Recipe
Recipes: Easy Homemade Egg McMuffin
For those of us that eat eggs in my family the Homemade Egg McMuffin is a big hit for breakfast. I have one kid in particular that if given a choice she almost always asks for an Egg McMuffin (and I am pretty sure she has never had one from McDonald’s or anywhere else either). She has recently figured out how to make it completely on her own which means she no longer has to wait for my help! WooHoo!
We’ve been using this recipe for probably almost two years now. My sweet husband came up with the recipe one morning because he wanted to encourage me to eat eggs. As a kid I was NEVER a fan of eggs. However, my husband has slowing been transforming into more of an egg person. Now I actually look forward to and enjoy eating eggs at times. Of course, my version of “eating eggs” usually includes a decent amount of melted cheese and/or bacon on top, but hey that counts too! I am still not of fan of a plain fried egg or anything that dramatic!
Although, there are a lot of great Homemade English Muffin recipes we typically pick up the store bought ones to save time. So while our Egg McMuffin is homemade not all parts are from scratch like the english muffins. After making Egg McMuffins for awhile my kids bought me a handy microwavable Egg McMuffin dish that is much easier to use (you’ll see a picture of it below).
Easy Homemade Egg McMuffin:
- 1 whole English Muffin
- 1 Egg
- 1 slice of Cheese (shredded works too)
- Sprinkle of Real Bacon Bits or 1 slice of Bacon (whatever you have on hand)
Toast the English Muffin, butter it, and set aside (do these steps while cooking the egg so both the English Muffin and Egg are done about the same time).
Spray your Egg McMuffin dish or a small glass bowl (about 3 to 4 inches in diameter). Crack your egg into your bowl and stir to break up the egg yolk. Cover and microwave for 60 seconds on 50% power (the 50% power is important because your egg will cook slow and evenly not explode into a mess). Remove from microwave, uncover and add the cheese and bacon. Cover and microwave for 30 seconds on 50% power.
Flip the cooked egg, cheese, and bacon onto the toasted and buttered english muffin and enjoy!
Egg McMuffin cooking dish. I have really liked having this piece for making Egg McMuffins and it is super easy to use and clean! You can get one for around $3 at your local Walmart or on Amazon.
Crack the egg into the dish
Stir the egg to break up the yolk
Toast and butter your English Muffin
Cook your egg for 60 seconds on 50% power
Cheese and bacon added then cooked for 30 seconds on 50% power
Now your ready to eat Easy Homemade Egg McMuffin!
Recipes: Easy Apricot Pork Chops
Recently, I made up a new recipe with some pork chops that we had in the freezer and some items we already had in the refrigerator. A lot of times I will find pork on marked down on clearance, even more than chicken or beef, so I will pick it up and come up with a recipe to use it. The Easy Apricot Pork Chops turned out well! The only thing that I would change is that we had something come up the evening I was planning on serving it so the pork chops marinated for an extra 24 hours which wasn’t necessary; they still tasted great just a little stronger flavor than I originally intended.
Easy Apricot Pork Chops:
- 1 pound Pork Chops (we had boneless pork chops, but either would work)
- 1/3 cup Apricot Preserves
- 1/3 cup French Dressing
- 1/2 pack Onion Soup (optional)
Grease the bottom of a casserole dish that will fit your pork chops and place them in it. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix together the apricot preserves, french dressing, and onion soup. Poke the meat with the fork to allow the fruit mixture to penetrate. Evenly spread the apricot mixture over the pork chops. Cover and bake for 45 minutes or until the pork chops are fully cooked. You could also do this in a crockpot on low for 4 to 6 hours.
In the recipe pictured I added the onion soup pack, but if you want a little sweeter flavoring or to have less of an onion taste try it without the onion soup! Without the onion soup it’s delicious and simple too (the recipe would have only 3 ingredients making it more economical as well)!
Pork chops in the pyrex dish waiting to be covered
Apricot mixture
Putting the apricot mixture on each pork chop
Completely covered the top of each pork chop
My Little Chef: Homemade Apple Crisp
Brina’s Homemade Apple Crisp was delicious!
Brina wanted to make homemade apple crisp for the family. She loves to cook and spend time with us in the kitchen. Thankful for her willingness to learn how to cook. She is becoming a great chef!
Mixing up the crisp, the spoon wasn’t working well so she used her fingers.
Freshly cubed apples sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar.
Homemade Apple Crisp ready to go into the oven.
Freshly baked apple crisp!
Recipes: Taco Pasta Casserole
Taco Pasta Casserole
Jake made this amazing taco pasta casserole for us the other day. It was easy to put together and delicious too. Thankful for a creative husband who comes up with great recipes and is willing to cook for the family. The whole family enjoyed this recipe.
Taco Pasta Casserole with corn chips on top for the extra crunch!
Taco Pasta Casserole Recipe:
- 1 pound Ground Hamburger (cooked)
- 1/2 small Onion
- 1 teaspoon Olive Oil
- 12 oz Pasta (cooked)
- 1 pack Taco Seasoning
- 1 can regular diced Tomatoes
- 1 can diced Tomatoes with Chilies
- 2 cups Corn Chips
- Topping Options (sour cream, shredded cheese, salsa)
Saute the onion in Olive Oil for about 5 minutes. Add the ground hamburger to the onions, cook thoroughly, and drain the fat. Add the pack of taco seasoning according to directions. Cook the pasta according to directions and drain. Add the 2 cans of diced tomatoes to the taco hamburger mixture and heat to a boil and simmer on low for 3 minutes. Add the pasta to the hamburger mixture and mix.
Pour the mixture into a greased casserole dish and cook on 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until heated through. The last five minutes add the 2 cups of corn chips on top. Serve with taco toppings such as sour cream, shredded cheese, and salsa, olives, and fresh diced tomatoes.
Taco Meat and Pasta with a few chips before adding the sour cream, salsa, and cheese toppings.
Recipes: Homemade Apple Dumplings
Homemade Apple Dumpling Dessert
Jake made recently made this delicious fall apple recipe for dessert! Sometimes we go apple picking and other times we just enjoy the stores having some of our favorite apples on sale during this time of year. Every year we like to try different apple dishes. I am thankful for a husband who cooks and who will random surprise us with a tasty treat. The homemade apple dumplings would go very well with a scoop of vanilla ice cream too if you have some at the house!
Apple Dumpling
Homemade Apple Dumplings:
- 1 3/4 cups Water
- 1 1/4 cups Sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground Cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground Nutmeg
- 2 tablespoons Butter or Maragine
- 2 1/4 cups Flour
- 1/4 teaspoon Salt
- 2/3 cups shortening
- 7 tablespoons Water
- 4 Apples (small to medium size)
- 1/2 cup raisins
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
In a saucepan combine 1 3/4 cups water, 1 cup of sugar (save the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar for later), 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon (save the remaining 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon for later), 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg (save the remaining 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg for later). Mix together, simmer with it covered for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the butter or margarine. Set the syrup mixture aside.
Combine flour and salt. Cut in the shortening until all the pieces are about the size of a black bean. Add water a little at a time and mix until all is moist. Form the dough into a ball. Roll the dough onto an approximately 16 x 12 inch rectangle, cut into four 4 inch squares.
Wash, peel, and core your 4 apples. Place an apple on each of the 4 pastry squares. Mix together the brown sugar and raisins and put a small scoop in each apple where the core was removed. Mix the remaining sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg together and sprinkle over the fruit. Moisten the edges of the pastry with water and fold the corners to the center on top of the fruit and pinch to seal it (see picture below). Place dumplings in a greased pan and pour the syrup mixture over the top of the dumplings.
Bake the dumplings on 375 degrees in the oven for 45 minutes or until the fruit is tender and the pastry is slightly brown. Prior to serving spoon syrup from the pan over the pastries and serve with vanilla ice cream.
The recipe is a delicious fall apple dessert! I recommend serving with ice cream or a glass of milk! Enjoy!
Ready to go into the oven!
The apple dumplings not only smelled delicious, they tasted amazing too!
Inside the apple dumplings!
My Little Chef: Making Blue Raspberry Cookies
Mixing up the cookie dough!
When I am in the kitchen and Brina is around she is always willing to pitch in and help. She is becoming more efficient cook as she gets older. Recently, she decided to whip up some blue raspberry sugar cookies as a “Welcome Home” goodie for Jake who was arriving home that day from a work trip.
When he is away on a work trip we always try to make or pick up something special for him to have when he comes home. It is important to us to make sure he knows how excited we are to have him back home again. It is always so much better when the whole family is home together!
I am so thankful for kids that enjoy helping out in the kitchen. The girls have fun helping out in the kitchen and learning some great lessons along the way too. Grateful for my girls!
A batch of blue raspberry cookies ready to go into the oven!
Cookie rolled is blue sprinkles!
She made the perfect cookies!
Ready to eat and delicious! Thanks B!
Healthy Snacks: Grapes on a Stick
It is fun surprising the girls with healthy treats in their school lunch bags. The girls love it when I put grapes on a stick for their fruit snack. For an extra touch you can add eyes on the grapes and call them caterpillars. Every time we have grapes they request this simple treat to be added to their lunch bag.
Make 1 & Freeze 1 Meal: Taco Lasagna Recipe
Make 1 & Froze 2 Taco Lasagna Meals! Yay!
I have been trying to do at least one Make 1 and Freeze 1 meal a week for dinner. The idea is we can eat the one meal that night for dinner and the other one will go into the freezer to eat at a later date when we are a little more pushed for time. I started doing this a couple months ago as I was preparing for my two weeks away on a work trip. I wanted to make sure there was plenty in the freezer for my husband to pull out the night before and either put in the crockpot or oven after picking the kids up from school.
This particular recipe is a favorite with our family. I was able to Make 1 and Freeze 2 Taco Lasagnas for a later dinner! Since I was already making up a big batch I was able to do more which will be a blessing later when we pull them out of the freezer. I like being prepared and having a back up plan. Whether it is a crazy week or busy weekend we have some options if we need them!
Another solution that I had to come up with regarding our meals is how to keep some food ingredients separate because we have one family member that cannot have regular refried beans or dairy. Once I use up the refried beans that I have in the pantry I am going to try making my own from black beans or other beans that can be eaten, but for now though I have come up with a simple solution that seems to work well for our family. I put a barrier between the refried beans and dairy side which keeps the items separate when cooking and eating.
I cut one small soft flour tortilla in half to use a barrier between the two sides. As you can see the side with refried beans is larger than the side without it because 3 of us eat from that side and only one from the non-refried bean and non-cheese side of the Taco Lasagna. PLEASE NOTE that the person in our family that has the food allergy will not go into shock or needs hospitalized if they encounter or happen to eat the food so while this option works for our family it may not be the perfect solution if you have someone with severe food allergies because there still is a chance of the food cross over (usually when serving). The food allergy is real and we have seen the side effects to veering even a little off her diet, but thankfully we have come up with a solution where everyone can share the same meal with very little adjustments. The person with the food allergy gets a lot of extra meat for protein instead of the cheese and refried beans.
Taco Lasagna still divided this time with a layer of meat and cheese. The side without the cheese gets extra of the meat mixture! I have shared our Taco Lasagna recipe in the past, but will post it below again so it is easier to locate.
Taco Lasagna:
- 1 pound ground Beef or Turkey
- 1/2 cup chopped Green Pepper (optional)
- 1/2 cup chopped Onions
- 2/3 cup Water
- 1 package of Taco Seasoning
- 1 (15 oz) can Black Beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 (14.5 oz ) can Mexican Tomatoes, undrained
- 1 (16 oz) can Refried Beans
- 6 (8 inch) Flour Tortillas
- 3 cups shredded Mexican Cheese
In a large skillet, cook the meat, green pepper, and onion over medium heat until done. Add water and taco seasoning; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered 2 minutes. Stir in black beans and tomatoes. Simmer uncovered 10 minutes. Place 2 flour tortillas in a greased 13 x 9 pan. Spread half of the refried beans then half of the beef mixture. Sprinkle with 1 cup Mexican cheese. Repeat layers. Top with remaining tortillas and cheese (I try to add a little extra cheese if I have it and sliced olives if we have them in the pantry or fridge). Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes or until heated through and the cheese is melted. I usually take the foil off the last few minutes to let the cheese on top get a little crispy since our family likes it that way.
The top of our split Taco Lasagna! Everyone’s happy (those who want cheese and those who do not) and this is now ready to be put in the freezer for us to eat at a later time!
Orange Crockpot Chicken Recipe
I enjoy trying out new recipes! The ones that are easy to prep, include ingredients that are already in the kitchen, simple to cook, and receive a big thumbs up from our family are always my favorite! One of the recent ones we tried was adapted from New Leaf Wellness’ Orange Ginger Chicken Recipe. The girls and I loved it! Jake liked it too, but he isn’t as big on the sweet main dish recipes. This is a great recipe for the crockpot which means you could easily make one for dinner that night and freeze one for a later meal.
Orange Crockpot Chicken Recipe:
- 1 pound Chicken, cubed
- ½ cup Orange Juice (with pulp)
- ½ teaspoon Ground Ginger
- 2 tablespoons Honey
- 2 tablespoons Coconut Oil
- 2 teaspoons Red Pepper Flakes
Place all the ingredients in the crockpot and cook on low for 3 to 6 hours or until chicken is cooked through. Serve over rice. Compliment with orange slices!
For a healthier version you can cook the chicken for an hour and drain the excess chicken juices than add the rest of the ingredients and cook for the remaining time. Also, tastes great with brown rice!
3/4 with Dairy + 1/4 Non-Dairy = 1 Whole Family Pizza
We have a member of our household who does not eat dairy. It is not a go-to-the-hospital-or-stop-breathing-dairy-allergy, but it is one that we try to be careful with because it does have noticeable effects when dairy is eaten. Over the past few months we have experimented with ways we can make only one family pizza with both dairy and non-dairy toppings. Our dairy-free eater is not a big fan of the soy or vegan cheeses either so after several attempts to “get it right” we have come up with a pizza solution that makes the whole family happy (both those who want cheese and those who do not).
We make one whole pizza crust that is non-dairy (see recipe below), add the sauce, and put two lines of pepperoni’s separating about 1/4 of the pizza from the non-dairy part of the pizza. Approximately 3/4 of the pizza gets cheese and toppings while the remaining 1/4 of the pizza gets sauce and extra toppings. When we cut the pizza we cut the non-dairy part of the pizza first (being careful to stay within the pepperoni lines). Everyone is happy with their special type of pizza, the dairy is avoided for the family member who doesn’t eat it, and we still only have to make one family pizza for our evening meal. It may be hard to make out the exact pepperoni lines in the picture above, but you can see the part that has cheese and the section that is noticeably more red in color with extra toppings which is the non-dairy part of the pizza.
We have done this multiple times over the past few months and it has worked so well. The only thing that may change in the future as the kids get older is one pizza may not be big enough for our family of four. For now it is a simple solution to accommodate all family members diets yet still be able to enjoy the pizza together. The one who doesn’t eat dairy thinks it’s awesome she has her own special section of the pizza and has fun choosing her extra toppings! While some of the other family members who think it’s not really pizza without a good helping of cheese are happy to eat their section of the pizza.
Homemade Pizza Dough
- 1 cups warm water (105 to 115 degrees F.)
- 1 Tablespoons active dry yeast
- 1 teaspoons sugar
- 1 teaspoons salt
- 2 Tablespoons oil (vegetable, Canola, or olive oil)
- 2 1/2 cups flour (can use all whole-wheat, half white/half whole-wheat, or all white)
Pour the warm water into a bowl and sprinkle the yeast over it. Stir to dissolve.
Add the remaining ingredients and mix.
Dump onto a floured surface and knead dough for two to five minutes until smooth and no longer sticky.
Roll out and shape onto a greased pizza pan.
Add pizza toppings of your choice. Bake at 500 degrees for around 10 minutes (until the crust looks crispy and lightly browned).
Makes one pizza!
Most of the time I will double this pizza dough recipe. Once the dough is made split it in half. Roll out one half of the dough for your pizza meal that night and put the other half in a Ziploc bag in the freezer for a meal later when you don’t have as much time to prep for dinner.
