Macaroni and Cheese

Sorry about the picture; I didn't know if this was going to turn out so I didn't take a picture before it was served. I kind of created this recipe based on a couple of different ones: one recipe that I found on AllRecipes.com and one that I found on MarthaStewart.com (although I don't know if it's THE Martha Stewart recipe). This is pretty tasty!

4 T. butter, divided
3 slices white bread, torn into 1/4" pieces
2 c. uncooked elbow macaroni
1/4 c. diced onion
2 T. flour
2 c. milk
1 t. salt
1/8 t. coarsely ground pepper
1/8 t. ground nutmeg
1/8 t. cayenne pepper
2 c. cheddar cheese, grated
1/4 c. shredded Parmesan

Melt 2 T. butter; toss with torn bread and set aside. Boil macaroni according to package directions, minus about 2 minutes. Drain and pour into a coated 1 1/2 qt. casserole dish; set aside.

Melt remaining 2 T. butter in a medium saucepan; add onions and saute until soft and translucent. Add the flour and stir to coat onions. Add the milk, salt, pepper, nutmeg and cayenne pepper. Stirring constantly, simmer until milk thickens, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and add cheddar, stirring until cheese melts.

Pour cheese mixture over macaroni and stir to combine. Sprinkle with Parmesan and top with torn bread. Bake at 350* until bread is golden brown, about 30 minutes.

Happy Mother's Day!

So this really doesn't have a recipe -- it's just strawberries dipped in chocolate and, well, "arranged". It was fun to do but a tad bit tedious. Let's just say -- I wouldn't do it for just anyone -- only those I love very much. :) Thanks Moms -- for all you do.

Beef Noodle Bowl

This recipe was recommended to me by Kallie.
Very tasty and easy.
It has become a favorite at our house.

Garlic Lime Chicken

I love the flavor of this -- though it took me a few times to get the amount of spice just right. I usually mix all the proportions of spices together and then just sprinkle my own desired amount and save the rest until next time. This works well, especially since most of the time I'm just cooking for two. This is the first time I've tried it sandwich-style -- it was way yummy -- but I usually just serve it with garlic mashed potatoes and a veggie.

1 t. salt

3/4 t. pepper

1/4 t cayenne pepper

1/4 t. paprika

1 t garlic powder

1/2 t onion powder

1/2 t thyme

6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

2 T butter

2 T olive oil

4 T lime juice

1/2 c chicken broth

Mix spices together and sprinkle mixture on both sides of chicken breasts.

In a skillet, heat butter and oil together over medium-high heat. Saute chicken until golden brown - about 5 min on each side. Remove chicken and add lime juice and chicken broth to pan, whisking up the browned bits off the bottom of the pan. Keep cooking until sauce has reduced slightly. Add chicken back to pan, to coat and serve. Serves 6.

Tortellini Soup

This is a new recipe I got from my mom. I made it last night and had a large amount so I took half to my friend that is preggo and doesn't cook much because of morning sickness. My husband said "why haven't you made this before?" It was very flavorful and yummy especially with the blizzard outside.

Surprise Sugar Stars

I can't claim these -- my friend Julie made them just before we left BG and they were the best thing I'd ever had. I know Christmas (cookie) season is all over and everyone's into their healthy new year's eating but I still had to post them -- maybe they would be a pretty Valentine's treat -- YUM YUM! (I didn't have a star cookie-cutter on hand so mine aren't as pretty as Julie's were...)

Ingredients:
1 cup butter, softened
1 1/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
4 cups flour (I made the first batch with 4 cups and the dough was too sticky to roll out with a rolling pin. Second batch I used about 4 1/2 cups and the dough was much easier to work with. I didn't notice a difference in quality at all.)
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 tsp. baking soda
2/3 cup buttermilk

ICING:
2 c. confectioner's sugar
2-3 Tbsp. milk
1/2 tsp. almond extract

DIRECTIONS:
Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in vanilla. Combine the dry ingredients; add to the creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk. Refrigerate for 2-3 hours or until easy to handle. On a floured surface, roll out dough to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut with 2-in. star cookie cutter. Place half the stars on ungreased cookie sheets (I used parchment paper). Spoon 1 tsp. cherry pie filling into center of stars. Top with another star. Pinch edges to seal; cut a small slit in top of each cookie.Bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on wire racks.

For icing, combine confectioner's sugar, milk, and extract. Whisk until smooth and spread over cookies.

Yield--4 dozen.

Chocolate Marshmallow Cookies

½ C shortening
1 C sugar
1 egg
½ C milk
1 tsp vanilla

1 ¾ C flour
½ tsp soda
½ tsp salt
½ C (or a little less) cocoa
½ C nuts (optional)

Mix together shortening, sugar, egg, milk and vanilla. Add the remaining dry ingredients. Drop on cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes. Cut large marshmallows in half. During last 2 minutes place marshmallow halves on top of each cookie and finish baking. Frost.

Frosting:
2-3 TBS butter
2 C powdered sugar mixed with ¼ C cocoa
Mix together with 1 tsp vanilla and dash of salt .
Add milk until desired consistency is reached.

Butterscotch Pumpkin Cake

My neighbor brought this to us after my twins were born, and I'm pretty sure I ate half of the cake myself. I don't have a picture, but trust me, this cake is yummy!

1 bag butterscotch morsels, divided
2 c. flour
1 3/4 c. sugar
1 T. baking powder
1 1/2 t. cinnamon
1 t. salt
1/2 t. ground nutmeg
1 c. canned pumpkin
1/2 c. vegetable oil
3 eggs
1 t. vanilla

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg in a medium bowl; set aside. Stir together pumpkin, oil, eggs and vanilla in a large bowl with a wire whisk; set aside. Microwave 1 c. butterscotch morsels on high for one minute; stir until melted. (Continue to microwave in 15-second intervals if necessary.) Add melted morsels to pumpkin mixture and stir until smooth. Stir in flour mixture. Spoon into greased bundt pan; bake at 350* for 40 - 45 minutes. Cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes; remove cake from pan and cool completely. Dust with powdered sugar and serve with butterscotch sauce.

Butterscotch Sauce:

1/3 c. evaporated milk

Remaining butterscotch morsels

Heat evaporated milk over medium-high heat just to boiling; remove from heat. Add morsels; stir until smooth. Return to heat and bring mixture just to boiling, stirring constantly. Cool to room temperature; stir before serving.

Cookie Cake

I don't know what this is really called; "Cookie Cake" is what my daughter calls it. All I know is that these cookie bars are SO. GOOD. My husband and I almost came to blows over who got the last one! (Sorry I don't have a picture.)

1 pkg. (18 oz.) refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough*
8 oz. cream cheese
1/2 c. sugar
1 egg

Spread 1/2 of the cookie dough on the bottom of a greased 9" pan. Beat cream cheese, sugar, and egg until smooth; pour over cookie dough. Top with remaining cookie dough and bake at 350* for 35 - 40 minutes or until middle layer is set. Slice into bars; store leftovers in refrigerator.

*I actually used my own chocolate chip cookie recipe instead of the prepared cookie dough

Teriyaki Chicken

Got this off of my friend Kelsey's blog. Both Doug and my mom (she was out here visiting) LOVED it.

Teriyaki Chicken

2-3 lbs cut up chicken
1 can evaporated milk
Wash and dry chicken. Place in shallow container. Cover with evaporated milk for 1 hour. (I didn't have it in the whole hour). Drain and then coat with flour. Brown in oil and drain. Place in large shallow baking pan, marinate in teriyaki sauce for 45 minutes turning once. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Serve with rice and veggies.

Teriyaki Sauce
1/2 c soy sauce
1/2 c water
1 c sugar
1 T pineapple juice
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 ts. ground ginger

DELISH DELISH DELISH!!

Malibu Melt Wraps

This is a recipe I tried from the thisweekfordinner blog.

It was so easy and yummy we had it two night in a row

Grilled or Breaded Chicken

(I'll either buy some Tyson chicken strips or just grill some chicken breasts)
Swiss
Avocado
Romaine
Tomato
Honey Mustard

This is a wrap that they have at Tacone restaurants... I'm planning on using hot/warm chicken, heating the tortilla/warp on the stove and melting the swiss cheese on the wrap. Toss the romaine lettuce in the honey mustard, put it all together like a burrito.

(Adrienne Note)
I like to make this honey mustard recipe:
(from allrecipes.com)

• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon prepared mustard
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
  In a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, mustard, honey, and lemon juice. Store covered in the refrigerator.
  

Three-Cheese Stuffed Manicotti

This is a Healthy Choice recipe that I've had for a while, and it's not half bad. I think the only reason I don't make it more is because of the (small amount of) effort it takes to stuff the noodles. (sorry about the bad lighting -- I really need lessons from Steph or someone.)





8 Manicotti shells (cook, rinse and let stand in warm water)
1 3/4 c. pasta sauce
1 (10 oz) pkg chopped spinach -- defrosted and well-drained
1 c low-fat ricotta
2 egg whites, slightly beaten
1 T shredded parmesan
1/4 t garlic powder
1/2 c shredded mozarella

Put 3/4 c. sauce in 12x8 baking dish. Combine spinach, first 2 cheeses, egg, garlic and stuff 1/4 c mixture into each shell. Pour rest of sauce over the top and bake, covered on 400 for 15-20 min. Sprinkle with mozarella and bake uncovered 'til melted.

Chewy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

These are my new favorite cookies -- I know they are nothing special, but I've been on a subconcious search for a good recipe for probably years now. Whenever I need a good oatmeal cookie I try random recipes from my books and they always turn out not the way I'd hoped. Well these fulfilled my every hope -- and even though I AM a firm believer in raisins in my oatmeal cookies -- I'm loving the chocolate lately. Can't claim it though -- I got it off of Allrecipes. There were suggesteions for modifications and I followed them and they turned out great!

INGREDIENTS
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (i used almost 1/2 c. more)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda (i used a whole teaspoon)
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups quick-cooking oats
1 cup chopped walnuts (not for me!)
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; stir into the creamed mixture until just blended. Mix in the quick oats, walnuts, and chocolate chips. Drop by heaping spoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets.
Bake for 12 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Peanut Butter Cream Puffs

This is a pie filling that I love to fill my cream puffs with

Cream Puffs

½ C butter or margarine
1 C flour
4 eggs

In pan combine butter, 1 C water and 1/8 tsp salt. Boil. Add flour at once stirring vigorously. Cook and stir till mixture forms a ball that doesn’t separate. Remove from heat and cool 10 minutes. Add eggs one at a time beating with spoon after each addition till smooth. Drop batter by heaping tablespoons 3 inches apart on greased baking sheet. (for parties I like to make mini ones) Bake at 400 for 30-35 minutes or till golden. Cool on wire rack. Split puffs, remove any soft dough and fill. Place tops over filling.

PB Filling:

4 oz cream cheese
1 C powdered sugar
½ C peanut butter
1 (8 oz) carton Cool Whip, thawed

Whip cheese till fluffy and soft. Beat in sugar and peanut butter. Fold in Cool Whip.

After filling cream puffs melt (I microwave) semi-sweet choc chips and a bit of shortening in a ziploc bag. Drizzle over top.

Twice Baked Potatoes

My cousin Emily inspired me to create some twice-baked potatoes -- and she never even knew it! My daughter scarfed them up and wanted more.
Bake the potatoes until tender. Cut in half when they are cool enough to handle. Scoop out the insides and whip with:
Milk
Butter
Sour Cream (I used some leftover ranch/sour cream dip)
Salt and Pepper
Green Onions
Bacon Bits
Top with cheese. (I used mozarella but it would've been prettier with cheddar)
Bake another 15 min to warm and brown.

BLT Pizza

Ryan made this for lunch today. We didn't have the usual pizza toppings but we always love tomatoes so he just used whatever else we could find. It's just my normal pizza crust recipe that I posted before, but this was a really yummy variation. At first we thought this might have been overcooked -- but it really was so good this crispy. Guess it's a matter of taste.

Use my pizza crust recipe.

Your favorite spaghetti sauce.
Real bacon bits
Mozerella cheese
Sliced fresh tomatoes
Green onions
(not shown) top with shredded lettuce (and ranch if desired)

Cheeseburger Buns

OK...I'm attempting to get this going again. I miss all the new recipes to try!

This is a recipe I found in Taste of Home

2 pkgs (1/4 oz each) active dry yeast
½ C warm water
¾ C warm milk
¼ sugar
¼ shortening
1 egg
1 tsp salt
3½ to 4 C flour
1½ lbs ground beef
¼ C chopped onion
salt and pepper
garlic powder
1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce
8 slices American cheese, quartered

In a mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add milk, sugar, shortening, egg, salt and 2 cups flour; beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 4-6 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 30 minutes. In a skillet, cook beef, onion, salt, pepper and garlic till done; drain. Stir in tomato sauce. Remove from heat; set aside. Punch dough down; divide into 16 pieces. On a lightly floured surface, gently roll out and stretch each piece into a 5-inch circle. Top each circle with two pieces of cheese and about 3 TBS beef mixture. Bring dough over filling to center; pinch edges to seal. Place seam side down on a greased baking sheet. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 20 minutes. Bake at 400 for 8-12 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm Refrigerate leftovers. Yield: 16 sandwiches.

(Cooks note. The first time I made this I felt like it needed a little more zing. So I added some brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, and some vinegar (about 1 TBS each) to make it a little more bbq-y. or I think just adding some bbq sauce would work too. I also prefer the taste of cheddar cut off the block to the cheese slices. Just a couple of variations to think about. )

Pasta with Roasted Tomatoes

This recipe is quick, easy, and delish! My husband has been out of town and my 18 month old and I have eaten this the past the past three nights. My son LOVES it. I steamed some zucchini and mixed it in tonight. It was great!

Published on Rachael Ray Show (http://www.rachaelrayshow.com/)

Pasta with Roasted Tomatoes

Let the kids help with dinner tonight!

Ingredients
1 pound pasta cavatappi or orecchiette (I used corkscrew)
Salt
2 pints grape tomatoes
2 cloves garlic, grated
A few drizzles of extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)
Freshly ground black pepper
20 leaves fresh basil, roughly chopped or torn (I used dried)
1 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano

Preparation

Preheat oven 425°F.

Place a large pot filled with water over high heat and bring up to a boil to cook the pasta. Once boiling, add some salt and the pasta, and cook until al dente according to package directions. Reserve about a 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid before draining the pasta.

While the water is coming up to a boil to cook the pasta, place the tomatoes on a cookie and grate the garlic over them. Drizzle with some EVOO and season with some salt and pepper. Transfer cookie sheet to the oven and roast tomatoes for 8-10 minutes or until the tomatoes start to burst. Remove from the oven, discard the garlic cloves (I left the garlic in) and transfer roasted tomatoes to a large serving bowl. Add the reserved pasta water and, with a potato masher or a fork, lightly smash the tomatoes. This is a great job for a K.H. (kid helper)!

Add basil, drained pasta and Parmigiano cheese and toss to coat.

Toss to combine, taste and re-season with some salt and pepper then serve.

Yields 4 servings

Veggie Pizza

OK so I know most of you are probably familiar with this

recipe but it was so pretty I had to take a picture.

2 pkgs refrigerated crescent rolls

Spread and flatten on cookie sheet. Bake at 375 until golden brown.

Filling:
2 pkg cream cheese
1 C mayonnaise
1 pkg dry ranch dressing

Mix together till smooth and the spread over cooked and cooled crust. Sprinkle with a little seasoning salt. (opt) Top with any vegetable you like. Broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, green onions, peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes, olives, cheese. Very easy to make in advance. Keep refrigerated.

Soft Pretzels

Ryan and I wanted to bake something together for a little date-night at home and this was a fun process. You can be really creative with toppings too -- think of all they put on bagels -- anything's game.

stir together:
3 c. flour
1 T. sugar
2 t. salt
2 t. baking powder
2 t. yeast
add:
2 T. soft butter
1 c. warm milk

knead until smooth (will be a weird dough at first), cover in greased bowl until doubled.
boil large pan of water -- add 1-2 t. baking soda to the water for pretzel chewiness if you want
shape the pretzels (if you're not sure how there are online picture intructions)
can let rise, but not required
slip into boiling water- just until they float
bake on greased pan at 400 for 10-15 min.

(before baking you can brush with an egg-wash for a golden-brown crisp and then put on course salt or cinnamon and sugar mixture. we skipped the egg wash and brushed melted butter on hot pretzels and sprinkled with cin/sugar. we also made a yummy cheese dip (below).)

nacho cheese sauce (from adrienne's kitchen)
8 oz. Velveeta
3 oz. cream cheese
1-2 T. milk
melt in microwave - stirring frequently
makes 1 1/2 cups
(we only made a tiny bit -- a little goes a long way)