Easy Peanut Butter Frosting

One thing I dispise the most . . .  canned frosting. Yuck!

One thing I Love the most . . . cake batter! It is ok, you can be honest, you lick the spoon too. 

The other day I was craving some chocolate. 

So I grabbed a boxes cake mix from the pantry.

Whipped those bad boys up. {apparently I need to work on equal amounts in each cup}

Then my friend Amy, said she was making a cake with homemade peanut butter frosting. 

I was either going to have to make hubby run to the corner store, 

make the frosting she suggested, or eat the cupcakes without frosting. 

{I am not going to lie, I ate one fresh out of the oven, without frosting}

I was so happy to find out that this recipe was SUPER easy!

An I already had everything in my pantry to boot!

1 C Powdered Sugar

1 C Peanut butter

5 Tsp Butter {unsalted}

1/3 C Heavy Whipping Cream

Put all ingredients in a bowl, and beat with a mixer until blended well. 

{I added 3-4 more Tsp of heavy whipping cream to make a consistency I liked}

How To Freeze Avocados

Hello Lover! Yes it is true I am in love with Avocados. They taste great on just about anything and everything. The problem is, our weekly grocery budget is not large enough to buy them every week. 
I can normally find them for $1 - $1.25each! (yes that is on sale)
So when a local store this past week had them on sale for .55c each I was jumping for joy. I knew exactly what I was going to do. 

I picked up 20 avocados an a few limes (which were also on sale)
and came home and got to work. 

I used a youtube video HERE as a reference. 

Slice 2 avocados in half.
Remove pit
Scoop out flesh into a bowl
Use potato masher to break down the flesh
Add 1 table spoon of lime juice (1 tablespoon per 2 avocados)
Stir well to make certain lime juice is mixed in 
Scoop into small sandwich size bags, releasing all extra air. 
Place bags on a cookie sheet in freezer until frozen (I left them in over night)

In the morning, then you can remove cookie sheet from freezer. 

Take a large freezer bag an mark the contents and date. 

Be certain to put how much is in each bag. This way you know for future use when using for recipes. 

I have skipped this part in the past, telling myself I will remember. Trust me, you never remember when the time comes. 

I always put the date on the right side by itself. So then I can reuse this bag again for more avocados in the future. Just cross of the old date, and add the new one below it. 

Place all smaller bags in larger freezer bag! 

Be sure to squeeze out all the extra air. 

It is all ready for the freezer and all your future avocados adventures!

Crock pot Taco Soup

Please excuse the poor lighting for this photo. I have a antique 50's light in my kitchen and it was 8pm when this was taken.

I have seen many versions of Taco Soup around on the Internet. Some include 3-4 different kinds of beans, this is not chili people! :)  Another recipe grossed me out stating to add a can cream of mushroom soup. Ewww! Not that I don't buy and use cream of chicken or mushroom soup. But this is TACO soup people!

I have tried to tweak this version several times, each time regretting it later. Why fix something when its not broke!?

1lb ground hamburger crumbled (not pictured)

1 cup diced onions (not pictures)

1 can diced tomatoes (do NOT drain)

1 can black beans (Drained and rinsed)

1 can of corn (Drained and rinsed) (Or 1/2 bag frozen corn)

1 large can of tomato Juice

2 pks of Taco Seasoning

2 pks of Dry Ranch Mix

Brown hamburger and onions in frying pan until meat is cooked thoroughly. Drain meat/onions if to greasy for your family. Our meat was very lean and there was no grease.

(sorry I did not get a photo of this step)

Place Corn, tomatoes, and black beans in crock pot. This is a great recipe to use those crock pot liners for.

Place meat/onion mixture in crock pot along with the taco seasoning and dry ranch mix.

Pour tomato juice until 1-2in below rim. Stir all ingredients together well.

Put on high for 3-4 hours or low for 8hours. This cooking time is important to let all the flavors blend well together. It will be well worth it I promise.

Top with some of your favorite taco toppings.

We like to just add a little shredded cheese and drop of sour cream. Serve with corn chips and fresh fruit for a great filling meal.

Summited to: Tempt My tummy Tuesday, and What's Cooking Wednesday,

Apple Coleslaw - Yummy O!

Although summer is over, who said you still can not make summer dishes.

I knew I wanted to put turkey burgers on the menu this week, but I needed a side dish to pare it with. So I decided to pare it with this recipe from Kraft Foods. My hubby was a bit leery when I said I was going to make apple coleslaw, but I think he will be pleasantly surprised tonight at dinner. If not then more for me. hehe

This is super easy and simple to make and most items I am sure you have in your frig or pantry.

Give it a try and let me know what you think.

3/4 c Mayo (or use Miracle whip, which ever you prefer)

1 Tbsp of Honey

1 pkg (16oz) of Coleslaw mix

2 Apples (1 red and 1 green)

Mix together the mayo (or miracle whip) and the honey in a large bowl.

We purchase our honey from the local Amish, but store bought honey will do just fine too.

Then chop both apples in medium to small chunks.

Add the apple chunks and the coleslaw mix to the bowl with the mayo/honey mixture.

Mix thoroughly all ingredients and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.

Although I did cheat a bit and have a little bit before chilling it, and it was super good!

Lebanese Shawarma Chicken

This dish is not only super easy to make is very healthy for you as well.

I think my favorite part of this recipe is that is a one dish recipe that is so versatile for whatever type of meal you are serving.

This time I doubled the recipe using 9 boneless/skinless thighs and served it over rice. Although I have also served it warm or cold over salad, and I have also made it into wraps.

4 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts or thighs
1/2 Cup Malt Vinegar
1/4 Cup Plain Greek Yogurt
1 Tablespoon Vegetable Oil
1 Teaspoon Lebanese 7 spice (Found in Arabic food markets or you can make your own)
1/4 Teaspoon Ground Cardamom
Salt & Pepper to taste

Lebanese 7 spice:
Equal parts of the following spices: Ground Allspice, Ground Black Pepper, Ground Cinnamon, Ground Cloves, Ground Nutmeg, Ground Fenugreek and Ground Ginger

(I make my own up then store it for future use)

In a corning ware or glass baking dish, mix together the vinegar, yogurt, vegetable oil,

7 spice, cardamom, salt and pepper.

Place the chicken breasts into the mixtureand turn once to ensure coating. Cover dish and marinate for a minimum of 5 hours or overnight.

(I tend to make this up the night before a busy day, although you could put this together in the morning for the same day)

After marinating the chicken cover the baking dish with foil and place in an oven preheated to 350 degrees. Cook the chicken for 20 minutes and then turn the chicken. Cook Covered for an additional 20 minutes and then remove covering. Uncover and finish baking for 10 minutes.

Serve over rice, by itself, in wraps or over a salad for a tasty lunch or dinner. Yum!

Stop on over and visit Erin at $5 Dinners for more healthy and affordable meals for your family or over at Tempt My Tummy Tuesday.

Spring Is Here!

It is rainy and windy today, with some of the trees starting to bud and flowers peeking their head out of the ground. Ahhh the first signs of spring are here!

I have not been blogging since I have been dealing with alot of stress, anxiety and depression as of late. For the time being I have quite school as it was just to much on my plate and it overwhelmed me considerably.

My husband and I have been doing a lot of talking and thinking about what is the best direction for our marriage, life and living situation to not only help ease the stress and anxiety that I am feeling, also what will help us financially for our future.

Let me share a little secret with you that not many people know........

We are currently in the process of trying to purchase a house! It is NOT in the city which we are both thrilled about and the house is 100years old which we love.

Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers that everything continues to go well with the process. Here is a sneak peek of the front of the house.

It needs a little work on the inside and out, but we are excited to make it our own while keep all of its charm and character.

I have been craving Oreos for weeks now. So I finally decided to splurge and buy some.

I made this rich but very yummy, super easy, no bake cheese cake.

I would have taken a photo of the one I made by it vanished before I could. :)

Cucumber Raita Sauce

This is a versetile dish that could be used with many other dishes.

We used it in our Shrimp Curry dish and our Chicken Gyro lettuce wraps.

(Recipes to come)

I would recommend it for any spicy dishes or maybe a hearty soup.

What you will need:

1 Cup Plain Thick Greek Yogurt

1/2 Cup Finely Chopped Cucumber (peeled and deseeded)

1/2 Clove Garlic Minced

2 teaspoons Lemon Juice

1/2 teaspoon Salt

Mince a 1/2 a clove of garlic

Peel & deseed your cucumber

Finely chop 1/2 a cup

(Optional Step)

Place finely chopped cucumber between two paper towels

Press down to release liquid from cucumber

You might have to use your knife to scrap the bits of cucumber off the towel.

2 Teaspoons fresh squeezed lemon juice

Make sure you purchase GREEK Yogurt! Any brand will do,

but it MUST be Greek Yogurt or it will not taste right.

Mix the cucumber, garlic, salt and yogurt until well blended.

Of course take a small taste to make sure it wont poison anyone. :o)

The Finished Product - Refrigerate at least 1 hour or longer before serving.

We like to make it the day before and let the flavors blend

and rest overnight in the frig.

If you try this recipe please let me know. I would love to know your thoughts and how you used it in your dish. :o)