Goat cheese is definitely a type of cheese that had never made it to our table in 18+ years, until the end of 2011.  Chavrie, the #1 go-to folks for America’s freshest goat cheese, sent my family some to try and I have to say, I didn’t expect me or my bunch to like it all, but 3 of out 5 of us did.  Truett wasn’t a fan but he’s 5 and he has lots of time to acquire a taste for new foods.  The other was Toby, who is probably as picky as I am but the main reason he wasn’t a fan was because of the pecans.  I should have taken that into consideration when I made it.

While I would consider goat cheese a food for the refined, I convinced myself not to be intimidated by it.  I looked in my fridge and pantry, thinking about how I could incorporate Chavrie authentically into our ranch style, family friendly menu.  I considered many things but decided on a finger food that I could serve up during holidays, get-togethers, and even for our Sunday Super Bowl party.    This really is very easy, very few ingredients, but there is a couple of things I’d change.

1) Instead of plopping a huge spoonful of the goat cheese spread on each slice of pretzel roll, I’d spread a thinner layer.

and

2) I’d probably bake for even longer to allow the pretzel roll slices to crust up a bit.  Although, I’m not sure how that would effect the goat cheese spread.

With that said, here is how I decided to use the Chavrie goat cheese.

I took the Chavrie Original 5.3oz package, mixed with honey and a few finely chopped pecans, and spread over slices of pretzel rolls.  I just baked until the roll slices were warm.  I used Sister Shubert’s Pretzel Rolls and sliced them into 4 pieces. Don’t ask me amounts because to be quite honest, I didn’t measure the honey at all. I just poured

NOW FOR THE GIVEAWAY!

This is a fantastic giveaway that includes lovely Crate and Barrel items and Chavrie Goat Cheese goodies.

This list is as followed:

• Crate and Barrel Sweets Pedestal $24.95
• Crate and Barrel 5-piece Mixing Bowl Set $34.96
• Crate and Barrel French Wire Wisk $10.95
• Crate and Barrel Set of 4 Magnetic Measuring Cups $9.95
• Crate and Barrel Set of 4 Magnetic Measuring Spoons $7.95
• Chavrie Fresh Goat Cheese Coupons
• Chavrie Dessert Recipes
• For the Love of Goat Cheese Cookbooks

———->To enter this giveaway, you simply need to answer the following question (this is required to be entered):

Which recipe would you make if you won this fabulous prize package?

Be sure to pay the kind sponsor of the giveaway a visit too!

Chavrie’s website

Chavrie’s Facebook page  They have a coupon on there too!

Chavrie’s Twitter page

This giveaway ends on February 9th, about 4pm CST.  In full disclosure, Chavrie sent me the same prize package, as well as, sponsored this giveaway.  All opinions are my own.

Every since I started meal planning, I have been coming up with really easy, budget friendly recipes like these creamy chicken enchiladas.  I have only been cooking one big meal a day, the 5 O’Clock meal, these days, the only meal that we are all together for. And remember, it’s proven that having a meal at the table with your family makes for better relationships with your kids!

These enchiladas are definitely some of the better ones I’ve made and are perfect for parents who still have to cook something up for supper after working hard all day! What makes this so easy is that I used Swanson Premium Chicken.  This is actually one of my favorite things to use whether it be for enchiladas or in my salads.  It’s budget friendly, quick, 98% fat free, and backed by the American Heart Association, which makes up for some of the other ingredients I’m using in this recipe! HAHA!!

Serve these up with some rice & beans and you’ll likely be crawling to the sofa!  We opted to just eat the enchiladas without he sides and found it plenty filling!  My husband’s only request was my homemade hot sauce!!

Disclosure: I was paid for my time & efforts, by Swanson, to create this post.  I have always used and recommended Swanson Chicken. Opinions are my own, always have been, always will be. 

Quick and easy; that seems to be our food motto these days.  With Church & school functions, work, and sports, making a ham and cheese calzone is just one of the easy recipes I’ve been cooking up lately.    It’s a meal that to grab and go which we frequently do with basketball season in full bloom.  Concession stands have drained me this school year so I try to get most of us full before we ever get to the game. Know what I mean?

I honestly had no plan for the dough when making this so bare with me.  The neat thing about this meal idea, is that you can put anything you want inside the calzone.  I did simple ingredients for us because we are on a budget but you could definitely go all out!  I bought crescent roll dough and ended up mushing it all together and separating into 3 dough balls for 3 calzones.  Hey, it ain’t fancy but it worked!

Meat and taters….that seems to be the heart of our meals most days so making sure I can make them taste good all the time becomes a challenge.  I’ve baked them with Ranch dip, mashed them with butter and cheese, and done just about everything else I can think.  One of our most favorite ways to eat taters is to pan fry them.

Our secret is to cook them in the same pan a steak has been cooked in!  I knew we had steaks the night before so I covered the pan and saved the goods for the next day.  There wasn’t much grease but all those little pieces are still there and that’s the good stuff!  I simply add some better, salt and coarse pepper and MAN, the taters soak up all that steak flavor, making the taste fantastic!! Simple I know but sometimes that’s all you need……

What is your favorite way to make taters?

Slow Cooked Ribs…mmmmm, sounds heavenly huh?  Well, my guys thought so!  I watched them devour these ‘fattier than I’d like ribs’ that took 14 hours to cook, while I happily savored every moment of my taters.

I’m making every effort to make my crockpot feel loved.  I’ve always used it for the basics like beans but have never really ventured too far beyond that.  I’m way too comfortable with the same type of cooking and thought it was time to take a risk!!!  I know, watch out right?!

This was one of the easiest recipes that took 5 minutes to prep and 14 hours to cook.  They could definitely be cooked faster but I wanted them to be done so that when my kids came home from school, they’d have a hot, home cooked meal to fill their belly.   These were also a fattier cut of ribs. I’d much prefer a leaner cut but my fellas didn’t seem to mind at all.  Once done with their meal, I heard lots of moaning and watched them lay around, trying hard not to fall asleep.  Around here that means they were a hit!  I’ll post my tiny secret to my homestyle taters a little later.

I’m not a big fan of chopping garlic so I’m thankful that my sweet mama got me this handy chopper.  It made it a breeze and I didn’t have to deal with all the stickiness and smell on my fingers.

I had never tried this French Onion Condensed Soup from Campbell’s but it gave the ribs a lot of flavor!

Of course, being married to a cowboy, we always have a few beers on hand. My husband actually cooks a lot with beer………

Other rib recipes of interest:

With basketball season in full bloom, dinner starts to become much later in the evening, and that means finding easy meal solutions to get the family fed before it’s already time to hit the hay.  We often look for recipes via the Internet, cookbooks, and our friends but don’t forget about the back of products too!

Have you seen the new French’s French Cheddar Fried Onions?  On the back of the container it has a recipe for Crunchy Onion Chicken and the entire dish was gone in minutes, eaten by 3 teenagers tonight after a basketball game.  They said it was awesome. I didn’t get a bite so I wouldn’t know but it smelled delicious and it cooked in 20 minutes!  That’s my kind of meal you know?!

I love finding new ways to use chicken and I think I’ll add this to our regular menu.  What’s the last recipe you made from the back of a food product?

Thanks Ollie for sharing your food with us!!

Well, these Halloween Black Cat Cookies are FAR from perfect but they were definitely a LOT of fun to make!   They are a little time consuming but it’s something that you should plan to spend an entire morning or day doing.  And I recommend that you make a plan, read all the directions first, and lay out all the tips, bags, colors (supplies) you’ll need.  You can all the hot seasonal Wilton items at Walmart and back in the arts & craft section, they have all the Wilton icings and tools.

When buying Wilton products, there are always instructions and tips on the back of the product.  Read them twice.

I bought my sugar cookie dough this round because the week has been hectic but you can make your own dough, which I recommend.  I rolled it out and cut out the cats.

Because these were going to be black cats with orange outline, I made my orange icing first.  I outlined each cat, using orange buttercream icing.  I’m not actually even sure if using regular buttercream was the correct icing to use to be honest but that’s what I did.

(Also, I apologize for the HORRIBLE photos. My camera is in my car and my son took it today so I was stuck with a really crappy one!)

Royal icing is fun.  It’s liquid like and falls into place for the most part.  I’ll include the recipe for that below.  Obviously I used Wilton’s Black dye for the icing.   It’s as simple as confectioners sugar, meringue powder, and water.

I dyed it, thinned it, and poured into a bag.  I snipped the end and let it flow out.  This can be messy so be careful.  My biggest tip for you is to start with a little amount in the middle and spread out using a toothpick, otherwise, you chance it spilling over. I know this ’cause I did this.

After that, I let dry and then I ‘decorated’ the cat by putting eyes and mouth.  I used white icing for eyes, tiny amount of the black royal black icing for center of eyes, and the orange buttercream for the mouth.    It ain’t pretty but I think I did alright and I know Truett will think they are super cool!!!

While I had hoped they’d look a little spookier, they’ll do.  They actually look pretty happy. LOL  I placed in a Wilton treat box and completed the Halloween Black Cat Cookies! If you want more Halloween treat ideas, check out some of my other posts.

ROYAL ICING (from Wilton)

Disclosure: I am an official Walmart Mom. Follow me and my fellow Walmart Moms as we share our experiences and ideas! Walmart has provided me with compensation in return for my time & efforts to create this post. My participation in this program is voluntary and my opinions are my own, always have been, always will be.

My husband is a pretty great fella.  He’s always done more than what I think most husbands do and cooking is no exception.  He loves to cook breakfast for us and he loves to make his beans in the slow cooker.   We cook beans and tortillas quite often because it’s a filler and it’s cheap.   We use simple and few ingredients but it always turns out tasty.

You know, my husband taught me to cook a lot of things.  I was 16 when we first married and while I picked up a few things from my Mom, Grandma, and Mother-in-Law, it was my husband that helped me learn the basics.   Then next thing you know, we were working for a big ol’ ranch where I had to cook for 15-50 people!  My husband has always made our beans though. I’ve never had the touch I guess because mine always come out completely tasteless.  In fact, this is the first time he shared how he made them, which was super easy!   With the cooler days approaching, this will definitely warm the tummy!

We mashed ours the other day to make refried beans to serve with our Barbacoa.  They were the best refried beans I’ve ever had!

How do you make your beans?

In honor of National Hispanic Month, I decided to make Barbacoa.   When I googled some Barbacoa recipes, I noticed that almost of them used butt roast but that isn’t how we make it.   We use Cacheta de Res, aka, Beef Cheeks and this is the only way I’ve known how to make it.  And in actuality, we make Barbacoa de Cabeza (a cow head) and make barbacoa out of that but for this, we are just using the beef cheeks.

Before I get to the very easy barbacoa recipe, I thought I’d share with you a tidbit about us.  My real dad’s side of the family is Mexican, which makes me half.   My husband and his family is Spanish.  They all speak Spanish, sing Spanish, and often talk in Spanish when together.  My kids who very much look white, call themselves Hispanic because that’s what they are and how we live.   I’ve always considered myself Mexican because 1) you’re supposed to go by your Dad and 2) I just feel it.

We cook Mexican food all the time with homemade tortillas being a staple around here.  We haven’t had homemade barbacoa in a long time so I thought the timing was perfect for it.  One of the things I love about our Walmart is that I can find those unique cuts that I need, in this case, cacheta de res (beef cheeks).  They also carry other parts of the beef head like tongue which we would have also put in this but they were sold out.

Barbacoa is probably one of the easiest foods to make.  While many might dress it up, we prefer an original, plain version.

So if you want to be truly Authentic with this, buy a cow head and cook it in the ground, shred all the cheeks, tongue, eyes, etc and you’ll have barbacoa.  We think is easier and for me, slightly more appealing than the other…….

Have you ever tried Barbacoa? 

Disclosure: I am an official Walmart Mom. Follow me and my fellow Walmart Moms as we share our experiences and ideas! Walmart has provided me with compensation in return for my time & efforts to create this post. My participation in this program is voluntary and my opinions are my own, always have been, always will be.

Oh man, making a car themed cake was more of a task than I thought but I have narrowed my issues down to a couple of things that I’ll get to a little later.  Truett turned 5 years old today and all I could think about was when my two oldest were that age…and how grown they are now.  That means time will fly by again and Truett will be a Senior in no time.

Anyhoo, I decided to make Truett a car themed cake.  And that was issue number 1.  I really didn’t plan ahead.  I was like, “ooohh, it will be fun to make Truett some kind of car cake”….the night before his birthday party.  I know, I’m a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants gal huh.  I quickly knew I couldn’t make a real car cake because I didn’t have the pan and I sure ain’t talented enough to carve one out of layers of cake.  I had seen a track done before using a number 5 so I went that route. I found my big Wilton cake pan and used it,  12x18x2 I believe.  I gathered all the supplies and began.

(You can click on the photos to make them bigger if you like)

SUPPLIES

• Wilton’s Cake Pan, measuring 12 x 18 x 2
• Wilton’s Grass Tip #233 with icing bag
• Wilton’s Ready-Made Fondant and/or make your own (marshmallows and powdered sugar)
• Wilton’s Icing Colors
• Wilton’s Ready-to-Use Decorator Icing (the big bucket did all the grass and iced the whole cake)
• 3 cake mixes
• and I forget to add things here, I’ll list them throughout the post!

First, I used the pan insert to make a ’5′ template since it was the exact size of the pan obviously, then cut it out.  I laid it on the cake to make sure it looked good.  I mixed all three cake mixes just like the directions said and baked the cake.  One cake mix equals about 4-6 cups of batter.  This pan uses 14 cups of batter which is how I got the 3.

I cooled the cake, iced it with the decorator icing, and put it in the fridge overnight.

It was now time to make the fondant for the track.  Oy.  The last two times I was suppposed to attend Wilton events, I had other personal things going on so I missed out on the fondant learning experience.   Since I know my good friend Cat is awesome at making anything, I seeked out her video on how to make marshmallow fondant.

I greased up my bowl, surface, and spatula.  I melted my marshmallows (160z bag) and put in my icing color, which is issue #2 came into effect.  I had no idea how hard it would be to make black colored fondant.  GRRRRRR!  I didn’t want to add too much because I didn’t want a bitter taste.  Had I planned ahead, I could have searched for this and the best way to get it black but since I didn’t, I went with the flow. I added some black, brown, and a tiny bit of royal blue.  The longer it set, the more dark grey (pavement like) color it got.

I kneaded it and rolled it out.  I laid my template on it and cut the 5 out.

To get the 5 on the cake without it tearing, I gently folded it in half, picked it up, and placed it on the cake.

I used the yellow ready-to-use fondant for the road.  I just rolled it out and used a pizza cutter to make the strips, placing them down the road.

Now, had I been able to make a true black, I would have done the sides with a black and white checkboard effect but since I couldn’t, I decided to do it all in green grass.  Simple fix yes?  I did this pretty sloppy I reckon but I was ready to be done.  I colored what icing I had left in my bucket with Wilton’s Kelly Green Icing Color.  It darkened over time as well.  I placed it in my bag and used tip #233.

I was able to do 3 sides of the cake with green grass before running out of icing so I just hid the other side!! LOL  And this is the final product!  I placed 5 cars along the road with a candle on each car.  I used Cat’s other tip about melting the bottom of the candle just enough for it to stick to the car.  This was a great tip since it doesn’t hurt the car at all!   We lit the candles and made a wish!!

It’s not perfect but like my facebook friend Kassie said, “anything made with Love is perfect”…….

Thank you Wilton for teaching me all that I do know because while this and I’m sure any cakes I do are a challenge, it’s fun to see the end result and make something for my kids, from my heart.