time to make the donuts

Thanks to a few friends of mine I'm craving donuts this morning. So it's a good thing baconinmypockets.blogspot.com has a great east recipe for some delicious donuts. Give them a try you won't be sorry

Pumpkin Puree

So it turns out it isn't as bad as I thought to make your own pumpkin puree. I happened to be given some pumpkins and didn't want them to go to waste.

small baking pumpkin

cut in half and clean the insides out

put in microwave safe bowl with about 1-2 inches of water for about 15-20 minutes

let cool when you take out of micro

Scoop out and continue to cool

Put into food processor or blender

final product pumpkin puree

Fall love it

Okay it's been a while sorry, but I've been crazy busy with school. So today I am going to make my own pumpkin puree, first I have to cook a few little pumpkins. I'll be posting the steps soon, hopefully it all works out.

Dinner this week

It's been a crazy couple of weeks and my dinner planning has stunk to say the least.
This week for dinner we're having:
Monday-hamburgers

Tuesday-beans with sopapillas and red chili

Wednesday-Spaghetti

Thursday-Pork chops, rice and broccoli

Friday-Burrittos

Of course the days may change but it's always better when I have a plan.

Bacon In My Pocket: Cute as pie

You have to take a look at these awesome little pies.

Bacon In My Pocket: Cute as pie: "Last week my brother stopped by on his way across the country. It had been a long time since I saw him last (almost a year!) So I decided t..."

For Dinner tonight

I have a meeting tonight so I needed something easy so I decided to try the Potatoes Au Gratin. As I mentioned before I got the recipe from EatatHomeCooks.com It smells so good in my house right now. I also have some steaks marinating waiting to hit the grill.
I didn't want to leave my husband watching the oven so I put all the ingredients into the crock pot on low. The changes I made are in pink below.

• 1 1/2 pounds potatoes, unpeeled
• 2 Tbs. butter
• 2 Tbs. flour
• 1 1/2 cups hot milk (warmed in microwave)
• 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1 tsp. parmesan
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• salt and pepper
• extra cheese for the top
• 
  
• Boil the potatoes in lightly salted water until tender. (I just washed and cut into 1/4" slices) Cool and cut into 1/4″ slices.  You can peel them if you like, but I like the rustic look and flavor of leaving the peels on.  Layer the slices in a buttered casserole dish. (I layered them in my crock pot)

Melt the butter in a saucepan.  Add the garlic and cook it for a minute over medium heat.  Whisk in the flour and cook for another minute.  Whisk in the hot milk, stirring constantly.  Stir in the cheeses and keep stirring until it’s all melted and smooth.

Pour the cheese sauce over the potatoes and top with extra shredded cheese.  (At this point I  out the crock pot on low and left to cook)Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.  You can also brown it up under the broiler for a minute, if you like.

Dinner Menu

My kids have all started school and I go back next week. It's going to be crazy busy around here again especially with 3 night classes. So I'm trying to get a menu ready so I can have dinner ready before I leave to school. Wish me luck.

so here's my short list of ideas for the next few weeks. Of course now I need to go shopping

Spaghetti with meatballs 

Beef tacos with rice

Chicken Broccoli Divan http://eatathomecooks.com/2009/07/chicken-broccoli-divan-in-the-crockpot-or-oven.html

Vietnam Fried Rice  http://eatathomecooks.com/2009/01/vietnam-fried-rice.html

Chicken Fingers

Stuffed Shells 

Club Sandwhich

Sloppy Joe’s with homemade rolls

Steak and Black Angus Potatoes Au Gratin http://eatathomecooks.com/2009/09/black-angus-potatoes-au-gratin.html

pork chops with salad