Frozen Hot Chocolate:

Happy Thanksgiving!!

 

"Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name."

Psalm 100:4

 

I love Thanksgiving, and I hope everyone has a wonderful day!

In honor of Thanksgiving, here is a bonus recipe this week. I hope you enjoy it!

It might sound kind of strange, but it's really good!! Cold, yes, but good!!!

I loved it and if you like hot chocolate, I think you will enjoy it too!

It has such an unexpected taste and it's just so yummy!

I hope you give it a try!

 

 

For approximately 3 servings:

3 cups ice cubes

1/2 cup hot chocolate mix

1 & 1/2 tblsp. sugar

1 & 1/2 cups milk

Whipped topping, optional

 

For a single serving:

1 cup ice cubes

3 tblsp. hot chocolate mix

1 & 1/2 tsp. sugar

1/2 cup milk

Whipped topping, optional

 

Place all ingredients, except whipped topping, in a blender and blend until smooth.

Pour into serving glasses and top with whipped topping, if desired.

Serve!

 

Cranberry Jello Salad:

With Thanksgiving coming up this week, I wanted to share a "festive" recipe with you!

One of my #1 favorite foods is cranberries - particularly cranberry sauce! I could easily eat a whole can by myself and be perfectly fine with that. And pretty much the rest of my family is fine with that too, because there's only a couple of us who like cranberry things. A friend gave me this recipe a few years ago and I just loved it! I couldn't believe how easy it was and how pretty it looked! I hope you give it a try! Even if you don't like cranberries, because the people in my family who HATE cranberries, love this dish!!!

1 can cranberry sauce, can be smooth or whole berry sauce

2 pks. strawberry gelatin

2 cups boiling water

In a blender or with an emersion blender, dissolve gelatin in boiling water. Add cranberry sauce and blend until smooth. Pour into a serving dish or bowl. Chill for at least 8 hours - the longer the better. There will be a foamy pink layer on top of the gelatin, as you can tell from the picture; it just does this on it's own some how, but it's very yummy and it looks pretty!!

Note:

-You could use raspberry or cranberry gelatin, if you prefer....they are just harder to find sometimes!
-This bad part about this, is it really does take forever to chill. I try to allow 8 hours at the very least.  

Pecan Pie Muffins:

I love Pecan Pie and I love muffins, so having them together is awesome!!

I was actually a little worried about trying them, because it seemed to good to be true!!

I mean, something so easy, couldn't possibly turn out good.

Thankfully, I was very wrong and my whole family loved them!

Wouldn't they be perfect for a quick and easy breakfast on Thanksgiving morning?

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup applesauce (preferably unsweetened)

1 & 1/2 cups brown sugar

4 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

1/4 tsp. salt

1 cup flour

1 tsp. xanthan gum

1 & 1/2 cups chopped pecans

In a medium bowl, cream together butter, applesauce and sugar with a hand mixer until well combined. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Stir in salt, flour and xanthan gum. Mix just until combined and add pecans. Fill paper-lined muffin tins 2/3 full (I use an ice cream scoop). Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until light golden brown and toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in muffin tins for 5 minutes before removing. Serve!!!

Note:

-This made approximately 16 muffins

Baked Tacos:

When I was little, there were very few things that I didn't like to eat. I can actually only think of two things - sweet potatoes and tacos. I have no clue why!! My older sister was my idol, and if she liked it, I ate it! I even ate things I didn't like, just because she ate them! Really, it was a good thing, because it made me try new things and not be a picky eater. But tacos, that just wasn't happening, no matter how much I wanted to be like my sister!! Fast forward a few years, and I have no clue what changed or how, but tacos are one of my favorite foods ever! I could eat taco salad every single day and be fine with that! However, some members of my family (who all like tacos), get tired of taco salad! Like, REALLY tired! I don't understand, but they tell me it's possible!! So when I saw this recipe, I knew I had to give it a try and I'm so glad I did! They turned out so good and were a really fun change of pace and my whole family loved them! The melted cheese helped the meat stay in, and baking the shells for a few minutes, made them slightly soft so they didn't crumble to pieces! 

I hope you try them out!

 

           

2 lbs. ground beef

2 packages taco seasoning + water called for  (see note)

18 hard taco shells (see note)

Shredded Cheddar Cheese

Shredded lettuce

Diced onion

Diced tomato

Salsa

Sour Cream

Ranch Dressing

(Whatever you like to put on a taco)

 

In a large skillet, brown beef until no longer pink; drain. Stir in taco seasoning and water and bring to a boil. Cook and stir until most of the liquid is evaporated.

Fill taco shells with a couple tablespoons of the meat mixture (not too full, because you want to have room for other toppings). Sprinkle with cheddar cheese and place on a cookie sheet, kind of overlapping, if you can tell from the picture above. Bake at 400 degrees for 8-10 minutes or until cheese is melted and meat is hot through.

Serve with your favorite taco toppings!!

 

Note:

-This makes 18 tacos, which is what I made for my family, so you may what to adjust the recipe if you are cooking for a smaller or larger group.

-Make sure to check your taco seasoning, if you want it to be gluten-free! Lots of mixes have wheat/gluten in them. Our favorite is McCormick's taco seasoning. We buy it in a huge container at Sam's Club.

 

-Check your taco shells for hidden wheat/gluten as well. Here's the ones we liked:

 

-Recipe adapted from: SixSistersStuff.com

-For the record, I still don't like Sweet Potatoes! Unless it's sweet potato casserole, and with all the other stuff in there, I'm pretty sure it doesn't count!!

 

Another Pasta:

 

We tried yet another pasta! You might get tired of hearing about all the pasta we try, but I always like to share about things that we really enjoyed! You know, gluten-free things are kind of hard to find in ordinary stores, at ordinary prices that taste extraordinary! Anyways!

We actually found this at Walmart! We were pretty excited, because our Walmart doesn't tend to carry gluten-free items.

We hadn't tried this brand before, so we were of course a little nervous, because we have had some not so great tasting things!!

But, I think it actually might be my new favorite! We tried the Elbow Macaroni for Mac 'n cheese, and it was fabulous! Not too thin, not too thick and it kept it's shape really well. Plus it was perfectly cooked in exactly 7 minutes, so that was pretty cool in it self!

You can probably find this at other grocery stores too, but Walmart is the only place I have noticed it so far.  

So I hope if you are still looking for that perfect gluten-free pasta, you will give this a try!

I'd love to hear what you think about it!!

 

Muffles:

 

I have seen a lot of things on Pinterest lately,

that are made in a waffle iron, and muffins is one of them. 

I love waffles. I love muffins.

So naturally, I LOVED this Muffle (muffin + waffle = Muffle)!!!!

My favorite part of a muffin, is the top. On a good muffin, the top is soft and fluffy inside, and slightly crisp on the outside.

The whole entire Muffle tastes like one big muffin top!!! So yummy!

I hope you give them a try!! I bet you'll be pleasantly surprised!

 

 

 

Start, by mixing up your favorite muffin batter,

just like you would if you were making regular muffins.

Preheat your waffle iron.

Spray with cooking spray, and use the muffin batter just as you would waffle batter. Cook as long as you do your waffles (takes mine about 5 minutes, but it varies from one waffle maker to another) or until dark, golden brown and slightly crisp.

Serve with butter!

 

Notes:

-I used my Blueberry Yogurt Muffin recipe for the Muffles in the photo.

-Play around with different muffin recipes!

-Mix up your muffin batter the night before. Then it's ready the next morning and all you have to do is wait the 3-5 minutes it takes in the waffle iron for a nice, hot muffle!!! Way faster than baking in the oven!!

 

 

Butterfinger Bites:

Butterfingers and Almond Joys are my FAVORITE candy bar!!
I've gotten a Butterfinger Blizzard at Dairy Queen, 9 out the 10 times I've been there!!
I've never been much into making candy, because normally it takes forever and way too much work!
But when I saw this recipe, I knew we had to try it! It was unbelievable!! So good and so easy!
The picture is terrible and doesn't do them any amount of justice!
I've not actually had a chance to make them, but my sister, Kaitlyn (who likes Butterfingers more than I do) has made them several times now, so I will let her tell you how to do it!
I hope you give them a try!!

 

 

 

3 cups candy corn

2 cups peanut butter

1 &1/2 cups chocolate chips

In a medium sauce pan, melt the candy corn on a medium-low heat. Make sure to stir the entire time to prevent as much sticking. Turn off the heat and stir in Peanut Butter until completely melted.
Pour mixture into an 8x8 dish lined with wax paper and put into the refrigerator or freezer until firm.
Remove from pan and cut into what ever size you want!
(Tip - don't use a sawing motion while cutting, just go straight down or the candy will be very crumbly).
Put pieces back into the fridge for a few minutes.
In a glass dish, put chocolate chips in the microwave for 30 seconds and stir, put back in for 15 seconds and keep stirring every 15 seconds until just melted.
Dip pieces of candy in chocolate and place on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper.
Allow chocolate to set in the fridge and Enjoy!!

By: Kaitlyn

 

 Note:

-Make sure to buy up some extra candy corn and store in the freezer,
so you can make these any time you want.

 

 

 

Teriyaki Stir-Fry:

We used to live right at the bottom of the hill from one set of my grandparents. We went up there all the time, but there were two special times we went - when grandma made Buckwheat Cakes or when granddaddy made stir-fry! Oh my, they were both SO good!! And of course, neither one of those recipes was ever written down. Mainly because they didn't even use recipes themselves!

 

This stir-fry definitely doesn't even come close to granddaddy's stir-fry, but it still tastes pretty amazing......and just reminds me of grandma and granddaddy's house!!

I hope you give the recipe a try!

 

 

 

1 & 1/2 tblsp. olive oil

1/2 cup soy sauce

2 tblsp. ketchup

3/4 cup honey

1 & 1/2 tblsp. minced garlic

dash of pepper

1 & 1/2 (16 oz.) bags stir-fry vegetables

3 cubed, cooked chicken breasts

Hot cooked rice

 

In a small bowl, whisk together oil, soy sauce, ketchup, honey, garlic and pepper. Place vegetables and chicken in a large skillet with 1/2 cup water. Cook and stir until vegetables are heated through. Add sauce and stir well. Bring to a boil, and cook and stir for about 3-5 minutes or until sauce becomes slightly thickened and caramelized. Serve over hot rice!

 

Frozen Grapes:

This may sound crazy to you, and I feel a little funny even sharing it, but they are just SO, SO good! I would take these over almost any treat or snack and I could eat a whole bag of grapes by my self, if they are frozen! Now, I like grapes, anyways, but even some of my family who aren't crazy about them, will eat them like this. 

 

 

They're so refreshing and well, cold, of course!!!!

 

Here's the complicated recipe ingredients and instructions.

I'll try to explain it in detail, so you don't get confused.

 

Ingredients:

Grapes (seedless)

 

Directions:

1. Remove grapes from stems and wash thoroughly.

2. Place on a tray or plate and place in the freezer.

3. When they are completely frozen, remove from tray store in a zip-lock bag or a container.

4. Keep frozen until ready to eat.

 

 

Note:

-You can use any kind of grapes. I recommend only seedless ones, because once they're frozen, there is no way to get the seed out, and you definitely don't want someone choking on a grape seed!

-Kids really like these, but it's sometimes hard for them to eat a whole one, since they are hard, so I usually cut them in half or quarters.

 

I hope you give you them a try!

Leave me a comment to let me know what you think!

 

Pumpkin Donut Muffins:

 

These are SO good and perfect for fall! They only have a very subtle pumpkin flavor, but they are so fluffy and moist on the inside. I love muffins, but these are definitely my new favorite! 

I hope you give them a try....with your favorite soup, for breakfast, a snack....whenever!

 

 

 

1 & 3/4 cup flour

1 tsp. xanthan gum

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

3/4 cup canned, pumpkin pie filling

1/2 cup milk

 

Coating:

3 tblsp. butter, melted

1/3 cup sugar

1 tblsp. cinnamon

 

In a large bowl, combine flour, xanthan gum, baking powder and salt. In a small bowl, whisk together oil, brown sugar, egg, vanilla, pumpkin and milk. Add to dry ingredients and mix just until combined. Using a 1-inch cookie baller, place one scoop in each cup of a well greased, mini-muffin tin. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the tops of the muffins begin to get crispy. This is pretty important. You basically want to over-bake these, so they are a tad crunchy on the outside.  

Remove to wire rack to cool completely.





Combine the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Lightly, dip each muffin in melted butter and roll in cinnamon/sugar mixture. Place on wax paper to cool completely. Store in airtight container in the refrigerator.

 

Note:

-These even taste good re-heated in the microwave for a few seconds.

-Recipe adapted from: Six Sisters Stuff