Pioneer Beans

Before I went to work this morning I put the fixin's for this soup in the crock-pot (love my crock-pot). Actually I put some of it togther last night, sliced the green onions and the sausage up to make it super easy in the morning for me. As you can see I served it with corn bread.  It must have been good, hubby had two bowls and three slices of cornbread too!! Still have plenty for another meal or two.

I found this recipe in a magazine back in the early 1980's. It is a recipe from Tabasco, so naturally there is Tabasco in the recipe.

Pioneer Beans

1 pound dried lima bean, I like to use small navy beans when I make it
1 pound smoked sausage, sliced, I use Eckridge sausage
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
4 beef bouillon cubes
3/4 teaspoon Tabasco pepper sauce **
6 cups water

Place all ingredients in a crock-pot. Mix well. Cover and cook on High for 8 to 10 hours. Serves 4 to 6.

Now today when I made this I accidentally put it on Low instead and didn't realize it until I came home from work (about 4 hours later). I bumped it up to High for a couple of hours, tried the beans and they were soft, so I put it back down to Low until we were ready to eat. I really think it would have been OK on Low all day. 

**Now this does have alittle bit of a kick to it, if you don't want that, your could add less Tabasco sauce. If you want it more spicy, than add more.

You could easily make half of this recipe.

Hope you all stay warm and cozy........Mary

Happy New Years

Happy New Years to all of you!  I hope you have a happy, healthy year!!!  Mary

Pampered Chef Party Online

Hi everyone!

I just wanted to extend to all of you an open invitation to visit my Online Pampered Chef party!!  I know of some really great items that I'm going to get to give to my daughters for Christmas this year.  Here is the link to either browse or shop, if you would like.  Your order will be shipped directly to you. My party starts on November 18th, 2013 and will close on December 10th, 2013.

Here is the link: http://new.pamperedchef.com/pws/marlenedavis/guest-landing/8848524197019

Here is a PDF of gifts for under $10.00.

Have fun looking!  Mary

Crock Pot Chicken Taco Chili

Hi everyone, so sorry about not posting more but hubby has a part-time job now (he was bored sitting around doing nothing in retirement, so he's back to work again) and a lot of times I'm here in the evening by myself.  It's hard to make recipes when it just one eating.  I have been thinking about adapting some of my favorites and seeing if I can make them so it serves just two, we shall see.

I found this recipe on Facebook one day and it looked so good and with cooler weather now upon us, it just plain sounded good too!  I had so much left over that I frozen two containers of it for another really cold day.

This recipe is very thick and has a lot of chicken to it, so it is very filling.  The original poster showed her served over rice, but I just had chips on the side with mine.

This recipe is really easy to put together too, just dump everything in a crock pot.  I will tell you that I added the chicken to the middle and not on top like she instructs you to do.  I did cook mine on LOW for 6 to 8 hours rather than High, and it was just fine.  Also I did not add the one tablespoon of chili powder and cumin, I didn't want if real spicy, I just used one teaspoon of each and it was fine for my family.  If you like spicy, you can adjust those two spices to your taste.


Crock Pot Chicken Taco Chili
 Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes
Servings: 10 • Size: 1 1/4 cups • Old Points: 3 pts • Points+: 5 pts
Calories: 203.7 • Fat: 1.4 g • Carb: 33.3 g • Fiber: 10.0 g  • Protein: 16.9 g

Ingredients: 

• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 16-oz can black beans
• 1 16-oz can kidney beans
• 1 8-oz can tomato sauce
• 10 oz package frozen corn kernels
• 2 14.5-oz cans diced tomatoes w/chilies
• 1 packet taco seasoning
• 1 tbsp cumin
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 24 oz (3-4) boneless skinless chicken breasts
• chili peppers, chopped (optional)
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Directions: 

Combine beans, onion, chili peppers, corn, tomato sauce, cumin, chili powder and taco seasoning in a slow cooker. Place chicken on top and cover. Cook on low for 10 hours or on high for 6 hours. Half hour before serving, remove chicken and shred. Return chicken to slow cooker and stir in. Top with fresh cilantro. Also try it with low fat cheese and sour cream (extra points).

I copied the Weight Watchers information from her blog for any of you that are following WW.  You can click on the link above to go to her blog.

Well, this is my share for today, hope to be back sooner!  Mary

Two Ingredient Pumpkin Muffins

Today I want to share with all of you a sure easy, cheap recipe that I found on Splitcoaststampers website.  Some of the demonstrators for Stampin' Up! have shared some of their inexpensive and easy recipes that they make when they have stampers over.  Everyone was raving about how good this recipe is, so I just had to try it and today it was cool enough to have the oven on.

All you have to do is empty your cake mix and pureed pumpkin in to a mixing bowl.

I used my hand held mixer to blend it all together, it will be really thick too, but boy does it smell heavenly.

I have some Pampered Chef Brownie Pans, but you can use your muffin tins too.  I added papers for easy of clean-up.  I probably should have spread the mixture out some but next time I make them I will.

Here they are all done baking.  Let them cool.

Here are two of them, one with cream cheese icing and one plain.  Hubby likes his iced, I like mine plain.  Some of the ladies stated that you can use any flavor of cake mix and some have even used Angel Food cake mix.  Another way to bake this mixture is to spread it into a 9x13" greased cake pan, then ice with cream cheese icing.  Either way you make these, they are GOOD!  Very moist too.

Pumpkin Muffins

1 box Spice Cake mix (18.25 oz.), no eggs, oil or water
1 can Pumpkin (15 oz.) puree, not the pumpkin pie mix

Place cake mix and pumpkin into a mixing bowl.  With a hand-held mixer, mix until well blended.  Place cupcake liners into 24 muffin wells, add mixture to each well, until evenly divided.  Bake at 350 degrees, for 15 to 20 minutes, until done when tested.   Remove from oven and cool.  Makes 24 muffins.

For the Pumpkin Cake:
Mix the above together but spread into a Greased 9 x 13" cake pan, bake at 350 for 20 to 25 mins, until done when tested.  Cool and ice with your favorite cream cheese icing.

I hope you enjoy this treat, we are!     Mary

How to Make Half A Recipe

Today I'm going to share a picture that I found on Facebook.  It is very simple to use and it shows how to halve a recipe and also how to make a third of a recipe.  I know that some of the recipes that look so good on the net and Facebook are for those feeding a family, usually four or more, but with it just being the hubby and me, it takes us along time to eat and let's face it, after two times it gets boring too.

I sent this picture to my two daughters, "Mom, how to you cut a recipe in half" was the question.  Really girls you don't know how to do this?  It's really simple math.  So when I saw this, I shared it on my page and told them this was for them.  I was surprised had how many times it was shared by other people who I know on Facebook.  So I thought I would share it here with all of you to.

I hope this also help some of my followers too!  Have a great week!  Mary

No Bake Energy Bites

I made these energy bites last month and forgot to post them.  I found this recipe on Facebook!  These are a good treat during the summer because you don't have to turn the oven on.  I do store these in the refrigerator but they won't last for very long either.  I hope you give them a try.  Mary

Disclaimer:  This is not my picture, but one found on Facebook, sorry I don't know who to give credit too.

Crock-Pot or Oven Chart

CROCKPOT OR OVEN CHART

CROCK POT OR OVEN chart.  Crock pots are great for summer and Fall so you can enjoy your beautiful day and have dinner waiting when the day is over.
It's fairly easy to convert your favorite recipes for crockpot use.

     Stovetop                                             Crockpot
                                            High Temp                     Low Temp
15-30 minutes:               1 1/2 - 2 1/2 hrs              4 - 8 hours
35-45 minutes:               3 - 4 hours                      6 - 10 hours
50 minutes - 3 hours:     4 - 6 hours                      8 - 16 hours

I found this chart over on facebook and thought I would share it will all of you.
Link HERE

Have a great week-end.   Mary

Fun Activity for Children and Parents

Are you hearing "Mom, I'm bored there's nothing to do" at your house this summer?  Well, I found this post on my Facebook page and click on the link, it shows all over the world where you can go and pick your own fruits and vegetables!  I've done this in the past with my girls and they always seemed to enjoy picking a little but also being able to run in the fields too!  The link to a field or picking site is HERE.  Not only do you find where to go, but at the bottom of the page they have links on how to preserve the fruits and vegetables you've picked!  Good way to get the kids to try new food too!

Have fun,      Mary

Skor Bars

Hi everyone, how have you been?  Well summer has finally made it here in our part of the world!  Now if it just doesn't get too hot!

I saw a picture of these bars on Pinterest last week and they just looked to yummy not to try, but when I  went to the site, there was not recipe!  So I had to do a google search and found a recipe that I wanted to try.  Can you believe that these bars are made with Ritz cracker crumbs and sweetened condensed milk?  You won't once you try one.  Some of the recipes said to bake and others said no baking required, but I went with the baked version for the ones I wanted to try.  I found my recipe HERE.  Let me tell you, these are good!  I used my mini food processor to make my crumbs and it doesn't take long to put these bars together either!

Skor Bars

INGREDIENTS

• 1 (11.3 oz) box Ritz crackers, my box was bigger, so I used three sleeves of crackers
• 1 (8 oz) bag toffee bits (Heath is what I used)
• 1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 cup milk chocolate chips

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Spray an 8x8-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Place all of the Ritz crackers in a food processor and process until they are fine crumbs. Pour them into a bowl.
3. To the bowl of crackers, add 1 cup of the toffee bits and the can of sweetened condensed milk. Stir until combined. Press into the prepared baking dish. Bake for 10 minutes, then remove from oven.
4. Immediately pour the chocolate chips evenly over the top of the bars. Allow them to sit for a few minutes to melt, then spread evenly over the top. (If they aren't melting, stick the pan back into the oven for a minute or two.) Sprinkle on the remaining toffee bits. Allow to cool completely before cutting into squares.

Well, there you have it, a fairly quick recipe, total time around one hour, from start to finish.

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Have a great day!    Mary