I'm always looking for snack ideas for the boy's classes (well, Andrew doesn't need snacks now that he's in middle school but Abbott still needs snacks). A fellow blogger (Gourmet Mom On-The-Go) has the best snack ideas and she makes these cute printables to go along with them! So last month I sent Donut Seeds (aka Honey Nut Cheerios) for Abbott's class... And yesterday I sent Ernie Elf's Tinker Toys (aka pretzel sticks and cheese cubes) for Abbott's class... They were a hit! It is such a fun way to send a snack!
Donut Seeds Ingredients Circular Cereal (Cheerios, Honey Nut Cheerios, Fruit Loops, etc.) Sandwich sized Ziploc Baggies Printed Labels (click the link to open and print)
Ernie Efl's Tinker Toys Ingredients Pretzel Sticks Cheese Cubes Sandwich sized Ziploc Baggies Printed Labels (click the link to open and print)
Now for the giveaway winner! There were 28 entries So we had lots of writing, cutting, and folding In to Andrew's hat they go Andrew goes in to pick the winner You don't have to close your eyes Andrew, lol And the winner is JC! I have emailed JC with the details!
Recently, I was contacted by MyBlogSpark to review the Old El Paso "Family Taco Night" kit and give one away! I was thrilled because we LOVE Mexican food and I LOVE hosting giveaways for my readers!
Old El Paso suggested two recipes, Double Layer Tacos and Chicken Ranch Tacos. I was immediately intrigued by the Chicken Ranch Tacos, but they use plain ole rotisserie chicken and ranch... I had to spice it up! I added some Old El Paso taco seasoning to my chicken and to my ranch and it turned out delicious! We ate the chicken mexi-ranch tacos for lunch and then ate the leftovers as a chicken mexi-ranch salad for dinner! So, what's the giveaway? An Old El Paso “Family Taco Night” prize pack, which includes a packet of original Old El Paso Taco Seasoning, a Cactus Chip & Dip Serving dish, a set of 3 Fiesta Chili Pepper serving dishes and a $10 gift card to purchase everything for your own family taco night! To qualify for the giveaway just leave a comment with your name, telling me what recipe you would make with your Old El Paso taco seasoning! Do you have a family favorite or would you try something new? The giveaway will close at midnight on December 21st. I will draw names and announce the winner on my blog on December 22nd.
Want to start cooking now? Download this printable coupon for $0.60 off any two Old El Paso products!
Chicken Taco Ingredients Flour tortillas 1 packet of Old El Paso Taco Seasoning Chicken breasts Lettuce Cheese Tomatoes (I omitted) Optional- Avocado
Mexi-Ranch Ingredients 1 packet of Old El Paso Taco Seasoning (only use 2 tablespoons of seasoning) 1 packet ranch dressing mix 1 cup mayonnaise (NOT Miracle Whip!) 1 cup milk
Directions Sprinkle raw chicken breasts with taco seasoning (sprinkle both sides of the chicken). Cover with foil and bake at 425 degrees for 45 minutes. Whisk together the mexi-ranch ingredients, cover, and store in fridge (it will thicken after being in the fridge for 30 minutes). When the chicken's done, slice it up and assemble your tacos!
I love sugar cookies! I have the most DELICIOUS Soft Sugar Cookies Recipe, but they are only good when they are circle shaped and I really wanted to put my Christmas cookie cutters to good use! So, I thought about making a sugar cookie with royal icing, "how hard could it be?" I thought... hahaha, oh, how naive I was! I'd seen those cookie decorating tutorials in magazines and on television that make it look like a toddler could decorate cookies like a pro in 5 minutes. You know which ones I’m talking about..the pictures that show all the pastry bags and squeeze bottles neatly filled with the perfect consistency of icing and the spatulas are color coordinated to the bowls and mixer. The naked cookies are all baked and lined up waiting to be frosted by smiling mothers and angelic children. You can just feel the joy that’s about to be born from this experience.
Well, I started exploring online and found the most amazing website, University of Cookie! I spent probably 4 hours reading, watching videos, and learning everything about sugar cookies and royal icing. It scared me to death! I had no idea what kind of work went into making these type of cookies! By the time the icing was made I was exhausted and my kitchen was covered in flour and royal icing! Thankfully I only had one meltdown... I started with the cookie dough recipe from the University of Cookie website and it was a failure! The recipe said "it will be crumbly so knead together" but it was like sand! I couldn't even get the dough to stick together to roll out! So I cried, threw away the dough, called my amazing cousin (who is a professional baker), and started with a new cookie dough recipe. I continued to cry and think "what did I get myself into" but thankfully that was the only bump in the road! Once the cookies were made it was all downhill. I'm actually excited to make these cookies again with new shapes and designs!
I credit my success to two tips I picked up from the University of Cookie website...purchase a few plastic squirt bottles (ketchup and mustard squirt bottles would even work) and give yourself at least 4 hours to make and decorate the cookies. I went out and bought a couple of plastic squirt bottles from Hobby Lobby (I heard Walmart had them too but I couldn't find them) and they made the process SO easy! It was time consuming... it took about 3 1/2 hours not including rest time for the cookies to cool and icing to harden but in the end it was worth it, they're beautiful cookies!
Sugar Cookie Ingredients 1 cup (2 sticks) cold butter, cut into chunks 1 cup powdered sugar 1 egg 1/2 teaspoon almond extract 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 teaspoon salt 2 1/2 cups flour
Royal Icing Ingredients 8 tablespoons meringue powder 1 cup cool water 2 pounds powdered sugar, sifted 1 1/2 teaspoons light corn syrup Optional- a few drops of clear extract (I used almond extract but you could use peppermint, vanilla, cherry, orange, etc.)
Sugar Cookie Directions Cream butter, powdered sugar, egg, almond extract, vanilla, and salt together using a mixer (I used the paddle attachment on my KitchenAid mixer and it worked GREAT). Add in the flour and mix until combined. Roll to 1/4 inch thickness on well-floured surface. Cut with cookie cutters and place on parchment paper covered cookie sheets. Bake at 350° for 8-10 min. Cookies should not brown. This recipe yielded me 26 3-inch Christmas tree cookies.
Royal Icing Directions Combine the meringue powder and water. With the paddle attachment of an electric mixer, beat until combined and foamy. Sift in the powdered sugar and beat on low to combine. Add in the corn syrup and extract if desired (the corn syrup helps keep the icing shiny). Increase speed to med-high/high and beat for about 5 minutes, until the icing is glossy and stiff peaks form. You should be able to remove the beater from the mixer and hold it up and jiggle without the peak falling, however it will be very light and fluffy like meringue! Divide the icing into bowls and stir in food coloring. Cover the tops of the bowls with plastic wrap and press the plastic wrap down onto the icing so there is no air (air is the enemy of this icing)! You can store the icing like this for a few days! I divided my icing into 4 bowls, so I had green, red, white, and brown icing. First you want to outline the cookies. This will dam in the runny "flood icing" you'll add later. I used a Wilton #2 decorating tip to outline my cookies. Now you'll need to thin the icing to make "flood icing". This is the runny icing that goes inside the cookie and hardens. I made red, green, and white flood icing (this is the icing you'll put into your squirt bottles). To make the "flood icing" you'll take some of your colored royal icing (I used the green leftover icing from outlining the cookies) and add water a teaspoon at a time. Add a teaspoon of water, stir, evaluate, add another teaspoon of water, stir, evaluate. I ended up adding 8 teaspoons of water to my green icing. You don't want the icing to be too runny so be careful! You'll know it's ready when you pick your spoon up, drizzle icing back into the bowl, and after 5-10 seconds the drizzled icing melts back into the rest of the icing (so you can't see where you drizzled it). It should be the consistency of glue (or corn syrup).
Working 1-6 cookies at a time, use the squirt bottles to apply the flood icing and use a tooth pick to move the icing to all the corners. You can add dots or stripes to your icing with other flood icing colors, the dot/stripe will melt into the icing, it's really neat! Here's a slideshow of the process... Let the flood icing dry uncovered overnight before you try to add any more detail on top of it. I used red royal icing (NOT FLOOD ICING) and my #2 Wilton tip to draw some garland on the next day. I then sprinkled on some red sugar crystals onto the icing! The sprinkles might stick to your cookies (the first time I tried shaking off the sprinkles they were stuck all over my Christmas tree)! So make sure you wipe the flood icing with a paper towel (eliminating any condensation) before piping on the garland and then use a Q-tip to wipe off any stubborn sprinkles. I am sorry I don't have any pictures of the garland process. I was quickly finishing up so I could send some cookies to work with my husband.
My favorite Kansas City Barbeque is "Bates City BBQ", and these beans are my own copy cat version of their baked beans! The sauce is sweet with a spicy kick, and the green pepper flavor is infused throughout. These baked beans are STUPENDOUS! I eat these beans as a meal they are so good! But that's just me... some people consider beans the "poor man's meat" but I like to think of it as the "healthy man's meat"! So, I made these beans with some delicious macaroni salad for dinner, yummm-o!
Ingredients 1 green pepper, chopped 1/3 cup sugar 1/3 cup packed brown sugar 1/4 cup ketchup 1/2 cup barbecue sauce 1 tablespoon prepared yellow mustard 1/2 teaspoon pepper 1/2 teaspoon chili powder 1 (16 ounce) red beans, undrained 2 (16 ounce) cans navy beans, drained
Directions In a large bowl, stir all the ingredients together (stir the beans in last). Pour into a 2-3 quart casserole dish and bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 1 1/2 hours. After an hour I stirred the beans and put them back in for another 1/2 hour (the beans will be hot and bubbly after an hour but you'll want to cook them for another 1/2 hour so the liquid reduces).
Next to my Grandma's Noodle Gravy, this is my favorite part of Thanksgiving! Growing up I would go to my mom's side of the family Thanksgiving (famous for the Noodle Gravy) and then my dad's side of the family Thanksgiving (famous for my Aunt Kelly's Bread Stuffing). So now when I go to Thanksgiving with Justin's family I bring my grandma's gravy and aunt's stuffing. It's like the best of both worlds! Now if I could only get my Aunt Mina's mom's pie recipes... then I may just have the best Thanksgiving dinner possible!
On Thanksgiving we went to Justin's parents' house for dinner. Before I tell you what Abbott said you should know that we've never been hunting and we've never eaten game meat. Not that we have anything against hunting, we're just too lazy to get up that early in the morning... that and no one in my family could stomach the thought of killing something ,-) So, while we were getting ready to leave for Thanksgiving, Abbott asked "who’s bringing the turkey" I said "Grandma" Abbott asked "Did she hunt it?" "No" I said "Oh Crap! It tastes terrible when someone didn’t hunt it!" exclaims Abbott "Well grandma bought it from someone who hunted it (meaning the store)" I say "Oh phew! I am glad she bought it from someone. The hunted kind tastes so much better than the kind you buy at the store!" Abbott said
So... weird fact about Abbott #1,836- Abbott thinks hunted turkey tastes better than store bought turkey. Weird fact about Abbott #1,837- Abbott's under the false impression that he's eaten a hunted turkey before.
Ingredients 2 loaves of sandwich bread, aired out for a few hours to get stale and crusty 1 stalk celery, chopped 2 cans chicken broth 2 eggs 1/2 cup white onion, minced 1/2 cup butter 2 teaspoons poultry seasoning 2 teaspoons salt 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
Directions In a large skillet over medium heat, warm the butter, onion, poultry seasoning, salt, and pepper.
Slice up the celery stalks and add them to the pan (I stir in each celery stalk after I cut it).
Once all the celery is cut, add 1 can of chicken broth and turn the heat to medium low. Cook for 8-10 minutes until celery is just soft. Then remove from heat so it can cool.
While the celery is cooking cut the 2 loaves of bread into cubes (or if you prefer you can cut the bread earlier in the day, I'm lucky because while I'm cutting and cooking celery Justin cuts up the bread).
Whisk 1 can of broth and 2 eggs together. Slowly pour the egg broth over the bread, stopping to toss the bread (with your hands) in-between drizzles. You don't want to soak the bread, just spread the egg broth around evenly.
Now, hopefully your seasoned celery broth is cooled to just being warm (you don't want to scramble your egg with boiling broth). Using a spoon (or in my case a measuring cup), ladle on the celery and broth.
Toss the bread after every couple ladles, (so the bread doesn't get too runny) you want to evenly distribute the celery and seasoned broth.
Spoon on more celery and broth and toss. Repeat until you're out of seasoned celery broth.
Put the stuffing in a baking dish and smash it down. I prefer a deeper dish to keep the stuffing really moist (I used a 2.5 quart cast iron pot), but a 9x13 works fine... it's just a little more dry.
Bake, covered, at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Uncover for 15 minutes or so until nice and browned on top.
This is my grandma's recipe for her famous noodle gravy! We have it for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Everyone lathers it on their turkey and mashed potatoes and it's the best part of the holiday dinner! After Thanksgiving 2003 I called my grandma (while the Thanksgiving preparation of noodle gravy was fresh in her head) to get detailed directions for her noodle gravy. I've made it a few times since then and it's spot on every time! Since we have multiple families to visit I don't always get to go to my grandma's, so I bring this gravy to whatever dinner we're going to! The best part is that this gravy can be prepared without a turkey! Just cook up a couple chicken legs or thighs to get a little drippings, then use a couple cans of chicken broth!
Ingredients De-greased turkey or chicken pan drippings, supplement canned chicken broth if you don’t have enough drippings (you need around 6 cups total. I used 1 cup of drippings and 4 cans of chicken broth) 1/2 cup diced turkey or chicken meat 1 can cream of chicken soup 3-4 tablespoons of flour 2 diced hard boiled eggs, minced Homemade egg noodles 2 cups flour 3 egg yokes 1 egg (yoke and white) 1/2 cup water 1/2 teaspoon salt
Directions The day before, bake some chicken legs and/or thighs for dinner. Save the chicken drippings and the meat of one leg/thigh. Keep the drippings and meat in your fridge over night so you can scrape the fat off in the morning (throw away the fat that gathers at the top). The day of, warm the drippings, meat and canned chicken broth in a large pot over medium low heat. You'll want around 6 cups of liquid total. While the liquid warms on the stove, prepare the noodles. Put flour and salt in a mixing bowl, make a well in your flour and add the 3 egg yokes and 1 egg. Drizzle in the 1/2 cup of cool water. Start stirring with a spoon but once the dry ingredients are sufficiently moistened I press it by hand. Keep pressing the dough until you can get it to hold in a ball (you may need to drizzle in an additional 1/4 cup water). Once you have the dough formed into a ball you will cut it into quarters. Sprinkle flour on your counter (or a cutting board) and roll a quarter of the dough out with a rolling pin. As you flip and roll the dough sprinkle more flour on it. You don’t ever want sticky dough; it needs to be dry and dusted with flour. When it is thin, use a pizza cutter to cut small noodles. When all the noodles are cut and ready, add them to the chicken broth and chicken bits. Turn the heat up to medium and let the noodles cook for 15 minutes, stirring every couple of minutes. After 15 minutes spoon out around 1 cup of broth and whisk in 3-4 tablespoons of flour, then pour the broth/flour mixture back into the pot (this will help thicken the gravy). Add the cream of chicken soup and minced hard boiled eggs to the gravy. Let the gravy cook another 5-10 minutes and it's done! You can serve immediately OR you can hold the gravy for a couple hours by pouring the gravy into a crock-pot and keeping the crock-pot on the warm setting (this is what I do since I take the gravy to our family dinners.
We've made this recipe a few times in the last couple weeks, it's cheap and easy but most importantly, it hits the spot! It's very similar to Creamy Italian Chicken and Pasta but I like this version with rice better. We spoon the sauce onto the rice and it's so yummy!
We're putting our Christmas tree up on Wednesday and I can't wait! Christmas is our favorite time of year! The boys made a Christmas movie advent calendar, so this year we'll split up our 30 Christmas movies and watch 1 every day! We'll snuggle up, watch Christmas movies, with our fireplace blazing, and twinkle lights shining! There isn't anything better in the whole world! What's your favorite Christmas movie? Justin's favorite is Christmas Vacation, my favorite is Love Actually, Andrew's favorite is Elf, and Abbott's favorite is Home Alone! I can't wait!
Ingredients 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed (it's ok if they're still a little frozen) 1/4 cup butter 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese 1 packet, Italian dressing mix (I use Good Seasons Brand) 1 can cream of mushroom soup Serve with white rice
Directions Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). In a 9x13 glass casserole dish, warm the butter and cream cheese in a microwave. I put it in for 30 seconds, stir, and then 30 more seconds. When the butter and cream cheese are soft you'll stir in the package of Italian dressing mix and cream of chicken soup. Stir in the cubed chicken breasts, coating the chicken with the sauce. Cover with foil and bake for 60 minutes in the preheated oven. Serve chicken and sauce over white rice.
We try to celebrate the small things, and I especially like to celebrate the boys "firsts" with pies! Last year I posted Andrew's First Concert Pie and Abbott's First Kiss Pie... both were delicious! Well, today Andrew got his first girlfriend! Her name's Kerri (pronounced Carrie, same as my name)! So we had to celebrate with a "First Girlfriend Pie"! Andrew and Kerri have been flirty with each other for awhile now. Last year Andrew told us a story about an indoor recess where Kerri leaned on him while talking to their friends. Andrew said the whole time Kerri was leaning on him he was thinking "...ok, this isn't awkward"! It was too cute because as Andrew told the story his body language perfectly described how awkward he must have felt.
So, Andrew says Kerri wrote him a note yesterday asking him if he liked her. Andrew wrote back admitting that he liked her and asked if she liked him, then Kerri wrote back saying that she liked him too! Andrew said Kerri's friends begged and pushed for him to ask her out, so today at lunch Andrew asked Kerri to be his girlfriend! She said yes! I knew I'd like this girl when Andrew said that Kerri asked if she could pick him up for Wednesday night youth group... she goes to youth group too?!! SCORE!
First girlfriends are special and it's something to celebrate! Justin's first girlfriend was Cheryl Hudson when he was in 5th grade. I can't remember who my first boyfriend was, I was more like Abbott... I think I had my first kiss before I had my first boyfriend. My first kiss was in 5th grade, we were on a God's Kids tour, playing truth or dare, and my cousin Brett Rains dared me to put a Spree candy in my mouth and for Nathan Evans to kiss me and get the candy. First's are so special because they can't ever be repeated! We don't ever remember who our second girlfriends or kisses were, just our first. There's a GREAT movie all about that first middle school girlfriend, it's called "Little Manhattan" and it's one of our favorites! If you haven't ever seen it you must rent it immediately... and make this pie to eat while you're watching it :-)
So, congratulations Andrew on having your first girlfriend! You are one step closer to becoming a man, and what an amazing young man you are. We are so proud! Your "First Girlfriend Pie" was outstanding! It was fluffy, smooth, and so rich! I can't wait to make this pie for you, your wife, and your family some day! It will always make me smile remembering the grin on your face as you beamed with the pleasure of having your first girlfriend!
Ingredients 9-inch deep dish pie crust, baked 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk 2/3 cup water 1 (4 serving) package chocolate pudding mix (not instant) 1 (1 ounce) square unsweetened chocolate 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 large (16 ounce) tub of Cool Whip Optional- Hot fudge topping
Directions In large saucepan, combine condensed milk, water and pudding mix; mix well. Add chocolate and salt. Over medium heat, cook and stir rapidly until chocolate melts and mixture thickens (it won't thicken until it starts to boil). Remove from heat, whisk until smooth, and cool in the fridge. When it is thoroughly chilled, fold in Cool Whip and pour into prepared pie crust. Chill 4 hours until set. Use a pastry bag and tip to pipe on the hot fudge topping into a heart shape. Don't warm the hot fudge topping, it needs to be cool or room temperature to hold the shape of a heart.
These mashed faux-tatoes look like mashed potatoes, taste like creamy rice, but it is really cauliflower! ... This was my opening line to my family but their response was "it smells terrible"! I admit that boiling cauliflower doesn't smell like roses but I thought it really did taste good! I quite liked these faux-tatoes! They couldn't ever substitute real mashed potatoes but they are great as a vegetable side dish! I've been a reading fool this weekend! I read the Wake Trilogy Books by Lisa McMann in two days! Once I start a book (or book series) I just can't stop though! I've got a whole week full of boy's activities ahead of me though so I need a new book to read! Do you have any book suggestions?
This is going to be one of those years with my boys. We've already had way too many conversations with their teachers and Abbott's testing my laundry abilities by wearing the same outfit everyday for a month! Abbott wants to be a doctor so my parents bought him a set of scrubs for his birthday. He wants to wear them everyday so I have to sneak into his room to launder the outfit while he sleeps! This is my doctor... ...or as a girl in his class calls him, "nurse boy"! Being a mom is so stressful but thankfully my wonderful sister-in-law understands, she shared this hilarious video last week...
This video does a pretty good job of summing up my life! It's crazy! However, the upside of Abbott's determination to wear his doctor outfit everyday is that I don't have to buy him a Halloween costume! Have you ever noticed that something weird happens on Halloween? I'm not talking ghosts and goblins... I'm talking about the weather! It feels like summer right up until Halloween blows in and it's frigid every day after! I won't be fooled this year though! It may have been 80 degrees today but I am on to you Halloween... I know this is the last week of warm weather so I wanted to slip one more summery recipe in before it's all soups and spiced breads!
Ingredients 5 boneless skinless chicken breast halves 1 can (10 ounces) frozen non-alcoholic margarita mix, thawed (I used Bacardi) 3 tablespoons lime juice 3 garlic cloves, minced 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon pepper
Directions In a small bowl, combine the margarita mix, lime juice and garlic. Pour 1 1/4 cup marinade into a large resealable plastic bag. Add the chicken; seal bag and turn to coat. Refrigerate for 4 hours. Rotate half way through marinading. Cover and refrigerate remaining marinade. Drain and discard marinade, sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper, and grill or saute the chicken to cook. As the chicken cooks baste it with the the remaining marinade (that you covered and saved in your fridge).
Due to some outrageous medical bills we've been eating at home every night (which I love) but we have to eat the cheapest meals we can (which I hate). Our cheap meals are usually hot dogs, noodle soup, hamburger helper, burritos, grilled cheese, etc. All junk type foods with no fresh fruits or vegetables :-( Why are cheap meals also the most unhealthy meals? I gotta tell you, it really tweaks my melon!
Anytime someone says "tweaks my melon" I always hear in my head "I gotta tell you Travis, it really tweaks my melon to see a buff bro like Crawl here get weeeeezed on by a greasy scumbag like you! Now let's chow down here and munch on some grindage!" I'll give anyone a hug that can name that movie! Also, anytime someone says "Yippee Ki-Yay" I finish it with something in my head too... but that's not really blog appropriate ,-)
So, anyways! To save money I thought I would make my own Spanish Rice! We were bummed though, this recipe wasn't very flavorful. Don't stop reading yet though, this rice has potential! Justin added some salsa to his and it was much better so I'm going to give this rice another try but substitute salsa for the tomato sauce! I'll let you know how my 2nd try turns out ,-)
Ingredients 1-2 tablespoons oil 2 cups white rice 1/2 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce (next time I am using 1 cup of salsa instead) 1/2 onion, minced 3 tablespoons chicken bouillon granules 5 cups water
Directions Heat oil in skillet and fry rice until light brown. Add tomato sauce and stir. Add onion, bouillon and water to the rice, stir well and cover. Bring rice mixture to a boil, over medium-high heat. Once liquid level has dropped below the rice, turn heat down to low and simmer 30-35 minutes. Move rice to see if liquid remains. If so, keep simmering. Once rice is done, you may crack the lid to let steam out and let sit for 10-15 minutes before serving (this helps the rice dry out a little and not be so sticky).
After 30 years as a police officer and detective, my wonderful dad retired from the Blue Springs Police Department a few weeks ago! His career was so spectacular that September 17th is now "Troy Pharr Day" in the city of Blue Springs! He had a huge retirement bash at city hall, which was covered by a couple local papers... Kansas City Star Article Blue Springs Examiner Article My mom asked my cousin and me to cater the party... yikes! So we made a few appetizers (stuffed strawberries, bruschetta, chocolate covered pretzel sticks, etc.) but the most popular appetizer were these Taco Cups! The boys enjoyed them so much that we had to make them again, they are so yummy!
Ingredients Tostitos Scoops Chips Seasoned Taco Meat Shredded cheddar cheese Salsa Sour cream (put the sour cream in a pastry bag with an icing tip) Sliced black olives, drained
Directions Get a Tostitos Scoop, spoon on some taco meat (I used a melon baller spring scoop), spoon on some salsa, sprinkle on some cheese, use an icing tip and bag to pipe on the sour cream, and top with an olive slice!
These are so easy to make and the boys have a blast assembling them! This is Andrew making our Taco Cups (for my email readers, I think this animated picture will only work on my website).
When watching movies I am always distracted by the food they eat in the movie! In the movie "It’s Complicated" Meryl Streep’s character makes these incredible looking cheesy, toasty bits of goodness. I actually pulled out my laptop to find out what they were eating. Turns out, it was Croque Monsieur... I had never heard of these French sandwiches before, but I couldn’t get them out of my mind!
It's ironic that we watched the movie "It's Complicated" because my life is so much more simple now that I have my cast off! Woohoo!! Exactly 1 month ago I blogged about my broken arm, but I am happy to report that my 6 weeks are up and I am cast free! I can cook again! I can style my hair! I can fold laundry! I can latch my bra! ... maybe that's a little too much information!
So, back to the Croque Monsieur! Traditionally they are "sandwiches" with two pieces of bread but I didn't think my boys could bite through two pieces of french bread and besides... in the movie Meryl Streep only used one piece of bread! Basically, it's crusty french bread, Dijon mustard, black forest ham, a cheese sauce (it's called a Béchamel sauce), and shredded cheese to top it off. They were good, and a nice change from the flavors we are used to!
Ingredients 2 Tbsp butter 2 Tbsp flour 1 1/2 cups milk Salt and Pepper 1 1/2 cups Swiss cheese, shredded 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated and packed Crusty French bread loaf, cut into 1 inch thick slices (sandwich size, not skinny baguettes) 8 ounces Black forest ham, thinly sliced Dijon mustard
Directions Using a small saucepan, melt butter over medium heat until melted. Slowly add flour while whisking constantly. Continue cooking and whisking until mixture turns a light blonde color, a couple minutes. Keep color light, do not let brown. Slowly pour in warmed milk, while whisking. Keep a light simmer and continue to whisk until sauce starts to thicken. Add Parmesan and 1/4 cup Swiss cheese a little at a time while stirring. Do not add all at once, or sauce will clump. Once you’ve combined cheese into sauce, salt and pepper to taste. Turn heat to low under sauce.
Lightly toast your bread slices on a baking sheet in a 400 degree oven, turn once. Do not let brown.
Spread a thin layer of Dijon mustard over each toasted slice. Add about 2 slices of ham to each piece. Sprinkle each slice with the Swiss cheese reserving about 1/4 cup. Spoon Béchamel cheese sauce over each slice, then top with remaining Swiss cheese.
Bake for 5 minutes in the 400 degree oven. Rotate pan front to back, then turn broiler on High for 3 minutes. Cheese will be bubbling and lightly browned when ready. Be sure to keep a close watch while broiler is on, they can burn quickly.
Remove from pan, plate up and enjoy! Have an outstanding weekend, indulge a little, and be thankful for your two healthy arms!
I'm always looking for snack ideas for the boy's classes (well, Andrew doesn't need snacks now that he's in middle school but Abbott still needs snacks). A fellow blogger (Gourmet Mom On-The-Go) has the best snack ideas and she makes these cute printables to go along with them! So last month I sent Donut Seeds (aka Honey Nut Cheerios) for Abbott's class...
And yesterday I sent Ernie Elf's Tinker Toys (aka pretzel sticks and cheese cubes) for Abbott's class...
They were a hit! It is such a fun way to send a snack!
