Kidney Bean Salad

This recipe was pretty good. My kids picked out the kidney beans, but maybe someday they'll eat it. You can eat this as is, on bread or whole wheat tortillas, all WIC foods.

Kidney Bean Salad

1 can kidney beans*
1 cup cheddar cheese, cut in small chunks*
2 hard cooked eggs, diced*
Mayonnaise to taste

Whole wheat bread or tortillas* (optional)

Combine all. Eat right away or chill.

Magic Milkshakes

Hillbilly housewife has a magic milkshake recipe that uses powdered milk. I change it using 2 cups of milk instead. It is absolutely delicious. Today I used some frozen bananas instead of half the ice and ovaltine in place of the cocoa powder. It is good. My kids love it, too.

• 2 Cups Milk*
  
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa or drink mix like Ovaltine or Nestle
  
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 to 1-1/2 trays of ice cubes, as much as you can spare (I have a dispenser on my fridge, I take a 16 oz glass and fill it twice)
  
• 2 tablespoons corn oil plus a 5-second squirt of non-stick spray for emulsification purposes

Variations...

• Add 1 tablespoon of instant coffee for a mocha shake
• Add 1 very ripe banana for a chocolate banana shake*
• Add a big spoonful of peanut butter for a decadent Chocolate Peanut Butter Shake.*
• Add a few broken red and white candy mints for a refreshing Chocolate Mint shake.
• To make Vanilla Milk Shakes, omit the cocoa powder, reduce the sugar to 1/2-cup and add 1 tablespoon (yes a full tablespoon) of vanilla flavoring. For a french vanilla milk shake crack in an egg too.*

Place all in the blender and process a FULL 2 minutes. Make sure you do not forget the oil and the non-stick spray. They are important ingredients to make this creamy.

Cheesy Spinach Bake

Photo from mealmakeovermoms.com.

Found this recipe on http://mealmakeovermoms.com. Looks good to me. Haven't tried it yet, but I love cheese and spinach recipes.

Cheesy Spinach Bake

Makes 8 Servings

• One 10-ounce box frozen chopped spinach, thawed*
• 2 large eggs*
• ½ cup 1% low-fat milk*
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil or melted butter
• ½ cup Italian style seasoned bread crumbs
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup shredded reduced-fat Cheddar cheese (4 ounces)*
• ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
• Kosher salt

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly oil or coat an 8 x 8-inch baking pan or dish with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.

2. Drain the spinach very well by pressing in a colander with the back of a large spoon and using paper towels to remove excess moisture. Set aside.

3. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, and olive oil until combined. Whisk in the bread crumbs and baking powder. Stir in the spinach, Cheddar cheese, and Parmesan cheese until well combined.

4. Spread the mixture evenly in the prepared pan. Bake until the mixture is set and the top is golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Slice into 2 x 4-inch rectangles and serve. Sprinkle the tops with a few pinches of salt to taste

Overnight Breakfast Casserole

A good, healthy, hearty breakfast that uses mostly WIC ingredients. Make this overnight and bake in the morning. This lasted my family of 2 adults and 2 small children and an extra teen two breakfasts.

Overnight Breakfast Casserole
6 slices bread, cubed*
1 pound sausage, cooked, drained
1/4 C Green pepper, cooked* (optional) tip...frozen works great
1/4 C Onion, cooked* (optional)
4 ounces fresh mushrooms*
1 C. Cheddar cheese, grated*
2 C. Milk*
6 Eggs*
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper

Layer in order the bread, sausage, green pepper, onions, mushrooms, and cheese in a 9x13 casserole dish. Beat together milk, eggs, salt and pepper. Pour over layered ingredients in pan. cover with foil. Refrigerate overnight. Bake, uncovered at 350 degrees for 35-45 minutes, or when knife inserted in casserole comes out clean. (not wet)

Easy Peanut Butter Cookies

My three year old helped me make cookies yesterday. He did almost all of it. These peanut butter cookies are made with three ingredients, making them cheap and easy. I got the recipe from Hillbilly Housewife. I love her site, as you will probably see. So many cheap and easy and tasty recipe's.

Easy Peanut Butter Cookies

1 Cup Peanut Butter*
1 Cup Sugar
1 Egg*

Mix ingredients together. Take small scoops and place on ungreased pan. With fork press down slightly. Sprinkle with a little sugar. Bake 350 degrees for 10 minutes.

Eggs in a Basket

My grandpa made these for me a lot as a child. Now I make them for my kids.

Eggs in a Basket

1 slice bread*
1 egg*
butter
salt and pepper, optional

Butter the bread on both sides. Taking a glass, biscuit cutter, or a knife, cut a hole in the middle of the bread. Place bread on greased medium skillet. Drop egg in the hole. Salt and pepper to taste. Make sure it's well greased in the hole, or you will end up sticking. Turn and brown other side. Serve.

Option: For my young kids, I scramble the egg before placing in the hole. This just makes sure the middle gets done for them.

French Toast with Homemade Syrup

This is a true comfort meal for me. My grandpa made homemade syrup for us when we would come over. He got the recipe from his mom.

French Toast

Bread*
2-3 eggs*
Milk*

I never measure with french toast. I take 2 or 3 eggs and beat them. Then I add the milk until you get a consistency you like, and mix well. Pour into a pie plate. Dip bread slices into egg/milk mixture coating both sides. Cook on med-med high skillet.

Homemade Syrup

1 Cup white sugar
1 Tab Butter
1-2 Tab Flour
1 Cup Milk*
1 teas. vanilla

Mix sugar and flour together in med size pan. Add all but vanilla. Bring to a boil on low heat stirring constantly and cook until thickened. Add vanilla. Serve over french toast.

Baby Banana Oatmeal Muffins

I made muffins this morning. They turned out pretty good. I did forget the sugar, but they still tasted good to me. This is a great recipe to use if you have an abundance of baby oatmeal cereal and baby food that you get from WIC.



Baby Banana Oatmeal Muffins

1 1/3 Cups Flour
3/4 Cup Baby Oatmeal*
1/3 Cup Sugar
2 tsp Baking Powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 Beaten Egg*
1/2 Cup Milk*
2 - 4 oz jars baby food- bananas*
1/4 cup cooking oil
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Mix dry ingredients and wet ingredients separately. Combine together, mixing just until wet. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Makes 12.

Recipe adapted from the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook.