Chocolate Lasagna

Get your sweet tooth ready! This one does not disappoint! 

1 package regular Oreo cookies (Not Double Stuff) – about 36 cookies 

6 Tablespoon butter, melted 

8 ounce package cream cheese, softened 

1/4 cup granulated sugar 

2 Tablespoons cold milk 

12 ounce tub Cool Whip, divided 

2 of the 3.9 ounce packages Chocolate Instant Pudding 

3 1/4 cups cold milk 

1 1/2 cups mini chocolate chips

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Pina Colada Cake

Pina Colada Cake::

1 pkg angel food cake mix

1 - 20oz can of crushed pineapple

1 can of cream of coconut (from drink mix section)

1 pkg of cool whip

Mix cake mix with pineapple (no water just juice from pineapples)

Bake at 350 until cake is done approx 30-35 min

Open can of cream of coconut and mix well... pour over top of cake evenly

Put cake into fridge to cool; top with whip cream and serve chilled! YUMMY!!!

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Asado Chicken Street Tacos - Review

Street tacos are on the menu again. This time we tried out Old El Paso's Asado Chicken street taco kit. It includes the tortillas, creamy jalapeno sauce and the seasoning mix.  We just added the chicken.  So if you are in the need for quick and easy this is an option.  Overall was good and we will have it again. Even my youngest who is pickier than picky liked it.  He does seem to be a bit of a Mexican food fan in general but he is still super picky. 

I definitely recommend trying it. I am not the biggest fan of chicken but I enjoyed it too.  


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Maple Sausage Cream Cheese Crescents

Here is a warning in advance. These are absolutely DELICIOUS! So make sure you have your self control ready because you will need it! 

Only 4 ingredients needed. 

1 (16-oz) package maple sausage ** 

1 (8-oz) package cream cheese, room temperature 

3 Tbsp real maple syrup 

2 (8-oz) cans refrigerated crescent rolls 

Cook maple sausage until no longer pink and crumbled. Drain that fat. 

You can make the sausage mixture in advance and refrigerate until ready to bake the crescent rolls.

Preheat your oven to 375ºF. 

Mix the cooked sausage, cream cheese and maple syrup together. 

Separate rolls into triangles. Cut each triangle in half lengthwise – making 32 triangles. 

 Using a small spoon, spoon sausage mixture onto the wide end of each roll and roll up. 

Bake for 15 minutes, or until golden brown. 

 ** If you can't find maple sausage you can make your own by adding a little maple syrup to your sausage before cooking. ** 

 *** if you think this recipe is a bit too sweet just cut down on the maple syrup a bit! ***

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Beef Barbacoa Street Tacos - Review

I stumbled across Old El Paso's Beef Barbacoa Street tacos kit in the store the other day.  I hadn't seen them before but I hadn't really looked around in the taco section of the store either. I have had Beef Barbacoa Burritos at work before and it was pretty good so I decided to grab the kit and see if it would be something that we would want to add to our mix of things we fix.  

The kit itself comes with the street taco tortillas, salsa verde and the seasoning mix.  I just had to add the meat and apple cider vinegar.

I have to say it was pretty darn yummy.  It is definitely worth fixing at home in my opinion.  The kit was overall super easy. I dumped a chuck roast in the crock pot, added some apple cider vinegar and the seasoning mix. Fast forward 6 hours later and we had delicious street tacos.  If you like Mexican food it is a must try.  Next up will be to find a good recipe to use so that I don't need to buy the seasoning or kit but can mix my own because it is something we will have again in the future.

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Meatloaf

Everyone needs a go to recipe for meatloaf.  In the past I haven't been a huge fan of meatloaf until now.  This is my go to meatloaf recipe the entire family loves.

• 1.5 - 2 lb. 90% lean ground beef (if you use less than 90 it will shrink bad and have a ton of grease to dump)
• 1 cup dried bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup diced yellow onion - optional (my kid hates onions :( so I have to leave them out when she is going to eat this and it still turns out great )
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 large egg beaten
• 2 tbsp. ketchup
• 1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp. dried parsley leaves
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 350° Fahrenheit.

In a large bowl, add all ingredients. Use your hands to mix the ingredients together until well combined.

Add the meat mixture to a loaf pan or glass baking dish. Pat the meat down into an even layer.

Bake uncovered for 55 minutes. Top with some extra ketchup (enough to cover the top) during the last 10-15 min of baking or you can make your own topping (In a small bowl, add ¼ cup ketchup, 2tbsp of brown sugar, and 1 tbsp red wine vinegar. Stir to combine. Pour the sauce on top of the meatloaf and spread it into an even layer before baking.)

Let the meatloaf rest for 8-10 minutes before serving (so it doesn't fall apart).

**this can be mixed ahead and put in the fridge to toss in the oven when you get home.**

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Jim -N- Nick's Cheese Biscuts

Ingredients: 

 1 1/2 cups flour 

1 cup sugar 

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese 

3/4 cup milk (2% works best) 

1 egg, beaten well 

4 Tablespoon butter, softened 

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 

1/4 teaspoon vanilla 

 Directions: Mix all ingredients together. Pour into greased muffin pan and bake at 400 for 15 - 20 minutes. This recipe make about 12 muffins. Source: kitchenlink.com

Potato peeler woes!

So recently my pampered chef potato peeler bit the dust. I had replaced my original 20 year old peeler (that was a gift from my grandmother when I first moved out on my own... no name brand just a simple peeler) with the pampered chef one about 8 years ago. It was a sad sad day in my kitchen.  

We wound up buying this piece of crap replacement at the store just because we needed one in a hurry. That was a mistake and a total waste of money! I do not recommend it at all. Stay away from it. It was the faberware peeler that is like 2 bucks at walmart.  It is a piece of junk!  It broke the first time we tried to use it. The blade was just flimsy and could be bent with ease. 

So now we have gotten another replacement and hopefully it turns out to be a much better peeler than the last one. So far so good. 

We went with the T-fal Ingenio Curved Peeler, Black this time. It seems much sturdier than the last one we got. But only time will tell if it will really last for the long haul! It was a little more than the last one we got. About the same as my pampered chef one however.  As of right now... I would recommend it! 



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Homemade Cheesecake

Want a delicious cheesecake! Well here you go! I don't like my cheesecake to be too sweet! This recipe is so good! I even messed it up once or so I thought because I didn't save the egg yolks and used them for a different recipe. The cheesecake was still yummy! 

Homemade Cheesecake

Crust
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
5 Tbsp sugar
1/3 cup melted butter

Filling
3 (8oz) cream cheese, softened
1 1/4 cups sugar
4 eggs, separated
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Crust: Combine all crust ingredients and press against sides and bottom of 9-inch Springform Pan. 
(I use my measuring cup for pressing against the sides.)

Filling: In the bowl of an electric mixer, mix together the sugar, cream cheese, 4 egg yolks, lemon juice and vanilla.

In another bowl, beat the 4 egg whites until stiff and creamy. Fold egg whites into the cream cheese mixture then pour into crust in the springform pan.

Bake for 45 minutes. Turn off the oven and leave the cheesecake in the oven for another hour with the door closed. Although you will be tempted 
don't open the oven door to look at the cheesecake when you turn off the oven.


Freeze cheesecake for several hours before serving. Remove it from freezer and then remove from the pan before letting the cheesecake thaw. Enjoy!

Supplies I recommend:

I love my springform pan. The Nordic Ware Leak Proof Springform Pan, 10 Cup, Assorted Colors, 9 Inch is a nice quality pan for a decent price. It is nonstick and doesn't leak! I am so glad my hubby got me this pan for Christmas. 



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No big secret...

So it is no secret that I love the Pioneer Woman cookbooks! My first cookbook by Ree Drummond was The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Recipes from an Accidental Country Girl that I just happened apon during my trip to the store.



Tons of delicious recipes! Some of my favorites from this book. The pot roast is fabulous and goes great with the mashed potatoes.  The pizza dough is also a nice go to recipe from this book. I still have tons that I still have to try!

I quickly fell in love with the style of the cookbook and of course the food too!  So much so that I requested my 2nd one The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Food from My Frontier as a Christmas gift. I am glad to report that my hubby bought it for me too!



I will most likely add to my collection because my family enjoys the food that comes from following these recipes. There are two others on my wish list of cookbooks.  First we have    The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Dinnertime - Comfort Classics, Freezer Food, 16-minute Meals, and Other Delicious Ways to Solve Supper



The other ones is The Pioneer Woman Cooks: A Year of Holidays: 140 Step-by-Step Recipes for Simple, Scrumptious Celebrations.



After that then my collection will be complete! That is until she creates another cookbook.




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Amish Friendship Bread

Amish Friendship Bread

Ok this stuff is super super yummy... it is more of a dessert bread...

Usually you get a bag of starter mix and the instructions for what to do with your starter bag of batter are as follows... you can put it in a plastic container if you like as well and then you would just need to stir it daily.


Do not use any type of metal spoons or bowl for mixing. Do not refrigerate. If air gets into the bag, let it out. It is normal for the batter to rise, bubble, and ferment.

Day 1: Do nothing. This is the date on which you receive the bag.
Day 2: Squish and mush the bag.
Day 3: Squish and mush the bag.
Day 4: Squish and mush the bag.

Day 5: Add to the bag 1 C. flour, 1 C. sugar, 1 C. milk. Squish and mush the bag.

Day 6: Squish and mush the bag.
Day 7: Squish and mush the bag.
Day 8: Squish and mush the bag.
Day 9: Squish and mush the bag.

Day 10: Add 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar and 1 cup milk. Mix well. Take out 3 cups and place 1 cup each into three separate plastic containers. Give one cup and a copy of this recipe to three friends.

To the balance (a little over one cup… well mine is always almost 2 cups) of the batter, add the following ingredients in a bowl and mix well.

1 cup oil (can use 1/2 applesauce and 1/2 oil to reduce fat)
1/2 cup milk
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla

In a separate bowl combine the following dry ingredients and mix well:

2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 - (5.1 oz) box instant vanilla pudding
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup nuts (optional)

Grease or butter 2 large loaf pans and mix an additional 1/2 cup sugar and 1-1/2 tsp cinnamon. Dust the greased pans with half the cinnamon/sugar mixture. Pour batter evenly into the pans and sprinkle the top with remaining sugar mixture.

Bake for 1 hour at 325 degrees. Cool until bread loosens from sides of pan (about 10 agonizingly long
minutes) and turn out to serving dish. (ok so mine are never done at 325 for an hour so I say bake at 350 for an hour if that is the case for you as well)

If bag isn't passed on to a friend on the 10th day, be certain to tell recipient which day the bag is at when given to them. If you keep a starter bag for yourself, you will be baking every 10 days.

The starter can be frozen if you don’t want to give it away and you can take it out of the freezer let it thaw for approx 3 hours on the counter and then either bake with it immediately or you can begin the 10 day process again if it is your last starter bag.

Now if you don't have someone to give you a bag of starter you can make your own... it is very easy...

Starter Recipe
1 cup of flour
1 cup of milk
1 cup of sugar
1 pkg of active dry yeast.
1/4 cup of warm water

please note if you make your own starter mix... the first time you split off the bags you will have 4 bags of starter plus about 2 cups left in your bowl for the bread you will bake.


This recipe can easily be changed to create more variations of this delicious bread. Simple things such as....

Chocolate Bread - use choc pudding instead of vanilla   (you can go an extra step and add choc chips)
Butterscotch  - add butterscotch chips to the recipe (you can also exchange the vanilla pudding for butterscotch pudding if you want I haven't tried that version of it but I have simply added butterscotch chips)
Banana Friendship Bread - Simply add in 3-5 ripe bananas (you can also omit cinnamon and use banana pudding mix)
White Choc Almond - Substitute almond ALMOND flavoring (NOT Imitation) for the vanilla flavoring... substitute WHITE CHOCOLATE pudding For the vanilla pudding....`
Strawberry Bread - use 1 small box of strawberry jello, 1 c. thawed strawberries
Pineapple - add small can of crushed pineapple (drained)  you can also add some coconut  to this
Apple  - add some diced apple pieces

Experiment... it is really hard to mess this bread up.  Try different puddings and Jello, add in fruits.

And here is a link to more recipes you can use the starter in everything from cookies to pancakes and biscuits. Recipes to use Amish Friendship Starter in

Oh my gosh!!!

So walking through the store the other day I stopped to look at a cookbook that caught my eye... oh man... the food looked soooooo yummy! So I bought it...   The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Recipes from an Accidental Country Girl and guess what... she has a blog - you can view many of her yummy recipes as well as get some tips on other things. Check it out... especially if you like good country cooking... yummmmmm..

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/

Beef Enchiladas

Beef Enchiladas

1lb ground beef 

1 can (10 oz) old el paso enchilada sauce (the red sauce) 

1 can of cambells tomato soup 

1 1/2 cups shredded cheese (6 oz) - (or more) 

1 pkg flour tortillas (6 inch) 

 1. Heat over to 375... 

 2. in skillet brown and drain hamburger 

 3. mix the enchilada sauce and tomato soup in a bowl then add about half the mixed sauce to the hamburger meat 

 4. spoon enchilada filling onto tortillas... add some cheese... roll up and place seam sides down in 13 x 9 glass baking dish 5. top with the remaining sauce mix (or most of it) and cheese... bake at 375 for 20-30 min

Chicken Enchiladas

Chicken Enchiladas

3 or 4 large chicken breasts 

1 pkg (8oz) cream cheese 

1 can (4.5oz) of old el paso chopped green chiles 

1 package of flour tortillas for soft tacos 6 inches 

2 cans (10 oz each) old el paso green chile enchilada sauce 

3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese ( 3oz) (you can use more if you like) 

 1. pre-heat oven to 350 

2. boil chicken with some chicken bullion cubes for flavor once cooked... cool slightly and then shred by hand 

3. in a 10 inch skillet.... put cubed cream cheese, shredded chicken, and chiles on medium head until blended and cream cheese is melted. 

4. spoon chicken filling onto tortillas.. roll up and place seam sides down in baking dish (13x9). pour enchilada sauce over top... sprinkle with cheddar cheese bake 30-45 minutes of until hot and cheese is melted.

Jim -N- Nick's Cheese Biscuits

Jim -N- Nick's Cheese Biscuits

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
3/4 cup milk (2% works best)
1 egg, beaten well
4 Tablespoon butter, softened
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

Mix all ingredients together. Pour into greased muffin pan and bake at 400 for 15 - 20 minutes.

This recipe make about 12 muffins.

Source: kitchenlink.com

Homemade Salsa

Homemade Salsa

Most of this is just to your own taste so actual measurements on the items are not listed. But the basic layout is as follows... 

 Approx 4-5 firm tomatoes 

approx 1/4 - 1/2 of a white onion 

1 clove of garlic (you need a med size one or just use less than a whole one) 

some cilantro leaves 

salt 

optional: jalapeno pepper 

optional: lemon juice or lime juice 

 Cut your tomatoes into chunks and add to a bowl. Dice your onion to your preferred size... add to the bowl Chop your garlic clove as fine as you can chop it... add to the bowl tear off some cilantro leaves... I usually use about 14 leaves (the entire leaf not just part of it) ... add to the bowl add some salt to taste optional - jalapeno peppers (if you don't want it to be hot... don't put the seeds of the pepper into the salsa... just use the meat of the pepper.)... (if you opt for lemon juice or lime juice add it now too... just a little...) put it in the fridge and let it sit overnight .... serve it with nachos, tacos or any other Mexican dish and don't forget the sour cream! YUMMY! This can stay in the fridge for approx 5-7 days.

Homemade Chili (great for hotdogs)

1lb hamburger meat 

ketchup 

chili powder 

pepper 

garlic powder 

onion powder 

water 

 Brown and drain hamburger meat. Add ketchup (approx 3-4 cups) add approx 1-2 cups of water. Add a few shakes of the following... garlic powder, onion powder, pepper and chili powder. Stir and simmer on low for at least 15 minutes.

Easy Rice and Hamburger

This is another of my kiddos favs. 

 1lb hamburger meat 

4 - 6 servings of rice 

1 can tomato soup 

 Ok on these ingredients below I don't measure them so I am giving you an approx amount here. I just do it to taste the way I want. 

The brown sugar is going to offset the vinegar... the vinegar is needed to give it a little bit of a tangy kick. The ketchup... If you still have rice that is white... add more ketchup. 

 approx 1-2 cups of ketchup 

 approx 1/4 - 3/4 cup of brown sugar 

approx 4 tbsp of white vinegar 

dash of salt and pepper 

 Brown hamburger meat and drain. Cook rice. Combine hamburger meat, rice, tomato soup, brown sugar, ketchup, vinegar, salt and peper into one pot. Mix well and let simmer on low for about 15 minutes while stirring occasionally.

Cheeseburger Casserole

My kids love this one and I like it myself. Definitely an easy meal to toss together without having to stand in the kitchen forever. 

 1 pound Hamburger Meat 1

 bag of tater tots 

1 pkg of shredded colby and monteray jack cheese (you can use a different cheese) 

ketchup 

mustard 

 Brown hamburger meat and drain. Stir in ketchup and mustard to taste. (you will use more ketchup than mustard. The mustard is just to give it a little kick) Once it has been mixed well and suits your taste. Pour mixed hamburger into a large casserole dish. Sprinkle shredded cheese over the meat mixture. Top with tater tots in a single layer to cover the entire top of the dish. Bake at 400 for 25-35 minutes until tater tots are cooked. Let cool for 5 minutes then serve!

Beef Nacho Casserole

Although this may sound pretty wierd it is really good. This is actually the only way I can get my son to eat corn. He will eat it in this all day long but he won't touch it otherwise.

Beef Nacho Casserole

1 lb. ground beef
1 c. Birds Eye sweet corn, thawed & drained (can use canned corn also)
2 c. crushed tortilla chips, divided
2 c. Kraft Monterey Jack cheese (shredded & divided) - can use Colby & Monterey Jack also
1 jar (12 oz.) chunky salsa
3/4 c. Miracle Whip Mayo ***
1 tbsp. chili powder

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Brown meat; drain.
Stir in salsa, corn, dressing and chili powder.
Layer 1/2 each of meat mixture, chips and cheese
in 2 quart casserole. Repeat layers.
Bake 20 minutes or until thoroughly heated.
Top with shredded lettuce and chopped tomatoes if desired.
Makes 6 servings.


*** We are die hard Duke's mayo  in this family but I do buy Miracle Whip Mayo just for this recipe. I tried using Duke's for it in a pinch one time and it was not the same. So just grab a jar of Miracle whip***