Salads:

Strawberries were majorly on sale this week at our grocery store and we took full advantage of that! We ate them plain, made Angel Food cake to eat with our strawberries, ate them plain, had them in cereal, ate them plain!!! But I wanted to try something more main dish with them. At a restaurant once, I had a Strawberry Pecan salad. It didn't sound very good, but it looked good, so I gave it a try! It was delicious!!! So since we had some extra berries, I decided to try a homemade salad. It turned out really yuumy, and I thought I would just share with you what I did.

Photo Credit: google search

This is what I had on my salad (amounts of each are according to your tastes):
-Lettuce
-Carrots
-Broccoli
-Yellow Squash, thinly sliced
-Cucumber
-Chopped Pecans
-Chopped Strawberries (We sliced out strawberries and sprinkled them with a little sugar. Then we let them chill in the refrigerator over night. That made them nice and sweet, and also gave them a little broth which was very good on the salad.)
-Dressing (Once I had it with Honey Mustard dressing and I've also had it with Ranch...both are equally good. Just make sure to check the labels!)

Feel free to add or leave out anything you prefer! I'm sure it would be great with some cooked or grilled chicken pieces.
So I hope you give my Strawberry Salad a try and enjoy it as much as I have!!!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars:

Since the title has "chocolate" and "peanut butter" in it, I don't know if there's much more I can say! These are so good and incredibly easy. I hope you will take 5 mintues and make this amazing treat! It's definitely one of my absolute favorites and I know you won't be disappointed either!!

 

 

1 cup sugar

1 cup light corn syrup

1 cup peanut butter

6 cups Rice Crispies

2 cups chocolate chips

In a large saucepan, combine sugar, corn syrup and peanut butter.

Cook over medium heat until sugar dissolves, stirring constantly.

Remove from heat; stir in cereal and mx until evenly coated.

Spread into a greased 9x13-inch baking pan. Press out so it's even.

Place chocolate chips in a microwave safe dish. Heat for 30 seconds; stir. Heat for additional 15 second intervels, stirring well after each, until chocolate is completely melted.

Spread over cereal mixture.

Chill until chocolate is set.

Cut into bars and serve!!!

 

Recipe adapted from Taste of Home

Angel Food Cake:

This is SO good! It's one of the first desserts I tried to make after going gluten-free and it turned out perfect! I hope you will give it a try and enjoy this light, summer dessert (although it's good all year!)!

Photo Credit: Me!

1/2 cup Rice flour
1/3 cup cornstarch
1/3 cup confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
12 egg whites, room temperature
1 tblsp. lemon juice
1-1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. almond extract

In a small bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, confectioners' sugar and xanthan gum; set aside. In a mixing bowl, beat the egg whites until foamy. While beating, add lemon juice, cream of tartar and salt. Continue to beat until eggs are stiff. While still beating, add the sugar slowly in a steady stream.

Beat until stiff peaks form.

                   Photo Credit: Google Search

 Add dry ingredients; mix well. Add almond extract. Pour into an angel food cake pan or bunt pan that is totally free of grease. Run a knife though the batter to release any air bubbles. Smooth the top with a spatula. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes or until golden brown. Let stand 5 minutes. During this time, the cake WILL fall. Don't worry, it's just how it goes! 

Invert over a funnel; let stand until cool.

     Photo Credit: Google Search

Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Serve with strawberries and/or blueberries and whipped topping!!

Photo Credit: Me!

Note:

-It's best to separate eggs while they are still very cold.

-Don't be intimidated by all the steps with the egg whites. It really is easy!!!



Menu:

-Slow-cooker Teriyaki Chicken
-Leftover Potato Salad from Father's Day (I made WAY too much!!)
-Green Beans

Slow-Cooker Teriyaki Chicken:

My family loves Teriyaki stuff, and this couldn't be any easier to make!

I usually serve it with rice and some veggies for a perfect meal!
It's SO moist and tender!

I hope you try it out!!

1 cup soy sauce

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 small onion, chopped

Up to 6 chicken breasts, thawed (see note)

In a medium saucepan, whisk together soy sauce, sugar, garlic powder and onion. Bring to a boil. 

Place chicken in the bottom of the slow-cooker. Pour the sauce over the chicken. 

Cover and cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 6-8 hours. 

Right before serving, lightly shred the chicken, so that it's all covered really well in the sauce.

Serve!!

Note:

-For my family, I usually only do 2-3 chicken breasts, to be honest. 

But I use the same amount of sauce, because my family likes to have that over rice. 

There is plenty of sauce, however, to cook up to 6 pieces of chicken. 

You just might not have a lot of extra sauce.

-Some people say they put their chicken right into the crock-pot while it's still frozen.

You can do whatever you want, but I personally don't think it tastes very good that way, and usually let my thaw completely before cooking it.

Baked Oatmeal:

This is one of my dad's absolute favorite breakfasts!!! It's really easy and very yummy and a great change of pace from regular oatmeal. I hope you give it a try and enjoy it as much as we do!



3 cups quick oats
1/2 cup melted butter
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs, beaten
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 cup milk
1 tsp. maple syrup or 1/4 tsp. maple flavoring
1/2 cup raisins, or more if you like
Cinnamon

In a large mixing bowl, beat all ingredients except cinnamon until well combined. Pour into a greased 9x13-inch baking dish. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Bake at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Serve!

Note:
-We have a few picky eaters, so we usually do half with and half without raisins.
-I eat it just like it is, but most of my family likes milk over top of it.
-You can make this the night before and bake it when you get up in the morning. Just cover it before you put it in the fridge and leave it out on the counter while your oven pre-heats in the morning so that it won't be so cold.

Father's Day Menu:

Happy Father's Day!!

This was our Menu for today:

Breakfast:
-Baked Oatmeal

Dinner:
-BBQ Pork chops (just pork chops in a slow-cooker with bbq sauce)
-Potato Salad
-Green Beans
-Shell Beans
-Cantalope

Dessert:
-Wacky Cake (this is a wheat dessert..have tried to make it gluten-free, but it just does not work, so that's why we are having two cakes!)
-Chocolate Cake with Glossy Chocolate Frosting

Slow-Cooker Breakfast Casserole:

What could be easier than dumping everything in a crock-pot before you go to bed and getting up to a great breakfast that is completely ready for you? That's exactly what's happening here! It's so easy and so yummy! We especially like it when we are having over night company, because there's not a lot to do in the morning and yet you have this great breakfast!! I hope you will give it a try!

32 (oz.) bag hash brown potatoes,
1 lb. sausage, cooked and well drained
1 small onion, chopped
1 medium bell pepper, chopped (optional)
1 & 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
12 eggs
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon pepper

Lightly spray inside of crock-pot with cooking spray or use an AWESOME crock-pot liner like we do! Layer all ingredients in this order: 1/3 hash browns, 1/3 sausage, 1/3 peppers and onions, and 1/3 cheese. Repeat layers two more times ending with cheese. In a large bowl, beat eggs, milk and pepper until eggs are well scrambled. Pour mixture over top everything in the crock-pot. 

Cover and cool on low for 6 - 7 hours or until eggs are set. Serve!!!

Note:

-It can cook for longer, but it tends to dry out a little if it cooks to long. If we aren't ready to eat it that soon, I will turn the crockpot to "warm" or even turn it off until we are ready to eat. This works great, because it will still be nice and hot, but not dry.

-To ensure that we don't have a greasy casserole, I drain the sausage as well as I can and then put it on paper towels to drain some more. This is, of course, optional, but I hate greasy food!

-We love to eat this with Monkey Bread!!!!

Chocolate Brownie Trifle:

When I graduated from high school, I graduated with one other boy in our church. When we were planning the reception after our ceremony, we came to a dilemma; he hated cake and I couldn't eat it anyways! So as we thought and thought of what to do, a trifle kept coming to my mind. He was fine with that...as long as there was A LOT of chocolate involved! So I came up with this recipe! Here's a picture of the one I made to feed 40+ people for our graduation!



It turned out great there wasn't one drop left!!!

Now, three years later, we are still making it and still loving it! It's a perfect summertime dessert! Today is my brother's birthday and this is what he requested! I hope you give it a try!!!

                                                                            A picture of a smaller serving amount!!!

1 batch brownies, cooled (click here for the recipe)
2 packages instant chocolate pudding
3-1/2 cups milk
1 (16 oz.) container Cool Whip

Combine the milk and the pudding in a medium bowl and whisk until pudding is completely dissolved. Chill for 5-10 minutes or until set.
Break the brownies into small bite size chunks.
In a trifle bowl, punch bowl, or any large serving bowl, layer 1/3 of the brownie pieces, 1/3 of the chocolate pudding and 1/3 of the cool whip. Repeat layers two more times. If desired, use a pastry bag and decorative tip to decoratively add the top layer of cool whip for a fancy presentation.
Chill until ready to serve...it doesn't have to be, but it tastes even better if it can chill for a couple of hours.
Enjoy!!!

Note:
-You can try this with chunks of cake in place of the brownies and different kinds of pudding!!

Update:

IF YOU HAVE MADE THE PANCAKE RECIPE I HAVE POSTED ON THIS BLOG, PLEASE READ THIS!!!!!!!!!!!

I was just looking at the pancake recipe I have posted on this blog and I realized that I had made a mistake on it. It called for 8 teaspoons of baking soda and it SHOULD have been 8 teaspoons baking powder!!!
SO, if you made this recipe and it turned out TERRIBLE, that's why! I have corrected the recipe now, and I hope you will give these a try, because they are awesome....at least now!

Zesty Slow-cooker BBQ:

This recipe is so easy and is a great twist on ordinary BBQ chicken.

We like to eat it as is, and use the leftovers to make a bbq chicken pizza later.

I hope you give it a try!

1 & 1/2 cups barbecue sauce of your choice (just make sure to check the label)
1/2 cup zesty Italian salad dressing
1 tblsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
4 - 6 chicken breasts, cut in half

Place chicken pieces in a slow-cooker. Mix together BBQ sauce, dressing, Worcestershire sauce and brown sugar. Pour over chicken and stir to coat. Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours. Shred with two forks and mix well with the sauce.

Serve!!!!

Jello Fruity roll-ups:

Looking for a cool, yummy, easy, quick and delicious summer treat? This is just the thing for you!
I just love easy, fun snacks and this is definitely that!! It takes all of 5 minutes to throw together, has even less ingredients and they are so yummy! I hope you give them a try! If you try them, let me know what flavor you liked best!!!!



1 box (3 oz.) gelatin, any flavor - strawberry, orange, blue raspberry, lemon, lime.......only jello is the limit!
1/2 cup water
1-1/2 cup mini marshmallows (or 12 large ones)

Lightly spray a 8-9 inch square baking dish with cooking spray.
Bring water to a boil (in the microwave is the fastest...takes about 1-1/2 minutes). Add gelatin and stir until dissolved. Return to microwave for 1 minute (this just makes sure that the gelatin is completely dissolved)...stir well.
Add marshmallows and return to microwave for 45 seconds to 1 minute or until marshmallows are puffed and slightly melted. Whisk until marshmallows are completely dissolved. The cream layer will float to the top.
Pour into prepared pan. Refrigerate at least 45 minutes or until firm and well set. Loosen edges from pan. Roll up and slice (we found it helpful to secure it with toothpicks after we rolled it)!!!!
Serve immediately or chill until ready to serve!

Note:
-We tried it with Orange jello and it tasted like a dreamsicle!! So yummy! Can't wait to try some other flavors!!!