Stroganoff-in'

Hey Ya'll!!

I know it has been FOREVER since my last post, soooo sorry! I fell of the wagon but I'm back!
Even though I haven't been posting, I've still be making sure I've been logging my recipes to be able to share with ya'll so you'll be able to make some easy, delicious recipes for your families.

Stroganoff is one of the first things I ever learned to cook, I remember watching my mom make it when I was little. This was the first thing I attempted to make when I was on my own in college and having to cook for myself and roommates.

I first learned to make this with hamburger, egg noodles, mushrooms, beef broth, cream of mushroom soup and sour cream. Over the years, my taste and liking of food has evolved as well as my mindset to eat healthier. I took the recipe my mom used and tweaked it a bit to make it a little healthier and to my liking. This recipe is my version of Stroganoff..... and it's Husband approved!!

Here's what you'll need:
Wheat Egg Noodles
Steak
Mushrooms
Onions
Garlic
Greek Yogurt
Beef Bullion
Olive Oil
Seasoning to taste

First things first, prepare the egg noodles according to the package.
Meanwhile, chop about 2 cloves of garlic, a half an onion and slice your steak. Heat about 2 tablespoons of olive oil in your skillet and saute the garlic, onions and mushrooms until tender, season lightly.

Once tender, set aside and cook your lightly seasoned, sliced steak.

Combine the steak, garlic, onions, and mushrooms. 

Add Greek Yogurt until you have you're desired creaminess, I use about 2-3 spoonfuls. Sprinkle with some beef bullion, mix together and taste test. You may have to add more seasoning, beef bullion or Greek yogurt until you have the desired taste you want.

Serve over your lightly buttered wheat egg noodles and ENJOY!

This version is healthier than the original I learned from but still as delicious! I also use ground turkey instead of steak from time to time and it still turns out fantastic. I hope you enjoy this classic meal as much as I do!

Eat, Drink 'n Be Crafty!

Stamping

One of my guilty crafting pleasures is stamping; its so easy and fun!

I was first introduced to stamping when I was about 10 from my little sister Andi. Her grandma was into stamping her own cards and had given her some of her old stamps. When I would go visit my sister, we would stamp... our names, sports, things we liked; we'd stamp pages for hours. 

When I started scrapbooking (thanks so my sister, Mandy), I got back into stamping. I was looking for a way to spice up my pages without using stickers all the time because they were so expensive. I was strolling through Michael's, ended up down the stamp section and remembered stamping with my sister Andi; I thought "why not!?" its gotta be a good alternative to stickers. 

A couple of stamp pads and stamps on clearance later, I ended spending maybe $5 versus the almost $2 a piece for stickers. 

When it came time to figuring out how to save money on wedding stuff for our October wedding, I knew I wanted to stamp our "Thank You's" instead of buying fancy ones. Not only is it WAAAAAY cheaper, it adds more of a personal touch! I'm not knocking anyone here so please don't take offense, but I'd rather have a "Thank You" card made by the Bride and Groom with a hand written note than one that's just a bunch of pictures with the Bride and Groom's signature. 

These are some of our "Thank You's," we did a couple different versions. We wanted to give our guests something nice and personal because most of them traveled pretty far to share our special day with us. 

Everyone loves to give cards for holidays; if you love being crafty and like to save money, consider stamping! Instead of paying $3 or more for a card, make one. You can buy blank cards from any craft store, and there are always stamps and stamp pads on clearance. Add that personal touch for gramma's birthday or for someone's baby shower all while saving some money!

     Eat, Drink 'n Be Crafty

Breakfast Cassy

Hey y'all!

Today's all about breakfast; its the most important meal of the day!

For breakfast, I like to eat more than just cereal or yogurt.  I got the basis of this recipe from a co-worker in Florida and adapted it into my own. 

I love this recipe because its so easy to make and it's delicious!

Here's what you'll need:
10 eggs
Milk
Seasonings
Sausage
Mushrooms
Onions
Garlic
Jalapeños 
Cheese

To start, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Next, brown your sausage, chop your veggies and  make your seasoned scrambled egg mix.

Pour your egg mix into your baking dish. Sprinkle the sausage, mushrooms, onions, garlic, and jalapeños throughout your dish. 

Pop your dish into the preheated oven for 30-40 mins or until eggs are cooked. Turn the oven off and pull your dish out of the oven, and smother in cheese. Then pop the dish back in the oven for the cheese to melt. 

Easy peasey and now you have a delicious breakfast :-)

       Eat, Drink 'n Be Crafty

Balls of meat..... MEATBALLS!

MMMMEEEEEAAAATTTBBBBAAAAAAAALLLLLLLSS!

Who doesn't love Meatballs!? Spaghetti and Meatballs, Swedish Meatballs, appetizer Meatballs... The list goes on. 

It's a bite size amount of meat mixed with various ingredients such as breadcrumbs, eggs, herbs, and cheese to make a mouth watering feast in your mouth.

I made turkey meatballs for dinner this week and will forever use this recipe when making these glorious bites of meat in the future. 

Here's what you need:
Ground Turkey
Breadcrumbs
Eggs
Parmesean Cheese
Chives
Basil
Garlic
Salt n Pepper
EVOO for cooking

(Some of these ingredients were used for my sauce and not just the meatballs)

I first chopped my fresh garlic (2 cloves because I'm a garlic freak), fresh basil and fresh chives. I used a big bunch because I love the bold flavors of chive and basil. 

In a large bowl, I added a little over a pound of ground turkey, about a cup and a half of bread crumbs,  two eggs, about a cup of Parmesean cheese, salt n pepper to taste, and my fresh garlic, basil and chives. 

Time to get down and dirty..... Use those hands and mix everything together. 

Once mixed, make the balls to your desired size and set on wax paper. 

Turn your stove to medium heat, add some EVOO and cook your turkey meatballs for about 10 mins, turning to brown on all sides.

Waaaaalaaaaaa! The most succulent meatballs you'll ever have!!

My husband and I enjoyed ours with fresh herb linguine I purchased at our local farmers market with a Greek yogurt cream sauce and mushrooms.

Once you try these meatballs, you'll be hooked for life. Enjoy!

      Eat, Drink 'n Be Crafty

Italian Time!

Hey y'all!! Welcome to Feburary, I hope everyone is staying warm :-)

This week I decided I wanted to have a meatless meal. I was in the mood for some Italian but not really sure what to make. My husband always orders Chicken Parmesan when we go out for Italian and we just so happen to have an eggplant sitting in the kitchen so I decided to take a crack at Eggplant Parmesean. 

Here's what I used (and remember I don't like to measure):

Eggplant

Eggs

Garlic Seasoning

Breadcrumbs

Cajun Seasoning

Italian Seasoning

Parmesean Cheese 

Ragu 

Whole Grain Angel Hair Pasta

(I ended up not using the fried onions)

I heated the oven to 350 degrees, and peeled and cut my eggplant. 

I prepared my egg wash and added garlic seasoning. 

I made my breadcrumb mixture in a Tupperware container so I could close it and shake it for easy mixing. I added breadcrumbs, Parmesean Cheese, Cajun seasoning, and Italian seasoning. 

Here is where your personal choice comes in when putting the eggplant, egg wash and breadcrumb mixture together. You can either bake them or fry them in a skillet. I chose the skillet with a little olive oil. Take the eggplant, dip it in egg wash, dip it in the breadcrumb mixture, brown on both sides. 

While my eggplant was browning, I covered the bottom of my baking dish with Ragu. After browning the eggplant, I layered it in my baking dish and covered it with the remaining Ragu. 

Naturally, being from Wisconsin, I topped off my dish with lots of shredded cheese and the left over breadcrumb mixture, and popped it in the oven to bake for about a half hour or so. 

While my eggplant baked, I prepared my angle hair pasta and added a little butter for flavor.

Here's the finished product!

This was super easy to make and a great way to have a meatless meal. My husband loved it and is already asking for more!

If you try this, let me know what you think!

         Eat, Drink 'n Be Crafty

Love is in the air!

Hey y'all!!

Sorry it's been so long since last post, I flew to the bitter cold of Wisconsin to become my nephews God Mother and started a new job in advertising :-)

I'm a fan of all Holidays, and love to celebrate them thanks to my Gramma Sue and Mom Jacky. I love handing out little gift ideas for each Holiday, it puts a smile on anyone's face! We all know Valentines Day is fast approaching but not everyone loves Valentines day so giving them a gift at work can lift their spirits just for a little bit :-)

Since the day of love is so near, I think today would be a good day for a craft post to help those of you who want some quick and easy gift ideas.

Here are a couple of easy, inexpensive ideas anyone would love!

         Eat, Drink 'n Be Crafty

Beef... It's what's for dinner!

I've had a pot roast sitting in my freezer for awhile. It's been sitting in my freezer for awhile because, I'll be honest, I'm not really a fan of pot roasts. I only bought it because my husband loves them. Usually, I'll make a pot roast for him and I'll make some other dish for me. I'm a ribeye and potatoes girl but for some reason I'm not a pot roast and potatoes girl.  Lord, was this pot roast I made last night DEEEElish!!

Because I'm not of fan of the traditional pot roasts, I decided to try something different with the various things I had laying around my kitchen. And man, did it turn out great!!

Now remember I said I'm not a fan of measuring so if you'd like to try this recipe you'll have to eyeball it. I promise it's worth it!! All the ingredients I used filled a regular kitchen bowl.

What you'll need:
Crockpot
Pot roast
Red wine
Worcestershire sauce
Beef bouillon
Water
Cajun seasoning
Dried thyme
Dried oregano
Dried rosemary
Dried parsley



I started by seasoning both sides of the roast with my Cajun seasoning and placed that in the crockpot.

I ended up not using the mesquite seasoning but I did add some parsley, oregano, and rosemary instead with a little bit of water and extra virgin olive oil.

I then mixed the remaining ingredients in my bowl. I started by pouring in about a cup of red wine, I used Dreaming Tree Crush. I'm in love with that wine and it gave the beef such a great flavor!! Next i added about 10-15 shakes of worcestershire. I then added about 1 1/2 tablespoons of beef bouillon and gave the mix a quick whisk. Then I sprinkled in some parsley and about 1 1/2 teaspoons of thyme, rosemary, and oregano. Gave that a quick whisk, added about a cup of water and some extra virgin olive oil, and whisked again.

I poured all that over my roast and set my crockpot to high for two hours then low for two hours. I basted my roast about 5 times in the four hours of cooking time, and turned the roast over and set the temp to warm for about an hour.

I served the roast with mashed cauliflower. It turned out so flavorful I actually ate it and my husband is still talking about how awesome it was!

Let me know if you try this out! Enjoy :-)

            Eat, Drink 'n Be Crafty

Meet & Greet

I figured we should do a little meet and greet so everyone can get to know me a little :-)

Here it goes:

• I don't measure when I cook, that's for baking
• I'm so obsessed with garlic I think it's growing out of my ears
• I use fresh and dry herbs
• I think I used either garlic or onions in just about every dish I make
• Pasta is my go to food and I could eat it for every meal
• I think I have a sushi problem, I eat it waaaaaay too much
• I'm still trying to figure out how to grill, that's usually my husbands job
• Being from Wisconsin, it's a given that I eat some form of cheese or dairy EVERY day
• I didn't start baking until I got my kitchenaid mixer from my mom, now I love it
• I love trying new recipes, even if they fail
• If my tv is on, it's turned to the Food Network or a cooking show of some sort
• I prefer salty over sweet
• Love Giada and Paul Dean, my husband doesn't like Rachel Ray but I do. I had to register for her baking set  for our wedding when he wasn't looking ;-)
• I can't stand Marth Stewart and am in no way inspired by her
• I love bold favors
• I'm experimenting in mixology
• I love the food & drink , and DIY craft sections off Pinterest 
• I'm a scrapbooker
• I dabble in stamping and making my own cards
• I made just about every decoration for my wedding myself along with my programs 
• I'm finding new ways to use up my wedding decorations around my house so I don't have to give them away
• I want to learn to knit/ crochet 
• Any extra time I have I try to find new craft ideas
• I convinced my husband to turn our extra bedroom into a craft & game room
• I'm getting into photography thanks to my Christmas gift of a new camera

That's about it for now, I don't want to bore everyone right away. If you have any questions, just ask.

Stay tuned for more!

                          Eat, Drink 'n Be Crafty

The Kickoff

     Having just quit a job I was at for over two years, being recently married, just moved to a new state, and on the hunt for the perfect job, I decided it was time to start that blog I've had my mind on for the past year. I'm new to the blogging world, so, this in itself will be a challenge, but one I'm very excited for!
     I've always enjoyed cooking and crafting but have never really had the time to explore. Being a housewife for the past couple of months has allowed me to really jump into the world of new recipes and crafts head on!
     My blog will be my chance to share my cooking and crafting recipes, masterpieces, and experiments.  Please enjoy!
                           Eat, Drink 'n Be Crafty