Stuffed Mushrooms

Stuffed mushrooms are delicious. I love, love, love them.

When I moved out on my own (and before the internet was so easily available) I decided I wanted to make them. The problem was, I had no idea HOW.

I did what I thought seemed good, and it worked for me! I have tried different recipes over the years, but keep coming back to my original. It's like a little reminder that sometimes the simplest foods are the yummiest.

Starting with whole mushrooms, pull out the stems.
Dice them up fine and toss them in a bowl.
Add about 4 tbsp melted butter.
Add about 1/2 cup Italian style bread crumbs.
Season with garlic powder, Italian seasoning, and 1/4 cup parmesan cheese.

Mix together and stuff your mushrooms.

Bake at 350 until visibly cooked through.

This time I decided to top them with a sprinkle of mozzarella cheese

Here they are ready to be cooked. I brought them to my host's house and cooked them there. Neglected to take my camera though! By the time I thought to use my phone (duh) they were all gone.

Toasted Pumpkin Seeds

Every year come Halloween, part of our tradition is to pull all those sticky, stringy guts out of the pumpkin and gather all the seeds.

We carefully wash them, getting all the pumpkin "yuck" off and dry them for roasting.

Walking thru the grocery store the other day, I happened to notice a package of raw pumpkin seeds on the shelf.
Hm...let's see if it this works as well.

Preheat the oven to 350
Spray a pan with cooking spray
Spread seeds in a single layer
Cook until brown and crispy, stirring occasionally.
When cooked, sprinkle liberally with seasoned salt.
Enjoy, repeat!

I am happy to report that the store bought seeds were almost as good as fresh!

Funny story though, I am one of those annoying people who watch the scanner at the grocery store and hold up the line with any small discrepancy.

These pumpkin seeds were labeled $1.79 on the package. The sign in front of the display read $2.50. I put them at the end of the order in order to watch the price. Sure enough, they rang up at the $2.50 price. I ended up paying only the $1.79, they honored their sticker.

Next time I am at that store, it will be interesting to see if they change the sticker on all the packages.

Our favorite crunchy snack!

This recipe was shared at Mom's Test Kitchen, Gooseberry Patch, Future ExPat, and Cookies and Cups

Balsamic and Basil Dipping Oil

I am one of those people who is very happy with a loaf of fresh Italian bread, some oil, and cheese as a meal.
Luckily, darling daughter inherited the same love.
I can't even count the amount of meals that have been made up of just that.

I love this dipping oil from Tastefully Simple. It's tangy and tasty.
The perfect accompaniment for the fresh bread...I have also used it as an extra layer of flavor in beef stew!

Just sharing the love!

Garlic Knots

These are a favorite! I get asked to bring these to every party.
Me: "Hi host, thank you for inviting us, what would you like me to bring"
Host: "um (insert "you are so stupid" look) eggs and garlic knots, duh"

OK, maybe I exaggerate...they don't say "duh".

I made these the other day and tried really hard to keep track of any possible measuring. I might have failed.
This is one of those dishes that is never the same twice, and you really can't mess up
(well, there was one time the store was out of breadstick dough, so I used pizza dough. Everyone was really nice about it...but, yeah, don't make the same mistake. It's too heavy that way)

Depending on how much you like garlic really depends on how much you put in. Some may just want to flavor the oil, others, like me, will want gobs of it to smoosh the bread into and have stinky breath all night!
Remember kids: If everyone eats a garlic knot, we all have matching bad breath and therefore, cannot offend!

Ingredients:
1 Tube breadstick dough
Olive Oil
Minced Garlic
Garlic Powder
Italian Seasoning
Balsamic VInegar


Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Unroll dough, cut into ½ or ⅓ rds
3. Sprinkle dough with garlic powder and Italian seasoning
4. Tie dough pieces into knots and place on baking sheet
5. Bake according to package directions.
6. In dish big enough to hold all bread pieces, mix together about ¼ cup olive oil, 2 heaping tablespoons minced garlic, a good amount of garlic powder, a good amount of Italian seasoning, and about 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar. Stir.
7. When bread is done, place in dish and stir into mixture.
8. Add more olive oil if needed

Print

Breadstick dough I use, it's just a store brand

No ingredients picture this time. I was rushing and realized "hey, I need pictures", so it is what it is! This lumpy looking mess is the breadstick dough unrolled, sprinkled with seasoning and cut in half. 

The completed beauties!

Hint: when all the knots are gone, save the leftover oil/garlic mixture for some pasta! Yum!

Picture updated 2018

This recipe was shared on: Future ExPat

Mother's Day 2013

Happy Mother's Day to all!

My lovely mother was just up for a visit, it was fantastic to see her, to hug her, and just to be with her!
While she was here, she made a batch of her brownies, oh the yumminess!

We were in the kitchen working together, making food for another function. We don't get to do this very often anymore, and I enjoyed every minute.
(Well, I didn't enjoy the mess we made, I was cleaning chocolate from places I didn't even know existed!)

I am sitting here on this rainy morning looking at sleeping hubby to my left. Sleeping daughter on the love seat, and even sleeping Lennon the cat hanging on the back of the couch.
My breakfast is a cold, leftover piece of chicken teriyaki.
My plans are ZERO.

I am OK with this though. I got up, took a LONG, HOT shower, I have been putzing on the laptop all morning, and as soon as I hit "publish" on this page, I am curling up with a book I have been trying to finish.

I am content and full of love.
The person who calls me "mom" is by my side.

There is no more perfect way to spend my Mother's Day.

Bandito Chili Dogs

While surfing food.com I came across this recipe. With a name like Bandito Chili Dogs I just KNEW it had to be made.

I threw everything in the crock pot the night before. Hubby dearest happened to be coming home from work on lunch, so I had him get the crock out of the fridge and turn it on for me.
Otherwise it's more of a weekend food...or game day food!

Hubby and the girl both managed to finish 2 each. They were so rich, I only managed one.
I also didn't bother chopping up the corn chips. I liked the way they looked sitting on top, whole, it was like we had rogue chips on our Bandito dogs!
(I know, I am silly...but that is ok)

Ingredients:
1 (1 lb) package hot dogs
2 (15 oz) cans chili without beans
1 (10 ¾ oz) can cheddar cheese soup
1 (4oz) can chopped green chilies, drained
Hot dog buns
1 medium onion, chopped
1-2 cups corn chips (coarsely chopped)
1 Cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:
1. Place hot dogs in slow cooker
2. In bowl, combine chili, soup, and chilies. Pour over hot dogs.
3. Cook on low for 4-5 hours
4. Serve hot dogs in buns.
5. Top with chili mixture, onion, corn chips, and cheese

Print

Ingredients

With our "wild and crazy" chips hanging out on top

Crock Pot Hungarian Goulash

I picked up some stew beef on sale the other day, it has been sitting in my freezer waiting to be used ever since.

I know, at any point, I could have whipped up a quick beef stew, but I just knew that meat was destined for greatness!

I had seen this recipe on food.com and it spoke to me.
Seriously.
It said "use the beef...it is time"

When recipes start talking, I need to listen (or maybe not have that last glass of whatever)

Ingredients:
2 Lbs beef stew meat, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 Large onion (sliced)
1 Clove garlic (minced)
½ Cup ketchup
2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp brown sugar
2 Tsp salt
2 Tsp paprika
½ Tsp dry mustard
1 Cup water
¼ Cup flour

Directions:
1. Place meat in crockpot and cover with sliced onion.
2. Combine garlic, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, sugar, salt, paprika, and mustard. Stir in water, mix well and pour over meat.
3. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours
4. Dissolve flour in a small amount of cold water and stir into meat mixture.
5. Cook on high for 10-15 minutes or until thickened
6. Serve over noodles or rice

Print

Ingredients: Forgive my still partially frozen stew beef! 

It's wicked good served over mashed potato too!