Ham and Beans

Just take a look at that plate full of delicious goodness that I just had for lunch. Albeit leftover, it was just as tasty as it was last night. Ham and beans rank right up behind fried chicken and mashed potatoes with milk gravy (sorry, but milk gravy is my weakness...). When the mood for beans strikes, this is my go-to. It took a bit of trial and error to find the absolute perfect version of this, but it at last has been perfected.

This meal is a meal that takes more than one day to prepare. First, you have to slow cook a ham. I like the shank portion for the fat that makes the drippings. Without it, this recipe will not be the same. I stick mine in the crock pot if it will fit, or in the oven in a covered roasting pan. Have the ham as a meal that night and cut the leftovers into good sized chunks as they will cook apart later on. If you're not going to fix ham and beans right away, freeze the meat. Take the drippings and pour them into a large bowl or some empty glass jars and either freeze or refrigerate.

The day before you make this, soak the beans overnight in cold water. I use Great Northern beans. The next morning, drain the beans and put them in an empty crock pot. Thaw the drippings and add them. If more water is needed, add some. Salt generously. Cook on low 8 hours. About halfway through, add the ham.

This is best enjoyed slathered in mustard (in my opinion) with fried potatoes, corn bread and cinnamon apples.

I know I"ve been a bit quiet lately. I'm in a cooking rut and find myself preparing the same things over and over again. But I do have some fun Christmas goodies to share that will make you very happy!

Cookies!

For the sake of Halloween, I'm bringing back this post from last October. I'll be making these guys tomorrow for Preston's class party on Thursday. We're doing bats and pumpkins this year!

Kids love cookies! It's hard sometimes going places and seeing all of the really neat iced sugar cookies and having to tell your allergic child that they're not safe to eat. But these tasty little treats are safe, and they're easy to make!

Sugar Cookies

1/2 c. shortening

1/2 t. salt

1 c. sugar

1 egg

2 T. rice milk

2 c. flour

1 t. baking pwder

1/2 t baking soda

1. Blend together shortening, salt, and sugar in mixer. Add in egg and milk, mixing well. Mix in flour baking powder and soda. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate.

2. Roll dough to 1/4 inch thickness and cut with cookie cutters. Bake for 6 minutes at 400 degrees.

Frosting

1 c shortening

5 T water

1 t. vanilla

dash salt

1 pound powdered sugar.

1. Mix together water, salt, and vanilla. In mixer, cream shortening. Slowly add powdered sugar, alternating between sugar and water mixture until all is added and blended. Add desired coloring.

Book it

If you have school-age children, you're probably familiar with the BOOK IT program. It's a reading program through the schools where children earn prize for reading books each month. The prize... a coupon for a free Pizza Hut personal pan pizza. A great prize for kids who can eat pizza, but for kids with dairy allergies, it's anything but a prize.

Preston's class is doing Book it, and he's less than thrilled. He can't use the prize, and he feels left out- and I can't blame him! This is making him not want to participate in the program, something I'm torn about. Do I make him do it for the sake of reading and him be grouchy about the prize, or do we just not do it- it's not like we don't read tons of books anyway.

Today, I contacted Book It via email and told them exactly how I felt about their encentive. They need to have an alternative prize for children who can't have dairy- something that they can be excited about, too! I know they have a deal with Pizza Hut, but they should still find some other something for our kids. Here is Book It's contact page. Please take a few minutes to email them or call them to let them know that there needs to be an alternative. Our kids already have to go to school and feel different because they don't have the same treats or lunches as the rest of their friends, they don't need something else to make them feel different.

Chicken and Rice

I found this recipe in a cookbook, made it a few times, and just didn't love it. I was hungry for chicken and rice last week, so I decided to try again, and tweaked it to perfection (at least for my taste). It was delicious! Frying the chicken before adding it to the rice gives it so much more flavor, and the rice cooks up to such sticky softness. Ahhh. And I apologize for 2 recipes in a row with no pictures!

Chicken and Rice

boneless, skinless chicken breasts
flour
2 T. olive oil
1 1/2 c. white rice
2 1/3 c. water
1 c. rice milk
2 chicken bouillon cubes

1. Take desired amount of chicken breasts and dredge them in flour. Heat oil in skillet and fry until both sides are brown.
2. In a 9x13 baking dish, combine rice, water, milk and bouillon cubes. Tip! I take a small amount of the water and boil it in the microwave to dissolve the bouillon faster.
3. Top rice mixture with chicken, cover loosely with foil and bake at 350 for 55 minutes.

Enjoy!

Cinnamon Apples

Our scrappy little apple tree surprised us this year with apples for the very first time. They were small and the skins were spotty, but they were the tastiest apples I've ever had. They were green and very firm like a Granny Smith, but were sweet. I decided to make some cinnamon apples from them using my Crock Pot, which I absolutely love. If you like Cracker Barrel's fried apples, you'll enjoy these!

Cinnamon Apples:

6 Granny Smith apples
6 T. dairy-free margarine
2 T. flour
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. sugar
cinnamon

1. Peel and slice apples to desired thickness and place in crock pot. Cut margarine into small pieces over apples and add remaining ingredients. Cook on low 3 hours.

With the cinnamon, add as much or as little as you like.

Enjoy!

Apple Crisp

Fall is just around the corner. The air is cooler, leaves are starting to fall, and I refuse to put on another pair of shorts. Ha! As much as I LOVE to grill, it's always nice when the season changes and I can start making more warm comfort foods. Today was my Granny's birthday, so I decided to surprise her with an apple crisp, using her recipe. I also made us one while I was at it. Please note that the above picture is NOT my crisp, although I sure wish it was! Mine wasn't pretty enough to be picture-worthy, but I can tell you that there is only one more helping of it in the pan, and it was made this morning.

Apple Crisp

6-8 apples, peeled and sliced thickly
1/4 c. water
2 T. cinnamon

topping:
1 stick melted dairy-free margarine
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 c. flour

Slice apples and place in a deep baking dish. Mix water and cinnamon and pour over apples, stirring to coat. Mix topping ingredients and using your hands, crumble over the top of apples. Bake 1 hour at 350 or until golden brown.

Meatloaf

Photo courtesy of FoodNetwork

Kids are notorious for not liking meatloaf (mine included), but growing up, I loved meatloaf, as long as it was my mom's. In fact, I have never even tried any other meatloaf, nor no I ever plan to. I stick with what I know is good! What makes this meatloaf so good? It's the delightful glaze on top. It is sweet, sticky, and not at all ketchup-y, and it is nothing short of magnificent! Like a good frosting on a cake- it's the best part!

Meatloaf

2 pounds ground beef
2 eggs
1 cup oats
1/2 cup ketchup

Glaze
1/2 cup ketchup
3 T. brown sugar.

In a large bowl, mix meat, eggs, oats and ketchup until well combined. Place in loaf pan. Mix glaze ingredients together and pour over meat, covering well. Bake 1 hour until done.

And I can't tell you how many times I typed oars instead of oats. THAT would be lovely...

This recipe makes a lot, more than what our family of four will eat. I usually divide it between two loaf pans and freeze one (without glaze) and cook the other.

Enjoy!

Corn Fritters

Last summer when we vacationed in Gatlinburg, TN, we had a fantastic dinner at The Old Mill in Pigeon Forge. The food there was nothing short of fantastic! It was served family-style, and along with an enormous main entree, you got salad, soup, mashed potatoes, green beans, desert, and the best of all... corn fritters. They were like little fried balls of heaven and they were just fantastic! A while back, I went to their site looking to buy the mix and found something even better... the recipe! This allowed me to tweak it to fit our needs and to be dairy-free.

I made these tonight and they were just as fabulously delicious as I remember! Granted, they weren't as pretty, but they were absolutely delish! Preston came into the kitchen as I was cooking them because he thought he smelled waffles. When he saw them, his face lit up. It took him only seconds to realize that these were a cross between his two favorite foods- doughnuts and corn bread! He loved them until we sat down to dinner and he realized that there was actual corn in them... Darn! He and I did eat several before dinner even began. They are that good! I remember they were still super yummy the next day last summer, so I plan to enjoy them again for lunch tomorrow. Mmmmmmmmm!

Corn Fritters!
1/2 cup bread flour
1/2 cup self-rising flour
2 tbs rice milk
1 tbs melted dairy-free margarine
1/4 cup frozen cream style corn
2 tbs sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp. baking powder

Mix all ingredients and drop into hot grease by spoonful. Fry to a golden brown.

Now, copying this recipe directly from their site, I realized that I wrote it down wrong and instead of a 1/4 c. of creamed corn, I used a whole can! No wonder it was runny batter! They still turned out deliciously!

Refrigerator Pickles

These are a summer staple. I love cucumbers and all different ways to fix them. This is my Granny's recipe that I grew up with. Back when I was pregnant with Preston, I craved anything with vinegar- mustard, pickles, and well, vinegar. Being summer, there was an abundance of cukes at Granny and Pa's, so they shipped me home with a ton of them. I was in full-on nesting at that time and felt an overwhelming urge to stock our freezer and pantry. So I had this wild idea to can pickles. I had never canned before, and had no canning supplies. I made them up (a whole gob of them), and canned them in a large cooking pot. They looked good, and they all sealed, but I was way too terrified to ever eat any of them. They sat until we moved 4 years later before I dumped them. Food poisoning scared me to death- and that was before I got salmonella! Anyway...

Refrigerator pickles

Cucumbers sliced thinly
salt
1 c. sugar
1 c. water
1/2 c. vinegar

Boil together sugar, water and vinegar until sugar dissolves. Set aside until cool.

Slice cucumbers and put into a large bowl of water with a generous amount of salt (I just dump until I think it's enough) and let sit for 1 hour. Drain and pour the "brine" over the cukes. Refrigerate a few hours before eating, but they're best if they wait overnight.

Blackberry Freezer Jam

Now this is how you make jam! No cooking and no canning! It used up some of the blackberries that we have running out our ears. For this super easy recipe, you'll need:

3 cups crushed blackberries
5 1/4 c. sugar
1 box powdered fruit pectin
3/4 c. water
Mash berries until you have enough for 3 cups (not 3 cups whole berries). Add all of the sugar, stir, and wait 10 minutes. Mix pectin and water together and pour into berries. Stir a few minutes and...

You have made blackberry freezer jam! Pour the jam into sterilized jars or freezer containers and let sit at room temperature for 24 hours until set, then send them on their way to the freezer! This recipe made enough for 3 jelly jars and two larger jars.

I'll be making a yummy blackberry cobbler this weekend for a cookout, so be sure to check it out once I get pics of it! Seriously, we pick a whole cool whip container or more full every other day, so I'm trying to find different ways to use them up- unfortunately, no one seems to want to take just the berries.

Grilling!

Today is Show Us Your Life over at Kelly's Korner and the theme is grilling recipes! I love grilling! In fact, when we bought this house, I insisted on a Jenn-Air range with a built-in grill. Best investment ever! I can grill rain or shine or in a foot of snow and never leave the kitchen! Here are a few of my favorite grilling recipes, and I apologize for no pictures- I can't wait to eat to take a picture!

Favorite kabobs

Marinade:
1/2 c. vegetable oil
1/3 c. lemon juice
1/3 c. Worcestershire sauce
1/4 c. vinegar
1/4 c. soy sauce
3T. mustard
2 garlic cloves, minced

Kabobs:
chicken breasts
cherry tomatoes
new potatoes
green pepper

Mix all marinade ingredients together and divide in half. Cut chicken breasts into small chunks and add to half of marinade. Cook potatoes until tender. Cut pepper into chunks. Add all veggies into a bowl with the rest of marinade. Refrigerate for several hours. Skewer and grill until chicken is done. Sorry, I don't have a time, I just check it.

Summer Chicken

Chicken breasts
1/3 c. olive oil
1/4 c. balsalmic vinegar
1 t. dijon mustard
3 cloves crushed garlic
1/2 t. seasoning salt

Combine all ingredients and marinate chicken overnight. Grill until chicken is done. Delish!

Never fear!

You know what? I have tons of new summer recipes that I haven't put on here. I'm lazy, what can I say? I rarely have the camera up when I'm cooking. I hate to go all the way downstairs to get it. And when dinner's ready, I'm ready to eat, not take pictures of my food! But today I just happened to have the camera in the kitchen as I was making blackberry jam, and captured that and my refrigerator pickles. As soon as I get the urge to hook the camera up to the USB cable (that btw, is sitting right next to me) I'll post them... complete with pictures!

Fried Zucchini

Mmmmmm! This has got to be one of my favorite summer treats! Fried zucchini! Granny sent home a zucchini from their garden Sunday and we had these yummy guys for dinner last night. Well, I did. No one else ate them. And if I hadn't used all of my shortening to fry these, I would have had them for lunch again today.

Fried Zucchini

1 zucchini, thinly sliced
flour
corn meal
rice milk
shortening

Slice zucchini into desired thickness (I like mine potato chip thin) and place in a bowl of rice milk. Mix flour and corn meal together on a plate or a plastic bag. I don't measure amounts, it's just what you like. Dredge sliced zucchini in flour and corn meal. Heat shortening in a skillet over medium heat, or use a deep fryer. Fry zucchini slices until golden brown. Drain on a paper towel and salt immediately.

Enjoy these tasty things- I know I am!

Strawberry Fields Salad

Yes, I'm a huge Beatles fan, but no, I did not name this salad. It's my take on a salad from TGI Fridays. I remember seeing it on the menu, but did not order it, being that I'm not a big salad for a meal type person. But I did adapt it for a quick side and I love it! In fact, we had it tonight with dinner. No, I didn't take a picture because really, it didn't look too exciting, but it was yummy!

Strawberry Fields Salad

Torn Romaine lettuce
4-5 strawberries
2T balsalmic vinegar
Italian dressing

Slice strawberries in a bowl and toss with balsalmic vinegar. Let sit 15 minutes. Tear lettuce into a large bowl. Add desired amount of Italian dressing to suit, top with strawberries and toss.

Simple and delicious! The marinated berries sound a little weird at first, but they are SO good! You can use fresh or frozen berries. Fresh ones hold up better than frozen, which tend to be a little mushy after they thaw, but both are equally delicious! It's also fabulous with feta cheese, but since this for non-dairy purposes, we'll refrain from using cheese and pretend I didn't say that.

Enjoy!

It's hard

It's happened again... I've long neglected this poor lowly blog. Truthfully, there's no explanation other than sheer laziness. I could say that I forget which recipes I've blogged about, but I just haven't felt up to it. Sorry!

If you follow my regular blog, you probably know that Kate had a set-back a few weeks ago. I guess I can't correctly call it a set-back, but in reality, she was eating dairy. That was just plain her fault. I can't say that I blame, her though, as she was just testing the waters to see if she really was allergic. I can't imagine how hard this is on her- to go ten years absolutely loving dairy products, and then, in an instant, have them taken away. Despite Preston's allergy, Kate has been allowed to eat dairy. Partly because that was pretty much the only thing she'd eat, and because it was part of a healthy diet. We were extremely cautious when she ate dairy, and mostly, we tried to keep her dairy consumption contained to school. But now that's all different. Now, she's also calling home from school when someone brings in birthday treats. Now, she's toting along her own cake to birthday parties and family gatherings. Now, she's taking her lunch to school everyday and watching her friends eat the foods that she once enjoyed. It's been really difficult for her. So yes, I can see why she wanted to see if she was really allergic. That now eleven year old brain thought that it was a good idea because really, she'd always eaten it before, so why not now?

It's been hard for me, too. In reality, not much is different on the home front because when I cook, nothing has dairy. Food at home really hasn't changed other than her morning cereal and milk. But with her pickiness, it gets difficult finding variety for her lunch box. That, coupled with the fact that she is now a bottomless pit and her hunger can not be satisfied, some days I worry if I'm packing enough (although I know I'm packing more than enough). The opening of the DQ has been hard, too. While PReston has always been content with his Mr. Misty, Kate is longing for her Oreo Blizzard. That means that I feel guilt if I consider getting myself a sundae because I'm eating the ice cream, and she isn't. The DQ will be suffering a bit from us not going so often as in years past- although I admit to leaving early to pick the kids up from school, swinging by the DQ and eating a quick cone before 3:00. I can't deny that this thought is really tempting today...

On a good note, school will be out in 2 weeks and I'll be in complete control of her food habits. No more sneaking food at school for this girl! Her health has improved since her diagnosis and stopping dairy, and it's wonderful. I just wish that she would recognize this and realize how badly she feels when she eats milk.

Beef and noodles

I have this thing about buying store-bought noodles- I don't do it. I make my own. It's easy, it's cheap, and I know exactly what's going into them! Christopher's Grandma Lou makes THE best beef and noodles. Seriously, nothing compares! A few years ago, she gave Jessica and I a noodle making lesson when we went there for Easter lunch. Ever since, I've been a noodle maker!

Homemade Noodles

3 egg yolks and one whole egg
3 T. cold water
1 T. salt
2 c. flour

In a large bowl, mix eggs and water and beat until fluffy. Add salt and flour. Mix well. * You will need to do this with your hands!

Divide dough in half and roll very thinly on a floured surface. The trick is to get them VERY thin because they puff up a lot! Fold the dough into a tube shape and slice thinly. Once cut, toss noodles to make sure that all are unstuck.

This recipe makes a lot of noodles. My beef and noodles recipe only needs half- the other half go into the freezer once they have dried.

Beef and Noodles

Homemade noodles (half of batch)
2 quarts beef broth
pre-cooked roast beef
*See here for details.



Boil the broth and slowly add noodles at full boil. Turn down heat and simmer 45 minutes. If broth gets too low, add a little water. Add roast after 45 minutes and cook another 15 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste!

Smoky Orange BBQ Chicken Sandwiches

I can not take any credit for this tasty meal! I found it over on Randi's recipe blog. It was so easy to make the sauce and I loved the taste! This is anything but mild, and it really packed a punch! I knew Christopher would like it as he's in a hot sauce phase right now and puts it on everything! I did leave it off of the kids' chicken, as I knew it would be too spicy for them, but overall, I'm glad I tried this one! It's a keeper!

Darn that blue jello

Preston loves jello. Loves it! I often make up a batch and pour it into single-serving size containers and pack it in his lunch box. It never fails to be a favorite. So when the school served blue jello at snack time, it was too much to resist. Preston is usually extremely careful about what he eats if it's not given to him by us, or if it's new. I rarely worry about him at school because of how careful he is, and his teacher is cautious as well. Then one day they had blue jello at snack time. Instead of eating his snack, he decided that the blue jello was something that he simply had to have. Well, the blue jello was not the Jell-O brand that is safe. No, it was the Wal-Mart brand that contains traces of milk and peanuts. I pick him up from school and see that his mouth is blue- slightly alarming because I knew that I'd sent nothing blue that day, not because I thought he was oxygen deprived. I asked what he'd eaten, and he told me. I get him home, clean him up, and find that his eczema was flared up in a terrible way. We'd just gotten it under control in the past few days, now it was horribly inflamed again.

WE had to have a little chat after that incident. He already knew that not all jello is OK, but that blue jello was oh, so, tempting to a six year old. I can't blame him, I love jello, too! But I think (at least I hope so) he learned a lesson from it- he hates his eczema flares, especially the ones on his face.

Oh, and beware of lipstick as well! While at Granny and Pa's 2 weeks ago, Preston went upstairs with Granny and decided he wanted to try on her lipstick. Not sure where that one came from... Anyway, his eczema flared up horribly all around his mouth and took over a week to get back under control. Cosmetics companies don't list ingredients, and often times they contain peanut oil and other strange and not-so friendly ingredients. Just be careful!

Tomatoes, Chicken and Rice

I love canned tomatoes! I buy and use more canned tomatoes than almost any other canned good- second only to chicken broth. It's SO much easier than cutting fresh tomatoes, and I think the flavor is much more intense (probably from the salt). Tonight I fixed Tomatoes, Chicken and Rice, a recipe aptly named with tomatoes listed first, as there's many more tomatoes than anything else! But it was delicious!

Tomatoes, Chicken and Rice

1/4 c. Italian dressing
4 boneless chicken breasts, sliced
2 cloves minced garlic
1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 c. water
2 c. instant brown rice

1. Heat dressing in large skillet over med. heat. Add chicken and garlic and cook until no longer pink.

2. Add tomatoes, water and rice. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes or until most of the water is absorbed.

Worcestershire Chicken

Do you have trouble saying that word- Worcestershire? It's one of my favorites, both the word and the sauce! Pronounced, woos-te-shire, it's a tricky word, but a tasty sauce that surprisingly, both kids love! This never lasts long in our house, and it proved to go just as quickly tonight. Darn, no leftovers!

Worcestershire Chicken

Chicken cutlets (as many as desired)
salt
flour
3 T. dairy-free margarine, divided
2 T. olive oil
2 T. worcestershire sauce
1 T. vinegar
1/2 c. chicken broth

Warm oil and 2 T. of margarine in skillet. Dredge the cutlets in flour and sprinkle with salt. Add chicken to skillet and cook until done. Transfer to a plate and keep warm.

Add worcestershire, vinegar and broth to the skillet. Add remaining tablespoon of margarine and bring to a boil, stirring until slightly thickened. Serve over chicken.

My sauce never thickens in the least, but that doesn't stop me from spooning it over my chicken. It's delicious! I always serve it with mashed potatoes and whatever else I feel like. Tonight we had it with mashed potatoes, three bean salad, and homemade French bread. YUM!

And since I know it off the top of my head, I'll throw in my 3 bean salad recipe!

Three bean salad

1 can green beans
1 can wax beans
1 can kidney beans
1 c. vinegar
2/3 c. sugar

Boil sugar and vinegar together and let cool. Drain all beans and place in a bowl. Once vinegar is cool, pour over beans and let sit for at least an hour. YUM!

Fried rice

With the kids at school, there were no hungry wolverines swarming about, so I was able to document the making of my delicious lunch. Consider this a treat!
Fried Rice

2 cups cooked rice, cold 1 large carrot, sliced frozen peas 1T. olive oil 1t. garlic powder 1 egg soy sauce

Heat oil and garlic powder in skillet (please excuse my ugly skillet).

Scramble the egg with the oil until cooked.

Add remaining ingredients and cook over med. high heat for about 10 minutes, stirring often. I never measure. I add as many peas as I like, and enough soy sauce to turn the rice light brown.
You can also add ham to this, but I prefer it without. If you want, you can always beef it up with some milled flax seed! Enjoy!

I'm making yeast bread after the kids get home. Maybe I'll document it!

I get by with a little help from my friends

One of my allies in the kitchen is milled flax seed. It's full of fiber and Omega-3's and is listed as a super food. My children can be picky, and this helps me to feel a little better about what they eat. You can put it in just about anything. I put it in baked goods and they never know. Anytime I use ground meat, I sprinkle a generous helping in before I cook it and no one ever knows. After it's opened, it has to be refrigerated or it will spoil. It's a great thing to have around!

Favorite kabobs

My kids love kabobs. I think they just like eating off of a stick, mainly! But this recipe is an all-over pleaser. There are no complaints when I fix this! I served this with brown rice and roasted tomatoes. I usually marinate cherry tomatoes and skewer them, but plum tomatoes were on sale dirt cheap, so I roasted them and they were so much better!

3 chicken breasts, cubed
6+ red potatoes, halved
green pepper, cut into chunks
cherry tomatoes

1/2 c. vegetable oil
1/3 c. lemon juice
1/3 c worchestershire sauce
1/4 c vinegar
1/4 c soy sauce
3 T. yellow mustard
2 garlic cloves, minced.

1. Half red potatoes and boil until tender. Drain and let cool. Put all vegetables in a bowl. Place all of the cubed chicken into a separate bowl.

2. Whisk all marinade ingredients together and pour half over chicken and the other half over veggies. Let sit for several hours.

3. Skewer chicken and veggies and bake at 400 for about 20 minutes or until chicken is done. Can also be grilled.


Roasted Tomatoes

Plum tomatoes
Olive oil
Kosher salt

1. Cut tomatoes in half length-wise and scoop out the core. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with kosher salt. Roast at 400 until tomatoes are cooked and start to wither.

YUM!

Breakfast for dinner

One of my favorite quick and cheap dinners is breakfast. The kids love to find out we're having pancakes and bacon or waffles for dinner. And really, sometimes it's just nice to have pancakes whenever you feel like it!

The kids went to Grammy and Pa-pa's for a bit tonight, so Christopher and I had breakfast for dinner. Instead of pancakes, though, we had western skillet omelet. Neither of my children will touch eggs, so I save this one for when they're gone!

Western Skillet Omelet

1/2 bag frozen hasbrowns (cube style)
1 t. seasoning salt
1 T. olive oil
1 green pepper diced
1/2 can diced tomatoes
1 green onion, sliced
4 eggs

1. Heat oil in skillet over med. heat. Add half a bag of hashbrowns and seasoning salt. Cook 10 minutes and add peppers, onion and half a can of diced tomatoes (freeze the other half for next time). Cook until hashbrowns are tender. Reduce heat to low. Make four wells in the hashbrowns. Crack one egg into each well. Cover and cook until yolks are set (about 15 minutes).

This is such an easy recipe and one of my favorites- I have leftovers in the fridge for morning! The original recipe calls for fresh tomatoes, but I find that canned diced tomatoes give it a lot more zing and it's so much easier than cutting tomatoes!

Two great sides

Every good meal deserves equally good sides. Tonight, we had humburgers grilled on the stove. We also had seasoned potatoes and noodle rice pilaf. YUM!

Seasoned potatoes

3 medium potatoes
3 T. dairy-free margarine
2 t. lemon pepper seasoning

Slice potatoes into 1/4 inch thick slices. Melt margarine and mix with lemon pepper seasoning. Pour over potatoes and toss to coat. Bake in a single layer at 400 for 20 minutes.


Noodle Rice Pilaf

2 T dairy-free margarine
1/4 cup broken egg noodles
1/2 cup rice
1 1/3 cups chicken broth

In a saucepan, melt butter and brown noodles and rice until golden brown. Add broth. Return to a boil and reduce heat to low. Cover and cook 15 minutes or until liquid is absorbed.

Tonight's meal was a yummy one!

Long neglected

It's been a while since I've been here! A month, to be exact! It's hard enough keeping up with one blog, let alone two! I promise to keep this more up to date!

In the past month, we've found out that dairy was the cause of Kate's GI issues. After an ultrasound of her gallbladder, we were able to rule that out. Two weeks of pepcid after that helped pave the way. Now Dr. B has her completely dairy-free and she's doing great! She hasn't had one single GI upset since we took her off of dairy. Before that, she was getting sick every 2-3 days. YUCK! She's slowly getting used to not having her cheese. She's decided that she likes rice milk on her cereal, so that's a big plus! Her daily cheese "fix" in her lunchbox and milk on her cereal were really her only dairy consumption, so here at home, it hasn't been that big of a lifestyle change. Preston had requested dairy-free chocolate for Christmas from Santa, and he followed through, bringing both of them chocolate Santas. Kate was over the moon (she loves chocolate) to get to eat chocolate again. Preston didn't care for it because it tasted like his dairy-free chocolate chips that he happens to like. ???

We made it through all of Christmas with plenty of goodies. The kids made sugar cookie cutouts and I turned them loose with the piping bags. They loved it! We also made marshmallows and they were delicious! They had to be rolled in sugar because they were so sticky, and they kicked the crud out of Peeps! I bet they'd make some awesome s'mores! They're definitely something we'll make again!