Mac-n-Cheese Movie Bowls

These are a cute idea that my daughter and I used to do when we lived with my Parents.

Sure, now I am anti food in the bedroom, but back then, living in a 4 bedroom house, with 7 people and a dog - it didnt seem to bother me so much if it meant time away with my little one :-)

This makes enough for about 4-6 depending on the serving size!

1 box Kraft Mac-n-Cheese (prepare according to box)
Crinkle Cut Fries - about 6 fries per person
1 lb ground beef seasoned for hamburgers minus the bread crumbs and egg. (I like to use Turkey)

Hamburger toppings
*Pickles
*Ketchup
*Mustard
*Tomatoes
*Onions

Cook Mac-n-cheese as directed.

Season ground meat for burgers, cook fully in skillet, crumble.

Serve as directed-

Portion the mac-n-cheese and meat so that there are two parts mac, and one part beef.

Let the kids get creative and add the toppings to the bowl that they would add on their burger.

Seriously, you think Mustard would be nasty on Mac-n-cheese, but when you add the meat and seasonings, its really yummy!

I don't recommend lettuce as it will wilt with the heat!!

Also, you can always sub the fries for a salad!

- Patty
The All-in-One Parent

Pizza Buns

Yummy!!! Just made these, and as you can see, they cvame out GREAT!!

1 8 ct. container of Buttermilk Biscuits
32 pieces Pepperoni
8 1" sq. Mozzarella Cheese (thickness depends on how cheese you want them!)

Flatten Biscuits till they are twice as wide. stack in the center, two pepperoni, 1 piece of cheese, and two more pieces of pepperoni.
fold the biscuits to close to center.

Spray a cupcake tin with non stick spray, and place buns with the closure down.

At this point, my lo decided it would be cute to add a tiny piece of cheese on top of the buns!!

Bake at 350* for 10-12 minutes or until Golden Brown on top.

You can eat these plain, or with dipping sauces!

This should make enough for four people, two a piece, for a snack.

- Patty
The All-in-One Parent on FaceBook

Baked Doughnuts

I got a doughnut pan for a Wedding Gift, and I lost the recipe!!

Well, I found it!!!

I also found where someone uses this recipe in mini muffin tins to make home made doughnut holes!

This is the Wilton Baked Doughnut Recipe

2 cups cake flour, sifted 
¾ cup granulated sugar 
2 tsp. baking powder 
¼ tsp. ground nutmeg 
1 tsp. salt 
¾ cup buttermilk 
2 eggs, lightly beaten 
2 tbsp. butter, melted 


Preheat oven to 425*F. Spray doughnut pan with nonstick cooking spray. 

In a large mixing bowl, sift together cake flour, sugar, baking powder, nutmeg and salt. Add buttermilk, eggs and butter. Beat until just combined. Fill each doughnut cup approx. 2/3 full. 


Bake 7-9 minutes or until the top of the doughnuts spring back when touched. 

Let cool in pan for 4-5 minutes before removing. Finish doughnut with chocolate glaze, cinnamon sugar or confectioners’ sugar. Doughnuts are best served fresh. 

- Patty
The All-in-One Parent on FaceBook

Party Potato Wedges

This is also great for a side dish! But a hit at a party!

4 Idaho potatoes, cleaned, and wedges into 6
Vegetable Oil
Lawry's Seasoning Salt

Clean Potatoes, but do not peel! Dry off, and cut into 6 wedges.
Place potatoes and 1 Tbsp. of oil in a gallon size Zip Lock bag.

Lay skin side down on a cookie sheet, and sprinkle with Lawry's Seasoning Salt.

Bake for 20 minutes at 400* of until fork tender.

- Patty
The All-in-One Parent on FaceBook

Oven Ranch Potatoes

I LOVE these potatoes!!! (The mix is great on Chicken as well!!)

8-10 Red Skin potatoes
1 packet of Hidden Valley Ranch Dip mix
1/4 Cup while All Purpose Flour
Olive Oil

Wash and dry the red skin potatoes. Cut into wedges that around about 2 bite size, place in a bowl.

Mix Ranch Dip mix, and flour in a gallon size zip lock bag.

Drizzle potatoes LIGHTLY with Olive Oil and mix in the bowl to coat well. Put potatoes in zip lock bag and shake (do this in two batches).

Put potatoes in a 9" x 13" Glass baking dish, and bake at 375* for 45 minutes or until fork tender.

- Patty
The All-in-One Parent on FaceBook

Lemon Garlic Italian Chicken - oven

This is my go-to recipe when I have no idea what to make for dinner!! Pairs great with Oven Potatoes, and salad!

3 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast, filleted in half
1 cup Italian Salad Dressing
1 tsp Garlic Powder
2 Tbsp. Lemon Juice
Dried Parsley

Filet chicken and lay in a 9" x 13" glass baking dish.

Mix together the salad dressing, lemon juice, and garlic powder. Pour over chicken. Lightly sprinkle with parsley, and bake at 350* for 35-45 minutes.

- Patty
The All-in-One Parent on FaceBook

Mock Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls (bread machine)

This is the recipe I used to make Cinnamon Rolls and Cinnamon twist for my family this morning, and it was a hit!!!
Next time I will add a tad more Brown Sugar to the filling, as they weren't as sweet as I expected.

Dough -

1 cup warm milk (110* F)
2 eggs
1/3 Cup margarine, melted
4 1/2 Cups All purpose Flour
1 tsp. salt
2/3 Cup white sugar
3 tsp Rapid Rise Yeast


Filling -

1 cup packed Brown Sugar (I will add 1/4c more next time)
3 Tbsp. ground Cinnamon
1/3 Cup butter, softened

Icing -

3 oz. Cream Cheese, softened
1/4 cup of Butter softened
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract

Place dough ingredients into bread machine in order recommended by manufacturer. Select Dough cycle and start.

After dough is together, and has doubled in size, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and let rest for 10 minutes.

Mix together the filling mixture, set aside.

Roll out dough to a 1/8" - 1/4" thickness.

For Twist -

Trim sides down to an even edge. Spread filling over dough, and fold in half putting the two long edges together.

Cut into 3/4" strips, and twist, pulling slightly as you twist. Lay into a greased and floured baking pan.

Let rise for 30 minutes, or until dough is doubled.

Bake at 350 for 15-18 minutes

Use a rubber spatula to spread on icing as soon as you take these out of the oven!


For Cinnamon Rolls -

Trim the short sides so that the dough is fairly even - don't cut too much off.

Spread the filling evenly, reaching to the sides as far as possible, but keeping a 1/2" margin clean on one of the long sides.

Roll the dough starting at the long side without the clean edge, and roll to the clean edge.

Grease and flour a 9" x 13" baking pan.

Cut 1/2" - 3/4" rolls, and place them in the pan with sides barely touching.

Let rise for 30 minutes, or until rolls are doubled.

Preheat Oven to 400* F (200* C).

Bake Rolls for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Use a rubber spatula to spread on icing as soon as you take these rolls out of the oven!


- Patty
The All-in-One Parent on FaceBook

Crock Pot Pork Loin

I made this for my family the other day, and it was "OMG Good"!!!

3 lb. Pork Loin
4-5 Potatoes

Rub -

3 Tbsp. Italian Seasoning
2 Tbsp. Dried Parsley
2 tsp. McCormick Tomato Basil Seasoning
1 1/2 tsp. Mrs. Dash Lemon Pepper Seasoning
1 1/2 tsp. Garlic Powder
1 1/2 tsp. Salt
2 pkts. Sassoné Red (in the Spanish Food isle)


Put all rub ingredients in a gallon size zip lock bag, shake to mix.
Cut Pork loin in half, and place in zip lock bag, shake till well coated.
Refrigerate for 12-24 hours.

Day of -

Peel potatoes and cut long ways, then cut into 1/2" - 3/4" slices. Arrange slices on the bottom of the crock pot, add about 1/2" of water.

Lay Pork Loin on top of the potatoes so that the pork DOES NOT touch the bottom of the pot, or the sides (if possible).

Cover, and cook on low 4-6* hours.

Remove pork loin and potatoes from the crock pot.

Optional -
Make a roux with Butter and Flour and use the drippings from the crock pot to make a gravy for the potatoes.

I served this with nice big steamed Broccoli florets, and my family loved it!!

*cooking time will depend on the heat levels of your crock pot.

- Patty
The All-in-One Parent on FaceBook

Crock Pot Easy Potato and Ground Turkey Casserole

My Aunt used to make this in the oven all the time, but she would use ground beef. I used ground Turkey this last time, and it came out really yummy!! So I wanted to share the recipe!

Ingredients

6-8 Rustic Potatoes, peeled, and slicked into 1/4"-1/2" slices
1 lb ground Turkey, cooked, drained, crumbled
1 - 12oz bag frozen corn (canned corn works fine as well)
1 envelope Lipton Beefy Onion Soup Mix


Directions

Cook and drain the Turkey.

Mix the soup with 4 Cups of boiling hot water (I use hot water from the tap! works just fine!), set aside.

Peel the potatoes and slice them once you are ready to start the crock pot.

Begin layering the ingredients in even amounts until the potatoes are all gone.

Start with the Potatoes on the bottom, then do some turkey, and some corn. Another layer of potatoes, and another layer of turkey and corn. Keep in mind, you dont want to cover the potatoes, just sprinkle about 1/4 - 1/3 of the meat and corn on each layer.

Once all the layers are finished, pour the onion soup mix on top. At this point you can add salt and/or pepper.

Cover and turn on low - cook 6-7 hours until potatoes are fork tender, and starting to brown in color on top.

Hope you enjoy this!!!

- Patty
The All-in-One Parent on FaceBook

"Chicken in a hurry"

as the Girls say - it doesn't cook in a hurry, but you can prepare it in a hurry.
I WILL be making these with the slow cooker Cheddar Mac!

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 - 3 Pounds of chicken drumsticks
• 1/2 Cup of ketchup

• 1/4 Cup of water

• 1/4 Cup of brown sugar, packed
• 1 envelope onion soup mix

Directions

1. Step One

   Arrange chicken in slow cooker.

2. Step Two

   Combine remaining ingredients and then pour over the chicken.

3. Step Three

   Cover and cook on HIGH for 4–5 hours or on LOW for 7–8 hours.
   
   via
   crockingirls.com
   
   - Patty
   The All-in-One Parent on FaceBook

Crock Pot Cheddar Mac

Ingredients

• 1 (16-ounce) Package of Macaroni
• 2 Cups of Half and Half
• 1 Can of Cheese Soup
• 1/2 Cup of Butter, melted
• 4 Cups of Shredded Cheddar Cheese

Directions

1. Step One

   Cook pasta according to package directions and drain.

2. Step Two

   Combine pasta with remaining ingredients and place into 6-quart slow cooker.

3. Step Three

   Cover and cook on LOW for 2–2 1/2 hours.
   
   via
   crockingirls.com
   
   - Patty
   The All-in-One Parent on FaceBook

Crock Pot Meals - to Freeze, or not to freeze?

I keep coming across all these links on the web for crock pot meals you can freeze.

Sounds great to me! But, I guess if I had to pick, I would take 20 minutes before each meal, rather than 5 hours to fill my freezer with bags of food for my crock pot.

BUT, with that being said - I have my reasons.

I've never cooked frozen fresh potatoes, tomatoes, etc There are some foods I just cant imagine eating after freezing - even if I have bought them from the store frozen, I am always worried I will prep them wrong, and they will come out bad.

So, whats your take on it?

At any rate, I'm going to add some recipes I have collected from the web for Crock pot meals - frozen or fresh!

I hope you all enjoy them!

-Patty H.
The All-in-One Parent on FaceBook

Stay At Home Moms and Dads, Intro

Its not 1950 anymore, and things have changed, a lot!!

Mom's aren't the only ones staying home with the kids anymore! And not all households have a Mommy! Times have changed, and so have us SAHPs!

I remember spending a lot of time at my Grandma & Papa's home. He worked, and she stayed at home. She did the cooking, the cleaning, the washing, and the shopping - My Papa did the working, and the household repairs.

In my home - my Mom & Dad both worked, we didn't spend much time with them. When my Dad became disabled, he did everything - cooking, cleaning, laundry, etc.

On a personal note - I remember my dad always being quite angry, and vocal about it, but when he couldn't work anymore, and became the SAHP, he became even more angry. I am sure he felt emasculated. He wasn't bringing home the "bacon" anymore, and he was doing the woman's work.

I remember thinking, I never want to do that. I never want to make my man feel less than how my Grandma made my Papa feel. But now I realize, it isn't about the man and the woman, its about the roles each plays, and its about each of them feeling satisfied in their roles.

If the man works and the woman stays at home - is he happy leaving the kids behind for work everyday to provide for them? If so, great! Is he able to set time aside on his days off to bond with them? Is the Mom happy spending her time cooking, cleaning, carpooling, and checking homework? If so, great! That's all that matters! And if the roles are reversed, and the Dad is at home, and the Mom is working, great! So long as they are both happy in the role! And if the two parent home is a same-sex couple, as long as each parent is happy in the role they are playing, that is ALL THAT MATTERS!!!!

Remember - even if we don't vocalize how we feel inside, the kids know when something is up!

So, that's what this blog and page are about.
Its about sharing tips about how to handle the household - be it a man or a woman doing the house duties. Cleaning, cooking, laundry, time management - learning to master all these things are what makes the home run smoothly. And even when we do master these things, there is no guarantee that the house will run smooth.

So, here I will share links I found, recipes I have tried, ideas I like to use, and things I would LIKE to TRY and see if they work.

I encourage you to do the same!!

Check out the link to my brand new FaceBook page below

www.facebook.com/SAHMandD

-Patty H.