Super Nachos

I love it when Older Son gets food ideas! He whipped these up one day recently when we were all at home. He just layered stuff on a pizza pan. I think he did chips and cheese heated up first to kind of heat that up, then maybe more chips (?), and the other stuff. We obliterated almost the whole pan, and the dab that was left, I cleaned up later for a snack. This "super nacho platter" included chips, cheese, bean dip, cheese dip, hamburger seasoned with onions and spices, and sweet-hot jalapenos. WE WILL BE MAKING THESE AGAIN. Will probably add some salsa next time. They can be adjusted for any ingredients you want to have on them. I was also thinking of olives, tomatoes, and sour cream. :)

Cherry and Chocolate

Older Son had an idea - bake a cherry cordial inside a chocolate cupcake. So this we did. Then frosted them with cherry frosting and some pretty sprinkles on top. VERY SWEET!!! But a good experiment, and I'd say they turned out good, just VERY, VERY SWEET. :)

Cold Laundry

I remember hearing stories of "freeze-dried" laundry from my mom and grandma, back in the "old days." Amazing that laundry does get basically dry even in the cold, just need to thaw-warm it up a little after you bring it in.

Cowgirl Coffee

I don't drink coffee all the time, but I do enjoy it every now and then. I've had a little coffeemaker, and enjoyed it. But ... the other day I made a purchase. I got an 8-cup blue "granite ware" coffeepot from the camping section at wallyworld. It's a percolator. It works on the stovetop or even over a campfire. Today, I made coffee in it. It SMELLED GOOD percolating. I could make it as strong as I wanted. Somehow, I felt like it even tasted better. So the "coffeemaker" may go to the thrift store. This was well-worth the investment. *siiiip....*

Meal in a Packet

I got in the mood to make little "foil packet" meals for us the other night. We were kind of low on groceries, so I made them real simple, but you can put ANYTHING in one of these. You can also customize them for different likes or dislikes. Usually, these are for putting on campfires. But I just laid these in pie tins (in case something leaked out), two fit nicely in each tin, then baked them in the oven.

I made four of these. I started with a square of foil for each, and oiled them (or you can use spray) so stuff wouldn't stick. First was a layer of sliced potatoes, then I sprinkled those with kosher salt, some black pepper and some Lawry's seasoned salt. (I think potatoes need a lot of salt.) Then sliced some smoked sausage on top, figuring that any juices from that would go down into the potatoes and help cook and flavor them. Then sealed up with a top fold and end folds, laid them in the pie tins, and baked at 350 degrees for an hour.

Hubby "complained" that it wasn't big enough, and that's a way of saying he liked them. They WERE good! The potatoes had a good flavor, and the meat was delicious.

You could do anything in these (commonly called a "hobo" packet), different meats, different veggies, seasonings, butter, just anything that sounds good. Maybe you could even do a chili cheeseburger! Just grab a piece of foil, turn the oven on, and let your food creativity take over. Then relax while the oven does the work.

Nighttime Baking

Hubby works at night, and even on his "nights off," he will stay up in order to stay in a routine. You never know what he (plus sometimes younger Son) will do during those night hours!

While I slept soundly last night, look what he whipped up ....

.... "Red Lobster" biscuits! They're flaky, they're buttery, they're garlicky. Yum, yum, yum, yum ....!

Individual Sweet Treats

It seems that if I make a bowl of jello salad and have it in the refrigerator, I'm the only one who eats it. So lately, I hit on the idea of making individual desserts in half-pint jars (plastic Ball freezer jars in this case). Any kind of jar with a lid, or you could even use little plastic cups with some plastic wrap over the top. Having it in ready-to-grab-and-eat portions makes it easy and fun to serve.

The first time, I made cherry jello, sliced bananas and mini marshmallows. This was a combo Mom made a lot when I was growing up. Then I've also used orange jello with the same combo. Then peach jello with just the mini marshmallows, as I was out of bananas that time. THEN, I've also made "pudding cups," first with just chocolate pudding and whipped topping. Then, the photo above shows a different combo I just made ... vanilla pudding, sliced bananas, vanilla wafers (crumbled, or even graham crackers could be used?), and whipped topping all layered however you want. The earlier desserts I used four half-pint jars. This time, since there were lots of ingredients to layer, I used six.

My boys may be teenagers, but I think they're having fun eating these, and I'm actually getting fruit in them with some of these combos. I'm even enjoying having a tasty, cool dessert or snack to just grab and enjoy.