It always amazes me how the simplest things can impress my family.

I have been making rice crispy treats for years. I think most of us grew up making and eating them.

I recently took the basic rice crispy recipe and used chocolate cereal, but instead of putting them in a pan, I made  balls out of them. It was so easy and yet impressed my whole family.

My husband told me they were really good and asked if they were a new recipe. My kids thought that they were lots of fun to eat and really enjoyed them.

These would be perfect to serve a group of kids or at a birthday party. You could make several different flavors using different cereals. They would make a fun presentation in a large bowl and be perfect for kids to just grab and go.

All I did for this was make the treats as usual, but I used me cookie scoop to form the balls. I dropped them onto cookie sheets until they cooled and then served them.

Simple, easy, and fun!

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My crockpot mashes potatoes are so rich and creamy. We love these potatoes and the picture does not do them justice. Potatoes are one of those foods that are hard to photograph.

I love the fact that cooking these mashed potatoes in the crockpot frees up my time. I can put these in the crockpot and walk away for a few hours. Then all I have to do at dinner time is mash them and add the sour cream and cream cheese.

I will say though that these are not a mashed potato that we eat with gravy. These are a rich and creamy mashed potato and are perfect on their own.

Crockpot Mashed Potatoes

• 6-8 potatoes
• 1 can (14 ounces) chicken broth
• ¾ cup milk
• ½ cup sour cream
• 4 ounces cream cheese

Peel potatoes and cut into 1/2 inch chunks. Place potatoes in a crockpot with chicken broth and milk. Cook on low for 4 hours or until potatoes are tender.

When potatoes are tender mash well with sour cream and cream cheese.

Serve and enjoy.

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Fried rice is a frugal and easy meal. It is also a great way to use up leftover rice.

There are so many variations of fried rice. I have never posted my recipe for basic fried rice because I don’t really follow a recipe, I usually just use what I have. I will try though to write down the basics next time I make it.

Today I want to talk about freezing fried rice. I discovered this a few months ago and have been loving it.

I had leftover fried rice one night and I decided to freeze it in a ziploc type bag to use for a quick lunch one day. The day I needed it for lunch I just took it out of the freezer in the morning and reheated it at lunch time. It worked perfectly.

I am now making and freezing large batches of fried rice for quick and easy lunches and dinners.

I do have a recipe for ground beef fried rice that is a little different than your regular fried rice and it would freeze well.  Shaina from Food For My Family also has a recipe for fried rice that I need to try soon.

What is your favorite fried rice recipe? Have you ever frozen it?

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Whenever I see breakfast bowls on fast food menus, or in the freezer section of my grocery store, I think of how easy they would be to make at home.

Breakfast bowls are very simple. They are basically just potatoes, eggs, sausage, and maybe a few vegetables all mixed together, I knew a homemade version of these would be so easy to come up with.

I tried a few different things and came up with a version that my family loves.

My favorite thing about breakfast bowls is that I can make up a large batch at once and we can enjoy it for several meals. This mixture also freezes really well and makes for an easy breakfast on busy days.

This recipe makes a lot, so if you are just making it for one breakfast you will probably need to cut the recipe in half.

And in our family these really are not breakfast bowls because we will eat them for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

Breakfast Bowls

• 1 bag of  frozen O’brien hashbrowns (cooked according to package directions)
• 1 dozen scrambled eggs cooked
• 1 pound breakfast sausage browned
• 1 cup shredded cheese

Mix all the cooked ingredients together and stir in cheese. Serve immediately or reheat and serve. You can also freeze this in small containers and take out and reheat as needed.

This post linked to $5 Dinners and WFMW.

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I can not believe that Wednesday is September 1st. Where did the summer go?

I am keeping it pretty simple again this week.

Here is the plan.

Dinner

tacos

enchiladas

barbecue chicken ( I am going to try this recipe with chicken)

linguine with lemon and cream sauce (new recipe), salad, and bread

pizza ( I am still working on a good gf one)

meatloaf, potatoes, and vegetables

For more menu planning ideas see Menu Planning Mondays.

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Over the years I have done various types of freezer meals. A few years ago when I was struggling with a lot of health issues I froze thirty to sixty meals at a time. I would cook when I was feeling good, so that we had food to eat when I wasn’t.

Over time my health improved and I have changed my approach to freezer cooking. I no longer need to have a month or two of meals in the freezer, but I do like the convenience of having at least a few meals made ahead.

Instead of freezing whole meals I now focus more on parts of meals. I almost always have taco meat, cooked chicken, sloppy joes, and homemade refried beans in the freezer. During the winter I like to freeze chili, meatloaf, and meatballs.

I can easily put a meal together with any of those things. I can use taco meat as tacos, as taco salad, or even in enchiladas. Cooked chicken can be used in soups, casseroles, or even as chicken salad. Meatballs can be used in pasta sauce, they can also be served with gravy over rice, or in meatball sub sandwiches. Just by freezing part of the meal I save time on a busy night.

Having these few simple things in the freezer is actually where I failed last week. I had used up all of my freezer food and  had not taken the time to make some things ahead to freeze. If I had put a few things in the freezer a few weeks ago, meal time last week would have been much easier.

Not only does freezer cooking save me time on busy nights, it saves time in general. If I am cooking one pound of taco meat, I can easily cook two or three pounds with out spending much more time. Cooking multiple meals of the same kind at once to freeze is a great way to save time in the kitchen.

Do you have meals in your freezer for days that you do not have time to cook? Do you like freezing a whole meal or dish, or do you focus more on freezing just part of the meal?

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It is often said that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Although I have never been much of a breakfast person, the rest of my family is and I feel it is important that they have a good start to their day.

Often I cook up a dozen boiled eggs and we eat them with strawberries and bananas or homemade granola bars . I like doing this when I have a really busy week because I can cook once and eat it over several days.

My kids also love it when I make granola sundaes. This is a quick and easy breakfast to serve.

If you like eggs these overnight eggs are perfect. They can be made ahead of time and are quick to cook in the morning.

We also love baked oatmeal and this is another recipe that can be put together the night before and baked in the morning.

Another favorite in our house that we can no longer have is Peanut Butter Baked Oatmeal. This has been one of my most popular recipes and we miss it. So, enjoy a bowl for us please.

What is your favorite breakfast?

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Sloppy Joes are one of those great, quick, and easy comfort food type recipes.

For a long time I stayed away from making sloppy joes because my impression of sloppy joes was the kind I had seen so many people make. You know the version that is just opening the famous can, heating it, and serving it over a bun. I had no desire to eat or make anything like that famous version.

I finally gave in though a few years ago and decided to give homemade sloppy joes a try.

Once I tried the homemade version I was wondering what took me so long? I wish I had tried them long before I did. Homemade sloppy joes taste nothing like the canned version, they are so much better.

Not only are sloppy joes really easy and tasty, they make a perfect freezer meal. I usually double or triple my recipe and freeze it in ziplock bags. Then when I am ready to serve it, all I have to do is defrost, heat, and serve it over a bun.

We also like to eat this over potatoes. This enables me to serve the same meal twice, without it being exactly the same.

Do you like sloppy joes? If so what is your favorite kind to eat canned or homemade?

Sloppy Joes

• 1 medium onion, chopped finely
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 pounds lean ground beef
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 2 – 8 ounce cans tomato sauce
• 1 cup beef or chicken broth
• a few dashes of hot pepper sauce
• salt and pepper (to taste)
• hamburger buns

1. Brown ground beef with onion until onion is tender and beef is cooked.
2. Add garlic and cook for approximately one more minute.
3. Add remaining ingredients (except buns)and stir well.
4. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5. Serve over buns and enjoy.

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Have you ever looked at aluminum foil and wondered why one side is shiny and one side is not?

Have you looked at it and asked yourself if you should put the shiny side up or down?

Well it does not matter. There is no right or wrong side to aluminium foil.

The variation is due to how aluminium foil is manufactured. The side that has contact with the rollers is shiny. The side that does not have contact with the rollers is dull. So, it does not matter. They are both essentially the same.

Now I am curious, am I the only one that has looked at aluminium foil and wondered if there is a right or wrong side?

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My ten year old daughter has been in the cooking mood again. When she heard me say that we were having breakfast for dinner she immediately asked if she could pick the recipe.

I am so glad that she is showing an interest in cooking and I am trying to just go with it when she asks to help. I was not in a hurry, so I decided it would be a great night for her to help cook dinner.

She spent some time looking through a few kids cookbooks that we have and she choose the Super Creamy Scrambled Eggs from the Southern Living: Kids Cookbook.

This is one of her favorite cookbooks. Southern Living did a great job on this book. The directions are easy, yet complete. The pictures are great and the recipes are for food that both kids and parents will enjoy.

Creamy Scrambled Eggs

• 6 eggs
• 1 Tablespoon Dijon Mustard
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 3 ounces of cream cheese, cut into small cubes
• 1 Tablespoon butter
• Salt to taste.

Whisk together first 3 ingredients in a medium bowl and stir in cream cheese.

Melt butter in an 8-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat.

Pour in egg mixture. Cook without stirring, until mixture begins to set on bottom.

Slowly drag spatula across bottom of pan to form large pieces of cooked egg.

Continue cooking until eggs are thickened and firm throughout, but still moist. Salt to taste.

Serve and enjoy!

This post linked to I’m Lovin’ It

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