Spaghetti Braid

Ever since I've been married, we have eaten out one, two, three maybe even more times per week. A lot of reasons, lack of time to cook, fast, easy, and just because we could. Even when we had Karson we went out to eat more than we ate at home. But once Easton came along and we realized how stubborn he was, eating out became more of a stress than worth it. Even now, he won't sit still and we have to eat so fast. He gets very impatient while we wait for our food so we have to go somewhere super fast. It's not fun, plain and simple. Anyway, because of this I've been cooking more than ever. It's been fun trying new things and thank goodness for the blogging world these days. It makes it SO easy. Right now just in my drafts I have like 20 things I want to try. It makes it so nice when planning my menu for the week. The one thing I used to hate about cooking was thinking about what to make. I felt like I made the same things over and over again. Now I can look at a variety of different foods with a few clicks and plan my menu. I love it. I have a lot of blogs I follow, but I have a few favorites as you can probably tell from my posts. The ones I love are ones that seem to cook easy stuff, just like me. If I read a recipe and I don't know what the ingredient is, I won't make it. I apologize for writing nothing of importance, but now I'll share this recipe.

I got this from one of my favorites. (Life as a Lofthouse) You should click her link. Her pictures are great. Mine, yeah not so much. Mine turned out nothing like hers, but it sure was fantastic so it doesn't matter. So so so good. This is definitely a must try! Another one Karson ate, THREE times. He never eats leftovers, ever. But this he did. He even told me I'm such a good cook. And also that I needed to get a lot on my plate because I was going to love it. I forgot to get a picture after I cut it. SPAGHETTI BRAID Recipe By: Holly Lofthouse

1 can Pillsbury Pizza Dough

1 pound lean Ground Beef

1 1/2 cups Spaghetti Sauce

2 tablespoons Cream Cheese (I didn't measure, but I spread this on the pizza crust before putting the meat on)

2 cups shredded Mozzarella Cheese

Glaze for the top:

2 tablespoons Butter, melted

1/8 tsp Garlic Salt

1/8 tsp Garlic Powder

1/8 tsp Dill Weed

1/8 tsp Italian Seasoning

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Unravel roll of pizza dough and lay out onto a greased cookie sheet. Set aside. Cook the ground beef in a large skillet and cook until browned. Drain the grease. Pour in the spaghetti sauce and heat to boiling. Reduce heat and let simmer 5-10 minutes or until sauce is thoroughly heated. Dough should now be room temp and easy to work with. Shape it out onto the cookie sheet and form into a large rectangle. Down each side of dough, cut 2 inch wide slits with a pizza cutter. Spread cream cheese down center of dough, spread beef mixture on top of cream cheese. Sprinkle the shredded cheese over the top and start to braid the dough over the top of the filling. Cris-crossing to form a 'braid' and making sure to cover any holes. Microwave butter to melt completely. Add in all the seasonings and mix well. Brush evenly over the top of the braid. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven. Sprinkle the braid evenly with Parmesan cheese. Let stand 5 minutes before slicing. (I didn't read this well, I added the Parmesan cheese to the butter mixture. Although it made a paste it still tasted great. but next time I'll just add it once I take it out of the oven.)

Cheesy Chicken & Rice Casserole

My friend was telling me about this recipe and although it sounded a little strange, with the corn, it sounded good so I decided to try it. It was good and it was another recipe that Karson ate. Anything he eats will be made again. I got the recipe from HERE. (sorry about the horrible spacing. I keep fixing it but it keeps posting this way) Mandy's recipes Cheesy Rice and Chicken Casserole

1 Box Yellow Rice (I didn't have yellow rice so I used white rice and probably would just use white rice next time I make it)

1 Stick Margarine (I'm not sure what the butter is for. I only cut a small piece of butter and stirred it in with my rice)

1 Can Cream Of Chicken Soup

1-2 Cups shredded, cooked chicken (I bought a rotisserie chicken so I could make this quick)

1 can Whole Kernel Corn (drained)

1 1/2 Cups Cheddar Cheese (I'm guessing I used more like two cups)

Cook rice according to package directions. Add rice and all other ingredients, except for 1/2 C of cheese, into a bowl and stir until well combined. Spoon into casserole dish and top with remaining cheese. Bake at 350 for about thirty minutes, or until bubbly.

Baked Chicken Fingers

I saw these on Life as a Lofthouse and they have been on my list of things to try for like a month. I got this recipe from HERE. I have a hard time getting Karson to eat chicken in anything unless it's chicken nuggets. He liked these a lot so they get thumbs up from me.

BAKED CHICKEN FINGERS
Recipe by: Holly Lofthouse

2 lbs uncooked, chicken breast strips
1 cup plain bread crumbs
2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon ranch seasoning mix
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
2 eggs, beaten

Directions: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray. In a small bowl beat eggs. In a medium bowl mix together bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, ranch seasoning, salt and pepper. Mix together well. Pour the olive oil over the bread crumb mixture and mix with a fork until combined.
With each chicken strip, dip in egg bowl first. Then dip into bread mix bowl. Shake off excess. Place strip onto cookie sheet and repeat with all remaining chicken. Bake for 20 minutes.

Neiman-Marcus Choclate Chip Cookies

I've had this recipe for many years and you probably have too. It went around by email like crazy several years ago. You know the story, some lady paid what she thought was $2.50 but turned out to be $250.00 for the recipe. I wanted to make some cookies but wanted something other than my normal chocolate chip or oatmeal butterscotch cookies so I tried these but changed a few things. I added butterscotch chips and didn't use nuts or the candy bar. They turned out super good and I'm sure I'll be making them often. They were especially good the first day when they were soft and warm. Yum!
Neiman-Marcus Cookies

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups uncooked regular oats
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (I used a little over a cup of milk chocolate an a little over a cup of butterscotch)
4 ounces milk chocolate candy bar, coarsely chopped (didn't use because I didn't have one)
1 cup chopped pecans (didn't use because I don't like nuts in cookies

Preheat oven to 375°.
Measure oatmeal, and blend in a blender or food processor to a fine powder. Cream the butter and both sugars. Add eggs and vanilla, mix together with flour, oatmeal, salt, baking powder, and soda. Stir in chocolate chips, milk chocolate bar, and pecans.

I use my pampered chef cookie scoop and place two inches apart on a cookie sheet. *I always use parchment paper. I don't know why I just discovered this but I don't ever make cookies without parchment paper anymore. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool slightly on baking sheets. Then, remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Fruit Smoothies

I have made so many different smoothies over the years. I love them. Plus it's a good way to get more fruit into my kids. Especially in the winter when I seem to buy much less fruit. You don't need a recipe for this, it's not anything fancy but this drink is one of my favorites. It is super thick. Simple yet so yummy. 1 bag frozen fruit any variety, strawberries, raspberries, mixed 1 cup milk 1 cup water 1 cup sugar ice cubes

Combine all ingredients and blend in blender. I add slowly, blend a little and add some more.

*My favorite combo is Mango, Pineapple and Strawberries, its sold as a combo frozen fruit. Yum

**Add a little spinach for a hint of a green smoothie...

Oreo Pudding Cookies

My friend was telling me about these cookies and they sounded good. I happened to be going to the store that day so I picked up what I needed and tried them a few days later. They were pretty good and I'm sure I'll make them again. I really don't know what my deal is, I have to have treats in my house at all times. So bad!

I got this recipe from here (Sweet Treats & More)

Oreo Pudding Cookies

1 cup butter, room temp
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1 small package instant Oreo Pudding mix (I for the life of me couldn't even find Oreo pudding. I finally did, but only in one size so I have no idea what the size was)
2 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 Hershey's Cookies N Cream Candy Bars broken into small pieces (I used one king size)
2 cups milk chocolate chips (I only used 1 cup of chocolate chips)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine flour and soda in a small bowl and set aside. Cream together butter and sugar. Beat in pudding mix until blended, then eggs and vanilla. Add flour and soda mixture. Stir in cookies n cream pieces and chocolate chips. Using a cookie dough scooper, place dough on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350 degrees for 8 minutes. Let cookies cool for 5 minutes on baking sheet before moving to a cooking rack. Store in air-tight container. Makes two dozen.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie

Once again, I saw this and I just HAD to make it. I got it from HERE, Life as a Lofthouse blog. I may have just made the same dessert, two times in one week...However, I did have people over both times, but still. It was so fabulous, warm from the oven. And it seriously takes like 3 minutes to put together. So so easy and has my mouth watering just thinking about it again. This is so my kind of pie. Yummy, you must try this.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie
Recipe By: Nestle

1 unbaked, 9 inch pie crust (just a frozen one)
2 large eggs
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup white granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup real butter, softened
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (I use milk chocolate because that is what I prefer)

Directions: Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Beat eggs in a large bowl and beat on high speed until their foamy. ( about 1 minute) Beat in flour, and both sugars. Beat in butter, and then stir in chocolate chips. Carefully spoon into the unbaked pie crust. Bake for 55 minutes. (check for doneness by inserting a knife halfway between center and edge and it comes out clean) Let cool atleast 30 minutes to an hour before slicing! Serve with whipped cream or ice cream, chocolate and caramel.

Caramel Popcorn

One of my favorite treats ever is caramel popcorn. And, I've never made it before, until last week. I'm not really sure why. I just never thought it would turn out. But this stuff is seriously amazing! I made it twice, in one week, and pretty much ate it all myself. The first night I was literally sick to my stomach because I couldn't stop eating it. This is going to be a bad recipe for me to have because I have a feeling I will me making it a little to often!I got this recipe from The Girl Who ate Everything Blog
Tiffany's Soft Caramel Popcorn
by Tiffany Thornton
3 bags microwave popcorn, popped
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter (I like to use salted butter since the rest of the popcorn is so sweet)
1 cup light brown sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1 can sweetened condensed milk

Pop popcorn according to package directions and make sure you get rid of any unpopped kernels. In a large saucepan melt together the butter, brown sugar, and corn syrup. Bring mixture to a boil. Once it comes to a boil, reduce to medium heat and add the can of sweetened condensed milk. With the rubber spatula, stir constantly for 5 minutes scraping the sides and especially the bottom of the pan to
prevent any burning. The longer you cook it the firmer the caramel will be. I like mine a little on the soft side so I like to cook it shy of 5 minutes...around 4 minutes and 30 seconds.

Pour caramel over popcorn and stir until coated. This will take a lot of stirring to get it all incorporated. It's great warm or at room temperature. Feel free to add in M&Ms, nuts, or drizzle it with chocolate. I like it plain and classic. Enjoy!