TipJunkie

Those of you that have read my blog for awhile know my love for TipJunkie. She's brought back the 12 days of Christmas Mom-Preneur Shop-a-thon. And let me tell you, she has some awesome mom-preneurs on her site, so be sure to check them out!

Enjoy!

Plan-It-Out

S- Chicken Vegetable Casserole, salad
M- Fundraiser Chicken dinner at the high school
T- Grilled Polish Sausage with onions and peppers, steamed veggies
W- Pot Roast, potatoes, green beans
T- Teriyaki Meatballs, rice, peas
F- Spicy Tortilla Pizza Mexicali
S- Corn Chip Chicken Bake (see recipe below), mexicorn

Corn Chip Chicken Bake

1 cooked chicken -discard bones and skin, shred or chop into bite-size pieces
1 medium yellow onion -chopped and cooked
1 4oz. can chopped green chilies- diced
1 large can (26 oz. ) can of Cream of Chicken Soup
1 cup sour cream
1 bag of Tortilla chips (or corn tortillas torn in bite size pieces)
4 cups grated cheese (cheddar and jack )

Pre-heat oven to 350. Saute onion until soft. Mix together soup, chilies, sour cream and cooked onion. Stir in the cooked chopped chicken. In a greased 9 X 13 pan layer half of the chicken/soup mixture, then add a layer of tortilla corn chips, then a layer of cheese, then repeat ending with the layer of cheese. Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 35 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Serve with a crisp green salad, fresh fruit and buttered corn.

Gift Wrapping Center

Let's face the cold hard truth, we can't all be Candy Spelling with a gift wrapping room. Have you seen this room??? Swoon. But I'm on the lookout for some ideas to help me build a gift wrapping station. I've always wanted one. I have tried the nylon hanger organizer - good: keeps everything together. bad: not handy, rips easily.

I am not lucky enough to have a utility/laundry room to build one in.

So if I build one that is not portable and storable, then mine would be out in the open...and then the question - which room? I could wait a couple years when my teenager moves to college and her room becomes a guest room, but I'd really like to keep that room as a "bedroom" for her to come home to and for my mom to sleep in when she visits.

Or I could create one in my family room. Although I am trying to give this room more of a "comfortable" feel, not such a work room.

But until I decide, here are some inspirational ideas I did find online.

Plan-It-Out

S- Chili, corn bread
M- Teriyaki Meatballs, noodles, peas
T- Crockpot Night- Roast, mashed potatoes, corn
W- Taco Skillet, green beans
T- Swedish Meatballs (modified version of that recipe), salad, french bread
F- Cheese Pizza, birthday cake (husbands birthday)
S- Texas Road House and the movies (to celebrate my husbands birthday)

Taco Pasta Skillet
8 oz Lean Ground Beef 90% Lean
1 pk taco seasoning
11 oz Corn,Undrained
14 oz Kidney Beans,Undrained
1 c salsa
3 c hot water
8 oz Barilla Plus Multigrain
-Penne Pasta,Uncooked
4 oz Cream Cheese Fat Free
4 oz Kraft 2% Cheddar Cheese

Brown in meat in a large skillet. Drain fat and rinse under hot
water to remove additional fat. Add taco seasoning, corn, beans, salsa, water, and pasta. Bring to a boil then reduce to simmer for 15 minutes or until pasta is cooked. Add cheeses and stir until melted. Makes approximately 8-- 1 cup servings

Per Serving: 330 Cal; 8 g Tot Fat; 7 g Fiber

Teriyaki Meatballs
White from 1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup(s) minced scallions
2 tablespoon(s) soy sauce
2 1/2 teaspoon(s) grated peeled fresh ginger
2 teaspoon(s) toasted sesame oil
1 clove(s) garlic, crushed through a press
1/4 teaspoon(s) freshly ground pepper
1 1/2 pound(s) ground pork or chicken
1/2 cup(s) thick teriyaki sauce and marinade
Toasted sesame seeds, for garnish

1.In a large bowl, whisk egg white, scallions, soy sauce, ginger, sesame oil, garlic, and pepper until blended. Add pork and mix in with your hands until combined. Shape into 30 (1 1/2-inch) balls.
2.Spray a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and heat over medium heat. Add half the meatballs and sauté 5 minutes, or until lightly browned on all sides and meatballs firm up. Brown remaining meatballs.
3.Heat oven to 425 degrees F. Place meatballs on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Brush with teriyaki sauce. Bake 8 to 10 minutes, brushing once with remaining sauce, until cooked through and glazed.
4.Insert toothpicks into meatballs and transfer to a platter. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Plan-It-Out I love my crockpot (edition II)

Can I start by saying, I've really missed not menu planning over the past couple of months? And I LOVE this time of year, comfy cooking is my fav! My vegetarian is now eating meat, so we've abandoned the vegetarian night.

BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND - I LOVE MY CROCKPOT EDITION II
Click here to see the first edition

S- Baked Potato Soup Crockpot (or by stove)
M- Ribeye (see below) and crockpot "baked" potato
T- CrockPot Brown Sugar Chicken Recipe
W- Slow Cooker Lasagna
T- Crockpot French Beef served over noodles
F- Chili in the crockpot (see recipe below)
S- BBQ Pork Sandwiches

CROCKPOT CHILI
1 pound ground chuck
2 cans of chili (I use hungry man vegetarian)
1 can black beans, drained
1 can kidney, drained
1 can corn, drained
1 small onion, diced
chili seasoning, salt, pepper
shredded cheddar

Brown hamburger. Add all ingredients to crockpot, adding seasonings to taste. Cook 6-8 hours on low. Garnish each bowl with a sprinkle of cheddar cheese.

UPDATE: Inquiring minds want to know... This is my plan for cooking the ribeye. The Naughty Chef's recipe for the most tasty looking ribeye's...will it hold up against my high standard set by the mouth watering Texas Roadhouse Steaks? Stay tuned to see.
8-Inch Bone-In Rib Eye
Serves 1

Ingredients
•1 tablespoon salt
•1 tablespoon pepper
•1 teaspoon cayenne
•1 tablespoon butter
•1 8-inch bone-in rib eye
Directions
Rub salt, pepper and cayenne all over meat.

Heat pan on medium-high with canola oil.

Sear meat on both sides for 3 minutes (2 minutes for rare). Rub butter on top of meat.

Finish in oven at 400 degrees (5 minutes for medium-rare, 8 minutes for medium, 12 minutes for medium-well, or as long as you want for well-done). Allow to rest for 5 minutes.

Halloween Class treats

I am in charge of classroom treats for the Fall Festival at my youngest's school this year. So I've been doing some searching for fun treats, and let me tell you, there are plenty to chose from. I do work full time outside the home, and commute - so I will have to pick something that can be made ahead of time and stored until the big day. So, I'm leaning toward the pumpkin spice popcorn. I might have to make some this week to try it. :) ...Although, I do love the mummy dogs. They will be flying high on sugar by the time the party gets to this point, so that might be the best option.

UPDATE: I tried this recipe last night - a no go! It was gross. While baking in the oven the popcorn shriveled.
Pumpkin Spice Popcorn Mix
Ingredients
1 bag light butter microwave popcorn
10 tbsp. butter, softened
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp. pumpkin pie spice
1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans

Directions
Prep time: 5 minutes, Cook time: 25 minutes
Preheat oven to 350°F. Pop popcorn according to package directions; place in a large bowl and remove any unpopped kernels. Stir together butter, brown sugar and pumpkin pie spice in a large bowl. Add popcorn and pecans; mix well to coat as evenly as possible, using a rubber scraper. Transfer to a large baking sheet with shallow sides and bake for 15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes. Let cool, stirring occasionally.

Makes 6 cups.

Nutritional Information:
(based on a 1-cup serving): 350 calories, 2 g protein, 29 g total fat (13 g sat., 0.5 trans), 23 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 16 g sugar, 50 mg cholesterol, 230 mg sodium, 9 points



White Chocolate Popcorn
Ingredients
15 cups popcorn
2 large bags M&M's (may use plain, peanut, almond, or a combination)
2 bags of white chocolate chips

Fresh popped popcorn. Measure 15 cups of popcorn into a large mixing bowl. Add 2 large bags of M & M's --- plain, peanut, almond, or a combination. Either type will add to this delicious popcorn treat. Melt 2 bags of white chocolate chips and pour over mixture. Stir until most of the popcorn is covered. Pour the entire popcorn mixture onto 2 cookie sheets to let the white chocolate set. Crumble into pieces and place in a storage container.


Lit'l Smokies® Mummy Dogs
INGREDIENTS
32 Hillshire Farm® Lit'l Smokies®
1 (8 ounce) can refrigerated crescent dough rolls
Mustard or ketchup, if desired

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Unroll dough, separate at perforations, creating 4 rectangles. Press perforations to seal. With a knife or pizza cutter cut each rectangle lengthwise into 8 strips making a total of 32 strips. Wrap one strip of dough around each Lit'l Smokies® stretching dough slightly to look like bandages, leaving tip exposed to create face. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 12 to 14 minutes or until golden brown. Draw features on tip of Lit'l Smokies® to create face. Serve with mustard or ketchup, if desired.



Munchkin Mama's Crispy Peanut Butter Balls
Ingredients:
3 c. crispy rice cereal
1 c. creamy peanut butter
1/4 c. chopped salted peanuts
1 c. peanut butter chips
1 (7 oz.) jar marshmallow creme
1/2 c. candy corn
fine tip food safe marker, such as Wilton's Food Writers

Add the peanut butter, peanut butter chips, and marshmallow creme in a large bowl. Once the mixture is nice and whipped-looking, you can add the 3 cups of cereal and stir until combined. Line a cookie sheet with waxed paper. Spoon out about a golf ball sized amount of the cereal loosely into your hand. Place the candy on top and pack tightly into a cookie shape, using your other hand to help pack it all together. Place on waxed paper.

Repeat with remaining cereal mixture. Using your food safe marker, make cute faces on the candy corn. Let them chill out in the fridge for about an hour.
Keep stored in an airtight container.



Other great ideas on:
Bakerella.com - I love her cake pops, they look so fun.
FamilyFun - spooktacular!