Roasted Veggies!

If you are not a fan of veggies, you have GOT to try them this way! I don't care for sweet potatoes or cooked zucchini... however, these roasted veggies are TO DIE FOR!

Just cut up some veggies in large pieces. Toss them with 1-2 TBSP of olive oil add some S&P. Put in a baking dish and cook at 350 for about an hour... you can stir half way through. 

I used sweet potatoes, sweet onion, and zucchini. You could add white potatoes, squash, carrots, mushroom... anything you like really! :) Try this! I promise you will love it. So Simple! 

Hamballs and Smashed Potatoes

If you don't live in Pennsylvania, chances are you have no idea what hamballs are. Here in Pa, we can buy a mix of ground pork and ground smoked ham. To this you add some yummy things to make meatballs and sauce. It is really good. So, if you do have Ham Loaf mix at your local meat counter, buy some!

Hamballs
3 lbs ham loaf mix
2 eggs slightly beaten
1 sleeve of Ritz crackers, crushed.
1 cup of milk
salt and pepper
Mix in a mixer, and then form into meatballs.

Syrup
2.5 cups of brown sugar
1 cup of white vinegar
1 cup water
2 tablespoons mustard

Cook syrup on the stove for 5 minutes. Place hamballs in a baking dish and pour syrup overtop. Cook at 350 for 1.5 hours. Stir half way through.
Serve over noodles or mashed potatoes.

I make easy smashed potatoes with red potatoes. No need to peel. Just cube, boil, drain, return to pot, add some cream cheese. (about a whole block per 5 pounds of potatoes.) Salt and pepper. Mash with potato masher. Enjoy! :

Lemon Blueberry Pound Cake That Almost Wasn't

So Just after mixing this cake up and popping it in the oven, the power went out... for 3 hours. UGH! Luckily, I left it in the oven and when the power came back on I turned the oven back on and baked for 30 minutes. It turned out fine! :) 

I recently found a recipe for Blueberry Pound Cake here... But I made a few adjustments to make it a little better for you and to suit my taste :) Enjoy! 

1 cup granulated sugar 
1 Cup Splenda

1/3 cup butter, softened

4 oz. cream cheese, softened
3 large eggs
1 large egg white
3 cups whole wheat flour, divided
2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 (6-ounce) carton vanilla yogurt (or about 3/4 cup) You can use lemon yogurt and then omit the lemon juice if you want. 
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Juice of half a lemon

Preheat oven to 350°.

Beat first 3 ingredients at medium speed of a mixer until well-blended. Add eggs and egg white, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine 2 tablespoons flour and blueberries in a small bowl, and toss well. Combine remaining flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add flour mixture to sugar mixture alternately with yogurt, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Fold in blueberry mixture and vanilla and lemon juice; pour cake batter into a 10-inch tube or Bundt pan coated with cooking spray.( I used my Spring Form Pan from Pampered Chef)  Place pan on a baking sheet (no need to do this if using your spring form pan) and bake at 350° for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.Cool cake in pan 10 minutes; remove from pan.

Lemon Glaze

2/3 Cup of Powdered Sugar

4 TBSP Fresh Lemon Juice

Mix them together and dump over cake :) YUMMY!!!!!  

Chicken Legs

I know, I know it is grilling season and I cooked my chicken legs in the oven. Bummer. But they turned out really good anyway.

I got my chicken on sale @ Weis for a GREAT deal. 14 chicken legs for $2.92. Often times at Weis, meat that needs to be cooked or frozen within a day or 2, they stick a $2.00 off coupon on the package. The cashier honors the coupon at the time of purchase. So whatever the bottom line price is, you get to take $2.00 off that price! I stocked up on chicken legs! :)

What you need
Chicken legs
seasoned salt
smoked paprika
garlic powder
celery seed

Preheat oven to 350 sprinkle chicken legs with seasoned salt, smoked paprika, celery seed and garlic powder generously. Up dump chicken onto a baking sheet. Sprinkle that side with the same seasoning. Pop them into the oven. After 15 mintes, flip the chicken on the opposite side. Cook another 20 minutes. Flip again. Cook 20 more minutes. Pop the broiler on and watch carefully. This takes about 3 minutes. Flip and brown the other side. Enjoy!

Oh, yeah... and those yummy baked beans on the plate... maybe... if you are lucky... one day I will share that recipe with you too! :)

Strawberry Limeade

1 Cup of fresh squeezed lime juice
3/4 to 1 Cup of sugar
2 quarts of water

Mix everything together! Then, remember the Strawberry Syrup we made here (scroll to middle of the page) Spoon 3-4 Tablespoons into a tall glass and enjoy! :) :) :)

Starfish and Snails for Lunch

Starfish- Bread cut in the shape of a star with a cookie cutter, slathered in peanut butter and sprinkled with crushed graham crackers for that "Starfish" texture

Snails-Hamburger Mac and Cheese

Some pretzels and strawberry bar complete the meal. Lots of seconds were requested with this one! Simple and fun as always! :)

London Broil as Pot Roast

London Broil was on sale this week... So I bought 2 pieces. I have never made London Broil before. But I was hoping to turn 1 of them into a pot roast. When we have pot roast, we always just have normal pot roast, potatoes, carrots, etc. We never have left overs for sandwiches. Justin requested pot roast sandwiches. I thought I would give it shot with the London Broil. 

1 large London Broil

1 packet of Pot Roast Seasoning

2-3 Cups of water (add more water if necessary)

1/2 packet of Ranch dressing seasoning

Mix it all together, pour it over the roast. Cook @250 for 6 hours. I backed the heat down to 175 to keep it nice and warm until we were ready for dinner. The gravy is so yummy. I served it on Onion Poppy Seed Ciabatta bread with fries on the side. There is very little preparation for this meal. It is super simple! My kind of meal! :) :) :)