Fabulous 4-Ingredient Whole30 Fajita Crackers

Now, I know 'Whole30' and 'crackers' do not usually go together in the same sentence. But if you've been reading this blog a while, you know I've made this cracker before.

Since that time, I have experimented greatly with this recipe...and well, it's pretty much perfect....except....

My Family's World's Best Carrot Cake

When I was a wee lassie, I remember my mother making this incredible cake with the best frosting. I knew it had carrots in it, but couldn't figure out why it tasted so good. I hated carrots.
Of course, it was all the sugar. I loved sugar.
Not to mention the cream cheese. Oh, glorious cream cheese!

Take Your Accolades...Fabulous Homemade Croutons

Croutons are just multi-purpose little pieces of fabulous. Being soup season, we go through croutons a lot. Who doesn't love a nice, hot, french onion soup with melty cheese and croutons? Or baked potato soup? Or pasta e fagioli? I could go on and on...

They real are not just for crowning your salad. Nope. They have multiple uses like:

BACON!

While the best bacon is cooked over an open fire, second best is usually done at home. And let's face it, that's where most of us are 90% of the time. Right?
So unless you plan to fire up the grill, start a backyard pit, or go camping, I have simplified the at-home bacon cooking process. And bonus! you get to keep all that bacon-y goodness smell.

Quiche- a Whole30 experiment

Some time during the second week of your Whole30 experience, you're going to get extremely tired of scrambled or hard-boiled eggs. So what do you do?

Well, we made a quiche.

I know, I know. Quiche has milk or cream. Not to mention a flour crust. But I seemed to have got past those little hurdles...although I am still experimenting. Here's what I have come up with so far:

Juicy Whole Roasted Chicken & Red Potatoes -Whole30 Approved

I had a whole chicken just sitting in my freezer for the *longest* time. I figured I had better cook that baby up! So I slow roasted it in the oven over a four-hour period. It was so darn good! I immediately realized my mistake...I should have taken pictures!

This time...mind you, it's only been two days since I made the first roasted chicken, and today sent my fiance go get another whole chicken for me to roast for pictures....I took pictures! The chicken comes out so tender, it is already falling off the bone when you pull it out of the oven.

Don't you wish you could eat this right now?

Absolutely Easy Peasy Yet Fantastic Chicken Enchiladas

Yeah, I totally made that name up. But it's true. Really it is.

And while I do make my own salsa, you can too. Or buy *cough* *cough* store bought. That's fine. Although I cannot vouch for the taste if you do.
I usually make a double batch of enchiladas because, well, a single batch just isn't enough for two growing boys and Grau. Seriously.  The last time I made these, I only slightly increased the amounts and made 13 enchiladas, and Grau's elderspawn ate eight on his own. I know! EIGHT! Wow.

Espresso Dark Chocolate Shortbread Cookies

I got this recipe from The Monday Box and I am so glad I did!
These are wonderful. Not sweet, not not sweet. Ya know? Perfect with a cup of coffee or hot tea.

I used 85% Dark Chocolate instead of the toffee or semisweet chocolate bar the recipe calls for. I'm sure if you use the recipe as posted, it would be sweeter. I like mine not that sweet, so the dark chocolate worked out perfectly for me!

Chicken Parmesan Stromboli

I came across a recipe for stromboli many, many years ago. Me being me, I had to alter the recipe because well, there were things in it I just didn't like.  What you find below is my wonderful concoction.

I used to make my version of Stromboli at least once a week. The kids loved it, and if their friends knew I was making it, they were there, too! It's a big hit with everyone. It's like having chicken parmesan and garlic bread all rolled into one. Enjoy!

Chicken Parmesan Stromboli

I love this recipe. It is so easy and delicious. Of course, it is a special dinner for us now, since we cut carbs almost totally out of our diet.
But please, try it. Make it your own.

Cranberry Limeade Popcorn

I ran across this recipe on Pinterest the other day for Strawberry Popcorn. Now, me loving strawberry, I had to check it out. The pin led me to this woman's blog, where she says she didn't make up the recipe but got it off of the condensed milk people's website.

And I thought to myself I said 'self ('cause that's what I say when I talk to myself, I call myself self...)....I can do that.
And I thought to myself....Self, I can make flavor combos, too!

Lo and behold, a couple weeks ago I made Orange popcorn. The boys loved it, Grau took it to work and I didn't see a bit of it. That'll teach me, huh? I should eat more of what I cook. Or at least stash some of it away, in secret, in hiding, so I can bring it out and be all like, 'Ta-Da! Look what I have! and it's MINE! All MINE! I say!'

Easy Cheesesteak Stuffed Peppers

I made these this afternoon for Grau to have while I was at school. The verdict is, they are awesome!
Yay. Another recipe keeper. I can't give you amounts, really...I just kinda threw this together.

I've Got a Blueberry for a Daughter

Well, not really. She's more of a lemon pie- half sweet, half tart, but always delivers.
I was really referring to Willy Wonka, the 1974 version. My favorite. I mean, Johnny Depp is awesome and all, but Gene Wilder will always be Wonka to me. (Violet! You're turning violet, Violet!) Okay, enough with the Wonk-isms.

So- I was pinteresting the other day, and came across a recipe for 2-ingredient lemon squares.  And I thought, I like lemon, but what would happen if I made blueberry instead?  Would it turn out the same?
Or would it blow up because blueberries have some secret chemical in them that when it encounters Angel Food cake mix just goes KaBooM!??! (I don't think they do, but you never know!)

What are the two simple ingredients?

Equivalency Exam

I love to cook. And bake. And mess around in the kitchen. Sometimes with food.
Today Grau and I went to the store and I grabbed a box of saltines because, well, they were on sale. But more importantly, I 'pinned' a recipe for spicy crackers and desperately wanted to give it a try.

Well, the recipe calls for a packet of powdered ranch dressing mix. Which I have, but I don't have. You see, I purchase ranch powder by the BIG shaker container, not the little bitty packets.

Since this recipe calls for one packet, and I had to look up exactly how much  mix was in a packet. Apparently it's .4 ozs. or 11.3 grams
My next problem came when I had to convert .4 ozs into a measurement I could actually measure.

Little Tubs of Joy

I have found the promised land! Ok, maybe not land, but at least butter. Two things I love, garlic and bread, need butter. And when you are tired of slathering butter and garlic powder onto bread, come back to this post. Seriously. You'll be amazed at what I am about to tell you.

But, it's a secret....shush!

You see, a while back I realized there was literally a gold mine of garlic butter just begging to be eaten. 
Once a month, Grau's work provides a minuscule pizza dinner for employees (two pieces, no more!) as a 'thanks for not maiming yourselves' gesture. (I don't know about you, but I would prefer better working conditions, better pay or better hours. Just sayin')

Anyway- they always use Papa John's Pizza. And you know PJ's  *always* serves garlic butter with their pizza. And when you order 20 pizza's at a time, you get a boatload of little garlic butter cups.

Tubs of pure golden , garlic-y joy!

A Little Quiche in the Morning

A few months ago, a friend of mine wanted to know about quiche. She didn't know what it was, what could be put in it, how it was done, etc. So I helped her out because, well, I used to make quiche all the time. After all, quiche is a good, economical way to stretch the last of your ingredients. A few of eggs, a dash of milk and whatever else is lying around in the fridge.

So, my friend has been on a quiche kick lately. And posting pics of them.

And now I want quiche. Again.

Except, I couldn't figure out what kind I wanted to make, let alone eat.

I had a couple ideas in my head, and thought, why not? I'll make them both. So I did.

I give you:
Turkey Broccoli Blue Cheese and
Chicken Bacon Broccoli Cheddar

Amish Friendship Bread Starter

I love Amish Friendship bread but usually only for about two months. After that, I am sick of it. You see, you make two loaves every 10 days. And if you don't give away your starters like you're supposed to, you're making three times that. Which is great if you want to freeze the bread, or give as gifts.

But I had to find a way to make less.

The basic is this- I'll give you the full starter recipe, and you can decide to make it all, or quarter it so you only have to worry about yourself right off the bat. Of course, you'll still have to deal with the Amish Math in 10 days, but I've already posted on that!

Syrup 101

I love making syrup. Of course, I tend to only make a couple different varieties, but who's counting? Really. I make what I like. LOL. And I *love* vanilla!

I should really make cranberry syrup....now that I think about it....that would be awesome!

People have asked me how to make homemade syrup. And it really is simple. The hardest part is waiting for it to cool.
The ratio is pretty much the same for all syrups. And if you know how to make simple syrup, you've got this thing beat. Seriously you do.

Taco Pie- Not for the faint at heart

Tonight I decided to make Taco Pie. I used to make this for my kids when they were younger. It's been so long since I've made one, I forgot if I was to cook crust then fill or fill then cook?
Either way, it turned out beautifully.

It's not on the 'diet friendly' food list, unless you want 400 calories immediately. Seriously. I calculated it at 405 calories per slice, 8 slices per pie.

Here's the cast of characters (Oh, and I'm not going to give you amounts, because with this, I cook by feel. Use as much or as little as you want of each ingredient):

The players