Bacon Tomato Bake

I love the ease of Bisquick! It makes things so quick and easy and tastes yummy when you get the right combos of food... I found this recipe and knew that the hubby (definitely a bacon loving fool) would like this one. And I was right!! The pan was gone in a flash and it was a piece of cake to throw together....



Bacon Tomato Bake
(recipe found at bettycrocker.com)

1 1/4 cups bisquick mix
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup water
1/2 pound bacon, cooked, crumbled
1/2 large onion, thinly sliced
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro or parsley
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper (cayenne), if desired
1 large tomato, cut into about 6 slices
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Heat oven to 400. Generously grease bottom and sides of 9" square pan with shortening. In medium bowl, stir bisquick mix, parmesan cheese and water until moistened; spread in bottom of pan. Bake 12 minutes. In medium bowl, mix bacon, onion, 3 cilantro or parsley and red pepper; sprinkle over partially baked dough. Place tomato slices on bacon mixture. Sprinkle with cheddar cheese. Bake uncovered 15-20 minutes or until edges are golden and cheese is melted. Cool slightly, about 5minutes. Serve warm.

(FYI - I chopped the tomatoes and added them to the bacon mixture. Tasted just the same and I didn't have to recut them! :)

Tropical Citrus Shrimp

This was our supper last night and boy oh boy it was delicious!! Josh and I must have had seconds AND thirds by the time that we were done!! The kids weren't too crazy about it, but they like their shrimp warm, not cold. It was a fun meal, but I think that it would be even better as an appetizer... So good, I think that I might have to have some before supper tonight! :)



Tropical Citrus Shrimp
(recipe found in Good Housekeeping)

1 1/2 pounds medium shrimp, shelled and deveined
2/3 cup fresh orange juice
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup unsweetened pineapple juice
1 mango, peeled and diced
1 cup diced jicama
1/2 small red onion, minced
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 jalapeno chile, seeded, minced
1 avocado, peeled and diced
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper
baked unsalted tortilla chips

Heat large covered saucepot of water to boiling on high. Fill large bowl with ice and water. Add shrimp to boiling water, cook 1-2 minutes or until just opaque throughout. Drain; transfer to bowl of ice water. Let stand until cold. Drain well. Cut shrimp into 1/2" pieces. Transfer to large bowl; stir in fruit juices. (I did not use "fresh" fruit juices for this part - I popped the top on the lemon and lime juice that I had and just used that... I thought it tasted great, but if you want to to go through the work of squeezing some lemons and limes, you go!!) Cover and refrigerate 20 minutes.

Stir in mango, jicama, onion, cilantro, jalapeno, avocado, oil and 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate 30 minutes longer. Serve with tortilla chips.

Weekly Line Up - 1/29-2/4

Here's our menu for the week! My birthday dinner got moved to Saturday, due to a wrestling meet for my son... where he took first place for the first time! He was so excited that it made eating Subway instead of fondue worth it! :)

Saturday - Fondue/Beer Bread
Sunday - *Oven Fried Chicken
Monday - *Chicken Fajitas
Tuesday - *Meatball Lasagna
Wednesday - Taco Night
Thursday - *Chicken Pot Pie
Friday - Sante Fe Soup

Enjoy and have a wonderful week!

Tuna Noodle Casserole

You know you are from Minnesota when a good tuna hotdish catches your eye! :) I found this one on the weight watchers site and wanted to see if it was any good. Not much point running with the weight watchers crowd right now, but once this baby is out in the world, I might need some good new recipes to try while I am trying to get back to pre-4 babies shape! This wasn't too bad, but I like a little more crunch in my tuna hotdish. Next time I think that I want to try it sprinkled with a little chow mein noodles...



Tuna Noodle Casserole
(recipe found at www.weightwatchers.com)
serves: 8
points: 5

3 cups fat free skim milk
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
2 tablespoons dijon mustard
2 tablespoons worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon dried dill weed
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
20 ounces frozen mixed vegetables, thawed
12 ounces canned chunk white tuna in water, drained
8 ounces uncooked whole wheat pasta, spiral shape, cooked according to directions
2 ounces parmesan cheese, grated (about 1/2 cup)

Preheat oven to 350. Whisk the milk and flour in a large saucepan over medium heat until simmering and thickened. (Mine never really got as thick as I thought that "thickened" meant and it turned out a little dry... So, my take on this direction is "thicker" and make sure that you stay on the medium heat and whisk the whole time! I am bad about trying to go faster and I always scorch my milk! :)

Whisk in the mustard, worcestershire, dill, pepper and salt. Then stir in the vegetables, tuna, noodles and cheese. Pour into a 2 quart round or oblong casserole. Bake until bubbling and lightly browned, about 40 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes at room temperature before serving.

Pepperoni Pizza Chili

This is another repeater at our house, but I haven't made it since I started my blog, so I just had to share it with all of you! It is super quick to throw together, unless you have a problem opening cans and delish!! I love a nice bowl of soup on a wintery day (or any day as my hubby will tell you!) So, simmer it up and enjoy!



Pepperoni Pizza Chili
(recipe found in Taste of Home magazine)

1 pound ground beef
1 can (16 ounces) kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (15 ounces) pizza sauce
1 can (14 1/2 ounces) italian stewed tomatoes
1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce
1 1/2 cups water
1 package (3 1/2 ounces) sliced pepperoni (I quartered mine)
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
1 teaspoon pizza seasoning or italian seasoning
1 teaspoon salt
shredded part skim mozzarella cheese, optional

In a large saucepan, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Stir in the beans, pizza sauce, tomatoes, tomato sauce, water, pepperoni, green pepper, pizza seasoning and salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered for 30 minutes or until chili reaches desired thickness. Sprinkle top with mozzarella cheese if desired.

Baked French Toast Casserole with Maple Syrup

This breakfast for supper made mixed reviews at our house... The hubs wasn't a big fan of it - said that it was too nutty (which I loved) and that the bread was too soggy (which I agreed with). The topping was probably my favorite part, but I did agree with him on the bread being a little soggy in the middle of the pan. I am wondering if I cooked it longer if that would help with this... Also, I would recommend throwing a cookie sheet underneath of your 9x13 in the oven - I didn't and smoke was billowing from the sauce spilling over! Supper's done kids! :)



Baked French Toast Casserole with Maple Syrup
(recipe found at www.foodnetwork.com)

1 loaf french bread
8 large eggs
2 cups half and half
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
dash salt
praline topping, recipe follows
maple syrup

Praline Topping:
1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup shopped pecans
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Slice french bread into 20 slices, 1" each. Arrange slices in a generously buttered 9x13 flat baking dish in 2 rows, overlapping the slices. In a large bowl, combine the eggs, half and half, milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt and beat with a rotary beater or whisk until blended but not too bubbly. Pour mixture over the bread slices, making sure all are covered evenly with the milk-egg mixture. Spoon some of the mixture in between the slices. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.

The next day, preheat oven to 350. Make praline topping by combine all ingredients intoa medium bowl and blending well. Spread praline topping evenly over the bread and bake for 40 minutes, until puffed and lightly golden. Serve with maple syrup.

Spicy Shrimp Fettuccine

I am going to start out right away that I am not a big fan of red sauce... I am not so keen on really tomatoey sauces, so I am not completely sure why I made this recipe. I think that the shrimp lured me in and probably the word spicy if I am totally being honest! :) As I started making this recipe I thought to myself - I might need to bust out some snacks after supper tonight, because I am not really going to like this. So, with that being said, I didn't really mind this dish... Now my kids on the other hand - they absolutely loved this!! I mean just look at this face...



It wasn't super spicy, so they liked that and it really didn't turn out as tomatoey as I thought that it was going to. Not a recipe that I will bust out a lot, but maybe for the kids' sake I will give it a go sometime again!



Spicy Shrimp Fettuccine
(recipe found in Taste of Home Healthy Cooking)

9 ounces uncooked whole wheat fettuccine - I used angel hair, just because I love angel hair!
4 aarlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 pounds uncooked medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 cups reduced sodium tomato juice
1/2 cup tomato sauce
1/2 to 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
4 teaspoons cornstarch
1/4 cup white wine or reduced sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoons minced fresh basil

Cook fettuccine according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large nonstick skillet, saute garlic in oil until tender. Stir in the shrimp, tomato juice, tomato sauce, pepper flakes, salt and pepper. in a small bowl, combine cornstarch and wine until smooth; stir into skillet. bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 5-6 minutes or until shrimp turn pink and sauce is thickened. Drain fettuccine; stir into skillet. Sprinkle with basil just before serving.

Chicken Casserole Supreme

This was a big taste of Thanksgiving for me! It was so good and pretty easy to throw together... I wasn't too sure about the raisins and apples being in the middle of it, but they were super yummy and added another element to the taste! :)



Chicken Casserole Supreme
(recipe found in Taste of Home Healthy Cooking)

1 cup reduced sodium chicken broth
1 medium apple, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup golden raisins
1 tablespoon butter
1 package (6 ounces) reduced sodium stuffing mix
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
1 small onion, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 cups fat free sour cream
1 can (10 3/4 ounces) reduced fat condensed cream of mushroom soup, undilutes
4 cups frozen broccoli florets, thawed

In a large saucepan, combine the broth, apple and raisins. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 3-4 minutes or until apple is tender. Stir in butter and stuffing mix. Remove from the heat; cover and let stand for 5 minutes. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. In a large skillet, cook the chicken, mushrooms and onion in oil over medium heat until chicken is no logner pink. Add garlic; cook 1 minutes longer. Remove from the heat. Stir in sour cream and soup.

Transfer to a 13x9" baking dish coated with cooking spray. Layer with broccoli and stuffing mixture. Bake, uncovered at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until heated through.

Teriyaki Pork

Beware - this is not as quick of a throw together meal as I usually post... :) It is delicious and super easy, it just requires a lot of chopping. Naptime or even the night before might be a priority if you are looking for something to throw together, because once you get past the chopping, it is a super easy and delicious meal! :)

Now for my rant - I don't know about any of you, but I am more of a "how it tastes" girl then a "wow that presentation looks great" girl. I am sure that you can tell this in my pictures that I post!:) When I go to a restaurant and order a salad, I am not impressed with the strips meat and veggies that I have to then go back and recut just to be able to eat it... Just chop it up so that I don't have to work for the meal that I just paid for! :) Anyhow, when stuff is called for to be sliced, I always chop it up. With 3 kids, I don't want to "slice" it, just to have to go back and "chop" it up again so that they can eat it... So, slice, chop, dice - whatever you want to do in a recipe - as long as it works for you!!



Teriyaki Pork
(recipe found in Taste of Home Healthy Cooking)

3/4 cup chicken broth, divided
1/3 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons honey
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 pound boneless pork loin chops, cut into thin strips
1 tablespoon canola oil
2 cups fresh broccoli florets
3 medium carrots, sliced
3 celery ribs, sliced
4 cups shredded cabbage
6 green onions, sliced
1 tablespoon cornstarch
hot cooked brown rice, optional

In a small bowl, combine 1/4 cup broth, soy sauce, vinegar, honey and garlic powder. Pour 1/3 cup marinade into a large resealable plastic bag; add the pork. Seal bag and turn to coat; refrigerate for 1 hour. Cover and refrigerate remaining marinade.

Drain and discard marinade from plasic bag. In large nonstick skillet or wok, stir fry pork in oil for 2-3 minutes or until no longer pink. Remove and keep warm. In the same pan, stir fry broccoli and carrots in reserved marinade for 2 minutes. Add celery; stir fry for 2 minutes. Add cabbage and green onions; stir fry 2-3 minutes longer or until vegetables are crisp tender.

Combine cornstarch and remaining broth until smooth; stir into vegetable mixture. Bring to a boil; cook and stir until thickened. Return pork to the pan; heat through. Serve with rice, if desired.

Blueberry Whole Wheat Pancakes with Blueberry Syrup

Here was our next breakfast for supper adventure. Even though the hubby whined that we had pancakes last week, he still ate quite a few of them and my picky eater 3 year old ate 5 of them and wanted more!! The syrup was wonderful, but I love flavored syrups! I would definitely recommend making the syrup ahead of time though if you are looking for a quick meal. That was more time consuming then I thought that it would be. Worth it, but time consuming! Also, I found that the pancakes took longer to cook on the first side then the 2 minutes that they say to cook them, so keep an eye on your pancakes...



Blueberry Whole Wheat Pancakes with Blueberry Syrup
(recipe found on www.foodnetwork.com)

2 cups buttermilk
3 large eggs
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick)unsalted butter, melted and cooled
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup wheat germ
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3 tablespoons sugar
2 cups blueberries, picked over

Blueberry Syrup

6 cups blueberries, picked over
3 cups sugar
1/2 lemon, zest removed in strips with a vegetable peeler
1/8 cup fresh lemon juice

In a bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, eggs and butter. (Make sure your butter is cooled - I had some chunks in my batter that I had to fish out due to it being too warm...) In a large bowl whisk together the flours, wheat germ, salt, baking powder, baking soda and sugar. Add the buttermilk mixture and whisk batter until just combined. Heat a griddle over moderately high heat until it is hot enough to make drops of water scatter over its surface. Pour batter onto the griddle by 1/3 cup measures, sprinkle each pancake with about 2 tablespoons of the blueberries and cook the pancakes for 2 minutes on each side or until they are golden. Transfer pancakes as they are cooking to a warm place. (I mixed my blueberries right in with the batter, I didn't want to take the time to sprinkle each pancake with them...)

Syrup Directions

In a large saucepan combine the blueberries and 3/4 cup water, bring the mixture to a boil and simmer it, covered for 10 minutes. Puree the mixture in batches in a blender or food processor and force it through a fine sieve into a bowl, discarding the solids. (I don't have a sieve, so I just left the chunks in it... It didn't seem like there was that many chunks at the end anyhow!)

In the pan, cleaned, combine the sugar, zest and 1 1/2 cups water. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring until the sugar is dissolved and boil it, uncovered, until a candy thermometer registers 200 degrees. Discard the zest, add the blueberry mixture and boil the syrup, stirring, for 1 minute. Let the syrup cool, skim off any froth and stir in the lemon juice. Pour the syrup into glass jars with tight fitting lids. The syrup keeps, covered and chilled, for 3 months. Serve the syrup warm over pancakes or ice cream.

(I halved the syrup recipe and still had plenty for the pancakes with a lot left over to keep in the fridge for later. I may just have to try it on ice cream! YUMMY!!)

Weekly Line Up - 1/22-1/28

Looking forward to another great week of cooking and especially eating! :) My birthday is this upcoming Friday and you know that cheesy Beer Fondue is on the menu - I can't wait!! Strep has been going through our house this week, so it has been a LOOOONG week and we missed our Wednesday night taco night... Sad for me, one more night of cooking at home (I like my nights out :), but great for the blog, because I had to switch my meals around and add another meal for Friday night!

Friday - *Bacon Tomato Bake
Saturday - Pizza
Sunday - *Cheesecake Pancakes with bacon
Monday - *Mexican Shepard's Pie
Tuesday - *Wild Rice Soup
Wednesday - Taco Night
Thursday - *Four Cheese Vegetable Lasagna Cups
Friday - Cheesy Beer Fondue with Beer Bread

Extras
*Caramel Peanut Butter Bars (for my sister in laws birthday! We are only 2 days apart!)

* New Recipes

Creamy Tuna and Broccoli Casserole with Bagel Chips

Here is another redo meal at my house, that I haven't posted to the blog before. It is super quick to throw together and so easy that my hubby even made this one tonight! :) He didn't cut the broccoli into bite size pieces like I do, but otherwise it turned out wonderfully!



Creamy Tuna and Broccoli Casserole with Bagel Chips
(recipe found in Pillsbury Casseroles Cookbook)

3 cups uncooked rotini pasta
3 cups frozen broccoli cuts
1 can (6 ounces) albacore tuna in water, drained
1 can (18 ounces) creamy mushroom soup
1/4 cup milk
1 1/2 cups garlic bagel chips, broken into pieces

Heat oven to 350. Cook and drain pasta as directed on package, adding broccoli 5 minutes before pasta is done cooking. Return cooked pasta and broccoli to pan; stir in tuna (I doubled the amount of tuna), soup and milk. SPoon into ungreased 8 inch square (2 quart) glass baking dish.

Bake 15 minutes. Sprinkle with bagel chips. Bake 10-15 minutes more or until bagel chips are lightly browned and casserole is hot.

Tex Mex Meatball Pie

This is a repeat recipe in my house. Super easy to throw together since it calls for precooked meatballs and pretty dang hearty. The only problem that I have with this is that my family is getting older and eating more... This means that soon I will need to make two of these to keep everyone satisfied - the pieces are pretty small when cut...



Tex Mex Meatball Pie
(recipe found in Pillsbury Casseroles and Slowcooker Cookbook)

1 refrigerated pie crust, softened as directed on box
18 frozen cooked meatballs (about 1 inch), thawed
1 cup frozen whole kernel corn
3/4 cup salsa
3/4 cup cheddar cheese
1 cup shredded lettuce
1/4 cup sour cream

Heat oven to 375. Unroll pie crust on ungreased cookie sheet. Place meatballs on center of crust. In small bowl, mix corn and 1/2 cup of the salsa. Spoon corn mixture over meatballs. Fold edge of crust over filling (about 2 inches); ruffle decoratively. Bake 35-40 minutes or until crust is deep golden brown. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake 3-5 minutes longer or until cheese is melted. Top with lettuce and sour cream. Drizzle with remaining 1/4 cup salsa. Serve immediately.

Turkey Brats with Potatoes and Sauerkraut

Josh was a big fan of this new recipe that I tried. But, I figured anything that had brats and saurkraut would top his list of must make again meals! Another easy to throw together and turn on the crock pot meal! Definitely made a lot and was filling... I used two packages of brats and sliced them into chunks. It was more then the recipe called for, but more meat is always a must at our house.



Turkey Brats with Potatoes and Sauerkraut
(recipe found in Pillsbury Slow Cooker Cookbook)

1 1/2 pounds small red potatoes (12 small)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 package (19.5 ounces) uncooked turkey bratwurst
1 can (15 or 16 ounces) sauerkraut, undrained
1/2 teaspoon caraway seed

Spray 4-5 quart slow cooker with cooking spray. Cut potatoes into fourths; place in cooker. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place bratwurst on potatoes. Top with sauerkraut. Sprinkle with caraway seed. Cover and cook on low heat 6-7 hours. Remove from cooker with slotted spoon.

Eggnog Cheescake Bars

Here is another yummy recipe that I tried on New Year's Eve. I love eggnog, so anything that I see with that ingredient in the recipe peaks my attention... These were pretty easy to throw together and were very tasty!

Eggnog Cheesecake Bars
(recipe found at www.bettycrocker.com)

Crust
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
3/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
1/2 cup blanched whole almonds, finely chopped
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

Filling
2 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
1/2 cup whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs

Topping
1/2 cup blanched whole almonds, finely chopped, toasted

Heat oven to 350. In large bowl, stir crust ingredients until well blended. Press mixture in bottom of ungreased 9x13 inch pan. Bake 8 minutes. In clean large bowl, beat cream cheese with electric mixer on medium speed until softened. Gradually beat in granulated sugar, 1/4 cup brown sugar, the nutmeg, cream and vanilla. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until creamy. Pour mixture over crust. Bake 30-35 minutes or until center is set. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup toasted almonds; press in slightly. Cool 1 1/2 hours. Store covered in refrigerator.

Deviled Dip

I enjoy a good egg salad sandwich or a good batch of deviled eggs and I definitely enjoy a good dip at parties, so when I saw this recipe I thought - what the heck, I should try this! :) When I was mixing it up I thought that it was a lot like an egg salad mix used as a dip! Pretty much the gist of it, but it was delish none the less. In fact, I made a double batch of this for New Year's Eve and it was all gone...

Deviled Dip
(recipe found at www.foodnetwork.com)

8 hard boiled eggs
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon mustard
1 chopped pickle
dash of hot sauce
paprika, salt and pepper to taste

Puree eggs and add all additional ingredients. Stir until combined. Garnish with chives. I served this with a variety of crackers.

Eggnog Pancakes

Here's our next round of breakfast for supper on Sunday nights... We tried eggnog pancakes and they were super yummy! Josh thought they tasted a little pumpkiny - I am sure that it was the nutmeg in them and he and Brody polished off any extras that we had! Make sure you take your time cooking these though - the dough is very thick and takes a while to cook all the way through... I spread mine out as much as possible to help with the cooking.



Eggnog Pancakes

2 cups all purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups egnog
2 tablespoons butter, melted

In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder salt and nutmeg. In a small bowl, whisk the eggs, eggnog and butter; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Pour batter by 1/4 cupfuls onto a lightly greased hot griddle. Turn when bubbles form on top; cook until second side is golden brown.

Weekly Line Up - 1/15-1/21

Here's the weekly line up for this upcoming week! 3D ultrasound scheduled for Monday, so even though I have the day off of work, I need something quick to throw in and be ready when we get home! The whole week is kind of like that, so get ready for some fast and easy meals - and now I must run out the door to a wrestling meet!

Saturday - Date Night (The hubby and I are actually going out together, so the kids are getting a babysitter and pizza!)
Sunday - *Baked French Toast
Monday - Pepperoni Pizza Chili
Tuesday - *Tuna Noodle Casserole
Wednesday - Taco Night
Thursday - *Lemon Glazed Chicken
Friday - *Tropical Citrus Shrimp

* New Recipes!

Almond and Peach Crusted Pork Chops

Pork chops are starting to be a food that I really, really like... Usually chicken dishes are my go to meal, but lately pork chops have tasted so good that I keep my eyes peeled for new recipes! These had a wonderful taste to them and cooked up wonderfully! I doubled the recipe so we could have leftovers and boy am I glad that I did!!


Almond and Peach Crusted Pork Chops
(recipe found in Weeknight Bisquick cookbook)

1 egg
2 tablespoons peach preserves (I used apricot-pineapple that I had leftover from another recipe)
1/2 cup bisquick mix
1/2 cup coarsely chopped sliced almonds
1 tablespoon cornmeal
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 pork boneless loin chops, 1/2 inch thick (1 1/2 pounds)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
chopped fresh parsley, if desired

Beat egg and preserves in shallow dish with fork, breaking apart any large pieces of preserves. Mix bisquick, almonds, cornmeal and salt in another shallow dish. Dip pork into egg mixture, then coat with bisquick mixture. Heat oil in 12 inch nonstick skillet over medium low heat. Cook pork 15-18 minutes, turning once, until crust is golden brown and pork is slightly pink in center. Sprinkle with parsley. Serve immediately.

Cheesy Italian Beef Bake

This was a hearty dish that was perfect for a cold winter night! It was pretty easy to throw together (in the middle of trying to clean my house and wrestle the kids) and everyone loved it...



Cheesy Italian Beef Bake
(recipe found in Weeknight Bisquick Meals cookbook)

1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1 jar (26 ounces) chunk garden style tomato pasta sauce
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sour cream
2 cups shredded parmesan cheese
3/4 teaspoon italian seasoning
2 cups bisquick mix
1 1/2 cups milk

Heat oven to 375, Spray 9x13 pan with cooking spray. Cook beef in 10 inch skillet over medium high heat, stirring occasionally, until brown, drain. Stir in pasta sauce. Mix cream cheese, sour cream 1/2 cup of the parmesan cheese and 1/4 teaspoon of the italian seasoning in small bowl until smooth and creamy. Spoon half of the beef mixture into baking dish. Drop spoonfuls of cream cheese mixture evenly onto beef mixture. Spoon remaining beef mixture over cream cheese mixture.

Stir 1 cup of the parmesan cheese, the bisquick mix and milk in medium bowl until blended. Pour over beef mixture. Bake uncovered 30-35 minutes or until light golden brown. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup parmesan cheese and 1/2 teaspoon italian seasoning. Bake 5 minutes. Let stand at least 10 minutes before cutting.

Pineapple-Chicken Kabob Packets

I love kabobs, but not the whole process that goes into making them! :) I found this recipe and it seemed easy enough to try. They turned out awesome!! Super yummy and not as messy and time consuming that normal kabobs are...



Pineapple-Chicken Kabob Packets
(recipe found in Pillsbury Best Ever Chicken Recipes cookbook)

1/3 cup pineapple preserves
2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 2 inch cubes
1 medium red bell pepper, cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes
1 medium green bell pepper, cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes
1 cup pineapple chunks
1/4 teaspoon salt

Heat gas or charcoal grill. In small bowl, stir together pineapple preserves, brown sugar, soy sauce and crushed red pepper. Cut 4 (24x12 inch) sheets of heavy duty foil. Divide chicken, bell peppers, pineapple chunks and pineapple preserves mixture among foil sheets. Sprinkle with salt. Bring up 2 sides of foil so edges meet. Seal edges, making tight 1/2 inch fold; fold again, allowing space for heat circulation and expansion. Fold other sides to seal.

Place packets on grill over medium heat. Cover grill; cook 6 minutes. Using tongs, carefully turn packets over, taking care not to puncture foil. Cook 10-12 minutes longer or until chicken is no longer pink in center and vegetables are crisp tender.

BBQ Baby Back Ribs

Christmas Eve was at my house this year... With everyone's crazy schedules during the holidays, Christmas Eve is usually the night where the "leftovers" of our family get together after church. Some of my family heads over to the in-laws, some switch back and forth each year, so we never know who will be around. The hubs and I are at a new church that is about 20 minutes away and our service was an hour later then everyone elses. That meant that we had to have something in the crock pot, ready to roll as soon as we walked in the door. We picked ribs this year! It was a great choice and they were gone quickly, even though I tripled the recipe and borrowed extra crockpots!!

BBQ Baby Back Ribs
(recipe found in "If I Gotta Cook, Make It Quick)

1/4 cup spicy chili rub (I just used chili powder)
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
4 racks, 1 pound each, baby back ribs
1/2 cup barbecue sauce

In small bowl, combine chili rub and brown sugar. Mix well. Rub mixtureover ribs. curl ribs meaty side out, stand upright on thick ends in 5-6 quart slow cooker. Cover and cook on low 8-9 hours. Serve with sauce. Makes 4-6 servings.

Sausage Scrambles and Cheese

I have made a declaration at my house... Sunday night is now breakfast for supper night! I have so many breakfast recipes and I LOVE breakfast, but I just never get around to making any of them. If we do anything or make anything, it is usually a supper or lunch meal. So, I want to start using my breakfast recipes and seeing if they are as good as they sound! Here's the first. Super simple and very yummy...


Sausage Scrambles and Cheese
(recipe found at www.foodnetwork.com)

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil or vegetable oil (I skipped this step)
1 pound bulk breakfast sausage
8 large eggs
a splash of half and half or whole milk
a few drops of hot sauce
salt and pepper
6 ounces cheddar cheese
1 plum tomato, seeded and diced

Preheat a nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add oil and sausage and brown and crumble the meat, 5-6 minutes. Remove the sausage from the pan and drain off some of the fat. Return pan to heat and reduce the temperature to medium low. Whisk together the eggs, half and half or milk, hot sauce, salt and pepper. Scramble the eggs until soft, then add cheese and continue to scramble another minute or so to finish cooking eggs and to begin to melt the cheese. Remove pan from heat and combine sausage and eggs. Garnish servings of the eggs with a few pieces of diced fresh tomato.

Beer Bread

My sister found this wonderful recipe for beer bread online and she shared it with all of us soon after! If you have ever had beer bread by Tastefully Simple, you know how yummy, soft on the inside and crunchy on the outside it is. For those times that you don't have it on hand or need a quicker, less expensive version - I suggest that you try this! It is great to use for dips and this is the recipe I used for my fondue!


Beer Bread

3 cups sifted flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sugar
12 ounces beer
1/2 cup melted butter

Preheat oven to 375. Mix all ingredients except butter. Pour into loaf pan. Pour butter over the top. Bake for 1 hour.

Weekly Line Up - 1/8-1/14

Here's the line up for this week. Looking forward to trying some new dishes again! Hope everyone has a wonderful week...

Saturday - *Teriyaki Pork
Sunday - *Blueberry Pancakes with Blueberry Syrup
Monday - *Tortellini Primavera
Tuesday - Cereal
Wednesday - Taco Night
Thursday - *Chicken Casserole Supreme
Friday - *Spicy Shrimp Fettuccine

* New Recipes

Cheesy Beer Fondue

I thought that this year our family would start a new tradition and use Christmas Eve day to celebrate being our own individual family... We spend so much time running around to all of the extended family that usually our own Christmas seems very rushed. So, we sat down together and opened presents in the morning and while the kids enjoyed the new toys that they got, I set to work on lunch. We had fondue! :) I personally love a good fondue and what kid doesn't like to be able pick and choose their own food to dip into some yummy cheese?? We all enjoyed it immensely and after cleaning up and a little more playing took a little snooze to get ready for all the running that we have coming up!


Cheesy Beer Fondue
(recipe found at www.foodnetwork.com)

4 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 (12 ounce) bottle lager beer
1/2 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
4 cups shredded cheddar

Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour and cook for 1-2 minutes while stirring constantly to make a roux. Add beer and bring to slow boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally until mixture thickens to the consistency of heavy cream. Add worcestershire, mustard and cayenne, stirring thoroughly. Add cheese 1 cup at a time, melting cheese after each addition. Stir fondue until it is smooth. Turn into fondue pot and serve.

I served my fondue with beer bread, carrots, cauliflower, pretzel rods and apples.

Chocolate Peppermint Pinwheel Cookies

These were a little tricky for me! As I have said before, sugar cookies never work for me... I really don't know what the jinx is, but I guess it is a curse that I will have to live with! :) In the long run, I got them to work and they turned out pretty yummy, but they were a bear to put together - they tried my patience a little bit, especially when I was trying to roll out the dough and my 2 year old was laying across the table trying to lick up all the powdered sugar! :)


Chocolate Peppermint Pinwheel Cookies
(recipe found at www.foodnetwork.com)

1 batch sugar cookies, recipe follows
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon peppermint extract
1/2 cup crushed candy canes or peppermint candies

Divide the dough in half and add chocolate and vanilla to 1 half and incorporate with hands. Add egg yolk, peppermint extract and crushed candy to other half of dough and incorporate with hands. Cover both with plastic and chill for approximately 5 minutes. Roll out doughs separately to approximately 1/4 inch thickness. Place peppermint dough on top of chocolate and press together around the edges. Using waxed paper or flexible cutting board underneath, roll dough into log. Wrap in waxed paper and refrigerate for 2 hours. (This is where I had issues, my dough kept sticking to the table, so I had to piece the chocolate dough together on top of the peppermint dough. It looked rough, but when I cut it up they turned out fine!)

Preheat oven to 375. Remove dough from the refrigerator and cut into 1/2 inch slices. Place cookies 1 inch apart on greased baking sheet, parchment, or silicone baking mat and bake for 12-13 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through cooking time. Remove from oven and let sit on baking sheet for 2 minutes, then move to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

Sugar Cookie
3 cups all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 tablespoon milk
powdered sugar, for rolling out dough

Sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. Place butter and sugar in large bowl of electric stand mixer and beat until light in color. Add egg and milk and beat to combine. Put mixer on low speed, gradually add flour, and beat until mixture pulls away from the side of the bowl. Divide the dough iin half, wrap in waxed paper and refrigerate for 2 hours.

Crispy Italian Baked Chicken

I made this chicken tonight and it was so delicious!! It was pretty easy to throw together and definitely came out moist on the inside and crispy on the outside! LOVE IT!!


Crispy Italian Baked Chicken
(recipe found at www.hungryjack.com)

2/3 cup mashed potato flakes
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons parsley flakes
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1 (2 1/2-3 pounds) broiler fryer chicken, cut up
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup italian dressing

Heat oven to 400. Coat baking pan with no stick cooking spray. Combine potato flakes, parmesan cheese, parsley flakes and garlic salt in a shallow bowl. Stir until well mixed. Coat chicken pieces with flour, dip in italian dressing. Coat with potato flake mixture, patting until chicken is thoroughly coated; shake off excess breading. Place in prepared pan. Bake 45-50 minutes or until instant read thermometer reaches 165 degrees.

Chocolate Peppermint Creams

I know that Christmas is over, but I have so many good treats and cookie recipes that I tried this year that I just have to keep going... Here was another recipe that I found and it was SO yummy! My topping didn't turn out as pretty as the picture that they showed, but it was still good to eat...


Chocolate Peppermint Creams
(recipe found at www.pillsbury.com)

1 bag (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
1 bag (12 ounces) dark chocolate chips
1/3 cup whipping cream
1 cup butter
1/4 cup dry pudding mix from 1 box (4 serving size) vanilla pudding and pie filling mix (not instant)
1/2 cup whipping cream
1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 bag (2 pounds) powdered sugar
1/2 cup coarsely chopped peppermint candy canes

Spray 15x10x1 inch pan with cooking spray. Reserve 1/2 cup of the semisweet chocolate chips. In 2 quart saucepan, heat remaining semisweet chocolate chips and 1/3 cup cream over medium low heat, stirring constantly, until melted. Pour into pan; spread evenly. Refrigerate. (I struggled with the melting during this phase - I added more cream to make it "pourable" and continued to stir until it was the right consistency.)

Meanwhile, in 3 quart sauscepan, heat butter, pudding mix and 1/2 cup cream to boiling over medium heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; stir in peppermint extract, vanilla and powdered sugar, beating well, until mixture is smooth. Spread evenly over cooled chocolate layer; freeze until firm, 15-20 minutes.

Place reserved 1/2 cup chocolate chips in small resealable freezer plastic bag. Microwave on high 45-55 seconds, turning bag over after 30 seconds. Squeeze bag until chips are melted and smooth. Cut small tip off one corner of bag, and drizzle over top. Immediately sprinkle with chopped candy. Cut into 15 rows by 5 rows.

(I found that when I tried to drizzle the chocolate, it immediately hardened when it hit the top of the bars. Maybe this wouldn't happen if you let it sit out for a little bit? This also made it so that the candy canes didn't stick to the topping at all... They were still worth my while though! :)

Covered Pretzels

Who hasn't had these little bites of deliciousness before? I think that everyone has, but just in case you haven't gotten the chance to try them out, I wanted to get a post on here about them! They are so easy to make and just as easy to consume! I mean, chocolate and pretzels? What a great combo!!

Covered Pretzels

pretzels
chocolate candy covering
vanilla candy covering
shortening
sprinkles

Melt chocolate candy covering with 1 tablespoon shortening and vanilla candy covering with 1 tablespoon shortening, in separate pans. When melted add pretzels, a few at a time, turning with a fork. Place on wax covered cookie sheet. Drizzle with opposite candy covering. Sprinkle with sprinkles while still wet. Allow to dry and remove from pan.

Cinnamon Bear Popcorn

Every year I try to find a little something for the daycare kids for Christmas that is fun and different, yet won't break my pocketbook! This year I found this fun recipe to try out... It was so good I almost didn't want to give it up to them! :)

Cinnamon Bear Popcorn
(recipe found at www.jamiecooksitup.blogspot.com)

24 cups popped popcorn (1 cup unpopped)
1 16 ounce bag cinnamon bears
1 cup butter
1/2 cup corn syrup
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 cups mini marshmallows
red food coloring

Pop up popcorn. Sprinkle it with just a bit of salt and set aside. Snip cinnamon bears up with a pair of kitchen scissors. In a medium sized sauce pan combine the butter, corn syrup and sugar. Heat over medium heat until it comes to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cook for 5 minutes. Remove it from the heat and add vanilla, marshmallows and red food coloring. Mix it all around to get everything melted and combined. Stir in the bears. Add the mixture to popped popcorn. Stir it all around until well combined.

Weekly Line Up - 1/1-1/7

Happy New Year! Here is to another year of new memories, experiences and lots of fun in the kitchen!

Saturday - *Almond & Peach Crusted Pork Chops
Sunday - *Eggnog Pancakes with Bacon Slices
Monday - *Turkey Brats with Potatoes
Tuesday - *Tex Mex Meatball Pie
Wednesday - Taco Night
Thursday - *Chicken Tortilla Soup
Friday - *Creamy Tuna and Broccoli Casserole

New Year's Eve Recipes
* Eggnog Cheesecake Bars
* Deviled Dip

* New Recipes