Happy Birthday!

I've been a bad blogger, but I have a good excuse! My little boy celebrated his third birthday last weekend. I can't even believe that he is already that old!! He's been a bit of a "Mickey Mouse" addict lately, so we had our very own clubhouse party. I had to post a picture of the cake that Christy and I made... but I promise to have a new recipe up soon! Hope everyone is doing well!

Blueberry Pancakes

The kids are in bed, my lesson plans are done, papers are half-way graded, and I needed a blogging break! I missed my blogging buddies! :)

One of the hardest things about going back to work full time is that I now miss out on morning cuddle time. Luckily, both of my little ones are big cuddlers and we would start every morning cuddling up, having a nice breakfast together, and starting our day. In my effort to be an optimist, I've decided that we will just have to make the most of our lazy weekend mornings. I saw this recipe on allrecipes.com and decided that it would be a great variation on our normal pancakes. It didn't hurt that blueberries were on sale and I had a pint ready to go in the fridge. I will warn that it does take a little bit of planning ahead as the batter needs to sit for about an hour before the pancakes are made. The final product was light and fluffy, and well worth the wait!

Blueberry Pancakes
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoons white sugar
1 egg
1 cup milk
1/2 tablespoon butter, melted
1/2 cup fresh blueberries, plus more for serving


In a large bowl, sift together flour, salt, baking powder and sugar. In a small bowl, beat together egg and milk. Stir milk and egg into flour mixture. Mix in the butter and fold in the blueberries. Set aside for 1 hour. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot.

Source: www.allrecipes.com

Sugar Snap and Beef Stir Fry

This is another great "Chinese Food at Home" recipe! Pam, over at For the Love of Cooking, has not disappointed me yet. I always know I'm going to love her recipes. This dish had an incredible flavor and was really easy to make. My one suggestion wold be to let your meat sit in the marinade for as long as possible. A very busy day (and a scattered mind) resulted in mine marinating for only about an hour and a half. It was wonderful, but would be so much better if allowed to sit longer, as Pam suggests.

Hope everyone is doing well! I haven't had as much time to post comments as I would like, but I am still checking out your blogs to get wonderful dinner ideas for my family! I promise to be better about checking in on your sites once I grow more accustomed to the new schedule!

Sugar Snap and Beef Stir Fry
For the beef marinade:
1 lb flank steak, thinly sliced against the grain
1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1/2 tablespoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon chili sauce
1/4 teaspoon white sugar
1 clove of garlic, minced

(Combine all ingredients in a large zip lock bag and place in refrigerator for 1-6 hours.)

For the stir fry veggies:
Sugar snap peas, trimmed
Broccoli florets, steamed until tender
1/4 cup of shredded carrots
2-3 baby bell peppers, sliced
1/4 red onion, sliced
2-3 green onions, sliced (divided)
1 clove of garlic, minced
1-2 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated

(Steam broccoli florets. Clean and chop all vegetables then set aside until ready to cook.)

For the sauce:
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 teaspoons white sugar
2 teaspoons hoisin sauce
1 teaspoon chili sauce

(Combine all ingredients and whisk until mixed thoroughly. Set aside.)

Remaining ingredients:
Sesame oil (to cook meat and vegetables)
Sesame seeds (garnish)
Brown rice, prepare according to the directions (I used white rice to keep my husband happy!)

Heat 1 teaspoon of sesame oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add beef to the pan; stir fry for 2 minutes or until done. Place beef in a bowl and set aside. Add the last remaining teaspoon of sesame oil to the pan. Add onion and sauté 1 minute. Add the remaining vegetables along with half of the green onions, and sauté for 2-3 minutes. Add minced garlic and freshly grated ginger, cook stirring continuously for 45 seconds. Add beef and stir fry sauce then cook for an additional minute or until thoroughly heated. Serve over brown rice and garnish with green onions and sesame seeds.

Source: For the Love of Cooking

Porky Top

This is one of those recipes that you can try to shoot from every angle and still won't get a decent picture of. In retrospect, I really should have taken the sausage off the top because it really doesn't look appropriate! :) I'm hoping you'll be able to look past this to try the dish! This casserole is my husband's ultimate comfort food. It's a meal that his grandmother used to make, and his parents after that. If I remember correctly, it's also the first meal he ever made me. The dish uses ingredients that are fairly easy to keep on hand, and it does get put together pretty quickly.

On a sad note, my blogging is about to get a little more limited. My maternity leave is ending and I am about to head back to teaching full time. The idea of leaving my little ones during the day is really difficult for me to even think about. If I didn't have the BEST babysitter in the world, I wouldn't even be able to imagine it. Needless to say, my evening time will be more limited and as much as I love blogging about recipes, I want every spare second to spend with my family. (Once they go to bed-- the grading pen and lesson planning comes out! :) ) I am still hoping to update my blog on the weekends, and check in with my favorite bloggers whenever I have spare time. I hope you guys will be patient with me... I've developed so many incredible foodie friendships and look forward to continuing to share and discover recipes and ideas with all of you.

Porky Top
2 cans tomato soup
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup green pepper, finely diced
Velveeta cheese
Brown and Serve Sausage (I prefer the 'beef' variety-- but you can use any)
2 cups uncooked macaroni

In a saucepan, mix the tomato soup and water over low heat. Mix in the green peppers. Cook the macaroni noodles according to the directions on the box. In an oven-safe bowl, mix the noodles and the tomato soup mixture together. Cut up 1/2 of the box of sausage (into thin slices) and mix in with the noodles and soup. Cut chunks of the velveeta and also mix in with the noodles. The amount of cheese you choose to add varies, depending on taste. We prefer things pretty cheesy here, so we add quite a bit!

Smooth the top of the casserole mixture. Place the other half of the sausages on top in a pinwheel design. Place small slices of cheese in-between each sausage. Bake in a oven preheated to 350 degrees for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Source: Grandma Ellis

Raspberry Smoothie

My son recently discovered milkshakes. The kid wants them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. . . with just a few in-between! I can't say I blame him. If it weren't for the fact that you would be rolling me out of my house, I'd probably join him in his quest! Knowing this isn't exactly the healthiest option, I wanted to come up with a way to still satisfy his sweet tooth while giving him a bit more nutritional of a choice. If seeds bother you, you will want to either puree your berries and strain them first, or come up with a different fruit option for your smoothie. I am anxious to make a strawberry-banana smoothie next. I think that would be a hit as well! It couldn't be any easier to throw this together and would be a great "on the go" option for early morning work or school days.

Raspberry Smoothie
1 cup frozen red raspberries (or alternate fruit)
1 cup apple juice
8 ounces vanilla yogurt
1/2 tablespoon honey

Pour ingredients into a blender. Cover and blend until smooth.

Marinated Cucumber Salad

Last month, my husband and I celebrated our wedding anniversary. Even though we celebrated at that point, I couldn't let yesterday go by without acknowledging its importance. Yesterday marked 10 years that my husband and I have been together. I wanted to make a special dinner for him. He's a big seafood fan, so I decided to make the tilapia that my sister posted some time ago. You can find that recipe here-- it is really a good one! One thing that Rachel did say was that there was a bit of heat with this crust due to the red pepper flakes. I knew my husband would love that aspect of it, but I don't do real well with a lot of extra heat. Rather than adjust the seasoning, I made it as she recommended and chose this cucumber salad to be a 'cool' balance to the heat. This salad was incredibly easy to make and came together very quickly. The only thing to note is that it tastes much better served very cold, so make sure that you allow plenty of time to leave it in the fridge before serving. Now that everyone's cucumbers are coming out of their gardens, it is a great, economical choice for a side dish!

Marinated Cucumber Salad
4 cucumbers, thinly sliced
1 small white onion, thinly sliced
1 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup water
3/4 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon dried dill, more or less to taste

Toss together the cucumbers and onion in a large bowl. Combine the vinegar, water and sugar in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, and pour over the cucumber and onions. Stir in dill, cover, and refrigerate until cold. This can also be eaten at room temperature, but be sure to allow the cucumbers to marinate for at least 1 hour.

***Important note: Don't make the vinegar solution before chopping the cucumber because it's important that the vinegar solution be hot when poured over the vegetables to ensure proper flavoring.

Source: Allrecipes.com

Top Sirloin with Onions and Carrots

This is another meal from my new Sam's Club cookbook that I wrote about earlier this month. This was the third thing I have tried from it, and I liked it just as much as the others! My only regret with this one was that it really is a meal that is better for fall or winter weather. The picture in the cookbook looked so good that I just couldn't hold off on at least trying it, though! It has all the makings of comfort food and the flavors really blended together nicely. There was a nice sweetness to the vegetables that complemented the beef perfectly. I'll definitely be making it again, but will hold off until cooler temperatures. I say that now but just looking at the picture, I'm craving it again! :)

Top Sirloin with Onions and Carrots
4 slices bacon
4 small onions, peeled and cut into 1-inch slices
8 small carrots, halved lengthwise
4 small red potatoes, cut up (about 1 pound total)
1/2 cup beef broth
1/4 cup beer
1 tablespoon packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed
1 1/4 pounds boneless beef top sirloin steak, cut 1.5-2 inches thick
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Fresh thyme (optional)

In a large skillet, cook the bacon over medium heat until crisp. Remove it from the skillet and drain it on paper towels. Drain the skillet, reserving about 1 tablespoon of the drippings. In the same skillet, cook the onions over medium heat for about 3 minutes per side or until browned. Remove the onions and set aside. Add the carrots, cooking for about 5 minutes, turning occasionally. Remove the skillet from the heat. Carefully add the potatoes, broth, beer, brown sugar, and half of the dried thyme. Return the onions to the skillet. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat. Simmer, covered, for 30-35 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.

Meanwhile, season the beef wtih remaining dried thyme, salt, and pepper. Place on the unheated rack of a broiler pan. Broil 4-5 inches from the heat for 16-22 minutes for medium-rare or 22-28 minutes for medium, turning once halfway through broiling. Cut into 4 pieces.

Remove the vegetables from the pan with a slotted spoon. Gently boil the juices, uncovered, for 1-2 minutes or until slightly thickened. Divide the steak, vegetables, and bacon among 4 plates. Spoon juices over and sprinkle with fresh thyme, if desired. Serves 4.

Source: Favorite Family Dinners