My two cents

I don't usually get involved in things like this but wanted to say some,thing as it's been in my mind. Can we please stop body shamming people.

As someone who has been both what they call normal and obese. I know how people feel when you start calling people who in the real world are healthy fat. It's not called for. If someone is happy with the size they are and there are no health issues being caused by the weight then let them be. If they are not happy. Then give them the love and support they need to be able to do something about it. Don't ridicule them.

Treadmill

I've decided that treadmill running is OK. If you only want to do a quick 3 miles or so. I tend to get board after 2 miles. I guess I'm just not used to running distance anymore. I struggle running outside as well.

I guess I just need to start being more consistent with my running and the distance thing come again both on the treadmill and outside.

Sick

I won't be posting any new recipes for a few days. I'm sick so won't be cooking.  Sorry guys. I am working on figuring out how to add more pictures to my posts and I'm also working on pictures for all the recipes I've already posted if I can figure it all out.

Stained glass cookies,

This is one of my Christmas cookies that the family always asks me to bring. They are so simple mainly because I cheat for these. The reason I cheat is because I have yet to find a sugar cookie recipe I that I love. Something to look for I guess.

These make cute little tree decorations or just nice to eat. So for these cookies you will need :

A packet of sugar cookie mix.
Jolly rancher candy.

Follow the directions on the packet of sugar cookies and make them up for rolled cookies.

Roll out the dough and cut out shapes using a cookie cutter,

With a knife cut out a small hole in the centre of each cookie and place the cookies on a Cooke sheet lined with non stick foil. Must be non stick or the cookies will not come off once cooked.

In a plastic bag place the unwrapped candy. I do a separate bag for each flavor. Seal the bag making sure there is no air inside and then using a rolling pin, pan or just something heavy, cup rush the candy into small pieces.

Place the crushed can't into the holes in the centre of the cookies. Cook the cookie according to the directions on the packet of mix,

Once out of the oven cool enough to handle and then remove from the cookie sheet promptly.

Been a while

I know it's been a while since I last posted anything. To be honest. I needed a break from the whole blog thing. I love food I love cooking, I love sharing the things I love with people. But I was starting to feel like I'm talking to no one. I don't know if anyone ever reads my posts or even likes the blog.

But I keep at it every now and then because if it makes me happy then that should be all that matters, right? I have a ton of recipes I want to post so will get round to posting them sometime soon. I will try and post more pictures on my blog but you can always follow me on Instagram as that is where I post most of the pictures I take of the food I make.

I love each of you if your out there and thanks for reading my blog.

What kind of post for tomorrow

So I'm thinking we need either a cooking related post or a wiccan related post? What do you guys think?

Unfortunately my wicca suffered last year and as a beginner and still very much learning I wasn't able to dedicate as much time to it as I wanted so really feel that a wiccan post is not the best. I am planning on getting back into my wicca this year. Will see how that goes.

So best if we do a food post. Let's see what people are in the mood for? Soup? Bread? Desserts? Mains? Or side? Let me know and I'll see what I can do for you.

It seems like all work and no play

right now it seems as if it's all work and no play for me. I'm hoping that will change I a few weeks but in the mean time it will be short and sweet blog post.

Tomorrow I gr the day off work but still need to find a way to get my house clean and laundry done.  Might see if I can treat myself and maybe get my nails done. But not sure i will have time for that.

Lost tv series

after a few months I've finally managed to finish watching. I loved it and now I'm stuck as in what to watch now.

I've started true blood at the start of December and I've already made it to season four. So I guess I've got that to finish. But then what? What are people's must watch television these days?

New year 2015

Another new year another chance at new beginnings. 2014 was a pretty good year. No really major events to report. It was really a year of work, work and more work.

I'm hoping this year will be different. I hope to spend more quality with my family and be more productive in general this year.

Taco soup

1 lb hamburger p, brown and drain
1 onion chopped
1 pkg taco seasoning
1 can corn keep liquid
1 can of kidney beans keep liquid
1 qt can tomatoes

Mix all together and simmer to blend flavors. Better if made the day before. Serve with grated cheeses and chips if wanted.

Erica's Meatballs

Today I'm going to share one of the recipes that I am famous for amongst my friends and family.  And that is my meatballs. As always made from scratch and trust me they are worth the time to make them.

It's really simple just a little time consuming to form the actual balls but oh so worth it.

1lb ground beef
1lb sausage meat
2/3 cup breadcrumbs
1/3 cup dried onion
1 egg
1/2 tsp salt
1/4  tsp ginger
1/4 cup milk


Mix everything together. Make into balls about the size of a golf ball, and bake on a cookie sheet for 15 minutes at 400 degrees.

These go great with my sweet and sour sauce or even spaghetti sauce.

Divinity

My mother in law was always a huge baker around the holidays and this is one of her Christmas goodies. My brother in law loves this and still asks his mom to make this every year for him.

2 1/2 cups sugar 

1/2 cup light corn syrup

2 egg whites

1 tsp vanilla 

1/2 cup water 

1/4 tsp salt

Combine first 3 ingredients and the 1/2 cup water and the 1/4 tsp salt. Cook to hard boil (260 degrees) stirring only till sugar dissolves.

Meanwhile beat the egg whites to stiff peaks. Gradually pour syrup over the egg whites, beating at a high speed with an electric mixer. Add vanilla and beat till candy hold it's shape. 

Quickly drop from a teaspoon onto waxed paper. 

Michelle's frosting,

My sister in law find the most amazing recipes. And this one for frosting is really simple easy and wonderful. My mother in law actually used this frosting on the cupcakes served at my baby shower a few years ago.

4oz instant pudding mix any flavor.
Small package cool whip
1 cup skim milk
1/4 cup powdered sugar

Mix pudding mix and powdered sugar together with the milk. Food in the cool whip

Chill in the refrigerator and ice cakes or cupcakes.

Special Cheeseburgers

This is a really simple quick meal, that I use sometimes for a hot sandwich lunch.

You will need:

2lbs ground beef
1 green pepper
1 onion- diced
1 tomato
Grated cheese. I use however much or little I'm in the mood for at the time.

Cook the ground beef, green pepper and onion together.
Drain.
Add the tomato and cheese and simmer until the cheese is melted.

Serve on deli rolls with ketchup, mustard and pickles.

7-up biscuits

So this is a brand new recipe I just tried out. And these guys are fantastic. Really simple to make and delicious.

4 cups of pancake mix
1 cup sour cream
1 cup 7- up soda.
1/2 cup melted butter.

So like I said this is really easy to do. Mix the pancake mix, sour cream and soda to form a dough.  The dough will be very soft so don't worry about that, knead and fold the dough until it forms a ball. Pat out the ball and using a round cookie cutter cut out biscuits.

Melt the butter in the bottom of a 13x 9 casserole dish. Place the biscuits on top of the melted butter and bake  @ 425 degrees for about 12-15 minutes or until brown.

Try right out of the oven with some butter and honey, or with your meal with some butter.

Kale my latest love

I'm not usually a big fan of greens. To be honest I have a sweet tooth and tend to not want to eat my fruit and veg. Needing to lose a few pounds and support hubby in his bid to have a healthier lifestyle and lose some weight I took a page out my kids book and started to try and eat better.

So when my hubby purchased some kale chips from the store I thought I would give them a try. A new love for something healthy was born.

Recently I've been trying to make my own version of the expensive kale chips found in the store and I think I have found a couple of ways that I really like. They are both really simple and great but I do prefer the second way as it has a little more flavor.

First way. Take the leaves off the stem and wash a pat dry. Place in a bowl and drizzle a small amount of olive oil on the leaves then mix to make sure they are all evenly coated. I just use my hands because I'm a little hands on when I cook. Then place in a single layer on a baking sheet. Then bake in a 300 degree oven for 20-25 minutes. Then sprinkle them with salt and pepper to taste.

I use you could try some of these popcorn seasonings which would be a really good idea and worth a try.

The second way is to take the leaves off the stem, wash and pat dry then place them in a skillet over medium heat with a little olive oil. Cook until crisp and then add a little soy sauce and serve.

Cherries cherries everywhere

I don't get to post as much as I would like and I'm still working on trying to get the rest of the recipes I used on Mother's Day posted. But needed to do a quick update and let people know what's been going on.

Work has been a little busy and I'm working a ton right now which is fine but doesn't  leave much time for keeping my blog as active as I would like.  Life is well but right now my time to being taken up with cherries. Cherries you ask yes the really nice little fruit things. I happen to have 2 cherries in my yard and the fruit is Finally really. So I'm spending time picking washing, sorting, eating and cooking with cherries.

So far I've tried making cherry brownies and cherry cookies. I haven't tasted them yet but if they pass the test I will be posting recipes of them later.

If you ever want to see pictures of my recipes I tend to post them on my Instagram account. For some reason I have issues posting pictures on my blog. I think I'm doing it wrong. And will one day be able to figure it out but until. Then try my Instagram.

First race of the year

So today is Memorial Day and. Ask my first race of the year. It was a last minute race sign up so I had very little training. However I think I didn't do to bad. It wasn't my worst time but wasn't near my  best. I did the 5k and managed a 33.04 time. My personal best is 26.00.

Really need to try and run more to get my fitness back.

Slow cooker cheese soup.

I don't make this that often but when I do it is a big hit.

Fr this recipe you will need

2cans cream of celery soup
4 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 1/4 cups half and half
Salt and pepper to taste

In a slow cooker combine the soup, the cheese, paprika and Worcestershire sauce.

Cover and cook on low for 2-3 hours

Add half and half , stir until blended. Cover and cook for anger 20 minutes. Season to taste with the salt and pepper.

Easy white bread

For some reason I love to bake. I find it relaxing. So for the past few days my husband has been talking about getting a bread maker as he really wants to try and eat as much from scratch as he can. Now I love making bread from scratch but it does take some time which I usually don't have. Well today we my day off so craving fresh homemade bread I spent some over due time in the kitchen and made some bread for the family.

I have a book on bread making and it has a ton of different types to make. One day I will get round to trying each one of them. But today I just wanted a quick bread so I made this recipe up. It's for a white bread but I have subbed a cup of white flour with a cup of wheat once and it still worked fine.

This makes 2 loaves.

2 teaspoon yeast
1 cup warm water
2 Tbsp butter
1 cup milk
2 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp salt
5 1/2-6 1/2 cups flour

Pour the water into a bowl and sprinkle the yeast on top. Let this sit and stand for 5 minutes,

Meanwhile melt the butter and add this to the milk, sugar and salt. Add 1 cup of flour to the yeast mixture and then add the milk mix. Stir until it becomes a  lumpy loose batter.

Add another 4 1/2 cups of flour. Stir until a floury, shaggy dough is formed.  Turn this out onto the counter and knee the dough by hand adding a little more flour if needed until the dough is smooth, slightly tacky and forms a ball without sagging and springs back when poked.

Oil a mixing bowl and place the dough in the bowl to rise, about 1 hour. Place in a warm spot. (I turn the oven on and lower the heat to the lowest setting and place my bowl on top of that.)

Once risen divide the dough into 2. Shape these each into a loose ball. Let them rest for 10 minutes.

Grease two loaf pans. Shape each ball of dough into a loaf shape and let them rise again for 30-40 minutes.

When they are almost done rising this second time. Turn the oven up to 425 degrees. F And place the loaves in the oven. Once in. The oven turn the heat down to 375 F and bake for 30-35 minutes.