Cheese Cake Bites

These are perfect for Valentine's Day and so yummy!  

Ingredients:

1 8 oz container of cool whip
1 8 oz package of cream cheese
1/2 cup of powdered sugar
8-12 mini Graham Cracker Pie Crusts (depending on how full you want each pie)
1 can of cherry or raspberry pie filling

Directions:
Mix the cool whip, cream cheese, and powdered sugar until smooth or slightly lumpy.  Spoon mixture into mini pie crusts.  Top with a spoon full of pie filling.

*to add some color to the raspberry pies I added 1/2 the can of raspberry pie filling to the mixture and topped each pie with a raspberry!

These are so easy and delicious, and I think they are perfect for Valentine's Day!  What goodies do you make for Valentine's Day?

Oh, and don't forget to enter for a chance to win a free nights stay at the anniversary inn ($249 value).  Click here for more details!

DIY Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Back when we were in college, Heather and I worked at Kara's chocolate shop in the mall.  It gave us an opportunity to learn and practice making delicious treats.  One of the things that was most popular around Valentine's Day was the chocolate covered strawberries.  I was always shocked at how much they cost!  If I remember right it was just under $20 a pound.  You can make a lot on your own for less then $20.  Here's how:

You will need:

Strawberries

Milk Chocolate

White Chocolate

Olive Oil

As you can see from the picture below, you can use chocolate chips or almond bark.  Both will work.

Directions:

Wash off the strawberries and set on a clean towel to dry.  

Pour chocolate into small/medium glass mixing bowl.  

Microwave until nice and smooth checking and stirring every 30 seconds.  

The secret is to make sure it doesn't burn. ; )  

If the chocolate looks super thick try adding a small amount of oil and stirring to help thin it. 

Once you have nice smooth chocolate grab the dry strawberry by the stem and start dipping.

  Rotate until entire berry is covered.  

Shake softly to avoid excess chocolate.  

Set dipped berry into a cold glass plate.  Let cool.  

Once the chocolate has set, melt the opposite color chocolate and use a fork to drizzle the chocolate across the berry.  I have found that the drizzling usually works best with a small amount of chocolate on the fork and fast back and forth motions.  

Good Luck! I hope you enjoy these as much as I do! ; )

Super Easy Caramel Sauce

When it comes to cooking...easy is good! : )  This one is super easy and delicious!

Super Easy Caramel Sauce

1 can of sweetened and condensed milk (Any Brand)
Water to boil

Bring water to a boil.  Once it begins to boil reduce heat to a simmer.  Remove the paper from the can and place can in boiling water for 2-3 hours.  The longer the can remains in the water the darker and thinker the caramel sauce will be.  Replace water to keep can covered as needed. Make sure and let the can cool completely before opening to avoid explosion or burns.  Enjoy!

Store any unused sauce in the fridge or any un-opened cans in the pantry until you are ready to use!

We LOVE this with apples, especially in the fall!

Easy Shepherd's Pie

I love comfort foods, this is one of my favorites.  I use the leftover mashed potatoes from Sunday dinner to make this yummy dish, it makes it so easy!

Ingredients:

Leftover mashed potatoes OR 4 large potatoes mashed

1 1/2 lb. ground beef

1 onion, diced

1 can green beans

1 can tomato sauce OR Cream of Mushroom soup (I prefer the tomato sauce)

2 C cheese

Directions:

1- If you don't have leftover mashed potatoes you are going to want to prepare some.

2- Brown ground beef and chopped onion in skillet, rinse and drain.  

3- Add beef and onion mixture to bottom of 9 X 13 pan. Add beans, then potatoes, then top with cheese. 

4- Bake at 400 degrees for 20 min.

Enjoy!

  

Ranch Potatoes Wedges

These potato wedges are a simple yet yummy side!

Ingredients:
8 medium  red potatoes, cut into wedges (other potatoes work too)
1/4 C of Olive Oil
1 Packet of Hidden Valley Ranch Seasoning Mix (about 3 Tablespoons)

Directions:
1-Mix wedged potatoes with oil and seasoning mix then cook on high in electric skillet for 30 min, toss occasionally.

You can also bake these potatoes at 450 degrees for 35 min.

Meatball Sandwiches

This is a family favorite and a simple and quick recipe...as fast as spaghetti!

Ingredients:
6 wheat subs
1 package of frozen meatballs
1 can of Ragu sauce (I like mushroom or traditional)
lettuce, washed and cut
parmasean cheese (or your favorite cheese)

Directions:
1- Cut your subs in half and lay them open on a cookie sheet sprinkled with parmasean cheese. Broil in oven on low for about 5 min. (Watch closely, they will toast fast...even on low)
2- Heat meatballs over medium-high heat in a small pan for about 10 min or until cooked through, rinse and drain.
3- Add sauce to pan with rinsed meatballs and cook on medium heat for another 5 min or until sauce is warm.
4- Place meatball and sauce on toasted sub sprinkled with shredded lettuce. Enjoy!

I have tried to make these with real meatballs rather then frozen but I am still working on perfecting a meatball recipe....check back soon if you are interested.

 

Bird Nest Treats

We love these simple bird nest treats! You can make them with different kids of chocolate chips for different flavors.

Ingredients:

1 C butterscotch chips (or chocolate chips)

3/4 C peanut butter

1 C chow mein noodles

1 bag  mini Cadbury eggs

Directions: 

1-In a medium bowl, melt chips and and peanut butter in microwave for 30 seconds at a time until melted.  

2- Add chew mein noodles to mixture, mix well. 

3- Form nests in muffin tin, let cool.

4- Add Cadbury eggs to nest, Enjoy!

  

Chicken Enchilada Soup (Chilies Copycat Recipe)

Have you ever tried Chilies Chicken Enchilada Soup? It is Amazing! I have tried multiple online recipes, experimented with some of my own and finally come up with something worth sharing.  Here it is.

Ingredients for Soup: 
1/4 cup veg oil
1/4 cup chicken bullion/base prepared
1 onion, diced
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp chili powder
2 tsp taco seasoning 
2 tsp garlic
2 cups of Masa Harina (Mexican Flour) *Only  about $3 for a bag...got to have this!
4 quarts of water, divided (16 cups)
2 cups of tomatoes
1/2  lb Velveeta cheese, cubed
3 (15 oz) cans of shredded chicken OR 3 lbs cooked shredded chicken

Instructions:
1- In a very large pot combine oil, bullion, onion and spices. Saute about 5 min
2- In a mixing bowl combine Masa Harina with 1 quart (4 cups) water, stir until no lumps remain.
3- Add mixture to large pot, bring to boil then cook 2-3 min longer
4- Add tomatoes and remaining water-3 quarts (12 cups) to pot and bring to boil, stir occasionally.
5- Add Velveeta and chicken, continue cooking till cheese is melted. 
6- Ladle into bowels and top with Tortilla strips and Pico de Gallo, Enjoy!

Tortilla Strip Instructions:
Cut corn tortillas into small strips.  Brush top of strips with olive oil and bake at 350 degrees in oven until crisp (around 10 min).


Pico De Gallo Recipe (Put on top with tortilla strips)
1/2 cup diced onion
1/2 cup diced tomato
2 Tb chopped cilantro  

Simple Cafe Rio Copycat Recipe

We love Cafe Rio! Here's my recipe for it, I simplified a lot of things so we can have it more often:)

Sweet Pork

2 - 3 Cans of Shredded Pork

8 oz Salsa or Green Enchilada Sauce

1/2 can of coke (not diet) *Sub: 1/2 can rootbeer

2 cup Brown Sugar

Add all ingredients to Crock-pot and cook on high for 1 hour.

Black Beans

2 Tb. Olive oil

2 Cloves garlic (2 tsp chopped garlic)

1 tsp ground Cumin

1 Can black beans rinsed and drained

1 1/3 Cup Tomato Juice

2 Tb. Fresh Cilantro

In a Skillet, cook garlic, cumin, and oil over medium heat. Add beans, tomato juice, Stir till heated through. Add cilantro just before serving.

Rice

2 Tb. Butter

2 1/2 Cup chicken broth

1 1/4 Cup Rice

Juice of 1 Lime

2 Tb. Chopped Cilantro

1/4 tsp Cumin

Salt and Pepper to taste

In a skillet melt butter with rice, add liquid and other ingredients. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and cook 20 min.

Tortillas

I buy the fresh uncooked tortillas from Sams and heat them up and add a little cheese, they are so good and super easy!

Pico De Gallo (This is what I put on top of the salad)

1/2 Cup Diced onion

1/2 Cup diced tomato

2 Tb. Chopped cilantro

1 Jalapeno, diced and seeded

Cilantro Ranch

1 Cup Mayonnaise

1 Cup Buttermilk ( sups: 1 tsp of lemon juice with 1 cup milk)

1 Cup cilantro

2 Tomotillios, husked and sliced

1 Clove of Garlic (Sups: 1 tsp chopped garlic)

Juice of 1/2 Lime

1 Jalapeno, seeded and sliced

1 Packet of Traditional Hidden Ranch Mix (Not Buttermilk)

Mix all ingredients in blender. (I usually do this recipe with the substitutes and have tried it without the tomotillios too...it's really good!)

Serve in the following order:

Tortillas with cheese

Black Beans

Rice

Shredded Sweet Pork

Lettuce (Red or Green Leaf, shredded)

Tortilla Strips

Parmesan Cheese

Pico De Gallo

Cilantro

Lime

Serve on Side:

Cilantro Ranch

Guacamole

Sour Cream

Enjoy!

Cheese Potato Soup!

I love soup during the WINTER!  Here is one of my newer favorites!  ENJOY!

4 Large Potatoes, Peeled & Diced
1/2 medium Onion, diced
1 Cup carrots, diced
1 Cup celery, diced
2 Cups Water
4 Cup Chicken Broth
2 Cups (18 oz) Velveeta cheese
1 Cup Milk
2 teaspoons dried parsley
1/2 cup of Bacon Bits
salt & pepper
4 tablespoons cornstarch
(mixed in 1/2 COLD water)
Dice Veggies, Simmer until tender.  Add everything else except cornstarch mixture.  Cook over low heat stirring frequently for 15 minutes.  Add cornstarch mixture slowly siring constantly.

Tin Foil Dinners in the Oven

I love tin foil dinners! We keep them pretty simple and decided to cook them in the stove since it's the middle of winter. I took about a 12" inch piece of foil and placed a hamburger patty, some sliced onion, potatoes and carrots with a dash of seasoning and wrapped it up tight. I then cooked it for 45 min on 350 degrees. We add cheese and ketchup to the top when they are done. They were really yummy!

Dutch Oven Cobbler in a Crock-Pot Recipe

Ingredients:

2 cans of pie filling (any flavor)

1 cube melted butter

1 dry cake mix (any flavor)

Directions:

Spray cooker with cooking spray. Pour pie filling into cooker. Sprinkle cake mix on top and drizzle melted butter on top- try to cover as much of the cake mix as possible with butter. Cover and cook on high for 1-2 hours or low 3-4 hours, until cake starts to brown on the sides.

Alterations:

You can also mix cake with butter first then sprinkle over top or mix cake mix with 1 can of evaporated milk.

Homemade Fruit Roll Ups from Applesauce

I find myself checking and double checking expiration dates on our food this time of the year. Rotating our food storage has always been a BIG job for me...one that I don't enjoy but seems to constantly be on my mind. We did pretty well this year except with one thing...applesauce. I had cans and cans of applesauce that needed to be used and so we had it with our meals as a side for about a week but quickly got sick of it...I decided i needed to get creative. My friend suggested I make fruit leather/fruit roll ups. I am so glad I did!

She introduced me to Parchment paper. Yeah, I had no clue what it was. It's found by the foil, saran wrap and paper products in the grocery store and can be purchased for about $3 a box.

These fruit roll ups are straight applesauce...nothing added and they are yummy! I tried making them 2 different ways: with a food dehydrator and in the oven.

Food Dehydrator: I cut parchment paper to fit my dehydrator trays and then put applesauce (Nothing added) on the paper, stacked trays and let dehydrate for a day and a half. (This made yummy fruit leather but it was tougher then when I made it in the oven)

Oven: Heat oven to 170 degrees (This should be your ovens lowest temp), Line cookie sheet with parchment paper and pour applesauce on paper, let cook for 8 hours. (Be sure to use lowest temp to avoid cooking the applesauce...the goal is to dehydrate it)

We ended up eating most of the fruit roll up before we needed to store it but did store a few by cutting strips, rolling it up and storing it in a plastic bag. I am told you can do the same type of thing with any type of pureed food. I plan to try more flavors in the future!

My Meal Plan!

I have tried a lot of different menu plans.  I used to assign the meals for the whole month by writing what we would eat on the calendar.  The problem with that was we didn't ever want to eat what was on the calender the night it was assigned or plans would change and we ended up wasting food. In the past I have planned meals for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner.  Now, to keep things simple I only plan for dinner.  

Breakfast is usually cereal, or oatmeal or other things like pancakes, waffles or eggs and we almost always have the ingredients on hand.  For lunch we usually eat things like sandwiches, cheese crisps, wraps, mac & cheese....things that don't require a recipe.  The only thing I have to really plan for is Dinner and this is how I do it! ; )

I make a list of dinner options. I look in the fridge and see what needs to be used.  I try and plan the foods around what we have or what's on sell.  Once I have my list I hang it on the fridge so we have options throughout the week.  Next I go to the recipe binder and pull the index cards for the recipes that are on the dinner options list.  This is a good chance for me to check and see if I need to buy any extra ingredients.  If I do need ingredients then I add it to my grocery list (on the side of the fridge on a notepad.) 

I love this because when it's time to cook I still have some choice as to what we want to eat, but not 1,000 options.   I have easy access to the recipe and know that I have all of the ingredients.

This is working good for our family and the stage we are at right now!  I don't have a set day that I make a list, but it seems to happen Sunday night most of the time.  When we are running low on options...that's when I make a new options list and plan grocery shopping.  

Sometimes I'll make double and throw half in the freezer for nights I don't want to cook. To keep things different I have made a goal to add a new recipe to the options list each time it's created.  This week I added the chicken-cordon-bleu-pasta to our list....it was SOOOO yummy and i'm sure will become a regular.  

I LOVE these simple magnet clips... When It's time to cook I like to put the recipe in the clip and hang it on the stove (right next to where I usually prepare the meals. ; )

What do you do to plan your meals?

Delicious White Chicken Chili!

Ingredients:

3 (15.5 oz) cans of Great Northern Beans, drained and rinsed well

2 (5 oz) cans of drained chicken

3 c. chicken broth

1.5 c. shredded Monterey Jack cheese

1 (4 oz) can green chilies

8 oz sour cream (half a container)

1/2 T Olive Oil

1 tsp. ground cumin

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

3/4 tsp. dried oregano

a pinch of white pepper

Combine all ingredients in a large pot and cook on low for about 20 minutes. We like to eat ours with crunched up tortilla chips or if you would like you can add more cheese and sour cream. Serves 7. ENJOY!

Peppermint Ice Cream & Hot Cider

We had a festive treat this week. It was very simple and very yummy. We had vanilla ice cream with crushed up candy canes on top. It tasted A LOT like store bought peppermint ice cream. Give it a try sometime. We also had Home made hot cider. Here’s what we put in ours…feel free to make it your own.
64 oz apple juice (half gallon size)
48 oz Orange Juice (Frozen concentrate with water)
4 sticks of cinnamon
1 Tbs. of cloves
A pinch of Nutmeg.
Just combine the ingredients in a pan and warm on the stovetop. Super easy and very good. One thing that I like to do is add sliced oranges to the pan to add flavor and make it look more pretty. ENJOY!

Our Favorite Pancakes

We absolutely LOVE these pancakes…every single one of us. I find myself eating them like cookies and don’t put much on them at breakfast because they are just that good alone. They are also filling and healthy!

This is a 2 step recipe, I make up a bunch of dry mix and then mix it with wet ingredients as I need it. Here is the recipe:

8 Cups dry mix: ( I mix all the dry ingredients and then store in an ice cream bucket)

4 Cups quick oats

2 Cups White Flour

2 Cups Wheat Flour

1 Cup Brown Sugar

1 Cup Powdered Milk

3 Tb baking powder

1 Tb cinnamon

7 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cream of tarter

Wet Ingredients: (When you are ready to use mix in the wet ingredients)

2 Cups of Dry Mix

2 Eggs

1/3 Cup Oil

1 1/2 Cup Water

Once you have mixed up your batter cook over medium heat.

1 batch makes about 8 medium sized pancakes! Enjoy!

HINT: When cooking pancakes don’t keep flipping, wait for the center of the pancake to bubble then flip once and cook the other side. The pancakes will cook more evenly :)

Delicious & Colorful Cereal Bars!

To bad these are LONG gone…just looking at the picture makes me want one. These are super easy to make and SO yummy. They are made just like you would make rice crispy treats except instead of adding the rice crispy you add Trix, Dyno-bites or Fruity Pebbles.

Here is the recipe:

3 Tablespoons of Margarine or Butter

1 Package (10 oz) regular marshmallows or 4 cups of mini marshmallows

6 cups of cereal. (Trix or fruity pebbles)

Melt the mallows and butter in microwave or on stovetop. Once melted add cereal and stir well. Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray and spread the mixture into pan to cool. Once cooled cut into square and enjoy!