JanDee Crafts

With this semi-homemade recipe, canned pinto beans are transformed in less than 20 minutes into rich, flavorful refried beans that taste like they’ve been simmering all day. A quick and simple method brings out a creamy texture and deep, savory flavor that’s nothing like beans straight from the can. Perfect for a side dish or filling, this recipe is easy and quick, delivering a homemade taste in no time!  

This tradition comes directly from my Angel Mother. Her parents are from the South where Hoppin' John was developed I believe. It is said that the peas represent coins but honestly I have not a clue why its lucky or why it has this title but only that we eat it and love it! Its a great way to use your leftover Christmas ham and who doesn't want to go into the new year with some luck? We always ate Hoppin' John on new years day. I love it! After being married to my dear husband we have combine our two families new years food traditions and eat Hoppin' John and handmade tamales. Although this combo isnt typical we have done it for so long that to me it very much goes together, just like me and my sweetheart do. What are your new years traditions? Do you eat the same every year or shake it up?  

 This is such a yummy, easy cookie! Its really great for your cookie plates and cookie exchanges! So fun to change out the colors of the M&Ms to match the holiday or season you are baking in. It is a cross of peanut butter, oatmeal, and chocolate chip. So soft and delish! Also, there is NO flour used in this recipe. It can easily become of gluten free cookie if you make double sure your oats are gluten free.        

Hello Friends! This soup is a super hero! Its healthy, and easy, quick, and so very easy! I really love wonton soup and so does my family. They are always excited when the "Whats for Dinner?" is answered by wonton soup! I highly suggest this restaurant copy cat as a must try!  NOTE*if you wont be eating this all in one sitting I highy suggest saving some of your wontons to add when you heat up your leftovers. Just add them to your bowl and pour the soup over and then heat.   

Hello Friends! In March y' all visited this this Post for  Semi-Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup the Very Most! It is a great one! Good Choice! This quick and easy chicken noodle soup is one of those recipes that you will put on your regular rotation. It tastes like you slaved all day when in reality it comes together in a jiffy! Give this one a try! You can actually make it even faster by using a rotisserie chicken and canned or frozen vegetables.   This one is a winner!

This is my real menu for my real family. I hope it lends to inspiration and ideas if you feel like you need some new ideas, I know I can get in a rut sometimes myself. If youd like any of these recipes please feel free to  reach out and ask! Have a wonderful weekend and enjoy the kitchen!   Thursday 24 lunch-tuna dip and crackers dinner-Smothered Chicken, Mashed potatoes and veggies Friday 25 breakfast-eggs and toast and fruit lunch-bagels w cream cheese and ham dinner-pizza rolls-easy so mom and dad can date Saturday 26 lunch-soup and toast dinner-pizza, garlic bread and salad Sunday 27 lunch-crab salad sandwiches with avocados, sliced cucumbers and chips dinner- carbonara, salad, and mint brownies Monday 28 lunch-soup and toast dinner-Chicken and mandarin orange green salad Tuesday 29 lunch-BLTS, apples and chips dinner-homemade sweet and sour meatballs over rice and glazed carrots Wednesday 30 lunch-PB and J, bananas and chocolate milk dinner-...

 Hello there! This is our families menu for the next two weeks. We have a few days to celebrate in this time frame with pie night. March 14th! Get it? 3.14 and of course St Patricks Day! Feel  free to reach out and ask for recipes etc. Have a wonderful weekend!  Thur March 10 lunch-ramen or soup dinner-Chili and cornbread Fri March 11 Breakfast-pancakes on a stick and fruit lunch-tuna dip and crackers dinner-KID DINNER-something from the freezer Sat March 12 lunch-PB and J and chips dinner-Buffalo chicken with spaghetti squash Sunday 13 lunch-fried egg sandwiches and fruit dinner-5 layered Dutch oven breakfast, fruit salad, monster cookies Monday 14 PIE NIGHT!! lunch-cheesy chips and salsa dinner-chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes with country gravy, veggies and cream cheese cherry pie Tuesday 15 lunch-tuna sandwiches and chips dinner-cobb salad with homemade ranch dressing Wednesday 16 lunch-egg sandwiches and fruit dinner-egg bites, smo...

Cheese stick Sandwich (a guilty pleasure) This sandwich is so good! It is a naughty little thing that should not be eaten by anyone who is concerned about their calorie intake but by those who want something so good its bad.  LOL! it tastes very much like a cheese stick which explains the name.  Makes 4 sandwiches INGREDIENTS 1 package of 8 slices of frozen garlic bread 8 slices of provolone your favorite marinara sauce (I just used canned spaghetti sauce) Allow garlic bread to thaw. Place 4 pieces in a warm fry pan/skillet. Add 2 slices of provolone cheese onto each of the 4 pieces of bread in your pan.  Add remaining 4 pieces of garlic bread to the top of the cheese.  Grill sandwich until golden and then flip to brown the second side. Dip sandwiches in marinara sauce to eat.

This was truly divine! (and can be lightened up very easily by your choice of cream cheese and trading mayo for Greek yogurt or Fat free sour cream) Even our 5 year old, spice hating, uber picky princess loved it!!  It is originally found at www.allrecipes.com  and this picture belongs to allrecipes. (sorry we ate it way to fast to get a picture) You can go to the original recipe HERE  (MY NOTES* the chokes we used were just in water because we tend to not like the marinated and had to use powdered cheese because it is what we had on hand.  I am sure it would have been better with fresh Parm if it is even possible to get better LOL! Oh and I just threw the whole chokes in the mixer and it chopped them just fine) .  Hot Spinach, Artichoke and Chile Dip 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened 1/2 cup mayonnaise 1 (4.5 ounce) can chopped green chiles, drained 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese 1 (12 ounce) jar marina...

My sweet 17 year old  daughter has been suffering with some medical issues and we have been directed by our doc to limit her meat intake and increase her veggies and fruits.  Sound familiar?? Yeah.  Something tells me we are destine to head in this direction as a family. In my quest for great vegetarian recipes I found a super recipe on pinterest that actually came from Eating Well.com .  We had it tonight for dinner and love love loved it! Check out the link and give it a shot!  Click here!  Tijuana Torta (picture above belongs to eatingwell.com PS we used nice chibatta rolls instead of the baguettes due to availability  Also you should know that we are still avoiding gluten for the most part but not 100%.  It is VERY difficult but we are still working with it the best we can and still believe it is the best choice for our family and especially for the lady of the house. When you see gluten on the menu know that I am ...

I found this lovely recipe on Pinterest. (of course I did....where have I found all my new recipes lately???) My family adored it! The kids even requested it be put on our list of favorites.  Do you have a list of favorite meals for those times when you are in a rut or just can't think of something to add to the menu?? Or is that just me? I added sauteed broccoli and mushrooms to it and cheese on top. It was a great little veggie dinner! The original recipe can be found HERE .  The author suggests using panko bread crumbs to top and perhaps some hot sauce for more zing.  I may have to work on a GF topping...perhaps crushed potato chips?? IDK.  Its a work in progress but we loved it with out. So, as my dad would say, " If it ain't broke don't fix it!"  LOL! (he honestly only uses bad grammer when he is joking....He is a stickler for proper English otherwise.)  Seriously. I love him for it too... Quinoa Mac and Cheese 1 1/2 C cooked quinoa go...

My cute sister suggested these yummilishious (yes I think I just made up a word) cookies to me and I am so glad that she did! You can check out her blog here. ..  (she is a doll! You are going to love her!) I can't say they are healthy but they do not have any gluten and none of the "weird" ingredients that some gluten free baked goods have.  It was so refreshing to eat something tasty, baked and with out the pain. It does have oats but they aren't something that gets to me.  I know for some people eating a gluten free diet oats are trouble.  SO sorry if this is you!! Love you anyway! They are on my pinterest boards and you can find the original recipe Here at Mel's Kitchen Cafe.   Go get it and try it! PS I would recommend following Mel's Kitchen Cafe...It is an amazing resource of recipes!

Thank you Pinterest! This recipe brought to your from pinterest and is originally found at  Simply Recipes  and the picture belongs to that site.  PS Simply Recipes is a delightful spot to find some great recipes! You should stop by! These are easy, (we are talking blend the ingredients pour in the pan and bake)  gluten free and so yummy! My kids asked if we can have them every night! WOW! I made mine with cheddar cheese (it was what we had) and a regular size muffin pan because my mini pan is in storage right now. I lowered the temp to 375 to compensate for the larger wells in the pan and doubled the recipe but other than that I followed it just as written.  PS the best place I have found to buy tapioca flour is at Winco in their bulk section. PSS these are the same rolls you find at Rodizio and Tucanos Brazilian restaurants.  SO GOOD!! Easy Brazilian Cheese Bread The recipe as presented is fairly basic. Feel free to dress it up a bit with her...

 I found this recipe on pinterest and it is from Mel's Kitchen Cafe . I made this Sunday morning for breakfast and it was very good! I will definitely be making it again!  Here is the recipe but promise me you will go to Mel's Kitchen Cafe! It is definitely one of my favorite food blogs!  The picture belongs to Mel's kitchen Cafe also.   SHE ROCKS!! . Healthy Banana Oat Snack Bars from melskitchencafe.com *Makes about 20 small bars INGREDIENTS: 3/4 cup whole wheat flour 2 cups rolled oats 1 1/2 cups puffed rice cereal, like Rice Krispies 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg 1 teaspoon cinnamon 3 very ripe bananas, peeled and mashed 1/4 cup honey 1/4 cup plain yogurt 1/4 cup peanut or other nut butter 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 cup bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chips DIRECTIONS: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9×13 baking pan with parchment or foil, leaving a slight overhang on each of the long edges. Lightly coat the pan with cooking spray and set asid...

I found this recipe on pinterest and it came from Skinnytaste.com  (and this picture belongs to skinnytaste as well)  LOVED IT!  It has 9pts+ for 1 and 1/3rd cups which is a hearty serving.   Give it a try!  You will love it too AND make sure to go visit Skinnytaste.com for a plethora of healthy and Delicious recipes.  Healthy doesn't have to mean tastes bad.   

SLUTTY BROWNIES...SHHHHHH!!! OK we spent hours discussing why these babies are called "slutty" brownies and if we should change their name.  I think we finally decided that they are so bad that you shouldn't want anything to do with them but really still want to have one anyway. HAHA! Anywho...they are simple.  Just take a chocolate chip cookie mix and prepare it according to package directions and press it into a 9x13 pan, then line that layer with a package of Oreos, (we used double stuffed) and then top it off with prepared brownie mix batter and bake @350 for about 30 mins. (its hard to tell if they are done because of the Oreos so just do you best) DELISH! I am grateful I can have treats once a week! I would not have liked missing this sweetie!  Thank you pinterest for the inspiration! 

We love love love rice crispies at our house! Check out what  Aly & Ash  has done with them! Swirly Peppermint Roll Ups!?! LOVE IT! I can not wait to try!  GO visit the wonderful blog!  It is AMAZING!

My family has a totally awesome cool tradition! We have taken the traditional cookie exchange and turned it into something we really love! We have opened the exchange up to all treats and sweets.  It is totally awesome! (some still bring cookies YUM!) We have also seen the likes of cheese balls and chips and dips candy and sweet and sour little smokies,  etc. OH BOY! Its FUN! We all just bring a family size serving for each of the other families and trade just like you would a cookie exchange.  I should mention that my sibs are all amazing cooks/bakers!  I mean good enough that people ask them to cater functions etc It is super fun to have a bunch of treats for the holiday that are definitely not your average chocolate chip cookie. We all start in about May testing and trying new recipes for the next years offering.  SO MUCH FUN!! Here is a recipe that is on the short list this year.  I found it at Jamie Cooks It Up  It is called Crunchy Cand...

I found this recipe from Confections of a Foodie Bride and altered it a smidge.  You can find the original recipe here . Please visit the beautiful site! You will love it! We all really enjoyed this recipe and will be making it again.  It was surprisingly not as much work as I thought it would be and the results were worth it.  Enjoy! Thank you Confections of a Foodie Bride! Pepperoni Pizza Monkey Bread 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced 4 Tbsp butter 36 thawed rhodes rolls 8 oz mozzarella cheese, cut into small cubes (you'll need ~48 pieces) PS I used way more cheese but we LOVE LOVE LOVE cheese here! 48 slices of Turkey pepperoni (from 1 package) 2-3 cups pizza or spaghetti sauce Instructions Heat garlic and butter over medium heat just until the garlic begins to brown. Remove from heat and let sit. Lightly brush the inside of a bundt pan (or other oven-safe dish) with garlic butter.  flatten rolls and .Top with a slice or two of pepperoni and a cube of mozzare...