Baked Chili Cheese Dogs... YUM!

I had been thinking that chili dogs sounded good. But, when I went to make them, I thought I wanted to go about it a little bit differently than usual. So, this was the result. These were quick to put together and very good!

Baked Chili Cheese Dogs
8 gf or regular hot dog buns
8 hot dogs
1 can chili or one batch of homemade chili
shredded cheese
diced onion (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray. Put one hotdog per bun, place in pan. Top each hotdog with chili, shredded cheese, and onion (optional). Cover with foil, and bake for 40-45 minutes minutes.

Quick Meatballs

Every time that we have spaghetti for supper, my oldest ALWAYS asks for meatballs. I rarely make them, because, well, I am lazy. Just browning the hamburger is way easier. So, tonight when I decided to make spaghetti, I thought I would surprise her with meatballs. When looking for a recipe, I wanted something quick and easy to make. 

Quick Meatballs

1 lb. ground beef
1/2 - 3/4 C. bread crumbs (I used gf)
1 egg lightly beaten
garlic powder
black pepper

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Mix all ingredients together. I threw all of the ingredients together in my KitchenAide mixer, I don't like touching raw meat. Once mixed well, form into meatballs, approximately the size of golfballs. Bake for 20-30, or until done.

Brown Sugar Pork Chops

Well, it is only Tuesday, am I worn out. I keep asking if it is Friday yet and everyone keeps telling me, "no." :(  I think they are all just trying to torture me. I have also been in a real rut here lately in the cooking department. I have fallen off the meal planning wagon, and I can tell. I am struggling to find something to make from day to day. Blah... So, tonight was simple brown sugar pork chops. They were easy and very simple. I think that the next time I make them, I will double the brown sugar mixture.

Simple Brown Sugar Pork Chops

4-6 pork chops
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
minced/chopped garlic

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix brown sugar, chili powder, garlic powder, and minced garlic. Place pork chops in pan, coat with brown sugar mixture. Bake for 20 minutes or until done.

Gluten Free Quick and Easy Banana Bread

With the cooler weather, I have been craving banana bread. I love the flavors, the smells... Mmmmm... In my quest for a GOOD gluten free banana bread recipe, I also wanted something super easy. Well, this recipe could not be any easier, I don't think. 

Gluten Free Banana Bread
1 box gluten free yellow or white cake mix
3 eggs
4 ripe bananas 
1/2-1 C. mini chocolate chips (optional)
1/2 C. chopped pecans (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray two loaf pans with nonstick spray. Mix first three ingredients together. Fold in chocolate chips, if using. Pour half of the batter into each prepared loaf pan. Top each pan of batter with half of the chopped pecan, if using. Bake for approximately 40 minutes, or util toothpick poked in middle comes out clean.

*If you are not wanting gluten free, you can simply use a regular cake mix.

Hamburger Potato Casserole

Our temperatures have finally dropped some and nice during the day and we are having cool evenings. The weather has been perfect! Only downfall... the pollen levels are so high. So, I am not feeling so hot, to put it nicely. This achy body did not want to get up and make anything for supper, but the littles seem to get hungry and need to be fed.

Hamburger Potato Casserole

1 lb. ground beef
2 to 4 potatoes (depending on how thin slice) uncooked
3/4 C. diced onion
1 clove garlic, minced 
1 Tbsp. dried parsley
1 tsp. garlic salt
1 tsp. onion powder
A few pinches of pepper
1 can cream of mushroom soup  (gluten free)
1 C. shredded cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Brown the meat in a skillet. Add the onions and the seasonings. While the ground beef is cooking, slice the potatoes. Spray the casserole dish, and then line the bottom with the sliced potatoes. When the meat is almost brown, add in the fresh garlic. Add in the can of cream of mushroom soup. Mix well. Put half of the soup mixture over the first layer of potato slices. Then add another layer of potatoes. Then scoop the remaining amount of the mixture on top of those potatoes. Cover the dish with foil. Bake about 45 minutes to an hour, or until potatoes are cooked through. When potatoes are fork tender, remove foil and sprinkle the cheese on top and cook again until the cheese is melted.

Original recipe: PureLifeandtheloveoffood

Baked BBQ Chicken

Tonight's supper was quick and easy. I had some chicken thighs to use up and wanted to bbq them, but it was 100+ degrees outside and I was not going to fire up the grill. I don't like to sweat to when I cook. So, here you go!

Baked BBQ Chicken
8 chicken thighs
1/2 bottle of favorite bbq sauce
1/4 c. honey
1 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. smoked paprika
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. seasoned salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In skillet, brown chicken thighs. Place in 9x13 pan. In small bowl, mix up remaining ingredients. Spread over chicken. Bake for 30-45 minutes, or until chicken is done and juices run clear.

Spaghetti Tacos... Surprisingly delicious!

So, the yahooties head back to school tomorrow! This momma is doing a happy dance!! I know, that is horrible, but, well... I am! A couple years ago, while watching one of their favorite tv shows, the girls heard about spaghetti tacos. They had asked me to make them, at that time, and I didn't ever do it. As a Back to School surprise, we have spent the evening watching their favorite show, iCarly, and having spaghetti tacos. I had 3 of them myself. Pretty yummy...

Spaghetti Tacos
1 lb. hamburger or sausage
1 large jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce
8-10 oz. of spaghetti
shredded cheese
1 pkg. taco shells

Brown hamburger or sausage over medium heat in sauce pan, drain if needed. Add sauce, heat through. In another pot, cooks spaghetti until a dente, drain. Add spaghetti to spaghetti sauce, stir to combine. I warm my taco shells in a 350 degree oven for about 5-7 minutes. After warming taco shells, remove from oven. Add a scoop of spaghetti to each taco shell, top with shredded cheese.
*I used gluten free spaghetti

Oven Roasted Chicken with Veggies

Tonight's supper could be a one pan supper, if you want to just have chicken and the veggies. But, there is always the option of adding on additional side dishes, if you so wish. 

Oven Roasted Chicken with Veggies
1 4-6 lb. whole chicken
1 lb. baby carrots
1 medium to large zucchini
1 medium to large onion chunked
Coconut oil

Cavendar's Greek Seasoning

Seasoning salt

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. While oven is preheating. Put baby carrots in bottom of a 9x13 pan. Add rough chopped zucchini and onion. Sprinkle with seasoning salt and Cavendar's Greek Seasoning. Remove giblets from whole chicken. Pour 2 Tbsp. coconut oil inside chicken, and move around to coat inside of chicken. Sprinkle in 1-2 Tbsp. Cavendar's Greek Seasoning, move chicken around to coat inside. Tie legs together with string. Put chicken on top of veggies, breast side down. Coat top of chicken with coconut oil and sprinkle more Cavendar's Greek Seasoning on top. Bake for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes is up, reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees. Carefully tip the chicken to drain off any juices from the cavity and turn the chicken over. Coat the top of the chicken/breast with coconut oil and sprinkle with more Cavendar's Greek Seasoning. Bake an additional 20 minutes per pound or until chicken is cooked through and juices run clear. Let sit for 20-30 minutes before serving. You can tent it with aluminum foil during this time, if you wish.

Quick Meatloaf Cups

I thought meatloaf sounded good tonight, but I wanted something fast and my ground beef was still half frozen. Whoops! I guess that is what happens when I don't decide on this until 2 p.m. in the afternoon... And, well, supper needed to be ready around 4:30-ish. Again, whoops!

Quick Meatloaf Cups

1 lb. of ground beef or turkey (makes 12 cups)
Bread crumbs (about 1/2 C., I used gluten free)
Worcestershire sauce (about 2 Tbs.)
1 egg
1 pkt. french onion soup mix
Approx. 1/2 C. parmesan cheese (optional)

Sauce: 1/3 c. brown sugar, 1/3 c. ketchup, and 2 Tbsp. yellow mustard

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix all meatloaf ingredients together, either by hand or in a Kitchen Aide mixer (that is what I do, because I do NOT like touching raw meat). Put in sprayed muffin tins. In a separate bowl, mix together sauce. After meat mixtures has been divided into tins, top with sauce. Bake for approximately 20-30 minutes, or until cooked through.

Original recipe: Temeculablogs

Another Oven Baked Fried Chicken

I had some more chicken legs to use up, so this was another take at oven fried chicken legs. The family liked this recipe better than the previous one. I would have to say that these did turn our really well, and honestly, not having to actually fry them made it a lot less of a mess to clean up.

Oven Baked Fried Chicken

1/2 C. all-purpose flour (I used gf)
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. garlic
1/3 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. pepper

1 tsp. chili flakes
6-8 chicken drumsticks
1/2 C. butter, melted

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Mix the flour, salt, garlic, paprika, chili flakes, and pepper in a bowl. While you are mixing your coating, but butter in a shallow container that is wide enough to dip the legs in. Melt the butter in the microwave.

Dip the drumsticks into the butter, coating them completely. Roll in flour mixture to coat completely. Then, dip in the butter again and back once again into the flour mixture. 

Put the drumsticks in an ungreased pan. Bake, uncovered, until done, about 45-50 minutes.
Original recipe: howtobestunning

Beanie Weenie Cornbread Casserole!

Every once in a while I get a craving for Beanie Weenies. I cannot explain it. They are just good... Mmmmmm... So, with this in mind, I decided to make up a Beanie Weenie and Cornbread Casserole. I needed something that could be a complete meal with a salad on the side or something. This casserole is sooo good. Gourmet I tell ya! Pure gourmet! 

Beanie Weenie Cornbread Casserole

2 cans (14 oz.) Chili beans or pork and beans
1 pkg. hotdogs, sliced into rounds
2 Tbsp. dried minced onion
1/4 c. brown sugar
2 Tbsp. yellow mustard
1/4 c. bbq sauce or ketchup
Ground black pepper, to taste
1 box corn bread muffin mix

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In casserole dish, mix up the beans, sliced hotdogs, onion, brown sugar, mustard, bbq sauce/ketchup, and pepper. In a small bowl, mix up corn bread muffin mix as per directions on box. The mix I used called for 1/3 C. of milk, I only used 1/4 c. Spoon cornbread mix over the top of the bean and hotdog mixture. Bake until cornbread is baked through, approximately 20-30 minutes. 

Marshmallow Caramel Popcorn... Sinful!

I was having a MAJOR sweet craving, and, well, I had NOTHING in the house that sounded even remotely good. So, while digging in the "holy land," aka Pinterest, I came across a recipe that I used for the base of the one I am posting below. I did tweek it a little bit, to make it doable, based on what I had available at home. Apparently, the grocery fairy has skipped our house AGAIN and I am going to have to make a run to the store tomorrow. This is one of my least favorite things to do, EVER.

This popcorn is SOOO gooey, and yummy... I ate this for supper tonight. Ssshhhh... Don't tell!

Marshmallow Caramel Popcorn
1/2 C. coconut oil or butter
1 C. brown sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp. light karo syrup (corn syrup)
14 large marshmallows
9 Tbsp. popcorn kernels or 1 pkg. microwave popcorn

Pop popcorn in 1-2 Tbsp. coconut oil, or if using microwave popcorn, pop the popcorn. Try to remove any unpopped kernels. In a small sauce pan put the coconut oil or melt the butter. Add the brown sugar, karo syrup, and marshmallows. Mix till everything is melted and blended well. With the coconut oil, it did not want to blend well, I had to use a whisk to get it to melt and blend as much as possible. There was still some oil that was not mixing in, but when the rest of the mixture got caramely, I just poured it all over the popped corn and it all stirred in well. Pour over popcorn  and stir well to completely coat the popped corn.
Original recipe: myglutenfreefoods

Fried Chicken Legs

I thought fried chicken sounded good tonight. Of course, it is one of the hottest days we have had so far this summer, but, well... Anyway. 

Earlier this afternoon, I had seen an article about research that had been conducted on mothers of children on the autism spectrum vs. mothers of "normal" children. I hate to use the word "normal" because, well, there really is no "normal," but you get the idea. So, according to this research, mothers of children on the spectrum have much higher levels of stress, anxiety, and depression. It also talked about some "trainings" that can help parents learn to relieve some of that stress and anxiety and help to fight off depression. I can completely relate to the outcomes of this article. Although, I think it can also apply to many dad's of children on the autism spectrum. It probably is true for parents of a child with just about any type of disability. Of course, in the middle of making this fried chicken, with matter covered hands, the girls start picking, pestering, and prodding each other. I think they have these little sensors that go off, letting them know that you are in the middle of something... How is it that it always turns out that way? 

Comfort food was definitely in store for this evening! Enjoy!

Fried Chicken Legs
12 chicken legs or chicken pieces

1 qt. of buttermilk or substitute

3 C. of flour

3 Tbsp. Seasoned Salt

2 tsp. Thyme

1/4 tsp. cayenne

1/2 C. milk

Oil or shortening for frying

Put the legs in a ziploc bag and cover with buttermilk, reserving about 1/2 cup, and let sit overnight, if possible. I only had mine marinate for about 1.5 to 2 hours. Preheat oven to 350. Remove chicken from buttermilk and pat dry. In a medium bowl, combine 2 cups of flour, 2 Tbsp. of seasoned salt, thyme, and cayenne. Add in milk and reserved buttermilk and stir to make a thick batter. In a separate dish, mix remaining flour and seasoned salt together. Heat oil or shortening in a deep cast iron skillet or dutch oven. There should be enough oil to almost cover the chicken completely. Heat oil. While oil is heating, dredge chicken in the wet batter, making sure to get a good coating, then dredge in flour mixture. Working in batches, place chicken in oil gently. Cook for about 5 minutes on one side then turn and cook the other side for another 3-4 minutes. Place chicken on baking sheet. Bake for about 15 minutes or until juices run clear.

*If cooking gluten free, like I did: use gluten free flour. I used Betty Crocker gluten free all purpose flour blend. I also had to use about 1.5 to 2 cups milk/buttermilk to get the batter thin enough to coat the chicken. I just eye balled it.

Original recipe from: Eatinonthecheap

Amazing Cheesy Bacon Tater Tots

I was needing a cheese and bacon fix. But, I could not decide on what I wanted. Nothing really sounded good. The family was starting to get restless because it was almost supper time. So, I went to scrounging around for ideas. These are AMAZING! YUM!

Cheesy Bacon Tater Tots1 bag frozen tater tots
1 cup sour cream
½ cup ranch dressing
¼ cup milk
1 cup Shredded cheddar cheese
½ cup real bacon bits or 4-6 slices bacon fried and crumbled
Salt and pepper to taste

Bake the tater tots according to the package instructions. While tater tots are baking, mix the sour cream, ranch dressing, and milk until well blended. Once tater tots are done, drizzle the sour cream ranch mixture over the cooked tater tots. Sprinkle the cheese and bacon bits all over the top of the tater tots. Place the tater tots back into the oven until the cheese melts. ENJOY!

Quick Parmesan Crusted Fish Fillets

One of my goals for the remainder of 2014 is to incorporate more fish into my diet. I like fish, I just don't find myself cooking it all that often. This was a super quick and easy recipe that I came across. This really was quick to whip and throw in the oven and it really doesn't have to bake all that long, so it is good for a fast meal.

Parmesan Crusted Fish1 (16-oz) package frozen fish fillets, thawed 

1/3 C. mayonnaise 

1/4 C. freshly grated Parmesan cheese 

1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

Preheat oven to 400°F. Place fillets in a 13- x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Stir together mayonnaise, Parmesan cheese, and Worcestershire sauce in a small bowl; spread over fillets. Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork.

Modified recipe from: Emeals