Easy Sloppy Joe's!

They say the way to a man's heart is through his stomach. Right? Right. Well, y'all are in for a treat today. So I figured what better way to nab a southern guy than through his stomach. But we don't want to ruin our girly figure either, so don't worry ladies! That won't be an issue!!

This is a favorite around our house. So if you're serving your best friends, the significant other in your life, or your kids, you needn't worry! Even with the veggies cut up and hidden inside, this will be a favorite at your next dinner party.

What you'll need:

• 1.5 lbs ground turkey meat
• 1/2 medium onion diced
• 1 green bell pepper diced
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1/4 cup chili sauce
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp spicy brown mustard
• A Dash of worchestershire sauce 
• Dash of salt (I don't use a lot... some people use 1.5 tsp... a dash will do)
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper

What to do:

1. Combine ground meat, onion and pepper in a HOT skillet. // cook until meat is completely cooked through. 
2. Add the water
3. Mix in the rest of the ingredients. 
4. Bring to a slow boil. 
5. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook until most of the water is gone and everything starts to get thick. 
6. Remove from heat and add to buns! 

It's seriously that easy, y'all! And the best thing is that the calorie count for one serving is 171 without the bun! Talk about easy and good for you! Serve with some yummy collard greens and you've got yourself the best southern meal! 

I'm a lover of food, so getting to enjoy something super southern without all the fat is a huge win for me! I'd love to know what y'all think if you make this!

Previously seen back in May at Heart of Life

Mississippi Comeback Sauce

Y'all, I cannot be the only person out there that once they find the "perfect" condiment I use it on practically everything I can... right? RIGHT?! Well, thanks to my husband I have found this perfect condiment. Being the nicest blogger ever, I made him suggested he recreate the making of this sauce so I can share it with y'all!

This was something Josh found via facebook. One of those recipes that one of his aunts or friends or someone had shared on their wall. He thought "oh. That sounds good." and wrote down the recipe. Of course, he didn't actually share it to his wall, so I cannot fully credit where we found this. Also, I decided to leave the name the same, cause that's just what Josh keeps calling it.

It's so easy though, and the flavor... Y'all... I put this on scrambled eggs. It's just that good!

What you'll need:
* Don't let the size of the list scare you away. If you're like me, you most likely have the majority of these things in your pantry, spice cabinet, and fridge!

• 1 cup Mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 1/4 cup chili sauce. (NOT the powder. There is a difference, y'all!)
• 1 tsp Dijon Mustard (We used spicy brown mustard)
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 2 tsp worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp tabasco sauce 
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 3 Tbs lemon juice. 

What you'll need to do:

1. Combine all ingredients into an airtight container (like a good ole mason jar) 
2. Refrigerate overnight
3. Enjoy as a dip, topping, or whatever your little heart desires! 

Seriously, y'all. It's THAT easy. The reason to refrigerate overnight is to let the flavors "marry" together and get to know each other. Trust me... it makes all the difference in the world. So good.

If you try this, please tell me what you think. I love hearing from other bloggers when they try something I've shared! Hint, cucumbers dipped in this tastes really good too.
Happy Friday, friends! xoxo

Exciting Ramen & Hey Kerri Llama!

Show of hands to those of y'all that were forced to eat Ramen for dinner because that's all you could afford? Don't be shy, I'm pretty sure all of us have been there at some point. What if I told you I could make your Ramen taste better than just noodles with seasoned salt? OK, sure I wouldn't eat it unless I really had to, but at least now it tastes like an actual meal!

I present to y'all,

For Teriyaki Ramen
What you'll need:
*based on one serving / one packet of Ramen

• 1 Packet Oriental flavor Ramen
• Spoonful of Grape jelly
• 2 Tsp (approx) of Sugar
• (optional) 1 Tsp of Instant coffee

What you'll do: 
+ Boil a pot of water & cook noodles as normal. I really hope y'all know how to boil noodles! If not, please google! ha.
+ Drain most of the water off the noodles. Leaving enough to mix with the seasoning packet (included) Return noodles back to pot for mixing
+ Mix jelly, sugar, coffee, and seasoning packet until well blended
+Enjoy!

*For a little something extra, you can throw in some peanuts for more flavor and some crunch!

*Now, I don't like my Ramen super soupy, so these can be adjusted depending on how much water you like in yours. These directions are based on my preferences. 

Now, what if teriyaki isn't your favorite? Not a problem!!

Cheeseburger Ramen! 

What you'll need:
*based on one serving / one packet of Ramen

• 1 Packet Beef flavor Ramen
• 1 spoonful Ketchup
• 1/2 spoonful Mayonnaise
• 1 spoonful Mustard
• 2 Tsp Pickle juice
• Handful Crushed up cheese-its (or orginal Doritos, because we didn't have cheese-its... Improv, people, it's how I roll!) 

What you'll do:
+ Cook the noodles, just like above!
+ Drain most of the water off the noodles. Leaving enough to mix with the seasoning packet (included) Return noodles back to pot for mixing
+ Mix everything together until well-blended!
+ Enjoy!

What's the last meal you spiced up with a few changes?

And now, I'd like to introduce another one of my amazing
Mama Llama sponsors! So don't run off just yet! 

I'm so happy to have Kerri from Hey Herri Blog on my sidebar this month! Her blog is so fun, and I really wish Canada wasn't so far away so we could maybe get to meet!
Take it away, Kerri!!

Describe yourself in four words. 
Adventurous
Girly
Organzied
Caring

 I really love your blogging style. What made you start blogging?
Thank you! I wish I could remember exactly how I stumbled into the *lifestyle* blogging world because for the last four years I only ever thought of blogs being beauty and style related. All I remember is it was Erin's blog Living in Yellow sometime last spring then I found Anne's blog from Love the Here & Now. Before that I had a blog created (after trying and failing at being beauty related) but was completely intrigued by the whole lifestyle concept, I decided I wanted to give it a try. Anne's blog is actually what pushed me to take my own seriously and made me realize it was actually something I wanted to do - boy am I glad I found her blog :)

You're a new addition to the crayon box. Which color would you be, and why?
Ouuuuuuuu, this is a good question! I'm going to go with a deep jet black that has gorgeous hues of different colored glitter when the light hits it.

But not the chunky glitter that makes it really hard to color with and scrapes the paper - more like I finely milled sprinkle of sparkle.

Can we call it Midnight Magic as well? ((editor's note: YES! good answer!))

What's the best advice you've ever gotten about blogging? 
"Never hit publish on a post that you wouldn't want to read yourself." -This is something that I try to take into consideration with everything I write. ((editor's note: This is a good one and I would agree!))

What's your favorite movie quote?
"You know, I really thought it was that can't-eat, can't-sleep, reach-for-the-stars, over- the-fence, World Series kind of stuff." - It Takes Two.

THIS QUOTE WILL NEVER GROW OLD! And now I want to watch every Mary Kate & Ashley Olsen movie!

If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be? 
Hands down chicken stir fry with extra water chestnuts! I don't think I could ever get sick of that meal. Chicken is the only *meat* I eat, honey garlic sauce is amazzzzzzing plus simmered vegetables are drool worthy.

And it may or may not be one of the only meals I can make without ruining ;)

Isn't she so fun, y'all? I just love her AND her blog! Who wants to join together to go see her in Canada?

Want more HKB? follow along!

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(Really Awesome) Spinach Coated Chicken

It's no secret around here, I'm not a professional food blogger and I'm really bad about taking pictures to share amazing recipes. However, there is the brief moment where I shine through and remember to document experiments in the kitchen!
For this particular recipe, I was inspired by the mayonnaise commercial that tells you to coat the chicken in mayo and then top with bread crumbs. Apparently to keep the chicken moist or something like that. Whatever the commercial said. Clearly I paid attention. 
I did a little google search on that recipe and found this one: "Amazing Chicken Recipe" I, however took a twist on it. Mostly because I *ahem* ran out of mayo. Oops. Improv to the rescue in Kitchen Camacho!

What You'll Need:

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves. 
• A Spoonful of mayonnaise. 
• 1/2 cup Spinach Dip of your choice
• 2 Cups Seasoned bread crumbs * 

** I used my homemade Seasoned Breadcrumbs

• Garlic, Salt & Pepper to season chicken. (season to taste). 

What To Do:  + Pre-heat your oven to 425
+ Grease a shallow baking dish + In a small bowl, mix the mayo and spinach dip + Season your chicken and coat with the dip mixture + Roll your coated chicken in the bread crumbs + Bake uncovered for 30 minutes, or until the chicken isn't pink & the juices run clear. 

Enjoy!  The whole family loved this dish. It paired well with mixed veggies!  Do you ever have to improvise with recipes to make sure dinner gets on the table?

That Time I Saved the Salmon

Y'all, I don't know about you, but I tend to run out of things in my pantry at the worst possible moment. Let's take last Sunday for example. I had every intention of making Salmon Patties for dinner. Yum, right? I thought I had everything I needed. I was very excited about this salmon, and began prepping. Salmon? Check. Egg? Check. Seasonings and onions? Check. Breadcrumbs? Umm... not quite enough. Whomp, Whomp.

This is where my quick thinking came in handy. Of course, I didn't have any actual bread or flour to substitute for seasoned breadcrumbs. Nope... that would be too easy. And clearly we did not make a trip to the store that weekend! Oops. I did, however, have triscuits. Stale triscuits to be exact. Dill and sea salt stale triscuits. Yay. How was that going to work? Thinking on my feet, y'all! That's how it worked!

What You'll Need:

+ Stale crackers. Something with a flavor or seasoning would probably work best for this

+ A food processor or grinder

+ A handy, dandy storage tin. I used the old breadcrumbs tin.

Break up your crackers into small, bite size pieces. They tend to grind in the food processor a little easier this way. At least for me they did. Also, I don't recommend filling the container to the top. This way all of the crackers get to the blades.

Blend and mix with the food processor and store everything you don't use!

It's really THAT simple. I was pretty impressed with myself . The salmon patties tasted amazing, and now I have a small stash of breadcrumbs stored up for when I decide to make something like this... or meatloaf. Because I can almost promise that I will forget to get more breadcrumbs from the store next time.
I hope this helps y'all as much as it did me! What have you done to save dinner lately?

Easy, Peasy Green Bean(sy)

If you're showing up for the blog party today, congratulations. I'm here thanks to a wonderful little scheduling tool that blogger provides. Love it. As you're reading this I'm probably grabbing great deals online because I refuse to face the madness that is Black Friday shopping in person! I get shivers just thinking about it. I'm happy browsing deals online with my mama.

So... as promised from my Golden Vlog... Today I'm sharing my super secret awesome green bean casserole recipe. It's really not secret. It is amazing though.

What you'll need:
Well... it really depends on how many people you're planning to serve. So for me, since I basically serve a small army on Thanksgiving (and Christmas) I require a tad bit more than your standard family size batch of casserole. You can always adjust up or down as needed. Today let's pretend you're serving a small army. Deal? Deal.

• 4-6 (14.5 oz) cans of green beans
• 4 (10.5 oz) cans of Cream of Mushroom soup
• 2 (10.5 oz) cans of Cream of Celery soup
• 1 (6 oz) package of French Fried Onions

What you'll need to do:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Pour green beans and soups into your baking dish

Mix! 

Throw in a few handfuls of oh so yummy fried onions! 

Mix some more! 

Sprinkle more fried onions on top until you can barely see anymore beans. It tastes better this way. 

Pop your glorious mixture into the oven and bake for about 20-25 minutes. Or until your fried onions on top start to brown and the soups start to bubble 

Serve and Enjoy! 

I'm telling y'all... my family goes crazy for this recipe. Do you make green bean casserole? What do you do that's the same (or different) than mine. I'd love to know if you try this one!

Foodie Finds

It's no surprise around here that I rarely share a recipe (or a how-to / DIY). Mostly because when I cook a fun new meal I forget to take pictures. That is not the case this time, ladies and gents! Last weekend my step mom shared this recipe. Looks good, right? So of course I had to try it. *Note: it makes a LOT!*

(professionally called Crockpot Cheese Tortellini)
What the recipe calls for:

1 bag of frozen tortellini

1 small bag of fresh spinach

2 cans of italian style diced tomatoes

1 box of chicken broth

1 package of cream cheese

1 lb. sausage

What I actually used:

1 24 oz bag frozen egg noodles (because Walmart doesn't have frozen tortellini??)

3/4 of a small bag of fresh spinach

2 cans Italian style diced tomatoes

1 box Chicken broth

1 package of cream cheese

1 lb Italian seasoned sausage

What you need to do: 

Brown the sausage in one of your finest skillets

Add all of the ingredients (except for the cream cheese) to the crock pot

Cut the cream cheese into cubes (this makes it easier to mix)

Add the cream cheese to the crock pot

Mix, Cover, and cook on low for 5-6 hours

Enjoy!

See? So easy right? I'm telling y'all it was amazing, too! Hubby had seconds, the kids enjoyed it (hidden veggies, y'all!). This is definitely a recipe that I recommend. And it doesn't have to be tortellini (obviously).  I literally didn't have to add any extra seasoning or salt, or garlic. I went back and forth in the store for which sausage I should buy... in the end, I think the Itaillian was a great choice because, Holy Yum Batman!

 

Do you have any crock pot recipes to share? Tis the season!

Foodie Favorites

Dear Food Fairy, Why don't you visit my house more with meals I don't have to prepare and cook myself?

I admit it. I don't plan meals. I never have, and I know I need to. Planning meals would help me lose a lot more weight. But I don't plan- so there we have it. So I'm faced with the daily question from my husband and kids, "what's for dinner?" 

Half of the time I have no idea and I have to throw something together that's both healthy and delicious. ugh. 

The next question from me, "what do you want?" or "what sounds good?"

Common responses, "I don't know." or "I don't care."

Too bad I don't have recipes for those. 

Thankfully, I have a slow cooker. And thankfully, I have a slow cooker cookbook. So I've gotten a little bit better with planning some meals to where it just cooks during the day. 

My favorite recipe? Chili. I love chili of any form! It's so easy to make and there's so many ways to change the recipe 

This is how I prepared it most recently

Brown your meat. I used ground turkey. 

add your spices. This is what I use when I don't cheat and use a pre packaged spice blend ;)

Pick out some stuff to go in your chili. This is what I used. 

Throw everything together. 

Mix everything together, turn it on low and let it cook all day! Viola! 

Bonus? Left overs can be used with hot dogs and BAM! instant chili dogs! heck yeah!