Three of Three...Finally!

I seem to have a problem with blogging regularly.  I need to get into the swing of things!

For Mother's Day, one of the gifts I gave my mom was a lemon meringue pie.  It's one of her favorites, but she hardly ever has it.  It's one of my favorites too, and I usually only get it at Thanksgiving when we get-together with my dad's side of the family.  Last year, I decided to try making one myself.  Success!  If I do say so myself.  :)

I used the recipe from a JoAnne Fluke book titled, Lemon Meringue Pie Murder. 

I've been into this series for a while now.  While the stories are completely cheesy, the recipes are pretty amazing.  Everything I have ever made from the book has turned out great.  And who doesn't love a little cheese now and then?  ;)

I don't feel right posting the recipe since it's in a published book and all, but here is a photo!

Yes, that is a store-bought graham cracker crust.  I usually like using the Betty Crocker recipe for a single-crust pie when I have the time to make my own pie crust.  However, in a pinch, the graham cracker crust tastes great with the lemon pie!

Two of Three

One of my favorite things to give out as edible gifts is quick bread.  I have three that I usually make - banana nut, apple, and pumpkin.  Pumpkin bread has already been posted before, so today it's banana bread's turn.

My mom received this recipe from a co-worker years ago.  Her bread was truly the best, but I think I make a pretty good version!  I call it...

Mrs. Harper's Banana Bread

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 3 Tbl oil
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1 egg
• 1 cup finely chopped walnuts
• 1 cup mashed ripe banana (2 to 3 medium sized)

Directions:

1. Preheat even to 350 degrees F.  Grease and flour (or spray) 9 x 5 x 3 inch pan or two 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 x 2 1/2 inch loaf pans.  Measure all ingredients into a large mixer bowl and beat on medium speed 1/2 minute, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl constantly.
2. Pour into pan(s).  Bake 55 to 60 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Let cool on rack for 15 minutes, then remove and let cool completely before slicing.

I don't have any photos of the bread sliced since they were gifts.  They were pretty gifts too!

One of Three

Yes, you read that right.  This will be the first post of three! 

Saturday was Kitchenpalooza.  I started out making banana bread to pass out for Mother's Day on Sunday.  That post will come later.  I then decided to make meatloaf for dinner.  That recipe will be featured in this post.  The third post will be for lemon meringue pie.  My mom asked if I was going to make her something special for Mother's Day, so how could I say no?

Meatloaf

Recipe courtesy of my mother  :)

Ingredients:

• 1lb ground beef  (I used extra lean)
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup italian bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup diced onion or 1/2 pkg of onion soup mix  (I use Lipton)
• 1 egg

Directions:

1. Mix everything together well.  You can either use your hands or a stand mixer. 
2. Form the meat mixture in a ball on a pie plate and smush it down.  (You can also put it in a loaf pan.) 
3. Bake for 1 hour in a 350 degree oven.

I know I've posted this recipe before, but I didn't post any photos with it.  So, now you have photos!  :)  Ryan and I usually pair our meatloaf with mashed potatoes, some other sort of vegetable, and ketchup (of course!).  We aren't fancy, and we like it!

Light and Fluffy

No not me...scrambled eggs!  :)  This last week I made a lot of repeats for dinner, and we had take-out for a couple meals.  Nothing worth blogging about.  Tonight's meal really isn't worth blogging about either, but it's been a while since I posted, so I figured I might as well give you something!  Tonight I'm having brenner.

Ryan is out of town tonight for work, so tonight is my excuse to eat something light.  Scrambled eggs and toast would never cut it in the dinner department for Ryan.  For me, however, it's perfect!

  

Scrambled Eggs

Ingredients:

• 3 eggs (or however many you want to make)
• milk (approx 1 Tbls per egg)
• salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Crack  your eggs into a small bowl or glass.  Add the milk.  Whisk them together.  (I just whip them up with a fork.)
2. Pour egg mixture into heated pan and scrape, lift, and fold until they look like fluffy scrambled eggs!  Add to your plate and salt and pepper to taste.

Enjoy!

My Favorite Meal

Tuesday night I finally made Mostacholi!  This is one of my absolute favorite meals, and it's so easy to make.  Of course I forgot to take a photo until after I had served it, but you get the idea.  :)  Sorry it looks kind of gross.  I promise it tastes good!

Mostacholi

Recipe courtesy of my mother  :)

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1/2 box of mostacholi/penne noodles
• 26 oz jar of spaghetti sauce (I use Prego)
• 1 cup (?) mozzarella cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Cook pasta as directed on box and drain.
3. While the pasta is cooking, brown ground beef and drain.  Add the entire jar of sauce to the beef and simmer while the noodles finish cooking.
4. Mix pasta and sauce mixer together in an oven safe dish.  Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese and bake for 30 minutes.

That's it!  We usually have a ton left over when it's just Ryan and me eating, so I only made half the recipe this time.  I made the sauce for a whole recipe, but froze half of it to use the next time we have this for dinner.  I only used a quarter of a box of pasta and used a smaller dish.

Tonight I will leave you with this:

The largest grape I have ever seen!  It was bigger than my thumb!!!

I Think My Pants Are On Fire!

Yep, I lied to you again.  I'm very sorry I didn't make mostacholi tonight, but how could I resist my husband when he offered to take me out to dinner to celebrate my first day in the new office going well?  We went to our go-to Monday night restaurant, Antonios, for half-off pizza.  Once again I ate way too much garlic bread, but it was worth it.  :)

Swiss Steak

Tonight we had Swiss Steak.  Even though it's one of the easiest meals I make, it tastes pretty darn good!  AND I finally remembered to take a photo!  Please feel free to virtually pat me on the back.  :)

I know I've already posted the recipe once, but what the heck...it's so easy, I'll post it again!

Swiss Steak

Recipe courtesy of my mother

Ingredients:

• 1 lb cubed steak
• 1 can stewed tomatoes
• 1/4 can water
• 1 small onion, sliced in rings

Directions:

1. Brown the steaks in a pan and transfer to a slow cooker/crock pot.  
2. Pour the can of stewed tomatoes over the steaks. 
3. Add water, about a 1/4 of the tomato can. 
4. Add onions to the top and let cook on high for 3 hours.  If you're putting this on while you're at work, put your cooker on low.

We paired our Swiss Steak with mashed potatoes and carrots.  Yes, I use instant potatoes and canned carrots.  We have no complaints here, and this takes even less time to make!

Tomorrow we're having mostacholi.  This is probably my favorite meal that I cook for us, and it's also super simple!  Do you sense a theme here??