Easy Peasy

No Bake Cookies (my mom's recipe)
1 stick butter or margarine
1/2 C milk
2 C sugar
1/2 C peanut butter
1/2 C cocoa

Combine above ingredients in a medium sauce pan and bring to a boil.

Add:
3 C oatmeal
1 t. vanilla

Remove from heat and stir well. Form cookies and place on wax paper to cool. (As you can see, I put my wax paper on on a cookie sheet so I could place in fridge easily. This recipe made two pans full.)



I tried a new recipe from a cookbook my grandparents gave me for Mother's Day.
It is titled "Delicious and Easy Burrito Filling".

Approx. 2 lbs. frozen or thawed boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 can black beans
1 jar salsa

Put chicken in crockpot and season lightly (I used taco seasoning). Add remaining ingredients. Cook on high for four to five hours or low for six to eight hours. Shred chicken and mix together before serving. Serve in tortillas.

*We topped with shredded cheese.

~Now that it is getting hot, I try to minimize heating up the house for cooking. Hence the no-bake cookies. I love using the crockpot in the summer because I put in in the garage to cook all day and it doesn't heat things up inside. That is what I did yesterday with the above recipe.

Strawberry Bruschetta?

At first glance, it seems a bit weird, but it actually might be delicious!

See the recipe HERE.

the perfect s'more

graham crackers
+
roasted marshmallow
+
reese's peanut butter cup

I can almost guarantee you'll never
go back to chocolate bars again.

this post is not for mindy

garlic green beans

pour a little olive oil in a pan
add lots of garlic
(either chop up small or use a garlic press)
add lots of fresh green beans

stir almost constantly once the pan is really hot.
cook until they are tender.

green beans are my favorite vegetable.

sloppy joes!

sloppy joes

2 lbs. ground beef
2 t. mustard
1 C. ketchup
1 T. worc. sauce

so yummy. you really could use less beef and it'd be a bit saucier!
and yes amy. it really is me. jill.

Recipe Organization and a recipe that I don't have a recipe for

So, I got this idea from my mom and I finally put it into action. I have gathered recipes from so many different sources that they don't all fit into a nice little box without folding, etc. So I put all my recipes in page protectors in a binder. I love it!

My biggest section is "Recipes I want to try."



Other sections include: breakfast, entrees, sides/sauces, breads/muffins, desserts. (All of these categories contain recipes I've actually made.)


And yesterday I got to make a HUGE amount of yummy pasta salad for our big mother's day gathering with my mom's family. It is my grandma McCook's signature pasta salad and I've never actually seen a recipe for it...you just do it.

Cook pasta until al dente. Drain, let cool.

Chop whatever veggies you want to add. (I used what my grandma usually uses...olives, cucumber, different colored bell peppers).

Add veggies to cooled noodles.

Add equal parts Italian dressing and ranch dressing until desired consistency.

Enjoy! (I LOVE this and could it it nonstop.)

if i had kids... or nieces & nephews nearby...

i was looking at this website yesterday and thought... this is SO cute. how fun to have fun play time with nieces/nephews or friends kiddos. since i don't have friends with kiddos... and i don't live close to you & your kids... i thought i'd share.

Pudding Cups... and book associated with it - from Bakerella website

(the cups reminded me of the post or email traci made about the chocolate dessert cups.)