Recipe | Creamy Cucumber and Tomato Salad

Do you have a bunch of tomatoes on your hands? This recipe is so simple and refreshing, I just love it! Especially this time of year when I get all my vegetables and fruits fresh from our local farms. 

What you need...

Chicken Salisbury Steaks | Recipe

This recipe is so delicious and easy to make, plus it can be used with either ground beef, turkey or chicken. This is a family recipe, so you'll find it under my Family Recipes tab, where you'll find other great recipes! I grew up with my mom always making it with ground beef. I typically use a lean ground turkey when I make it, but one day I decided to use ground chicken because I had it on hand. It turned out great! This meal is great served with potatoes (we loved mashed) and a vegetable.

Creamy Cheesy Broccoli Soup | The Best Tasting & Easiest Recipe Ever!

Are you looking for the best broccoli cheese soup? Congratulations, you have found it! This soup is hands down the best broccoli cheese soup we have ever had-- my mom has been making this soup for as long as I can remember and is always requested by my husband quite often, year round. It's super easy to make and will for sure impress your family, friends and dinner guests!

Game Day Homemade Chicken Meatballs with a Sweet Hot BBQ Sauce

The Superbowl is quickly approaching, and if you're looking for game day foods to serve at your Superbowl party, your guests will love these homemade chicken meatballs! You can add any sauce you would like with them (prepared bbq sauce) or you can make the sauce we used. If you're not a fan of ketchup, you may want to use a different bbq sauce!

Olive Garden Chicken and Gnocchi Soup | Copycat Recipe

One of my favorite soups ever is Olive Garden's chicken and gnocchi soup. We don't get there quite as often, but when we do, I usually always end up with a bowl of their creamy and delicious chicen and gnocchi soup.  I recently decided to make this soup at home for the first time, and I cannot believe how easy it was to make, plus how much it tasted just like Olive Garden's. My husband was so pleased and impressed and agrees, it's just like Olive Garden's! Read below for the recipe and make sure you read on how you can make the creaminess thicker or thinner to your liking. 

How To Make Monkey Bread in a Spring Form (Cheesecake) Pan | + A Recipe

I recently wanted to make homemade monkey bread, but do not own a bundt pan and so I had to improvise. I decided that using my spring form pan was maybe an option and came up with a way to make it work! You'll need a spring form pan, tin foil, an oven proof ceramic coffee mug or glass mason jar or clean empty food can, and a cookie sheet to place the spring from pan on. 

Stuffed Shells, with Turkey Burger & Velveeta Cheese | Recipe

This recipe has been in my family for such a long time, I couldn't really tell you how long. When I was a kid, I always loved this dish, and of course still do! My husband is in love with this meal and so are both of kids. It really is a pleaser to all ages and definitely "hits the spot".

The following recipe makes about 22-25 shells. Boil at least 25 shells in case some break while boiling them, to point you can't use them.

Homemade Peanut Free Soy Butter Cups Recipe

As you may know, my daughter has a severe peanut allergy. I wanted to find an easy and yummy recipe to make our own soy butter cups, but have always been intimated by the idea of making them on my own. I recently came across a recipe from The Best Blog Recipes and thought we'd give her recipe a try! We of course used WOWButter, as we are huge fans, and it is completely peanut free. I'm happy to say that our soy butter cups came out delicious and didn't last long; we'll be making more soon! You can of course use peanut butter for non-peanut allergies.

Ingredients:

30 1-inch Paper Candy Liners
1/3 Cup Wowbutter (or peanut butter for non-peanut allergies)
3/4 Cup Powdered Sugar
1/8 tsp Sea Salt
1 Tbl Butter
1 and 2/3 cup Hershey's milk chocolate chips
1 Tbl coconut oil (or vegetable shortening if you don't have coconut oil)

Directions:
Mix chocolate chips and coconut oil in a medium sized microwave safe bowl and microwave uncovered for 1 minute. STIR. If need be, microwave an additional 10- to 15-seconds (in intervals), stirring just until melted.

In a separate bowl combine WOWButter (or Peanut Butter), powdered sugar, butter and sea salt. Mix thoroughly until there are no lumps. Place paper candy liners on a baking tray. Spoon about 1/2- 1 teaspoon of melted chocolate into each paper cup-- make sure to cover the sides of the cup about half way up the paper liner! Roll Wowbutter/peanut butter into small balls. Flatten them a bit and then place them on top of the melted chocolate in your paper cups. Top each with an additional 1/2- 1 teaspoon of melted chocolate. Place your cups in the fridge and refrigerate for 20 minutes, or until they are firm. To store, keep them in a covered container in your refrigerator. They also freeze nicely as well!

My Song, My Strength

Perfect Apple Pie with a Buttery Crumb Topping #Recipe

It's that time of year where I feel like I am baking all the time, making pies, cookies, pumpkin rolls, and cakes left and right! I recently made my most requested pie for Thanksgiving, which happens to be apple crumb pie and I thought I'd share this family favorite recipe with my lovely readers!

Ingredients for dough:

1/2 Cup Flour

1/2 Cup Shortening

1/2 tsp Salt

1/4 Cup Ice Cold Water (or more)

Directions:

Mix flour, shortening and salt. Gradually add water- fold with hand no more than 8 times. Wrap dough ball in plastic, refrigerate for a 1/2 hour. Makes 1 bottom pie crust-- double for 2 bottoms. 

Ingredients for filling:

5-6 McIntosh apples

1/2 Cup Sugar

2 Tbl Flour

1 tsp Cinnamon

1/2 dash Salt & Nutmeg (very little)

Directions:
Peel apples, core them and slice them thinly. Mix all the filling ingredients with the apples. Roll out your refrigerated dough. Make sure you flour your work station (counter/table) and rolling pin. Place your dough in your pie baking glassware and trim ends. Place your apples in your pie shell.

Ingredients for crumbs:
1/2 Cup Sugar
3/4 Cup Flour
1/3 Cup Butter (stick-room temperature!)
**Makes enough for 2 pies

Directions:
Fork all of the crumb ingredients together and sprinkle on top of pie. Bake your pie at 350 degrees for 50 minutes. **I wrap the edges of my pie crust with tin foil and remove the last 5 minutes so it's golden brown and not too dark/crispy.

That's it! You will have a delicious and most favored homemade apple pie! Enjoy!

My Song, My Strength

Homemade Chicken & Dumplings #Recipe

I just love chicken & dumplings! The key to a good chicken & dumpling meal is the creamy mixture and dumplings. I got this awesome recipe from a family friend of my mom's and it is the best recipe I have found! Not the healthiest....this meal is about comfort and its yummy goodness! It's an easy meal to make and feeds a family of 4. If you have more than 4 members in your family I would add more chicken and an extra 1/2 of the dumpling mix--make sure you're using a big cooking pan!

Ingredients:
4 Tbsp. Shortening
4 Tbsp. Flour
1 Cup Chicken Broth
2 Cups Diced Cooked Chicken
1 Cup Milk
1/2 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Garlic Powder
2 tsp. Chopped Onions

Directions:
Melt shortening in a large cooking pan on stove: blend in flour, garlic powder and salt. Add milk and chicken stock. Cook over low heat until smooth and thick. Stir in onions and chicken; blend well. *An easy way to cook chicken is to cube it raw, then add your chicken to boiling water. Boil until no longer pink.

Dumplings:
1 Cup Flour
1/4 tsp. Salt
1/2 Cup Milk
1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
2 Tbsp. Melted Shortening

Directions: 
Mix ingredients with shortening and milk; blend to moisten. Drop by teaspoon onto chicken; cover. Cook 15-20 minutes over low-medium heat.

I like to always serve this meal with a side of veggies, any vegetable really! You're gonna love the fluffiness of the dumplings, they're not doughy at all! Just and salt and pepper to taste! Enjoy!

My Song, My Strength

Easy Hearty Casserole #Recipe

Do you have any childhood favorite meals? One of my all time favorite meals I remember as a child is Hearty Casserole. I always asked for it all year round, even though my mom only really wanted to make it in the Fall and Winer since it has to cook in the oven for an hour. I recently made this meal and since I haven't had it in years, eating it was all the more delicious! Some meals, flavors and scents just remind you of a lot of things and this meal in particular reminds of me of all of my family eating at the dinner table together, talking about our day at school.

Homemade Organic Tomato Soup | Easy Recipe

Growing up, my mom would make homemade tomato soup and I do not think I began to appreciate it until I was an older teenager. I personally loved Campbell's tomato soup and always wanted it with grilled cheese. As I have gotten older and have really explored trying out making new dishes and soups, I began making my own tomato soup. The following recipe is so simple and easy to make, trust me! It is loaded with flavor and in my opinion better than Campbell's tomato soup!