Tuesday, October 9, 2012

My 5 favorite recipes for fall 

(FB offer coupon special event)


Fall is my all time favorite season!! I love to break out the cinnamon candles, pumpkins and crock pot! I am also obsessed with cooking things that fill my house with that warm "fall like" smell and comfort!

So here are my favorite (5) fall recipes (FB offer coupon special event) This event does expire 10/31/12 and is only view-able 50 times per coupon ticket. So print or write it down... these will not be posted for a LOOONG time if ever!  xoxo MDG

1) Pumpkin spiced cake -bundt pan edition-

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup butter, softened
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup packed brown sugar
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 can (15 ounces) solid-pack pumpkin
  • 3 cups biscuit/baking mix
  • GLAZE:
  • 1 cup confectioners' sugar
  • 1 tablespoon milk
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

  • In a bowl, cream butter and sugars. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Beat in pumpkin; mix well. Gradually add baking mix until combined. Pour into a greased and floured 10-in. fluted tube pan.
  • Bake at 350° for 55-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. (I like to use a butter knife too cause the toothpick sometimes doesn't always work) Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to wire rack. Combine glaze ingredients; drizzle over cooled cake. Its sooooo yummy!!! ***I also added chocolate chips (semi sweet) to it before and it was AMAZING!!!

2) Easy chilli from scratch

  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic minced, or 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 15 or 28 oz can of tomatoes
  • 6 oz can tomato paste
  • 4 cups cooked pinto or kidney beans(see note below)
  • 1 tablespoon chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 1 tablespoon dry parsley (optional)

Directions:
Get out a big pot, four quarts or bigger. Plop the ground beef and the chopped onion into the bottom of the pot and start frying it over medium heat. Break it up into small chunks as you cook it. When it is all the way brown and grey, with not a speck of pink left, drain off the fat. Open up the canned tomatoes and tomato paste. Add their contents to the big pot on the stove. Also add about 2 or three cups of water for simmering. Add the beans(canned or home cooked), chili powder, salt and pepper (and parsley if you like). Stir it all up and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat so that the chili merely simmers, and allow it to cook, covered or not, for about an hour. It will be edible in 20 minutes, but tastes better after longer simmering.
To serve, you can ladle this over bowls of hot rice, or you can serve it in soup bowls with big wedges of cornbread dripping with margarine. Either way, it’s amazing!!
NOTE: I usually cook up some dry beans in the morning to put in the chili for dinner. To do this measure up about 1-1/2 cups of pinto beans or kidney beans, or a combination. Put them in a big pot on the stove with plenty of water and bring them to a boil. Allow them to boil for a minute or two. Turn off the heat, cover the pot with a lid, and let them sit for at least an hour. After that you simmer them for about an hour or two, watching that they don’t run out of water. When they are tender, they are done.
If you decide to use canned beans, use at least two 15 oz cans, better to use 3 or 4 though. I’ve used pinto and kidney beans most often, but have substituted black beans, northern beans, pork’n'beans, and others as necessary.  AND DON'T FORGET THE CORNBREAD AND CHEDDAR CHEESE!!!

3) Easy Apple pie pockets

2 Pillsbury refrigerator pie crusts
1 cup apples, peeled, cored and chopped (I have done this without peeling the apples and it was just fine!)
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
grated lemon peel (optional)
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
pinch nutmeg

Directions:
Add all ingredients (But dough of course) in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for about 15 minutes, or until apples are tender. Remove from heat. Let filling cool 15 minutes.
Remove pie crust from refrigerator 15 minutes before use.
Place one crust on a work surface. Slice dough, using a sharp paring knife or pizza cutter, straight down the middle, to make two half circles.
Place 2-3 tablespoons filling onto one side of the half circle. Brush the edges of the pie crust lightly with water.
Fold down to make a pocket; crimp and seal. This makes a quarter circle pocket. Repeat with remaining half circle, then with the second pie crust. This will make four large quarter pockets.
Fry the pie pockets in deep oil at 365°F or bake on a foil lined baking sheet at 375°F for 15-20 minutes or until browned.
Drizzle with confectioners' icing while still warm: (Mix a few tablespoons of confectioners' sugar with several drops of milk and vanilla until mixture is of a drizzling consistency).

4) Super simple Pot Roast -Crock pot-


3 lb. chuck roast
1/2 can beef broth
1 c. flour
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1 or 2 cloves garlic
1 medium onion, diced
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 bay leaf
dash of salt and pepper

Directions:
Wash chuck roast. Season generously with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Coat with flour.
Place floured roast into oiled skillet and brown lightly on both sides.
While browning roast, add diced onions to skillet.
Transfer roast and onions to greased crock-pot. Toss in whole garlic cloves and bay leaf.
Pour in 1/2 can beef broth over roast and add salt and pepper.
Cover and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours. So good!

5) STEW! -Crock pot-


5-7 lb. chuck roast
6-8 oz. frozen corn
6-8 oz. frozen peas
12-16 oz. carrot slices
1 can French cut green beans, drained
1 29 oz. can whole/diced canned potatoes
1 14.5 can Delmonte diced tomatoes with basil, garlic and oregano
1 large white onion or 1/2 pkg. of pearl onions, finely chopped
1 beef stew seasoning packet
beef bouillon cubes (1 per 1 c. water added)
garlic salt, to taste
pepper, to taste
4-6 c. warm water

Directions:
Slice off excess fat from chuck and cut into bite size pieces. Add all ingredients into Crock-Pot. Add more or less ingredients to size desired. Set Crock-Pot to high and cook until vegetables are tender and meat is cooked through. (usally 6-8 hours) If you want your stew a little thicker, you can add a little flour as needed.

Friday, March 30, 2012

For the love of Vinegar! (Day 2)

Fresh Flowers in the home


Who doesn't love fresh flowers in the home? I am addicted to having them in every room as much as I can. Call me CrAzY but, A clean house with fresh flowers and some white wine chiliin in the fridge on a beautiful day is enough to send my happy meter right off the charts!!!I just love that kinda stuff!!

If you are like me and keep fresh flowers in your house vinegar will help your beautiful flowers stay alive and fresher longer!! Just add 2Tbs of vinegar and 1Tbs of sugar to your vase with fresh water (make sure to trim you ends every time you add fresh water) and that alone will keep them happy and alive much longer!!

If you have any great tips for getting flowers to last longer email me your secrets!! 

Fresh Flowers and love, 
 MDG

Thursday, March 29, 2012

For the love of Vinegar! (Day 1)


Like I mentioned I am in love with Vinegar and all the amazing things it can do!! After doing tons of research I found a lot of amazing things that I can use vinegar for in my own home everyday! Also, at $3.00 for almost 2 gallons you cant believe the amount of money you will save!!
So, I will only be posting/ writing on things I have tried personally and will give you my report on how well it works!! I hope you enjoy this as much as I am testing all these nifty little tricks! I'm sure by the time I am done you will have found at least 2 reasons to keep a little vinegar in your home!!

Before I get started with my first "new use" for vinegar, here are some facts about vinegar you may not know...
  • Vinegar has been used for 10,000 years. It just might be the world's oldest ingredient.
  • The main uses for white distilled vinegar are cooking/food preparation and cleaning/disinfecting.
  • Pearls melt in white distilled vinegar.
  • Pantyhose last longer when rinsed with water containing 1 tablespoon of white distilled vinegar.
  • Vinegar is a natural disinfectant.
  • Vinegar can be used to treat illnesses.
  • Vinegar is a non-toxic replacement to many house hold uses.

For the love of Vinegar (Day 1) lets go...

As mot of you know, I'm pregnant... My skin is stretching and stretching along with winter weather my skin was dry and itchy!! I am talking so dry and itchy that no lotion not even the fancy crap I got at Nordstrom gave me and my skin any relief.
I stumbled upon a article about dry skin and this is what triggered me to my new Vinegar madness!! Any-who, this article suggested that 3/4 of a cup of white distilled vinegar (normal vinegar) in a bath would sooth and relieve dry skin. 
It sounded kinda gross to me and the first thing I thought of was, "So they want me to sit in a giant douche?" But, to be honest, I was willing to try it! To my surprise the bath water didn't smell like vinegar AT ALL!! It was diluted perfectly nor did I smell like it when I got out!! I wouldn't of even been able to notice it was in there if I hadn't put it in myself! After my bath it was business as usual. I didn't apply any lotion after my bath, so I could see how my skin would feel once it was completely dry. Well, I was impressed! Not only was I Impressed I was kinda shocked! My skin felt great!! No dry, itchy, tight pulling skin for me. My skin felt like I had put on some amazing non greasy lotion! I now add this to every bath that I take (about every night) and I am hooked!! 
**side note: We had gone swimming over the weekend in a pool that either was just chlorinated or had 87x to much chlorine in it and by the time we had gotten home my poor daughters skin was so itchy and was driving her crazy!! She was in pain. I quickly stuck her in the bath, rinsed her off and then filled the tub and added 1/4 cup of vinegar (cause she uses less water then me) It seemed to have done the trick and took that little nugget of her chlorine induced pain! 

If you try this or have tried this let me know! I would love to hear from you!!
 and
 check back tomorrow for another "For the love of Vinegar" trick!! 
I love you for reading!! 
xoxo MDG

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Peanut butter Dog Treats!


 What you will need:
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 tablespoon of applesauce
1 tablespoon of Olive Oil
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1/4 cup of milk
 and Bacon bits to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients together. Place dough on wax paper with a little flour dusted on surface. Roll or press dough out to about 1/4” inch thick. Use a small bone cookie cutter (if you have or can even find one) to cut out cookies.( i just used skull and cross bones cutter from Halloween) Roll out leftover scraps and cut out as many as possible. Put cut out cookies on baking sheet. Bake for 14-16 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack and when cool transfer into a air tight container.

Your Dog's will LOVE you forever! Mine are addicted to these treats!! They are so easy to make and so inexpensive (Have you seen the price of dog treats these days?!) Did I mention my house smelled AMAZING!! Just like real cookies and if you know anything about me.... A yummy smelling house is one of my favorite things in the world!!! 

I hope your mutt enjoys these treats and you have just as much fun as we did making them!!

I love you for reading!!! 
xoxo MDG

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Breakfast Muffins




Ingredients

8 strips of bacon

1.5 fresh avocados
8 large eggs
1/4 cup milk (or half and half depending on how you're feeling that day)
1/2 tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 tsp baking powder
salt & pepper to taste
Freshly grated sharp cheddar cheese 



Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 F.

2. In a large pan on the stove cook your bacon (or whatever meat you have) drain on paper towel, chop and set aside

3. Whisk together eggs, milk, oil and baking powder. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Lightly spray a cupcake pan (I use a big one with only 6 cupcake holes) with oil and set bacon down at the bottom following adding the avocado on top of bacon evenly in each cup.


5. Ladle the egg mixture over bacon and avocado.

6. Sprinkle with cheddar cheese.

7. Bake for 15-20 minutes. 


That's it!! So easy and fast and SOOOOOOOO good! I added some ketchup to my 2 year old daughters and some hot sauce or salsa with sour cream on my husband and I's. 

I hope you like my little twist on this recipe and let me know if you tried it and if you have and new versions!!!

I love you for reading! xoxo MDG

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

I'm no longer "pissed off"!

 I finally got my daughter potty trained a while back and we even graduated to the beloved princess potty that sits on top of the "real" toilet!!! I thought my days of dealing with piss and poop was over (until the arrival of our second child in July)
lame princess potty 
When we brought this home from our beloved Target we were both very excited!!! Until, Emma used it twice or so...
I found my self on my hands and knees on my bathroom floor sniffing the floor around the toilet like a freaking Blood Hound! "Where is this pee smell coming from?!?", I asked myself EVERY DAY!! Now, I would like to think that I keep a clean house and the fact that every time I went into the guest bathroom & it smelled like a damn urinal made me lose my mind a bit more and more every time I stepped foot into that room!
I cleaned, I scrubbed, I soaked, I blamed the dog and even blamed my husband (as if he hasn't been using a toilet for 30 years...) I was getting really pissed off! Until I took apart Emma's Potty... If you look at the picture above you can see there is plastic with a cushion seat on top that comes apart. Anyway, as I was getting this thing open I was shocked to see pee come spilling out of it!!! OMFG gross! There it was.... Old, nasty, smelly Emma pee. I finally found the smell I was looking for!
For whatever reason the way this amazing potty was designed let pee into the plastic tray below the seat. BRILLIANT!!! Now, I have now problem cleaning this potty say.... 2 times a week. But, nope! I found that every time my husband or I removed the seat to use the toilet pee would leak out onto our floor!!! EVERY TIME SHE USED THE DAMN THING PEE WOULD GET STUCK IN IT!!!! Now, I don't know about you but.... I sure as hell don't have the time or energy to go take apart a toilet, wash it, disinfect it, dry it, clean the floor and put it back together and back in the bathroom before little Miss. Piss a lot returns to her thrown!  

So... I guess you can say we "broke up" with that Princess Potty from Hell the day a great friend of my told me about this toilet she was getting to start her daughter on the great potty training adventure!! "A real toilet seat with a toddler seat built-in?" I asked. I could just see it now.... Life with out piss everywhere?!?! Maybe there was a god, I thought?! She took me to Lowes where they had only one left... I played it cool. (when I was really crying inside) Of course I let her get the last toilet seat but you better believe the second I got home I was on the phone looking for who else had this golden toilet she spoke of!!
well, HomeDepot had it!! We made it our first stop that Saturday morning! I asked my husband to put it in right away!! I was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen!!! No more lifting/removing a toddler seat full of piss, no more cleaning pee all day, It has a "no slam" feature so, no matter what part you put down it goes down nice a slow to keep those little fingers safe and has a little magnet to keep the toddler seat up and flush the the back of the seat but it easy enough for her to pull it down her self, it's easy to attach and they have round and long shapes to fit any toilet!! I would recommend this little gem to anyone who is ready to ditch the training potty and move to the "real toilet". 

Here are some pictures of our new addition along with a link on where to get it! If you choose to become piss free like me and get this lovely thing, I hope you like it as much as we do and PLEASE let me know too!!!
SEE! You cant even tell its anything less a normal toilet seat!
easy  easy easy
TA DA! 
Normal every day toilet view

Here is the link where you can find this perfect little guy:


I Love you for reading!! Have a great day!!!
xoxo MDG

Monday, February 6, 2012

Easy NO BAKE cookies!!

So this is a family recipe that my grandmother made and my dad LOVES and always made for us when we were growing up!! Well, as the years went on we kinda forgot about this easy little gem of a recipe! I happen to be on Pinterest one day and saw a similar version!! It just so happened that the following day I was having my parents over for dinner to celebrate my dads birthday! Sooooo I wanted to make him his old favorite cookies that none of us had had in years!! I knew it would make his day to have me make them for him seems how last time he made them I was his littler helper standing on a chair trying to see over the counter! 

They turned out great and like the good blogging lady I am, I wanted to share them with you so you and your family can enjoy them just like mine has for years!! Not to mention it's the easiest thing EVER to make and takes like 10 min. MAX!!!

Happy Baking!


Ingredients:

  • 1 stick of butter
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 3 T. cocoa powder
  • 1/2 t. salt
  • 3 cups quick oats
  • 1 cup shredded coconut (I used unsweetened) ((also, optional my family never used coconut))
  • 1 t. vanilla
  • 1/2 cup of peanut butter 
Directions: In a medium saucepan mix together the butter, sugar, milk, salt and cocoa. Bring to a full boil for about 1 min. Remove from heat and stir in remaining ingredients and mix well. Spoon cookies (1 Tablespoon) onto wax paper to cool. When the cookies are cool and set, ENJOY!

Let me know if you guys tried these and also like them as much as we do!!!

Love you for reading!!!
MDG

Monday, January 30, 2012

Where in the hell has that Modern Day Gal been?

HI!!! Remember me?! The Gal that talked about food, skin care, babies, etc....? Well, I am so happy to report that in fact I am still alive and not only am I alive I am cooking a new little Modern Day Gal to add to my little Modern Day Family! Family count: 1 husband, 1 mommy, 1 Emma, 2 boy dogs, 1 Girl cat and a little girl bun in the oven!

I am coming up on my 17 week of pregnancy now and I could not be happier!! Finally I can get my fat ass out of bed and do something!!! MY LORD this pregnancy has kicked my ass!! I am not sure if its due to having a 2.5 year old to chase around while being prego or what but, there was days I would lay in bed and cry cause of the exhaustion I felt! But Finally, I am back and feeling like my old self again!!! My house is clean, dinner's are being made, chores are getting done, make up is finally being put to use, husband finally got some and Emma has her mommy back vs that lame couch potato she had to hang around with for the last 3 months! All is back to normal here at the Strankowski house except my blog!!! My poor little blog has been left out to die while I bake this little bean.... But the time has come!! I AM BACK and I hope I am better then ever! I have so many things to share with you guys since I have been in hibernation !!  So buckle up and get ready cause I have a million things to say and share with you alll!!!

Buckle up and see you soon!!!
MDG
xoxo