Happy Thanksgiving!

I can’t believe its time for Thanksgiving once again!

This year I am keeping things simple and healthy and bringing a spinach salad. Got some baby spinach and topping with walnuts, cranberries, blue cheese and a walnut raspberry vinaigrette.

I’m sure there will be plenty of other goodies at my aunt and uncle’s house, where we’ll be celebrating this year.

My favorites are of course the turkey, sweet potatoes and cranberry sauce! And it wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without green bean casserole! If you are looking for a recipe, here is my Mom’s.

Green Bean Casserole

2 quarts of green beans (My Mom uses her owned canned green beans from her garden)
2 cans of Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom Soup (no cheap stuff, and NO reduced calorie stuff, on any of these ingredients)
about a 1/4 cup of finely chopped onion
salt
pepper
Velveeta Cheese
French’s fried onion rings (about 3/4 of the large container)

Dump the two quarts of green beans (do not drain) and chopped onion in a large saucepan on cook on high until it reaches a rolling boil. Remove and drain. I like to put it back in the big pot and then mix in the two cans of Cream of Mushroom soup. Sprinkle with about a teaspoon of salt and a 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Mix well. Put in a large casserole dish (make sure you leave an inch or two at the top as this dish will boil over). Cover with thin slices of Velveeta cheese. Bake at 350 for about 30-40 minutes or until bubbly. Add the onion rings and bake for about 10 minutes more. Serve immediately.

Happy Thanksgiving!

What’s for Dinner?

I know. I have not done one of these forever either!
I actually tried a couple of new things this week, though, that I thought I would share.
You may of seen these on Pinterest but a new favorite breakfast item of Tim and I’s are these egg cups.

They are super easy and travel well to the office, too!
All you do is spray a muffin tin with Pam, add some Canadian bacon (or they are good without, too), crack open an egg on top of that and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. You also can sprinkle a little cheese on top before baking as well. Really, you could do anything with these — you could scramble them, add veggies. Whatever.
What else have I been trying out?
Well, Monday night it was grilled chicken breasts. However, I spiced these up by marinating in some BBQ sauce and wrapping each breast in a slice of bacon. It really gave them a good flavor. We had these with lettuce salads and green bean casserole. Every once in awhile I get a craving for that and just have to make it. When I make it just for us, I omit the cheese and use the reduced calorie soup. It still tastes good and fulfills my craving.
Tuesday night I tried out BBQ ribs in the crockpot. They turned out great. I used country style pork ribs. I seasoned with Misty’s seasoning salt and topped with some Cookies Western Style BBQ sauce. I cooked them all day on low while I was at work. And the best thing? Having the house smell like a BBQ restaurant when I got home!
Wednesday night Tim grilled us burgers and fresh asparagus. One of the things I love about spring is asparagus. To grill, I just washed and trimmed it, put it on some foil and drizzled with a bit of olive oil. Also seasoned it with salt, pepper and lemon juice.
Thursday night we plan to grill again. This night Tim is having a smoked pork chop and me a piece of fish on the grill. (Tim doesn’t like grilled fish.) When I do fish on the grill, I put it on foil and drizzle a tiny bit of olive oil on it, salt, pepper and lemon juice. We’ll have this with salads.
Finally, Friday night is one of my favs — grilled steak. I’ll pair this with our favorite Trader Joes’ French onion soup and baked sweet potatoes.
And finally, Saturday, I actually am excited we will be home all day long with no where to go. I plan to do some spring cleaning and yard work. This night I am going to do my first beer butt chicken of the year! Will have to share pictures of how it turns out.
Hope this gives you all some ideas of things to try out in the near future.
Happy cooking!

Thanksgiving!

I am super excited for Thanksgiving next week! I am especially excited because I get to wake up at my Mom and Dad’s house and smell the turkey roasting in the oven. That is the best smell ever. I also am excited to get up and watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

But what I am most excited for, of course, are the turkey, dressing, sweet potatoes and cranberry sauce. Those are my most favorite things about the Thanksgiving meal. And, the No. 1 is the green bean casserole. Love love love! ha! Below you’ll find my Mom and I’s recipe. I shared it last year, but just in case. (I actually had to buy ingredients and plan on making my own batch this weekend. hee hee!)

So, don’t have too much else to add. I haven’t blogged in awhile, and I am unsure why. Tim and I have had an excellent fall. We’ve got in lots of Husker football watching, Mom and I have escaped to do some shopping during football and we’ve even gotten in trips to Des Moines and Kansas City to see family and soccer games. Last weekend we went out with some friends to the Lincoln Symphony Orchestra followed by dinner at Blue Orchid. That, too, was a lot of fun. Besides that, just looking forward to seeing family at Thanksgiving. My sister and her fiance are flying home, so it will be extra special!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Green Bean Casserole

2 quarts of green beans (My Momuses her owned canned green beans from her garden)
2 cans of Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom Soup (no cheap stuff, and NO reduced calorie stuff, on any of these ingredients)
about a 1/4 cup of finely chopped onion
salt
pepper
Velveeta Cheese
French’s fried onion rings (about 3/4 of the large container)

Dump the two quarts of green beans (do not drain) and chopped onion in a large saucepan on cook on high until it reaches a rolling boil. Remove and drain. I like to put it back in the big pot and then mix in the two cans of Cream of Mushroom soup. Sprinkle with about a teaspoon of salt and a 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Mix well. Put in a large casserole dish (make sure you leave an inch or two at the top as this dish will boil over). Cover with thin slices of Velveeta cheese. Bake at 350 for about 30-40 minutes or until bubbly. Add the onion rings and bake for about 10 minutes more. Serve immediately.