Huckleberry Bars

I love Huckleberries!!!!  I can't get them here but I have jars of homemade jam from family.  I have found yet another fabulous resource for new recipies.....

  Just Get Off Your Butt and Bake!!

Wow!! So many recipies with so many beautiful pictures!!

Their recipie for Magic Rasberry Cookie Bars sounded just too good!!

I substituted the Huckleberry Jam for the Rasberry.  I also added chocolate chips to the top because everything tastes better with chocolate!!

The recipe: 

2 Cups Graham Cracker Crumbs

1/4 Cup Sugar

1/2 cup margarine or butter, Melted

1 can (14 oz.) sweetened Condensed Milk

1 1/4 cups Raspberry jam or Preserves

 

1 1/3 cups flaked coconut  ( didn't use )

Mix graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and butter in small bowl.  Press into the bottom of a 13x9 in pan. pour 12/ of the milk over crust.  Top with nuts, then spoon Jam over the whole thing.  Top with remaining milk.  This is where I omitted the coconut flakes and sprinkled chocolate chips on top.

Bake at 350 for 25-30 min.  Take a butter knife to the edges of the pan when it comes out of the oven.  Let cool completely before cutting.  So Yummy!!

No Bake Energy Bites

I find so many recipies online....  These little yummy balls of enery came to me as a link from a website I like on facebook.  If you have the time you really should check out
 The 5 dollar Dinner mom.  She featured this recipie from another new favorite blog of mine Smashed Peas and Carrots.  Her recipie for No Bake Energy Bites  sparked my interest right way. 

Ha Ha, I literally made them within an hour of seeing the recipie.  You can vary the recipe in so many ways....

I didn't have shredded coconut so I substituted crushed Wheaties cereal.
I don't ever have ground flax seed so I just omited it.
I only had regular sized chocolate chips so i just ran a knife through them.
You could add other nuts, or dried fruit also.

Seriously folks, who doesn't have peanut butter, honey, oats, and vanilla in their cupboard??

The recipe:

1 cup Oats

1/2 cup peanut butter (or other nut butter)

1/3 cup honey

1 cup coconut flakes ( substitued 1 cup crushed Wheaties cereal )

1/2 cup ground flaxseed ( I omited this )

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

1 tsp vanilla

 

 

Mix oats, peanut butter, honey and vanilla together.  ad your mix ins......

 

Chill in refrigerator for about an hour.  Roll into little balls. 

 

 HEAVEN!!!

 

 

Store in refrigerator for about a week.  Yeah right!  Like they will last that long......

 

 

Buffalo Chicken Hot Dip

Need a recipe for the big game??  This one is really easy.  It's actually a crockpot recipe.  You could also bake it in a casserole or do it in a pot on the stove.

2 8oz pkgs of cream cheese
1 cup Hot wing sauce
1 cup bleu cheese dressing
1 cup crumbled bleu cheese
4 cups cooked chopped chicken (about 3 breasts)

Place everything in the crockpot and turn it on.  Stir occaisionally as the cream cheese melts
or
Place in a casserole dish and bake at 350 till hot and bubbly
or
Place everything in pot on the stove heat on low stirring occasionally

Serve hot with your favorite crackers.... Mine are Ritz!!

I found this recipe at www.crockpotgirls.com 

Turtle Bars

Omg!! These are soo good!!

Again, I love getting all sorts of recipies in my email inbox.  I subscribe to so many cooking newsletters and websites. This one came from one of my new favorite sites www.justgetoffyourbuttandbake.com

Of course as soon as I read the recipie for Turtle Bars I had to make lthem right away.  As usual I didn't really check the cupboard before starting so I made a few adjustments.

The Recipe:
1 1/2 cup flour
1 1/2 cup quick oatmeal ( I used regular rolled oats)
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup butter melted
1 pkg 8 oz chocolate chips
1 jar 12 oz caramel syrup  ( I used caramel and butterscotch together)
1 cup chopped pecans, or almonds...  Don't chop too much (like i did)  You want bigger pieces of nuts in them.

Directions.....
 Combine first 6 ingredients untill well blended.  Love my mixer!!!  spread 1/2 into a 9x13 greased or parchment lined glass baking dish.  Press well.  Bake at 350 for10 minutes.  Spread chocolate chips and nuts over crust. drizzel carmel syrup over the top.  sprinkle remaining crumb mixture over the top.   Bake 15 minutes or till golden brown.  Let cool before cutting.

Mini Gingerbread Banana Muffins

I had a gingerbread mix in the cupboard from some deal I found somewhere.....  Not really wanting to make gingerbread I went to the Betty Crocker website and found this recipe.  I love having fresh muffins to snack on.  They make a great breakfast on the go or a good after school snack.  They also are very "freezer friendly".

You'll need

1 Betty Crocker gingerbread mix
2 mashed bananas
2 eggs
3/4 cup quick oats
3/4 cup water

Pre-heat oven to 350.  Mix everything together and spoon 2/3's full into mini muffin tins.  Bake for about 12 minutes.  Makes 48 mini muffins.

Have you every searched for recipies that use "mixes" for starters?  

Chocolate Covered Banana Bites

These are just FANTASTIC!!  So simple to make.  I'd suggest making them when the kids aren't around...  They are a great late night or after school snack.

You'll need:

2 bananas
1/4 cup chocolate chips
1 big spoonful of peanut butter (crunchy or creamy)

Slice the bananas thick

Melt chocolate chips and peanut butter in microwave for about1 minute, stir till smoothe. dip bananas in chocoate mixture (toothpicks help) and place on wax paper.  Flash freeze for about 1 hour then place in large ziplock bag or freezer container.  Double or tripple the recipe....Yes they go that fast!

Proscuito Basil Chicken

This recipe came from my email box.  I get a weekly email from Rachael Ray's show with her recipies......     Like always when I find a recipe that sounds good my menu planning goes right out the window and I have to make it now.  The recipe calls for Sage but I didn't have any so I used Basil leaves from our plant. I didn't have Marsala so I used Merlot....

The original recipe is called Chicken Samboltica

You'll need:

Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
Procuitto
Basil leaves (or Sage)
toothpicks
flour for dredging
Olive oil
Garlic
Baby Portabella Mushrooms
Angel hair pasta
1 cup Merlot (or Marsala)
1 cup chicken broth (optional in my opinion)


Cut your chicken breasts in half and pound til 1/4 in thick. (I fed a family of 5 with 3 breasts). salt and pepper each side. Lay procuitto on top of breast. top with basil leaf and secure with toothpick. Heat a couple of tablespoons of oliv oil in skilled (med high).  dredge chicken (both sides) in flour and place in skillet.  You will need to do this in batches.  turn when brown, remove to plate and cover with foil when both sides are brown. 

When second batch goes in, drop pasta into boiling water and cook al dente. Strain pasta and set aside, reserve 1 cup of starchy water.  

When chicken is done keep warm under foil on a plate. Reduce heat on stove to med.  Add Sliced mushrooms (as many as you want, the more the better) and garlic (I used 4 cloves minced) to skillet.
Cook for a few minutes then add the wine.  Once reduced a bit ad chicken broth. loosten all the brown bits from the pan with a wooden spoon. Ladel some sauce over the chicken on a serving plate. Toss pasta into the sauce, ad some starchy water if needed. Serve alongside the chicken.

This got a thumbs up from everyone in the family!

Both dishes by themselves are fantastic!!  I'll definately be making this one again.

Crescent Sausage Casserole

I came up with this idea one morning when I wanted to make a special breakfast.  Definately not the most original idea but it can be tweaked to what you have on hand and makes a nice weekend breakfast.

1 tube crescent rolls
1 pkg link sausage
8 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/cup shredded cheddar cheese

Spray a 9X13 casserole dish with cooking spray.  Unroll and smoosh the crescent rolls to cover the buttom and up the side just a bit.  Brown sausage in skilled and cut up into little bits, sprincle on crescent rolls. Scramble the eggs and the milk in a bowl then cook in skillet until the consistensly of a really thick stew.  Pour over sausage, spreading to the edges of pan. Top with cheese.  Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes.   Serve with maple syrup.

Grilled Romaine Salad

My husband and I have seen grilled lettuce recipies before and have always wanted to try one. We found this one in this months Family Circle Magazine.  It's a recipe from Guy Fierri. My picture doesn't do the salad justice but try it.  It's incredible!

First dice up 1/2 lb bacon and 3/4 cup red onion.

The recipe said put the skillet on high but I thought that was too much and turned it down.  using 1 T olive oil add the bacon and onion to the skillet and cook until bacon is crisp.  Remove bacon and onion,  and most of the grease. set bacon and onion aside, return pan to stovetop. 

The dressing.  In hot skillet add 1 Tsp olive oil and 1/2 cup Basalmic vinegar.  Cook 2-3 minutes until reduced.  Remove pan from heat to cool slightly.

Slice 2 Romain Lettuce hearts in 1/2. Trim end off but leave enough so the 1/2 head stays intact.  Brush with olive oil.  Heat up grill to high.  Place lettuce cut side down and cook breifly till grill marks appear......

Spoon dressing over grilled lettuce.  Top with bacon onion crispies, and top with crumbled blue cheese.    This takes salad to a new level!  Can't wait to find more grilled greens recipies

The bacon and onion cooked together makes a gread baked potato topping too!

Homemade Raised Glazed Donuts

As soon as I saw the post on one of my favorite websites.... www.grocerybudget101.com , I knew I had to try it.  I've made donuts before but not ones that had yeast in them.  The recipe and instruction for making the glazed donuts seemed easy enough to follow.  I made them this morning and they are really good!

They are actually pretty simple to make and don't take very long.

Ingredients:

2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast

2 T warm water

3/4 cup warm milk

2 1/2 T melted butter

1 egg

1/3 cup sugar

1 tsp salt

2 3/4 cup flour

1 tsp vanilla

Mix the yeast, 1 cup of the flour and the sugar together and set aside.  Combine butter, water, milk, and egg in a mixer. ( Hello, my lovely Kitchen Aid).  Blend in flour, yeast, and sugar mixture.  Blend well (about 3 minutes)  Add vanilla, salt, and remaining flour.  The dough should be very soft but not sticky.  cover dough and let rise till double in size. 

 This is the point where I usually get impatient with yeast recipies....  I pre heated the oven to 200 then shut it off.  Placed a pan of boiling water on the rack and placed my dough in the oven to rise.  It's called a moist rising method.  She explains it in the original recipe.    It really works.  Cut the rising time by alot.

Once the dough has risen turn it on to a floured board and roll it out to 1/2 inch thick.  Cut with a donut cutter.  I don't have one so I used two different sized buscit cutters.  I also cut some into bars when i got tired of re-rolling the dough.  It seemed to get more tough the more I handled the dough.

Let the donuts rest for about 15 minutes while you heat up the oil.  Fry in batches for about 60 seconds per side.  I used pwderd sugar and a little hot water to make a glaze and flavored it with vanilla.  We also tried to make a chocolate and a butterscotch glaze but they didn't turn out that great. 

It's a great recipe that I plan to make again.

The Elvis Cookie Sandwich

Oh yes,  sounds weird, but it is really tasty!

A friend at work found a picture of one and showed it to me.   I decided to try to find a recipe. I actually found the recipe her picture came from......  The answer came from   Dudefoods.com

The cookie is like a banana peanut butter cookie with bacon in it.  by themselves, the cookie is really good.  But when you build the sandwich with fresh peanut butter, banana and bacon slices, it takes on a whole new kind of food. 

The cookie recipe is very simple.....

6 strips of bacon cooked crisp and crumbled

1 egg

1/2 cup butter

1 cup white sugar

1 1/2 cups peanut butter

2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

3 mashed bananas

2 1/2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Mix it all up in your mixer and drop on to cookie sheets and bake for 15 minutes at 350.

The recipe makes a TON of cookies  

To make the sandwich take two cookies and spread them with peanut butter, add fresh banana slices and strips of bacon.   It sounds so weird I know you'll just have to try it.  Even if you don't like the sandwich the cookies are really good.

Pizza Balls

Exactly!!

I was inspired to make these when a friend took us to their favorite pizza place.  You could choose any 1 or 2 toppings to put in them and they came 6 in a basket. We would drizzle ranch on them.  My kids loved them!! But they could eat a ton of them....  So guess what???  I figured out how to make them.

I tried it with refrigerater pizza dough the other night and they were good.  Today I decided to use my own homemade pizza dough.  It's dirt cheap to make and tastes great!

Whichever way you decide to try to make them start with a bunch of dough cut into golf ball sized chunks....

Have your pizza toppings ready, garlic, cheese, pepperoni, onions, whatever you like.  Keep it to 1 or 2 plus the cheese.

Flatten your little ball of dough add your toppings and cheese. Wrap up the little guys and pinch to seal. Make sure they are sealed well.

Sounds simple but ther is a little bit of a trick to it.  If you get the dough too thin and don't seal it all the way your toppings will come out of it while it bakes.

Keep the rest of the dough covered while you work so it doesn't dry out.

If you are making some with different flavors be sure to mark them. I put a little green onion on the one with onions in it.

Bake at 450 for about 10 minutes.  Serve hot with ranch dressing to dip with.

I Baked most of mine for only about 4 minutes, cooled then froze. 

 The kids can bake them from frozen for an after school snack, or a quick lunch.

Using my pizza dough recipe I made 36 pizza balls.

Bread Machine Pizza Dough

I have used this recipe for Pizza and Calzones.  It's an easy recipe that comes out great every time.  I love using my bread machine for just the dough cycle.

1 Cup plus 2 Tabelspoons water
2 Tabelspoons olive oil
2Tabelspoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups flour
2 Teaspoons granulated yeast

Place ingredients in order listed in your bread machine. set machine to dough cycle.

When the dough cycle is complete, take the dough out of machine and place in well greased bowl, and roll the dough around so the whole ball is coated in oil.  cover and let rise in warm place for about 1/2 hour.

Knead the risen dough lightly.

At this point shape the dough how ever you want. Family size pizza, Mini Pizza's, or make calzones.  For a crispy crust par bake the dough before adding pizza toppings.  You could also par bake the crust and freeze for later use.   

This particular batch as a specific use.  I'm going to make PIZZA BALLS!!

No Fuss Meatloaf

Everyone hat their favorite meatloaf recipe.

Here's mine!

2 lbs ground beef
2 eggs
1 envelope italian salad dressing mix
2 Cup Bread crumbs

I use my Kitchen aid mixer for this.  No more messy hands and the seasonings get mixed throughout the meat.  Just throw it all in and turn it on....    Shape into a  small casserole dish. (2 lbs won't fit in a loaf pan)   Bake at 350 for 1 hour or until cooked through.

This is a great tastinig simple meatloaf.  I can take the meat out to thaw before work and throw everything together pretty fast.   Serve with twice baked potao casserole  and a green salad for a fantastic comfort food family meal. 

If doing "Freezer Cooking" line casserole dish with Saran wrap and freeze. Once its solid pull out of cassrole dish and wrap to freeze. To cook, unwrap and thaw in cassrole dish.  Bake as directed above

Twice Baked Potato Casserole

Sitting around the fooball field at practice one night I was told about this easy side dish

Boil enough potatos for your family. I always throw in a couple of extra.    If you chunk them before boiling the cooking time is only about 20 min. Drain potatoes.

Hello Kitchen Aid mixer......

Place potatoes in mixer, skins and all

Add  1/4 cup butter

         1/2 cup sour cream

         enough milk to make mashed potao consistancy

Then Load them up with shredded cheddar cheese, crumbled bacon, garlic, onions.  

Just picture a fully loaded baked potato all mixed together.  Place it in a casserole dish and bake until heated through and top is nice and browned.   This dish can easily be made ahead and baked later.

Honey Mustard Chicken

I once had a cookbook called 365 Ways to Cook Chicken.  Pretty good cookbook.  This family faorite recipe came out of it. I guess it's what you'd call my "go to" chicken recipe.

You'll need:

Boneless skinless chicken breasts. 
1/4 stick butter melted
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup spicy brown mustard
2 cloves minced garlic
Pinch of salt and pepper

I usually have boneless skinless chicken breasts  ready to go from the freezer and just pull out a pkg in the morning.  After work I can whip this dish up in about 10 minutes, then pop it in the oven.

Place chicken in baking dish.  Mix together all other ingredients and pour over chicken.
Bake at 350 for 50 minutes.  Baste chicken every 15 minutes with the juices.  The chicken gets a nice carmelized coating on it.  Serve with homemade rice a roni and a vegetable. 

Homemade Rice a Roni

I discovered a long time ago that 1 box of Rice a Roni was not enough for dinner for my family.... the thought of having to buy and make 2 boxes is more than a little rediculous.....   Making my own is so much easier, and cheaper. 

1 1/2 cup rice
1/2 cup broken thin noodles (1/2 inch or so)
2 T butter
1 T Italian herb seasonings
1/2 cup slivered almonds
3 cup chicken or beef broth

Melt butter in skillet on med heat. Add rice and noodles.  stir frequently till rice browns.  Add Almonds broth and herb seasonings.  Reduce heat to low and cover for 15-20 min.  check and stir once in a while to loosten rice from skillet.   Serve hot

Meat Pies

My Grandmother use to make meat pie. A whole pie filled with meat, potatoes, onions, and gravy.  While we absolutely loved it I found the kids when they were little weren't so keen on it. 1/2 of the pie would end up going to waste.  So I decided to make these little hand held versions.  Usually I would use leftover pot roast for the meat but I wanted to make up a batch for the freezer this time and I got a deal on beef sirloin roasts.  I used one to make Nana's Casserole and along side it cooked the other roast to make these pies.

 I just put some lipton onion soup mix and worcestershire on the roast and wrapped it in foil

Cooked it along side my  dinner for that night

Once cooled I cut it into little bite size pieces.  You could also just use leftovers for this.

Microwave a few potatoes until cooked, let cool and dice into small cubes.  Add to the cubed meat. Dice 1 onion and add to bowl.  This is also where I would add some frozen peas, (but I didn't have any).



 Onion gravy has the best flavor for this dish.  Make your own ow mix up a couple of cups of the cheap stuff.

 You want the mixture wet so it holds together but isn't soupy

You could be adventurous and make your own pie crust but I like the pre made kind from the store......

Unroll the pie crust and cut in half

Place about 3/4 cup of meat mixture on to 1/2 of crust

Fold over and pinch sides to seal pie

Place on baking sheet to bake. At this point you can either freeze them for an hour or so then place in ziplock bag.  They are great to pull out for a quick dinner, and there is no waste because it's 1 pie per person. 

Brush pies with egg white and bake at 400 until crust is nice and brown and filling hot.  About 30 minutes.  If baking frozen lower temperature and keep an eye on them.

Serve with extra Onion Gravy at the table.....