Moms + Meals: easy summer berry salad

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unnamed (1)Finally! It officially feels like summer! No more rain, at least for now! When the temperature heats up, I prefer light, easy meals.  Who wants to heat up the kitchen when it is so hot! This summer berry salad is one of my favorites because I can throw it all together in a matter of minutes for either lunch or dinner, plus, it is full of fresh, healthy ingredients.

Summer Berry Salad:salad

Ingredients:

  • fresh baby spinach
  • strawberries
  • blueberries
  • sliced almonds
  • shredded chicken (optional)
  • other optional ingredients: avocado, dried cranberries or feta cheese

unnamed (2)Directions:

Well, its so simple you don’t even need directions. Just dump it all together. Add as many berries, and almonds as you like. I find this salad is best paired with either a light raspberry vinaigrette or poppy seed dressing.

It’s light, healthy, and filling! Enjoy!

Moms + Meals: Robin’s “famous” hobo beans

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BBQ season has officially kicked off! A BBQ isn’t complete without the beans. Well, this ain’t “yo momma’s” typical bean recipe, because it’s my momma’s beans! ha! My mom, Robin, is known for her bean recipe. She makes them for every occasion and they are always a hit. Now, I am not a fan of beans, but I love this recipe. She has so many request for the recipe, she just carries copies with her because she gets asked for it every time she makes them. You will never make beans the same again! Enjoy!

Robin’s Hobo beans

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb. hamburger
  • 1/2 pkg. bacon (cut up into small pieces)
  • 1 onion (diced)

Cook the meat and onion in a skillet drain well and dump into a large crockpot.

Add the following ingredients in the the crockpot: (depends on the size of your crockpot and the crowd you’re feeding)

  • 2-3 large cans of Bush’s maple brown sugar beansBush's beans
  • 1-2 cans kidney beans
  • 1-2 cans navy beans
  • 1 cup of white sugar
  • 1-2 cups brown sugar
  • 2/3 cup BBQ sauce
  • Pepper
  • Cayenne pepper

Add any other spices, BBQ sauce and additional sugar to suit your taste

Cook until hot and bubbly, stirring occasionally. Turn the crockpot off and remove the lid at least one-hour before serving so that the beans aren’t too hot! Now you are ready to be the talk of the BBQ, in a good way 😉

Make sure and tell your friends you found the recipe at Southwest Missouri Moms!

Farmhouse Favorites: Lunchbox ideas

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Are you in a “lunchbox rut”? This time of year, the kids are tired of soggy turkey sandwiches (can you blame them?) and frankly, us moms are out of ideas! Give these ham and cheese roll-ups a try from our friend, Jessi, at Farmhouse Favorites. She never disappoints!

Ham and Cheese Roll-upslunch box

  • Deli sliced ham (or any sandwich meat you have on hand)
  • Cheese
  • Large tortilla
  • softened cream cheese

Directions:

Spread a thin layer of cream cheese on the tortilla. Down the center of the tortilla, place a few slices of ham (enough to cover the width of the tortilla). Place cheese on top of the ham. Roll up tightly and cut into 6-8 slices, about one inch thick.

Other lunch box ideas from Farmhouse Favorites: egg salad, veggies and dip, crackers with ham and sliced cheese or a quesadilla.

What is your kiddos favorite lunch box item? Let us know in the comment section above. We would love to hear from you!

Farmhouse Favorites, tying tradition back to the good old days one apron string at a time.Jessi bio

Jessi, momma to three kiddos, enjoys country cooking because it is inexpensive and the ingredients are easy to find. Her goal is to get families out of the drive thru window and back to the supper table.

Check her out on facebook.com/FarmhouseFavorites.

Moms + Meals: Ramsey’s chicken

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We all have them, and are constantly looking for more of them. I am talking about those “go-to” meals that are always a hit with your family. This is one of them at my house. We don’t know the actual name of the dish, but my husband’s college roommate, Ramsey, used to whip it up all the time for us! Ramsey's chicken, oneThus, at my house, we call it “Ramsey’s Chicken.”

There wasn’t a whole lot of cooking going on at their bachelor pad, but every once in a while, they would make this and it would disappear in a matter of minutes! It has since proven to be a hit with my kids too. Super simple and IF you have leftovers, they will still taste great.

I serve the dish over rice with green beans or a side salad. I typically use brown rice and my kids eat it up! In this particular photo, I only had white rice in the pantry, so we had white rice!

Ramsey’s Chicken:

  • 1-2 pounds of chicken (I usually do 2, so we have leftovers)
  • 1, 9 ounce jar, of apricot preserves
  • 1 package of onion soup mix
  • 1, 9 ounce, bottle of Russian salad dressing.

Cut chicken in bite size pieces. Mix all ingredients together and bake at 350 for approximately 40 minutes.

Ramsey's chicken, two

Moms + Meals: Berry Crisp Cake

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Easter is the best day of the year!

It’s always a joy to get together with our family and gather together in God’s house to rejoice our Risen Savior. I hope you take time to celebrate our Risen Savior, Jesus Christ! 

If you want to make things easy this year, volunteer first to bring dessert. There are many beautiful Easter dessert recipes out there. I’m sure you have already view Pinterest. 

I recently made this dessert for my family. Let’s just say if your family is like mine, double the recipe! 

  • 1 bag of frozen raspberries 
  • 1 large can of crushed pineapple 
  • 1 T sugar 
  • 1 T corn starch 
  • 1 box of vanilla cake mix 
  • About 1- 1/2 sticks of cold butter 

First, mix fruit, sugar, corn starch. Put into a pan. You may use a regular casserole pan or pie pan It’ll get eaten either way! Separately, work in cold butter to the cake mix. Spread evenly over fruit mixture. 

Bake 350 for 30 minutes or till golden brown. Top with whipping cream or vanilla ice cream.

Some call it dump cake. You can call it berry crisp cake! 😉 

Becca and her husband Kenan live in Aurora with three adorable kids. She spends her days learning more than she ever imagined while homeschooling her kids. She loves to cook and try new recipes out! Kenan is the lucky guy that gets to test them out for her. They attend James River-West Campus Church and love spending time with friends and family.