Gavin's 5th Birthday Cake

After a long 3-hour search to find candy "Legos" and a frozen turkey dumped on top of the cake, I'm just glad this cake made it to the party.

Spicy Sausage Pasta

Whenever the weather cools down, I crave spicy foods.  Today I wanted nothing more than to eat some "Rasta Pasta" from Buzzard Billy's, but I was not in the mood to drive, so I thought I'd make it myself.  The only problem was, I didn't have most of the ingredients I needed on hand, so I made up this spicy pasta instead.

1 package rotini pasta
1 small bag of frozen broccoli
4 spicy sausages (I used jalapeño cheese brats from HyVee)
2 tsp oil (I actually used some bacon grease I had saved)
1 Tbs minced garlic
1 Tbs cornstarch
1 cup chicken broth
2 cups shredded Pepper Jack cheese
1 tsp cayenne Pepper

Bring 4 quarts water to a boil, add uncooked pasta.  Boil for 4 minutes, add broccoli.  Boil for another 4 minutes.  Drain.  Return to pot.
Meanwhile, slice sausages into small pieces.  Add oil to a pan and cook sausages and garlic until browned.  Add cornstarch and stir constantly for 2 minutes.  Slowly add chicken broth and stir until thickened.  Reduce heat and stir in cayenne pepper and the shredded cheese.  Once the cheese has completely melted, pour sauce over the pasta and broccoli.
Now, at this point you could stop and enjoy. OR you could go one step more and put the pasta into a baking dish, top it with 2 more cups of pepper jack cheese and bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Very Veggie Burgers

Autumn's Very Veggie Burgers

I tried an amazing veggie burger at Lazlo's a few weeks ago and I can't seem to get it out of my mind.  I loved that I could see the vegetables in the burger and it was held together with cheese.  I am not a vegetarian and I generally don't like veggie burgers that pretend to be meat.  I like veggie burgers that taste like vegetables and goodness.

1 small red onion
1 stalk of celery
1 green bell pepper
1 red bell pepper
1 small zucchini
1 small yellow squash
3 eggs
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup shredded pepper jack
1 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup flax seeds (why not?)
2 Tbs Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp black pepper
2 tsp salt
Sriracha sauce (optional)
Oil to cook burgers

First, finally chop the vegetables. I just used the vegetables I had on hand, but this recipe would be good with others.  I'm thinking carrots or sweet potatoes would be good too.

 
Sweat the vegetables until they are translucent.

Add remaining ingredients (except oil) and mix well.  I did half of my burgers with sriracha and half without.  The mixture will be pretty sticky.  Forming patties by hand was difficult.  I actually found it was easier to spoon it into the pan and then form it with my wooden spoon.

Heat oil in a pan on medium-high heat.  I started with olive oil and switched to an olive/corn blend because it tolerated the high heat I wanted.  Cook patties 3-4 minutes on each side, or until brown and firm.

Though not the same as the burger I had at Lazlo's, these turned out delicious.  You can really taste the vegetables and cheese, which is what I was going for.

I ate the sriracha veggie burger on pita with red pepper hummus.  Yummmmm!

Just a little vanity

I just wanted to show off a little summer project I had.  I did a makeover on this old vanity.  I thought it turned out pretty cute for my first furniture project.

Mommy's Famous Oatmeal Cookie Pancakes

This is my go-to breakfast recipe for the kids.  They love it and you can change it up with your own twist.

1 pack instant oatmeal any flavor
1 cup pancake mix
1 cup water (more if you like thinner pancakes)
Add-ins: chocolate chips, craisins, food color, etc.

Mix all ingredients.  Today I had a request for green pancakes.   Pour cookie-sized portions of batter in a greased skillet on medium heat.  These cook fast, so keep an eye on them or you'll have crunchy pancakes and the kids will NOT eat those (trust me).

Serve with a cup of syrup for dunking.

Sweet Crock-Pot Chicken

It's summertime and in our ancient house there is no air-conditioning.  This means I do not like to turn on the oven if I can help it, so I use the crock-pot a lot during these hot days.  It makes the house smell great without heating it up too much.  Sometimes, if it is really steamy, I will put the crock-pot out on the screened-in porch instead.

Sweet Crock-Pot Chicken

3 lbs chicken breasts
1 beer (I used Blue Moon Agave Nectar Ale)
1 cup brown sugar
1/8 cup red wine vinegar 
1/8 cup soy sauce
1/8 cup teriyaki sauce
1/8 Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbs Sriracha sauce
1Tbs minced garlic
1 Tbs onion powder

Whisk together all ingredients (except chicken of course).  Put chicken in the crock-pot and pour sauce over it.  Cook on low for 6 hours.  Shred.  Cook for another hour.

Serve over rice or noodles.

We at this 2 nights in a row.  The first night we ate it with Martha Stewart's Ramen Noodle Upgrade recipe.  The second night we mixed it with brown rice.  Both were delicious.

Too much yum!

Here is my contribution to Easter dinner this year:  Chocolate chip cookies with salted bourbon buttercream and, of course, bacon!