The Slotted Spoon

Doing what I can't... 

...and I love her for it!

My new food blog hero! Thanks for the tip Tina...

My first recipe to try : Costa Vida Sweet Pork!

Hawaiian Haystacks

This is one of those make up as you go, add what you have, type of meals, made entirely out of staple foods!

For the chicken and gravy base I just cooked chicken in my crock-pot on low with a little water, veggies and seasonings.  6 hours later I drained & rinsed the chicken and put it back in the crock-pot with cream of chicken soup (or cream of mushroom or both!!) thinned with some chicken stock.

Used my rice cooker to make about 3 cups white rice 

then prepared my toppings...

crunchy chow mein noodles

shredded cheddar cheese

toasted coconut

toasted almonds

green onions

raisens

celery

Pineapple

Mandarin oranges

anything tropical really or with and interesting texture (crunchy, chewy etc!)

Just pile it all on there - they go together surprisingly well

for little kids I make individual piles, they seem to take to it a bit better if it is all separated, maybe so they can eat all of the cheese and oranges and no celery idk!

Chocolate mayo cake-just try it!

Ok, I promise not to do anymore posts for a while to give everyone else a turn. :) Sorry! This is yet another hand-me-down, but from my other grandma who grew up in Germany during WWII. It is the most moist and delicious cake you will ever eat....well, that's homemade. And I absolutely PROMISE it tastes NOTHING like mayonnaise! I tried it out on my in-laws, and you don't do anything to upset in-laws. :) (They loved it, by the way.) So, just try it.

Chocolate Mayo Cake

1 C warm water
3 1/2 Tbsp. cocoa
1 1/4 C sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
2 C flour
2 tsp. soda
1 C mayo
1 tsp. vanilla

Mix everything together in one bowl.

Pour into greased pan(s). (Random note: I always coat the pans with butter (or tons of spray), then sprinkle some flour over that. This way, the cakes just slide right out of the pans.)
For two layers bake at 350 for 30 - 35 minutes.

For one layer? (We don't bake one layer cakes at my house, so I have no idea how long to cook one layer...just keep checking it and don't let it burn.) :)

Frost with cool whip, frosting, or cream cheese frosting. (also, at this point, you will probably lose your camera that you gave to your two year old to take pictures with, so revert to using your camera phone...)

(you can just buy the cream cheese frosting from the store, but I've never tried it and this kind is superb)

Cream Cheese Frosting

8 oz. cream cheese, softened. (HAS to be Philadelphia brand-spend the extra 20 cents-trust me)
2 Tbsp. butter, softened (margarine is fine)
2 tsp. vanilla
4 C powdered sugar

Mix all ingredients together except the powdered sugar.
When mixed well, slowly add the powdered sugar.
If too thick, add a few drops of milk.
If too thin, add more powdered sugar.

TA-DA! Enjoy!!!

Grandma's Rolls

At my family's Thanksgiving and Christmas get together's, you will want to eat a minimum of 10 rolls. They are DELISH! I realized the other day that I am a big girl now and can make the rolls whenever I want.....except that I need the recipe. I called my grandma and asked for the coveted recipe, so now I am going to share with you! Your welcome. :)

Easy Grandma's Rolls

1 pkg yeast (or 1 tbsp)
1/4 C shortening (NOT butter or margarine!!)
1 tsp salt
1 C milk
1/4 C sugar
3 1/2 C flour
1 egg, well beaten

Soften yeast in 1/4 C warm water. (I wasn't sure how to "soften" yeast, so I just dissolved it like I normally would do for bread.) Put shortening, sugar and salt into a large bowl. Scald milk, pour over shortening, sugar and salt and stir until shortening is melted. Cool until lukewarm. Add 2 C flour and beat 1 minute at medium speed; add softened yeast and the beaten egg. Beat batter smooth at medium speed for 1/2 minute. With a WOODEN spoon, stir in 1 1/2 C more flour and beat batter for 2 minutes until smooth.

Cover and let rise until double (about one hour).

Then stir down and beat thoroughly with a wooden spoon. Let rise again until double in bulk (about 30 minutes). Stir down and shape into rolls of your choice.
(In my family, it's a tradition do always do these kind-with the three sides to make it easy to pull apart.)

But, just know, if you are going to do these this way (which I totally recommend), make SURE you have extra Crisco ready. It will help tons when rolling the dough into balls.

Place on sheet (or in muffin tins) and let rise again until they are the size that you want.

Bake at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes (ovens do vary, so watch carefully). When they start to brown on top, they will be done all the way through.

I know that you are asking why these are so special since they are so super easy (like everything I make...), but seriously...you HAVE to try them at least once. You'll never be satisfied with store-bought rolls again. :) Enjoy!!

Cheesy chicken casserole

I did NOT grow up a fan of casseroles. So, naturally, when one of my neighbors brought me one after I had my second baby, I was more than a bit worried. After I pretended to be totally excited about it and she left, I told Shane he needed to go out and get us pizza. He made me try this, though, and it is hands down my all time FAVORITE meal EVER. I am IN. LOVE. with this. So, for those of you picky eaters/busy moms out there...this one is for you. This is easy and super fast! P.S. If something is bolded, it is my personal opinion/suggestion, so feel free to completely ignore it. :)

Cheesy Chicken Noodle Casserole

4 C egg noodles (uncooked) (the wide ones are usually the best)
2 small cans of cream of chicken soup
2 C sour cream
2 C milk
3-4 tbsp of bottle lemon juice (or to taste)
1/2 tsp garlic salt (to taste)
1/2 tsp pepper (to taste)
12 oz bag crunchy chow mein noodles (LaChoy)
13 oz can chicken breast (I have only been able to find 12.5 oz cans, which work just fine)
3-4 C grated cheddar cheese (I usually only use 2 cups and it is still uber cheesy and less fattening)

In a large pan, cook 4 cups of egg noodles as instructed on the package.

Drain, set aside.

Combine soup, sour cream, milk, lemon juice, garlic salt, and pepper in a large pan.

Stir ingredients together over medium heat until smooth.

Add cooked egg noodles, 1 C crunchy noodles (or more as desired), and the can of chicken breast.

Stir until mixed together well and chicken breaks up a little. (or if you are a cheater/impatient like me, use a knife or fork or whatever to break the chicken up beforehand)

Spray a lasagna pan with cooking spray. Pour noodle mixture in the pan while trying to hold the camera in the other hand and not drop it in the sink,

cover with more crunchy noodles, then spread the cheese on top of this (DON'T SKIMP!).

Drizzle a little more lemon juice (or water, or milk-whichever you prefer) over the casserole, then cover and bake at 350 degrees for approximately 1 hour, until the cheese is completely melted and the casserole is heated through. (Important!: Usually I only have to cook it about 30 minutes--sometimes 45--until the cheese is melted, but it varies from oven to oven. Check it after 30 minutes and see what you think. Don't let the cheese burn, though. Yuck.)
All done!! Enjoy!


The great thing about this recipe is that you can make it whenever you have time during the day, then stick it in the fridge until you are ready to cook it. It only takes about 15 minutes to prep everything, then you are good to go!

Easy Peasy Cinnamon Rolls

So, for my very first post on here, I decided to start you ladies out with a wonderful (INSANELY easy) homemade cinnamon rolls recipe. :) Hope you enjoy these as much as we do! *Some notes about this that are totally optional-purely what I prefer-with the frosting, don't double it (that's waaay too much), but just what the recipe calls for never seems like enough, so 1 1/2 it. Also, wait to frost the rolls until they have cooled almost all the way. Otherwise, you end up with more frosting melted on the pan than the rolls. And one last thing-when it says roll dough into a rectangle, an oval is good enough if you can't get those edges quite right. :) Let me know if you have any questions.

Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

2 (.25 oz) pkgs active dry yeast

2 1/2 C warm water

1 (9 oz) pkg yellow cake mix

1 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

5 C all-purpose flour

The inside goodness:

1/2 C butter or margarine-melted

3/4 C white sugar

2 tsp ground cinnamon

Frosting:

3 C confectioner's sugar

1/2 C butter or margarine-softened

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 1/2 Tbsp milk

Directions: In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Let it stand until creamy (about 10 minutes). Then combine the yeast mixture with the cake mix, salt, and vanilla; stir well to combine. Stir in the flour; beat well. Cover bowl and let rise in a warm place for one hour. Deflate dough and turn it out onto a well floured surface. Roll dough out into a rectangle and spread with butter. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar (combine in a bowl beforehand to make things real easy). Roll up dough and cut into 3/4 inch thick rolls. Place rolls in two lightly greased baking pans. Cover and let rise until doubled (about 45 minutes). Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake rolls for 15-20 minutes. While rolls are cooling, prepare the frosting. In a medium bowl, stir together everything for the frosting. After the rolls have cooled a bit, spread with the frosting. Enjoy!!

When Life Gives You Lemons...

...Make Sandi's Wonderful Hot Cider Drink!!!

1/2 Gallon Apple Juice
1 small can frozen orange juice concentrate
1 small can frozen lemonade concentrate {get it!?!}
1 quart water 
1 cup sugar
1 tsp allspice
3 sticks cinnamon
8 cloves

Mix and heat in crock pot

I've been blah, blek, blue lately and very much in a blogging shlump so I knew to get out of it I needed to blog something, anything...  

voila!  

It's been 15 days since Gramps passed away.  

Most all of his Grandkids and Great-Grand Children last saw him on Halloween, dutifully parading costumes in exchange for a king sized candy bar (oh, baby!)  And while it is still a fresh and vivid memory I am afraid it will fade so I have found something bright to connect with it and keep it alive.  Minutes after visiting Gramps we went to my Aunt Sandi's and she had the most delicious aroma in her home, and offered us her Hot Cider.  Warm and delicious I spent many weeks craving it so I decided to serve it at my ThanksGiving dinner.  I hope to make my own tradition from it somehow and have its home-filling scent help me keep Gramp's memory alive for my girls.  

Also, in full effort to unshlumpitize I took my OWN picture of the cider:

{even though I was overwhelmingly tempted to deceitfully post a google image search picture as my own!}

And it is scandalously possible that if I would have seen this picture

before taking my own, I would have tried it!!!!

It looks so much like my mugs it is scary!