and for a side: stuffed mushrooms

A former co-worker of mine, Christy, shared this stuffed mushrooms recipe on her blog, Trippin' - Life with Triplets, awhile ago.  These are quick and easy to make, and they never last long.  I can't remember if I've shared this recipe before or not, but even if I have, it's worth the repeat.

I'm not going to lie.  There were more stuffed mushrooms on this plate before I remembered to take a photo.  And the next thing I know they were gone.  Apparently what CJ heard was, "Finish off the mushrooms," when I really said, "The mushrooms are ready to eat."

Anyway, I'll get on with the recipe:

Stuffed Mushrooms

from Trippin' - Life with Triplets

Serves:  Not many

1 pkg. baby portabella or white mushrooms

1/2 C. grated smoked gouda

1/4 C. crushed garlic & herb croutons

butter

salt, optional

Clean mushrooms and remove stems.  Place caps top down on baking sheet.  Put a dab of butter in each.  Pack with cheese.  Sprinkle croutons on top and sprinkle with salt.  Bake 20 minutes at 425 degrees.

P.S.  Christy's blog is definitely worth the read.  She and her husband have a daughter and three triplet boys, so she's never short of good stories.

and for a side: twice-baked potato casserole

Can you guess where I found this recipe for twice-baked potato casserole?  If you guessed pinterest, you're right.  (Seriously?  You haven't joined YET??)

We eat lots of first time meals around our house.  Most of the time it doesn't work out.  But this potato casserole is an entirely different story.  I was eating it before I even had a chance to throw it in the oven.  I practically licked my plate clean.  It's just that good.

Looks delicious, right?

Henry helped out with this one.  It had bacon in it, after all.  But in his credit, Henry is a pretty good helper.  I'm not going to lie.  He's a good mop substitute.

I'll quit jabbering and just share the recipe already.

Twice-Baked Potato Casserole
From Sippity Sup
Serves at least 8

5 lb. potatoes
10 slices bacon
8 oz. cream cheese
1/2 C. unsalted butter, melted
1 C. sour cream
1/4 C. chives, minced
2-1/2 C. cheddar cheese
2 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. pepper

Directions:
Preheat ovento 350 degrees.  Peel potatoes and cut into 1" chunks.  Place in large saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.  Reduce to a simmer and cook about 20 minutes.  Drain and return to pan.

In the meantime, heat a large skillet over medium heat.  Add bacon and cook until crisp.  Drain, cool, and crumble into pieces.

Mash your potatoes.  Stir in butter, cream cheese, and sour cream.  Add in chives, 2 C. cheddar, half of your bacon, salt, and pepper, and stir.

Transfer to a dish (buttered or sprayed with Pam).  Top with remaining cheese.  Bake about 30 minutes or until your top is slightly golden.  Garnish with remaining bacon.

Hope you all enjoy this one as much as we did!

what's for dinner: cheeseburger soup

A few weeks ago, I made cheeseburger soup and it was pretty darn good, if I do say so. This was my mom's recipe, although it looks suspiciously like something Taste of Home posted.  Maybe mom ripped them off?  Or vice versa?

Either way, here's the really professional-looking photo I took:

And here's the recipe:

Cheeseburger Soup

From my mom and/or Taste of Home, altered a bit

1/2 lb. ground beef

3/4 C. chopped onion

4 Tbsp. butter

3 C. chicken broth

4 C. diced, peeled potatoes

1/4 C. flour

2 C. Velveeta

1 1/2 C. milk

3/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

1/4 C. sour cream

Directions:

Brown beef and drain.  Saute onions in 1 Tbsp. butter.  Add broth, beef, onion mixture, and potatoes to pot and bring to a boil.  Simmer 10-12 minutes or until potatoes are tender.

In a saucepan, melt remainder of butter.  Add flour; cook and stir for 3-5 minutes.  Reduce heat to low.  Add cheese, milk, salt, and pepper.  Cook until cheese melts.

Remove heat and add sour cream.  Then add everything to the beef and mixture mix.

Molly's notes:

For starters, this recipe also calls for carrots and celery.  I hate celery and thought it'd be weird to have carrots floating around in there, so I omitted both of those.

I'm pretty sure I probably used a whole pound of ground beef.  And I didn't use 2 cups of Velveeta.  Actually, come to think of it, this one calls for American cheese.  But Velveeta is better.  I didn't measure out 2 cups either.  I figured I couldn't go wrong with more Velveeta.  Also, I think I ended up using 4 potatoes, not 4 cups of potatoes.  I also can't remember if I added in the sour cream at the end.

Next time, I'll take better notes while I'm making the soup.  Just play around with it until you figure out what suits your taste buds best.  Enjoy!

Oh and one last thing...  It kind of bugs my mom when she gives a recipe away and then someone takes it to an event where they can count on her being there.  So if you know my mom and are headed to the same pitch-in meal as she is -- highly unlikely, I know -- just don't bring this soup.

showing off: snack bags

I thought I'd take a break from posting recipes -- since there are lots more to come -- to show off my latest creation, reusable snack bags!  I bought a pattern off of etsy months ago (there are plenty of free versions out there too, by the way -- not sure why I didn't use one of those), got stumped by the pattern, and had to wait until my friend, Leah, was able to come over and show me how to do it.  I'm not sure these are any cheaper than plastic bags, but I suppose I feel a little good about not throwing as many plastic bags in the garbage as before...



Fun, right?  Stella thinks so.

what's for dinner: gnocchi mac & cheese

CJ loves gnocchi, so I was excited to run across boxed gnocchi at the grocery store.  I had no idea what I was going to do with it (I guess serve it with regular spaghetti sauce?  Boring.)  So I was thrilled to run across this recipe for gnocchi mac & cheese on pinterest (yup, still in love).

My awesome photo skills are at work again, as you can tell.  I snapped this photo real quick as CJ was carrying it back to the table to clean it off.  So I guess I should be thankful I got a picture at all.

I will admit this recipe is a bit gratuitous, considering I've been trying to use up ingredients I already had on hand (because why should we have a pantry stuffed full of food when some people don't and also to save money).  It requires some different ingredients (you can find the cheeses at Target, so it's not like you really have to go out of your way).  And when I do make this one again, I plan to double the gnocchi so we have leftovers.

Gnocchi Mac & Cheese

From Cuisine at Home via The Cutting Edge of Ordinary

1 lb. gnocchi

2 Tbsp.  butter

2 tsp. garlic, finely chopped

1 Tbsp. flour

3/4 C. milk

1 tsp. Dijon

1/4 C. shredded Gruyere cheese

1/4 C. shredded Fontina cheese

Salt & pepper, to taste

1/3 C. shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Prepare gnocchi according to package directions.  Drain and place gnocchi in a 1-1/2 qt. shallow baking dish that you've sprayed with Pam.

Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.  Stir in garlic and cook about 30 seconds.  Whisk in flour until it thickens and bubbles, then whisk in milk and Dijon.  Continue to whisk until thickened, about 3-5 minutes.

Add Gruyere and Fontina cheese to milk mixture, stirring until melted.  Season with salt and pepper.

Pour over gnocchi and sprinkle with Parmigiano-Reggiano.  Bake about 25 minutes or until gnocchi puffs and cheese  is golden.

Enjoy!

what's for dinner: spicy shrimp & mushroom pasta

Because I don't have anything else to do, I thought I'd share one of our favorite recipes, Spicy Shrimp & Mushroom Pasta, with you.  I first made this years ago when CJ and I were dating and I can't remember the source, but here it is anyway.  And I'll also mention that you might not normally pair these ingredients together, but it is good - promise.

Spicy Shrimp & Mushroom Pasta

10-15 shrimp

olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 C. fresh mushrooms

Spaghetti or linguine, cooked

For the white sauce:

3 Tbsp. butter

3 Tbsp. flour

1/4 tsp. each salt & pepper (or to taste)

1/4 tsp. cayenne (or to taste)

1 1/2 - 2 C. milk

I really need to learn how to take more appetizing photos, right?

Directions:

Heat pan and pour in 1 Tbsp. olive oil.  Saute shrimp, mushrooms, and garlic until shrimp is no longer transparent (7-10 minutes).  Remove from heat and pour in white sauce.

For the sauce, cook butter and flour until butter is melted.  Cook 2 minutes longer.  Gradually add in milk.  Add salt and peppers to taste.

Enjoy!

we're still here.

Hello.  Yes, I've been neglecting the blog.

Here's what you've missed in November:

CJ is about done with school.  He has his final Monday night and a few more clinicals to finish up and then we're home free!  He has to sit for his boards in February and then hopefully he'll find a part-time nursing job.

I'm here.  Nothing new or exciting is going on.  I've been trying to cook more (which is why I'll have plenty of recipes coming your way soon enough) and I've just been tackling this giant stack of fabric (i.e. what's supposed to become Christmas presents):

Stella has been overseeing my sewing:

And that, my friends, is it.  If you think of it, please do say a quick prayer for CJ -- that he will do well on his final Monday afternoon, that he'll pass his boards in a few months, and that a part-time job opportunity will open up for him.

Back soon with new recipes for all you faithful readers!

heath bar crunch cookie bars

This one's a mouthful -- Heath Bar Crunch Cookie Bars.

I'm going to admit that I'm not the world's biggest Heath bar fan.  Don't get me wrong.  If it's the only chocolate in miles and I'm desperate, I'll eat it.  It's chocolate, after all.  But, it definitely doesn't make my top 10 list of favorite candy bars.  I'm not sure what all does, but this one wouldn't make the cut.

My point?  I'm married to someone who likes Heath bars.  So I found this recipe on pinterest (Are you still not a member?  Really?), and they were a big hit.  CJ took a big risk in telling me that he liked these better than my chocolate chip cookies.

Anyway, I took a picture for you.  Because, you know, you've probably never seen cookie bars before or anything...

If you're not like me and do like Heath bars, head on over to Sweet Tooth Sweet Life for the full recipe...and enjoy!

october reading material

Now that I'm not buried in riveting reading material such as Corporate Finance and Business Law, I've rediscovered my love for reading.  I've got quite the stack going on next to my nightstand.

Yep, I really took a picture of my nightstand for you.

In case you're looking for some reading material, here's what I've been reading, in no particular order:

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
This book is a good mix between 1984 and The Giver, both of which I count in my all-time favorite books.  Basically, the United States is now divided into the Capitol and 12 regions and each year, each region picks two tributes (all children) that have to fight it out to death.  I'm not doing this one justice.  But it's good.  Go over to Amazon or BN.com to read a review there.  I've moved on to the second book in the series, Catching Fire, so it was good enough to continue reading.

Weird by Craig Groeschel
This is a Christian book, and talks about how Christians should strive to be weird....in giving, in spending time with our families, etc.

Auschwitz by Miklos Nyiszli
My nook has a list of the NYT bestsellers.  I'm pretty sure this is an older book, but somehow made it on the list years later...and was only $1.99.  Anyway, Nyiszli is a doctor and was used by Mengele in Auschwitz, so this book presents a much, much different point of view than I'd ever read before.  As many of you know, I was a history major in college and the period that I love to study is WWII, so I was pretty geeked out by this book...but this one isn't for everyone.

Kisses from Katie by Katie Davis
Hands down one of the most interesting books I've read in awhile.  Katie is only 22, and at 18 years old, she left Tennessee to move to Uganda.  Since then, she adopted 14 (fourteen!) girls and has started a thriving non-profit, Amazima Ministries, and did I mention she's 22?  Anyway -- it's a wonderful story of what all God is doing through her, and it's by far one of the best books I've read in awhile.  (Yes, I already said that.  But it's worth repeating.)

Harry Potter & the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling
Yes, I've read it numerous times.  No, it doesn't get old.

Keeping the Republic by Mitch Daniels
I wouldn't be a good little conservative if I didn't read this, would I?


If you've read a good book lately, please leave me a comment.  I'm always, always up for a new book (even if I never finish it).

projects on the horizon

Since I finished my nephew's quilt, I've got about 5 or 10 other projects on the near horizon.  And since I'm low on blog material, you're getting a sneak preview.  Lucky you!

This one's a birthday gift that's about a month late now.  Whoops.  I couldn't really justify working on a birthday gift when I desperately had to get that baby quilt done.

Diamonds...  Any guesses what I'm going to make with this?  Hint:  It's all along a patriotic theme.

Fall fabric.  Again, not exactly my style.

I'm going to use this yellow/teal/orange line from Joel Dewberry for one of my next two quilts.  I really do love this fabric, but unfortunately, it's going to be a gift.  (Fabric is from Lilly Bella Fabrics.)

Since CJ and I love -- no, are obsessed with -- the beach, I had to snatch up this line from Going Coastal to make a quilt for us.  All this fabric is cut, so I'll be starting in on this one soon ... as soon as I finish that belated birthday gift!  (Fabrics from Lilly Bella Fabrics and The Little Fabric Shop.)

Not sure why, but Bridget took a particular interest in my scrap fabric pile.  I'm going to be tearing into this one soon.  For starters, I've gathered quite a bit of scraps so far, even though I haven't really sewn that much.  But then I found a super cute pattern for a quilt that uses scrap fabrics only.  I'm probably more excited about this quilt than the others.

Stay tuned.  I know you're all excited.