap.
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Cream together butter and sugars. Add flour, salt, cinnamon and soda to sugar mixture. Mix well. Blend in egg-cranberry mixture and oatmeal. Dough will be stiff. Fold in the white chocolate chips.
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Drop by heaping teaspoonfuls onto un-greased cookie sheet or roll in small balls and flatten slightly on cookie sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned.Yield - about 6 dozen cookies.

The BEST Chocolate Chip Cookies

I have been in the mood to make home made chocolate chip cookies. My family is so used to the "break and bake" they were all amazed when I broke out the mixer for cookies. "Mom, you are making home made cookies???" I've had my eye on this recipe from this blog and this blog for a couple days. So I was excited to try them. They did not disappoint!

Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

adapted from America's Test Kitchen

2 cups plus 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
12 Tbsp (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted & cooled until warm
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg plus 1 yolk
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325°. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Whisk dry ingredients together; set aside.With electric mixer, or by hand, mix butter & sugars until thoroughly combined.

Beat in egg, yolk and vanilla until combined. Add dry ingredients & beat at low speed just until combined. Stir in chips.

Roll scant 1/2 cup dough into ball (I cute this in half for my second batch). Holding dough ball in fingertips of both hands, pull into 2 equal halves. Rotate halves 90 degrees and, with jagged surfaces facing up, place formed dough onto cookie sheet, leaving ample room between each ball.

Bake, reversing position of cookie sheets halfway through baking, until cookies are light golden brown and outer edges start to harden yet centers are still soft & puffy. *This took about 15 minutes in MY oven but start at 10 minutes and check from there. Do NOT over bake!

Cool cookies on sheets until able to lift without breaking and place on wire rack to cool.

A cold glass of milk + one of these cookies = Yummy Goodness!

Yummy Spinach Dip

Yesterday our office had a potluck and a co-worker brought in the BEST spinach dip. I'm usually not a huge fan of spinach dip but this one had me going back for seconds and thirds. The recipe is very easy

1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1 (16 ounce) container sour cream
1 envelope Mrs. Grass dry vegetable soup mix **this is what makes it so yummy**
1 (8 ounce) can water chestnuts, drained and chopped

In a medium bowl, mix together spinach, sour cream, dry vegetable soup mix, and water chestnuts. Cover and chill in the refrigerator approximately 2 hours before serving.

**This is the secret in the mix...**

Weekend Update

The weekend was a good one - a few activities + a lot of rest = happy Missy. I was still recovering from this stupid cough/cold and the lack of anything to do was great! Saturday morning was of course soccer. The Green Extreme was able to add another Win to it's total and Buddy was able to add another goal to his. It was an exciting game!

After the game we went to my friend D's for little D's birthday. She's turning 7 - unbelievable. I was blessed to be in the room with she was born and now I can't believe she's already 7. She is a cutie and quite the performer. It was a great birthday party complete with a magician and cupcakes from Leda's Yum!!!!! I was in heaven with the Velvet cupcake.
Earlier Buddy picked out little D's gift - a webkinz. If you have children, I'm sure you know what these are. They are adorable stuffed animals that Webkinz come with a unique Secret Code. With it, you enter Webkinz World where you care for your virtual pet, answer trivia, earn KinzCash, and play the best kids games on the net! I thought they were so cute I let Buddy get one also. He played for hours on the computer taking care of his black lab "Jackson".

Sunday morning I had the craving for a big omelet. I had found this recipe during the week and was dying to try to make it. It was awesome!!!!

The rest of the day was spent doing chores around the house. J and I were able to actually have an impromptu dinner together - just the two of us at a new place in Ventura Harbor Village - Brophy Bros. Restaurant & Clam Bar. They are known for their fish & chips and clam chowder. It was delicious!!!

Our view from the bar

That was the weekend. Not too much but just enough!!!

Garlic Spaghetti

I can say no to cookies, cakes, brownies, etc. but I can not say no to pasta. I love it in every size, shape or form. My all time favorite recipe is so simple but so delicious.

Garlic Spaghetti

1 (16 ounce) package spaghetti
10 cloves garlic, minced

Sun dried tomatoes
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Cook spaghetti according to package directions.

Meanwhile, in a skillet over low heat, cook garlic and sun dried tomatoes in oil until garlic lightly browned. Remove from the heat; stir in parsley, salt and pepper. Drain spaghetti; place in a large bowl. Add garlic mixture and Parmesan cheese; toss to coat.

Enjoy!

Taco Soup - One of my Favorites!

2 pounds lean ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 (15 ounce) can pinto beans
1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans

1 (15 ounce) can black beans

1 (1.25 ounce) package taco seasoning mix
1 cup water
1 (1 ounce) package ranch dressing mix
1 (14.5 ounce) can stewed tomatoes

DIRECTIONS
In a large Dutch oven, brown the beef and chopped onion over medium heat. Drain off any fat.
Add chilies, salt and pepper, beans, water, seasoning mixes, and stewed tomatoes to the beef and onion. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer for 30 minutes.
Top with shredded cheese, and serve with chips.

Weekend in Review

You can definitely tell we are entering into Fall. There is a chill in the air - not much - but just enough to sense we are in October. I love the change, although it's not a huge change. October and March are my two favorite months.

Friday - we went to see the Disney movie "Game Plan" with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. Surprisingly it was a really cute movie. The plot is basically an NFL quarterback living the bachelor lifestyle discovers that he has a 8-year-old daughter from a previous relationship. Dwayne Johnson is handsome as ever and the little girl that plays his daughter is adorable. She is very very cute in this movie. I truly enjoyed it. Family, The Rock, popcorn and M&Ms - can't get much better than that!

Saturday - Buddy's soccer game was not until 11:45 - a nice change from the 8:00 games. We were able to sleep in a bit (I'm not one that can sleep in so 8:00 is sleeping in for me). Was able to get a head start on my cleaning. Daughter and I walked Duncan to Simone's and enjoyed our little time together. I had my usual non-fat, sugar free Vanilla Latte and she just had a peppermint tea. Both were yummy!

I have been wanting to put up my Halloween decorations so J was a dear and rearranged the garage to get to the boxes. Note to self: Halloween comes before Christmas. Remember this next year when putting away the Christmas decorations....

Off to the game! Yay for Green Extreme! Another win and another goal for Buddy!!! The boys have worked so hard and are playing so well together. After the game we went to lunch at Mimi's cafe. Last time we went it was so good. This time it was meh - the food took a long to arrive and when it did the Blackened Chicken Caesar salad that was so good last time was awful. Too much dressing and as daughter described it - it tasted like pickle juice. As much as we love the zucchini bread and muffins - I think we will think twice about going there for a while.

Mimi's is right by the Pacific View mall so we headed over there a bit. Keeping with Sister's promise of $10 a goal Buddy quickly had a pocket that was burning with the cash! Nothing caught either of our eyes so we just headed home.

I have been craving a good Margarita for quite some time. So I finally busted out and made a couple.

Recipe - Beer Margarita

1 (12 fluid ounce) can frozen limeade concentrate
12 fluid ounces tequila
12 fluid ounces water
12 fluid ounces beer
ice
1 lime, cut into wedges

DIRECTIONS
Pour limeade, tequila, water, and beer into a large pitcher. Stir until well-blended, and limeade has melted. Add plenty of ice, and garnish with lime wedges. Adjust with additional water, if needed.

I thought they were pretty good. My craving continued into Sunday - but this time I just made them with the Cuervo Margarita mix. I actually liked this one best. Not as sweet as the limeade mixture. But both were yummy!!!

It turned out to be a home improvement weekend.
A couple trips to Lowe's and we now have

New Kitchen Faucet (Saturday's project)

New Front Door (Sunday's project)

Sunday - Home improvement continued. And football was on all day. I don't know if it was the weather or what but I had zero energy and really just wanted to relax. But that is so not my nature that it's almost more non-relaxing to do nothing than to actually get up and do something. The grocery store had been on my list of things to do all weekend so I finally tackled it. I don't mind grocery shopping at all. I picked up some wonderful T-bone steaks for J to bbq. They were very good - I marinaded them in a mixture of soy sauce, teriyaki, Worcestershire sauce, steak sauce, garlic salt and a little olive oil. Yum!

I enjoyed my Cuervo mix small margarita, Extreme Makeover Home edition (this one was not as good as the others and I didn't even shed a tear which is rare for me) and by that time I could not keep my eyes open. So sad to miss Housewives but thank goodness for DVR!!!!
Thank was our weekend in a nutshell

Creamy Rice Pudding

So Yummy!

INGREDIENTS
3/4 cup uncooked white rice
2 cups milk, divided
1/3 cup white sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten
2/3 cup golden raisins
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS
In a medium saucepan, bring 1 1/2 cups water to a boil. Add rice and stir. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
In another saucepan, combine 1 1/2 cups cooked rice, 1 1/2 cups milk, sugar and salt. Cook over medium heat until thick and creamy, 15 to 20 minutes. Stir in remaining 1/2 cup milk, beaten egg and raisins. Cook 2 minutes more, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, and stir in butter and vanilla. Serve warm.

Awesome Slow Cooker Pot Roast

During the colder times of the year I love to use my crock pot. This is my all time favorite crock pot recipe. Very easy and very yummy!!!

INGREDIENTS
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup

1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of celery soup

1 (10.75 ounce) can of beef broth
1 (1 ounce) package dry onion soup mix
1/2 cups water
5 1/2 pounds pot roast

Carrots, celery onions

DIRECTIONS
In a slow cooker, mix cream of mushroom soup, dry onion soup mix and water. Place vegetables on the bottom and add pot roast in slow cooker and coat with soup mixture.
Cook on High setting for 3 to 4 hours, or on Low setting for 8 to 9 hours.

Cheesy Baked Ziti

This is a new favorite in my house - it's cheesy yummy goodness!!!

INGREDIENTS
1 (16 ounce) package ziti pasta
24 ounces ricotta cheese
1 pound shredded mozzarella cheese
1 egg, beaten
1 (32 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add ziti and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain and rinse.
In a medium bowl, mix ziti, ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, egg and 1 1/2 cups spaghetti sauce.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish and spoon in ziti mixture. Top with remaining spaghetti sauce, followed by Parmesan cheese.
Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes; let stand for 15 minutes before serving.

**I sometimes add cooked ground beef or Italian sausage in the spaghetti sauce**

Kitchen Items I love!!!

I dream of having a big kitchen where I have lots of counter space and even more cabinet space to store all of my kitchen appliances, cookware and gadgets (the ones I have and the ones I want). On my list of favorite gadgets I have are:


On the top of my list is my all time favorite is Wolfgang Puck Immersion Blender and Chopper. I love this appliance. I use it all the time. Chopping, blending, whipping, everything. I love it!

I love my hand held Cheese Grater from Ikea - It's a cheese grater and a food saver all in one. Very simple but I use it all the time.

My Apple Wedger from Pampered Chef - again very simple but use this all the time. It's the easiest way to cut apples and core them at the same time.

One of my favorite pans is the Kitchen Essentials® from Calphalon - my brother got me this last year for Christmas and I use it almost everyday.

The kitchen items I want

For our wedding we received a gift certificate for Pampered Chef. I have the order coming so until I have them and can use them they will be under my want list. I've always been interested the the Stoneware from PC and have heard great things. I'm excited to get my bar pan. A definite want has always been a Kitchen Aid mixer. I have watched friends make cookies, mashed potatoes, dough using theirs. I've literally drooled not over what they were making but the mixer itself.

I have so many more I could list - I'm getting depressed thinking of everything I want. Click here for a better idea of what other kitchen gadgets I want.

Good 'Ole Comfort Food

Twice Baked Potatoes

INGREDIENTS
4 large baking potatoes
8 slices bacon (optional)
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup milk
4 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese, divided
8 green onions, sliced, divided

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Bake potatoes in preheated oven for 1 hour.
Meanwhile, place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble and set aside.
When potatoes are done allow them to cool for 10 minutes. Slice potatoes in half lengthwise and scoop the flesh into a large bowl; save skins. To the potato flesh add sour cream, milk, butter, salt, pepper, 1/2 cup cheese and 1/2 the green onions. Mix with a hand mixer until well blended and creamy. Spoon the mixture into the potato skins. Top each with remaining cheese, green onions and bacon.
Bake for another 15 minutes.

These are an absolute favorite in my house. A bit time consuming but worth it!!!!

Yummy Wine Sauce!!!!

I made this last night and it was wonderfully creamy and tasty. I only used the wine sauce portion of the recipe with chicken breasts (not with Swiss cheese or ham) and served with rice. It was very tasty!


Cordon Bleu

INGREDIENTS
6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
6 slices Swiss cheese
6 slices ham
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon paprika
6 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 teaspoon chicken bouillon granules
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 cup heavy whipping cream

DIRECTIONS
Pound chicken breasts if they are too thick. Place a cheese and ham slice on each breast within 1/2 inch of the edges. Fold the edges of the chicken over the filling, and secure with toothpicks. Mix the flour and paprika in a small bowl, and coat the chicken pieces.
Heat the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat, and cook the chicken until browned on all sides. Add the wine and bouillon. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes, until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear.
Remove the toothpicks, and transfer the breasts to a warm platter. Blend the cornstarch with the cream in a small bowl, and whisk slowly into the skillet. Cook, stirring until thickened, and pour over the chicken. Serve warm.

**'Cordon Bleu' is a French term, literally translated as 'blue ribbon', that originally referred to an award for culinary excellence given to women cooks**

Recipe Thursday

Today is Thursday - after the Labor Day weekend so I thought I'd share my favorite recipe ever for ribs. These ribs are the absolute best. I recommend making extra sauce and having a ton of napkins!!!

INGREDIENTS
2 pounds pork spareribs
3 cups ketchup
1 cup barbecue sauce
1 cup brown sugar
2 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 dash hot pepper sauce, or to taste
3 tablespoons steak sauce, (e.g. Heinz 57)
2 cloves garlic, minced

DIRECTIONS
Place the ribs in a large stock pot with enough water to cover. Bring the water to a boil and cook over medium-high heat for 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
In medium saucepan, combine ketchup, barbeque sauce, brown sugar, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, hot pepper sauce, steak sauce and garlic; blend well. Cook the sauce over medium heat for approximately 20 minutes. (Please note that the above ingredients are all to taste. Use more or less of anything you like. I never make the ribs the same way twice!)
Cut the ribs between the bones and place in a baking pan. Pour sauce over ribs, cover and cook for 30 minutes. Remove foil and continue cooking for an additional 30 minutes.

Enjoy!!!! Yum!!