Homemade Applesauce

 Ingredients
- 6 lbs. of Gala Apples
- 2 tsp. of Cinnamon
- 1/4 cup of sugar
- 1/2 cup of water

Directions
- Peel, core, and cut apples
- Put apples, cinnamon, sugar and water in the crockpot
- Cook for 4 hours on low, or until apples are tender and soft
- Use masher to turn your cooked apples into applesauce. Or you can use a blender if you like it really smooth.

Tilapia and Shrimp with Pasta

 Ingredients:
- 2 Tilapia filets
- 1/2 bag of medium size shrimp (shell on)
- Chili powder
- Chipotle and Roasted Garlic seasoning
- Paprika
- Salt and Pepper
- Oregano
- 1 stick of butter (1/2 cup) 

Directions: 
- Season fish and shrimp in bowl with seasonings (I didn't measure, I just put a little of everything in the bowl)
- Melt butter in cast iron pan and add tilapia (I did my tilapia and shrimp together and the tilapia took longer to cook - so I would recommend adding the shrimp a few minutes later)
- Cook tilapia 3-5 minutes on each side
- Add shrimp - cook slightly and then put the pan in the oven
- Cook both the tilapia and shrimp at 375 for 10-15 minutes, until fish is flacky. If shrimp gets done first take it out then put the fish back in the oven.
- Cook pasta and toss it with olive oil and italian seasoning to serve on the side.

Grandma's Broccoli Casserole

One of my favorites that is a must at every holiday! So simple to make too!

Ingredients:
- 3 lbs. of broccoli florets
- 2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese
- 2 cans of cream of mushroom soup
- 1 egg
- 1 chopped onion (large)
- 2 pieces of bread (broken into pieces)
- Panko bread crumbs for on top

Directions
- Cook broccoli and set aside
- Mix cheese, soup, egg, onion and bread together in mixing bowl
- Add broccoli to mixture and mix together
- Put casserole in 9x13 baking pan
- Top with bread crumbs
- Bake at 350 for 1 hour
- Enjoy!

 Combined wet ingredients 

Mix with broccoli

Baby Stat's on Canvas

I made this cute sign for my friend to hang in her new son's room. I think it turned out super cute! I used my Silhouette to cut out the vinyl and then applied it to the brown canvas I painted. I used an 8x10 canvas from Hobby Lobby with brown acyclic paint.

 Here is my vinyl on transfer paper ready to put onto canvas. 

*tip: if your vinyl is having a hard time sticking to the canvas, use a hair dryer to heat it.

Letter Matching

So this is one of the best FREE websites I have found for downloading school activities for kids. Also on her site she has great ideas for other crafts and activities!  I had to share the fun :)

Upper and Lower Case Letter Matching 

Here is the Link:

http://www.giftofcuriosity.com

Rice with Black Beans and Bell Peppers

Ingredients: 
- 3 cups of cooked white rice
- 2 cans of black beans
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1 yellow bell pepper
- 1 large onion
- 1 tsp. cumin
- 1 tsp. Adobo seasoning
- 1 1/2 tsp. Oregano
- 1 tbsp. minced garlic
- 2 tbsp. tomato bouillon
- Mexican Cheese blend

Directions: 
- Cook rice in rice cooker
- Meanwhile, cook peppers, onion, and seasoning (accept the tomato bouillon) until peppers are tender.
- Add Black Beans
- Add Tomato bouillon
- Mix in cooked rice on medium-high heat 3-5 minutes.
- Serve, top with cheese, and enjoy!
   Add Sriracha sauce if you want extra spice

Cook Rice, and prep other ingredients

Cook in wok on the stove top 

Here is the Tomato Bouillon I use. You can find it at Meijer in the Mexican Food Isle. 

Ready to eat in 30 minutes!

Mexican Twice Baked Potatoes

Ingredients: 
- 4 Russet Baking Potatoes
- 1/2 pound of ground turkey
- 1 cup of queso cheese
- 4 Tbsp. Milk
- Cumin - about 3/4 tsp.
- Chili Powder - 1 tbsp.
- Garlic (minced) 1 tbsp.
- 1/2 can refried beans
- 1 cup of your favorite salsa  
- Mexican Cheese Blend
- Sour Cream (optional)

Directions: 
- Bake your potatoes at 375 for 1 hour.
- Once baked, cut your potatoes in half and scoop out the potato pulp from the inside and put into mixer.
- Add queso cheese, milk, and salt and pepper. Blend until smooth.
- Scoop mashed potato mixture into the potato skin shell.

Meat:
- Cook Turkey and add your cumin, chili powder, and garlic. Add your beans and salsa to meat. Mix and heat together 3-5 minutes.

- Top your potatoes with meat mixture and add Mexican cheese on top.
- Bake in the oven at 375 for 5 minutes (or until cheese is melted)
- Serve with sour cream and green onions! Enjoy!

Here is my process:
   

 Ingredients

Prep the Potatoes

Prep the meat

 Fill skins with potato and top with meat mixture

Top with cheese, and bake for 5 minutes at 375

Ready to serve!

Halloween Pumpkin Labels

 Halloween Treat Bags for Hannah's Preschool Class

I did my first project using my printer and my silhouette cameo! My pumpkins are yellow because I didn't have orange paper haha! Oh well, Hannah says the pumpkins are "glowing pumpkins". They still turned out cute :)

Here is my design on the silhouette cameo. I printed the text first (using the send to printer feature). Then put the cardstock on my silhouette cutting mat to cut out the pumpkin shape. I did the stems separately and glued them on.

Chicken Quesadillas

If you want an easy meal, here is one for you! I made salsa chicken in the crockpot to use in my quesadillas. Then I just added cheese and we had dinner!

Here is the recipe....

Ingredients:
- Flour Tortillas
- Queso Cheese (or your favorite Mexican style cheese)
- Salsa Chicken (click the link to go to the recipe)
- Vegetable Oil

Cut up your salsa chicken into bit size pieces

  Use a basting brush to brush on your vegetable oil to one side of the tortilla. Then flip it over onto your cast iron skillet.

Add your cheese and chicken to the inside of your tortilla on one side (not the side with the oil!)

Cook on Medium Heat and flip after 3-5 minutes (depending on how hot your pan is)

Once your cheese is melted you are ready to enjoy!

Smothered Pork Chops

So this is definitely not the healthiest dinner I have made but it sure was yummy! I started off cooking the pork chops in a regular glass pan, but then decided half way through cooking that they would be better in the cast iron skillet! I love that I can cook with the skillet on the stove top and then put it right into the oven to finish off the cooking. Here is the recipe and my pictures of the process :) Enjoy!

Ingredients:
- 4 Medium Pork Chops
- Salt and Pepper
- Garlic Powder
- 2 Eggs
- Italian Bread Crumbs (I made my own with the food chopper, bread and italian seasoning)
- 1 Cup of Flour

Gravy:
- 1 can of cream of mushroom soup
- 1/2 cup of milk
- Worcestershire Sauce (I used about 1 tbsp.)
- Ground Black Pepper

Directions:

Use food processor to make bread crumbs. I used about 2 slice of cracked wheat bread and 1 Tbsp. of Italian Seasoning.

Coat your pork chops in beaten egg mixture (mix with a bit of milk), then your flour, then your bread crumbs.

This is where I originally just baked mine at 350, however I would recommend going straight to the cast iron skillet and browning each side of the pork chop. Brown each side for about 5 minutes. Then put your chops in the oven at 350 for 30-40 minutes. Until cooked through.

Once your pork is cooked bring it back out of the oven and pour your gravy over your pork.

You can heat it on the stove or put it back in the oven for 5 minutes. It heats up fast.

Add a touch of parsley over top before serving and Enjoy!

French Bread BBQ Chicken Pizzas

Ingredients: 
- 1 1/2 lbs. Chicken Breasts
- Your favorite BBQ sauce
- 1 Onion (sliced)
- 1 tablespoon (approx.) of Worcestershire sauce
- BBQ dry rub seasoning (optional)
- small italian bread rolls, sliced in half (I got mine from Costco)
- Shredded sharp cheddar cheese 

We had the kale salad from Costco with our BBQ pizzas :)

Directions: 

Cook chicken, bbq sauce, onion Worcestershire sauce, and rub in crockpot for 4 hours on low.

Once cooked, shred your chicken and place it back into the sauce

Take your bread, slice it and place it on your baking sheet. I used my Pampered Chef baking stone.

Add sauce from the crockpot to the tops of your bread, then add the chicken. I added the sauce separately so it would soak into the bread. 

Add your cheese and you are all set to put it in the oven!

Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes and Enjoy!