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Home-Made Whipped Cream

Filed under Recipes by Jennifer Billy on February 21, 2013 at 10:53 am {no comments}

Do you love whipped cream?? If your family is anything like mine, whipped cream is the best part of most desserts. I use the frozen, store-bought kind for certain recipes, but for the most part, I always make my own. Aside from tasting better, it’s just fun!!!! My kids love helping me with this recipe. They love watching something that starts out looking like milk, turn into something so sweet, fluffy and delicious. And you can make it any flavor depending on what you want. Once, I even made some chocolate covered strawberries with Kahlua flavored whipped cream. I must say, it was AMAZING!!! It didn’t take much, just a splash to get the flavor. Other flavor options could be chocolate (just a touch of cocoa powder), orange, coconut, hazelnut, etc… Just play with different extracts. The possibilities are endless. As always, just have fun and see what you can come up with.

Home-Made Whipped Cream

16 oz. heavy whipping cream (or 2 cups)

1 cup sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Combine heavy whipping cream, sugar, and vanilla in large mixing bowl. Start mixing on low speed. If you start on a higher speed, you will have a huge mess to clean up as it will splash out of the bowl. Just keep a close eye on it as it mixes and as you see it slowly start to thicken, you can begin to raise your mixer speed. You’ll want to end up on one of your higher speeds, but you can judge this as you go.

The whole process will take at least 5 minutes (not sure of the exact time, sorry!!). You’ll want to watch for stiff (but not too stiff) peaks to form. My way of testing is by dipping in a spoon or knife. If it runs right back into place, it is definitely not done. You’ll want the peaks to kind of fold over into little curls off of your spoon. But do not over-mix because it could soon turn into butter.

This goes great on so many things… brownies, cakes, pies, fruit, whatever you want!!!

-Angela

Chicken Pasta Salad Recipe

Filed under Recipes by Jennifer Billy on February 15, 2013 at 8:58 am {no comments}

recipes

Recipe time again!!!! Here is another favorite of my family. I believe this recipe originated from one of my aunts, and we have been making it for years. It’s very easy to make, and there are so many different variations you can do with this. These add-ins are what my family prefers, but you can add whatever you want. You could do cubed or shredded cheddar cheese, olives, pepperoni, banana peppers, and the list could go on and on and on. So, just have fun with it, and make it your own!!!

Chicken Pasta Salad

8 boneless, skinless chicken tenders

1 bottle of Zesty Italian Salad Dressing

1 package spiral pasta
Cooked and drained

1 – 2 large cucumbers

1 large tomato

1 small onion

Cut chicken into ½ inch strips and place in bowl. Pour enough dressing to cover chicken. Let this marinate for a couple hours to get the best flavor. When done marinating, saute chicken over medium heat until cooked through.

Dice up your veggies, but not too small. Combine pasta, chicken, and veggies in large bowl and toss to mix all ingredients well. Now, pour in the rest of your dressing, a little at a time, and toss. Very quick. Very simple. Very good. Hope you enjoy!!!!

-Angela

Home-Made Spaghetti Sauce Recipe

Filed under Recipes by Jennifer Billy on January 25, 2013 at 11:29 am {no comments}

recipe

I have another recipe to share with you today. It is a version of my mama’s spaghetti sauce that I changed up a little bit after trying my husband’s grandmother’s spaghetti sauce that surprisingly had a sweet flavor to it. After trying it, I KNEW that I had to figure out how to make it!!! So I did, and this is what I came up with. Sugar!!! The obvious solution, right?! I know it may sound a little crazy, but it’s such a different take on traditional spaghetti sauce that it just works. The sugar works to take out the tanginess of the tomatoes. It is easy to make, and, of course, very inexpensive… and one of the few things that my kids actually ask for and will sit down and eat without argument. It’s nothing fancy or spectacular, but we love it and hope you enjoy it, as well.

Home-Made Spaghetti Sauce

1lb ground beef

1-1 ½ tsp of minced garlic

¼ cup of chopped onion (optional)

2 – 8oz cans of tomato sauce

1- 15oz can of diced tomatoes

1- 6oz can of tomato paste

½ tbsp. of Garlic Powder

5 tbsp granulated sugar

1 small package spaghetti (cooked and drained)

In medium sauce pan, combine ground beef, minced garlic, and onion. Heat over medium heat until ground beef is browned and cooked through. Drain, then place back into sauce pan.

Add tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, and tomato paste to beef mixture and mix well. Return to heat (still medium) and add garlic powder and sugar. Mix well and when sauce starts to bubble (watch carefully because it can make a mess) turn heat to low and let simmer for about 30 minutes. Add sauce to cooked spaghetti, serve topped with Parmesan cheese, and enjoy!!!

-Angela

Zesty Italian Chicken Spaghetti Recipe

Filed under Recipes by Jennifer Billy on January 18, 2013 at 11:52 am {no comments}

recipe

As a stay-at-home mother of three, whose family is definitely on a budget, I look for every possibility to save money. Dinners are number one in this area. I like to play with ingredients that I usually have sitting around and just see what I can come up with. Sometimes it’s amazing. Sometimes it’s just better to never speak of it again. Example: pork chops and peaches are not such a great combination. I found this out the hard way. Let’s just say, even my family never saw, let alone, tasted this one.

A few have stuck around, though, and have been some of our favorites for many years. One that I am particularly fond of, and even get requests for, is what I call Zesty Italian Chicken Spaghetti. It’s fairly quick and definitely simple.

Here’s what you’ll need:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, thawed (or 8 of the chicken tenders)

1 bottle of Zesty Italian Salad Dressing

1 small box of spaghetti (cooked according to package directions)

1 stick of butter (or more if you prefer)

Garlic powder

Italian Seasoning

Grated Parmesan Cheese

To start, cut chicken into ½ inch strips. Place Chicken into medium size bowl and pour in enough dressing to cover chicken well. You need to marinate for at least one hour. You can definitely do longer. I usually put mine in overnight, and that just helps me to skip a step the next day.

When chicken is fully marinated, begin heating oil in a sauté pan on the stove top on medium heat. I’ve used both vegetable and olive. It’s really personal preference. When oil is heated, add chicken and begin to sauté until no longer pink in the center. This is also a good time to start your spaghetti. When both are done, toss together in a large bowl.

Place butter in small sauce pan on low to medium heat. Sprinkle in garlic powder (at least 1-2 teaspoons). Again, this comes down to personal preference. Some prefer more, some less. Remember, though, you can always add more, but you can’t take any out. Add just a couple shakes of Italian seasoning and stir until butter is good and melted. It should smell amazing at this point! Pour butter mixture over the tossed chicken and spaghetti and toss some more to make sure it is covered well. Serve garlic bread, top with Parmesan cheese, and enjoy!!!

Autumn Pork Roast Recipe

Filed under Recipes by Jennifer Billy on November 13, 2012 at 10:04 am {no comments}

Autumn Pork Roast

I love this recipe. Sounds a big strange, but is really good. Plus it is really easy since it is made in the crock pot. I like to serve it with sweet potatoes. A great fall recipe!

Autumn Pork Roast

Ingredients:

2-2 1/2 lb pork roast
16 oz whole berry cranberry sauce
Ingredients
1 medium onion- chopped
5.5 oz can of Apricot nectar
1/2 cup chopped dried apricots
2 tsp dry mustard
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
1/3 cup sugar

Directions:

Mix all ingredients

Place pork roast into crock pot.
Mix rest of the ingredients together and pour over roast.
Cook on low for 6-8 hours.
Remove pork and slice or pull apart.
Return pork to crock pot and mix.

Kit Kat Cake with M&M’s for Birthday

Filed under Recipes by Priscilla on November 11, 2012 at 3:30 pm {one comment}

Several years ago, my oldest son wanted a Super Mario Brothers cake for his birthday. We looked online and found a really cool 3 tier cake. Like all mothers, I set out on a mission to make sure he had this cake for his birthday. WOW! I was ABSOLUTELY shocked and could not believe the prices of cakes. This caused me to start looking around to see if I could make my own cake. I was honestly surprised at how easy it was to get your hands on the right supplies to give it a try.

I was able to make my son the cake he wanted and he was thrilled! I was amazed at the money I had saved on just this one cake. With 2 other children in the house and several other family members, it has been fun coming up with ideas and making their dreams come true.

So, that is how my cake making journey began. I do not claim to make professional looking cakes but they are made from the heart to my children and family. I know this is something they will always remember and you can never take that away!

Recently my niece had her birthday and she wanted a candy bar cake. We searched online and found a Kit Kat Cake. To make this cake, I used:

3 Boxes of Duncan Hines Devil’s Food Chocolate Cake Mix
Ingredients per box
Wilton Chocolate Buttercream Recipe Doubled
20-24 Kit Kat Full Size Bars
1 – 1 ½ pound M&M’s

I prepared the cake per directions on the box. I used two boxes of cake mix in the Wilton 12” Decorative Pan and have learned that because it is so much batter, it is best to reduce the cooking temperature by 25-50 degrees, depending on your oven. The smaller cake is one box of cake mix in a Wilton 6” Decorative Pan.

After it was cooled, I put my icing on the cake and stacked them together. One secret is to add straws into the cake to keep the top cake from sliding off. Straws are much cheaper than skewers.

Next, I broke the Kit Kats in half, very carefully! I tried to let the kids help but a few did not break evenly and did not look as ‘pretty’. I put a thin layer of icing on the Kit Kat and placed it on the cake. The icing acts as glue. From personal experience, don’t skip this step! I had a couple of casualties during transportation but was able to fix it once I got it to the final destination.

Lastly, sprinkle your M&M’s around the top. Add as little or as much as you like! Even use your own color combinations! Most importantly – have fun with it!!

Chicken Pot Pie Recipe from Coupon Savings In The South

Filed under Recipes by Jennifer Billy on November 8, 2012 at 9:03 am {no comments}

This Chicken Pot Pie recipe looks so good. I can’t wait to try it out. I would like to thank Shannon from Coupon Savings in the South for sharing it with us. Shannon has some really great southern recipes, hopefully she will share some more.

Chicken Pot Pie

3 cups of chopped chicken
1 ½ can chicken broth
1 can cream of mushroom
1 can of peas drained
1 can of carrots drained

Crust

1 stick margarine
1 cup of self rising flour
1 cup milk

Place chopped chicken into a casserole dish. Mix soup and broth and pour over chicken. Add peas and carrots. Mix together margarine, flour, milk batter will be thin. Pour mixture on top of chicken and bake at 350 until bubbly and crust is brown.

Thanks so much Jennifer for allowing me to share this wonderful winter time comfort food. I am Shannon from Coupon Savings In The South.

photo credit: star5112 via photopin cc

Pot Roast Recipe

Filed under Recipes by Jennifer Billy on October 30, 2012 at 8:30 am {2 comments}

With the weather getting colder, it is time for pot roast! I have a great pot roast recipe for the crock pot. With my oven not working it was a perfect time to make this recipe.

I love using the crock pot. Spend a few minutes in the morning throwing everything into the crock pot and then have a great dinner waiting for you at dinner time. Plus the house always smells like you have been cooking all day.

Ingredient-

2-2 1/2 lb pot roast
3-4 potatoes, cut into small to medium sized pieces. With or without skin.
carrots, bag of baby carrots or 4-5 carrots chopped.
1 large onion, chopped into medium sized pieces.
1- can corn, drained.
2- cans cream of mushroom soap or 1 family sized can
Olive Oil
Salt, Pepper & Garlic Powder

Directions

Drizzle olive oil over pot roast. Add salt, pepper and garlic powder to pot roast and add to crock pot.
Add potatoes, carrots, onion and corn.
Top with cream of mushroom soap and mix into vegetables.
Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Cook on low for 6-8 hours or until vegetables are soft.
Remove meat from crock pot and cut into small to medium pieces. Add meat back to crock pot and stir.
Serve with Texas Toast, Italian bread or garlic bread.

I tend to cut everything into smaller pieces so I do not have too much cutting for the kids. Keep in mind that the smaller you cut everything, the faster it will cook. I also like to add Red Hot hot sauce to it for a little kick. I also like to make a large batch. It is even better the next day.

I like it thicker, but you can add water. You can also add or remove any vegetable to suit your families taste.

Have a great crock pot recipe? Please share. You can email it to me and I will feature it here on MSSB.

Dijon Ranch Chicken & Pasta Recipe

Filed under Recipes by Jennifer Billy on September 11, 2012 at 2:00 pm {no comments}

This is a favorite recipe at my house. I first got this recipe from the Great American Favorite Brand Name Cookbook, Collector’s Edition. I always pair it with asparagus that I saute in a pan with salt, paper and lemon juice. All I do different for the kids is skip the sauce.

Dijon Ranch Chicken & Pasta

Ingredients:

1 cup Ranch dressing
1/3 cup Dijon mustard
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts or chicken tenders (enough to feed 4)
1/4 cup butter
1/3 cup dry white wine (plus a glass while cooking )
10 oz pasta, cooked and drained (angle hair or spaghetti)
Chopped parsley

In a small bowl, whisk together dressing and mustard; set aside.
In medium skillet, saute chicken in butter until browned; transfer to dish. keep warm.
Pour wine into skillet; cook over medium heat, scraping up any brown bits from bottom of skillet, about 5 minutes.
Whisk in dressing mixture; blend well.
Serve over pasta; sprinkle with parsley.

Enjoy!

Rigatoni with Sausage, Roasted Peppers & Garlic Oil Recipe

Filed under Recipes by Jennifer Billy on August 30, 2012 at 4:37 pm {no comments}

What’s for dinner? Here is a great recipe that I make often for my family and seems to please everyone. However, I do keep some of the plan rigatoni and add butter and Parmesan cheese for my daughter, Emma. I first got this recipe from Woman’s Day Magazine. I have made slight adjustments to it as I went.

What I like the best about this recipe is that it is not only tasty but can be very inexpensive too. You can switch some of the ingredient to go along with the current sales. I always try to stock up on the noodles when I get a good deal. Then when I can find a good price on sausage I alter the recipe to go with.

Rigatoni with Sausage, Roasted Peppers & Garlic Oil

Ingredient:

1 lb of Rigatoni
1 lb Italian Sausage links
1/2 cup Olive Oil
6 cloves of Garlic, thinly sliced
1 red chili, thinly sliced, or 1/4 tsp crushed pepper flakes
2 Bell Peppers, cut into 1-in pieces
1 Onion, cut into thin slices
*I vary the type of onion depending on the sausage I use. It it is hot sausage I will use a red onion, sweet sausage I use yellow onion. I have also use chicken sausage with s sweet onion.

Preheat oven to 425°
Heat oil in a skillet over medium-low heat.
Add garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until beginning to turn brown (3-4 minutes).
Add chili and cook, stirring, until the garlic is golden brown and chili is just tender (1 minute or more).
Using slotted spoon, transfer the toasted garlic and chili to a bowl, leaving the oil in the skillet.
On a rimmed baking sheet, toss sausage, red peppers and onion with the oil.
Roast until sausages are cooked through and vegetables are tender, 20 to 30 minutes.
Meanwhile cook the pasta according to directions. Drain.
Slice sausage and toss toss with pasta, vegetables, garlic and chili.
Sprinkle in Parmesan Cheese and serve!

This dish is also great the next day, so make extra and take for lunch!