Simple Citrus Spinach Smoothie

If you want a super immune-boosting smoothie, look no further! Packed with vitamin C, this green smoothie is a great start to your day!

Ingredients:
Baby Spinach
Pineapple chunks in 100% juice
Banana
Orange Juice

Recipe: Acorn Squash Muffins

We cannot keep acorn squash in the house. The reason being that my husband and son will inhale acorn squash muffins. You'd think these muffins gave super powers with how quickly they get devoured!

This recipe is my pumpkin bread recipe but you use the acorn squash and cook it in muffin tins!

Halve the squash and scoop out the guts.
(Give the guts to some back yard chickens for a natural dewormer.)
Lay the cut side down and bake until the squash gives in easily when pressed.
Scoop the meat from the skin while warm and mash with a fork.

Ingredients:
2 cups flower (choose a gluten-free flour if serving guests who are gluten-sensitive)
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cloves
2 eggs
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup olive oil
1 cup acorn squash mash (you don't need to puree the acorn squash, a good fork mashing will do)


Bake at 350 for about 20-25 minutes.

A great breakfast food and easy way to sneak some extra vitamins in to your baked goods!

Recipe: Easy Fajitas

Fajitas are a favorite in our house as an easy dinner and a switch up from the mundane taco night. Here's a quick and easy fajita recipe.

Take some stir fry beef already cut from the grocery store. (Other cuts of meat may be more "appropriate" but this doesn't require any extra work on your part.) Add to the meat salt, pepper, paprika, and chili powder. Mix the meat with sliced bell pepper and onions. Cut a lime in half. Squeeze the juice over your meat, peppers, and onions. Leave the rind in for extra flavor. Let the mixture sit in the fridge for a few hours or overnight.

Saute everything in a large skillet with some olive oil. You may want to drain the extra oil and grease towards the end of the cooking to get a nice char on the meat.

Serve on tortillas with cheese, salsa, or guacamole.

Recipe: Cheesy Crescent Rolls

Pinterest strikes again! I see all these crescent rolls with all sorts of stuffings and yummy stuffs on Pinterest and think to myself: I could do that!

Here's my first yummy crescent roll recipe.

Unroll the rolls. Spread a little melted butter with some garlic salt on the inside of each roll. Then, put some mozzarella cheese on the dough and roll it up. I used a good full pinch per roll. Sprinkle some italian seasoning on top of each roll.

Bake according to instructions (though we usually need to take ours out a minute or two early).

The end result: Yummy crescent rolls with a little twist!

Recipe: Breakfast Burritos

I've always been a bit hesitant when it came to breakfast burritos. I am definitely not a huge fan of burritos with all sorts of things in them, but my simple made-at-home ones never seemed to taste as good as restuarant-made ones. Finally, I figured out how to make burritos at home that were simple, yet yummy like restaurant-made ones!


I started with cooking the bacon on our griddle. I also made scrabbled eggs in a large skillet. We used one pound of bacon and about 6-8 eggs scrabbled with milk.

Once the bacon is cooked, break it up into little pieces. Before the scrabbled eggs are completely done, add the bacon. While the eggs finish cooking, mix in the bacon. And here's the trick that I figured out: Add extra milk! This helps those real eggs get the extra "juicy" feel that the fake eggs from restaurants have.

Scoop the bacon and eggs into tortillas and roll up. We placed ours back on the griddle (with the extra bacon grease still there) to heat up and seal. These ended up being delicious! You could easily freeze them for quick morning breakfasts for feed a large crowd!

Recipe: Homemade Cat Treats

I made these treats awhile back for Simon's birthday. He really liked them. The recipe makes a huge amount so I gave a bunch to friends. Many of their dogs also liked the treats. I think this is a great option for pets with sensitive tummies or food allergies as you know exactly what's going in to the treat.

The recipe calls for three simple ingredients: Flour, Corn Meal, and a can of Tuna (light chunk in water)

Mix all the ingredients together. Add water if needed. Work the dough until it's a sticky play-doh texture.

Bake at 350 until they start to brown. The treats will be hard.

Simon really liked the treats, but they were a bit big for him. I ended up breaking the treats apart when I gave them to him. The recipe makes a ton of treats! Unless you have a lot of pets, get ready to give some away. Ours ended up molding before we got through them all. You could possibly freeze some of the dough or baked treats, but I haven't tried that so I can't vouch for that.

Recipe: Taco Bake

I've been teasing that I'd post this husband-favorite dish for awhile now, so here it finally is! This recipe came from an issue of Cook's Country that I've adjusted for our tastes.

• Brown a pound of ground beef and season as if for regular tacos (we use a taco seasoning pack, but you can use whatever seasoning you like.)
• Take one can of Rotel Original and drain the juice.
• Once the meat is done, mix in the Rotel and cook for a few minutes.
• Use Stand-n-Stuff shells. Line them up in a casserole pan. Sprinkle a little first/mexican blend cheese in the bottom of each shell.
• Fill the shells with the taco meat/rotel.
• Top generously with cheese.
• Sprinkle with cilantro.
• Bake at 325 until the cheeses melted and the tops of the taco shells begin to brown.

Serving Size is two tacos. Serve with fruit, rice, beans, whatever!

This recipe is rather easy and is great for entertaining! For those who want a bit more spice, use a spicier Rotel. If you're serving picky eaters who don't like Rotel (I don't like the squishy-ness of the veggies), stuff some of the shells after the meat is seasoned but before adding the Rotel. Then, add the Rotel to the remaining meat and continue!

Recipe: Crock-Pot Whole Chicken

I have never been able to cook a whole chicken and it turn out okay, until now. My most successful attempt prior to this recipe ended up with half a roasted chicken burnt to a crisp and half still raw. To this day I don't know how that happened.

I saw this recipe on a green living forum and though to myself "That sounds simple." Lo and behold, it was!

The recipe is this simple:
Take the whole chicken and place it straight into the Crock-Pot.
Cut up two carrots, two celery sticks, two potatoes, one onion, and two garlic cloves.
Add to the pot.
Add some salt, pepper, oregano, and bay leaves.
Fill the pot with plain water.
Cook over night on low.

I cooked ours for about 13 hours. I put it on Saturday night and we had it for lunch after church on Sunday!
Not only was it fully and properly cooked (yay!) but it was so juicy and tender.
The only thing I might change is to season the chicken a wee bit more.

We had enough chicken so far for two meals and probably another two.
We had plenty of veggies to spare.
I also froze three bags of 1 1/2 cups of homemade stock!

Overall, I consider this recipe a huge success! I plan to buy a chicken or two on our next trip to Sams and keep this recipe in my back pocket.

Recipe Review: Poor Man's Lasagna with No Yolk Noodles

So, a long time ago, I had a coupon to get a bag of free No Yolk Noodles. These are egg noodles with no cholesterol and are 99% fat free. I got a package of the dumpling style. Now, I don't know why I got dumpling style (can't remember if they were the only type in the store or if I just really wanted to make dumplings). Long story short, they sat in my pantry for some time and I decided to bite the bullet and make something with them before they go bad.

So, I was looking online, and there I found one of my mom's favorite recipes: Poor Man's Lasagna. This was a really simple version using the No Yolk Noodles dumplings. Here's the recipe:

1 bag No Yolk Noodles dumpling style
2 cans Prego Heart Smart Traditional Italian Sauce
1 pound shredded Mozzarella cheese (2% skim)

Boil the noodles and cook through just like with any pasta. Then, put a layer of noodles on the bottom of the pan. Cover with sauce and sprinkle with cheese. Put a second layer of noodles and sauce. Cover top almost completely with cheese.

You can leave it at that, but I added Italian Seasoning and a sprinkle of grated parmesan to the top layer.

Slide in the over and bake at 325 for 15-20 minutes or until the cheese looks baked and some of the noodles start to brown.

One pan makes about 6 servings.
(Nutrition Facts from MyFitnessPal and are only an estimate)
Total Calories: 518
Total Fat: 15 g
Saturated fat: 7.6
Polyun. fat: 1.2 g
Monoun. fat: 5.1 g
Trans fat: 0g
Sodium: 1097.1 mg
Potassium: 713.4 mg
Total Carbs: 64.8 g
Fiber: 8 g
Sugar 20.5 g
Vit A: 23.9%
Vit C: 6.7%
Calcium: 62.3%
Iron: 17.6%

Here's what I liked about the meal: 

• Super easy and only used four total dishes: one pot, one pan, strainer, spoon.
• Vegetarian! Great for serving mixed groups of veggies and non-veggies. You could probably even try it with a vegan cheese-substitute.
• Low Calories! 518 calories for an italian dish with this much cheese is simply amazing!

Here's what I didn't like:

I didn't like the noodles. They are egg noodles and they taste like eggs. I think it would be possible to get used to the taste of the noodles, but being so used to flour/wheat noodles, they just tasted off. Now, Philip liked it and didn't have a problem with the egg taste, so it could just be my picky taste buds.

Recipe: Pumpkin Bread

Are you ready for a treat? This delicious bread is 100% amazing! I got the recipe from my Greek teacher, Marcia Moore. During winter finals week, I would always make my way down to her room to grab a slice or two.

Ingredients:
2 cups flower
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cloves
2 eggs
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup canola oil
1 cup pumpkin

Mix all the ingredients together.
Spray with Pam two small (3x7) bread pans or three 5x3 pans.
Poor batter into pans until just under rim.
Bake 45-60 minutes at 350.

Enjoy! So very, very yummy. Great for gifts, breakfast, dessert, anything!

Want to make your own fresh pumpkin? Directions here:

http://1casacampbell.blogspot.com/2011/10/pumpkin.html

Pumpkin!

Back in high school we had a pumpkin patch at my church. In order to raise more money for the youth group we made pumpkin butter and pumpkin pies from the pumpkins in the patch. Ever since then, I have used fresh pumpkin rather than canned.

I think fresh pumpkin has more flavor and a brighter color than the canned variety. Also, by using fresh pumpkin you can avoid any chemical or additives found in commercially produced foods. If you buy your pumpkins locally and/or organically there's an added bonus. Don't forget, many people do pumpkin patches as fundraisers so your pumpkins can support a good cause as well!

Perhaps you've made fresh pumpkin before, but not many have. I've gotten quite a few funny looks saying that I make pies and breads without using canned pumpkin, so I've decided to share with you all how to take that round pumpkin and make it ready for your next recipe!

Choose pumpkins that are at least the size of a softball but not as big as a soccer ball. It should be big enough that the ridges aren't very deep. The ones I got had a diameter about my handspan to give you an idea.

Wipe off any excess dirt from the outside of the pumpkin. Wrap a towel or cloth around the stem and pull the stem off. Pull in the opposite direction of the stem's curve. For this one, pull to the picture's right.

Cut the pumpkin in half. Try to keep the cut straight to provide an even cut surface. Scoop out the seeds and pulp. You can save the seeds for later if you'd like. Make sure you get all of the stringy, darker colored pulp. The flesh will be a slightly lighter, more yellow color.

Place cut side down on a slightly greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-45 minutes depending upon the size of the pumpkins. These took about 35.

The pumpkin is done when you can easily push in the pumpkin for the outside. Don't worry if the skin looks burned.

Flip the pumpkin (you may want to let it cool for a little bit first, but try to scoop it when it's still warm).  Scoop off any burned flesh and throw away. Scoop out the rest of the flesh and put in blender. If the pumpkin is really well done the skin might just fall off the flesh.

Blend the pumpkin until it is the constancy of baby food. There may be watery juices in the pumpkin flesh, that's okay.

Freeze or can the pumpkin to save for later. If you plan to use it right away, you may want to let it cool slightly before adding it to your recipe. The two pumpkins I baked today gave me 5 cups of pumpkin for use.

Recipe: Simple Chicken Dinner

Winner! Winner! Chicken Dinner!

I am a huge fan of easy dinners. Here's one of my favorites.

Start with a package of chicken breasts and trim the fat. Drain the juice from one can of pineapple slices (make sure it's juice not syrup) into a pan.  Place the chicken in with the juice. Add barbecue sauce (use your favorite, but I'd recommend a mild or sweet sauce). Leave to marinate overnight or for the day.

Grill the pineapples.

Steam rice.

Then grilled the chicken. As you grill the chicken, baste with barbecue sauce.

Serve the chicken in pieces with the grilled pineapple on steamed rice.

How simple is that? Eat with chopsticks and enjoy!

Recipe: Pot Roast

This is one of our favorite recipes and is perfect for welcoming the cooler weather!

• Beef roast cut (.5-1 pound per person)
• Potatoes (I use baking potatoes but other options may work as well)
• Carrots (I usually get a bag of organic baby carrots that are washed and peeled. This saves so much time on  prep and helps to beef up the portion of our diet that is organic without adding too much to the grocery bill.)
• Onion
• Bay Leaf (or a few small ones)
• Beef Stock (Or can use vegetable stock or broth if you prefer. It's usually easier to find organic vegetable stock than it is to find organic beef stock. I prefer the taste with the beef stock.)
• Handfuls of each: pepper, salt, and oregano (I will often use coarsely ground sea salt and use a little less in the pot itself and then add salt if necessary to the final product.)
• A few cloves of garlic. (peeled but whole)

Peel and cut the potatoes into good size chunks. Peel and slice the carrots if using regular ones. Peel the onion and cut into 1/4s. Put all the veggies on the bottom of your crock pot or slow cooker. 

Salt and pepper the beef and sear in olive oil in a separate pan. I like to sear just long enough to get a few kinda dark areas. Place the beef on top of the veggies.

Add the salt, pepper, oregano, bay leaf(ves), and garlic cloves on top of the beef. Poor the stock into the crock pot covering at least most of the roast. It usually takes two boxes for my crock pot which is a 6 quart pot. Cook on high for 6-8 hours.

Slow Cooker Ribs and Cornbread!

One of my favorite late summer/early fall meals is barbecue ribs, cornbread, green beans, and salad. These ribs are so simple and easy to make and can be altered to your taste (I like mine mostly sweet with just a little bit of spice.) and to the number of people joining you.



Rib Rub Recipe:

• Cumin
• Chili Powder
• Garlic Powder
• Onion Powder
• Paprika
• Salt
• Pepper
• Brown Sugar

Combine all the ingredients according to the taste you're looking for. I usually use a lot of brown sugar, onion and garlic powders, and paprika. Like many of my family's recipes, you know it's going to taste right if it smells good.

Rub the mix on all sides of boneless ribs and let sit in the fridge over night. If there's any excess rub mix, place this in with the ribs while they marinate.

Layer the ribs in your slow cooker with your favorite barbecue sauce. I usually use Kraft's barbecue sauce as I find it to be pretty mild in spice but complements the rub well.  Start with sauce on the bottom. Cook for about seven (7) hours on low. Ribs should be tender and able to be cut/pulled apart with a fork.

For cornbread, I like to use Jiffy's cornbread mix. I find it has a good flavor and they come out just crumbly  enough.

Brains, Brains, Brains!

We went to Hastings the other day and found this awesome jell-o mold. Yes, I said jell-o mold. It molds jell-o into the shape of a half-brain!

And so, I tried said mold with Lime Jell-o. It turned out alright, but I had a really hard time getting the jell-o to come free of the mold so there's not nearly as much detail. They said to shake the mold to loosen the jell-o. I wonder if I maybe shook the brain a little too hard, or not hard enough. Well, for now, that's it. Hopefully I can have this perfect by Halloween!

Mama Mia Meatballs!

I made my Mom's meatball recipe today! They were super yummy! Here's the recipe, in case you want to try some:

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef

bread crumbs

1 egg

basil

oregano

grated parmesan cheese

salt and pepper

Mix all the ingredients together. Adjust the spice, breadcrumbs, and cheese to your preference. Roll the mix into balls (about 1-3 inches). Bake on a greased cookie sheet at 350* for 20-30 minutes (more for larger balls, less if making them small). Heat the balls in red sauce and serve with your favorite pasta!