Tender Creamy Cube Steaks

This is another one of my favorite crockpot recipes.  With my lil' man being sick this week I haven't had much time to do anything else but hold and rock him (which is fine by me), I had to think of easy things to cook for dinner and this is one of them.  It has only a few ingredients but it doesn't lack on taste at all.  Pour it over mashed potatoes, rice, or even noodles like a stroganoff.  These are so tender you can cut them with a fork.

Tender Creamy Cube Steaks

4-6 good sized cube steaks (I used 8, because my butcher cuts ours up little)
2 cans of cream of mushroom soup
1 packet of dry lipton onion soup
1 c. water
1 sm. can of mushrooms  (Use fresh, if you have them.)

Heat a little oil in a large frying pan.  Brown your steaks on both sides. Throw into crockpot.  Mix remaining ingredients and pour over top of steaks.  Cook on low for 4-6 hours. 

Hope your having a great week!!  I think Spring is finally here!  Yipee!!!

Digi Day

Well today is kind of an exciting day for me. My  digi template is featured over at the Digi Lovely blog. You can head on over there and pick it up for free! It really is a joy to work with the amazing team at JessicaSprague.com. They are all super nice people and all so inspirational. The creative team amazes me week by week with their amazing work. It is nice to be "surrounded" by so many creative amazing gals.

Anyhoo, here is the template being featured today. If you upload ten of your layouts in the template tuesday gallery then you get a coupon for five dollars off in the store. Not a bad deal while getting your scrapping done. You can go back and pick up previous templates, just do a search for template tuesday and it will bring them all up. Okay...

I know I've said this before but templates are a great way to quickly get some scrapping done. The designing is already done for you. You just have to drop your pictures in and add any embellishments you choose. Here is a tutorial by Creativity by Crystal on how to use templates for those who have never done it.

Here is my sample using the template. You can find the full credits here.

Alrighty, if you get a chance, head on over the the Digi Lovely blog and pick up my template. Do some scrapping and upload it to the Template Tuesday Gallery. I would love to see what you do with it. Have a happy Tuesday!!!!

Grandma's Cheesecake

This cheesecake brings back so many memories with every bite.  I just have to close my eyes and I see myself at Grandma's table eating it as slow as I can to make it last.  The smell of her house and the different seasons out her big kitchen window.  I remember asking her after church every Sunday what was for dinner, and then asking if she had made dessert hoping she would say cheesecake.  This has to be my absolute favorite dessert.  This was also my Grandpas favorite dessert besides his normal wheat bread and homemade jam.

I've only made this myself about 4 times  1 of the times it turning out more like soup than cheesecake.  It's always been a family joke that no one could perfect this like my Grandma did.  The first time my Dad made it Grandma told him to use 26 graham crackers...she meant the small rectangles, not the big rectangles.  He used 26 big ones.  I remember scraping off the bottom and top of the cheesecake and feeding it to our dog, Lucy.  Funny stuff!  It doesn't really taste like the classic cheesecake.  It's better...at least for me.  It's perfect all by itself, but I guess you could top it with your favorite fruit. 

Heaven on a plate

 

Grandma's Cheesecake

1 small box lemon Jello

1 c. boiling water

1-8oz cube of cream cheese, softened

1 1/2 c. sugar

1 can evaporated milk, COLD!

2 tsp vanilla

2 Tbsp lemon juice

1 package of graham crackers, crushed (Not the whole box, just one of the plastic packages)  :o)

1 cube butter, melted

First things first, you need to put your evaporated milk in the fridge.  I do this the night before I know I am gonna make it to make sure it's super cold.  If it is not cold, this will not work.  I also put my mixing bowl and beaters in the freezer to make sure they are nice and cold too.  These were my Grandma's instructions when I first made it. 

Crush graham crackers and mix with melted butter.  Press into bottom of a 13x9 dish.  Reserving about 1/4 c. to sprinkle on top of the cake when it's done.  Set aside.

Combine jello and boiling water together and stir until jello is dissolved.  Put in fridge and let it set up slightly.  You want it to still move around in the bowl, but also see it setting up a bit.

Beat cream cheese and sugar together, until nice and creamy.  Stir in slightly set up jello and mix until well combined. 

In your cold bowl beat evaporated milk until it's nice and frothy.  Add your vanilla and lemon juice and mix well.  Fold your cream cheese, jello mixture into the evaporated milk mix until well combined.  Pour into 13x9 dish and top with remaining graham crackers.  Cover and refrigerate overnight or for about 4-5 hours.  This way it sets up nicely.  My Grandma always made it in the morning before church and it was perfect when we were done with dinner.

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and wonderful Mother's Day.  I thought a lot about my Grandma yesterday and how she was being celebrated in heaven.  I like to make her favorite dishes when I'm missing her more than usual.  Makes me feel a little closer to her.  I hope you have some favorite family dishes that makes you think of the ones that have passed on.  I cherish those recipes.

Have a great week!!

Tres Leches Cake.....Mmmmmmm

We love to celebrate Cinco de Mayo but pretty much for the food. Mexican food is my favorite and we have some version at least weekly. I've been eyeing this Tres Leches cake for awhile and was saving it for Cinco de Mayo. It was delicious and pretty quick to whip up minus the soaking time. Really you can make it for any occasion and switch up the fruit you use. Enjoy!

Tres Leches Cake with Mango Topping
Vegetable oil, for greasing

4 large eggs
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups whole milk
1 1/2 cups cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
12-ounce can evaporated milk
14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1 tablespoon dark rum (I didn't use this and it tasted fine)
2 large ripe mangoes
3 tablespoons sugar
1 cup heavy cream
Ground cinnamon, for sprinkling

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan with vegetable oil and line the bottom with parchment paper.


Make the cake: Beat the eggs and sugar in a large bowl with a mixer until pale and slightly thick, about 6 minutes. Slowly beat in the melted butter, then beat in the vanilla and 1/4 cup whole milk.

Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Sift the flour mixture over the egg mixture, then gently fold together with a rubber spatula to make a thick batter. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 30 minutes. (Mine still had a few crumbs on my toothpick at 30 minutes but the top of the cake was pretty dark so I opted to take the cake out. It was fine.) Run a knife along the edges to release the cake from the pan.

Meanwhile, whisk the remaining 2 cups whole milk, the evaporated milk, condensed milk and rum in a bowl. Pierce the warm cake all over with a fork, then pour the milk mixture gradually and evenly on top, letting the cake absorb the liquid until all is used. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour or overnight.

Before serving, make the topping: Peel, pit and dice the mangoes. Puree half the mangoes in a blender with 2 tablespoons sugar. Transfer to a bowl and fold in the remaining diced mango.In a separate bowl, beat the heavy cream and the remaining 1 tablespoon sugar with a mixer until soft peaks form. Slice the cake; top each piece with the whipped cream and sprinkle with cinnamon. Serve the mango topping on the side.

I originally found this recipe in my Food Network Magazine so I went to the website and found the recipe here. It has mixed reviews on it but overall I give it 4 stars. I did have about 3/4 cups of liquid leftover. The key is to pour slowly and let it soak in before adding more. Also, the longer you refrigerate the cake the more set it becomes. You won't be disappointed, try it out!

I did want to add that JessicaSprague.com is having an awesome sale this weekend. If you need to stock up on some digi supplies then head on over there. All of the Photoshop Friday tutorials and hybrid tutorials are on sale for 1.00. They will be retired at the end of June so don't miss it!

Cinco de Mayo

To celebrate today I thought I would post some of my favorite spanish dishes that we've put on the blog.  My family could eat these meals every night!  I love Love LOVE anything taco, or nacho!  :o)  I think tonight we're gonna do some nachos or a taco salad.  Haven't decided yet.  What are you gonna make? 

Taco Salad
One of my all time favorites!!  I'm drooling just thinking about it....

Chicken Enchiladas
These are so easy to make with such a great taste!  Make and extra pan or two, because they freeze great!

Beef Enchiladas
These are pretty awesome too.

Taco Soup
Gotta love Taco Soup!  Especially with LOTS of Fritos!!

Chicken Posole
One of my all time favorite soups!!

Mama's Flan
And don't forget dessert!  Yummy!!!

Now that's a big list of spanish dishes!!  Give at least one a try and let us know if you've tried any of them.  We like to hear some feedback.  :o) 

Hope you are enjoying spring wherever you are.  I know i'm enjoying being out in the yard with the kids.  I think tonight we are gonna start planting our garden!  I can not wait!!!  Have a wonderful Thursday, and Happy Cinco de Mayo!!!

Digi Day

Okay, last week was wild throwing a birthday party for my now five year old. Crazy! We had a tea party and the girls loved it! First though, JessicaSprague.com is doing a Mondays in May sale. Sorry you missed yesterday, but next week you'll be right on it, right? It is pretty much buy one product and get another product from the same designer FREE! Yeah baby, love free. Here's your chance to stock up on some wanted items!

If you haven't picked up any templates by The Queen of Quirk, you really need to. I love her templates. They are well designed and so fun to add to. Find them here! They are called Scrap Canvas. Full Credits for layout Here.

So here is the banner I made for Maggs' party. I used a Party Bundle Template by IKari Designs. This template set is great! It has everything you need for a party including a banner, bag toppers, cupcake toppers, invitations, thank you cards, tags, chocolate bar wrappers, etc. You can pick and choose what you want to use. In my case I used the banner and I used the bag toppers as place holders at the table. So easy and soooo cute! Find the template here and full credits here. I linked the bundle but if you buy the Party pack 1 next Monday then you can get the Party pack 2 for free. Save yourself 4 dollars! Just sayin'. :)

Here is the bag topper I used as a placeholder.

Here is the table setting for the tea party. I do have to give credit to my sister-in-law Jamie. She also threw her daughter a Tea Party this Spring and I did get some decorating ideas from her. Thanks Jamie! I was really happy with my centerpiece. The lilacs are in full bloom right now. I love lilacs. They have such a personal meaning to me and warm my heart. They really brightened our home for a few days. Wish they would stay around longer.

These were the dress up pieces for the girls. Each girl got a feather boa, a necklace, a ring, and a flower clip for their hair.

I loved how a little tulle and silk flowers dressed up my very worn chairs.

Love making tissue papers pom poms. They are so cute and so easy. They are a fun decorations for any party.

And of course the birthday girl all dressed up for her guests! Stop growing already!

One more thing, don't forget to head over to our Digi Lovely blog. Every Tuesday you get a Free template. If I haven't convinced you yet, templates are a super quick way to get your scrapping done. Head on over and collect not only today's template but the previous 13! Fourteen templates for FREE people! Next week the blog will be featuring mine. Kinda cool.

Thanks for reading my super long post! Have a wonderful day!!! :)

Cream Puffs

Can I just say, "OH BABY!"?  These are so delicious.  I haven't made them in a long time and as I was looking through my recipe book this recipe fell out and landed right on my lap.  It was a sign!  I had to make them.  I forgot how amazing they are.  I used to make them a lot, because my hubs LOVES them.  They are fast and easy to throw together.  I even did it with a baby strapped to me.  :o)

 

Here's what you need...
Cream Puffs
2 (3.4 oz) pkg instant vanilla pudding
2 c. heavy cream
1 c. milk
1/2 c. butter
1 c. water
1/4 tsp. salt
1 c. flour
4 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla

Mix together pudding, cream, and milk.  Mix well.  Cover and let it set up in the fridge. 

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  In a large pot, bring water and butter to a boil.  Remove from heat. and stir in flour, salt, and vanilla until it forms a ball.  Transfer to a mixing bowl and beat in eggs one at a time, mixing well after each one.  Drop by tablespoons onto greased cookie sheet or a parchment paper lined cookie sheet.  Bake for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown.  The centers should be dry.

When they are cool, either cut in half or use a pastry bag to fill each one with the pudding mixture.  Top with powdered sugar or if your feeing really ambitious, melted chocolate.  Yum! 

I made mine a little bigger, and it made about 18 good size puffs.  :o)

Have a wonderful week!