Hearth & Garden Beans {Boogie's recipe}

Back in 1976....4 years before I stormed into the world...my mom, dad and sister lived Panama City Beach, Florida on Thomas Drive. Lucky dogs.
There was a restaurant at the time called Hearth & Garden that was also on Thomas Dr. and my mom loved the beans they had on the menu.


She tasted and tried out many recipes trying to find the perfect match to the beans at Hearth & Garden until she figured it out and those beans became a regular addition to the dinner table. These beans are like many basic baked beans recipes but there might be some ingredients that others don't use. You can never have too many baked beans recipes.

These are perfect to bake and take to a BBQ!

You could double and triple this recipe to your heart's content and feed an army.

And why not throw these babies in the slow cooker and cook them on low while you're out and about?

I called my mom {aka Boogie} for the recipe today and she cooks like I do....or rather I cook like she does....measurements are loose and there is a lot of "taste and see" involved. So, for those of you who like exact measurements (which I imagine is most of the cooking world) I will do my best to estimate correctly and for those little bit of this, little bit of that, a splash here, a sprinkle there kind of cooks like myself....go for it! You can not screw up this recipe!

I mean, I'm sure it's possible...I've screwed up many but this is pretty cut and dry.

You can mix and match the beans with whatever you like. My mom used pork and beans and kidney beans. I used Busch's baked beans and kidney beans. I would imagine any beans would work and a lighter bean would be a pretty contrast if you were bringing to a pot luck.

As with the beans, you can mix and match the meats as well. We had a 2.5 lb. package of lean ground beef in the fridge as well as a pound of Owen's breakfast sausage so I just split them both in half and browned them together. One pound of ground beef would work fine. Throwing in Italian sausage would be pretty good too.

What I absolutely love about this recipe is that you will probably have most of these ingredients on hand and if you don't, a substitution wouldn't be hard to figure out. A lifesaver for me: keeping my freezer stocked with diced onions. Just go ahead and dice them up after you buy them, throw them in a freezer bag and you're prepared!

Hearth & Garden Beans

Hearth & Garden Beans 
{adapted from Boogie's special recipe}

1 large can baked beans
1 small can baked beans
1 large can red kidney beans (rinsed and drained well)
1.5 lb. lean ground beef
.5 lb breakfast sausage (Owen's, Jimmy Dean, etc.)
1 onion-diced (I used a Vidalia that I grabbed while we were on vacation)
2 T. ketchup
1 T. (or so) yellow mustard
2 splashes Worcestershire sauce (Lea & Perrins)
2 heaping T. brown sugar
1 T. BBQ sauce (Sweet Baby Ray's)
1 Bell pepper, diced (optional, I left out)
2 tsp. Garlic powder
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 tsp. coarse ground black pepper


Spray a 9x13 pan with olive oil Pam

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Brown ground beef and sausage, add onions towards the end of browning and cook until onions are translucent.

While meat is browning, in a large bowl, combine all other ingredients and stir until everything is mixed in.

After bean mixture is combined, add the meat and onions to the beans. Stir.

Pour into 9x13 pan and bake for 25 minutes covered. Remove foil and bake for 10-15 minutes more. Like I said, the recipe is forgiving, just check the beans and when they are bubbly and look warmed throughout, they are ready.

Serve alongside salad for a complete meal. Or do what I did tonight and pair with the ever-so-healthy buttermilk biscuits....whatever floats your boat, man.

Enjoy!!!!

I never claimed to be a food photographer...

Easy Weekend Eats

The past few weeks have been a blur of school, homework, football games, soccer practices, soccer games, breakfasts, lunches and plenty of dinners.
Isn't this what every parent feels like when school is in session?
Dinner is really important to me. Even though our kids are getting older and sometimes our teenager would rather be in the living room playing Xbox while shoveling food in his mouth, it's important to me that we all eat as a family as much as possible.
It might not be perfect (far from it), it might not be candlelight and an episode of The Voice might just be blaring in the background. BUT, we are together. At the table. Enjoying food. Having discussions. And being a family.
This is the glue.
Weekends can get a little willy nilly on the family dinner front.
After cooking every day of the week the weekends are pretty loose. Sometimes we even have apples and popcorn for dinner! Pick your jaws up, Supermoms. It's okay to be an appetizer mom every once in awhile.

Have any of you ever seen the movie Mermaids with Cher and Winona Ryder? It is one of my favorites and Cher's character made ONLY appetizers for every meal. I kind of loved it.

This weekend I decided to break out the Frigo Cheeseheads String Cheese that Saputo so graciously sent me a while back. We are a cheese loving family.
Who's not?!
Well, I guess lactose intolerant people.
I apologize for my unabashed love for cheese.
I've always loved string cheese too.

Little known (embarrassing) fact: my mom used to limit my intake of string cheese because I obviously have an addictive personality and might have become a tad bit attached to the stringy goodness.

My kiddos love string cheese and especially Frigo Cheeseheads. Especially my picky eater. He loves things he can reach in the fridge and grab on his own because he eats a lot. But he doesn't eat a lot of different things. String cheese would be one of the foods he grabs and munches pretty frequently. The fit perfectly in lunch boxes and we love a good fruit and cheese lunch around these parts. Toss in slices of apples (sprinkled with lemon juice--a brown apple is a big turn off to kids) and a few string cheese along some Goldfish and a juice box. Perfect lunch. And they'll actually eat it all! I also like to take string cheese with us to T's football games. The perfectly portable snack.

It was rainy here all weekend. Which means the store is not somewhere I wanted to go. I wanted to be on my couch, watching movies and basking in the glow of doing nothing.
I have children...so all of THAT would be impossible. But, I was able to finagle myself out of going to the grocery store by digging in the fridge and pantry and finding enough goodies to throw together for dinner.

Here is what I dug up:

 

 

 

 

 A jar o' marinara
Oregano
Basil
Garlic Powder
Turkey Pepperoni
Frigo Cheeseheads string cheese
Can o' biscuits

Would I have rather have had pizza crust?? Heck to the yes. But the recipe I use for homemade pizza crust takes a few hours to rise and we didn't have time for that.
Or I was too lazy to do it when we did have time.
Whichever.

But the biscuits worked in a pinch. I try to keep one can in the fridge for situations like this. They are pretty handy. You can make donuts, mini pizzas, dumplings...you name it. I prefer my dough from scratch but this definitely works.

Next I scrounged up a recipe. Well, I searched my Pinterest boards. And I found a recipe for Pizza Balls.
I have boys so the mere mention of the word 'balls' tends to cause laughter but that's okay. These balls are worth it.
Hee hee

You can find the recipe over at A Kitchen Muse.

Next, I cut a handful of string cheese in half...realized that was way too big and chopped them into fourths and fifths. This isn't rocket science. Just chop the cheese into pieces.

Then flatten your biscuits with your hand where they resemble an itty bitty pizza crust.
You could definitely just use pieces of pizza dough here as well.

Top the biscuit with pepperoni and cheese and whatever else you like on your pizza. You can't fit a ton in the little babies but you can try!

The fold everything in and create a little pizza ball. Spray your baking pan. Line them up in a row.

Next I sprinkled oregano, basil and garlic powder over the top.

 

 

 Then I popped them in a 350 oven for about 20-25 minutes....and this happened.

 

 

 Golden, toasty, melt-y yummy pizza goodness.
I served ours with a side of warm marinara in a little dipping bowl.

The kids loved it.

R was the first to try and her face tells you the rest.

 

 

 

 

 Perfect late afternoon snack/early dinner to kick off the weekend.
G told me he would love these in his lunchbox. We could make that happen too. A thermos filled with pizza balls. Perfect.


Grab some Frigo Cheeseheads String Cheese and see what you can come up with!! And come back and let me know! I'm always looking for fun recipes to share with the family.

 

 

 

 Head over to Frigo's Facebook page to keep up with deals, events, SWEEPSTAKES and recipe ideas.

 

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The way to a girl's heart.....recipes to bring you joy

What food brings you intense joy to eat?

That is the NaBloPoMo writing prompt for today and I'm pretty sure they created it just for me.

Food. 

Are you one of those people who just eats to survive?  Or do you eat what you love and love doing it? 

I would be the latter.  I'm so bad about this that if there is nothing here for lunch that I would enjoy...I just don't have lunch.  I rarely have breakfast either.....yes, I know, most important meal of the day yadda yadda yadda.  I enjoy waking up with a few cups of coffee and that's about it.  I do love many breakfast food though and none of them include Greek yogurt or Fiber One. 

We've all had the hypothetical question asked of us, what would be your last meal? 

My answer has been the same for as long as I can remember, Thanksgiving dinner.  I can even do without the turkey.  Give me all the sides and I am good to go.

So, onto the question...what gives me intense joy when I eat it?

We need to break this bad boy into categories.

Let's start with breakfast:

French toast, probably my fave breakfast food. After years of making french toast just the plain way I knew how, I finally found this amazing recipe from Alton Brown.  Try it, I beg of you.  It is so good. Seriously, make it today. Here's the recipe. PS: it calls for warmed honey in the batter. Yes ma'am.

Fried eggs with rice.  Anyone that is not from the South is probably like Wha??  This is something I grew up having for breakfast.  Rule #1: it must be a runny egg.  Don't get all high and mighty anti-salmonella on me now.  Make some white rice, fry an egg and plop that egg on top of the rice.  Sprinkle with seasoned salt or good ol salt and pepper.


On to lunch

a good sandwich.  You know what I'm talking about; deli meat piled high, good lettuce, pickles, provolone cheese.....yes.

Dinner


Here's where we can get a bit carried away...

Like I said, before I love Thanksgiving dinner.  Especially the sides because let's get real, that's the real dinner.

Here are some of my fave sides...
Sweet Potato Crunch, childhood fave.  I'm not talking about sweet potatoes with marshmallows on top.  This is smooth, creamy sweet potatoes mixed with brown sugar and butter and topped with an out of this world crunchy topping with plenty of pecans. 

You can find many variations that are all pretty much the same...I usually double the topping.  And I use mashed sweet potatoes in a can, I found some at Whole Foods last year that were yummy.

Here's one recipe.

My second favorite side is the dressing.  I am a southern girl, and we have dressing, not stuffing. I would give you a family recipe I have hidden somewhere but then I would have to track you down and kill you. So, I will give you another favorite recipe that works in the slow cooker.....and it is super good.

Now, plop cranberry sauce on top of that and you're good to go.

More dinner...

I'm all about comfort foods.  They make me happy.  And a happy mom and wife is well....a happy home. 

Here are some of my absolute go-to's for dinner that bring me joy. I'll just post the pin and make it easier on everyone.  Visual aids are the best.

Pioneer Woman's Chicken Spaghetti

Source: thepioneerwoman.com via Elizabeth on Pinterest

Six Sister's Stuff-Chicken and Broccoli Casserole

Source: sixsistersstuff.com via Elizabeth on Pinterest

Chicken Pot Pie-A Muse in my Kitchen

Source: amuseinmykitchen.com via Elizabeth on Pinterest

Cowboy Spaghetti-Rachael Ray

Source: foodnetwork.com via Elizabeth on Pinterest

Jambalaya-Laura's Lean Beef ....this is one has been a go to for a few years. It's not too spicy and everyone loves it. Perfect to take somewhere for a friend in need or pot luck.

Source: laurasleanbeef.com via Elizabeth on Pinterest

Crispy Cheddar Chicken-Jamie Cooks it Up
this has become a quick family favorite.  I try to cook it once every few weeks so I don't burn anyone out on it. 

Source: jamiecooksitup.blogspot.com via Elizabeth on Pinterest

Dr. Pepper Roast....I renamed this because I hate Pepsi. Yuck.  So, I use Dr. Pepper or Coke.  I also use a good beef roast, so it's more like chopped beef sandwiches.  I serve it on the yummy goodness of Hawaiian rolls.  This is teenager approved.

Source: sweetandsavoryfood.com via Elizabeth on Pinterest

This is my handy dandy roasted Brussels sprouts recipe.  I love them, my kids love them, my husband loves them, and random teenagers who may be at my home when I pull them from the oven love them.  I have never met anyone who doesn't dig these. 

Source: southernfriedgreenmom.blogspot.com via Elizabeth on Pinterest

Twirly Whirly Pizza-This is another one of mine....well it's from Parents magazine about a million years ago.  I still have the original recipe I ripped out and shoved in a cookbook.  We have changed it up a little bit, I like to make a huge batch in a 9x13 and you can mix and match the "toppings".  We love using baby spinach along with other yummy stuff.  This recipe brings me joy because everyone LOVES it.  Even G, who doesn't really like to eat anything unless it's a peanut butter and honey sandwich.

Source: southernfriedgreenmom.blogspot.com via Elizabeth on Pinterest

Are you wondering about dessert now?  I will leave you with the absolute favorite dessert that brings me joy.  It also brings my kids joy.....they even ask for it to be the "Birthday Cake".

Pioneer Woman's Chocolate Sheet Cake

Source: thepioneerwoman.com via Elizabeth on Pinterest

Now, go bring yourself some joy and EAT!

Best fruit dip ever.....the recipe is now in your hands

When I was a kid my parents and their friends had a lot of get togethers.  The kids all entertained each other, running around causing mayhem while the parents enjoyed their margaritas and neighborhood gossip.  

You would often times find the kids gathering up a communal plate (or if you were like me, just one for yourself because you are unapologetic and selfish with food) of goodies.  Every time we were at a certain friend's house(Hi Sarah!), her mom supplied us with endless amounts of this amazing fruit dip.  Fanny was already an ultra cool mom.  First of all, she was from Holland.  As a kid, people with accents are way cooler than anyone else.  The fruit dip was not the only thing bringing me happiness from that house....she also made us buttered toast with chocolate sprinkled on top for breakfast!  Seriously, so good.

I was in love with this fruit dip.  So in love, that when B and I got married, this was probably the first recipe I asked for from anyone.  I called my childhood best friend's mom, Fanny, and asked her to give up the goods.  Luckily, for me, she did and I have cherished it ever since. 

This fruit dip has been present at almost every one of my kiddos' Birthday parties, a few Christmas morning brunches and countless friend's houses for an addition to a meal, party or shower of some sort. 

At first, I didn't want to share the recipe with friends, but eventually I started to share it a little bit.  Now, I pass it on to you.  It is almost sad how easy it is but you will need to keep this in your recipe book....or let's get real here, your Recipe Pinterest board.

Beware....once you take this fruit dip along with some cut up fruit to any event, you will be asked to bring it again.  But, come one....isn't it great to be needed?

You will need 1+1+1+1....
1 brick of cream cheese (softened)
1 jar of marshmallow creme
1 splash of vanilla
1 c. powdered sugar

Voila!!!

Tip: the organic cream cheese works so much better than Philadelphia.  It is softer from the get go so you don't have to leave it out to soften too long. It's a lot easier to mix as well.  I have used reduced fat the past few times and I couldn't tell a difference either.  Just use whatever you have on hand.



In a large mixing bowl, mix the cream cheese and marshmallow creme on medium low until combined.  Then pour in your cup of powdered sugar and a splash of vanilla.

Mix well on medium and be prepared for flying powdered sugar....


Don't forget to do this...

the perks of being the only kid at home at the moment....

This is important too....

we did have to switch it to a smaller bowl...

and then you have this.....

Fanny's Fruit Dip

For large crowds we usually double the recipe....and believe me, you would rather have too much rather than too little.

We have served it with every fruit imaginable but the favorites are strawberries, grapes, kiwi, apples and pineapple.  To up the cuteness quotient, just slice some fruit and put it on top of the dip. 

Go forth, my friend, and take a big ol' bite out of that goodness.  If it's served with fruit the calories don't really count.  Promise.

Are you done taking pictures now?  Can I just eat this apple already?

If I could live off of coffee and chocolate.....

....I would be a very happy woman. 

Valentine's Day has come and gone.  All of my little Valentine door decorations are put away and St. Patty's Day stuff is up.  The Hubby is still on nights so last night was no different from any other.  I made a fabulous brisket type of BBQ in the crockpot.  I was inspired by an easy peasy recipe I saw on Pinterest, of course.  It called for pork butt and Pepsi.  Sine the thought of Pepsi makes me cringe I used Coke.  Coke Classic....I'm not playing around here.  There was not a good butt of piggie to be found at my local HEB (surprise! surprise!) but I did find a pretty roast.  I cut slits all over the roast so it could soak in all the BBQ goodness, covered it in season salt, poured well over the 1/2 of a bottle of Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce that it called for and then a 20 oz Coke.  Cooked it on low for around 9 hours then I sliced it....until I got bored of that and pretty much hacked into little chunks.  Served on warmed Hawaiian rolls....well, I would like to say it was amazing.  Sadly, I didn't get to try it.  The Hubs, T, R and a friend of T's sopped every bit of it up.  Yep.  They each had about 3 or 4 of the little sliders of BBQ awesomeness and told me how good it was.  Success! You can find the pin that I used for inspiration right here. Remember I tweaked it and did NOT use Pepsi, or pork.  Of course, if you are one of those people who actually digs Pepsi, more power to ya'.

I made my handy dandy roasted Brussels sprouts with our meal too.  I know that in most families the words Brussels sprouts elicits moans and groans (and not in the good way) but my kiddos (minus G who eats basically peanut butter and honey sandwiches 24/7) love my roasted Brussels sprouts.  Once they come out of the oven they are devoured and picked at like a pan full of french fries.  They are amazingly addicting and have the super power ability to transform any Brussels sprout hater into a Brussels sprout lova'.  Here's the easiest recipe you will ever have.....
Brussles Sprouts your kids will eat!

• You will need at least 2 (but probably 3 if you have a large family like I do) bushels of Brussels sprouts, if they are sold loosely than grab a good 5 handfuls.  You will thank me later. 
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Salt (preferably coarse salt)
• Pepper

Told you it was simple....
Now,

• Preheat your oven to 400 degrees
• Wash your sprouts well, cut the ends off, you will not be using them.  Now cut the Brussels sprouts in half, if they are huge monster sprouts, feel free to cut them in thirds.  Dispose of any stray leaves you lost.
• line a rimmed baking pan with foil
• drizzle the pan with EVOO
• lay the Brussels sprouts any way you like, just spread them out all over the pan, cut side up, cut side down, whatev.
• drizzle the Brussels sprouts with EVOO (lightly)
• sprinkle the Brussels sprouts with salt and pepper
• pop in the oven for 15 minutes
• after 15 minutes, shake them around and turn which ones you can
• cook another 15 minutes
• Voila! You are done.  Try to let them cool at least 15 seconds before popping these delish bites into your mouth. Ask T, he saw them on the stove and popped one in before realizing they had JUST come out of the oven. 

You will now have this easy masterpiece to feed the minions....they are caramelized and so yummy.  There will be a few charred leaves, which oddly is one of my fave parts, but feel free to just eat the pretty ones.

While the big kids were outside playing, G and I decided that we would make this divine cake by The Pioneer Woman.  This chocolate sheet cake has changed my life.  No, I am not being dramatic.  Okay, maybe a little. But, you have to try this cake!  Not mine, because I am totally not sharing but make your own and you will not regret it.  The icing that I poured over this cake tastes almost exactly like the one my grandmother made and poured over yellow cake.  I am pumped that I now hold this secret because I have to admit, I really just thought she created it with magic.  I will share the pin where you can find the recipe and then my pictures from our chocolate escape. 

Source: thepioneerwoman.com via Elizabeth on Pinterest

G knows that if you help bake, you help taste!



Seriously? How can people exist that don't like chocolate?



It is not really talked about but I have a secret....if you use organic powdered sugar it will not stick to your hips, even if you use a hair less than 1 lb. Promise.



Your cute bow will not save you from stealing my cake batter bowl...



That, my friends, is pure heaven in the making.  Cocoa powder, butter, chopped pecans (that I shelled with my own 2 now-blistered hands), powdered sugar, milk and vanilla. Now, wipe your chin, you're drooling.



yep.



sweet mother of all things holy and chocolaty

There you have the most spectacular and easy to make Chocolate Sheet Cake in the world!   I will post all of our Valentine pictures later because you are now only picturing that cake in your mind. 
Everyone have a wonderful rest of the week!

I am not a food blogger....I repeat, I am not a food blogger (but here's a family favorite recipe)

I don't mind cooking.  I'm pretty good a it actually.  I don't even mind doing the dishes afterwards (yeah right).  All the hunting and gathering part...you know the grocery store, is not my favorite place to be.  It's not even my least favorite place to be, it's below that.  Is that possible?  I know it is because I live in a small town and the grocery store here rarely carries what I need.  I'm lucky if I can get a week's worth of organic milk and baby spinach.  We are a town of less than 5,000 so when I say there is a demand for more organics or more produce in general....it's pretty much ignored. Now, when I walk into a Whole Foods, I can spend some time in there...and money.
So, on that note.....here is a really simple yet fun recipe you can make for the whole family and you don't have to spend hours wandering through the aisles at your local grocery store but hey, if that's how you get your kicks and out of the house for awhile feel free to roam aimlessly. 
I found this recipe for Twirly Whirly Pizza years ago...I'm not even sure how many years ago...in Parents magazine.  We immediately fell in love with it.  It makes an appearance every few months or so and when I think of it again I'm wondering why I waited so long to make it.  Here's some pics of my Twirly Whirly fun tonight....I snapped away on my Blackberry because it would've been waaaay too easy to have a camera with a battery ready and charged.  Remember that I am feeding a family of 5 and that my hubby takes leftovers to work.  So, 2 tubes of the pizza crust work perfectly for us.

Twirly Whirly Pizza....my way

2 tubes refrigerated pizza crust (thin or regular work fine)....you can find all kinds of great refrigerated pizza crust in larger grocery stores, I had to go with our one and only Pillsbury dough boy

Turkey Pepperoni (as much as you desire my carnivore friends)

Organic Baby Spinach

Pizza Sauce  (a small jar...organic if your store carries it)

Italian Blend Shredded Cheese (1 package)

Black Olives (sliced)

Any other toppings you like:
Mushrooms
Onions
Bell Peppers
Sausage
Hamburger

I just used black olives, spinach, and turkey pepperoni and of course...cheese.

Heat your oven to 400 degrees.
Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper but don't use your stove as the work surface, it will make the dough even softer.
Open 1 roll of pizza crust and roll out flat on the parchment paper
Put about 3 T of pizza sauce in different spots on the crust and then spread out pretty evenly
Sprinkle the baby spinach all over the pizza
Next, the turkey pepperoni
Then the black olives
Lastly....the cheese 

Now at the skinniest end of the crust tuck the sides in just a bit and start to roll and tuck the rest of the way.  Think of a burrito type of pizza roll.

Now you have a little fat, pizza baby

Next you will need to chop the pizza roll into how ever many pieces you choose but I wouldn't go skinnier than 5 or 6 pieces.  I have tried everything to cut this without ripping it apart or losing all my stuffing.  The best thing I have found is a scraper.

use this!

Then you will pick them up carefully....treat them like the sweet pizza babies they are or else!  This is serious people!

Lay them like you would cinnamon rolls in a greased (I spray with PAM) 9x13 baking dish.  Then sprinkle the rest of the cheese over the top of your Twirly Whirly Pizza.

I made a half and half dish of Twirly Whirly pizza....sometimes the boys will eat the spinach and sometimes they won't.  So one half is turkey pepperoni and cheese and the other half is turkey pepperoni, spinach, black olives and cheese.

Put in the oven for about 25 minutes.  At that point you will smell the goodness cooking.  It will be beautiful and golden. 



yes, that would be my huge man hand helping me stuff my face



You can serve this with a salad or another veggie of your choice.  Or you can do what I did and just count the veggies inside the pillow of goodness. 

Simple and oh- so- good.  Very easy to make as natural as you want too. 

***************************************

Update on pictures!!!  The above were taken with my handy dandy Blackberry, which bless it's heart, can't take a good picture to save it's life....so these look much better from my Canon!  I also adapted these amazing pizzas for a party by cutting them AFTER they were cooked and making them Pizza Bites.   Served with marinara. Easy party food.