Fresh Blueberry Coffee Cake

Is it bad that I am enjoying the fact that my husband is out of town for work tonight? I've gotten so much accomplished and it's been so nice and peaceful. I think I might be an awful wife for thinking this thought. Please...oh please....tell me I'm not.

I'm a rather independent person and I have to admit getting married was quite the adjustment for me. We are coming up on our one year anniversary and I can't say there haven't been a few bumps in the road. I love my husband dearly but sometimes two people just have differences. I'm hoping a few of you can relate to this. I lived alone for three years before getting married. We did not live together before we got married. I'm not on a soapbox about this subject but we just decided we were not going to. I'm glad we didn't because we were excited about this aspect and it was truely a treat to get married and be able to live together. Well a treat most of the time that is. I had a big adjustment factor. I was used to coming home and the house was clean, just as I had left it. The cupboards were stocked, just as I had stocked them. The bathroom was neat and tidy, just as I had left it. Boy was my world rocked when I came home and nothing was as I had left it. There were a few, or a lot, of not so pretty moments as I learned to try to relax, something I admit I'm not great it, and let the small things slide. We've come a long ways but I'll admit sometimes I need some me time to relax and get things accomplished.

The hubby is actually building a cabin about an hour away and will be gone during the week for the next month for sure and I'm thinking it might be good to have time to miss each other and look forward to seeing each other just like we used to when we lived an hour apart. It might be like dating again. I think when we get married we lose a little bit of something special. I miss that excitement and thrill of looking forward to seeing each other and spending time together. The hubby being gone a bit just might be a positive thing in our relationship...I'm going to say that I miss my hubby already even though I did get a lot done. There's no one here to give me that hug when I get frustrated or tease me about something stupid I did (not that it happens often at all!).

Whoa...I think I got off on a tangent there! Now for the recipe I'm going to share with you. It's blueberry season and I had to pick up a few cartons of blueberries when they were on sale at the grocery store. The hubby isn't a blueberry fan so the coworkers got treated to this recipe. It's a very delicous coffee cake and I would describedthe texture more like a pound cake than light and fluffy. The hubby did try a piece and he said it was pretty good for being blueberry. He thought that maybe I could subsitute strawberries because he really liked the plain part of the cake. The coworkers were dashing into the kitchen to grab a piece after I let them know it was in there. One even emailed me while she was eating it to tell me how good it was! Enjoy!

Fresh Blueberry Coffee Cake
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Ingredients
1 1/4 c. fresh blueberries
1 1/3 c. white sugar, divided
2 Tbsp cornstarch
1/2 c. butter, softened
2 eggs
2 c. flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 c. sour cream
1 tsp vanilla or almond extract
1/2 c. pecans (optional)

Glaze
3/4 c. powdered sugar
1 Tbsp warm water
1 tsp vanilla or almond extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease tube pan.

2. In a small saucepan, combine blueberries, 1/3 cup sugar and cornstarch. Cook over medium heat 2-3 minutes, or until thick. Stir constantly and set aside.

3. Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each.

4. Combine flour, salt and baking powder. Add to creamed mixture alternately with sour cream. Add flavoring.

5. Spoon half of mixture into prepared pan. Spoon half of blueberry mixture into pan. Add remaining batter, then blueberries. Swirl with a knife gently. Sprinkle with pecans, if using.

6. Bake 50 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before removing from pan. Place on a serving dish.

7. Prepare glaze: Mix glaze ingredients well. Drizzle over top of cake.

Recipe From: Recipe Girl

Lemon Crumb Bars

I never realize how many people actually read my blog. It simply amazes me. Last night I had two incidents like that. To me I just write and post and never think that people that are my friends, neighbors and relatives are waiting for the next recipe.


First incident last night - Now you have to realize in both cases I live in a small town in west central Minnesota. Pretty much everyone is related or knows each other. For example going to the grocery store is a social event. I'm not joking. You should typically expect to spend no less than a 45 minutes if you go in to get a loaf of bread and a gallon of milk. Last night I stopped there after work, well actually twice but the second time was actually a quick affair i.e. I put my head down and dashed in and out! The first time I ran into my high school classmate who was actually my prom date too. I love the kid. He's seriously awesome and knows how to make my day just by saying hi. I was going from aisle to aisle when I hear him say Hey Julie I love your blog! I was like whoa you actually read it? He goes on to tell me when his girlfriend and aren't sure what to make they go to my blog and look for ideas. He reported he made both the Taco Pie and the Pizza Paninis and they were great! Now that's how you put a smile on this girl's face! I was on cloud nine and ever called my mom afterwards to tell her. She's loves him too. He just went up a few more notches in both our books!


Second incident last night - My hubby and I were at a visitation last night for his relative that passed away. As we exited the funeral home his best friend's mom yells Hey it's Julie's Eats & Treats! I was like oh my goodness she reads my blog? I never knew! Woohoo do a little dance for finding out about TWO new readers tonight.


Moral of the story is I LOVE hearing about you guys and what you think of my recipes so don't stop commenting and telling me about it.


Now I bet you are wondering about these Lemon Crumb Bars so I'll get off my soapbox and give you the recipe. They aren't the typical gooey lemon bar. They have a nice thick lemon crust with a little gooey then a nice crumb topping on top. I think they are just wonderful, but you already know that because I'm sharing them with you. So if you are looking for a bit of a different twist on the typical lemon bar you are in luck. Enjoy!

Lemon Crumb Bars
Printer Friendly Recipe


Ingredients
1 package (18 1/4 ounces) lemon cake mix
1/2 c. cold butter
1 egg
2 c. crushed saltines (about 60 crackers)
3 egg yolks
1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
1/2 c. lemon juice


1. In a large mixing bowl, beat cake mix, butter and egg until crumbly. Stir in cracker crumbs; set aside 2 cups of the mixture for topping. Press remaining mixture into a 9 x 13 in cake pan coated with nonstick cooking spray. Bake at 350 degrees for 18-20 minutes or until edges are browned.


2. In a small mixing bowl, beat the egg yolks; milk and lemon juice. Pour over crust; sprinkle with reserved crumb mixture. Bake at 20-25 minutes longer or until edges are lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack. Cut into bars. Store in refrigerator.

Monster Cookies

I have a confession to make...I've been holding out on you. Yes, yes I really have been, but I didn't even know it. I can't believe I haven't shared this recipe with you yet.

It's these magnificent Monster Cookies that I've been holding out. They are out of this world in the way that you might have to tell your significant other to remove them from your reach or maybe even hide them. They are that good. I'm not lying. They are chewy, soft and utterly perfect. Personally I hate cookies that crunch and are not soft, so you will rarely if ever find one of those on here. Plus they stay soft for several days. BONUS!

This recipe is from my dear friend Derek, who I went to high school and college with. He introduced it to me after high school when we decided one summer to bake/cook together weekly. Yes we might have been dorks, but we were ok with it and our friends loved it! After we made this Monster Cookie recipe I have never ever even thought of looking for another one. It would be like cheating on it. I'm not that type of girl. I just won't go there! Once again I adapted this recipe to be chocolate free by using Reese's Piece and peanut butter chips but you can substitute the M&M's and chocolate chips if you prefer it that way. Enjoy!

Monster Cookies
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Ingredients
1 stick butter
1 1/2 c. peanut butter
1 c. brown sugar
1 c. white sugar
3 eggs, beaten
1 tsp corn syrup
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp baking soda
4 1/2 c. quick oatmeal
1 c. peanut butter or chocolate chips
1 c. Reese's Pieces or M&M's


1. Mix all together and let stand 1/2 hour

2. Baked at 325 degrees for 12 minutes

3. Take out before they look done. Let sit on the cookie sheet 5 minutes. They will continue to cook on the cookie sheet. Remove to wire rack and let cool.

Shared on Hugs & Cookies 7/26/11

Food for Friends Blog Hop!

It's another blog hop! I picked this topic because it seems like all my friends are preggers and having babies. I love to treat them with a meal after they come home with their loved one, but I'm running out of ideas. My favorite ones to share are Spasagna and Scalloped Potatoes with Ham & Cheese.

Now it's your turn to join in on the Food for Friends fun! Link up your fave recipe for sharing (or two or even three!) so we can all drool over them and try them out. Follow the directions below. I can't wait to see what you come up with!

1. Please share a link back to your actual recipe post, not to your main blog page.
2. Please visit two links and leave a comment on the recipe letting them know I sent you over.

And that's it! The party will be over on Monday night, July 25th. Just link up now!

Smarter Chicken Alfredo & Peas

I actually didn't even plan on making this recipe. Sometimes things are just meant to be. I went to make Simple & Creamy Chicken Tortilla Casserole and realized I was out of sour cream. Don't you just hate when that happens? I already had the chicken cubed and cooking so my brain started thinking. I had pulled this recipe out of the recipe box a few weeks ago because I've had a few requests for healthy recipes so this is what we had for supper! I know I don't do many healthy recipes, but when I make recipes I try to use light or fat free ingredients as much as possible. Although I'll warn you fat-free cheese just doesn't melt right! I believe that you can eat everything in moderation and this is what I go by. I don't deprive myself of things I enjoy, but I try to limit things I shouldn't have. And no this does not always work (like the three or maybe even four cookies I ate last night...recipe coming soon!). I wasl definitely at the gym this morning at 5:45 am. I was not blessed with good genes where I can eat anything I want unfortunately. Dang you Dad for not passing that gene down! Seriously. The man upsets me. He stills weighs what he did when he graduated high school. He told me his belly is a bit larger now though. He called it "settling". Gotta love his honesty at least. I took a "healthified" Alfredo sauce recipe and then added the chicken and peas to it. I personally like a little substance in my pasta so I added the chicken. You can leave this out if you would like. As for the peas they were added because my hubby won't eat broccoli. I would have added broccoli otherwise but this was the only way to sneak in some veggies. Once again feel free to substitute broccoli for the peas. So here is my healthified Alfredo recipe. Enjoy!

Smarter Chicken Alfredo & Peas
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Ingredients
8 oz fettuccine, uncooked
1 1/4 c. fat free chicken broth
4 tsp flour
4 oz fat free cream cheese
1/8 tsp nutmeg
3 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese, divided
2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
2 c. peas, cooked
1 lb chicken breasts, cubed and cooked

1. Cook pasta as direct on package. Cook peas as directed on package. Cubed and cook chicken in skillet over medium heat.

2. Combine broth and flour in a saucepan. Stir in cream cheese; cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly until mixtures boils and thickens. Stir in chicken and peas. Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan cheese and the parsley.

3. Toss pasta with sauce, 2 Tbsp of Parmesan cheese and nutmeg.

Skillet Lasagna

The words definitely are not coming to me tonight. Sometimes I can sit down and I have so much to tell you, but tonight is definitely not one of those nights. It could be because work has fried my brain this week. We had an amazing lightening storm on Sunday night. It was the most ridiculous lightening I have ever saw. It reminded me of dud fireworks. You know those ones that have a bright flash and then a loud boom. It was just like that only about five times as loud. A few times it even shook the house. I could feel the walls vibrate. It was wicked. I said this several times throughout the night followed by this. "Oh hubby this is going to make for a fun day at work tomorrow." I work at a telecommunications company and I'm the Service Coordinator, so when things go wrong I'm the person they go to. Along with several other people! Let's just say I put in a thirteen hour day on Monday if that tells you how crazy it was. I keep on thinking the next day will be better but so far it hasn't been so I'm praying for a good day tomorrow. This lightening was so bad that one of our customers told us the lightening hit his house somewhere and blew out his tv, computer, blew his phone jack cover right off the wall and screwed up the computers on his brand new SUV. Now that is nuts! As much as you love hearing about my lightening stories I bet you want to hear about this recipe that I'm going to share with you. The hubby loves lasagna but I hate the time it takes to prepare it. This one cuts down on time and makes it super simple but still yummy. Plus you don't even have to turn on the oven in this heat! Trust me you'll enjoy it!

Skillet Lasagna
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Ingredients
1 lb ground beef
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 can (14 1/2 oz) diced tomatoes with basil, oregano and garlic, undrained
1 jar (26 oz) spaghetti sauce
2/3 c. condensed cream of onion soup, undiluted
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/4 c. 1% cottage cheese
1 tsp Italian seasoning
9 no-cook lasagna noodles
1/2 c. shredded Colby-Monterey Jack cheese
1/2 c. shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

1. In a skillet, brown beef and garlic over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Stir in tomatoes and spaghetti sauce, heat through. Transfer to large bowl.

2. In a small bowl, combine the soup, eggs, cottage cheese and Italian seasoning.

3. Return 1 cup meat sauce to the skillet; spread evenly. Layer with 1 c. cottage cheese mixture, 1 1/2 cups meat sauce and half of the noodles, breaking to fit. Repeat layers of cottage cheese mixture, meat sauce and noodles. Top with remaining meat sauce. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15-17 minutes. Cook another 10 minutes with lid off to let the sauce thicken.

4. Remove from the heat. Sprinkle with shredded cheeses. Let stand for 5 minutes to let it thicken.

Adapted from: Taste of Home

Pepperoni Pizza Monkey Bread

I made this recipe with my niece the other night. I had it "pinned" on Pinterest and she had full control over what recipe we were going to try out. When she comes to visit life usually gets put on hold and we do whatever she likes to do. This weekend she was my "assistant" in the kitchen. I was amazed at how well she can bake! She knew how to scrape the bowls, level off the baking powder and flour etc. She proudly said my grandma taught me that. Good thing Grandma is so smart because that's where I got all my "mad" skills from too! This is a very kid friendly recipe that they are sure to love. I didn't use homemade dough but it would be excellent with it. I had a few frozen bread dough loaves in the freezer and pulled those out and they worked great. I made it by the recipe the first time, but with the leftovers I spiced it up a bit with Italian Seasoning and Garlic Salt brushed on it. They were "ok" without and amazing with the extra seasonings. The hubby loved it and it's a great twist to the typical pizza. There is only so much pizza I can consume, which in hindsight is a lot! Enjoy!

Pepperoni Pizza Monkey Bread
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Ingredients
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 Tbsp butter
2 tsp garlic salt
1 Tbsp Italian Seasoning
2 lb frozen bread dough or pizza dough
6 oz mozzarella cheese, cubed
48 Turkey Pepperoni
2-3 c. marinara sauce

1. Heat garlic and butter over medium heat until garlic just beings to brown. Remove from heat and add garlic salt and Italian seasoning. Spray inside of bundt pan with non stick spray.

2. Pull off marble sized pieces of dough and flatten. Top with a slice of pepperoni and a cube of mozzarella cheese and seal well. Very lightly brush pizza ball with butter mixture. I did this after I had made all the pizza dough balls because buttery hands = not being able to seal dough well. Put the dough balls in the bundt pan. Top them with the remaining butter mixture.

3. Cover and let sit for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake for 35 minutes until the top is very brown. Turn onto a platter and served with warmed marinara sauce for dipping.

Adapted From: Confections of a Foodie Bride

S'mores Bars

What a day yesterday was! Among many other activities I successfully used a whole pound of butter. Don't worry my arteries won't be too clogged as I gave a lot of food away. My niece stayed with us on Friday. I was more than happy to have her for the night because we haven't had much "girl" time lately. Friday night we spent at the Relay for Life event in our county. We raised about $65,000 at our event, which we are very proud of! We woke up on Saturday morning and were off to a baby shower for the hubby's cousin. After that we went and picked up my mom's kitty for the weekend. It's mom abandoned it and my mom has been feeding it. I volunteered to take care of it for the weekend while they went out of town (I had a weak moment as I am not a cat lover!). Then we were back at home and the baking and cooking madness started. We started off by making Salted Nut Roll Bars and Spasanga to take out to my friend aka the crazy lady in the grocery store who just had a baby last week. Her hubby's fave candy bar is Salted Nut Roll Bars and I had already teased her about Spasanga so I figure it was fitting to treat them to this! We finished up the kitchen duties with S'mores bars. My niece picked out this recipe I had been waiting to try and it was a hit. We made up a plate of both bars to bring to her parents and her mom texted me that I was her fave sister-in-law as she had been craving the Salted Nut Roll bars since I previously posted them. I politely reminded her that I was her only sister-in-law so I better be her fave! I have been seeing various S'mores bars floating around the blog world and finally tried them. They are delicious and if you are craving a S'more in the middle of the winter (I'm a bit ahead of myself here but still...) this would be a perfect treat! My hubby even said they were pretty dang good and he doesn't even like S'mores. I did half peanut butter chips on one side and the other side of the pan chocolate chips. Both got great reviews! Enjoy!

S'mores Bars

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Ingredients

2 c. flour

2. c graham cracker crumbs

1 tsp baking powder

1 c. butter, room temperature

1 1/2 c. packed brown sugar

2 eggs

2 c. marshmallow topping

2 c. chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 9x13 in pan with non stick spray. 

2. In a bowl whisk together, flour, graham cracker crumbs and baking powder. In a separate bowl beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in eggs. On slow, beat in flour mixture, adding up a little at a time. 

3. Divide dough in half and spread into the pan. Top with marshmallow mixture. Sprinkle chocolate chips on top. Scatter remaining dough on top. There will be marshmallow and chocolate chips peaking out but that is ok! 

4. Bake for 30-35 minutes. Take out and cool. They cut easier if they are refrigerated for a little while!

Adapted from: Recipe Boy

Zucchini Blog Hop

Welcome to my first ever  link up party! I picked zucchini because it's going to be coming out of ears and due to the fact my hubby has a weakness for it. How thoughtful of me huh? I've made a few different things including Zucchini Bread and Cinnamon Frosted Zucchini Bars.

Now it's your turn to join in on the zucchini fun! Link up your fave zucchini recipe (or two or even three!) so we can all drool over them and try them out. Follow the directions below. I can't wait to see what you come up with!

1. Please share a link back to your actual recipe post, not to your main blog page.
2. Please link back to this blog so others can join in the fun.
3. Please visit two links and leave a comment on the recipe letting them know I sent you over.

And that's it! Click on your favorite link to "like" it and I will feature them in a post later. The link party is over on July 22nd so join up now!

Cinnamon Frosted Zucchini Bars

Want to know what my new addiction is today other than these super, wonderful bars I'm sharing with you? Pinterest. I had heard about it, saw posts on Twitter about it and then finally visited the website. I requested an invite on the website and waited to no avail. That's when Lauren at Lauren's Latest hooked me up with an invite. Isn't she a sweetie? Go check out her amazing blog if you haven't already too! Well, maybe she isn't a sweetie. She's got me hooked. I'm "pinning" crazy now. If you haven't checked out this new found love of mine head there and do it now. I'm ordering you. I've warned you it's addicting so don't yell at me when you are also addicted. That's just not in the rules. If you need an invite let me know and I can hook you up with one and share the Pinterest love. I like how I can pin all the recipes I want to try on different boards and I don't have to save them to my favorites list and then I have to remember what computer I saved them on and it's just becomes a mess. I've been looking for something like this. The more organized my recipes are the more happy I am. I'm a dork, but hey at least I'm ok with it! Now onto my second addiction for the day. Wow it is not good to have this many addictions in one day. I was a bit hesitant about the Cinnamon frosting in this recipe but boy am I glad I made it like this instead of doing a plain 'ol frosting. It gives a zip to the bars that is just a bit different but totally yummy. The zucchini keeps these bad boys super moist and that's key in a bar in my opinion. Enjoy!

Cinnamon Frosted Zucchini Bars
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Ingredients
1 1/4 c. butter, softened
3/4 c. sugar
3/4 c. brown sugar, packed
3 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 c. flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 1/2 c. zucchini, grated

Frosting
2 c. powdered sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
2 Tbsp butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla
3 Tbsp milk

1. Cream butter and sugars. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix in flour, cinnamon and baking powder. Blend in zucchini.

2. Pour into greased jelly roll pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Cool.

3. Prepare frosting. Add more milk if necessary to get right consistency. Spread over cooled bars.

Adapted from Shugary Sweets: Cinnamon Frosted Zucchini Bars

Parmesan Orzo

Is it Friday yet? Better yet I'm going to ask is it Saturday yet this week. I think this is my last crazy busy week I have on the calendar and I'm so looking forward to it being over. We have Relay for Life this weekend, I have to close out a Scentsy party, play softball, and of course entertain you, which is obviously the most important thing on my agenda. Oh and then I'll squeeze going to work in there also since that does pay the bills. I'm asking if it's Saturday this week because Relay for Life on Saturday night will make for a crazy, busy  and late Friday. I can't imagine life with kids quite frankly. When we hit that point I've decided that something has got to go because I will go crazy and you will all have to come visit me in the loony bin. I promise it won't be that blog and you'll continue to get the attention you all deserve! The recipe I'm sharing tonight is a quick and easy side dish that is yummy. I saw Orzo Recipes all over the blog world. Yes there is a blog world out there. If you aren't familiar with it I'm telling you it's an amazing place. Tons of cooking blogs and all kinds of delicous recipes flying around. I picked this one because it seemed simple and had ingredients I knew we would like in it. I went to the store to buy my Orzo and I couldn't find any. I had no idea what I was looking for. Was it in the bean aisle? Was it in the rice aisle? Was it in the pasta aisle? I think I finally came home and looked it up on Google. Honeslty I often wonder how the world survived without Google. I learned that it was in the pasta aisle and went off to our local grocery store and found it. After that mission was accomplished, I'm telling you this seriously was the hardest part of the recipe, I was on my way to making my first successful Orzo! The hubby said multiple times tonight, Oh wow is this good. Best part about it was it was super easy. I'm always looking for simple side dishes and I know this one is soon to be a regular in our house. Enjoy!

Parmesan Orzo
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Ingredients
1 c. Orzo
1 Tbsp butter
1 can chicken broth
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 c. freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1. In small saucepan combine the orzo and butter. Melt butter and stir regularly. Lightly toast the Orzo.

2. Pour the can of broth and the garlic in the orzo mixture. Heat over low heat, stirring regularly until all the broth is absorbed. Make sure not to turn it up to high or the broth will be absorbed before the orzo is done.

3. Stir in cheese until melted.

Adapted from: Stephanie Cooks

Golden Oreo Blondies

I’m a sucker for a good Blondie. I love how they are soft and chewy and so yummy. Therefore I’m always on the lookout for a Blondie recipe. One night when we were sitting on the couch the hubby looks over and says you know you should really find a recipe that includes Golden Oreo cookies as he’s munching away on them. I thought it was a brilliant idea so off I went on a search. I also made him quit eating the Oreo’s so I had enough to make something with them. He was not happy as he complained they were staying at him every time he opened the closet! I found this recipe plus a few others, but this in the first one I tried and it sure didn’t let me down. How could it though? I mean I love Blondies and if you mix in Golden Oreo’s it’s has to be good. Now onto the Golden Oreo’s. This was an amazing invention. I personally can’t have chocolate as I’ve told you and when they came out I fell head over heels for them. If you haven’t tried them I insist that you must go out and buy them since you need to for this recipe anyways and there will be leftovers for you to taste test. This recipe was a huge hit with the hubby. His little brother stopped by when they were done and I offered one to him and before I could turn around he was digging in the pan for another one. I was happy he stopped over because I had to redeem myself from the last bars that he had at my house. Let’s just say they were a major flop! Don’t worry…he said these knocked their socks off. Not that it really would have taken a lot! Enjoy!

Golden Oreo Blondies
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Ingredients
2/3 c. butterscotch chips
1/2 c. butter
2 c. sugar
4 eggs
2 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 c. flour
13 Golden Oreos, coarsely crushed

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Melt morsels and butter over low heat until completely melted. Remove from heat and cool, stirring every few minutes.

3. Beat sugar and egg until well combined. Add the melted mixture. Mix in flour and vanilla extract. Stir in Oreos.

4. Pour into a greased 9x13 pan. Bake 30 minutes.

Long Boy Cheeseburgers

This supper was devoured downstairs tonight. I love my basement, but no I don't love it so much I choose to eat my supper there. This weekend has been horribly hot and humid and I couldn't believe it hadn't stormed. That all changed tonight. I had talked to my dad earlier in the day and he said he thought it would storm around 7:30 tonight so my goal was to have supper done and cleaned up by that time before it stormed so the electricity didn't go off or something. I almost made it. We were sitting down and scooping up our plates as we heard the tornado siren go off. Off to the basement we went with our plates. The sky looked super nasty. I love a good storm. Especially as rain is falling as I'm falling asleep, but I can do without the hail. The hubby looked at me as the clouds were coming in and says wouldn't that be it. Our trucks get hailed on weeks before our garage is built. Yup pretty much our luck. Although this time we didn't have that luck thank goodness. Oh and about that garage...its a work in progress! We had our concrete poured at the end of the week and started landscaping the sides and back of the cement pad. We have to build a retaining wall since our lot slopes about 5 feet from the front of the garage to the back. The retained wall isn't done but we definitely made a dent in it and I sweated right along with the hubby on Saturday. It was disgusting! Ok enough of my weekend and on to this recipe. It's a simple recipe that is mostly jazzed up meatloaf. The hubby said it was a keeper and went back for seconds. Enjoy!

Long Boy Cheeseburgers
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Ingredients
3 sub rolls, 6'' long, split in half horizontally
1 lb lean ground beef
2/3 c. French Fried Onions
3/4 c. Panko Bread Crumbs
1 egg, beaten
1/4 c. milk
3 Tbsp Ketchup
1 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
1/2 tsp garlic powder

Topping
3 Tbsp Ketchup
1 Tbsp Yellow Mustard
2 c. cheddar cheese, shredded

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place sub rolls, cut side up, on a wire rack set on top of a sheet pan. Bake until golden and crisp about 5 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.

2. Combine all the remaining ingredients in a bowl. I used my hands! Then combine all ketchup and mustard for the topping. Top the toasted rolls with meat mixture. cover the bread completely so it doesn't burn. Brush meat with topping mixture. Bake 20-15 minutes or until the meat is at 160 degrees.

3. Remove from oven and top with cheese. Put back in oven 3-4 minutes until cheese is bubbly and melted.

Adapted from: Our Blissfully Delicous Life

Gooey Snickerdoodle Bars

Things are happening at the Evink household this week! The cement crew came and started getting ready to pour concrete for the garage yesterday, so I'm hoping maybe they'll have cement poured by this weekend. If they do, the hubby is threatening me with a the pile of landscape timbers piled in our backyard and a "bonding" experience trying to install those around the garage. We went to start leveling off the backyard for the garage and realized we have quite the slope as you get into the backyard. Typical right? Nothing can ever be simple around our house that's for sure. Do you guys feel the same way? I hope I'm not the only that encounters these problems. Well after 5 loads of gravel we thought we had the yard level and ready to go. Nope. It must have settled and when they came for concrete we got another load of gravel. I got home last night and the hubby looks at me and says errrrr that one load didn't do it we had to get another one! So 7 loads of gravel later and I think we'll have a level garage floor. Since the back of the garage is built up so far we now need a huge retaining wall. Nothing is ever simple! I am slightly excited because we have designed the landscaping so I'll have a little garden behind the garage and it's built so far up I might not even have to bend over to weed the garden. How amazing does that sound? Ah the simple things in life excite me sometimes! On to the recipe that I am going to share with you. This recipe is so yummy. I was a little doubtful by the name of it since I don't really care for Snickerdoodle cookies but I the ingredients sounded like such a wonderful combination that I could pass it up and I'm really glad I didn't. It's a different type of bar that you don't see every day which is nice also. I think they reminded me of cinnamon rolls and it's a tenth of the work. Who can pass that up? Don't be scared that there is a few different parts to the recipe. They come together fast and easy.  Enjoy!

Gooey Snickerdoodle Bars
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Ingredients

Bars
2 1/2 c all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 c. butter, room temperature
1 1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar, slightly packed
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract

Cinnamon Sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp cinnamon
2 Tbsp sugar

Glaze
1 1/4 c. powdered sugar
3 Tbsp milk
1/2 tsp vanilla

1. Preheat over to 350 degrees. Spray the bottom of a 9x13 pan with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.

2. In a bowl, combine the flour and baking powder. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter for 30 seconds until light and fluffy. Mix in the sugars and continue creaming until light and fluffy. Scrape down the bowl and add the eggs and vanilla. Beat for 1-2 minutes. On a low speed slowly mix in the dry ingredients.

3. Spread half of the batter in the bottom of the pan. Combine the sugar and cinnamon for the cinnamon sugar and sprinkle over the batter.

4. Take a small spoon and drop the remaining batter evenly over the cinnamon sugar.

5. Bake for 25 minutes.

6. Let cool completely which is about an hour. Whisk together the powdered sugar, milk and vanilla for the glaze. Drizzle over the bars. As the glaze soaks into the bars they become gooey!

Adapted from: Jewel Bakes

Simple & Creamy Chicken Tortilla Casserole

I'm back and I may be suffering a long weekend "hangover"! It sure was hard to get back to work today. I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. I know we sure did. We went camping for the weekend. If you know me you also know that I'm not a "roughing" it type of girl. In fact when my husband, who at that time was my fiance, told he liked to camp I did a "oh no". My rules for camping were plain and simple. I will only camp if we have a camper. Luckily for the hubby his dad was looking to sell his and gave us a deal we couldn't pass up and I was off to my first camping trip ever. This is our second year of camping and I do have to say I enjoy it. My dad was also nice enough to lend us his boat this weekend so we spent the days on the lake. The summer hasn't been that great weather wise and mother nature pulled through for us this weekend. We were blessed with gorgeous weather. On Saturday we spent 10 hours on the lake. I hate to say this but we didn't get one bite on the fishing hook the whole time. Good thing we packed plenty of food and weren't depending on our mad fisherman skills to feed us! Each night we had a bon fire and I think the only reason I love bon fires is the fact that I get to roast marshmallows and make s'mores. I'm a sucker for a good s'more that's for sure. It was awesome to have a break from reality and not have to worry about having an agenda, but by the time Monday rolled around I was ready to come home and get back on schedule. It's amazing how that works isn't it? It's a good thing though. The only bad thing about camping is coming home and unpacking and cleaning that camper. Then you have your messy house to put back together, but it's worth it! This recipe is easy and comes together fast for a weeknight meal. I will warn you that the picture doesn't make it look delicious but didn't you learn not to judge a book by it's cover? Try it and you won't be disappointed. You can very the "spicy" level by using mild, medium, or hot salsa. Enjoy!

Simple & Creamy Chicken Tortilla Casserole
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Ingredients
4 c. cooked chicken, cubed
1 dozen corn tortillas
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 c. salsa
1 c. sour cream
2 c. shredded cheddar/jack cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a medium bowl combine the soups, salsa & sour cream. Add chicken and stir well.

3. In a 9x13 in greased casserole dish layer the tortillas, then the soup mixture then the cheese. Make 3-4 layers and end with the cheese on top.

4. Bake 45 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

Adapted From: Simple Fair, Fairly Simple

Grilled Pizza

This recipe would be perfect for this weekend! I've been meaning to make this recipe for a while but because I made homemade dough I need an ample amount of time. It's not hard, but the dough does take a long time. I used the bread maker again so this why I say making the dough wasn't hard! My hubby was quite nervous when I said I was making homemade pizza on the grill. First of all I don't grill. I make my husband do that task. I'm starting to venture outside my comfort zone and try my hand at grilling, but not often. I figure the rest of the year I make all the meals in the house and slave away, so it's his turn in the summer to grill once in a while. This used to happen a lot more when I was working until six during the week. I'd come home and he'd be grilling supper. Now this has changed since I'm usually done before he is and have more time to make a supper. I sure don't miss getting off at 6:00 at night but sometimes I do miss him treating me to grilling! I loved this pizza because the dough was nice and crunchy on the outside but still soft on the inside and a bit chewy. I found that it worked best to make several small pizzas and top them with each person's favorite toppings. The larger pizzas were harder to handle and didn't cook as evenly as the smaller ones. Plus this would be a fun activity if you had people over and everyone could make their own pizza or if you have children they would love having a personal sized pizza! And if you are wondering if the dough falls through the grill rack it doesn't. I will assure you of this. I think my hubby asked ten times, uh Julie are you sure this is going to work? Well first of all I wasn't sure but everyone else that has tried this seemed to be successful so I of course assured him with no doubt in my mind that I would be successful. Sometimes he should just trust his lovely wife! Enjoy!

Pizza Dough Recipe
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Ingredients
2 teaspoons bread machine yeast
3 cups bread flour
1 teaspoon salt
¼ cups olive oil
1 cup water

Toppings
Pizza Sauce
Cheese
Sausage, Pepperoni, Pineapple etc.

1. Add ingredients in the order recommended for your bread machine and set to dough cycle.

2. After it’s finished, transfer dough to a lightly floured surface.  3. Roll out dough into 4 pizzas. Try to keep it about a 1/4 of and inch thick.


4. Preheat grill. Oil the grill grates with olive oil with a paper towel tightly folded, using your tongs.

5. Put your dough on the grill and grill with the lid closed for about 4 minutes until the one side has grill marks on it. If there is bubbles on top don't be alarmed. Just pop them when you take it off!

6. Remove the dough from the grill and bring it in the house or wherever you want to put your toppings on. Put the toppings on the cooked side that was facing down. This is a MUST. If you do it on the wrong side half of your dough won't get grilled.

7. Put it back on the grill with the lid closed for about 8 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Dough Recipe from: Confessions of a Country Girl