Win Some Music..The 4 Mom's Give Away!

The 4 Mom's are giving away some fun music.  Help your kids and yourself to hide God's word in their/your hearts/heart!

There will be one winner for each:

God's Word from A to Z.

and

Jamie Soles album of Psalms.

Good Luck!

Sassy

Mexican Rice

We love Mexican food!  It is definately something I can serve with no complaints.  I have one chick who is especially fond of rice...any rice.  I have searched high and low for the perfect Mexican rice recipe.  Usually they come out too hard.  I have finally come up with the perfect rice.  Try it, you'll like it.  (Please excuse my pot...)

Here is how the rice looks after I browned it...If you have ever made Rice-A-Roni you know what to do!

Beans and cheese soft tacos with amazing Mexican rice.

MEXICAN RICE

• 2 T. olive oil
• 2 c. long grain white rice
• 2 t. garlic salt
• 1 t. cumin
• 1/2 an onion, diced
• 4 c. homemade chicken broth (canned will work too)
• 1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Cook rice, stirring constantly, until golden brown. While rice is cooking, add cumin and garlic salt. Stir in onion and cook until soft. Stir in chicken broth and tomato sauce. Bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to low. Cook for 20 to 25 minutes.  Fluff with  fork. Serve along side your favorite Mexican meal.

Check out Tasty Tuesday for more yumminess.

Honey Buns

Oh honey...they are great.  Honey, you're gonna love'em.  These are amazing honey. Seriously, these are the best rolls I have ever made. It's a first...I didn't change a thing about this recipe.  This recipe is perfect just the way I found it at The Pastry Affair.  I am pretty sure I will be returning to this blog to try out other stuff like the Almond Joy Tart.  One of Rowdy's favorite things is coconut and this tart looks awesome. 

One of the many things about blogging I have yet to master is the photography aspect.  This year I did get an awesome new camera and am able to take great pictures with it, however, there are many people living here and at dinnertime it is hard to say wait...I need to get a picture of that food before you start shoveling it in, or the baby is crying that dinnertime "witching hour" cry that only momma can sooth.  In any case, I did not get  a great picture of my rolls and did not get a picture of them out of the pan...I hope to make them again soon and get a great shot to add to this post.  Now that would be amazing.

HONEY BUNS 

• 2 t. active dry yeast
• 1 c. warm water
• 1/4 c. honey plus 1 T.
• 1 t. salt
• 1 egg, room temperature (this is when I miss my chickens!)
• 3 c. all-purpose flour, plus extra if necessary
• 1 T. butter

In the bowl of your stand mixer combine water, 1/4 cup honey and yeast.  Let proof for 5 minutes. Add egg, salt and flour and begin to knead with your dough hook.  This dough will seem sticky, but that is how it is supposed to be.  You may need to add a little flour, it just depends on how dry your flour is and the level of stickiness you can handle.  Knead for 5 minutes.  Shape into a ball, place in an oiled bowl (I must confess to never doing this step with bread dough...I just shape into a ball and place back in my mixing bowl), cover and and let rise for at least an hour, two hours would probably be better. Spray pan with nonstick spray.  I used my 3 quart enameled cast iron pan, but a 13x9 inch Pyrex would work just as well.  Shape into 12 balls and place evenly in pan.  Let rise for another 30 minutes. Combine 1 tablespoon of melted butter with 1 tablespoon honey.  Gently brush across the top of the rolls so you don't deflate them. Place in an oven that has been preheated to 400 degrees. Bake for 13 to 20 minutes, depending on your oven, until golden brown on top. Let stand a few minutes before removing from pan so the butter/honey can slightly harden. 

Baked Spaghetti

This is a dish everyone will love.  The key is chopping the onions and bell peppers very small, this way the kids who think they don't like onions and bell peppers won't notice them. My inspiration these days comes from TV.  I have been recording my favorite cooking shows to watch in the middle night while I am up with the baby.  This recipe is from Paula Deen's show, but it is really Dora's recipe.  Apparently she works at Paula's restaurant and was guest on the show.  Of course I did change the recipe some, but that is how I roll!  This dish was perfect for Rowdy...he loves his noodles really soft.

My sauce...it turned out really tasty.

Spread 1/3 of the sauce in the bottom of a 13x9 inch dish. Spread 1/2 the cooked spaghetti over the sauce and half the cheese.

 Spread half of the sauce that is left over the cheese.

Next layer the rest of the noodles and the rest of the sauce. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Uncover and spread with remaining cheese. Put back in oven until cheese is melted.

Hot out of the oven, let stand for 5 minutes or so before serving.

BAKED SPAGHETTI

• 3/4 lb. ground meat of your liking (I used sweet Italian sausage.  Dora used turkey, chicken and pork.  Ground beef would work excellent too.)
• 1 T. olive oil
• 1/2 yellow onion, diced
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce
• 1/2 c. water, swished in jar of sauce to get it all out
• 1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce
• 1 lb. thin spaghetti
• 1 cup jack cheese, grated
• 1 cup cheddar cheese, grated

Dice onion and pepper, mince garlic.  Fry and crumble Italian sausage (or meat of choice) in your saucepan with onion and pepper.  Once the veggies have softened and the sausage is cooked through, add the garlic and stir around until fragrant, about 30 seconds.  Pour in spaghetti sauce, water that has been swished around in sauce jar and tomato sauce.  Simmer for at least 20 minutes. While sauce is simmering prepare spaghetti, cooking slightly al dente.  Grate cheese and set aside. Spray 13x9 inch pan with nonstick spray.  Ladle 1/3 of the sauce into the bottom of the pan and spread around.  Layer half the noodles in the pan. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup jack and 1/2 cup cheddar cheese.  Spread 1/2 of the remaining sauce over the cheese. Next, layer the remaining noodles and then the remaining sauce.  Reserve the remaining cheese for the end of baking.  Cover with foil and place in a 350 degree oven. Bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Return to oven until cheese melts. Let stand 5 minutes or so before serving.

See Works For Me Wednesday for more fun stuff.

Win Marie Madeline Skirt or $50 at their site...Enter at Life In A Shoe.

I love Marie Madeline!  They have the cutest patterns...I own 4 of them.  I love their fabric...super-d-duper cute!  Enter here to win...Life In a Shoe.  Don't enter too many times...you make wreck my chance at the grand prize  ;O)

Banana and Toasted Pecan Muffins

Toasted pecans take the banana muffin to a whole new level.  Toasted pecans make everything yummy, toss in a salad, sprinkle on pancakes once you ladel the batter on the pan and sprinkled on a bowl of ice cream.  The possibilities are endless.  The best way to toast the pecan is to put the desired amount in a frying pan, over medium-high heat tossing the pecans around for about 10 minutes, until you smell that toasty nutty smell.  Be careful not to leave the pan for too long....they can go from toasty to burned pretty quickly.

 

Toasty Pecans.

These muffins have texture...with a slight crunch!

Split and smear with butter!

BANANA AND TOASTED PECAN MUFFINS

• 1-1/2 c. all-purpose flour
• 1/2 c. whole wheat flour
• 2 t. baking powder
• 1 t. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 t. baking soda
• 1/4 t. salt
• 1 c. chopped pecans, toasted
• 1 lg. egg
• 3/4 c. organic cane sugar
• 1-1/3 c. mashed ripe bananas (2 to 3)
• 6 T. canola oil or melted butter
• 1 t. vanilla

Combine dry ingredients.  Mix toasted pecans with flour mixture. Mash bananas in a separate bowl.  Add egg, sugar, butter/oil and vanilla.  Whisk together wet ingredients. Mix wet and dry ingredients together just until dry ingredients are moistened.  This batter will seem somewhat thick. Scoop into prepared muffin pan.  Bake at 375 degrees for 18 to 20 minutes, until toothpick test comes out clean.  Let cool 2 to 3 minutes before removing from pan.  Makes 12 muffins.