Yep, more squash!

Tonight I made up another squash recipe. It was good, but by far not my favorite. It was really easy though so I'd make it again if I had all the items and very little time.

Recipe:

Yellow Squash & Sausage Skillet

1 lb sausage

2 or 3 yellow squash

1 medium onion

1/2 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp parsley

1 tsp minced garlic

1 16 oz jar marinara sauce

1/2 c. grated mozzarella cheese

Brown sausage in a large skillet, add seasonings. Slice squash and onion, add to skillet. Mix in marinara sauce, heat on medium heat till sauce is bubbling. Add grated cheese to the top then serve.

Bacon & Velveeta Veggie Squash Casserole

Kerry and Nancy gave us some squash so I got to experiment with it again tonight. I was a little worried that I was ruining the whole meal because I just wasn't sure how things would taste together. To my surprise it was actually very, very good.  I wasn't sure the corn and beans would work in it but they worked great. They just added more to the dish so it went farther, and it tasted great! The kids loved it too. Oh and don't be deceived (like I normally am) by the long list of ingredients. It's actually pretty easy to make. I love squash season!!!

Recipe:

By Kristi Black

Bacon & Velveeta Veggie Squash Casserole

3 lbs yellow squash, sliced

1 lg onion, sliced

1 can green beans

1 can corn

1/2 c. butter

2 1/2 c. crushed Ritz crackers

1/4 c. butter

2 Tbsp. cornstarch

2 c. milk

About 6 oz Velveeta Cheese, cubed

2.8 oz pkg Oscar Mayer Real Bacon Pieces

Preheat oven to 350 º. Boil squash and onion in salted water until barely tender, add green beans and corn, heat up then drain. While squash is cooking prepare topping by melting 1/2 c. butter in skillet, saute crackers in butter until crisp and browned, set aside. Make a sauce by melting 1/4 c. butter in a sauce pan, add cornstarch and milk and mix together. Add Velveeta cheese, stir until smooth. Arrange squash and onion in 9x13 baking dish, pour sauce over squash, top with bacon pieces and cracker topping. Bake 25 min. or until hot and bubbly. Enjoy!

Cinnamon Red Hot Apples & Pineapples & HUGE

Remember this post I did Apple Wedges in Cinnamon Red Hot Syrup? Well, I made a couple more batches of it but I added 1 20 oz can of pineapple chunks to each batch and I think it's going to taste so good. I love pineapples in red hots so I am so excited about these! I plan on opening up a jar of both and tasting them so I'll let you know how they taste.

Here's the recipe with the pineapple added to it. I still did everything the same, just added pineapple.

 

Cinnamon Red Hot Apples & Pineapples
makes six 12 ounce  jars

1 1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup cinnamon red hot candies
2 cups water
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp ground ginger
1 1/2 cups white vinegar
2/3 cup light corn syrup
1 tsp red food coloring
1 20 oz can pineapple chunks
24 apples, peeled, cored and cut into eighths
6 cinnamon sticks (about 4 inches each)

Directions:

1. Sterilize your jars and lids.
2. Wash, core, peel and cut your apples into eighths. Put the apple slices into the antioxidant bath.
3. In a stainless steel saucepan, combine the first eight ingredients. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring frequently.
4. Add apple slices and pineapple, reduce heat to medium, and stir gently until apples are heated through, about five minutes. Turn heat off but leave pan on the stove to ensure the syrup remains heated as you prepare to fill your jars.
5. Using a slotted spoon, pack apple wedges into hot jars. Tuck one cinnamon stick into each jar. Ladle hot syrup into jars to cover apples, leaving 1/2 inch headspace.
6. Wipe the rims and seal the jar.
7. Process in a boiling water bath for fifteen minutes (start counting once the water has reached a boil), more depending on altitude.

 Also today Kerby's parents came to stay for a few days and they brought us this huge 24 lb banana squash they grew in their garden, they said this was a small one. So, they had a great abundance of squash on that one plant this year. That is one big piece of squash! I didn't think I'd ever seen it that big, but then Kerby reminded me that they're selling a bunch of them around the corner from our house. I just may be trying a squash pie or two and lots of other things with this!

 They also brought us a couple watermelons that someone had given to them. They tasted really, really good. I haven't had watermelon that good in a long time. I could seriously go on a watermelon diet if there was enough good watermelon around me.

 The biggest one weighs 31 lbs, Levi dropped it when he tried to pick it up so it has a big crack in it. We'll just eat it first. I've never seen watermelon that big! Thanks Kerry and Nancy!!! I wish I had the gardening skills you have Kerry and the desire to do it enough to get good at it. You are very talented!

Apple Wedges in Cinnamon Red Hot Syrup

Today Tina and I made these and I can't wait to open up a jar and eat some after they've sat in the syrup for a few days! They were so good after putting the apples in the syrup. I can imagine how good they'll be after they soak up more flavor! Very, very tasty! I got the recipe from this Canning with Kids blog (yes my kids even helped some) my mother in-law told me about.  At first it looked a little complicated (I see a semi long list of ingredients and automatically think it's hard) and be expensive to make but it really was really easy, sticky, but easy. She says to use a 4 inch cinnamon stick in each jar but I broke them in half and put only have a stick in each jar then in the syrup I added a little ground cinnamon to compensate for the smaller cinnamon sticks.  Also she peeled and sliced the apples into wedges, so that's what we did at first but then I decided it would work just as well to use the apple peeler, corer and slicer thingy that does it all at once with thin slices. It seems to have worked just fine, so I'll continue to do that. Yum, my mouth is watering just thinking about tasting them! This woman, or whoever first created this was a genius! I want to make more but need to go to bed. I think when I make more in a couple days I will try adding some pineapple too. YUM!!!

Thanks Nita for the apples!!!
Oh I almost forgot to show you what Skylar did tonight while I was finishing up a batch. She got into my mascara!!! I love how she put some on her eyebrow, so funny since she's never seen me put makeup on my brows. She did an excellent job on her lashes though, until she got it all over the rest of her face.  How can I be mad about this, it's pretty funny and she just wanted to be like me. So, I decided to take some pictures and show them to her and tell her she looked pretty (she thought she looked funny) but to ask me before she used my makeup.

Taco Bowls

 I saw this on one of my friends Facebook walls but now I can't find it or remember who's I saw it on. Anyways, I made them tonight and it was so simple and they tasted really, really good. The whole family and two other families I made them for enjoyed them too! They were a big hit! Chef Levi convinced me to try some different versions of it which turned out good too. We had a fun time making them. Thanks to whoever put them on your Facebook timeline. :)

You just put mini flour or wheat tortillas on top of the bottom of a muffin tin like this. I sprayed my pan, but I don't think you'd need to. Next time I'll try it without spraying it. Then I cooked them for 10 min. on 375º. Fill with desired taco fillings. To me these are the best taco shells ever! I love the flavor!

Levi and I experimented on different ways we could fit more onto the pan so we could cook more at the same time. This was the best solution we came up with.

This was Levi and Kadin's favorite solution.

 Here they are cooked. I should have taken a picture of them out of the pan. They tipped over instead of sitting flat so a lot of the stuff fell out of them. The kids still liked them that way though. It reminded them all of ice cream!

Cheesy Bacon Squash Casserole

 

 For dinner I made this Cheesy Squash Casserole again but I added Oscar Mayer Real Bacon Pieces and a little more half and half to it and it was so good. This recipe is already delicious but the bacon made it even more delicious! The casserole dish was scraped out! I ate way too much and was so full after. If you've got squash and/or zucchini and don't know what to do with it, this is what you need to do with it! This or this other recipe I created is very good too Sausage Zucchini Bake.

Recipe:

By Kristi Black

Cheesy Squash Casserole

3 lbs yellow squash, sliced (I used some zucchini too)

1 lg onion, sliced

1/2 c. butter

2 1/2 c. crushed Ritz crackers

1/4 c. butter

2 Tbsp. cornstarch

1 1/2 c. half & half

1/2 lb Velveeta Cheese, cubed

2.8 oz pkg Oscar Mayer Real Bacon Pieces

Preheat oven to 350 º. Boil squash and onion in salted water until barely tender, drain. While squash is cooking prepare topping by melting 1/2 c. butter in skillet, saute crackers in butter until crisp and browned, set aside. Make a white sauce by melting 1/4 c. butter in a sauce pan, add cornstarch and half & half and mix together. Add Velveeta cheese, stir until smooth. Stir in bacon pieces. Arrange squash and onion in 9x13 baking dish, pour white sauce over squash, top with cracker topping. Bake 25 min. or until hot and bubbly. Enjoy!

Roasted Hummus and Brussel Sprouts

Tonight I roasted a bunch of veggies including hummus and brussel sprouts. I sliced up all the veggies and put in a large bowl then poured some olive oil in it and sprinkled Weber Season Salt on top then broiled it for about 20 min. I love doing veggies like this, thanks to my mother in-law Nancy who taught me that. It's so yummy! Hummus and brussel sprouts however are not my favorite to do that with. They weren't gross but I didn't want to eat more than about 1 1/2 pieces of each.  The other veggies were great. I wish I'd had some fresh beats to put in it because those are my absolute favorite to cook this way. Hummus not so great, brussel sprouts were better than the hummus but far from my favorite. I won't be adding those again.

Sausage Zucchini Bake

 I made up a delicious new recipe today and everyone loved it! It was gone before I knew it and they were wanting more. I didn't have time to take better pictures of it, so sorry. It really was good though. It was so easy too so I'll definitely be making it more. I used sausage but you could use any kind of ground meat. Yum! I love it when I make up a good recipe, it makes me feel great! It's so weird though because I don't like to cook so I don't know why I feel so good when I do this...probably because I feel like a lousy cook. So, yay!

Recipe:

Sausage Zucchini Bake

1 1/2 lbs original ground sausage

2 medium zucchini

1 red pepper

1/2 yellow onion

1/2 tsp oregano

2 tsp minced garlic

2 c fiesta blend cheese (or any kind)

Preheat oven to 350. Brown sausage in skillet, add oregano and garlic.  Slice the onion (I left big pieces) and add to skillet. Cut the pepper into pieces and add to the skillet. Cut the zucchini in half (length wise) then slice it up and add it to the skillet. Mix all together and simmer for a few minutes. Pour into 9x13 baking dish and sprinkle cheese on top. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Enjoy!

Strawberry Rhubarb Jam

My sisters Tina, Collette and I got together and made lots of jam. We made Strawberry Rhubarb and Strawberry jam. I was nervous to make strawberry rhubarb jam because rhubarb is so sour but the jam actually tastes really, really good. Mmmm I love fresh, hot, homemade jam. It tastes so delicious, now if I only had had the energy to make some homemade bread to go with it. Here's a sad fact about me...I have probably only made bread a handful of times. Ok including banana bread it's probably been about 10 times my whole marriage. I really need to do that more. I need some really good, easy recipes.

Here is the Strawberry Rhubarb recipe, it's just the recipe that comes with the Sure-Jell Certo packages.

Strawberry Rhubarb Jam

What You Need

2 1/4 cups crushed strawberries

1 3/4 cups prepared rhubarb 

6 1/2 cups sugar, measured into separate bowl

1/2 cup water

1 pouch CERTO

1/2 tsp. butter or margarine

Make It!

1. Bring boiling-water canner, half full with water, to simmer. 

2. Wash jars and screw bands in hot soapy water; rinse with warm water. Pour boiling water over flat lids in saucepan off the heat. Let stand in hot water until ready to use. Drain well before filling.

3. Discard stems and crush strawberries, set aside. Finely chop rhubarb; place in 2 qt. saucepan with 1/2 cup water. Bring to boil. Reduce heat; cover. Simmer 2 minutes or until rhubarb is soft.

4. Measure exact amount of prepared fruit into 6 or 8 qt. sauce-pot.

5. Measure exact amount of sugar into separate bowl (reducing sugar or using sugar substitutes will result in set failures). Try Sure-Jell for Less or No sugar needed recipes fruit pectin for no or low-sugar jams and jellies.

6. Stir sugar into fruit in sauce-pot. Add 1/2 tsp. butter or margarine to reduce foaming, if desired.

7. Bring mixture to full rolling boil (a boil that doesn't stop bubbling when stirred) on high heat, stirring constantly.

8. Stir in pectin quickly. Return to full rolling boil and boil exactly 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim off any foam with metal spoon.

9. Ladle immediately into prepared jars, filling to within 1/8 inch of tops. Wipe jar rims and threads. Cover with 2-piece lids. Screw bands tightly. Place jars on elevated rack in canner. Lower rack into canner. (Water must cover jars by 1 to 2 inches. Add boiling water, if necessary.) Cover; bring water to gentle boil. Process 10 min. Remove jars and place upright on a towel to cool completely. After jars cool, check seals by pressing middle of lid with finger. (If lid springs back, lid is not sealed and refrigeration is necessary.)

 

I used my steam canner and processed the jars in that for 15 minutes. Way less water to bring to a boil and I think you can do it in less time but I don't have instructions for it so wasn't sure how much time to do.

 

Shake N' Bake Rabbit

Tonight Kerby cooked rabbit with Shake N' Bake and it was really good, had a great flavor. He used pork shake n bake and cooked it on 375 for 30 minutes then flipped them over and cooked it for 25 minutes.  It was a very tasty dish, I'll have to do that some more. Thanks for making dinner Kerby!

Rabbit Legs, Buffalo Style

My father in-law raises rabbits and they gave us a lot so we've been experimenting. So, you may see lots of rabbit posts in the weeks to come. Anyways Kerby really wanted to try them buffalo style (they really do taste like chicken) so we did. It was pretty good, Kerby loved them. The kids even liked them, but most of us preferred it without the hot sauce.

 We breaded it first with this Hooters breading. We found it at Walmart and decided to try it, it works really good. Then we deep fried them on 350 for about 9 minutes.

 

 Then we just had this Frank's RedHot kickin' BBQ in a bowl and put the rabbit in. Then pulled it out and dipped it in ranch. It was good, I'd eat it again. I think I'd prefer trying a different kind of bbq sauce though.

Chicken Noodle Soup

 With everyone not feeling good I made some chicken noodle soup. It was even requested, very unusual for my family during the summer time...ok EVER! It was sooo good though and really hit the spot. Oh and no I don't know the recipe, I just through it all together and didn't measure because I wanted it to be done quickly. I didn't spend time on home made noodles either, even though I love them. It was a quick soup and very good.
Here's what I put in it, without the exact measurements. I'm sure you could figure it out to your taste.
2-10 oz can's chicken (not drained)
several baby carrots chopped
2 or 3 lettuce stalks (keep the water you use to boil the carrots and lettuce)
egg noodles
4 bullion cubes
oregano
garlic salt
parsley

Cheesecake

I love this cheesecake! My sister Maren gave me this recipe and it's very similar to what they have at my work that I love. I love it when cheesecake is light and fluffy and not so dense and rich. Unfortunately that means that I eat a lot more of it! Soooooooo good, thanks for the recipe Maren!

Cheesecake

1- 8 oz. pkg cream cheese (softened)

1/2 c. sugar

1 c. sour cream

2 tsp vanilla

1- 8 oz. pkg cool whip

Mix all ingredients together then add to graham cracker pie crust or oreo cookie pie crust. Let chill for a while. Add desired toppings or eat plain. Enjoy!

Grilled Garlic Artichokes

Today I grilled some artichokes from the bountiful basket. I've had them for about 3 weeks (in a nice Tupperware container keeping them fresh) and decided I better figure out what to do with them. I don't remember ever cooking artichokes but Kerby says I made something with them really good once. I know I definitely haven't used fresh ones.
I used this recipe Grilled Garlic Artichokes and Kerby and the kids all loved it, I thought it was ok. I'm not a huge artichoke fan but I did like it and would make it again. I also grilled some pineapple which was very tasty! It was also from bountiful baskets and it was soooooooooo good!

 Oh but I did something bad. I singed by eyebrows, eyelashes and hair while grilling, so be warned that the garlic sauce you put in the artichokes is flammable. Haha!!! I really could use less eyebrow, although I prefer them to not be curled (you can't see that in the pic really) but I really don't need less eyelash. They're so much shorter, especially my left eye. :(

Cheesy Squash Casserole

I got this recipe from my sister Carrie and it is so delicious! I'll definitely be making this a lot. It calls for yellow squash but I had that and some zucchini so I used both and it was still really good. The kids scarfed it down, everyone loved it! Thanks Carrie for the yummy recipe. Levi had a good idea (my little chef who I hope will really become a chef and live close by so he can cook for us all the time) to put bacon crumbles on the top next time. I think I will!

Doesn't it look so good? YUM!

Recipe

By Carrie Coffen

Cheesy Squash Casserole

3 lbs yellow squash, sliced (I used some zucchini too)

1 lg onion, sliced

1/2 c. butter

2 1/2 c. crushed Ritz crackers

1/4 c. butter

2 Tbsp. cornstarch

1 c. half & half

1/2 lb Velveeta Cheese, cubed

Preheat oven to 350 º. Boil squash and onion in salted water until barely tender, drain. While squash is cooking prepare topping by melting 1/2 c. butter in skillet, saute crackers in butter until crisp and browned, set aside. Make a white sauce by melting 1/4 c. butter in a sauce pan, add cornstarch and half & half and mix together. Add Velveeta cheese, stir until smooth. Arrange squash and onion in 9x13 baking dish, pour white sauce over squash, top with cracker topping. Bake 25 min. or until hot and bubbly. Enjoy!

Green Banana Fries

So I got these bananas 2 weeks in a row from bountiful baskets and they just weren't ripening. I put them in a brown paper bag for about 2 weeks when someone told me that they're not supposed to ripe, that they stay green. Even the ones on the ripe that are slightly yellow still aren't remotely ripe, they're hard just like the green ones. So, I started looking online for green banana recipes and decided to make green banana fries. They weren't bad, but not my favorite fries. They're healthier for you than with potatoes though. They were pretty good once I started dipping them in ranch and the thinner ones were better tasting and had a slight crunch to them. I only used about half of them so I'll find another recipe for the rest. These were good and interesting, but I prefer regular fries. They're pretty dense too.

Recipe:

Green Banana Fries

Set deep fryer on 375. Cut into thin strips and deep fry for 5-7 minutes. Make sure you put one in at a time so they don't stick to each other. When done pour onto a plate with a paper towel on it, sprinkle with salt and any other seasonings you want. I sprinkled Weber Season Salt onto them before I cooked them. I'm sure you could bake or broil them too to have them even healthier.

 They're hard to peel so you need to cut them to be able to easier. I read that the juice from them stains your clothes and you can't get it out...

Raw they taste pretty much like nothing but the texture is really bad, I had to spit it out. It's a powdery, dry texture...hard to explain. Basically like a really unripe banana! They smelled like cucumbers to me and Kerby (after they were cooked) said they tasted like pumpkin seeds to him. I took a couple pictures of them cooked but can't find them anywhere...weird.

Bacon & Asparagus Casserole

 

For 2 weeks I've received baby asparagus from Bountiful Baskets so tonight I decided to use them. I created a yummy casserole! It smelled really good and tasted really good. Now I want more asparagus so I can make it again with different variations, like adding onions or other things. It was salty enough because of all the bacon, so don't add more. I used 3- 2.5 oz packages of real crumbled bacon pieces, it was quite salty, so if you don't like salty flavor maybe just add 2 packages.

Bacon & Asparagus Casserole

By Kristi Black

2 baby asparagus bunches, chopped

2-3 pkgs real crumbled bacon pieces

2 tsp minced garlic

1 tsp parsley flakes

1 pkg cream cheese

1 c grated cheese (I used Fiesta Blend, but any would be good) 

Mix all ingredients together, except grated cheese. Spray an 11x7 baking dish and place the food into it. Bake at 400º about 30 min. Add grated cheese for the last 3-5 min. of baking. There is no need to add extra salt, the bacon makes it salty enough.

 Chop up the baby asparagus.

 Add in the bacon pieces, garlic and parsley.

 Add the softened cream cheese.

 Mix together.

Place into a 11X7 baking dish.

 Back at 400º about 30 min., add cheese for last 3-5 min. of baking.

 Enjoy!

Easter Fun & Skylar's & Grandpa's Birthday's

 

Today was a super fun day. It started out very fun and interesting. I came home from picking up my bountiful basket this morning and the boys had created an Easter egg hunt for Kerby and I. So we went on our little hunt....

Here we both just discovered an egg on top of the shed, oh and Kadin is in charge of the camera.

 I wasn't going to let Kerby get it without a fight.

 Apparently he wasn't going to let me have it at all, he kept shoving me away.

 I just discovered another egg, so he's taking me down so I can't go after it.

 Oh NOW he decides to be nice and give me the egg from the shed.

 Then he runs off.

 I don't want it so I throw it back to him.

 Ugh, glad I didn't find that one.

 Of course I'm left with the one way up in the tree and I can't climb trees!!! I ended up using a stick to push it down.

 Inside the eggs were pieces of paper, once egg also had a quarter (which I found). Most of the eggs were empty though, funny kids.

 Kadin and Fisher made a puzzle out of this note, hope you can read what it say, I have some sweet boys.

 Levi made this sweet note for us. I love my children!!!

Then I got busy making Skylar's cake and getting the house ready while Kerby took the kids to the park....I know you're all shocked he didn't take them fishing!

I'm made a bunny cake and this is where I cut the ears out.

 The shape.

 I frosted the whole thing white with Betty Crocker Butter Cream icing, then I added 1 drop of pink food coloring to the rest of the icing to make the ears.

 The ears.

 These are what I made the eyes and nose with.

 I made the mouth and whiskers with the stringy licorice pieces.

 All finished. :)

 Throughout the day I made jello eggs with my new jello molds that I got for free (just pay shipping) here Kraft Corner Store. I wanted to make more colors but ran out of time, maybe tomorrow.

Then cousins and grandma and grandpa came over to celebrate. We started with an Easter egg hunt.

Skylar found her first one, didn't even hesitate reaching under the rock.

 Landon found his first.

 Skylar...now where are they?

 Skylar and Landon going after the same egg.

 Ok where to next?

 Kiani looking for some eggs.

 Fishing found one in the cherry tree.

 Jonah and Levi searching.

 Fisher looking behind the shed.

 Skylar found two in the same spot.

 Levi wanted to pose for a pic.

 Kendyl, smiling so pretty for me.

 Then she turns and finds one.

 Kadin laughing hysterically.

 Skylar, stood here for about 5 minutes just eating candy instead of looking for more eggs.

 Who's going to get the egg???

 Levi...I just know there's got to be an egg in there.

 Maybe if I shake the branches one will fall out.

 Jonah's coming to investigate too.

 I think they see one.

 Kendyl just got one out of the peach tree.

 I couldn't resist taking some pics of Skylar here.

What a beautiful little girl.

 Another beautiful girl, Kiani letting me get some of her.  Even though she has a mouth full of candy her smile is so pretty.

Time to sing to Skylar. Happy Birthday Skylar we love you! Um that was scary! Her DRESS put out one of the candles. It didn't get burned, just got some wax on it but scary! Oh and she did NOT want me to help hold the cake.

She LOVED the bunny cake.

 What a cutie!

 Opening presents.

 She actually held the card up like she was reading it.

 She's excited to go pick out some presents.

 She didn't want Kadin reading the card, just her!

 Landon had tons of fun helping Skylar.

 She had to open everything right when she unwrapped it.

 A little skirt she just tossed aside thinking it was tissue paper.

 She's so excited!

 She finally got it out.

 Yay a new swimming "soup".

 Priceless!

Time to sing to grandpa and have him open presents....too bad my batteries kept dying, didn't get much.

I didn't have 62 candles, you're getting up there dad!

 Awe how cute!

 Reading some cards.

It was a long, fun, exciting day! Time to be the Easter Bunny now. Let's do it all again tomorrow, well some of it.