Easy Spice Pudding

I was hunting around my now getting barren kitchen.....wanting some type of dessert after a meal of bacon wrapped hot-dogs (thick slice) and some shells and cheese, the kind with the already creamy cheese...oh ya...the best.

You have to know when to use the awesome pre-packaged stuff and what types are actually good....

I seemed to be an ingredient or two short for each recipe I found (need to go get eggs) so I ran across a few pudding recipes.

NOTE: There is a list of basic ingredients that every kitchen, great and small (or shoe-box size like mine) should have. It lets you have the ability to make most anything anytime. That list I am putting together.

I have never tried to make pudding before, and through common sense found a suitable base recipe.

I added the spices a little at a time until it tasted just right.

This turned out a hit and makes a wonderful base (without the spices) for you to make any flavor you wish.


Spice Pudding

½ cup brown sugar (or white, I use brown for the more rich taste)
5 T cornstarch
Pinch of salt
2 ½ cups half and half (or milk)
1 T maple syrup
2 t vanilla extract
1 t allspice

NOTE: have all ingredients poured out and waiting, as this recipe you do not have time to be measuring things out. I eye ball my vanilla, but especially my maple syrup.

Mix together brown sugar, corn starch and salt in medium sized saucepan then put on medium. Slowly pour the half and half (or milk) into the pan, whisking all the time so it does not have lumps.

Continue to mix until sauce starts to thicken. Be patient as this will take a minute. (this is the only pic I was able to salvage, the other one got lost in cyber space somehow)

When sauce starts to thicken, turn down burner to very low and whisk constantly for about 7 minutes, letting it become pudding and then still continue to stir.

Add spices and stir in for another couple minutes.

Serve warm (my favorite) or cold. It makes an awesome pudding for fillings as well.

For vanilla pudding, try white sugar and just vanilla extract.

For chocolate, use white sugar and add an additional 5 T of cocoa powder.

Let me know if you try this and how it turned out! Also let me know any variations you try!

Chicken Spinach Quesadilla

This recipe has been one of my favorites...but of course in younger years I did not have all of the knowledge and so it wasn't as flavorful as now.

Play with the spices if you want to create more of one type of flavor if desired. I like much more garlic then that, I would double the recipe as well as marinate the chicken next time.

This was a fast meal, perfect for those extra unexpected guests as well as a long day and don't have time meal, which is more and more me.

Burrito size flower tortillas

Natural Monterey cheese

Filling

3 chopped chicken breasts

2 t minced garlic or more to taste

1 t chili powder

1 t cumin

1 t onion powder

1 T Texas Pete Chipotle Hot Sauce, or similar

1 T Texas Pete Extra Hot Sauce or favorite hot sauce

1 t Cajun or Creole seasoning

1 Cup frozen spinach or fresh according to taste

Mix all but spinach together in pan and fry on medium with a little bit of olive oil until it is done turn down a notch if needed and add ¼ cup water and spinach. Cook till soft.

Putting it together:

Grate natural Monterey cheese, enough to graciously cover the tortilla, and add chicken. Fry with vegetable oil until golden brown on each side and cheese is melted.

I made plate size or burrito size flower tortillas and this recipe makes 6 or 7 of them well stuffed. It made some amazing left-overs for future meals.


Let me know if you have any suggestions or if you tried it! I would love feedback!!

Very Strawberry Shake

So I decided to use my blender for the first time.

It was warm enough in the house and outside to finally have a shake and I was not going to pass the opportunity up! I found a recipe online and tweaked it a bit as the vanilla ice cream I bought to make these with got eaten before I was able to use it.....


1 cup of water

1/4 cup sugar

4 cups of ice

5 or 6 frozen or fresh strawberries

1/2 cup half and half (or milk)

1/2 t vanilla extract

1/2 t maple syrup

1/2 t lemon juice


Mix the water and sugar and let the sugar dissolve.

Mix every ingredient in blender until smooth.

This recipe will make about 2 smoothies.


Let me know if you make any changes to this recipe or have any other good ideas for it!

Start of a New Adventure

On Thanksgiving day, at 5am in the morning, me and my husband's lives changed forever. We excitedly accepted our new roles as parents and plunged into a life that we still have no idea what we got ourselves into.

Autumn Persephone (her middle name) is less than a week away from 4 months old.

For now I am a stay at home Mom. I have a part time online job, however the rest of my days consist of making sure that she is taken care of, straitening the house, playing secretary to my hard working husband and having a blast cooking, crafting or whatever else I can get into.



NOW...you can see what conditions I have to work with. NO....I am NOT one of those middle class suburbia wives who has a large kitchen, a multiple bedroom house with Autumn's own cute nursery and my own car to go to yoga class in the mornings.

Actually after a turn of events (turn of the economy is more like it) we are starting over again after really not having a whole lot to begin with. We are in the city, close to everything we need in a quaint one bedroom duplex on a decently quiet road. We share one older car that needs a little too much TLC to make it super nice looking, and oh ya...this is my kitchen!!!

Ha Ha Ha! Oh ya....no counter space...and for at least a couple weeks...no microwave! I do not even have a mixer...let alone the ROOM for one! Behind the stove (which you can barely open the fridge past) is a little window that I thankfully can open while cooking.

But here is how I look at it....If I can make these amazing meals in a reasonable amount of time on a budget....so can anyone. The things I do are things you see being done in a large kitchen or a craft room. Mine will be done in this tiny cooking area and my little living room.

So I do not want to hear any excuses as to why anyone else cannot do exactly what I am doing! I have a full day, but plenty of relax time as well as time to upkeep a very fast paced online life. And no I am not talking about my 1945 friends on Facebook....I think I might have like 35 friends on there...all my family. I do a lot of research as well as learn how to build and design computer programs.

More on that sometime later when I have something to show.

When we moved into this one bedroom last month I dived right into the cooking frenzy. I took some pictures of my food, but sadly they turned out so fuzzy I would not want to show them....So sadly this post will not have pics of the food.

The first thing I made was an awesome chicken recipe. I purchased a bunch of chicken breasts on sale and threw them right into the freezer, using only a small portion of the meat I had for the month.


Cream Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breasts


4 Chicken Breast Halves

8 Slices of Bacon (thick slice if you can find it)

1 Package of Cream Cheese

1/2 Package of Sliced Mushrooms

2 Handfuls of Fresh Spinach

1 T Minced Garlic in a Jar (2 t of garlic powder if you do not have it)

1/2 t Onion Powder

2 t of Italian Seasoning


For on Top

2 Chicken Gravy Packs


Preheat oven to 400.

Butterfly your chicken breasts. If you do not know how to do that properly, I have a good slideshow and video link you would like http://tinyurl.com/4ru7oe2

Cut up the sliced mushroom into even chunks and mix everything besides the meat together in a bowl. Add mushrooms and spinach according to how much you would want in the chicken breasts.

Put even amounts of mixture into the middle of each breast. Fold closed and wrap tightly with two pieces of bacon.

Put it into the oven on a baking sheet for 25 to 45 minutes depending on oven and size of chicken breast. Use a meat thermometer if you have one. 165 is the recommended temperature for chicken.

The bacon will be crispy but certainly not burnt and they might leak out a little of the stuffing.

I serve this with chicken gravy on top, you can if you choose, as well as green beans.

Since there is only two of us, this meal lasts for one night plus lunch or dinner another day!

Luxuries you can do from home!

During this economic crisis some of us has been hurt financially. We have had to cut back on some things that seemed to us to be necessities instead of luxuries. Here I have a list of a few things that most people cannot afford anymore, however I still have given you a way to enjoy.

Tanning
I know a lot of men and women love to tan at the salon. However that 30 dollars you spend every so often can better be used for food or a full tank of gas. Has anyone thought of tanning outside? It is summer now and the sun is very strong. Don't live somewhere that you can tan outside? Go to a park, a friend's house or a community pool. Instead of spending that money on some expensive indoor tanning lotion, spend it on tanning oil that is more affordable and will help your tanning time.

Have Your Own Salon At Home!

I know a lot of us are used to spending over 100 dollars at the salon every month. Did you know you can get the same effect at home? There are places that sell salon type products for very inexpensive. Have some friends over and make a night out of it! I have not been to a salon in almost a year to get my hair dyed. Those with blond hair I can understand the hesitation but a little bit of research on the internet can show you if it's easier to do it on your own than you think.

Now for nails! You spend at least 30 to get a set, then 15 to get them filled every week or so. Did you know again that you can do your nails on your own at home? And you do not have to get just acrylic nails either. Once again do some research and find out for yourself how easy it is to do!

Visit this website for a quick how-to on doing your own nails at home. You will be surprised on how easy it really is!

Go to a salon to have your own facial and skin treatments? Did you know you can save time and money by doing it from home?
Visit this website for information on how to create your own spa time at home by yourself or with friends!

A very big reason why people like to go to a salon is the social atmosphere. If you know the people that go to your salon then it will not be a problem for you to invite them to your home to have a spa party! Everyone will enjoy the company and the casual atmosphere of your home and perhaps you will start a trend with your friends!

Gardening In Any Space

I have lived in anything from a studio apartment to a nice size house and have always found a way to create a garden in my home. Having green, living things around you will always perk up your mood and give you a sense of stability. Needless to say gardening in a more roomy home with a yard is much easier than a studio. Nevertheless even while living in an apartment there were people around me determined not to let that stop them. For example, the new hanging tomato craze makes its easy to create your own garden no mater where you are. There are kits now containing DIY home herb gardens and more.

No mater where you are always make sure you are taking care of a living plant. One of the most popular and easily taken care of plant is the Aloe Vera. This plant can help anything from stomach aches to stretch marks as well burns. It is low maintenance and will not disappoint you in it's many uses.

Next time you are at a major grocery store stop by their garden section and see about indoor plants and gardens, you might be surprised what you can find!

The Cost of Eating Right

Have you ever noticed how much money it costs to eat healthier? Have you ever noticed that processed food costs less than food grown from the earth? The worst one now....have you ever noticed that soda costs MORE than water??? When soda actually takes more to make than putting natural water into a bottle? I live on a VERY limited budget and its sadly cheaper for me to buy instant macaroni and cheese as well as tv dinners that have what LOOKS like meat (not too sure about that) than to actually buy the ingredients and make it myself. What does that do to yourself? Next time you go to the store notice what people buy and the shape they are in. Now just because someone is skinny by any means it does not mean they are healthy. A lot of people have malnutrition issues due to the fact they are not eating enough healthy foods hence the slender figure. There are ailments that are caused in children and adults alike do to the lack of proper nutrition as well as the intake of so many chemicals. I remember when I was little my Mom and Dad bought some instant food (their never ending search for additions to the food storage) and made me some instant mashed potatoes and gravy. Now to back up a little bit I had only eaten potatoes and gravy from scratch my whole life. The potatoes had a horrible smell and taste and to this day I still cannot bring myself to actually enjoy instant gravy as much as other people do. I became extremely sick from the food and did not eat until the next day. Now there are good, healthy instant mashed potatoes as well as good tasting gravy that do not make me sick but I still prefer the taste of homemade. I have always had a sensitive stomach and eating right and healthy is the only way I feel good.
Another one of my goals with this blog is to show how everyone can still eat healthy and affordable, especially when you are on the awful student budget I am on. I long to have a garden and land to raise my own chicken and such. I even dream about it at night! However I am currently stuck in the city and must make due. So if I can so can you!
There are a few things everyone can do even if you are in my position. Creating an herb garden as well as grow some hanging veggies is a way to start. In fact it is exactly what I have started to do! So please keep posted, my next posting will be on Indoor Gardening. Something everyone can do!