BBQ Cups

Hi everyone! I just finished making BBQ cups for dinner, and they were so yummy! Very fast and easy to make. I got this recipe from a lady at my church. Here you go!

1 lb. ground beef or ground turkey
BBQ sauce
1/4 cup finely chopped onion - I usually leave this out, but that's just me
1 can of biscuits
grated cheese

Brown meat and onions and drain. Add enough barbecue sauce to cover. Preheat oven according to directions on biscuits. Grease the muffin pan and put biscuits in to create cups. Spoon BBQ mixture in cups and sprinkle cheese on top. Bake according to biscuit directions.

Friendship Soup

It's cold here! We need some more soup! I made this for lunch today so I am reposting it. If you read my daycare blog, you've seen it before.

Here's a soup recipe that every kid in my house except for one has loved for the last four years. Even if they don't like the individual ingredients, there's something about the way it comes together that makes it palatable for everybody. I first got this recipe mixed in a jar for a Christmas present, and it's incredibly easy to recreate if you want to give it as a gift.

In a jar or cutesy container:
1/2 cup split green peas
1/3 cup beef bouillon granules (in a pinch I've used cubes, and it takes about 10 to get the same flavor. Knorr's and Herb-Ox are gluten free, Wyler's is not.)
1/4 cup barley
1/2 cup lentils
1/4 cup dried onion (or slice real if you're making it fresh)
2 t. Italian seasoning
1/2 cup rice

in a little separate baggie in the top of the jar, put 1/2 cup small macaroni. I've used orzo, tiny stars, and that bitty alphabet pasta. The kind in the mexican food aisle that's about 20 cents works great.

Add a tag that says you need to add 1 pound ground beef, browned and drained, 3 quarts water, and 28 oz diced tomatoes, undrained.

Put everything except the macaroni in a big pan. Bring it to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 45 minutes. Then add the macaroni, cover, and simmer 15 more minutes.

It makes a ton, is really thick and hearty and healthy, and is even better the second day. It's really good with club crackers (my favorite way to eat it!) or cornbread or just by itself.
Here's the first round of bowls ready to serve- everybody loves it~! Most kids eat at least three bowls of it.
And here's how much I had left, I put the tomatoes in there as a size guide. That's a really big Tupperware container, we have enough for probably 2 more meals. It freezes well too.

Now that I have to be gluten free, I leave out the barley and the macaroni, and just add more of the other ingredients. It tastes a little different, but not so much that people complain, which equals success around here. I also usually put a little fresh Parmesan cheese on top now- it adds a tiny bit of that sharp nutty flavor that I lose by taking out the barley. But if I didn't, it would be dairy free as well.

The newbie

Hi everyone! I'm the newbie on the block. My name is Dedra. I have a wonderful husband, Doyen and 2 kiddos - Addison is almost 2 and Jaron is almost 4 months. We don't have any dietary restrictions, but Addison is pretty picky lately. And I am not so crazy for most veggies... I am working full-time right now so time is precious. I love trying new recipes, BUT it has to be fast, with few ingredients and taste good!

I feel like I get stuck in a rut making the same old things so I am looking forward to trying new things and sharing some as well. I already made the baked potato soup a few posts back. It was AWESOME! That will definitely get repeated around here. I'll be back soon with a recipe for Barbecue cups!

Combo Meal Skillet

One of the things I miss about being gluten and dairy free is that I can never just order something off the menu. If I do get a burger(no bun) it is normally in a place where I can't eat sides. One day last month I really wanted a burger and some fries. I didn't have any but I threw a few things together and WOW!

I started with an onion and some hamburger and some seasoned salt. While that was frying those up I checked my freezer for fries that I wished were there but I knew were not and I found tater tots. Score!

I knew I didn't have time to bake or fry them so I nuked them for a few minutes and threw them in the skillet and squished them up with the meat and onion. (We made it again at my sister's house and fried the tots and left them whole and that was great, too.) After that I put in ketchup, mustard and mayo to make a slurry of deliciousness.

The first time I made this I added dill pickle relish and I loved it but my husband said the pickles made it weird so now I put pickles and fresh tomato on top and serve it with gluten free rolls.

The great thing about this is that you can make it how you like it. I'm sure it would be great with bacon or cheese or even piled on a big gluteny bun! It is quick and easy and it really does taste like fast food.

Ingredients:

hamburger, onion, seasoned salt, tater tots, ketchup, mustard,mayo, tomato, pickle or WHATEVER you like!

Warm spinach and tomato salad

Ohhhhhhh, this is so good. I could eat a huge bowl of this salad for dinner with nothing else, and be happy. This is a copycat of my favorite salad at Buca di Beppo. I found a few different versions online, and I played around with the quantities until I got something that tastes as good as the original. I think it is a great salad to go along with Italian food, a steak, chicken, or anything, really.

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced or pressed
1 tablespoon sugar
pinch of salt
1/2 small red onion, cut into strips
3 roma tomatoes, cut into wedges
5-6 ounces baby spinach
1/3 cup spiced or candied pecans, chopped
2 ounces crumbled goat cheese

In a small bowl, combing vinegar, garlic, sugar, and salt. Whisk in olive oil. Pour dressing in a saute' pan and add the onions. Heat on medium until it starts to simmer. Remove from heat and let dressing cool slightly. Put spinach and tomatoes in a large bowl or platter. Pour dressing and onions over spinach. Top with pecans and goat cheese. The flavor combination of the sweet pecans and onions, the tangy goat cheese and vinegar...mmmmmmmmm.

Note: The salad should really only be warm enough for it to not be cold...not enough that the spinach wilts. The first time I made it, the dressing was too hot when I poured it on the spinach, which instantly wilted and shriveled down to nothing. I ended up with spinach and dressing soup. So with the dressing, it is better to err on the side of too cool rather than too warm.

Seasoned Salmon

I am not a fish kind of girl. My husband keeps asking me to learn how to make salmon and I just can't get interested. I just got this recipe in an email from my friend who lives on Cape Cod and I figure if anybody knows how to make good fish, she's the one. I have not actually made it yet, but I trust her, and I'm putting it up partially as a reminder that I need to buy some salmon and try it! It sounds easy enough. Salmon fillet (any size, skin off) Olive oil Black pepper Old Bay Seasoning (I've never bought this and have no idea what it tastes like but I know they sell it over by the fresh fish case.) Brown Sugar Put your Salmon fillet in a shallow pan (cut it to fit if necessary) Use fork to pierce a few holes in fillet Drizzle LIGHTLY with olive oil and spread the oil around with your hands Top fillet with cracked black pepper (as you like for flavor, I did a crank of the handle per 2" square or so) Sprinkle top of fillet with Old Bay Seasoning (decorate top but don't coat it) Sprinkle top of fillet with brown sugar (again, decorate top lightly but don't coat it, some clumps are ok) Broil in oven for 15 min (I had a 2lb fillet) or until it flakes at thickest part

Let me know if you try this and what you think- I'm still scared of cooking fish! :)

Crock pot ribs

Tonight was my first experience making ribs in the crock pot, and I CANNOT BELIEVE I have lived for 32 years without having done this before. I love ribs, but I never make them at home; I assumed they would be complicated and that they wouldn't turn out good anyway since I am not an expert BBQ-er. I was wrong!

This recipe is simple...ANYONE could make this. The ribs were delicious, and falling off the bone. Credit goes to my co-worker Vonda for the recipe. We were in the office on Friday afternoon (hard at work, of course) discussing meal ideas and crock pot usage, and she told us all how she makes her ribs. Here it is...

1 slab baby back ribs

BBQ sauce (I used a bottle of Famous Dave's Original and thought it was great- but use whatever you like)

Salt and Pepper

Seasoning (I used KC Masterpiece Steak Seasoning...it has salt, pepper, brown sugar, garlic, onion, paprika, and a few other things. Anything moderately close to this would work, and I am sure there are tons of similar seasoning mixes out there. This was my addition...Vonda just uses salt and pepper, so you could leave it out entirely).

1. Cut the ribs into sections that will fit into the crock pot. I cut my slab into thirds.
2. Season both sides liberally with salt, pepper, and seasoning mix.
3. Place on a baking sheet and broil for a few minutes on each side until a nice crust forms.
4. Brush both sides lightly with BBQ sauce and put in the crock pot. Cook on low for 5-6 hours.
5. Remove ribs carefully (meat will be soft) and put on a baking sheet. Coat liberally with more BBQ sauce and put them back under the broiler for a few minutes so the sauce "cooks on" a bit.

And that's it! They were GOOD...and I got many compliments from my husband. We ate the ribs with roasted potato wedges and a spinach salad. The spinach salad needs some fine tuning, but I will be posting that recipe too as soon as I have it perfected!