Bless This Mess -

Cornbread Waffles with Chili – 15 minute dinner

June 18, 2013 By Melissa 4 Comments

My mom and I have really bonded over the blog. In the last 18 months or so we have spent tons of time on the phone talking about recipes, craft ideas, working through problems or comments that may have stung a little. She’s definitely my number one blog fan and it means the world to me. She came across a few recipe in her local newspaper and was excited to share them with me. She was on the phone telling me about cornbread, cooked in a waffle iron, with chili on top. Huh?? I’d never even heard of such a thing. It sounded easy enough and for some reason I just had to make it. I went to the store and picked up what I needed and made it that very night.

Cornbread waffles with chili was shockingly delicious and probably the easiest thing in the world. You can’t beat a meal that takes 15 minutes to put together… and I didn’t have to turn on my oven in this summer heat either. Double win! I was shocked at how much my family loved it. If you have ever had Navajo Tacos, this eats a lot like those, which is a very good thing. The corn bread and chili were a great base for all of your favorite toppings. My kids love anything that they can customize and this was just perfect for them.

In the notes of the recipe I mention how to use your favorite cornbread recipe and homemade chili instead of the store-bought stuff if that is more your style. I honestly had to go pick up the mix and the can because they aren’t things I keep on the shelf.

So trust me on this one and make it soon. It was tasty, fast, and needs no oven – always a good thing in my book.

Cornbread Waffles with Chili – 15 minute dinner

Yield: Makes 4 waffles

Ingredients

For the Cornbread Waffle

1 box of Jiffy cornbread mix
1 egg
2 Tablespoons melted butter
3/4 cups milk

For the Topping

1 can of your favorite chili or homemade
shredded lettuce
grated cheese
sour cream
dice tomatoes
salsa
hot sauce
pickled jalapenos

Instructions

For the waffles, mix together the cornbread mix, egg, butter, and milk, in a small bowl. Cook the cornbread in a waffle iron according to manufacturer's directions until golden brown.

Heat the chili and prepare the toppings.

When the cornbread waffles are cooked and hot top them with warm chili and toppings and enjoy.

Easy!!!

Notes

I had to buy canned chili and boxed cornbread mix just for this/the pictures. We loved the meal and so I made a big batch of chili and put it in the freezer in 2-cup portions and I have also used my favorite homemade cornbread recipe and just added a bit more milk so that it was a little thinner than usual for the waffles. The store-bought stuff is super easy but if you have the time the homemade stuff is probably a little better for you.

http://www.blessthismessplease.com/2013/06/cornbread-waffles-with-chili-15-minute-dinner.html

The recipe comes from my Mom’s newspaper in Kentucky and it sites the Jiffy Cornbread box as where it got the recipe.

And just because I think these are fun…

Oooh and did you see that I’m giving an i-Pad away too this week? Be sure to check out THIS post to enter to win!

So what do you think? Do cornbread waffles with chili sound good or weird you out?!

Thanks for stoppin’ in!

Filed Under: cornbread, no bake, quick and easy, recipe, waffle Tagged With: Main dish, quick and easy, recipe

iPad Giveaway

June 17, 2013 By Melissa 42 Comments

Guys, this is so fun!

I know that you all see “group giveaways” a lot, but this is totally a first for me. Carrie from over at Bakeaholic Mama was putting a group of bloggers together and asked if I wanted to join. YES! Thank you so much for thinking of me and asking Carrie! I’m feeling pretty fancy running in the same pack as these ladies… they are real bloggers! (Eeeeek!)

So what is a group giveaway?! We’ll it’s just what it sounds like. We all pitched in to buy a big prize (an iPad no less!!) and you all get a million chances to enter to win. I know not everyone likes so many options for entering but in my mind it’s a fun way to get to know a few more blogs that you might not know about yet. You don’t have to do everything for an entry either… just as many as you like. And if you already follow some it’s practically a free entry. If you win the i-pad but already own one, no worries, just send it to me! It’s been on Husband’s wish list for years and I’ve yet to deliver.

Good Luck!

And just because you probably don’t know all of these awesome bloggers I thought I’d give you a place to start. I asked then each to send me a link to their favorite blog post and here’s what they sent. If you aren’t hungry now, you will be in a minute.

Jen from Savory Simple: Strawberry Rhubarb Ice Cream and Sorbet
Jackie from Domestic Fit: Peanut Butter and Jelly Cookie Bars
Anna from Crunchy Creamy Sweet: Mini Frozen Coconut Dessert with Homemade Coconut White Chocolate Magic Shell
Averie from Averie Eats: Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Amy from Very Culinary: Grilled Peach and Coppa Pizza
Gerry from Foodness Gracious: Blackberry Thyme Skillet Crumble
Lauren from Climbing Grier Mountain: Chicken Andouille Naan Pizza with Pico de Gallo and Jalapenos
Rebecca from Foodie with Family: Snickerdoodle Cake with Brown Sugar Cinnamon Icing
Carrie from Bakeaholic Mama: Buttermilk Sugar Cream Pie (I made this a few weeks ago and LOVED it!)
Brandy from Nutmeg Nanny: Smothered Burritos

And here’s how you enter… just click away!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thanks so much for stopping in.

Filed Under: giveaway Tagged With: Giveaway

On a personal note…

June 13, 2013 By Melissa 16 Comments

I have so much to blog about but I feel like I need to fill you all in on life and to make a little announcement.

First off, thank you SO much for reading the blog. I know that posting has slacked off a lot in the last few months, but you all are still around and still as wonderful as ever. What would I do without you and this fun outlet?! I just love you guys.

Sure we’ve moved, started a massive garden, husband has been gone more than home, and I have my sister (and soon to be brother too) living with us, but there’s even more of a reason why I haven’t been blogging much. I’m pregnant! I’m due on Halloween which puts me at 20 weeks today!

I stopped barfing about 2 weeks ago although I still gag brushing my teeth and now I’m waiting for the some of the exhaustion to let up so that I can feel like a functioning person again. After a miscarriage scare just a week ago I’m feeling ready and excited to share the good news with you guys. So take my humble apology about the lack of blogging and be excited for me instead :)

I hope this kid likes babies as much as he likes popsicles because ready or not… here it comes!

I find out the gender of the baby two weeks from today. The sad news in my husband will be out of town and they only schedule ultra-sounds every six weeks. I’m not willing to wait another 6 weeks so I’m going to go to my appointment all alone. Hopefully they can make a video though so that we can watch it again later.

Here’s me and the other monkeys on Mother’s Day. I’m so excited to have another little one. We’ve always wanted a large family and we’ve been very blessed so far. I love being a mom and am so grateful that I get to be just that.

There you have it… some very exciting news and a pretty good excuse for my slacking.

Thanks for sticking around, even when it’s a bit quiet.

Filed Under: Personal Tagged With: confessions

Loaded Baked Potato Dip with Kettle Brand Chips

June 4, 2013 By Melissa

Mmmm. Tater chips. I’d be a liar if I said I didn’t love a good potato chip as much as the rest of the world. Lots of you know that eating clean is important to me and something I try to do more often than not (about 80% of the time actually…) And when it comes to healthy eating potato chips aren’t the first thing that come to mind. Let me revamp your thinking on that.

When I was presented with the chance to blog about Kettle Brand Chips I thought about it for a while. I like potato chips and I knew from past experience that Kettle Brand Chips were super crunchy and very tasty, but would I be able to blog about chips and stay true to my convictions to whole foods?

Well the more I read about the Kettle Brand chips the less convincing that I had to do. They are amazing and not just because of that crunch :)

Did you know that Kettle Brand Chips only use non-GMO ingredients including the oil they cook the potatoes in? I was shocked! Do non-GMO potatoes even exist in the commercial market? They must because Kettle Brand is using them. Plus they don’t use artificial color, flavor, or preservatives. Really! There are three ingredients in their classic sea salt chips – potatoes, oil, and sea salt. I’m impressed. (And you can learn more by following them on twitter @KettleChips #TheRealKettleChips)

So since we are all going to enjoy some chips this summer at parties, picnics, and cook-outs, why not bring a bag that doesn’t come with much guilt. And while you are at it, why not bring this loaded baked potato dip too? You’ll be the hit of the party, guaranteed!

This dip is everything that a dip should be without anything extra. Using sour cream as the base was a great option because it’s a bit more natural than most mayonnaise and you don’t have to wait for a block of cream cheese to come to room temperature. Fresh cooked bacon (nitrate free for bonus points), delicious green onions, and sharp cheddar bring it all together. Serve with simple Sea Salt or Sea Salt and Fresh Cracked Black Pepper Kettle Brand Chips and you have yourself a loaded baked potato with a fraction of the effort.

Loaded Baked Potato Chip Dip

Yield: About 4 cups

Ingredients

12 ounces of bacon, cooked and crumbled
16 ounces sour cream
1/3 cup green onions, finely chopped
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
Kettle Brand Chips for serving

Instructions

Combine the bacon, sour cream, green onions, cheddar, and garlic powder together in a medium bowl and combine. Allow the mixture to chill for at least one hour before serving with Kettle Brand Chips. Easy!

http://www.blessthismessplease.com/2013/06/loaded-baked-potato-dip-with-kettle-brand-chips.html

This recipe is totally inspired by and adapted from Brown Eyed Baker.

A quick creamy dip is just what a bag of crunchy chips needs for a party.

Enjoy and thanks for stopping in!

Fellow Chip Lovers Unite. Have you ever tried Kettle Brand Chips? What do you love about them?

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Kettle Brand. The opinions and text are all mine.

Filed Under: bacon, cream cheese, dip Tagged With: appetizer, healthy, recipe

Quick and Easy Stir-fry

June 3, 2013 By Melissa 1 Comment

I’m sharing this super quick and easy stir-fry over at Lil Luna today. All you need is some chicken, a mason jar to shake the sauce together, frozen veggies, and rice. It’s done in 30 minutes or less and then you can get back to enjoying summer.

Enjoy! And thanks for stopping in.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Red White and Blue Popsicles

May 28, 2013 By Melissa 4 Comments

Hello All!

I hope you had a great, long, relaxing, food-filled weekend. I spent mine mowing lawns, playing at the pool, sitting by a fire, rescuing stray chickens stuck in a pit, and all sorts of other fun and productive things in between.

Summer if officially here and there is no better way than to celebrate with ice-cold red white and blue popsicles! I love having homemade fruit popsicles in the freezer, so that no matter when the kids ask for one I can feed the need. I have no problems giving my kids fruit and yogurt laden snacks that just happen to be frozen, taste delicious, and look a whole lot like not-so-good-for-you-food. They gobbled these up in a heart beat and I know you all will love them too. There’s something so appealing about having multiple layers and different tastes to work through. Plus, you can’t beat that patriotic color-scheme. These are just begging to make a sense at your next gathering, no need to wait until the Fourth of July.

Today gets even better though. My friend McKenzie from over at Girl Loves Glam has put together a really fun Summer Fun Series for the month of May. This whole month she’s had some awesome bloggers posting a wide variety of projects to get us all excited for summer. This recipe will be part of the series and the rest of the posts will be linked at the bottom of my page. So not only do you get this great recipe but you can also click around and see what some of the other ladies have been up to. Fun huh?

Now onto the popsicles!

Red White and Blue Popsicles

Yield: 6 popsicles

Ingredients

For the red layer:
2 cups red raspberries
1 T. lemon juice
2 T. sugar
2 T. water
For the white layer:
3/4 cup vanilla yogurt
1/2 cup cream
For the blue laer:
2 cups blue berries
1 T. lemon juice
2 T. sugar
2 T. water

Instructions

In a blender or food processor, process all of the ingredient for the red layer until smooth. Divide the raspberry puree evenly among six three-ounce popsicle molds, filling the mold about a third of the way full. Freeze this layer for 30 minutes.

While the first layer is freezing mix the yogurt and cream together in a small bowl until smooth. After the first layer has been in the freezer for thirty minutes add the second white layer to the popsicle molds, filling the mold about a third of the way full. Freeze for another 30 minutes.

While the red and white layers are in the freezer, in a blender or food processor, process all of the ingredient for the blue layer until smooth.After the second layer has been in the freezer for thirty minutes add the third blue layer to the popsicle molds, filling the molds until full. Insert the popsicles sticks or handles and then freeze until the popsicles are frozen through, about another hour to three hours.

Notes

I used frozen berries that I thawed and they worked great.

Popsicles molds very so much in size, so you may have some left over bits of one layer or another. I threw the extras in a star shaped pice cube mold and my kids ate up the bite sized popsicles just the same.

If you want a super smooth popsicle you could put the red and blue layers through a fine mesh strainer before adding them to the molds, this would remove any seeds, skin, and pulp. I'm not picky and my kids sure like them all the same. It's totally up to you.

Add the sure to taste. My berries were really sweet and didn't need much help at all. The less sugar the better in my book, so taste as you go.

http://www.blessthismessplease.com/2013/05/red-white-and-blue-popsicles.html

Recipe adapted from Brown Eyed Baker’s Red, White, and Blue Firecracker Popsicles.

Here is all of the other posts from this month. Just click on the picture to go to the blogs to see the projects.

Thanks so much for stopping in and thanks McKenzie for letting me party with you.

Filed Under: 4th of July, Frozen, frozen dessert, Fruit, patriotic, popsicle, snack, summer food Tagged With: dessert, healthy, kids, recipe

My favorite summer recipes

May 25, 2013 By Melissa Leave a Comment

Memorial Day Weekend is here! I love this weekend for lots of reasons. It marks the beginning of summer, the pools open, my baby celebrates his Birthday, and of course, it’s always marked with great food.

As I was stewing over what to make for our family cook-out/Birthday celebration this weekend I realized that lots of my favorite summer recipes are here for you all to enjoy too. I thought I’d show case some of my favorite recipes to take to a party so that you don’t have to go digging through the archives to find some great ideas. Most of these recipes are pretty easy, make a bunch, and the desserts are both cookie bars that travel really well.

I hope you find some great inspiration and have a great weekend!

Seven-layer Salad - a family favorite. My mom makes it all summer long!

The best baked chicken legs (only 5 ingredients!)

Zucchini and Fresh Corn Succotash - healthy and delicious!

Grilled Honey Lime Chicken Breast

Red White and Blue Sugar Cookie Bars - all the greatness of a thick soft sugar cookie without the effort.

Cheater Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars - *hint* you start with a cake mix. Shhh, they’ll never know.

Dark Chocolate Ice Cream - need I say more?

Cheesecake Ice Cream - Mmmm. Love this one.

Strawberry Limeade Slushies

Mom’s famous Seven-layer bean dip - easy and always a crowd-pleaser.

Easy Restaurant Style Salsa (made in the blender!)

The best and easiest fruit dip – only 3 ingredients!

Happy Memorial Day Weekend to you.

I hope you found some cooking inspiration. Here are a few more links if you still need some ideas.

If I want to take a hot side dish to a party I always makes Pioneer Woman’s Perfect Potatoes au Gratin. They really are perfect.

Carrie from Bakaholic Mama’s recipe from S’mores Crack Dip is amazing and super super easy.

And Emily from One Lovely Life makes the best bacon wrapped jalapeno poppers. I could eat the whole pan myself (and I do sometimes…).

Party and summer recipes are the best, huh?

What dish do you look forward to at a summer party?! I love all the salads and sides as much as I like any main dish.

Filed Under: 4th of July, Cookie Bar, Dessert, Ice Cream, party food, patriotic, picnic, quick and easy, recipe, recipe collection Tagged With: collection post, dessert, holiday, recipe

Plain Bagel Recipe

May 23, 2013 By Melissa 4 Comments

Sometimes in the kitchen I love to try to make things from scratch that you traditionally buy. Bagels are one such example. I know that you can run to the store or the bagel shop to pick some up, but half the fun of this recipe is trying to make something you’ve never made before. Bagel making takes a bit of time and moderate bread making knowledge, but it really isn’t as hard as you would think. Think of bagel making more as a journey and enjoy the process, plus the end results are delicious. Perfectly chewy little circles of happiness just begging for some butter and jam or cream cheese can’t be bad.

This bagel recipe comes from the King Arthur Flour test kitchen. They did a knock-off Panera bagel recipe and broke it down step by step with pictures and detailed instructions. I highly recommend checking out their post if you are new to bagel making; it was very well written and thorough.

Mmm. This recipe has been a long time coming and now I wish I had some. I’m eating clean for the next two weeks (no sugar, only whole grains, and no processed ingredients) so I might have to play around with a whole wheat version!

Thanks so much for reading. You all are the best. Keep Calm and Bagel On.

KAF plain bagels 2, Plain Bagel Recipe

KAF plain bagels

King Arthur Flour’s Plain Bagels

Yield: Make 12 bagels

Ingredients

For the sponge/starter:
1/2 cup bread flour
1/4 cup cool water
pinch of instant yeast, about 1/16 teaspoon
Plus:
1 1/4 cups cool water
1 3/4 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
4 cups bread flour
For Boiling the Bagels:
5 cups water
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 tablespoon brown sugar

Instructions

To make the starter, mix all of the ingredient together in a small bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and allow it to sit at room temperature overnight

To make the dough add all of the starter, after it's overnight rest, the water, salt, yeast, and half of the bread flour called for. Using the dough hook of your stand mixer, mix these ingredient for 5 minutes. Continue adding the rest of the bread flour, ¼ cup at a time, until the dough starts to come together. The dough should still stick to the bottom of the bowl but it will pull away from the sides. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until the dough is lightly tacky. Form into a ball. Let the dough rise in a lightly greased bowl for one hour. Gently deflate the dough and let it rise for another half hour.

While the dough is rising prep the water for boiling. Mix the water, baking soda, and brown sugar in a large pot. The water needs to be at least one inch deep.

When the dough has risen a second time, remove it from the bowl and cut it into 12 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a round ball. Cover the balls with plastic wrap and allow to rest for 30 minutes.

Heat the water in the pan over medium heat until it starts to gently boil and the baking soda dissolves. Reduce the heat so that the water stays at a very gentle boil. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment or a baking mat.

Take one piece of dough and poke your finger through the center. Using your finger gently stretch the hole in the center until it is about a 2 inch circle. Repeat with the remaining dough.

Gently drop 2 or 3 bagels in the boiling water and let them boil on the first side for 2 minutes and then flip them over in the water and let them cook on the second side for 1 more minute. Remove from the water with a strainer or the end of a wooden spoon and place the bagels on the parchment lined baking sheet. Repeat the boiling with the remaining bagels.

Bake the boiled bagels in the hot oven for 25 minutes or until they are a deep brown. Let the bagels cool on a wire rack before enjoying.

Store extras in an airtight container or brad bag.

http://www.blessthismessplease.com/2013/05/plain-bagel-recipe.html

KAF plain bagel recipe

Have I convinced you to try your hand a bagel making?!

Filed Under: baking, Bread, Breakfast, King Arthur Flour, yeast bread Tagged With: bread, recipe

Freezer Paper Stencil Tutorial

May 22, 2013 By Melissa 3 Comments

Summer is upon us and I feel like there are a million reasons to make t-shirts. I”m sure you have some of the same reasons to craft up a t-shirt as I do. You probably have summer camps, VBS, Cub Scout camp, family reunions, vacations, and sports to attend on top of all of the fun holidays like the Fourth of July and your towns annual Strawberry Days. Why not let your kids make some of the t-shirts on their own this year?

I posted a freezer paper stencil tutorial last year and I’m used the same method again this year. It’s such a cool thing to know how to do that I thought it would be OK to blog about it again.

You can find the complete tutorial on how to make a freezer paper stencil here.

Last year we used freezer paper stencils to make Birthday shirts and shirts for the Fourth of July. This year we made our own T-ball shirt. This was my oldest daughter’s first time playing t-ball and we moved down just a little too late to get signed up in time to have a team shirt ordered. The day that shirts were handed out at practice was rough… she didn’t get one! And of course I had no idea this would all happen 3 days before the first game. So as any Mom would do I paid out the nose to have a green shirt sent to my house via the internet and it arrived just in time. We decorated the shirt and she couldn’t have been more pleased with how hers turned out.

Since sister was painting the boys needed to also, and so did her cousin. The baby painted a shirt with the letter “G” for Gators (the t-ball team) and Henry painted a cape. He’s the official “Gator Guy” at all of the games; their number one fan. The girls got a little crazy with the paint but I didn’t care, it was their project not mine.

Here are the kids working.

The beauty of the stencil is that the kids have a lot of freedom to paint, color, and create but it keeps a handle on things. We used fabric markers and acrylic paint on the shirts.

Messy, messy, but it the letters come out nice and crisp!

Even the baby who isn’t 2 yet did his own shirt. This is a reverse method from the above pictures. Instead of painting in the letters, he had a letter for the stencil. When I pull the “G” off you’ll see the unpainted shirt underneath.

I don’t have any great after pictures, there was too much life going on to get one! But I assure you that the shirts and cape turned out adorable. I love that the kids were in charge of the project and were able to take ownership in it. This type of stencil really allows them to do it on their own work and creating without having a paint-filled mess of a shirt at the end. I think older kids could even create and cut their own stencils which would really give them a lot of freedom.

So there you have it! Another great reason to check out that freezer paper stencil tutorial that I did last year.

What events or holidays do you think you’ll be making shirts for this year? I think I have the kids make another round of shirts for the 4th!

Thanks for stopping in.

Filed Under: 4th of July, DIY, Family, kids crafts, t-shirt project Tagged With: craft, kids, tutorial

Peanut Butter Hot Fudge Recipe

May 16, 2013 By Melissa 2 Comments

Ice cream season is upon us and I couldn’t be more pleased! I’ve already made three batches of deliciously simple homemade vanilla ice cream (and just realized I’ve never shared the recipe with you…). I love vanilla ice cream because it goes with everything. Ice cream with a side of berries, pie, or cake, is just a good thing. If I don’t have a side for it I like to have a little something to offer on top. More often than not I’ll enjoy it nice and plain but sometimes it needs just a little chocolate. Everything is better with chocolate.

I made this peanut butter hot fudge a few months ago and made it again a few weeks ago. It keeps really well in the fridge and I just heat it up as needed. It’s a quick and easy topping for ice cream that everyone likes. Seriously, I don’t think I know a single person who doesn’t enjoy the chocolate peanut butter combo.

So pin this peanut butter hot fudge recipe for later because I know there’s going to be a time this summer that it pops into your mind and you’ll want to make it. And why wait for a reason… it’s Thursday;that is reason enough!

And be on the lookout for my vanilla ice cream recipe in the near future. It’s one you need to!

Peanut Butter Hot Fudge

Yield: Make 2 cupes

Ingredients

1 cup heavy whipping cream
4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, coarsly chopped
1/4 cup peanut butter
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla
pinch salt

Instructions

In a medium sauce pan heat the cream over medium heat until it starts to boil. Pull the pan off the heat and the chopped chocolate and peanut butter. Let the mixture sit for 30 seconds. Whisk the cream, chocolate, and peanut butter together until the mixture is smooth. Add the powdered sugar and mix until smooth. Add the vanilla and salt and mix to combine. Allow the mixture to cool for about 10 minutes before serving warm. The mixture will thicken slightly as it cools and will be a nice texture when it hits the cold ice cream.

Store any extras in an air-tight container in the fridge and reheat to warm before serving again.

Notes

Sometimes my powder sugar will be a bit clumpy which isn't the dream. I've found it best to sift it into the bowl of liquid chocolate and cream while whisking or to have the powdered sugar in a separate bowl and then slowly pour the chocolate mixture into the powdered sugar while whisking. You'll get a smoother product by doing one of these methods opposed to just plopping in the powdered sugar and then stirring it in.

http://www.blessthismessplease.com/2013/05/peanut-butter-hot-fudge-recipe.html