Believe in the Magic Traci Diary

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  • Baked Cinnamon Doughnuts

    Last fall, I bought doughnut pan with plans to make homemade doughnuts often.  I made a few batches and the pan ended up in my oven drawer sitting there all lonely.

    Since it’s St. Patrick’s Day, I decided I needed to do something green related for a treat.  I decided doughnuts would be a great idea.  I could put green sprinkles on them to honor the day.  (The boys think St. Paddy’s Day is the best holiday ever.  They have been talking about the day for months.)  So putting green sprinkles on the doughnuts would be awesome!  After making them, I pulled them out of the pan.  The Wee One thinks the Leprechaun in our house did it.  He also thinks the Leprechaun ate one of the mini doughnut.

    I went to King Arthur’s flour for the recipe.  This recipe is easy and delicious!!!!!!!!

    Baked Cinnamon Doughnuts

     King Arthur Flour

    Stars of the recipe:

    • 1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) butter
    • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
    • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
    • 1/3 cup brown sugar
    • 2 large eggs
    • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
    • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
    • 1/2 to 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg, to taste*
    • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
    • 3/4 teaspoon salt
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    • 2 & 2/3 cups all purpose flour
    • 1 cup milk

    Steps:

    1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Grease doughnut pans.
    2. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, beat the butter, vegetable oil, and sugars until smooth.
    3.  Add the eggs, beating to combine.
    4. Stir in the baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, salt, and vanilla.
    5. Stir the flour into the butter mixture alternately with the milk, beginning and ending with the flour and ensuring everything is thoroughly combined.
    6. Spoon the batter into the lightly greased doughnut pans, filling the wells to about 1/4″ shy of the rim.
    7. Sprinkle with colored sprinkles.
    8. Bake the doughnuts for 10 minutes. Remove them from the oven, and wait for 5 to 7 minutes before turning them out of the pans onto a rack. Enjoy warm; or cool completely, and store airtight.  (If using mini doughnuts, bake them for 7 minutes.)

    Printable Recipe

  • Menu Planning Monday – March 12, 2012

    I keep saying I need to write a book on some things I have encountered as a teacher.  Some are endearing, while others are just CRAZY.  Friday was one of those CRAZY days.  The third-grade teachers were all at an in-service, and I was left behind.  The saying, while the cat is out, the mice will play, rang true ALL day long.

    Anyway, a student asked me if I was 22 years old the other day.  My ego was inflated as I said “Yes!” with a lot of enthusiasm.  A minute later, another student pumped up, “You look too old to be 22 years old.  My ego was deflated.
    Another student piped up, “You are 30 years old.”  My ego was inflated once again.  But then it was deflated when another student blurted out my real age.  How they knew my real age, I don’t know.

    Monday  – Mexican spaghetti, green beans, and biscuits

    Tuesday – chicken fried rice, egg rolls

    Wednesday – macaroni and cheese, peas, and biscuits

    Thursday – ham potato pie, mixed veggies

    Friday – lemon garlic fish, rice pilaf, spinach

    Saturday – Italian beef sandwiches, chips, raw veggies, cole slaw

  • Sausage, cream cheese, and Rotel dip

    Yummy! Three ingredients that sound strange together come together in gooey, gooey deliciousness goodness. We had a family game night scheduled for my church. I decided to make a recipe from a while ago and a new recipe. I have Stephanie O’Dea’s slow cooker cookbook. This is one of the recipes in it.

    Sausage, cream cheese, and Rotel dip

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    Stars of the recipe:

    • A pound of breakfast sausage
    • 8 oz. block of cream cheese
    •  1-10 oz. can of Rotel
    20120303-170313.jpg

    Steps:

    1. Brown sausage and then drain.
    2. Place browned sausage, Rotel, and cream cheese in a 1.5 or 2 qt. Crockpot.
    3. Cook on high for 45 minutes or low for 90 minutes.
    4. Enjoy with tortilla chips.

    Printable Recipe

  • Menu Planning week of March 5

    Monday– Hawaiian chicken in crockpot served over rice, veggies

    Tuesday– coney dogs, chips or fries, raw veggies

    Wednesday– hamburger veggie soup (freezer), rolls

    Thursday– spaghetti with smoked sausage, applesauce

    Friday– meatball sliders, fries, veggies

    Saturday– tacos, Spanish rice

  • Favorite Book Series – The Sister’s Grimm

    In August 2010, I was going to do a series about my favorite books.  I only did one post and then didn’t do any others.  Both the Imaginative One and I have read this series.  This is one of his favorite series, and he always reads excerpts from books.

    Imagine your favorite fairy tale characters were real and lived in Ferryport Landing,  New York.

    Your mother and father have disappeared without a trace, and for a year and a half, you have lived in foster care, moving from one home to another with your sister.  Suddenly a long-lost grandma of yours is claiming to be your relative.  But wait, your mother and father have told you she died.  Is this a trick?

    For Sabrina and Daphne Grimm, this is exactly what happens to them.  They are transported to Ferryport Landing.  There they discover their family is relatives of the Grimm Brothers, who wrote fairy tales and knew the characters personally.  They brought them over from Europe to the United States.  The ancestors of the Grimm Brothers have become fairy tale detectives.

    These stories will engage you as you discover a secret organization, The Scarlet Hand, how Sabrina and Daphne react to being in a town full of fairy tale characters, and their adventures as fairy tale detectives.  As the series continues, you will discover more evil plots by the Scarlet Hand.  You will become sucked into the town of Ferryport Landing and into the lives of Sabrina and Daphne. 

    Michael Buckley’s website

  • Menu planning Monday – February 27

    Monday– ham and cheese garlic bread Stromboli, carrots, chips

    Tuesday– orange chicken, rice, crab rangoons

    Wednesday– pork tenderloin with apples and sweet potatoes

    Thursday– meatball sliders, French fries or roasted potatoes, veggies

    Friday– breakfast for dinner

    Saturday– creamy chicken enchiladas, rice, veggie

  • Brown sugar ham steak

    I’m embarrassed to even call this a recipe.

    We had ham steak for dinner. I decided to fry it up. I sprinkled a tablespoon of brown sugar as it was cooking on both sides. Then I sprinkled another tablespoon of brown sugar on one of the sides. The Imaginative One raved about the taste. He has already asked for it to be on the menu again. Score!

    Brown Sugar Ham

    Stars of the recipe:

    • Ham steak
    • 3 or more tablespoons of brown sugar
    • Cooking spray

    Steps:

    1. Warm up the pan to medium heat. Spray with cooking spray or use a tablespoon of butter.
    2. Place ham steak in pan. Sprinkle one side with brown sugar.
    3. Flip it over and sprinkle the other side with brown sugar.
    4. Cook until browned, and then brown the other side.
    5. You may add more brown sugar if wanted.
    6. Take out of the pan and serve.
    7. Enjoy!

    Printable Recipe

  • Menu planning Monday – February 20

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    We are on our way home today. This weekend was a lot of fun. We all recommend the Carnegie Science Center, Mt. Washington overlooks, and the National Aviary in Pittsburgh, PA.

    Tomorrow we are back to the daily grind. So I have to menu plan.

    Monday – out to eat

    Tuesday – crockpot ravioli, garlic bread, applesauce

    Wednesday – hamburger veggie soup, cheese muffins

    Thursday – BBQ chicken Sammies, some sort of side dish, veggies

    Friday – fried ham steak, rice pilaf, peas

    Saturday – eat whatever you want. Might

  • Toffee Brownies

    We planned a weekend getaway. The boys and I had four days off this weekend because of President’s Day and parent-teacher conference comp. Day. So we decided to take a road trip to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I haven’t been back to Pittsburgh in 2.5 years, so it was time to visit it again. I love this place. Maybe not the driving because it can get crazy.

    I decided to make some cookies and brownies for the trip. You can’t go wrong with some yummy treats. Tonight I went to visit my aunt and took the container of brownies and the Peanut Butter Cups Chocolate Cookies to her house. She raved over the brownies as she reached for a second one. Then she told me they were the best brownies she had eaten. She couldn’t believe I had made them from scratch.

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    Toffee Brownies

    Adapted from Food Network Magazine March 2012

    Stars of the recipe:

    • 1 stick butter
    • 2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
    • 3/4 c. granulated sugar (I used 1/2 cup agave nectar instead.)
    • 3/4 c. light brown sugar
    • 4 eggs
    • 1 teaspoon salt
    • 1 cup flour
    • 3/4 cup of toffee chips, divided

    Steps:

    1. In a saucepan, melt butter and semisweet chocolate chips over low heat, stirring.
    2. Off the heat, whisk in light brown sugar and granulated sugar (or agave nectar).
    3. Cool slightly.
    4. Whisk in eggs, one at a time.
    5. Stir in vanilla.
    6. Stir in flour and salt.
    7. Fold in 1/2 cup of toffee chips (Heath bar chips).
    8. Spread into a 13 by 9 pan sprayed with cooking spray.
    9. Top with 1/4 cup of toffee chips.
    10. Bake at 325 for 45 minutes.

    Printable Recipe

  • Menu Planning Monday ~ February 13, 2012

    This is going to be a strange week.  I will stay late at work on Monday and Wednesday for parent-teacher conferences.  They will provide meals for the staff, so I don’t have to worry about my dinners.  Usually, I cook Hubby and the boys’ dinner in the crockpot and then take the leftovers for my lunch the next day.  This week we are getting lunch provided for us on Tuesday.  We bring in ingredients and make taco soup for lunch on Wednesday and Thursday.

    Since the boys and I are off for a 4 day weekend, we will go away.  So we will not need suppers for Saturday, Sunday, or Monday.  I’m going to cook Friday night’s dinner Thursday and then heat it up once we get to the hotel.  I’ve already had Hubby ask the hotel if they have a microwave and fridge.  I’m going to also bring lunch items so we won’t have to worry about eating out for lunch.

    Now onto the meals:

    Monday – Complete BBQ chicken dinner in the crockpot, leftover biscuits

    Tuesday – ham and pineapple fried rice, veggies

    Wednesday – Mediterranean chicken over angel hair pasta, corn

    Thursday – hamburger and veggie soup, crackers, or cheddar muffins

    Friday – Stromboli – One cheese and one pepperoni, salad, applesauce

    Saturday – Out to eat

    Sunday – Out to eat

    Monday – Out to eat