Easy and Delicious Crock Pot Apple Crisp…That You Can Make While You Camp!

What could be better than savoring a spoonful of warm apple crisp as you sit around the campfire with friends and family?? 

This was the first time I tried this and I will definitely be making it again!  

Crock Pot Apple Crisp (Great for Fall Camping!!)

• 6-8 medium baking apples,
• 1 tsp lemon juice (to toss the prepared apples in to keep them fresh),

…Crumb Topping

• 2/3 cup quick-cooking oats,
• 2/3 cup flour,
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon,
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg,
• 1/2 cup butter, softened (not melted)

And if you like your apple crisp sweet…

• a container of sugar and cinnamon to sprinkle on the apples before you add the topping, or on each serving once it’s cooked to suit your taste. 

Before you leave home, use a pastry blender to combine the butter and dry ingredients, then toss the mixture into a zip lock bag and put it into the cooler to take with you. 

At the campsite, peel and slice 6-8 apples right into the crock pot. (If you use a liner, you won’t even have to clean the crock pot afterwards!)  We skipped the lemon juice since our cooler space was limited. Sprinkle the apple slices with sugar and cinnamon and stir them up if you like your crisp a little sweeter.

Dump the crumb mixture on top of the apples, place a double paper towel between the lid and the crock to absorb moisture, and cook on high for 2 hours, or until apples are tender. 

Scoop, sprinkle with more sugar and cinnamon to taste, and enjoy! 

Yep, I have a pretty major sweet tooth, lol!

The Secret Spices In My Sweet Heat Cucumber Relish

Ever since I tasted an acquaintance's Sweet Heat Pickle Relish, I’ve been addicted.  I love it on hotdogs, hamburgers, and especially ham sandwiches. 

Unwilling to keep buying it at $5.50 per tiny little jar, I decided this year to try to make my own. 

I looked at countless online recipes, and experimented with lots of different spices.  We made several trial batches, each time tweaking the spices and sugar a bit.  And I think I’ve finally developed a winner!!!!

You know what the unusual spices are?  Cinnamon and All-spice!  Sounds crazy I know, but it tastes delicious!  It’s too early to post the recipe.  I want to let the jars sit a spell and then try it and see how the flavors have melded.  But I’m really really excited!

If we still love it after it has sat for a while, I’ll definitely share the recipe with you! 

I’m curious, though.  Have you ever heard of adding such spices to a pickle relish??  My mom thinks I’m daffy, lol!

Now I’m just trying to decide what to do with the previous experimental batches!  I hate to waste all that relish.  But no one wants anything but the final product now!  :)

Moist and Delicious CHOCOLATE~ORANGE~BROWNIES

I concocted this a few weeks ago and it was such a HUGE hit that I wanted to share it with you!  I have no idea why I didn’t try this sooner!!  It’s an adaptation of our favorite rich and moist brownie recipe.  Plus, it’s super QUICK and EASY! 

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Super Moist Orange Brownies

• 1 1/2 C flour
• 2 C sugar
• 1/2 C + 2 tbsp cocoa
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 C oil (actually, just slightly over a cup for more moistness)
• 4 eggs
• 2 tsp orange extract
• The zest of one orange
• Optional:  (though we’ve never felt the need) add 1 C nuts, 1 C chocolate chips, or even chocolate syrup to the mix/top before baking.

Bake at 350 degrees in 9X13 dish for exactly 30 minutes.

Comes out perfect.  Every single time.  :) This brownie recipe FAR outclasses every single recipe I’ve ever tried!

The original recipe (which calls for 2 tsp vanilla and no orange zest) is amazing, too.  But the substitution of orange zest and orange extract takes it to a whole new level of delightfulness! 

Trust me.  This recipe is a KEEPER, friends!

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I’m playing along with Tempt My Tummy and Tasteful Tuesdays, this week.  There are LOTS of good recipes posted today, so don’t forget to check some of them out.  :)

By the way, the winner of the Abel’s Field DVD giveaway is Adminswife!  Congratulations!!  Please get in touch with me so I can have the movie sent your way!

Game Day Recipes

If you are into the big game this weekend, you might want to check out this gathering of game day recipes hosted at the Gooseberry Patch Blog! 

As of this moment, there are 142 recipes and counting!  If you are on a diet, stay away!  Lol! 

Have a great weekend, friends!

Moist Rich (EASY) Brownies That Totally Put Box-Mixes To Shame!

I found this recipe a few weeks ago and my whole family had the same response.  Wow.   I’ve since made them 3 or 4 more times and we simply can’t get enough of them!  It makes a family size pan.  But don’t let that fool you into thinking they will last more than a day!  Unless you hid them from the kids…lol!

Moist Rich Brownies

• 1 1/2 C Flour
• 2 C Sugar
• 1/2 C + 2 tbsp. Cocoa
• 1 tsp. Salt
• 1 C Oil (just slightly overfilled)
• 4 Eggs
• 2 tsp Vanilla
• 1 C Nuts (optional)
• 3/4 C Chocolate chips

Mix everything together.  Pour into 9x13 greased pan.  (I use an ungreased glass dish and they are just fine.)
Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.  On the dot.
If you want, you could drizzle chocolate syrup over the top for an even richer desert.  Mmmmmmm.  I haven’t done this with my guys simply because I can see it becoming an addiction!  :) 

Enjoy!!
Tip:  I would use up any box-mixes you have on hand before you make these.  Otherwise you’ll end up like me with several boxes of brownies no one wants anymore. 

Mom’s Sweet Relish

My mom has been making this sweet relish for over 40 years.  Everyone who has tasted it raves that is the best relish they have ever tasted.  In fact, my own family has been begging relish off my mom ever since they tried it years ago! 

My dad eventually wrote down the recipe for me and this year I finally worked up the courage to try a batch on my own! 

My son says it tastes even better than Grandmom’s!  Lol! 

I highly doubt that!  But I’m glad it turned out! 

I actually made three batches, which translated into more relish than we could possibly use in a year.  But I plan to share several jars with neighbors and friends.

It’s so much easier than I thought it would be.  Here’s the recipe, directly from the hand of my dad.  :) 

 

Did you notice?  It took me 11 years to get around to making it after he wrote out the recipe for me!  I wish I had tried it sooner!  I’ll be making this again next year, I’m sure!  :)

Apple Butter

A few weeks ago, I made some apple butter.  It was actually a slow cooker recipe.  But I did it a little differently, and it still came out delicious.

Instead of coring and pairing the apples and cooking them in the slow cooker, I simply washed, cut and cooked them with skins and cores in tact.  Once they were mushy, I put them through my strainer.  It saved me a lot of time on the prep end.

Then I added the sugar and spices to the sauce and dumped it in the slow cooker to meld the flavors for four or five hours.  

It was all I could do not to eat the whole batch before it was done cooking!  And the house smelled wonderful!!! 

Incidentally, I didn’t have any ground cloves, so I had to get creative with a hammer and strainer.  Lol!  You needed to know that, right?

Apple Butter

Ingredients:

• @6 lbs of apples (I used Jonathans)
• 2 Tablespoons vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups of raw or brown sugar. 
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves (I’m going to use less next time)
• 3-4 teaspoons cinnamon

Peel and core the apples.  Cook in a slow cooker until mushy.  Then mush them up and add the spices.  Cook for a few more hours.

OR

Cut up the apples with skins and cores in tact.  Cook them on the stove till mushy, adding a dribble of water to the pan in the beginning, and stirring often.  Then put it through a strainer, add spices, and cook in a slow cooker for several hours. 

It will keep in the fridge for a few weeks.  Or you can freeze/can some.  Jars of apple butter would make wonderful Christmas gifts for teachers or anyone!  Just print off your own creative label and tie a pretty ribbon around the lid. 

*******************************************************************************

This is the first time I’ve made apple butter, and I was delighted with how easy it was!  It’s the perfect way to use up the great buys on apples this time of year.  :)

Ah,The Pitfalls Of Blogging…

After drooling all over the pictures of my friend’s birthday peanut butter pie on Homesteader’s Heart, I had to ask for the recipe. 

And then I had to make it. 

And after I gave the boys each a teensy weensy piece, I dished myself up a rather large piece on the sly. 

Later, I had to come back for more because—well—just because. 

And when I got up at 2 in the morning for a drink of milk, I had to eat a piece of the pie that was sticking out funny. 

Had to, mind you. 

It seems I’m totally powerless to resist it.

Even now, the quarter of the pie that is left in the fridge is calling to me.

No one on face book can answer my question.  So I’ll ask you. 

Why can’t broccoli call to me instead??  Lol!

You should try this pie.  Seriously.  It is DE-licious!!!

Thanks, friend, for giving me five more reasons to go back to CURVES this fall!  Jeesh.

Fast And Easy Homemade Ice Cream Without An Ice Cream Maker!

Looking for something to do with your kids or grandkids to pass the hot summer days??  Try this homemade ice cream!  It’s easy, mess-contained, and yummy!    

What you’ll need:

• 2 Tbsp sugar
• 1 Cup half and half (The only thing I needed to go buy)
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup coarse salt (we used table salt!)
• Ice cubes
• and two ziplock bags

Combine sugar, half and half and vanilla in a quart-sized bag and zip it up.

Fill a gallon sized ziplock half full of ice, add salt, and place the first little bag inside with the ice.  Seal the big bag and shake for about 5 minutes!  You will feel the ice cream begin to harden. :)

Enjoy the process and see who thinks to run for gloves first, Lol!

And when it’s done, you can remove the little bag, rinse it off and eat it right out of the bag! 

Or you can squeeze it into a bowl and add your favorite topping!

Which for us, means fresh peaches!  Yum!!!!!

A Tempt My Tummy Tuesday Link-up.  :)

Chocolate Fudge Cake With Mint Chips

The Valentines cake I made was a huge hit!  The consistency was so moist it was almost like fudge.  Yum!!  I know the directions seem more complicated.  But it wasn’t at all hard, and I’ll definitely be making it again! 

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup vegetable spread (I used a light version for the cake body)
• 6 squares (1 oz. ea.) bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped, OR 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 4 eggs, separated
• Pinch salt
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 5 Tbsp. vegetable spread (here, I substituted a little more than half real butter and the rest light vegetable spread, and added about 1/3 C of powdered sugar)
• 10 squares (1 oz. ea.) bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped, OR 1-2/3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
• Extra chocolate and mint chips for garnish.  I imagine butterscotch would also be yummy!

Directions:

For CAKE, preheat oven to 350°. Grease 9-inch round cake pan, then line with parchment or waxed paper; set aside.

Melt spread with chocolate in 1-quart saucepan over low heat, stirring occasionally; set aside to cool slightly.

Beat egg whites with salt in medium bowl with electric mixer until stiff peaks form; set aside.

Beat egg yolks with sugar in medium bowl with electric mixer until light and smooth, about 2 minutes. While beating, slowly add chocolate mixture until blended. Beat in flour. Fold in egg whites with spatula just until blended. Pour into prepared pan.

Bake 30 minutes. (Note: Toothpick inserted in center will NOT come out clean.) Run knife around rim of cake to loosen cake from sides of pan; cool 15 minutes on wire rack. Remove cake from pan and cool completely.

For GLAZE, melt vegetable spread (or real butter if you like) with chocolate in 1-quart saucepan over low heat, stirring occasionally. Spread warm glaze over cake.

Optional: Decorate with Chocolate and Mint chips.  The mint chips were delicious with it, and my guys were fighting over the pieces with the most green.  :) 

Yoda Soda

We had a kick off party for the Star Wars Clone Wars Season 3 Premier.  It was mainly for the younger crowd.  But I think it’s safe to say that everyone had a blast!

And the favorite treat of the evening?  Yoda Soda, of course.  :)  

You could go to the trouble of setting up a punch bowl.  But I chose to go the float-in-plastic-cups-route for my group of light saber swinging boys.  For obvious reasons.  Lol!

Simply put a couple scoops of lime sherbet in a cup, add lemon lime soda, then plunk in a straw.  Wah-Lah!  The tastiest The most refreshing float you’ve ever had!  Seriously.  It was SO good!

This little float is my breakfast this morning.  Because I forgot to take a picture at the party. 

Isn’t it fun what we get to do after we send the kids off to school?  Lol!  Shhhhh!  Don’t tell.  :)

 

Oh, And may the force be with you!

Zucchini Whoopie Pies

I tried this recipe a few weeks ago and it turned out to be a great way to use the zucchinis that are coming out my ears. 

The only thing I would do differently next time is to use a little less cream cheese and a little more butter in the filling.  My boys weren’t keen on being able to discern the cream cheese flavor.  I know.  You don’t have to tell me.  That’s the best part! 

Zucchini Whoopie Pies

• 1 C sugar
• 1 C grated zucchini
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 C vegetable shortening
• 1 egg
• 2 C flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 C milk
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 C chopped nuts (optional)

Mix together zucchini, sugar, soda, powder, shortening and egg.  Mix dry ingredients together, add milk.  Combine until smooth and stir in vanilla and nuts.  Drop by tablespoon full onto lightly greased cookie sheet.  Bake at 375 degrees for 9 to 10 minutes.

When they are cooled, spread filling between two and enjoy!

Cream Cheese Filling

• 7 ox cream cheese (soft)
• 3 tbsp. butter
• 1 lb. confectioner’s sugar
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• Mix well.

Because we made a triple batch, we wrapped a good many of them and put them in the freezer.  The boys enjoyed pulling them out and eating them like ice cream sandwiches.  Yum!

PS.  If you stopped by, chances are you have an abundance of zucchinis, too.  My mom’s recipe for Stuffed Zucchini is wonderful!  And I also love Zucchini Muffins.

 

I linked up over at:

• Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays at Blessed With Grace
• Tasty Tuesday at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam
• Tuesdays At The Table  at all the Small Stuff
• Tuesday Tastes at Crazy Daisy at Crazy Daisy 

Easy Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies

 

Peanut Butter and Chocolate are one of my favorite combinations.  So this Taste Of Home recipe caught my eye and I soon found myself adapting it to fit the ingredients I had on hand. 

It’s a rich, moist and delicious bar cookie that would be great to take to a party or get together.  (It’s easy, and looks pretty, too!!!)

Ingredients

• 1/2 C Butter, softened
• 2/3 C sugar
• 1/2 C packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 3/4 C all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 C creamy peanut butter (I used @ 1/2 C, since I didn’t have peanut butter chips on hand)
• 1/3 C peanut butter chips
• 1/3 C baking cocoa (I plan to use a little less next time.  The chocolate flavor was pretty strong.)
• 1/2 C semisweet chocolate chips (Again, I plan to use slightly less here, too.)  

Directions

Cream butter and sugars.  Add eggs and milk.  Mix.  Combine flour, baking powder and salt,  Add it and mix.

Divide batter in half.  To one portion, add peanut butter and peanut butter chips (if you have them) and mix.  To the other portion, add the cocoa and chocolate chips and mix.

In a greased 9 inch square baking pan, spoon chocolate batter in eight mounds in a checkerboard pattern.  Spoon seven mounds of peanut utter batter between the chocolate batter.  Cut through batter with a knife to swirl.

That’s it!  Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. 

This recipe is linked to Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, and Tasty Tuesday.

Rich and Delicious Cream Cheese Christmas Quiche

Twelve years ago, a friend brought this quiche to my door for my husband and I, who were adjusting to the squalling bundle of joy we had just brought home from the hospital.  We absolutely loved it (and the baby, btw) and before the leftovers were even cold, I was on the phone asking for the recipe!

The quiche has become a favorite treat which even my boys now look forward to having.  I like to serve it on Christmas morning because I can put it together the night before, set it in the fridge, then pop it in the oven first thing in the morning.  I love sipping my coffee, watching the kids open their presents, and smelling the quiche cooking in the oven!

My recipe is totally adjustable depending on the size of your pie dish and your own personal cheese preferences.  What you’ll need:

Christmas Quiche

• Pie crust (I use bought, don’t tell mom).
• 1  8 oz. package cream cheese, softened.
• 1/2 pound breakfast sausage (we like sage) browned and crumbled.
• 1 to 1 1/2 cups of shredded cheese (I broke up American cheese because it’s what I had, but you can use cheddar, Swiss, or whatever you like.)
• Roughly 5-8  eggs, beaten (depending on the size of your pie plate)
• @1/4 to 1/2 C milk.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Press pie crust into pie plate, making sure to close any rips.  Spread Cream Cheese evenly across the bottom of the pie shell and sprinkle sausage over that.  In a separate bowl beat the eggs and milk, and pour some into the pie shell, being careful to leave room to add cheese.  Add cheese.  Then finish filling with egg/milk mixture.  (You might want to take turns adding cheese and egg to make sure you have the balance you want.) 

Bake 35-45 minutes or until inserted knife comes out clean.  I like to bake it over a cookie sheet in case of spills or overflows.

Enjoy!

For more great recipes today, visit Lisa’s Tempt My Tummy Tuesday

Play Dough Recipe

Most kids love play dough.  My just-turned-five-year-old is no exception.  It might be obvious to you what he is making.  But I had to ask.“Mom,” he said, “dese are tanks an’ artiwery and d’ey’re having a battle!” 

I knew that.  

Heh-hem.   Anyways…

I love the smell of new Play-Doh.  And the feel of its soft smoothness in my fingers.  However, I usually have the worst luck trying to keep store-bought play dough (of any brand) fresh.  Often, it turns sticky or hard long before I think I’ve gotten my money’s worth. 

So when I began working with children, I experimented with different recipes for homemade play dough.  Many of you probably have a recipe tucked away.  But I wanted to share mine for those who don’t, or who have one which doesn’t work well. 

With this recipe, I could make a batch of homemade play dough at the beginning of the school year and it would stay soft and workable (without getting sticky) pretty much indefinitely.  I’d keep it until I imagined the germies from all those little fingers were breeding like bunnies.  :)   

It’s quick, easy, uses things most of us have on hand, and cheap to make!

Homemade Play Dough

• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 cup salt
• 2 T or less oil
• 2 t cream of tarter
• 1 cup water
• food coloring (if desired)

Stir over heat until it pulls from the sides of the pan, then turn it onto a piece of aluminum foil to cool. Store it in an air tight container.

You can read lots of cool stuff about Play-Doh at How Stuff Works. They even refer to the same ingredients that I've posted. They said the cream of tarter acts as a stiffener. I always wondered why cream of tarter was called for!

Saving a little money, having fun in the kitchen with your kids, and ending up with something that they’ll play with for countless hours-on-end definitely works for me! 

For other great Works For Me Wednesday tips and ideas, visit We Are That Family!

Delicious Zucchini Cupcakes: Stocking The Freezer For Handy Lunch Box Snacks

My boys have recently developed a crush on Zucchini Bread.  So I’ve been making it and freezing it while the Zucchini is in season. 

Today, however, I made a triple batch of batter and filled two cupcake trays along with my normal bread pan. 

Quick Breads (like Zucchini, Pumpkin, and Banana Bread) freeze well.  Plus, the cupcakes make handy lunch box treats!  Tonight, the boys were thrilled to find some in the cooler after soccer practice.  (I freeze them in baggies of three and just grab a bag on the way out the door.  How easy is that??)

Zucchini Bread recipes abound, but this one is deliciously moist!  Here it is, my favorite recipe, adapted from the Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book:

Zucchini Bread

• 1 1/2 Cup flour
• 1 tsp Ground Cinnamon (I add just a little more)
• 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
• 1/4 tsp Salt
• 1/4 tsp Baking powder
• 1/4 tsp Ground Nutmeg (Again, I add just a little more)
• 1 Cup sugar
• 1 Cup Shredded Unpeeled Zucchini (I put mine in the food processor because my boys don’t like to “see” the zucchini)
• 1/4 Cup Cooking Oil
• 1 Egg
• 1/4 tsp Finely shredded lemon peel (I use a squirt of lemon juice)
• 1/2 Cup chopped walnuts (My boys won’t eat nuts, so I skip this)

Mix dry ingredients in one bowl, wet ingredients in another, then combine.  Pour batter into greased 8x4x2 inch loaf pan.  Bake in a 350 degree oven for 55-60 minutes, or till tooth pick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Do not over cook.

For cupcakes, I cook them about 30 minutes. 

To freeze the cupcakes:  Remove them from the cupcake tin to a cookie sheet and freeze overnight.  Then seal them in baggies in convenient numbers for your needs. 

Also, I like to spray cooking oil in the pans and then use a bit of sugar to coat the bottom and edges.  It works the same and gives the bread a hint of sweetness that my boys enjoy! 

Check out what else is cooking at Tempt My Tummy Tuesday! and Tasty Tuesday!

Yummy Chocolate-Oatmeal Cookies

My kids were pestering for snacks, and as usual, nothing I suggested was saying it to them. 

So, I handed them my new little cookbook and said, “Then, pick something and make it.”

My oldest took the challenge while I continued to type. 

After a few minutes, I hear his voice from the kitchen…

“I don’t think you have enough vanilla.”

“How much does it take?”  I asked. 

“Three cups.”

I had a spontaneous snort.  “Uh, no.  Look again.”

Laughter.  “OOPS!   Make that 1 teaspoon.”

After that, I snooped through the kitchen several times.  Each time giggling at my “gifted” son’s ability to follow a recipe.  I sure hope he has as much luck writing his papers next year as he did with these cookies.

Because he did not (no how) follow the directions!  And they still tasted great!  (Why does that never happen to me??) In what I thought would be a fatal blow to his concoction, he didn’t boil the first couple ingredients before he added the last three. 

He just kind of melted and mixed and globbed them onto the wax paper.  I warned him that they might not harden.  He didn’t care.  He was just delighted with how gross the goo looked.

But, they did (harden, that is), and were DELISCIOUS!  I’m not sure what the consistency should have been.  But these hardened (for lack of a better word) into the consistency of soft fudge with an interesting texture from the oatmeal.  Wow, were they rich! 

So, I bring this recipe to you and can pretty much attest that you can’t mess it up.  That is, unless you add 3 cups of vanilla.  Lol!

Yummy Chocolate-Oatmeal Cookies

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
• 4 tablespoons cocoa
• 2 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 3 cups oatmeal, uncooked
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine butter, cocoa, sugar and milk in a 2 quart saucepan.  Bring to a boil and boil for 2 minutes.  Remove from heat, add peanut butter, oatmeal, and vanilla and mix well.

Drop by teaspoonfuls onto wax paper.

Yield: 24 cookies

Try to pace yourselves.  It’s probably healthier not to eat them all in one sitting.  And if you actually follow the directions, I’d love to hear how yours turn out!

To see what everyone else is cooking, visit Tempt My Tummy Tuesday and Tasty Tuesday.  Join us!

Easy Zesty Italian Pasta Salad

Pasta Salad is the perfect hot weather food.  I like to make up a bowl to keep in the fridge on days like this when no one is interested in hot food.

What I include depends on what vegetables are in season.  And I don’t measure anything (sorry).  I just cook how much pasta I think we will need and then add the other things to my liking. 

Here are my favorite ingredients, along with what I use to season it:

• Spiral pasta (cooked, drained and rinsed with cold water)
• Broccoli/Cauliflower
• Cucumbers
• Carrots
• Sweet yellow, orange or red bell peppers
• Blanched Fresh Peas (Now you know what I did with the peas I picked!)
• Cherry or Grape Tomatoes (which I didn’t have this time)
• Cheddar Cheese (tiny cubes)
• Parmesan Cheese (as much as a cup or two, depending on how much I’m making)
• Zesty Italian Salad Dressing (to taste—I add some when I’m making it, but usually add a little more when I serve it, since it soaks in.)
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• Wyler’s Shakers Zesty Italian and Herb Instant bouillon and seasoning to taste.  Optional.  I use a sprinkle to enhance the flavor, if I have any on hand.  It allows me to cut down on the dressing.

Tip:  If you plan to store it in the fridge for more than a day or two, keep the cheese and cucumbers separate.  They are best added fresh.

Not only is this an easy dish, my boys, who usually put their noses up at anything with noodles in it, LOVE it!  And it’s a great way to get them to eat vegetables!

For more Kitchen tips and Recipes, or to share your own, join us at:  Tempt My Tummy Tuesday!, Tasty Tuesday, and Kitchen Tip Tuesday!

Turkey And Filling Wraps

Nothing fancy here.  In fact, I’m kind of embarrassed to put this picture up.

However, my boys insisted this was blog-worthy, and one of the best lunches ever.  

They even arranged this last one a plate before they fought over how to divide it up.

I confess, it was really born out of my attempt to make a lunch out of slim pickings.  In the fridge, we had a little turkey lunch meat which needed to be eaten, but not a single slice of bread in the house.

So I cooked up some boxed stuffing and rolled spoonfuls in layers of the turkey.  Then I put the rolls in a casserole dish, sprinkled them with pepper, covered the dish with foil, and placed it in the oven for a few minutes to warm the turkey.

My boys M-mmmed with appreciation, and ate every roll as though it were a Thanksgiving Day feast.  I sure do like it when that happens.  Sigh.

Why not join us over at  Temp My Tummy Tuesday?

Heavenly Fruit Dip

Fruit is a wonderful treat in and of itself. But couple it with this incredible dip, and you are sure to have a crowd pleaser. Whether or not you actually share it with a crowd is totally up to you.

I could eat the whole bowl!!

It is super duper easy and makes tons. I actually half it if I'm not taking it someplace to share. Otherwise, I WOULD eat the whole bowl!

The batch I have chilling in the fridge will receive a few drops of green food coloring for tomorrows festivities. :)

Ingredients:

2 8oz. packages of cream cheese

1 tub Cool Whip

1 Small jar of Marshmallow Fluff or Cream

1/4 Cup strawberry preserves

Mix all at room temperature, and then refrigerate.

It is wonderful with bananas, apples, and strawberries, but I won't tell if you eat it with a spoon.

For more great recipes and kitchen tips, check out Tempt My Tummy Tuesday and Tasty Tuesday! Don't forget to post your recipes and tips. I can't wait to see what's cooking!