Emily

Eco-friendly Multipurpose Cleaner

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Since having a new baby in my home, I’m trying to be more eco-friendly and trying not to use cleaners that are harsh to our skin or the air we breathe. My sister has been using this cleaner for a while, I’m totally on the band wagon now. This is great, has a clean (vinegar) smell and cuts grime and grease really well too.

 Eco-friendly Multipurpose Cleaner

Ingredients
2 Tbsp. Distilled White Vinegar
1 Tsp. Borax
2 Tbsp. Dawn dish soap
1 C. Hot Water

Directions
Pour vinegar, borax and hot water into spray bottle.
Then continue filling spray bottle with cool water.
Add dawn dish soap last. No need to shake.

Grandma’s Banana Bread

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I’m a simplest when it comes to Banana Bread. No spices, nuts, or chocolate. Just bananas. This recipe is a winner. It’s my grandmas, probably my great-grandma’s. You can’t go wrong with a recipe that has been passed down generations.


Grandma’s Banana Bread 

Ingredients
1 stick margarine
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
3 large mashed ripe bananas
2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda

Directions
-Cream margarine and sugar, add eggs one at a time and beat until fluffy, add mashed bananas.
-Mix the flour, salt, and soda together and add to the banana mixture. Mix well.
-Bake in sprayed loaf pan at 350 degrees for 60 minutes. Mini loaves take about 30 minutes.

Jamba Juice’s Strawberries Wild Knock-Off

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I’m expecting my second child in just two short weeks. I’ve started to pull out my recipes that are quick to make, nutritious, and can easily be eaten while I’m nursing. (I was always starving while I nursed my first baby!)  Enter Smoothies. I LOVE Jamba Juice…. sadly I live in the part of the country that there are none. That’s not a problem…. with some trial and error, I think I’ve made up a good knock-off of one of their more popular smoothies. Enjoy!


Jamba Juice’s Strawberries Wild Knock-Off 
1 c. apple juice
1 banana
1c. frozen strawberries
1 (6 oz.) light vanilla yogurt (you could also use frozen yogurt if you have that)
½ c. ice

Blend, and enjoy!

Ground Beef Chili

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My favorite grocery store (Publix) often has meal demonstrations with samples to try. They also conveniently have all the ingredients ready to pick up right next to the station. I swung in to get a few items, and came out with a whole meal ready to cook. This chili is great. Originally, it has a good bit of a kick to it, I love that, but my husband’s tummy doesn’t… so I tamed it down a bit. The leftovers were great over baked potatoes too!

You can cook this fast or slow. Both variations are included below.

Ground Beef Chili
Serves 8

Ingredients 
1 onion, coarsely chopped  (my husband doesn’t like onions, so I substituted onion powder, tasted great!)
1 1/2 lb ground chuck beef
3 tablespoons chili powder (I only used 2 T.)
1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 (10.75-oz) can condensed tomato soup
1 (14.5-oz) can diced tomatoes/sweet onions, undrained (I used regular diced tomatoes to tame the spice a little) 
1 (10-oz) can milder diced tomatoes/green chiles, undrained (Ro-tel Brand)
1 (16-oz) can chili beans in mild sauce, undrained)  (Bush’s Brand)
1 (15-oz) can black beans, drained

Directions
Preheat large saucepan on medium-high 2–3 minutes.
Place beef, chili powder, seasoned salt, pepper, and one-half of the onions in pan; cook 4–5 minutes, stirring to crumble meat, or until meat is brown and no pink remains.
Stir in remaining ingredients, including remaining one-half onions.
Bring to a boil, stirring often.
Reduce heat to low; cook and stir 10 more minutes to blend flavors. Serve.

Slow Cooker Variation
Combine everything, except beef, cook on low 4-6 hours. About 10 minutes before serving, brown the beef then stir into chili.

I served it with some cheddar cheese and sour cream along with some Corn Muffins on the side. YUM!

Cheesy Enchilada Stack

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This recipe was a Pinterest find, don’t you just love Pinterest? It’s totally changed my cooking lately. Anyways – this recipe is amazing. My picky husband as well as my 3 year old son loved this. I’m crazy for it. I hope you enjoy it too!

Cheesy Enchilada Stack

Ingredients
1 lb. Lean ground beef
2 (10 oz) can Red Enchilada Sauce (Our favorite is the Old El Paso brand)
6 (8 inch) flour tortillas
1 (8 oz) bag Shredded Cheddar Cheese
1 (16 oz) can refried beans
1 (4 oz) cans diced green chilies

Directions
-Cook the beef in a skillet over MED-HIGH heat until well browned. Drain off fat. Stir 1/2 cup enchilada sauce in the skillet with the beef.
-Spray a baking sheet (I used a pie plate… I was afraid I’d have a big mess on my hands if I used a baking sheet) with non-stick cooking spray.
-Place 1 tortilla onto the baking sheet.  Top with 1/3 of the beef mixture and 1/4 cup cheese.
-Top with 1 tortilla, half the refried beans, 1/2 cup enchilada sauce, 1 can drained green chilies, and 1/4 cup cheese.
-Repeat the layers one more time.
-Top with 1 tortilla, remaining beef mixture and 1/4 cup cheese.
-Top with remaining tortilla.
-Cover the stack with aluminum foil.
-Bake at 400 F for 40 minutes or until the filling is hot.
-Uncover the stack and top with remaining enchilada sauce, cheese and green onion.
-Bake 5 more minutes or until the cheese is melted.
-Serve & Enjoy!!

** If you wanted to make this gluten-free, I think it would taste great with Corn Tortillas!

Source: Chef in Training

“Baked” Potato Soup

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One of my favorite appliances in my kitchen are my Crockpots! I use them a lot. It is so easy to prep dinner while my son is eating lunch. I simply turn it on, and dinner is pretty much done. I love not having to worry about dinner once 5 o’clock rolls around.

 “Baked” Potato Soup 


Ingredients
5 lbs. Russet Potatoes, peeled & chopped into cubes
1 lb. Ham, cubed (I simply buy one of those air sealed packages of cubed ham at the store)
1 1/2 C. chopped onion
1 1/2 tsp. minced garlic
48 oz. container chicken broth
1/4 C. butter
2 1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/4 tsp. pepper
1 C. whipping cream
1 C. shredded cheddar cheese

Directions
 1. Combine first 8 ingredients in crock pot. Cook on HIGH for 4 hours or LOW for 8 hours. (Make sure you have a BIG crockpot, mine is a 5 or 6 quart, and it was plenty big).
2. Mash mixture until potatoes are coarsely chopped and soup is slightly thickened. Stir in cream and cheese. 3. Top with additional cheese and/or sour cream if desired.

This makes a ton, but if you’re like me…. you’ll be happy to have a yummy soup to eat for lunch all week!

** The soup pictured did not have any cheese in it, it tasted great without!

Puffy [German] Pancakes

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I come from a German family. We make a lot of German food… SOMEHOW I never was introduced to this sweet little secret. Pancakes that you bake? Yum! I saw this recipe on a favorite blog and we had it for dinner the next night. It’ll definitely be something I’ll make over and over. (did I mention my husband and son LOVED these too??)

German Pancakes

Ingredients
5 large or extra-large eggs
1 cup of milk (more fat the better… I actually used some heavy cream mixed in with my milk)
1 cup of all-purpose flour
1 tsp vanilla
4 tablespoons butter

Directions
-Preheat your oven to 375-degrees.
-Place butter in a 9×13 dish and put the dish with butter in the oven while it is heating. Make sure the butter does not burn. Pull out once it’s melted.
-While your butter is melting place rest of ingredients in a blender. For easier mixing, put the liquids in first. Blend until all of the flour is incorporated. You may have to pull out a spatula to scrape down the sides.
– With the melted butter in the pan, pour the flour mixture into the pan.
– Bake for 15-20 minutes. (17 or 18 minutes is usually the perfect time)
– When the pancake is done, it’s sides will have risen high out of the dish and the middle will be slightly puffy. If it is completely flat in the middle you may want to give it another minute or two to be sure it is done.

*We served these pancakes with syrup and powdered sugar. I think nutella, fruit, or preserves would be tasty as well!

Source: MADE (aka… one of my favorite blogs to follow!)

Creamy Tomato Soup

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As a child I was not a fan of tomato soup. Well, thank goodness I got over that… because this soup is just too yummy. I was “introduced” to it at a church function last year, I enjoyed one (or two) bowls, and had the recipe in hand within 24 hours.

This recipe is so easy. It’s one of my go-to “I forgot about dinner” recipes. You just dump, simmer, and you’re done. (You may never go back to condensed soup after this)

Creamy Tomato Soup

1 [28oz] + 1 [14.5oz]can of PETITE diced tomatoes (I usually get the Italian seasoned ones)
46 oz. can  tomato juice
14 leaves fresh basil, diced
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup butter salt and pepper to taste

1. Place tomatoes, juice, and basil in a stock pot over medium heat. Simmer for 30 minutes.
2. Puree the tomato mixture along with the basil leaves, with an immersion blender. (I don’t puree it because I like my soup a little chunky.)
3. Place the pot over medium heat, and stir in the heavy cream and butter. Season with salt and pepper. Heat, stirring until the butter is melted. Do not boil.

 *This recipe makes a lot of soup. I also think it would be a great dieter’s recipe since the only fat in the whole recipe is from the cream and butter. I honestly think you could probably omit the butter and it would still taste fantastic. The soup also keeps well in the fridge and reheats nicely.

Ranch Slow Cooker Chicken

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I love my crock pot.  I love how easy it is to throw a few ingredients in it in the morning and have a yummy dinner that night. I love how ‘homey’ this dish tastes. I know you’ll enjoy it too!

Ranch Slow Cooker Chicken
Ingredients:
2 pounds chicken (you could easily substitute with pork chops)
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 ranch dressing packet (or 3 Tbsp. if you have the shaker)

Directions:
1. Combine soups and seasoning in your slow cooker.
2. Add chicken, mix until chicken is coated.
3. Cook on low for 6 hours or high for 4 hours.

To serve, prepare some mashed potatoes, make your little pool in the potatoes and fill it with this yummy goodness. Enjoy!

Basics: Mashed Potatoes

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This is an incredibly basic dish to prepare, but as I talk more and more to friends of mine, I’m shocked how many of them don’t know how make mashed potatoes from scratch. I admit – I usually always have a box of instant mashed potatoes in my pantry, but man oh man, real mashed potatoes taste so much better! They are so easy too!

Ingredients:
6 medium potatoes, peeled (2 pounds)
1/3 – 1/2 C. milk
2 Tbsp. – 1/4 C. butter (REAL butter!)
1/2 tsp. salt
Dash of pepper

Directions:
1. Place diced potatoes in a 2-qt. sauce pan, add enough water just to cover potatoes. Heat to boiling, reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes, or until potatoes are fork-tender. Drain. Return potatoes to pan and shake pan over low heat to dry the potatoes. (this will give you fluffier potatoes)
2. Mash potatoes in pan (if it’s a non-stick pan, and plan to use a hand mixer, transfer to a mixing bowl). Mash until no lumps remain. Add milk in a little bit at a time. Continue to mash potatoes until you reach your desired consistency.
3. Add butter, salt, and pepper. Mash vigorously until light and fluffy.

Seriously, how easy is that! Take the pledge to make mashed potatoes from scratch! You’ll be glad you did.