Thursday, April 22, 2010

Just Peachy Meatballs

I absolutely LOVE this dish! It's extremely easy to make and only has three ingredients! The only downside is the peach mix needed is hard to come by. If you look online at http://www.savannahcinnamon.com/ and go to the "where to buy" tab it will show you the stores near you where you can get a bottle or two the juice. Or you can order online. I usually just order a few bottles at a time. I also have an amazing recipe for a chex mix using the "southern praline mix" but I haven't made it in awhile so I don't have any pictures of that.
Anyway, here's the recipe:
1 bag frozen italian meatballs
1 jar of chili sauce
Southern Peach Mix
noodles or rice
Combine the meatballs and chili sauce in a crock pot.
Refill the empty jar with the "Southern Peach Mix" and add to the crockpot.
Cook on high temperature until heated through.
I usually serve the meatballs and sauce on noodles but you can eat with rice as well.

Saturday, April 17, 2010

Creamy Spinach Tortelliini


I got this recipe from all recipes.com and tweaked it for our family. (we don't like cooked spinach or mushrooms)


Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook time 20 minutes

Servings 4

1 (9 oz) package refrigerated cheese tortellini

2 tbsp butter

1 small onion, chopped

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup milk

fresh mushrooms, sliced

1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained

cherry tomatoes, halved

1-2 chicken breasts, cooked and chopped

Cook tortellini according to package directions. Heat butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir in onion; cook until soft and translucent. Mix in cream cheese, parmesan, milk, mushrooms, and spinach. Gently mix in tortellini and cherry tomatoes with skillet contents; warm through, and serve.

Dad's Chili

1-2 lb. ground beek
1 tap onion (dried or fresh)
2 (15 1/2 oz.) cans of kidney beans
1 quart of tomato juice (not paste or stewed tomato)
1-1 1/2 cups water
1 tsp cayenne red pepper (or to taste)
2 tsp chili powder (or to taste)
half stick of celery, chopped

1 3/4 lb. ground beef. Break it up and put on to simmer.
Put 1 tsp of dried or fresh onion while simmering.
Simmer and cook to slight browning color of meat. Break meat apart with spoon. Drain grease out of pan. Put cans of kidney beans and its juice in with the meat. Pour 1 quart of tomato juice into pan. Dilute the tomato juice with about 1 -1 1/2 cups water. Put 1 tsp. of cayenne red pepper and 2 tsp. of chili powder in. Stir it in well. Chop up a half stick of celery and put in pot. Check every so often and stir. Once it starts boiling, put on lower setting (simmer). Let simmer and cook for about 2 hours.

We like to put some grated cheese and butter on ours and serve it with bread or home made scones.

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Strawberries and Cream Dessert Squares


Great for the Spring/Summer season when Strawberries are out. You can use other berries with this recipe though.

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
Makes: 20 servings
I got this recipe from Betty Crocker.com
I recommend this for a gathering/get together sort of thing where you won't be bringing any back home with you. It tastes amazing the first day and it tastes good the next day or two but then it starts to get mushy and the strawberries look gross (the guys will eat it happily still).
Crust:
1 pouch (1lb. 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker sugar cookie mix
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 egg
Filling:
1 cup white vanilla baking chips (6 oz.) **I used soem that had red in them
1 package (8oz) cream cheese, softened
Topping:
4 cups sliced fresh strawberries **I used 5-6 instead because I just love berries!
1/2 cup sugar
2 tbsp cornstarch
1/3 cup water
10-12 drops red food color, if desired
***I doubled the sugar, water, cornstarch, strawberry goo mixture. I knew I'd like it better that way. But that's just me.
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray bottom only of 15x10x1 or 13x9 inch pan with cooking spray. In large bowl, stir cookie mix, butter and egg until soft dough dorms. Press evenly in bottom of pan. Bake 15-20 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.
2. In small microwaveable bowl, microwave baking chips uncovered on High 45-60 seconds or until chops are melted and can be stirred smooth. In medium bowl, beat cream cheese with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Stir in melted chips until blended. Spread mixture over crust. Refrigerate while making topping.
3. In small bowl, crush 1 cup of the strawberries (**I crushed 2 cups instead since I added a cup or two extra and also remember I doubled the cornstarch mixture as well...). In 2-quart saucepan, mix sugar and cornstarch. Stir in crushed strawberries and 1/3 cup water. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture boils and thickens. Stir in food coloring. Cool 10 minutes. Gently stir in remainging 3 cups strawberries. Sppon topping over filling. Refrigerate 1 hour or until set; serve within 4 hours. Store covered in refrigerator.

The Best Big, Fat, Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies


The title is seriously right on the dot. These are amazing and I hate to say that I ate the majority of them...they were that good. I got this recipe from all recipes.com

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.

Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.

In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended. Beat the vanilla, egg, adn egg yolk until light and creamy. Mix in the sifted ingredients until just bleded. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand using a wooden spoon.

Roll a scant half-cup of dough into a ball. Holding dough ball in fingertips of both hands, pull apart into two equal halves. Rotate halves 90 degrees and, with jagged surfaces facing up, place formed dough onto cookie sheet, leaving ample room between each ball. Bake, reversing position of cookie sheets halfway through baking, until cookies are light golden brown and outer edges start to harden yet centers are still soft and putty (approximately 11-14 minutes). Do not overbake.

Cool cookies on sheets until able to lift without breaking. Transfer to wire rack to cool.

***I just rolled up good sized balls of dough and put them on the sheet pan. I didn't make a big deal about degrees and stuff. Came out with amazing cookies!!!!!!

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Oreo Fudge Icecream Cake

This has got to be the easiest ice cream cake recipe out there! Brent found it on the internet from Kraft Foods and made it for me for my birthday. I made it for him on his birthday, but I used mint ice cream sandwiches and it was delish!
Ingredients:
1/2 cup warm fudge ice cream topping
8 oz cool whip, thawed
1 small pkg chocolate puding
8 oreos, crushed or chopped
12 ice cream sandwiches
Directions:
Wisk fudge and 1 cup of cool whip until well blended. Add pudding and stir until smooth. Add oreos and stir gently. Set aside. Arrange 4 ice cream sandwiches side by side on a platter. Tip with half of the oreo fudge mixture. Repeat both layers. Top with remaining 4 sandwiches. Frost sides and top with cool whip. Freeze about 4 hours, or until firm.
Hope you like it!

Monday, March 1, 2010

BBQ Ranch Chicken and Cheddar Pizza Roll em’ Ups

I got this recipe from my friend, who got the recipe off of a website called picky-palate.com. Which I would definitely suggest checking out b/c there are lots of good recipes on there. Anyway, my husband and I loved these and they were super easy to make.

1 Roll Pillsbury Pizza dough in can (or use other pizza dough of choice)

1/4 Cup prepared ranch dressing
2 Cups prepared shredded BBQ chicken (i just cooked chicken, shredded it and added bbq sauce)
1/4 Cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
1 1/2 Cups shredded smoked cheddar cheese

Ranch Dressing for dipping

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Open can of dough and press into rectangle. Spread or drizzle ranch dressing evenly over dough then top with evenly with chicken, cilantro and cheddar cheese. Starting at long end roll dough into a log shape. Using a sharp knife, cut 1 inch pieces and place onto a greased baking sheet. Bake for 20-22 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with a side of ranch dressing for dipping.

I love ranch dressing and my husband loves anything with BBQ sauce, so it was the perfect dinner for us :). Enjoy!