Fresh Homemade Pico De Gallo

Nothing is better than fresh homemade pico. 

It is so versatile and delicious and guaranteed to put a smile on your face. 

Ingredients;

- Tomatoes

- Red Onion

- Cilantro 

- Lime Juice

- Salt & Pepper

 

I chopped up half an onion, half of a tomato, a few sprigs of cilantro and half of a lime worth of juice.

Throw it in a bowl add salt and pepper to taste and give it a good stir. 

Use pico on tacos, salads, quesadillas, burritos or eat it with chips!

Delicious!

*I recommend using pico de gallo within 4-5 hours*

Homemade Doggie Treats!

With the silly amount of puppies currently inhabiting our life, I figure now was as good of a time to try to make my own dog treats. 

I immediately began googling and pinteresting for recipes. 

There are a lot of recipe options!!

After looking at approximately 15 recipes and noticing the similarities between them all, I figured I could just create a recipe and see how it turned out. 

Ingredients; 

1/3 cup of Peanut Butter

2 cups Whole Wheat Flour 

1 tbl Vegetable Oil 

1 cup of Oatmeal 

1 cup of Water 

Combine water, peanut butter, and oil together. 

Slowly add flour to wet mixture one cup at a time with your mixture on low speed. 

Kneed in Oatmeal (I did this by hand!). 

 Roll and cut into various shapes for your fur babies! 

Bake at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes. 

*these treats don't expand so they will hold the shape of your cookie cutter!*

My fur babies loved these treats! 

Store in an airtight container for optimal texture. 

 

Wonton Soup

We had a hankering for chinese food this week but, did not want to spend a fortune on take out. It's nearing the end of the month, and very close to the end of our food budget. 

So, I figured I could make sweet and sour chicken, vegetable fried rice and wonton soup for a fraction of the price of delivery. 

~recipe for sweet and sour chicken & vegetable fried rice here~

Ingredients; 

Wontons

Ground Pork 

White Onion 

Portabello Mushrooms 

Carrots

Chicken Broth 

Soya Sauce 

Green Onions 

Steps;

First, get the filling ready for your wontons. In a food processor place your ground pork (I used about half a pound), half of a medium sized white onion cut into chunks, and salt and pepper to taste. Pulse mixture until it becomes a smooth paste. 

 

Take your wontons (I used small wontons for this) place a small amount of mix in the middle and wrap tightly. Use water as a paste on the sides of the wonton. Place to the side. 

*I made half of a package, about 25 filled wontons*

  

Next, in a large pot bring 2 cups of chicken broth, 3 cups of water, and 1 cup of soy sauce to a gentle boil. 

While waiting chop your vegetables. Slice carrots thinly, as well as mushrooms and shallots. 

Once broth is boiling add all vegetables and continue on a gentle boil for 5 minutes. Add wontons. Continue to boil for another 5 minutes stirring occasionally. 

Turn heat down to medium-low and cover. Let stand for 20 minutes before serving. 

Delicious!!

Bread Maker Pizza Dough

This is seriously the best pizza dough recipe ever. 

Once we tried this one we haven't turned back. 

It is so simple, and so delicious. 

Even my 6 year old nephew complimented in when he was over once! 

Place all the ingredients in the drum of your bread maker recipe in the order shown; 

yield; 1 large or two medium pizzas

(I usually do one medium pizza and have enough dough left over for bread sticks!)

1 cup of water 

1 tbl butter or margarine 

1 tbl sugar 

1 tsp salt 

3 cups of white flour 

1 1/4 tsp of yeast 

Load the drum into the bread maker and select the dough/pasta setting and let it run. Mine takes 2 hours. 

When dough is finished, place on lightly floured surface and knead a few times. 

Roll out dough to desired shape and thickness.

I have made traditional round pizzas and also done large square pizzas. 

Top your pizzas with your desired toppings and place in a preheated, 425 degree oven. 

Bake for about 15 - 25 minutes depending on the shape and size of your pizzas. 

Hamburger Buns

These buns are perfect not just for hamburgers, but other meals that require buns as well. 

These buns are my go-to for grill season and I wanted to share them with you. 

Once you make these I guarantee you won't want to buy store bought buns again! 

Place the following ingredients into the drum of your bread maker in the order listed; 

 yield; 8 buns 

2 cups of flour 

2 tbl sugar 

1 tsp salt 

1 tbl oil 

1 egg

1/2 cup of water 

1 tsp yeast 

Place bread maker on the dough/pasta setting and wait for the dough to be finished. 

My bread maker takes 2 hours to complete this setting. 

Place dough on lightly floured surface. 

Divide and shape dough into 8 bun shapes. 

Place on a greased baking sheet, brush the tops with a little bit of oil. 

Cover and let rise for 30 minutes in a warm place. 

Brush tops with oil again if desired. 

Bake in preheated, 400 degree oven for 10 - 15 minutes until lightly browned.  

The best hamburger buns EVER! 
:)

Homemade Cheesy Scallop Potatoes

I love me some scallop potatoes. 

I'm usually a cheater and will buy the boxed kind, or if I am feeling extra cheater-y I will buy the frozen kind.

I know, I know. 

But, I wanted to try to make my own scallop potatoes. 

I've wanted to do it for awhile now and I finally decided to do it the other day. 

I also discovered something. 

All the ingredients to make the potatoes were cheaper than the boxed ones, and a lot cheaper than the frozen kind. 

I estimate for this recipe its about $3-$4 depending on where you purchase your ingredients.

Ingredients;

3 - 4 Russet Potatoes (washed and sliced very thin)

2 tbl of butter 

2 tbl of flour

1 1/2 cups of milk

1 1/2 cups of grated cheddar cheese 

salt and pepper to taste

Cheese Sauce

In a small sauce pan, melt butter and mix in flour. 

Stir until completely incorporated. 

Add milk and whisk. 

Add salt and pepper to taste. 

Bring to a boil stirring occasionally. 

Stir in cheese until melted and smooth. 

In the bottom of a casserole dish, make a layer of potatoes that completely covers the bottom. 

Add half the cheese to cover the potatoes. 

Add another layer of potatoes to cover the cheese sauce. 

Add remaining of cheese sauce. 

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour until golden brown and bubbly. 

Finished Product. Yum-o.