Hot Sausage Dip

I needed to make something for a casual night in with girlfriends and this sounded yummy and I had everything on hand to whip this up quick.  I put it in a dip crock to keep it warm and will serve it with tortilla chips.

Hot Sausage Dip

1 lb sausage
2 pkgs (8oz) cream cheese
1 canned diced tomato's, undrained
1 can (4oz) diced green chilies, undrained

Brown the sausage and drain.  Reduce heat and add tomato's, cream cheese and chilies.  Continue to cook, stir frequently.  It will steam and notify you it's starting to burn so watch for it.  Cook until mix is heated through.  Serve Warm with tortilla chips.

Seafood Lasagna

I found this recipe on Pinterest and I wanted to try it out for myself.  It was very easy and I planned for it so I had everything but the ricotta in my freezer or pantry.  The jar Alfredo sauce really made this taste amazing.  My son ate an entire piece before asking me what was in it.  He was shocked when he realized he ate shrimp, crab meat AND scallops.  I loved that I had another recipe for us for Friday's during Lent.  It's not on my hubby's diet (carbs), so he missed out :( 

Seafood Lasagna
9 lasagna noodles
2 jars (16oz) Alfredo pasta sauce
1 package of shrimp without tails
(I buy the frozen bag of medium size shrimp, thaw & pull tails)
1 package of scallops (I used the frozen package and I cooked them according to the directions)
1 can crab meat
1 container (18oz) ricotta cheese
1 egg
black pepper
4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cook noodles according to package, prepare shrimp and scallops as needed.  Combine the ricotta cheese, egg and black pepper (just so much that you can see it when you spread it).

You put a layer of noodles first then lay out a spread of ricotta cheese, followed by shrimp, scallops and crab (any other type of seafood you wish to have as well). Followed by Alfredo sauce to cover up the seafood then a layer of cheese. Follow these steps until ingredients are used making sure that the cheese is the last thing you do.

Bake the lasagna for 45 minutes uncovered and then for another 15 covered (aluminum foil will do).

I let it stand for about 15 minutes so that it doesn't fall apart when you serve.  It was great with a salad and garlic bread.  The perfect Friday night dinner.

Homemade Pizza

My kids LOVE my homemade pizza and I always forget how easy and inexpensive I can make this.  I made it the other night and my youngest who eats next too nothing had 3 pieces.  Of course it was the cheese 1/2 but that is OK.  My favorite thing about homemade pizza is I can put whatever toppings on it I want or have on hand.

This picture is before I put it in the oven because I knew I would forget after I took it out!

Homemade Pizza
1 Jiffy Pizza Crust Mix (89 cents at Walmart)
1 jar (14oz) Pizza sauce ($1.25)
2 cups mozzarella cheese
Your choice of toppings - pepperoni slices, browned sausage, mushrooms, onions

Add 1/2 cup hot tap water to contents of jiffy crust package in bowl.  Stir until moist.  Cover and let stand for at least 5 minutes in a warm place. (I put mine on the stove as the stove warms up)  Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Grease a pizza pan and press dough onto pizza pan.  I spray my spatula so the dough doesn't stick to it and makes it easier to spread out.  Use 1/2 the jar of pizza sauce to cover the dough.  Cover with your favorite toppings and finally the cheese.  Bake for at least 18 minutes.  Check so you don't burn it.  I make up 2 pizza's because the 5 of us eat it all pretty quick.

Enjoy and let me know what your favorite combination for toppings is.  I did sausage and extra cheese on 1/2 this week.  It was really good!!

1000 HITS!!!!

I have 1000 hits on my site.  I am thrilled that someone is checking me out.  Lots of my recipes have been pinned and repinned and it makes me happy.  I have been trying out a lot of new recipes lately and haven't made some of my favorites.  So, tonight it was back to basics at my house.  We made homemade pizza (I will upload tomorrow) and my little one ate 3 pieces.  3 whole pieces.  She only eats mac & cheese, strawberries, brats, and chicken nuggets.  And not that much.  But 3 pieces of pizza is huge for my 35lb 4 year old!!!

So, Thanks for checking me out and getting me to 1,000 hits in such a short amount of time!!!

Freezer Chicken Enchiladas

I made these weeks ago and we ate one tray for dinner the next night and I froze the 2nd tray.  I finally pulled it out last week, defrosted it for 2 days and it was wonderful the 2nd time.  My hubby and I love mexican and I love that I had this meal in the freezer to pull out on short notice OR to share with someone else. 

Freezer Chicken Enchiladas

4 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
2 (8 oz.) packages cream cheese, softened
16 oz. cheddar or jack cheese, shredded
2 (4 oz.) cans Ortega diced chilis
5 (10 oz.) cans enchilada sauce
2 packages of flour tortillas

Directions:
 With a mixer, beat the cream cheese with the green chilis and 1 can of enchilada sauce.
Pour cream sauce over shredded chicken in a bowl.
And stir to combine.
In the bottom of 2 foil baking pans (I purchase these at Dollar Tree 2 for $1.00) pour 1 can of enchilada sauce and spread evenly to cover bottom of pan.
Now take your tortillas and fill generously with the creamy chicken mixture and roll up.
Place rolled enchiladas in pan seam side down and cover each pan of enchiladas with sauce - 1 can for each pan.
Sprinkle top of enchiladas with cheese.
Cover each pan with a double layer of aluminum foil.
To bake - Preheat oven to 350° and bake unfrozen for 45 minutes or 70-90 minutes if frozen. 
 
Frozen enchiladas will hold in freezer for 4-6 month. Serve with rice for a yummy Mexican inspired meal!

Chicken Bundles

I found these online and had to try them.  I of course filled the casserole to the max to get as many as I could in the 9x13.  Big mistake.  Need to space them out a little bit and they will cook and not be doughy.  It was AMAZING reheated for lunch the next day and you never knew I had under cooked it to begin with :)

Chicken Bundles

2 (8 ounce) cans crescent rolls

1 (10 3/4 ounce) can cream of chicken soup

3/4 cup grated cheddar cheese

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

FILLING

4 ounces cream cheese (very soft)

4 tablespoons butter (very soft but not melted)

1/2-1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/3 cup onion, finely chopped

2 large cooked chicken breasts, finely chopped (or about 2 cups)

1/2-3/4 cup grated cheddar cheese

1/2 teaspoon seasoning salt

2 teaspoon heavy whipping cream

1or 2 cup grated cheddar cheese (for topping)

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Grease 9x13 casserole dish

In a saucepan, mix whipping cream, 3/4 cup grated cheese and undiluted chicken soup. Heat just until the cheese melts (do not boil).

FOR THE FILLING: In a bowl, mix the soft cream cheese with butter until very smooth, then add in garlic powder. Add in the chopped chicken, onion, seasoned salt and cheddar cheese; mix well until combined. Add in 2 tablespoons whipping cream and mix to combine (add in a little more if the mixture seems too dry).

Unroll the crescent rolls. Place 1 heaping tablespoon chicken mixture on top of each crescent triangle, then roll up starting at the thicker end. Drizzle a small amount of soup mixture on the bottom of the dish. Then place the crescent rolls seam-side down on top of the creamed mixture in the casserole.  (Make sure you leave space between the bundles and that they are not touching) Drizzle the remaining sauce on top and sprinkle with 1 cup (or more) grated cheese. Bake for about 30 minutes.

It was a wonderful, warm dinner and I made it in no time.  I pulled the chicken I had precooked and diced in 2 cup containers from the freezer and defrosted in the microwave while the sauce was cooking.  It was fast and my kids LOVED it.  My son was thrilled to find no "nunions" (onions) in it.

Enjoy!!!!

Bacon Wrapped Chicken in the Crock Pot

I found this recipe online and tried it out on my family last night.  I of course, had to change it up a little but it was really easy and super tasty.  Using the crockpot on the weekends isn't something I normally do.  I like to save those for during the week.  But we had a crazy Saturday and I just needed something easy for super.  I had defrosted the chicken all day in the fridge but when I read the recipe at 3:30 I realized it needed 5 to 6 hours on low.  So, I did it on high for 3 and it was perfect.

Hope you enjoy this one.  I served it with both rice and wide egg noodles(my kids favorite butter noodles), rolls and veggie of course :)

Bacon Wrapped Chicken in the Crock Pot

6 chicken breasts
6 bacon slices
2 (10oz) cans of cream of mushroom soup
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste

Wrap one strip (uncooked) bacon around each chicken breast and place in a 4-5 quart crockpot. 
In a bowl, mix the soups, sour cream, flour, garlic and salt/pepper with a wire whisk until well blended.  Spread over the chicken breasts.  Cook 6 hours on low or 3 hours on high. 

You can cook the bacon first so it will be crispy when you take it out of the crockpot but don't overcook the bacon or it will not wrap around the chicken.  I only had a 3 quart crockpot so it was fine to lay them over top of each other.  It was great with the gravy on the rice.  You can increase the chicken/bacon ratio to 8 or 9 and still have plenty of gravy. I will make it next time with 1 cream of chicken and 1 cream of musroom.  It was a little too mushroomy for my son's taste.

White Texas Sheet Cake

I am not a big baker because I am not a chocolate cake fan.  Believe me, I know.  "WOW, What an oddball!"  I LOVE Hershey's Chocolate bars, but I don't like chocolate cake.  Not sure what is wrong with me :)  I wanted to share with you my favorite cake that I had at the "La Tea Da" Tea Room in Clinton IL.  My neighbor bought the cookbook and I took the recipe first thing.  I LOVE this stuff.  It is super easy to make and I love the almond taste.  I made it tonight for a food day at work tomorrow.  The picture is not great; I will take one tomorrow when it gets cut into :)

Enjoy!

White Texas Sheet Cake (from the LaTeaDa TeaRoom Cookbook)
1 c butter
1 c water
2 c flour
2 c sugar
2 eggs
1/2 c sour cream
1 Tbl almond extract
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda

Bring water and butter to a boil in a saucepan.  Remove from heat.  In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, eggs, sour cream, almond extract, salt and baking soda.  Add in water and butter mixture and beat until smooth.  Pour into a greased full size sheet pan. (I use the Pampered Chef rectangle 1" cookie stone - but a jelly roll pan works perfectly)  Bake at 375 degrees for 20-22 minutes. (I bake about 5 minutes longer in the stone) Allow to cool for 20 minutes before icing.

Icing:
1/2 c butter
1/4 c milk
4 1/2 c powdered sugar
1/2 Tbl almond extract

Combine butter and milk together and bring to a boil.  Remove from head and add extract, then sugar.  Mix well then spread quickly over cake.

YUMMY!!!!

I finally got a chance to take a photo of the cake after being cut before it was all gone!!!

My kids inhaled the last few pieces on Friday night!!!

Best Ever Banana Bread

This is a recipe from my sister, Julie and it is the go to recipe for Banana Bread in my house.  I have been buying bananas for my son and I hate to throw them out when they start to turn.  So, I have been trying to remember to make the bread and put it in my new freezer.  My kids can eat a loaf in 2 days and it's a much better breakfast than poptarts.  Just remember to add the bananas.  Julie forgot once and put them in about 1/2 way through and it didn't turn out so great :)

Best Ever Banana Bread
1 3/4 c flour
1 1/2 c sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 c ripe bananas (2 bananas peeled and smashed)
1/2 c veg oil
1/4 c PLUS 1 Tbl milk
1 tsp vanilla

Stir flour, sugar, baking soda and salt in a bowl.  In a second bowl, mix eggs, bananas, oil, milk & vanilla. Add wet to dry mix and stir until combined.  Pour into a greased bread pan.  Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour 20 minutes. 

This does NOT double well and will look pretty brown.  BUT it is the BEST EVER banana bread you will ever have.  I like it because the crust takes on a crunchy texture.  Hope it becomes your "go to" recipe as well.

Stuffed Green Peppers

I have been wanting to make one of my hubby's & oldest favorites and was finally able to find the time to make them.  It doesn't take long but I've had the peppers and I didn't want them to go to waste.  I had found another recipe where they froze them.  So, I made them yesterday while the turkey I was fixing was in the oven and put them in my brand new freezer.  Planning on having them one night this week while we are running between dance, track and flag football :)  I made them a little different and didn't have as much filling left over to coat the bottom of the pan, but I was able to put more in the peppers this way :)

Stuffed Green Peppers

4 large green peppers

1 lb ground beef

1/3 c chopped onion

1 can (14oz) diced tomato's

1 cup water

1 cup rice, uncooked

2 tbl Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp dried basil

1 c shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 tsp salt & pepper

I cut some of the bottoms of the peppers off until the stood better.  (Its OK if you put a small whole in the pepper in the process) I cut the tops off the peppers, removed stems, seeds & membranes.  Immerse the peppers into boiling water for 5 mins.

Meanwhile, cook the meat and onion until no longer pink.  Drain grease.  Stir in tomato's, water, rice, Worcestershire sauce, basil, salt & pepper.  Bring to a boil.  Cover and reduce heat.  Simmer for 15 - 18 mins.  Stir in 1/2 c cheese.

Fill peppers with meat mixture.  Place in baking dish and put remaining meat mixture around the peppers.

Bake @ 375 for 15 - 20 mins.  Sprinkle with remaining cheese.  Let stand 2 minutes or until cheese is melted.

I froze them before I cooked them.  I plan on pulling them out in the morning and letting them defrost in the fridge all day and baking them for at least 20 minutes and adding my cheese at the end.

Hope your family enjoys these as much as mine do.  My husband wanted them yesterday instead of the turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes I fixed :)

Crock Pot Tator Tot Casserole

I have had a crazy week at work and haven't had a chance to cook at all the entire week.  Hubby was gone and I had a meeting that I had to drag 3 kids too.  When would we eat.  I've been wanting to try this casserole in the crock pot. So, I tried it and I LOVED it.  Most of my kids liked it.  My youngest would only eat the tator tots.  But atleast she ate something!!  Here you go:

Crock Pot Tator Tot Casserole
1 bag of tater tots
1 lb of ground beef
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
1/4 C of milk
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

First, spray your crockpot with cooking spray and then line the bottom with a bag (I used 3/4 of a bag) of tator tots.

Brown and drain one pound of ground beef.

Mix the beef with soup, milk and pepper. 

Pour over the tator tots and cook on high for 2 hours.

Right before time to eat, sprinkle with cheddar cheese.  I used a cup of cheese.

It was creamy and ready in 1.5 hours.  It called for 2 cans of green beans, but I knew my kids would NEVER go for that.  I have a spoonful leftover for my lunch tomorrow!!

Here is a photo of it dished up on my plate :)