Putting up Fresh Green Beens without canning them!

Did you know you can freeze green beans?  I thought I would share a few tricks for those of you who do not can but would still like to enjoy fresh veggies through the winter.  Its simple but a little time consuming.  The end result is worth your trouble though.

1. String & Snap Beans then rinse.

2. Bring a pot of water to a rolling boil add 2 cups of beans to boiling water and return to a boil. Cover and boil for 3 minutes.

4. Remove beans from pot with a slotted spoon and add them to ice cold water to cool for 3 minutes.

5. Once Cooled drain your beans and they are ready to store.
6. Repeat the last 3 steps until all beans have been cooked.(You can use the same boiling water 3-4 times just be sure it comes back to a rapid boil before repeating)
7. Once drained then pour into your freezer storage bags.  You can use regular storage bag but you must make sure you remove all the air. I use a vacuum sealer which is ideal for this project.  You place your beans in the fresh seal bags then seal it with your device.  It sucks all air out and seals it completely.

Now all you do is store in the freezer and bring out when your ready to enjoy:)

Beef & Cheese Pizza Casserole

So here is the Pizza Casserole many of you have asked for.  I have always made my pizza casserole with Pepperoni but I decided to give this one a twist.  I did google several recipes and kind of combined them to this one.

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground beef
1 small onion chopped finely(I used Onion salt instead of an onion for my boys)
Italian seasoning
1/4 cup of flour
Pasta sauce of choice ( I used Bertolinni tomatoe & basil 24 oz. however the basil was a bit strong I would probably use a different flavor next time)
1 block mozzarella cheese
parmesean cheese
1 can Pillsbury refrigerated pizza crust
oil(I prefer Olive)
Salt & Pepper to taste

Brown ground beef along with onion, salt, pepper, 2 tbsp. italtian seasoning. Drain and add flour until blended. Add sauce and stir until bubbly. Remove from heat and pour into a 9 x 13 baking dish. 

Sprinkle and even amount of mozzarella & Parmesean cheese over mixture.

Roll your pizza crust out(I press it out on a floured cutting board to get it strecthed out to the right length then place on top of your casserole.

Brush the top with a little oil then sprinkle more of both cheeses covering the entire top.  Bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes or until your crust is golden( keep and eye out so you dont over cook it) 
Slice and serve *note the crust is tough to cut so you will need to use a knife)( I apologize for not posting a finished picture of it but I forgot to take one we were so eager to dig in and try it out lol)

Enjoy and as always please let me know if you have any questions.

Caramel Chocolate Chip bars

So last night I was doing what I like todo best ...baking, when I ran across a box of Caramel Cake mix in my cabinet.  Not sure how long it had been there because I cant remember buying it but I decided to check out the date and see. It was still good:)  I thought "I wonder if there are any good recipes I could make with this " when I looked on the side f the box and bingo there it was...Caramel Chocolate Chip Bars...yummy:)  So I decided to give it a try and lets just say they are delicious with such a different taste so I thought I would share even if its not MY recipe. We all like new things so here it is give it a whirl:)

1 Package Duncan Hines Caramel Cake Mix
2 Large Eggs
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup softened butter
1 cup of chocolate chips


Mix cake mix, eggs, water, brown sugar, and butter until thoroughly blended then stir in chocolate chips.  Pour into a 13x9 greased pan(batter is thick).  bake on 375 for 24-27 minutes.  Cool Completely cut and serve.  You can put icing on these as well but I just left them as a brownie bar and they were perfect:)

Dinner preparations for busy moms

Is dinnertime crazy around your house? Do you like to relax by the pool or spend time out with your family but you always feel rushed when you get back home?? If your like me I always have so much more energy in the morning so I say get what you can done then.  I have a little advice on how to make your life a little more simple and stil have fun throughout your day with your kids. 

Fisrt of all, if I plan on spending the day by the pool I like to go ahead and get my dinner ready in the am before I head out so I am not tired and rushed when I come in.  We all know pool days absolutely drain us so heres what I do.  I personally love to do crock pot meals on pools days but that doesnt always happen.  So for instance, yesterday I was making Chicken Pot Pie for our main dish for dinner so I prepared everything and placed it in my baking dish and placed in fridge.  Now keep in mind certain dishes you might need to leave off something until ready to actually cook for insatnce I waited on my crust til I was putting it in the oven, or if I prep lasagna, I hold off on my cheeses til then as well. 

Heres another little tip if your home and feel have little ones that like to be at your feet all day.  Now I realize when our kids nap its so nice to relax and kick back ourselves but I will tell  you what I like to do.  When I get Zane down for his nap I take this time to prepare my dinner for the evening as well holding off on baking it until time for dinner.  I also use this time to clean the kitchen up as well as even get a load of clothes folded.  I always feel so productive and not so stressed when dinner time rolls around because all you rlaly have to do then is set the table(which I let me 11 year old do) and serve food:)

Just a couple helpful hints I thought I would share and I hope you can maybe use:)

Delicious low fat Chicken

Like so many of you, I love to make Chicken. I grill it, bake it, put it in the Crock Pot, but I thought I would share my families favorite Chicken recipe that I make.  It is also my favorite because not only does it taste delicious but it is cooked completely low fat without any oils.  So I thought I would share this simple(yet slow cooking) recipe.

First you want to cut your Chicken up into small bite sized pieces.

Next you want to spray your pan with pam(I use the Olive Oil spray) then I pour a bottle of fat free Italian Dressing into my pan along with my chicken. I cook on Medium high for the 1st 15 minutes then turn it back to Medium. As the dressing starts to cook down add water a cup at a time until Chicken is cooked thoroughly. 

The chicken when finished cooking will have un unbelievable carmelized glaze on it that is out of this world. It usually takes almost 45 minutes of so to cook completely.  ( I had taken a picture of it but for some reason it didnt show up so next time I make it I will post an updated completed picture of the chicken. )When I cook this dish my son Cody always asks "mom I can tell your making my favorite chicken arent you?" because it smells unbelievable.

I loke to make this on a Monday and serve it over a nice salad of choice.  My favorite way to do it is cut all my veggies up and place them in a safe sealed container so we can eat off of the salad the rest of the week and my guys can make their salads as they like them.

Just a little hint with your lettuce. When you have cut it up and placed it in your storage container if you place a paper towel folded insde the lid it will absorb all the moisture and your salad keeps longer.

~Enjoy and as always please let me know if you have questions~

Marshmallow Pops

I have had several people ask about my Marshmallow pops so I thought I would share this fun easy treat. 

1st you need a flower pot, a vase, or even a sand bucket as pictured below.  I place a green floral foan piece in it so I can easily place my lollipop sticks down in it.  You can make your pops whatever color you choose depending on your occasion.  It is very simple and the steps are:

Wilton Candy Melts(they have many colors. You can buy them at Michaels, AC Moore, or even Walmart but the colors at Walmart might be limited)
1 bag of Marshmallows
1 bag of Lollipop sticks that can be purchased in different sizes ath the above stores(I prefer the longer ones because they make a cuter arrangement)

Melt your candy as directed on the package which is 1 minute and stir then in 30 sec increments until melted. Place a marshmallow on a stick then dip in candy until covered.  Shake excess off then place in you arrangement.  Remember to start in the middle and work out because its hard to get a stick down in between others without messing them up.  Be sure when you have finished all mallows that you place in a fridge until time to serve so they dont melt. You can sprinkle sugar on them or even candy dots.  You can also drizzle 2 colors if you want to be creative.  Just let you mind have fun with this and I promise EVERY kid will love them and they will be gone.

 Now in this arrangement I placed colored cello wrap on extra lollipop stick and then stuck down in between pops.

In this particular one I used Shredded basket fillers and just placed it in between.  This is bu far the easier but the other looks more appealing (in my opinion).

Have fun with these and let me know if you have any questions:)

Arroz Con Pollo

Threw together a new recipe last night that turned out pretty yummy so I thought I would share. This is a Cheesy Chicken Rice dish that has a little spice to it.

Arroz Con Pollo

3 Chicken Breast (diced up & placed in ziploc bag and shaken in Fajita Seasoning)
2 cup Long Grain rice (Cooked)
1 small can green Chili peppers
2 Tomatoes(peeled & mashed) (you could also use canned tomatoes whole or diced just make sure you mash them)
1 1/2 cups cottage cheese
garlic clove
chopped onion(keep in mind you can use onion salt if your kids dont like onions)
1 cup of cheese con queso
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack Cheese
1 can Mexican Beans (drained)(you can use black beans, chili beans, or even a kidney bean if perfered or you could even leave them out totally)
1 can corn (drained)

I prepared my Chicken over a skillet with Pam sprayed in it and I used water instead of oil to keep low fat and it was perfect.  Cook your chicken thoroughly then combine with all other ingredients .  You can bake this in the oven for 30 minutes on 350 or I put mine in the Crockpot for 2 hours on low so it was ready when we were ready to eat and there was no prep then.  Great to add salsa & even sour cream if you wanted to try that as well. This is a dish that really needs no sides since it has so many ingredients in it but you could take your beans out of it and serve refried beans as a side if you prefer.

This was so simple and turned out delicious:)  Enjoy!