Tag Archives: Cajun Mama Cooks

desserts

S’mores pie and winning

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So lately I have been trying hard to come back from a few bad weeks. Losing our dog has been a hard hit to come back after and it seems like the tidal wave of crap just kept coming. I kept trying to maintain a positive attitude and thinking to myself “oh i will come back from this. Next week…that’s my week.” Yeah. No. It has not happened. It seems like life has been an uphill battle and frankly ya’ll, my legs were getting tired. A few of my kids have been struggling in school, in different ways. It has been emotionally exhausting for me (and them). There have been days where I have been like “come on!! You are kidding me right?!” But no kidding. Totally serious. It has been jacked up. I have been praying and trusting in God’s plan and then worrying some and then praying more. Luckily, as I have said before and it bears repeating, my kids go to an excellent school. More than that, they go to a school where they are loved, their individual personalities are respected and even coaxed out and praised. Everyone there is loving and kind and does their best to meet the needs of each and every child. Even with that assurance, which usually is enough for me, I was struggling. How can I help? What can I do?
But today ya’ll…today was a good day. It just was. Even with one kid calling for me to come get her because she was not feeling well, it has been a good day. It felt like I got to coast some. No biking uphill. Just riding along. I am aware that not every day can be this way. I am aware that with 4 kids so close in age, I kind of sent calm and serene days packing a few years ago. But I wonder if my friends with 1,2 or 3 kids or kids well spread out with the recommended 2 1/2 years between kids, have it any easier more often than me? I don’t think so. Because being a parent is hard, no matter how many kids you have. And no matter how many you have, some days are rewarding. You pick them up and they are smiling. A teacher gives you a thumbs up (they are awesome teachers I tell you) and all is well for a little while. Because some days you really need that win. We all do. Today I had mine. Hoping tomorrow might be half as good.
Now, speaking of wins today…this s’mores pie can definitely be considered a win. Major win folks. MAJOR! It is a ooey, gooey, melty delight and takes exactly like a s’more…only better because every bite has some marshmallow, graham cracker and melted chocolate in it. Yes. S’more perfection. Everyone in our house loved it, even my picky boy. He tried to resist but I got him to try a bite. He then at two servings . Enough said. So no matter the bad days, no matter the epic fails, when you make this pie…you are winning. And you count the little wins along the way…those matter too. But s’more good days please, if I may!!! ~AMB

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sinus infection, feeling cruddy but looking sassy. Tiny win.

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my baby loves
To read…win

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he tried it. He liked it. No loved it. Win.

S’more pie (adapted from http://www.tastykitchen.com)

Stuff you need~

1 stick real butter , softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup flour
1 cup graham cracker crumbs (I used Keebler brand)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 (7 ounce) container marshmallow fluff
8 Hershey chocolate bars, broken into pieces
1 cup marshmallows
1/4 -1/2 cup chocolate chips

What to do with the stuff~

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream together butter and sugar. Beat in egg. Now, add in vanilla. Next, stir in flour, graham cracker crumbs, and baking powder. It will be a crumbly sticky mess. That’s ok.

Now spray a 9 inch pie plate with cooking spray.
Divide the crumbly sticky mess. Take one half and press into greased pie plate. Press it all over the bottom and up the sides of the pie plate. I used my roller thingy (dough roller I think) to help it press more easily. You could also flour your hands well when working with this dough. I would recommend that. This is the hardest part of this journey.

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Next smooth the jar of marshmallow fluff all over the dough layer. The whole jar. You heard me.

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the whole jar baby. Oh yeah.

Now, lay the chocolate bar pieces all over the fluff layer. Pay special attention to neatness and perfect patterning here. (I am so kidding. Nobody cares.)

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it’s all very precise. Not.

Now, sprinkle marshmallows over
the chocolate pieces.

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Now, press the remaining half of the dough over the marshmallows. This is not an exact process and the marshmallows will poke through. It’s all good ya’ll. Sprinkle the chocolate chips all over the top. Bake in your preheated oven for 20 minutes or until the marshmallows have a slightly browned look to them (I baked mine about 25 minutes.) Yum. Wow. Get the milk. It’s rich and hard to resist. You’re welcome. Tanya at Tasty Kitchen is a genius. Enjoy!!!

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WIN

desserts, Party foods, feed a crowd, crowd favorites

Christmas cookie baking for lazy chicks

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So it seems everywhere I go, the stores, around town, on Facebook…signs of Christmas coming are everywhere. Just last week, Big Daddy and I took the kiddos to the lighting of the Louisiana Boardwalk Christmas tree. It marks the beginning of the holiday season for us and the weather made it that much more festive. It’s been a wee bit chilly around here…will all over the country. Mother Nature is showing her powers off in a major way lately. Go for it sister. But all of this cold and Christmas everywhere (not to mention always being a month ahead cooking wise due to writing the food column for Red River Moms) puts a gal in a Christmas cookie baking mood a little
earlier than normal.
I have told ya’ll before that I am a cook, but not so much a baker. So when my editor for RRM asked me for Christmas cookie recipes for the December column, my first instinct was to panic! Then I recalled these recipes that I had pulled off in the past with rave reviews and I calmed down. Of course these are no Martha Stewart recipes but that is one of their main selling points. I have no time for fancy cookie baking ya’ll. If I actually get to attend a cookie exchange (BD is out of town a good bit this time of year) I certainly don’t have time to bake complicated cookie recipes. These are fun, easy, and come out delicious!! I hope you will be inspired to branch out and try these if you have not already. They will be a hit with your family, at the next cookie exchange and especially with the big man dressed in red on Christmas Eve. If I can bake these, you definitely can!! ~AMB

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all bundled up

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even T-Roy is getting in the spirit (ha ha!)

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never gets old

Andes mint cookies

Makes about 15-20 cookies

stuff you need~
1 box devil’s food cake mix
1 egg
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 package Andes mints (1 per cookie)

What to do with the stuff~
Add cake mix, egg, and oil to a large mixing bowl. Stir until combined. Roll dough into walnut sized balls. Place on a silicone lined or parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for about 8-9 minutes. Do not over bake. Take a large cooking spoon and gently smash the cooked balls down. It will just flatten them. Place an unwrapped Andes mint on each cookie. Kind of swirl it around with the back of a table spoon as it melts to sort of ice each cookie. Allow to cool completely before transferring.

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don’t they look delectable?

Rollo stuffed snickerdoodles

Makes about 24 cookies

Stuff you need~

1 package snickerdoodle precut dough (break and bake) or 1 recipe of your favorite snickerdoodle dough (show off!!)
1 package rollos (need one for each piece of dough)

What to do with the stuff~

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Break dough into individual squares. On a floured surface, flatten a square of dough until it is about 2 inches wide. Place an unwrapped rollo in the center. Fold the snickerdoodle dough around the rollo. Place on baking sheet lined with parchment paper or silicone baking mat. Do this with each square. Work quickly because once you flatten the dough it gets hard to work with quickly. Place in preheated oven and bake about 8-10 minutes.
TIP–allow the cookies to cool completely before you transfer them. Once cool, carefully transfer from the baking sheet to a plate. I turn them over where the bottom is facing up because the caramel is melted and ooey gooey and can make a hole in the bottom of the cookie.

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that’s some cookie perfection right there

Peanut butter blossoms

Stuff you need~

1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups baking mix
Sugar
Package of milk chocolate Hershey kisses

What to do with the stuff~

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large mixing bowl combine the sweetened condensed milk and peanut butter and mix until well combined. Stir in vanilla extract. Add in baking mix and blend well. Using a medium cookie scoop or a spoon, roll dough into 1 inch balls. Add some sugar to a plate and roll each ball of dough in the sugar. Place on silicone mat or parchment paper lined baking sheet. Using your thumb (or your kiddos can do this part), make an indention in the dough. Bake for about 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned. Once you remove the cookies from the oven, place an unwrapped Hershey kiss in the indention.

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old school but so easy and delicious

slow cooker, Weeknight wonder

Slow cooker chicken potpie stew…the madness continues

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Ever have those days where you just feel disgruntled, annoyed, bothered by the slightest thing? Yeah that’s me today. And I am not even sure why. I am blessed. I wake up each day knowing this. I try to have an attitude of gratitude and a positive outlook but somedays I just feel…Blah. Ugh. Yuck. My youngest started crying in the car on the way to school saying that his stomach hurt. Let me add that he was up in the middle of the night saying the same thing. But he is a mediocre sleeper at best unless he is our bed, so let’s not get all alarmed here. We have struggled with this issue since he was a baby and I try my best to take it in stride. This is not me seeking sleep training advice because I would likely not take it. I have tried. BD has his opinions on it, my in laws have their opinions on it, my friends have their opinions on it…I guess we will do what we are doing until we do something else. Yeah I know…logical right? And then the puppy had his own sleep issues last night and I was just keyed up in general despite being exhausted. Anyway, back to today. He cries all the way to school, much to the annoyance of his siblings…and me. He is not a complainer usually. So I believed his tummy hurt but at the same time he is a kid and kids can be manipulative when they want to get their way. I am annoyed at the prospect of him staying home. I want some time to be alone and get stuff done. I admit it. It’s purely selfish on my part. Sometimes being a mom and a wife and pet owner and the other roles I love and chose gets to be too much. I admit this. So here I am, faced with this screaming child after a night of less than great sleep and I just felt…defeated. So we pull up at carpool drop off. The big kids get out in the back. Then I drive up to the front to let Goose out and hopefully Pappy. Goose gets out. He acts like he is going to get out and then comes up to the front of the van and just lays his head on my shoulder and cries. What do you do? The faculty that helps kids out are all like family and they come check on him. No. He is not having it. So I pull up to get out of the way. And I give myself a reality check. “What’s it gonna hurt if he misses a day of school? He is in 1st grade. Life has gone by way too fast as it is and somedays I start to miss the days gone by. When it was he and I running errands and he took naps and life was simple. I am not one to long for days gone by much because well it does no good and also I know in my heart that life has to move forward. So today, I gave in. Against my better judgement and knowing how badly I needed some quiet, I gave in. Because I know from experience it will not always be this easy to allow him to miss, school gets harder and the stakes are higher the older they get. So today, despite the exhaustion and frustration, the downsides to being a harried, frazzled, overwhelmed mom, I am in this moment. It looks sort of like this…
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it’s a hot mess over here

So one thing that brings me hope and allows me to feel less frazzled is knowing that my lovely crockpot aka Big Red will be cooking supper for me tonight. That way I can wash the peed on sheets, clean up the doggy accident, and the other array of cleaning jobs that need to be done around here and my family will get fed tonight. I have been wanting to make this chicken potpie stew for the longest time. The only thing that has stopped me is that my kids love the Bisquick potpie and I hardly vary. Here is the recipe in case you are interested..https://cajunmamacookinblog.com/2014/03/28/bisquick-chicken-potpie/. My oldest, is particularly set in his ways, has been resistant to me trying this recipe BUT we took them to a fundraiser at Cane’s last night for their school and the deal was if I took them last night, he would try the potpie stew tonight. So the day has come!!! It
Is cooking away happily right now, making the house smell so warm and homey. I will let ya’ll know the final verdict tomorrow and post a pic, but for now I will post the recipe. I found the recipe on http://www.allrecipes.com. After reading the comments, I took a few culinary liberties and made a few changes. We shall see. But the veggies are a part of the package and it is served over good ole buttermilk biscuits. I fail to see how this can go wrong.

Slow cooker chicken potpie stew

Stuff you need~

3 chicken beasts, cubed up
2 (10 1/2 ounce) cans of cream of chicken soup
2 (10 1/2 ounce) cans of cream of celery soup
2 chicken bouillon cubes
3 carrots, sliced and then quartered
1 cup diced celery
8-10 small cubed red potatoes
1/2-1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 (10 ounce) packages frozen mixed vegetables
Black pepper (optional)

What to do with the stuff

Add soups, bouillon cubes, carrots, potatoes, celery, cubed chicken and garlic powder to the slow cooker. Stir to combine. Cook on low for approximately 5 hours. Stir in frozen veggies and cook about another hour. Serve over freshly baked buttermilk biscuits. I am using the frozen Grands biscuits but you can use the canned ones as well. Or bake your own…if you are that good and have the time. Lol! I am not that good. Enjoy!!

Update–this was absolutely delicious!!! It was a hit at our house!!

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desserts, Thanksgiving

Bread Pudding with brandy butter sauce

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So more than a few years ago, Big Daddy introduced me to his mama’s posse of Broussard/Youngsville friends. You see, Big Papa used to run coops and after they left the Bayou Rapides coop, he was moved to the coop in Youngsville. Now, I had met Mrs. Linda and Mrs. Sandra and Mrs. Peggy (the Broussard posse) but when Big Daddy and I started dating, they kind of took me under their wing and told me all the things that Mrs. Dianne would have told me. For instance, Big Daddy’s favorite dessert since childhood (banana bars…recipe will come), memories from his years in Broussard and so on. They kind of filled in the gaps because though I had always known him, I had missed out on his day to day life and some things a mama only knows…well her and her posse. Mrs. Linda taught me how to make sausage gravy for Big daddy’s biscuits, Mrs. Sandra taught me all about jelly roll pans and banana bars, so on and so forth. They are some lovely ladies but that comes as no surprise. Mrs. Dianne was a pretty fabulous lady herself and was smart enough to surround herself with equally fabulous friends. My mama is one of them…so it’s only fair to say. She also had her Keithville posse…the woman had some good friends. So one day as we are discussing recipes, Mrs. Sandra whips out this recipe for bread pudding. It comes from Pascal’s Manal Restaurant in Nola. I have never been there and I cannot remember if Mrs. Sandra had but she raved about this bread pudding and it sounded just fine to me. At this point I was in college and I fail to remember if I summoned the courage to try to make it (I think I did) but several years later when I started preparing Christmas dinner, I made this for dessert. It is a sumptuous dessert worthy of a holiday meal. It draws oohs and aahs and will make you a star. Well maybe not a star but you will be loved by your family even more than before. That’s never bad. Even my friend Tim who I say is fairly hard to impress could not resist this bread pudding. It’s pretty dang fabulous. It does make a quite a bit of bread pudding, but if you are making it for a holiday meal, I promise it will not go to waste. The recipe is not hard but it requires large amounts of staple ingredients. That’s the beauty of it…it is so simple and requires basic ingredients and turns them into this out of this world dessert. You’ll see.

Bread Pudding

Serves 15 or more

Stuff you need~

3 loaves of French bread
1/2 gallon or 8 cups of whole milk
10 eggs
2 sticks of butter, melted
3 ounces vanilla extract

What to do with the stuff~

Cut French bread into cubes.

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Toss french bread cubes into a big ole bowl. Pour the milk all over the French bread cubes. Let the milk soak into the bread. I usually let it soak an hour or two.

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Add the remaining ingredients to the bowl.

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Mix with your hands until blended. Pour into baking pan (not greased). I use two 9 x 13 baking dishes as I do not have a baking dish big enough to hold all this deliciousness. Bake for 45 minutes to an hour or until the bread pudding is no longer soupy in the middle.

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for the topping

stuff you need~

3 ounces brandy
4 sticks of butter (or 1 pound), softened
1 cup sugar
2 ounces vanilla extract

Add butter and remaining ingredients to a large mixing bowl or the bowl of your standing mixer. Mix until smooth. Pour over bread pudding. *side note…big daddy likes his brandy butter sauce melted a little before pouring. If the bread pudding is warm enough it will melt the topping quite nicely for you. So delicious ya’ll. Just. So. Delicious.

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slow cooker

Crockpot ribs…crazy crockpot week continues

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So this is what I have to say about these ribs…the crockpot method worked really well. They were so fall off the bone tender it was crazy. Truly fabulous. I stuck them under the broiler for about 5 minutes after dousing them with our favorite barbecue sauce. That kind of caramelized them a bit. Now I bought beef ribs and I am not sure that was the best decision. They had an awful lot of fat on them and cooked down to almost nothing. The meat that was on there was so tender and tasty, but Big Daddy said it was like a game of hide and seek to find meat vs. fat. So next time I will be buying pork ribs. Likely country style spare ribs since you have to cut them up to fit them in the crock pot anyway. Those come separated and it will cut down on cook time. That leads me to another thing…I will use my bigger crockpot next time and double the ribs. But remember we have 6 people in our family and even my picky kid loved these ribs. So that’s my take. It was pretty awesome to have ribs ready in the crockpot and with some tweaking this will be a great day recipe. So day one of crazy crockpot week in my kitchen was a semi success. But most of all…people were fed. That’s what really counts.~AMB

Crockpot ribs

stuff you need~

3 pounds ribs (again I will choose country style pork ribs next time)
1 cup water
1/4 cup sherry cooking wine
1/2 cup barbecue sauce (plus more when they are done)
Kosher salt and black pepper

what to do with the stuff~

Again, I would use a 5-6 quart slow cooker even if you don’t double the recipe. The ribs are a little bulky and hard to fit in there even when cut up some. But use your judgement. Cut ribs to fit into crockpot. Pour water and cooking sherry into crockpot. Lay ribs in slow cooker. Sprinkle adequately with salt and pepper. Pour barbecue sauce over the ribs. Cook on low for about 7 hours. The meat will be falling off the bone when they are done. When they were tender, I removed them from the slow cooker with a pair of tongs and laid them in a 9 x 13 baking dish and the smothered them in our favorite barbecue sauce. Clay’s daddy (Big Papa) has a friend who makes some barbecue sauce that is out of this world. It’s a thinner tangier sauce which is what we love. Anyway, put under broiler on lo for about 5 minutes or so to give them a nice caramelized look. Delicious! Three cheers for ribs on Monday night. Yum!

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cannot wait until next time

slow cooker, Weeknight wonder

Crazy Crockpot Week in Cajun mama’s kitchen…the grocery list!!!

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So lately everything has been upside down, inside out, crazy, nuts, like living in the wonka factory…and frankly I am just done. Worn out. Slap worn out. Stick a fork in me, I’m done. But you know…with a hubby with a constant on the go job, 4 kids in school, 3 pets (one of them a new puppy), and everything else…I cannot ever be done even if I wanted to. Ya’ll know what I mean. And lately, the drudgery of life has gotten to me. Maybe it was losing my precious Toby or maybe it’s all the rushing I am doing, trying to fit it all in and make everyone happy…but I just feel so…Blah. I am assuming at least a few of you out there get what I mean? I need some inspiration. I need some time. I need some rest. I need some peace. I need less laundry, more reading a good book. Less time in the kitchen, more time chilling with the fam. I know every woman (and man) knows just what I mean. I need life to stop being so freaking busy and hard!!! How realistic is that though? I am nothing if not realistic and I am pretty sure life is not going to get easier or more calm. So I must adapt. I must pull up my big girl panties, pour a cup of coffee and get it done. So in my effort to find some me time (and you some you time) and still try to adequately meet the needs of my family (they do have to eat…), I decided it was high time for a crazy crockpot week in my kitchen. And maybe yours too. I like to think of cajun mama readers as a group, a team…so many of ya’ll are just like me, and I consider you friends, and I want to help you too. We can all benefit from less stress in the kitchen, right? (All together now!!) RIGHT!!! So here is the plan. I am posting the shopping list broken down by recipe. I don’t assume everyone will be into trying all 5 recipes so you can pick and choose. The idea though is to bring out our slow cookers, crockpots whatever and make life a little easier on ourselves. I scoured Pinterest for some really tasty and different slow cooker recipes that would offer a little variety for everyone. I am making one recipe each day. You can do it along with me or you can mix it up. I will post a recipe and then after it’s done, I will take pics and our opinion on it. I want to share first the list of stuff you need for the week, in case you want to buy the stuff and then start cooking!

Beef ribs in the crockpot

3 pounds beef ribs
Sherry cooking wine
Worcestershire sauce
Barbecue sauce

Chicken potpie stew
16 ounce package frozen mixed vegetables
1 pound chicken breasts
2 can cream of chicken
One chicken bullion cube
Can of Grands biscuits
Red potatoes

Beef and broccoli

1 pound chuck roast (I could not find one that small…I bought a 2 pound one and will either double the meat or cut in half and freeze the rest)
Cornstarch
Sesame oil
Head of Broccoli
Beef consommé
Garlic
Brown sugar
Soy sauce
Rice

steak and gravy

Family pack of cubed steak
1 can golden mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken and mushroom
1 packet onion soup mix (I am using beefy mushroom)

slow cooker lasagna soup

1 pound ground chuck
1 box hamburger helper lasagna
Mozzarella cheese
1 cup frozen corn
1 can diced tomatoes with basil, oregano and garlic

heaven in a crockpot

1 package Betty Crocker brownie mix
1 pouch Betty Crocker chocolate chip cookie mix
4 eggs
Vanilla ice cream (optional)

There you have it! So get to the store and get your stuff and be ready for a little me/you/free time. It’s crazy crockpot week ya’ll and the livin is easy (easier I should say…easy is over…sigh.)

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Sides, Thanksgiving, veggies

Thanksgiving recipe round up

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I have always loved Thanksgiving. Of course, I love the food. Turkey and dressing is one of my favorite foods. I guess the time of year also has something to do with my love of this holiday. The people who sit around the table with me make it a pretty great day as well. Another reason still that it is my favorite is that it is the beginning of the holiday season. So many reasons to love Thanksgiving, it’s hard to pick just one. Along those lines, so many reasons to love Thanksgiving dinner and I am about to give you a few more. This a roundup of my favorite Thanksgiving recipes…some I have posted before and some are brand new. I think there is something to please everyone here. It’s a few days early, but as we move into our month of counting our blessings, I want you to know that having the opportunity to share my stories, some recipes, laughter and tears with y’all is one of the blessings I will count. Thank you for continued support, encouragement and cooking and learning right along with me, in the kitchen and in life. Much love and many blessings…~AMB

Scrumptious sides | cajunmamacookin’s Blog

Scrumptious sides

Cream cheese corn recipe | cajunmamacookin’s Blog

Cream cheese corn recipe

Momee’s cornbread dressing | cajunmamacookin’s Blog

Momee’s cornbread dressing

Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie | cajunmamacookin’s Blog

Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie

Pea and asparagus casserole and coming home | cajunmamacookin’s Blog

Pea and asparagus casserole and coming home

Corn Pudding

Corn pudding

Makes about 8-10 servings

stuff you need

1 box Jiffy corn muffin mix
1 can cream style corn
1 can whole kernel corn, drained
3/4 cup sour cream
1 stick mostly melted butter

what to do with the stuff~

Butter a 9 x 13 baking dish well. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Stir together all ingredients and pour into buttered dish. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until completely set in the middle.

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if food is a religion, can I get an amen?

Mini green bean casseroles
Serves 16

Stuff you need~

2 cans jumbo home style biscuits (16 in all)
2 cans cut green beans, drained
1/2 cup milk
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 1/3 cups french fried onions (about a can)

What to do with the stuff~

Spray a muffin tin with cooking spray. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll out each biscuit to 4 inch circles (I just kind of gently stretched mine out). Press a biscuit into each muffin cup.
Mix together drained green beans, milk, soup, 2/3 cup of the French fried onions, and 1 cup of the cheese in a large mixing bowl.
Spoon equally divided amounts of the green bean mixture into each biscuit cup.
Bake for 20 minutes or until biscuits are golden browned. Sprinkle remaining cheese and French fried onions over each cup. Return to oven for about 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted. Let cool on wire rack for 5 minutes or so.

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fun, different and so delicious!

Sweet potato soufflé
(A Trisha Yearwood recipe)
Serves 8

stuff you need~

For soufflé

5 medium sweet potatoes
2 large eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, slightly softened (at room temperature)
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk
Pinch of salt

Topping

1 cup finely chopped pecans
1 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, softened

what to do with the stuff~

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Butter a 2 1/2 quart baking dish.
On a foil covered baking sheet, bake the sweet potatoes for 1 hour or until they are soft. Allow them to cool. Peel and add the potato flesh to a large mixing bowl and mash until smooth. Add the remaining soufflé ingredients and using a electric mixer or standing mixed until combined well. Spoon the mixture into your prepared baking dish.

For the topping–in a medium bowl, stir together all ingredients until they are mixed well together. Spoon several large dollops of topping over the sweet potatoes (see photo). Bake for 30 minutes or until the the topping is slightly browned. Let stand 5 minutes before 5 minutes.

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I ❤️ sweet potatoes

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so true.

healthy options, Weeknight Meals, Weeknight wonder

Mom’s creamy chicken broccoli and rice casserole

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I suppose after the craziness and overwhelming nature of the past few weeks, it is possible I have been in need of some comfort. A bunch of comfort to be honest. I have found it in prayer, hugs from my kids and Big Daddy, and long talks with friends. Sometimes though, there is nothing like a comforting casserole straight from the oven, piping hot covered with ooey gooey melty cheese. Of course Pinterest is full of such concoctions and it can be hard to separate the hype from the truth. Well y’all, this casserole is the real deal. No hype. It is so fantastically creamy and just perfect. I made it yesterday for lunch and my oh my, I was a happy girl. Now, I am all about delicious, but when a casserole combines super foods like broccoli and mushrooms and convenience items like frozen broccoli and rotisserie chicken, that makes it tops in my (cook) book. I would make a few changes the next time I make it, like, more broccoli and less mushrooms and cut the mushrooms up smaller but that’s a matter of personal preference. Another beautiful thing about this recipe is that it is lightened up version that is so tasty and creamy that you will never even miss what might be left out. Delicious!!! Obviously, I loved it and I hope y’all do too! ~AMB

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a bowl of comfort

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T-Roy lays on my feet as I cook. Comforting for both of us I suppose

Mom’s broccoli and chicken casserole

serves 8

stuff you need~

1 (12 ounce) package frozen broccoli (Next find I am doubling this)
2 packages of pre-sliced mushrooms (I will use just one next time and slice them up smaller)
1 small onion, diced
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 tablespoons flour
1 1/2 cup milk (I used a mixture of half and half and 2 % milk and it was creamy perfection)
About 3 cups of rotisserie chicken breast, chopped up (I just used all the breast meat)
1/2 cup Greek yogurt (I used 2% Fage)
1/4 cup mayo
Kosher salt and black pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons shredded Parmesan
1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar

what to do with the stuff~

Cook your broccoli according to package directions.
In a oven safe skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add in diced onion and mushrooms, cook until mushrooms are browned and liquid has cooked out.
Sprinkle the flour over the mushroom mixture. Stir for about 1 minute. Pour in the milk. Bring to a boil and cook for about 3 minutes or until the mixture is creamy and thickens somewhat. Stir in the chopped chicken and broccoli. Remove from heat. Stir in mayo and Greek yogurt and shredded Parmesan. Season to taste. Sprinkle with shredded cheddar. Place under broiler until cheese is melted. I crushed up about 10 Ritz crackers and sprinkled the crumbs all over the casserole for some added crunch. You could also added slivered almonds on top for some added texture.

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full of good stuff and topped with melted cheese…yes please!

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oh the comfort a good casserole and a sweet puppy can bring

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happy sigh

Mexican, quick and easy, Weeknight Meals, Weeknight wonder

Mexican lasagna and moving forward

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The past week seems like it has gone by so fast and so slow at the same time. It’s a little crazy when that happens. We lost our beloved dachshund, Toby, very suddenly and tragically last Thursday night. It’s something that truly rocked our world and made time just stop for a moment. Last week was a whirlwind of activity and then boom!! It’s like the world just stopped. We are coping with his death through lots of prayer and leaning on the amazing support network of family and friends we have. As a matter of fact, though I would give nearly anything for my sweet boy to still be here with us, having a chance to feel the outpouring of love and support we have felt during the past few days has been a good thing that came out of it. Helping 4 kiddos cope with such a sudden loss has been challenging and frankly, exhausting. But we are making it day by day. Just today the girls and I took a road trip with Angie and Caroline to pick up a 10 week old Doxie that I found at http://www.kajunkennels.com after a friend suggested them to us. I was really on the fence about getting a new baby so quickly but thanks to so much encouragement and support from friends, we decided it would be the best thing to help our family to heal and move on in a joyful way. Happiness is a choice and I believe that. Choosing to pick up and move forward in the face of tragedy was a choice and I hope my kids take that lesson with them into their lives. We cannot replace our precious Toby but because during his all too brief time on this earth he did such an amazing job of bringing laughter and joy into our family that when he passed, it created a huge void that I knew we could not live with for long. So we chose not to. I want to believe Toby would want us to be happy and is smiling down on us knowing how much we loved him and knowing we have so much to love to give another Doxie. That brings me great comfort to tell my kids that and I hope it comforts them some. So RIP sweet Toby and I pray you are running and chasing the squirrels in heaven. You are dearly missed. ~AMB

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my sweet boy. God rest his soul.

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the sweet spirit we welcomed today. Roy Pierre…Roy is Momou’s maiden name and a reminder of the strong German people I come from. I pray we have many years together

So y’all will excuse me as I had to tell that story so that I could move forward. It was necessary and I hope that you understand. I had to acknowledge the pain so that I could be authentic and true to myself, which is for me, the most important part of being able to tell my stories. The good with the bad and the happy with the sad. I wish it was all happy all the time but I would be Lying to you and me if that is all I wrote about and I would be doing us all a great injustice as that is just not realistic. If you are looking for moonbeams and unicorns and rainbows, this is likely not the blog for you. Now…to get to the part you all came here for (let’s be honest ha ha!!)…Mexican lasagna. 1) yum 2) super easy. Back in high school, I had a good friend (still a friend now) named Deah. Her mom made this amazing dish that is a lot like this recipe. I had been seeing different tortilla lasagna and Mexican lasagna recipes on Facebook and Pinterest but they all seemed too fussy and complicated. No thank you very much. I wanted something straightforward, simple, and super tasty that I could tell y’all how to throw together quickly after a soccer game, or t ball game, staff meeting, or heck just in the midst of life in general chaos. That’s how it tends to be in our household. So with a puppy squealing, little girls fighting over said squealing puppy and waiting for BD and the boys to return from Arkansas muzzleloader hunting…I pieced this together. You totally can too! We all tore it up as BD says. It was so good and I think I managed to accomplish what I set out to do.

Mexican lasagna

Serves about 8

Stuff you need~

-1 pound lean ground beef
-1 small onion, diced
-1 package taco seasoning mix
-1 can red enchilada sauce (I love old El Paso brand)
-1 can traditional refried beans
-12 fajita size flour tortillas (I use the Mission Bell soft and fluffy kind…we like them the best)
-2 cups assorted shredded cheeses (you can use Mexican blend, or Colby Jack…I used a mixture of queso blanco which Velveeta sells pre-shredded now, cheddar, and Monterey Jack)
-Sliced black olives, sliced green onions and sour cream for serving (optional)

What to do with the stuff~

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a baking dish by spraying with cooking oil. Brown ground beef in large skillet and throw in diced onion during the last 5 minutes or so of cooking. Drain if necessary. Stir in the taco seasoning packet and cook according to package directions. Set aside. Layer 6 of the tortillas in the baking dish, overlapping as necessary.
The tortillas will go up the side of the baking dish and that’s ok. Now spread 1/2 of the can of refried beans over the tortillas. Pour 1/2 of the can of red enchilada sauce over the beans as evenly as possible. Next sprinkle one half of seasoned ground beef over the sauce. Sprinkle a cup of the shredded cheese over this. Repeat all over again, starting with tortillas layered exact same way and ending with cheese. Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake another 10 minutes or until cheese is all bubbly. Let cool for 5 minutes or so. Cut into squares and serve. Garnish as desired with a dollop of sour cream, sliced black olives and green onions.

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muy delicioso

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my position as I typed this post…so sweet

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my girls and Caroline after getting RPB home yesterday afternoon. Love those smiling faces. #puppiesbringpeace

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Caramel apple sangria and a toast to Fall

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I have already shared that it’s been a long week. I imagine everyone out there reading this could give their own version of it’s been a long week. It’s Friday though and that is something to celebrate!! I came across this recipe on http://www.anightowlblog.com and pinned it to make in the future. As in today. I knew today was the day!! It’s been in the upper 80’s over here and Fall has not come to stay yet. Maybe, just MAYBE, such a Fall inspired beverage , ahem, cocktail, will summon Fall. Bring it to us. This summer like weather smack dab in the middle of October is no good, y’all. No good at all. So in the name of Fall, pumpkin patches, a fire crackling away in the fire pit, and lovely fall weather…I raise a glass of this caramel apple sangria. Or I will. As soon as I run carpool. Also, here’s to long weeks that finally come to an end and faith that it will all work out in the end…cheers!! ~AMB

Caramel apple sangria

Stuff you need~

1 bottle of white wine (I used Pinot Grigio)
1 bottle sparkling apple cider (I could only find a 6 pack of the smaller bottles so I got that. I used 3)
1/4 cup caramel syrup (in the coffee aisle usually)
2-3 apples, diced up

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apples are missing but you get the point

What to do with the stuff~

Chill the wine and cider. Once they are chilled, mix up all the stuff in a pitcher or carafe. Add in the apples.
Refrigerate until ready to serve. Voila!!!

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