Ambers Nook

"30 Sucks" Cake Pops and Cupcakes

2011-10-11T08:44:00.001-07:00

My sister turned 30 in September! She is the cake queen and is always making wonderful cakes for everyone so I knew that when I made her cake it needed to be amazing. I saw an idea while blog hopping one day that had 30 suckers in a container and said 30 sucks.

I thought it was a really cute idea and decided that I wanted the suckers to be cake pops! I looked online for a similar idea, but could not find anything! I asked my friend April to help me make them because she makes amazing cakes too and has worked with fondant. So we came up with the idea to make cake pops, dipped in chocolate, then wrapped in fondant to look like suckers. And I think we achieved the look I wanted! I also made cupcakes to go along with the sucker pops. They are regular boxed cupcakes, with homemade frosting topped with crushed suckers!

I thought that making and working with fondant would be really hard and scary but it was so easy. The recipe for the fondant listed below is so easy to make and actually tastes good. And it's just like working with dough so don't be scared to try it!

Buttercream Frosting

Adapted from My Baking Addiction

3 sticks unsalted butter, softened

2 teaspoons clear vanilla extract (this helps maintain the bright white color)

1 1/2 pounds (24 oz.) confectioners sugar, sifted

4-6 tablespoon heavy cream

In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter until fluffy. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add in confections sugar and continue beating until well blended. Add in vanilla and 3 tablespoons heavy cream. Blend on low speed until moistened. Add an additional 1-3 tablespoons of heavy cream until you reach the desired consistency. Beat at high speed until frosting is smooth and fluffy.

Fondant Recipe from April Takes the Cake Blog

1 package (16 oz.) white mini marshmallows

2-5 Tablespoons water

2 pounds powdered sugar (8 cups)

1/2 cup vegetable shortening

To make the fondant, place marshmallows and 2 T. of water in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave 30 seconds on high, stir until mixed well. Continue microwaving 30 seconds more, stir again. Continue until melted, about 2 minutes. Place 3/4 of the powdered sugar on top of the melted marshmallow mixture. Fold powdered sugar into marshmallow mixture. Flavoring can be added at this point if desired. Place solid vegetable shortening in easily accessed bowl so you can reach into it with fingers as you are working. Grease hands and counter generously with shortening. Turn marshmallow mixture onto counter. Start kneading like you would dough. Continue kneading, adding powdered sugar and re-greasing hands and counter so the fondant doesn't stick. If the marshmallow fondant is tearing easily, it is too dry. Add some water (about 1/2 teaspoon at at time) kneading until fondant form a firm, smooth elastic ball that will stretch without tearing, about 8 minutes.

It's best to allow the fondant to sit, double wrapped, overnight. Prepare the fondant for storing by coating with a thin layer of shortening. Wrap in plastic wrap and then place in resealable bag. Squeeze out as much air as possible. The fondant will keep well in refrigerator for several weeks.

When not working with fondant, make sure to keep it covered with plastic wrap or in a bag to prevent it from drying out. When ready to use, knead fondant until smooth. Roll out fondant 1/8 inch think.

To color fondant you will need to tint the entire batch. Add a little icing color to the melted marshmallow mixture before adding powdered sugar. For smaller amounts of tinted fondant, add icing color to portions of fondant as needed.

Makes about 2 lbs. of fondant

Weekly Menu

2011-09-27T09:22:00.000-07:00

Crispy Chicken and Italian Pasta

Beef Strogonaff

Marinated Steak and Oven Steak Fries

Ham and Cheese Sliders

Carbonara

Take-Out

Sloppy Joes

Disney Cars Cupcakes

2011-09-11T22:33:00.000-07:00

My little boy just turned 2 and we celebrated with a Disney Cars birthday party. I found these cupcake ring toppers on Amazon and knew I wanted to use them for my cupcakes.

I used a box cupcake mix, homemade buttercream frosting tinted grey to look a road and green to look like grass. I piped the frosting on and then placed the ring topper on top. They were a huge hit at his party! I had several people asked me where I ordered them from!

I have to say that this is the best frosting that I have ever tasted before! I will be using this frosting recipe for everything from now on!

Buttercream Frosting

Adapted from My Baking Addiction

3 sticks unsalted butter, softened

2 teaspoons clear vanilla extract (this helps maintain the bright white color)

1 1/2 pounds (24 oz.) confectioners sugar, sifted

4-6 tablespoon heavy cream

Peanut Butter Pie

2011-08-21T21:15:00.000-07:00

As I was blog hopping last week I noticed that a lot of people were making peanut butter pie, As I read their posts they told the story of Jennifer Perillo who lost her husband due to a sudden heart attack. She requested for everyone in the food blog world to make a peanut butter pie for their loved ones in honor of her husband who loved peanut butter pie. Well my husband and son, my two favorite people, happen to love peanut butter so I knew that I had to make this. So even though I'm a week late, here is my version of peanut butter pie!

Peanut Butter Pie

Makes 1 11 inch pie

12 graham crackers, finely ground

4 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

6 tablespoons melted butter

8 oz softened cream cheese

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup smooth peanut butter

1/4 cup heavy cream

1 cup mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray your 11 inch tart pan with removable bottom with cooking spray. Combine ground graham crackers, sugar, cinnamon and melted butter and stir to combine. Press in bottom and sides of tart pan. Bake for 10 minutes and then cool.

Combine cream cheese, brown sugar, peanut butter and heavy cream in a large mixing bowl. Mix until smooth. Add the chocolate chips and stir to combine.

When your crust is cooled, add the peanut butter mixture into your crust. Place in refrigerator for about 30 minutes or until ready to serve. If you leave it in the fridge longer than that, let it sit for 5-10 minutes before you serve it.

This is optional, but I recommend it. Before you serve it, take the remaining heavy cream and place into a metal bowl. Add 1 teaspoon vanilla and 1 tablespoon sugar. Whip until peaks are firm and then pipe onto the outer edges of the pie (I totally forgot I made the whipped cream until after I took the picture-oops!).

Chicken Tin Foil Dinner

2011-07-31T14:42:00.001-07:00

I decided on Thursday that tin foil dinners and smores in the mountains sounded like a great idea this weekend and so did my friends. So Saturday night we headed up the canyon and did just that. I had never made a tin foil dinner before (shocker with all of the camping that I have done in my life). So I Googled tin foil dinners and got some ideas and this is what I came up with.

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts

2-3 potatoes

Baby Carrots

Frozen Corn

1 can Cream of Chicken Soup

1 envelope Dry Italian Dressing

Oil

Kosher Salt

Heat your oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with tin foil. Rinse and dry your chicken breasts and place on the baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and a little bit of the Italian dressing, set aside. Take your potatoes and wash them. Place on a small piece of foil. Drizzle with oil and sprinkle with Kosher salt. Wrap up and place in the oven and place the chicken in the oven as well. Bake until chicken is cooked through and no longer pink, about 20 minutes. The potatoes will take about an hour to cook through.

When the chicken and potatoes are cool, cut into bite size pieces. Mix the soup and the remaining Italian Dressing. Take 2 large pieces of foil and spray with cooking spray. Place the chicken on the bottom, then the potatoes. Add as many carrots and corn as you would like. Take half of the soup mixture and put on top one chicken dinner and the remaining on the other dinner. Wrap the foil up and wrap again with another layer of foil.

I would place these in the fridge or a cooler until ready to heat. When you have your fire going, place the dinners on the outer edge of the fire and cook about 20 minutes, you are basically heating everything up and cooking the carrots and corn. Our carrots were still a little crunchy, but we like them that way. You could also cook these in the oven. I would cook them at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

4th of July Decorations

2011-07-04T12:57:00.001-07:00

I went a little overboard decorating for the 4th of July, but I really just love this holiday! So here is how I made everything in case you want to make it too!

This is the full set up! The flag was painted by me on a white canvas. It still needs a white star on the blue part, but I will get to that another day.

These are my candy jars. I took Mason jars and spray painted the lids and then filled with red and white candy. I still need to add twine to these, but didn't have any!

This is a shadow box that I made. I used a printable (listed at the end of this post). The back of the frame is blue star paper cut to fit into the back of the frame and taped on (so I can swap this out for each season). Then I glued the white paper with lettering on and then took foam squares and mounted the flag on the white paper so it sticks up a little bit!

This is another printable that I just printed off and framed! The sparkler holder is a soup can with the label removed. I glued a piece of ribbon around it and threw the sparklers in! EASY!

This is my wreath. I got the idea from Landee See, Landee Do Blog. I took one of those straw wreaths and wrapped different ribbon around it and secured the ribbon with floral picks. The flags are another printable and are hung on twine, glued shut and then secured with floral picks on the back. And then I hung it with ribbon!

And there you have it! I hope this gives you some inspiration!

White paper with writing and flag: http://www.bedifferentactnormal.com/2011/06/4th-of-july-printable-craft-from-letter.html

God Bless America printable: http://landeeseelandeedo.blogspot.com/2011/06/fourth-of-july-printable.html

Wreath Flag Printable:

http://go.tipjunkie.com/pr/6169/niftythriftythings.blogspot.com/2011/06/free-printable-4th-of-july-bunting.html

Lemonade

2011-07-03T07:49:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure where I found this recipe for lemonade but I've wanted to make it for a while, so on Fathers Day we had a BBQ and I finally made it. I doubled this recipe and ended up only adding 1 bottle of Sprite and the whole pitcher was gone! It would be the perfect drink for The 4th of July (add some frozen blueberries and raspberries to make it festive), a wedding or baby shower or just to drink!

Ingredients:

2 liter Sprite

1 can frozen lemonade

3 cans water

1 package kool-aid lemonade

1 cup sugar fresh or frozen berries lemon slices

Lots of ice

Directions: Mix everything together in a large drink container. This punch is super sweet, but always a hit at a party.

Black Bean and Corn Salsa

2011-06-30T14:56:00.000-07:00

I guess that I'm on a side dish/BBQ kick and this is probably because it's hot and I'm not heating my kitchen up for dinner so we grill a lot! I have made this salsa 4 times since I made the recipe up and each time I make it, it gets devoured! If you really don't like beans, like my husband, I guess that you could leave them out but you really can't taste them! I also have to note that you are welcome to add as much or as little of things as you would like to this recipe. The heat level is different each time I make it because of how much spice I add to it! Happy BBQing!

Black Bean and Corn Salsa

Makes about 4 cups of salsa

2 cans of corn

2 cans of black beans

8 oz. mild chilies, diced

2 Tablespoons chopped cilantro

2 teaspoons cumin

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1 teaspoon garlic salt

1 cup chopped green onion

1 medium seeded tomato, chopped

1 red onion, chopped fine

1/2 cup lime juice

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and chill for 4 hours. Serve with tortilla chips.

Tortellini Salad

2011-06-29T07:42:00.000-07:00

This is the perfect side dish to any BBQ or Summer dinner! It is light, full of vegetables and it even better the next day after it sits for a bit!

Tortellini Salad

Recipe From Our Family Treat

Ingredients:

1 package of tortellini

1 cup cubed hard salami

1 cup chopped asparagus (1 inch length)

2 green onions chopped

1 can large artichoke hearts diced

1/2 cup fresh chopped parsley (Italian)

Dressing:

1 tbsp mayonnaise

1 tbsp Dijon mustard

1 tbsp honey

2 tsp lemon juice

1 tsp lime juice

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

Start by bringing up a large pot of water to a boil. Chop the vegetables, and add into a bowl. In a separate bowl whisk together the ingredients for the dressing. To the boiling water add the asparagus and the pasta. Cook together until pasta is done (follow package instructions) remove and shock both the pasta and asparagus in a bowl of ice water. Add the salami, pasta, and all the vegetables to the large bowl, and toss with the dressing. Let chill for 2 hrs before service. That is it...... seems too easy... but it won't taste that way.

Ice Cream Pie

2011-06-24T12:59:00.001-07:00

I think I've said it before but I love ice cream and I love brownies! And together they make the perfect dessert. But add in some berries and you have taken dessert to a whole other level! And that is just what this dessert does. This is the perfect dessert for a warm summer night! This would also be the perfect dessert for a 4th of July BBQ, just add in blueberries instead of raspberries to make it patriotic. Enjoy your weekend everyone!

Ice Cream Pie

1 box of brownie mix (and ingredients to make it)

1 carton of vanilla ice cream

1 carton of raspberry sherbet

Raspberries

Make the brownie mix according to directions. Spray a round spring form pan with cooking spray and pour prepared batter in. Bake according to package directions and let cool, completely. Soften the vanilla ice cream. While the ice cream softens, rinse the raspberries and mash them with a fork. Add them to the softened ice cream and layer over brownies. Put in freezer until ice cream is frozen again. Soften the sherbet and layer over the vanilla ice cream layer. Put back in freezer to harden. When ready to serve, let unthaw until you can slice it and serve with fresh raspberries and if you really want to, drizzle with some chocolate syrup!

Country Pasta

2011-05-30T16:19:00.000-07:00

I don't know about you, but I really hate standing in a hot kitchen cooking dinner during the Summer months. When we are not outside grilling, I like to make quick, simple, easy dishes that require little use of the oven or stove. This recipe is prefect for a Summer dinner! I also love that it's not a heavy pasta dish and would be great served hot or cold!

Country Pasta with Mozzarella

From allrecpies.com

8 oz. rigatoni pasta (I used Rotini)

8 slices bacon, cut into 1 inch pieces

2 cups broccoli florets, frozen

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/8 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Cook pasta according to package directions and drain. In a skillet cook the bacon over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the bacon is browned. Add the broccoli and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the broccoli is slightly tender (about 4-5 minutes). Stir in the cooked pasta, mozzarella, Parmesan and cayenne pepper. Cook until the cheese is melted. Sprinkle with fresh chopped parsley and serve with crusty bread.

Mini Oreo Fudge Creme Brownie Bites

2011-05-24T20:41:00.000-07:00

I have loved Oreo Cookies ever since I was a little girl and now that I am "grown up" I have found the "grown up" Oreo Cookie-the Oreo Fudge Creme! It's an Oreo cookie, with the regular creme patty on it, covered in fudge creme and oh my, it is delicious! We have had a lot of them in the past few weeks!

I knew that these Oreos would be amazing in a brownie and I had a new mini cupcake pan to try out so I whipped up some mini brownie bites with cut up pieces of the Oreos in them! They are pretty much amazing and you should make them now! Right Now! Go!

Mini Oreo Fudge Creme Brownie Bites

1 Brownie Recipe (I listed my favorite one below)
1 cup of Oreo Fudge Creme cookies cut into small pieces
Frosting if desired

Make your brownie batter and gently fold in the Oreo pieces. Generously spray your muffin pan and fill 3/4 full of the batter. Cook according to brownie directions. Let cool (or not) then frost if desired!

** I tried this recipe with a homemade brownie recipe and a boxed brownie. You really need to make them with a homemade brownie recipe so the Oreos stay in chunks and don't melt. I'm not sure why but when I used a boxed brownie mix, the Oreos all melted into the brownie.

Brownie Recipe:
4 oz. unsweetened baking chocolate
1 cup unsalted butter
4 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking soda

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a 9X13 pan with foil, making sure to extend the foil over the edges by an inch. Spray the foil with cooking spray and set aside.

Chop the chocolate and the butter into chunks and place in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave in 30 second intervals , stirring in between, until just melted and smooth. Set aside to cool, stirring occasionally.

Beat eggs, sugar and vanilla for 2 minutes. Measure out flour and baking soda and stir to combine. While mixer is running, slowly add the melted chocolate/butter mixture to combine. Turn mixer to slow and add in flour by big spoonfuls. Mix until just combined. Pour batter into prepared pan and and bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Weekly Menu

2011-05-23T11:22:00.000-07:00

Burgers

Teriyaki Chicken and Rice

Take Out

Country Pasta (from Buns in the Oven) and Garlic Bread

Pulled Pork Sandwiches with Potato Salad

Sloppy Joes

Cheese Steak Sandwiches

Peanut Butter & Banana Pound Cake with Nutella Glzae

2011-05-22T13:48:00.000-07:00

My friend Jen found this recipe and begged me for about 3 weeks to make it, so I finally found the time and made it. I should've made it the first time she asked me, it was so darn good! Peanut butter, bananas and Nutella-you can't go wrong! If you haven't tried Nutella yet, you should! It's like chocolate peanut butter and goes with everything-toast, waffles, Nilla Wafers,

you get the idea!

Recipe and Photo Courtesy of Bunsinmyoven.com

Peanut Butter & Banana Pound Cake with Nutella Glaze

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) butter, room temperature
1 cup smooth peanut butter (I used JIF), divided
2 3/4 cups sugar
5 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 large bananas, mashed
1 cup Nutella, divided
2 tablespoons milk or water (optional)

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour a bundt pan.

In the bowl of your stand mixer, cream the butter and 3/4 cup of the peanut butter until smooth. Beat in the sugar, mixing until light and airy, around 5 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well between each addition. Stir in the vanilla.

Add the flour and salt to the mixer, all at once, and mix just until incorporated. Mix in the mashed banana on low.

Pour batter into the prepared bundt pan. Drop heaping spoonfuls of Nutella over the top of the batter, about 1/2 cup. Using a butter knife, swirl the Nutella all throughout the cake to get a marbled look.

Bake the cake for 60-75 minutes or until the cake is golden brown and a tester comes out clean.

Allow cake to cool in the pan for 20 minutes, then remove to a wife rack to cool completely.

Heat remaining Nutella and peanut butter in the microwave in 10 second intervals to soften it up enough to drizzle. If desired, mix in a little milk or water to thin the glaze out.

Drizzle on top of the bundt cake.

Tortellini Spinach Bake in Cream Sauce

2011-05-20T12:38:00.000-07:00

I found this recipe on Our Best Bites and knew it was something my family would love-pasta, bacon, cream sauce! I did leave out the lemon in the recipe because no matter how many times I try it, I'm just not a fan of lemon in food! And the dried tortellini pasta that this recipe called for is amazing! It's dry so you don't have to keep in the fridge, it can sit in your pantry! I need to stock up on it!

Tortellini Spinach Bake in Creamy Lemon Sauce
Recipe by Our Best Bites

12 oz bag Barilla Cheese & Spinach Tortelini (find them in the dry pasta aisle)
4 oz bacon or pancetta, (about 4 strips bacon)*
3 cloves garlic, pressed in garlic press or finely minced
2 Tbs flour
2 C milk
¾ tsp kosher salt
⅛ tsp black pepper
1 1/2 tsp dry basil
¼ tsp red pepper flakes (1/2 tsp or more if you like spicy)
1 medium lemon
2 C loosely packed fresh spinach, roughly chopped
¾ C grated mozzarella cheese, divided
¾ C grated Parmesan cheese, divided

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Fill a large stock pot with water and bring to a boil. Add tortellini and cook according to package instructions.

Place bacon in a medium sized skillet on the stove-top at medium-high heat. Cook until crisp. Remove bacon from pan with slotted spoon and set on paper towels to drain. Reserve two tablespoons bacon drippings in pan and discard the rest. Add garlic to pan and cook until fragrant and tender, about 1 minute. Add flour to pan and stir with a whisk for about 1 minute. Slowly add milk and continue to stir with whisk until smooth. Add salt, pepper, basil, and red pepper flakes and bring sauce to a simmer.

While sauce is heating, use a micro plane grater or a fine-holed cheese grater to zest lemon. Then cut lemon in half and remove juice. Add 2 teaspoons zest and 1 tablespoon lemon juice to sauce. Continue to stir until thickened, 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat.

Drain tortellini and place back in stock pot. Reserve 1 tablespoon of the cooked bacon and add the rest to the pasta mixture. Add spinach, 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese and 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese. Add sauce and gently stir to combine. Place pasta mixture in an 8×8 or 9×9 baking dish and top with remaining 1/4 cup mozzarella and 1/4 cup Parmesan and also crumbled bacon.

Cover pan with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake for an additional 5-10 minutes, until cheese on top is melted and pasta is bubbly throughout. Remove from oven and cool for 10 minutes before serving.

* For a vegetarian meal, omit bacon.

Serves 4-6

Strawberry Pie

2011-05-16T21:53:00.000-07:00

I am in love with Strawberries and am so glad that Strawberry season is here! My brother has been begging me to get him a strawberry pie from Marie Calendars, but they are expensive. So I combined a couple of recipes and made my own! This recipe makes 3 pies, so I gave 1 to my neighbors and served the rest at my dad's birthday party! Everyone loved them and I have already been asked to make more!

Strawberry Pies

3 baked pie crusts (I did purchase mine frozen and then cooked them)

Strawberries (I purchased 2 big containers from Costco and used them all)

Cream Filling:

1 8 oz. block of cream cheese

1 can sweetened condensed milk

2-3 cups Cool Whip unthawed

2 cups of vanilla instant pudding (which is 1 regular sized box)

Beat the cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk until smooth. Gently fold in the Cool Whip and pudding. Divide into the 3 baked pie shells.

Strawberry Glaze:

1 cup water

2/3 cup sugar

2 Tablespoons Cornstarch

2 Tablespoons Strawberry Jello Powder

A pinch of salt

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and cook over medium low heat until boiling. Cool.

While the glaze cools, pile each pie shell with sliced strawberries. You can slice them anyway you want, but I like them sliced in half and piled very, very high! Drizzle with glaze and serve and eat that day!

** You can make the glaze ahead of time and keep in a Mason Jar until you need it. It will setup though, so just reheat for 10 second intervals in the microwave until runny.

Weekly Menu

2011-05-11T10:29:00.000-07:00

We just got back from a vacation and our fridge is empty! That means I am grocery shopping tonight! And here is our menu for the week!

Wednesday-Homemade Lasagna that I already have in the freezer

Thursday-Tortellini Bake

Friday-Paninis with Cauliflower Soup

Saturday-Spaghetti with garlic bread

Sunday-Flank Steak with Cilantro Lime Rice

Monday-Pizza on the grill

Tuesday-Burgers and corn

Wednesday-Costco Chicken and Baked Potatoes

I will try my best to post recipes and pictures as I cook this week!

Snickers Cheesecake

2011-04-29T07:17:00.000-07:00

I decided to skip the water bath on this cheesecake ( I have ruined several cakes that way) and the cake did fine! It did have cracks in it (which were covered by the candy, caramel and chocolate) but the texture was amazingly creamy!

Crust 2 cups graham cracker crumbs 1 stick unsalted butter; melted 3 tablespoons sugar ½ teaspoon salt

Cheesecake 4 sticks of cream cheese, 8 oz each; room temperature 1 ¼ cup granulated sugar 4 large eggs; room temperature 3/4 cup heavy cream 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

Topping 20 Mini Snickers; cut in fourths 1/3 cup roasted peanuts; chopped 1/4 cup caramel syrup

Directions 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Tightly wrap a 9 inch springform pan in heavy duty foil. This step prevents leaks when using a water bath. I also take the extra step by placing the foil wrapped spring form pan inside an oven bag while baking.

2. Mix together the crust ingredients and press into the bottom of your pan and about 1 inch up the sides. Bake for 7 minutes and cool completely on a wire rack.

3. Begin to boil a large pot of water for the water bath.

4. In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with your paddle attachment, combine the sugar and cream cheese and cream together until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, fully incorporating each before adding the next. Make sure to scrape down the bowl in between each egg. Add heavy cream and vanilla and mix until smooth.

5. Pour batter into prepared crust. Place pan into a larger pan and pour boiling water into the larger pan until halfway up the side of the cheesecake pan.

6. Bake 45 to 55 minutes, the edges will appear to be set, but the center will still have some jiggle to it. At this point, close the oven door, turn the heat off, and let rest in the cooling oven for one hour. After one hour has passed, carefully remove the cheesecake from the water bath and place on a cooling rack to cool completely. Once the cake is completely cooled, place it into the refrigerator for at least 5 hours.

7. Top with Snickers bars, peanuts and caramel (I even added some Chocolate Syrup)

Storage: A tightly covered cheesecake can be stored in the refrigerator for up to five days. The cheesecake can be stored for approximately 2 months in the freezer. I recommend you freeze this variation without the topping (Snickers, peanuts, caramel). To defrost, allow cake to defrost in the refrigerator overnight.

Recipe from mybakingaddiction.com

Creamy Beef Strogonaff

2011-04-27T14:38:00.000-07:00

My husband is a big fan of Beef Strogonaff but I have never been able to find a great recipe that we both love. He loves the Hamburger Helper version because he grew up with it and I just can't bring myself to make it. I have tried a couple variations using cream cheese but we have never liked them. I got this recipe from my friend Natalie at work and it was a huge hit! We loved the sour cream in it! It has a much better consistency than cream cheese.

1 pound of ground beef

Onions And/Or Mushrooms

1 Large Can of Cream of Mushroom Soup

8 oz. Sour Cream

Garlic Salt, Salt and Pepper to taste

Cooked Noodles of your choice (I used 1 bag of egg noodles)

Brown the ground beef with the onions and mushrooms and seasonings. Add in the soup and cream cheese. Cook until warm and serve over cooked noodles.

Buttermilk Waffles

2011-04-03T21:23:00.000-07:00

Once a weekend I try and cook a big homemade breakfast for my family. In the past, to speed things up, I have always used mixes, but I never get the fluffy, perfect pancake or waffle. Until I found this recipe in Everday Food Magazine. These are the perfect, fluffy waffle!!! And I even got to bust out my Belgian Waffle maker that my cute husband bought me for Christmas!

It was nice to make the batter from scratch, but did take a few minutes to measure everything out. And when I'm hungry, I hate waiting for food. So to speed things up for me, I have taken all of the dry ingredients for this waffle recipe and put them in a Ziploc bag with the remaining wet ingredients and instructions written on it! So my big weekend breakfast will be ready in minutes!

Buttermilk Waffles

2 cups flour (spooned and leveled out)

2 Tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups buttermilk

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

2 large eggs

Vegetable oil for waffle iron (Or use a cooking spay)

Waffle Toppings

Preheat oven to 275 degrees, set a rack on a baking sheet, and place in the oven. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt, Set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together buttermilk, butter and eggs. Add flour mixture and mix just until batter is combined. Heat waffle iron according to manufacturer's instructions, brush with oil or spray with cooking spray. Pour batter onto iron, leaving 1/2 inch border on all sides. Close iron, cook until waffles are golden brown and crisp, 3-5 minutes. Transfer to rack in oven to keep warm, repeat with remaining batter. Serve waffles with toppings!

No Knead Dinner Rolls

2011-03-30T21:10:00.002-07:00

I think that I've said this before, but I'm in love with bread! I love having rolls with a warm dinner, but usually don't have the time to make them (I usually buy them or pop open a tube and bake them). I found this recipe in a stash of recipes that I have wanted to make so I finally made them, it comes from Everyday Food Magazine. They were so easy to make and you really don't have to knead them! Just roll in a log and cut! I even made a batch to freeze so when I don't have time to make them, I can just unthaw them and cook!

Ingredients

2 cups warm water (105 to 115 degrees)
2 packages (1/4 ounce each) active dry yeast
1/4 cup sugar
4 tablespoons butter, melted, plus more for pan and brushing
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
6 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for shaping dough

Directions

Pour warm water into a large bowl; sprinkle with yeast, and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes.
Add sugar, butter, eggs, and salt; whisk to combine. Add flour; mix until incorporated and a sticky dough forms. Brush top of dough with butter; cover bowl with plastic wrap, and set aside in a warm place until dough has doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
Turn dough out onto a well-floured work surface. With floured hands, roll dough into a thick log. Cut into 18 equal pieces (halve log, cut each half in thirds, then cut each piece into thirds again).
Brush a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with butter. One at a time, flatten each piece of dough, then fold edges toward the center, pressing to secure, until a smooth ball forms. Place dough balls in prepared baking pan, smooth side up (you should have 3 rows of 6). Cover loosely with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, 30 to 40 minutes. (Alternatively, refrigerate, at least 4 hours and up to 1 day.)
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Remove plastic wrap; brush rolls with butter. Bake until golden and rolls sound hollow when tapped on bottom, 35 to 40 minutes (tent with aluminum foil if browning too quickly). Pull rolls apart, and serve warm.

Tuscan Garlic Chicken

2011-03-25T12:15:00.000-07:00

I think that I could say that Olive Garden is one of my Top 5 Favorite restaurants! I love Italian food and pasta and carbs and cream sauce and this dish has all of that in it! This is a copy cat recipe for Olive Gardens Tuscan Garlic Chicken, which I have never tried (I usually order spaghetti and meatballs). But this pasta was great! I would double the sauce or triple it if you like it really saucy. I made the recipe as is and had to make more sauce for us!

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
1 tablespoon finely minced garlic (about 4-5 cloves)
1 red bell pepper, cut into thin strips or chopped
1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
6 ounces fresh spinach
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 cup lowfat milk
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 pound fettuccine

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a shallow pie plate or similar dish, combine the flour, salt, pepper, basil and oregano. Dip each chicken piece in the flour mixture until both sides are well coated.

In a large 12-inch nonstick skillet, heat 3 tablespoons of the olive oil over medium heat until the oil is hot and shimmering. Carefully place the chicken breasts in the pan, cooking them for 2-3 minutes on each side, until they are golden and browned but not cooked all the way through (they’ll finish up in the oven). Don’t scoot the chicken around once you lay it in the hot oil! Let the oil work it’s magic to sear the crust on the chicken. If you get all antsy and try flipping too early and/or moving the chicken around the pan, the breading is lightly to fall off. Gently remove the chicken to a foil-lined, lightly greased baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven for about 15 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through. Set aside and tent with foil until ready to use.

While the chicken is cooking, heat a large pot of water to a boil and add the noodles, cooking until al dente. Also, wipe out the skillet with a couple paper towels and return it to medium heat, adding the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the garlic and bell pepper, sauteing for 2-3 minutes.

Stir in one tablespoon flour and stir constantly while cooking for another minute. Add the chicken broth to the skillet and bring the mixture to a low simmer, whisking constantly, until slightly thickened, about 3-4 minutes. In a small liquid measure, whisk together the cornstarch and cream. Add the spinach, milk and cream mixture to the skillet. Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the spinach is wilted and sauce is slightly thickened, about 2-4 minutes. Stir in the Parmesan cheese.

When the pasta has finished cooking, drain and return it to the pot. Toss the pasta with half of the cheese sauce. Place some of the coated pasta on each plate. Top with a breaded chicken breast and spoon some of the sauce over the top of the chicken and pasta. Serve immediately.

Girl Scout Cookie Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies

2011-03-16T21:15:00.000-07:00

I've been a blog slacker lately! I don't really have an excuse, I just haven't felt like it. But I made some amazing cookies over the weekend and just had to share them with you!

I look at THIS website sometimes and she has some great ideas like THESE cookies, but she used the wrong cookie inside. It's Girl Scout Time so I thought why not put my favorite Girl Scout Cookies inside and make this cookie 100 times better? And so I did!

These cookies are huge and amazing and I have about 5 of them sitting on my hips right now and I can't wait to make more! We bought 10 boxes of Girl Scout Cookies, but I think I might need to get more to freeze so I can make these all throughout the year!

2 sticks softened butter

3/4 Cup packed light brown sugar

1 Cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 Tablespoon pure vanilla

3 1/2 Cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

10 oz bag chocolate chips

24 of Your Favorite Girl Scout Cookies

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a stand or electric mixer cream butter and sugars until well combined. Add in eggs and vanilla until well combined.

2. In a separate bowl mix the flour, salt and baking soda. Slowly add to wet ingredients along with chocolate chips until just combined. Using a cookie scoop take one scoop of cookie dough and place on top of a Girl Scout Cookie. Take another scoop of dough and place on bottom of Girl Scout Cookie. Seal edges together by pressing and cupping in hand until Girl Scout Cookie is enclosed with dough. Place onto a parchment or Silpat lined baking sheet and bake cookies 9-13 minutes or until cookies are baked to your liking. Let cool for 5 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.

Makes about 2 dozen cookies

SLACKER

2011-03-16T14:12:00.001-07:00

I have been a slacker lately and haven't really felt like blogging. But I did make some amazing cookies and will blog about them tonight, I promise!

Spice Spring Cleaning

2011-03-03T11:46:00.000-08:00

I keep my spices in a thin tiny cupboard next to my stove, that was the only place that fit all of them. They are all stacked on top of each other and when I try and find one I end up taking all of them out. Does anyone else have this problem or am I the only one? Well, I'm sick of it and have been trying to figure out some way to get them organized.

My first step to organization was to go through my spices and check the dates on them! Well I ended up throwing away 11 spices that had expired! The oldest spice was from 2007-sick! I now have a list of spices to purchase but since they are expensive I am just going to purchase them here and there.

My second step is to get organized! While blog hopping I came across an idea to write the name of the spice on the top of the lid, put a Tupperware container or box filled with your jars of spice in the cupboard and then just pull the Tupperware container out and get your spice out that way. That was a great idea, except that I can't find a box that small and short enough.

So this is my next solution!

I am going to attach the magnetic knife rack inside my pantry on the wall freeing up my cupboard! And then attach a clear label with the name of the spice on the spice container! And then stick the spices on the knife rack! I'm excited about this and will post pictures when I'm finished!

Happy Spice Cleaning to all of you!

Chicken Corn Chowder

2011-02-28T10:33:00.000-08:00

I know that we have talked about this before but my husband hates soup, he is a total meat and potato guy. But every now and then I can convince him to eat soup. I saw this recipe on Buns in the Oven and knew he would love it and I was right! It was easy to put together and had wonderful flavor! I used the can corn since it was easier but will be making this with grilled corn this summer, can't wait!

6 ears of fresh corn, husked and silks removed (or 1-30 ounce can corn and 1-15 ounce can cream corn)
6 slices bacon, chopped
8 scallions
3 medium potatoes (I use Idaho potatoes)
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 cups whole milk
2 cups chicken stock
2 teaspoons Old Bay seasoning
1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 small can (4 ounces, I believe) chopped green chile's
2 cups roasted chicken, shredded (a Rotisserie chicken from the deli works great for this!)
Salt and pepper, to taste
handful of grated cheddar, for garnish

In a large stock pot, fry the bacon pieces until crisp. Remove from the pan, leaving the drippings, and set aside.

Peel and chop the potatoes into bite sized chunks. Slice the scallions very thin and separate the greens from the whites.

Place the potatoes and white scallion pieces into the stock pot and cook over medium heat until the scallions have softened, 2 or 3 minutes.

Sprinkle in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, for about 1 minute.

Pour in the milk, chicken stock, Old Bay, thyme, parsley, cayenne, salt, and pepper, stirring well. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally.

Reduce heat to low and simmer for 12-15 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. Add corn (If using fresh corn, cut from the cob with a sharp knife. Use the back of your knife to release the pulp from the cob.), chicken, and green chile's. Cook over low heat until heated through, about 5 minutes. Garnish with scallion greens, bacon, and cheddar cheese.

***I was worried about finding the Old Bay seasoning but Target carries it!

Weekly Menu

2011-02-22T21:57:00.001-08:00

It's been a while since I have posted a weekly menu! In no particular order here is what we will be eating in the next week! I've stopped writing down the days of the week and just list the menu and make whatever we feel like that night or whatever I have time for!

-Corn and Chicken Chowder from Buns In The Oven Blog

-Chicken Cordon Bleu

-Carbonara and rolls

-Meat Kabobs and Pasta Salad

(In hopes of Spring and Summer, If you cook it, it will come!)

-Pulled Pork Sandwiches

-Chicken Sandwiches

-Take Out

And I bought one of these

and will be testing it out this weekend!

Valentines Day Dinner

2011-02-07T08:35:00.000-08:00

Valentines Day is next Monday in case you forgot! We have a toddler and we both have to work that day and the next day, so we will be staying in! Someone do something fun and romantic and tell me all about it Tuesday, ok?! We are meat and potato people so we will be having steak and potatoes! And because my husband is a huge brownie fan I am going to make him some and cut into little hearts! Cheesy, I know, but oh well! Happy Valentines Day to all of you!

Salty Flavorful Steak
1 1/2 tablespoons salt

2 teaspoons ground pepper

1 teaspoons garlic salt

1/4 cup warm water

1/4 cup vegetable oil

2 tablespoons white vinegar

1 tablespoon Daragel Grilling Herbs (or 1/2 tsp. dried rosemary, 1/2 tsp. dried thyme, and 1 tsp. dried parsley)
In a small bowl, whisk together all ingredients. Pour over steak and allow to marinate for 2 or more hours.
*** I just used a grilling seasoning that I found at the store and I only had 1 hour to marinate it and it was still amazing!

Photo Courtesy of Bunsintheoven.com

Brownies-
1 and 1/2 sticks butter, melted
6 Tbsp. cocoa
1 and 1/2 c. sugar
3 eggs1 and 1/3 c. flour
1 and 1/2 c. chopped pecans
1 and 1/2 tsp. vanilla
Melt butter in saucepan; then, add ingredients in order given. Mix each well- do all by hand. Bake in 300 degree oven for 30 minutes in a 9x13 inch pan. Butter and flour pan. Cover with the following frosting recipe when brownies have cooled.

Frosting-
1 stick butter, melted
3 Tbsp. cocoa
6 Tbsp. milk
1 lb. powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
In a sauce pan bring butter, cocoa, and milk to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in remaining ingredients. Cool slightly and frost brownies. Allow to cool more before serving.

Recipe and Photo Courtesy of Petitchef.com

Super Bowl Food

2011-02-03T12:09:00.001-08:00

The Super Bowl is this Sunday so I thought I would post a few recipes in case you are needing something yummy to make! Just click on them and they should take you to the recipe!

Sheet Pan Brownie Cake

Fried Nutella Won Tons

Chocolate Strawberry Cupcakes

2011-01-21T15:38:00.001-08:00

Chocolate cupcake, layer of chocolate ganache, butter cream frosting and a chocolate dipped strawberry! Oh my goodness! What an amazing cupcake! I made these cupcakes for a coworkers baby shower and they did not disappoint! They were a little time consuming but worth it!

How To Make:

1 .Make a box of chocolate cupcakes and let cool (I actually made the cupcakes 1 day in advance).

2. Wash strawberries and dry them on a towel. Melt chocolate (about 1 cup) in the microwave and dip the strawberries. Place in the fridge to set.

3. Make the chocolate ganache by melting 3/4 cup butter and 8 oz. of good semi sweet chocolate chopped over medium heat. Remove from heat and add 1 1/2 Tablespoons Light Corn Syrup. Allow to cool slightly. Dip each cupcake in the ganache. Place in fridge to set.

4. Make the butter cream frosting.

16 oz. powdered sugar, 1/2 cup butter softened, 3 Tablespoons milk, 2 teaspoons vanilla.

Beat sugar, butter, milk and vanilla at low speed until well blended If frosting becomes too thick beat in additional milk by teaspoons until the frosting is of spreading consistency. Add food coloring if desired.

5. When the strawberries and ganache are set, pipe or spread the butter cream frosting on cupcake and gently place the strawberry on top and gently push the strawberry into the frosting so it sticks a little bit.

6. Place back in fridge until the strawberry is set in the frosting and serve!

Working On Things

2011-01-11T09:59:00.001-08:00

I'm working on changing some things, hang tight!

Bacon Pinwheels

2011-01-09T17:33:00.000-08:00

I am all about quick, easy and good tasting food and this recipe is just that! I made these for our New Years Party but they would be great anytime- a snack, Baby or Wedding Shower or Super Bowl Party! Give them a try! You will need to double or triple this recipe because they go quick!

Bacon Pinwheels

From Our Best Bites Blog

1 tube of crescent roll dough

2 ounces cream cheese

5-ish bacon slices, fried and chopped

Bunch of green onions, chopped (optional – I left these out and they were still amazing!)

Handful or two of cheddar cheese

Sprinkling of garlic salt

Unroll the crescent roll dough and smoosh together all the seams. Roll it out with the rolling pin to flatten it a bit. Spread with 2 ounces of softened cream cheese, right out to the very edges. Sprinkle with garlic salt. Sprinkle on the cheese and bacon (and green onion, if using) as evenly as possible. Roll it up from long end to long end. Slice into 1/2 to 1 inch (ish) slices and place on a baking sheet. Bake as directed on the crescent roll package.

Pork Crown Roast

2010-12-30T17:15:00.000-08:00

I have always wanted to make a Crown Roast and decided that this Christmas would be the perfect time! I was scared though and had no idea where to start. I did a Google search and found a couple of recipes that I liked that seemed simple. I decided to go with Tyler Florence's recipe on Food Network and it was the perfect choice!

Now this is not a roast that you can just go and grab at the grocery store, it needs to be pre ordered and takes a couple of days notice for your butcher to prepare. I live in Utah and got my meat from Harmons Grocery Store. They charge $3.99/lb which was the cheapest I could find. They did an amazing job at preparing the roast for me and all I had to do was season it and cook it. I had 8 people that I was serving and asked for an 8-9 pound roast. I ended up with an 11 pound roast and this was plenty! Everyone went home with leftovers!

This recipe calls for the stuffing to be prepared in the roast which I did not do. I have issues with cooking stuffing in meat, so I did it on the side. I served with a brown gravy as well.

The roast was amazing! It was juicy, it had amazing flavor and the right amount of herbs. The roast did taste a lot like a pork chop so I'm not sure that it was worth the money considering pork chops are way cheaper. But it was cool to say that I cooked it and I would do it again!

Ingredients

1/2 bunch thyme, leaves only
1/2 bunch fresh sage, leaves only
2 cloves garlic, gently smashed and paper removed
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Extra-virgin olive oil
10 pounds pork rib roast (about 12 to 14 ribs)
Apple Pecan Stuffing, recipe follows
Watercress, for garnish, optional
Special equipment: roasting pan fitted with roasting rack

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Set rack on the bottom third of the oven so the roast will fit completely inside.

In a small mixing bowl or mortar and pestle, combine thyme, sage, garlic, and salt and pepper, to taste, and mash to break up herbs and garlic. Add oil, about 1 cup, and combine with pestle.

Take crown roast of pork and if your butcher hasn't already prepared it, clean the bones of meat with a boning knife (French them) and make a small cut into the meat in between each rib so you can wrap it into a circle easily; save the scraps. Rub the pork all over with the herb mixture. With the ribs on the outside, wrap the rack around onto itself so the ends meet and secure with kitchen twine so it holds its crown shape. *Cook's note: if you are doing this by yourself, using a skewer to help hold its shape while you wrap the kitchen twine around the roast.

Place in a roasting pan. Add the scraps into the bottom of the pan alongside the roast. This will help add flavor to your sauce. Set aside to bring the pork to room temperature prior to cooking.

Fill the cavity with Apple Pecan Stuffing.

Cover the stuffing and the tips of the rib bones with foil then place the whole roast in the oven and bake for 2 hours and 20 minutes, an instant-read thermometer inserted near the bone should register 150 degrees F when done. About 30 to 45 minutes prior to doneness, remove the foil to brown the stuffing and create a crust. Remove from the oven, loosely cover with foil and allow to rest for 30 minutes before cutting. Serve with Apple Pecan Stuffing and Gravy. Garnish with watercress if desired

Stuffing Recipe

Hearty Beef Stew

2010-11-21T20:10:00.000-08:00

Winter is here in Utah! Which means that it's cold and when it's cold you need warm hearty comfort food and that means Beef Stew! This recipe is so easy, so good and will warm your whole body up after plowing your driveway or playing in the snow with your kids! I suck again and didn't think to take a picture until it was too late and in my belly, sorry!

Beef Stew

From Just Get Off Your Butt and Bake

2 lbs. beef stew meat, cut into 1 inch cubes

1/2 cup flour

2 Tablespoons oil

1 bay leaf

2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1 onion, chopped (opt)

I use Onion powder or flakes instead to taste

2 Knorr Beef Bouillon cubes (any brand will work)

1/2 tsp. pepper

2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. sugar

6 carrots, peeled and sliced

1 cup sliced celery (opt)

4 lg. potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes

4 cups water

DIRECTIONS:

Coat meat with flour; set excess flour aside. In large skillet heat oil. Brown meat on all sides. In slow cooker, combine browned beef, bay leaf, Worcestershire sauce, sugar, chopped onion, bouillon cubes, pepper, salt, sugar, potatoes and vegetables. Pour water over all. (Almost to the top of your slow cooker). Cover and cook on low 8 to 10 hours. Turn control on high. Thicken with flour left over from coating (about 1/4 cup) dissolved in a small amount of warm water. Cover and cook on high 10 to 15 minutes or until slightly thickened. Makes 6-8 servings.

***This recipe called for 4 cups of water and then states to pour water almost to the top of the crock pot. I used 5 cups total and it was fine.

Easy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

2010-11-15T19:55:00.000-08:00

Even though Christmas lights are going up and people are already playing Christmas music, it is still fall! And that means that you need to make Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies because it just isn't fall without them! These cookies are the easiest cookies ever but the best cookies ever! I wish that my picture was scratch and sniff because these cookies smell amazing-Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Pumpkin and Chocolate! Enjoy fall and enjoy these cookies!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

From Bradleykitchen.blogspot.com

1 Box Spice Cake Mix

1 (14 oz.) Can Pumpkin Puree

1 bag (2 cups) Mini Chocolate Chips

Combine cake mix and pumpkin puree. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 12-15 minutes. I baked mine 14 minutes .

Weekly Menu

2010-11-14T22:22:00.002-08:00

Monday-Carbonara

Tuesday-Pasta From Costco

Wednesday-Macaroni and Cheese from The Girl Who Ate Everything

Thursday-Pork Chops and Roasted Potatoes

Friday-Beef Stew from Just Get Off Your Butt and Bake

Saturday-Take Out

Chicken A La King

2010-11-10T09:39:00.000-08:00

It is November and it is snowing at my house right now! The weather is getting colder and that means warm comfort food is needed and this dish is the perfect comfort food. Chicken, creamy sauce, cheese and buttery puff pastry, what is not to love? This dish is really similar to a pot pie, but it's in a little puff pastry shell which I think is better!

Chicken A La King

From Just Get Off Your Butt and Bake

Ingredients:

Chicken-cooked and cut into bite size pieces

Vegetables-you can use steamed fresh vegetables or I just used about 1 cup of frozen mixed vegetables, un thawed

1 Box of Puffed Pastry Shells-6 come in a box

Sauce:

1/3 cup butter

1/4 cup cornstarch mixed with 1/2 cup cold water

1/2 cup chicken broth

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon sugar

2 cups milk

1 1/2 cups grated or shredded cheddar cheese

***You can also add 1/4 teaspoon cracked red pepper flakes, 1/4 teaspoon onion powder, 1/4 teaspoon celery salt***

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place your puff pastry shells on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Mix together 1 egg and 1 Tablespoon water. Brush the egg mixture over the shells. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Remove the centers from the shells and set aside. Continue baking the shells for another 5 minutes.

While the shells are baking, make your sauce. In a medium saucepan over medium heat melt the butter. Add the broth, seasonings, milk and cornstarch mixture. Stir until sauce has thickened. Turn to low heat and add your cheese. Stir until the cheese is melted and combined. Do not let the sauce boil. If it gets too thick add more milk or broth. Add in the chicken and vegetables and stir warm, about 5 minutes. Fill your shells and top with cheese!

***We had leftover sauce and I had it the next day over egg noodles-so good!***

Stuffed Pizza Rolls

2010-11-07T20:03:00.000-08:00

Do you ever have those days where you don't really want to cook so you just stick a frozen pizza in the oven and call it dinner? I think I do that too often! If that ever happens again try making Stuffed Pizza Rolls. They are way better than frozen pizza and each person can customize their own! I think that husbands might like these even more than the kids!

Stuffed Pizza Rolls

From The Girl Who Ate Everything Blog

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning

Mozzarella cheese, diced or grated (diced is the least messy to use when stuffing the rolls)

Pizza toppings of your choice: ie, ham and pineapple, pepperoni slices, sausage, etc.

Preheat oven to heat specified on pizza dough package. Usually it's 400 degrees. If you make your own dough, 400 is usually a good heat as well.

Unroll your pizza dough onto a lightly floured surface. Pat or roll the dough so it's about 12" by 8". You're going to want to cut it into 24 squares, so just eyeball it if you need to. Use a pizza cutter to slice the dough into 24 squares.

Place cheese and desired toppings on each square. Just eyeball how much. You just need to be able to enclose the toppings in the dough so keep that in mind. *Don't put marinara in the rolls. Save it for dipping.

When all of your dough squares have cheese and toppings on them, carefully lift up each square and wrap the dough around the toppings. Pinch to make sure each ball is sealed shut and then place them seam side down in a lightly sprayed pie pan (or similar sized dish).

Brush the tops of the dough balls with olive oil or melted butter and then sprinkle with the garlic and Italian seasoning and top with Parmesan cheese.
Cook them in the oven for about 15-20 minutes or until golden brown on top. Keep an eye on them! Doughs vary, so I'd check them after even 10 minutes.

Serve warm with warmed marinara sauce on the side for dipping.

Mummy Suckers

2010-10-31T21:37:00.001-07:00

Every year my work throws a big Halloween pot luck and we have a dessert contest. I wasn't sure if I was going to participate this year, but decided the day before that I would. I was searching the Internet and came across Howdoesshe.com and they had these really cute Oreo Mummy Suckers and I knew that I was going to make them. And I did! They were really fun to make but took about 3 hours (most of that time was waiting for the chocolate to set). Friday was my work party and I woke up feeling really sick. So my amazing husband took my suckers to my work for me (he's a keeper). I was bummed when I heard that I didn't win, but I still had fun making them!

For the recipe and directions click HERE!

Chicken Stir Fry

2010-10-31T12:08:00.000-07:00

I have never made stir fry before but decided to give it a try! My husband is not the biggest fan of vegetables, but he was willing to try this recipe out. This recipe was really easy and had great flavor!

BROCCOLI AND CHICKEN STIR-FRY

SAUCE:

2 Tablespoons soy sauce

1 Tablespoon orange juice

1/2 teaspoon red wine vinegar

1 Tablespoon brown sugar

1 teaspoon sesame oil or canola oil

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (less if desired)

1/2 Tablespoon Cornstarch

1/4 Teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon ginger

Directions:

In a small bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, Orange juice, red wine vinegar, brown sugar, oil, red pepper flakes, garlic powder, ginger and cornstarch. Reserve.

Set a wok over medium high heat and coat bottom with 1 tablespoon of oil. When the oil shimmers and pops, add 10 to 15 pieces of chicken. Stir-fry until the chicken is fully cooked through. Transfer to a plate and repeat the process with the remaining chicken pieces.

Add the chicken back to the pan along with the sauce, and let simmer until sauce has reduced down a bit and thickened. If the sauce doesn’t get as thick as you would like, simply mix : 1 teaspoon cornstarch with 1/4 cup Cold water, and slowly add this mixture to your sauce.

Add the steamed veggies, toss and serve over rice or noodles.

***I doubled the sauce recipe and it was the perfect amount!

Ohh Fajita!

2010-10-24T10:48:00.000-07:00

This is the best thing that I have cooked in the kitchen in a long time! I have wanted to make fajitas for a while now but didn't think that my husband would eat them because of the vegetables in them. He said he would try them and guess what? He liked them! This recipe could be a staple at our house now because it was so quick and easy! Enjoy!

Steak Fajitas

Cook Time: About 15 minutes

Makes: 6 fajitas

1 large steak, cooked to your liking and cut into thin strips

1 green pepper, cut into thin strips

1 package Fajita Seasoning Mix (Plus water and oil to make it)

Mozzarella Cheese

Ranch Dressing

Tortillas (we used the small ones)

Combine the Fajita Seasoning Mix, water and oil and put into pan on stove. Add the green peppers and cook until tender, about 8 minutes. Add the steak and heat for just a minute or two to warm the steak up. Layer your tortilla with cheese, fajita mixture and ranch dressing. Eat and Eat and Eat!

Cheddar Bay Biscuits

2010-10-23T14:32:00.000-07:00

I love cheese and I love bread so to combine the two is heaven to me! These biscuits are so simple and came together in minutes! I though that the garlic butter you put on top would make them too garlicy but it was just the perfect hint of garlic!

2 cups Bisquick mix

2/3 cup milk
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/4 cup butter or margarine melted
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

Heat oven to 400 degrees. In a medium bowl, mix Bisquick, milk, and cheese until soft dough forms. Beat vigorously for about 30 seconds. Drop dough by spoonfuls onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake 8 to 10 minutes, or until golden brown. Mix melted butter and garlic powder in a small bowl. Brush over warm biscuits before removing from the cookie sheet. Serve warm.

**I used a large ice cream scoop to form the biscuits and got 14 biscuits!

Creamy Carbonara

2010-10-21T20:16:00.000-07:00

I have been trying to write this post and can't really think of anything to write about this pasta except that it's dam good and you should make it! So there you have it!

CREAMY BACON CARBONARA

2 eggs

1/4 cup Cream

1/3 cup Parmesan

Fresh diced Parsley or dried flakes

1/4 tsp. Salt

1/2 tsp Red Pepper flakes

*(I doubled the Sauce recipe, and it was perfect)

1/2 lb. bacon

1 small onion, chopped (opt)

3 mushrooms sliced (opt)

1/2 lb. Pasta

DIRECTIONS:

Beat the eggs, cream, Parmesan, parsley, salt and the red pepper together in a bowl. I just used a fork. Fry the bacon until crisp, then crumble and set aside. With 1 -2 Tbsp. bacon grease, saute the onion and the mushrooms until the onions are translucent and golden. Drain the pasta and while still warm, add to the onions and mushrooms. Pour cream mixture into the pasta, and stir over low heat for one to two minutes.

Orange Rolls and A Secret

2010-10-19T21:21:00.001-07:00

I have a secret...I am afraid to eat oranges! There was an incident when I was about 12 years old where an orange was thrown up on me and I haven't had one since! It's sad, I know but I just have that image and smell stuck in my head and I can't eat them. I saw these orange rolls on THIS blog and figured since just the peel was in them I could eat them and I am so glad that I made them! I made them for desert even though they seem more of a breakfasty item! They were warm, orangey, gooey and wonderful!

EASY BUTTERFLAKE ORANGE ROLLS

12 Rhodes Texas Rolls, thawed but still cold
zest from 1 large orange
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter, melted

Icing:
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon butter, melted
2-3 tablespoons fresh orange juice

Directions:

Cut each Texas roll into 5 equal pieces. Flatten each piece slightly. In a small bowl, combine orange zest and sugar. Dip both sides of each roll piece into butter and then orange sugar mixture. Stack five pieces together and place, on their sides, in a well sprayed muffin cup. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until double in size. Remove wrap and bake at 350°F 15-20 minutes. Remove from pan immediately and place on cooling rack. Combine icing ingredients and mix well. Brush over rolls while still warm.

*** I made 14 rolls and needed to double the butter and cinnamon sugar ingredients!

Weekly Menu

2010-10-11T09:29:00.000-07:00

Tuesday- Beef Stroganoff
Wednesday-Fried Chicken and Stuffing
Thursday-Marinated Steaks and Corn
Friday-Carbonara
Saturday-Chicken Pot Pie and Cheddar Biscuits
Sunday-Big Daddy's Chicken and Parmesan Knots
Monday-Chicken Stir Fry

Weekly Menu-Kindof

2010-10-10T16:35:00.000-07:00

So my husband has been out of town for the past week and a half, which means that I have not cooked. He also gets paid this week which means I can cook something good that doesn't involve what's in the back of the cupboard! I don't have a full weekly menu planned but some time this week I am making...

THIS and THIS and THIS and THIS and THIS and maybe THIS and maybe, maybe THESE!

I might be a little obsessed with THIS website!

Boo Game

2010-10-09T20:35:00.001-07:00

I hate Halloween but as a child, I loved it. I always loved the cutesy part of Halloween though, not the blood and guts. I remember my neighborhood playing the Boo Game and I always loved it. I started it tonight in my neighborhood and hope everyone has fun playing it! For those of you who don't know what the Boo Game is... you make a Halloween treat, get a cute basket or pail to put your treat in and pass on the instructions and a ghost that your neighbor leaves in their window so everyone else knows they have been Booed! HERE is the link to the print offs if you would like to start your own game! You do have to create a login to print them off though.

Paper Pumpkins

2010-10-05T20:29:00.000-07:00

I came across this cute idea today and will be making them soon!

http://craftskeepmesane.blogspot.com/2010/09/whatever-wednesday-paper-pumpkin.html

Found A New One

2010-09-26T21:45:00.000-07:00

I found a new (well new to me) food blog and I have spent the past hour looking at it! I'm in love with everything on this blog! I have a long list of things to try! It's called Just Get Off Your Butt and Bake! Check it out!

French Dip Subs

2010-09-20T08:51:00.000-07:00

So I have a secret to share...I actually don't like roast beef or french dip subs but I thought that my hubby would. So I made them and I ate one. And it was alright! It's not something that I would crave or normally want, but it was good. This recipe was super simple and easy!

From Favorite Family Recipes

4 Hoagie Rolls
1 package Au Jus Gravy Mix (I used McCormick)
1 pound Deli Roast Beef
Cream Cheese (to taste)
Provolone Cheese

Prepare the Au Jus Gravy as per package directions. Place the roast beef in the gravy and simmer for about 10-20 minutes. While beef is simmering in the sauce prepare the hoagie rolls by spreading cream cheese on the bottom bun of each hoagie and 2 slices of provolone cheese on each top bun. Place tops and bottoms of hoagies face up in the broiler for a minute or two until the cheese melts. Remove from the broiler. Using tongs, pull out some of the roast beef from the Au Jus and place it on the bottom bun. Cover with top bun and serve with remaining Au Jus graving for dipping!

Weekly Menu

2010-09-13T09:01:00.000-07:00

Monday-Marinated Steaks with Corn
Tuesday-Chick-Fil-A
Wednesday-Chicken Rice Casserole from HERE
Thursday-French Dip Subs (I had these on the menu a couple weeks ago but we never made them)
Friday-BBQ Chicken and Corn (I also had it on the menu for a few weeks but we haven't gotten around to making it)
Saturday-Penne a la Besty from HERE (we will use chicken instead of shrimp)
Sunday-Lasagna
Monday-Ham Fried Rice

Oh My!

2010-08-31T12:14:00.001-07:00

I found THIS recipe for a great steak marinade and thought I would try it. I think that I will always marinate my steaks because this was the best steak I have ever eaten!

You HAVE to try it out!

Salty Flavorful Steak

1 1/2 tablespoons salt
2 teaspoons ground pepper
1 teaspoons garlic salt
1/4 cup warm water
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons white vinegar
1 tablespoon Daragel Grilling Herbs (or 1/2 tsp. dried rosemary, 1/2 tsp. dried thyme, and 1 tsp. dried parsley)

In a small bowl, whisk together all ingredients. Pour over steak and allow to marinate for 2 or more hours.

*** I just used a grilling seasoning that I found at the store and I only had 1 hour to marinate it and it was still amazing!

Broken

2010-08-27T07:50:00.000-07:00

Sometimes things don't work out in the kitchen!

Weekly Menu

2010-08-14T22:17:00.000-07:00

I learned my lesson this past week so now I'm trying to post where I find the recipes in case I forget!

Monday-Burgers (It's summer time, nope we don't get sick of them)
Tuesday-Double Stacked Oven Grinders from Kraft Foods
Wednesday-BBQ Chicken and Corn the Cob
Thursday-French Dip Subs from Favorite Family Recipes Blog
Friday-Pulled Pork Sandwiches
Saturday-Marinated Steaks (from Bun in the Oven Blog) and Pasta Salad
Sunday-Lasagna Rolls
Monday-Take Out

Marinated Flank Steak

2010-08-12T14:54:00.001-07:00

My husband is a meat and potatoes guy, but sometimes I get sick of cooking and eating meat the same way. I have wanted to try flank steak for awhile but had no idea how to cook it. I had been blog hopping and found the perfect recipe, printed it off and then lost it. I know, sad. But luckily my friend Ariel found me this recipe and it's the exact same recipe I had lost! I made the steak for dinner last night and it was AMAZING! I let the steak marinate all day and it made the steak really juicy! Again, no picture, sorry!

For a picture and the recipe click HERE!

MMM Chiken

2010-07-26T06:58:00.001-07:00

I get so tired, and I'm sure that my husband does, of cooking chicken the same way. So when I saw this recipe I got excited, a new way to cook chicken, well new to us! We made these sandwiches last night and they were AMAZING!!!

Big Kahuna Sandwiches from Favorite Family Recipes

4 chicken breasts

1 bottle Teriyaki sauce (we used Lawry's brand)

3/4 c. brown sugar

4 slices deli ham

1 can sliced pineapple (or you can use fresh which would be even better)

4 slices Pepper Jack cheese (We used Provolone)

4 large hamburger buns

Pound chicken breasts until they are about 1/4" thick all around. Place in a large Ziploc bag. Combine Teriyaki sauce and brown sugar until sugar dissolves. Add 1/2 of the mixture to the bag with the chicken and seal tightly. Place bag in refrigerator for at least 4-5 hours. Separate remaining Teriyaki mixture into 2 separate bowls (to prevent cross contamination use 2 separate brushes too)-- one for the pineapple, one for the chicken. Open pineapple can and save a little of the juice in a bowl. Place chicken and pineapple on the grill (medium heat).

Cowboy Baby!

2010-07-24T20:13:00.001-07:00

We love burgers in our house so I'm always looking for a great new burger idea. A lot of restaurants are coming out with more gourmet burgers and I've seen the idea for Cowboy Burgers on a few commercials so I threw some ideas together and made my own! This burger has great flavor and is different from any burger I've ever tasted. And the hubby said it was a do over, which means it's really good! I really hate posting recipes without pictures but I was giving my hubby his burger and had a crying, hungry child in the other hand, sorry!

Cowboy Burgers

Makes 2

2 Hamburger Buns

2 hamburger patties

2 pieces of cheddar cheese (or whatever cheese you like)

4 pieces of fully cooked bacon (2 pieces for each burger)

BBQ Sauce

2 Tablespoons Miracle Whip or Mayo

1 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce

Lettuce

Tomato

Throw your burgers on the grill to cook. While your burgers are cooking toast your buns. Combine the Miracle Whip and Worcestershire Sauce. When your buns are toasted spread the Miracle Whip mixture on them. Right before your burgers are done put the cheese on them until it gets melty. Put your cheesy burger on the bun then put the bacon on the burger. Squirt it a couple of times with the BBQ sauce. Layer with the lettuce and tomato. Devour!

Weekly Menu

2010-07-18T17:48:00.000-07:00

Monday-Giada's Spicy Chicken Tenders
Tuesday-Spaghetti
Wednesday-Steaks
Thursday-Chicken Teriyaki Sandwiches
Friday-BBQ Ranch Salad
Saturday-Sloppy Joes
Sunday-Cowboy Burgers

Flag Cake

2010-07-04T11:19:00.000-07:00

Every year my family has a big 4th of July celebration at my parents house. We BBQ, watch fireworks and make homemade ice cream! The past couple years I have made ice cream, but this year I found THIS cake and really wanted to make it. I made it the day before so I didn't have to stress about getting it made and it held up great. The raspberries did bleed a little bit onto the white frosting, but it didn't bother me! The cake was a big hit at the party and I think that it will become a new tradition!

Weekly Menu

2010-06-28T13:41:00.000-07:00

Monday-Chicken and Rice Casserole
Tuesday-Spaghetti
Wednesday-Steak and French Frys
Thursday-Girls Night Out at Noodles
Friday-Pulled Pork Sandwiches-Trying a new recipe
Saturday-4th of July BBQ at my parents-so excited! I'm making THIS cake!
Sunday-Lemom Grilled Chicken and Corn on the Cob
Monday-Brisket

Food Lovers

2010-06-23T06:43:00.000-07:00

I was asked by a friend to be a contributor to her food blog Food Lovers! I am excited to join a blog like this and hope you check it out!

Taco Scoops

2010-06-22T22:44:00.000-07:00

I think that we have tacos at least once a month at our house, they are quick, easy and yummy. So I decided to spice things up a little and made Taco Scoops, bite size tacos! Dress these babies up any way you want-salsa, ranch, guacamole, refried beans or whatever your tummy desires! These Taco Scoops are perfect for kids, game night or any party!

Tostito Scoops Chips

1 pound ground beef

1 package Taco Seasoning

Cheddar Cheese

Salsa

Ranch

Chopped Olives

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and place the Tostito Scoops on the pan. Brown the ground beef with the taco seasoning. Fill the Scoops with the ground beef and top with cheddar cheese and olives. Bake for 5 minutes or until cheese is melted. Top with salsa and ranch.

If you like refried beans, before you fill the Scoops with ground beef put a little scoop of beans on the bottom of the Scoops and then fill with ground beef.

Steak Sandwich For Dad

2010-06-15T18:15:00.000-07:00

We have a great neighborhood and great neighbors! And because it's Summer in Utah (Kind of) we have been grilling with them. At one of our BBQs my neighbor make some steak sandwiches but I didn't get to try one because I was eating a bigger steak! So I thought I would try making my own and it was great! The steak was so thin and seasoned nicely, the bread was slightly toasted and the lettuce gave it a nice crunch. This sandwich would be great for Father's Day or for any BBQ!

Steak Sandwiches

(Makes 3)

3 Thin slices of round steak

Lawrys Steak Marinade

3 Ciabatta Rolls

Lettuce

Tomato

Miracle Whip

Provolone Cheese

Put the steaks in a ziploc bag and marinate with about 1/2 cup of the marinade for 30 minutes. Throw those babies on the grill. While they cook (which takes about 5 minutes) toast the rolls. Spread the Miracle Whip on the rolls. Top with a slice of the steak and put the cheese on top of the steak so it melts a little bit. Top with the lettuce and tomato. Serve with some chips, fruit, potato salad or whatever you want!

Happy Father's Day and Happy Grilling!

Orange Cupcakes

2010-05-10T12:41:00.001-07:00

I came across these fabulous looking cupcakes while blog hopping. They look so light and perfect for Spring. I hosted a Girls Night Out at my house and served these for dessert, they were a big hit!

Photo and recipe courtesy of Realmomkitchen.com

Fresh Orange Cupcakes

1 package of yellow cake mix
1/4 cup of sugar
1 tablespoon of orange zest
1 cup of orange juice
1/2 cup of canola oil
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
4 large eggs

1. In a large bowl, combine the cake mix, sugar, and orange zest. Whisk to combine. Add orange juice, canola oil, vanilla extract and eggs. Blend with the mixer on low speed for one minute, then speed it up to medium and beat for 2 more minutes.
2. Fill cupcake papers about 1/2 to 2/3 full. Bake at 350F until golden in color and a toothpick test comes out clean, about 22-25 minutes.
3. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Orange Buttercream Frosting

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, very soft
6-8 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup orange juice
1 teaspoon grated orange zest

Place the butter in a large mixing bowl. Add 4 cups of sugar, then the juice and the zest. Beat until smooth and creamy. Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, until icing is thick enough to be of good spreading consistency (I added 6 cups total). Use and store at room temperature. (Don’t refrigerate and it will last in a covered container for about three days.)

Italian Sub

2010-04-29T11:02:00.000-07:00

Italian Sub

1 baguette (10 inch), partially split
1 Tbsp. Miracle Whip Light Dressing
3 slices Fresh Shaved Smoked Ham
3 slices Fresh Shaved Smoked Turkey Breast
1 Swiss Cheese Slice
1 cup shredded lettuce
3 thin tomato slices
1 thin red onion slice, separated into rings
2 tsp. Italian Dressing

Spread bottom half of bread with Miracle Whip. Fill with all remaining ingredients except Italian dressing. Drizzle with Italian dressing. Cut in half.

Swiss Club

2010-04-29T10:59:00.000-07:00

Swiss Club

1 Tbsp. Miracle Whip Dressing
1 Ciabatta sandwich roll, split
1 cup torn salad greens
1 Swiss Cheese Slice
4 slices Shaved Rotisserie Seasoned Chicken Breast
2 slices tomatoes
1 slice Bacon, cooked
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

Spread dressing onto bottom half of roll. Fill with remaining ingredients.

Chopped Salad

2010-04-29T10:56:00.000-07:00

Chopped Salad

1 Tbsp. Miracle Whip Light Dressing
2 Tbsp. Italian Dressing
2 cups chopped lettuce
1/4 cup chopped tomatoes
1 Tbsp. chopped red onions
3 slices Deli Fresh Shaved Smoked Turkey Breast, chopped
1 slice Bacon, cooked, chopped

Mix dressings in 3-cup resealable container; top with layers of remaining ingredients. Seal container. Shake container to evenly coat salad with dressing.

Weekly Menu

2010-04-27T10:22:00.001-07:00

I suck at taking lunches to work so this week I am going to try hard and take my own lunch everday. So I provided that menu this week as well!

Dinner
Tuesday-Take-Out
Wednesday-Chicken Enchiladas
Thursday-Pizza
Friday-Having Girls Night Out Pasta Bar and Orange Cupcakes (It will have it's own post)
Saturday-Ribs, Corn, Pasta Salad
Sunday-Chicken Roll-Ups
Monday-Zataran Jambalya

Lunch
Italian Sub
BLT
Swiss Club
Chopped Salad

Cheesecake and Kisses

2010-04-26T12:54:00.000-07:00

It's April again which means that my best friend, April gets a cheesecake made by me for her birthday! I emailed her and asked her if she had any ideas. She sent me 4 links to recipes found on blogs. I had been wanting to make a chocolate cheesecake and this one looked amazing! I read through the recipe and my mouth dropped to the floor when I read how much cream cheese is in this recipe! 32oz!!! But oh boy those 32 oz. made the creamiest most decadent cheesecake ever. And April's husband would agree as well because he kissed me on the forehead after he tasted it! The only alteration that I made to this cheesecake was to add a couple dashes of cinnamon to the crust! If you haven't tried this in your cheesecake crust, do it! It makes it even more amazing! And I used regular graham crackers because I had them on hand but it worked out just fine!

Double Chocolate Italian Cheesecake

Ingredients:

Crust Ingredients:

1 cup chocolate graham cracker crumbs
3 tablespoons melted butter
2 tablespoons sugar

Cheesecake Ingredients:

32 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
4 tablespoons butter, softened
1 1/3 cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 eggs
6 ounces bittersweet (or semi-sweet) chocolate, melted and cooled to just above room temperature
6 ounces white chocolate, melted and cooled to just above room temperature

Glaze Ingredients:

8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter
1 1/2 tablespoons light corn syrup

Instructions:

1. Combine crust ingredients in a mixing bowl. Pour mixture into a greased 9-inch spring form pan and press flat. Wrap the bottom and outside of the pan with foil. We recommend two layers of extra-wide heavy-duty foil. We also use a rectangular piece of cardboard (4-6 inches long and 2-3 inches wide) placed between the latch (on the outside of the spring form) and the foil, to prevent the latch from piercing the foil.

2. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Put softened cream cheese, whipping cream, softened butter, and sugar in a large bowl. Mix at medium-low speed just until smooth. Stir in vanilla. Add eggs one at a time and mix on low speed until blended.

3. Divide cream cheese mixture evenly into two bowls. Add melted bittersweet chocolate to one, stirring to mix. Add melted white chocolate to the other, stirring to mix.

4. Pour white chocolate cheesecake batter into prepared pan, smoothing into a flat layer. Gently spoon bittersweet chocolate in a layer over the white chocolate batter. Place spring form pan in a large shallow roaster or broiler pan. Fill pan with an inch of hot water.

5. Bake 60-80 minutes or until edges are puffed and top looks dull and is dry to the touch. Center should move slightly when side of pan is tapped. Turn off oven. Let cheesecake stand in oven for an hour. Cool to room temperature; refrigerate overnight.

6. Make glaze by melting chocolate and butter over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and stir in corn syrup. Allow glaze to cool slightly (to about 80 degrees).

7. Remove sides from spring form pan. Place cheesecake on a wire rack over a baking sheet or counter top. Pour glaze over top and sides of cheesecake, spreading with a spatula. Refrigerate until set. Slice into 16 pieces. Store in refrigerator or freeze for longer storage

**Recipe from Tammysrecipes.com

Peanut Butter, Peanut Butter, Jelly, Jelly

2010-04-23T06:35:00.000-07:00

Did you ever sing the Peanut Butter song in kindergarten? Well I did and it was my favorite! I think that is where my love for PB started! These cookies are filled with PB but no jelly, sorry! I don't really think jelly belongs in a cookie anyway! This is another recipe that I found on my friend Aprils Blog and stole. I made desserts for a baby shower Tuesday night and needed another cookie to make. These are darn good cookies and I love that they are PB Cookies with a twist, Toffee Chips!

Toffee Peanut Butter Cookies

1 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup quick cooking oatmeal

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup butter, room temperature

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

1 large egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

1/2 cup finely chopped toffee bits (such as Heath)

Preheat oven to 375F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, oatmeal, baking soda and salt.

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugars until light. Beat in egg and vanilla until smooth, followed by crunchy peanut butter. With the mixer on low speed or working by hand, gradually blend in the flour mixture, then stir in the toffee bits. Drop scant 1-inch balls onto prepared baking sheet.

Bake for 8 minutes, until edges are golden. Cool on baking sheet for 3-4 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

**The original recipe comes from Baking Bites, adapted by April, then adapted by me!

Mrs. Fields Cookies

2010-04-19T21:16:00.000-07:00

I absolutely adore chocolate chip cookies, who doesn't? And especially warm chocolate chip cookies straight from the oven! Oh I want one now! I have had the hardest time baking them though. I blame it on the high altitude of Utah. I blame everything on that! But I have finally found a recipe that works!

I found this recipe on my best friend April's BLOG. She loves to bake too and I'm glad that she shared this recipe with me. This recipe makes about 9 dozen cookies. I know! That's a ton! But make the whole recipe. Bake what you need and flash freeze the rest and bake at a later time. And bake a few for me while you're at it!

1 pound butter (4 sticks)

1 1/2 cups white sugar

2 cups brown sugar

3 eggs

2 tablespoons vanilla

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

6 cups flour

5 cups chocolate chips

2 cups chopped nuts (optional)

First cream the butter and sugar together for 10 minutes. It's important that you cream these 3 ingredients for at least 10 minutes. Add the eggs and cream for another 2 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. (This was a lot of cookie dough and so I had to transfer everything from my mixer bowl into a large bowl and mix the last little bit of flour and chocolate chips by hand.) Place cookies on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes. Remove them to a cooling rack.

Spaghetti Pie

2010-04-18T09:37:00.001-07:00

When I got married my ward threw me a kitchen shower and everyone was to bring a recipe to give to me. This is one of the recipes that I received and I have used it often! This recipe is great because it's simple, you probably have all of the ingredients on hand, it's comfort food and it makes 2 pies, so you can keep one and give one away!

Spaghetti Pie

1 pound al dente cooked spaghetti (it truly does need to be al dente because it will continue to cook in the oven)

1 pound ground beef cooked and drained

2 eggs

1/3 cup Parmesan cheese

1 cup sour cream

1 cup cottage cheese

3 cups meat sauce

8 oz. mozzarella cheese

Combine spaghetti and ground beef. In a separate bowl combine eggs, Parmesan cheese, sour cream and cottage cheese. Then add to the spaghetti and ground beef mixture and stir until the spaghetti is coated. Butter 2 pie plates (or 1 9X13 inch pan if your not sharing). Then take about 1/2 cup of the sauce and coat the bottom of the pans , this helps the pasta to not stick to the bottom of the pan. Divide the mixture between the 2 pans and pat down. Top the spaghetti with meat sauce and mozzarella cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. If the cheese starts to get too brown, cover with foil. Cut, serve and enjoy with some hot garlic bread!

** You don't have to add the ground beef if you don't want to, but we like too! And if you don't like cottage cheese like we do, just leave it out and it will taste just fine!

I'm already tired!

2010-04-16T20:03:00.000-07:00

Lots of cooking and baking will be occurring in my nook of the house this week, I'm already tired just thinking about it. In the next week I will be posting recipes for Mrs. Fields Cookies, Peanut Butter Heath Cookies, Carrot Cake, A Chocolate Cheesecake and Spaghetti Pie! And on the 30th I'm hosting Girls Night Out and will be serving a pasta bar! I'm so excited! So stay tuned!

Giada's Pasta

2010-04-11T22:59:00.000-07:00

Giada is my favorite chef on Food Network! I love almost everything she makes and would love to be as hot as she is! And in case you haven't heard, Giada has a new line of food and cookware at Target.

I wanted to try her pasta and sauce and expected it to be expensive but it wasn't! Her pasta and sauces are under $3 each which makes for a cheap meal. My husband is really picky about pasta sauce and hates jarred sauces, but loved Giadas. We tried her tomato basil sauce and it had actual basil in it and amazing flavor! So if you have been wanting to try it, do it! You won't regret it!

Pasta With Sausage

1 Box of Giada's Farfalle Pasta

1 Jar of Giada's Tomato Basil Sauce

1 lb. ground sausage

Cook the pasta according to package directions. While pasta is cooking, cook the ground sausage. Combine the pasta, sausage and sauce. Cook until sauce is heated through. Top with shredded mozzarella cheese if desired!

Ham Fried Lice

2010-04-02T16:17:00.000-07:00

Chris and I are not huge fans of Asian food but we do love Ham Fried Rice! I had never made it before and thought it would be really hard, but it's not! This recipe makes a large quantity so we always have leftovers! The original recipe is just for fried rice, but I add ham to mine. If you wanted to you could add chicken or just leave the meat out!

Ham Fried Rice

Adapted From Heartland Fried Rice Recipe in Angel Shannon's Stick of Butter Cookbook

Makes 6 servings

5 eggs

1 stick of butter

3 cups cooked white rice, unsalted and cooled I have also used wheat rice and it works just fine)

1/4 cup finely minced fresh onion

1/4 cup finely chopped celery

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 cup cooked, diced ham

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in large skillet. Add the fresh onion and celery, cook until just soft. Break eggs into a bowl and whisk together. Pour eggs into skillet with onion and celery and scramble until firmly set, breaking the eggs into small pieces.

Add remaining butter, soy sauce and rice. Cook over medium high heat for about 5 minutes, turning rice over occasionally.

**The original recipe says to cook the rice for 20 minutes once everything is added. Since everything is already cooked at that point, I don't see why you need to cook it that long. So I just cook it for 5 minutes to warm the ham up.

White Bread

2010-03-28T14:40:00.000-07:00

I've had a fear of yeast for a few years now, but I'm slowly getting over it. I've made pizza dough, cinnamon rolls and now bread using yeast. I'm no pro, but I'm getting better. I used to make bread when I was about 15 years old at my parents house using a bread maker that my grandmother gave me. I have no idea where that bread maker went though. So I decided to stick with a recipe that I could bake in the oven. This recipe is easy and the bread is really great! It keeps for about 1 week and is great with some butter, jam or honey!

1/2 cup milk

3 Tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons salt

3 Tablespoons butter or margarine

2 packages active dry yeast

1 1/2 cups warm water (105-115 degrees)

5-6 cups flour (I use 6)

Place milk, sugar, salt and butter in small saucepan. Heat over low heat until butter melts and sugar dissolves. Cool to lukewarm.

Dissolve yeast in warm water in warmed mixer bowl Add lukewarm milk mixture and 4 1/2 cups flour. Attach bowl and dough hook to mixer. Turn to Speed 2 and mix about 1 minute.

Continuing on Speed 2, add remaining flour 1/2 up at a time and mix about 2 minutes or until dough clings to hook and cleans side of bowl. Knead on Speed 2 about 2 minutes longer or until dough is smooth and elastic. Dough will be slightly sticky to the touch.

Place dough in greased bowl, turning to grease top. Cover. Let rise in warm place, free from draft, about 1 hour, or until doubled in size.

Punch dough down and divide in half. Shape each half into a loaf and place in greased baking pans (I like to roll out the dough to a square, to get the air bubbles out. Then roll up, tuck ends under and put into pan). Cover. let rise in warm place, free from draft, about 1 hour, or until doubled in size.

Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans and cool on wire racks.

***This recipe makes 2 large loafs or 4 small loafs

CB2

2010-03-12T12:38:00.001-08:00

I just discovered THIS website and have already purchased some serving pieces from it! Love it!

Weekly Menu

2010-03-10T15:12:00.000-08:00

I'm kind of lazy and we're sick in my house so the menu for the next week is going to be quick and easy things!

Wednesday-Chicken Cutlets and rice
Thursday-Tacos
Friday-Ribs
Saturday-Teriyaki Chicken (Thanks Sams Club)
Sunday-Sloppy Joes
Monday-Ham Fried Rice
Tuesday-Pork Chops and mashed potatoes

Picture Ledge

2010-03-05T13:20:00.000-08:00

I'm sorry if you read this on my family blog but I'm posting it here as well!

I have been on a decorating kick lately! It has taken me some time, but I have been working on a few projects and they are finally (almost) finished and I am ready to share them!

The first project is a picture ledge. I saw the idea on THIS blog and wanted to re create it in my home. I went to Ikea and purchased a PICTURE LEDGE and some frame less picture frames from HERE, blew up some pictures in black and white from Costco, added some bamboo from Ikea (bamboo was $2.99 and the pot was $.29!) and done!

I love the look of the frame less picture frames, I think it's classy with the black and white pictures. I originally purchased the frames from Ikea, but the sizes were really weird and my pictures would not fit correctly in them.

I plan on changing the pictures every few months!

Chicken Pot Pie

2010-02-26T18:27:00.000-08:00

I really hate posting recipes without pictures, but I've been meaning to post this recipe for a year! I love this recipe because it's so easy, the presentation is lovely and the taste is amazing! It's really quick to throw together and makes the perfect Sunday night dinner!

1/2 Rotisserie Chicken (skinned and cut into bite sized pieces)

1 package pie crust (a top and a bottom)

1 package of frozen mixed vegetables

1/3 cup butter

1/3 cup flour

Salt and Pepper to taste

1 3/4 cup chicken broth

2/3 cup milk

1 egg, beaten

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Put the bottom pie crust in your pie pan. Prick the pie crust with a fork a couple of times. Melt the butter. Then add the flour and stir to combine. Cook for 1 minute. Add salt and pepper to taste, the chicken broth and the milk. Bring to a boil and cook for 1 minute. You want the sauce to have just a little bit of thickness to it. Remove from the heat. Add the chicken and the frozen vegetables and stir. Pour into the pie crust. Put your top pie crust on and cut and X on the top to allow steam to vent out. Brush your crust with the egg. Bake for 25 minutes.

Weekly Menu

2010-02-18T10:38:00.000-08:00

Thursday-Digornio Pizza
Friday-Steak and Cheese Fondue (Celebrating Valentines Day because my hubby was gone)
Saturday-Going Out with Friends
Sunday-BBQ Chicken Pizza
Monday-Chicken Pot Pie
Tuesday-Beef Stew
Wednesday-Stauffers Enchiladas
Thursday-Burgers

Zatarans

2010-02-06T21:29:00.000-08:00

I have a 5 month old which means that dinner needs to be quick and easy. So while watching TV the other day I saw a commercial for Zataran Rice. In the commercial they cooked the rice and added sausage. How much easier could it get? It literally took me 2 minutes to throw together and 25 minutes to cook in the microwave! And the best part was, it was really, really good! My husband even said that I should make it again, which means it was really, really good! So give it a try and it's ok to sing the Zataran jingle while throwing it together, I did!

1 box of Zataran Rice (We used the Jambalaya Flavor)

1/2 of a sausage link cut into 1/2 inch pieces

Water (it will tell you how much to use on the box)

Throw together and microwave for 25 minutes!

Weekly Menu

2010-02-03T13:57:00.000-08:00

I'm aware that it's the middle of the week, but whatever!

Wednesday-Dinner at Red Robin for my little bro's birthday
Thursday-Pasta with chicken, peas, bacon and Alfredo sauce
Friday-Zataran Rice with sausage
Saturday-Pork Tenderloin and mashed potatoes
Sunday-Lasagna
Monday-Spaghetti

Shirley J Sauce

2010-02-02T09:17:00.000-08:00

I was watching Good Things Utah yesterday and they featured a product called Shirley J Universal Sauce. This looks like an amazing product but I'm wondering if it's good. Has anyone tried it?

The Perfect Cinnamon Roll

2010-01-03T16:43:00.000-08:00

I'm a sucker for a good pastry and I'm pretty sure that cinnamon rolls are my favorite! My mom used to make us cinnamon rolls on Sunday mornings before church when I was growing up so that might be why I like them so much.

This year I was asked to make cinnamon rolls for Christmas morning and I thought, no problem. Except that I had never them from scratch before, I usually just pop the tube open and cook them in the toaster oven. But I really wanted to make them from scratch so I found a great recipe. The day before Christmas I made the dough. It didn't rise. So I tried the same recipe again, and it didn't rise. I was getting mad at this point so I pulled out every cookbook I own and looked for another recipe. I couldn't really find one that I liked. That is until I pulled out my Kitchen Aid mixer booklet. I found some recipes in the back of the booklet and decided to try the Basic Sweet Dough recipe. Well it worked! The rest of the recipe is a combination of other recipes that I liked and I think that together, the 3 recipes make the perfect cinnamon rolls!

They are well worth the work and the wait!

Dough:

3/4 cup milk

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup butter

2 packages active dry yeast

1/3 cup warm water

3 eggs, at room temp.

5 1/2-6 1/2 cups flour

Place milk, sugar, salt and butter in a small saucepan. Heat over low heat until butter melts and sugar dissolves. Cool to lukewarm. Meanwhile, dissolve yeast in warm water in warm mixer bowl. Add lukewarm milk mixture, eggs and 5 cups flour. Attach bowl and dough hook to mixer. Turn to Speed 2 and mix 2 minutes. Continuing on Speed 2 add remaining flour (I only use another 1/2 cup) and mix 2 minutes, or until dough clings to hook and cleans the sides of the bowl. Knead on Speed 2 another 2 minutes. Place dough in a greased bowl, turning to grease the top. Cover. Let rise in warm place 1 hour or until doubled in size.

While the dough rises go ahead and make filling and the cream cheese frosting.

Filling:

3 teaspoons cinnamon

2/3 cup packed brown sugar

1/3 cup sugar

Combine in small bowl.

Cream Cheese Frosting:

6 oz. cream cheese

2 tablespoons milk

3 cups powdered sugar

Using your paddle attachment, cream all ingredients together until smooth. Place in fridge until ready to frost cinnamon rolls.

When dough has doubled size, place on floured surface. Roll dough to a 10X24 inch rectangle. Spread 1/2 stick softened butter over the dough then coat with the filling mixture. Roll dough tightly from long side to form 24 inch roll, pinching seam together. Cut into 24 slices, 1 inch each. Place 12 rolls each in two greased 13x9 inch pans. Cover. Let rise in warm place 1 hour or until doubled in size. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown on top. Let cool for about 5-10 minutes and then frost. Serve warm or when ready to eat nuke each cinnamon roll in the microwave for 10-15 seconds.

Peppermint Trifle

2009-12-27T10:56:00.000-08:00

I made THIS recipe and it was mmmmm good! I cheated a little though! I used a box brownie mix and frosted them with canned whipped chocolate frosting when they were cooled and I made instant chocolate pudding. I did not skip on making the peppermint mousse though-you can't! It was amazingly good and I will for sure make it again!

Cool Find

2009-12-22T09:52:00.000-08:00

I found THIS cool blog! I'm totally jealous of this woman because she's cute, can cook, sew, dresses cute, travels and takes cool pictures. Her wardrobe reminds me of my friends Ariel, Tracy and Sydnie. They are way cute girls with kind of vintagey styles and I wish that I had that style. I will be checking her blog often!

Triple Chocolate Peppermint Trifle

2009-12-19T17:57:00.000-08:00

I was assigned to bring a dessert for Christmas night dinner at my grandmas house. THIS is what I will be making. I can not wait to try it, it sounds soooo good!

Bone To Pick

2009-12-17T07:48:00.000-08:00

I love food blogs and there are a lot of good food blogs out there! I love to look at recipes and see a picture of the finished product. I like to know what the food I'm going to eat is supposed to look like. But what I don't like is taking a picture of every step of the cooking process! I really don't need to know what adding flour to wet ingredients looks like, I don't need to know what stirring looks like. Just leave those pictures out and give me the finished product photo. Thank you!

Weekly Menu

2009-12-14T10:10:00.000-08:00

Monday: Take-Out
Tuesday: Ham Casserole
Wednesday: Chicken Casserole
Thursday: Sausage and Pasta
Friday: TGI Fridays Pasta Bag from the freezer

2009-11-18T14:43:00.001-08:00

Thanksgiving is almost here! I have been watching A LOT of Food Network and am so pumped up for Thanksgiving. I am excited about the smells, cooking, leftovers and spending time with family! I've hosted Thanksgiving at my house the past 2 years and will be doing it again this year. I've kind of played it safe in the past but this year I'm stepping it up a notch. The pies will be from scratch, the turkey will be more flavorful (hopefully) and no Stove Top will be on my table. So here are the recipes that I've chosen to use. Maybe they will come in handy for you!

Green Beans (I'm going to add bacon to these)

Gravy

Whipped Cream

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving Everyone!

2nd Year In A Row!

2009-11-02T14:31:00.000-08:00

My work has a Halloween Party every year and we have a dessert contest. I won last year so I decided I would enter again this year and see if I could win again. Our theme this year was Spiders. I made these Spider Web cookies and WON!!!! I have a 7 week old baby so I decided to make these cookies as easy as possible for me. They still turned out cute and were really fun to make!

Sugar Cookie Dough
1 can of white frosting
1 tube of black gel
Halloween Sprinkles
Halloween M&Ms

Make the sugar cookies. When they are cooled frost them with the white frosting. When the frosting sets, make circles with black gel. Drag a toothpick from the center to the edge to create the web. When the gel is almost set, put an M&M on the cookie and use sprinkles for the legs. I used a toothpick to help position the sprinkles close to the M&M. Let set and enjoy!

Eatin Good

2009-11-02T13:18:00.001-08:00

We have been eating good around my house lately! My husband is a meat lover so when I saw this recipe I knew I had to try it out! I have never cooked brisket before and was a little scared, but it was super easy! The brisket was super moist and juicy, I only wish I got a bigger brisket

(we fed 5 of us) so we could have more leftovers! I served the brisket with red potatoes that I boiled, cut in half, covered in cheddar cheese and bacon bits and heated until the cheese is melted-yummy!

Ingredients:

4 or 5 pound brisket

4 oz. liquid smoke

4 oz. Worcestershire

Garlic salt

Celery salt

Onion salt

1 cup of your favorite BBQ sauce

Method:

Place brisket in a large, shallow Pyrex.

Add the liquid smoke and Worcestershire sauce all over.

Rub brisket with lots of garlic salt, celery salt, and onion salt.

Refrigerate overnight.

Bake in a covered roaster at 325 degrees for 3 hours.

Add one cup of your favorite BBQ sauce and cook uncovered for 30 minutes.

Let cool 1 hour before slicing and serving

Some Tips:

I only marinated the brisket for 1 hour and it worked out great

Make sure you double line your pan with foil to make clean up easy!

And cook the meat in the marinade

If you live in Salt Lake, get your brisket from Sniders Bros. Meats on Highland Drive (they even seasoned the meat for me)! I learned that most stores have to order brisket for you, but they usually have it everyday.

Oven Ribs

2009-10-25T19:51:00.000-07:00

I had some ribs in our freezer and decided to make them, except I didn't want to grill them. So I decided to cook them in the oven instead. I wasn't sure how long to cook them or what temperature so I Googled oven ribs. I found a couple recipes that I liked and combined them. I don't mean to toot my own horn but they were the best ribs I have ever had. They were really moist and the crust on them was great. I hope you try them, they are worth the time!

Oven Ribs

Rack of Ribs
1/4 cup Salt
1/4 cup Sugar
1 Tablespoon Paprika (more if you want, but taste it first)
1 Teaspoon Garlic Powder
BBQ Sauce

Mix the salt, sugar, paprika and garlic powder together. Coat ribs with the mixture, making sure it sticks to the ribs. Place in large pan (I just used a glass pan) and fill with 1 inch of water or halfway up the ribs. Cook at 250 degrees for 1 hour. Turn ribs and cook for another hour. Pour the liquid out of the pan and coat the ribs with as much BBQ sauce as you want. Cook at 400 degrees for 30 minutes and serve!

Ideas

2009-10-22T21:39:00.000-07:00

When I started this blog I decided that it would be a food and craft blog. Well it's mostly turned into a food blog because I haven't crafted anything for awhile. Well I still haven't. I have a lot of ideas swirling in my head but need time and money to make them happen. I got some more ideas from THIS blog as well. I'm in love with her photography and simple craft ideas. I'm sure you can find some ideas from her blog. I will keep you posted on my crafting as it happens!

Mmmmm Good

2009-10-18T14:29:00.000-07:00

Fall is here! It is one of my favorite times of the year because the leaves are changing colors, the air is crispy, I love wearing jackets, I love cuddling to keep warm and I love warm comfort food! And one of my favorite comfort foods is chili. Chili is such a simple dish but such a good one. This recipe is one that you can cook on the stove quick or you could put it in the crock pot for a few hours. I prefer the crock pot because your whole house will smell good and yummy! Happy Fall everyone!

1 pound ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1 (14.5 oz) can stewed tomatoes
1 (15 oz.) can tomato sauce
1 (15 oz.) can kidney beans
1 1/2 cups water
1 t. chili powder
1 t. garlic powder
Salt and Pepper to taste

In a large saucepan over medium heat, combine the beef and onion and saute until meat is browned and onion is tender. Add the stewed tomatoes with juice, tomato sauce, beans and water.
Season with the chili powder, garlic powder, salt and ground black pepper to taste. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and let simmer for 15 minutes.

Crock Pot Way-
In a large saucepan over medium heat, combine the beef and onion and saute until meat is browned and onion is tender. Combine in crock pot with remaining ingredients and cook on high for 3 hours.

Chick-Fil-A

2009-10-14T14:17:00.000-07:00

I'm in love with Chick-Fil-A!!! I probably eat it once a week and ate it 3-4 times a week while I was pregnant. Well I recently found a recipe that claims to be the recipe for Chick-Fil-A nuggets. I'm dying to try it out and see how it compares. So who wants to have a taste test party?

Taco Tuesday

2009-10-11T16:07:00.000-07:00

Albertsons has Taco Tuesday every Tuesday-they sell 1 pound of ground beef for $2, a package of tortillas for $2 and a package of cheese for $2. I think $2 for a pound of beef is a good deal so that's when I stock up! And sometimes they are trying to sell the meat before it goes bad so they give you $1 off and then I freeze the meat!

Easy Stuffed Shells

2009-10-11T15:54:00.000-07:00

So I posted that I would be making Stuffed Shells and using a recipe by Kneaders Bakery to make them. I decided to tweak a few things in the recipe to make it work for my family. I actually made the shells for some friends and they loved it. They were surprised at how I made the sauce and said it tasted home made! This is the only way that I make spaghetti sauce because it is the way my hubby likes it. This recipe makes a 9X13 pan which fed 4 adults and 2 kids and we had some leftover.

Ingredients:

1 package of large pasta shells
2 c. Ricotta Cheese
3 c. Mozzarella Cheese (plus extra for sprinkling on top)
½ c. grated Parmesan Cheese (plus extra for sprinkling on top)
2 eggs
2 T. dried Parsley
1 tsp. Salt
¼ tsp. Pepper

1 lb. Ground beef
1 package McCormick Italian Spaghetti sauce (you will need 1 can of tomato paste to make this sauce)

Method:

1-Cook ground beef and drain the grease. Make the spaghetti sauce according to package. Follow the directions for the meat sauce.

2-In a separate pot bring water to a boil. Add shells and cook according to package directions.

3-In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese, eggs, parsley salt and pepper.

To Assemble:

1-In the bottom of a baking dish (9 by 13) put ¼ cup of the meat sauce mixture.

2-Stuff shells full of cheese mixture and place in the baking dish.

3-Pour the rest of the meat sauce on top of the shells.

4- Sprinkle the extra cheeses on top.

5-Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until cheese is melted on top.

Pork Chops

2009-10-06T13:38:00.000-07:00

Most people don't love pork chops because they are too dry and cooked incorrectly. This is the way that I have always cooked them and they have never been dry before!

Pork Chops
2-3 spoonfuls of flour (enough to coat the chops)
2-3 Tablespoons of seasoning (I like to use dry Ranch or Italian Dressing)
Salt and Pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the flour, seasoning, salt and pepper into a large Ziploc bag, mix well. Place the chops in the flour, seal the bag and shake. Make sure that the chops are coated well (you might need to press the flour mixture onto the chops to make sure the seasoning sticks). Place on a baking sheet and cook about 45minutes. Pork chops should be a little pink when they are fully cooked.