Avocado Egg Salad Sandwich

I'm not sure why I never thought of this before. I love avocados and hard boiled eggs. I saw this on Pinterest and the recipe came from HERE (neverhomemaker.com) We ate them on toasted flat bread, but they would be yummy as a wrap too. I loved these so much.

Ingredients
4 hard-boiled eggs (I place the eggs in the water immediately  Once it starts to boil I remove heat and cover for 12 minutes. Then I place in a strainer and run cold water over them and peel immediately.)
1 large avocado cubed
2 tablespoons mayonnaise (I don't measure, I just use what it looks like it needs)
1 teaspoon curry or fenugreek powder (I left this out because I didn't have it)
Pinch of salt and pepper

I mixed the eggs with the mayo before adding the avocado. Then I just lightly mixed in the avocado.  After I toasted the flat bread I spread a little more mayo on it before adding the egg/avocado salad.

Cheesy Chicken Ranch Pasta

I saw this on Pinterest and it came from HERE (mommyimhungry.blogspot.com) It was really yummy. I posted the entire recipe, the same as she has it, but I used bow tie pasta instead of lasagna noodles.

Cheesy Chicken Ranch Lasagna
Adapted from Real Mom Kitchen
2 (12 oz) cans evaporated milk
1 (1 oz) pkg. Hidden Valley dry Salad Dressing & Seasoning Mix (not the dip blend)
3 C. cubed, cooked, chicken
1/8 tsp pepper
1 (16oz) lasagna noodles, cooked (I used 9 noodles)
1 1/2 to 2 C cheddar cheese, grated
1 1/2 to 2 C mozzarella cheese, grated

 Combine evaporated milk and Ranch dressing and pepper in a 3 quart heavy saucepan. Heat over low heat, stirring frequently until dry ingredients are dissolved. Simmer, uncovered, 25 minutes, stirring frequently. Sauce will thicken slightly. Layer half of lasagna noodles, chicken, sauce, and cheese in well-greased 9×13 pan. Repeat layers again. Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Let rest 10 minutes before serving. This sauce may curdle on you when heating it, it's OK. Mine did not, because I kept it at a low heat after I let it come to just a boil, and stirred, stirred, stirred. You may not need the full 25 minutes, so when you can tell it's starting to thicken, it's OK to add to the dish. It may curdle after it's baked, but again, it's OK.

 FOR A GLUTEN FREE CASSEROLE STYLE: (for non GF, use regular pasta)
 2 (12 oz) cans evaporated milk
 1 (1 oz) pkg. Any Gluten Free Dry Ranch Salad Dressing (not the dip blend)
 3 C. cubed, cooked, chicken (about 2 large chicken breasts)
1/8 tsp pepper
2-3 C. uncooked gluten free penne pasta
1 C cheddar cheese, grated
1 C mozzarella cheese, grated

 Spray a 9x13 baking dish. Cook pasta until about 2 minutes under regular cook time (probably about 5-6 minutes). Drain, add to prepared dish. Combine evaporated milk and Ranch dressing and pepper in a 3 quart heavy saucepan. Heat just to a boil then lower heat, stirring frequently until dry ingredients are dissolved. Simmer, uncovered, 25 minutes, stirring frequently. Sauce will thicken slightly. Layer pasta, chicken, sauce, and cheese into dish. Bake uncovered at 350' for 25 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Let rest 10 minutes before serving.

Chicken Enchiladas With Green Chili & Sour Cream Sauce

I really do make a lot of recipes I find on Pinterest. Hopefully I will find time to start posting some of my favorite ones. This one was really good. It came from HERE (joyful-mommas-kitchen.blogspot.com)

Chicken enchiladas with green chili sour cream sauce
10 soft taco shells
2 cups cooked, shredded chicken
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
3 Tbsp. butter
3 Tbsp. flour
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup sour cream
1 (4 oz) can diced green chillies 1.

 Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13 pan 2. Mix chicken and 1 cup cheese. Roll up in tortillas and place in pan. 3. In a sauce pan, melt butter, stir in flour and cook 1 minute. Add broth and whisk until smooth. Heat over medium heat until thick and bubbly. 4. Stir in sour cream and chilies. Do not bring to boil, you don't want curdled sour cream. 5. Pour over enchiladas and top with remaining cheese. 6. Bake 22 min and then under high broil for 3 min to brown the cheese.

Zucchini Crescent Pie

Now that zucchini season is over, I might actually post all my new recipes. I've been way to busy to blog. But, we had so much zucchini this year. My sweet neighbor brought me hers, and I grew my own. For the first time ever I grew a garden. I was pretty proud of myself. I never thought I'd get sick of zucchini, but I did. I hated to see it go to waste so I would cook it in some form every single day. I tried a ton of new recipes, but still have some of my old favorites. This was one that I made multiple times. I loved it. It came from Taste of Home.

Ingredients
1 package (8 ounces) refrigerated crescent rolls
2 medium zucchini, sliced lengthwise and quartered (my zucchini were HUGE, so I just guessed on this one. I don't really know how much I used. And I cut the pieces very small.)
1/2 cup chopped onion (I left this out)
1/4 cup butter, cubed
2 teaspoons minced fresh parsley
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
3/4 cup cubed fully cooked ham
1 medium Roma tomato, thinly sliced

Directions Separate crescent dough into eight triangles; place in a greased 9-in. pie plate with points toward the center. Press onto the bottom and up the sides to form a crust; seal seams and perforations. Bake at 375° for 5-8 minutes or until lightly browned. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, saute zucchini and onion in butter until tender; stir in seasonings. Spoon into crust. Combine the eggs, cheese and ham; pour over zucchini mixture. Top with tomato slices. Bake at 375° for 20-25 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Let stand for 5 minutes before cutting.

Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas

I made these a long time ago, but they were delicious. I've seen this recipe on several blogs and on Pinterest, but the recipe I am posting came from HERE. (life-as-a-lofthouse.blogspot.com)

Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas
 3 Tablespoons honey
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1 Tablespoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 pound chicken, cooked and shredded 10 flour tortillas (soft taco size)
16 ounces monterey jack cheese, shredded
2 cans (10 oz each) green enchilada sauce
1/4 cup heavy cream

 Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix the honey, lime juice, chili powder and garlic powder together and then mix with the shredded chicken. Let marinate for 30 minutes. Spray a 9x13 pan and a 8x8 pan with cooking spray. Pour a little bit of the green enchilada sauce on the bottom of each pan. Take one tortilla and fill with chicken and a few tablespoons of cheese. (Make sure to save atleast 1-1/2 cups cheese to sprinkle over top of enchiladas) Roll up tortillas and place in prepared pans. Repeat with all tortillas, chicken and cheese. Mix together the remaining enchilada sauce and cream. Pour sauce over the tops of enchiladas (depending on how saucey you like your enchiladas, you may not need to use all of the sauce. Eyeball it) Sprinkle the reserved cheese evenly over the tops. Bake uncovered for 30-35 minutes, or until hot and bubbly. Serve with sour cream, salsa, guacamole or any toppings you love. Enjoy! Recipe adapted from: The Sisters Cafe

Crock Pot Mac N Cheese

I am not sure how I came across this blog. It could have been Pinterest or another blog. But, I found it HERE. (tipgarden.blogspot.com) I loved it because it was super easy. 

Cooking oil spray

2 cups skim milk

1 (12 oz.) can evaporated milk

1 egg

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

1 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese (I didn't have sharp cheddar so I just used mild)

2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni

Spray the pot of the slow cooker.  In a mixing bowl whisk together milk, evaporated milk, egg, salt and pepper. Pour milk mixture into the crockpot.  Add cheese and uncooked macaroni. Stir gently to mix.  

Turn slow cooker on low and cook 3-4 hours, or until the custard is set and the macaroni is tender.  (Do not cook more than 4 hours, or the sides will begin to dry out).  Serve at once.  I think this was completely done after cooking on low for 3 hours. The edges were crispy. 

Peanut Butter Bars

I've seen this recipe all over Pinterest, but the one I followed came from HERE (mybakerlady.com)

 Reese’s Peanut Butter Bars
(from Let’s Dish)

Ingredients
1 cup butter melted
2 cups graham cracker crumbs (use the boxed kind)
 2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 cup + 4 tablespoons peanut butter (4 tablespoons is for the frosting)
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

 Directions
In a medium bowl, mix together the melted butter, graham cracker crumbs, confectioners’ sugar, and 1 cup peanut butter until well blended. Press evenly into the bottom of an ungreased 9×13 inch pan. In a metal bowl over simmering water, or in the microwave, melt the chocolate chips with the peanut butter, stirring occasionally until smooth. Spread over the peanut butter layer. Refrigerate for at least one hour before cutting into squares.

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

My friend at work gave me this recipe. It was yummy!

Ingredients:
1/2 C softened butter
1/2 C vegetable oil
1 3/4 C sugar
2 eggs
2 C grated zucchini
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 C flour
4 Tbsp cocoa
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder

1/2 C sour milk (add 1-2 tsp vinegar to make milk sour)

Topping:
1 C brown sugar (I used about 3/4 C)
1 C chopped nuts (I used almonds)
1 C chocolate chips
Combine and sprinkle over top before baking

Cream butter, oil, sugar & eggs. Then mix in zucchini and vanilla. Sift together dry ingredients and add to creamed mixture. Last add sour milk. Pour in greased cake pan. Sprinkle with topping and bake at 350 degrees for about 35 minutes. (Baking time varies - just check with toothpick and it's done when it comes out clean.)

Black Bean & Zucchini Quesadillas

I found this recipe on health.com and I love it. We have an abundance of Zucchini, which I am grateful for, but I was tired of making the same stuff over and over so I was looking for something different. This was so easy and so good. I'll post the actual recipe, but I changed the measurements (or didn't measure)

Ingredients

1/2 cup canned black beans, rinsed and drained

2 tbsp salsa

1/2 cup finely chopped zucchini

corn tortillas

4 tbsp shredded cheese

Directions

1. Combine beans and salsa in small bowl, mash with a fork. Stir in zucchini

2. Layer 1 tortilla with half the bean mixture, sprinkle with 2 tbsp cheese, top with another tortilla

3. Repeat with remaining tortillas

4. In broiler or toaster oven, cook quesadillas 1 minute on each side until cheese is melted and bubbly.

***I used a whole can of black beans and approx 4 tbsp salsa. I probably used about 1 cup or more of zucchini and I didn't measure the cheese. I was also lazy and didn't mash the ingredients. I used flour tortillas instead of corn.*** 

Taco Melts

I saw a recipe for cheeseburger melts on Life as a Lofthouse and I decided to change them to taco melts. They were SO yummy! I forgot to take a picture but my kids and their friend loved them and so did we. I don't really need to put a recipe down but I need to post this so I remember it when looking for a dinner idea.

Hamburger

Taco seasoning

Pillsbury pizza crust

cheese

sour cream

tomatoes

lettuce

Brown hamburger, drain, add taco seasoning. While the hamburger is cooking roll out the pizza crust and cut it into eight squares (or however many you want) This was the hardest part. I tried to shape them into the best circles that I could. It wasn't easy so they didn't look great. Fry them in a frying pan until browned on each side. Once they are all cooked put the meat and cheese in the center and cook them on warm in the oven for just a few minutes to melt the cheese. Add additional toppings and fold like a taco.  

Chicken Roll Ups

As if cooking blogs weren't enough. I'm now addicted to Pinterest, but I'm sure my family doesn't mind all the new things they get to eat. I found this recipe on Pinterest, but it comes from the blog 'plainchicken.com' It's very similar to my other chicken crescent roll ups recipe that I used to make on a weekly basis until I got so sick of them but these looked good so I thought I'd give them a try. They were seriously SO good! Of course I only post recipes on here that I think are worth trying, but you should try these!

Chicken Crescent Roll Casserole
adapted from Recipezaar.com
2 (8 ounce) cans Reduced Fat Pillsbury Refrigerated Crescent Dinner Rolls (I only used one)
1 (10 3/4 ounce) can cream of chicken soup
3/4 cup grated cheddar cheese or swiss cheese (or any cheese of choice)
1/2 cup milk

Filling
4 ounces cream cheese (very soft)
2 tablespoons butter (very soft but not melted)
1/2-1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tsp minced onion flakes (I left this out)
2 large cooked chicken breasts, finely chopped (or use a rotissori chicken my personal favorite)
1/2-3/4 cup finely grated cheddar cheese
1/2 tsp seasoning salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper (or to taste)
2 Tbsp. milk
1-2 cup grated cheddar cheese (for topping)

 Set oven to 350°F. Spray a 9x13 dish with cooking spray. Mix together milk, 3/4 cup cheese and chicken soup (can season with black pepper if desired). Place most of the mixture on the bottom of the pan, leaving out just a little bit to spread over the top. For the filling  (make certain that the cream cheese and butter are very soft) in a bowl, mix the soft cream cheese with butter until very smooth, then add in garlic powder. Add in the chopped chicken, onion and cheddar cheese; mix well until combined. Add in 2 tablespoons milk; mix to combine (add in a little more if the mixture seems too dry). Season with seasoned salt or white and black pepper to taste. Unroll the crescent rolls. Place 1 heaping tablespoon chicken mixture (or a little more) on top of each crescent triangle, then roll up starting at the thicker end. Then place the crescent rolls seam-side down on top of the creamed mixture in the casserole. Drizzle the remaining sauce on top (you don't have to use the full amount of cream sauce, just use as much as desired) and sprinkle with 1 cup (or more) grated cheese, or amount desired. Bake for about 30 minutes.

Crock Pot Potato Soup

I have another easy potato soup recipe that I make all the time, but I saw this on Pinterest. It came from the blog 'pearls-handcuffs-happyhour.blogspot.com. I decided to try it and love it!

Ingredients:
1 30oz. bag of frozen, shredded hash browns (I use cubed not shredded and used the brand Ore Ida)
2 14oz. cans of chicken broth (her recipe called for 3 but I only used 2)
1 can of cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup onion, chopped (I left this out)
 1/4 tsp. ground pepper
1 pkg. cream cheese
cheese

Directions: In a crockpot, combine everything EXCEPT for the cream cheese. Cook for 6-8 hours on low heat. About 1 hour before serving, add cream cheese and keep heated until thoroughly melted. Serve with cheese, sour cream, bacon bits, green onions, or whatever else.

S'mores Pie

I saw this on Life as a Lofthouse. This is my new favorite dessert. I have been making chocolate chip pie a few times a month because I love that recipe, but this was so good too so now I will alternate. This one is a MUST try!

S'mores Pie
slightly adapted from: Cookies and Cups

1/2 cup salted butter
3/4 cup white sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 (7 ounce) jar Marshmallow Creme (don't use regular marshmallows)
4 Regular sized Hersheys Bars, broken into pieces
wax or parchment paper

 DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a *9 inch glass pie pan with baking spray. Beat butter and sugar together until fluffy and combined. Add egg and vanilla until incorporated. On low speed add in flour, graham cracker crumbs and baking powder. Divide the dough in half. Press half of the dough in the bottom and sides of the prepared pie pan. Evenly spread the Marshmallow Creme over the bottom of crust. Spread the broken chocolate pieces on top of the Marshmallow Creme. Form the remaining dough into a ball and place it on a piece of wax or parchment paper. Top with another piece of wax or parchment paper and flatten into a 9 inch circle with a rolling pin. Carefully peel off the top piece of wax paper. Flip the crust onto the top of pie and peel off the other piece of paper. Pinch the dough together to form the crust. Bake for 20 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool completely and then slice and serve.

*The first time I made this I used a pie tin, the second time I made it I put it in an 8X11 inch pan.

Pepperoni String Chese Roll Ups

I saw these on The Girl Who Ate Everything, then I also saw them on Life as a Lofthouse. I thought about making them for the Super Bowl but I wanted to try them out first. They were really good.

Pepperoni String Cheese Roll Ups Source:
adapted from Dinner With The Donnells
1 (8 ounce) package refrigerated crescent roll dough
4 cheese sticks, halved
1 (3.5 ounce) package sliced pepperoni
optional - marinara or ranch sauce for dipping

Garlic Butter Glaze:
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasonings
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 Tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Take each triangle of crescent roll dough and place about 4 pepperoni on the bottom of the triangle. Place half of a cheese stick on top and roll up. Place seam side down on a cookie sheet and bake for 10-14 minutes or until golden brown. While rolls are cooking, combine the melted butter, Italian seasonings, garlic powder and Parmesan cheese in a small bowl. When rolls are done remove from the oven and brush with the garlic butter glaze. Serve with marinara or ranch for dipping.

Oven Baked Frito Pie

I saw this on Sweet Treats and More. It was really good. When I warmed it up the next day I had to take the Fritos off the top because they were soggy.  I probably would just leave those off and add them before serving.

Oven-Baked Frito Pie
source: What's For Dinner?
1 lb. lean ground beef
1 can (16 oz) chili beans (I just used a can of chili because I didn't have just chili beans)
1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce
1 can (15 oz) diced tomatoes
1 envelope taco seasoning
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
3 1/2 cups corn chips (Frito's)
1 1/4 cup sour cream

Directions: Cook ground beef until meat is browned; drain. Stir in beans, tomato sauce, taco seasoning mix and 1/4 c. of cheese. Sprinkle 1 cup corn chips in bottom of 8x8 baking dish or 9x13 dish. Cover with chili. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Spread sour cream over chili. Top with remaining corn chips and cheese. Bake 4-5 minutes longer. Makes 6 to 8 servings

Warm Bean Dip

I saw this on Life as a Lofthouse and it looked so good. I made it for the super bowl party we went to and I loved it! I didn't have the monterey jack cheese so I used cheddar and mozzarella.

Warm Bean Dip Recipe
adapted from: allrecipes.com 

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 cup sour cream
2 cans (16 ounces, each) refried beans
1 packet taco seasoning
2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
2 cups monterey jack cheese, shredded

DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together cream cheese and sour cream in a large bowl. Mix in refried beans until combined. Stir in taco seasoning. Spray a 9x13 baking pan with cooking spray. Spread mixture evenly into the bottom of the baking dish. Sprinkle the top with both cheeses. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until cheese in melted and slightly browned. Serve with tortilla chips.

Toffee Dip

My friend gave me this recipe that came from allrecipes.com. It's so yummy!

Ingredients:
1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 pkg toffee bits (found by the chocolate chips)

Beat together the cream cheese, sugars and vanilla in a bowl until smooth. Stir in toffee bits. Serve with sliced apples. Refrigerate leftovers.

Cheesy Enchilada Casserole

Another recipe from Life as a Lofthouse blog....

Ingredients:
1 lb lean ground beef
1 onion, chopped
2 1/2 cups salsa
(15 oz) can Black Beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup Cheese Whiz
3/4 cup Sour Cream
2 Tablespoons Taco Seasoning
1/4 teaspoon Cumin
6 soft taco size Flour Tortillas
2 cups shredded Mexican cheese blend

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large skillet, cook the ground beef and onion over medium-high heat until meat is no longer pink. Drain fat. Stir in salsa, beans, cheese whiz, sour cream, taco seasoning and cumin. Stir well and cook for 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Spray a 9x9 inch baking dish with cooking spray. Spoon a 1/3 of meat mixture in the bottom. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup of cheese. Layer 3 flour tortillas over the top. ( you will have to cut one of the tortillas so they fit ) Spoon another 1/3 of meat mixture on top of the tortillas, then sprinkle another 1/2 cup of cheese. Do one more tortilla layer, the last of the meat mixture and sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top. Bake for 25 minutes or until cheese has melted and it's hot and bubbly. Let stand 5 minutes or so before slicing. Makes 9 servings.

Chicken & Black Bean Enchilada Casserole

I got this recipe from the sweet treats and more blog.

Ingredients:
2 cups diced or shredded chicken
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
1 (15 oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (4.5 oz) can diced green chili peppers, drained
1 (10 oz) can red enchilada sauce
8 (6 inch) corn tortillas
2 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese
1 (8 oz) Sour cream

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray an 11x7 inch baking dish with cooking spray. Heat a large skillet over medium heat, and spray with vegetable cooking spray. Saute chicken, cumin and coriander until chicken is cooked through. Transfer to a medium bowl. Stir in the cilantro, black beans, and green chili peppers.

Spread half of the enchilada sauce over the bottom pan. Place 4 tortillas over the sauce, overlapping if necessary. spoon half of the chicken mixture over the tortillas, and sprinkle with half of the cheese and half of the sour cream.

Spoon the remaining enchilada sauce over the cheese, and make another layer of tortillas. Layer the remaining chicken mixture over the tortillas.

Cover dish with a lid or foil. Bake for 30 minutes.

Remove cover and sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top and dot with sour cream. Continue cooking, uncovered, for an additional 5 to 10 minutes, or until cheese melts.

Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Tator Tot Casserole

I've made this a few times but each time have to find where I wrote down the recipe so here it is finally. I think of the Duggars when I make this. But it's actually really good. I wanted to make it and thought I had a friend who made it for her son. Well I must have been dreaming because when I asked her for her recipe she told me she'd never made tator tot casserole in her life. So I decided to google the recipe and I also found out that another friend makes it so I think I just combined the recipes. One didn't have cheese I think. Anyway, this is how I make it.

1 lb Hamburger

1 bag frozen Tater Tots
1 can Evaporated Milk
1 can Cream of Mushroom soup
1 can Cream of Chicken soup
2 cups shredded Cheddar Cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray.

Brown hamburger and drain. Pour into the bottom of the baking dish. Pour tator tots over the hamburger.

Mix both soups and evaporated milk together. Pour mixture over the tater tots. Bake uncovered for 45 minutes. Add cheese and cook about 10 more minutes or until cheese is melted.

Baked French Toast

My friend was telling me about THIS recipe so I decided to try it the morning after Christmas. It was sweet and rich so you couldn't eat much but it was so good.
12-14 slices of soft white bread
4 oz whipped cream cheese
1 stick butter, sliced
1/4 C syrup
1 C brown sugar
1/2 C sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
6 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 3/4 C milk

Pre heat oven to 400 degrees. In a large casserole pan add sliced butter, syrup, brown sugar. Place in oven, melt together for 5-7 minutes until caramelized, stirring once. Spread cream cheese on half of the bread slices, place additional slice on top sandwich style. Set aside. In small bowl combine sugar and cinnamon. Set aside. In a mixing bowl scramble eggs, add milk, add vanilla. When butter mixture is caramelized, remove from oven, put sandwiches in pan, sprinkle with sugar/cinnamon mixture. Pour egg mixture over sandwiches, cover, refrigerate over night. In the morning preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake 45 minutes. Serve caramel side up. Top with Berries, syrup, and sour cream. We had whipped cream on top and that was good.

Butter Syrup Recipe
Ingredients
3/4 c. buttermilk
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 stick real butter
2 Tbsp corn syrup
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla

Directions
Combine buttermilk, sugar, butter, corn syrup, and baking soda in a large pot. I stir until the butter is melted then I add the baking soda.

Bring ingredients to a boil and reduce heat to low. Cook, stirring very frequently, for 8-9 minutes.

When it's done, it should be golden brown. Remove from heat and add vanilla.

Baked Chicken Chimichangas

I saw this recipe in a coupon add and thought they were pretty good.

Ingredients
2 1/2 cups chicken, cooked, shredded
2 Tblsp Olive oil
1/2 cup Onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 Tblsp chili powder
16 Ounce salsa
1/2 Tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp cinnamon (probably less they tasted very much like cinnamon)
pinch of salt
6-10 flour tortillas
1 cup refried beans
Olive oil
Sour Cream
Guacamole

Directions:
In large saucepan, saute onion and garlic in oil until tender. Stir in chili powder, salsa, cumin and cinnamon.Stir in shredded chicken. Let cool. Heat oven to 450 degrees. Grease rimmed 15x10x1 baking pan. working with one tortilla at a time, spoon a heaping tablespoon of beans down center of each tortilla. Top with 1/2 cup of the chicken mixture. Fold up the bottom, top and sides of the tortilla; secure with wooden toothpicks if necessary. Place chimichangas in greased baking pan, seam side down. Brush all sides with the oil. Bake 20-25 minutes.

German Pancakes

I've never made German Pancakes before but I've heard they were good. I wanted to make Breakfast Christmas Eve morning so I found a recipe on All Recipes. They were yummy and easy so I have a feeling we'll be eating them often.

Ingredients

6 eggs

1 cup milk

1 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted

Directions

Place the eggs, milk, flour and salt in a blender; cover and process until smooth. Pour the butter into an ungreased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish; add the batter. Bake, uncovered, at 400 degrees F for 20 minutes.

I also made my buttermilk syrup recipe to go with them. But they would be good with fruit and cream also.

Buttermilk Syrup

Ingredients

 3/4 c. buttermilk

1 1/2 cup sugar

1 stick real butter

2 Tbsp corn syrup

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp vanilla

Directions

Combine buttermilk, sugar, butter, corn syrup, and baking soda in a large pot. I stir until the butter is melted then I add the baking soda.

Bring ingredients to a boil and reduce heat to low. Cook, stirring very frequently, for 8-9 minutes.

When it's done, it should be golden brown. Remove from heat and add vanilla.

Taco Pasta

I made this the other night and it was so yummy! I got it from the Life as a Lofthouse blog. It's super easy and so good.

Taco Pasta Recipe
from: Fake Ginger
1 pound Lean Ground Beef
8-12 ounces small Pasta shells ( I used Elbow)
1 small Onion, chopped
1 clove Garlic, minced
1 (14 oz) can Diced Tomatoes, drained
4 Tablespoons Taco Seasoning
3 ounces Cream Cheese
1/2 cup Sour Cream
Salt and Pepper
DIRECTIONS: Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of pasta water. Set aside. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook ground beef and chopped onion over medium-high heat. Cook until beef is no longer pink. (Drain any grease) Then add minced garlic, cook and stir for 30 seconds. Stir in can of diced tomatoes and taco seasoning. Let simmer over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Stir in cooked pasta, cream cheese, sour cream and 1/2 cup pasta water. Cook and stir until cream cheese has melted and sauce is well blended. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Simmer over low heat for another 5 minutes, or until sauce has reduced a bit.

Chicken Taco Soup

I got this recipe from Life As A Lofthouse. I made it a few weeks ago and it was so good. I forgot to take a picture.

Chicken Taco Soup
1/2 cup chopped
Onion (I left this out)
1 Green Bell Pepper, diced (I actually left this out too only because I didn't have one)
1 (16 oz) jar of Salsa
32 oz Chicken Stock
1 (1.25 oz) package of Taco Seasoning
1 (12 oz) bag of frozen Corn
1 (6 oz) can Tomato Paste
2 lbs boneless skinless Chicken Breasts
4 oz Cream Cheese
1/2 cup Sour Cream
Avocado (Optional)

In a large crockpot, combine all of the ingredients EXCEPT the cream cheese and sour cream. Cook on Low heat for 6-8 hours. A half hour before serving, remove chicken breasts and shred. Return shredded chicken to crockpot and also add in the cream cheese and sour cream. Stir and let them both melt into the soup. Serve in individual bowls with shredded cheese, more sour cream, avocado and tortilla strips or chips!

Penne Pasta Bake

I have a lot more recipes in draft than I thought so here is another one. This came in the newspaper add for a local grocery store. Thought it sounded good and it was.

1 pound hamburger

2 medium yellow onion (left these out!)

1 bulb garlic (I used granulated garlic exact measurements unknown)

(1) 16 oz penne pasta (I used macaroni only because I have so much in my pantry)

(2) 26 oz marinara sauce (I only used 1 jar, I don't love marinara sauce)

(1) 6 oz Provolone Cheese

(1) 8 oz shredded Mozzarella Cheese

(1) 16 oz Sour Cream 

(1) 5 oz shredded Parmesan Cheese

Directions:

1 - Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil.

2 - Add penne pasta and cook until done; drain

3 - In a large skillet, brown onion, garlic and ground beef over medium heat. Add spaghetti sauce and warm through.

4 - Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly oil or spray a 9 X 13 baking dish

5 - Layer as follows: 1/2 of the pasta, 16 oz sour cream, 6 oz slices provolone cheese, 1/2 sauce mixture, remaining pasta, 6 oz shredded mozzarella cheese, remaining sauce mixture then top with parmesan cheese.

6 - Bake uncovered for 45 minutes at 350 degrees or until cheese is melted.

Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread

I loved this bread! I wanted a recipe for zucchini bread with chocolate chips and found several, but this one came from Paula Deen from the food network website.

Ingredients
3 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 eggs
2 cups white sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspons vanilla
2 cups grated zucchini
1 cup choped pecans (I didn't add these)
1 cup milk chocolate chips
1 tablespoon orange zest (I didn't have an orange so this was left out as well)
whipped cream for serving

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease (2) 9 by 5-inch loaf pans.
Sift together flour, baking powder, salt, spices and baking soda.
In a large bowl, beat eggs until light and fluffy. Add sugar, and continue beating until well blended. Stir in oil, vanilla, zucchini, pecans, chocolate chips, and orange zest. Stir in sifted ingredients. Pour into prepared loaf pans.

Bake for 50 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove loaves from pans and cool. Chill before slicing. Serve with whipped cream.

Zucchini Pizza Casserole

I just realized I have had this in draft mode for a few months, along with several others. The bad thing about that is, I forgot where I got this recipe from to link back to them to give them credit. At least it wasn't their original recipe, but it still makes me feel bad. I tried looking for it but I couldn't find it, so I apologize for not giving credit to the appropriate person for this recipe. I didn't grow Zucchini in my garden this year, but thankfully had neighbors who did and were nice enough to bring them to me all the time. This was actually better than I thought it would be.  (I know I took a picture so when I find it I'll update this.)

Zucchini Pizza Casserole
source: Taste of Home

Yield: 6-8 servings.

4 cups shredded unpeeled zucchini
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese, divided
1 pound ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion (left this out)
1 can (15 ounces) Italian tomato sauce
1 medium green pepper, chopped

1. Place zucchini in strainer; sprinkle with salt. Let stand for 10 minutes. Squeeze out moisture.

2. Combine zucchini with the eggs, Parmesan and half of the mozzarella and cheddar cheeses. Press into greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish.

3. Bake, uncovered, at 400° for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Add tomato sauce; spoon over zucchini mixture.

4. Sprinkle with remaining cheeses; add green pepper. Bake 20 minutes longer or until heated through.

Missing....

I guess there are people who actually read this blog and have asked when I will post again. Summer has just consumed all of my time. I do have a whole bunch I need to add so stay tuned...Now that it's getting cold and we won't be spending every hour of day light outside I might be able to get some recipes posted. I have a few that were super yummy so I'm excited to share with those of you that think I can cook. :)

Hamburger Zucchini

My friend Anne was telling me about something she makes with Zucchini. I decided to make it, without really having a recipe, and it was so yummy! And it was so fast and easy. Used fresh garden tomatos and zucchini. Yum yum.

Ingredients

Hamburger

taco seasoning (I only used 1/2 a packet)

zucchini

tomatoe

cheese

Directions

Brown and drain hamburger. Add taco seasoning. Add zucchini and cover. Cook for about five minutes. Add tomatoes and cheese and cook until cheese is melted.

Baked Zucchini Fries

My friend gave me some zucchini and so I searched for some recipes. I have a few I'll post, but these turned out so good.

I got this recipe from here

Baked Zucchini Fries
Recipe adapted by Our Best Bites from Aggie’s Kitchen

About 1 lb. zucchini
1/2 c. Italian-seasoned panko bread crumbs (If you don’t have or can’t find any Italian-style panko bread crumbs, just add 1/2 tablespoon of Italian seasoning, 1/2 tsp. garlic powder, 1/2 tsp. Kosher salt, and 1/4 tsp. onion powder to 1/2 c. plain panko bread crumbs and you’ll be good to go. Either way, mix the bread crumbs with the parmesan cheese and set them aside.
1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese (the crumbly stuff, not shreds)
2 eggs

Preheat oven to 425. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.

Combine bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese. Set aside.

Whisk 2 eggs together in a shallow pie plate and set aside.

Cut the ends off the zucchini and then cut the zucchini in half so you have two short, stubby pieces. Set one piece on its end and cut it in half lengthwise. Cut that half in half, making 2 planks. Repeat with the remaining halves (so you’ll get 16 planks per zucchini).

Stack 2 planks on top of each other and cut into strips. Thicker strips will yield “meatier” fries with more zucchini flavor while thin strips will be crispy and taste virtually nothing like zucchini. When all the fries are cut, blot the pieces with a paper towel.

Working with a small handful at a time, dip the zucchini sticks in the egg, shake them to remove any excess, and then roll them in about 2-3 tablespoons of bread crumbs at a time, adding more as needed; you just don’t want to work with all the bread crumbs at once because they’ll soak up moisture from the egg and won’t stick to the zucchini. Place the coated strips on the prepared baking sheet and repeat until all the zucchini strips have been coated.

Bake for 10-12 minutes in the prepared oven then remove from oven, flip the fries, and bake for another 10-12 minutes or until the zucchini is not soggy and the coating is crisp and golden brown. Serve immediately with Pizza Sauce or Buttermilk Ranch Dressing. Serves 6-8 as a side dish.

Dutch Oven Apple Dumplings

I got this recipe from The Pioneer Woman Cooks recipe blog. If you click her link you will see a whole bunch of pictures.I made one batch in the dutch oven and one in the oven. Both were delightful, however, the dutch oven batch turned out much better. I can't wait to make these again. They were so good! And seriously take a few minutes to put together. My friend made them and told me about them probably over a year ago and raved about how good they were. I finally decided to try them and I'm glad I did.

Ingredients
2 whole Granny Smith Apples
2 cans (8 Oz. Cans) Crescent Rolls
2 sticks Butter
1-1/2 cup Sugar
1 teaspoon Vanilla
Cinnamon, To Taste
1 can (12 Oz.) Mountain Dew Soda
Preparation Instructions
Peel and core apples. Cut each apple into 8 slices each. Roll each apple slice in a crescent roll. Place in a 9 x 13 buttered pan.

Melt butter, then add sugar and barely stir. Add vanilla, stir, and pour entire mixture over apples. Pour Mountain Dew around the edges of the pan. Sprinkle with cinnamon and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Serve with ice cream, and spoon some of the sweet sauces from the pan over the top. We probably cooked it for about 40 minutes in the dutch oven also.

Milky Way Cake

Another recipe from The Pioneer Woman Cooks blog. I saw this and wanted to make it so bad! It turned out amazing! Loved it. You can't eat very much because it's so rich but it was very yummy.

Ingredients11 whole Milky Way Bars (regular Size), Divided Use
3 sticks Margarine, Divided Use
2-½ cups All-purpose Flour
½ teaspoons Salt
½ teaspoons Baking Soda
½ cups Buttermilk
3 teaspoons Vanilla Extract, Divided
2 cups Sugar
4 whole Eggs
2 cups Powdered Sugar
1 dash Salt
½ cups Milk (more If Needed)
1 cup Finely Chopped Pecans

Preparation InstructionsPreheat oven to 300 degrees F.

In a double boiler or in a saucepan over very low heat, melt 8 Milky Way bars together with 1 stick margarine, stirring to combine. Once melted, remove from heat and set aside.

Sift flour and salt together and set aside.

Mix baking soda with buttermilk, then add 2 teaspoons vanilla and set aside.

Cream 1 stick of margarine with the 2 cups of granulated sugar. Add eggs one at a time. Add flour mixture and buttermilk alternately to the creamed mixture, mixing after each addition. Add melted candy bar mixture and mix to combine.

Pour into a greased jelly roll pan or 9 x 13 baking pan and bake for 1 hour or until cake is done in the center. Remove from oven and allow to cool.

To make the icing, melt the remaining 3 Milky Way bars with remaining 1 stick margarine (in a double boiler or in a saucepan over very low heat). Add powdered sugar, dash of salt, milk, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and chopped pecans and stir over low heat. Add more milk if needed.

Pour over the cooled cake and allow to set. Cake will be very sticky! Don’t expect neat, perfect slices.

Serve with ice cream or whipped cream

Cheesy Chicken Casserole

I made this the other night and not only was it so easy, it was so yummy! I halved the recipe but this is the full recipe. (It would make a ton) I also added cheese on top before putting on the Ritz crackers. Delicious. This will be a regular at my house because of how easy it was.

Recipe from: Mandys Recipe Box

3-4 chicken breasts, chopped and cooked or 1 (14 oz.) can chicken

16 oz. egg noodles, cooked

24 oz. sour cream

2 cans cream of chicken soup

8 oz. shredded cheddar cheese

8 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese

1 sleeve Ritz crackers, crushed

1/4 c. margarine, melted

2 Tbsp. Poppy seeds (optional)

Combine chicken, sour cream, soup; cheeses in a large bowl. Stir to combine. Add the noodles and gently stir till coated. Pour into a greased 9x13 baking dish. Mix crackers and margarine; sprinkle over the top. Sprinkle with Poppy seeds. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or till crackers are crispy and golden brown and cheese is melted

Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos

I made these the other night and they were so good. I did forget to take a picture so you'll have to go to ourbestbites.com if you want to see what they look like. They were a little to spicy for my kids so I think next time I make them I will use less cumin and less chili powder. Also, I could only find medium green salsa, no mild, so that may be why they were so spicy. But, still so good. We just dipped them in sour cream, but there is a recipe for a ranch sauce that I'll make next time.

Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos
Recipe by: Our Best Bites
1/3 C (3 oz) cream cheese
1/4 C green salsa
1T fresh lime juice
1/2 t cumin
1 t chili powder
1/2 t onion powder
1/4 t granulated garlic
3 T chopped cilantro
2 T sliced green onions

2 C shredded cooked chicken (my chicken was not shredded. I cut it into small pieces)
1 C grated pepperjack cheese

small corn tortillas
kosher salt
cooking spray

Heat oven to 425. Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly coat with cooking spray.

Heat cream cheese in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds so it's soft and easy to stir. Add green salsa, lime juice, cumin, chili powder, onion powder and granulated garlic. Stir to combine and then add cilantro and green onions. Add chicken and cheese and combine well.

You can prepare up to this step ahead of time. Just keep the mixture in the fridge.

Work with a few tortillas at a time and heat in the microwave until they are soft enough to roll without cracking. It helps to place them between damp paper towels. Usually 20-30 seconds will do it. If you find yours are cracking when you roll them or come unrolled right away, just try heating them longer and try the paper towel thing.

Place 2-3 T of chicken mixture on the lower third of a tortilla, keeping it about 1/2 inch from the edges.

Then roll it up as tight as you can.

Place seam side down on the baking sheet. Lay all of the taquitos on the baking sheet and make sure they are not touching each other. Spray the tops lightly with cooking spray or an oil mister and sprinkle some kosher salt on top.

Place pan in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until crisp and the ends start to get golden brown.

Dip 'em in salsa, sour cream, guacamole, or the dressing below.

Creamy Lime-Cilantro Dressing
Recipe by Ourbestbites.com

1 pack (1oz) Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing Mix (regular or buttermilk, and ignore directions on the packet)
1C mayo
1/2 C milk (or buttermilk depending on which packet you buy)
1 lime
2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1/2 C roughly chopped cilantro
1/4 C green salsa
hot sauce

Place milk, mayo, and ranch mix in a blender. Juice the lime in there too, you should get about 2T juice. Toss in the garlic, cilantro and green salsa. Blend 'er up. Sample it and add hot sauce to taste. Make it several hours ahead of time to allow it to thicken.

No Bake Cookie Bars

I am so far behind on my receipes. I have probably 15 -20 recipes in draft, just no time. These were incredibly rich, but so yummy. They were easy, but a little time consuming. 

Chocolate Peanut Butter No Bake Cookie Bars by Sweet Treats and More

For the cookie bar:
1/2 cup milk
1/2 stick margarine (approx 56 grammes)
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
3 TBS cocoa
2 cup sugar
2 1/4 cup quick oats
1/2 cup peanut butter

In a medium saucepan, melt butter, milk, sugar, vanilla, salt and cocoa. Bring to a boil and let boil for about 90 seconds. Remove from heat. Stir in peanut butter, then oats one cup at a time. Pour mixture into a greased 8 x 8 in. glass pan. If you want a thinner bar you can use a 9 x 13 in. glass pan. Place in the fridge and let cool completely.

Peanut Butter Filling:
1/2 cup peanut butter
Once cooled completely spread 1/2 cup peanut butter over the top of the bars. Next make your chocolate frosting.

Chocolate Frosting:
1/2 cup butter
4 tbs cocoa
1 tsp vanilla
6 tbs milk
4 cups powdered sugar

Melt butter in a sauce pan over medium-high heat. Stir in cocoa, vanilla, and milk. Bring to a boil and remove from heat. Immediately stir in powdered sugar, mixing in one cup at a time until smooth.

Spread the frosting over the bars, cut into squares and serve.

S'mores Cookies

I saw these on The Girl Who Ate Everything's blog and had to try them. I made them for my 2 year old's birthday party and everyone said they were great. I made them again yesterday because I've been craving them for a few weeks now. They are so good. The chocolate on top stays melted for hours.

S'mores Cookies

Source: Ice Cream Before Dinner

11 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1 cup brown sugar, packed

½ cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 ½ cups flour

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup mini marshmallows

3 regular sized Hershey’s bars, broken into pieces

1-2 packages graham crackers, broken into squares

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line baking pans with parchment paper. 

Lay out graham crackers side by side on the pans as close as possible (they should be touching). You may have to add or remove graham crackers according to how much dough you have. If you want your cookies thicker you will use more dough and less graham crackers.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, sea salt and cinnamon to combine. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter with white and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix until combined.

Add the flour mixture to the butter mixer and combine on low speed.

Fold in the chocolate chips and marshmallows. Chill dough in refrigerator for 1 hour to overnight (The recipe says to chill the dough. I did no do this either time I made these)

Place tablespoons of dough on graham crackers about 1 – 1 ½ inches apart. I averaged about 1 1/2 tablespoons of dough per graham cracker square as seen in the picture above. Press down slightly with fingertips.

Bake for 5 minutes then remove from oven to press Hershey’s bar pieces on to the top. You can place as many pieces or as little as you want depending how much chocolate flavor you want.

Bake for 5 – 7 more minutes or until dough is beginning to turn golden brown at the edges. Remove to a wire rack to cool

Buttermilk Caramel Syrup

Oh my goodness, this is soooo yummy! I'm not sure why I've never made this before. I've had it before, so I have people I could get the recipe from, but I just never did. Until I had to buy buttermilk for something else and my friend gave me this recipe. It was so good. We had it with our french toast, but then we ate it on chocolate chip cookie pie as the caramel topping. That was so good too.  I will be making this much more often!

Buttermilk Syrup

Ingredients

3/4 c. buttermilk

1 1/2 c. sugar

1 stick real butter

2 Tbsp. corn syrup

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. vanilla

Directions
Combine buttermilk, sugar, butter, corn syrup, and baking soda in a large pot (My friend said she puts the baking soda in after it starts to boil but then I read online that you can still taste it if you wait so I put it in with everything else.)
Bring ingredients to a boil and reduce heat to low. Cook, stirring very frequently, for 8-9 minutes.
When it's done, it should be golden brown. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Enjoy!

Grilled Chicken Pasta Salad

What do you do with a three year supply of pasta? Figure out different ways to eat pasta. I'm not even kidding, I got 10 boxes of pasta for free with coupons and two great sales recently. That means I need to make pasta often. This was just an experiment but it worked. It was very yummy. 

Ingredients:

Pasta, I used about half of this box

grilled chicken (you could grill your own but I had this package of chicken that I just warmed on the stove)

ranch dressing

avocado

Cook pasta according to package directions, add chicken, avocado and as much ranch as you want. Mix everything together. We ate this warm. I thought it tasted better but this could be served cold as well.

Taco Braid

Another recipe from Life as a Lofthouse. I liked this recipe, but I liked the spaghetti braid, that I posted a while back also from Life as a Lofthouse, more. However, I think Kyle liked this one more.

Taco Braid

Recipe By: Holly Lofthouse

1 lb ground beef

1 pkg taco seasoning

1 cup water

1 can refried beans

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 cup salsa

1 can Pillsbury Pizza Dough

Unroll the Pizza Dough and let it sit out on a greased cookie sheet while you brown the ground beef. Once beef is cooked, add the taco seasoning and 1 cu water. Mix well and let simmer for 5 - 10 minutes on low.

Now that dough is room temp and easy to work with, shape out into a large rectangle. Using a pizza cutter or knife, cut one inch strips along sides of dough. In the center spread out the refried beans.

Next spread the seasoned ground beef on top of the beans, and then drizzle the salsa over the meat. Least sprinkle the cheese evenly. Now start braiding the one inch strips over the top.

Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool 5 minutes.

Salsa

I finally made home made salsa. First time ever. I need to change the recipe a bit, but I still am in love with it already. It was a little to runny and it had to much cilantro. Other than that I think it was pretty dang good.

A few weeks ago I posted on Facebook asking for salsa recipes. Kyle's aunt suggested this one from the Pioneer Woman. I have a few others I want to try, but this was the one I decided to make first. Click on the Pioneer Woman's link, she has a ton of pictures...

Ingredients

1 can (28 oz) Whole Tomatoes

2 cans (10 oz) Rotel (diced tomatoes w green chilies)

1/2 cup Onion, chopped (I didn't put ANY in because I hate onions, even in Salsa)

1 clove Garlic, minced

1 whole Jalapeno, chopped

1/2 tsp Sugar

1/2 tsp Salt

1/4 tsp Ground Cumin

1/3 cup Cilantro (I think the recipe called for a 1/2 cup to 1 cup. I only used 1/3 cup and it was still very strong)

juice from 1/2 a Lime

Directions: Chop your garlic and jalapeno. Pour the canned tomatoes, garlic, jalapeno, sugar, salt, cumin, cilantro and lime juice in a blender OR a food processor. Pulse about 12-15 times, depending on how chunky you like your salsa. Pour into a bowl. Let sit in the refrigerator for at least an hour to chill . Serve with tortilla chips 

I don't have a food processor so I used my blender. I think it worked fine, other than like I said it was a little runny so I probably just pulsed it to many times.

Cake Batter Truffles

I saw this recipe HERE. Then a short time later my niece made them for her little boys birthday party and I made myself sick eating them. They were so good. So I decided to try them for Karson's little Preschool graduation program. I should know that anything that involves dipping isn't my thing. They weren't terribly hard, but they were much more time consuming than I like. And, I think they looked pretty sad. They did taste good though.

Cake Batter Truffles
by The Girl Who Ate Everything

1 ½ cups flour
1 cup yellow cake mix
½ cup unsalted butter, softened
½ cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/8 teaspoon salt
3-4 Tablespoons milk
2 Tablespoons sprinkles

Truffle Coating:
16 ounces (8 squares) almond bark (or white candy melts)
4 Tablespoons yellow cake mix
sprinkles

Beat together butter and sugar using an electric mixer until combined. Add cake mix, flour, salt, and vanilla and mix thoroughly. Add 3 Tablespoons of milk or more if needed to make a dough consistency. Mix in sprinkles by hand. Roll dough into one inch balls and place on a parchment or wax paper lined cookie sheet. Chill balls in the refrigerator for 15 minutes to firm up.

While dough balls are chilling, melt almond bark in the microwave in 30 second intervals until melted. Stir between intervals. Once melted, quickly stir in cake mix until incorporated completely. Using a fork, dip truffles into almond bark and shake of excess bark by tapping the bottom of the fork on the side of your bowl. Place truffle back on the cookie sheet and top with sprinkles. Repeat with remaining balls until finished.

Chill cake batter truffles in the refrigerator until serving. Makes around 24-30 truffles.

Bean Dip

One of my co-workers brought this dip for our Cinco de Mayo party. It was so good. When I made it, it wasn't as good. But, my husband loved it and I ended up loving it the next day.

Ingredients:
1 can refried beans
1 package (8 oz) Cream Cheese, softened
1 package dry ranch dressing mix
1 can peppers (I didn't have any so this was left out. Maybe that's why it tasted different.)
Directions:
Warm the cream cheese until softened. Beat with beaters until well blended and serve with chips. It's that easy!

Marshmallow Peep Monkey Bread

Sorry, one more Easter recipe. I saw this recipe on Good Things Utah. It came from HERE. It seemed interesting, yet I wanted to try it. It was pretty good. Karson thought that monkey bread was pretty cool. I almost forgot to take a picture so there wasn't much left when I remembered. I'm pretty sure I halved this recipe, but I posted the full recipe.

Marshmallow Peeps Monkey Bread
Dough:
2 cans (16.3 ounces) reduced fat buttermilk biscuits (or homemade recipe)
Coating:
3/4 cup pink granulated sugar
16 pink marshmallow Peep bunnies
1/4 cup butter
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Lightly spray a 9″ circular pan, bread pan, bunt pan, or other pan of choice. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Open both cans of biscuits. Cut each biscuit into fourths. Set aside.
In a large microwave-safe bowl, microwave marshmallow Peeps, butter, and vanilla extract on high for 1-2 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds. Whisk until smooth.
Lightly dip each biscuit fourth into marshmallow mixture, letting excess syrup drip off. Roll lightly in pink sugar and place in prepared pan. Repeat with all remaining biscuit fourths. Pour remaining mixture over biscuits.
Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until golden brown and cooked through.

Cadbury Mini Egg Cookies My Version

I know more Cadbury Mini Egg cookies. I've been slacking on my recipes. And Easter is long gone, which means so are the Cadbury Mini Eggs, but these cookies were so good. Make them next year! Everyone was raving over the chocolate Cadbury Mini Egg cookies, in my last post, but I didn't love them. I decided to make just my regular chocolate chip cookies and add these. They were so delicious! Especially warm when the chocolate was all melty. Yum

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 of Cadbury Mini Eggs (I think the bag is like 10 ounces)
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 chopped candy. (you can add some pieces on to the top) 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.

Cadbury Mini Egg Cookies

I saw these on a few different recipe sites and I don't remember exactly which one I got this recipe from. I'd been planning to make them for an Easter party and a few days before I was going to make them my sister sent me a picture of these and had to try them. I thought I'd love them and I didn't. I think it goes back to the to chocolatey issues I have. But, they were good. I have another package of mini eggs so I'm going to experiment and make my regular chocolate chip coookie recipe and add these.

Cadbury Egg Cookies
1/2 C Crisco
1/2 C Butter
1 C brown sugar
1 C white sugar
2 Eggs
1 1/2 t vanilla
1 t baking powder
1 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
2 1/2 C flour
6T unsweetened cocoa powder
1 10 oz bag Cadbury Mini-Eggs

Preheat oven to 350. You’ll need to chop the Cadbury Eggs. I put them in a ziplock bag and gave my 4 year old his toy hammer and he went outside on the porch and beat them to pieces.

Cream together the butter, crisco, brown sugar and white sugar. Add in eggs one at at a time and the vanilla. In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, soda, baking powder, salt, and cocoa powder. Add to the butter mixture to combine and then mix in the candies. I pressed a few candy pieces into each cookie after placing it on the cookie sheet. Drop onto a cookie sheet and cook for about 8-10 minutes.

Strawberry Freezer Jam

I made Strawberry freezer jam and I'm so proud of myself, even though it was super easy. I'm still proud of myself.

I found strawberries on sale so I bought much more than usual. I'm all about good deals. I just started using coupons back in October and I can see why it's addicting. If you have any couponing tips, I'd love to hear them! I love when I save money on my groceries. I headed to the store early, the first day of the sale, and I got 4 boxes of cereal for only $3, cereal I actually eat like Golden Grahams, Honey Nut Cheerios, etc. I also got 4 boxes of fruit snacks, and 4 boxes of fruit by the foot all for $6. Now I have to hide those from the kids because they will eat them as fast as they can. And I got the large packs of Strawberries for $3. I'm actually not sure how great of a deal that is, but I know it's less than what I've been paying for small packs. Anyway, this is a recipe blog. Sorry, I got side tracked. I thought I'd freeze some strawberries. We have smoothies all the time and frozen fruit is expensive so I though I'd give it a try. (I've never froze Strawberries before so I'll have to see how it actually turns out.) I also thought I'd give freezer jam a try. Holy cow, it was so easy. If I would have known how easy it was I would have made it 10 plus years ago. I was always scared of the word Pectin. Ha ha, if I don't know what something is, I don't make it. But, time to learn I guess. I just googled freezer jam and found lots of very similar recipes, but the one I used was from allrecipes.com.

Ingredients:
2 cups crushed fresh strawberries
4 cups sugar
1 (1.75 ounce) package dry pectin (I used the brand Surejell)
3/4 cup water

Directions:
1. Mix crushed strawberries with sugar, and let stand for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, stir the pectin into the water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, and boil for 1 minute. Stir the boiling water into the strawberries. Allow to stand for 3 minutes before pouring into jars or other storage containers.
2. Place tops on the containers, and leave for 24 hours. Place into freezer, and store frozen until ready to use.
I've read a couple of different things about how long you can store it. Most say it's good in the freezer for up to a year and in the fridge for up to a month. I didn't fill my containers very full because I don't think I'd use a whole container in one month.

Oatmeal S'mores Cookies

Two recipes for cookies with marshmallows in two weeks. Eeek...And I have a recipe for cadbury mini egg cookies I've been wanting to make for a few weeks. I guess it's good to have my appetite back after last year of not being able to eat anything, but man I need to stop baking! These cookies were so dang good, especially when they were warm and the marshmallows were gooey and the chocolate chips were melted. Yum. I got this recipe from Mandy's Recipe Box

1/2 c soft butter
1/2 c shortening
1 c brown sugar
1/2 c sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
2 1/4 c flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 c oats
1 c milk chocolate chips (the original recipe called for semi-sweet but I always use milk chocolate)
1 c mini marshmallows
In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter, shortening, and sugars. Add the eggs. Beat in the vanilla. Add flour, salt, baking soda, oats, chocolate chips and marshmallows. Drop by spoonfuls onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 11-14 minutes. Let them sit for a few minutes before removing to a wire rack.