The Daily Dish Recipes

Turkey Tater Tot Casserole Recipe

1 lb. ground turkey
1 can fat-free cream of mushroom soup
1 Tbs. seasoning salt (optional, and only if desired)
1 pkg. frozen tater tots
1 c. low fat sour cream
1 pkg. low-fat 2% cheddar cheese

Brown the ground turkey in a skillet; stir in the soup and seasonings - add the sour cream and blend. Spread the mixture in a 9×13 baking dish. Sprinkle half the cheese on top, and then add the tater tots. Bake at 400 degrees for 20-30 minutes or until the tater tots are golden. Remove from oven about 5-10 minutes before complete and sprinkle with remaining cheese on top. Continue baking until finished and then enjoy!

Is this seriously the most beautiful thing ever? This was one of my Christmas gifts this year from my mother who always tries to get me whatever is on my wish list every year. This year I totally did not expect it because the coffee maker was a bit more than what we usually spend for Christmas all by itself.

So I get this baby home (it’s a Melitta ME1MSB Smart Brew), and I am SO excited to get rid of the $12 temporary model I was using and plug ‘er right in. Imagine my surprise when all of a sudden I’m looking at the weather, the three day forecast, the wind speed, sunset/sunrise times and so much more. All that and it brews coffee too! And just for the record, if anyone ever tells you that a coffee maker is a coffee maker - ha! I can totally prove them wrong - this baby makes one heck of a cup of coffee. The reason I wanted this specific model is because it is an upgrade from my former coffee maker that took her own life about a year ago. (pictured below) - it grinds and it doesn’t require filters because there is a built in filter. It’s simply beautiful. So how does this little miracle get all this information to you everyday? It connects to an invisible FM signal (and no I didn’t have to set up a thing - all I had to do was plug ‘er in!) and she downloaded straight from MSN Direct.

Seriously this is the best coffee maker ever and my mom gave me the best Christmas present ever!

Oh, and this picture is my former coffee maker that died last year (like as in 2007). Same brand, lesser model - retired now. I loved her once, but now a new baby’s in town!

Good morning readers! Today is my second time hosting the Make It From Scratch Blog Carnival and I am pretty excited about it again. I enjoy getting to know everyone so please come along with me while we take a good look at all the fun and exciting things people have been making from scratch. I would also like to thank everyone who participated in this week’s Make It From Scratch Blog Carnival.There are some awesome entries, that are making me feel much more creative than I usually am. So here you go:

Here we go:

Simply Forties is back this week with a fantastic looking Tomato Broth with Portobellos and Spinach over Gnocchi recipe. Does that not look heavenly up there?

Jennifer over at My Frugal Front Porch gave us a really cool Sour Gummy Recipe. All I can say, is that I know for a fact my kids will love this! If they hadn’t have gone back to school today, I think we’d try it. There’s always this weekend!

 Funny About Money offered up a couple of recipes, but in particular there was a focus on the Hoppin? John: Black-eyed peas for New Year’s luck. I happen to love BEP so this recipe is being filed and will be tried soon.

Mama Bear from I’ve Got a Little Space To Fill (our blog carnival host next week)  presents Jam Jams - Another Of My Grandma’s Christmas Regulars and let me just say, these cookies look amazing. I have had a similar cookie and it tasted great. I see some differences in the recipe, and this one actually sounds better. Thanks for a great recipe.

Nancy over at Nancy’s Arts, Crafts and Favorites was a busy gal and gave us two posts to choose from. She presented us with Prayer Shawl Pattern for Wheelchair Users and Those in Bed, as well as Nancy’s Arts, Crafts and Favorites: Oxi Clean: Go Green and Make it Yourself.

Cindy of My Recycled Bags took a little break from the carnival and was missed. She’s back with a terrific Green Shopping Bag that literally falls under the “going green” category. I love this bag!

I have yet to figure out how Stephanie from Make it From Scratch finds time to organize this carnival, find people to act as host and still present us with such great posts, like her presentation this week: Firsts on the First - Coffee Liqueur.

Zantor from Simple Homebrew Beer teaches us How to Get Started Home Brewing Beer which honestly can save you a lot of money. It’s definitely the frugal alternative for those that enjoy beer often.

Jon from Food, Beer and Travel present a really delicious sounding Paella which after checking out the picture, I am contemplating adding to our menu soon. This looks so good.

Vickie from Sidetracked Moms had to go and posts the most amazing Caramel-Nut Brownies and I have already decided that this is what I am making this afternoon as a special treat for  my children going back too school. Vickie these look and sound amazing!

This adorable, yet simple beanie was posted by Elle from Elle’s Crochet Corner. This is so cute and I actually want one in every color!

Recycled Frockery presents an amazing sounding Puerto Rican Hot Sauce which is calling my name. I am hoping for a few days of warmer weather so I can grill, baby.

How To Me spent some time to show us How To Make a Bib from a Hand Towel which is not only really cute and easy to do, but was made  even easier by showing pictures and giving step by step instructions!

Christine from The Thinking Mother, gave us her Family’s Favorite White Bread Recipe which absolutely sounds amazing. I am becoming more and more addicted to breads since I received a great gift for Christmas (more on that later today).

Jennifer from Midwest Neurotica posted A new take on the breakfast sandwich which I have to tell you looks so good, I was drooling. I am definitely going to try this, and I am thinking some morning with my mother, who also would enjoy this.

Jason at Tired Garden presented Spaghetti For an Army which sounds like a fantastic sauce with a lot of flavor.

I’d like to thank you so much for joining us today and a big thank you goes to Stephanie for allowing me to host.  Be sure to check out I’ve Got a Little Space to Fill for next week’s “Make It From Scratch”! If you’d like to enter your post, click here for the form. Thanks again for joining and making it from scratch!

Yikes, I am a bit late posting this today, but with the holiday’s and finally trying to resume a normal “work” schedule (and I use the term schedule a little loosely) things have been hectic to say the least. I have been getting many comments and questions about my daughter and how she is doing - please see the previous post for an update. Thank you for all of your well wishes and support. You all amaze me and I feel eternally blessed to have such great friends and readers.

To see past recipe roundups, click here .

Kooky Culinary is first on my list this week with an absolutely fantastic looking Brocoli and Cheese soup .  Interestingly, I am not the biggest broccoli fan in the world, but for whatever weird reason, I do seem to enjoy it covered in cheese. LOL

The Unorthodox Chef shared a whole slew of recipes, but honestly I am after that  Pineapple Macadamia Nut Dip - that simply sounds heavenly.

 Deliciously Dirty always has great recipes, and always for things that look sinfully good that I know will be downfall. LOL She posted a great video tutorial on how to make some great brownies , and I thought the video was kind of a neat touch. Maybe once I get my kitchen cleaned up, I will show you how to make a few things.

The Savings Cafe   had a great Buttermilk Biscuit recipe . I enjoy recipes like this, because I prefer to make things like this from scratch.

I think, The Homesteading Housewife , just might become a regular on my recipe roundup. She is always posting the most amazing recipes and her latest Cajun Chicken Fettucine Alfredo recipe absolutely looks to die for. I’m SO making this, probably this week.

Mom’s Cafe Home Cooking has a really easy, and fantastic looking recipe for  Hearty Vegetable Beef Soup made from leftovers and in your crockpot (my third favorite appliance in my kitchen!)Personally, I think a recipe like this is absolutely perfect for this time of year, so I plan to pop it into my menu in the next week or two.

LAST MINUTE ADD ON: 11th Heaven’s Homemaking Haven shared with all of her readers this amazing Cake Ball Recipe. My kids are on vacation until tomorrow, so I am seriously contemplating making these today.

Thanks everyone for providing such amazing and delicious recipes that cause me to drool all over my screen!

Amazing. I have been away for about a week, and to come back to the support and encouragement, prayers and well wishes of my many friends and readers, has shown me how blessed I am. So please accept my many thanks.

Brie is doing much better. She had two antibiotics which kicked the infection. She had to go in Friday for an ultrasound to find out if there was any kidney damage. We haven’t heard anything, but I was told the right kidney looked great. (Unfortunately, we weren’t talking as much during the left kidney, so I never got word). She also had to go through two types of urethrograms, which if you’ve ever had - SO painful. It was really hard to watch and to see her go through that, but honestly she’s a little trooper and did great. She felt pretty bad afterward, but was doing much better this weekend. So yay for prayers and blessings.

We will find out this week what the results are, but for now - it seems things are back to normal as much as they can be, and we will continue to fight this and find out what the problem is. Thank you again to all of you for being so supportive and praying for her. It honestly gives me hope and encouragement, sometimes when I least expect it.

The photograph was taken in November at my brother’s wedding.

Here is the third installment of The Daily Dish Monday Madness Recipe Roundup. I find so many awesome recipes as I am blog hopping, and often I wish to return to try them out. The recipe roundup seemed like a useful way for me to record the yummy recipes I find for myself, and at the same time, give a little linky love for these blogs and share them with all of you. For last week’s post, click here.

I don’t know too much about this blog or what it’s main purpose is, but did find an awesome Raspberry Frozen Yogurt recipe that I’d like to try. I think I will wait until it’s just a little warmer though.

Cinnamon Spice and Everything Nice posted the most amazing Chocolate Ganache Truffles recipe I think I’ve ever seen. As a self professed chocolate addict, I am SO trying these!!

Honestly, we did not exactly have a “normal” Christmas this year. Sure, the majority of the day was normal. But my daughter was sick, and we suspected it was a UTI turned bladder infection turned…worse. We weren’t sure exactly, but all signs and symptoms seemed to point to Kidney’s which you just know is never good. Throw in the fact that she is a 56lb ten year old and it was her favorite day of the year, and it just plain wasn’t good.

The morning seemed normal, though she kept complaining about her side hurting her. At first we thought she had a Wii injury (insert laugh) but after a bit, we could tell something else was up. Her fever was 101 and while she had a blast opening up her gifts and watching her siblings open theirs, that spark that is normally there with her was missing. As is typical for Christmas day, we usually go to my mom’s which we still decide to do. She spiked another fever after a few hours there - 103 and this one wasn’t budging. We took her home, gave her more Tylenol and planned to call the doctor in the morning.

At 2am she climbed into bed with me, crying pretty hard, clutching her side and basically balling herself up. So we spent about 2 hours total at the Emergency Room and were home by 4:45am.  Yes, it was as we had suspected - Kidney’s were infected - mostly the bladder - 2 anti-biotics and some medicine for pain - today - we’re almost all better. YAY!

The nurse told her she had “sick eyes” when she saw her. “Oh baby, look at your sick eyes. I can see it. I hate to see children with sick eyes.” That’s what she said. But look - Brie really did have sick eyes.

Poor thing!

It seems as if every holiday that comes and goes, encourages me more and more to eat, eat, eat. Do you feel the same? There are always amazing dishes and treats to try, and by no means is it easy to pass them up. I was extremely frustrated yesterday when I stood on the scale and saw about 5lbs added to the already 20lbs I’m trying to cut back. LOL
Especially because this year I worked hard to check my eating habits. Smaller portions, no eating until I was full, etc. We also got a Wii recently, so I’ve been playing like crazy and two days before Christmas Eve, I stood on the scale and was absolutely THRILLED to see I had lost 4lbs just since we had started playing it, and that was without Wii Fit, which I hope to buy soon.

So what did I learn? Nothing. LOL I will always continue to eat on holiday’s because so many delicious foods are prepared, and well, I love food. So, today (well actually yesterday) began the long journey to first, losing the five lbs I decided to put on because of the two days of eating, and then I’ll work in the rest.

It isn’t exactly a resolution to lose weight, it is a resolution to watch my eating habits, and to work on my fitness level. What is yours?

A couple of days ago, my other half and I were trying to decide what to make for our annual Christmas Eve dinner. The thing is, we are staying home - and nobody is coming over. We actually love it that way. We always do a small ham and a small turkey. We actually make little sandwiches with the meat, out of dollar rolls. We make things like devil eggs, hash brown casserole and other traditional side dishes. We can’t agree on what to make for dessert and now we are two days away. Ugh! Once we finally eat, the children will be allowed to open two presents - a pair of pajamas and an ornament. They will get changed, hang their ornament and we will sit and watch a family movie together. Though we just bought a Wii so I bet that plays a part too.

But while getting irritated at the whole dessert menu thing, it got me thinking. What do others do? Here are a few questions for you. Hope you’ll take the time to respond. You can either respond right there in the comment field below, or you can actually put a post up on your blog and leave a link.

What is a traditional Christmas Eve for you?
What does your family have for dinner? Dessert?
Do you open any presents?
What does Christmas morning look like for you?
Do you wake up early?
Any special Christmas morning traditions?
Do you eat a special breakfast? Brunch?
What does your day of food look like?
What do you guys do all day?

Anyway, I’m anxious to hear what everyone else does.

Here is the second installment of my Monday Madness Recipe Roundup. I find so many awesome recipes as I am blog hopping, and often I wish to return to try them out. The recipe roundup seemed like a useful way for me to record the yummy recipes I find, and at the same time, give a little linky love for these blogs and share them with all of you. For last week’s post, click here .

Jenn Cooks doesn’t post regularly on this blog, but when she does, she gives detailed directions WITH photos which is so wonderful. Her latest Chocolate Mint Pudding Pie Recipe  , seriously looks like something I might try for Christmas Eve dinner or to bring to my mom’s on Christmas Day.

Seeking His Face…In Everything had an awesome series of posts this week on Christmas Cookies (a gal after my own heart). My favorite was the Chocolate Scotcheroos .  If I hadn’t already finished all my Christmas Cookie baking, I would so be adding these. Don’t worry, we’ll be trying them out just on our family in a couple of days.

The Homesteading Housewife had a most amazing recipe for scrumptious sounding cookies - Maple Cinnamon Snickerdoodles . Snickerdoodles are my SO’s favorite cookie, so we are definitely going to be trying them!

I thoroughly enjoy the Southern Plate blog, and as is pretty standard for the blog, many new, delicious recipes appear often. This week my favorite was the Double Layer Peppermint Bark , which she apparently put up for her son’s third grade class. It looks fabulous!

Creating with Shelly is an awesome scrapbooking blog, but she posts recipes often. This week’s favorite was the the Hot Caramel Chocolate that you so have got to try!