Cinnamon Apple Muffins

We found this muffin recipe online at cooks.com a few months ago. The whole family loves these muffins. In order to get the recipe a little healthier we added flax seed. The recipe is already adjusted for the flax seed. Enjoy!

Cinnamon Apple Muffins

1 1/2 cups flour (we tried whole wheat flour and they turned out B-A-D)
3/4 sugar
1 1/2 t. baking powder
1 t. cinnamon
1/2 cup milk
4 tblspoons butter, melted
1 egg, beated slightly
1 cup finely chopped apples
3 tblspoons flax seed

Heat oven 375 degrees. Bake 18-23 mins.

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and cinnamon in bowl. Add all remaining ingredients. Stir just until flour is moistened. Spoon batter into muffin liners.

Menu Plan Monday

Monday- Date night

Tuesday night- Homemade pizza

Wednesday night- Baked Spaghetti

Thursday night- Chili and cornbread

Friday night- Leftover Baked Spaghetti

Saturday lunch- Leftover chili and chips
Saturday night- Chicken Pot Pie

Sunday lunch- Breakfast (eggs, bacon and biscuits, pancakes or waffles)
Sunday night- Pasta

Menu Plan Monday

Monday nite- Leftover Roast, veggies and homemade bread

Tuesday nite- Leftover Potato Soup and homemade bread

Wednesday nite- Burrito Casserole with chips and salsa

Thursday nite- Baked Spaghetti and bread sticks

Friday nite- Leftover Mexican Casserole

Saturday lunch- Sandwiches and chips
Saturday nite- Home made Pizza

Happy Easter!
Sunday lunch- Leftover Baked Spaghetti
Sunday nite- Leftover Pizza

I hope everyone has a fantastic Easter this year! We will have two Easter egg hunts- one with the Mom's group and one with Nana and Pops. Chandler keeps saying "It's almost Easter!" We've got the goodies for his Easter basket and the camera ready!

Burrito Casserole

My wedding present from my Dad's sister, Auntie C, was a scrapbook of family recipes. I have loved that book and cook from it often. Not only does it have great recipes, but also the pictures and stories behind the recipes, when they were made, etc. One of the recipes was from Wanda who worked for my Aunt. When I lived in Nashville, with my grandparents, for a few months, Wanda made this Burrito Casserole one day for lunch and it was so yummy! Aunt Cathy put the recipe in my cookbook and Andy loves it! He is always asking me to make it! It's a very heavy meal, so we have leftovers for a LONG time! Serve it with chips and salsa! Enjoy!

Burrito Casserole

Ingredients:

1lb (I use 1/3 of a lb) ground beef (drained)
1 pkg. of taco seasoning
1 can of refried beans
8-10 tortillas
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
1 medium can of sour cream
1 pkg of cheddar cheese

Mix the first three ingredients together. Then fill the tortillas with the mixture and place them in a dish. In a separate bowl, mix 1 can of mushroom soup and the container of sour cream, and pour it over the tortillas. Place in the oven for 20 minutes, until bubbling. Take out and sprinkle cheese over it. Put the casserole bakc in the oven to melt cheese!

Menu Plan Monday

A little late, but since we weren't planning on being in town, we hadn't planned any meals. We went grocery shopping and finally planned meals on Tuesday. We're good to go for the rest of the month!

Thursday lunch- Leftover Beef Pasta
Thursday dinner- Chicken, potatoes, carrots and onions in a chicken broth (crock pot)and Homemade bread

Friday lunch- Leftover Chicken
Friday dinner- Roast, potatoes, carrots, garlic and onions in cream of mushroom, a little red wine (crock pot) with corn bread

Saturday lunch- Hamburgers on grill w/ potato salad and beans
Saturday dinner- Leftover Roast

Sunday lunch- Leftover Roast or C.O.F. (clean out fridge)
Sunday dinner- Soup-maybe Potato (bought a HUGE bag of potatoes...need to use them up!) and Homemade Bread


For more MPM, check out Laura's site! Enjoy!

Yummy! Yummy! Honey Whole Wheat Bread!

I decided to start baking our own bread. Its really easy to find good, healthy and natural bread, but since we love bread so much in our house, we go through a lot. I decided on our quest for more healthy, natural foods, I could start to make all our bread. Hopefully it'll save on money too! Even better!

I found this recipe on Cooks.com! This recipe was a winner. I was able to make 2 loaves and about 20 small rolls out of one recipe. One warning... I couldn't get 6 cups of flour into this recipe. I was only able to fit 4 cups. Also, the recipe doesn't have any time frame. I left the rolls in for about 15 mins. They were a little brown on the bottom... so I'll probably watch them closer next time. The bread loaves were left in longer. Maybe 20-25 mins. It really didn't have the look like other bread recipes do. You couldn't go by "knocking" on it and making sure you heard a hollow sound. So, once I REALLY started to smell the bread, I took it out. I know that sounds odd, but it worked! Enjoy!

Whole Wheat Bread or Rolls

2 tbsp. yeast
2 c. lukewarm water
1/4 c. honey
3/4 c. olive oil
2 eggs
6 c. whole wheat flour (it only took 4 cups for me)
2 tsp. salt

Dissolve yeast in water and honey for about 5 minutes. Place all ingredients in mixing bowl and knead until it loosens from sides of the bowl. Place in large oiled bowl, cover and let rise until about double (took a hour or two). Be sure it is in a warm place. Remove and shape into loaves, rolls, or buns. Bake at about 375 degrees until browned.

Beef and Parmesan Pasta

Alright, folks! This is one of my all time favorite pasta dishes. I found this on Yahoo Food and it has everything a pasta lover wants- noodles, meat, tomatoes and veggies! Yumm-O! If you want to decrease the amount of sodium intake- buy the low sodium beef broth. I make this with extra zucchini and it is extremely filling! Add some crusty french bread and you've got yourself a tasty meal! Also, if you're trying to not have any dairy in the pasta- just don't add the cheese. I made this without cheese and allowed my family to add it to their portion and it was great without it! I didn't even notice a difference!

1 1/2 lbs lean ground beef (we use 1/3 lb of meat and you get plenty)
14 oz can beef broth
14.5 oz can of Italian style tomatoes
2 cups of uncooked bow tie pasta
2 cups of sliced zucchini (1/4 inch thick)
3/4 cup of grated Parmesan chese, divided

Preparing

1. In a large skillet over medium/high heat, brown the ground beef. Pour off the fat.
2. Return the skillet to the heat and add the beef broth, tomatoes, and pasta. Stir to coat all of the pasta. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to medium.
3. Cook, uncovered, for 15 minutes stirring frequently. Add zucchini and continue cooking for an additional 5 minutes or until pasta is tender.
4. Return beef to the skillet and stir in 1/2 cup of the cheese; heat through. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over each serving.

Yield: 6 servings

enjoy!

Italian Cheese Bread

My SIL had these on her menu plan on week and I had to steal the recipe from her! I love these bread sticks. They are quick, easy and so yummy! We make these once a week to go with Italian dishes or sometimes with our Homemade Pizza!

Bread sticks:
2-1/2 C all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 TBSP quick-rise yeast
1 C warm water
1 TBSP vegetable oil

Topping:
1/4 C prepared Italian salad dressing
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp ground oregano
1/4 tsp dried thyme
Dash peper
1 TBSP grated Parmesan cheese (we always use more)
1 C shredded mozzarella cheese

Note: We have run out of thyme and oregano. The bread sticks are still wonderful without those ingredients!

In a bowl, combine the first four ingredients. Combine water and oil; add to flour mixture. Add additional flour if needed to form a soft dough. Turn onto a floured surface; knead for 1-2 minutes or until smooth and elastic. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 20 minutes. Punch the dough down. place on a greased 12" pizza pan and pat into a 12" circle. Brush with salad dressing. Combine the seasonings; sprinkle over top. Sprinkle with cheeses. Bake at 450* for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm. From Tracy's Recipes.

Slow Cooker Ravioli

Slow Cooker Ravioli

1 (25 oz.) bag beef or cheese ravioli
1 (26 oz.) jar pasta sauce
1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce
1 cup water
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Pour about 1/2 the pasta sauce in the bottom of slow cooker. Add frozen ravioli. Pour additional pasta sauce, tomato sauce, and water over ravioli. Sprinkle cheese on top. Turn slow cooker on low and cook for 4-5 hours (until ravioli are tender).

Thanks to Aldi Queen and Punkin Press!

Yummo! We love Italian food around our house! Any kind of pasta dish and bread it okay by me! Oh! And if I can get away without severing meat in a meal and having leftovers....well, you have made my day! Enjoy!

Welcome!!!

Welcome to my new blog! I have been blogging for almost a year and you can check out my other blog here! This blog- Meet Us In The Kitchen is a way for me to keep track of all my recipes. My 3 yr old son and I are always making something in our kitchen! I love to bake and cook from scratch. I am trying to keep from eating too much dairy, because my newborn son is slightly intolerant. I was put on a no-dairy diet to see if his tummy got any better. During those few days I found a lot of sites and recipes that either have no dairy or have substitutes for dairy products! Also, I am learning to "hide" healthy stuff in our food so that our 3 yr old won't notice! He is on a strict diet of goldfish, p b & j sandwiches, spaghetti o's and milk! Ha! We also are very budget conscious people so if I can squeeze another meal out of something....I'll do it! I also do a weekly menu so that we don't end up wasting money on eating out! For more about Menu Plan Monday, check out Laura's site!