day 38..... Spaghetti Goodness

day 37..... Ultimate Tuna Salad

day 36..... Turkey Alfredo

day 35..... The Most AMAZING Gluten Free Ice Cream Cones

We have searched for years for some of these. We could find the waffle cones, but they crumbled before you got them home. But these... these were ordered on Amazon.com and shipped here, and they were packed wonderfully. Haven't found a broken one yet. Delicious!!! The kids are VERY happy people right now. They taste as good or better than their "normal" lookalikes. This is my culinary sensation of the summer. Maybe even the entire year.

day 34..... Cheeseburger Skillet Supper

yum

day 33..... Garden Fresh Salad

As it was hotter than sin today, a salad for lunch was just what was needed. We layered lettuce fresh from the garden, diced ham, hard boiled eggs, grape tomatoes, peas, shredded basil flavored mozzarella cheese, and cracked pepper. Topped with our choice of dressings, Ranch of course for me, it was the perfect hot summer day lunch.

day 32..... BBQ Ribs and Potato Salad

day 31..... Gluten Free's Best Friend

This may look like an ordinary bag of corn tortillas to you, but on a gluten free diet, these can be your very best friend. We use them for everything. From quesadillas to Huevos Rancheros. From PB&J roll-ups to and wonderful ham and cheese wraps with fresh lettuce from the garden. These things are invaluable. Anything you put on a sandwich can be put in one of these. My favorite way to prepare them for use is to lightly spray my electric griddle with non-stick cooking spray and then heat 6 at a time on high heat. And let me tell you, when you prepare around 24 of them for a meal, 6 at a time is a blessing. Heat for about 1-2 minutes, until it starts to puff up little bubbles, then flip and heat for another 30-60 seconds. Then stack them, wrap them, slice them, dice them... whatever you need them for. We have a recipe for some wonderful taco soup that has them cut up and used like a noodle in it. A few very simple ingredients.... endless menu possibilities.

day 30..... Heartburn Casserole

day 29..... Beef Enchiladas and Extreme Refried Beans

yummy

day 28..... Chicken a la Queen

will post recipe later... migraine ensues

day 27..... Sausage Skillet Supper

day 26..... Blueberry Muffins and Turkey Bacon

Not just any blueberry muffins... these have streusel topping. And who doesn't love turkey bacon. No nasty grease dripping off of it. Yum!

day 25..... PIZZA!!!!! on the grill?

As any gluten free family knows, finding a "great" pizza crust recipe. After 3 different ones that we used because it was the best at the time, we have a winner. And a winning way to bake them. On the grill. It gives the crust a nice crisp texture on the bottom and a wonderful slightly smoky flavor. Will post the recipe and procedure this week.

day 24..... Pasta

I just can't say enough good things about this rice pasta. It is Tinkyada Brown Rice Pasta. To cook it, I just bring my water to a hard boil, add a little salt and a little oil, stir in the pasta, return to a boil, turn off the heat, cover and let sit 20-30 minutes. Drain and use in any of your favorite pasta dishes.

day 23..... The Cheeseburger Project

Around here Friday nights are burger nights. At least through the month of July. Tonight, for whatever reason, I just did not want to make the meat into patties. Just one of those things. So I decided to make a GIANT burger. I am talking a 3 pound burger! We served it with french fries and buttered corn. The result was a very moist, flavorful meat dish that has found a place in our regular menu rotation. It was awesome!


Mondo Burger

3 lbs. of ground beef
cracked pepper
garlic powder
seasoned salt
1 envelope of Lipton Onion Soup Mix
3/4 cup hot water
6-8 slices of your choice of cheese

Form the burger into a large patty. Sprinkle one side with desired amount of pepper, garlic powder, and seasoned salt. Place meat, seasoned side down, into large skillet by flipping upside down.Sear the meat over  med-high heat. Season bare side of meat to taste. While the meat is browning on that side, mix the soup mix with the hot water and let sit. After browned to desired color, carefully flip the burger over onto a flat pan that will cover the skillet. I used a round pizza pan. Slide the meat off into the skillet to sear the other side. Once the meat is browned on that side, pour the soup mix over the meat, cover, and continue cooking over med-low heat for 20-30 minutes until cooked through. When the meat is cooked, lay slices of whatever cheese you choose over the top and cover until melted. Slice and eat.

day 22..... Cinnamon Apple Waffles

We took our favorite waffle recipe, added some cinnamon and some Cinnamon Dulce syrup to it, cooked them up in the waffle irons, and topped them with a tiny drizzle of real maple syrup and a little dollop of heated apple pie filling. They were delicious. Will definitely have these added to our regular waffle lineup. I really can't wait until fall to make some of these things. Yes, the kitchen is air conditioned, but it isn't quite the same without the orange color palette out my kitchen windows. Some foods are better enjoyed during certain seasons. That is just opinion though.

day 21..... Cookout Fun and Food

This is just part of the food. I forgot to take a picture of all of it outside. We had Johnsonville Stadium Brats cooked over the fire pit. Hot dogs for the little ones. Southern Style Ranch Beans, chips, and sliced Co-Jack cheese. We finished up with lots of playing on the playset and toasted marshmallows. It was a blast. Just wish everyone could have been home for it, but when you "spur of the moment" it, can't complain.

day 20..... Red Beans and Rice

day 19..... Crockpot Corned Beef and Carrots with Sauerkraut

day 18..... Sock It To Me Cake

day 17..... parade candy. and LOTS of it.

Let me start by saying, this is a BIG bowl. Taller than 6 inches and just over 12 inches across. And it is the product of a small town parade.

day 16..... heaven in a box

ok.... so I didn't "make" this... but, oh the things I can make... how can I use thee... let me count the ways....  a quick fix when craving cupcakes and I need flour brought up from the basement or down from the attic, a dump cake... cherry and pineapple dump cake, which reminds me, I need to send Kristen the recipe for that... we made it into a pudding poke cake, and I think this Sunday, I am going to make one of my favorite things from growing up... a Sock-It-To-Me Cake. Heaven.... I WILL post a picture and the recipe as soon as I do. But yeah.. while a little overpriced, this cake mix is a blessing in disguise. It was really funny to hear one of my girls say, "I have never made a cake from a box. This is weird." That was the 16 year old. It makes me want to make up a bunch of my cake mixes and label them and only have to add wet ingredients... but we'll see about that one.

day 15..... you know you're in North Dakota if they call it a hotdish

but around here, it is still called a casserole. Pizza Casserole to be exact.

day 14.... choffles

day 13..... trifle

horseshoe night... emily in charge... enough said for tonight

I will blog it and post the recipe as it was AMAZING

day 12..... oh, the cupcakes!

Ok.... I like cupcakes. I LOVE cupcakes. Really, truly love them. They are like little handfuls of happiness. They make everyone smile. Well, everyone should smile. They make things seem much better than they are sometimes, and this past week, I could use some of that. But anyways, this past February, I bought this amazing Wilton cupcake stand at the party store in Fargo. Love it! I use it every chance I get. Birthdays, Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, Easter.... you get the picture. And as the cupcakes and table decorations are different for each usage, the possibilities are endless. These were very simple with white frosting, red sprinkles, and little American flags. Usually they have different but coordinating decorations on them. These cupcakes weren't on the full table setting as 1) there wasn't room, and 2) if I put them out with the meal, the kids won't eat the real food first. Who needs a whole cake with its messing serving and dirty dishes. Let them eat cupcakes! They just might smile a little. Well, most of them.

day 11..... 4th of July Food!!!

day 10..... homemade Manicotti, a.k.a. Italian Enchiladas

Will write the story and recipe tomorrow or Monday as I have a little one that is getting into trouble and needs to be nursed and settled for the night!

day 9..... A1 Steak Burgers, Potato Skins, and Cottage Cheese

will write later or tomorrow. it's in my head, just not on here

day 8..... Sausage, Bean and Rice Skillet

This was one of the creations in a new cooking magazine that my husband picked up for me this past weekend. I varied it a little by adding some red pepper in addition to the green, and it called for doing it in a casserole in the oven. Well, let me tell you, when it is 93 degrees out, the last thing I want to do is turn on the oven. Never mind the fact that I turned it on later anyways to bake a quick batch of chocolate chip cookies :) Also, I think there might have been an error in the recipe. I am going to contact them and ask them. It called for a cup of instant brown rice, and no liquid, as in water, broth, nothing but a cup of oil. Well, I wasn't going to go through all of that and have my meal come out an oily, yucky mess. So, to play it safe, I cooked the instant rice on the stove in a pot, and then constructed the rest of it in a large cast iron skillet and combined it with the rice in the large stainless bowl. I think it was a hit. One of the kids decided she didn't like the white beans even though she LOVES them in a white bean chicken chili recipe that I am positive will make its way here sometime in the future. My husband was a little surprised by the slight sweet taste, but he liked it as well. We doubled the recipe and it fed 10 with enough leftover to feed him for lunch tomorrow.

Sausage, Bean and Rice Skillet

1 cup instant brown rice
1 1/2 cup water
1/2 a medium onion, chopped
1/2 a medium green pepper, chopped
1/2 a medium red pepper, chopped
1 T oil of your choice
1 tsp minced garlic
1 pound Polska Kielbasa, cut into 1/4-inch slices
1 can (16 ounces) kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (15.5 ounces) great white northern beans, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup ketchup
3 T corn syrup
1 T Dijon or horseradish mustard

In large saucepan, cook rice and water according to directions on box.  While rice is cooking, in a large skillet, saute onion and peppers in oil until onion is starting to get tender. Add garlic and cook 1 minute longer.
Add meat and beans and combine, heating until everything is warmed, stirring as needed. Mix remaining ingredients in a small bowl and stir into the meat mixture. Add this to the rice and stir softly to combine all ingredients. Serve hot and enjoy!