Mini Meatloaf

This stuff is so good! Sorry I didn't take many pictures. I didn't plan on doing a post about this. I was half expecting it to fail. But it was so yummy! Hubby better hurry up and get home before I eat it all :)

Preheat oven to 350'F

Ingredients

1 lb of ground beef (fills a six hole muffin tin)

2 tablespoons ketchup

1/4 cup oats (I did just a little less then 1/4 cup)

1/4 cup onions (I actually forgot to add the onions) whoops

1 tablespoon yellow mustard

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp italian seasoning

1 egg

Directions

Grease Muffin tin well to prevent sticking.

In a bowl combine raw beef, onion, ketchup, mustard, oats, brown sugar, salt, pepper, egg, and italian seasoning. Mix really well.

Put a scoop in each muffin hole and add a dollop of ketchup to the top.

Bake for 30-40 minutes.

ENJOY!

So easy!

Sweet and Sour Chicken

Perfection. Thats all I have to say. This recipe is so easy and yummy! Far better than any chinese restaurant and there aren't all those nasty preservatives and heavens knows what else in it!

Preheat Oven to 350'F

Chicken

3-5 chicken breast or 6-8 Chicken Tenders
salt and pepper
1 cup cornstarch (or enough to coat the chicken) 
2 eggs, beaten
2 tbsp oil

Veggies and Pineapple

1/4 of green pepper sliced
1/4 of yellow pepper sliced
1/4 of red pepper sliced
1/4 onion sliced
1 can of pineapple chunks

Sauce:

1 cup brown sugar
4 Tablespoons ketchup

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

1 Tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon ginger

red pepper flakes

1 tablespoon cornstarch 

Directions:

Thaw out your chicken and trim off fat and "weird" pieces. Cut into 1 inch squares

In a bowl beat the two eggs till smooth

In a large zip lock bag, put in 1 cup of cornstarch salt and pepper.

Dip your chicken pieces in the egg then place in zip lock bag. 

Twist up the top of the bag...or seal it...and shake shake shake. I kinda had to massage the pieces of chicken while in the bag to get them coated well. 

Heat up oil in skillet and dump your chicken onto the skillet. Cook until outsides are golden brown. 

Place Chicken in baking dish. 

Adding a little more oil if needed, cook peppers, onion, and pineapple till tender and pineapple is browned slightly 

While that is cooking prepare your sauce

Whisk all ingredients until smooth then pour over chicken

Once the veggies are cooked add them to the baking dish, stirring them into the sauce. 

Bake at 350'F for 15 minutes. Stir then bake for another 15 minutes till sauce is thickened.

Serve with rice or any of your other favorite stir fry veggies. 

You will not be disappointed! This recipe is awesome! 

Cornflake Crusted Chicken (Gluten Free)

Going gluten free has been one of the best decisions I have made for my health. It really isn't that hard once you put your mind to it. Some say, "Oh I just don't know how you do it!" I suggest quitting cold turkey. There is no easy way to say goodbye to little debbie, subway and all those horribly wonderful fried foods. Just walking away and not looking back is the only way to really do it. I have been gluten free for almost 10 months! Haven't cheated once, sadly though, cross contamination happens whether you want it to or not. The best thing about going GF, is you are forced to be creative. You can no longer just order pizza cause you are too lazy to cook dinner, and while yes, McDonalds is still an option, why would I go pay 6 dollars for a salad I can make at home? Cause thats really all you can get when it comes to fast food. So YAY for being creative. This recipe was so good, I'm making it two nights in a row. Which really doesn't happen often. It gives you the texture of those wonderful fried chicken fingers, but doesn't require any frying or flour. It doesn't get easier than this. So here we go:

Ingredients

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (6 boneless skinless chicken tenders)
3 cups cornflakes (gently smashed so the flakes aren't so big)
2 tablespoons melted butter
1 large egg
1tsp water
Salt
Pepper
Poultry Seasoning or Cajun Spice

Preheat Oven to 400'F

Line a baking sheet with foil (I DEFINITELY recommend this. Makes clean up so much easier!)

Directions

• Pat salt, pepper, and poultry seasoning of your choice onto both sides of chicken (I used cajun spice and montreal chicken spice to give ours a kick)
• Mix egg and water in a bowl
• Mix melted butter and cornflakes in separate medium sized bowl
• Dip chicken into egg bowl coating both sides well
• Then dip egged chicken into cornflakes being sure to fully coat the entire piece
• Place on foil lined baking sheet
• Once all pieces are coated and on baking sheet, put some more flakes on the top of the pieces just to make sure they had a good coat. (toss out leftover cornflake mixture) You shouldn't have very much leftover though. 
• Then if you are crazy like we are, sprinkle red pepper flakes over the top of the pieces to make them even a little spicier :) Of course you don't have to use any spicy toppings. It would be just as good with just salt and pepper and a poultry seasoning. 
• Place in preheated oven for 30 minutes or until done. 

Now, if your man, or yourself, is anything like my hubby... food is always dunked in some sort of sauce. BBQ, Ketchup, Mustard, Ranch...its rare a meal is eaten by him without some sort of dip. So I got creative for him. :) 

I did this by taste, so I really have no clue on measurements...but here is a guess.

Spicy Ranch Dip

1/2 cup ranch dressing

3 tablespoons of chili seasoning

1 tsp garlic powder

pinch of salt

Red pepper flakes to taste

Honey Mustard Dip

1/2 cup mayonase

2 tablespoons mustard

2 tablespoons honey

1/2 tablespoon lemon juice

ENJOY

Crazy and Love Struck: Part 2

So apparently when you write a blog post at 5 a.m. you tend to forget a few fun tid bits that should be included in your blog. I could probably add to this all day long, but we will just start with a few, and see where it takes us.

My Old Man:  Jon is 7 years older than me. I LOVE IT! I don't know why, something about your man being older is attractive. Maybe its because it keeps me feeling young! ;-) It is funny to think about the age gap we would have had if we had known each other our entire lives. I was only 11 when he graduated from high school. Jail bait!

Jon's Age          Lizzy's Age
       8 yrs                   1 yrs
     15 yrs                   8 yrs
     20 yrs                 13 yrs
     25 yrs                 18 yrs
   
When we met, I had just turned 20 and he was about to turn 27.

Family Approval.  When Jon and I first started talking, and he started talking marriage to his family, I got a call from his sister-in-law, Jen. Jen and her husband had met online as well, so she knew what we were going through and had a few "questions" for us. At the time, I didn't think any of those "issues" she was talking about would be a big deal, let alone even occur...now it cracks me up how valid all of those questions were and how many of them actually are a part of our daily lives. These were just some of the questions she asked...

Question:                                                                                             

1. "What are you going to do if he leaves his socks lying around?"  
2. "What if he doesn't shower"                                                      
3. "What if he doesn't shave"                        
4. "He has ALOT of computer stuff, be ready to have a computer room instead of a nursery."

Result Now: 

1. Well for one, when it happens, we are both guilty, but in general we don't wear socks, FLIP FLOPS!
2. Yes, He does shower, Thank The Lord
3. We compromised, the Goatee instead of the caveman beard
4. This one is funny, because my idea of a lot and his idea of a lot was drastically different. When things started getting shipped to our new apartment from Iraq, I realized what I had gotten myself into. He sent home trunk after trunk, one of which weighed 200lbs. NO JOKE! And when I finally thought nothing else could possibly be added to his supply of computer stuff...we had to get the rest out of his mom's basement, (which was a suburban full) and some from a friend that had been storing it for him while he was deployed (that one was only a car load) and I say Only! HA!....Now, its just life, I married a software engineer, so this is what I get. Luckily he is more than willing to get rid of stuff he won't ever use, he has gone through his stash a few times since we have gotten married and donated a lot of it. Now, it is all nicely organized! And in case you are wondering, yes we have a nursery room, Jon got moved to the living room and garage. 

There were more questions, I just can't remember them. 

Getting to know Jon: My family was also eager to hear about this mysterious guy I met online. I first told my parents about him while eating at O'Charlie's for my dad's birthday. It was the day after Jon and I first emailed. I tried to hint to them how serious I was about him already, but it was a couple more weeks till they really caught on. At first it was just a few that knew our plans, but before I knew it, everyone in the family knew. We just couldn't keep it a secret. We wanted to get married. The big deal breaker was my dad. Jon and I originally were going to wait to get married till the fall when he was home for good and we had some time together first...but we just didn't want to wait that long. In our minds and hearts there was no point in putting off the inevitable. I told Jon it was up to my dad, if dad said it was okay, then I would marry him in June. I couldn't believe it when my dad said yes. My dad is a great judge of character when it comes to guys my sister and I date...and the fact that he gave us his blessing was huge. 

I met his family before I even met him. I can't remember exactly when this occurred, but it was sometime after the phone call from Jen. Jon really wanted me to meet his family, which was another huge amount of brownie points for him. Family is extremely important to me, and the fact that we had that in common meant the world. Some of my friends were still a little hung up on the idea that he could be a psycho and this could be a cruel joke...lol...but what psycho would want you to meet his family? So I knew it was a good thing. 

I first met Jen and Aaron and Little Leo. We met at Edinburgh outlet mall and then went to cracker barrel. I remember Aaron's first response was, "you are taller than I imagined." Lol, yup, I am tall...but what he didn't know, was I was thinking the same thing about him. I kept trying to imagine how tall Jon was and him and Aaron are about the same height. I was glad to know Jon would be a good deal taller than me. Leo was adorable, quiet, but as cute as can be. I was definitely a lot quieter that night than I usually am, but it was fun meeting some of Jon's family. My first impression of Jen was I can really see us being close friends. Something just clicked and there was that instant comfort level. Now 3 years later we talk daily and I love it! 

Then I met Jon's Mom, his sister Michele, and his niece Sara. Let me just say, I fell in love with sara the minute I saw her. She was a handful but so fun. We all met at a craft show and spent the day together. Jon's mom gave me a little wallet sized picture album of pictures of Jon. From newborn up to current. I still love it! It was great seeing Jon and how much he had changed over the years.

 The first impression of his family was they were all people I could get along with and consider family as well. I didn't feel that awkward distance that sometimes you have with in-laws.

I'm sure there will be more to come in the future. But right now, I'm drawing a blank on the exciting facts. What can I say, sometimes "baby brain" hits hard. :) Ha!

Hope you have enjoyed our crazy love story. If you didn't read part 1, be sure to. 

Fried Apples "Cracker Barrel Style"

Sometimes you just get a hankering for "comfort foods." This recipe is SUPER easy. Really, it is hard to mess up...but it is so good!

Ingredients

2 cups apple juice, 
1/2 cup apple juice 
4 large golden delicious apples, unpeeled ,cut 1/2 inch wedges
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon apple pie spice or (1/2 tsp cinnamon and 1/2 tsp nutmeg)
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon butter

Directions

Core and slice your apples, do not peel, unless you really want to. 

Place apples and 2 cups of apple juice in a medium sized pan

Bring to a gentle simmer and cook until fork tender. (Really watch them, it doesn't take long for them to become mushy...then you will have applesauce! Not fried apples) 

While those are cooking, in a small bowl whisk together 1/2 cup apple juice, cornstarch, sugar, and spices. Making sure the cornstarch is not clumping together. 

Once the apples are fork tender, use a slotted spoon to dish out the apples and place them in a baking dish. 

Add the spiced juice to the heated apple juice in your pan, stir constantly till it is thickened. Adding in the butter towards the end to melt and help thicken. 

 

After its nice and bubbly and thick, poor over apples in baking dish. 

ENJOY! 

These would be fantastic over ice-cream, pancakes, really anything! This time I only cut up 2 apples for the amount of sauce it called for and will be using the rest of the "glaze" on pork chops tomorrow.