This Crazy Army Wife

So sorry I haven't been keeping up with the blog... What can I say?  Life intervenes sometimes.  I have been crazy busy with work, the kids, church and school.  That being said... Perhaps I have found a balance (and if not this term is over in two weeks and I will go from 4 classes down to 2).   Now for the Sloppy Joes... I took these to church back in August for a potluck and I think they were a big hit.  I love homemade Sloppy Joes because you can make a mess of them for fairly cheap and feed lots of people.  My girls have gotten spoiled with homemade and won't touch Manwich now for anything (which is what I grew up with).  Thanks goes out to my friend Stacey who pointed out that I could make them better without that nasty can years ago... I have my own recipe down pat now and thought I would share with you. 2 Tablespoons Butter 1 1/2 pounds Ground Beef 1 1/2 pounds Ground Turkey   1  Onion, Diced 1 Green Bell Pep...

Well, most of you follow me on facebook so you are aware that I have been out of commission for a week.  For those of you that don't know... I haven't posted because I have been at Children's Hospital with my middle daughter.  She's going to be fine Thank God.  We got home last night and ate pizza for dinner.  Today I'm still exhausted (can't imagine why).  So I'm going with a cheat meal... that means I'm using some canned ingredients and some frozen ingredients to throw together a dinner for my girls.  It takes almost no effort, but it is still yummy. Easy Minestrone Soup 2 cans minestrone soup 3 cans water 2 packets of beef flavor boost (swanson... it's what I have) 2 cans beans 2 cans rotel 2 packets of frozen pre-cooked italian hamburger meat 1 can of mixed veggies 1 can of mushroom pieces 1 bag of small shell noodles Combine all the ingredients except the pasta in a large soup pan.  Add seasonings if you think it needs some. ...

So my kiddos went back to school today.  It was two weeks later then normal thanks to construction.  I have always celebrated back to school by making them some home made cookies.  I wasn't sure I would have time today because I had to work for a few hours.  However, I made it... They came out of the oven right after my middle schooler got home.  (So grateful the buses always run late the first few days) These are my girls favorite cookies, and are somewhat healthy... Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies 1-¼ cup Butter (2 1/2 Sticks) 1-¼ cup Brown Sugar 1-¼ cup Granulated Sugar 3 whole Eggs 1 teaspoon Vanilla 2-½ cups White Whole Wheat Flour  (If you don't know what this is... it's half white, half whole wheat.  You combine them yourself.  It add some nutritional value). 1-¼ teaspoon Baking Powder 1-¼ teaspoon Baking Soda 1-¼ teaspoon Salt 2-½ cups Quick Oats 2-½ cu...

Okay, okay... I know I said I was doing Shrimp Scampi today.  Life intervened,first I drove the girls up to St. James to visit with some friends who were in town for a funeral...  Sad occasion, but good visit for the kiddos and a nice reminder to keep in touch with the ones who matter to us. Then we took the girls over to the park to play for a bit after they left for the airport... But what really interfered with the shrimp scampi plan was my new sewing machine.  This beauty has been here for a week and other than 15 minutes or so I had not had the time to play with it.  Next weekend is my Niece's baby shower so a present needs to be made... Enter the enjoyable way I spent my afternoon. :)  Have I mentioned I love sewing as well as cooking Of course Shrimp Scampi is a quick dish, but I didn't want to bother with it.  What to do?  The girls wanted something pasta.  So I turned to a staple, Spaghetti and Meatballs. I have meatballs in my ...

So another post of a recipe without pictures.  Tessa is back so hopefully I will have pictures from now on to share. This recipe is courtesy of the Hungry Girl Cookbook.  I checked it out from the library.  The girls wanted cake for Jim's birthday even though he isn't here so I decided to give this a try.  Now I have made black bean brownies before with good results so I decided to give the pumpkin brownies a try. Super Simple... just 2 ingredients... Devils Food Cake Mix 1 can pumpkin puree Mix the two together, it is a little tough to mix.  Then put it in the muffin tins that you have lined with cupcake liners.  Bake for 30-40 min.  Watch them you don't want to overcook them.  Every oven heats differently. The girls love them and super healthy too. Tomorrow night, I will be posting a Shrimp Scampi Recipe once I have cooked dinner.

First of all... Let me say I apologize for the lack of pics in this weeks blog posts.  My camera is in Nebraska with my oldest so I have no photos of the food I'm cooking this week.  Last night for dinner I tried a recipe I copied from the internet ages ago to try (no clue now what website or I would give credit).  Homemade Chicken Patties..  My girls love chicken patties but I wanted to give them something a little healthier than the processed meat things at the store.  For a side I made the Hungry Girl's Squash Fries.  Both girls were thrilled and so was I, fast food at home :) Homemade Chicken Patties  1/4 cup chopped onion 1/4 cup chopped celery 6 tablespoons butter (divided in half) 3 tablespoons flour 1 1/3 cup milk (divided) 2 tablespoons parsley 1 tablespoon seasoning salt 2 cups finely chopped cooked chicken (planned leftovers from another day maybe) 1 cup fiber one crumbs (great breading and adds lots of fiber) or bread crumbs ...

also known as Apple Cake...  I made this cake for Jim's birthday and mailed it to him in Saudi.  I know that it shipped well to Iraq.  This is an old family recipe from Jim's side and he loves it.  It's a great snack cake, and tastes good warm with ice cream for dessert or cold with a cup of coffee for breakfast.  It is NOT healthy as written... I'm going to try some alterations next time I bake it to see if I can make it a little more heart healthy. For now... Happy Birthday to my honey (it's tomorrow) and here is the recipe for you to enjoy Ozark Apple Pudding 2 cups   Sugar 1-¼ cup   Oil 2 whole   Eggs 3 cups   Flour 1 teaspoon   Salt 1 teaspoon   Baking Soda 1 teaspoon   Cinnamon 3 cups   Diced Apple ½ cups   Chopped Nuts   Mix together sugar, oil and eggs. In a separate bowl combine dry ingredients, then add to the sugar mixture. Stir in apples and nuts. Spread in a greased and fl...