Gooey Butter Cookies

8 oz. softened cream cheese (I used 1/3 less fat)
1/2 stick softened butter
1 egg yolk
1 tsp. vanilla
1 yellow butter cake mix
Powdered sugar

Mix first 5 ingredients together and refrigerate for 2 hours. Form into balls (will be very sticky - put extra powdered sugar on your hands to roll easier) and roll completely in powdered sugar. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet for 8-10 minutes at 350º.

They will look/seem undercooked, but pull them out and put on cooling rack.

They will be PERFECT!

These are really good served cold.

From ModHousewife: http://www.modhousewife.com/2011/12/gooey-butter-cookies/

Crispix Mix S'Mores

This recipe can be doubled and makes a great gift!

Ingredients
3 cups Kellogg’s® Crispix® cereal
1 cup bear-shaped, miniature honey graham crackers (Teddy Grahams)
1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup miniature marshmallows
1/3 cup M&M’s® Brand Chocolate Candies - use red and green for holidays

Directions
1. In 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan, combine Kellogg's Crispix cereal and graham crackers.

2. In small bowl, stir together melted butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Drizzle over cereal mixture. Stir until coated. Bake at 250°F for 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. Spread on foil. Cool completely.

3. Stir in marshmallows and M&M’s® Brand Chocolate Candies. Store in airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.

Original Recipe HERE on Kellogg's website.

Bacon Brittle

What you will need:

Butter Snaps Pretzels

1 lb. thick-cut bacon

1 cup brown sugar

2 tbsp honey mustard

Cut the bacon into small strips and cook until nice and crispy.

Remove to paper towel, but don't dump the bacon grease!

Mix brown sugar and honey mustard into the bacon grease.

Create a nice smooth consistency.

Meanwhile, beat the heck out of the pretzels in the bag.

You want them all broken up!

Toss bacon pieces and pretzels into the sauce and coat well.

Spread on a cookie sheet to cool.

Creates a yummy and very rich snack!



http://www.modhousewife.com/2011/11/bacon-brittle/

Spaghetti Bread Packets

This recipe comes from inspiration from a neighbor who pinned a Braided Spaghetti Bread recipe on Pinterest.  You can find all of that HERE.  So I decided to try it and although it didn't turn out well enough to be braided, it was still yummy.  Here was my version.

Here's what you need:

• 6 oz of spaghetti
• Lean hamburger (or sausage or ground turkey)
• Chopped onion
• Mushrooms
• 1-2 cups spaghetti sauce
• Mozzarella cheese
• Parmesan cheese
• Parley flakes
• Italian seasoning
• Garlic powder
• One egg
• Frozen bread dough - I used Kroger brand; recipe is inspired by Rhodes, but couldn't find it 

The first thing you need to do is plan to allow enough time for the dough to thaw.  I thawed mine in the refrigerator all day.
 

I actually did most of my prep the night before.  I prepared the pasta, cooked the beef with some chopped onions and Italian seasoning and mixed it all up with the spaghetti sauce.  I also sauteed some mushrooms, but kept them separate.  I put all of that in the refrigerator until the next evening.

The first step in putting it all together is to roll out the dough.  This is where it went all wrong for me.  I could not get it to roll out into a large rectangle as instructed.  I apparently was not patient enough! 

So instead, I ended up dividing the dough into 4 sections and creating "packets".  On top of each dough circle I put some of the spaghetti mixture and then added some mozzarella cheese.  Due to this, there was a lot of leftover spaghetti mixture.

Inside two of them I also added the mushrooms and put a couple on top to note the difference.

I spread some egg whites over each one and sprinkled some garlic powder and Parmesan cheese on top.

Then they were baked on 350 for 30 minutes or until golden brown.

They were a bit more doughy than expected since I didn't follow the "braiding" instructions.  However, I just served some more of the pasta mixture on the side (thanks to the leftovers) and everyone enjoyed!

Yes, it's basically spaghetti and bread so why put it all together?  We eat a lot of pasta at our house.  So this changed it up for us a bit and the kids thought it was funny to have spaghetti inside their bread.  Will I do it every week?  Nope.  But it was fun to add some variety to the menu.

Roasted Butternut Squash

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cube the squash.

Melt some butter in a bowl and add some brown sugar.

Cream together until well mixed.

Toss squash in the bowl to coat with yumminess.

Dump squash into greased dish and bake for 45 minutes to an hour.

Once tender, enjoy!

Chicken Pad Thai

Andy makes an awesome Pad Thai.  He just follows the recipe on the back of the "A Taste of Thai" pad thai sauce.  Click HERE for the full recipe.  Below are some pictures of him cooking it.

Mushroom Sauce for Pork

Grill or bake a Hormel Teriyaki Pork Tenderloin (1st choice) or Pork Chops

Mushrooms
French Onion Soup
Brown Gravy Mix
Beefy Onion Soup Mix
Soy Sauce
Sugar
Red Wine

About 30 minutes before the pork is done:

1. Sauté one small produce container of sliced mushrooms in olive oil or butter
2. Open a can of Campbell’s French Onion with Beef Stock
3. Use a fork to puree some of the onions in the can
4. Add 2/3 of the soup to the mushrooms

5. Add a couple of TBSP of McCormick’s Brown Gravy mix (about ½ of packet)
6. Add a couple of TBSP of Lipton Beefy Onion Soup mix (about ½ of packet)
7. Add a splash of Soy Sauce
8. Add a splash of Red wine
9. Add a pinch of Sugar
10. Reduce heat and let sit; stirring frequently - it will thicken!

Make mashed potatoes from scratch or out of a box (we like the Betty Crocker garlic potatoes as a short-cut). Top the pork and potatoes with the sauce and serve with a vegetable.

Thanks to a dear friend down south who believes in semi-homemade...Donna!

Mostaccioli with Veggies

Cook the Mostaccioli - or any other pasta you prefer.

Meanwhile, saute the following in a pan on the stove with some EVOO:
Zucchini
Mushrooms (I used 4 crimini)
Red & Orange Peppers (about 1/2 each)
Garlic Clove
Spinach

Throw together in a pasta bowl and garnish with a bit of cheese - YUMMY!

Betty Crocker's Sugary Gingerbread-Oat Chews

This recipe can also be found here: http://www.recipe.com/sugary-gingerbread-oat-chews/

Makes about 2 1/2 dozen. Can be doubled.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
3 tablespoons molasses
2 teaspoons ground ginger
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 egg
1 pouch Betty Crocker® oatmeal cookie mix (1 pound 1.5 ounces)
1/3 cup coarse sugar (I used regular sugar)

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 375 degrees F. In large bowl, beat butter, molasses, ginger, cinnamon, cloves and egg with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add cookie mix; beat until soft dough forms.

2. The dough will be very sticky.  Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll balls in sugar. On ungreased cookie sheets, place balls 2 inches apart.

3. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until edges are light golden brown.

4. Cool 5 minutes; remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks. Store in tightly covered container.

Turkey Bacon, Mushroom & Zucchini Quiche

This recipe is adapted from the following on Surviving Motherhood:
http://www.motherhoodsupport.com/2011/04/turkey-bacon-mushroom-and-zucchinni-quiche/

Ingredients:
Turkey Bacon (I used half the package)
Mushrooms (I cut up 2 portobellos)
Zucchini (I used two small zucchini, sliced)
Red Pepper (I diced about 1/2 of one)
Onion (I used part of a yellow one)
Garlic (1-2 cloves)
Milk (1 cup)
6 Eggs
Half and half (1 cup)
Cheese (1 cup – I used mild cheddar)
Salt and Pepper to taste
2 Pie Crusts (I just bought a 2-pack frozen, let sit out 15-20 minutes first)

In a pan, saute the bacon, mushrooms, zucchini, onion and garlic on medium heat until the veggies are soft and tender (about 15 -20 minutes).

Meanwhile, in a large bowl mix the eggs, cream, milk, cheese and salt and pepper together.  Once the veggie mixture is tender, divide the mixture between the two pie crusts.  Then pour over the egg mixture and bake in the oven on 375 degrees for about 45-55 minutes.

You’ll know when it’s done when you can put a knife in the middle and it comes out clean.

It makes enough for two pies – one for now and the other for the freezer! 

Thanks Surviving Motherhood!

Chicken & Veggie Stir Fry

In trying to use up some of our fresh veggies from Green B.E.A.N. delivery, I put together this quick and easy stir fry.

1. Cut chicken (I used one chicken breast) into small pieces and cook for a few minutes in small amount of oil in the wok. 

2. Meanwhile, cut up the following vegetables in bite-size pieces:
Portobello mushroom
Red pepper
Yellow pepper
Onion
Snow Peas
Add other things that you LOVE or have on hand

3. Remove chicken and saute all of the vegetables.  Add 1-2 garlic gloves and a can of water chestnuts and baby corn.

4. Add chicken back to the mix.  Add stir fry sauce or soy sauce.

5. Serve over rice.

YUMMY!

Egg Salad

I decided to give this a try since we have TONS of hard boiled eggs after Easter.  There are many variations of egg salad online...here's the one I put together:

Eggs
A couple of spoonfuls of Miracle Whip
A few squirts of spicy brown mustard
Fresh diced chives from our backyard
Diced onion

Penne Pasta Bake

Prep: 20 minutes
Cook: 20 minutes
Serves: 6-8 adults

12 oz. Penne pasta
1 lb. Ground beef
1 cup chopped onion
1 15-oz. can Italian Style Tomato Sauce
1 14.5-oz can Diced Tomatoes with Italian Herbs
1 6-oz can Italian Paste with Roasted Garlic
Italian seasoning (optional)
4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Cook pasta according to package directions and drain.

Cook meat and onion in large skillet over medium-high heat, 5 minutes; drain.

Stir in tomato sauce, undrained tomatoes, tomato paste and ½ cup water; cook, stirring occasionally, 10 minutes.

Layer half pasta, half sauce, half cheese in 13 x 9” baking dish; repeat.  OR split into two servings as shown below.

Cover with foil and bake in preheated 350 degree oven, 20-30 minutes.  Remove foil last 5-10 minutes.

If refrigerated first, bake time may take 45 min – 1 hour until center is hot.

If frozen, thaw in refrigerator before baking.