Saltine Cracker Toffee

I first had this several years ago at Bunco. I've wanted to make it but I just kept forgetting. I was reading my November 2010 issue of People magazine, and this recipe was featured. It reminded me of it so I finally tried it. It was funny because I was getting ready to make it and I saw it on The Girl Who Ate Everything's blog and it was the same recipe.Saltine Cracker Toffee

40 salted saltine crackers or enough to line your pan (next time I'm going to try graham crackers instead)

1 cup butter

1 cup packed brown sugar

2 cups milk chocolate chocolate chips

3/4 cup chopped pecans (optional) I left these out

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line a cookie sheet or jelly roll pan with saltine crackers in a single layer. In a small pot combine sugar and butter and bring to a boil. Once mixture is at a boil, continue boiling for 3 minutes. Mixture should be a deep caramel color. Immediately pour over saltines and spread to cover crackers completely. Bake at 400 degrees 5 to 6 minutes. It will get all bubbly. Remove from oven and sprinkle chocolate chips over the top and let sit a couple of minutes to melt. (I melted the chocolate chips in the microwave for about 1 minute then spread it on.) Spread melted chocolate and top with chopped nuts if desired. Cool completely and break into pieces.

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!

Salsa Cream Cheese Pasta Bake

When I saw this recipe it looked yummy, and I just happened to have all of the ingredients already so I gave it a try. I know I make a lot of casserole type food and it may not be for some, but I love having leftovers for my husband and I love anything easy. This was way good.

I saw this recipe on Good Things Utah
by: Freshmarketstores.com

1 (8 oz.) pkg. egg noodles
1½ lb. lean ground beef
16 oz. salsa
1 pkg. taco seasoning
1 (8 oz.) pkg. cottage cheese
1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened
1 (16 oz.) pkg. sour cream
1 (8 oz.) pkg. shredded sharp cheddar

Brown beef, add salsa and seasoning mix. In separate bowl, mix cottage cheese, cream cheese and sour cream together. In greased 9x13 casserole dish, place half of the cooked noodles, then ½ of beef mixture, then ½ of sour cream mixture. Repeat all 3 layers. Top with grated cheddar. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes

Twix Ice Cream Cake

Another recipe from HERE! I don't eat ice cream much, hardly ever. It actually makes me incredibly sick. But, this was very tempting. I'm not very good with temptation. I kept looking at her blog thinking how delightful this looked and kept trying to talk myself out of it. I finally decided I'd make it and just eat a small portion...This picture was taken before it was frozen.

TWIX ICE CREAM CAKE
Recipe By: Holly Lofthouse

1 (1.5 quart) Vanilla Ice cream, slightly softened
1 (16 oz) jar of Caramel Sauce
1 cup milk chocolate chips
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions: In a 9x13 glass dish spread out the ice cream evenly. Cover and place in freezer. Freeze to set for 2 hours.
While the ice cream is setting start making the cookie topping. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream butter and sugars in a medium bowl. Stir in vanilla and flour until well mixed. Spread dough into a foil-lined 8x8 baking dish. Bake for 15 minutes or slightly golden. Remove from heat and let stand until completely cooled.
Once Ice cream is all set and cookie topping is completely cooled, take ice cream out of freezer. Pour the caramel sauce evenly over ice cream. Break apart the cookie topping into big chunks and sprinkle evenly over caramel.
Melt chocolate chips in a microwavable bowl. Heat at 30 second intervals until melted. Stir and then drizzle over the cookie topping. Re-cover and place back into freezer for 6 hours or overnight to completely re-freeze. Slice into squares and serve! : )

***edited to add the next time I make this I won't put the chocolate chips on top. It was hard to cut through once they were frozen. Next time I will just use choclate fudge sauce and pour it over the top each time I dish it out***

Easy Rice & Bean Wraps

I guess one good thing of laying on the couch feeling super sick is I've been able to post several recipes in my stack. But it's also making me hungry and I can't eat anything. This is another recipe I've been making for at least 10 years, probably more. It seems like my original recipe came from Albertsons way back when they used to have recipe cards by certain ingredients. These are easy and yummy.

Ingredients:
2 tbsp margarine or butter

1 package (6.8 oz.) Rice A Roni Spanish Rice (the last time I made these I used Uncle Bens Spanish rice and it was actually easier. I always had hard rice in my burritos when I used the Rice A Roni because I could never cook it just right)

1 jar (16 oz.) salsa

1 can (15 oz.) black or red kidney beans, drained, rinsed

1 cup Green Giant Mexicorn, drained (I use the small can, I'm not sure how many ounces it is, but I don't measure a cup out, I use the whole can.)

8 flour tortillas, warmed (I of course only use the tortillas you have to brown on the stove)

shredded cheddar cheese, optional

sour cream, optional

Directions:
In large skillet over medium-high heat, saute rice-vermicelli mix with margarine until vermicelli is golden brown (I used microwavable Uncle Ben's Spanish rice then just put in the pan)

Add 2 cups water, salsa and special seasonings (again if you use the Uncle Ben's you won't have special seasonings to ad and you probably don't need to add water either) bring to a boil and reduce heat to low.

Cover; simmer 15 to 20 minutes or until rice is tender (probably only about 5 minutes if you use the Uncle Ben's

Stir in beans and corn; cook just a few minutes; let stand 5 minutes before serving

Serve in tortillas with cheese and sour cream

Cheesy Chicken Pizza

This is a super fast and easy chicken pizza. If you like barbecue sauce then you could use that instead of pizza sauce. I however don't like BBQ sauce but I'm sure my husband would prefer it. I have no idea where this recipe came from. I've made it for probably 10 years. I think it was probably a Kraft Foods magazine or something like that.
Ingredients:
1/2 package Chicken Breast (probably 2 chicken breasts
1 prepared pizza crust (12 inch)
1/2 cup pizza sauce (or BBQ sauce)
1/2 cup sliced green peppers (I like it with peppers but I know my son won't eat it with peppers so I've been leaving them off.)
1 pkg (8 oz)shredded Mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:
Cook chicken in 1 Tbsp. hot oil on medium-high heat until cooked through.
Spread crust with sauce. Top with chicken, peppers, mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese.
Bake at 400 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes or until cheese is melted and crust is golden brown.

Baked Macaroni & Cheese

My sister n law made this macaroni and cheese and it was the best I'd ever had. I made it and didn't think it turned out good at all. I'm not sure what I did wrong. So, even though I made it and thought it didn't turn out, I'm posting it and hopefully the next time I try it it will be as good as when my sister in law made it. I found the recipe on Food Network. You can google Alton Brown baked macaroni and cheese and it should pull up a video link where he shows you step by step how to make it.

Recipe courtesy Alton Brown, Food Network

Ingredients
1/2 lb elbow macaroni (I don't know exactly how much this is. I googled it, but I didn't write down how much I used. I'm thinking about 2 cups, non cooked)
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon mustard powder
3 cups milk
1/2 cup yellow onion, finely diced
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 large egg
12 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1 teaspoon kosher salt
fresh black pepper

Topping
3 tablespoons butter
1 cup panko bread crumbs (At the time I made this I only had regular bread crumbs, next time I'll use Panko bread crumbs for sure.)

Directions:
Prep Time: 15 mins

Total Time: 45 mins
1 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large pot of boiling, salted water cook the pasta according to package directions.
2 While the pasta is cooking, in a separate pot, melt the butter. Whisk in the flour and mustard and keep it moving for about five minutes making sure it's free of lumps.
3 Stir in the milk, onion, bay leaf, and paprika. Simmer for ten minutes and remove the bay leaf.
4 Temper in the egg. Stir in 3/4 of the cheese. Season with salt and pepper. (watch the video if you don't know what temper means. Basically you can't pour a cold egg into the hot mixture or it will turn to scrambled eggs so you have to slowly mix a little of the warm mixture with the egg to get it warm before pouring it in the pan.)
5 Fold the macaroni into the mix and pour into a 2-quart casserole dish. Top with remaining cheese.
6 For the topping, melt the butter in a sauté pan and toss the bread crumbs to coat. Top the macaroni with the bread crumbs. Bake for 30 minutes.
7 Remove from oven and rest for five minutes before serving

Mozzarella Sticks

I saw this recipe on the Pioneer Woman Cooks and wanted to try them but actually forgot about them. Then recently I saw this recipe posted HERE. And of course you can click HERE for a great step by step by the Pioneer Woman and of course better pictures. I finally made these and they were way better than I was expecting them to be. I have been craving them since.

8 sticks mozzarella string cheese
1/4 cup flour
1 egg
1 1/2 TBSP milk
1 cup Panko Japanese bread crumbs
1/2 TBSP parsley
salt
canola oil (I only had Olive Oil so I used that instead of canoloa)
marinara sauce

Prep:
Unwrap string cheese. Cut in half.
Put flour in small bowl/plate.
Mix egg and milk in a small bowl, stirring with fork.
Add a few shakes of salt (from the salt shaker) to a small bowl or plate holding the Panko crumbs.

How to:
Roll cheese through flour to coat.
Dip flour-coated cheese in egg/milk mixture so that egg/milk is absorbed into flour coating.
Roll through Panko crumbs to coat.
When finished coating, place prepped cheese sticks in freezer for 20-30 min (to flash freeze).
Fry in 1-2" canola oil until golden brown. Allow to dry on paper-towel.

Serve with marinara sauce.

Makes 16 mozzarella sticks

Enchilada-Zagna

I saw this recipe with the coupons that come in the Sunday paper. I absolutely loved them! Anything my 4 year old eats is a success and he ate these. He even said they were good! That rarely, or should I say NEVER happens. We were eating before my husband and he told him "Dad, you are going to love these." I'm completely changing things I like. I used to really not like red enchilada sauce, but it's now an ingredient in two of my very favorite recipes. I'm glad I'm trying new things even when I think I may not like them. 2 to 3 cooked boneless skinless chicken breast halves, cut into small pieces (about 3 cups)
1 can (28 oz) or 2 cans (15 oz each) mild red enchilada sauce (The cans I used were only 10 ounces)

1 container (8 oz) sour cream

1 can (12 oz) Carnation Evaporated Milk

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1 can (4 oz) diced green chilies undrained (I only used a couple of spoonfuls)

1 pkg (12 tortillas) 7-inch corn tortillas

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 13 X 9 inch baking dish

Combine enchilada sauce and sour cream in medium bowl. Combine evaporated milk, cheese and chilies in medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until cheese as melted and mixture is smooth. Remove from heat.

Spread 1 cup enchilada sauce mixture on bottom of prepared baking dish. Layer with 4 tortillas, 1 cup enchilada sauce mixture, 1 1/2 cups chicken, 1 cup cheese sauce; repeat layers one more time, starting with tortillas. Top with remaining tortillas,enchilada sauce mixture and cheese sauce. Cover with foil. (The recipe didn't call for cheese on top, but I covered the top with cheese) Cover with foil.

Bake for 40 minutes. Uncover; cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.

I also put sour cream and sliced avocados on top. Delicious!

Pumpkin Bars

I used to order pumpkin bars from a local catering place. I won't say where because that would be tacky, but the last time I ordered them they were so awful I couldn't even gag one down. I got this recipe from a mailing that comes in a local monthly flier and thought I'd give them a try. We had just gotten back from a movie and my husband asked me what I wanted for dinner. I told him I wasn't hungry but a few minutes later was cooking these. Of course I can always find room for dessert. I liked these, but next time I won't use as much vegetable oil. Is it possible to taste the vegetable oil? The recipe called for a cup and I thought that was a lot. But, I swear I can taste it. Plus for some reason the middle didn't get cooked all the way but about 2 inches on all sides was cooked and would have been way over cooked had I left them in longer. It was strange. Could old vegetable oil cause that? After I made them I checked the date on the oil, since I thought I could taste it, and it was expired. Probably shouldn't have used it. Maybe next time they will turn out better. I will make them again.

Ingredients:
Bars

4 eggs

1 2/3 cups sugar

1 cup vegetable oil (this seems like way to much)

1 15 oz can pumpkin

2 cups sifted flour

2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

Icing

8 oz cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup butter, softened

2 cups powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Combine eggs, sugar, oil and pumpkin and mix well. Add dry ingredients an mix at low speed until batter is smooth. Spread into a greased 9x12 inch baking dish.

Bake at 30 minutes or until done.

Cool completely before frosting

Chicken Cordon Blue Lasagna

Another yummy recipe from (life as a lofthouse blog). When I saw this I knew I had to make it soon. This was way better than the Spinach Alfredo recipe I posted a few days ago. This was cheesy and so good! It called for 2 eggs, but the dessert I made the other day used up all but one of my eggs and I haven't been to the store. My neighbor didn't get home until I was in the middle of making it so I was short an egg. I also didn't use the full 15 oz of Ricotta only because I don't care for it much. I used probably 3/4 of a container. Anyway, super good. The picture does not do it justice, I promise it's way better than it looks.

CHICKEN CORDON BLEU LASAGNA
Recipe By: Pillsbury

2 eggs
1 container (15 oz) Ricotta cheese
1 cup Cottage cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup chopped, fresh Parsley
2 cups diced, cooked Ham
2 cups diced, cooked Chicken
1/4 teaspoon Garlic powder
1 jar (16 oz) creamy garlic Alfredo sauce
6 uncooked (oven ready) Lasagna noodles
2 cups shredded Mozzarella cheese
1 cup shredded Swiss cheese
2 tablespoons chopped, fresh Parsley

Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl beat eggs. Stir in ricotta, cottage and Parmesan cheeses and 1/4 cup parsley, set aside.

In another medium bowl, mix together chicken, ham, garlic powder and Alfredo sauce. In an ungreased 9x13 glass baking dish, spread about 1/2 cup of chicken mixture.

Top chicken mixture with 3 uncooked noodles, half of the cheese mixture, half the remaining chicken mixture and half each of the mozzarella and Swiss cheeses. Repeat layer starting with noodles again and ending with Swiss cheese. Cover tightly with foil.

Bake for 1 hour. Let stand 10-15 minutes, then sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of parsley before slicing and serving!

Ooey Gooey Cheescake Bars

I was browsing recipes the other day and went to my sister in law's friends blog that I visit from time to time. She actually has a lot of stuff I want to try but these caught my eye and I had to try them since I already had all the needed ingredients. My husband says I'm trying to kill him with all the junk I keep in this house. Although it's far from the truth I really do need to stop baking! This are so easy though and way good. I actually over baked these just a little but oh well, it won't stop me from eating them. (please excuse my horrible food pictures...It's so hard to get a good picture but I like having pictures better than not even if they don't look great.) I got this recipe from HERE

1 yellow cake mix
3 eggs
1 stick of butter, softened
1 lb. powdered sugar (1/2 of regular bag)
1 pkg (8 0z) cream cheese, softened
Combine yellow cake mix, one egg, and stick of butter to form a crust. Press into bottom of 13x9 pan.
Combine two remaining eggs, powdered sugar, and cream cheese and pour mixture over crust.
Bake for 35-40 min in 350° oven. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and allow to cool.

Orange Julius

I don't like Orange Juice. Never have. But, my mom always made Orange Julius and that I like. I'd forgotten about it actually. Until I visited Life as A Lofthouse blog. She had a picture of hers and I instantly wanted some but didn't have any Orange Juice. The next time I went to the store I got some and we had it with our breakfast. Yum, delicious. I figure I'll forget about it again unless I actually post it here so this is the recipe I copied from her blog. It may be the same as my mom's but I'm not sure.

ORANGE JULIUS

makes 4 (8oz) servings

8 oz frozen Orange Juice concentrate
1 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
12 ice cubes

Combine all ingredients except ice into a blender. Blend for 1 minute.
Add 3-4 ice cubes at a time and continue to blend until all crushed and thoroughly mixed.

Spinach Alfredo Lasagna

If you are looking for a low calorie recipe, this is probably not the best. It's filled with loads of cheese. It didn't turn out as good as I was hoping for, but it was yummy and I will make it again.

From Allrecipes.com
Ingredients
1 (16 ounce) package lasagna noodles (I cooked the whole box and ended up throwing a bunch away. I think I used 12 noodles.
1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach
3 cooked, boneless chicken breast halves, diced
2 (16 ounce) jars Alfredo-style pasta sauce
4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
2 pints ricotta cheese ( I had to google that because I didn't know how much 2 pints was, turns out it's 32 oz. I used that much and I think it had to much ricotta cheese so would use less than that)
salt and pepper to taste
Directions
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes; drain. Cook spinach according to package directions; drain.
2.In a medium bowl, combine chicken and one jar of alfredo sauce, stir together. In a separate bowl, combine ricotta and drained, cooked spinach, and stir.
3.In a 9 x 13 baking dish, place one layer of lasagna noodles, edges overlapping. Pour chicken and alfredo sauce mixture over noodle layer and spread evenly. Sprinkle 1 cup of shredded mozzarella over chicken mixture. Top with another layer of noodles. Spread spinach mixture evenly over noodles. Pour 1/2 of remaining jar of alfredo sauce over spinach mixture, spread evenly. Sprinkle another cup of mozzarella over sauce, lay on the final noodle layer and top with remaining 2 cups of mozzarella and salt and pepper to taste. Bake 50 to 60 minutes, until top is brown and bubbly.

Sausage Breakfast Bake or HAM Bake

Here is another recipe from the Life as a Lofthouse blog. I'll admit, I'm a little embarrassed because I know she checks my blog and I've been trying and posting a lot of her stuff. I actually don't like sausage but the boys do so I made this. It actually was really good, but I think next time I may use chopped ham instead and see how I like it. Finally, something Karson ate!
***These pictures are of this with sausage. I changed it the second time I made it and used ham, and no peppers. It was SO good. My husband still likes sausage, but I prefer the ham.***

8 servings

1 (8oz) package of crescent dinner rolls
1 (8oz) package of pre-cooked sausage links
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
4 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon oregano

Start by preheating your oven to 425 degrees. In a 9x13 baking pan press the crescent roll dough on the bottom and 1/2 inch up the sides of the pan.
Slice the sausage into small pieces and then sprinkle evenly over the top of the dough.
Mix eggs, milk, green pepper and salt, pepper and oregano all together in a small bowl. Pour over the sausage. Sprinkle the shredded cheddar cheese evenly over the top.
Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool 5 minutes before slicing

Ranch Chicken

Another yummy recipe from the Life as a Lofthouse blog, linked on the side of mine. (I'm tired of linking every single post but want to give credit where credit is due.) I would love to master baking chicken. It just never turns out right. It's either overcooked or undercooked. But, the flavor of this was so good. I served it with boxed cheesy potatoes that I thought were disgusting. Next time I'll remember that and make my own cheesy potatoes or have salad or steamed broccoli or something. Side note, Karson is hating my new found love of cooking. I used to make the same stuff over and over again, and I'd make stuff he liked. Not anymore. I'm always trying new stuff and I always make him eat it and he always complains that I cook disgusting food. Ha...My 4 year old thinks he's starving to death for sure. He loves when I'm lazy and give him a corn dog. Ok, on with the recipe.

RANCH CHICKEN

3-4 chicken breasts
1 packet Ranch dressing seasoning mix
1 cup crushed Corn flakes
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
4 TBS butter, melted

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a 9x13 glass baking dish with cooking spray.
Combine the Ranch seasoning mix, the crushed Corn flakes and Parmesan cheese into a large freezer baggie.
Shake well to mix all together.
Dip each chicken breast into the melted butter, and then drop into the baggie. Seal the bag shut and then shake well to coat with the seasoning mix. After well coated lay chicken into the baking dish. Repeat with all of the chicken.
Once all chicken has been coated, sprinkle the remaining seasoning mixture onto the tops of chicken.
Bake for 45 - 50 minutes. (Towards the last 15 minutes of cooking you may need to lay a piece of foil over the top to prevent from burning.)

Crock Pot Chicken Enchilada Soup

I got this recipe from the Sweet Treats and More Blog, linked on the side of mine. It is so incredibly yummy! I made it last Sunday, ate it for a few days after that, and I'm already craving more. It's just so good!

Crock Pot Chicken Enchilada Soup
adapted from allrecipes

2 c. chicken broth
1 c. red enchilada sauce
1/4 c. sour cream (I probably put in more than that but I'm not sure how much)
1 (16oz) can diced tomato
1 (4 oz) can diced green chili
1 can black beans, drained
1 cup frozen corn (I didn't have frozen corn so I used one can of corn)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp pepper
4 boneless skinless chicken tenders (2 breasts OR abt 2 cups shredded turkey)
4 corn tortillas

Place everything but the tortillas in the crock pot, stir together, and cook on high for about 3 hours (or low for 6-8 hours).
Shred corn tortillas into small squares and stir into soup 5-10 minutes before serving. Garnish with cheese, avocado, and additional sour cream if desired.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

I used red and green m&m's for Christmas cookies. I'm not sure why these ones are so flat. Usually they are more fluffy, but they still tasted great. I have several chocolate chip cookie recipes, but this is the one I seem to use the most.

1 Cup sugar

1 Cup brown sugar

1 Cup butter or margarine (I use butter)
2 eggs

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

3 Cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 package (12 oz) chocolate chips

Mix sugars, butter, eggs and vanilla well. Sift flour, salt and baking soda together. Gradually add flour mixture to sugar mixture until well mixed. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop by teaspoon onto greased baking sheet 2 inches apart. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 - 12 minutes or until they start to crack. They may not look done.

Creamy Baked Ziti

This is another recipe from the Kraft Food & Family Holiday 2010 magazine. It was so yummy. It's similar to a few other recipes I have but each one is slightly different and I thought this was so good.

Ingredients:
4 cups Zita pasta, uncooked
1 jar marinara sauce (The recipe calls for 26 oz but the jar I used was only something like 16 oz and was plenty)
1 can (14 1/2 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained (I drained mine slightly)
6 oz Cream Cheese cubed (I used the entire 8 oz brick because I didn't want to waste it)
3/4 cup Sour Cream
1 pkg (8 oz) Mozzarella Cheese
1/3 cup Parmesan Cheese

Directions:
Heat oven to 375.
Cook pasta in large saucepan as directed on package, omitting salt. Remove from pan; drain. Meanwhile, add marinara sauce, tomatoes and cream cheese to same pan; cook on medium heat 5 minutes or until cream cheese is melted and mixture is well blended, stirring frequently. Return pasta to pan and mix well.
Layer half the pasta mixture in 13X9 inch baking dish; cover with layers of sour cream, 1 cup mozzarella and remaining pasta mixture. Top with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan.
Bake 20 minutes or until heated through.

I made my Magelbys rolls to have with this. Would also be good with salad.

Cheesy Scrambled Eggs

this is not a fancy recipe or anything. Ever since Karson was little, we knew he was going to be small in size. At four he's finally on the charts at .24 percentile. We had been told early on to calorie pack all of his food. I came up with this for scrambled eggs and he loves them. Now I need to search for the Magelby's syrup recipe and we'll have a yummy breakfast.

I mix the eggs, a little bit of milk and salt in a bowl then pour it in the pan. I cook the eggs for a bit before adding cream cheese. You can add as much or as little as you like. After the cream cheese is all melted I add regular cheese. They are super cheesy but so good. I like them with little ham pieces added in also.

Five Mexican Dip

I got this recipe from the Kraft Foods Food & Family Holiday 2010 issue. We had it for lunch today and it was super.

Ingredients
1/2 lb (8 oz) Velveeta cheese, cut into pieces
4 oz cream cheese
1 can (15 oz) black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tomato, chopped (I didn't have any tomatoes so I just used canned, diced tomatoes)

Directions
Combine all ingredients except tomatoes in microwaveable bowl (I actually made it on the stove)
Microwave on high 4 minutes or until Velveeta and cream cheese are melted and mixture is well blended, stirring every 2 minutes.
Stir in tomatoes. Serve warm with tortilla chips.
Tip: keep tortilla chips in a slow cooker set on low for warm chips
Also, I'm sure this could be made in a crock pot if you were to take it to a party or something.

Turtle Tassies

Another recipe from The Girl Who Ate Everything blog. Click HERE for a link to her pictures because hers look amazing. My three favorite things are sugar cookies, chocolate and caramel so what could be better than these. Instead of bringing gifts to everyone at work, we all just bring treats through out the month of December. I saw these and wanted to bring them but I wanted to try them first. They are so good! Mine look horrible compared to hers but I could eat the whole pan. I promise you'll love these too.

Turtle Tassies
Source: Betty Crocker

1 Betty Crocker Sugar Cookie Mix (I only had refrigerated sugar cookie dough so that's what I used. I'm sure it doesn't matter either way)
butter and egg called for on the pouch
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used milk chocolate instead)
2 (14 ounce) bags caramels, unwrapped (I'm thinking of trying my 6 minute microwavable caramel next time)
1/3 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup chopped pecans (I didn't have pecans but I don't like them anyway so I just left them off)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Make dough according to package directions. Make 36 (1-inch) balls. Press each ball into a the bottom of each mini muffin cup and press up the sides.

Bake 8-9 minutes or until edges just start to brown. Meanwhile in a small saucepan place unwrapped caramels and cream and heat until melted. Reduce heat to low.

Remove pans from oven. Using the back of wooden spoon press down the sides and bottom of each cup to flatten being careful not to make holes. (I accidentally skipped this step, not on purpose, maybe that's why mine look so funny.)

Bake for 2 minutes more. Remove from oven and immediately place 4-5 chocolate chips in each cup. (and oops I missed this too. Man I must have been in a hurry)

Spoon about 1 Tablespoon of caramel into each cup and immediately top with pecans and slightly press them down. Cool for five minutes then remove with narrow spatula or a knife.

Makes 36 turtle tassies.

Colorful Chicken Alfredo

This recipe came from HERE. I've always loved Alfredo sauce. Usually though I think of it with chicken and broccoli. Not green and red peppers. But, her picture, which is much better looking than mine, enticed me to try this. I loved it! I swear recipe blogs are making me lose sleep at night. I have a million things I want to try, but not enough days in the week. I have discovered a new love for cooking. Really, I love cooking. So I just copied her recipe but I added a few notes to the side of things I did differently. This took more time, and dishes, than most things I cook since I prefer simple. But, it was easy and so worth it. Karson told me the peppers were stinky. Not surprising. I dished his up with no peppers and he ate every thing I put on his plate.

Colorful Chicken Alfredo

2-3 chicken breasts, baked and then chopped into bite size pieces (I actually only used 1 large one and it was plenty)

1 quart water
1/2 pound of bowtie or farfalle noodles (or whatever else)
1 tbs salt

1/2 cup canned chicken broth
3 tbs butter
1 cup half and half (I didn't have this so I used 3/4 cup milk and 1/4 cup whipping cream)
1 clove garlic, minced (I used granulated garlic. I didn't measure if I had to guess maybe 1/2 teaspoon)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese (I used what was left of my bag, probably closer to 1 cup)
1 tsp salt and pepper each

1 tbs butter
1 red bell pepper
1 green bell pepper
1/4 cup chicken broth

Heat oven to 375 degrees. On a foil lined baking sheet, place your chicken breasts on top and bake for 35 minutes. When done baking, set aside and when cool enough to handle, chop into bite size pieces. (I also boiled my chicken instead of baking it. I've never mastered baking chicken. It always comes out way to dry so I boil instead.)

Boil bowtie noodles in a large pot with the 1 quart water and 1 tbs salt. Boil for 11 minutes (or according to their package directions) When noodles are done boiling, drain and place back in pot and cover with a lid to keep noodles from drying out until their ready to be added to sauce.

(While the noodles are boiling start on the sauce). In a small saucepan, heat the 1/2 cup chicken broth and 3 tbs butter over medium heat until butter is melted. Add 1 cup half and half, 1 clove garlic and 1/2 tsp salt and pepper each. Stir to combine, then slowly whisk in the 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese. Let simmer on low heat and whisk occasionally.

Slice both bell peppers into small pieces. Pour 1/4 cup chicken broth and 1 tbs butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Then saute bell peppers in butter and broth for about 6-8 minutes. Add in the chopped chicken pieces. Season with salt and pepper and stir to mix well. Turn heat down to low and now add your Alfredo mixture. Stir to combine and let simmer for 10 minutes.
Add the noodles to sauce and mix well! Place on plates and enjoy every heavenly bite with some garlic bread (or try my recipe for Magelbys rolls) or a side salad :) YUM!!

Chocolate Dipped Oreos

Yes that is a picture of a half eaten Oreo. Beautiful, not. Don't be surprised, or disappointed, if this is what you receive from us for Christmas this year. They look horrible, but trust me they taste delightful. I was excited to find Oreo's with red cream inside. My first few batches looked pretty good, but the more I did, the worse they looked. I don't know if my chocolate got to hot or the house was to cold so they went from hot to cold to fast. Who knows but they still taste good. I was actually going to add sucker sticks and make a cute little bouquet, but I got lazy so I just threw them in a tin or a bag. I also bought different colors of chocolate pieces to drizzle on top, but again, to lazy.

Directions

I bought the baking pieces that you can find at any craft or candy store. I also used my double broiler, which was nice because it kept the chocolate melted. If you don't have a double broiler, you can just melt the pieces in the microwave. It just takes longer that way. Just cover with chocolate then let dry on wax paper.

Chicken & Rice Casserole

This isn't going to give much detail but maybe when I perfect it I'll fix it. My friend made this for me awhile ago and Karson ate a lot so I've been wanting to try it. But, she doesn't use a recipe so I got what was in it from her and guessed. I used canned chicken and now that I've been cooking a lot more than I used to I've decided I no longer like canned chicken so I won't do that again. Karson ate all his rice but he picked out the chicken. This is similar to Hawaiian haystacks, which we eat often. I think I need to tweak this a little because my friends was much better than mine, but I still liked it a lot.

Ingredients

2 cups cooked rice

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 cup sour cream

a little bit of milk

Parmesan cheese

croutons (my friend makes her own. Maybe someday I'll try that, or not.)

salt

pepper

Directions

Cook rice. Mix in the rest of the ingredients. I mixed in some Parmesan cheese. I don't know how much I used. I also poured some on top along with the croutons. I cooked it on 350 for about 35 minutes. It's good served with cesar salad. If you can eat salad that is, because I can't :(

Candied Yams ~ Sweet Potatoes

I never liked yams until a few years ago. Kyle's sister makes the best ones with pecans on top. I hate pecans so I'm not sure why I fell in love with her Yams, but I did. Then I discovered Texas Roadhouse and I will go there and eat salad, rolls and a loaded sweet potato and I love it. I found several similar recipes online and combined them to come up with this. I used a recipe from all recipes and one from cooks.com plus guessed a little. They tasted yummy. I had to force Karson to eat just 1 and he was gagging with every bite. Funny, pretty much the only baby food he'd eat when he was a baby were sweet potatoes.

Ingredients
4 large sweet potatoes
1/4 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup butter (I used 5 tsp of butter instead of 4)
2 cups brown sugar
2 cups mini marshmallows

Directions
Boil water, add salt, white sugar, and potatoes. Boil until tender, probably about 30 minutes. I put them in before I peeled them. After cooking peel potatoes and slice into approx 2 inch slices and cover bottom of baking dish. Slice butter into small pieces and spread over the potatoes. Sprinkle brown sugar then marshmallows. I may have used to many marshmallows because they didn't brown like they should, but they tasted yummy so I'll probably use that many again.

The recipe I found said to cook for 20 minutes then add marshmallows and cook until the marshmallows are melted. I put everything on, including the marshmallows and cooked for about 20 minutes at 350 degrees. I think they turned out fine this way.

Cheddar Bay Biscuits ~ Red Lobster Biscuits

Once again from The Girl Who Ate Everything blog...I think I needed more butter glaze or more butter mixed in, but these were so good. A little more time consuming than the Magelbys rolls recipe I've posted before, but these are so good.

Cheddar Bay Biscuits
by LettucePray

Biscuits:
2 1/2 cups Bisquick
4 Tbsp cold butter
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
3/4 cup milk
1/4 tsp garlic powder

Butter Glaze:
3 Tbsp butter
1/2 tsp garlic powder
3/4 tsp dried parsley flakes

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease or line one cookie sheet with parchment; set aside.

Combine Bisquick with cold butter in a medium bowl using a pastry cutter (I just used 2 forks). Don't worry about mixing too thoroughly; there will be small chunks of butter in the mix about the size of peas. Add cheddar cheese, milk, and garlic powder. Mix by hand until combined, but don't over mix.

Drop 1/4 cup portions of the dough onto the lightly greased or parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake for 13-15 minutes in preheated oven until the tops of the biscuits begin to turn light brown.
While the biscuits are baking, melt butter is a small bowl in the microwave. Stir in garlic powder and dried parsley flakes. Use a brush to spread the garlic butter over the tops of all the biscuits. Sprinkle a little kosher salt on the freshly coated biscuits. Makes one dozen.

Snikers Pie

My friend gave me this recipe, but it is from Taste of Home. This is the pie I wanted to make on Thanksgiving, but since Easton can't have peanut butter, and he wants to eat everything, I decided I better not make it. But, I have had it and it's very good.

5 Snickers candy bars (2.07 ounces each), cut into 1/4-inch pieces
1 pastry shell (9 inches), baked
12 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 C. sugar
2 eggs
1/3 C. sour cream
1/3 C. smooth peanut butter
2/3 C. semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 Tbsp. heavy whipping cream

Place candy bar pieces in the pastry shell; set aside. In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add eggs, sour cream, and peanut butter; beat on low speed just until combined. Pour into pastry shell. Bake at 325 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until set. Cool on a wire rack.

In a small heavy saucepan, melt chocolate chips with cream over low heat; stir until smooth. Spread over filling. Refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight.

Coconut Cream Pie

I got this recipe from taste of home. I didn't love this pie, but it was good and super easy. I'd still probably make it again. But, I think I would prefer chocolate or banana cream pie for Thanksgiving...This was nice because it made two though and I was worried we wouldn't have enough pie. However, I took 4 pies and my sister took 4 and we both had some leftover.

Ingredients

1-1/2 cups cold milk

1/2 teaspoon coconut extract

1 package (3.4 ounces) instant vanilla pudding mix

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened

1 cup flaked coconut, divided

1 carton (8 ounces) frozen whipped topping, thawed

2 graham cracker crusts

Directions

In a bowl, whisk the milk, extract and pudding mix for 2 minutes. Let stand for 2 minutes or until soft-set.

In large bowl, beat cream cheese. Stir in pudding and mix well. Fold in 1/2 cup coconut and whipped topping. Spoon into the crusts. Toast the remaining coconut (I didn't know how to do this, but all you do is dump it on a pan and stick it in the oven for a few minutes, mixing it around until toasted) Sprinkle the coconut over the pies. Refrigerate until serving. I'm not sure how long you are supposed to refrigerate. I think mine were in there for a couple of hours and they seemed fine.

Double Layer Pumpkin Cheesecake

This recipe came from HERE but she got it from Allrecipes.com.

I asked Kyle what kind of pie he wanted and he said Pumpkin. Only problem is, I hate pumpkin pie so I didn't really want to make something I wouldn't eat. But, I saw this recipe and thought it sounded good because it wasn't pure pumpkin. I tried it today and besides being so incredibly fast and easy it was really good.

2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 (9 inch) prepared graham cracker crust
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup homemade whipped cream (or frozen whipped cream, thawed if you are in a crunch)

1.Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2.In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Blend in eggs one at a time. Remove 1 cup of batter and spread into bottom of crust; set aside.

3.Add pumpkin, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg to the remaining batter and stir gently until well blended. Carefully spread over the batter in the crust.

4.Bake in preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until center is almost set. Don't worry if there are a couple of cracks; when you refrigerate it they will close up. Allow to cool, then refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight. Garnish with whipped topping before serving.

I just ate it with cool whip but I'm planning to make whipped topping for Thanksgiving. See recipe below.

1 Cup heavy whipping cream
3 tbsp of sugar (or 1/3 cup powdered sugar)
Optional: add a splash of vanilla

Put whipping cream and sugar in mixing bowl. Mix on medium for 2-3 minutes depending on speed, just until cream creates stiff peaks. Don't over whip it.

Pumpkin Blondies

Also from The Girl Who Ate Everything Blog. I haven't decided yet if I love them or if they are just OK. I keep eating them. I know strange, it's like they taste good but I don't take a bite and think they are the best thing ever so I just keep taking bites.

Pumpkin Blondies

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 T. pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. baking soda
¾ tsp. salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1¼ cups brown sugar
1 large egg
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup butterscotch chips
1/2 cup pecans, chopped (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a 9×13-inch baking dish with foil. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda and salt. Stir together and set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the egg and vanilla until well combined. Mix in the pumpkin puree. With the mixer on low speed add the dry ingredients and mix just until incorporated. Fold in the white chocolate and butterscotch chips (and pecans, if using) with a rubber spatula.

Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan. Bake until the edges begin to pull away from the sides of the pan and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with just a few crumbs, about 35-40 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool completely before cutting.

To serve, lift the cake from the pan using the foil and transfer to a cutting board. Peel off the foil and using a sharp knife, cut into 24 squares.

White Chicken Chili

My friend gave me this recipe and she said it came from The Recipe Club. It's way yummy. It made a ton and I didn't like the flavor left over for some reason but the night I made it I thought it was way good. It's easy too.

16 oz. box low-sodium chicken broth
2 or 3 frozen boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 white or yellow onion, chopped (of course this was left out)
2 4-oz. cans mild diced green chilis, undrained (I only used one can)
2 14.5-oz cans great Northern beans, undrained
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper (I didn't have this)

Place ingredients in slow cooker and cook on high 3-5 hours. About 30 minutes before serving, shred chicken and return to slow cooker.

Right before serving, add:
1 C. sour cream
4 oz. cream cheese

Top with shredded pepper jack cheese, avocado, Fritos, extra sour cream, sliced jalapeno peppers, cilantro, pico de gallo, etc.

Club Calzone

As a silly snake, don't laugh...

I got this recipe from my sister however the snake idea came from Jay Leno. This has been a fast and easy recipe that I've made for years.

Ingredients

1 Can (10 oz) Refrigerated Pizza Crust
1/4 C Italian Dressing

1 C Mozzarella cheese, shredded

1/4 C chopped green pepper

1 Pkg (9oz) variety pack lunch meat

1/3 C chopped black olives

Unroll pizza crust on lightly greased cookie sheet. Stretch to form 15X10 inch rectangle; brush with dressing & sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Layer mozzarella cheese, green pepper, olives & sliced meat down center of crust. Fold crust over meat; pinch edges to seal. Make small cuts across top to vent. Bake at 425 for 12 minutes or until browned.

For the snake I didn't put everything in the center, instead I spread it all over then rolled it up. Then I mixed a little bit of egg yolk with green food coloring and let Karson use a brush to paint on the green. Karson also put on the eyes and even olives on the tail for his rattles.

Mini Pizzas

I've seen these before and have wanted to make them and never have. My sister in law made them a while ago so I made a mental note for the next time I needed to make something fast to make these. We always have pizza sauce, cheese, rolls and pizza dough. Karson made these himself. This is for sure a good one to let the kids do. I remember my old neighbor used to have her kids make these all the time. I can see why.

1 pkg biscuits (I used Pilsbury Grands biscuits)
Pizza Sauce
Mozzarella Cheese
Any other toppings

Bake according to package directions. The ones pictured above were baked at 350 for about 14 minutes.

Chili Burritos

My sister makes these and said they were good so I thought I'd give them a try. They were good. Kyle loved them, Karson hated them, and of course Easton ate them. I don't love chili, so this is a good way to eat it.

1 Can Chili (more for more burritos)
Flour Tortillas (I only use the ones that you have to warm on the stove)
Cheese
Sour Cream

Cook Chili and warm tortillas. Spread Chili in tortillas (next time I will put cheese inside the tortillas too). I think my sister said she bakes them for a bit then puts cheese on top and bakes them again until the cheese is melted. I just put cheese on top and cooked them for like 10 minutes at 325.

Spaghetti Sauce With Cream Cheese

Nothing like a good old paper plate for dinner right? Truth be told we usually always eat on paper plates. I only eat on a nice plate when I want to take a picture for my blog. Well I forgot this time.

My sister in law knows I love cream cheese but that I don't love red sauce. I don't love spaghetti either. (except for my old neighbor Cathy made the best spaghetti sauce). She told me about her recipe for sauce that had cream cheese. I decided I'd try it and I really liked it so that will now be my standard when we have spaghetti. This was super fast and easy and the sauce was yummy. I'm not going to actually post exact directions, but since I refer to my blog for food ideas this will be a reminder to me. My sister in law doesn't use the spaghetti sauce in a jar but that's all I had and I thought it was fine. Also, my Magelby's rolls recipe went great with this.

1 Jar Spaghetti Sauce
1/2 of a full cube of Cream Cheese
Hamburger
Spaghetti noodles

Brown hamburger, drain, add spaghetti sauce and cream cheese and stir until mixed well. In the meantime boil and rinse noodles.

Sugar Cookie Bars

Again, from The Girl Who Ate Everything Blog. I'm tired of linking to her, but her link is on the right side of my blog. I love sugar cookies. I hate how long it takes to roll the dough, cut the, cook them. This was much faster and easier, and just as yummy. It's basically the same thing I would do if I were to make Fruit Pizza, which is also a favorite of mine. I don't know why I never thought to just do this instead of cookies. Karson wanted green frosting so that's what we did.

Sugar Cookie Bars
Source: BreeAnn Fankhauser

1 cup butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
5 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp lemon zest (optional)

Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing after each egg. Add vanilla and mix well. In a separate bowl combine flour, salt, baking soda and stir with a whisk to combine. Add to wet mixture and mix just until combined. Spread on a greased baking sheet (use a 13 x 18 pan). Bake at 375 degrees for 10-15 min, until light golden brown or until a toothpick comes out clean (they won't look done so do the toothpick test). Cool completely and frost.

Frosting
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
4 ounces cream cheese (1/2 of an 8 oz block) softened
1 tsp vanilla (Or almond extract)
¼ tsp salt
4 cups powdered sugar
5 Tbsp milk
food coloring (if desired)

For frosting combine butter and cream cheese until smooth and creamy. Add vanilla and salt. Add powdered sugar in 1-2 cup increments until combined, then add milk a little at a time and mix until smooth and spreading consistency. You may not need all the milk! Spread over cooled cookie bars