Monthly Archives: July 2015

Potato, Onion & Spinach Hash

Posted on July 8, 2015 by Veronica

This is something I threw together to use up a few things before they went bad, and ended up with a plate of magics. Weeks later, we are still eating this once or twice a week and is one of Joshua’s favorite meals. I’ve never been very much of a potato person, but man, you can’t hardly beat crispy seasoned potatoes dipped in runny egg yolk.

Potato, Onion & Spinach Hash

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Printable recipe with picture

1 medium potato
2 thick slices of sweet onion
1/2 cup fresh spinach
Extra-virgin olive oil
Garlic salt & pepper to taste

Pierce the potato through the middle with a knife and microwave for 3 minutes, or until tender all the way through. Meanwhile, dice the onion. Once the potato is cooked, put a skillet on medium-high heat, and cut the potato into small cubes, removing the peel if you wish. Once the skillet is hot, add a generous swirl of olive oil to the pan, along with the potato and onion. Stir to coat with the oil, then sprinkle with garlic salt and pepper to taste. Allow to cook without stirring until golden brown on one side, then stir, trying to turn over as many of the pieces as possible. Allow to sit again until golden brown, then add the fresh spinach and cook for a few more minutes, until wilted and soft. Serve hot with eggs, or as a side dish.

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Posted in Breakfast, Side Dishes and tagged Breakfast, cooking, easy, healthy, onion, potato hash, recipe, simple, skillet, spinach, whole foods, wholesome. Bookmark the permalink.

Toddler Tuesday: Our July 4th

Posted on July 7, 2015 by Veronica

Patriotic cousins.

This was the first ever 4th of July we’ve spent with Dennis’ family, and it was the best Independence day of my life! We are kind of sticks in the mud and usually don’t do a single thing for the holiday, not even a single firecracker or grilled piece of meat. So this was a nice change of pace. I’m thinking we’ll need to make this a tradition.

We got there Friday night and Grandma and Grandpa Miller had a surprise for Joshua, a Radio Flyer trike! It was in new condition, and Phyllis found it for only $1 at a garage sale. Joshua has been trying to play with the bikes in neighbor’s yards, and he’s is sooooo happy to have his very own trike now!

This is Joshua’s shy smile, he will look to the side and smile at you out of the corner of his eye. He did this while walking down the “runway,” along with running to and fro until Daddy reigned him in.

We went to the park on July 4th, where they were having a big celebration with a Baby Beauty contest, frog races, turtle races, bouncy houses, free hot dogs, swimming, etc. It was so hot we only stayed to do the Baby Beauty contest and the frog race, and Joshua bounced a little on the step going into a bouncy house, which was perfectly fine with him. Joshua didn’t place in the beauty contest, Dennis says because they didn’t have any “Grand Champion” ribbons, and his little frog didn’t win either, but of course neither bothered him. He was just having fun.

Auntie Joan introducing him to the frog he was entering into the race, courtesy of Uncle Richard catching it on their property.

There were horses all along the fence as we were leaving. Being obsessed with horses, Joshua kept pointing and making noises indicating he wanted to get closer. We stopped to watch a little girl bridling a horse and her Dad asked if Joshua wanted to sit on him. Oh yes, he did! I didn’t catch his smile, but he was so excited. First the bike, now the horse, all his lifelong dreams were coming true. lol

After his nap, Joshua cooled off in the redneck Miller swimming pool, the old sheep trough. Gotta love country living!

Jessie enjoyed the trough too.

Auntie Joan had gotten Joshua a flag tank top to match his cousins’ shirts so we had to get a photo of them together. She’s also responsible for her boys’ awesome socks. Would you just look at these handsome boys?

This photo was Grandma Phyllis’ brilliant idea, she wanted to get the “Biker Cousins” in a pic together. Is this too much, or is this too much?

Too. much.

We had the most amazing grilled burgers (my contribution was CW’s Strawberry Shortcake), but I didn’t get a picture of them. Instead, I give you Joshua, who swiped Grandpa’s corn cob off his plate. He loves corn on the cob!

Auntie Joan took him on a trip on his fire engine (another of Grandma’s garage sale finds).

And we got down to business, cracking poppers, doing smoke bombs and snakes. Joshua loved it all!

Cracking Poppers with Uncle Richard.

This is the “Pooping Dog” – a snake comes out his butt lol.

A friend showed up on his motorcycle and Grandpa took Joshua to check it out. This kid is even more obsessed with motorcycles (and trucks and anything that goes vroom) than horses. Here he is working on his James Dean look.

And I’ll close with the last picture I took, of Joshua and his Grandpa watching the motorcycle leave. <3

See you next week for another, hopefully much less photo heavy, Toddler Tuesday.

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Sweet Salsa Slow Cooker Meatballs

Posted on July 6, 2015 by Veronica

I hope everyone had a wonderful and safe Independence Day! It was the best 4th of July of my whole life, and hands-down the best day Joshua’s ever had period. I want to share some photos but will be doing that tomorrow.

Today I have a simple crockpot meal that is great any time of year, because in summer, it doesn’t heat the kitchen, and in winter, it’s just nice to have something hot and ready at the end of a cold day. I got this recipe from my friend, Holly, who actually had posted it in response to a mutual friend’s request for crockpot recipes on Facebook. I nabbed it and made it soon after because I’d just made my own apricot jam. These were very satisfying and tasty. Hope you enjoy, and stay cool!

Sweet Salsa Slow Cooker Meatballs

Printable recipe
Printable recipe with picture

1 (26 oz) bag frozen meatballs
3 bell peppers in different colors, sliced (optional)
1 (24 oz) jar salsa
1 (18 oz) jar apricot preserves

Place the meatballs in the bottom of your slow cooker and layer the bell peppers over, if you’re using them. Whisk the salsa and apricot preserves together in a bowl, and pour over the top. Cover and cook on low until heated through, 6-8 hours. Holly suggests serving over rice or with mashed potatoes and green beans.

Recipe source: adapted from Holly W.

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Posted in Meats, Slow-Cooker/Crockpot and tagged apricot preserves, crockpot, easy, fall, meatballs, peppers, recipe, salsa, simple, slow cooker, spring, summer, sweet, winter. Bookmark the permalink.

Things I Like Thursday: USA Pans

Posted on July 2, 2015 by Veronica

I’m starting something new! Things I Like Thursday. TILT. I like it. :) I hope you like it too.

First off, I’m a thrifty person, as we are a family of four (don’t forget the dog – she is almost as expensive than the toddler!) living on one small income, so I try to buy things that are lower in price. However, I am also willing to save and pay more for something that is really good quality because I’ve learned over and over, the hard way, that you almost always get what you pay for. Not always, but usually. And you actually do end up saving money, and getting better results, by paying more for high quality pans that last a lifetime than paying for $5 pans over and over and over.

Which leads me to my favorite pans. I have bought a lot of cheap pans and the results I got with them were OK, not great, but I’m a good baker, so it wasn’t terrible. I finally decided, after the state fair judges told me for the millionth time not to grease the sides of my pans (and finally disqualified me for doing so after many warnings), that it was time to buy some really killer pans that baked goods would actually come free of, even if I didn’t grease the sides.

I did some research, comparing different brands, and I was swayed by the overwhelmingly positive reviews on Amazon for the USA pans. So despite them costing more than I’d usually like to pay, I used some of my state fair winnings money several years ago to purchase a loaf pan and two muffin pans.

USA Pans 6-Piece Bakeware Set

Oh my wow, people. These pans are amazing. I actually had previously purchased an even higher priced Williams-Sonoma Goldtouch Nonstick Loaf Pan with a gift card I got for a birthday, and these pans beat the pricey Goldtouch pans out of the park. Yes, the Goldtouch pans are nicely nonstick, and they give breads and muffins an excellent rise, but they also consistently over-browned the sides and bottom of my baked goods. And dark brown on the sides, golden on the top is just not a good look for baked goods. State Fair judges are definitely not fans of that look. The pans also tend to collect yucky stuff in the corners that was a lot of work to get out with a toothpick.

USA Pans 9 x 5 x 2.75 Inch Loaf Pan, Aluminized Steel with Americoat

The USA Pans are not only fabulously nonstick, and give your baked goods an excellent rise, but they do not over-brown the bottom and sides of your baked goods, and do not collect gunk in the corners. I have also had no problems with rust, and my pans are still in the same condition they were when I bought them two years ago.

USA Pans 8.5 x 4.5 Inch Aluminized Steel Loaf Pan with Americoat Loaf Pan

I can now present my quick breads to the judges without having the “fry line,” as they call it, on the sides, and last year I was not disqualified. In fact, my Black Walnut Banana Bread got third place. (Yes, the blue ribbon STILL eludes me! One day, people, one day. Here is the main part of my Banana Bread adventures if you’re unfamiliar with my epic quest for a blue ribbon and want to catch up.)

USA Pans 5-1/2 by 3-Inch Mini Loaf Pan, Set of 4

I will say that the one drawback with the muffin pans is that they won’t fit side by side in a regular-sized oven if you want to bake two dozen muffins or cupcakes at once. Which I often do. It hasn’t slowed me down though, I just put one in the middle rack on the far right, and one on the very top, far left. The bottom one gets done first and I move the top one down to finish, or sometimes just leave it up there to slowly finish. It really upset me when I discovered they wouldn’t fit side by side, but I don’t mind it at all now. Since it bothered me so much, though, I wanted to make sure to mention it so you guys don’t have any surprises if you decide to buy them! They are definitely my favorite muffin pans, even with the unfortunate size problem.

USA Pans 12 Cup Cupcake/Muffin Pan, Aluminized Steel with Americoat

I highly recommend USA pans to anyone that enjoys baking. They are definitely “Things I Like.” :)

Check back next Thursday for another kitchen edition of TILT! After that I might get all wild and crazy with posts on cloth diapers and essential oils. I be so crunchy! :D

Full disclosure: I’m not being paid to provide this review, nor was I provided with anything free to do it. I just really LOVE these pans and want to spread the word. There are affiliate links contained in this post, and I will earn a commission if you decide to purchase any of these items through the links I provide, but again, the thoughts and opinions stated here are 100% my own. Thank you for supporting my blog! :)

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Posted in TILT and tagged baking, baking pans, best, best baking pans, breads, cupcakes, loaf pan, muffin pans, muffins, nonstick, review, USA pans. Bookmark the permalink.

Italian Goulash

Posted on July 1, 2015 by Veronica

I love Mom’s Goulash, and mostly refuse to make any other recipe. But this one reminded me of my early cooking attempts, and I’m glad I decided to try it. Before I knew how to make goulash, I used a jar of pasta sauce with the macaroni, and cooked some onion and green pepper in with the hamburger and stirred it all together. It was good, but not really goulash at all. Maybe it’s the stewed tomatoes, or the consistency (see bottom photo for a truer representation), but this one seems more goulash-y, and also much, much better. The Italian sausage gives it another depth of flavor along with the homemade sauce. Really good stuff. Maybe not better than Mom’s, but still very good.

Italian Goulash

Printable recipe
Printable recipe with picture

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 (20 oz / 1 ¼ lb) package sweet Italian turkey sausage
1 large onion, diced
1 (14.5 oz) can roasted diced tomatoes
1 (14.5 oz) can whole stewed tomatoes, cut up or mashed
1 (29 oz) can tomato sauce
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons dried basil
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni
Tomato juice for leftovers (optional)

In a large pot/stock pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Brown the meat and onions together until cooked through. Add the diced tomatoes, stewed tomatoes, tomato sauce, soy sauce, basil, oregano, and garlic. Stir together and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer, covered, 20 minutes. Stir in the uncooked macaroni, recover, and simmer for another 20 minutes. Let stand for 5-10 minutes and serve. The noodles will absorb the sauce over time, so if you have leftovers, it’s best to add a little tomato juice to them before reheating.

Veronica’s note: Your finished goulash will not be swimming in sauce like mine is in the picture. I made it late the night before, and all the pictures looked like this:

So I added tomato juice (Mom’s trick) to some leftovers the next day and photographed them in natural light for a better photo. So just combine the pretty clear & bright picture with the consistency of the above photo and you’ll get an idea of what your finished goulash will look like. :)

Recipe source: adapted from The Avid Appetite