Category Archives: Easy

November 30, 2011 · 8:54 am

Waffle Iron French Toast

Not only does this turn out amazing, but it so much easier to make it this way. We had this for dinner last night with eggs, bacon and fruit salad and it was a HUGE hit! I made extra so we would have some for breakfast the next day, too. If you are wondering what kind of bread to use, I ended up using some cinnamon bread I had purchased that turned out to be kind of dry and no one would eat it, but it was the perfect bread for this recipe since it already had a little cinnamon in it.

Ingredients:
6 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 tablespoons brown sugar
10-12 slices bread

Instructions:
Preheat the waffle iron and spray the surface with non-stick cooking spray.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs until frothy, then add the remaining ingredients and whisk until mixed.

Dip 1 slice of bread into mixture, covering both sides. Place in the waffle maker.

Repeat with whatever number of slices will fit in the waffle iron.

Cook until golden brown, about 3 minutes.

Did I change anything? I reduced the amount of brown sugar. The original recipe called for 2 T.

What did the family think? Thumbs up…way up! They asked for seconds and then went back for thirds. We had it for breakfast this morning, too.

Where did this recipe come from? Group Recipes

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Filed under After School Snacks, Bread, Breakfast, Definitely Making it Again, Easy, Everybody Ate It, Lent, Super Easy to Make, Vegetarian

November 28, 2011 · 2:45 pm

Cinnamon Almond Granola

We are back from our trip to Kansas for Thanksgiving and started today with a trip to the doctor’s office for a cast for our youngest who broke his arm while practicing tae kwon do with his older brother…never a dull moment. Before we went to the doctor, however, I sat down and ate a tasty bowl of this very yummy granola cereal.

Ingredients:
3 cups Rolled Oats
1 cup Slivered Almonds
1 cup Shredded Coconut
1/4 cup wheat germ
1/4 cup flax seed
1/4 cups Butter
1/4 cups Honey
3 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
1/2 Tablespoons Vanilla Extract
1 pinch Salt
1 Tablespoon Orange Zest
1 1/2 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 275 degrees.

Pour oats, coconut, almonds, wheat germs and flax seed into a large bowl.

In small bowl, mix butter, honey and brown sugar together. Microwave on high for about 1 minute or until sugar is mostly dissolved. Pour ingredients from small bowl into the large bowl of dry ingredients. Add remaining ingredients and stir.

Spread granola mixture evenly on tray and bake 40 minutes stirring every 20 minutes.

Cool on sheet tray and store in air tight containers.

Did I change anything? I added the wheat germ and flax seed. If you don’t have those just use four cups of oats instead.

What did the family think? This is for me only. 🙂 They did comment on how good it smelled though.

Where did this recipe come from? adapted from a recipe at Lauren’s Latest

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Filed under After School Snacks, Breakfast, Definitely Making it Again, Easy, Make Ahead of Time, Vegetarian

November 18, 2011 · 8:41 am

CrockPot Hawaiian Pulled Pork

Go ahead and read this recipe, write down the ingredients and then go to the store. This is your dinner for tonight. This is seriously SO good! I can’t wait to eat the leftovers for lunch today. Yum!

Ingredients:
1 Pork Tender Roast (appx 4-5 lbs)
1 can crushed pineapple (in 100% juice)
1/2 cup of brown sugar
1/4 cup dijon mustard
1/2 onion sauteed then added to the crock pot
Jarred jalepeno slices (I only used five, I wish I would have used more.)
Hamburger buns (I used Hawaiian bread sandwich buns…potato buns would be good too)
Mozzarella cheese slices

Cook everything but the buns and the cheese in crock pot on high 4-6 hours.

Serve on buns with mozzarella slices.

We had this with fresh pineapple and kettle chips.

Did I change anything? I reduced the amount of sugar and onions from the original recipe. The recipe above is how I made it.

What did the family think? 3/4 of us thought it was deeelish.

Where did this recipe come from? Nicole Arnold at CrockPot Girls

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Filed under Definitely Making it Again, Easy, Make Ahead of Time, Pork, Sandwich, Super Easy to Make

November 17, 2011 · 10:31 am

Cheesy Mexican Pasta Casserole

Yep, that’s right, we’re having pasta again. You shouldn’t be surprised. We eat A LOT of pasta around here. This was absolutely delicious. There were even people at the table asking for seconds and thirds.

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground beef, turkey or chicken
1 package taco seasoning
4 oz. cream cheese
14 oz. noodles, I used penne
1 cup salsa
1 cup taco sauce
1 cup cheddar cheese
1 cup monterey jack cheese
1 1/2 cups crushed tortilla chips
3 green onions, garnish
Sour cream, garnish

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 375°.

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain.

In a frying pan cook ground beef; add taco seasoning. Add cream cheese, cover and simmer until cheese is melted. Blend well.

Pour salsa on bottom of 9×13 baking dish. In a large bowl, combine meat mixture and pasta and spoon into baking dish on top of salsa. Cover shells with taco sauce. Top with cheese.

Bake for about 15 minutes until cheese is melted. Top with any condiments you’d like (crushed tortilla chips,green onions, black olives, etc.) Serve with sour cream and/or more salsa.

Did I change anything? Yes, I made this dish a lot easier than the original. The original used large pasta shells that you had to stuff and required that you bake it for 45 minutes. Also, I couldn’t find any taco sauce, so I just used salsa.

What did the family think? Three out of four of us thought it was super duper tasty.

Where did this recipe come from? Get in My Belly

photo from A Pinch of This and That

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Filed under Definitely Making it Again, Easy, Mexican

November 9, 2011 · 12:33 pm

Meatball Sandwich

I realize this is more of a dinner idea than a dinner recipe, but it was quick and easy and was perfect last night when I only had about 35 minutes to make dinner and get it on the table before I had to zip out the door to go to a meeting.

Ingredients:
Hoagie/hot dog or sub sandwich-type buns
Frozen Meatballs
1 jar pasta sauce
Mozzarella Cheese

Instructions:
Thaw frozen meatballs in the microwave.

While those are defrosting heat pasta sauce in a medium sauce pan until it begins to simmer and then turn down to low.

Put warmed up meatballs in the sauce and let them simmer for a few minutes.

Spoon meatballs and sauce into bun and sprinkle with cheese. (If meatballs are too big, you may need to cut them in half.)

Top with a sprinkle or two or three of cheese.

We had this with fruit salad and a green salad.

What did the family think? They loved it and I sent leftovers in lunches today.

Where did this recipe come from? Desperation on my part for a quick meal that everyone would eat.

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Filed under Definitely Making it Again, Easy, Everybody Ate It, Italian, Sandwich, Six Ingredients or Less, Super Easy to Make

November 4, 2011 · 1:53 pm

The Best Homemade Sloppy Joes I’ve Ever Made

I have several homemade sloppy joe recipes on Mommacooks, but this is the best one by far. Our youngest was telling me the other day how much he loves sloppy joes and we were reminiscing about how when he was toddler he could down a whole entire sloppy joe and how cute it was…yada, yada, yada. Fast forward to last night when I actually made the sloppy joes. Turns out he doesn’t like them. Why didn’t I see that coming?

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 onions, roughly chopped
2 ½ pounds ground beef
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2/3 cup BBQ sauce
½ cup ketchup
¼ cup Worcestershire sauce
¼ cup soy sauce
8 to 12 potato rolls (These are my absolute favorite kind of roll/bun.)
Cheddar cheese slices, optional

Instructions:
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring, until they start to turn translucent, about 4 minutes. Add the beef and cook, stirring and breaking up the meat, until it is finely crumbled, the liquid boils off and the meat begins to brown, about 10 minutes.

Drain the grease off the meat and onions.

Stir in the tomato paste, and keep stirring until the meat is coated. Add the BBQ sauce, ketchup, Worcestershire, soy sauce, and pepper, and bring to a boil. Cook until the sauce is slightly thickened, 4 to 5 minutes.

Did I change anything? I only made 1/2 the recipe which was a mistake. We wanted seconds and there weren’t any. I also added cheddar cheese onto the recipe. I like cheese on my sloppy joe.

What did the family think? Everyone (but the person who was telling me how much they loved sloppy joes last weekend) loved this recipe and was ready for seconds.

Where did this recipe come from? Mel’s Kitchen Cafe

Photo from LiveCookLove

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Filed under Definitely Making it Again, Easy, Sandwich, Super Easy to Make

October 27, 2011 · 12:07 pm

Roasted Red Pepper, Meatball and Pepperoni Pasta Bake

We love Italian food in our house. This cooks up pretty quickly and made everyone happy.

Ingredients:
1 lb. penne, ziti or farfelle
4 cups pasta sauce
1 cup roasted red peppers, chopped
1 cup cooked meatballs, quartered
1 cup pepperoni, chopped
1 cup ricotta
3 cups fresh mozzarella, divided
1 cup parmesan, divided
Cooking spray

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Cook pasta according to package directions and drain when done.

Heat pasta sauce in a pan. Add red peppers, meatballs, pepperoni and ricotta and stir to combine.

Prepare casserole dish with cooking spray. Add cooked pasta and sauce to casserole dish and stir to combine.

Add half of each of the cheeses. Stir.

Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the pasta.

Bake, uncovered, for about 10-15 minutes.

What did the family think? Lots of happy people at the dinner table last night.

Where did this recipe come from? Food Network Magazine, March 2011, p. 59

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Filed under Definitely Making it Again, Easy, Everybody Ate It, Italian

October 25, 2011 · 2:52 pm

Mini Chocolate Chip or Blueberry Muffins

We had these as part of our Sunday brunch last weekend and they were a hit! I made them with chocolate chips, but there are some blueberries in the frig right now so I can make another batch with blueberries. These are great for snacks, too.

Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup blueberries or chocolate chips
1 egg
1/2 cup skim milk
1/8 cup canola oil
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Whisk dry ingredients and blueberries/chocolate chips in one bowl and set aside.

Mix wet ingredients in another bowl. Add milk mixture to flour mixture and use a spatula to very gently fold mixtures together, about 5 or 6 strokes only. There will be lumps; do not over-mix.

Spoon batter into greased mini muffin tin and bake for 10-12 minutes, or until tops are golden brown.

Did I change anything? I used less sugar and would have added more chocolate chips. I wanted then to be more chocolaty. The above recipe reflects the sugar change, but not the chocolate chip changes I would make. Adjust the chocolate factor to your liking.

What did the family think? Yum!

Where did this recipe come from? Food.com

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Filed under After School Snacks, Definitely Making it Again, Easy, Everybody Ate It, Vegetarian

October 24, 2011 · 11:33 am

Waffle Iron Eggs

My husband sent me a link the other day explaining how to make waffle iron eggs. I thought I would humor him and give it a try and I am SO glad that I did. First of all, they’re fun. Eggs shaped like a waffle? What’s not fun about that? Also, for some reason, when eggs come out of a waffle iron, they can be eaten as a finger food which is great if you have little ones.

Ingredients:
5 eggs, scrambled
1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese, optional
Cooking spray

Instructions:
Heat up your waffle iron.

While that is heating up, scramble the eggs and put in the cheese.

When the waffle iron is ready, spray liberally with cooking spray.

Pour eggs in the waffle iron, close the lid and wait. Check on them after about a minute. Continue to check on them until they are as done as you want them. Be careful though, eggs in a waffle iron create a lot of hot steam.

I used a pair of cooking tongs and a spatula to slide the eggs out of the waffle iron.

What did the family think? Thumbs up from everyone, even the youngest who isn’t a huge egg fan.

Where did this recipe come from? adapted from a recipe from The Novice Chef

(I know this picture is terrible, but it’s all I’ve got. Trust me, they are yummy.)

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Filed under Breakfast, Definitely Making it Again, Easy, Everybody Ate It, Lent, Six Ingredients or Less, Super Easy to Make, Vegetarian

October 21, 2011 · 10:31 am

Beer Pizza Dough

This is a no fail way to make pizza dough that doesn’t involve yeast. One recipe makes two pizza which works out perfectly for our house…one pizza for the kids and one for the adults. There is also something very rewarding about making your own pizza dough. I highly recommend it.

Ingredients:
3 cups flour
1 T baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
12 oz can beer (use a light kind or your crust will taste “hoppy”)
olive oil

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl and mix thoroughly.

Pour in the beer and mix well.

Spread a handful of flour on your work surface and dump the dough onto it.

Toss the dough around to coat it with flour and prevent it from sticking.

Knead it 2 or 3 times.

Shape the dough into a ball and divide it in two if you are making 2 thin crust pizzas.

For a deep dish pie do not divide.

Grease your pizza pan with oil and use a rolling pin to roll the dough out into a circle.

Brush crust with olive oil lightly and then add your sauce and toppings.

Bake for 12- 15 minutes or until golden brown on top.

What did the family think? I made two batches of this which made two deep dish pizzas. I think everyone would have been happier had I just made one batch of it that would have made two thin crust pizzas. Our oldest and I liked the crust the way it was, but hubby and our youngest weren’t too thrilled.

photo by me

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Filed under Definitely Making it Again, Easy, Italian, Lent, Six Ingredients or Less, Vegetarian