Copycat Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Frappuccinos

At the end of the day before I prep the coffee for the next morning, I pour the last cup that is left over into this ice cube tray.

When they are frozen, I put the entire tray of them into a ziploc bag.

When I have pumpkin to use up, I add about 1/2 cup pumpkin to the bag with the cubes. 

I also add:
a couple shakes of each, cinnamon and cloves
small squeeze of honey & 1/8 tsp vanilla

Put back in the freezer.

When ready to make, put ingredients in the blender and add 1/2 cup milk of your choice.
If I need an actual breakfast, I will add a scoop of vanilla protein powder to the blender too.

Enjoy! 

I made this up trying to use up leftovers from my Garfield Muffins.

Freezer Burritos

In an effort to simplify life, I have been pre-making as many things as possible and freezing them.

A while ago, I made Salsa Chicken and froze the leftovers.  Last week I made homemade refried beans.

I really like to make things something new instead of having to eat the leftovers 'as is.' 

For these freezer burritos, I thawed the leftover salsa chicken and pulled out flour tortillas and shredded cheese. *For manageability, I microwaved the tortillas 2 at a time for 30 seconds.

Using my large scoop (I use this thing a lot!) I scooped beans and the salsa chicken along with a handfull of cheese into the tortilla and wrapped it up.  Then I put them in my panini press to seal them.

After letting them cool completely, I individually wrapped the burritos in saran wrap and put them all in  gallon sized ziploc bags. 

Grab and go meals.

Valentines Chocolate Chip Merignues

I'm practicing for my kids Valentines parties :)

These 'chewy' cookies are:
Gluten Free/Fat Free
About 35 calories a piece
Totally fun & delicious!
Easy to variate

Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

You need:

3 room temperature Egg Whites
1/8 tsp Cream of Tartar
1/2 cup Bakers Sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla (or other extract flavor of your choice)
Red food coloring (gel works best)
1 Cup Mini Chocolate Chips

Pre-heat the oven to 275 degrees.  Line 2 cookie sheets with parchament paper.

Mix on high speed the egg whites & the cream of tartar until solf peaks form. 

Start adding the sugar a little at a time mixing well in between amounts. 

Add the vanilla and food coloring and keep beating until hard peaks form and the mixture is glossy.

Quickly fold in the chocolate chips and transfer the merignue to a large ziplock bag.

Snip the bottom corner off of the bag leaving at least a 1" opening.

Pipe the merignue on to a cookie sheet in the shape desired (a heart).  Try to keep it as fluffy/thick as possible.

Immediately place in the oven for 35-45 minutes. 
Rotate sheets from top to bottom and front to back after 15 minutes.

Check at around 30 minutes. If the cookies look 'dry', pull them out.  You don't want them to bake to the point of being completely browned.  Store in an airtight container.  After letting 'sit' for a day or two, they will become chewy.


Planning on making Mint 4 Leaf Clover Merignues for St Patty's Day!

Mushroom Bisque & Big Ol' Buttermilk Biscuits

Mushroom Bisque

I LOVE Mushroom Soup.  Time to make my own.

You will need:
2 lbs fresh chopped/sliced mushrooms (I used 1/2 fresh and 1/2 shitake freeze dried)
2 tbsp Butter (not Margarine)
8-10 cups milk
Salt (to taste)
Pepper (to taste)
1/2 tsp Onion Powder
1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
Cornstarch
1/2 cup Parmesean Cheese

Place the mushrooms and butter in the bottom of the pot and sautee until the butter is melted and the mushrooms begin to wilt up.

Add milk and simmer, stirring often. When you are comfortable with the 'doneness' of the mushrooms, add the seasonings. 

*To thicken: Start with 1/2 cup cornstarch dissolved into 1/2 cup more cold milk.  Add to the pot along with the Parmesean cheese.  Let simmer for a while longer to thicken up.



Buttermilk Biscuits from Scratch

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Hand mix the following ingredients or using the dough tool in your mixture on low:

3 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
1Tbsp Sugar
1 1/2 tsp powder
1/2 C Butter (cold)

Mix until crumbly. 

Then add:

3/4 C milk + 2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 egg
Just enough water to have sticky biscuit consistency (not too wet) about 1/8- 1/4 cup.

Plop dough out on a greased sheet (I'm using my ever so 'seasoned' bar pan stone).

Flatten out a little bit - but keeping fairly thick and 'cut' biscuits using a cup with a thin/sharp edge.

Bake for 12-15 minutes and pull before browned.  Pull the top off of one to see if the middle is done for sure. You don't want these over done.





*Variation: Add 1 tsp garlic powder and 1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese for a scratch version of my Easy Cheddar Biscuits from last week.

Crockpot Granola Bars #2- FigNStrawberry

The Granola bar situation is even more out of control than before.  It took exactly 1 week for the 30 homemade granola bars I made before to dissapear.  So, with that being said, I was prepared.

Before the first batch was gone, I had my flavor combo ready to go:

3 cups Oats
1/2 C Brown Sugar
1/8 cup Chia Seed
1 Cup Wheat Germ
3 cups puffed rice cereal
1 cup freeze dried strawberries
1 small bag dried figs (destemed & cut up)
1/2 C white chocolate chips
2 scoops vanilla protein powder

Put all in the Crock and pour mixture of 2/3 c honey, 2 eggs and 1 tsp vanilla over dry ingredients.  Combine until covered evenly.

Crock on high for 1.5- 2 hours.  Make sure to stir often so that nothing burns. 

When close to the end, stir in rest of the bag of white chocolate chips, 2 cups marshmallows (optional), and 3 cups rice krispies.

Grease a deep cookie sheet.

Dump all mixture onto sheet.

Put a ziploc bag on your hand like a glove and carefully (without smashing the mixture) spread it out across the sheet.

Bake in a 300 degree pre-heated oven for 10 minutes.

Remove from oven and let cool completely before cutting into bars and wrapping.





Next Batch: Carrot Cake Protein Bars!

Homemade Caramel in the Crockpot

Take a can of sweetened condensed milk and place in your crockpot.

Cover completely with water.

Crock on HIGH for 8 hours paying close attention to the level of the water.  I have read if you let the water go below the top of the can *or* open it before letting cool completely, it will explode.

After 8 hours, unplug the crock pot and let the water cool down before removing the can.

Let come to room tempurature before opening.

Perfect Caramel Topping.

Though I could totally eat this by the spoonful, I chose to make a banana split :)  I think I'll make some Bananas Foster tomorrow.... and the Apple Pie Eggrolls this weekend.

14 Meals in 2 Hours- More Freezer Meals!



My 'freezer cooking' shelves :)

I try to do mass quantities of cooking on Sundays for a couple reasons:

1. Fresh Bountiful Basket produce is picked up on Saturday.
2. I do the grocery shopping on Saturday.
* Plan a month at a time, Prep for a week at a time.
3. If I prep all the food for the week, then I'm not scrambling for lunch ideas.
4. I don't have to think about whats for dinner.
5. I like to start my workweek in an organized fashion.
 *Not sure if I am creating OCD for myself or what, but I have gotten to the point where I even lay out my sons outfits and jammies for the whole week on Sunday so I don't have to look for an outfit for him when I am running out the door.  I feel WAY less stressed.  It is SO worth it to get an organized routine.

This was the plan for yesterday's Freezer Meals:

(2) Hawaiian Chicken
(2) Chicken Broccoli Quinoa/Rice Casserole
(2) Ham Breakfast Casserole
Beef Stroganoff
Mongolian Beef
Beef Barley Soup
Chicken Alphabet Soup
Refried Beans (Portioned Prep)
Chicken Pot Pie Filling
Swedish Meatballs (Turkey)
Caribbean Grilled Steak

Swedish Meatballs
I portioned into a freezer bag:

1 lb pre-cooked turkey meatballs
A seasoning packet
1/2 Bag of Egg Noodles

I will need milk to make the sauce when I'm ready to make it.

Here's all my Beef meals:

I used a 4lb package of tri-tip steaks.
1 strip for the Mongolian Beef,
1 strip for the Beef Barley Soup
2 smaller strips for the Stroganoff
2 large strips for the Caribbean Grilled Steak
*The steak was just put into a bag with the McCormick Seasoning package on it.

I crocked 5 chicken breasts on low for about 6 hours to prep for the:

Chix Broccoli Quinoa Casserole
Chix Pot Pie Filling
Chicken Alphabet Soup

Almost done (From Top, Clockwise)

Beef Barley Soup
Chix Pot Pie Filling
Leftover Ham
Stroganoff
Chicken Alphabet Soup
Swedish Meatballs
Ham Breakfast Casserole