Simple Joys At Home

This is my brother Caleb's favorite meal. He would be happy if we served it once a week, and always wants to hog any leftovers. Santa Fe Chicken: Ingredients: 4 cups black beans, rinsed and drained 6-8 chicken breasts, cooked and cubed 4 cups corn 2 cups of salsa 2 8oz. packages cream cheese (this could be left out, and it would still be very yummy, but we always add it in.) Combine all ingredients in a large skillet and cook until heated through. Stir in cream cheese until melted. Serve over brown rice. Brown Rice: Place 4 cups of brown rice in a large saucepan, along with 8 cups of water, on high. Bring to a boil. Stir, cover with a lid, and turn heat down to low. cook for 45 minutes to an hour. Cantaloupe: Cut 1-2 cantaloupes to serve along with this meal. Other fruits would be good too, or this can even be served by itself.

Ah, Pickle Peach Pie. It's that crazy recipe, that when you mention it's name, everyone thinks that you must be going crazy. Or, if you're a female of childbearing years, that you must be pregnant, and have strange cravings. Unless, of course they are one of the privileged few to have tried this yummy dish. Then, neither of these thoughts enters their mind. Trust me on this one, it's good stuff. Ingredients: 4 tablespoons butter 2 onions, finely chopped 2 tablespoons mustard 2, 9" baked pie shells (yes, someday I'll share my gluten free pie crust recipe, just not today) 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese 2 lbs hamburger 1 16oz. can of tomato sauce 2 large dill pickles, chopped 2 16oz. cans of peach slices, drained Melt butter, and saute onions and mustard in it. While onions are cooking, brown hamburger and drain. Add tomato sauce and dill pickles to hamburger. Place sauteed onions in pie shells. Put 3/4 cup cheese over the onions in each shell. Th

Welcome to the very first Menu Monday! This is a six week series sharing one meal from our menu, each Monday. I'm considering having this series extend longer than six weeks, but that will depend on the feedback that I receive during this initial "trial run." I hope you enjoy this meal as much as I do! Baked Ziti : This is a recipe that was invented after my parents had an Italian dish similar to this at a restaurant. Ingredients: 2 lbs bulk pork breakfast sausage Approximately 2 quarts (64 oz.) of your favorite spaghetti sauce 1 1/2-2 lbs penne noodles 3 cups mozzarella cheese 1-1 1/2 cups Parmesan cheese Mozzarella or cheddar cheese for sprinkling on top Cook and drain noodles. While the noodles re cooking, brown the sausage, and add spaghetti sauce. Place the noodles and the sauce mixture in a 10"x15" pan, and mix together. Add cheeses and mix well. Sprinkle cheddar or mozzarella on the top, and bake at 350* until heated through and chee

Next Monday, September 16th, I'll be starting my very first blog series, sharing one meal off our menu each week, that will be called "Menu Monday". This series has been in the works for awhile, but I'm finally ready to launch it. Because our over half the family is strictly gluten free, all the recipes that I share will be gluten free. Some may also have conversions for doing it non-gluten free, and most have been adapted from regular recipes and can easily be made either way. One very, very, important part of gluten free cooking, especially baking, is what flour you use. When we first went gluten free, it was a royal nightmare trying to figure out how to cook with so many different flours, and what flours to use for what. Finally, we stumbled upon a flour blend that can be used in exchange for wheat flour in nearly any recipe. Because I'll use this in so many recipes that I share, I wanted to share it as a separate post that I can link back to anytime I call f