At Home My Way

Crockpot Pepper Steak Cooked with Brown Rice I'm always on the lookout for recipes that are FAST to put together and FASTER to have on the table!   I don't have much time to get stuff ready for supper before I leave for work and since we get home at 6PM, I definitely prefer having something all ready to go in the crockpot.  This was it!  My mom always made a dish that she called "Pepper Steak" in the crockpot when I was growing up.  It was delicious.  She made it with round steak, peppers, canned tomatoes and canned mushrooms.  It was one of the meals I most requested when I was growing up.  I had almost forgotten about it when my mom mentioned that she made it the other night.  She always served it ladled over cooked, long-grain white rice!  Which I love, but I don't care for minute rice and I definitely don't want to wait the 20 minutes it takes the rice to cook - to get dinner on the table (if I don't have...

Hello!  I haven't posted anything in SO LONG!  So sorry... life just happens sometimes.  But I made something for supper this week that definitely bears posting!  I made tacos for supper (I know this isn't anything special), but we all like different kinds of tacos.  I like taco salads.  My daughter likes hers baked (meat and cheese in the crunchy shells baked until all melty-she tells me they are just like Jack in the Box tacos), and her boyfriend likes soft tacos.  We were all happy because I cooked the taco meat and then had all the fixings for however we wanted to assemble them so we all got just what we wanted with very little effort! A little background on the tortilla bowls, .... I was watching TV the other night and saw one of those crazy commercials that has the fast talking salesman on there, selling this mold for making your own taco salad tortilla bowl.  Well, who really needs one of those things?  I just took a baking pan, t...

Hello!   I’m back. Hurray!   This week I’ve received some comments to former posts which made me realize how long it’s been since I’ve posted anything.      Recently I took a new job and that brought lots of sheer exhaustion to my day.   I worked at school for five years which allowed me to be off at 3:00, and then worked for a law firm 8-4 for about four years.   Cutbacks forced me to be laid off at my most recent position which left me landing a very exciting position as a paralegal.   The only problem?   I work 8-5.   I haven’t worked until 5 for years and years.   And since my husband and I commute together, the trip across town to pick him up sometimes takes 30 minutes by itself.   You wouldn’t think an extra 30 minutes tacked on to your day would wear you out but that coupled with leaving early to get us both to work on time has left me exhausted, mentally and physically.   My new job is exciting but taxing and ...

My mother-in-law makes this delicious creamy one-cup fruit salad with canned fruit, sour cream, and marshmallows.  Its one of my favorites, but I saw on another blog ( Frugal Granola ) that she was making a similar salad using yogurt.  Recently I bought some vanilla yogurt and its just not "dense" enough for me so it was just hanging out in the fridge.  I took Michelle's basic idea and just dumped!  Its so delicious!  I think I will try adding vanilla yogurt when I make Waldorf salad as well.  But for now, this is the how I made Creamy Tropical Fruit Salad AT HOME MY WAY.  I think its a great and healthier alternative to using sour cream or cool whip as some fruit salads do.  (And, FOR THE RECORD, you do not taste yogurt.  My daughter doesn't really care for yogurt and she gobble this up!) Creamy Tropical Fruit Salad One can (drained) crushed pineapple One large can (drained) mandarine oranges 1 single serving container of vanill...

Coconut Pecan Baked Oatmeal Here is another version of Baked Oatmeal.  I've tried adding apples, blueberries, chocolate chips , pineapple, and now coconut.  So far I haven't met a baked oatmeal that I don't love!  The coconut pecan was a terrific combination.  Its also great leftover.  I can bake a big pan and eat on it all week and is a great way to avoid poptarts, frozen waffles and boxed cereal.   Here's how I made Coconut Pecan Baked Oatmeal AT HOME MY WAY: COCONUT PECAN BAKED OATMEAL   3 cups old fashioned oats  1 cup brown sugar 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 2 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon salt 1 cup milk 2 eggs (slightly beaten) (just whites works fine or egg beaters) ½ cup margarine/butter or oil 2 teaspoons vanilla  2 cups shredded coconut (I used sweetened coconut) 1 cup pecans, chopped or lay on top before baking. Directions:  Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, baking ...

I used to make this recipe at Thanksgiving.  I worked hours on various types of rolls and yes they were delicious!  But we have so much food at our Thanksgiving feast!  Everyone brings lots of dishes and its just really good.  But in having that much variety (tables covered with desserts, sides, casseroles and salads), the rolls don't really get the focus that they deserve.  So I have since decided to make these very special rolls for small family dinners.  They really are a stunning star at any meal.  They are lightly sweetened (kind of like those Hawaiian rolls you get at the store).  They are so light and pillowy.  Not just fluffy but like little pillows.  They are the kind of rolls that when you try to pick one up they give in your hand.  Definitely perfection on a plate! I make these rolls exactly like the recipe says.  I don't usually buy shortening (Crisco) but for this recipe I haven't experimented with substitutin...

One of my favorite blogs is Lynn's Kitchen Adventures .  On Lynn's blog she has a post and recipe for Brown Bag Burritos which she got from another blog called " The Finer Things in Life ".   Amy's Brown Bag Burritos looked really yummy.  But, being the cheapo that I am, instead of cooking the ingredients for these burritos, I prefer to save my leftovers and then assemble them when I have the stuff to make them.  I regularly keep cooked pinto beans in my freezer in small containers and this weekend I had some leftover taco meat (which I just season with salsa and chili powder instead of using the little packets).  I combine those two things for my burrito filling.  But, you could omit the meat and use leftover fajita veges for a meat free burrito.   I love having something for lunch that I can just grab and go.  I also have a long love affair with those cheap little burritos you get in the freezer section.  But, I know those things hav...