#72: Roasted Red Potatoes with Bacon and Cheese

I LOVED THIS RECIPE!  Brian and the girls weren't as big of as I was, but they all still ate it.  Brian thinks it was just cheese and bacon mixed with the potatoes because if I told him ranch dressing was in it, he most likely wouldn't have eaten it.  He is taking the leftovers for lunch tomorrow though, so that's always a good sign!

Ingredients:
1/2 Light Ranch Dressing
1/2 C shredded Cheddar Cheese
1/4 C Real Bacon Bits
2 lb small red potatoes (about 6), quartered (I used about 8 medium potatoes and cut each into 6 pieces)
1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix first 3 ingredients in large bowl. Add potatoes; toss to coat.
Spoon into 13x9-inch baking dish sprayed with cooking spray; cover.

Bake 55 min. or until potatoes are tender, uncovering after 40 min. Sprinkle with parsley.

#71: Slow cooker Brats with Sauerkraut and Apples

Yeah, I didn't have much sauerkraut on this for the picture...I guess I didn't put hardly any at all

I don't know if we would make this particular recipe again, but I would definitely use my crockpot to make Brats again.  I didn't like the color of these when it was done (it was too grey for my liking), so I threw the brats on the grill for about 5 minutes after it was done cooking.  But these brats were super moist after cooking in the crockpot!  Brian gave this 3 stars, Allison ate 1 1/2 Brats and Chloe ate an entire brat too (I'd say 5 stars from them), but none of them ate the sauerkraut, apples or onions (big shock!)  I however, gave this recipe 4 stars...I enjoyed it!

Ingredients
8 bratwurst links
1 16-oz. package sauerkraut, rinsed and drained
2 medium Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, cut into 1/2-inch dice
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
1 tablespoon caraway seeds
1/2 cup mustard
8 hot dog buns

Preparation
1. Place bratwurst links in slow cooker and top with sauerkraut, apples and onion. Sprinkle with brown sugar and caraway seeds. Cover and cook on low until bratwurst reaches 165ºF on an instant-read thermometer, 3 to 4 hours.

2. Spread 1 Tbsp. mustard on each hot dog bun. Spoon some sauerkraut mixture on buns, top each with a sausage and serve.

#70: Yogurt Streusel Muffins

These are a tad bit dry, and the yogurt gives it a slightly tangy taste but we still enjoyed these.  Hopefully the daycare kids will enjoy it too!  I got this recipe out of my All You Magazine.
Streusel topping:
2/3 cups pecans, almonds or walnuts, finely chopped (I used ground oatmeal instead)
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Muffins:
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2/3 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup plain low-fat yogurt
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preparation
Make streusel topping: In a small bowl, combine streusel ingredients and pinch together into large crumbs. Place bowl in freezer.

Make muffins: Preheat oven to 375°F. Line cups of a muffin tin with paper liners. In a large bowl, whisk butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla and yogurt. Stir in flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt with a wooden spoon. Fill each muffin cup with batter. Scatter streusel topping over each muffin and press lightly on crumbs so they adhere to batter. Bake until tops are golden, 17 to 20 minutes. Let muffins cool in pan set on a wire rack for 5 minutes, then remove muffins to rack to cool completely.

#69: Star Pizza

I found this recipe in my All You Magazine in October.  This was supposed to be a Halloween recipe, but we never got around to making it, so I decided to make it tonight using star cookie cutters for the cheese instead of ghosts.  (Brian was totally opposed to using X-mas cookie cutters yet!)

It wasn't anything special, besides just having home made pizza, but we would definitely make it again.  Although I think we'd need to make 2 for our family.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound frozen pizza dough, thawed
3/4 cup jarred tomato sauce (we used pizza sauce)
8 ounces sliced low-moisture mozzarella cheese
1 tablespoon capers

1. Preheat oven to 475ºF. Brush bottom of a 16-by-11-inch rimmed baking sheet with olive oil. Press and stretch dough evenly to cover bottom of sheet. (If dough resists at first, let it rest for a minute and then continue.)  We found it was easiest for Brian and I to both stretch/pull the dough together.


2. Spread sauce in an even layer over dough, leaving a 1-inch border around all sides. Bake until underside of dough is golden (lift up pizza with a spatula and take a peek), about 15 minutes. Use a ghost-shaped cookie cutter to cut ghosts from cheese. Place ghosts on top of hot pizza and bake for 5 minutes. Place two capers on each piece of cheese for eyes. Let stand 5 minutes on a wire rack before slicing and serving.

#68: Honey Mustard Kielbasa and Potatoes

So we aren't actually eating this until tomorrow, but it says to cook in the oven for 55 minutes and I don't have time for that when I get home from work, so I cooked this tonight and just plan to reheat tomorrow.  Can I just say my house smells FABULOUSLY!!  Mmmmmm!  I couldn't wait to try this and Allison was asking to try it too (always a good sign!).  So of course I had to try this hot...and I LOVED it!  I hope Brian likes this tomorrow.  Mr. Picky probably won't like the honey mustard sauce it's in, but it really isn't nearly as thick as I thought it would be.  (Fingers crossed that this is a keeper from him!)

*** Update: Brian was very opposed to the honey mustard, as he claimed "You know I don't like mustard."  He didn't even want to try it.  Allison and I LOVED this though. It was good! ***

This was ridiculously easy to make, so I highly recommend this recipe!!

3/4 cup dry white wine (or chicken broth--which I used)
1/4 cup Honey Mustard
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 lb. kielbasa, cut into 1-inch pieces
1-1/4 lb. red potatoes (about 4), cut into 3/4-inch cubes
1 large onion, sliced

Heat oven to 400°F.  Mix first 3 ingredients until well blended. Combine remaining ingredients in shallow pan. Drizzle with wine mixture; toss to coat. (I mixed/tossed all ingredients in a large bowl and then placed and cooked in a 9x13 pan).

Bake 55 min. or until potatoes are tender, stirring occasionally.

#67: Balsamic-Glazed Grilled Chicken

As I am typing the title of this recipe, I was thinking, "I'm not sure why this is called Balsamic Glazed Chicken because there wasn't any balsamic vinegar in it."  Then I started thinking...did I make this right?  So I looked at the recipe again and sure enough it DID call for balsamic vinegar...how did I miss that?!  I made mine with regular white vinegar and although I did like the taste of the glaze, no one else really did.  Could that be why?!  Ha ha...what a yutz!

Like I said before, I liked the glaze, Brian however was not a fan.  Allison ate ALL of her chicken so I'd say she enjoyed it...Chloe on the other hand, gave it all back to me as she ate it.  So we were split, 50/50 on this recipe, and therefore are giving this recipe 3 stars.  (Guess we won't be making this one again).

If you actually try this recipe WITH BALSAMIC VINEGAR let me know what you think of it.  Maybe we should give it another try (although I don't think Brian liked the rosemary in it)

Anyway, here you go...

Glaze

1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic

Chicken
4 bone-in skin-on chicken breasts (8 oz each) (We used boneless, skinless chicken tenders)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

1.Heat gas or charcoal grill. In small bowl, mix glaze ingredients; set aside.

2.Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Place chicken on grill, skin side down, over medium heat. Cook 10 minutes. Turn chicken; brush half the glaze evenly over chicken. Continue cooking and brushing with remaining glaze 10 to 12 minutes longer or until juice of chicken is clear when thickest part is cut to bone (170°F).

#66: Beef Taco Bake

This was a very easy meal to prepare!  I made it a few nights ago and froze it since I knew we wouldn't be eating it right away.  We thought the tortillas were a little soft, so next time I will probably make and freeze everything minus the tortillas and then just add them in the day I am cooking it.  We did like this recipe though (this needed added texture so we added crushed tortilla chips to ours!), and Brian said he liked it even more reheated for lunch!

1 pound ground beef (I used ground turkey)

1 can (10 3/4 ounces) Campbell's® Condensed Tomato Soup
1 cup Pace® Chunky Salsa or Pace® Picante Sauce (I used picante sauce)
1/2 cup milk
6 flour tortillas (8-inch) or 8 corn tortillas (6-inch), cut into 1-inch pieces (I used flour shells)
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (about 4 ounces)

Cook the beef in a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat until well browned, stirring often. Pour off any fat.

Stir the soup, salsa, milk, tortillas and half the cheese in the skillet. Spoon the beef mixture into a 2-quart shallow baking dish. Cover the baking dish.

Bake at 400°F. for 30 minutes or until the beef mixture is hot and bubbling. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese.

Freezer Cooking: November

November = Freezer Cooking Month!

I originally planned to do my last freezer cooking day on October 12th, but we had so many random meals in the freezer and I wanted to defrost the freezer, so we used up everything we had left!  I was getting very anxious to cook again, so this past weekend, I snuck in some freezer cooking prep whenever the girls were napping or after they went to bed.  Now I have meals planned out until early December, and I have 26 new recipes to try and add to this blog!  So excited!!  Hopefully MOST of these recipes will be keepers!

#65: Cafe Rio Rice

This picture does not do this recipe justice!  There is a lot of flavor in this!

I've been dying to try this recipe since we eat a lot of rice in our house.  But I knew the rest of the family wouldn't go for it, so I made it tonight since we are all eating at different times thanks to Trick-or-Treating.  I altered it a little because I was afraid it would be too spicy with the diced green chili's, but it turned out fabulously!  Next time I plan to make the recipe as is.


4 c water
2 c rice (I used basmati)
4 tsp chicken boullion or 4 cubes
1 can green chilis (I used 1/2 can mild diced green chilis)
4 tsp minced garlic (I used 2)
1/2 onion finely chopped
1/2 bunch cilantro, finely chopped (I used about 1/3)
3/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp butter
juice of 2 limes (I used the concentrate and just squirted some in!)

Bring water to a boil. Add all ingredients and stir. Cover and simmer on medium for 30 minutes or until rice is tender.

#64: Diet Doughnuts

 
Do not be fooled by this name.  These are NOT doughnuts and these are NOT diet!  They are good though!  The only thing that is "diet" in this recipe, is that they are baked instead of fried.  Okay, maybe they are healthier then!

Apparently I made mine way too big because I only got 24 muffins out of this.  And I needed A LOT more butter, cinnamon and sugar to dip/coat it in.  I think I ended up using 1 1/2 sticks of melted butter and about 2+ cups of cinnamon/sugar.

Ingredients

1/3 cup shortening or margarine, softened
1 cup sugar substitute suitable for baking (I used regular sugar)
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup skim milk
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 1/2 cups flour, all-purpose or whole wheat
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Instructions
1.Cream shortening and sugar together.
2.Add egg, milk, flour and baking powder, salt and nutmeg.
3.Mix well and bake in miniature muffin tins - grease tins and fill about 1/2 full.
4.Bake at 375 F for about 15 minutes.
5.Take out of tins at once and roll in 6 TBSP. melted butter and than roll in l/2 cup sugar mixed with 1 tsp. cinnamon. Makes 40 doughnuts.

#63: Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Pumpkin was the theme for this month's Recipe Swap Girls Night In, so I made these Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies to bring with.  I made them slightly healthier by using half oil/half applesauce, and it made them very soft.  They probably would have been better had I used all oil, but they were still good!


3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar1 egg

1 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup quick-cooking oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup canned pumpkin
1-1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions
In a bowl, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Combine the flour, oats, baking soda and cinnamon; stir into creamed mixture alternately with pumpkin. Fold in chocolate chips.

Drop by tablespoonfuls onto greased baking sheets. Bake at 350° for 12-13 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool. Yield: 4 dozen.

#62: Strawberry Cream Dessert

We are going to the in-laws house tomorrow and I was looking for a jello-ish recipe to bring with.  I have had this recipe bookmarked for a while, so I figured it would be a perfect time to try it out. 


6 tablespoons sugar
10 tablespoons butter, melted
2-1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs (about 36 squares)
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 cartons (one 16 ounces, one 8 ounces) frozen whipped topping, thawed, divided
1 package (3 ounces) strawberry gelatin
1/2 cup boiling water
1 cup (8 ounces) strawberry yogurt

TOPPING:
2 tablespoons graham cracker crumbs
1-1/2 teaspoons sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons butter, melted


Directions
In a large bowl, combine the cracker crumbs, sugar and butter. Press into an ungreased 13-in. x 9-in. dish. Refrigerate for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, beat cream cheese and confectioners' sugar until smooth. Stir in 1 cup whipped topping. Spread over the prepared crust.

In a large bowl, dissolve gelatin in boiling water. Stir in yogurt and 6 cups of whipped topping until blended. Pour over cream cheese layer. Refrigerate for 1 hour.

Spread remaining whipped topping over strawberry layer. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Just before serving, combine topping ingredients; sprinkle over whipped topping. Yield: 12-15 servings.

#61: Pumpkin Chip Muffins

I have another Recipe Swap GNI coming up so I was looking for pumpkin recipes.  I stumbled upon this recipe and immediately thought about making this for the girls to take to school to share with their friends.  I made them today and the girls ate them with their lunch.  They were easy, moist, and yummy!  I will definitely make these again!!! 

2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 can (15 ounces) solid-pack pumpkin
1-1/2 cups canola oil (I used 3/4 c applesauce and 3/4 c vegetable oil)
3 cups all-purpose flour (I used 1 1/2 c whole wheat flour and 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour)
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

In a large bowl, beat the eggs, sugar, pumpkin and oil until smooth. Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt; gradually add to pumpkin mixture and mix well. Fold in chocolate chips. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups three-fourths full.

Bake at 400° for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack. Yield: about 2 dozen muffins.

#60: Sausage Balls (made with eggs)

I wanted to defrost our deep freezer, so I started digging through it to see what ingredients I had that needed to be used up.  I found that I had a bunch of bulk pork sausage and some turkey bacon, so we decided to make breakfast for dinner.  I found this recipe to use up some of the pork sausage.  This was super easy and really, really yummy!!  Hopefully these will reheat well so the girls can share them with their friends at school, because this recipe made about 50 sausage balls (rough estimate!)

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 lb bulk pork sausage
3 cups buttermilk biscuit mix
1/4 c milk

Directions

1.In a bowl, combine all ingredients (I used my dough hook on my  kitchenaid and mixing was a snap!). Shape into 1-in. balls and place on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees F for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Or freeze and bake frozen at 425 degrees F for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

#59: Quick Chicken a la King

I found this recipe on allrecipes.com but it looks like it originally came from Cambell's Kitchen. I had some diced chicken in the freezer from a rotisserie chicken and really wanted to find a good recipe to use it up. My mom suggested chicken a la king, so I started searching the internet for one that my family would eat. This looked like one they might enjoy (minus the peppers of course!). After reading the comments from people who tried it, I decided to add in a few extra spices to jazz it up. Below is the recipe I made.


Allison ate two HUGE servings of this (5 stars); Chloe kept spitting it out and handing it back to me piece by piece (0 stars); Brian said he'd eat it again but wasn't overly excited by it (2 stars); I liked it and would eat it again but with waterchestnuts added for crunch (3.5 stars). So if you average that all out, we gave this recipe 2.6 stars. : )

1 tablespoon margarine or butter
1/4 cup chopped green pepper or red pepper
1 (10.75 ounce) can Campbell's® Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup (Regular, 98% Fat Free or 25% Less Sodium)
1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 cups cubed cooked chicken or ham
4 cups hot cooked regular long-grain white rice
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp seasoned salt
1 tbsp minced onion
pepper to taste

Directions
1.Heat margarine in saucepan. Add pepper and cook until tender.
2.Add soup, milk and chicken. Heat through. Season with spices. Serve over rice.

#58: Hot Fudge Cake



Before we dug into it!

Ooey, gooey goodness...that's how I would describe this recipe!  I was looking for an eggless dessert to bring to Barry and Angela's house for a family get together and came across this recipe.  I was happy to see that even the boys TRIED it...and Brian even had seconds.  Yeah! 

I will definitely make this again, expect I might try to use a little less water since it was a thick pudding-like consistency.  Definitely serve this with ice cream!!!
1 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup sugar
6 tablespoons baking cocoa, divided
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup packed brown sugar
1-3/4 cups hot water
Whipped cream or ice cream, optional

Directions

In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, 2 tablespoons cocoa, baking powder and salt. Stir in milk, oil and vanilla until smooth. Spread in an ungreased 9-in. square baking pan. Combine brown sugar and remaining cocoa; sprinkle over batter. Pour hot water over all; do not stir. Bake at 350° for 35-40 minutes. Serve warm. Top with whipped cream or ice cream if desired. Yield: 9 servings.

This is what it looks like cut into.  It's really gooey!

#57: Apple Strudel Muffins

Yeah to Allrecipes for giving me another winner of a recipe!!  I made these for Chloe to take with her to school tomorrow and I'll admit, they might be a few short because I couldn't resist trying one..or two.  After reading some of the commets, I decided to make a few changes, so below is my additions/changes.  But if you click on the link above it will take you to the original recipe.   This recipe made 32 mini muffins.

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmet
3/4 cups chopped apples and 1/2 c grated apples (I peeled my apples first)

Topping:
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon butter

Directions
1.Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a 12 cup muffin pan.
2.In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
3.In a large bowl, beat together butter, sugars and eggs until smooth. Mix in vanilla. Stir in apples and spices, and gradually blend in the flour mixture. Spoon the mixture into the prepared muffin pan.
4.In a small bowl, mix the topping: brown sugar, flour and cinnamon. Cut in butter until mixture is like coarse crumbs. Sprinkle over tops of mixture in muffin pan.
5.Bake 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. (My mini muffins baked for about 12 minutes) Allow to sit 5 minutes before removing muffins from pan. Cool on a wire rack.

Freezer Cooking Day Postponed

My original next freezer cooking day was supposed to be planned for Monday, Oct. 11th.  But our deep freezer is in desperate need of being thawed and defrosted.  So I've decided to postpone the next cooking day until we've eaten EVERYTHING left in our freezer.  It looks like I won't have to do another cooking day until November 1st!  These last two weeks sure aren't super exciting and there's only one new recipe left to try.  But I'm already working on my next month's menu...so stay tuned.

#56: Palmier's

Since the pumpkin fudge didn't turn out for book club I still needed to make something else to bring with me.  I found this recipe a few days ago and liked that it only required 2 ingredients, so I bookmarked it and figured I'd try it in the future.  Well that day came quicker than I expected! 

This was SOOO quick and easy to make.  I will definitely make these again!!

Ingredients

1 cup sugar, divided
1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed

Directions
Sprinkle a surface with 1/4 cup sugar; unfold puff pastry sheet on surface. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons sugar. Roll into a 14-in. x 10-in. rectangle. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup sugar to within 1/2 in. of edges. Lightly press into pastry.

With a knife, very lightly score a line widthwise across the middle of the pastry. Starting at one short side, roll up jelly-roll style, stopping at the score mark in the middle. Starting at the other side, roll up pastry jelly-roll style to score mark. Cut into 3/8-in. slices.

Place cut side up 2 in. apart on parchment paper-lined baking sheets. Sprinkle lightly with 1 tablespoon sugar.

Bake at 425° for 12 minutes. Turn pastries over and sprinkle with remaining sugar. Bake 5 minutes longer or until golden brown and glazed. Remove to wire racks to cool completely. Store in airtight containers. Yield: About 2 dozen.

#55: Secret Salad Dressing

Allrecipes.com is becoming a popular site for me to go to when looking for new recipes to try.  I still needed a salad dressing to take with me to Angela's for dinner so I figured I'd try this one.  I LOVED it!!  I will definitely make this again.  And best of all, I had all of the ingredients on hand!

Ingredients

1/2 cup ketchup
1 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup diced onion
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Directions
1.Combine the ketchup, vegetable oil, mayonnaise, vinegar, sugar, onion, salt, and pepper in a blender; blend until smooth. Store in refrigerator.

#54: BB Salad Dressing

Oh Becoming Betty, I'm sorry to say that this is the first recipe you've posted that I did not enjoy.  : (  I was looking for an easy salad dressing recipe to take to Angela's house for dinner tonight and figured I'd turn to BB's Blog to see if she had any recipes posted.  I found this one, which required no trips to the grocery store!  Sadly, all I tasted was olive oil in this dressing. 

Dressing:

3/4 cup olive oil
juice of 1 large lemon
3 cloves garlic, minced
couple shakes of salt and pepper

Mix until combined and pour over salad.

#53: Pumkin Fudge

In leu of Halloween, I really wanted to make pumpkin fudge for book club tomorrow.  I found this recipe on CDKitchen and it got 5 stars and the reviews said how easy it was...perfect for me!  It took longer than I expceted for it to boil, but I was dying pumpkin seeds at the time, so I didn't mind.  The directions say to let cool to room temperature and then cut into squares.  That seemed to take a little longer too, so I stuck it in the fridge overnight to finish setting up. 

I got up this morning and was really excited to try these!  So I cut into them, and STRUGGLED to get them out of the pan.  They were thicker than last night, but really, really gooey.  So I figured I'd scoop some out with a melon baller and roll into balls.  These would not hold their shape at all!  The "batter" tasted delicous...these would have been really good.  But I could not serve these, so I took a picture of it in a little bowl and then tossed the rest.  : (  What a bummer!

Here's the recipe anyways incase you want to try again!

Ingredients:

2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar, packed
3/4 cup butter
2/3 cup evaporated milk
1/2 cup canned pumpkin (pure pumpkin not pie mix)
1 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 package (12 ounce size) white chocolate chips
1 jar (7 ounce size) marshmallow creme
1 cup chopped nuts (walnuts or pecans are good)
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions:
Combine the first 6 ingredients in a heavy saucepan; heat over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Continue heating until mixture begins to boil, stirring constantly; continue boiling until candy thermometer reaches soft-ball stage or 234 to 243degrees F. Remove from heat; stir in white chocolate chips until melted. Add remaining ingredients; mix well.

Pour into a buttered 9x13x2 inch baking pan; cool to room temperature. Cut into squares; store in the refrigerator in an airtight container.

I DID IT!

I reached my goal of 52 new recipes in a year...but I met my goal in 3 months!!!  My new goal is to try 100 new recipes by next July (end of the one year!)  I hope you have enjoyed going through this challenge with me!

#52: Baked Slow Cooker Chicken

Photo courtesy of Allrecipes.com

My mom was coming over for dinner, so I decided to make this crockpot chicken meal so it would be ready when I got home from work.  It was VERY easy to prepare.  We all really enjoyed this chicken, however because we take the skin off the chicken after it's cooked, it loses a lot of the flavor.  Next time I am going to try and remove some (if not all) of the skin before cooking it in the crockpot.

Ingredients

1 (2 to 3 pound) whole chicken
salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon paprika

My additions:
1 onion cut up
1/4 c chicken broth
2 tbsp garlic powder
2 tbsp seasoned salt

Directions
1.Wad three pieces of aluminum foil into 3 to 4 inch balls, and place them in the bottom of the slow cooker.

2.Rinse the chicken, inside and out, under cold running water. Pat dry with paper towels.  Place onions inside the cavity of the chicken.  Season the chicken with the salt, pepper, garlic powder, seasoned salt and paprika, and place in the slow cooker on top of the crumbled aluminum foil.

3.Cover and cook on Low for about 8 to 10 hours, or until the chicken is no longer pink and the juices run clear.

#51: Homemade Frozen Fruit Cups

I stumbled upon this recipe from Once a Month Mom and figured it would be the perfect accompaniment to the Breakfast Cookies (or at least I hope so!)  Instead of store bought frozen raspberries and blueberries, I bought fresh ones, washed and then froze flat on a cookie sheet.  Why not buy fresh when it's still in season?! 

Allison LOVED this!!  I started eating one for breakfast, and she ended up taking it from me and finished it all while telling me what a good cook I am!

64 ounces pulp free orange juice
12 ounces frozen pineapple juice concentrate, thawed
1 cups water
1 cups sugar
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
3 each firm bananas, sliced
8 ounces frozen raspberries
8 ounces frozen blueberries
15 ounces mandarin oranges, drained
8 ounces pineapple, crushed

Original Directions: In a large bowl, mix together orange juice, pineapple concentrate (JUST concentrate), water, sugar, lemon juice and fruit. Spoon 3/4 cupful into each container. Freeze. To Serve: Remove from the freezer at least 40-50 minutes before serving.


After making this, here are my directions/suggestions:  In a large bowl mix bananas, raspberries, blueberries, mandarin oranges and crushed pineapple.  Divide mixture among 16 (or however many desired) small containers.  

In a large juice pitcher, mix orange juice, pineapple concentrate, water, sugar and lemon juice.  Mix well.  Pour juice into each container, topping off the fruit/container.  Freeze.  (Personally, I must have used smaller containers, because although I got 16 servings as suggested, I had at least half of the juice leftover!)
Servings: 16

#50: Breakfast Cookies

I was looking for a breakfast food for the girls to take to daycare with them this week and wanted something a little different.  I found a recipe for a breakfast cookie and decided to try it out.  After reading a lot of the comments posted about this one, I decided to add some of the others suggestions.  Below is the recipe I made/used. 

These turned out just slightly sweet (perfect for breakfast) and soft and chewy.  I really expected it to have a firmer texture.  I liked the taste of this but I think I could eat several of them as my breakfast.  Lately I've been making a slimfast or fruit smoothie for breakfast and mid-morning I'm in desperate need for a snack...this would be a great, healthy thing to add to my breakfast!  I hope the kids like them!

3 mashed bananas (ripe)
1/3 cup apple sauce
2 1/2 cups uncooked quick-cooking oats
1/4 cup skim milk
1/2 cup raisins (or any other dried fruit you want to add)
1 tsp vanilla
pinch of salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp sugar
2 egg whites

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients in a bowl really well. Let this mixture stand for at least 5 minutes to let the oats become good and hydrated. Heap the dough by teaspoonfuls onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake for 15-20 minutes and let cool.

#49: Ambrosia Fruit Salad

I had my in-laws (and extended family) over this afternoon, and I made this salad to go with lunch.  I was looking for something fruity other than jello and thought this looked easy, inexpensive and interesting.  I was pleasantly surprised that this was good!  I'm not a huge grape or banana fan, so I was a little leary at first, but the coconut really gives this a nice sweet crunch.  I didn't have many red grapes in the house, but I had a TON of green grapes so I used 3 c green grapes and 1 c red.  I really do not like green grapes, so next time I'll make this with most or all red grapes.  Try this one, it was good!

1 can (8-1/4 ounces) fruit cocktail, drained

1 can (8 ounces) unsweetened pineapple chunks, drained
1 cup green grapes
1 cup seedless red grapes
1 cup miniature marshmallows
1 medium banana, sliced
3/4 cup vanilla yogurt
1/2 cup flaked coconut

In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients. Yield: 6 servings.

#48: Baked Apples

I was looking for a way to use up some apples so I went to my WW cookbook and found I could microwave it instead of putting it in the oven.  So here's what I did:

I cored an apple and tried to get as much of a "well" out of the center of it.  I filled it with some brown sugar, a splash of vanilla, a few shakes of cinnamon and about 10 slivered almonds.  I put it in a bowl w/2 tbsp water and covered with plastic wrap (vented one side!).  I baked on high for 7 minutes.  This is what it looked like when I came out of the microwave:

It wasn't very pretty, but it sure was soft and tasty!

#47: Rice Pie

Well it was bound to happen....we hit a bust with a 30 Day Gourmet recipe.  : (  SO disappointed with the recipe I made tonight.  Brian barely ate it, and was being nice in not going to make something else instead.  Personally, I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it either.  It just didn't have much texture to it. 

1 lb Ground beef
1/2 c Dry bread crumbs
1/4 c Diced onion
1/4 c Diced green pepper (optional)
1/4 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Black pepper
16 oz Seasoned tomato sauce, divided (Mexican or Italian)
3 c Fully cooked rice
3/4 c Reduced fat shredded cheddar cheese, divided

Assembly Directions:
Combine first six ingredients with half of the tomato sauce. Pat the meat mixture into the bottom of a nine or ten inch square pan. Combine rice with the remaining sauce and half of the grated cheese. Spoon the rice mixture onto the meat layer.

To Freeze:
Slide pan inside a labeled one or two gallon freezer bag. Place the remaining cheese in a small food storage bag and set it inside the larger freezer bag. Seal the large freezer bag, remove excess air and freeze.

Optional Freezing Directions:
Place meat mixture into one bag, rice mixture into another, and remaining cheese in a third bag. Place all three bags together in one large bag. Assemble the dish after thawing all the components.

To Serve:
Thaw the casserole and bake at 350° for 25 to 30 minutes. Sprinkle remaining cheese in baggie over the hot casserole and bake an additional 5 minutes.

#46: Oatmeal Pancakes

Another week; another recipe to send to daycare; another recipe from Becoming Betty!

I've never made homemade pancakes before, mainly because they usually taste like eggs and I prefer the box mix where you just add water.  These were healthier and sounded pretty interesting so I figured I'd give them a try.  Also, I had all of the ingredients on hand!!  Personally, I loved them!  But I also like oatmeal and you can definitely taste it in this recipe.  You could NOT however, taste the eggs, so I was thrilled!!  These are more dense than a regular pancake and not very sweet.  Although as I type this, I am eating one without anything else on it (no butter or syrup) and it is GOOD! 

1 cup flour

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup oats
1 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup milk
1 cup water

Stir together dry ingredients. Mix eggs, vanilla, milk and water separate and then add to dry. Makes 16-18 pancakes.

#45: Farfalle with Sweet Corn, Ricotta & Bacon

I found this recipe in one of my Parenting Magazines.  I decided to make it for my extended family when we all got together yesterday.  I had really high hopes for this one, and was a bit disappointed.  However, I was looking for a cold pasta salad and THOUGHT this would be okay cool or at room temperature; I was wrong.  This would have been MUCH better served immediately and still warm.  The recipe also says to save the pasta water, which I did and used what was called for, but threw away the rest.  I should have saved it!  As this pasta sits, it becomes dry, and extra water would have helped this one.  As we ate it, this only got about 2 -3 stars from most people.  Served warm with extra liquid, it probably would have gotten 3 1/2 - 4.

8 oz farfalle pasta

3 slices turkey bacon
2 tsp olive oil
1 shallot, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 cups frozen sweet corn, thawed
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
3/4 cup fresh basil, roughly chopped

1.Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente, according to package directions. Reserve about 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water Drain pasta, and return to pot.

2.While the pasta is cooking, fry the bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Cook 3 to 4 minutes, turning occasionally, until bacon is crisp. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.

3.Add the olive oil to the skillet, then the shallots. Sauté 2 minutes, or until softened. Add the garlic and sauté 30 seconds, until just fragrant. Add the corn, tossing for about 2 minutes to combine. Season with the salt and pepper.

4.Add the corn mixture to the pasta. Toss to combine. Add the ricotta, parmesan, and reserved pasta cooking water, and toss well. (The sauce may seem runny but it will set up.) Stir in the basil, then spoon into serving bowls. Crumble some of the bacon over each serving.

#44: Slow-Cooker Tex-Mex Chicken

I found this recipe at Kraftfoods and it looked so simple I had to try it this month.  I was a little nervous because it said to cut the chicken into thin strips and then put it in the crock for 6-8 hours on low.  We are gone longer than that, so ours was in the crockpot for 9 hours.  I was afraid this recipe would be really dried out.  But actually it wasn't.  However the girls refused to eat the chicken and although Brian and I both wanted to like this recipe, we really didn't enjoy it.  I THINK it could have been the brand of salsa we used.  The chicken was moist and really tender (Brian didn't like it because he thought it was too over done).  I however liked the consistency of the meat.  The chicken really soaked up the salsa and flavors though and it was just a bit off-putting. Brian ate his in a tortilla shell, and I ate mine over rice with cilantro and green onion. 

I will try this recipe again using a different brand of salsa and not let it cook for as long (6 hours tops!).  If you try this recipe let me know what you think!!   

1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch-wide strips
2 Tbsp. (1/2 of 1-1/4-oz. pkg.) TACO BELL® HOME ORIGINALS® Taco Seasoning Mix
2 Tbsp. flour
1 each green and red pepper, cut into 1-inch-wide strips
1 cup frozen corn
1-1/2 cups TACO BELL® HOME ORIGINALS® Thick 'N Chunky Salsa
1 cup KRAFT Mexican Style Finely Shredded Four Cheese


Toss chicken with taco seasoning and flour in slow cooker. Stir in vegetables and salsa; cover with lid.
Cook on LOW 6 to 8 hours (or on HIGH 3 to 4 hours).
Stir just before serving; top with shredded cheese.
Serve over hot cooked rice topped with sliced green onions and chopped cilantro.

#43: Iowa State Fair Guinea Grinders

This is another one of 30 Day Gourmets super easy, freeze ahead meals!  This one wasn't very healthy but it still was really yummy!  The girls didn't enjoy this one but Brian and I really did!  This made a huge batch, so I halved the recipe and Brian still had leftovers for lunch for 3 days!  (I did option 2 and only put it in the crockpot for about 45 minutes)

1 lb Italian sausage (we used turkey sausage)

1 lb Ground beef (we used ground turkey)
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Pepper
1 tsp Garlic powder
1/2 tsp Red pepper flakes
30 oz Jar of pizza sauce (such as Ragu®)

On Hand Ingredients
3 French bread loaves, sliced in half
1 lb Mozzarella cheese slices (I used shredded b/c that's what we had on hand)

Assembly Directions:

Brown sausage and beef together; drain.

Option one: Mix cooked meat and all ingredients together.
Option two: Place in slow cooker. Add salt, pepper, garlic powder, pizza sauce (and red pepper, if desired). Cook on high 1-2 hours, stirring once per hour. Cool.


Freezing Directions:
Place mixture in a freezer bag or freezer container. Seal, label and freeze.

Serving Directions:
Option one: Thaw and add to slow cooker. Cook on high 1-2 hours, stirring once per hour.
Option two: Thaw and reheat in saucepan/microwave. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. With sliced loaf, pull a small amount of bread out of the bottom half, to make a 'bowl'. With a slotted spoon, place meat mixture onto bottom half of bread and top with cheese slices (5-6 slices per loaf). Place the top on the French bread loaf. Wrap in foil and bake for 15 minutes in oven. Remove and slice into pieces.


Nutritional Info:
Per Serving: 619 Calories; 33g Fat (48.0% calories from fat); 29g Protein; 51g Carbohydrate; 3g Dietary Fiber; 89mg Cholesterol; 1578mg Sodium.

#42: Deep Dish Pizza Casserole

Okay, this really isn't the right name for this recipe.  This tasted NOTHING like deep dish pizza.  I'll admit, I was VERY skeptical about trying this recipe because it is basically a ground beef pizza filling on top of macaroni and cheese.  However when I looked at the recipe it got 4 stars out of over 200 reviews.  That had to say something for this dish right?

I am happy to say that I was pleasantly surprised with this one.  The girls weren't huge fans (I totally thought they would love this one!) but if you like Velveeta macaroni and cheese, then this recipe is for you!  I actually didn't make this they way I was supposed to (mainly because I forgot to throw it in the oven!) but I still enjoyed it.  And if I make this again, I will try baking it in the oven to see if it changes the way this tastes. 

1 pkg. (12 oz.) VELVEETA Shells and Cheese Dinner
1 lb. ground beef
1 green pepper, chopped (I omitted)
1 can (8 oz.) pizza sauce
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 cup KRAFT Shredded Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella Cheese (I omitted)

HEAT oven to 375ºF.  Prepare Macaroni and Cheese Dinner as directed on package (I used 3/4 cheese mixture). While Macaroni is cooking, brown meat with peppers and onions in large skillet; drain. Stir in pizza sauce.

Spoon Dinner into 8-inch square baking dish; top with meat mixture and mozzarella. Cover and Bake 20 min. or until heated through

Freeze ahead:  I made the meat mixture on my freezer cooking day, froze and then put in the fridge to defrost 2 days before we were going to eat it.