An Old Standby...

at our house anyway is Salsa Swiss Steak. Its comforting and not too bad on the calories and it can be thrown in the crockpot. As much as I love to cook sometimes my days escape, so when I know I'm going to have an exceptionally crazy day I'm not at all ashamed to use the ol' crockpot to save dinner!

Salsa Swiss Steak
( I can't for the life of me remember where I originally found this recipe or I would give credit where credit is due.)

4 pieces of lean round steak
1 can of reduced fat cream of mushroom soup
1 cup chunky salsa
1 bell pepper
1 onion

Place round steak in crockpot and season with salt and pepper. Cut bell pepper and onion into rings and layer on top of steak. In a bowl, mix together soup and salsa. Spread on top of peppers and onions. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.

**Excellent served over mashed taters or rice.

Meal Plan Monday(except on Tuesday)

Monday- chicken casserole
Tuesday- Salsa Swiss Steak, mashed taters and carrots
Wednesday- grilled chicken salads
Thursday- Chicken Empanadas
Friday- homemade pizza
Saturday- Dinner at my Family's Ocktoberfest

My Take on Leftovers

I try to get creative when I have leftovers, so it doesn't seem so boring. I love taking things like a roast and stretching into three different meals. Roast one night, stroganoff another, vegetable beef soup the next. You get the idea. Anyway, this time I threw together some stuff and it came out exceptionally well.

Beef Curry Bake
Leftover meatloaf, crumbled up
leftover rice pilaf with mushrooms and almonds
leftover steamed string beans
1 tomato diced
1/2 cup of sour cream
2 T curry paste
Mix all up well and bake in a greased casserole dish at 350 for 30 minutes.

Buffalo Chicken Lasagna

This turned out very well. I even had someone tell me to enter it into a recipe contest they thought it tasted so good. Talk about making you feel good about your cooking. I basically used my normal lasagna recipe, except for the sauce I mixed together 2 cups of spaghetti sauce and 2 cups of alfredo sauce and 1/4 cup of Frank's Red Hot to make my own buffalo sauce. When alternating the layers I also sprinkled in crumbled blue cheese in the layers. Hubby doesn't like blue cheese and still thought it was tasty.

Salad Chinois

I got this recipe from a Semi-Homemade Sandra Lee cookbook. As much as I like making stuff from scratch, let's face it, I'm a busy mom and sometimes I need something quick. Her ideas are great for just that and for the most part they are usually pretty healthy to boot.



Salad Chinois
2/3 cup mayo ( I used lite)
2 T soy sauce
2 T rice wine vinegar(my addition)
1 tsp ground ginger
1 10oz can of chunk chicken breast
2 cups of coleslaw mix(cabbage and carrots)
1 can of chow mein vegetables, drained
1 bag of prepared green salad( I left out and really didn't miss it)
1 can of mandarin orange segments
1 can of crunchy chow mein noodles( I just sprinkled on top)

Mix all together except chow mein noodles. Sprinkle them on top before serving.

Pork & Sauerkraut

This is so good. One of my favorite fall dishes.
I just kinda made it up so don't really have a set recipe for it.

Basically, I brown some pork chops on both sides in a little olive oil in a Dutch Oven. Remove chops and add cut up apples, garlic and onion and brown. Throw in some sauerkraut, a pinch of cinnamon, black pepper and some caraway seeds. Put chops bake in and slow cook in the oven at 200 degrees for about an hour. Delish!

Weekly Meal Plan

I'm trying to get back into planning my meals for the week so I thought I would start posting it here. I also got the idea from Organizing Junkie.

Monday- Twisted Taco Packets
Tuesday- Chef Salads
Wednesday- Beef Stroganoff(using leftover roast from Sunday)
Thursday- Salmon Patties
Friday- dinner out with playgroup mommas

Corn Salad

I forgot to take a picture of this one, but it is easy and good. I got the recipe from a friend of mine after she brought it to a potluck.

Corn Salad
1 package of frozen corn, thawed and drained
1 green pepper, chopped
1 cup of mayo
1/2 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup of crushed chili cheese fritos

Mix together the first four ingredients and chill in fridge for an hour or more. Top with fritos before serving.

Stuffed Rainbow Trout

I made this with my daddy years ago. Jason, my hubby, doesn't really like fish so much, unless its fried and I love it. So, when he went out of town last weekend I treated myself to this. It was as good as I remembered from years ago.

4 rainbow trout, butterflied and deboned
2 medium green peppers, chopped
1 cup of fresh mushrooms, sliced
1/4 cup of butter
20 cherry tomatoes, cut in half
2 cups herb seasoned croutons
1/4 cup of lemon juice
2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp thyme

salt for trout


Heat oven to 350. Cook and stir(in butter) green pepper and mushrooms about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in cherry tomatoes, croutons, lemon juice, salt, pepper and thyme. Lightly salt the cavity of each trout, fill with 1/2 cup of stuffing. Place remaining stuffing in a greased baking dish. Arrange stuffed trout on top. Wrap tails in buttered aluminum foil. Bake until trout flakes easily with a fork, about 30-35 minutes. Remove foil from tails. Garnish with lemon slices.

Farmers Market

I am just loving the farmers market this summer. I can go every Saturday and get my fruits and veggies for the week for about $15.00. Plus, I know where its all coming from, it tastes way better and I'm supporting the local farmers.


Here is a recipe I made using some yellow squash from the market. It was so good. We've already fixed it twice in two weeks.

Skillet Squash

4 slices of bacon
2 medium yellow squash, thinly sliced
1/2 medium red onion, thinly sliced
2 tsp minced garlic
2 serrano chiles, chopped (optional)
1 dash of soy sauce
salt and pepper to taste

1. Place bacon in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook until crisp. Remove bacon from pan, and set aside. Add the squash, onion, garlic and jalapeno to the skillet. Fry in the bacon drippings until tender, but still firm, stirring frequently. Crumble bacon into the skillet, and season with soy sauce, salt and pepper. Stir, to blend in seasonings, and serve.

Coconut Macaroons

Coconut Macaroons

I love these! They are also good half dipped in chocolate.

1 bag of coconut
1 can of sweetened condensed milk
2 tsp vanilla

Mix all together well. Drop by the spoonful onto greased cookie sheets and bake at 375 for 12-13 minutes. Cool on wire racks.

Happy 4th of July!

I hope everyone had a great holiday. We did. Just chilled at home. We had good intentions of grilling ribs outside, but due to the rain, we had to throw them under the broiler. They were still delish.



BBQ Rib Goodness!


Pasta Salad throw together!


Wild Cherry Chocolate Cookies




Wild Cherry Chocolate Cookies
( I got this idea from the Vicarious Foodie, but adapted to my own version of chocolate cookies instead of oatmeal)

one Betty Crocker Sugar Cookie Mix
1/2 cup of melted butter
1 egg
1/2 cup of cocoa powder
Wild Cherry M&M's

Mix sugar cookie mix, butter and egg together well until dough forms. Add in cocoa powder. Add M&M's and mix lightly. Drop by the spoonful onto greased cookie sheets. Bake at 375 for 12 minutes.

Cheeseburger Pie

This is a family favorite around here.

Cheeseburger Pie

2 cups cooked rice
1 lb hamburger
1/2 onion, chopped fine
1/2 green pepper, chopped fine
6 oz shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 can tomato sauce
1 tsp of chili powder
1 tbsp of fresh garlic, minced
1 tbsp of dijon mustard
2 tsp of worcestershire sauce
2 tsp of sugar
2 tsp bouillon granules


Brown hamburger and drain. Add onions, green pepper and garlic. Saute until softened. Pour in tomato sauce, chili powder, sugar, mustard, worcestershire and bouillon granules. Bring to a boil and reduce to low and simmer about 10-15 minutes. Pour mixture into a greased casserole dish. Add cooked rice and 4 oz of the cheddar. Mix well. Top with remaining 2oz of cheddar. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.

We ate with sliced whole grain bread and avocados drizzled with lime juice.

Broccoli Salad

Definitely a keeper!!

Broccoli Salad

2 heads of fresh broccoli
1 cup chopped red onion
1/2 lb bacon, cooked and crumbled
3/4 cup of regular or golden raisins
3/4 cup of sliced almonds or sunflower seeds
1 cup mayo
1/4 cup of sugar
2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar

Cut the broccoli into bite size pieces. Mix broccoli, onion, bacon, raisins and nuts or seeds in a large bowl. In a small bowl, mix together mayo, sugar and vinegar. Stir mayo mixture in with broccoli mixture and combine well. Can be served immediately, but even better if chilled in fridge overnight.

**I used the almonds this time but have had it with the sunflower seeds as well. Both versions are great!

Happy 2.5 Birthday Simon!

Yeah I know I'm silly. But my son's birthday falls in two days after Christmas and having a birthday that falls two days before Christmas myself I know too well what its like for it to get kinda dismissed. I would never forget my son's birthday, but his half birthday also falls exactly one day before my mothers birthday. And after losing her to cancer in October of 2006 this gives me a way to honor her as well. So Happy Birthday Mom and Simon!!! I love you both!

Here is my turtle cake I made for Simon. Definitely not perfect, but I think it turned out pretty cute.