Things to Make: Mardi Gras Treats - Revisited!

Looking for something yummy to share with your family for Mardi Gras?  Check out these YUMMMMMMY Beignets!  You won't be sorry!

Things to Make: Beignets!

I whipped some up for the family yesterday...and there's nary a beignet left in sight!

Happy Fat Tuesday! :)

Pinterest Inspiration: Crockpot Chicken Cacciatore

As most of you know, I'm in love with my Crockpot.  As a mother of five ravenous children...and caretaker of one even more ravenous husband...The Crockpot is a savior in my kitchen.  Life is busy...and slowcooker meals take some of the edge off! ;)

But I don't want to just make the same things over and over, so I'm constantly looking for new recipes to try out!

So for today's

I chose this:

Crockpot Chicken Cacciatore by A Little Nosh

And here's how mine came out:

My family LOVED this recipe.  Seriously.  Even my picky five-year-old proclaimed this to be great...and even cleaned her plate!  I will definitely be making this again!  Woot!

The only changes I made for this recipe were omitting the red wine (since we don't have wine in our house...which probably affected the color of the final dish somewhat), and leaving out the mushrooms..because we didn't have any on hand.  (And although I think the mushrooms would have been great in this, I didn't miss them...and I'm sure Miss Picky was much happier with the lack of mushrooms!)  I also doubled the amount of vegetables I added...'cause we have a big family!

If you're looking for something yummy and simple, give this recipe a try!

Pinterest Inspiration: Inside Out Carrot Cake Muffins

It's been a while since I've done a Pinterest Inspiration Project!

I spent A LOT of my 'resting' time last week browsing Pinterest...and basically drooling on my keyboard. There are SO.  MANY.  AMAZING. foods to try out there!!!

So for today's

I picked these delectable looking Inside-Out Carrot Cake Muffins ~

{source}

...from my Things to Eat pinboard!

Aaaaaaand...

Here's how they came out!

Ok.  I am NOT a food photographer.  You've probably already noticed that.  Sorry.  I can't be awesome at everything, I guess.  Just kidding.  (I mean about the being awesome thing...I mean I know I can sometimes be awesome, but I meant about the food photographer thing...I really suck at it.  Seriously.)

These were AWESOME!!!!  They smelled so good...they tasted even better.  And even though mine don't look as beautiful as the ones I pinned...I will definitely be making these again...and I may even try using the filling in other kinds of cupcakes, too!

Things To Make: Ginger Bread Pudding

One my favorite things to do with the kids during the Christmas season is making gingerbread houses.

This year I cheated.  I totally bought a Gingerbread House Kit, complete with pre-baked gingerbread and Royal icing mix.

It was awesome!  The kids had a ton of fun decorating it...and I didn't have to roll out any dough!

The one downside was that it wasn't as soft as the homemade variety...especially after sitting for a week on the dining room table.  It was like rock.

So...after the kids had scavenged the last bit of candy decor from the house, I told them it was demo time.

The kids really wanted to eat it...but I didn't want to have any extra dental bills this month.  (Sugar is bad enough...but add to that rock hard gingerbread?  You're just asking for broken teeth.)

My kids love bread pudding, so I took a risk and decided to turn the remaining rubble into Ginger Bread Pudding!

And our little house went from this:

to this:

I know.  Not a very good 'after' picture.  I had intended to take a picture of it right out of the oven...but I had to nurse the baby...and have you ever tried to keep four ravenous children (and one well-meaning husband) away from a warm dessert/breakfast?  By the time I was done feeding the baby, half of the pudding was gone!

Anyway,  for those of you who like bread pudding, I highly recommend trying this recipe out!

Ginger Bread Pudding

Ingredients:

5 cups of gingerbread crumbs (I threw pieces of our rock hard gingerbread house into our food processor - frosting, candy cane bits and all - and pulverized them into fine crumbs)
5 or 6 eggs, beaten
4 cups of milk
1 cup raisins, optional

(I didn't add any sugar, cinnamon, ginger or nutmeg to our pudding, because I felt like the crumbs were already sweet and seasoned enough.)

Directions:

1.  Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.
2.  Spread crumbs in the bottom of a 9x13 glass or stoneware baking dish.
3.  Beat eggs and milk together.  Pour over the crumbs in the baking dish, pressing into the crumbs
4.  Place another baking dish filled with hot water on the bottom rack of the oven.  This helps the pudding to bake evenly.
5.  Place dish with pudding mixture on middle rack of oven.
6.  Bake for about 60 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

Enjoy!!

Pinterest Inspiration: Crockpot Enchiladas

This week's

was inspired by...

Crockpot Enchiladas from thekitchn.com

from my Things to Eat board!

Lately I have been obsessed with cooking with my Crockpot.  It's sooooo easy to throw everything in early in the day, when the house isn't so crazy, and let dinner cook itself.  Especially in the cool Fall and Winter months.  It's wonderful to have the aroma of a hot-cooked meal wafting through the house throughout the day.

And, yes.  I did just say wafting.

Anyway...here's what I made:

Again, not such a great picture.  i blame it on the fact that it's dark by 4:30pm here, and I had to use my *gasp* flash to take a decent shot!

I followed the recipe exactly, with the exception of using cheddar cheese instead of Monterey Jack ('cause that's what we had).  Everyone loved it...although the bottom layer did get a trifle bit too crispy. In the future I will probably change the setting to my six hour setting, instead of four.

I served it with rice and salad and topped it with a little sour cream and chopped fresh cilantro.  Yum!

Definitely a keeper!

Pinterest Inspiration: Rosemary Olive Bread

This week's

was inspired by this

Rosemary Olive Bread

found on my Things to Eat board.

Doesn't this bread look AMAZING???

I know.  I can see you drooling from here.

...aaand here's what I made:

Ok.  So I know that my bread doesn't look beautiful enough to be in a magazine spread.  BUT.  It tasted heavenly!

I doubled the recipe to make two loaves and used dried rosemary instead of fresh and regular whole wheat flour instead of bread flour ('cause that's what I had on hand).  It was super simple to make...and made my house smell divine.

Does it look picture perfect? Nah.  Does it take gourmet?  Oh yeah.

Have you made this bread?  What did you think of it?

Pinterest Inspiration: Refrigerator Dill Pickles

We've been having a lot of fun harvesting our garden this year.  We've had a lovely little crop of cucumbers...but not enough to justify actually canning them.
So I went to Pinterest and found a recipe for refrigerator pickles in my Things to Eat pinboard!
This week's

is...
Refrigerator Dill Pickles!
Here's my inspiration:

Refrigerator Pickles from Food.com

And here's what we made! Instead of only using quart jars we've saved a couple of actual pickle jars and reused those to keep our homemade pickles in!  Here are the pickles before we added the brine....

And here they are after!

I added a little mustard seed to the recipe...and in one of the jars I also added some red pepper flakes for my hubby.
These are very flavorful and soooooo easy!!  The finished pickles have been crunchy...and super yummy!!!  This recipe is definitely a 'keeper!'  The recipe made almost a full quart of extra brine...so I stuck in the fridge, and we'll use it as we need to to make more yummy pickles!!  We may even try 'pickling' some other veggies, too!

Pinterest Inspiration: 5 Minute Bread!

I've been looking for a really GREAT (ie yummy, simple, and easy) bread recipe for quite some time.
So this week my 

is...

{Five Minute Bread}

from my Things to Eat pinboard.
And here's what I made:

Beautiful, huh?  And guess what?  Not only is it lovely to look at, but it was super yummy, very simple, and soooo easy!
Now... my hubby complained that it actually did take longer than 5 minutes...because, there was the rising, chilling, and baking before you could consume it...BUT the actual mixing really was less than five minutes...and the steps between rising, etc. were also really minute.  PLUS...it makes enough dough to make FOUR 1lb loaves!  (Which, let's be honest, only last for about two days tops in my home...)
In short:  I loved this bread.  It will definitely be a 'go to' recipe for me!

Things to Make: Beignets!

{Order of beignets with powdered sugar,
Café du Monde, New Orleans}

With Mardi Gras right around the corner I thought I’d share a couple of great recipes to help get you in the mood to celebrate! Beignets seem to be a great staple in Mardi Gras/Carnival faire...and they are something you KNOW your kids will eat!! (Anyone who has seen the Princess & the Frog knows what I'm talking about...I don't think my kids are the only ones who've asked if we can make some "man-catching-beignets" sometime!)

So...

What excactly is a beignet?

Here's what Wikipedia has to say about it:

A beignet (pronounced /bɛnˈjeɪ/ in English, /bɛˈɲɛ/ in French; French for "fried dough") in the U.S. is a pastry made from deep-fried dough, much like a doughnut, and sprinkled with confectioner's sugar, or frostings. Savory versions of beignets are also popular as an appetizer, with fillings such as maple or fruit preserves.

In France, beignet is an umbrella term for a large variety of pastries made from deep-fried dough with fruit filling. The tradition of deep-frying fruits for a side dish dates to the time of Ancient Rome. Names for beignet recipes vary throughout France: beignets, bugnes, merveilles, oreillettes, beignets de carnaval, bottereaux, tourtisseaux, corvechets, ganses, nouets, vautes and others.

So now that you have a little background, you're ready to give them a whirl, right!? Me too!! (I mean seriously...who can resist deep-fryed dough? Really.)

This first recipe received fantastic user reviews on Food.com, so I'm sharing it first!

Beignets

Ingredients
1 package active dry yeast
1 1/2 cups warm water ( 100-115 degrees F)
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 cup evaporated milk
7 cups flour
1/4 cup vegetable shortening
oil ( for deep frying)
confectioners' sugar, for dusting ( or burying, depending on taste)

Directions
1. Put the warm water into a large bowl, then sprinkle in the yeast and a couple teaspoons of the sugar and stir until thoroughly dissolved.
2. Let proof for 10 minutes.
3. Add the rest of the sugar, salt, eggs, and evaporated milk.
4. Gradually stir in 4 cups of the flour and beat with a wooden spoon until smooth and thoroughly blended.
5. Beat in the shortening, then add the remaining flour, about 1/3 cup at a time, beating it in with a spoon until it becomes too stiff to stir, then working in the rest with your hands.
6. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight in a greased bowl.
7. Roll the dough out onto a floured board or marble pastry surface to a thickness of 1/8 inch, then cut it into rectangles 2-1/2 inches by 3-1/2 inches with a sharp knife.
8. Heat the oil in a deep fryer to 360 degrees F.
9. Fry the beignets about 3 or 4 at a time until they are puffed out and golden brown on both sides, about 2-3 minutes per batch.
10. Turn them over in the oil with tongs once or twice to get them evenly brown, since they rise to the surface of the oil as soon as they begin to puff out.
11. Drain each batch on paper towels, place on a platter lined with several layers of paper towels, and keep warm in a 200 degree F oven until they're all done.
12. Serve 3 beignets per person, sprinkling heavily with powdered sugar.

The full recipe can be found here!

This next recipe is a simpler version (if not completely accurate) recipe to try with kids! I LOVE the name! So funny!

Beignets for Ze' Lay- Zay!
Ingredients
1 (11 ounce) cans refrigerated biscuits, I use flaky ones
2 cups oil
1/4 cup powdered sugar

Directions
1. Heat oil in skillet over medium high heat.
2. Remove biscuits from can and cut each in half and a 1 inch slit in the center to make a typical beignet shape.
3. When oil is hot fry about 6 beignets at a time, turning often so they do not burn but turn a golden brown.
4. Remove from oil and drain beignets on a paper towel.
5. Place on serving plate and dust with powdered sugar.

And here's the link for this one!

Now you can celebrate Mardi Gras family-style with some homemade Gumbo and some Beignets for dessert while you watch some Princess & the Frog!

Have a great weekend!!

Things to Make: Cherry-O Cream Pie!

This is family President's Day tradition (in honor of George Washington, and the infamous Cherry tree) is a lovely Cherry-O Cream pie dessert after dinner! My hubby's mom used to make it for their family when he was growing up...and I love being able to carry on the tradition! It's the yummiest no-bake cheesecake dessert ever - HONEST!



Here's the recipe:

Cherry-O Cream Pie

1 14oz can of Sweetened Condensed Milk
1 8oz package of Cream Cheese
1/3 c lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla
1 graham cracker crust
1 16 oz can of Cherry pie filling

1. Whip sweet con. milk, softened cream cheese, lemon juice, and vanilla, until smooth.
2. Pour into graham cracker crust.
3. Spread Cherry pie filling on top.
4. Chill for at least 3-4 hours, on a lower shelf in your fridge.
5. Consume rapidly, and fall into a deep sugar coma 15 minutes later! YUM!!!

(P.S. Mine never last long enough to have a beautiful picture like the one above taken of them...this one's from recipezaar! Image Source.)

I'm also linking to Mom's Crazy Cooking this week, where the theme is CHERRIES!

**And I've been included in Saturday Mornings Best of February Round 4 finalists!!

Great Idea: Turkey Cookies

Ok...

This one is NOT from me! I've been loving all the fun Thanksgiving decoration ideas I've been seeing, but this one is going on my Turkey table this year for sure! I first saw these on Be Different, Act Normal.


I know. So cute, huh?

Click here to see the link to the fantastic step-by-step tutorial on Thrive, about how make these cute little guys! I can't wait to make a whole bunch with my own little turkeys this year! Bon appetite!