kiwi-mango salsa

When I went grocery shopping on Sunday one of the sample ladies at Kroger was passing out samples of this salsa with tortilla chips in the produce aisle.  I am a "stick to the list" kind of shopper, but I broke the rules and bought the ingredients it called for right then and there to make this salsa. It was so good!!

You will need.......

1 mango

3 green kiwis

3 golden kiwis

1/4 cup diced red onion

2 Tablespoons of lime juice

1/8 teaspoon of salt

Diced Cilantro-as much as desired

Cut. Mix. Eat. Enjoy!!

We ate our salsa with fish tacos and it was delicious!!

chicken pot pie

 Matt absolutely loves Chicken Pot Pie.  

This recipe hit the spot not only for Matt, but for me too!!  The best thing about Chicken Pot Pie is that you don't have to make anything to go with it.  It's your meat, bread and vegetable all in one dish!!

Here's what you'll need....

Pie Crust

Frozen bag of carrots, onions, & celery

{You are more than welcome to cut up fresh veggies, but Kroger has them all in one bag for 88¢}

1/2 cup of frozen peas

2 cups of cooked shredded chicken

1 cup of flour

2 cups of chicken broth

1 chicken bouillon cube

1 cup of heavy cream

1 teaspoon ground thyme

1 teaspoon of kosher salt

Pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Melt the butter in a large pan.  Add the cut veggies and cook over a medium heat until translucent.

Add the chicken and sprinkle the flour on top.  Stir to combine and cook for a few minutes.

Pour in the chicken broth, add the bouillon cube and stir until bouillon cube is melted.

Add the heavy cream and stir.  Cook the mixture over a low, thickening gradually, for 4-5 minutes.  Season with the thyme, salt, and pepper.

Pour the mixture into a glass pie pan.

Lay the crust on top of the mixture.  Press the crust onto the edge of the pie pan and cut a few slices in the middle of the crust. 

Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown on top.  

Dig in!!

And enjoy!!

You can find more of The Pioneer Woman recipes here.

lemon whippersnappers

I learned to make these cookies when I was in Junior High.  I used to love to make them when my friends came over.  These cookies are so easy, so soft and so yummy.  The best part is that there are only 4 ingredients!! 

1 pkg. lemon cake mix

{or any flavored cake mix}

1 tub of cool whip

1 egg

1/2 cup of powdered sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Grease cookie sheets. 

Combine the cake mix, cool whip, and egg together in a large bowl.  Stir until mixed well. 

Form the dough into small balls and roll around in powdered sugar.

Place 12 cookie dough balls on the greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown.

After they bake, let them cool before eating.  

Eat 1, 2, 3 or even 4!!  They are kind of addiciting!!

Enjoy!!

mini biscuit pizzas

On the weekends {especially in the summer} I like to take it easy in the kitchen.  I like easy meals that take minimal ingredients and little to no time to make.  Mini biscuit pizzas are a little creation that my roommates and I made up in college.  They are so easy, quick and yummy!!

Here's what you'll need.....

Pizza sauce {I use Ragu}

Grands Biscuits {I use Butter Tastin'}

Mozzarella Cheese

Pizza Toppings {I use pepperoni & olives}

Flatten the Biscuit on a baking sheet.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 8 minutes or until halfway cooked.

Lightly spread pizza sauce on biscuits.

Top pizza with cheese and your choice of toppings.

Bake for about 8 more minute or until cheese is melted. 

Enjoy!!

banana bread

When life gives you {brown} bananas.....

.....make banana bread!!

Here's what you'll need.....

1/2 c. butter, softened

1 tsp. vanilla

1 c. sugar

2 eggs

3 mashed bananas

1 T. milk

2 c. flour

1 tsp. soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 c. chopped nuts {I don't put nuts in mine!}

Cream butter, vanilla and sugar.  Beat in eggs.  

Mash bananas with a fork then add the milk and bananas to the creamed mixture. 

Add dry ingredients to creamed mixture and beat well.

Spray pan with Pam or line with parchment paper.  Pour batter into a 9x13x3in. loaf pan.  

Bake at 350 degrees for about 1 hour or until bread tests done.  Cool for 10 minutes in pan.  Turn out of pan and cool completely.  

Enjoy!!

waffle quiche

Someone from our ABF brings breakfast for the whole class each week.  A few weeks ago Michelle brought a delicious breakfast casserole that the classed named "Waffle Quiche." It's like a deluxe breakfast all in one pan......cheesy eggs, sausage, waffles and syrup.  Mmmmmmm Good!!!

Ingredients:

8 Waffles

1 lb. breakfast sausage

6 eggs

1 1/4 cups of milk

1 1/2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 cup of syrup 

1/4 teaspoon of salt

1/4 teaspoon of pepper

Directions:

Toast the waffles for 10 minutes on each side in the oven at 375 degrees.

Brown sausage.

Mix the eggs, milk, syrup, salt and pepper.

In a greased 8x8 pan you will put a layer of waffles then cover with half the sausage and half the cheese.  Repeat this layer again with the rest of the waffles, sausage and cheese.

Pour the egg/milk/syrup/salt and pepper mixture over the layers.

Cover with plastic wrap or foil.

Set a weight on top and refridgerate overnight.

Bake at 325 degrees for 45-55 minutes.

Enjoy!!

easy as 123

1. Stick a toothpick into each grape tomato.

2. Slice fresh basil and slide a piece below each tomato.

3. Cut fresh mozzarella into bite size pieces and slide below the basil.

Okay, maybe it's as easy as 123.....4!!

4. Drizzle Balsamic Vinegar over the top.

Enjoy!!

skinny taste

When it comes to eating, I do a pretty good job of eating healthy for breakfast and lunch. It's always dinner where I'm not really the greatest at cooking healthy. I love trying new recipes, but they aren't always the healthiest.

I recently found this website, and I'm excited to try lots of her recipes out. So far I've tried the Cilantro Lime Shrimp and the Baked Zuchinni and they were both delicious.

I also get new recipes from here and here. Some are healthy some are not, but everything I have tried has been yummy!!

Where you do find new recipes?

mini bbq sliders

This recipe is SOOOOO easy, I don't even know if I can call it a recipe. This will be a weekend staple in our house. I love having easy recipes for the weekend. I especially love crock-pot recipes on the weekend, because there is minimal preparation and clean-up!!

Here's what you'll need....

Barbecue Sauce

Pork Tenderloin

Hawaiin Rolls

Spray Butter

Crockpot

Lay the pork tenderloin in the crockpot and pour barbecue sauce over the meat. Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours. When it is finished, shred the meat. Slice, butter, and grill the rolls on the stove. Use the extra barbecue sauce in the crockpot to put on the sandwiches.

Enjoy!!

**I decided to drag Easter pictures out a little longer. There were too many cute pictures of Carson, and I didn't have time to edit them all tonight!

sausage & cream cheese twirls

I got this recipe from a friend, and tried it a few weeks ago. This will definitely be Saturday morning breakfast staple at The Link Home!!

Cook a 1/2 of a pound of sausage.

Drain off the grease.

Add 4 oz of cream cheese while the sausage is still hot.

Stir until it's all mixed up.

Unroll a can of crescents, flatten the dough, and press together seams.

Spread the cream cheese/sausage mixture onto the crescent dough.

Roll the dough & mixture into a log.

Get out unflavored dental floss.

(I know this sounds weird, but it will make your life so much easier!!)

Pull out a nice long string and wrap it around the log roll. Criss cross the strings and pull. Repeat until all the log roll is cut into pinwheels

You'll get perfect little pinwheels if you use dental floss.

Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

Serve with a cold glass of OJ!!!

Enjoy!!

current favorite snack

I've been on my computer all afternoon editing some of the Sr. pictures that I took on Monday. I'll be posting the rest of my first photo session later today!! But that's not what this post is about.

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This post is about my favorite snack right now! I have to have an afternoon snack because when I am in school, I eat lunch at 10:30. I'm starving by the time I get home and I can't wait until Matt gets home to eat. So I am in the habit of having an "after school snack". I started to eat my afternoon snack today, and thought I would share it with you because it is "oh so yummy"!!

Wheat Thins & Garden Vegetable Cream Cheese

(just in case you can't read backwards)

Notice that the Wheat Thins are not the reduced fat kind. I ate those my whole entire life thinking there wasn't really a difference between those and the original ones. Oh boy, I have been missing out!! I accidentally bought the original ones the other day and I'll never go back to the reduce fat kind. It's worth the extra calories!!

And you know it wouldn't be a complete snack without a Happy Hour Sonic drink!!

What's your favorite "after school snack"?

And I hope you had a Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

cocoa pie

This recipe goes way back in my family.

My grandma's Mom used to make these pies for her lunches using leftover biscuit dough. She used real butter and cream and made half moon pies. Her friends at school always wanted to trade for her pie. Unfortunately she never got a recipe from her mother because she died when my grandma was only 12. Through the years my grandma devised the below method using pie crust. My Mom and her brothers loved these pies when they were kids and always begged my grandma to make one per kid.

When I was a kid, my Mom would make a cocoa pie and the pie pan would be wiped clean in seconds. We would all get our piece and eat it then my Mom would hide her piece in a cabinet to eat the next day. (this pie tastes better the next day) If she didn't hide it, she knew that we would scarf it up!!

If you want to make your own cocoa pie here's what you'll need....

3/4 c. sugar

2 T. cocoa

1/4 c. milk

2 to 3 T. butter

Pillsbury roll-up pie crust

(do not crimp edges)

Mix the above ingredients (except the crust) in a small saucepan.

Cook until butter is melted and it starts to bubble. Be careful not to burn. Place pie crust into a glass pie pan, letting the edges flop out over the sides of the pan. Pour cocoa mixture into unbaked pie crust.

Fold the edges of the crust over about 2 inches, so that the chocolate filling is showing in the center. The filling may run out of the crust a little and that is okay.

Bake at 325 degrees for about 30-40 minutes or until crust is golden and filling is bubbly.

Let the pie cool for a couple of minutes. After the middle part is not super runny, cut the pie into 4 pieces. Scoop the pieces out as best as you can and transfer to a clean pie pan. It won't look pretty, but that's okay!!

The reason I transfer it to a clean pie pan is because if you leave it in the original pan it sticks so bad. It will still stick to the second pie pan, but it won't stick as bad.

Serve with a cold glass of milk!!

Enjoy!!