Egg Substitutes

If you need an egg for a cake recipe but you're eggs have all been scrambled, you can use a banana instead.

For this substitute, one banana is the equivalent of one egg.

Muffin Bread

This is such an easy dish to create. My girls adore this treat. I take 2 packs of muffin mix and prepare as directed. Then I spray a glass casserole dish to keep the bread from sticking. I pour the muffin mix in the dish and bake as directed. It does usually take an extra 3 minutes or so to completely cook because they aren't small muffins. The loaf comes out wonderful and is so yummy with a bit of butter. It's really just like muffins only there are no paper cups to deal with (which my girls would inevitably shred across the house) and the bread cuts into pieces that are just right for little hands.

Right now I am fixing a loaf of Blueberry Muffin Bread for Gibson. He loves blueberry muffins. The girls - not so much. So Gibson is getting his very own late night snack of freshly baked muffin bread all for his very own. (Minus a slice or two that Mommy might steal in the name of sampling the product to be sure it is safe to eat...)

Yummy Rice and Sausage

I have a new recipe. I tried it out last night. Really, it's a new concoction. I'm very fond of creating my own dishes with whatever I have laying around. Here's what I did.

Ingredients: 

2 packs Birdseye Steamfresh Rice and Vegetables
1 pack Hillshire Farms Kielbasa (6 sausages in the pack)
1 can Campbell's Tomato Soup
1 can Water
A dash of Cajun seasoning
A dash of garlic powder
A spoonful of butter

Instructions:


Cook the rice according to package directions.
Cut the sausages into bite size pieces.
Melt the butter in a frying pan.
Add the sausages to the frying pan to brown them.
Put the cooked rice in a pot.
Add the tomato soup and water to the pot.
Add the seasonings to the pot.
After the sausages are browned, add that to the pot.
Heat until tomato soup is thoroughly heated.

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At first it appeared that the dish would be more soupy than I had intended. However, after the soup had time to get hot the dish was relatively thick and chunky. The rice absorbed a good bit of the excess liquid.

This was DELICIOUS. I will definitely be making it again. I only recently started using the kielbasa, mostly because I got some awesome coupon deals that made it financially feasible to buy them. I never knew how easy they were to cook. I've always loved eating them, but thought they would be complicated for cooking. Silly me...

Halloween Comments
                   

No Brown Potatoes

Potatoes are an inexpensive staple that adds great versatility to any pantry. You can boil them, mash them, fry them, bake them, or use them in just about any recipe to increase the volume of your meals without increasing the cost.

To prevent your raw potatoes from becoming discolored after you peel them, place peeled potatoes directly into cold water. Before you are ready to use them, drain them thoroughly and then add fresh potatoes to soups and stews or whatever other meal you may be cooking.

Potatoes are by far one of my favorite vegetables. Yummy!

Cutting an Onion

We're all familiar with the smell that comes with cutting an onion. Nobody likes it, but it can't be avoided when cooking with fresh onions.

If you want to eliminate the odor, rub your cutting board with a moist paper towel and salt. This will help remove the onion smell so you can carry on...

Lemon juice works well, too.

Contest Time

Newborn Toes - Kira - 2004

Time is ticking away.

The counter has begun.

The contest will begin shortly.

Do you want to win free stuff?

Are you ready?

Well, well, well - do I have the spot for you.

Visit The Art and Science of Parenting on Friday evening. I will be posting details regarding my next give away contest right here.

**If you want to be a sponsor, just send me an email at aandsparenting@gmail.com or leave me a comment below.**

Baking With Candy

Stock up on candies for baking, such as mint patties and M&Ms, in early November - just after Halloween. The discounts are significant after the Halloween holidays. The candies can be frozen for up to 6 months.

You'll save a lot of money and have tasty treats to add to your baking whenever you want to do something special.

Apples

The best apples to use for baking pies are Granny Smith, Gravenstein, Pippin and Northern Spy.

McIntosh apples taste really good, but they become mushy when they are baked.

If you're baking apple pies, be sure to save one for me. My husband adores them.

Money Saver Tip

Most milk will keep up to a week past the pull date if it is stored properly.

Milk that has begun to sour is perfectly fine to use in baked goods even if it doesn't taste so good to drink.

Milk can be frozen, too, so if you find it on sale you can buy it and freeze it for later use. Be sure to pour some of the milk out of the gallon container to leave room for expansion - or pour the milk into smaller, easier to handle containers. When you thaw the milk, you will need to shake it vigorously to mix the butter fat back into the milk.

To make life easier, you could always measure the milk into one cup amounts and freeze the milk in this manner. Then when you are cooking, the milk can be pulled out in pre-measured amounts to make your cooking time a bit faster.

Lasagna Roll-Ups

This is a fairly easy alternative to a whole pan of lasagna.

Lasagna Roll-Ups

Ingredients:

12 lasagna noodles

2 cups ricotta cheese

1 egg

1 1/2 tbsp dried parsley

2 cups shredded mozzerella cheese, divided

1 lb ground beef, browned and drained

1 jar (28 oz) marinara sauce, divided

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Cook noodles according to package directions. Drain and rinse with cold water.

Mix ricotta, egg, parsley and 1 cup mozzarella in a bowl - set aside.

Spread 1/2 cup of sauce in the bottom of a 9 X 13 inch baking dish.

Spread 3 tblsp ricotta mixture on each noodle.

Top each noodle with some of the beef.

Roll each noodle into a swirl.

Arrange each roll in the baking dish - seam sides down in the dish.

Top roll-ups with the remaining sauce and the remaining mozzarella.

Bake - loosely covered - for 15 minutes.

Remove cover and bake for 10 minutes longer or until brown and bubbly.

Chicken and Dumplins

Ingredients:

4 leg quarters

2 cups flour

1/4 cup crisco

1 box chicken stock

Add milk to thin the dough.

Instructions:

Boil Chicken until done.

Remove chicken from the broth. Strip from bones and skin.

After chicken is done - return stripped chicken to the pot of broth and add the box of chicken stock.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Return liquid to a boil.

Mix flour and crisco together - by hand.

Add milk to thin the dough - thinner than biscuits, but not soup. (thicker than pancakes - needs to be lumpy)

After the broth is boiling, drop the dough into the broth in bits and pieces. Drop the dough in different areas of the pot. Use a kitchen spoon to drop the dough into the pan. This is a gradual process.

Stir after dumplings have cooked for about 5 minutes.

Cook for another 10 to 15 minutes, stirring frequently.

Turn it off and let it cool.

Serve to the happy husband!!!

Stir Fry

Ingredients:

2 bags - Contessa's Chicken Stir Fry

1 jar Kikoman's Stir Fry Sauce

1 pack frozen broccoli

White Rice ( Or A Taste of Thai Rice Noodles)

Instructions:

Follow directions on the Contessa's Chicken Stir Fry.

Add the extra broccoli while cooking.

Add the sauce at the end, as well as the Kikoman's sauce.

Cook Rice (or noodles) according to directions.

Mix Stir Fry with Rice.

Mexican Lasagna

Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef

1 package taco seasoning mix

2 cans refried beans

4 flour tortillas

3 cups shredded cheddar cheese

2 roma tomatoes, chopped

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Cook beef until browned. Drain.

Combine meat with taco seasoning and refried beans.

Spread half the mixture in a 9 X 13 baking dish.

Top with two tortillas, trimming if necessary and half of the cheese.

Repeat the layers.

Bake 35 to 45 minutes until heat through and cheese is bubbly.

Top with tomatoes.

Let cool for 5 minutes.

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Very versatile and easy to adjust based on whatever happens to be around.

Meatballs

Yummy Meatballs

Ingredients:

1 bag of premade meatballs from the freezer section

12 oz jar of grape jelly

12 oz jar of chili sauce (found near the cocktail sauce and horseradish sauce)

Instructions:

Place meatballs in a crock pot that is large enough to accommodate them.

Pour grape jelly and chili sauce on top of the meatballs.

Cook on low for 4 to 6 hours, until sauces are melted and meatballs are hot.

Stir the meatballs every hour or so to help mix the sauces together.

Mexi-Mac & Cheese

What You Need:

1 Box of Velveeta Shells and Cheese
1 can of diced tomatoes with chilis - drained
1 lb of ground beef - browned
1 12 oz bag of shredded taco cheese mix

What You Do:

Cook the Macaroni & Cheese according to directions.

Mix the ground beef, tomatoes, and half of the shredded cheese in with the cooked Macaroni & Cheese.

Pour mixture into a baking dish.

Spread the other half of the shredded cheese over the top of the mixture.

Put the dish in the oven at 300 degrees until the cheese on the top is melted - about 10 to 15 minutes.

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My husband likes to have Fritos with this dish. I like a bit of sour cream on the side. If your family doesn't like spicy food, use plain diced tomatoes instead of the tomatoes with chilis.

Mushroom Chicken

Ingredients

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 jar sliced mushrooms - drained
1 can cream of mushroom soup (Progresso has the best flavor.)
1/2 can of water
1 tblsp parsley
2 tblsps poultry seasoning

Instructions

Place chicken in a baking dish.
Shake poultry seasoning over chicken.
Sprinkle parsley over chicken.
Pour mushrooms over chicken.
Pour mushroom soup over chicken.
Pour water over chicken.
Place the chicken in the oven at 350 degrees.
Bake the chicken for approximately 45 minutes to an hour, turning chicken every 20 minutes.
After 45 minutes or so, cut the chicken and check to see if it's done.

Salmon Loaf

Ingredients

• 1 can (16 ounces) salmon
• 3 cups fine dry bread crumbs
• 1 1/2 tablespoons chopped parsley
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 2 eggs, beaten
• reserved salmon liquid and enough milk to make 3/4 cup

Instructions

Drain salmon, reserving liquid, and break into large pieces in a bowl. Remove the bones and any excess skin. Stir in bread crumbs, parsley, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and butter; blend well.

Place mixture in a well greased loaf pan.

Add enough milk to the salmon liquid to make 3/4 cup. Combine eggs with liquid and pour over the salmon mixture. Bake loaf at 350° for 45 minutes or until loaf is set in the center.
Salmon loaf serves 6.

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NOTE: For a less eggy loaf, mix the egg and liquid with the salmon before placing the mixture into the loaf pan instead of pouring the liquid over the top of the mixture.