Frog Eye Salad

My oldest niece graduated from high school over the weekend and she asked me to make frog eye salad.  I remember loving this salad when I was growing up.

My Grandma Jean introduced me to this dessert.  She made it for us one weekend when we went to visit when they lived up in Conifer.  I was sitting at the kitchen bar stool watching her and my Mom make breakfast.  I loved to watch them cook together.  My Grandma told me she was very tired from getting up early to go catch all the frogs for the salad we would be having later that day.  I remember staring at my Grandma trying to understand if she was kidding.  She started laughing and I was relieved!

This is my Grandma's recipe and its way better than the recipes on the boxes of Acini De Pepe. I believe it's the magic of the sauce and her love for cooking.  I like to make it the night before so it has all night to sit in the fridge.  I think that makes the sauce soak into the pasta and be even more delicious.  Then an hour or so before serving - I stir in the marshmallows and the cool whip.

Let's Get Crafty!
2 cups Acini De Pepe (frog eye) pasta, cooked and drained

Whisk together and simmer over medium heat until thickened:
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons flour
2/3 cup pineapple juice (from the canned pineapple below)
1 egg, beaten

Whisk into the sauce just before turning the heat off:
1 teaspoon lemon juice

Mix together the pasta and sauce.

Add to the pasta / sauce:
20 oz can chunk pineapple, drained (the juice has been used in the sauce above)
2 cans 11 oz each of mandarin oranges

I put this in the fridge at this part and like to keep it in there overnight.

Final touches:
8 oz container of cool whip (I've used the light variety and it works well in this recipe too)
1 cup miniature marshmallows

This recipe is a keeper!  I hope you try it and love it!

Marinade for Grilled Chicken

Whoohoo!  It's grilling season again!  This recipe was a chance to play with a chicken marinade that could be used to put on salads or topping for a Thai pizza that I've so been wanting to try.

Let's Get Crafty!

Whisk together until well blended:

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 tablespoon dijon mustard

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 lemon, juiced

2 tablespoons reduced sodium soy sauce

2 tablespoons worcestershire sauce

1/4 cup brown sugar 

Add the chicken breasts and set aside to marinate:

4 large boneless chicken breasts

We only gave ours 30 minutes to marinate before Mark started grilling.  It was really good, but I would like to try marinating it longer next time and seeing if that bumps up the flavor even more!

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!

Crazy Easy Chicken Tacos in the Instant Pot

I haven't been planning ahead with meals here lately.  Each weekend I buy a few staples that I know we'll need for the week and then work with whatever else we have in our freezer and pantry.  This has been mostly a fun approach to use because it feels like I'm saving money when I'm really just using up what I bought earlier.

This shredded chicken recipe is something I've come to use regularly.  One of the things I love about the Instant Pot is the way the meat still holds its texture after it's cooked.  That was the struggle bus for me and the crock pot at times. Don't get me wrong... I still use my trusty slow cooker!  With my new meal planning - or should I say lack of meal planning - the Instant Pot has become a close friend.

Let's Get Crafty!

Toss it all in the Instant Pot:

3 boneless chicken breasts

1 can rotel

2 tablespoons of taco seasoning

1 can low sodium chicken broth

Throw it all in and stir it up.  Put the lid on and set to manual for 15 minutes.  (20 minutes here if you skip the next step.  This time could be cut down if you wanted to cut the chicken into smaller pieces.)

**Important Step**  I didn't do this initially but I've found that it really makes a difference in the sauce that's left behind.  Open up the Instant Pot - stir - and set it to manual for another 5 minutes.

As a result we get tasty sauce that's thickened up some on its own.  The chicken breasts also didn't have dry spots since they were redistributed in the liquid towards the end of the cooking process.

I like to pull the chicken out and give it a few minutes to cool down before shredding.  We use it for so many things... tacos, burritos, and enchiladas are our most common go-to meals with it.

Happy Sunday!  I hope you have a great day!

Impossibly Easy Cheeseburger Pie

This is one of those meals that doesn't look amazing but tastes delicious.  I also believe that adding pie at the end of the name makes anything sound better.  This is a classic Bisquick recipe that can generally be found right on the box.  We added in some mixed vegetables - I may have been more excited about this part than the kids. 

We're getting to the time of year where it's no fun to turn on the oven at the end of the day, so I wanted to share this recipe before we are in the full swing of summer.

Let's Get Crafty!

Preheat the oven to 400

Brown the hamburger with the onion:

1 lb hamburger, ground and drained

1 onion, diced

Microwave to thaw and warm up:

2 cups frozen mixed veggies

Another layer to have in the assembly line:

1 cup shredded cheese

Mix together well:

2 eggs

1 cup milk

1/2 cup bisquick

Layer everything in a baking dish sprayed with Pam:

Hamburger/onions

Warmed (not hot) mixed veggies

Shredded cheese

Egg mixture

Bake 25 - 30 minutes.  You can check it's done by using a knife and making sure it comes out clean.

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a great day!

Peanut Butter Thai Noodles

I'm a sucker for peanut sauce and like trying different versions of it.  That's what made this recipe catch my eye.  The recipe itself is from Taste of Home in their Quick & Light cookbook from Spring 2015.  Yes, it true.  I'm a cookbook hoarder.  I buy them and read them for years.  Our house has little stacks of them, so they are handy to flip through where ever I am.  Looking around now... I see some on the kitchen counter, in two spots in the living room and there's a decent sized stack right next to my bed on the night stand and the floor.  Luckily, I'm married to a man that loves me and food. 

Let's Get Crafty!
Start your water to bring it to boiling to cook the spaghetti and make according to the package:
This recipe calls for 12 oz of spaghetti.  I like to do half regular and half vegetable spaghetti.  It's good but it does have a slight green tint to it - so it feels like it tastes best when it has sauce like in this recipe.  Let's be honest... we all eat with our eyes first.
**Be sure to save some pasta water just in case the sauce gets a little too thick**

Whisk together the peanut sauce and set aside:
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup reduced sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup reduced sodium soy sauce
4 teaspoons siracha sauce (we didn't do this so it wouldn't be too spicy for the kids)
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (ditto to the comment above)

Cook the chicken and veggies:
1 lb ground chicken
1 1/2 cups baby carrots, sliced
1 yellow pepper, sliced similar to the carrots
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
Cook these together until the chicken is fully cooked (about 5-6 minutes)

Add in the peanut sauce and bring to a boil.

Lower the heat and let simmer together for 3-5 minutes.  

You'll know it's done when the sauce is slightly thickened.

Add in the spaghetti and toss together

You may need to add some of your reserved pasta water if 

the dish feels too thick as it's tossed together.

Thanks for stopping by!  I hope you have a great day!

Impossibly Easy Breakfast Casserole

Happy Mother's Day weekend to all of my family and friends.  If you're looking for a recipe to make breakfast for your Mom tomorrow - this might just be the ticket.  You could add some fresh fruit to the side and it would be a perfect way to start the day.  

This is an "Impossibly Easy" recipe from Betty Crocker that uses Bisquick.  I really like these recipes because you can make them with whatever you have on hand.  Today we're using ham, orange pepper and green chiles.  This recipe stood out to me because it calls for cottage cheese in the cheese base and I hadn't done that before.

Let's Get Crafty!

Preheat the oven to 400

Spray pam in a 9x13 baking dish

Mix together and add to the bottom of the baking dish:

1 cup small curd cottage cheese

1 cup cheddar cheese

Layer in the fun stuff:
Fully cooked ham, diced
Orange pepper, chopped
Green chiles - squeeze out as much water as you can
This is the beauty of the breakfast casserole.  Do whatever veggies or meat you want or have on hand for this part.

Whisk the egg mixture together and evenly distribute:
2 cups milk
4 eggs
1 cup Bisquick

Bake for 35 minutes or until the knife comes out of the center clean.

Nice and hot- coming right out of the oven.
Let it cool for 5 minutes before slicing into it.

I made a french toast casserole before bed last night and I'm getting ready to pull it out of the fridge now.  That would be another great idea - if you like sweet treats and want to make it tonight to have ready to throw in the oven tomorrow morning.  Here's a link to a post on my blog with the recipe I like:  http://craftypapercrafters.blogspot.com/2017/11/french-toast-casserole.html

Thanks for stopping by!  I hope you have a great day!

Sweet Chicken Meatballs

Hello Everyone!  Thanks for stopping by.  The little lady and I tasted these meatballs for the first time when they were being offered at Costco.  They are called Teriyaki and Pineapple Chicken Meatballs from Chef Bruce Aidells.  They were so tasty they had to be added to our cart.

Let's Get Crafty!
23 oz frozen chicken meatballs (the package from Costco was 46oz with 2 packages inside.   Theirs are really good- I want to try it with other chicken meatballs too.)
1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
1 cup pineapple, diced (Whoohoo to King Soopers having pineapples on sale!)
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 can low sodium chicken broth

Everything in the IP on manual for 15 minutes.

I wanted to thicken up the sauce, so I used a colander to drain the 

juice from the meatballs and pineapple. 

Pour the juice back into the Instant Pot and turn to saute.  

Mix 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with a small amount of cold water.  

Whisk into the juice stirring constantly for just one minute or so until thickened.

After the sauce is thickened - turn the Instant Pot off and add the meatballs and pineapple back to it.

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a great day!

Close To My Heart **Clearance** Sale

Good morning crafting friends!  There's a clearance sale going on right now with some super fun items that I wanted to share with you all ASAP.  Just follow this link to go directly to the page:

https://melissabigler.closetomyheart.com/Retail/Products.aspx?CatalogID=159

What kind of stuff?  Instalife cards around $2, Stamp sets AND thin cuts under $10,  and lots of different embellishments are $2.

Happy Shopping!

Refried Beans from the Instant Pot

Our daughter loves beans.  She seriously loves them!  I've been wanting to try them in the Instant Pot ever since I made Ham and Beans that turned out so good.  Thanks for the recipe, Jacque!  These are awesome!

Let's Get Crafty!

Turn the IP to saute and throw in the pot for a couple minutes:

1 onion, diced

1 jalapeno, chopped with the veins removed

Add these to the onions and jalapeno:  

1 tablespoon garlic

1/4 teaspoon cumin

1/4 teaspoon ground oregano

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Saute for just one more minute and select "keep warm/cancel" to turn off the heat.

I've made this recipe twice now and I've done the saute step once and skipped it once.  Both were really good.  When I skipped it - I just tossed everything in, stirred and set the manual setting for 45 minutes.

Add to the pot:

1 lb rinsed pinto beans (about 2 1/2 cups)

3 1/2 - 4 cups broth of your choice

Using the manual setting - cook for 45 minutes

Release and stir

Back to the manual setting for 15 more minutes.

The cook time is being broken up so that the same beans aren't at the top the whole time.  Otherwise you might have a few beans that aren't cooked as much as you might like.

                       These pictures are after the first 45 minutes before and after being stirred

                                                      This is after the final 15 minutes

All mashed up! I added some water to get the consistency we wanted. 

Thanks for stopping by!