What's cooking Wednesday-Southern Sweet Potato Casserole

 This Thanksgiving I decided to try out a new side dish recipe. In the past, I have made thanksgiving dinner for just my husband and I as well as for my kids, who, to be honest, maybe ate a roll, when they were little. One of the traditions I started for Thanksgiving when I got married was having a chocolate dessert. I wasn't the biggest fan of pumpkin or apple pie and I felt like chocolate was needed!My daughter helped me make oatmeal chocolate chip bars for this thanksgiving, which I have shared the recipe for a couple months ago!

I decided to crack open my Magnolia Table volume 2 cookbook by Joanna Gaines and try out her Southern Sweet Potato Casserole. It was a labor of love and a bit time consuming, cooking the sweet potatoes first then combining the other ingredients and then topping it off with marshmallows and corn flakes but it was a crowd pleaser! Below is the recipe and I hope you try it out and enjoy it as much as my family and I have.

Ingredients 

• 5 lbs sweet potatoes
• cooking spray   
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 8 tablespoons butter 1 stick, at room temperature
• 1/3 cup whole milk
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Topping

• 1 cup crushed cornflakes
• 1/3 cup chopped pecans
• 3 tablespoons light brown sugar
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter melted 1/2 stick
• 2 cups mini marshmallows

Instructions 

• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
• For the sweet potatoes: Poke each sweet potato a few times with a fork, wrap them individually in foil, and roast until tender, about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Remove from the oven to cool about 20 minutes. Leave the oven on, but reduce the temperature to 375 degrees. 
• Spray a 9×13 inch baking dish with cooking spray.
• When the sweet potatoes are cool wnough to handle, peel them and place them in a large bowl. Break up the potaotes slightly with a fork. Add the sugar, cream, butter, milk, eggs, vanilla and salt. Using a handheld mixer, whip the potato mixture until well combined, 3-5 minutes. 
• Scrape the mixture into the prepared baking dish and spread it our evenly.
• For the topping: In a medium bowl, mix together the cornflakes, pecans, brown sugar and melted butter. sprinkle the mixture evenly over the sweet potatoes and bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Turn the oven to broil and position the rack 4 to 5 inches from the broiler element. 
• Sprinkly the marshmallows on top of hte casserole and broil until marshmallows begin to brown and bubble, about 1 minute watching carefully. Serve hot. 
• Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. reheat in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes or in a microwave for 3 to 5 minutes.

What's cooking Wednesday-Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie bar

 Last week I had a craving for something with oatmeal and chocolate chips so I looked online and found this delicious recipe from Tastes better from Scratch website.

It was a pretty simple straight forward recipe and I luckily had all the ingredients needed. My kids who are 7 and 4 loved them and they stayed fresh the whole week! I would definitely recommend these cookie bars!

Here is the recipe

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 cup butter @ room temperature
• ▢ 1 cup light brown sugar
• ▢ 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• ▢ 2 large eggs
• ▢ 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon salt
• ▢ 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ▢ 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ▢ 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• ▢ 2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
• ▢ 2 cups chocolate chips 

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9 x 13 in. pan with cooking spray.
• In a large mixing bowl beat together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until smooth and light.
• Add the eggs one at a time, mixing after each addition. Add the vanilla.
• In a separate bowl combine the dry ingredients: salt, baking soda, baking powder, flour, rolled oats, and 1 cup chocolate chips.
• Add to the butter mixture and stir until combined. 
• Spread 1/2 of the cookie dough into the bottom of the prepared pan. Sprinkle remaining cup of chocolate chips on top. 
• Carefully press remaining cookie mixture on top of chocolate. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown. Allow to cool completely before cutting.
  
  Let me know if you make them!

Pot luck breakfast!

Yesterday was the last day of work for my co-worker who has been training me in my position. We had a potluck breakfast for her and I searched pinterest for a delicious treat and found Cinnamon Crescent rolls!

Prep time: 5 mins

Cook time: 10 mins

Total time: 15 mins

Serves: 4

A semi homemade cinnamon roll made easy with a tube of Crescent Rolls

Ingredients

• 1 tube (8 count) Pillsbury Crescent Rolls, unrolled and separated
• Filling
• 6 tablespoons butter,softened
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 2 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• Glaze
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons powdered Sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375
2. Place the unrolled and separate crescent rolls on an un greased cookie sheet(one with sides).

Filling

1. In a small bowl, mix together the butter, sugar and cinnamon

Assemble

1. Evenly spread the cinnamon butter over the crescent rolls and roll up.
2. Place tip side down on the cookie sheet.
3. Bake for 10-12 minutes.

Glaze

1. In a small bowl, mix together the butter, powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth.
2. Place in a zip lock bag and snip a tiny corner off.
3. Drizzle the glaze over the cinnamon rolls.

They were a hit and quite delicious! I don't know about you but I love making recipes with crescent rolls!

Long time no see..

I apologize for the lack of posts the past two weeks.

Last week my best friend from NY was down in Texas and we had such a wonderful visit! When she arrived I introduced her to Chik fil a!

We don't have them in NY! Then we went shopping at the outlets! I had to work the week she was in, seeing I had only been there a month, which was hard! I wished I could have hung out with her during the day but she kept her self busy soaking up the sun and reading books and she cooked dinner for me as well as baked some yummy treats she found on Pinterest.

Last Saturday we went to Schlitterbahn, a water park, which was alot of fun and quite refreshing since the temps reached close to 90! It was such a wonderful visit and I am so grateful that she came down to Texas for her vacation!

This week has been quite the busy week at work with different projects and more responsibilities getting passed my way! I enjoy working independently and I am glad that my new boss feels confident enough to give me more work to do on my own but I did get a little overwhelmed the m


iddle of the week but was able to talk to him about it and he was very understanding which was great! My brain this week was overstimulated I think haha! By the time the work day ended, I felt like I couldn't process much else! To add to that brain exhaustion the weather here was dark gloomy and rainy all week which always makes me want to go to sleep haha!

I will definitely try to post more this week! I finished a book this week and have a couple good ones on my Kindle I am excited to devour! Hope everyone has a wonderful and relaxing weekend!

What's cookin' lately?

While my friend was visiting we decided to try out a new recipe from the Pioneer Woman's cookbook!

We made chicken spaghetti and it turned out delicious!

Ingredients:
-I did a little over a lb of boneless chicken baked in the oven then cut up
- 1lb thin spaghetti
- 2 cans of cream of chicken soup ( the recipe calls for mushroom but Im not a fan of that)
-1 jar of pimentos
-2 cups cheddar cheese
-salt and pepper for seasoning

Here is the link to her website and recipe. I didn't add in pepper or onion because Im not a fan of those either lol)

Preparations:

Cook 1 cut up fryer and pick out the meat to make two cups. Cook spaghetti in same chicken broth until al dente. Do not overcook. When spaghetti is cooked, combine with remaining ingredients except additional 1 cup sharp cheddar.

Place mixture in casserole pan and top with remaining sharp cheddar. Cover and freeze up to six months, cover and refrigerate up to two days, or bake immediately: 350 degrees for 45 minutes until bubbly. (If the cheese on top starts to get too cooked, cover with foil).

What's cookin' Wednesday!

Yesterday I tried out a new recipe for a tator tot casserole! It was delicious and very easy to make!
Ingredients
-Bag of tator tots
-1.5 lb of ground beef browned
-2 cans of cream of chicken soup
- 1 bag of shredded cheddar cheese

1. Pour frozen tator tots in a 13x9 pan
2. Layer browned ground beef on top of tator tots
3.  Pour both cans of cream of chicken soup on top
4. Top off with an entire bag of shredded cheddar cheese
5. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes!
***I used ketchup with the end result and it was super tasty!

Recent cooking experiments

I have tried to keep myself busy lately with teaching myself new recipes to try seeing we always end up eating the same things every week, which is ok with the hubby but not for me, I like some variety with my food! I found this chicken and rice crockpot recipe on the Campbell's soup recipe and decided to try it out. It came out quite tasty and would definitely recommend it.

The ingredients are

1 and 1/2 cup of white rice on bottom of crock pot

2lbs of boneless skinless chicken breast raw on top of rice

1/2 cup of shredded cheddar cheese on top of chicken

two cans of condensed cream of chicken soup

1/2 cup of shredded cheddar cheese to top it all off

then a half cup of water around the edges of the crockpot

Leave on low for 6-8 hrs or until chicken is done, It took 6.5 hrs for me and Enjoy!

The other recipe I conquered this week is french toast. I had tried to make it in the past and it just didn't have the same flavor that I had tasted growing up. This week I bought Texas toast bread which is thicker than my regular whole wheat bread and then added two teaspoons of vanilla and two teaspoons of cinnamon to the batter. I topped off the french toast with powdered sugar syrup and butter and it was completely decadent!! So sweet and filling! 

Now that I have you all hungry haha Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Saturday Bus Trip

This past Saturday the husband and I decided to take a free bus trip, offered on base, to San Antonio for the day! We walked around the river center mall window shopping, had some delicious Ben and Jerry's, went on a boat tour around the river walk and walked by the Alamo! Here are some fun pictures I took!

Food filled weekend!

Friday: Hubby and I went to a drop/assignment night to see where some of his friends were going to be stationed and what planes they would be flying. Then we went to Applebees for dinner and rented Cedar Rapids which was pretty hilarious!

 Saturday: After hubby's golfing outing, we went to Rudys for delicious pulled pork and baked potatoes and then to see The Change Up was hilarious and cute!! My favorite, Ryan Reynolds, was in it! After the movies, we relaxed at home and watched war of the worlds on TV and hubby helped me hang up the rest of my photo frames on the wall.




Sunday: After church and another golf outing for hubby, we headed to another nearby border town. We had lunch at Fudruckers, which was pretty delicious. We had both never been there before. After lunch we went to Kohls to look around, we don't have one where we live and then to Walmart where I got the Pioneer Woman's cookbook! I love it and I am planning on making her beef tenderloin for hubby's birthday this week!





I had a fun weekend with my hubby!! Love going on adventures with him!

Vacation Recap part 1 July 1-July 8

So sorry that I didn't blog while on vacation in NY visiting family, I wanted to get in as much time as I could with my family and friends! I arrived home in Texas late Monday night and yesterday was a clean fest seeing my hubby was alone in our house for two weeks fending for himself while working twelve hrs a day so after a cleaning, organizing, and groceries day along with a dentist appt, I collapsed! On to the recap!

July 1: Our flight left San Antonio at 530 am yikes but we were able to be back in NY by 1230! I'm not sure how but we ended up with first class seats! We booked literally a week before our flight and really was just looking for the best deal but we got upgraded I guess! I enjoyed the blanket and pillow provided, comfy seats and service! Hubby's mom picked us up from the airport and we headed to lunch then home. We didn't do much just visited with Hubby's family and then took a walk along the beach where Hubby grew up!

July 2: Hubby went golfing with some friends and I headed to my parents house to visit and put away my body bag of a suit case! I was so happy to meet my nephew Blake, he was five weeks old and I fell in love on the spot! I just couldn't get enough of him! After golf, hubby came over and we all visited and had a nice cookout and enjoyed our year old wedding cake topper, still delicious too! After visiting with everyone, we went to visit some friends at their houses and then went to a cute local Italian place for a late night dinner just the two of us!








July 3: Hubby went golfing again while I went to church with my parents then hung out at their house all day and relaxed. Later that evening, Hubby and I went to a local bar to meet up with some friends for a drink and then to another friends house for a little get together!
July 4: Happy 4th of July! I brought my Hubby to the airport around 10am because he only had Friday and Monday off! I made it back to my parents house in time for the hot dog eating contest!! Love it! Then we all headed to my sister's house for a cookout and some pool and Blake time! After a delicious meal and fun pool time, we ended the evening by having some smores at my sister's new fire pit! No fireworks but lots of family time which was awesome!





July 5: Mom and I headed to a local mall to look around. I didn't find anything but it was nice to visit stores I do not have hear in south Texas! The rest of the day we just relaxed and watched the Teen Mom premiere hehe


July 6: I saw rain for the first time in a good couple months! It was quite nice! Mom and I headed to Walmart and Marshalls to look around and I got a cute pair of nine west denim capris with the rest of my gift card! Then we headed home to relax and have dinner and went for a nice walk around town.

July 7: Mom and I headed to the Cuse to visit a work friend for lunch and then shopped around. I got a cute pair of shorts from forever 21, a cute pair of khaki shorts from target and a pretty pink cardigan from Target! After shopping I headed to dinner with another friend which was nice to catch up on everything and enjoy some yummy food and ice cream! After our visit, I headed back to my parents house to watch Big Brother!!! So happy its back on, Ive watched like every season!


July 8-Mom and I headed to my sisters house to visit with Mr. Blake and my sis. I loved spending time with him and holding him! He grew so much in the two weeks I was here! We went to a couple local thrift shops but I didn't find anything! Later that night I met my friend at the mall and helped her find an interview suit for a teaching position and we also had some yummy unos dinner! After shopping I went back to her new house and she gave me a tour and I chatted with her and her boyfriend!

My next post will recap July 9-17!

Weekend without the hubby!

This weekend the hubby had a cross country flight for his pilot training that brought him to New Mexico on Friday and Arizona on Saturday! Friday, I started the weekend off by going to see Something Borrowed with a friend! I loved it and John Krasinski was soo cute in it! Would definitly recommend the film and to those who have read the book, the movie definitly gives it justice, there are a couple changes but it works well! Then I made myself some yummy chicken voila and settled in to watch life as we know it, I had seen it in theatres but I enjoyed it again!

Saturday, I headed to our local mall and looked around and then to walmart where I got some fun blue nautical striped curtains for the bedroom and a chicken wing pizza for dinner, courtesy of Digorno. I treated myself to a dairy queen ice cream and then to blockbuster to pick up some movies! I saw Remember me, with Robert Pattinson which was quite depressing and then to uplift myself I watched Burlesque which was very similar to Coyote Ugly and pretty good!

Sunday/Today, I went to church then home to watch some aimless television. Then I went over to a friend's house for a visit which was nice! I just got home from there and now I am awaiting hubby's arrival! Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! Happy Mother's Day to all those moms out in blog world! I sent my mom a package earlier in the week of green tea, vanilla body wash and a willow tree decoration!

Nothing much planned for this week, hopefully I will hear about a job I applied for or new ones will come available! Think a positive thought for me:)



PS My sister is due to have the baby anytime now, can't wait for his arrival and then to meet him in a month or so!! Also cant wait to find out his name!!!!!!

Not the same Easter...

This week I successfully baked a ham for hubby's flight! All the sides and desserts complimented the ham perfectly, delicious meal enjoyed by all! This past week was quite low key! I cleaned the house, read something borrowed and something blue, went on a couple walks, did some miscellaneous shopping where I found a discount red and white polka dotted bath rug to match my shower curtain, as well as a pair of black flip flops that I can cross off my list. This weekend was also low key with the hubby! It didn't feel like Easter-no family or easter treats. Friday, Hubby's flight had a party at one of the guy's houses and we went for a little bit. I was glad there were other wives there to chat with because beer pong is not ideal party scene lol Then Saturday we grabbed breakfast at ihop, shopped around where I found a pair of white shorts that I can cross off my list as well as a turtle pillow pet that my sweet husband got me:) We saw Water for Elephants which was good and gave the book justice! Then the rest of the day was kind of lazy, I got a little stir crazy and did some laundry and made scalloped potatoes. Seeing it was a holiday weekend there wasn't any good movies to watch on tv and we had seen most of the movies at blockbuster! Today we went to church and brunch at a local country club. Then we came home and I skyped with my family! Later today I went for a walk and didn't do much else.

Tomorrow I will be getting some more books out of the library and probably working out. Last week was my first week not working at the thrift shop so it was something to get used to. I've applied for a job on base and a couple off base. Hopefully I will hear something soon!

Hope everyone had a blessed Easter and has a wonderful last week of April!