A broke woman's blog.

There is nothing like having a party. All the people and all the treats. We threw my stepdad a birthday party this past weekend. He was so nosey trying to figure out why was I cooking lol. Me being me, I just told him that my co-workers gave me some money to go buy food for a bridal shower to fix. Ha ha! When he saw all that food he told me that it was not leaving the house before he got a bite of it. Little did he know that it really was for him. The poor man kept trying to stick his finger in the food lol. It smelt really delicious! The menu consisted of: Sausage balls with and without sauce, 5 layer dip, baked beans, semi spicy bbq chicken wings, cream cheese ball, spaghetti, deviled eggs, and Mexican cornbread. So are you ready to get started cooking? Well let’s go!

This is the recipe that I used. You can always modify it. Make sure that you always cook according to the number of people you are serving. Remember, I did this for a party.

Cream cheese ball

4 packages of cream cheese (use the fat free or 1/3 less fat)
12 pieces of bacon (whatever kind of meat you want to use)
1 bunch of scallions (green onions with the white bulb at the end for those who didn’t know)
Salt or accent to taste
Crackers

1. Fry your bacon until it’s really crispy (that doesn’t mean burnt) rinse the grease off.
2. Put your cream cheese in a bowl and mash it up so it can be soft.
3. Cut up your scallions in small pieces and rinse them off.
4. Sprinkle your scallions, bacon and salt over the cream cheese and mix together.
5. Form the cheese into a ball and use Reynolds or plastic wrap to wrap it up.
6. Refrigerate until its firm. When it get firm you can shape it better.
7. Put it on a platter and surround with crackers.
8. Now you may eat!


Source: MA, modified by Bree

2 cans of refried beans
2 cans of rotel
1 lb of hamburger meat (or whatever meat you like)
1 cup of shredded lettuce
1 cup of shredded cheese (any kind or a mixture)
Seasoning

1. Brown your meat, add seasoning for taste, rinse off the fat, and let it drain.
2. Smooth refried beans over plate.
3. Lay hamburger meat on top of beans.
4. Next is the rotel. Don’t put all the juice on there. Just the juice from your dipping on there.
5. Next is the lettuce.
6. Last is the cheese.
7. Now you can eat!

Source: Bree

6 cans of baked beans (all different kind is how I do it)
1 onion
1 bell pepper
Half cup of brown sugar
1 lb of hamburger meat
Seasoning

1. Cut up onions and bell peppers. Rinse them off.
2. Brown hamburger meat, onions and bell peppers together. Add seasoning to taste.
3. Rinse off hamburger meat and let it drain.
4. Pour beans in a roasting pan with hamburger meat.
5. Add brown sugar and pop in the oven.
6. Let cook until the top is brown.
7. Now you can eat!

Source: Bree

2 bags of chicken drumlets
Seasoning
Crushed red pepper
Bbq sauce
Dried chopped onions

1. Wash your chicken off. Season it with you season of choice, crushed red pepper, and dried onions.
2. Pop in the oven for an hour.
3. Drain of the grease and top it with bbq sauce.
4. Let cook until the bbq sauce bakes on the chicken.
5. Now you may eat!

Source: Bree

2 lbs of sausage (turkey even)
1 onion
1 can of cranberry sauce
1 bottle of chili sauce
1 ½ cup of Jiffy baking mix

1. Chop onion and rinse them off.
2. Put meat in a big bowl. Mix in onions and baking mix.
3. Once mixed together, make balls about the size of a golden dollar.
4. Put them in a baking pan.
5. About every 15 minute, shake the pan to make sure they don’t stick to the bottom.
6. Let them cook until they get dark brown. Not burnt. Drain grease when they are done.
7. In a small sauce pan, mix the chili sauce and cranberry sauce together.
8. Stir and let it come to a boil. Keep stir so it doesn’t stick to the bottom of pan.
9. Take a pick and dip them in the sauce and plate them. Or you can use a spoon with holes in the bottom to drain the sauce off and plate them.
10. You can even eat them without the sauce.
11. Now you can eat!

Source: Some Magazine…I forgot!

Today was a day of many events for me. I started my day at 10:15 in the morning. What a bomber! It was the first day of school for me. Yes that's right. I'm back in college again. This time, I'm going to Culinary school to get a better grasp on cooking techniques. I was driving along to class and I was just as happy a puppy with a big bone in it's mouth.

I called a friend and talked to her and low and behold she told me that I missed the inauguration!!!!! Gee whiz. This was a day that I never wanted to miss. Oh I was mad. Out of all days we had to start school on Inauguration Day. I knew I should have bought my ticket the day he won the election. Oh well!

Anywho, I talked on the phone with my friend until I made it to the campus. I was telling her how nervous I was. There were several thoughts running through my mind. How many people would be in there. How would my instructor be? Well the closer I got to school I started to get nervous. Oh jitterbug I thought. I hadn't eaten anything either. That was not good. I think I must have fumbled like a football player trying to catch a football.

I was so nervous that I almost threw up. I started to think.....girl if you don't suck it up and calm down you are going to really be sick. I straightened up quick. I walked into the building and I saw a gentlemen with a chef uniform on. I followed him and said, "Excuse me. Were we supposed to wear our uniforms today?" "No. You can get away without it today but next week you need them," he said. He asked me if I had a schedule and I showed it to him. He said, "Hey I'm going to that class here it is." He took some papers off the door and said don't worry about that. I said to myself dang he fine! He turned around and I said, "Are you the instructor?" He turns around, shakes my hand and said yes.

Anyway, all the other students showed up. The instructor introduced himself again and made us get up and introduce ourselves. I was like ugh noooooooooooo. My turn came and I was as nervous as the little puppy on the Dalmatians that Pete on the floor. I was so nervous I almost fell over the table lol. After we introduced ourselves, We went over the syllabus and had to read the rules out loud. Ugh I don't like to read out loud lol. He took us on a tour of the cafe and the kitchen that we will be cooking in. It's not really big but it will do. It was a good day.

I left school and was on my way home. Why in the heck did I give my kids and my mother my cell phone number? They blow me up all the time. Can you go to the store and get this and get that ugh! Gotta love them though. But she did remind me that it was my stepdads birthday. I forgot. How could I do that? So basically that is the day that I had today.

That wasn't too boring was it? Oh well! There will be more to come. I'll will talk to you later. I have homework to do!

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday. Everybody knows on Sunday you have a big feast. Have you notice that you tend to throw down on Sundays better than you do during the week? I love Sundays. A good Sunday dinner will make you shout. Can I get an Amen?

Today I made Sunday dinner. I made a pot roast mixed with carrots and potatoes, cabbage with Cajun turkey and smoked sausage, and cornbread. For dessert I made a marble cake with chocolate frosting and a strawberry delight. This one turned out better than the last one I made. So let’s see what ingredients I used today. Remember to buy and cook according to your family size!

Roast

1 roast
1 bag of baby carrots
3 or 4 potatoes (cut in quarters)
1 whole onion (cut vertically)
Seasoning

Cabbage

1 cabbage
1 package of Cajun turkey meat
1 smoked sausage link

Cornbread

Jiffy (gotta have my Jiffy!)

Roast
1. Cut up your potatoes and onion. Rinse them and your carrots off. Let them drain. Season them.
2. WASH YOUR MEAT OFF!!!!!!!!!!! Season it to your liking on all sides.
3. Layer the bottom of your roasting pan with half the onion, carrots, and potatoes.
4. Put your meat on top of the bottom layer.
5. Top the meat with the rest of the onions, carrots, and potatoes.
6. Put in over for about 350-375 for about 2-3 hrs. Don’t over cook it or under cook it.

Cabbage
1. Cut up your cabbage and rinse it.
2. Cut up smokes sausage and Cajun turkey.
3. Put some oil in the bottom of a pot just to cover it. The cabbage produces water.
4. Throw in your cabbage, sausage, and Cajun turkey.
5. Season to taste.
6. Cook it to your liking. Wilted or crunchy.

Cornbread
1. Follow the directions on the box!
2. When it’s done you may eat!

Source: Bree, and Jiffys

What’s up my virtual audience? I have a loooooove for peanut butter. I’m pretty sure that I’m not the only one who loves peanut butter. The first time I tasted this candy I fell in love. Guess what? I have something for my peanut butter lover’s out there. This recipe has been around for awhile. But I just recently had the pleasure of indulging in them. Want the recipe? Well here it goes……but I do have a confession before I start………..I forgot the name of the candy. I just call it peanut butter candy. But have no fear the recipe is here!

1 cup of Caro syrup
1 cup of sugar
1 ½ cups of creamy peanut butter
4 or 5 cups of corn flakes

1. In a medium sauce pan bring the syrup and sugar to a boil.
2. Stir in peanut butter. Keep stirring so the pot doesn’t burn.
3. Mix in one cup of corn flakes at a time.
4. Don’t put to many corn flakes in the mixture or it will not form right.
5. Get a teaspoon or tablespoon and spoon drop them mixture out on wax paper.
6. Let candy cool.
7. Now eat them!

There is a yield of about 3-4 dozen.

Source: Kellogg’s

Hellur, this is my other homemade pizza I promised. This is made with a fool proof crust that you CAN'T mess up. If you do then hang up your apron! I always wanted to make my crust homemade and I found a site that had a recipe for homemade crust for dummies like me........well not dummies but those of us who um, try but don't succeed well in homemade dough or crust. Well here it is like a promised.


Crust

2 c. flour
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder
2/3 c. water


Toppings

1 onion
1 bell pepper
Hamburger meat (browned)
Cajun turkey
Mesquite turkey
Canadian bacon
Shredded cheese
2 tablespoons of butter
Garlic salt or powder
Tomato sauce


1. Mix flour, salt, baking powder and water.
2. Knead on floured counter just until workable and spreadable, about 2 minutes.
3. Roll out your dough, put it in a pan and spread it out evenly. I used a 15x9 cookie sheet.
4. Melt butter and put garlic salt or powder in it to taste. Spread over your crust. If more is needed add it.
5. Cut up onions and bell peppers finely.
6. Cover crust with tomato sauce then layer it with meat, onions, and cheese.
7. Pop it in the oven on 425 for 20 minutes.
8. Let cool for about 10 minutes.
9. Now you can eat!


Source: Cooks.com (crust) and Bree

Howdy dooooooooooody good people in the virtual world. Let's see what Bree is cooking up today! How about some pizza! Who is the world doesn't love pizza? Well I can say that I looooooooove pizza. I've always wanted to make some homemade pizza BUT I didn't know how to make the crust. Well today I'm going to show you two recipes that will allow you to make it. The first time I made the pizzas were when we had Christmas Around the Hospital where I worked. Oh I was so excited about it because I knew I was going to show off my skills in the kitchen.

My co-workers love it when I cook for them. Everybody who came by our department even before the event started could smell what I was cooking. The kitchen workers know to come get food when I cook. Makes me feel good knowing they enjoy eating my food. They were the first to come to our department lol. They bragged about the pizza, mini pineapple upside down cakes, and sausage balls I made to every department. Made me feel proud and I blushed too! Even the President and Vice President of the hospital bragged on my dishes. Okay enough Bree enough. It's a sin to gloat on yourself......Let's get it started okay! This is how I made my mini pizzas.


Crust

1 can of Grands biscuits (because of the flakiness)

Topping

Cajun turkey
Mesquite turkey
Canadian bacon
Shredded cheese

1. Pull biscuit apart on the side in half
2. Turn outside of biscuit to you and gently mash it around so it will spread. Mashing the inside will cause the biscuit to stick to your thumb.
3. Once you have all of the biscuits done take your meat and mash it in the biscuit so it can stick and top it with cheese.
4. Put in oven until biscuit is done.
5. Let cool for about 10 minutes.
6. Now you can eat!

Now you can do it the way you want to do it!

Source: Bree

Okay, here is one of my family’s favorite deserts! We had a potluck at my job about 10 years ago (gosh that makes me sound old). One of my co-workers made this desert and I have never forgotten about it. The first time I made it my mouth watered. It seems like the more I make it the better it gets. I made this for Christmas and it was just delicious. Well here goes the recipe.

Crust
2 cups of flour
2 sticks of butter or 1 cup
1 cup of nuts (optional)

Filling
Powdered sugar
1 8oz. of whip cream
1 8oz. of cream cheese
Strawberry filling or glaze
Strawberries

13x9 pan

1. In a large bowl pour flour and butter and mix it together. It should be kind of crumbly or like dough.
2. Press in a 13x9 pan evenly on bottom. Press nuts in there if you want them.
3. Bake in oven on 350 for 30 minutes.
4. In a large bowl mix whip cream and cream cheese thoroughly.
5. Add some powdered sugar about ½ cup and mix with mixer.
6. Stir in strawberry filling or glaze to get it some color but not a lot.
7. Taste the mixture to see if it’s sweet enough. You don’t want it too sweet.
8. When crust is done let it cool off for about 10 minutes.
9. Pour mixture on top of crust and spread it out.
10. Cut strawberries vertically but not through the top so you can make them like a fan.
11. You can put the strawberries on there anyway you like.
12. Put in fridge and let it chill for two hours. Or if you really want to eat it put it in the freezer for 45 minutes to an hour or until chilled.
13. Now you can eat it!

Source: W.N.

I tell you my family thinks that I'm spose to cook all kinds of sweets and food for them. Oh wait, duh. I did say that I liked to cook...........I'm a sucker for recipes. I bought some cookbooks through a book sale at my job and I cook things out of them. I've tried to make some homemade cookies before. Those were the ugliest cookies I've ever seen. My family liked them. Well check out these cookies that I made. These turned out pretty good!

1 Package of yellow cake mix
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup uncooked old-fashioned oats
¾ cup semisweet chocolate chips (I used white chips too)

1. Preheat oven on 350. Spray cookie sheet with nonstick spray.
2. Put cake mix and baking powder in large bowl. Add oil, eggs and vanilla.
3. Mix with blender on low speed until well blended. Stir in oats and chips.
4. Drop dough using tablespoon 2 inches apart on cookie sheet.
5. Bake 10 minutes or until golden brown. Let cookies stand and cool for 5 minutes.
6. Now eat them!

This dough yields about 4 dozen cookies. Hope you enjoy!

Source: Ultimate Cake Mix Books

So let me let you in on a little secret........I love to cook. Basically, the majority of my blogs will be about cooking. To me cooking is a key to the soul. A meal can make your stomach happy. That's what I love to do is make people happy.

At my job we used to have potlucks on Fridays. I would always cook something good. One day I made some stir fry. Man oh man was it good. I love to cook and now I take pictures of what I cook. I'm a sucker for short cuts on some things. I don't buy any special seasoning. Whatever seasoning I have in the cabinet goes in my food. Not one, but all. Here is what I made and what it consisted of.

Stir fry

2 medium onion
1 green bell pepper
1 red bell pepper
1 yellow bell pepper
5 polish sausages

Seasoning

Rice (use how much you need)

1. Cut up your bell peppers and onion up into ¼ inch vertical strips.

2. Cut up your polish sausage ¼ inch horizontal strips.

3. In a skillet add enough oil to coat the bottom of it.

4. Let oil get warm place your veggies and meat in pan.

5. Add seasoning.

6. Stir veggies so they dont get wilted.

7. Boil rice and rinse it off when it done.

8. Plate your rice and scoop some stir fry on top.

9. Now you can eat!

I never cook the veggies all the way. I like them crispy. But you can cook it however you want. Hope you enjoy!

Source: Bree

You are really not going to believe this.........I forgot my darn login and password. I feel so bad. Oh well. Guess what? I'm back and I will be blogging on a regular basis. So just sit back and relax at enjoy my blogs. If you want to comment feel free. See you!