17 Aug
These are fun, colorful and a healthy way to do dinner!
Ingredients:
Bell Peppers (any color)
Ground Beef (browned)
1 Can Pinto Beans or Black Beans
1 Can Corn
Shredded Cheese
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.
Cut the tops off the bell peppers and then slice into halves and scoop out seeds. Fill with browned beef first, add the beans and corn, top with shredded cheese. Place on baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Serve with salsa and sour cream.
15 Aug
This recipe is fabulous. A little pasta, a little pizza flavor. You can’t beat that!
Serving size: 6
Ingredients:
1 Package Spiral Noodles
1 lb. Ground Beef
2 Cans Tomato Sauce
Oregano
1 Cup Mushrooms (optional)
1-2 Cups Pepperoni
2 Cups Shredded Cheese (Mozzarella, or Italian Cheese Blend)
Directions:
Preparation: Boil noodles until tender. Brown ground beef. Grease baking dish and preheat oven to 375.
Layering: Layer pasta in baking dish using half of the ingredients in the first layer and the other half in the second layer: Pasta, tomato sauce, oregano, ground beef, mushrooms, pepperoni, cheese. Repeat for second layer leaving cheese off top layer while baking. (*Tip: Make sure tomato sauce coats noodles well to prevent drying out while baking.)
Baking: Cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes. Take out of the oven and add second layer of cheese to the top. Place back in oven and bake an additional 5 minutes until cheese is melted.
Serving: Allow to cool for about 5 minutes. Spoon into bowls or onto plates. Add some Ranch dressing and Parmesan cheese for extra flavor! Serve with salad or another green vegetable of your choice, and of course, with garlic bread.
Save the leftovers!
10 Aug
This meatloaf is super easy to make and has a sweet flavor that compliments the meat very nicely.
Ingredients:
1 lb. Ground Beef
1 Egg
1/2 Cup Milk
1 Cup Crushed Saltine Crackers
Onion Powder
Pepper
1 Cup Brown Sugar
Ketchup
Directions:
Place meat in large mixing bowl. Add egg, milk and crushed crackers and mix with wooden spoon (or clean hands). Add pepper and onion powder. Grease baking dish and spread ketchup on bottom of pan followed by a layer of brown sugar. Place prepared meatloaf on top of the ketchup/brown sugar mixture. Add a little more ketchup and sprinkle brown sugar on top. Bake at 400 for 1 hour.
11 Jul
Choosing a name for your child can be a tough decision process. Before we found out it was a girl, we had several boy names picked out but only a couple of girl names. We looked at lots of names and narrowed the list down eventually. We chose the one that we loved from the beginning and both easily agreed on. It is:
Brylee AnnMarie Schubert
This name has a lot of family significance.
3 Jul
These are a sweet treat and a great way to use those very ripe bananas! This recipe came from: http://www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com/
Ingredients:
Banana Bread Bars:
1-1/2 c. sugar
1 c. sour cream
1/2 c. butter, softened
2 eggs
1-3/4 (3 or 4) ripe bananas, mashed
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 c. all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 c. chopped walnuts (optional)
Brown Butter Frosting:
1/2 c. butter
4 c. powdered sugar
1-1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
3 tbsp. milk
Directions:
1. Heat oven to 375F. Grease and flour 15×10-inch jelly roll pan. For the bars, in a large bowl, beat together sugar, sour cream, butter, and eggs until creamy. Blend in bananas andvanilla extract. Add flour, baking soda, salt, and blend for 1 minute. Stir in walnuts.
2. Spread batter evenly into pan. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown.
3. Meanwhile, for frosting, heat butter in a large saucepan over medium heat until boiling. Let the butter turn a delicate brown and remove from heat immediately.
4. Add powdered sugar, vanilla extract and milk. Whisk together until smooth (it should be thicker than a glaze but thinner than frosting). Using a spatula, spread the brown butter frosting over the warm bars (the frosting will be easier to spread while the bars are still warm).
Yield: 2 dozen large bars
3 Jul
Everyone will love this! It is part lasagna/part goulash. Most importantly, it is wonderful. Easy to make, very tasty and it makes great leftovers.
1 lb. hamburger
1 package macaroni noodles
1 large container cottage cheese
1 jar pasta sauce
1 package mozzarella cheese
Preheat oven to 375. Brown hamburger meat in skillet. Drain meat and add in cottage cheese and pasta sauce. Sprinkle in some seasonings (garlic salt, oregano, basil). Boil macaroni noodles in a separate pan until tender. Mix all these together and place in casserole dish. Bake for 30 minutes. Add cheese to the top and bake an additional 5 minutes. Broil for 1-2 more minutes to brown the cheese a bit.
Top with Parmesan cheese. Enjoy with garlic bread and a side salad!
Like I said, this also makes great leftovers for the next day or two. (Add a little Ranch dressing and Parmesan cheese if it is dry.)
21 May
This is the best chocolate chip cookie recipe! I won the cookie bake-off at work with this recipe.
Ingredients:
1 cup Crisco
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
¾ cup brown sugar
2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
Chocolate chips
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Mix Crisco, sugar and eggs with a spoon. Add brown sugar and mix again. Add flour and remaining ingredients and mix well (no blender, just a wooden spoon). Add in chocolate chips generously and give the dough a final stir. Roll dough into balls and place on cookie sheet. Bake for 8-9 minutes. Do not over bake (this is the key)! Enjoy with milk.
11 May
I submitted a story last month and was very excited to receive this e-mail today. I am thankful for this great opportunity to be published for the first time. Hopefully it will be the first of many to come! 🙂
Dear Ashley,
Your story “Finding My Running Shoes ” has made it to the final selection round for Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Power of Positive. Only a small percent of the submitted stories have made it this far. The vast majority of stories in this “last round” will appear in the book, but we do not make the final decisions until about a month before the publication date.
The on sale date is scheduled for October 23, 2012. You will receive $200.00 for each of your stories one month after publication of the book. You will receive ten free copies of the book for each of your published stories, and we usually send those to you prior to the on sale date.
30 Apr
I ran my first half-marathon and it was one of the best experiences of my life. It was a challenge, both physically and mentally, but all the hard work paid off in the end.
I realize that running is not the only way to gain confidence. It worked for me because I am the type of person who rises to a challenge, the bigger the better. Accomplishing a half-marathon showed me that anything I set my mind to, I can achieve. When I crossed that finish line all I could do was smile, after drinking a few cups of Gatorade, of course. I will never forget the feeling of accomplishment I got from achieving something I never thought possible. It was all because of positive words and a positive outlook. Getting over my big hurdle showed me that anything is possible if you believe. Truly, if you can dream it, you can achieve it.
3 Apr
At nine weeks, we decided to share our news with the world. Bronson and I discovered we were going to be parents two weeks earlier and were excited to share the news with family and friends first. After going to the doctor and seeing our ultrasound, we were overjoyed by the fact that by the end of year, we would have an addition to our family.
With excitement also comes a few scary thoughts, as to be expected. I’m sure all first-time parents feel that way at one point or another. The important thing is: we have each other, we have our families and most importantly, we have the strength and comfort of the Lord as we go through this journey.
Ashley Schubert 