Easy Peasy Pico

You know how your tastebuds change as you get older? Well, pico de gallo is something I never, ever, ever thought I would like. A few years ago, Brad and I did the Whole 30 challenge. Twice. (Yeah, we might be a little cray cray.) But one thing that challenge helped me discover was that I like pico de gallo. Not just tolerate it. But really, really like it. Like I eat it with a spoon straight out of the bowl. (I'm not really helping my cray cray case am I?)

Ginger Muffins

Nothing says fall like ginger muffins. I stumbled upon this recipe last year from this cute blog called Back to the Cutting Board and knew it would be going in my recipe notebook after the first time I made it. It was a huge hit with my family!

I make mini muffins so they are perfect for my little ones and great for taking as a snack or on the go for a quick breakfast. But I have made regular sized muffins with this recipe too and they turned out just as good. Look how yummy...

 

Patriotic Pie

We LOVE to celebrate with festive desserts around our house and I have the perfect July 4th dessert that is simple to make. And it is a crowd pleaser. I mean, look how fun this is!!!

Sunday Stew

Even though Texas winters can be fickle at times, this easy and delicious stew is perfect whether it's cold or hot outside. I call it my Sunday Stew because that's when I love to make it...when I have time to let it simmer on the stove all afternoon while I lay down for a Sunday midday nap. Ahhhh...now that is a perfect Sunday! Here's whatcha need, lovelies:

My Favorite Stolen Recipes

I love when my favorite friends share some of their favorite recipes. I've got 2 great recipes for you today. I stole both of them and they are awesome! One is healthy and one not so much. But seeing as I'm all about balance in life, this works out kinda perfectly for me. Enjoy lovelies!!

Chili Breakfast Tacos

Breakfast tacos are my new favorites for breakfast. I went to whip some up the other morning and realized I had forgotten to stock up on breakfast meat at the store. Boo. Not to fear. I am a woman who always has a back up plan. 

Lemon Icebox Pie

Oh. My. Stars. This dessert is summer in a graham cracker crust.

Brad and I were serving in the children's ministry at our church one Sunday when he had a random craving for a Lemon Icebox Pie. I searched some recipes online but didn't love the way any of them sounded. 

Then I remembered this refreshing recipe that my sister always made using cool whip, cream cheese, and sugar. She knows the one...neither of us have it written down anywhere and we always forget which type of sugar we use in the recipe (powdered or granular) so it's always a lot of wondering if the recipe will turn out because we haven't bothered to write it down after all these years. You know, one of those recipes...the best kind. :)

So I decided that I would use my sister's recipe as my inspiration and make my darling hubby some Lemon Icebox Pie ASAP. I mean, he did just work with a room full of 1 year olds for several hours (ok, there were really only 2 children there that day), but let's get this man some pie already!! 

Here's what ya need:

8 oz block cream cheese, softened

1 cup Countrytime Lemonade Mix

8 oz tub of Cool Whip, thawed

zest and juice of 2 lemons (use 1 lemon for less tartness)

Graham cracker pie crust 

Here's what ya do:

Get yourself a cute kitchen assistant. Like this:

Next, use an electric hand mixer to beat cream cheese and lemonade until smooth. Add zest and lemon juice and beat until combined (about 5 seconds). Fold in Cool Whip until blended. Pour into graham cracker crust (I buy the pre-made one) and smooth evenly. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours to set. Stuff your face. 

Warning: this recipe has dairy, gluten, and non-organic ingredients. And I'm ok with all of that because it's summa-time and this pie is kinda awesome. And sometimes you just need to eat a bunch of sugar poured into a graham cracker crust. Can I get an amen??? ;)

Now go make this pie. 

Xoxo-The Simple Mama

Thanksgiving Dressing

If you follow me on Instagram you saw that this happened this weekend:

Now I know what you're thinking...what about Thanksgiving??? Well, this also happened this week: our first snow dusting. :)

It just feels like Christmas already! But I love Thanksgiving too and I promise I haven't forgotten about this fun holiday. And I am extra excited about Thanksgiving this year because I get to be with both my mom and sister. This will be the first time we've spent a holiday all together in about 10 years. I. Can. Not. Wait.

So to celebrate all this excitement, I'm sharing my Thanksgiving Dressing recipe. I'm sure I am violating some kind of Texas rule by calling it dressing instead of stuffing. But I don't stuff it in anything (except my face) so dressing just seems like a better fit. This is the recipe that my mom always made when I was growing up and now I make it for my family. It's my kind of old-fashioned comfort food! (Be fully warned...this recipe is the very opposite of paleo cooking!!. But it is the holidays and I am ok with that!!) I've passed it along to some of my friends and let's just say that this dressing recipe is a favorite for sure!! 

Mom's Thanksgiving Dressing

2 packages of white cornbread (Martha White is my favorite brand)

1/2 loaf of white bread

2 cups celery, chopped

2 cups onion, chopped

1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick)

3 tsp sage

3 tsp poultry seasoning

2-4 cups chicken stock

1-2 cups turkey broth 

2 eggs

Prepare cornbread in 8 x 8 pan according to package directions. Crumble when cooled completely. Toast bread on a baking sheet in a single layer at 250 degrees for about 30 minutes, turning over after 15 minutes. (You can also toast bread in the toaster to save time, but there's just something about doing it in the oven that makes this recipe taste so good!) Crumble into pea-sized pieces when cooled. 

Saute celery and onion in butter until soft. Add sage and poultry seasoning to taste (or smell as my mom taught me.) In a large bowl, mix crumbled cornbread, toast, and celery/onion mixture. Add chicken stock and turkey broth until desired moistness. (You can use all chicken stock if you don't have turkey broth or don't want to mess with that. But use the broth from your turkey if you can. It makes a big difference!) Some people like dry dressing, some like it soupy. Keep adding stock/broth until it looks a little wetter than you prefer to eat because it will dry out some when cooking. Lastly, add 2 eggs and mix all together. Place dressing in a greased 9 x 13 inch pan and bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 45-60 minutes or until a knife/toothpick comes out clean.

Wishing you and yours a wonderful Thanksgiving! Gobble! Gobble! :)

Butternut Squash Soup

I love homemade soup at this time of year...especially this one because it makes my whole house smell like Fall!  And you are going to love the story of how I got this delicious recipe! 

Birthday Edition

Someone in our home has a birthday this week (more on that in a few days!). So I thought I would share 2 of my best birthday cake tips. Because who doesn't love birthday cake?!?

Mexican Lasagna

We try to live a balanced life...including our diet...but sometimes I have to forget about gluten-free or paleo and just cook some old fashion comfort food. And nothing is more comforting to me than pasta! I created this recipe about 5 years ago. It's been awhile since I've made it and I've forgotten how good it is!! It's the best of both worlds...Italian AND Mexican food! Yum!! You can thank me later. ;)

1 pound hamburger meat

1 can Mexican stewed tomatoes

6 lasagna noodles

1 can Bush’s Seasoned black beans (drained)

1 1/2 cups corn 

2 cups shredded cheese

Taco seasoning, salt, pepper (to taste)

I don't know why, but these 3 ingredients seem to make the dish for me. So here's a picture so you can see what I use specifically.  The Mexican stewed tomatoes aren't called "Mexican stewed tomatoes" like they were when I first created this recipe, but it's the stewed tomatoes with jalapenos, garlic, and cumin. Also, for the taco seasoning I use this Morton & Bassett Mexican Blend that I found at Market Street and I LOVE it!! And the seasoned black beans just add another level of flavor over the plain black beans, but that's just me. :) 

Now on to the recipe!

1. Brown hamburger meat. Add taco seasoning, salt, and pepper to taste. Add stewed tomatoes. Cover and simmer 30-45 minutes.

2. Prepare lasagna noodles according to package directions. Cut noodles to fit in 8 x 8 baking dish.

3. Drain black beans and mix with corn. Season with salt to taste.

4. In an 8 x 8 baking dish, layer noodles, meat sauce, bean/corn mixture, and cheese (You should have 3 layers of noodles). Cover with foil. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes. 

 Top with avocado and stuff your face!

XOXO :)

Snack-packing Simplified

Packing lunches isn't my favorite. So when we were gearing up for Channing to go to Kindergarten I was somewhat stressed about the idea of having to pack a lunch AND a snack everyday. Go ahead and make fun of me. I know. It's a weird thing to stress about. It isn't really the act of packing the snacks, it's thinking of what to pack. So instead of letting it get the best of me I decided to face it head on and make a snack plan. 

Grain-Free Banana Pancakes

My hubby and I have completed the Whole 30 Challenge twice now. The Whole 30 Challenge is basically extreme Paleo for 30 days.  Meats, veggies, fruits, nuts, and seeds. No dairy. No legumes. No grains. No sugar (including natural sweeteners like honey, agave nectar, or maple syrup). I know y'all think we are crazy right about now, but it really did make our bodies feel and work better. It was kinda like a 30 day reboot. Eating real food in it's most natural form.  

Our Austin BFFs follow the Paleo lifestyle so when I got tired of cooking eggs for breakfast everyday, I consulted them and begged for some ideas! This is the simple recipe they gave me for these fabulous Grain-Free Banana Pancakes:

Ingredients:

2 eggs, whisked until frothy

1 ripe banana, mashed 

dash of cinnamon

Combine the eggs and bananas and whisk in the cinnamon. Cook these bad boys up like regular pancakes using a tiny amount of coconut oil for each one.

Disclaimer: These are NOT super fluffy pancakes. They are thin...like the consistency of a fried egg. This recipe will make about 6 pancakes. They are awesome!!

Add some fruit on top and a dab of maple syrup and enjoy!!

Simple Summer Smoothie

Welcome to the first ever Tasty Tuesday! Clean eating is important in our home. Now, everyone has their own definition of "clean eating" so in my opinion, you gotta eat what makes your body feel the best (and I'm not talking about mint Oreos here-even though they do make me feel pretty good!!). We eat lots of meat, fresh fruits and veggies and try to keep it gluten free if possible (which is sometimes hard for this pasta loving gal!). So Tasty Tuesday will be all about some of my favorite clean recipes. Let's start with this recipe for a Simple Summer Smoothie!