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3 Easy Muffin Pan Recipe Ideas

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Sometimes cooking can become tedious and redundant — you need something quick and easy. Have you ever tried simplifying your work by cooking with muffin pans? Try these 3 easy Muffin Pan recipe ideas (meals and dessert):

Hamburger and Cheese Wontons

Ingredients

Wonton wraps
1 lb ground beef
1 tablespoon Worcester sauce
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Non stick cooking spray
Muffin pan

Instructions

Preheat oven 350*. In a bowl, add raw ground beef, Worcester and combine. Now, spray muffin molds with the non stick spray. Place 2 wontons inside each mold, over lapping. Add 4-5 tablespoons of meat mixture to each mold. Bake for 20 minutes and add cheddar cheese to top and continue baking until cheese is melted.

Flickr/therecipedrawer

Mini Pot Pies

 

Ingredients

1 can of biscuits
1 lb chicken breast ( cooked and cubed )
1 can cream of chicken
1/2 cup mixed vegetables ( frozen )
2 teaspoons onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Non stick oil spray
Muffin pan

Instructions
Preheat oven to 350*. Spray muffin molds with the non stick spray.

Gently peel biscuits and make one biscuit into two biscuits. Flatten out with rolling pin. Mold each piece inside of the muffin mold. Now in a bowl, add chicken breast, cream of chicken, frozen vegetables, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper. Mix well. Then fill each mold with chicken mixture. Bake for 10-15 minutes.

Miniature Apple Pies

Ingredients
1 package of puff pastry
2-3 Granny Smith apples ( peeled and cubed )
1/4 stick melted butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 egg white

Instructions
Preheat oven to 350*. In a large bowl add apples, sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, lemon juice and melted butter. Mix well. Now on a lightly floured surface, unroll pastry dough and flatten with rolling pin. Cut dough into 6″ circles. Lightly grease muffin pan and press pastry into the muffin mold. Fill with 3-4 tablespoons of pie mix. Take 1 pastry circle and place on top of mix. Crimp the edges together and make one slit in the middle of the pastry. Lastly, brush with egg white. Repeat these steps for as many pies possible.

The best thing about these Muffin Pan recipes is that you can cook as many as you like and freeze or refrigerate them until you’re ready to gobble them up. You can reheat them in a microwave or back in the oven.

Posted by Eve

 

Image credit: Flickr/therecipedrawer

 

 

Mexican Style Doritos Bake — Filling and Flavorful

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This recipe for a Mexican Style Doritos Bake is great if you’re in the mood for something filling with lots of flavor. It tastes like a combination of some of your favorite foods and of course has that cheesy taste of Doritos tortilla chips.

Doritos Bake

Ingredients

1 bag of Doritos or similar brand of cheese tortilla chips
Sour cream (optional)
2 cups of chicken (cooked & shredded)
1 can of cream of chicken
1 8 oz bag of Mexican taco cheese
1 can of black beans (drained)
1 package of taco seasoning
1/4 cup green pepper (diced)
1/4 cup onions (diced)
1/2 cup Roma tomatoes (diced)
1 tablespoon oil

Instructions

In a sauce pan on medium heat, add oil, peppers and onions and sauté until soft. Then add tomatoes. Cover and allow to simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and strain out excess liquid.

Then in the same sauce pan on medium heat add chicken, black beans, cream of chicken and taco seasoning. Mix well. Carefully stir in tomatoes, onions and peppers. Heat for 5 minutes and remove from heat.

Next, in a large casserole dish, put a generous portion of Doritos on the bottom (whole or crushed, up to you) then put a layer of mixture on top. Continue to make as many layers as possible. Lastly, spread the Mexican cheese on top and bake at 350* until cheese is melted. Serve with a dollop of sour cream on top if you wish.

Doritos Bake

Enjoy!!!!

Posted by Eve

Baking Made Easy: Pan Conversions (Infographic via Fix.com)

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Love to bake? Did you know that the size and depth of the pan you choose to bake with can effect how your baked goods come out? As someone who has never quite mastered the art and science of baking, this comes as news to me!

Luckily, the folks at Fix.com created a cool infographic that can help you select the perfect pan or make a proper conversion (temperature, cooking time, etc) to get the best baked cakes and more! It’s called The No-Fret Guide to Pan Conversions. Click the image to check out the full guide:

no-fret-guide-pan-conversions

infographic via Fix.com

 

Posted by Jade

 

 

Beef and Potato Casserole

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This Beef and Potato Casserole recipe is an amazing one pot meal. It has just a few ingredients and is simple to make. It is a flavorful dish that is also very satisfying/filling. This recipe will create 4 servings. OK, enough chit chat — let’s get started!!!

Beef and Potato Casserole

Ingredients

1 lb lean ground beef
3 medium to large potatoes diced
1 large onion finely diced
1/2 large green pepper finely chopped
1 can of cream of chicken (or mushroom soup)
1 cup of cheddar cheese (mozzarella is ok as a substitute)
Salt & pepper to taste
3 teaspoons onion powder
3 teaspoons garlic powder
1-2 teaspoons rosemary (dried)
1-2 tablespoons of oil

Instructions

Peel and dice potatoes. Place in a large bowl. Season with garlic powder, onion powder, rosemary, salt and pepper. Mix well, then coat potatoes with 1-2 tablespoons of oil. Placed oiled potatoes, in a pan, on medium high heat. Evenly spread potatoes, in pan and brown on all sides. Remove pan roasted potatoes from pan. Now, add ground beef, onions and peppers. Sauté until brown. Make sure to break up any chunks of meat. Lower heat and add cream of chicken. Combine well. Now, in a baking dish spread out meat mixture evenly. Then cover meat with seasoned potatoes. Top with the cheese of your choice. Like cheddar or mozzarella cheese. Bake at 350* until cheese is completely melted. Enjoy this Beef and Potato Casserole with a nice garden salad on the side.

Happy Eating!!!!!

Posted by Eve

Awesome Cheesy Chicken Mash

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The best way to minimize your time spent cooking is to make a meal that lasts for more than one meal. This recipe for Awesome Cheesy Chicken Mash can be doubled or even tripled to accomplish just that. It is a delicious and a filling one pot meal that reheats well and can even be frozen. Give this cheesy recipe a go, you won’t be disappointed!! It will feed a family of four very, very well.

Cheesy Chicken Mash

Ingredients

4 boneless and skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite size pieces
1-2 tablespoons of garlic powder
1-2 tablespoons of onion powder
4 medium potatoes (cooked in microwave)
1/2 stick of butter
1 large onion chopped
1 large green pepper chopped
1 cup mushroom chopped (optional)
1/2 cup carrots diced (optional)
3/4 cup sour cream
3 tablespoons oil
1/2 package of cheddar cheese
Salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

In a large skillet, on medium high heat, add 1 tablespoon of oil and sauté onion and green pepper until tender. Remove vegetables from pan.

Season chicken pieces with garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper. Add 2 tablespoons of oil to skillet, add chicken. Cook on both sides, add sauteed vegetables to pan and gently combine. Remove from heat.

In a large pot on low heat, add microwaved potatoes, butter, sour cream, salt and pepper to taste. Mash them up together to make your mashed potatoes. Remove from heat.

In a large casserole dish, cover bottom with mashed potatoes. Then evenly cover mash with the chicken and vegetables. Top with cheddar cheese. Bake at 350 for 5-10 minutes until cheese is melted. Serve this Awesome Cheesy Chicken Mash with a side salad and enjoy!!!

Posted by Eve

Paper Towel Tally Sheet – Reduce Paper Towel Usage

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In a recent post I gave tips for how to reduce your usage of paper towels. I’ve begun to think about this topic more since I am definitely a person who overuses them. I’ve learned that many people get by just fine in their kitchens without paper towels, ever. They use real towels and other items to get the job done.

So I got an idea for how to regulate my paper towel use and encourage myself to think twice before tearing off a sheet. It’s called “The Paper Towel Tally.” It’s a PDF printout that you can post on your kitchen cabinet or another place near your roll of paper towel. Every time you tear off a sheet, you have to mark a line under the reason. Check it out below (and download the PDF version here).

Paper Towel Tally by LovingOurHome.com

Just keep a pen near the paper and draw a “scratch mark” under each reason each time you take a sheet (you know, like |||| is five marks). At the end of the month do a tally and find out what you’re using most of your paper towels on. Then you can find a different solution, like the ones I recommended in this post.

Feel free to share this Paper Towel Tally sheet with other people who need it. Hope it helps you to reduce your usage of paper towels over time!

Posted by Jasmine