What's for Dinner (Monday, September 30, 2013)

As we approach the start of the Fall/Holiday Season, I wonder what's for dinner. How does your family swap from Summer Fun to Fall Foliage?  The signs in my home are we are outside more, cars are being washed on a daily basis and of course I start baking more and more.. Since is the first day of October I think I am going to rename is Baketober! Baketober will consist of a new baked good daily. :-D This will be expanding not only my baking world but also give you a look inside my world of picky eater family!

If you have a suggestion on something you want to see me "Try and Reinvent" please feel free to comment!!!

Going Gluten Free! Making the Choice!

If we make this choice it will be hard! The question we have to ask ourselves is with the end product be worth it???

In the Works - Muffins

So why sitting and holding my monkey, I got the craving for muffins. Romulus is a very generalized healthy food picky eater.. LOL.. I know crazy right! He loves healthy food and chocolate, but not really anything fating. We made muffins the other morning and he devoured the Strawberry and blue berry muffins, but didn't touch the double chocolate chip muffins. So that got the wheels turning on some yummy yummy muffins (Didn't help that on #thechew today Daphne Oz made some amazing Muffins). So the recipe "In the works" is Muffins


My process is to fine a basic recipe and Mandieize it!!!

The Mandieized Basic's:
1 egg
1/4 cup oil  - Use Applesauce
1/2 cup milk - Use Almond Milk instead, It's healthier and Rominator prefers it!
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar - Use the Molasses
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup fresh blueberries or any berries
1 cup of Nuts (almonds, walnuts or pecans)



Please note this recipe is in the works, has either been tried and need adjustments or etc. This is BAKE AT YOUR OWN RISK.. As soon as it is tested and finalized it will posted for it's own card!!!

It's been a While

So I have not posted in a really long time, but I'm hoping to change that! As I add Recipes! If you have any request please feel free to email or message me.

Email:
amandathompson41@gmail.com

Message Me:
Skype - MandieThompson
GMail - amandathompson41@gmail.com

Buying in Bulk Classes

As many people know that buying in bulk saves you money. However most people are scared to embark upon "Bulk Shopping" because they will "waste" most of there money by wasting food.. DON"T WASTE - BUY BULK!  Let us show you how to buy in bulk.


Classes start January 8, 2012

To sign up contact us via email at amandathompsonrma@yahoo.com

Spinach & Artichoke Dip

I love Ruby Tuesday Hot Spinach & Artichoke dip (minus the different color chips). I tried making it over the Thanksgiving Holiday it was good but not something I would allow my family and friends try ( mainly my amazing neighbors Ashley and Scooter) However after laying in bed sick yesterday I was watching old Rachel Ray episodes and she did spinach and artichoke dip and the inspiration hit me. I felt better today so i embarked upon making it today. Below is my tweaked Rachel Ray recipe.

Ingredients
1 box of Frozen Spinach
1 can of Artichoke Hearts
3 tbs of Butter
4 cloves of Garlic or 2-3 tbs of Minced Garlic
3 tbs of AP Flour
1.5 cup of Chicken Stock
1 cup of Milk
1 5oz container of Gorgonzola Cheese (crumbled)
2 5oz containers of shredded Parmesan Cheese
Salt and Pepper

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees
Defrost spinach based on the package directions thenn drain well by wringing out in dish towel.
Finely chop the Artichoke Hearts ( I quarter mine)
Heat a sauce pot with butter over medium to medium-high heat.
Add garlic to melted butter and stir 1 to 2 minutes, then sprinkle in flour and combine 1 minute more.
Pour in stock and milk and season with salt, and pepper.
Thicken 2 minutes then remove from heat and melt in Gorgonzola.
Stir in spinach and artichokes and half the shredded cheese then transfer to a small casserole and top with remaining cheese.
Brown and bubble in the oven for 10 to 12 minutes.Then cut off Oven turn on Broiler on High for 2-3 mins. Watch this CLOSLEY.

*The recipe is based off Rachel Ray Gorgonzola Spinach Artichoke Dip, for full recipe visit http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/gorgonzola-spinach-artichoke-dip-recipe/index.html *

Holiday Baking

With the Holiday's upon us it's time to break out the oven mitts and get to baking. I love this time of the year simply because I can bake and bake and bake some more :-D My current standing is baking pies for all of my co-workers, my boss's and of course friends and family. Currently I have 7 Sweet Potato Pies and 3 Apple Pies just for co-workers I know I have to make 2 Pecan Pies, but those maybe thanksgiving day fun.. Even though there are 7 of us in house we don't make large meals. we try our best to keep it simple, fun and of course YUMMY! We will have Ham (boss's holiday gift to us), Fried Turkey (because I don't eat Ham), Dressing, and mac and cheese. I may throw in some oddities like Pasta or something along those lines since we have mac and cheese EVERYDAY! I may even make 2ce bakes potatoes you never know with me.. Soo stayed tuned to the blog and I'll keep you posted with recipes and photos of what cooking in Mandie's Food Corner!

Twisted stuffed shells

This is my rendition of stuffed shells! I love anything including pasta however I'm not a fan of ricotta cheese. So hence a few bored moments and a few cooking websites later my twisted on stuffed shells.

3 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast
1 jar of your favorite Alfredo Sauce
1lb of Mozzarella Cheese
8 oz of Mushrooms
2 cloves of fresh garlic
Small to large onion ur option
1/3-1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese
2 tbsp of Italian seasoning
1 jar of red sauce
And your choice of shells or lasagna noodles


Boil chicken (I use 10 bullion cubes for 3 breast just because I love bullion$
Once chicken is done place in bowl to cool. Place noodles in chicken broth! And cook per directions.

Chop up mushrooms and onions in a chopper as fine as possible. Throw your two cloves in chopper as well.

Once cool shred chicken, pour in Alfredo sauce, Italian seasoning, onions, mushrooms, parmesan cheese and garlic.

Lay out noodles in a pan or stuff noodles with mixture. I personally layered like a lasagna,layer noodle, mix, cheese, noodles. I layered bc i got mad at the shells. Turn oven to 450, you don't have to pre-heat. Place red
sauce all over top of you pan and sprinkle with cheese. Simply place in over for at least 30 minutes.

Any questions just ask

Taco Soup Recipe to the Rescue

Our Family's Taco Soup Recipe By Susan Eiland-Odom ( Local Paramedic/Lifesaver) 2 pounds ground beef (can use turkey too) 2 cans black beans 2 cans corn 2 cans chili beans 1 can garbanzo beans 2 cans kidney beans 2 cans diced tomatoes 2 packets dry taco season mix 2 packets dry ranch dressing mix 1 packet dry chili season mix salt, pepper, Mrs.Dash, dry minced onion to taste Half of a big loaf of Velveeta or one small box Velveeta-cut up into small cubes shredded cheese (whatever variety you like), sour cream, Frito's, red pepper seeds, etc... to serve with it individually Brown meat with salt, pepper, Mrs.Dash and onion. Drain well. Meanwhile in big pot or big crock-pot, combine all the cans of beans&tomatoes, the season mixes and cubes of Velveeta. mix well and bring to boil then turn on low and simmer. In crock-pot, you can cook on low all day or overnight. Serve with sour cream, Frito's and shredded cheese. Even better the next day. Freezes well too and easy to double the batch. You can also vary the types and number of cans of beans to put in...whatever you like or have on hand! Thanks Mrs. Susan for this!!!!

Tip # 1: Saving in Bulk

This is my first Saving in Bulk tip..
If you want to buy and bulk and make it work there is one little card that you will need. It's a Sam's or Costco Club Membership.. Yes, if you are a family of more than 1 you need to invest the $40 a year for this membership. If you have children that require diapers or formula this should be on your baby registry list :-D. There are 2 Sam's Clubs closet to me (Atmore, AL) There is one in Mobile, Al and one in Pensacola, Fl. We shop the one in Pensacola,Fl so that food items are Tax Free.. i know that with having a newborn in the house that it's not fun to run out of diapers at 4am, so when I can purchase a box of size 2 diapers (Sams you get a box of 186 diapers for $39.98 which works our to $0.214 a diaper, Wal-mart you would spend $46.50 for same amount of diapers. That is a $6.52 saving a month, if you saved that every month on diapers alone you would save $78.24 in a year thus paying for your membership in savings). Another Savings that I find just impressive is I can buy Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast for $1.67 a pound when I buy it by the case. So i normally spend $60 for about 55 to 60lbs of chicken for a month. A 10lb roll of hamburger meat (80/20) I pay around $20.00 for and get 36 - 4oz hamburger patties. There are something I don't suggest buying at Sam's unless you use a lot of it such as fruit and veggies ( we buy strawberries and potatoes but we eat a lot of them. Buying in bulk is good when you A) buy what you need B) store and use and C) When you want and need to save money...

Hope this helps and please feel free to leave comments and questions. I will gladly answer them As soon as I can.

www.samsclub.com
http://www.costco.com/

There is a Trick to Buying in bulk, so check out Trick #1 to Buying in bulk

Chicken in the Crock Pot

Well My wonderful Father, Mother, Sister and Neighbor went to black Friday Shopping at Wal-Mart for me.. They got me the Crock Pot and the Griddle which I proudly used both Tonight.... There is 7 of us in this house (Including Romulus who is proudly 2 months old tomorrow) Well I am always looking for ways to cook and bake for us all, well my neighbor got me hooked to pinterst, while surfing through there I found an awesome Chicken Salsa Crock Pot Recipe and tried it tonight.. I have 3 words for you Oh My GOODNESS... It was awesome.. It fed not only my bunch (Me, Jonathan, Trinity, Momma, Daddy, and Charley) but my Sister-N-Law, Emily and Cloe and I still have left overs.. The taste was UNBELIEVABLE!!! So here it goes:

Crock Pot on low for 5 - 6 hours..

Ingrediants:
3 to 4 Chicken Breast (I buy in bulk at Sam's and they were Huge this time so I only used 3)
1 oz of Taco Seasoning ( I used Old El Paso)
1 Cup of Salsa (I used Pace of course)
4 oz of Water
4 oz of Sour Cream


Directions.....
Place Chicken Breast in Crock Pot, pour in Salsa, Taco Seasoning and 2 oz of Water let cook for at least 5 hours.
After 5 hours Shread the Chicken with 2 forks, add the sour cream and mix well let set on low for another 10 to 30 mins and ENJOY!!!

We made chicken quesadilla's out of ours using the new griddle, flour tortilla's and Mexican mix shredded cheese...

Homemade Mack and Cheese

Ingrediants:
1lb of Elebow Macaroni
1-2 cups of Milk
1lb of Sliced Cheese (we prefer Baker & Chefs from Sam's Red Front)


*Boil Macaroni Noodles for 10 mins or until fully cooked.

*Add Milk Usually right below the edge of the noodles

*Place back over the heat and add cheese

*Mix until melted.

*Enjoy!

The longer it sits the creamer it gets same if you add more cheese

Chicken Parm

Ingredients:
*2 to 3 Chicken Breast split to make 4 to 6 pieces
* 1/2 to 3/4 cups of Italian Bread Crumbs
* 1/2 to 3/4 cups of Flour
* 2 to 3 Eggs beaten
* 4 to 5 tbsp of Soul Food Seasoning (this can be bought at Dollar General)
* 2 to 3 tbsp of Lowery's Season Salt
* Oil to Fry
* 16 oz of Mozzarella Cheese (don't skimp buy the good stuff)
* 2 Jars of your favorite Spaghetti sauce
* Your favorite Noodles or Pasta cooked by directions


Directions

~Turn oven on to 400 degrees

~Split chicken breast, place in ziploc bag (do not close it or it will bust) pound out the chicken until it's about a 1/8" thick.

~Place Flour on a Plate, place bread crumbs on a separate plate, and eggs in a roll (beaten) arrange them flour, egg, bread crumbs

~Coat chicken breast with Soul Food Seasoning and Season Salt

~Turn Fryer on or pour oil in to a pan and heat to fry the breast in

~Dredge chicken into flour then to egg then to bread crumbs and then place in fryer, cook until outside is golden brown. (if it isn't cooked all the way through that is okay your going to bake this as well)

~Take a deep dish glass baking dish and spray with cooking spray. After chicken breast have cooled on paper towels for a few place in dish.

~After all chicken breast is done and oil drained off place in cooking dish. Poor Sauce Over all the chicken breast.

~Place in Oven for 25-30 minutes.

~Pull out and place Mozzarella Cheese over the center of the breast, bake for another 10 minutes until cheese is melted.

~ Cool and Enjoy..


Any Questions Please leave a comment I will post as soon as I see them>.

Easy Lasagna

Ingredients:
2lbs of Ground Meat
2 jars of Bertoli Spaghetti Sauce
1 box of Lasagna Noodles
36oz of Mozzarella Cheese (Shredded or the Block)
1 small container of Ricotta Cheese (Optional)

Directions:

Brown Hamburger meat and mix spaghetti sauce and leave on low
Boil Lasagna Noodles per Directions on box (for a 13x9 glass pan it will take approx 1/2 box)
After Cooking lasagna noodles.. Take pan and spray with non-cooking spray.
Layer Noodles, Sauce, Ricotta (if using), Mozzarella, Noodles, Sauce, Cheese
Bake at 450 for 30 to 45 minutes until cheese on top is brown.

ENJOY!!!

Easy Peasy Peanut Butter Fudge

1 1/4 cups (10 ounces or 3.5 Sticks) unsalted butter (Make Sure unsalted Stick Butter, if you use the kind in a tub it will cause it to be really oily and not set)
1 1/2 cups smooth peanut butter
Pinch of salt
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted

1. Butter an 8-inch non-stick baking dish (or line with buttered parchment paper) and set aside.

2. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, heat the butter and peanut butter until the mixtures comes to a boil. Remove from the heat.

3. Add the salt and vanilla extract, then stir in the powdered sugar until smooth and no lumps remain.

4. Pour the fudge mixture into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Press a piece of plastic wrap directly on the fudge and refrigerate until set, at least 1 hour. Cut into squares and serve. Fudge can be stored at cool room temperature in an airtight container.





(Recipe Adapted from Brown Eyed Baker

Apple Muffins Which are not really Muffins :-D

I came up with this recipe when I wanted to make something fast but yummy and didn't want to destroy my kitchen, well Hello Refrigerated Biscuits. :-D I decided that I was going to see what I could do with them and my apple filling and believe me it was a Yummy Idea...


Ingredients:
1 Can of Flaky Biscuits (the regular size not grand)

Apple Filling:
2-2.5 lbs of Green Granny Smith Apples Peeled and chopped into Chuncks
1 Stick of Butter
5 Teaspoons of Light Brown Sugar
1/8 cup of White Sugar
2 Teaspoons of Cinnamon
1/2 Teaspoon of Nutmeg

Instructions:
1) Preheat Oven to 350 degrees
2) Melt Butter, Brown Sugar, Cinnamon, Nutmeg in Large Skillet add white sugar and apple cook for 1 to 2 minutes.
3) Pull Biscuits in to 2 halves
4) Place one half of the biscuit in the bottom of the Muffin/Cupcake Pan
5) Put in Apples (no Liquid)
6) Place 2nd half of biscuit on top and press down
7) Spoon Juice (from Apple Filling) on to the each biscuit
8) Bake as directed on the biscuit package
9) Let Cool and ENJOY!

Pe-Can Pie

After taking my Apple Muffins over to my neighbors to get their opinion, they requested a Pecan Pie, which I had never made. I wasn't really sure I was up for the challenge until I started looking at recipes. I went to the store to get pecans and came home with a FABULOUS Idea on how to make it. Hence my 1st Pecan Pie:



Ingredients:
1 cup Karo® Light Corn Syrup
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract ( I use only Pure Vanilla Extract - I get a big bottle at Sam's )
1 bag of pecans or 6-8 oz Chopped or Whole
1 (9-inch) unbaked or frozen** deep-dish pie crust

Instructions:
1) Preheat oven to 350°F.

2) Mix corn syrup, eggs, sugar, butter and vanilla using a spoon. Stir in pecans. Pour filling into pie crust.

3) Bake on center rack of oven for 60 to 70 minutes

Yes it is that EASY and It was evidently pretty good since it was gone in like 2 days between 3 people that work full time :-D

Apple Pie

I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE Tart Apple Pie.. It has to be better then Choclate to me. :-D However finding a good Thick Crust Tart Style Apple Pie is extremely hard. My uncle use to bake a lot and I always got one for Birthday, Thanksgiving and Christmas. However times have changed and he no longer does this. I got to craving a pie so bad that I embarked on my first Apple Pie.. Here is my Recipe.. Just to not it is Tart but OH SO GOOD and if your like me and like the Crust the best well then I suggest using Jiffy Pie Crust and rolling it out thick and then letting it sit for 24 hours before eating, yes I'm well aware of the Crazy amount of strength that this can take, however you can use the pie crust you have left over to make a few little dumpling style pies to tied ya over.. :-D




2-2.5 lbs of Green Granny Smith Apples Peeled and chopped into Chuncks
1 Stick of Butter
5 Teaspoons of Light Brown Sugar
1/8 cup of White Sugar
2 Teaspoons of Cinnamon
1/2 Teaspoon of Nutmeg
1 Frozen 9" Deep Dish Pie Crust or Any other Pie Crust
1 Rolled Pie Crust (red box) if your not making your own

I use my large skillet, but whatever you have that will fit the apples is fine.
Melt your butter, brown sugar, cinnamon & nutmeg over medium to medium-high heat until fully melted the add white sugar.

Then cook for 1 minute.

Add apples. Stirring and coating apples well with glaze. Let sit for 5 minitues over medium-low heat.

Pour Mix into Pie Crust (If using a Frozen Pie Crust then make sure it's Frozen I pulled it straight out of the freezer and poured my mix into it. :-D )
Make Sure to Slit the Top and Sprinkle with Sugar and Cinnamon
Cook at 450 for 20-30 minutes (my oven was only 25)


Best when allowed to cool and set overnight. :-D

Hope Y'all enjoy as Much as I do.. :-D

Monkey Bread

Ingredients

4 (12 ounce) packages refrigerated biscuit dough
1-1/3 cups white sugar
2-3/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2/3 cup margarine
1-1/3 cups packed brown sugar
Cooking Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease one 9 or 10" Bundt® pan.
2) Mix white sugar and cinnamon in a plastic bag. Cut biscuits into quarters. Shake 6 to 8 biscuit pieces in the sugar cinnamon mix. Arrange pieces in the bottom of the prepared pan. Continue until all biscuits are coated and placed in pan. If using nuts and raisins, arrange them in and among the biscuit pieces as you go along.
3) In a small saucepan, melt the margarine with the brown sugar over medium heat. Boil for 1 minute. Pour over the biscuits.
4) Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 35 minutes. Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a plate. Do not cut! The bread just pulls apart.

Welcome to Mandie's Food Corner

8/8/2012: I havn't posted in a while however I hope for that to Change starting today! I will start posting new food ideas for main courses along with desserts and snacks. I'm also branching out and looking for unique Family recipes. If you have any please email me at mandie@photosbymandie.com so I can get them up.. I will also be hoping to add a few videos as well. :-D Hope you click the Follow button down below and as always check us out on Facebook.! - Mandie


Hi, Thank you for Checking out my Blog.. I started this blog just mainly to post recipes, however with the current economy and those who are struggling to make it on 1 income or on less then 600 a month for a family of 4. To tell you a little about me and my family. I am the Mother of 2 beautiful Children (Trinity age 4 & Romulus age 2 months), I am a Wife to my Husband Jonathan who will be celebrating 10 years July 4, 2012. I'm also a daughter, my parents and only sister are currently staying with us while they home is remodeled. So the total count of people in my household that I feed is 7 (Romulus included because I do Breast Feed him). My dad is a seasonal worker so he can go a few months without working. My husband was recently on disability for Cancer ( We lost this income in September 2011) So we have to make every dollar we have and earn stretch. I do Photography on the side to help print in some extra cash. I do not coupon, I have tried and failed miserably because I have a house of very Picky eaters, so with that I have found that bulking cooking and buying is the best thing ever. Yes I may spend $400 dollars in 30 days for Food but that is cooking a minimum of 2 meals a day and a Max of 4. I always cook to feed 7 people at each meal..

I Hope that this blog helps you and that you can spread the wonderful knowledge to others.




This Blog is Dedicated to Several People:
My Husband and Children
My Parents and Sister
My Sister-N-Law and Daughters
My Friend Michelle & her Girls
and To all the Stay at Home Mommies out there.