Food Friday: Beer Bread and Oreo Dessert

Now that all of you are out of your food coma's from yesterday, you are probably ready for more food right? Well I hope so because both these recipes rock!

First up we have a recipe for beer bread. I know there are hundreds of beer bread recipes out there, but I thought I would share one that I know is good! This comes from a good friend's mother-in-law. I made it Sunday and it was awesome! (And ridiculously easy!)

Beer Bread

3 cups flour
4 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons sugar
1 can of beer
1 egg (beaten)

Mix dry ingredients together, then stir in can of beer. Pour into sprayed loaf pan. Pour beaten egg over bread mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for about 50 minutes. Let cool and enjoy. (I have heard that you can kind of taste the beer if you eat it warm, so I personally would let it cool!)

This next recipe is a super delicious, super healthy (said with sarcastic tone) dessert that always disappears in our family. My mom got this recipe from a co-worker several years ago and has made it for every family gathering since then. She has had a nephew almost disown her when she showed up without it! Live and learn and make this soon!

Oreo Dessert
mi Madre

1 package Oreos
1 8-ounce package cream cheese
1 stick butter
1 cup powdered sugar
2 3-ounce packages Instant Vanilla Pudding
3 cups milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
8 ounces Cool Whip

Cream together cream cheese and butter. Add one cup powdered sugar and mix. In a separate bowl, combine the pudding, milk, and vanilla. Beat until just combined or a little more. Add this to the powdered sugar mixture and stir just to combine. Fold in 8 ounces cool whip by hand.

Place 1/2 package crushed oreos in bottom half of 9x13 inch pan. Then pour in the mixture. Sprinkle other 1/2 package crushed oreos on top of the mixture. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Enjoy these recipes and enjoy (hopefully) your long weekend! Let the countdown to Christmas begin!

Things I Like Thursday

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!!

I hope you are all having a wonderful day with family and friends and lots of delicious food! We are in Colorado (don't worry I scheduled this post ahead of time) for the holiday's this year! Nick's mom and grandparents live in Loveland. We haven't spent a holiday with them in the 4 years that we have been together, so we decided to this year. I love Colorado, it is one of my favorite places! Hopefully I will have some pictures to share next week!


I do have a few things to show you today!


These Individual Pumpking Cream Pies from Remodelaholic look delicious!




Super cute Rock Snowman from Tools Are For Women Too!




Love these Faux Snowballs from Susie Harris!




Have a great day and don't forget to check back tomorrow for a couple of great recipes! I know, more food is just what you want to think about right now, I'm sure!

Food Friday: As Promised!

Since I got your hopes up for recipes last week and wasn't able to get them posted, I have 3 to share this week!

First up a easy and delicious recipe that will not only give you supper tonight, but one for the freezer as well! No extra work for a second meal? Sign me up!

Ground Beef Spiral Bake
Simple & Delicious

1 package (16 ounces) spiral pasta
2 pounds ground beef
2/3 cup chopped onion
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 jars (28 ounces each) spaghetti sauce
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
4 cups (16 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

Cook pasta according to package directions; drain. Meanwhile, in a Dutch oven, cook the beef, onion, and garlic over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in the spaghetti sauce, tomato paste, basil, and oregano. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 5-10 minutes.

Stir pasta into meat mixture. Transfer to two greased 9x13 inch baking dishes. Sprinkle each with 2 cups cheese. Cover and freeze one casserole for up to 3 months. Bake the second casserole, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until heated through.

To use frozen casserole: Thaw in the refrigerator overnight. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until heated through.

Yield: 2 casseroles (8-10 servings each)

I actually did remember to take a picture of this, before I baked it, unfortunately not after! :) Nick and I both really liked this recipe and will definitely be making it again!


Next up is a delicious Tilapia recipe. In fact, it is so delicious that I made it twice in one week's time!

Lemon Garlic Tilapia
All Recipes

4 tilapia fillets
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (I use bottled!)
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.

Rinse tilapia fillets under cool water, and pat dry with paper towels.

Place fillets in baking dish. Pour lemon juice over fillets, then drizzle butter on top. Sprinkle with garlic, parsley, and pepper.

Bake in preheated oven until the fish is white and flakes when pulled apart with a fork, about 30 minutes.


Finally, I have a super easy Bloody Mary recipe for you! I had a major craving for a bloody mary the other day and decided it was time I learn how to make them. There are thousands of recipes out there, so I thought I would make your life easy and share one that I tried!

Bloody Mary
All Recipes

1 1/2 ounces Vodka (I used Smirnoff No. 21)
3 ounces Bloody Mary mix (I used Zing Zang, found at Hy-Vee)
1 stalk celery (I prefer a pickle spear!)
1 pinch pepper
1 pinch salt

Fill glass with ice, pour in vodka and bloody mary mix; stir well and garnish with salt, pepper, and celery stalk (or pickle).

I tasted it after just adding these ingredients and it didn't quite suit me. I added about 2 tablespoons of pickle juice from the jar and that made all the difference in the world!

(Sorry, no pictures this time, busy, busy, busy!!)

Enjoy!

Things I Like Thursday

Happy Thursday everyone! I hope you are all having a great week! This week has been a busy one for us! Nick has a friend that he went to Iraq with coming to visit this weekend. He probably couldn't care less what our house looks like, but I do, so I am trying to clean and such! They will be going to the Iowa game Saturday and my mom and I are shopping!! I am kind of excited and kind of not. Sometimes I freak out when there are a lot of people around. Not like, cause a scene freak out, but more of a, okay, everyone is getting gift cards because I can't stand the crowds freak out! Maybe I should do my Christmas shopping in August?! That of course would mean that I would have to plan ahead and planning is definitely not one of my strong points! Lucky for you guys, I still found a few projects to share! One of these days I hope to get some projects completed and show them to you!


I love this inexpensive fall decor from It's A Priceless Life!




Super cute Christmas pillows from Junkin' Junky!




I am completely, 100% in love with this dresser from Increasingly Domestic! How awesome is that?




I must try these Healthy Homemade Fish Sticks from How Sweet It Is!




This Peanut Butter Pie from Tasty Kitchen looks divine!




Adorable Ruffle Trees from Shanty2Chic!




I REALLY want to make this Laundry Basket Dresser from Ana White! I love so many of her plans, but have yet to try and actually make something!




Here are some fun free Christmas printables to use on plates from Poppies at Play.




A fun Christmas candle holder from All Thingz Related posting on Creation Corner!




Whew, lots of awesome things this week! I promise this time, if you come back tomorrow, you will see a couple great recipes!

Things I Like Thursday

First off, as I am sure all of you know, today is Veteran's Day. Thank you to all of the men and women that have served our country and fought for our freedom. As most of my readers probably already know, my husband was in the Marine Corps when we started dating and for the first year of our marriage. I am so proud of him and truly feel like the Marine Corps helped shape him into the wonderful man he is today! So thank you Nick, for your service to our country!

Since I love a man in uniform...one of my favorite pictures ever!



Oh wait, one more. Why not?




Ok, let me wipe my drool away and get on to the projects I love this week! Just a couple this time!


I love these heat transfer pillows from The Hand Me Down House!




I need to get my sewing machine out and make this A-line purse from The Project Corner!




Check back tomorrow for a great recipe!

These Boots Are Made For Walkin'!

Boots, boots, boots. That is all I can think about these days! I know the boot trend has been around for a few years now, but I am just now jumping on the bandwagon, much to my husband's dismay. He does not like boots with jeans. Or dresses. Or skirts. Or leggings. Oh heck, what does he know?! (Kidding honey, you know a lot of things!)

So I have only purchased one pair of boots so far this year. I found these at Target and had to have them:



Cute huh? Now I have really started something. I definitely need more boots! What took me so long to buy them anyway? Here are a few more that I love!

I really think I need to get a pair of these soon. We have a Colorado trip coming up and they look super warm and comfy! These also come from Target and I love the $29.99 price tag!



These would also be great for Colorado and also very reasonably priced at $34.99!



I also could use a dressy black pair. I think these would fit the bill nicely!



Ok, I also really love these!



Oh boy, I better just stop now! Do you think Nick would notice if I bought one of each?!

While we are on the topic of boots...I read a neat tip somewhere the other day (I can't for the life of me remember where though!) A great way to help your tall boots keep their shape is to roll up a magazine and put one in each boot! Thrifty huh? If you have any boots that you just love and would recommend, send me the link!

Things I Like Thursday

I think I always say this, but this time I mean it, I can't believe it is Thursday! Or that it is November already? Where on earth did it come from?! It just seems like we got rid of the snow (and tax season) and here we are zeroing in on it again!

Work has been crazy busy this week, so maybe that is why it went so fast! I did sneak out at 3 yesterday to spent some quality time with my hubby! We headed to Ottumwa to look for a humidifier for our house, it has gotten dry really fast. Those things are hard to find! The only ones Wal-Mart carries are small crappy ones. Trust me, we have already tried two of them. They are pretty much disposable in our house. Of course we had to visit Target and the "mall" as well! Any of you that are familiar with Ottumwa know why "mall" is in quotes! I decided to take the evening off from the gym and we rented a movie instead, Toy Story 3! It was very cute, of course! Now here we are at Thursday and work is very quiet today as almost everyone is out at different classes! Just how I like it!


Man, I have some fantastic finds from around blogland to share with you guys today! Tons of inspiration. I know I have said it for the last two months or so, but I really do have a few things to share with you besides my Thursday and Friday posts and one of these days I hope to get to them. Any of you that do have a blog understand how time consuming it really is! For now though, you will just have to live with looking at things that I dream about making!


I love these old table leg candle holders from Full of Great Ideas!




I really want to try making some stenciled curtains like these that I found at First Home Makeover!




Someday I will find the perfect piece of furniture to refinish. I love this bench redo from A {Blondes} DIY Life (love the name too!)




Check out these festive Thanksgiving Candle Holders from All Thingz Related! Love them!




Here is another great idea for Painted Drapes from The Hand Me Down House via Remodelaholic!




Super cute Pottery Barn knock-off pillows from The Scrap Shoppe!




I can't wait to try to make this pleated purse. The pattern comes from My Spare Time and this is The Pickled Herring's version of it!




I hope you enjoy these projects! If you find inspiration from one of the projects that I have linked to and made it yourself, I would love for you to share!

Have a great day!