All my Bloggy Friends #6

Thank you to everyone who linked up last week! I can't wait to see what y'all bring this week!

The three most viewed links last week were:

Cupcake Owl Cake by The Domesticated Me

Grilled Herbed Potatoes by This Gal Cooks

Patty Pan Eggplant by My Sweet and Savory

If you were featured and would like a button, please grab one from the left sidebar!

Menu Plan Monday {7-30-12}

Hey, y'all! Another week closer to the start of school. I don't know about you, but I am looking forward to school starting - not because my kiddos "go away" for a few hours - they're pretty much stuck with me since we homeschool! ;) I love all the new school supplies and the excitement of the kiddos! Four of the five kids will be in school this year - we have a preschooler all the way up to a Junior in high school! 

Here's what we'll be cooking up in our kitchen this week:

Breakfast Monday - Friday: Cereal, Grits, Oatmeal or Smoothies and Fruit of Choice

Lunch all week: Leftovers, Soup, Sandwiches, Boxed Mac & Cheese, Personal-sized Tortilla Pizzas, Baked Potatoes

Monday - Spinach Quiche, Tomato Wedges, Fruit, Rolls

Tuesday - Deli-Style Chicken Salad Sandwich, Chips, Fruit

Wednesday - Chicken and Rice Soup, Rolls

Thursday - Italian Sausage Links w/ Spaghetti, Broccoli, 

          Garlic Bread

Friday - Spinach Strawberry Bacon Goat Cheese Honey 

         Balsamic Pizza

Saturday - (B) Smoked Sausage Biscuit, Tater Tots, Fruit

     (D) Beefy Jalapeno Cornbread Casserole, Side Salad, Fruit

Sunday - (B) Spinach Tomato Alfredo Omelets, Hashbrowns,

          Toast, Fruit

     (D) Ham and Scalloped Potatoes, Green Beans, Fruit, Rolls,

          Cocoa Krispie Treats

What are you having this week? Are you trying anything new?

Shared at these fun parties!

Cheesy Tuna Melts

I have to admit something to you ... Growing up, the thought of eating tuna literally made me gag. I can't tell you how many times my parents made me sit at the table (for what seemed like hours), trying to get me to eat tuna sandwiches or tuna noodle casserole. I would always be threatened with "it would be my breakfast" ..... yikes! I'm not sure when or how, but I have since overcome my tuna aversion. 

Thankfully, I have no problem getting my family to eat these sandwiches! They're nice to make when you need something quick and easy ... and they're easy on the budget!

Cheesy Tuna Melts

Printable recipe

Yield: 8 servings

3/4 cup chopped celery

3/4 cup chopped onion

2 can tuna (6 oz. each) tuna, drained and flaked

1-1/2 cup Cheddar cheese, shredded

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/4 tsp. seasoned salt, optional

8 hamburger buns, split

Preheat oven to 350° F. In a bowl, combine the first six ingredients. Spread tuna mixture on bottom buns; replace tops. Wrap in foil. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the cheese is melted. Serve immediately.

I hope you enjoy!

Shared at these fun parties!

Crispy Pesto Gnocchi with Tomatoes, Black Olives and Feta Cheese

Oh.My.WOW!! This stuff is *so* good! It tastes fancy ... but is so simple! I found the recipe at 1 Cup Awesome (adapted from Rachel Ray Magazine) and adjusted it to my family's tastes and preferences. It was a fantastic meatless meal - and we're already planning on making it again - soon!!! Seriously, pin this now!

Crispy Pesto Gnocchi with Tomatoes, Black Olives and Feta Cheese

Printable recipe

Yield: 3-4 servings

A few swirls of olive oil

1 pkg. (16 oz.) potato gnocchi

1/2 pint grape tomatoes, halved

1/4 cup prepared pesto sauce, more to taste

1/4 cup black olives, halved

Feta cheese, crumbled

Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add gnocchi in a single layer and cook until browned, about 4-5 minutes. Turn gnocchi and cook, tossing occasionally, until browned to your taste. Add tomatoes and olives, cook for about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and add pesto and crumbled Feta. Stir. Serve immediately!

I hope you enjoy!

In case you missed any recipes this week:

BBQ Bacon Cheeseburger Meatloaf

Aloha Pizza

Taco Lasagna

Cinnamon Banana Cake

Shared at these fun parties!

Featured at Stone Gable, Tip Junkie and DJ's Sugar Shack

Cinnamon Banana Cake

I found this recipe on Pinterest. I knew I had to pin it - and boy, am I glad I did! It is soooooo good! If you need a new recipe to use up those bananas that are turning brown, try this Cinnamon Banana Cake. It could easily be a dessert or breakfast! Yum! Personally, I love cinnamon and brown sugar ... so I doubled the cinnamon and brown sugar filling ingredients and used pecans instead of walnuts. 

Cinnamon Banana Cake

Slightly adapted from The Idea Room

Printable recipe

Yield: 18 servings

For the cake:

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup sugar

2 ripe bananas, mashed

2 eggs, beaten

1 tsp. vanilla

2 tsp. baking soda

2 tsp. baking powder

Dash of salt

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 pint (2 cups) vanilla yogurt

For the filling:

2/3 cup brown sugar

2 tbsp. cinnamon

1 cup chopped pecans (optional)

1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350° F. Spray a 13x9x2-in. baking pan with cooking spray; set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and brown sugar with an electric mixer. Add the bananas, eggs and vanilla. Mix well. Next, add the baking soda, baking powder, salt, flour and yogurt - mix well to combine.

In a separate bowl, combine the brown sugar and cinnamon.

Pour half of the cake batter into the prepared pan. Top with half of the brown sugar-cinnamon mixture. Top with half of the pecans and half of the chocolate chips. Repeat layers.

Bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

I hope you enjoy!

Shared at these fun parties!

Featured at Jam's Corner and Bizzy Bakes

Taco Lasagna

If I had to choose a favorite type of ethnic food, I couldn't do it. My husband would probably tell you his is Italian with Mexican/Latin in second. I personally love it all - as long as it doesn't have lima beans! ;) This Taco Lasagna is easy enough for a weeknight meal and is a nice change from the regular tacos or burritos. 

Taco Lasagna
Printable recipe
Originally from Taste of Home
Yield: 8 servings

1 lb. lean ground beef
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
1/2 cup chopped onion
2/3 cup water
1 envelope taco seasoning
1 can (15 oz.) black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (14.5 oz) Mexican-style diced tomatoes, undrained
6 (8-in.) flour tortillas
1 can (16 oz.) refried beans
3 cups (12 oz.) Mexican cheese blend, divided

Preheat oven to 350° F. 

In a large skillet, cook beef, green pepper and onion until meat is no longer pink; drain. Add water and taco seasoning - bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 3-4 minutes. Stir in black beans and tomatoes. Simmer uncovered for 10 minutes.

Place 2 tortillas in a greased 13x9x2-in. baking dish. Spread half of the beans on top of the tortillas. Top with half of the beef mixture. Sprinkle with 1 cup of cheese. Repeat layers. Top with remaining tortillas and cheese. Cover and bake at 350° F. for 30 minutes or until heated through and cheese is melted. Let stand 5-10 minutes before cutting.


I hope you enjoy!
Shared at these fun parties!
Featured at Chocolate Chocolate and More Chocolate, Make Ahead Meals For Busy Moms, Jam Hands and Recipes For My Boys

Aloha Pizza

This pizza is a combination of two pizzas we tried. The flavors worked very well together. In hindsight, I think this would be good with a little bit of spice added to it .... maybe a diced jalapeno, crushed red pepper flakes or a chipotle pepper in adobo. If you prefer it without the spice, it's just as good the way it is written! I've included the link to Frugal Upstate's pizza dough .... it's the best!

Aloha Pizza

Printable recipe

Yield: 1 large pizza (8-10 slices)

1 pizza dough

Olive oil

1 cup BBQ sauce

2 cups (8 oz.) shredded Cheddar cheese, divided

1-1/2 cups cooked chicken breast, chopped

6 oz. Canadian bacon, chopped

1 can (8 oz.) pineapple tidbits, drained

2-3 green onions, chopped

Prepare pizza dough according to directions.

Preheat oven to 450° F. Grease a pizza pan. Pat dough into pan. Drizzle the dough with olive oil and bake for 10 minutes. Spread BBQ sauce on the crust. Top with 1-1/2 cups of cheese. Next, add chicken, Canadian bacon, pineapple and green onion. Top with remaining 1/2 cup cheese. Bake for 15-17 minutes, or until pizza is golden and cheese is bubbly. Serve hot!

I hope you enjoy!

Shared at these fun parties!

Featured at The Ease of Freeze and One Creative Mommy

All my Bloggy Friends #5

Thank you to everyone who linked up last week! I can't wait to see what y'all bring this week!

The 3 most viewed links last week were:

Copycat Mocha Frappuccino from Simply You & Me

Orange Stuffed Acorn Squash from My Sweet and Savory

Creamy Cucumbers from Five Little Chefs

If you were featured and would like a button, please grab one from the left sidebar.

Menu Plan Monday {7-23-12}

I'm on a little bit of a spicy food kick this week. It's been forever since we've had Cuban food, so I decided to make Medianoches and Cuban Black Beans and Rice this week. I'm still been thinking about the recent Crazy Cooking Challenge and put Southern Fried Chicken on the menu, too! My boys requested a Chili Dog Pizza this week. I guess that's a little better than their Mac and Cheese with Hot Dog Pizza idea! ;) Here's what we'll be cooking at our house this week:

Breakfast Monday - Friday: Cereal, Grits, Oatmeal or Smoothies

Lunch all week: Leftovers, Sandwiches, Soup, Boxed Mac & Cheese, Tortilla Pizzas, Baked Potatoes from My Turn (For Us)

Monday - Spinach Quiche, Tomato Wedges, Peaches, Rolls

Tuesday - Medianoches Sandwich, Seven Layer Salad

Wednesday - Tomato Soup, Pesto Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Thursday - Taco Salad, Rolls

Friday - Chili Dog Pizza

Saturday - (B) Breakfast Out

     (D) Cuban Black Beans and Rice, Pineapple, Rolls

Sunday - (B) Homemade Cinnamon Rolls, Fruit of Choice

     (D) Southern Fried Chicken, Mashed Potatoes with Gravy,

       Corn, Biscuits, Yogurt Berry Popsicles

What's on your menu this week? Are you trying anything new?

Shared at these fun parties!

BBQ Bacon Cheeseburger Meatloaf

Even though we enjoy a traditional meatloaf, sometimes it's nice to have something a little bit different. The Mister and boys inspired this BBQ Bacon Cheeseburger Meatloaf - it combines some of their favorite things - BBQ, Bacon, Cheeseburger and Meatloaf! I hope you enjoy this as much as my family did!

BBQ Bacon Cheeseburger Meatloaf

Printable recipe

Yield: 8 servings

2 lb. lean ground beef

1/2 lb. bacon, cooked and crumbled

2 cups (8 oz.) shredded Cheddar cheese

1 egg, beaten

1 cup BBQ sauce, divided

1 small onion, chopped

1/2 cup green pepper, chopped

1/2 cup dry bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 350° F. Spray a 9x5 loaf pan with cooking spray and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine to beef, bacon, cheese, egg, 1/2 cup BBQ sauce, onion, green pepper and dry bread crumbs. Shape mixture into a loaf and place into prepared pan.

Bake in preheated oven for 35-40 minutes. Remove from oven, top with remaining 1/2 cup BBQ sauce. Return to the oven and bake an additional 15-20 minutes or until no longer pink. (An instant-read thermometer inserted near the center will read 160° F.)

Allow to stand 5 minutes before slicing. Serve hot or cold with additional BBQ sauce, if desired.

I hope you enjoy!

Shared at these fun parties!

Featured at Mrs Happy Homemaker, The NY Melrose Family, Mom on Timeout and Couponing and Cooking

Southern Tea Cakes

Today, I'm sharing a Southern Tea Cake recipe with y'all .... If I had to compare it to something, I'd tell you they are like sugar cookies, but not as sweet and more "cake-like", but not really a cake. (Do I have you confused enough yet?!) They are great with afternoon tea or a cup of coffee. If you prefer them a little sweeter, you can mix up an easy glaze and dip them - but I like 'em just plain ol' regular. ;) 

Southern Tea Cakes

Printable recipe
Yields: approximately 45 cookies

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature
1-1/4 cups sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
3 tbsp. buttermilk
Sugar

Beat butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer for 30 seconds. Add 1-1/4 cups sugar and vanilla; beat until fluffy. Add eggs; beat well.

Stir together flour, baking soda and salt in a separate mixing bowl. Add to beaten mixture alternately with buttermilk. 

Drop by rounded teaspoons onto a greased baking sheet. Sprinkle with sugar. Bake in a 350° oven for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned on the edges.

Allow to cool for 2-3 minutes, then remove to wire racks to cool completely.

I hope you enjoy!

Shared at these fun parties!