Time for a Recipe!

These cookies are sooo good and if you haven't made them, then you should. I found the photo on Pinterest and followed it back to this website. They have some good stuff on it so check it out too. They easy peasy and yumm-mee!

Rolo Cookies

1 package chocolate cake mix
2 eggs,
1/3 c oil
1 package rolos (I froze mine)

Preheat oven to 350. Mix up the cake mix. Take about a tablespoon of the cake batter and make a little ball. Push a rolo candy down into the middle and cover it all up. This may take a little practice, but you need to get enough to go around but not too much either. I made about 50 cookies but some of them split open so those could have used some more of the cake mix around them. Bake for 7-10 minutes. When they come out of the oven you can dust them with powdered sugar. Makes about 40-50 cookies. :)

Now how can you resist that cookie!!!???

Have a blessed day!

Tater Tot Casserole

My daughter was due to deliver my grandson yesterday. We are still waiting, lol. I figured she is not going to want to cook when she gets home from the hospital so I am trying out some good quick recipes to make for them after they get home.

I have to make them quick so they don't long to fix (or pre-make) and tasty so

while they are eating, I get to hold the baby! :)

Tater Tot Casserole

I know, it doesn't really look very appetizing,

but it was delish!

And It was so easy too. 

Tater Tot Casserole



1 pound ground beef, browned

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1/2 c onions, saute' with meat

1 bag frozen tater tots (I use mini tater tots)

1 Tbsp dried parsley

1 Tbsp minced garlic

1 tsp Salt

1 tsp Pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brown hamburger and onions. Add salt pepper, garlic and parsley. After the ground beef and onions are browned, put it in the casserole dish you are using and add the mushroom soup. Mix it all together and add whatever else you might like, seasoning to taste and top with the frozen tater tots. Bake on 350 for about 30 minutes or until the tater tots are crispy. I suppose you could add cheese to melt on top also if you like, but I like my tater tots crispy and naked. ;)

Enjoy!

Shells and Vegetable Italiano

The following recipe is a favorite around this house. Well except for my brother, who doesn't care much for tomatoes, (I think he was adopted). Anyhow, it is simple and pretty good and can be eaten hot, warm or cold. I found this recipe a looooong time ago in a magazine. It has served me pretty well over the years and when I was writing this post, I lost the original recipe (or so I thought). I did find it and as you can see, the picture is a little worn.

Here it is...

1 Velveeta shells and Cheese (box)
3 c blanched sm. broccoli florets 
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
1 3oz can pitted black olives, halved
1/2 c Italian dressing
1/2 c sour cream
Salt
Pepper

Prepare the boxed macaroni and cheese per instructions. Cut up the broccoli into bite size florets and blanch. Cut tomatoes & olives in half lengthwise. Toss all ingredients. Serves 8-10 and you can serve immediately or chill. Enjoy as a salad or a side dish.

This is pretty filling and a pretty good staple around here. 

 Side Note: I am really hoping to solve my camera issue soon. I never realized how much I missed it until the last couple of weeks. I keep seeing or making things I want to blog about and take pictures. Hopefully, I will find a new camera soon.

Dinner

I am the cook in the house. But sometimes I get so tired of cooking and eating meat; so I decided to cook some veggies for dinner! It was so simple too. I made a Cauliflower casserole, baked tomatoes & mom had made a broccoli casserole. I didn't get pictures because it was gone in a flash, but yummy, it was! I have the Cauliflower recipe on my recipe page, but the baked tomatoes recipe is below. Enjoy.

Baked tomatoes
6-8 Medium tomatoes, washed and sliced about 1/2 " thick
Bread crumbs, about 1/2 c
Shredded parmesan cheese, same, 1/2 c or so
Olive oil, 1/4 c ?
Oregano, 1 Tblsp

All you do it slice the tomatoes about 1/2 inches thick. I got 3 slices per tomato, if that helps. Then you mix the bread crumbs and parmesan cheese & oregano in a bowl. Place some of the bread crumb mixture on top of each tomato and then drizzle with olive oil. Bake in the oven about 10 minutes in a 425 degree oven.

Of course, you can change this up any way you want. Use basil instead of oregano or use some Asiago cheese instead. Use more cheese and less bread crumbs, etc.

It is really yummy and your family will love it! Enjoy!

Banana Bread

I have a friend in the hospital that absolutely loves my banana bread. So in his honor, I am posting my coveted recipe.  It is very moist & I hope you will try it sometime. Feel better Troy!

photo credit

Banana Bread

1-1/2 cups sugar

1-1/2 cups flour

¼-1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

½ cup oil (not olive)

2 eggs (lightly beaten)

3 oz buttermilk

4 bananas (ripe & mashed)

4 oz pecans (chopped) – optional

Mix all dry ingredients together well. Add eggs, oil & buttermilk, mix all together well. Fold in mashed bananas and pecans. Pour in loaf pans or muffins tins after spraying with Pam or other spray. Bake 350 for 45min. to an hour. Bananas must be ripe or overripe.

Recipe makes 2 loaves or lots of muffins. (I don’t know how many muffins, I just pour until it’s gone. Makes awesome mini muffins too! J

Enjoy.

Banana Pudding Recipe

This is a great recipe from Ms. Paula Dean. It is SO good, and a nice cool dessert to have for these hot spring/summer days!

Not 'Yo Mama's Banana Pudding

2 packages Pepperidge Farm Chessman cookies
6-8 bananas
2 cups milk
1 (5oz) instant French vanilla pudding
1 (8oz) package cream cheese
1 (14oz) can sweetened condensed milk
1 (12oz) container frozen cool whip or other brand, thawed

photo credit

Line the bottom of a 13 x 9 x 2" dish with cookies and layer bananas on top. In a bowl, combine the milk and pudding mix and blend well using a handheld mixer. Using another bowl, combine the cream cheese and condensed milk together and mix until smooth. Fold the whipped topping into the cream cheese mixture. Add the cream cheese mixture to the pudding mixture and stir until well blended. Pour the mixture over the cookies and bananas and cover with the remaining cookies. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Makes about 12 servings and only takes about 30 minutes to make.

Chicken & Rice Recipe

Click the button above to join in the fun!

I love crock pot recipes! They are so easy and you can throw anything in there and it cooks...all day long. And 99% of the time, it is delish! Below is a tried and true recipe for chicken

that is SO good.

Ingredients:
1 package chicken breasts, boneless & skinless (3-4 breasts)
2 cans mushroom soup
1 can cheddar cheese soup
8 oz mushrooms, sliced or quartered
salt
pepper
garlic - to your preferred taste (I use tons, lol)
cayenne pepper - to taste

You can add anything else you would like to also.

I clean up my chicken breast a little cutting off all fat and 'stuff' before throwing it in the pot. Then I cut them in half. Put all ingredients in and cook until chicken is tender. The mixture will be thick at first, but will mix well together and become more like gravy. You can shred the chicken also if you want to. It will get very tender and easy to shred. I had some garlic that did not go well in the garden so I minced the garlic tops and threw those in. I will serve this with orzo and a cauliflower casserole.

I linked up with the old fashioned recipe exchange, hosted by Little House on the Prairie Living! You can go here to join in on the fun!

Thanks for reading, have a stupendous week!

Swedish Meatballs!

I haven’t fixed Swedish Meatballs in forever, so I perused the internet and found a good recipe and it was pretty easy. I served this with egg noodles and the ‘sauce’ was very good! All in all, I would make this recipe again but definitely  tweak some things by adding fresh herbs. I also mixed the meat and ingredients with my hands. I mixed too much and the meatballs didn’t stay together very well. I would just mix with a fork or spoon next time and be more gentle. It was still tasty and everyone enjoyed it.

These Swedish meatballs are cooked on stovetop then finished in the oven.

Ingredients:

·         1 1/2 cups soft bread crumbs, about 3 slices bread

·         1 tablespoon dried minced onion or 1/4 cup finely chopped onion

·         1 1/2 teaspoons salt

·         1/4 teaspoon pepper

·         1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

·         3/4 cup milk

·         2 pounds ground beef

·         2 tablespoons butter or margarine

·         2 tablespoons vegetable oil

·         2 tablespoons flour

·         1 can (10 1/2 ounces) condensed beef broth

·         1 cup half-and-half or light cream

Preparation:

Combine bread crumbs, onion, salt, pepper, nutmeg and 3/4 cup milk in a large mixing bowl. Let milk soak into crumbs for a few minutes. Gently stir in ground beef until well blended; form into balls about 1 to 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Brown meatballs in butter and oil in a large skillet; remove with a slotted spoon to a 2 1/2-quart baking dish. Drain off all but 2 tablespoons of drippings; stir flour into drippings. Cook, stirring constantly, until bubbly. Stir in beef broth and cream. Continue cooking, stirring constantly, until sauce thickens and boils for a minute. Pour over Swedish meatballs in baking dish. Bake Swedish meatballs at 325° for 35 to 45 minutes. Swedish meatball recipe serves 6. We served over egg noodles.

 I found the recipe on About.com. Enjoy!

White Spinach Pizza

I had a meeting last night and didn't have a lot of time to cook dinner so, we had a white Spinach pizza. This is an easy recipe and oh so yummy. The ingredients are few and it probably takes about 15 minutes to assemble, 10 or so to cook.
Here we go:

1 bag washed fresh spinach
1 jar white alfredo sauce (I use garlic)
1 pizza dough, homemade or the refrigerator kind
2 c. mozzarella cheese
cookie sheet (12 x 19-ish?)

Spray the cookie pan with pam or grease the sheet with a little bit of oil. Roll out and press the pizza dough into the pan. Use about 1/2 of the jar of sauce on the bottom of the pan and spread evenly over the dough. Chop the spinach leaves up into pieces and sprinkle over the top of the pizza. At this point you can add anything else you want. I am adding chopped artichoke (not marinated) tonight! After all toppings are on the pie, sprinkle with mozzarella cheese and pop into the oven for about 10 minutes or until the crust is done. (If you choose to put meat on this pizza, please cook it ahead of time to insure the meat is cooked through).

Here it is in the oven!

My whole family loves it when I bake this pizza and we never have leftovers. Quick, delicious and a great "on the go meal".

The finished product! (salad plate, lol)

What's cooking tonight...

I thought I would try something I haven't done in a while for dinner. It's pretty good and for those of you still in snow and cold not to mention freezing rain, it might be real yummy!

Potato soup with Leeks.

2 pounds red potatoes
4-5 leeks, white and light green only
1 carrot, chopped fine
7 c chicken broth
2 c half n half
1 Tblsp parsley (dried is fine)
2 Tblsp olive oil
2 Tblsp butter
2-3 cloves of garlic chopped
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

Heat the oil and butter in a soup pot. Clean the leeks real well and chop them up into about ¼ pieces or so, they will cook down. Chop/mince the garlic & carrots. Throw the garlic and leeks into the oil and butter and cook quickly for about 3 minutes. Throw in the carrots and turn down the heat to cook for another 20 minutes. They will be softened.

While the leeks, carrots & garlic are cooking, chop up your potatoes into bite size pieces, about the same size throughout. That should take about 20 minutes or so. When you are done chopping, throw the potatoes into the pot and add the chicken broth, salt & pepper. Let this cook until the potatoes are cooked through, and then add the half and half. Get out your potato masher and mash everything up or you can take about half of the soup and run it through your food processor. Be careful, it will be hot.

At this point, you can add cheese if you want. When I add cheese, I usually add parmesan or cheddar. Taste for seasoning and add if needed. Serve with cooked crumbled bacon, chopped green onion or a little cheese on top, or all three! Fresh parsley would look pretty too.

Creamy potato soup.

I have to tell you one more thing; save some for the next day because it will be even better then!
Thanks for reading!

Chicken Thighs wrapped in Proscuitto & Rosemary

Little House on the Prarie Living is having an Old Fashinoned recipe exchange and I thought I would jump in. This meal is so yummy! Medium prep time and not too expensive. I never seem to put the ingredients in any specific order so just follow the directions and improvise to your own taste! You could use some fresh thyme in place of the rosemary and I bet it would be good too. Enjoy.

Ingredients:
8 boneless skinless chicken thighs
8 sprigs of rosemary
1/4-1/2 c olive oil
2-3 garlic cloves sliced thinly (or more if you want)
salt & pepper
rosemary minced finely
8 pieces of proscuitto ham (use bacon if you want)

Salt & pepper the chicken, place a sprig of rosemary in the fold of the chicken and wrap with a piece of proscuitto. It should stick to itself, but you could dab some oil on it too to hold it together or even use a toothpick. Mix the oil, garlic and minced rosemary in a pan and marinate the chicken pieces in this. Prep your grill so the chicken doesn't stick. After about 10 minutes you can grill for about 8 minutes each side. If you are grilling indoors, then grill on med high. You want to sear the meat and leave it alone and let it cook through on each side. Serve with veggies and orzo or rice. Whatever you want. :) Yummy good! (I got this recipe from Rachel Ray's show, 30 minute meals).