This past week we had a large group in for a family wedding.  I took a night on the dinner schedule & had to feed 2o people. This was no prob with this quick recipe for smothered burritos that is always a crowd fav!

What You’ll  need:

1.5 lbs of ground beef

1 chopped onion

1-2 packages of tortillas

1 large can Re-fried beans

1 can sliced olives

1large can pork green chili

1lbs shredded cheddar cheese divided

How To:

Brown & drain beef, add onion & heat through (my hubby adds taco seasoning to his ground beef, but I just s&p) add beans to beef & stir until mixed. Fill shells with meat mix & half of the cheese. Place in pan & top with green chili, remaining meat, & olives

Place in 425 degree oven covered for about 20 min, then uncover & let drown. I like them when they are a little crisp on the edges but be careful not to toast the bottoms or they will be hard to cut.

Top with sour cream, lettuce &  tomato for a supreme burrito!

These are great on a week night or game day! I usually just serve with chips & guacamole, & maybe a salad because they are so filling.

*Try doubling the recipe, making  pan through the stages but don’t bake it freeze it & it will be ready to pull out and bake on a night when you are short on time.

I love a home cooked meal & for me that sometimes means from a dutch oven in a pit covered in coals. Some of the best meals I have ever eaten were made in a cast iron pots miles from civilization.  So when I found this cool site on all things dutch I had to share it. http://www.dutchovencookware.com/dutch-oven-recipes.html

Dutch oven cooking can be done at home or in the back woods & has been around for hundreds of years. It is not as hard as it looks & trust me you have not lived until you have had peach cobbler ala dutch!

-Keep Cooking

Fall is in the air and that means I am aching to spend more time in the kitchen. Something about a windy chilly fall day gives me permission to retreat to the house for some baking or canning.

One of my favorite recipes to make & share in early fall is pumpkin butter. This thick inviting butter is like pumpkin pie in a jar!I make a batch & take it to my neighbors each year to signify that fall has arrived and it’s time to go inside, get cozy, & let the aroma of fall fill your kitchens and warm your tummies.

Oh did I mention that this is super easy to make & EVERYONE loves it?

INGREDIENTS

• 1 (29 ounce) can pumpkin puree
• 3/4 cup apple juice
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

DIRECTIONS

During the summer my guys love to sleep in & then start their day with a big breakfast.Now that we are back at school I don’t want them to miss out on the big breakfast that starts their day off right, but we don’t have the kind of time it takes to leisurely make a large 1st meal either.

So to solve this problem I have a few tricks that have made sure my guys get a great healthy hearty start to their day & I don’t have to get up at 5 am to do it.

*Plan ahead!

I make up a menu at the beginning of the week & post it on the fridge so that my family knows what’s available to choose from. I don’t assign a day to each meal-we aren’t that scheduled & the lack of choice never has worked with my boys. But this takes the Uhhh what’s for breakfast today, that usually leads to  coffee & a donut.

*Make ahead

Protein is the most important part of a healthy breakfast & often times the most time consuming. So I buy sausage or bacon & cook it all on Monday so it is ready to go for the week. You can also do this with eggs & taters. One of our favs is breakfast burritos, you can make a mess of them & freeze or refrigerate them for later. They are easy & can be grab & go too.

I alos cut fruit ahead of time for wasy grab & go!

*Forzen if from your toater is still homemade!

That’s right! I do frozen waffles or you can make your own on Sunday & save some to freeze and toast later if you prefer. But this is quick, easy & still hot & ready to go with out the mess of waffle or pancake prep to worry about. I also do biscuits this way & my guys eat em up!

*Enjoy

By taking as much work out of breakfast as you can you know have a few minutes to sit with your kids. Often schedules are so crazy this might be the only time you see each other today, so take advantage of it. Feed yourself & sit down to a hot, home cooked meal with your kids! You will be amazed  how this helps your day get off on the right foot too.