Three Bean Salad

This recipe came from my mom, and it is one of Camille's favorites. If I double it, people complain that there's not enough. So I have already doubled the recipe so when you double it, there will actually be enough.

Drain:

2 cans wax beans

2 cans green beans

1 can kidney beans

Chop 1 Cup of each:

onion

celery

green bell pepper

Mix it all up and marinate at least a few hours (or better yet overnight) in:

1 1/2 C Sugar 

1 C oil

1 C white distilled vinegar

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

Tip: my mom taught me when you are doubling recipes you should never double the salt. True? I don't know, but I definitely follow this rule and have never been dissatisfied.

Lasagna

I thought I lost this recipe and nearly proceeded to have a heart attack. I can NEVER lose this recipe, and it's getting hard to read so it's definitely time to post it. It's just sooo easy and sooo delicious. I think I found it in a Kraft magazine. You know, those things we used to get recipes from before Pinterest and blogging were a thing. Without further ado, the best lasagna in the world.

16 oz. cottage cheese (2 cups)
2 1/2 C shredded Mozzarella Cheese, divided
1/2 C grated Parmesan cheese, divided
1 T plus 1 tsp dried parsley
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 jar (26 oz) spaghetti sauce
1/2 C water
1 lb. ground beef, browned and drained (optional)
11 lasagna noodles, uncooked

1. Mix 1 1/4 C mozzarella cheese, 1/4 C Parmesan cheese, cottage cheese, parsley, and egg until well blended. Set aside.
2. Pour spaghetti sauce into meat skillet. Swish water in jar to get all spaghetti sauce and add.
3. Put one layer of the meat sauce on bottom of 8 x 11 in. baking dish.
4. Layer four lasagna noodles, 1/2 cheese mixture, and a layer of meat sauce. Repeat layer and top with remaining 4 noodles and sauce.
5. Sprinkle with remaining 1 1/4 C mozzarella cheese and 1/4 C Parmesan. Cover with foil and bake 45 minutes at 350.
6. Remove foil and bake 15 minutes or until bubbling. Let sit 5 minutes before serving.

"Mommy can I have another" Muffins

Tate told me this morning that he can eat five of these in one sitting, but I cut him off at four and handed him a yogurt. My kids absolutely LOVE these muffins. The recipe makes about three dozen, and they're usually gone within 24 hours. The nice thing, is that if your family knows how to pace themselves {unlike mine} the batter can be refrigerated for up to two weeks so you can pop them in the oven and have fresh, warm muffins anytime you like. This is especially handy on busy work or school mornings. I haven't tried freezing the batter yet, perhaps I'll give it a shot next time. Without further ado, here are the best bran muffins ever {at least, they're the only ones I've ever enjoyed}.

Bran Muffins
2 C All-Bran
1 C Bran Buds
1 C boiling water

Combine above ingredients and let sit until not hot anymore.
Then add the following ingredients:

2 beaten eggs
1/2 C vegetable oil*
1 1/2 C Sugar
2 1/2 C Flour
2 1/2 tsp. Baking soda
1/2 tsp. Salt
2 C Buttermilk**

Mix ingredients well, pour into greased muffin tins, and bake at 400 F for 18-20 minutes. Leftover batter can be stored in fridge for up to 2 weeks.

*You can substitute applesauce for vegetable oil in most bread type recipes {including store bought cake mixes}. I've don it in this recipe and can't taste the difference.
**No buttermilk? No problem! In a glass measuring bowl, put 2 Tbs. lemon juice and fill with milk until you have 2 cups. Let sit for five minutes before using it in recipe.

Asian Salad

Camille absolutely loves this salad! She requested it this year for her birthday dinner and asked me to put it in her "cookbook." We also had sesame chicken wings and white rice.

Asian Salad
2 packages Ramen noodles, crushed (discard seasoning packet)
1 tsp. sesame seeds
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1 head cabbage, shredded or finely chopped (or a bag of coleslaw blend if you don't want to do any chopping)
1 bunch of green onions, chopped
3/4 C vegetable oil
1/4 C distilled white vinegar
1/2 C white sugar
2 Tbs. soy sauce

1. In a small sauce pan bring vegetable oil, sugar, and vinegar to boil for 1 minute. Cool. Add soy sauce.
2. In a medium skillet over low heat, melt butter and brown ramen noodles and sesame seeds. Once browned, remove from heat and cool.
3. In a large bowl combine shredded cabbage and chopped green onions. Add the noodle and soy sauce mixtures.  Toss to coat, and serve immediately so noodles stay crunchy.

Cheesy Potato Casserole

I made this recipe the other night for the first time, though we were pretty sure we'd love it because it is one of Todd's favorite family recipes (also known as funeral potatoes). It was super hot when it came out of the oven, so Todd began dishing it out on the kids' plates so it could cool. Tate was very alarmed by such action and exclaimed, "What are you doing?! What if I don't like that?" To which we replied he could pass it on over! Tate's eyes got big as he tasted it and continued to shovel it in. He then had seconds.

Cheesy Potatoes

1 can cream of mushroom or cream of chicken soup

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup melted butter or margarine

1 (32 oz..) package frozen hashbrowns

8 oz. shredded cheddar cheese

1 medium onion, chopped

1 1/2 cups cornflakes

1. Mix soup, sour cream, melted butter, hashbrowns, onion, and cheese and spread in a 9 x 13 pan.

2. Crush cornflakes and sprinkle over top.

3. Bake at 350 for 45 min. or until hot.

Sloppy Joes

The other day we were eating something when Camille turned to me and asked if I could give her the recipe when she grows up. For the life of me, I can't remember what we were eating {and neither can she!} Seriously, it's been about two days. So the idea was born to post all of her and Tate's favorite recipes on my blog along with a family story or memory. Hopefully along the way you'll find something you like, too.

Our sloppy Joe {baby Joseph} loves Sloppy Joes! We took this meal with us the other night when we met Todd for a picnic at the Tacoma Nature Center. They have a super fun play area with slides that look like logs, bridges over water and even some telescopes. There are also some wonderful trails for hiking, which we enjoyed after dinner. If you go before 5 pm, the indoor nature center is open with some fun exhibits for the kids. You can also pick up a list of all the animals living in the area and see how many you can find on your walk. Great fun, and all free! {for more free summertime activities check out this post}

SLOPPY JOES
1 lb. ground beef

¼ C brown sugar

1 ½ tsp. steak seasoning blend {we use McCormick Montreal seasoning}

1 medium onion, chopped

1 small red bell pepper, chopped

1 Tbs. red wine vinegar

1 Tbs. Worcestershire sauce

2 C tomato sauce

• Break up meat in pan and add brown sugar and steak seasoning.
• When meat has browned, add onion, red bell peppers, red wine vinegar and worcestershire sauce. Reduce heat to medium and cook for 5 min.
• Add tomato sauce; stir to combine. Reduce heat and cook 5 minutes.

I like to double this recipe and freeze half for a quick meal on a busy day.
I also prefer to make my own tomato sauce from tomato paste so I only have to stock one tomato product.
This recipe was adapted from Rachael Ray...for the original recipe, click here.

By the time we set out on our little hike the sun was getting low in the sky. Tate forged ahead with the walking stick he found.

Couldn't catch a picture of any fish jumping in the air - they're quick little buggers {truly teensy - truth be told, we couldn't even tell if they were fish}. But here you can see the water rings where they were jumping. They were all over the place!

 Feeding time for the ducks {it should be noted this was a natural meal time at the nature center - we didn't feed any animals}

The bridge behind Camille is where we saw the no-see-em' fish and the dining duck.

 

Camille found some flowers that she photographed.

  

I occasionally enjoy lagging behind my family {just for a moment} 

and quietly take in the sight of my greatest blessings.