You'd Think We Gave Up On Being Healthy!

Based on the recent posts, we're all about yummy, but not necessarily healthy foods. And you know what? I'm ok with that. I have another one for you today.

Homemade Oreos....

See, totally worth the calories and time to make, because your kids (and you) will LOVE them. LOVE. The kind of love that takes you back to when you were little. Nostalgic love, if you will.

HOMEMADE OREOS

1 pkg. devil's food cake mix

2 eggs

1/3 c. vegetable oil

1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened

1/4 c. shortening

2/3 c. powdered sugar

1/4 tsp. vanilla

In a mixing bowl, beat cake mix, eggs, and oil. With clean hands, roll dough into 1-inch balls. Place them on an ungreased cookie sheet and flatten them slightly (I use the bottom of a measuring cup). Bake at 350° for 8-10 minutes. Let cool.

In another mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese and shortening. Add the sugar and vanilla; mix until smooth. Frost half of the cookies, top with remaining half.

We'll see you again soon, with a healthy recipe, full of fiber and vegetables...I promise.

The Real Lip Lickin' Deal

A couple of months ago we had some friends over for dinner. It is an unwritten rule that you must serve Tres Leches cake after fajitas. Actually, I just wrote it so now it is a written rule.
This is the real one. I've had recipes that are made with a yellow cake mix and it's just not the same as being made with a homemade sponge cake. Make sure you also use real whipped cream and not cool whip also.
Scrumptious. Truly scrumptious.

Tres Leches Cake

adapted from The Pioneer Woman

Ingredients:
1 cup All-purpose Flour
1-½ teaspoon Baking Powder
¼ teaspoons Salt
5 whole Eggs
1 cup Sugar, Divided
1 teaspoon Vanilla
⅓ cups Milk
1 can Evaporated Milk
1 can Sweetened, Condensed Milk
¼ cups Heavy Cream
_____
FOR THE ICING:
1 pint Heavy Cream, For Whipping (minus 1/4 cup)
3 Tablespoons Sugar

Preparation Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 x 13 inch pan liberally until coated.
Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Separate eggs.
Beat egg yolks with 3/4 cup sugar on high speed until yolks are pale yellow. Stir in milk and vanilla. Pour egg yolk mixture over the flour mixture and stir very gently until combined.
Beat egg whites on high speed until soft peaks form. With the mixer on, pour in remaining 1/4 cup sugar and beat until egg whites are stiff but not dry.
Fold egg white mixture into the batter very gently until just combined. Pour into prepared pan and spread to even out the surface.
Bake for 35 to 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool.

Combine condensed milk, evaporated milk, and heavy cream in a large measuring cup. When cake is cool, pierce the surface with a fork all over (don't mutilate it though. Slowly drizzle your three milks mixture all over the cake, try to get as much around the edges of the cake as you can. I actually don't use the last 1/2 cup because I think it makes it a little too sweet.
Allow the cake to absorb the milk mixture for 30 minutes in fridge.

To ice the cake, whip remaining heavy cream with 3 tablespoons of sugar until thick and spreadable.
Spread over the surface of the cake. Decorate cake with whole or chopped maraschino cherries. Cut into squares and serve.
Refrigerate any leftovers.... if there is any.

It's Done!

You know that project I mentioned, like forever ago? And you probably thought we'd forgotten about it, or gave up on it, or decided we were better than it?

Nope. Just got busy with life, four kids, two dogs, four chickens, piano lessons, soccer practices, school, church and work.

Then we finished it - and I'm as much in love with it as I thought I would be.

A place for everything, and everything in it's place. It's like heaven for those, like me, who have a little OCD in them. Plus, it's inventoried, how geeky is that? So now the shopping list to go along with the menus will be so much easier!

Plus now I have room out in the garage for other stuff.

We're still rearranging the bigger food storage stuff, which will all have a place inside, finally.

And now I've got extra room in my spice cupboard for spices, small appliances and extra food!

(Now I've just got to get these rearranged and inventoried...then, just maybe, I'll feel like I've got it all together...maybe?)

Eggs

Our chickens started laying. Finally. I really thought they weren't going to pull through and earn their room and board. Then they started laying - on Easter. Awesome, I know.

Fresh brown eggs, 2 - 4 a day = a nice little bunch of eggs in the fridge.

Tonight for dinner?

Sausage and Cheese Bake. It's tradition to have this on Christmas morning, but we're getting crazy and pulling a Christmas in April. You can join us, if you'd like. Dinner's at 6.

SAUSAGE AND CHEESE BAKE

8 slices of bread, cubed

3 cup grated cheddar cheese

1 lb. sausage, browned and drained

6 eggs

2 1/4 cup milk

3/4 tsp. dry mustard

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1/3 cup milk

Cube bread and spread in bottom of 9 x 13 in. baking dish. Cover with grated cheese and browned sausage. Mix eggs, 2 1/4 cup milk and dry mustard. Pour over bread. Mix can of soup with 1/3 cup milk and pour over top of dish. Refrigerate overnight (or 6-8 hours) and bake 1 hour at 350°.

My Refrigerator

I accept challenges, even though it may take me awhile to actually get around to doing it. Here is the stuff in my fridge. You can click on the picture to see it larger. I'll post my freezers another day. I've taken the pictures but taking the inventory is going to be time consuming. It will be a good thing though because it probably needs cleaned out.

So, from the top down on the main shelves I've got:
Homemade cake mix
Homemade Magic Mix
Ground wheat (no longer can I use the word "freshly")
Orange juice
Lemon-aid
Organic whipped butter

Dill pickle spears
Half a bag of Brown rice
Flax seed
Ground flax seed
Organic plain yogurt (to use as a starter.. one day)
French onion dip
Dry active yeast
Instant yeast
Organic applesauce
Reddi Whip
Strawberry cream cheese spread (for non existing bagels)
Cottage cheese
Honey butter tub

Organic sour cream (x2)
Hansens Ginger Ale (leftover from morning sickness days)
2 cartons of eggs - grain fed chickens
Leftover beans and rice
Leftover cilantro-lime rice (needs to be thrown out)
Homemade Apple Pie Jam (I should post that recipe)
Homemade salad dressing

Organic Yo Baby Yogurt for kids
Leftover Pizza
Sandwich for Clint's lunch
Corn tortillas (huge bag)
Lemon juice
Lime juice

In drawers I have:
2 blocks of cheese
4 bags pre-shredded cheese
2 blocks cream cheese
1 lonely Babybel cheese
1 half chewed lonely string cheese

Strawberries
Blackberries
Small watermelon
2 oranges
4 lemons
Green grapes

Celery
Button mushrooms
Cilantro (starting to get a little yucky)
2 purple onions
Organic Baby Carrots
2 lb bag organic regular carrots
1 1/2 Zucchinis
1 Sweet Texas yellow onion
Green onions
1 garlic (I didn't know was in there)

In door going from the bottom up I have:
Peach/Mango/Orange fruit spread (Costco size)
Italian dressing
Ranch dressing (expired.. oops)
Hamburger pickles
Realemon juice bottle
Thai Kitchen green curry paste
Light mayo
Mustard
Soy sauce
Parm cheese
Sweet Baby Rays BBQ sauce
Worchestershire sauce
Remoulade (Boar's Head Cajun Mayo)
2 gallons whole organic milk
Taco sauce
Organic butter
Apricot Jam
1 bottle 1/4 full of acidophilus capsules
Big bottle ketchup
Big Hersheys chocolate syrup
Strawberry syrup
Cocktail sauce
Strawberry/Rhubarb Jam (from an amish store.. soo good)
Beef boullion paste
Chicken boullion paste
Jar of minced garlic
Packet of random stuff from fast food and other sources I save for Clint's lunch

That's it! The freezers could be scary...

Easter Eggs Reborn

I know most people don't use a recipe for deviled eggs, but this is really good and different.

TEXAS DEVILED EGGS
•1 dozen extra large eggs, boiled
•1 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese
•2 Tbs. dill pickle relish
•1/3 c. mayo
•2 Tbs mustard
•3 Tbs. finely minced celery
•3 Tbs. finely minced onion
•1 Tbs. Texas Pete Hot Sauce (this brand is not that hot, kid approved)
•1 Tbs. honey
•Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Peel eggs and cut in half length wise.
Put yolks in bowl with all other ingredients and mix until well blended.
Put yolk mixture in a gallon size zip lock bag and squeeze contents into corner to use as a pastry bag (unless you actually have a pastry bag, then you may proceed fancy style)
Cut a small hole in corner and fill each egg white half overflowing.
Chill for 30 minutes and serve.

I usually don't add the pickle relish, celery or onion (I do prefer green when I use it though). You can of course also adjust your hot sauce level by adding more or less. You might want to also adjust your honey though as well.
I'll post a picture next time I make them.