Believe in the Magic Traci Diary

Recipes, Travels, and Stories

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  • Foodie Pen Pal – January 2014

    This month I was paired up with Megan.  Megan writes a blog called St. Louis Dietician.  Check out her blog for health tips.

    Ohio was part of the country impacted by the Polar Vortex at the beginning and end of the month.  Since the jet stream was further south than usual, we got snow from Alberta Clippers.  For three days straight, we got snow during the day.  I had stressful commutes home on two days because of the road conditions.  I was greeted with the box after that second commute.  I absolutely loved the box, so that put a smile on my face after my stressful commute.

    I’ve tried everything in my box.  One of my favorites was the dark chocolate mint bar.  I eat only one block of it at a time, so I can savor it.  Another favorite was peppermint tea.  I love mint teas, so this was perfect.  I’ve been using the Greek Seasoning on air-popped popcorn and coconut oil instead of butter.  Yum!  The olive oil granola was quickly eaten for breakfast.  I love the combination of cashews and pistachios.  In fact,  I keep a container of almonds, pistachios, and almonds at work so I can eat some when my stomach growls.

    Thank you, Megan, for a great box.

    Note from Megan
    I absolutely love the cardinals.
    Peppermint Herbal Tea – This was/is great. I love a great mint tea.
    Cinnamon Chipotle Rub
    Cinnamon Chipotle Rub
    Olive Oil Granola (I loved this!)
    Dark Chocolate Mint vegan chocolate bar – Delicious!
    Dark Chocolate Mint Bar
    Greek Seasoning
    Greek Seasoning
    Peppermint Tea (Delicious!)

  • Dilly Oyster Crackers

    This is an easy snack to assemble and bake.  They are also very yummy!

    They are also like Lay’s Chips.  Once you eat one, you can’t stop.

    Dilly Oyster Crackers

    Adapted from Cooks.com

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    Stars of the recipe:

    • 1 package of Ranch dressing mix
    • 1/2 tsp. dill
    • 3/4 c. vegetable or olive oil
    • 1/4 tsp. lemon pepper
    • 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
    • 1 package of oyster crackers

    Steps:

    1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees.
    2. Mix the first 5 ingredients thoroughly in a big mixing bowl.
    3. Add the oyster crackers and toss gently.  (Get the topping on all of the oyster crackers.)
    4. Spread on a cookie sheet and then bake for 15 to 20 minutes.  Stirring 2 to 3 times during baking.
    5. Cool and then store in an airtight container.
    6. Enjoy!

    Printable Recipe

  • Mom, What’s for Dinner? Week of January 27

    I know it’s Tuesday, and I’m finally typing out my menu for this week.  This Arctic blast of cold air has really been playing with my sinuses.  Last Thursday, I started out with a sinus headache.  It didn’t go away on Friday, so I called off work.  Saturday and Sunday were full of me stuffed up.  Yesterday I went to work for half of the day and then went to a training (professional development) in the afternoon.  Every time I came in from the cold air, I would be stuffed up again.  So frustrating.  Today we are at home because Ohio is getting wind chill values down into the negative 30s.  I’m doing okay today, but that is because I’m not going out into the cold air.

    So what are we having for dinner?  This week consists of eating foods that we have in the house.

    Monday – Copycat I-Hop pancakes from the freezer, smoothies, and bacon

    Tuesday – Ravioli, garlic bread, veggies, applesauce

    Wednesday – Sausage, baked French fries, veggie

    Thursday – Taco

    Friday and Saturday – Crockpot meals out of the freezer

  • Chocolate Chip Muffins

    In August 2010, I posted a recipe for an All-Star Muffin Mix.  With this cold weather, I’ve been baking more than usual.  Last night I decided to make a batch of it.  Then I asked the Imaginative One what he thought I should use as add-ins.  He suggested chocolate chips.

    Once they were baked, the Imaginative One had 1, and the Wee One had 2.  I’ll say they were a hit.

    I’m going to give you the recipe in 2 different ways.  One using the All-Star Muffin Mix and one without the muffin mix.

    Chocolate Chip Muffins

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    Stars of the recipe:

    • 2-3/4 cup All-Star Muffin Mix
    • 1 egg
    • 1/2 c. melted butter (1 stick) – (Melt in the microwave for 1 minute.)  – Allow the butter to cool down before adding to the mix.
    • 1 c.milk
    • 2 tsp. vanilla extract
    • 1 c. chocolate chips (I used milk chocolate chips, but you can use semi-sweet chocolate chips.)

    Steps:

    1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
    2. Add all the ingredients to a large mixing bowl.
    3. Mix together until all the ingredients are well combined.
    4. Pour into a muffin sprayed down with cooking spray or lined with cupcake wrappers.  I put 1/4 of a cup of batter in each cavity.
    5. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes.
    6. Cool, and enjoy!  (Store in an airtight container.)

    Without the All-Star Muffin Mix

    Stars of the recipe:

    • 2 c. flour (all-purpose or white whole wheat)
    • 3/4 c. sugar
    • 2-1/4 tsp. baking powder
    • 1/2 tsp. salt
    • 1 egg
    • 1/2 c. melted butter (1 stick) – (Melt in the microwave for 1 minute.)  – Allow the butter to cool down before adding to the mix.
    • 1 c.milk
    • 2 tsp. vanilla extract
    • 1 c. chocolate chips (I used milk chocolate chips, but you can use semi-sweet chocolate chips.)

    Steps:

    1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
    2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients minus the chocolate chips.
    3. Add all the wet ingredients and chocolate chips to the dry ingredients.
    4. Mix together until all the ingredients are well combined.
    5. Pour into a muffin sprayed down with cooking spray or lined with cupcake wrappers.  I put 1/4 of a cup of batter in each cavity.
    6. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes.
    7. Cool, and enjoy!  (Store in an airtight container.)

    Printable Recipe

  • Mom, What’s For Dinner? Week of January 20

    I can’t believe it’s almost the end of January.  2014 is already flying by.  Two more months until we are going to Disney.  That gives me something to look forward to.

    We are going to use the crock pot all week again.  It was so helpful getting supper on the table all week.  It’s also going to be soup week.  Three of our meals are going to be soups.  Yum!!!

    Monday – Chili and Northern Cornbread

    Tuesday – Shredded Taco Beef

    Wednesday – Chicken Divan Broccoli in the Slow Cooker, Veggie, Rolls

    Thursday – Potato Soup, Rolls

    Friday – Teriyaki Chicken with rice

    Saturday – All Day Beef Stew, Rolls

  • Northern Cornbread

    My husband is northern with southern roots.  His mom’s family was from the Charleston, South Carolina, area.  During his childhood, his family would travel to Folly Beach, which is near Charleston.  We’ve traveled there ourselves several times.  One of our favorite things to do while there is to eat southern cuisine.

    So when we had pinto beans and ham for supper, he was a happy camper.  I needed something to serve with the pinto beans and ham,, so I bake up some cornbread.  I made them the northern way, which is more cake-like.

    The Wee One and Hubby both gave thumbs up when they tried the cornbread.

    Northern Cornbread

    adapted from Lynn’s Kitchen Adventures

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    Northern CornbreadDownload

  • Smoothie Packs

    Mornings are crazy for me.  If I don’t have a plan or something ready to go, I run behind when I should leave for work.  Lucky for me, I know different routes to work and have a little padding on when I would like to leave, and the latest time I could leave to make it to work.

    One way I help to make sure I have breakfast is to make smoothies.  Getting the ingredients together in the morning can be challenging.  Sometimes my high-powered blender has a fit and refuses to blend the ingredients.  That doesn’t help to get out the door on time.

    So what can be done to ensure I have a smoothie in the morning?  I could make some ahead of time and then put them in the freezer.  The only problem with that solution is remembering to pull out the smoothie from the freezer so it can defrost so I can drink the smoothie.

    Another solution is to prepare smoothie kits, so all I have to do is pull the bag out of the freezer and then add the liquid ingredients.  I’ve started to do it, and it makes life so much easier.

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    Here’s what you need to do:

    1. Gather all the ingredients for the smoothie.  (Except for the liquid)
    2. Place all of the ingredients in a Ziploc-type of the bag.  If you make a green smoothie, place the greens in a sandwich bag.  Then place the sandwich bags in the Ziploc with the other ingredients.
    3. Place the smoothie pack in the freezer with instructions on what liquid needs to be added to the other ingredients.

    When it is time to make the smoothie:

    1. Place the greens with the liquid in the blender cup.
    2. Blend up the greens and liquid until smooth.
    3. Add the other ingredients with the greens and liquid.
    4. Blend until smooth.
    5. If you need more liquid, add water until the smoothies are blended.
    6. Enjoy!

    Some smoothies you can make packets for are:

    Fruit Smoothie

    Carrot Tropical Smoothie

    Key Lime Smoothie

    Apple Jack Smoothie

    St. Patty’s Day Smoothie

    Power Up Green Smoothie

    Tastes of Thanksgiving Smoothie

  • Soft Pretzel Nuggets

    My family loves soft pretzels.  In fact, when we go to the mall, we must stop and get the pretzel sticks.  My mom used to do that when I was a kid, and now I do that with my two.  If you don’t watch the Imaginative One, he will eat almost all of the pretzels.  I love mine dipped in cream cheese or nacho cheese.  He loves his dipped-in chocolate.

    We also love going to the Target cafe and getting the cinnamon soft pretzels there.  I’ve learned to get two of them now because, once again, the Imaginative One will eat the majority of the pretzel if you share it with him.

    I’ve tried the cinnamon soft pretzel at Sam’s Club and was not too thrilled with the flavor.

    I made these on Monday, the sixth, which ended up being a temperature-related snow day because it dipped down into the negatives.  People in our area are not used to those temperatures and don’t have outer clothes to combat those temperatures.  Both the Imaginative One and Hubby gave the soft pretzel nuggets a thumbs up.  Yeah!

    (I also realized when I did the Best of from last year that I did not post any bread recipes, so I’m trying to post some bread recipes this year.)

    Soft Pretzel Nuggets

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    Mel’s Kitchen Cafe

    Stars of the recipe:

    Dough:

    • 2-1/2 c. all purpose flour or white whole wheat flour (I used white whole wheat flour.)
    • 1/2 tsp. salt
    • 1 tsp. sugar
    • 2-1/4 tsp. instant yeast (If using active dry yeast, increase the amount to 1 Tbsp. and then proof it in warm water and sugar (bubble and foam) for about 5 minutes before adding it to flour and salt.)
    • 1 c. very warm water

    Toppings:

    • 1/2 c. warm water
    • 2 Tbsp. baking soda
    • Coarse salt (pretzel salt), optional
    • Cinnamon sugar mixture, optional
    • 3 Tbsp. butter, melted

    Steps:

    1. In a large bowl, place the flour, salt, sugar, and yeast.  Mix until combined.
    2. Add the water and mix well, adding more flour as needed to form a soft, smooth dough that clears the sides and bottom of the bowl.
    3. Knead the dough by hand or machine for about 5 minutes until it is soft and smooth.  (You don’t want a soft dough that is not sticky.)
    4. Lightly flour the dough and place it in a plastic bag; close the bag with room for the dough to expand.  Let it rest for 30 to 60 minutes.
    5. Preheat oven to 500 degrees.
    6. Spray or line two cooking sheets with parchment paper.
    7. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased work surface and divide it into about 4 strips of dough that are equal in length.  Allow the strips to rest for 5 minutes.
    8. Meanwhile, combine 1/2 c. warm water with the baking in a small bowl.  Make sure the baking soda is completely dissolved.
    9. Cut each strip of dough into 6 to 8 pieces.  Dip each pretzel nugget in the baking soda/water solution.  
    10. Allow them to rest for 10 minutes.  Bake the pretzels for 7-8 minutes (mine took 6 minutes).
    11. Remove the pretzels from the oven and roll them in the melted butter.  Add the salt or cinnamon sugar mixture.
    12. Enjoy warm with your favorite dip!

    Printable Recipe

  • Mom, what’s for dinner? Week of January 13

    Last week I did not prep any meals. I also went back to work on Wednesday. Needless to say I need to have some prep done.

    I prepped 3 of my dinners for this week today. I also prepped smoothie packets for next week. Easy peasy breakfasts.

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    Monday. King ranch chicken, left over potatoes, carrots, and onions

    Tuesday. Pinto beans and ham, cornbread

    Wednesday. Fire roasted tomato sauce over whole wheat pasta, salad, bread

    Thursday. Chicken tacos, chips and salsa

    Friday. Italian crusted pork roast, Parmesan fettuccine, veggie

    Saturday Chili, hoe cakes

    All of the meals are done in the slow cooker.

  • Easy Rolls Revisited

    I originally posted this recipe in July of 2010 when my blog was only a month old.

    “A while ago, I was looking for a recipe for biscuits or rolls on Paula Deen’s website.  I found this recipe for Easy Rolls.  They looked easy so I decided to try them.  Once I tried them once, I was hooked.  They have a slightly sweet taste and are so tender.

    The Imaginative one tasted one and his response was “M-M-M.”  After you try them, I’m sure you will say the same thing.”  – July 2010

    One thing I did differently is I added some cinnamon to the top before baking them.  I’m now wondering if I could add some vanilla extract.  That might take this rolls to another level.

    Enjoy this blast from the past.

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    Easy Rolls

    Stars of this recipe:

    • 2 cups of Self Rising Flour
    • 1 cup of milk
    • 2 Tbsp. of sugar
    • 4 heaping Tbsp. of mayonnaise
    • cinnamon to taste, optional

    Steps:

    1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
    2. Mix together flour and milk.
    3. Add sugar and mayonnaise.
    4. Spray a muffin tin with cooking spray or grease the muffin tin.
    5. Fill each muffin tin 1/2 way full.  If using cinnamon, sprinkle of the muffins.
    6. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until brown.
    7. Enjoy with butter or your favorite jelly!

    This recipe makes 12 rolls.

    Printable Recipe