I threw this together quick for a great night with my girlfriends last night. It is 3 ingredients and I was able to put it in a small crock pot while I was at baseball and it was all ready to go in 2 hours. Served it with tortilla chips and it was a hit. I love making appetizers. It is my favorite thing to bring to any event. I am not much of a baker and love to graze over the food. Plus, I can never make the baked goods look pretty but my appetizers don't need to look pretty :)
Hot Sausage Dip
1 lb ground sausage
1 lb Velveeta, cubed (1/2 of the block)
1 can rotel (tomatoes with green chilies)
Brown the sausage and drain the grease. Add to a small dip crock pot. Pour rotel over top and mix. Cube the Velveeta and place on top of the meat/tomato mixture. Cover and place on low for 2 hours. Mix after first hour to incorporate cheese into the meat mixture. Serve with tortilla chips.
I should have taken a photo of the crock at the end of the night. My friends son's ate a bunch and her hubby came in late and said "It must have been really good, it's all gone".
Have a great weekend!
I found this recipe on Pinterest (of course I did) and had to try it. I really liked how easy it was to put together. It had the perfect blend of dressings to make it light and refreshing. Not made with mayonnaise like most pasta salads. I made it twice in one weekend for a casual barbecue on Friday night and then a family gathering on Sunday afternoon. It was a hit with the both groups. So, I had to share and add to my list of I found this favorite recipes online.
Summer Pasta Salad
1 small box of pasta (I used tri-color rotini)
1 red bell pepper
1 green bell pepper
3/4 cup zesty Italian dressing
3/4 cup creamy Caesar dressing
3/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste.
Cook pasta according to box directions. Meanwhile, chop peppers into small chunks and place into a good size serving bowl. Drain pasta and add to peppers. Let cool about 5 minutes. Add dressings and cheese and mix well. Add salt and pepper as needed. Refrigerate overnight or a couple hours.
I made this Friday night and served it right away. It was fine at room temperature. But was better Sunday because we made it ahead Saturday night. Mix it up again and added a little more pepper before serving.
Enjoy!!!
Here is the link I found the original recipe at (http://smashedpeasandcarrots.blogspot.com/2011/06/summer-pasta-salad-recipe.html)
We hosted a party for my sister and brother-in-law's 30th Wedding anniversary on Sunday and I had to pull out some of my favorite recipes. I think I got this recipe from my sister-in-law long ago. This stuff is so yummy you will want to eat it with a spoon. I will warn you, it is not low fat. There is nothing low fat about it. I have made it with 1/3 less fat cream cheese and it was just as good. But when you read the other ingredients it just might be worth it to splurge a little ;)
Fruit Dip
1 lb powdered sugar
1 stick margarine, soft
1 (8oz) pkg cream cheese, soft
3 Tbl almond extract
Cream the margarine and cream cheese until smooth. Add extract and mix. Add powdered sugar gradually until smooth. If it seems to be running, add a little more powdered sugar.
Serve with fresh fruit. We always serve it with Strawberries and sometimes grapes. It will keep for a bit in the fridge because you will run out of fruit before you run out of dip :)
Hubby threw me a curve ball this week and told me to fix Pasta because he had been bad all day on his "modified atkins" diet. I was ill prepared but had a bunch of ideas I had pinned on pinterest. I pulled the one that looked quick and that I had all the ingredients in the house :) I was bummed because I had no chicken left cooked and cut up in the freezer. But I grabbed the bag out of the freezer I had bought to do that with the next free day I have (wink, wink). I cooked the entire bag of chicken according to these directions and used what I needed for this recipe and made 2 containers for the freezer. (Consisting of 2 cups each of cooked and chunked chicken) Out of all the cooking I have done to help prep for week nights, this has to be the best shortcut I have found.
This recipe I am sharing with you was delicious. Everyone, I mean everyone ate this meal. I can't tell you the last time that has happen. My little one didn't want to eat it, but tried it and cleaned her plate. Which for her is huge. I have a recipe very similar to this that I love (I will include the variation as well) but I never have cottage cheese or ricotta in my house unless I plan on making lasanga. And planning doesn't seem to be happening this month. May is a crazy time for us and I am lucky to cook at all.
Hope you enjoy this as much as my family did! The leftovers were wonderful as well.
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| Creamy Chicken Pasta |
Creamy Chicken Pasta
4 chicken breasts
2 tbl vegtable oil
1 cup sour cream
1 can cream of mushroom soup
2/3 pkg of wide egg noodles
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (I used fiesta blend)
salt & pepper to taste
Cook chicken breasts in oil until no longer pink and browned on both sides. Allow time to cool. Cut into bite size pieces.
Meanwhile, cook egg noodles according to package directions.
Mix sour cream and soup in large mixing bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Add noodles and chicken. Mix together.
Pour into a greased 9x13 baking dish. Cover with cheese.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until cheese starts to brown.
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| Dished up on my plate! |
Variation:
My other recipe calls for ricotta or cottage cheese instead of the sour cream. And calls for a small can of mushrooms to be added to the soup mixture before adding the noodles and chicken. Also, mix the cheese with the soup mixture instead of adding on top at the end. I will have to take a photo of it the next time I make it and add to this.
We've done a great job of filling my new freezer. Hubby seems to raid the meat department at the Jewel regularly. I open the freezer and didn't realize that he had bought 5 (yes 5) packages of beef ribs. Not to mention the buy one get one free pork roasts. He bought 3. I realized that I still had a container of taco meat buried in the meat pile. I pulled it out and defrosted it in the microwave. I dug through my recipe box (which is brimming with glorious recipes that I forget about) and found this recipe for Taco Pie. My neighbor brought it to us for dinner while my hubby was going through chemo. It was wonderful (and a blessing to have dinner arrive 5 nights a week for 3 months. My friends are amazing.) I quickly asked her for the recipe. I hope you enjoy!
Taco Pie
1 lb hamburger
1 pkg taco seasoning
1 cup sour cream
1 pkg crescent rolls
2 cups cheddar cheese
Crushed tortilla chips (about 2 cups)
Brown hamburger and drain. Fix meat according to taco seasoning package. Unroll crescent rolls and spread into a pie pan. Covering the sides and bottom of dish. Pinching seams together. Cover the dough with crushed tortilla chips. Spread taco meat on top of chips. Spread sour cream on top of meat. Cover with cheese. Sprinkle top with chips. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.
This time when I made it I put the dough in a round casserole dish and didn't cover the sides. It made it more a casserole and it filled the dish.
So I made homemade Mac & Cheese last night. Why would I do that when I could easily open the cabinet and get out a box of the stuff and throw it together in no time. Because I LOVE the creaminess of the homemade stuff and my kids LOVE it when I make it for them. Now, I made it to go with my hubby's now famous burgers (burgers with bacon, Swiss and cheddar cheese on them). I could make my sons all time favorite with this and add the ground beef to make it a meal but I just went with the side version.
It is super easy and takes longer to boil the elbow macaroni than anything else. Plus it can be put in a crock pot and taken to a carry-in very easily. I did that earlier this year for a food day at work.
Homemade Mac & Cheese
1 pkg (7 oz) elbow macaroni
1 cup cubed American cheese (I use Velveeta)
1/4 c milk
pepper to taste
Cook macaroni according to directions.
Meanwhile, cube cheese and place into a sauce pan or frying pan. Whatever you have available.
Pour milk in with the cheese and cook until cheese is melted. I wait to turn this on until noodles are almost done cooking.
Drain noodles and put back into pot. Add cheese/milk mix and mix well. Sprinkle with pepper to add a little color and taste.
Now, you could brown a pound of hamburger and add to the noodle cheese mix. It is delicious and a hit at my house any night of the week.
I haven't posted in 15 days and I am shocked at the fact that this month is half over. I must have cooked something this month but not sure what :) Between dance recital, first communion, spring ballet, school year winding down, and the craziness at work; I am shocked we did eat at all this month :)
I was asked for my recipe for Baked Spaghetti the other day and I told them to check out my blog. Well, guess what. That recipe is not on my blog yet. Now how did that happen? I made one for a neighbor and I one for my freezer. I pulled it out the other day and we had it Monday night. It had been in my freezer for 2 months and it was PERFECT. I LOVE cooking once a month and filling my freezer. I realized the other night that I need to find another square on my calendar that is open so I can fill that thing up again. Almost everything is gone from the last time I loaded it up. But I digress, I took a picture when I made it for the freezer but never posted it. So here it is. I got the recipe from my sister Julie who is a great cook and all about easy, quick and yummy!
Hope you enjoy!
Baked Spaghetti
Spaghetti Noodles
Spaghetti Sauce
1 lb hamburger
Mozzarella Cheese
Now these are the ingredients word for word off the recipe card from my sister. Pretty vague. I require exact directions (ask my friend Mary who I begged for a pumpkin squares recipe from and it killed her to right down the actual ingredients - its a little of this and a little of that!! I don't do well with that at all.)
So let's try that again :)
Baked Spaghetti
1 box Spaghetti Noodles
1 jar Spaghetti Sauce
1 lb Hamburger
2 cups Mozzarella Cheese
Brown hamburger. Drain fat. Add sauce to meat and heat through.
Cook noodles as directed.
Layer noodles, sauce, then cheese. Repeat layers.
Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.
Freezer Directions:
I pulled this in an aluminum take and toss casserole dish that I bought at the dollar store. I covered it with 2 sheets of aluminum and put it in my freezer for 2 months. I put it in the fridge on Friday afternoon and cooked it Monday night. It was still a little frozen on Monday but I didn't increase the time. If you have it solid frozen you will have to increase the time. So be prepared to thaw a little longer to adjust for that!
I made these cheesy potatoes for brunch this past weekend and they are always a hit with the family. Its easy to make and works for either dinner or brunch. I make it ahead so I can throw it into the oven the next morning. I am supposed to add butter and corn flakes to the top near the end but I never do. It cheesy enough without the extra butter poured on top. I could add another cup of shredded cheese to the top before I put it in the oven. I may try that next time :)
Cheesy Potato Casserole
2 lb hash browns, thawed
(I use the southern style but can use shredded)
1 c sour cream
2 cans cream of chicken soup
2 c shredded cheddar cheese
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
Mix together all and place into a greased 13x9 inch pan. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 50 - 60 minutes.
I put mine in 2 separate pans so it would cook faster and since my oven was full of egg casseroles as well. It's a super easy, flexible recipe that everyone loves. PLUS, it heats up great the next day.
Hot Sausage Dip
