Sunday, December 20, 2009

Spinach Artichoke Dip


1 14 oz can of artichoke hearts, finely chopped
1 10 oz pkg of frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
3/4 c grated parmesan cheese
3/4 c light mayo
1/2 c shredded mozzerella cheese
1/2 t garlic powder


Heat oven to 350 degrees. Mix ingredients and spoon into 9" pie plate or baking dish. Bake 20 minutes, or until heated through.

Cabbage Patch Stew


1 lb hamburger, browned
1/2 onion, chopped
2 c cabbage, chopped
1/2 c celery, chopped
4 carrots, sliced
2 cans kidney beans
1 qt stewed tomatoes

2 t salt
1/4 t pepper
1-2 T chili powder (I like it milder, so I use a scant 1 T)
4 1/2 c water

Bring to boil and simmer until tender.

Friday, December 18, 2009

Peanut Butter Cup Cookies


These cookies are SUPER yummy, and are so easy. Everyone's always impressed, too, because they look so fancy. Now, the only ratio I haven't really figured out is the dough to packages of Reese's mini peanut butter cups, but the way I look at it--extra of either is still a good thing! (To give you an idea, I doubled the batch, and made it through 4.5 bags of Reese's cups)

1/2 c butter or margarine
1/2 c peanut butter
1/2 c sugar
1/2 c brown sugar
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t baking powder
1 egg
1/2 t vanilla
1 1/4 c flour
extra sugar for rolling
2 (?) packages Mini Reese's cups


Mix all ingredients well. Refrigerate, if necessary, until easy to handle. Roll into 1" balls, then roll in sugar. Bake in a mini muffin tin at 375 degrees for 7 min. While they are in the oven, unwrap all your Reese's cups. As soon as the cookies come out, immediately press a Reese's cup into each cookie. Let cool in pan. Optional: I use a knife to gently remove them from the pan, line them up on wax paper, and drizzle melted chocolate over them. (I melt chocolate chips in the microwave in a quart freezer bag--30 seconds-flip-30 more seconds, and then snip the tiniest corner off and pipe out the chocolate. Wear an oven mitt or glove, it's hot!)

Yummy Salsa


Meet my new pregnancy craving. So tasty, and just the tiniest kick.

6 Roma tomatoes
4 oz can diced green chilies
1 bunch cilantro (1 c chopped)
1 bunch green onions (1 c chopped)
1/2 c chopped onion
1 1/2 t garlic salt
1/8 t cumin
1 t crushed red pepper

Place all ingredients in blender and pulse to chop.

Friday, December 11, 2009

Cheese Ball

6 oz Blue Cheese
2 (5 oz) Jars Old English Cheddar
4 (3 oz) packages of Cream Cheese
2 T. Grated Onions
1 t. Worchestershire Sauce
1/2 t. Accent

Garnish:
1 c. Ground Pecans
1/2 c. Parsley

Combine all ingredients. Add 1/2 of the pecan and parsley mixture. Form 2 equally sized balls. Roll balls in the remaining garnish. Refrigerate and serve with crackers. Delicious!

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Oreo Balls


Completely de-lish. Totally easy. Also, fat free and calorie free. Okay, that part wasn't true.

OREO BALLS

1 pkg Oreos
1 8 oz pkg cream cheese
1 pkg almond bark, or dipping chocolate

Finely crush Oreos. (I do this in a food processor, and it's a snap. Otherwise, you can put them in a gallon ziplock bag and use a rolling pin, which is a pain). Mix cream cheese in well (I do this in my KitchenAid. It makes it so easy. And, I'm trying to see just how many appliances I can dirty for a three-ingredient recipe.) Form into 1" balls and chill.

Melt chocloate or almond bark and dip the balls. Set on wax paper to cool. To make them extra fancy, you can drizzle them with white chocolate.

Refrigerate. And try to share.

Friday, December 4, 2009

Pear Cranberry Compote


Try this instead of your traditional cranberry sauce. It's sweeter and very tasty.

12 oz bag cranberries, rinsed.
1 c brown sugar
1/2 t cinnamon
1/4 t allspice
1 t vanilla
3 med pears, cored and chopped

Combine all ingredients, except pears, in saucepan. Cover, cook over medium heat until cranberries pop (about 5 min). Stir in pears, cook 2-3 more min or until tender. Serve warm or chilled.

Yummy Pull-apart Bread


We had this over Thanksgiving while Hilary was here, and, let me tell you, it is YUMMY!! And very simple. You need a bundt pan for this, though. This is a 'start the night before' recipe for a yummy breakfast, or 'start in the morning' for a yummy dessert bread.

24 frozen Rhodes rolls
1 small box butterscotch pudding
2.5 oz pecan pieces
1 c brown sugar
1 1/4 sticks butter


Melt butter and mix in brown sugar. Place 12 rolls in the bundt pan. Sprinkle half the dry pudding, half of the pecans, and pour half the butter mixture over it. Then repeat. Let rise over night (6-8 hours) (I did this 8 hours in the garage so it was colder and they turned out perfectly--the rolls should be about double in size). Bake 350 degrees for 30 min.

Peppermint Pinwheels


I'm just about to make these, so I'll post a picture when I'm done. For now, picture perfect little red and white swirl cookies. These cookies are kind of a pain in the prep, but pay off in the end.

3/4 c butter, softened (no substitutes)
3/4 c sugar
1 egg yolk
1 t vanilla
2 c flour
1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
1/2 t peppermint extract
1/4 t red liquid food coloring (use less for pink swirls instead of red)

Cream butter and sugar. Beat in egg yolk and vanilla. Combine flour, baking powder and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Divide in half. Add extract and food coloring to one portion. Roll out 16X10 rectangle (this is the hard part) from each half (see hint at the bottom). Place red rectangle over plain. Tightly roll, starting with long side. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate over night or until firm. Unwrap dough and cut into 1/4" slices. Place 2" apart on lightly greased baking sheets. Bake 35o degrees, 12-14 min, until set. Cool 2 min before removing to wire racks to cool completely. 4 dozen.

Hint: I just came up with an easier way to roll out the rectangles. I spread parchment paper over a 10X15 cookie sheet (with edges), covered the dough with another sheet of parchment paper, and rolled out the dough to the edges. That way, I came up with a uniform size and cleaner edge. It's not the 'right' size called for in the recipe, but for my purposes it works perfectly. I can't get it much bigger than that anyway.  It saved a ton of work.

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Angel Chicken

Prep. 10 min Total 2 hours 10 min.
Makes 5 servings, 1 cup each

What you need:

4 oz. (half package) Cream Cheese, softened
1 can (10 3/4 oz) condensed cream of mushroom soup
1/4 cup Kraft Tuscan House Italian Dressing (I didn't have that one time so i improved with ranch and some italian dressing, worked great!)
1/4 cup dry white wine (I also didn't have this, imagine that, so i just used apple juice once and orange juice for the other - orange juice wasn't the very best but was still ok)
1 1/2 lb. boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut in bite size pieces.
1/2 lb angel hair pasta, uncooked ( I just cook 2 cups of rice to go with this instead of noodles. WE LOVE RICE.)
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley

Beat cream cheese, soup, dressing and wine with whisk until blended; pour over chicken in slow cooker. Cover. Cook on HIGH for 2 to 3 hours. (or LOW for 4-5)

Cook pasta as directed on package about 15 min before chicken is done. Drain. Serve topped with chicken mixture and parsley.

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Yummy Chicken Salad


Okay, this is more of a list of ingredients than a recipe, but I tried to write down the amounts I used this time. Alter it to your tastes.

Chicken Salad

2 lb chicken breast--boiled and cut/shredded into small pieces
1 c celery, thinly sliced
1 c red grapes, halved
1/2 c slices almonds (toasted for 8-10 min in the oven at 350)
1/2 c miracle whip (not too sure about this--use how ever much you like, I prefer mine drier)
3/4 t garlic salt

Mix garlic salt in the miracle whip. Toss chicken in and turn to coat. Add grape halves and celery. Wait on the toasted almonds until just before serving (to keep them crunchy). Serve on croissants.

This is a great dish to make ahead (except the almonds), and lovely for lunches, etc.

Monday, October 12, 2009

Jiffy Sugar Cookies

This cookie recipe is on the back of the Jiffy All-Purpose Baking Mix box (there are actually all sorts of recipes back there--the cinnamon rolls are pretty good too!). These are nice and quick, simple and taste like Lofthouse cookies (those horribly fattening but wonderfully delicious sugar cookies with the inch-thick pink frosting you always find at the grocery store and various church activities)!

Sugar Cookies
Makes 3 dozen

2 c. Jiffy Baking Mix
2/3 c. sugar
1/3 c. milk
5 T. shortening
1 egg
1 t. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350.

Grease baking sheet. Combine all ingredients. Beat until well blended. Drop by tablespoon onto prepared baking sheet. Bake 8 -1o minutes. Remove cookies. Sprinkle with sugar. (I don't think they even need the sugar on top--they taste great without.)

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Easy Parmesan-Garlic Chicken

1/2 c grated parmesan cheese
1 env. italian dressing mix
1/2 t garlic powder
6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

Heat oven to 400 degrees.
Mix cheese, dressing mix, and garlic powder
Moisten chicken with water; coat chicken with cheese mixture.
Place in shallow baking dish.
Bake 20 to 25 min or until chicken is done (165 degrees).

Ham & Cheese Quiche

1 can evaporated milk
4 eggs, beaten
1/2 c shredded ham
1/2 c grated cheese
1/2 c broccoli (I use frozen)
Salt and pepper to taste
Unbaked pie crust

Mix milk, eggs, ham, cheese, and broccoli and season with salt and pepper. Pour into pie shell and bake at 400 degrees for 10 min. Reduce heat to 350 and bake an additional 30 min, or until center is set.

Silky Chocolate Fondue

6 oz chips (I use semisweet)
1/2 c caramel
1/2 c heavy whipping cream

Stir and heat in fondue pot.

Chicken Pillows


1 pkg crescent rolls
1 pkg dry onion soup mix
2 lb chicken
1 8 oz pkg cream cheese

Cook chicken on the stovetop with dry onion soup mix. Drain and shred. Mix in cream cheese with chicken mixture.

Roll out crescent rolls. I fold the tips of the triangle in, so I get a kind of rectangle shape. Put a dollop of cream cheese/chicken mixture into the center of each crescent roll. Fold up edges and wet with water to seal "pillows" shut. Bake at 375 degrees for about 15 min, or until golden brown. (I think that's the time. You have to watch it, make sure it's not overbaked).

Serve it with mashed potatoes and steamed veggies for a yummy meal.

Taco Soup




2 lbs hamburger (I usually use just 1 lb)
1 can kidney beans, undrained
1 can pinto beans, undrained
2 cans white corn, undrained
2 cans diced tomatoes, undrained
1 pkg taco seasoning
1 pkg buttermilk ranch dressing mix
1/2 bunch cilantro, stems removed

Brown hamburger. Add remaining ingredients. Simmer till heated through. Top with tortilla chips and grated cheese.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Cream together:
1/2 stick butter (1/4 c)
3 oz cream cheese

Add:
1 c powdered sugar
1/2 T milk
1/4 t vanilla
pinch of salt

Then:
Continue adding powdered sugar and milk until it reaches desired consistency and amount.

Soft Sugar Cookies

I put this one in your "Pictures of Me" cookbooks a long time ago, but thought I'd post it again.

Mix and set aside:
1 c sour cream
1 t apple cider vinegar

Cream:
1 3/4 c sugar
1 1/2 t baking soda
few drops lemon juice
3/4 c butter
1/2 t salt
2 large eggs
1 1/2 t vanilla

Add:
sour cream mixture
5 1/2-6 c flour

Finally:
Roll out to 1/4" to 1/2" thickness (I like them thick)
Bake 10-13 min at 375 degrees.

Frost with "Cream Cheese Frosting"

Saturday, October 3, 2009

Cookies and Cheesecake

1 pkg chocolate chip cookie mix (store bought, from a mix, or homemade--I've tried them all)
1 8 oz pkg cream cheese
1 egg
1/2 c sugar

Press the half the cookie dough into a greased 8x8 pan. Mix cream cheese, egg and sugar together. Pour mixture onto cookie dough. Sprinkle remaining cookie dough on top. Bake 350 degrees for 30-35 min. (Mine takes up to 4o sometimes; just test the middle with a toothpick)

Baking Powder Biscuits

1-3/4 cups flour
1 Tbsp. CALUMET Baking Powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 cup margarine
3/4 cup milk
PREHEAT oven to 425 degrees F. Mix flour, baking powder and salt in large bowl. Cut in margarine until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add milk; stir with fork until soft dough forms.
PLACE on lightly floured surface; knead 20 times or until smooth. Pat or roll lightly until dough is 1/2-inch thick. Cut with floured 2-inch cookie cutter to make 16 biscuits, rerolling dough scraps as necessary. Place on ungreased baking sheet.
BAKE 12 minutes or until golden brown.

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Three-Cheese Chicken Penne Pasta Bake

This is a Kraft.com recipe (thanks to Melynie's tip, I get a lot of great recipes from here). Nate and I just tried this one and really liked it. It tastes even better the next day.

Three-Cheese Chicken Penne Pasta Bake
Prep Time:
20 min
Total Time:
43 min
Makes:
4 servings
What You Need!
1-1/2 cups multi-grain penne pasta, uncooked
1 pkg. (9 oz.) fresh spinach leaves
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
1 tsp. dried basil leaves
1 jar (14-1/2 oz.) spaghetti sauce
1 can (14-1/2 oz.) diced tomatoes, drained
2 oz. (1/4 of 8-oz. pkg.) PHILADELPHIA 1/3 Less Fat Cream Cheese, cubed
1 cup KRAFT 2% Milk Shredded Mozzarella Cheese, divided
2 Tbsp. KRAFT Grated Parmesan Cheese
Make It!
HEAT oven to 375ºF.
COOK pasta as directed on package, adding spinach to the boiling water the last minute.
COOK and stir chicken and basil in large nonstick skillet sprayed with cooking spray on medium-high heat 3 min. Stir in spaghetti sauce and tomatoes; bring to boil. Simmer on low heat 3 min. or until chicken is done. Stir in cream cheese.
DRAIN pasta mixture; return to pan. Stir in chicken mixture and 1/2 cup mozzarella. Spoon into 2-qt. casserole or 8-inch square baking dish.
BAKE 20 min. Sprinkle with remaining cheeses. Bake 3 min.

Saturday, September 12, 2009

Orange Julius


6 oz. orange juice concentrate

1 c milk

1 c water

1 tray ice cubes

1/2 sugar

1 t vanilla

Blend ingredients in blender.

Yum!