Creamy Caramel and Apples

From: Anita

INGREDIENTS:
3 cans of condensed milk
Apples (Honeycrisp are my favorite!)

DIRECTIONS:
Peel the labels off the cans of condensed milk. Put in a deep pot and cover with water. Boil for 3 hours (make sure to keep replenishing water to keep cans under water). Let cans cool slightly- and carefully open. Hot, creamy caramel will be awaiting you inside! Serve with sliced apples. Delicious!!!

Andy's French Toast

I am not a breakfast person- mostly because I'm not a morning person... during the week, we eat breakfast bars or instant oatmeal. However, on the weekends, it's a different story because my husband loves to cook breakfast, and he is a morning person! He reluctantly shared his "secret" recipe:

INGREDIENTS:
3 eggs
Milk (even with eggs)
Sugar, to taste (1 TBL)
Cinnamon, to taste
Texas Toast (stale is best)

DIRECTIONS:
Sleep in on Sunday morning, while your husband does the following:
Whisk eggs and milk until well blended. Add in sugar and cinnamon and continue to whisk. Soak bread in mixture- one piece at a time and then cook on a pre-heated griddle or skillet. Top with butter, maple syrup and powdered sugar. Awesome with hot coffee!

Buffalo Chicken Dip

INGREDIENTS:
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup ranch dressing
1/2 cup of buffalo wing sauce
1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese
1/4 cup shredded cheese- mozzarella, cheddar or monterey jack
12. 5 oz of canned white chunk chicken

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350. In a baking dish, stir cream cheese until smooth. Add dressing, wing sauce, and cheese. Stir in chicken. Bake for about 20 minutes- until warm and bubbly. Serve with tortilla chips (I like the scoops!).

Chicken Divan

INGREDIENTS:
10 oz. pkg of frozen broccoli, chopped
3 cups of shredded chicken, cooked
1 (10 3/4 oz) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup mayo
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup shredded cheddar
1/2 TBL fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp curry powder
Salt and Pepper
1/4 cup dry white wine or chicken stock
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs
1 TBL butter, melted

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350.
Steam broccoli in the microwave (if a steamable bag) or in a steamer. Drainand put into a casserole dish (sprayed with non-stick spray). Add the shredded chicken.
In a medium bowl, combine the soup, mayo, sour cream, cheddar, lemon juice, curry powder, salt and pepper (to taste), and wine/chicken stock. Whisk together to make a sauce. Pour the sauce over the broccoli and chicken in the casserole dish. Mix well, then pat down and smooth.
Combine Parmesan, bread crumbs and butter in a small bowl. Sprinkle that over the top of the casserole.
Bake for about 30-45 minutes.

This would be good served over rice or pasta- but also is good with just some warm, crusty bread and a salad!

Easy Halloween Crafts

My kids are still both under 3- so crafts for us means something that we can assemble and clean up very easily- they don't have much attention span and weren't not good with small pieces or multiple steps. 

Here are two crafts we did this year that were right up our alley- easy and not expensive!

Sucker Ghosts! We took Tootsie Pops, wrapped a kleenex around them, tied with a little piece of ribbon and added the eyes/mouth with a black marker. Super easy and cute! I'd recommend using a quality kleenex or doubling it up so it's thick enough to not tear easily. We handed these out at my son's preschool's Trunk or Treat!

Spider Web: They had this at our local state park Halloween party- I thought it was super cute! Just take a paper plate and cut slits in it all across. Take a long piece of yarn and tape one end to the back of the plate and then weave it in throughout all the other holes. Tape the last piece on the back. To assemble your spider- we used the 'gumballs' that fall off sweet gum trees- but you could use a pinecone or piece of a stick, etc. that you find outside- and hot glued pipe cleaners to it for the legs. Then we glued the spider to the plate.

Another version with other colors!

Chicken Sausage, Peppers and Potatoes

I got this recipe from Skinny Taste- although I added a few things to my edition. It was super easy, yummy and a fast clean up- PERFECT for a family meal mid-week. There were no left overs, so if you are feeding more than 3 people, I'd double this recipe.

INGREDIENTS:
1 pkg. al fresco's italian chicken sausage, cut into 1" pieces
Red and Green Pepper, cut into large pieces
1 bag of mixed potatoes, cubed
1 large onion
Olive Oil
Salt/Pepper
Rosemary
Morton's Nature's Seasoning
Garlic Powder

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 375. In a large bowl, mix pepper, potatoes and onion. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle in seasonings. Stir to coat evenly. Pour veggies onto a baking sheet and bake for about 10 minutes. Add sausage and bake about 30 minutes longer- occasionally turning over and checking on potatoes.

Enjoy!

Shrimp and Black Bean Wraps

From Amy


INGREDIENTS:
4 lg flour tortillas
1 TBL olive oil
1 lb. shrimp, peeled & deveined, tails off
1 TBL garlic, minced
1 lime, (juice)
1 15 oz. can black beans, drained & rinsed
1 lg tomato, chopped
2 green onions, sliced
1 1/2 t. tabasco
1/2 t. salt

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Wrap tortillas in foil, place in oven for 10 min to warm. Heat oil and garlic in 10" skillet over med high heat. Add shrimp; cook; stir until pink- top with lime juice. Mash 1/2 c. beans in medium bowl. Stir in remaining ingredients (beans, shrimp, tomato, onions, tabasco & salt). Assemble & Enjoy!

Pin Wheel Roll-Ups

My aunt Sally gave me this recipe 8 years ago when I was hosting a traveling dinner for my sorority and I had appetizers. They have been a favorite of mine ever since! 

INGREDIENTS:
8 oz. cream cheese
8 oz. sour cream
1 small can of chopped black olives
1 can green chilies, chopped
1 pkg. dry taco mix
Tortilla Shells (I used whole wheat, but the jalapeno cheddar and sun-dried tomato are good,too!)
Thin Pastrami or Beef
Green Onions, Chopped

DIRECTIONS:
Soften the cream cheese and then mix with the sour cream, olives, chilies and dry taco mix.
Lay out a section of plastic wrap (just big enough for the tortilla shell) and set a tortilla shell on that. Spread the sour cream mix on top and then layer with the meat. Sprinkle green onions on top (optional). Roll up and seal the plastic ends together. These are best made up several hours to the day before you are serving so they stick together. When it's time to serve them, remove the plastic wrap and slice into pin-wheels.

Stain Removal Secret

As a busy mother of 2 children ages 2 and 1, I find my clothes with more stains now than ever before! Not to mention my children's clothes after 1 wear look like they are years old! I have been through every name brand product to attempt stain removal, and declared many of our favorite clothes "lost"... however, my Mom has always been able to get just about any stain out of any fabric- so I finally started following her advice, and it's so simple and cheaper than the name brand stain products! Here's her step-by step of a pair of my shorts:

Here's the stain. Greasy sausage spilled down my shorts. This method is especially good for grease and tomato/red based stains that are usually the hardest!

Here are my two little tricks: 

Lighter Fluid and Dawn dish soap (please note it HAS to be Dawn!) 

Start with the lighter fluid- squirt enough to cover the stain

Then spread the Dawn dish soap into the stain. I just rubbed the soap in gently with my fingers- but you can scrub the material together if the stain is deep/old or bigger. 

Then, I just toss them in with my normal laundry.... AND:

VIOLA! 

All gone!

A few tips to this method: If you just use the lighter fluid the first round, the grease may lift out of the clothing, but I've found sometimes it leaves a ring around where the lighter fluid was (on some thin fabrics, like t-shirts) and so then you'll have to do the step again with just Dawn. That's why I started combining the methods. For color stains without grease- you can just use the Dawn. For more color filled stains, if after the wash cycle, you notice they are still set, DO NOT put them in the dryer, instead lay them outside in direct sunlight for up to 5-6 hours. It's important they are laid out wet- a lot of times I will lay them out wet at night, let the evening/morning dew re-wetten the clothing and let the sun soak on them all day. The sun will lift those color stains right out. You'll have to wash the item again, but it has a very high success rate! White clothes are the hardest to get color stains out of- but I use the bleach stick to touch up those. I've also heard hydrogen peroxide works like a charm on blood stains- I have used Dawn with success on those, but it might be worth a try, too. And hairspray does lift pen/marker on fabrics if you can't get them in the wash machine (i.e. couch, fabric chairs, etc.) 

If you have any laundry secrets, leave a comment! 

Bacon Wrapped Asparagus

INGREDIENTS:
Bacon
Asparagus
Salt/Pepper

DIRECTIONS:
Clean and snap hard ends off the asparagus spears. Wrap a slice of bacon around small bundles of asparagus (depending on thickness of asparagus about 5-7). Coat with salt and pepper. To cook- either place on the grill or under the oven broiler until the bacon is crisp.

Loaded Baked Potato Soup

INGREDIENTS:
4 baking potatoes
Olive Oil (optional)
Herbs (optional)
3 TBL flour
Milk or Heavy Whipping Cream (about 8 TBL)
Salt and Pepper
Butter or Margarine
Sour Cream
Bacon Bits
Cheddar Cheese
Chives


Wash/scrub baking potatoes and you may also- coat in olive oil/salt and pepper or other herbs like thyme or rosemary. Bake potatoes in 400 degree oven for about an hour (until fork tender). Allow to cool and discard any tough spots of skin that might have cooked too long. Mash the potatoes until lumpy.

In a sauce pan, put in the flour and slowly add milk just until enough well blended. Heat over medium heat until thick and bubbly. Add in potatoes, and salt/pepper and cheese until it meets your tastes. Add in butter and sour cream and remove from heat.

In each individual bowl, top with more sour cream, cheese, bacon bits and chives.

King Ranch Casserole

Thanks to Handy Housemom for sharing this recipe! I've heard about this dish a lot- so I was excited to try it, and our family loved it- especially Andy!



INGREDIENTS:
2-3 chicken breasts, cooked and chopped (I boiled and shredded mine)
10 oz frozen package of seasoning blend (this is a mix of onions, peppers, etc. found in the frozen veggie section)
10 3/4 oz can cream of chicken soup
10 3/4 oz can cream of mushroom soup
10 oz rotel (canned tomatoes and chilies)
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp garlic salt
10 corn tortillas (6 inch)
8 oz shredded cheddar cheese, divided

DIRECTIONS:
Stir together first 7 ingredients. Tear tortillas into 1 inch pieces. Layer 1/3 of the tortilla strips into the bottom of a lightly greased 9 x 13 baking dish. Top with 1/3 of the chicken mixture and 2/3 cup of cheese. Repeat layers twice. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until heated through and bubbly!

Pesto Cream Chicken Pasta

INGREDIENTS:
5 chicken breasts, cubed
Chef Paul Prudhomme- Blackended Redfish Seasoning
1 box penne pasta (I used whole wheat)
Olive Oil
1 pint of heavy cream
1 tub of refrigerated basil pesto sauce
3 roma tomatoes, diced
1 small can of sliced black olives
Parmesan Cheese, Shredded

DIRECTIONS:
Cover (be generous) the chicken with redfish seasoning and let marinate in a ziplock bag for at least 3 hours. When ready to cook, boil the pasta according to the directions on the box. With a little olive oil, cook the chicken in a deep saute skillet. Once cooked, add in tomatoes, olives, cooked pasta and cream and pesto. Start with 1/2 of the cream and pesto and add more to taste and to evenly coat. You don't want the pasta to be too thick or too thin with the cream (I usually use about 3/4 of the pint). Heat throughly and then remove from heat for cream sauce to thicken. Top with parmesan cheese and serve!

Really good with a salad and warm, crusty bread!

Creamy Dip

INGREDIENTS:
1 8-oz. package of cream cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
2 TBL milk 
1/2 t. garlic powder
2 TBL chopped onion
1 TBL. Worcestershire sauce 
2-4 dashes of Tabasco Sauce
1/4 - 1/3 cup diced green pepper
1 small package of dried beef, chopped
1/2 cup chopped pecans


DIRECTIONS:
Mix together until smooth: cream cheese, sour cream, and milk. Add in garlic powder, onion, Worcestershire, tabasco, green pepper and dried beef and mix well. Top with pecans. 
Spread into a sprayed casserole dish.  Bake at 350 until heated through and bubbly.  Is good with Triscuits, but it will be yummy with just about any kind of dip vehicle. I actually think this is better cold than warm, but some people like it hot. I think it can easily get too salty with the worcestershire and dried beef, so you might need to add more cream cheese or sour cream. 

Helpful Tools for a Busy Mom

So, a little off the cooking theme- but had to share these ideas that were given at our last MOPS meeting! They both take on the "eating an elephant one bite at a time" mentality and have it already divided up for you- you just have to follow it! How simple!?!

1. Christmas Organized- this has a 6 week (well, if we'd have started earlier, a longer) plan to execute a seamless, stress-free Christmas. I LOVE all the lists and check offs. Fire up your printer!!

2. FlyLady.Net- this is for breaking up household chores, tasks, etc. and helps to not feel so overwhelemed. I'm a natural list maker, so I love her site!

3. Messies' Manual- I haven't read this book yet, but it was another source that came highly recommended about breaking down household chores and tasks.

Shrimp and Wild Rice Casserole

I wasn't sure the idea of shrimp in a casserole sounded appetizing; but this is SO good, you must try it! It reminds me more of shrimp with a cheesy risotto, but a lot easier!


INGREDIENTS:
1 (8-ounce) package long grain wild rice
1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails off
Olive Oil
1/2 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
1 (10 3/4-ounce can) condensed cream of mushroom soup
2 cups grated sharp Cheddar
Salt and pepper


DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 325.

Cook the rice according to the box directions, omitting 1/4 cup of the water. 

Bring 2 cups of water and 1/2 TBL of salt to a boil and add shrimp. Cook 1 minute, or until pink and drain. 

In olive oil, cook the pepper and onion until soft, about 5 minutes.

In a casserole dish, (sprayed with non-stick spray), mix rice, shrimp, pepper/onion, soup, 1 

1/2 cups of cheese, and salt and pepper to taste. Top with remaining 1/2 cup of cheese. 

Bake in oven for 30 minutes, or until bubbly. 

Marble Magnets Craft

We made this craft at our last MOPS meeting- so easy and so cute- would be a great Christmas gift!

DIRECTIONS:

Use a hole punch the size of the circle magnet to punch out paper (3/4 inch worked for this project). You can use magazine pictures or wrapping paper for pictures or patterns, as well as scrapbook papers or stationary.

Use a toothpick to put silicon glue on the magnet and lay the picture on top of the glue. Using the toothpick again, dab a bit of glue onto the middle of the picture.

Lower the marble down onto the glue and press down in the center. You can see the glue spreading out to the corners, making a nice seamless magnet.


A couple ideas for making these for other projects: with a tin and some colored tape, you could make a tic-tac-toe travel board for kids, or put them in an old altoid box for a cute gift idea.

Autumn Bibb Salad

INGREDIENTS:

1/4 cup light mayo

1/4 cup sour cream

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

3 T. red wine vinegar

1 1/2 tsp. dried oregano

3/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper

1 lg head Bibb lettuce, washed and prepared salad

3 ribs celery, thinly sliced

3 radishes, thinly sliced

2 scallions, thinly sliced lengthwise

1/2 cup golden raisins

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1 cup toasted pumpkin seeds

DIRECTIONS:

In medium bowl, whisk together first 7 ingredients.  Cover & refrigerate for at least 30 min, up to overnight.

Mix the remaining 7 ingredients in a large salad bowl, and toss with dressing when ready to serve. 

Children's Aprons for Sale!

The newest items in from Martha's Sewing Shop are very fitting for our cooking blog... for all those little kitchen helpers (or for arts and crafts!); the perfect size children's apron! Each apron has velcro on the straps for closure, and customization is possible if you don't see one you like. Following each picture will be the description and price. Email: davisfamilydining@yahoo.com for questions or orders. Thanks!

Camo Apron: 18 1/2" long and 14" wide at widest point (not including straps on either measurement) Front Pocket. $20 including shipping and handling.

Blue Stripes Apron: 17" long and 14" wide at widest points (not including straps on either measurement) Front Pocket. $20 including shipping and handling.

Butterfly Apron: 18 1/2" long (including ruffle) and 14" wide at widest point (not including straps on either measurement). Front Pocket. $20 including shipping and handling.
SOLD

Flower Apron: 18 1/2" long (including ruffle) and 14" wide at widest point (not including straps on either measurement). Front Pocket. $20 including shipping and handling.

Again, please email: davisfamilydining@yahoo.com for questions or ordering process. Thank you!

Bunco Buns

These are great for any gathering- not just bunco! 

INGREDIENTS:
12 pkg Hawaiian Sweet Rolls
1 lb sliced honey baked ham
12 slices of swiss cheese
3 TBL poppy seeds (divided)
4 TBL butter (divided)
3 TBL brown sugar
3 TBL worchestire sauce
3 TBL honey mustard

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350. In a saucepan, melt 3 TBL of butter. Arrange the sweet rolls on a cookie sheet- and slice open. In the melted butter sauce pan, stir in brown sugar, worchestire sauce and honey mustard, and 2 TBL of poppy seeds. Stir and heat until brown sugar dissolves. Spread the mixture on each hawaiian roll, and add ham and cheese. Close each roll. Melt remaining 1 TBL butter and 1 TBL poppy seeds (in microwave or another saucepan) and drizzle on top of each bun. Cook in the oven for about 15 minutes- until the cheese melts.

I linked this one to:

Seven Layer Taco Dip

INGREDIENTS:
2 cans of Frito bean dip
3 ripe avocados
2 TBL lemon or lime juice
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup mayo
1 taco seasoning envelope
1 large bunch green onions, chopped
3 medium tomatoes, chopped
1 can black olives, sliced
1-2 cups shredded cheddar and monterey jack cheese

DIRECTIONS:
On a large platter, spread out the bean dip evenly.
In a separate bowl, mash avocados and add lemon/lime juice and salt and pepper.
Spread the avocado layer on top of the bean dip.
In another bowl, mix sour cream, mayo and taco seasoning.
Spread the sour cream mixture on top of the avocado mix.
Top with green onions, tomatoes, olives and cheese (all in layers).
Serve with tortilla chips! Delicious!

Roasted Broccoli

I normally always steam my broccoli- but this I saw this in a Cooking Light magazine and altered it a little bit to fit what I had. It turned out yummy!

INGREDIENTS:
Broccoli
Olive Oil
Kosher Salt
Freshly Ground Pepper
Minced Garlic
Fresh Parmesan Cheese Shavings
Lemon (need the real thing for juice and zest!)

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 425. In a bowl, mix DRY (nothing will stick to wet/rinsed broccoli) broccoli florets with some olive oil, kosher salt, pepper and garlic to taste. Toss well. Put onto a cookie sheet and cook in hot oven for about 10 minutes (until the garlic is just started to turn brown on the edges). Remove and toss with lemon juice (I used half a lemon) and the zest from that lemon, more salt/pepper if needed, and parmesan cheese shavings. It still has a little crunch and taste of fresh broccoli, but the flavors from the roasting/seasonings are really yummy!

Camera Strap Covers for Sale!

My mom is an amazing seamstress, and has created lots of things we LOVE- and I've had a lot of compliments and people wanting to buy some of her products. We're going to give this a start with camera straps! Below you'll see the pictures of each camera strap, the dimensions and the price. Please email: davisfamilydining@yahoo.com if you are interested in any of the following! Thanks!

Camera Strap 1- SOLD!

$15 (includes s/h)

2" x 20"

Camera Strap 2

1 3/4" x 21"

$15 (includes s/h)

Camera Strap 3

2" x 19 3/4"

$15 (includes s/h)

Camera Strap 4

2" by 19 1/2"

$15 (includes s/h)

Camera Strap 5

2" by 20 1/4"

$15 (includes s/h)  SOLD!

Email: davisfamilydining@yahoo.com for any questions! Prices will be $5 less for anyone not requiring shipping and handling. Thanks!