Mothership Confessional

This stuff is so amazing! My husband loves things that are sweet and spicy, and the chili recipe actually came from one of his friends! It is just so good!! And it's a one-pot meal - my favorite type of cooking! It's almost  a dump-and-go meal too, except you have to brown some meat and chop some onions first! Growing up we always had cornbread with chili, and it was always the same recipe. I used that same childhood recipe, except I added shredded cheddar cheese (ok, actually it was colby because that's all I had) and jalapeños (you MUST use Louisiana brand...they are the best!), and I also used whole wheat flour because I ran out of regular flour! Honestly, I think the whole wheat flour made this cornbread better!  Ok...one more thing...I accidentally doubled the amount of oil it calls for...so it didn't bake very evenly! I couldn't help it; I was multitasking a bit too  much in the kitchen while a hungry toddler whined and cried at th...

Mmm I'm so excited to share this recipe with y'all!! It should be a household staple  for everyone! It's easy, hearty, and satisfying! We cook with a lot  of chicken in our house, and I love being able to whip up a complete meal in a crockpot. A crockpot meal just about always  gives you leftovers and allows you to dump and go and come home to a hot dinner. And as a bonus, you can throw the lid on it and put it in the fridge after dinner is over so there is no clean up! You can deal with the dishes another night; a crockpot dinner should mean a night off from cooking and  dishes! Here we go! You'll Need: 3 chicken breasts, frozen is fine 2 cans of Cream of Mushroom Soup 2 cups of water* 2 chicken bullion cubes* (the water and bullion cubes could be replaced by 2 cups of chicken broth) 2 cups of dry quick-cooking brown rice 2 cups of chopped cooked broccoli (more if you love it, less if you don't) Here's my schpeal...

I love to cook! And for the holidays I usually like to go with familiar, traditionally served dishes from my childhood. And sometimes I like to throw in something totally different! This year we decided not to travel for the holidays. Instead, we are breaking bread with a few friends here! One meal is the traditional Christmas ham, and the other is a Mexican feast! So today was MAJOR food prep day. Little baby had a great  day, allowing me to get busy in the kitchen! She even took a 2 hour nap  ( not normal for my child!) so I could get a much needed rest on the couch!  Here are all the recipes I used this year! Some are from my recipe book, and some are links to my Pinterest page where the recipes can be found. White Chicken Enchiladas (a childhood favorite) 1 cup chopped onion 1/3 cup chopped green pepper 2 TBSP vegetable oil 2 cups cooked chopped chicken 1 1/2 cup shredded Colby-Jack Cheese 4 oz can chopped green chiles 1 can cream of...

This recipe was a childhood favorite. Once I was old enough to start cooking on my own, I couldn't believe how easy  this recipe was! Normally when you see ketchup, mustard, and relish, you probably think of: summer get-togethers.  potlucks.  barbecues.  ball parks.  picnics.  Here's a yummy dinner idea that only uses these condiments you already have in your fridge! Simple Sloppy Joes Makes about 6 sandwiches 1 pound ground beef or turkey (we prefer it with turkey) 3/4 cup ketchup 1/4 cup relish 1 TBSP mustard Brown the meat in a frying pan. Drain excess fat. Add condiments, stir, and simmer for 20 minutes.  ***** That's literally the easiest recipe ever.  If you like your sloppy joes extra sloppy, you may want to add more ketchup.  My husband and I love to eat our sloppy joes with pickles on top, steamed broccoli seasoned with Lowry's seasoning salt, and curly/crinkle/s...

I am very excited to finally be sharing this recipe! I know I promised I would share this awhile ago back at week 19 ! Now, this recipe is probably  not going to actually change your life, but it just might change your opinion on beef stroganoff. Growing up, my memory of beef stroganoff was that it was a warm, hearty dish that I loved and my sister hated. But I also remember it being sort of...traditional. I began to search for the recipe (as I did not have my childhood recipe) and stumbled across a recipe that intrigued me. Of course, at the time, I was missing like half the ingredients it called for, and so I tried to think of what I had in the house that could be good substitutes.  And I came up with a dang good  recipe!! Let's begin. Begin by putting a big pot of water on to boil and getting a large sauté pan on medium heat with 2 tablespoons of butter in it. Here are the 3 ingredients that I think make this dish so special: ...

Yes, you read that right.  Crockpot. Dr. Pepper. Bacon. CHILI! This stuff is amazing! And so easy! I love dump-and-go meals. Especially in the crockpot. Here's how you do it: TAKE THESE INGREDIENTS... ___________________________________________________________________________________ 1 pound cooked ground something : beef, turkey, pork, sausage, chicken...whatev sounds good! I had a pound of cooked beef in the freezer, so thawed that quick used it. 12-24 strips of cooked bacon, chopped (I would have gone with 24 since bacon shrinks so much when it cooks, but I only had a little left after our breakfasts the past few days) ____________________________________________________________________________________ 4 cans of beans, drained (any kind you want - I used 3 pinto and 1 navy) 1 can tomato sauce (or 2 if you want it a little less thick and more saucy) 1 can crushed or diced tomatoes 1 can Dr. Pepper (I used ...

This is childhood-memories, warm-your-soul, polar-vortex kind of food, people! Start with a cut up whole chicken. Or just some bone-in cuts of chicken. Put it into a big pot.  Like, the biggest pot you have.  This time I am trying it with my pasta pot that has a strainer pot that nests inside of it. I thought that would be helpful to get the chicken and veggies out later.  Fill up the pot with water to just at the top of the chicken, or just under the top of the pot, whichever comes first.  If you have room, add some chunks of onion, celery, and carrots. I did not have room, so I'm going to add those after I take the cooked chicken out.  One good thing about not putting the veggies in yet is that you will end up with plain, poached chicken that could be used for other recipes.  Bring the chicken to a boil and then reduce to a simmer and cook for as long as you can, but at least 45 minutes to an hour or un...

Wow, it's been awhile! I think my last post was in October. I've been a bit...occupied...with other things! More on that later. ;) My favorite way of cooking it throwing things together. No recipe required! And that is exactly how I made dinner last night.  I had a little inspiration from from a pin on Pinterest for oven baked tacos.  I think this fact right here is why I prefer cooking over baking : you can take almost any recipe and modify it based on what you have on hand at the moment. I feel this is especially true for Mexican-American dishes. (I throw in American because I could not imagine my Guatemalan mother-in-law making ANY of these things. She'd probably laugh!) Anywho, I originally wanted to make those yummy looking tacos, but I didn't have the right stuff in the pantry.  So then I started making things up.  I had a pound of cooked ground beef in the freezer, so I started by thawing that quick and adding water and taco seas...

Recently I have discovered how much I love  breakfast. I have a bit more time in the mornings now I'm not waking up so early. In high school and college, I never really had much of an appetite before the sun came up. I really enjoy my days when I can have a slow start to my morning and cook up some eggs or french toast and savor a cup of coffee. The mornings I do have to get to work, I find I am so disappointed that I have to grab a quick bowl of cereal, a granola bar, or worse...nothing at all. The husband OBVIOUSLY needs a strong breakfast - he has morning PT and a full day of work (in a building with no A/C, mind you), so I realized I needed to find a solution to these early/busy mornings. Sacrificing, or having a sub-par breakfast, is just no longer an option for me. After dragging my feet for a week or two, I finally buckled down and prepped my freezer breakfasts! English Muffin Breakfast Sandwiches Cook your bacon IN THE OVEN, ON A BROILER PAN. I will...