Faith, Food and Family

I love egg bakes. They are easy to throw together and feed a good amount of people. It's something different for breakfast and they are so versatile. This one was very yummy. Hope you enjoy! Sausage and Veggie Egg Bake 10 eggs 1 can of evaporated milk 2 cups of shredded cheese 1 red bell pepper, diced 1 green bell pepper, diced 1 small onion, diced 5 sausage patties cooked and crumbled salt, pepper to taste Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13 baking dish with butter. In a large bowl, add eggs and evaporated milk as well as salt and pepper. I also added some cumin and red chili pepper. You could do various spices that you like to add to it if you want. Whisk well. Then add remaining ingredients and mix well. Pour into the baking dish and bake for 30-45 minutes or until the center is set. I let mine cook on the longer side and it got a bit more done on the bottom than I would have liked. So next time I will start checking it at 30 minutes. Happy Eating!

Do you get tired of plain sandwiches? I know I do. I decided one day to make baked sandwiches. They were so yummy! I could eat one every day. This is kind of a non-recipe but more of a method. Baked Sandwiches with Pesto ciabatta rolls sliced turkey sliced ham provolone cheese sliced tomatoes pesto Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Split rolls and spread a bit of pesto on each half of the bread. Layer turkey, ham, cheese and tomato on the roll. Wrap sandwich in foil and place in the oven on a cookie sheet for a few minutes until nice and toasty. About 5-10 minutes should be fine. Then enjoy! These are so yummy! These taste just as good as something you'd get in a restaurant only much cheaper. Happy Eating!

Oh my, this cake is so good. It's very rich but also a refreshing change from traditionally iced cakes. The cake is moist and gooey and the crunch from the heath bars is just a great addition. If you've never tried this cake before, you really need to make it soon. Heath Bar Crunch Cake german chocolate cake mix 1 can sweetened condensed milk 1 jar caramel ice cream topping 1 container of Cool Whip 3-4 Heath bars, crushed (or you can buy heath bits in the baking section) Bake cake as directed on the box. While the cake is still a bit warm, poke holes in the cake. Pour the condensed milk over the cake and then the caramel topping. When cake has cooled top with cool whip and crushed heath bars. Refrigerate. We ate this before it had time to get nice and cold. It was still heavenly! This is being shared at Tempt My Tummy Tuesday at Blessed with Grace . Happy Eating!

Have you heard of House Party ? It is an awesome site where you can sign up to host parties and receive free products. There's nothing to buy or sell. You just host a party and share info and products. We've been able to do a few so far and it's been a blast. You may remember my post on Guys Night Out where we got to host a Microsoft Windows 7 party. This time we were hosts for the Star Wars: The Clone Wars house party. It was so much fun! My boys invited several of their friends and we had a great turnout. In the party box, we got 10 Star Wars action figures, tattoos, coupons, Battle Game, and more. The boys had a great time! My boys are already huge Star Wars fans so they were very excited for this party. I made hot dogs and had everyone bring their favorite snack to share. The kids ate outside and then had ice cream sundaes. They played outside for a bit and then came inside and watched The Clone Wars Season 3 Premiere. They loved it! They also got a chance to play the ...

I was needing something to make for our Thursday Morning Coffee last week. So I went searching through some of my favorite blogs and found this Egg Bake from Finding Joy in My Kitchen . She has many yummy looking recipes. I did change her recipe up a bit based on what I had and added more egg. Not much though. Here is what I did. Egg Bake 5 C hash browns, thawed 1 bag of 3 pepper and onion blend, thawed (frozen section) 8oz of mushrooms, sauteed 1 1/2 C extra sharp cheddar cheese 5 eggs 2/3 C milk 1/2 tsp. salt 1/2 tsp. pepper Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease a 9x13 baking dish (I used butter). In a non stick skillet, saute mushrooms with a bit of butter. Remove from pan and set aside. Add a bit more butter/oil and saute the pepper/onion mixture. In a large bowl, mix together potatoes, mushrooms, and pepper/onion mixture. Layer half of the potato mixture into the dish. Sprinkle with half of the cheese. Then, spread the rest of the potato mixture over the top and sprinkle w...

On Thursdays, us ladies get together for Thursday Morning Coffee. Our I should say all day coffee. LOL We stay until time to pick up kids. It is a wonderful day of fellowship, yummy food and deepening of friendships. It's a time we can laugh, get advice, lean on each other and just have a good time. I love my Thursdays and couldn't imagine my week without it. I am very grateful to our most gracious host and one of my best friends, Wendy. She truly makes us feel like our home is her home. We do occasionally hold it at another house but usually it's at Wendy's. Today I made this recipe. It was really good! I will definitely make it again and I hope you all enjoy it! I found it on AllRecipes . I did cut back on the nutmeg, cinnamon (because I used cinnamon swirl bread), eggs and milk. I don't like soggy things and this was just right for me. Oven-Baked Caramel French Toast (As I made it) 1 cup brown sugar 1/2 cup butter 2 tbsp light corn syrup 1 cup chopped pecans, di...

This is a very yummy quick recipe. It's so easy for those busy nights and so yummy with some mexican rice along with it. I love the Birds Eye Steamfresh mexican rice if I am really running low on time. I can usually find them on sale for a $1 a bag or so. Bean Burrito Casserole 6 frozen bean and cheese burritos 1 (10.5 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken 1/2 cup sour cream 1 tsp of cumin 1 tsp of chili powder 1 (4 ounce) can diced green chile peppers, drained 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (I've also used mexican blend) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the burritos in a row across the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. In a bowl, stir together the cream of chicken soup, cumin, chili powder, sour cream and chile peppers. Spread evenly over the top of the burritos. Sprinkle with shredded cheese. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until cheese is slightly browned and burritos are heated through. Serve with tomato, avocado, olives and salsa. The last time I...

This is a recipe I got from a lady at MOPS . She did a great job showing us examples of some quick healthy meals. Everything we tried was so yummy! These are especially good and pretty healthy too! I would never guess they didn't have eggs or oil in them. Easy Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins 1 15oz can of pumpkin 1 box of spice cake mix 1 cup of water 1 cup of chocolate chips In one large bowl, add all 4 ingredients and mix well. Line your muffin pan with muffin liners and fill half full or so with mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for about 18-20 minutes. Makes about 22-24 muffins. I love to do these in the mini muffin pan as well! These are so yummy and my kids love them! These definitely Work for me ! Enjoy!

Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." Matthew 19:14 My two oldest children were baptized on July 25th. To say I am proud, would be an understatement. I am so glad that they have decided to make Jesus Lord of their lives. My children are so precious to me and I love them so very much. I pray that they continue to learn and grow in the Lord, becoming stronger in their faith. On the way to church that morning of their baptism, my son (Rocket Boy) kept saying how it was such a great day because now he would get to be with Jesus forever. It was so precious to see him so excited. I know Princess was excited too but she's not as vocal as him. It was such a wonderful day and I just wanted to share with you all! God bless, Amanda

We have a bakery in town that makes caramel apple bread. It is so yummy. It's also priced to where it's something I rarely ever buy. That's why I made up the Apple Butterscotch Bread . But today I decided to buy a loaf. It has probably been a year since I bought a loaf. They also sell a cinnamon butter that is just heavenly on the bread. However, it's an extra $4 to buy it. So you're looking at $10 for a loaf of very yummy bread and a package of very yummy cinnamon butter. Too much for me to spend on bread and butter so I made my own cinnamon butter at home! It's super easy and so good. Here ya go! Cinnamon Butter 1 stick of butter (softened, I even like to microwave it just a bit to get it slightly runny, it makes it easier to blend together) 1/2 cup of powdered sugar 1 1/2- 2 tsp of cinnamon (depends on how strong you want it, I used closer to 2 tsp) Mix all ingredients in a bowl with an electric hand mixer until combined well. It should be nice and creamy. S...

I think many of us really aren't able to take a vacation this summer. If we're not able to go anywhere, I still want to make it a summer filled with memories. There are still some great ways to make your summer awesome and spend very little. Here's some things you can do. Go to the park. You can pack a picnic lunch to make it even more fun. Check your local theater and see if they have any cheap summer movies. Our local theater is a Carmike Cinema and is running a great promo right now for Summer Movies . On Tuesday they have a movie for $1. It's an already on DVD movie but hey, it's only a dollar and a fun experience for kids to go to the movies. If you're like us, taking the kids to a regular priced movie is rare, even a matinee. It just is so expensive. They are also offering dollar popcorn and drinks on Tuesdays so that makes it an even better deal! Check for restaurants that have kids eat free specials along with a craft or activity for the kids. Tuesday ...

Hi everyone! I didn't remember to take a picture of this but it was sooo good. Easy Slow Cooker Stroganoff 2-3 pounds of beef stew meat (I used part beef stew meat and part stir fry strips that were marked down) 2 cans of cream of mushroom soup 1 packet of onion soup mix 8oz beef broth 1 small jar of sliced mushrooms Place meat in the crockpot. I mixed the soup, soup mix, broth and mushrooms in a bowl and then poured on top of the meat. I am sure you could just dump everything in as well. Cook on high for 4-6 hours or until meat is tender. This was so yummy! It was plenty salty enough and I used the healthy request cream of mushroom soup with reduced sodium. So I wouldn't add any additional salt. Serve over noodles or rice. Delicious!! Check out more yummy recipes at Tempt My Tummy at Blessed With Grace !

Do you suffer from CHAOS like me? That's Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome, by the way for those of you not familiar with the Flylady . I have the book Sink Reflections and can't recommend it enough for those who struggle in this area. For me, the desire to be clutter free has always been there. I just hold on to too many things for way too long. I used to keep every single piece of clothing that my little girl wore. EVERYTHING. I finally started to really go through it and decided what to keep and sell/donate within the last 3 or so years. It was hard for me because I held an emotional attachment to those things, like many of my other things. It has been a process for me throughout the last 3 years or so that I would occasionally go through and purge items. It was something I didn't do all at once. I have been watching those shows lately, like Hoarders, on tv. I realize I have some of those tendencies. Not to keep everything little thing, but that emotional attachment ...

Hi everyone! I'm sorry it's been a bit since I've blogged anything. It's been a very different few weeks. The kids were out of school (alot) for snow. Now we're moving. You probably won't hear much from me this month. However, I am so excited to get back to blogging. And hopefully that things will settle down and get back to normal. So please bear with me and more yummy recipes will be coming! Thank you all! God bless, Amanda

This dip is extremely good and addictive! A friend of mine from MOPS has brought it twice to a Mom's Night Out and it disappears! So easy and so good! I highly recommend you make this soon! I made it the other night and served it with Triscuits (fire roasted tomato flavor). So yummy! Jalapeno Chicken Dip 2 8oz packages of cream cheese 1 can of cream of chicken soup 2 cups of cooked diced chicken (could use canned) shredded cheese (I used mexican style) jalapeno slices (jarred) In a sauce pot over medium heat, combine cream cheese and soup until creamy. Then add chicken and heat through. In a baking dish (I used an 8x8 dish), pour cream cheese mixture in and top with cheese. Bake at 350 degrees until cheese is nice and melted. Then remove from oven and top with sliced jalapeno peppers. Serve with crackers and/or chips and enjoy! I'm all for making things healthier and lower in fat. So I used reduced fat cream cheese and healthy request cream of chicken soup with fantastic result...

I made this last Thursday for our Thursday morning coffee group. I really like this recipe. The cooked sugar mixture is so yummy! I think you could even do it in a square or rectangle pan and get that yummy sugar mixture on each piece. Monkey Bread 2 cans Grands biscuits 1 cup sugar 1/4 cup cinnamon 1 stick butter 1 cup brown sugar Cut each biscuit in fourths and shake in bag with sugar/cinnamon mixture (save mixture for future use). Arrange in bundt pan that has been sprayed with cooking oil. Melt butter and mix in brown sugar, bring to a boil and lower heat, cook approximately 2 minutes. Pour over biscuits, lifting edges and allowing mixture to reach bottom of pan. Bake 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Happy eating! This is being shared at Tempt My Tummy Tuesday . Go check it out for more great recipes!

This is a very yummy rice recipe. I served it with burritos and it was a delicious addition! I found this recipe on Allrecipes . I love finding recipes on that site. You always can read through the reviews and see what people thought and what they changed. Mexican Rice 3 tablespoons vegetable oil 1 cup uncooked long-grain rice 1 teaspoon garlic salt 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin 1/4 cup chopped onion 1/2 cup tomato sauce 2 cups chicken broth Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat and add rice. Cook, stirring constantly, until golden. While rice is cooking, sprinkle with salt and cumin. Stir in onions and cook until tender. Stir in tomato sauce and chicken broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes. Fluff with a fork. Happy eating!

The kids went back to school last week, on Tuesday to be exact. I had planned to get to the store last week and make some new things to post on my blog. Well, unfortunately snow changed my plans. I did not leave my house after Wednesday of last week due to the weather. I won't drive in anything like snow or ice. And we had both. I did get out yesterday and went to Food Lion. They had some good deals. Unfortunately I wasn't able to get everything I needed and had planned to go back out today. Only now I am hearing there is lots of black ice out after some precipitation last night/early morning. I'm ready for it to thaw out! The kids have now been out of school due to weather since Thursday. I honestly don't see them going back tomorrow either. I do love having them home. I just haven't enjoyed being stuck in the house. Not for this long anyway. It's supposed to get warmer on Thursday. I am ready for it! Bring on the warmer temps!

I'm sorry I don't have a finished picture of this. The kids devoured it before I took a picture. I will make it again soon and take a picture of it but for now I am showing the ingredients. This is an extremely yummy and addictive dip. I like to serve it with Ritz type crackers. Townhouse, generic brand, anything like that will do. It's so easy to make! Heavenly Ham Dip 8oz cream cheese (I usually use the low fat one) 1 5oz can of ham 1-2 tbsp dijon mustard (this is to taste, you might want more and you can use reg instead of dijon if you like) Place all ingredients in a bowl and combine well with a fork. Enjoy! Happy Eating! This is being shared at Tempt My Tummy Tuesday .

I decided to take a look at the most popular recipes from 2009. So here they are! :) Enjoy! 1. Cheesy Hashbrown Casserole 2. Duggar Family Tater Tot Casserole 3. Peanut Butter Cup Trifle 4. Innkeeper Pie 5. Chicken Tortilla Soup 6. Mini Burgers/Sliders 7. Homemade Waffles 8. Breakfast Casserole 9. Bacon Cheddar Burgers 10. Blondies

Hi everyone! I am sorry that I have been so quiet lately. We've had a lot of sickness and of course the kids have been home from school so I have been enjoying them. They go back on Tuesday. I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year! Other than spending Christmas eve in the ER with Rocket Boy (it turned out he had pneumonia) it was great! Everyone is well now so that is a blessing! God bless you all! Amanda