Easy Peasy Whipped Chocolate Pie

This Recipe is easy as pie! Pun intended. Sorry I just had to. This recipe only calls for a few ingredients and its so easy to put together.

Ingredients

Pie Filling

• 1 Regular Box of Chocolate Pudding
• 1 Cup of Milk
• 1 Cup of Heavy Whipping Cream
• 1/2 Cup of sugar

Pie Crust

• 1 Package of Graham Crackers(about 6 crackers) Or you can buy a Graham cracker pie crust
• 2 tbsp melted butter

Pie topping

• 1/2 cup of Heavy Whipping Cream
• 3 tbsp sugar

To make the Pie Crust, place the graham crackers in a large Ziploc bag and squeeze the air out and seal.

Take a rolling pin or something heavy and hard you can mash up the graham crackers until they are fine crumbs. I let my kids do this and they had so much fun. Separate about 1/3 of the crumbs and set aside.

Pour remaining Crumbs into a round 9 inch pie pan. Pour melted butter over crumbs and mix together until crumbs are coated. press crumbs into the bottom of the pan covering the entire bottom. 

Now in a small bowl, mix the chocolate pudding and the 1 cup of milk, mixture will be thick. Set Aside.

Use an electric mixer to mix the whipping cream and 1/2 cup of sugar into whipped cream. Spoon the Pudding mixture into the mixer and whip until mixture is a smooth and fluffy chocolate cream.

Pour into your pie pan and smooth. 

To top the pie,  whip in an electric mixer the Heavy Cream and Sugar until fluffy. Then pour and smooth over the pie . Now sprinkle the graham cracker crumbs you had set aside earlier over the whipped cream.

Refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Then serve.

 Keep pie covered while in the fridge. 

If you like this recipe, let me know in the comments!

Turkey Meatloaf

Not everyone likes meatloaf. Thank goodness I'm not everyone. Haha. Meatloaf is another favorite of mine. I decided to make a turkey version since its just a tad bit healthier than ground beef and I already had 3 lbs of Ground turkey in my freezer. I like meals that I don't have to do any extra shopping for:)
I used Jenny O 85/15 turkey that comes in the tube like package. I like these because they are fairly cheap and easy to freeze and thaw when needed. It seems like a lot of my meals are thrown together and last minute seeing as I'm not a great planner. These "tubes" of ground turkey thaw out quickly instead of buying a big or family pack of meat and having to thaw it in the microwave..Well enough rambling...Lets get going.

Ingredients:

• 3 LBs of 85/15 ground turkey
• 4 slices of Bread
• 1 cup of milk ( you can add more to your liking)
• 1 tsp of pepper
• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley (curly or flat leaf, makes no difference)
• 1/2 cup of Grated Parmesan cheese
• 1  1/2 tsp of garlic powder

Sauce

• 1 1/2 cup of Ketchup
• 1/2 cup of brown sugar 
• 1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
• 1 tbsp Dijon Mustard

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees

To make the sauce, just add all of the ingredients together in a bowl and mix together. Set aside.

Put the 4 slices of bread in a large bowl and pour the milk in. Make sure the bread is soaked with the milk. Depending on what kind of bread you use you might have to had just a scosche more.  Once the bread is soaked, add the rest of the ingredients.

 Mix together and make sure the bread and seasonings incorporate through the ground turkey. I use my hands because it seems easier. Ground turkey is not as dense of meat as ground beef so just kind of pour out the mixture into a  9 by 13 pan that you have lined with foil.

 As best you can, shape into a loaf. Do not flatten the mixture out completely to fill the entire pan. Doing so will cause your meatloaf to be tough.
Now, Take the sauce you mixed earlier and spread half of the mixture onto the loaf.  Put in the oven and bake for 45-50 minutes.
As soon as you take your meatloaf out of the oven, pour out some of the grease that has cooked out of the loaf. Then while its still piping hot pour the rest of the sauce mixture over the loaf. Spread evenly.  Slice and enjoy:) I sauteed some fresh brussel sprouts as a side dish.

Click here for my Quick and Easy Brussel Sprouts

 If you try this recipe, please let me know how it turned out in the comments below!

Quick and Easy Brussel Sprouts

I have always loved my green veggies. Even when I was little. I was probably the least picky child ever. Much unlike my daughter who is 6 and I practically have to force feed every meal to her. One of my favorite vegetables is brussel sprouts. 

Until the last year or so, I had always bought the freezer steam fresh bags that you just pop into the microwave and are slathered in butter. Those are good but I have been trying to eat a bit healthier lately. I really like fresh brussel sprouts for a couple of reasons. First, they are cheaper; Second, they taste better; and Third, its quick and easy!!

Ingredients                                                         **Note- I did not put  measurements in the                                                                                                                                                   ingredients because it depends on your                                                                                                                                            family size. You really can't mess these up!

• Package of fresh brussel sprouts
• Olive oil
• Kosher Salt
• Fresh Black Pepper

Directions

To get started, cut off the ends of the brussel sprouts, You want the first two leaves to fall off but no more than that. Next, cut each brussel sprout in half from end to top. Now, place in a saute pan on med high heat and coat with olive oil. sprinkle a dash of salt and a dash of pepper and stir to coat. let the brussel sprouts brown lightly and then turn heat down to med, and cook for about 6-7 minutes.  You dont want them mushy, or at least I don't.

Just remove from pan and Enjoy.

Simple as that!! They accompany any great meal. I made mine with meatloaf.

Click here for my recipe of Turkey Meatloaf

If you enjoyed this recipe let me know in the comments!!!!

Easy Homemade Chicken Pot Pie

It snowed today and school let out early. While I was trying to come up with something to make for supper, I sat down and started watching Trisha's Southern Kitchen. And well what do ya know, she ended up making A version of Chicken Pot Pie. That sounded great for this cold day and I already had the ingredients for it so win, win. I changed mine up a bit and added a few vegetables to make it go a little farther. 

**Go to Trisha's Recipe Here**

Ingredients

• 4 chicken leg quarters                                        
• Water to cover chicken
• One 10-ounce can cream of chicken soup
• 1 small onion chopped
• 1 large carrot chopped
• 2 celery stalks chopped
• 1 tablespoon of cornstarch
• Salt and pepper to taste

Crust

• 1 1/2 cup self-rising flour
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
• 1 cup buttermilk, well shaken

Did you know?

If you don't have self-rising flour you can make it by mixing in 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder to 1 cup of All purpose flour.

If you don't have buttermilk you can make it by  adding a tablespoon of real lemon juice or white vinegar to 1 cup of milk. Let the milk sit for 10-12 minutes at room temperature before use. It will look slightly curdled and that's normal.

Directions:

If you want to use fresh chicken, just boil it ahead of time. Salt and pepper the chicken, put in a large pot, and nearly cover the chicken with water. Boil until chicken is cooked through. About 180 degrees

Once the chicken is done, do NOT drain the liquid. You will use this as your broth. Grab a bowl and use tongs to get the chicken out. It will be tender and may fall apart. That't okay.  Put the chicken in the bowl. Set aside to cool.

Preheat your oven to 424 degrees

Now to strain your chicken broth, just to make sure there are no bones in the broth you will use. Get a strainer, a mesh strainer works very well, if not just use a pasta strainer, and place the strainer in a larger bowl. Pour the broth in the strainer. Now just throw out the catchings of the strainer. take 2 cups of the broth and pour back into the pot you cooked the chicken in. Turn on medium heat.

Add your chopped vegetables to par boil. This just makes sure they cook all the way in the oven. I also threw in about 2 tbsp of fresh chopped parsley but you can season it if you want but be careful not to over salt. Remember you salted the chicken before you boiled it. 

While your vegetables are boiling go ahead and shred your chicken. 

Grab a 9 by 13 inch pan and layer the chicken to cover the bottom of the pan. Set aside.

Now lower the heat on your vegetables. you just want a simmer. Add the cream of mushroom soup and stir until mixed. Wisk in the cornstarch. This will help the broth to thicken and not be soupy. 

Now, Remove from heat and pour over your chicken. 

In a separate medium bowl, mix the flour with the pepper. Stir in the melted butter and the buttermilk. Pour this mixture over the casserole and smooth the top; do not stir. I had some extra chedder cheese that I sprinkled on the top. 

Bake the casserole until the crust is brown and the filling beneath is hot and bubbly, 45 minutes.

Let me know how you like this recipe.

Leave me a comment below! :)

Strawberry Glaze Cheesecake

Looking at my blog thus far, it appears to be a bit uneven with the sweets. LOL. I have made other things mind you, I just forget to take pictures. Ha, but yet again I have another sweet recipe to share. This is another Pioneer Woman recipe though I switched it up a bit. The original recipe was for blackberry cheesecake which looked and sounded equally as good but I did not have any blackberries. I decided on a strawberry glaze seeing as I did not have any Strawberries either. This is the stuff that usually comes in a bag that you can mix with fresh or frozen strawberries that you can put in pies. I Love strawberries but really only on shortcake, I have a texture issue with everything else, so this glaze suits me better. You can actually make the cheesecake and then put whatever topping you want after the cheesecake has cooled.

Click here for The Pioneer Woman's Recipe

This is what I used for the topping. This does NOT
need heated, its already super thick. You can just pour
straight from the bag.

Ingredients:

Crust

• Cooking spray
• One box of Honey Graham Crackers
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter melted
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

Filling

• Three 8-ounce packages cream cheese
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup sour cream

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

For the crust: Spray a 9-by-13-inch rectangular baking pan with cooking spray.
Place the graham crackers into the bowl of a food processor and pulse until the mixture becomes crumbs.If you do not have a food processor, just place them in a ziploc bag and seal. Then use a rolling pin or or something heavy to crush them into crumbs.
 Add the melted butter and vanilla and pulse again until combined. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and press the crumbs into the bottom of the pan. (If they come up the sides, that's okay!)

For the filling: Beat the cream cheese and sugar together in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until smooth.

Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Add the sour cream and mix again.

Pour the filling into the crust, smooth the top.

 and bake for 45 minutes. Turn off the oven, open the oven door and allow the pan to sit in the open oven for 15 minutes. Remove and set aside to cool. The cheesecake may crack as it cools, that is okay!

Top with you favorite pie filling or the wonderful strawberry glaze that I used. Chill in the fridge for about 3 hours. 

Enjoy!!!!

Let me know how you liked this recipe. Leave me a 

comment below! :)

Sweet Lemon Cupcakes with Lemon Cream cheese Frosting

My husband and I both wanted something sweet to eat the other night, so I started browsing the internet for something to make with Lemons. I just bought some fresh ones on my last grocery shopping trip and something lemony sounded good. I came across a couple of lemon cupcake recipes though upon further inspection they required a few ingredients I did not currently have, and If you know me, then you know that I will search for an hour looking for a recipe for what I do have instead of putting on shoes and driving to the local store. Ha. Thank goodness It didn't take an hour to find another recipe, and I'm so happy that I found this one because these are the best cupcakes I have had in a long time. By the way you might want to double the batch because the dozen I made barely lasted a whole 24 hours. I will definitely be making these scrumptious guys again!!!

I want to add that I forgot to take pictures as I was making everything, but I did get a picture after They were done and iced:)

Click here to go to the Website with the Original Recipe

Ingredients:

Cupcakes

• 1 1/4 cups cake flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 Cup of Milk

Frosting

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
• 2 teaspoons lemon zest
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice (I put about 3 tbsp in for a good lemon flavor, you can use more or less)

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line 12 muffin tin cups with paper cupcake liners.

Make the cupcakes. Sift the cake flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl and set aside.

In a large bowl and using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter and sugar until smoothly blended and lightened in color, about 2 minutes. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl as needed during mixing.

 Add the eggs one at a time, mixing until each is blended into the batter and it looks creamy, about 1 minute. Add the lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla and beat for 2 minutes. If the eggs are cold, the mixture may look slightly curdled.

 Then add the sifted ingredients and the milk and mix until smooth. The batter will be thicker than what you would get from a box. 

Fill each paper liner with 1/4 cup of batter (an ice-cream scoop works well), to about 1/2 inch below the top of the liner. Bake just until the tops feel firm and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, About 18-25 minutes. Every oven varies, so keep a good watch on them. 

Now Start your Frosting.

 In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on low speed, beat the butter, cream cheese, grated lemon peel, lemon juice, and vanilla until smooth and thoroughly blended, about 1 minute. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl as needed during mixing. Add the powdered sugar, mixing until smooth, about 1 minute, then beat on medium speed for 1 minute to lighten the frosting further.
If you wish to pipe your frosting on the cupcakes as I did, then spoon your frosting into a piping bag and then pipe onto each cupcake. If not, just use a knife to spread the frosting on. Either way they will be delicious. I did grate some lemon zest on top of each cupcake just for garnish, but you don't have to. You could slice the lemon peel into thin strips and twist then coat in sugar and place a peel on each cupcake. I'm not that fancy, lol.

To store keep these in the refrigerator since the frosting is made with cream cheese.

My finished Product. So Yummy!

If you try these, let me know what you thought of them. 

Leave me a comment below :)

Copycat Homemade Cinnamon Applesauce

Lately I have been obsessed with The Food Network and one of my favorite shows lately has been The Pioneer Woman. I actually have my DVR set so I don't miss any episodes. My 6 year old has really gotten into it as well. She is an early riser and the last few mornings or so, I have gotten up and walked into the living room to her sitting on the couch watching an episode. She loves it, and I have noticed that she is really paying attention because she has been helping me cook and I will be doing something like straining Lemons in my hand and she will say, "You are doing that so the seeds won't fall into the mix". I am hoping she keeps it up and stays interested in cooking. The recipe that I am sharing today is that of The Pioneer Woman's.  Its a homemade applesauce, and I have never made applesauce before, nor have I ever made much with fresh apples so I thought why not, seems easy enough. By the way, it is very easy. I do want to note that this is a sugar added recipe and also that I realized after I made this that normally this would be a cheaper way to get applesauce instead of buying it at a store. In my case, it was not, but only because I purchased my apples at Wal-Mart and not somewhere cheaper like a pick your own orchard or farmers market.

Click Here to go to the Original Recipe

Ingredients: Prep Time: 15 Minutes    Servings: 12

• 6 pounds Apples, Peeled, Cored, And Cut Into 8 Slices
• 1 cup Apple Juice Or Apple Cider
• Juice Of 1 Lemon
• 1/2 cup Brown Sugar, Packed
• 1 teaspoon Cinnamon, More Or Less To Taste

Preparation Instructions

Combine all ingredients in a large pot and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 25 minutes.  *Note, I cooked my apples for about 45 minutes total. Just check on them often, They should smush easily with a spoon.

Carefully puree in a food processor or blender (don't fill too full; split into two portions if needed) until smooth.

You can transfer the applesauce to Mason Jars or tupperware containers for storage.

Store in the fridge and serve by itself, over pork chops, over ice cream, over pancakes...or any place where applesauce is needed!

* Substitute apple sauce for the oil in many baked goods. It’s a healthy choice, baby.
* Spoon warm applesauce over vanilla (or caramel!) ice cream and sprinkle with a little cinnamon. To die for!
* Make regular French Toast and top with a big spoonful of applesauce.
* Eat a small bowl of chilled applesauce for breakfast, or as a side dish for lunch or dinner.

How do you like your Applesauce?

Poached Egg Sandwich

So I have been trying to eat healthy the last few days but I don't want to sacrifice flavor or sustenance. Usually when that happens, there's a high chance that I will eat an entire package of Oreos in the middle of the night, LOL. I tend to binge when I deprive myself. So I have been experimenting with a few lighter recipes on Pinterest and tweaking them to either my liking, or using ingredients that I have on hand. This is a poached egg sandwich recipe. I had never poached an egg before but I had watched my grandma make them many times. I do not have one of those fancy microwave poachers so I just used the old fashioned boiling method....OK lets get started...

 

 yield 2 sandwiches

Ingredients

• 2 Large Eggs
• 0 cal or low cal butter spray ( 1 tbls of regular unsalted butter will work)
• 2 small mushrooms sliced (you can use any type of mushroom)
• 1 chopped green onion(green part only)
• about 10 spinach leaves
• 1 slice of provolone cut in half
• salt and pepper or favorite seasoning(I used Greek Seasoning instead of S&P
• 2 small buns or toasted bread (I am using left over homemade pretzel bread but any kind will work)

Poaching the eggs...

Fill a medium sauce pan 3/4 full with water  and bring to a boil.  Crack open your eggs and drop into the boiling water. Some of the egg white will separate and thats ok. Once the eggs are in the water turn the heat down to med high that way it will still boil but will not foam up and overflow.  Boil for about 8 minutes. If you still want a runny yolk, less boil time.

While your eggs are boiling, put your sliced mushrooms and chopped green onion in a small frying pan. Spray with butter spray to coat and sprinkle a bit of salt and pepper or your choice of seasoning. Saute on med high heat just until the mushrooms start sweating. Now add your spinach. You want the spinach to wilt but not burn so give it a few stirs with a spatula.

When the Spinach wilts remove from heat and set aside.  Your eggs should be done now so just scoop them out with a slotted spoon or if you have a hand held scoop strainer then use that. 

I like to cut my egg in half so it will fit better on the bun

Now you can start stacking your sandwich.

I place the egg on first, then the sauteed mushrooms with the spinach and onions, then I top with the half slice of provolone. 

Those are some fine looking sandwiches. If you want something lighter, opt for only one slice of bread and eat with a fork.

*Other Great toppings would be; fresh Avocado and spicy mustard

Sweet Saltines

I get a sweet tooth every once in awhile, and normally when this happens I don't have anything sweet in my house. I don't like to keep cakes and sweets in the house because they are just a temptation for me as I just started eating a bit healthier. But I am a firm believer that if you are craving something sweet then you should let yourself have it to avoid binge eating later. Normally just a nibble is all it takes for me.

     

   This recipe for Sweet Saltines is one of the easiest ones I have tried and its delicious. My babies love it. My son calls it chocolate bread, haha.

Sweet Saltines Finished Product.
In a Ziploc bag for easy storage.

Ingredients

• 35 to 40 saltine crackers (or enough to fill your cookie sheet)
• 2 sticks (1 cup) butter
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips (about 1 1/3 cups) You can use milk or dark chocolate as well.
• Cooking Spray

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Line 1 large or 2 small cookie or sheet cake pans with aluminum foil (I did not use foil this time. I forgot, but I suggest using it, it will make clean up easier) spray with nonstick spray and arrange the saltines salt-side down in a single layer.

 In a medium sauce pan melt the butter and brown sugar together and boil until it turns a caramel color, a few minutes. Be sure to stir as to not burn the caramel. Remove from the heat and pour over the crackers, covering them evenly.

Put the pan into the oven and bake for 3 to 5 minutes, or until just bubbly, watching carefully. 

Remove from the oven and pour the chocolate chips over the crackers. When the chips melt a bit, spread them over the crackers with a knife.

Transfer the pan to the freezer for 15 to 20 minutes, or until completely cold. They will form one big sheet. Break up into pieces.

Store in an airtight container or ziploc bag.

These are delicious. Hope your family enjoys them as much as mine! :)