Hobo Packs:

I have tried a few different variations of the Hobo Pack, and whereas they were always good, they weren't GOOD. But I was getting hungry for them, and we had lots of peppers, onions and tomatoes in our garden, so I thought I would add some meat and seasonings to all that, and see what happened. I LOVED it!!!! Oh my!! It was so good!! I could have eaten one whole pack by myself! There wasn't one bit of it leftover and I will definitely be makng them again....soon! I hope you give them a try this summer!

1 (1-2 lb.) Round steak, cut into strips
1 large green pepper, cut into thin strips
1 large yellow onion, halved and sliced
1-2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
4 tblsp. olive oil
1 package Dry Italian Dressing mix

Lay two, 16-inch pieces of foil out. Divide the meat between both pieces of foil, laying the strips in the center. Divide the vegetables between the two packs, starting with the onions, then peppers, then tomatoes.
Drizzle the oil evenly between both packs. Sprinkle both packs with the dressing mix.

 

Wrap tightly and fold the edges well so that the juices won't leak out while baking. Place both packs on a cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or  until meat is done. Serve! (Take caution while opening the packs, as the steam will coming rolling out and is VERY hot!)

Note:
-This would make 4 generous helpings

Check it out!!!!

I AM SO EXCITED!!!

After hours of work, I have finally finished putting together a recipe index for my blog!

It's a seperate page with it's own tab at the top of my blog. Check it out here!

Let me know if you like it, if I should change something, or any thoughts you might have about it!

I want it to be very user-friendly and am open for any and all suggestions for ways to make it better!!

I hope you enjoy it!

Yellow Rice:

---This is a very great and fast rice mix that we have really enjoyed and I wanted to share with you. It's found in the rice section of your grocery store (I know Walmart has it, I assume other grocery stores would too, but I can't say for sure). All you have to do is boil water, add oil and the rice and cook for 25 minutes. It has a great flavor! I hope you will give it a try.

Peanut Butter Truffle Brownies:

I was desperately craving a brownie one day and happened across a blog, where that days post was all about 50 of the best brownie recipes!!! They ALL looked amazing, but whenever I see chocolate and peanut butter together, that's always my first choice!!! These were very good. Not too sweet (which I was kind of nervous about), and not an over powering peanut butter taste either. Perfect!! I will be making these again and I hope you at least give them a try

 (that way, when you make them more than once in the same month,

 I won't feel so bad!)!!!!!

1 batch brownies, prepared and completely cooled (click here for my easy recipe)

Filling:
1/3 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup peanut butter (creamy or chunky)
1-1/3 cup powdered sugar
1-1/2 tsp. milk

Topping:
3/4 cup chocolate chips
3 tblsp. butter

In medium bowl, beat filling ingredients until smooth and well mixed. Spread evenly over completely cooled brownies. Place chocolate chips and butter in a microwave safe dish. Microwave for 30 seconds. Stir. Heat for additional 10-15 seconds or until chips are melted, stirring often as chocolate burns easily. Allow to cool for 10 minutes. Spread or drizzle over peanut butter filling and chill for at least 30 minutes or until set. Serve!!

Slow-Cooker Vegetable Soup:

This was really easy and turned out really yummy!! It smelled so good while it was cooking all day too! It has to cook pretty much all day, though, so you'll want to definitely start it earlier in the morning. Hope you try it out!!

(Sorry no picture! I completely forgot and we ate it all! I'll try to remember next time!)

1 (1 lb.) round steak, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 (14.5 oz.) can diced tomatoes, undrained
3 cups water
2 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
2 medium yellow onions, peeled and diced
2 celery ribs, diced
3 tblsp. beef bouillon granules (check the label for any gluten)
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1-1/2 to 2 cups frozen mixed vegetables

Mix first 12 ingredients together in a crock-pot. Make sure the potatoes are all the way under the water, so they don't turn brown. Cover and cook on high for 6 hours. Stir in mixed vegetables. Cover and cook an additional 2 hours. Serve!!!

Note:
-I did not have any canned, diced tomatoes, but I did have an over abundance of cherry tomatoes from our garden! I just quartered enough to equal about 1-1/2 cups, covered them with water and added them to the soup! It turned out just fine, so use whatever you have.

Cucumber Salad:

I love this stuff and it's a fabulous side dish during the summer...

especially when you are over flowing in cucumbers like we are!!!

6 cups cucumbers, peeled or unpeeled, and sliced however you like
1 small onion, chopped or sliced
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup sugar
dash of salt and pepper

Toss together cucumbers and onions in a large bowl. In a small bowl, combine mayonnaise, sugar, salt and pepper. Pour over cucumbers and stir until well coated. Serve!

Note:
-Some of the cucumbers we had, had a LOT of seeds in them, so I actually scooped them out before I cut them up. It helps to not make the salad watery.
-This is not something you really want to do ahead. You could have everything cut up and in a bowl, but for best results, wait until the last minute to add the dressing.

Marinated Ranch Chicken:

This was so easy and very yummy!!

Throw it in the fridge in the morning and on the grill in the evening!!

My whole family enjoyed it!!

4 chicken breasts, thawed
2 pkg. dry ranch dressing mix
4 Tblsp. olive oil
2 Tblsp. vinegar

Place chicken in a gallon zip-lock bag. In a small bowl, whisk together remaining ingredients. Pour over chicken. Seal bag and toss to coat the chicken (I like the squeeze the chicken and kind of massage the dressing all over it). Refrigerate for at least 1 hour, but the longer the better. Grill until done! Serve!!!

Note:
-I cut my chicken in 2-1/2 inch strips lengthwise and pierce them all over with the tip of a sharp knife, so that the marinade can get all the way into the chicken and it makes it taste so yummy!!!
 

Pumpkin Zucchini Bread:

NOW WAIT A MINUTE!!!

Before you totally skip this post because you think it sounds weird, let me tell ya! It's actually really good!!! When I first saw the recipe for this, I couldn't decide if it would be a good thing to try or a really bad thing! But the more I looked at it and read over the recipe, I decided with all the zucchini we have around here, I'd chance it!! I'm SO glad I did! I made it into muffins instead of a loaf, and they came out so moist and wonderful! It tastes 0% like zucchini and to be perfectly honest, it doesn't have a very strong pumpkin taste either! But yet they're so good! So, I hope you'll at least give them a try!

2 eggs

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup canola oil

1/2 cup canned pumpkin

1-1/2 t. vanilla

1-1/2 cups flour

1 t. xanthan gum

1/2 t. baking soda

1/4 t. baking powder

1/4 t. salt

1/2 t. cinnamon

1/2 t. nutmeg

1/4 t. ground cloves

1 cup shredded or grated zucchini

1/2 cup chopped walnuts, if desired

In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, sugars, oil, pumpkin and vanilla. In a small bowl, whisked together flour, xanthan gum, soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and ground cloves. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until well combined. Stir in zucchini and nuts. Pour into a greased loaf pan, or fill paper-lined muffin tins 3/4 full. Bake at 350 degrees for 45-55 minutes for the loaf or 30-35 minutes for muffins or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes. Serve warm or place on wire rack to cool! Store in airtight container. 

Note:

-I like my muffins to be a little crunchy on the outside, so I left them in a for a little while longer than what the recipe suggests.   

Squash Casserole:

We always have an over abundance of yellow squash in our garden every summer. I had heard of squash casserole, and it sounded good, so I searched until I found a recipe that looked easy and yummy.

It turned out really good and I've made it a few times now.

I hope you give it a try!

6 cups cubed yellow summer squash
1 large onion, chopped
dash of salt and pepper
1 cup mayonnaise or miracle whip
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup crushed cornflakes
Additional shredded cheddar cheese and crushed cornflakes

In a large skillet, saute onions until tender (stirring constantly so they don't burn). Add squash and cook until tender and until all the water is evaporated (while the squash cooks down, it will release water). Remove from heat, and stir in mayo, cheese and cornflakes. Spread evenly in a greased casserole dish. Top with extra cheese and then cover with additional cornflake crumbs. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until heated through. Serve!

Note:
-This makes a pretty large casserole, so if you're feeding less than 6-7 people, you will want to cut this recipe in half.

Pasta:

Since I just posted the recipe for Chicken Noodle Casserole a few days ago, I thought I would do  a post on the pasta that me and my family LOVE!!! We have tried a few different gluten-free pastas, and if you have one you love, then by all means use it! But we weren't totally satisfied with any we had tried. Until, my Aunt introduced us to this pasta! It's a corn and rice blend pasta and tastes as close to wheat-based pasta as anything I've tried. You don't have to cook it forever, or rinse it off for a full 10 minutes after it's cooked, only to have it turn to mush as soon as you do anything with it. I know that it's sold at Walmart, Martin's, Bi-Lo and I'm sure other grocery stores as well. If you're grocery store does not sell it, consider taking them a photo and information about it, and asking them to stock it. Some places won't, but some will, so I think it's worth a try!

This brand comes in three varieties: Fusilli (a spiral), Penne (a small tube), and spaghetti.

I've tried all three and equal like them all!

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As for Lasagna noodles, this is the only one I've tried because I was very happy with it the first time I tried it and therefore I haven't risked the money in trying something else!! We purchase it at a local health food store, so I'm sure it's sold at other stores as well, I just don't know which ones. The Tinkyada company also has many other varieties of pasta that are very good as well. I have tried a few of them, and really liked them, but they are pretty expensive.  



Check out their website here to view all of their products.

You can also purchase Tinkyada Pasta Joy Products at Amazon.com