Friday, October 29, 2010

Peanut Butter Bars and what to be for Halloween?!

Yesterday I posted about our weekend in the big city (last weekend), and mention I made these awesome Peanut Butter Bars that I found here (again, thank you Mandy over at Sugar Bee Craft Edition for sharing these lovely, yummy, delish treats with us).  They are really simple, and oh.my.gosh. to die for!  It's like a glorified Peanut Butter cookie, you know the ones that have the Hersheys Kisses on the top?!  Yeah...that's what I'm talking about!


Ingredients (not including the ingredients for the topping)

The finished product!!!


Ingredients (for cookie sheet - shown in picture):
1 ½ C butter (3 sticks)
1 ½ C sugar
1 ½ C brown sugar
3 eggs
1 C peanut butter
1 ½ tsp baking soda
¾ tsp salt
1 ½ tsp vanilla
3 C oatmeal
3 C flour
Ingredients for Topping (approx only!):
12 oz choc chips
1 tbsp Peanut butter
3 tbsp powdered sugar
Milk for desired thickness
Directions:
1. Mix all ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
2. Press into a Cookie Sheet
3. Bake at 20-25 min at 350*
4. Turn off oven, remove pan from oven and quickly pour chocolate chips over bars
5. Put bake in oven for 1-2 minutes.
6. Remove, spread melted chocolate.
7. Mix up the topping ingredients
8. Drizzle peanut butter icing over top and let cool.


It's Friday and I still haven't a clue what to dress up as for Halloween.  Last year I was a hippie, and of
course it was a friends costume, so I can't be that again.  Oh and Bernie will be a Skeleton like he has been the last 2 years!

The year before I was a "devil", but the dress is a little skimpy (if I only had black tights/leggings).  (No picture of this...sorry!)
Saturday night there is a band playing at one of the local bars, so I'm pretty sure that's where we'll be!  I'll be posting next week to show you what I decided to be!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN, EVERYONE!

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Holiday Mart & Chiefs Game weekend!

Last week I mentioned we were going out of town for a long weekend filled with shopping and the KC Chiefs football game.  Here is a little tidbit of all we did over the weekend, along with a lot of pictures!!

Friday afternoon we got on the road, and along the way we picked up my brother and his gf.  We got to the big city late that night, and decided we were going to wind down with a couple of beers at a local sports bar nearby.  Saturday we all got up and helped my mom move out some old furniture and set up her "new" bedroom set in the guest room.  It was only 9am and we had already worked up a big sweat!  After working up a sweat, us girls were ready to head to the annual Holiday Mart for an all day long shopping extravaganza!  We had so much fun, and even had to stop a few times for a beer break (yeah, they sold beer, wine, and mixers to help you spend more money...genius idea if you ask me!)!!  At the very end we couldn't find my mom; we were pretty sure that the security guards kicked her out because she was probably passed out in the corner somewhere!  Low and behold we found her in the middle of this huge conference room empty handed, because she downed her Amaretto Sour in like 2.5 seconds (we were still working on our beer)!  We ended up getting some really neat stuff!  Here are some pictures we took on my phone (sorry for the horrible quality) of stuff we loved but didn't end up buying (we were just being goofy)!

Loved this sparkly head band on her!
She went back to get it and it was gone :(

We both loved these sweaters/cardigans/vest shirts!
We ended up getting some similar ones at Kohls and Maurices!

My "Snooki" sunglasses!
(my nose looks huge, sick!)
 
Loved, LOVED, this sign!
 
I love these hats!
Saturday night we went out to one of our good friends new house they just bought.  It is really cute, wish I would've gotten some pictures!  But we couldn't stay very long because we had to get up super early for the Chiefs game.  I think I ended up getting 5 hours of sleep after a really long day of moving furniture and shopping!  We survived though!  We went out really early to get in line to get a good tailgate spot, like we were there by 8 and the gates didn't open until after 8:30.  We got an awesome spot!  We played Ladder Toss, grilled up some wings, hot dogs, and hamburgers, and I made some of these Peanut Butter Bars (which were to die for, btw...thanks to Mandy over at Sugar Bee Craft Edition - I'll post about those another time!), and drank a few beers before heading into the game.  The Chiefs Stadium was renovated after last season, and they did such a great job!  The Chiefs played amazingly awesome, it was such a great game!  Here are some pictures...

Tailgating!

love him!

Sea of RED!


Cheerleaders made a heart

getting ready to score!

Mom and her old high school friend!

Gma & Gpa!

Ash...doesn't she look awry

me and my love!


me and my love again!

met up with one of my other really good friends, Dani!




Ash and Brett

Us 3 taking a break, getting some food and drinks!

Me and Ash having fun!

Whew...that was a lot of pictures! 

A recap of the long weekend...did tons of walking, shopping, eating, and a little drinking!  It was such a great weekend!

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Bierock Casserole

I'm a little behind sharing what I made last week, but I figure it's better late than never!  I have another recipe to share with you all, and it's another one of our favorites!  You might have heard me mention Bierocks before, and Bierock Casserole is pretty much the same thing, only less time consuming to make!! :)

A little history on the Bierock in case you're wondering what a Bierock is (btw, I could totally have typed it all out, but much easier to copy and paste from Wikipedia!)...
Bierocks are meat-filled pocket pastries originating in Eastern Europe, possibly in Germany or Russia. The dish is common among the Volga German community in the United States and Argentina. It was brought to the United States in the 1880s by German Russian Mennonite immigrants.[1] Bierock is filled with cooked and seasoned ground beef, shredded cabbage and onions, then oven baked until the dough is golden brown. Some variants include grated carrots.

So basically they are like a ham & cheese pocket, but with Hamburger, Onions, and Cabbage mixed together.  And let me tell you, they are delish (waaayyyy better than a hot pocket)!  In Nebraska people call them Runza's, and there is a fast food place called Runza also.  The only difference is that Bierocks are in the shape of a bun/round and Runza's are rectangle.  You can make them with regular cabbage or sauerkraut (I personally like them made with regular cabbage).  You can eat them plain, with butter and salt on top, or my personal fav, dipping it in ketchup!  This might sound a little bias, but both of my Grandma's make THE BEST bierocks, ever!  No joke!
Not my Grandma's Bierock...
but this picture is from Becky's Bierocks!

So now onto the Bierock Casserole...it's a much easier version for someone who doesn't have the patience to create my own dough nor the time to wait for it to do it's magic!  I learned how to make this in high school, and ever since it's one of my favorites (as long as regular bierocks aren't around!).  Here is the recipe and pictures ya'll!


Ingredients: Ground Beef, Onion, Cabbage, Crescent Roll Dough,
Cream of Mushroom Soup, Cheddar Cheese, Salt & Pepper to taste

Brown Hamburger and Onion together.
Add Salt & Pepper to taste.
Drain off grease.

Add Cabbage, and steam.

Add Cream of Mushroom, and steam.

Steam all together until the cabbage and onion are soft.
Should look similar to this.

Roll out Crescent Roll on bottom of casserole dish.
Spoon in Hamburger mixture.
 
Cover with Cheese!!
(I looove Cheese!!)

Cover with another thing of Crescent Roll Dough.
Bake.

Golden Brown = Perfection!
 Ingredients:
2 lbs Ground Beef
1 medium Onion, diced
1 small head of Cabbage, shredded (or you can use the coleslaw salad mix by the bagged lettuce...I normally use the regular Cabbage, but this time I used the Coleslaw mix which is why you see carrot slivers, and it was easier!)
1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup
2 cans Crescent Rolls
2 cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Salt & Pepper to Taste

Directions:
1. Brown Hamburger and Onion, and add Salt & Pepper to taste.
2. Drain of grease.
3. Add Cabbage to Hamburger mixture, and cover with lid.  Let steam approximately 10 min.
4. Stir in Cream of Mushroom Soup, and cover back up.  Let steam for another 10 min. or so.  The cabbage and onion should be soft or close to.
5. Line bottom of a greased 9"x13" pan with 1 can of crescent rolls.  Press down until flat and pinch seams together.
6. Spoon Hamburger mixture over the crescent rolls.
7. Cover with Cheese.
8. On top of the Cheese lay out the other can of flattened crescent rolls, pinch seams together.
9. Bake at 350* for 25-30 minutes or until crust is golden brown.

Side Note: The top layer of Crescent Rolls can be tricky.  It sometimes is easier to flatten it out first before putting on top of cheese.  The seams don't have to be perfect, as matter of fact you can tell I had to patch a couple of holes!  You can eat it plain, or my fav...dipped in ketchup!


If you decide to give this a try, please swing back by here and let me know how it turned out for you!!


Linking up to...

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Southwest Stew!

One evening last week I decided I wanted something hot since it was a little nippy out, but not Chili since we had just had that the week before.  Then I remembered this awesome Southwest Stew recipe D's cousin shared with us that he really liked.  I've made some of my own changes to the original recipe, which is what is listed below.  I've also tried it other ways, like with steak instead of ground beef, but we really didn't care for it too well.  Anyways, it really is so good, like a mix between Chili, Taco Soup, and Beef Stew.  We love this stuff, so I just had to share this with all of you out there!!!  But let me also add that this makes a huge pot full, and it's great leftover!  I've never have done it in the crock pot before, but it would be yummy!


Ingredients, minus the hamburger!

Brown Hamburger and Onion together.
Drain grease.
 
Throw everything together in a large pot and simmer!
 
Top it off with Frito's and Cheese!
 Ingredients
2 pounds ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1  can diced tomatoes (I've used regular and chili ready tomatoes, both are great!) 
1 can kidney beans
1 can whole kernel corn, drained
4 potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 cup medium salsa
2 cups water
1 teaspoon ground cumin
salt to taste
ground black pepper to taste
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Toppings:
Frito's
Shredded Cheddar Cheese or Taco Blend Shredded Cheese 

Directions:
1. Brown Hamburger and Onion together. (I always add a little seasoning with my hamburger, but I don't measure it: Red Pepper Flakes, Salt, Pepper, a little dash of Cumin)
2. Drain Hamburger mixture.
3. Add the remaining ingredients to a large pot, cover, and simmer for about 45 minutes.
4. If desired top with Frito's and Cheese!

Side Note: I always do a taste test towards the end to see if it need any additional salsa, spices, etc...I usually add something to it just depends!  We like it with a little kick!  I also usually let it cook for longer than 45 min by the time it's all said and done!  Enjoy!

If you decide to give this a try, please swing back by and let me know how it turned out!!  Cheers!


Linking up to:
Today's Creative Blog - Get Your Craft On Tuesdays
At Home with Haley - Recipes I Can't Wait To Try
It's A Blog Party - Delicious Dishes
The Girl Creative Party Blog - Just Something I Whipped Up

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Weekend update and Randoms!

This is going to be a random post filled with a weekend update, and other random stuff...

Let's start with the weekend (I didn't get any pictures, so bare with me!)...what a good way to start off this little post!  Friday after work I headed back to my {small} hometown with a couple of things on my agenda: 1.) My Aunt & Uncle from Colorado came back to see the fam, 2.) To help my Dad get my brothers old room set up for Guests.  Friday night after I got to town, my Dad and Brother went out to eat supper together.  Has anyone ever tried Frog Legs?!  My dad ordered them, and let's just say I wasn't a fan even though he loved them!  It tasted nothing like Chicken like people say, but at the same time what normally does taste like Chicken when it's not Chicken?!?!  Anyways, we went back to his house and got the carpet shampooed in my brothers old room.  Saturday morning we all got up and went to the local Pumpkin Patch with my Aunt & Uncle and their 2 kids.  We had alot of fun!  I got some awesome looking pumpkins for our porch, and we got to make S'mores for 25 cents (yeah, super cheap and super yummy)!!  For lunch we went to my Grandma's house, and she made us some Bierocks to eat!  Then it was time to go back and help my Dad set up me and D's old bed that we don't have room for in our new house.  We really did work up a sweat and thirst, so we had to take a short break and drink a beer!  Once we got it set up, we realized we didn't have any sheets, pillows, or comforters for it, so off to the store we went.  We had fun picking out bedding...or should I say Ashley and I had fun and Dad just agreed to whatever we thought looked good!  Went back home, washed everything, made the bed and it was ready for me to sleep in that night...I was excited!  After we were done, we had worked up even more of a thirst so we had a couple more beers.  We really had a chance to bond, which was awesome!  Saturday night I went back over to my Grandma's before we all went bowling, and she made us Butterball Soup and German Potatoes & Dumplings (can't spell what it's really called!)  Those are both German foods, along with the Bierocks.  I love all 3 of those!!  After stuffing our faces we went bowling...Cosmic Bowling nonetheless!  It was fun!  It was such a good weekend, and glad I went back.

Other random thoughts...

I had the yummiest breakfast this morning...Athenos Greek Strained Yogurt w/ Honey, and Natures Path Organic Pumpkin Flax Plus Granola!  I must say I'm not too into Yogurt, but I fell.in.love with this stuff!  I bought it at Walmart for a buck, and it come with a little thing of Honey to add to it.  Then I just added some Granola to it, which made it even yummier!  I can't wait to eat more of it, it was that good!


This week D and I will be gearing up for another weekend trip back to the big city.  It's going to be a fun weekend, and I seriously can.not.wait!  My Grandparents, Brother Brett and Ashley, and D & I are all going to see my mom for the weekend, and to have a little fun!  Us girls are going to this Holiday Mart (annual shopping event with tons of little boutiques, and fun retailers from all over the US all under one roof!) on Saturday, while the guys will go do something else (like golf or Bass Pro Shops or Cabelas..ya know stuff that guys like to do!).  Sunday we are going to the KC Chiefs vs. Jacksonville Jaguars game (I'll be the one in RED!)...GO CHIEFS

D and I back in 2007 at the KC Chiefs game!
(we've been to more since then, just can't find any pictures!)
 One other random thing...I'll be posting 2 more recipes that I made last week that happen to be some of our favorite dishes, especially now that it's starting to get cool out!  I'm getting hungry just thinking about them........mmm!  Have a great week! :)

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Tortellini Pasta Bake...It's All About the Sauce!

Shortly after we moved into our new (new to us!) house I was looking for something different to make, because I was sick of the norm.  I've made tortellini with different pasta sauces in the past, but none of them were anything to brag about.  However, this time I stumbled across something amazing, and I'm pretty sure it was the sauce and the seasonings I added!  I made it again last week, and we had forgotten how yummy it truly is!  It is a dinner I would invite our friends over for, that good and not to mention super easy! 

You can tell I'm a sucker for easy meals!

Ingredients: Tortellini, Vodka Sauce, Garlic, Garlic Salt,
Salt, Pepper, Italian Seasoning, Minced Onion,
Italian Cheeses, and Ground Beef (not pictured)


Mix it all together and bake!

di formaggio!
  Ingredients:
Buitoni Three Cheese Tortellini (the regular size, not the 20oz)
Newmans Own Vodka Sauce (this stuff is the BEST for this dish!)
1lb. Ground Beef
2 cloves of Garlic, pressed or chopped fine
Italian Seasoning to taste
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Garlic Salt to taste
Minced Onion to taste
Shredded Italian Cheese (I used Parmesan and Mozzarella)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350*
2. Boil Tortellini as directed on package.
3. Brown Hamburger with seasonings above to taste (I never measure this stuff, sorry) including 2 cloves of Pressed Garlic, and drain.
4. In a casserole dish, combine the Tortellini, Hamburger, and Vodka Sauce.
5. Cover with your Italian Cheeses.
6. Sprinkle some more Italian Seasoning over the top.
7. Bake at 350* for 20-30 min or until cheese is bubbly and melted.
Serve with Garlic Toast!


Lookin' all cheesy and stuff!!
Mmmm....Enjoy!
 If you decide to give this a try, let me know how it turns out!!


Linking up with:
Shabby Chic Cottage - Transformation Thursdays
Somewhat Simple - Strut Your Stuff
At Home With Haley - Recipes I Can't Wait To Try
The Girl Creative Party Blog - Just Something I Whipped Up
What Allie's Making Now - Making It With Allie
It's A Blog Party - Delicious Dishes
Today's Creative Blog - Get Your Craft On
Just a Girl - Show and Share Day

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

multiple {fur}sonalities

I wanted to post something fun to break up some of the yummy food recipes I've posted here lately.  Don't worry, I have a few more where those came from ready to share!!!  I promise, you won't starve!

I've posted a couple of pictures of my super cute dog, Bernie (if you haven't seen some of the posts where Bernie was featured, go here).  I've never posted just about him, so I thought it would be kind of fun!

A little background on the little guy...
D got Bernie off of his work (then) "for-sale" board, but for FREE (yeah, I said FREE!!)!  He was about 8 months old and lived with a very caring family, but unfortunately the husband/father traveled a lot for business and the wife/mother had some little ones of her own.  So instead of keeping Bernie and neglecting him, they wanted to give him away to someone that would love and care for him like any pet deserves.  So Dustin scooped him right up!  Fast forward a year later, and I came into D & Bernie's world.  I fell.in.love. the moment I met Bernie!  He's so cute, cuddly, and oh I just wanted to squeeze him!  He is the coolest small dog I've ever been around; he has the greatest personality to match his cuteness!  He doesn't yip (like most small dogs), hardly barks (unless there is a HUGE dog, squirrel, cat, or even potting soil that looks like something that will attack him, in the area), will bark if he senses "danger" (he barked when D was standing on the front porch one night trying to get in!), and gets very excited and starts to "talk" to us if he hears the words "wanna go for a ride or wanna go bye-bye?"!  He is pretty chill most of the time though, and loves to cuddle (of course with his mama!)! 

Ok, so back to business...so last week we were hanging out, watching TV and he came to lay with me on the couch...with his favorite duck in his mouth.  He wasn't letting that thing out of sight, like it was his baby!  It was so cute!

And he has multiple {fur}sonalities (haha, get it?!)...I was having a little fun on picnik.com!!


In his everyday cuteness!!
 


Better watch out Jacob and Edward, this Doggie Vampire (aka The Bern-Turd) is going to take over Twilight!
 

Yep, even Bern-Turd supports Breast Cancer Awareness!!  He says help Save the Ta-Ta's!
  Have a great week!! :)



linked up with - Say Cheese!

Monday, October 11, 2010

Smore Pops (aka Portale Smores!)


I found this recipe over at Ready.Set.Plan, and I thought these were brilliant (her pictures are way better than mine!)!  We don't have a fire pit, but I knew I wanted some kind of Smores, just didn't know how to go about making them until I came across her post.  I made them a few hours ahead before our Housewarming Party started, and I placed them on a platter lined with Graham Cracker crumbs...they were so cute and yummy looking, but I didn't get a picture, just of the finished product. 

All you need is...
Jet-Puffed Marshmallows


Chocolate Almond Bark, melted


Graham Crackers, finely crushed


Popsicle Sticks (or lollipop sticks)
 Directions:
1. Line cookie sheet with foil or wax paper (I didn't have wax paper, so I used foil)
2. Stick popsicle sticks (or lollipop sticks) through the marshmallows.
3. Crush 1 sleeve of Graham Crackers in a bowl, set aside (use more or less depending on how many you make...I made 30 and had plenty crumbs left to use on the platter).
4. Melt Chocolate Almond Bark in the microwave as directed on package (I only melted half of the pkg). Careful not to burn the Chocolate!
5. Dip the Marshmallow into the melted Chocolate, let the excess drip off for a couple of seconds.
6. Roll in the graham cracker crumbs.
7. Set on on the foil lined (or wax paper) cookie sheet until dry.
8. Take the remaining Graham Cracker crumbs and line the bottom of a platter with them, and place S'more Pops on top!

Side Note: They were a lot better if you popped them in the microwave for about 5-8 seconds to warm up the chocolate, and to get that gooey marshmallow yummy-ness that we all love!

Linking up too:
It's a Blog Party - Delicious Dishes
Today's Creative Blog - Get Your Craft On
The Girl Creative Party Blog - Just Something I Whipped Up
At Home With Haley - Recipes I Can't Wait To Try
Just a Girl - Show and Share Day