Taco Soup

Today I want to share a favorite family recipe with y'all.  My mom loves this recipe because you can just put it all in the pot, let it simmer and 2 hours later you have a delicious soup for the family!

Taco Soup
2 lbs. ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
2 28oz cans diced tomatoes
1 16oz can whole kernel corn
1 16oz can pinto beans
1 16oz can red beans
1 pkg taco seasoning
1 pkg ranch dressing mix

Brown beef and onion together. 

Add remaining ingredients, stir and simmer for 2 hours. 

We like to serve ours with Frito chips, sour cream and cheese.

It smells soooo good!

Like this dutch oven? Click here for a chance to win one!

Soft Gingersnap Cookies

With all the sickness that was going around our home we really didn't have a chance to do much holiday baking.  Major bummer in my book!  We did manage to make a few dozen of these delicious, super easy cookies.  They are great hot from the oven, and taste great the next day too, if they last that long.

Soft Gingersnap Cookies
4 cups flour
4 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. ginger
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 cups sugar, plus extra to roll dough balls in
2 eggs
1/2 cup molasses
1 1/2 cups oil

Blend oil, sugar, eggs and molasses. 

Add dry ingredients and refrigerate dough for one hour. 

Form into balls using about 2 tsp. of dough* and roll in sugar. 

Bake on ungreased cookie sheet for 12-14 minutes at 350 degrees.

Simple, easy and DELICIOUS!
*I use a cookie scoop, perfect size!

PS: Don't forget to enter the Le Creuset Giveaway!!

Pumpkin & Cream Cheese Whoopie Pies

Something very unusual happened on Saturday.  I was home alone, with my two year old sister.  Boy can that girl move!  In spite of her energy, I decided to try a new recipe.  This was somewhat of a personal achievement for me.  It marked the first time I had cooked alone with a little one.  And it really went quite well.  I only had to resort to giving her my camera for the last ten minutes.

I found this wonderful recipe on one of my favorite food blogs Our Best Bites.  They were a hit all around. Definitely a keeper!

Pumpkin & Cream Cheese Whoopie Pies

Cakes:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
2 Tbsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. ground ginger
1 cup oil
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
3 cups pumpkin puree
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs

Cream Cheese Filling:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1 8oz. package cream cheese
3 cups powdered sugar
3 Tbsp. maple syrup
1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger.  Set aside.  In a large bowl, beat together the brown sugar, white sugar and oil.  Add the pumpkin puree and mix well.  Add the vanilla and eggs and mix well.  Slowly add the flour mixture and mix until combined.

Using a tablespoon measure (I used a cookie scoop), drop the batter onto a baking sheet (lined if possible) leaving about 1" between the batter.  Try to keep the batter as circular as possible.  Bake for 10-14 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the middle of one of the cakes comes out clean.  Remove from oven, and allow to cool for 5 minutes on pan before transferring to a cooling rack.

To prepare the filling, beat the butter on high for 1-2 minutes until smooth and fluffy.  Add the cream cheese and beat until smooth.  Add the powdered sugar, maple and vanilla and beat until combined.

Flip the cakes over onto a flat surface.  Using a pastry bag or small cookie scoop, place 2-3 tablespoons of filling on every other cake.  Top each pie with the remaining cakes.  Serve immediately or refrigerate in a airtight container. 

Makes 30 Whoopie Pies.

spices, flour etc.

mixing things up

you know it is fall when this is in the kitchen

ready for the oven

ready for assembly

YUM-O!!!

Easy Skillet Apple Pie

Once in awhile a recipe comes along that is simply out of this world.  And today I have one of those recipes for you.

I mentioned on Friday that I would have an Apple Pie recipe for y'all this week, but this is no ordinary apple pie recipe.  This is the BEST recipe ever!!! 

Mom found this recipe in the September issue of Southern Living (a great magazine btw).  I don't know if they give a Nobel prize for the "Culinary Arts" but if they did I would nominate the person that created this recipe.

Oh, and just a quick warning, I have lots of photos in this post, after the recipe.  When I say "the recipe" does anyone else think of the Baldwin sisters on The Waltons?  Those two sweet spinsters, making moonshine thinking it was "Papa's secret recipe".  Oh well back to "the recipe".

Easy Skillet Apple Pie
2 lb. Granny Smith Apples
2 lb. Braeburn Apples
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 14oz package refrigerated piecrusts
1 egg white
2 Tbsp. sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Peel apples, and cut 1/2-inch thick wedges.  Toss apples with cinnamon and 3/4 cup sugar.

Melt butter in a 10-inch cast-iron skillet over medium heat; add brown sugar, and cook, stirring constantly, 1 to 2 minutes or until sugar is dissolved.  Remove from heat, and place 1 piecrust in skillet over brown sugar mixture.  Spoon apple mixture over piecrust, and top with remaining piecrust.  Whisk egg white until foamy.  Brush top of piecrust with egg white; sprinkle with 2 Tbsp. sugar. Cut 4 or 5 slits in top for steam to escape.

Bake at 350 for 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly.  Cool on wire rack 30 minutes before serving.

Now for all the pics!

I could eat these alone.  Alone as in just the apples, and alone as in just me.

And yes we did use our apple corer, peeler, slicer.

A cast-iron skillet is very southern.  But what makes it more southern?

Butter!

I could eat this by myself too!

Starting to look like a pie

Looking more like a pie

 Some detail of those delicious apples

Now it really looks like a pie

And there it is hot from the oven, delectable, delicious goodness!

Super-Easy Sloppy Joe

Don't you love easy one-pot recipes?  Well I know I do!

Today I'm going to share one of our easiest recipes.  But here is the great part, its easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy, (ok inner Brit coming out there) and DELICIOUS!

All right, get your paper and pencils ready for the long detailed shopping list.

Ground Beef and Chili Sauce

Did you get all that or did I go to fast?

Super-Easy Sloppy Joe
1lb Ground Beef
1 12oz bottle Heinz Chili Sauce

Brown meat over medium heat and cook throughly (I like to season my meat with dried onions).  Add Chili Sauce and cook approx. 15 min, until the sauce bubbles. 

Serve on hamburger buns with potato salad, 5 cup salad (recipe coming soon), chips and lemonade.

Now is that easy or what?

Favorite Pumpkin Bread

October is here, there is a nip in the air and pumpkins are everywhere!
We love pumpkin in our family.  Most people only make pumpkin bread/muffins in the fall months.  We make it all year long.  That can be difficult since canned pumpkin is only in stores around the holidays.  Simple solution, buy 30 cans.  We actually did that last year and we only have 2 left.

There are so many different ways to make pumpkin bread.  We had been looking for a recipe that had the perfect combination of flavor and texture.  Then one day it showed up on our doorstep, literally.

We received this recipe from the gas company of all people, by way of allrecipes.com.  So thanks to Georgia Natural Gas we found the pumpkin bread of our dreams.  It is amazing what adding a few spices can do.

Pumpkin Gingerbread

3 cups of sugar
1 cup of vegetable oil
4 eggs
2/3 cup water
1 (15oz) can of pumpkin puree
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly grease 2 9x5 loaf pans.

In a large mixing bowl, combine sugar, oil and eggs; beat until smooth.  Add water and beat until well blended.  Stir in pumpkin, ginger, allspice, cinnamon and clove.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt and baking powder.  Add dry ingredients to pumpkin mixture and blend just until all ingredients are mixed.  Divide batter between prepared pans.

Bake for about 1 hour, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

I love All-Clad!

Spicing things up

Mixing things up

My mouth is watering

Pure perfection!

Nana's Chili

Fall is almost here! I think I hear the Hallelujah chorus.

I love fall, it is by far my favorite season.

There are many reasons to love fall, and one of them is soup.

Today I will be sharing our family's favorite chili recipe.

We love it for many reasons:

1) It is very easy to make.

2) It is a family original, my Nana started making this recipe 40 years ago.

3) It has a great mild taste and can be spiced up to each persons taste.


Nana's Chili
1 lb ground chuck
3-4 TB dried minced onions
1 10oz can tomato soup
1 28oz can diced tomatoes
2 16oz beans (red, kidney or pinto)

In a large stock pot sprinkle a thin layer of minced dried onions to cover bottom of pot, add meat.  After the meat is thoroughly cooked, drain the fat and discard.  Return to stove top and add remaining ingredients. Cook on medium/low heat for about 1 hour, until beans have softened.  Add salt, pepper and chili powder to taste.

Below are some photos of the triple batch we made today.

Note on the beans: In our triple batch we used two of each. If you are making a single batch, just mix the beans to your personal preference.

We LOVE our new All-Clad stockpot

Before dinner

After dinner

Peach Jam

You may remember that we went to the Peach Orchard awhile back. Well those peaches didn't last very long! We enjoyed Breakfast Parfaits with Homemade Granola, Peach Cake and Peach Jam.

This recipe is almost identical to the Strawberry Jam recipe. 

Peach Jam in 3 Steps

5 cups peaches, pitted, peeled and crushed

6 Tbsp Ball RealFruit Instant Pectin

2 cups sugar

3 Tbsp lemon juice

Stir peaches, sugar and lemon juice in bowl. Let stand for 10 mins. 

Add pectin gradually to prevent clumping. Stir for 3 mins.

Ladle jam into 6 clean half-pint jars and let stand for 30 mins.

Jam can be stored in the fridge for 3 weeks or in the freezer for 1 year.

(Note: If you don't want to make 6 jars, use this great tool from Ball to get the right measurements.)

Probably the best paring knife ever!

Peaches, Peaches, Peaches

I love canning jars

Particularly these quilted ones

Ready for the freezer

Homemade Granola

Hello everyone!

Thank you for your patience on a slow blogging week. We have had 4 funerals and a wedding (sounds like a movie title) in the last week, so needless to say blogging had to take the back seat temporarily.

But now I'm back and ready to go! During the giveaway two weeks ago I asked y'all what kind of posts you would like to see. So per Tami's request today I have a recipe post.

First some background: Our family LOVES granola! Sometimes we go through 2 or 3 boxes a week. Even though we buy an organic granola we really wanted to make our own. We tried several recipes before finding this one on the Raising Homemakers link-up. It is our new family favorite.

Homemade Granola

3 cups old fashioned oats

1/2 cup unsweetened coconut

3 Tb packed brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp salt

1/3 cup honey

2 TB vegtable oil

Optional:

1 cup dried fruit              

1 cup sliced almonds

Preheat oven to 300 degrees-Place parchment paper on baking sheet. Mix together first 6 ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Stir honey and oil together in a small saucepan over medium-low heat; until smooth. Pour honey mixture over oat mixture and toss. Spread on parchment lined baking sheet. Bake until golden, about 30-40 mins. stirring every 10 mins. Cool on rack; stir granola-cool and mix in dried fruit and almonds.

Note-we don't put in any fruit or almonds. Instead we just make a basic granola and let people add their own fruit, nuts etc.

These pictures show us making our weekly triple batch.

Our wonderful XXL bowl, with Mom and yours truly in the reflection

For extra credit, what sign am I making?

Preparing the triple batch

I love texture!

more texture

The finished product!