Stovetop Chili in a Hurry

Hello all!  Kristin has had to hold the fort while I've been busy the past week or two.  Tonight though, I thought I'd take a break from photography and lesson plans to share a super simple and fast chili recipe.

*This is my go-to recipe.  I try to always have the ingredients for this chili in my cabinet.

Ingredients:

-1 lb ground meat [I used lean ground beef]

-1 6 oz can of tomato paste [I don't always add this...]

-1 can of diced tomatoes [or 1 diced tomato]

-1 15 oz can of:  black beans, light red kidney beans, dark red kidney beans [or whatever beans you like]

-1 small diced onion

-1 diced green pepper

-1 packet of chili seasoning

Brown the meat in a large pot with the onions.  Drain and add all of the other ingredients [do not drain the cans, use the liquid to help your chili].  I also add about 6 oz of water using the tomato paste can.  Stir and bring to a boil.  Once it's boiling, cover and let simmer for about 20-30 minutes.  During this time, I make bread.  I'm also going to share an amazing bread seasoning recipe.

Buy a french loaf [dough], I usually use Pillsbury.  Place on a stone or non-stick cooking sheet and cut every 2 inches.  In a small bowl, mix together 1 egg white, 1 minced garlic clove [or 1 tsp of minced garlic in a jar], and about a tbsp of a seasoning you like [unless you want it to be garlic bread].  I use Pampered Chef Crushed Peppercorn and Garlic.  Brush onto the bread and especially get those pieces of garlic into the cuts!  Bake, and then everything should be ready to eat!  [AFTER IT COOLS!  Man oh man will that chili be hot!]

Enjoy!

Easy Sweet Potato Chips

It's a double feature! I didn't post last week, so I am sharing two posts today!

This is such a simple snack. We love sweet potato chips!

Ingredients:

Butter or Olive Oil
Salt
1 Sweet Potato.

Peel and slice your sweet potato into 1/4 inch disks. I used a cooking mandolin to slice mine really quickly. If you are handy with a knife, you definitely don't need one to make this recipe work--I just find it really simple to use!

Lay sweet potato slices on a cookie sheet. Brush with butter or oil. Sprinkle on salt. Bake about 10 minutes at 400 degrees. Use spatula to flip potatoes over. Brush this side with butter or oil and sprinkle with salt. Bake at 10 minute increments until chips are browned.

It's ok if some of them are a little black! They still taste great!

Serve with ketchup!

We enjoyed them salty this time. Next time I'd like to try sprinkling them with cinnamon sugar and drizzling them with honey!

Gluten Free Granola Bars

Hello, everyone! As I continue to experiment with and learn about gluten-free options, I have realized that being gluten-free is not easy. Since this blog is about two friends learning about life and finding ways to make growing up (no matter your age!) easier, I've debated sharing my gluten-free struggles/recipes. These types of things are a bit more complicated than crock pot dinners and DIY necklace stands. However, if like me, you are struggling with dietary issues, then maybe a post just for you can help make YOUR journey through life simpler.

With that in mind, I bring you--GLUTEN FREE GRANOLA BARS.  A friend shared this recipe with me and it has made breakfast a simple morning pit stop, rather than a huge ordeal.  I have a kitchen-aid mixer (thanks, Grandma!) and whipped these bars up really quick, thanks to that handy thing!


Ingredients:
1/2 c. butter
1/4 c. honey
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
2  1/2 c. oats
1/2c.  rice krispies
1/4 c. coconut
1/2 c. choc. chips (or other add ins)

Steps one and two: Cream butter, honey, brown sugar, and salt. Then mix in oats, rice krispies, coconut, and chocolate chips.

I went to Whole Foods where my great friend, Brandon, helped me find everything I needed to make these bars. The only ingredients I already had were butter and salt. My ingredients totaled $30.00. "What? That's so expensive!", you may be saying. However, most organic granola bars are about $6.00/6 pack. These ingredients yielded 12 bars in this batch, and I have enough of everything leftover to make about 5 more batches (I'll have to supplement oats @ $1.00/lb.) That's 60 bars for $35.00, as opposed to 60 for $60.00. Don't forget--you could use coupons or buy in bulk. Also, these are gluten free, organic, and fair trade! Good for your wallet, your body, and the world!

Steps three-seven: Mix well. Press into a 9x13 pan. Bake at 325 for 18 minutes. Let cool about 10 minutes and cut into bars. Let cool completely in pan.

Tip: I did not use a 9x13 pan and that increased my cooking time. Look for your oats to be well browned and easy to cut. If they are really falling apart when you try to cut them into bars, they have not cooked long enough. 

These are the raw, pressed oats. Make sure they are very brown before removing them from the oven!

Remove and enjoy!

Easy as [mini] Pie | Mini Ham Pie Recipe

I [Ashley] am supposed to post during the first half of the week, but it has been one of those crazy weeks as a teacher and photographer, so I'm just happy that I'm posting at all this week!  I have a wedding to shoot tomorrow, so I might not be heard from for a week or 2 ;).  Tonight I'm sharing a super easy recipe that only has 4 ingredients.  I found a recipe like this on Pinterest here, and it was SO easy.

Ingredients:
1 tbsp Butter
1 uncooked pie crust
5 pieces of deli ham
1 cup shredded cheese [I used cheddar]

First, chop the ham into tiny pieces and mix with cheese in a bowl.  Then, use a biscuit cutter to cut the crust into circles.  Put a spoonful of ham and cheese onto each mini pie.

Fold over the crust and pinch the edges closed.  Melt the butter, and spread it over the top of each pie.  Follow the pie crust's baking directions.  Mine cooked at 450 for 15 minutes.

Enjoy with some green beans and mashed potatoes, or be weird like me and eat them with spinach and grapes ;).

Gluten-free Chocolate Chip Cookies

Happy Saturday, everyone! I'm taking a break from rearranging our furniture (why I can't I just chill on Saturdays like a normal person?) to tell you about some awesome cookies. The recipe only has a few ingredients...and the best part is: they are gluten-FREE! I haven't been feeling well lately (and by lately I mean in a long time). I decided to cut back on gluten and see what happens. So far I am feeling much better!

For me, one of the hardest things about cutting out gluten is missing out on so many desserts! These cookies were so delicious. I just have to keep them on hand all the time now. You can find the original recipe here.

Ingredients:
1 cup creamy peanut butter
3/4 cup sugar (I only used about 1/2 cup.)
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips (I chopped up a fair trade chocolate bar.)

Baking Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix everything except chocolate together until well blended.
Stir in chocolate chips.

Drop dough balls onto cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. I don't like how fat PB cookies stay if you don't smash them down, so during this part of the recipe I used a fork to cross hatch my cookies.

Bake for 12 to 14 minutes.

Cool, eat, enjoy.

Baked Turkey Tacos

Difficulty Level: Easy Peasy

Ingredients:

1-2 lbs ground turkey [or lean beef...but then I guess they wouldn't be "turkey tacos"]

1 cup shredded cheese

1 taco seasoning packet [I use low sodium]

1 can Rotel diced tomatoes and chilies

1 can refried beans [I use vegetarian]

12-18 hard taco shells [1 box]

Cook meat.  Add beans, seasoning, Rotel, 1/3 cup of cheese.  Arrange shells in a baking dish [which is harder than I thought!]  Spoon in mixture and top with cheese.  Bake in a 400˚ oven for 10 minutes [or until cheese is melted] and ENJOY! Top with whatever you like to have on your tacos [tomatoes, sauce, lettuce, etc.]

They were super easy to eat, without the normal breakage and spilling of hard shell tacos PLUS super delicious!

DIY | Organizing Personal Files

I think that I might be obsessed with Pinterest.  And although most of my pins sit there unclicked, sometimes I go all out and decide to go through with the ideas I find on the site.  The lasagna recipe was one that I found using Pinterest, and I LOVE finding lesson plans on there.  I recently found some organizing inspiration that took me to The Weekend Organizer.   She has some seriously amazing information about personal files, how long to keep them, how to organize them, and what's important or not.  As a newbie to the "real world," I've never had to keep up with important documents like  a lease, contracts, warranties, insurance information, marriage certificate, birth certificates [you get the point].  I have honestly not been very good at keeping these extremely important documents organized...I'm ashamed to admit that they have been tossed in the top drawer of my filing cabinet without a real home.  The Weekend Organizer uses a great color coded filing system using special hanging files that allow you to see your file folders.  It's so much easier to just make a new file folder than a new tab on a hanging folder.  I loved that idea, but I couldn't find the special "top rail" folders in a store, so when I got home I decided to shorten my hanging folders so that I could see my file tabs.  My first step was honestly not making the folders...my first step was going through my entire filing cabinet and organizing my documents by category.  I ended up with an entire trash bag of old and outdated files for shredding.  After that, I created my folders with the tabs labels, and THEN I could start the fun part! [making the new, shorter hanging folders]

First, you need to fold the hanging file inside out, and then use the lines on bottom to help you fold it out.  I folded mine out by 2 lines on each side on the bottom.

I will look like the file on the right.  Then, tape the bottom, and insert your folders!

You're done!

[Ps...my cute file holder is from Target, about 2 years ago!]

Pps...I did a whole "apartment storage ideas" post on my other blog HERE if you want to creep my house :)]

Ppps haha...I know that some of this should be in a safe...and some of it is.  I need a bigger fire-proof safe!