Salted Caramel Sauce

So we love caramel- in every form! I decided to try my hand at making some salted caramel sauce and it didn’t start off too good. First I discovered my candy thermometer was broken and then I burned the first batch, but luckily I didn’t give up because the second batch turned out good (and delish!).

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups sugar

12 tablespoons butter

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1 tablespoon salt (I used sea salt)

INSTRUCTIONS:

Let your heavy cream, and butter come to room temperature. Also, I recommend cutting your butter into small pieces to make it easier to melt. It’s also a good idea to measure out your sugar and salt as everything is timing critical.

Add 2 cups of sugar to a large saucepan (the ingredient list is short, but it does bubble, so use a larger saucepan). Put on medium heat and wait for the sugar to start to melt. When it does, start whisking. It’ll get clumpy (keep whisking) and then start to turn to liquid (keep whisking). Once the sugar has dissolved, stop whisking and watch for the amber/ golden-caramel color.

As soon as you see the amber color, add the butter and whisk until it has incorporated. Then remove from heat.

Slowly stir in the heavy cream and then the salt. Let it sit for about 10 minutes and then you can pour it into jars to store.

Of course, now is also the time enjoy on an ice cream Sunday, so don’t store it all!

Lemon Blueberry Cake

My mom loves lemony desserts so for her birthday I made a Lemon Blueberry Cake which may just be one of my favorite desserts I’ve ever made. It’s super lemon-y so if that’s not your thing, stay away from this!

Cake Ingredients:

• 2 cups plus 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour, sifted


• 2 teaspoons baking powder


• 1 teaspoon  salt


• 3 cups fresh blueberries


• 1/2 cup  sour cream


• 1/2 cup whole milk


• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract


• 1/2 teaspoon pure lemon extract


• 1 teaspoon lemon zest


• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened


• 1-1/2 cups white sugar


• 4 large eggs, at room temperature

Frosting Ingredients:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened


• 2 teaspoons lemon zest


• 5 cups icing sugar, sifted


• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice


• 1/4 cup whipping cream


• 1/4 teaspoon pure lemon extract


• a pinch of salt


• yellow food gel, optional

Lemon Curd Ingredients:

• 4 lemons (or 6 Meyer lemons)


• 2 whole eggs plus 4 egg yolks


• 1 cup sugar


• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature and cut into small even cubes

Instructions

Cake:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare your round cake pans with parchment paper, butter, and flower. I personally used only 2 layers, but I have seen versions of this cake done with three. Sift dry ingredients into medium bowl. Transfer 1 tablespoon flour mixture to larger bowl. Add fresh blueberries and toss to coat them with flour. Set remaining flour mixture and blueberries aside.


2. Stir sour cream, whole milk, vanilla extract, lemon extract and lemon zest in small bowl.


3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream butter and sugar, until pale yellow and very fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in eggs one at a time, until well combined.


4. Mix in flour mixture alternately with milk mixture, starting and ending with flour mixture. Stir until just combined. Gently fold in blueberries.


5. Divide batter equally among prepared pans. Bake cakes until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, about 25-30 minutes. Cool cakes in pans on racks for about 10 minutes, then invert onto racks until completely cool.

Frosting:

1. Cream butter and lemon zest in bowl of electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment, about 3 minutes. Slowly add icing sugar, mixing on low speed for about 2 minutes.


2. Add remaining ingredients and beat on med-high for 3-4 minutes until very fluffy. If using color gel, add a drop or two (really, no more than that, because too much sunshine really can be a bad thing!), then beat until blended.

Lemon Curd:

1. Wash citrus really well (with a bristled brush under cold water) and zest the citrus until you have 2 teaspoons of zest.


2. Slice the citrus in half and extract as much of the juice as you can using a citrus reamer.  Repeat the juicing until you have 2/3 cup of juice.


3. Get a double boiler ready by filling a saucepan with 1″ of water, then placing a metal/glass bowl on top of the saucepan. You will need to ensure the bowl fits snugly into the top of the saucepan and that the bottom of the bowl doesn’t touch the water (important, or your eggs will cook!).


4. Whisk the juice, whole eggs, egg yolks and sugar in the bowl until smooth. Add the butter cubes to the bowl, but don’t stir.


5. Heat the water in the saucepan over low heat until it simmers (not boils) and place the bowl atop the rim. Stirring gently, but constantly, using heatproof spatula or wooden spoon, cook until the curd has thickened and all of the butter has melted and is incorporated, about 10 minutes (this can vary). To test if the curd is thick enough, remove the spatula or spoon from the curd and check that it’s coated.


6. Strain the curd over a bowl using a fine-mesh sieve and then stir in the zest. Cover with plastic wrap pressed directly against the curd (to prevent a skin from forming) and chill for at least 3 hours (I like to chill it overnight). It also thickens up a bit more while chilling.

Assembly:

1. Transfer 1 cake layer to your board/plate/carrier.


2. Create a dam around the perimeter of the layer using frosting in a pastry bag fitted with a coupler, then spread lemon curd (apprx 1 cup) inside the dam--this prevents the curd from reaching out over edges.


3. If you have 3 layers, you will need to repeat the same steps above one more time.


4. Top with last cake layer, face-down (brown smooth side up). Spread thin layer (crumb coat) of over top and sides of cake, using offset palette knife and bench scraper for smooth finish. Place cake in refrigerator for about 30 mins to chill.


5. from refrigerator and using same method, frost cake with generous layer of frosting, smoothing again. For ruffled border, add frosting to your liking, garnishing with lemons and blueberries.

Due to the lemon curd filling, keep cake covered and refrigerated (for up to 2 days) but serve at room temperature.



A few notes:

You do NOT have to make your own lemon curd as this takes this cake to a whole new level- you certainly can buy it pre-made, but I like a challenge so I opted to make it .

Also, there are lots of tricks to getting a level cake layer, but what I have found to work most consistently for me personally is to lower the temperature by 50 degrees and bake for one-and-a-half times as long, so for instance with this cake, I baked it at 300 degrees for 45 minutes (keep in mind to still do the toothpick test as this bake time can vary based on the thickness of your levels).



We went to eat at TacoLu’s and enjoyed our dinner and cake, we even shared some with our server .



Try it soon if you love lemons- you will not be disappointed!

Bread & Butter Pickles

Ingredients:

5 1/2 cups (1 1/2 pounds) thinly sliced pickling cucumbers (but not too thin- you still want some crunch!)
1 1/2 Tablespoons kosher salt
1 cup thinly sliced sweet onion
1 cup granulated white sugar
1 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup light brown sugar (packed)
1 1/2 teaspoons mustard seeds
1/2 teaspoon celery seeds
1/8 teaspoon ground turmeric

Directions:

1. Combine cucumbers and salt in a large, shallow bowl; cover and chill 1 1/2 hours. Move cucumbers into a colander and rinse thoroughly under cold water. Drain well, and return cucumbers to bowl. Add onion to the bowl.

2. Combine sugar and remaining ingredients in a medium saucepan; bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Pour hot vinegar mixture over cucumber mixture; let stand at room temperature 1 hour. Cover and refrigerate 24 hours. Store in an airtight container in refrigerator up to 2 weeks.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake

 

Ingredients

Crust:

• 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs


• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough:

• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature


• 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar


• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar


• 1/4 teaspoon salt


• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract


• 3/4 cup flour


• 2/3 cup chocolate chips

Cheesecake Filling:

• 10 oz cream cheese, room temperature


• 1/4 cup sugar


• 1 large egg, room temperature


• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 325 F. Line an 8" square baking pan with parchment paper or foil allowing a little overhang and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.

2. Mix the melted butter and graham cracker crumbs until thoroughly combined. Press the mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake in preheated oven for 6 minutes.

3. While the crust is cooling, prepare the chocolate chip cookie dough. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, salt and vanilla until smooth and thoroughly combined, about 1 minute. Mix in the flour on low speed, and mix until just incorporated. Mix in the chocolate chips. Set aside. (*Note: This mixture is going to be dry...that’s okay. It’s rather like a crumble topping. You’re going to crumble it on top of the cheesecake layer.)

4. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl with an electric mixer cream together the cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Mix in the egg and vanilla on low speed just until incorporated. Pour the cheesecake batter into the prepared crust. Use your hands to form "clumps" of the cookie dough, smoosh it together and flatten it out.  Distribute the cookie dough onto the top of the cheesecake batter in teaspoon-sized clumps. Be sure to use all of the dough.

5. Bake for about 30 minutes, until the top feels dry and firm (the cookie dough) and the entire pan looks set if given a gentle shake. Move bars to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely. Chill in refrigerator overnight or for at least a couple hours.

6. Lift the bars out by the overhang and cut into squares for serving

Whopper Cake

My Dad loves Whoppers, so when I saw this cake idea I knew instantly it would be a big hit

Chocolate Cake
1 box Devil Food Cake Mix
1 pkg instant chocolate pudding mix (larger box)
1 cup sour cream
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350. In a very large bowl, mix together everything except chocolate chips. Batter will be thick. Stir in the chocolate chips. Pour batter into cake pan of choice (normally 2 round cake pans, so you can frost the middle). For cooking time use the back of the box directions and maybe add about 10 minutes. Use the toothpick method.
Chocolate Almond Buttercream Frosting

1 cup unsalted butter (softened, not melted)

3-1/2 cups powdered sugar

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp almond extract

4 tbsp heavy whipping cream

Cream butter for a few minutes in a mixer with the paddle attachment on medium speed. Sift 3 cups of powdered sugar and cocoa into a mixing bowl. Turn your mixer on the lowest speed, add in the sift ingredients until it is absorbed by the butter. Increase mixer speed to medium and add almond extract, salt, and heavy cream; beat for 3 minutes.

To decorate the Whopper Cake, you will need at least two (12 oz) boxes of Whoppers. I started building the Whoppers along the bottom in a row and then added the second row by offsetting them from the first row and worked my way around.  Continue to build on each row by offsetting them from the previous row.

**You could essentially use any type of chocolate cake and chocolate icing and just decorate with the Whoppers, but what fun is that?!

 

Taco Macaroni and Cheese

1 lb Macaroni or Shell pasta

1 lb. ground beef

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 packet of taco seasoning

1 cup salsa

8 oz cream cheese (cut into chunks)

2 cups milk

1/2 cup sour cream

2 cups shredded Mexican cheese blend

 

1. Cook pasta, drain.

2. Brown ground beef and sweat the onion together in a large skillet over med-high heat. When the beef is cooked through, drain off excess fat. Add garlic to the meat and cook for 30 seconds. Add taco seasoning and salsa and stir to combine; reduce heat to low.

3. In a medium sauce pan over med-high heat, add cream cheese, milk, and sour cream. Stir to combine. cook until the cream cheese is melted and the mixture is thick and bubbling. Stir in the shredded cheese.

4. Add cheese sauce and ground beef to pasta, stir to combine. Top each serving with salsa and sour cream.

 

This was very good, but we would prefer it to be spicier. I made it to take to Adam’s parents and grandparents so I kept the spiciness at a minimum, but if I am making it for us, I would definitely kick it up a few notches!

Cherry Limeade Cupcakes

Cherry Limeade Cupcakes

Cupcakes

3 cups flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 cup unsalted butter (room temp)

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp. limeade concentrate (thawed)

3 eggs

3/4 cup milk

Lime Syrup

3/4 cup limeade concentrate

1/2 cup powdered sugar

Frosting

3 3/4 cup powdered sugar

1/2 cup butter (soft)

4 Tbsp. (or more) maraschino cherry juice

 

In a medium bowl combine flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Stir together and set aside. In a separate bowl cream butter until smooth. Add sugar and beat until creamed. Add in the limeade concentrate and mix well. Add eggs one at a time, scraping down the bowl between each addition. Add the flour mixture in thirds, alternating with the milk- beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Mix ingredients just until moist. Divide batter evenly between cupcake liners. Bake for 15-20 minutes at 350. Cool.

Whisk together limeade concentrate and powdered sugar to make lime syrup. Poke holes in top of each cupcake with skewer and pour syrup over cupcakes, allowing to soak in.

To make frosting combine powdered sugar, butter and cherry juice in a bowl. Mix until smooth. Add more cherry juice if needed.

Frost cooled cupcakes and garnish with a lime slice and maraschino cherry.

 

I saw these on pinterest and thought Adam would love these. He’s crazy about cherry limeade (the drink) and I like just about anything with a lemon or lime flavor, but these weren’t our favorite cupcakes, as far as taste goes, but they were too cute not to remember. Of course, they weren’t bad, just not our favorite.

Tex Mex Casserole

I made this the other night and it was a big hit. It's a little on the spicy side, but definitely not over the top, at least not for my family. Mom came by shortly after I had pulled it out of the oven and wanted the recipe, so Mom, here it is :)

 

Ingredients

• 1 lb lean ground beef


• 1 cup chopped onion


• 1 tsp garlic, minced


• 1 can 10.75 ounce Campbell's Healthy Request Cheddar Cheese Soup


• 1 can 4.5 ounce green chilies


• 1 10 ounce can Rotel Original (you could also substitute this for mild or hot depending on your taste)


• 1 tbsp chili powder


• 1 tsp cumin


• ½ tsp salt


• ½ tsp pepper


• 1 can 10.75 ounce Campbell's Healthy Request Tomato Soup


• 2 cups cooked whole wheat penne pasta


• 1/2 cup reserved pasta water


• 1 15 ounce can Black Beans, rinsed and drained


• 1 15 ounce can Sweet Corn, drained


• 1 tsp chili powder


• 1/2 cup shredded cheese

 

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.


2. Using non-stick spray, spray a casserole dish and set aside.


3. In a large skillet, add garlic, onion and hamburger meat.


4. Brown hamburger meat, garlic, and onion until cooked through and the meat is no longer pink. Drain any liquid out of meat and return to low heat.


5. Add Campbell's Healthy Request Cheddar Cheese Soup, green chillies, and Rotel Tomatoes to meat mixture. Add in the tablespoon of chili powder, cumin, salt, and pepper. Stir on low heat for 3-5 minutes.


6. In a medium sized bowl, add Campbell's Healthy Request Tomato Soup and ½ cup of reserved water. Whisk together until well mixed.


7. In a medium-large stock pan, (Tip* reuse the same pot you used to cook the pasta) mix together cooked pasta, Campbell's Healthy Request Tomato Soup with water. Stir until mixed.


8. In a small bowl combine black beans and corn. Add 1 tsp chili powder and gently toss to mix.


9. Pour pasta into the bottom of casserole dish. Top with hamburger meat mixture and then add corn and black beans mixture to top.


10. Sprinkle the shredded cheese over the top.


11. Bake casserole in oven for 15 minutes until heated through.

Easy Blueberry Cheesecake

Another dessert I made for Mother's Day was this super simple no-bake Blueberry cheesecake. Honestly, I wouldn't call it a 'cheesecake', it was made with cream cheese but it was super light, and true cheesecake is typically a heavier (delicious) dessert.

Ingredients:

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 cup confectioners sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

8 oz. cool whip, thawed

10 oz. blueberry pie filling

9 inch graham cracker crust, recipe below (or you could buy a pre-made crust)

For the Crust:

1 1/2 cups of graham cracker crumbs

6 tablespoons butter, melted

Directions:

To make the crust, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine the graham cracker crumbs and melted butter in a small bowl and mix until all the crumbs are moistened. Transfer the crumbs to a 9-inch pie plate. Press the crumbs evenly into the bottom and up the sides of the pie plate. Bake in the preheated oven until it is beginning to brown, about 10 minutes. Allow the crust to cool completely.

For the filling, beat together the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla. Fold in the cool whip - make sure it is thoroughly combined. Spoon filling into prepared pie crust. Spread blueberry topping on top of filling. Refrigerate for 2 hours or until chilled.

Enjoy!

Banana Poke Cake

I'm not a big banana fan, I am not the least bit tempted by banana pudding and on the off chance that I'm eating an actual banana its usually because I'm trying to make wise decisions in the food area, however, my husband, is a big time banana pudding fan, so when I saw this recipe I thought it would be a good way to change it up from regular banana pudding. It's very easy and Ava helped me make it for Mother's Day lunch.

Ingredients:

1 box of yellow cake mix (plus ingredients listed on the back of the box)

2 packages of instant banana pudding (3.4 oz boxes)

4 cups of milk

1 container of whipped topping

Nilla Wafers

 

Directions:

Bake the cake mix according to the package directions in a 9x13 pan.

Allow the cake to cool for a few minutes (not completely) and using a wooden spoon handle or something similar begin poking holes in the cake.

The holes need to be large enough to allow the pudding to seep down through the cake and there isn't any rhyme or reason to the holes, just poke away! You also want to make sure the holes are all the way to the bottom of the cake.

After the holes have been poked, whisk the pudding with the 4 cups of milk. Stir until smooth.

Pour the pudding over the cake trying to cover all the holes. At this point, I let it settle and occasionally spread it again to cover wholes that had shown through while settling.

After the holes have been filled and the pudding spread evenly over the cake, place it in the refrigerator and allow it to cool. Once it has cooled completely, spread the whipped topping over the pudding.

Before serving, crush some Nilla Wafers (about 20-25) and spread them over the whipped topping layer. *I chose to do this right before serving to keep the wafers from being in the fridge, but you could do it at the same time you spread the whipped topping if you choose.

Be sure to keep it refrigerated :)

 

Sex in a Pan

Okay, so if I hear of a dessert that claims to be 'Sex in a Pan', I'm going to admit, I just have to try it.  Something claiming to be as good as ... well I'll just say- I had to try it. After I read the ingredients/directions, I realized its a slightly modified version of Chocolate Delight and we like Chocolate Delight, so I thought, why not...

 

Ingredients:

Crust

• 1 cup pecans, chopped


• 3 tbsp white sugar


• 1/2 cup butter


• 1 cup flour

Cream cheese layer

• 1 8 oz package cream cheese


• 1 cup powdered sugar (use 1/2 cup for less sweetness)


• 1 cup whipped cream or cool whip

Vanilla pudding

• 1 package of instant vanilla pudding (5.1 oz or 144 g)


• 3 cups milk (use 2 cups if you want a firmer pudding)
  

Chocolate Pudding

• 1 package of instant chocolate pudding (5.1 oz or 144 g)


• 3 cups milk (use 2 cups if you want a firmer pudding)
  

Last layer

• 
  
  2 cups whipped cream or cool whip


• 
  
  shaved chocolate (optional)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.


2. Spray a 9x13 inch baking dish with cooking spray.


3. In a mixer mix all the crust ingredients together and press the mixture into the prepared baking dish.


4. Bake it for about 20 minutes.


5. Let the crust cool.


6. In a mixer add the cream cheese, powdered sugar and the cup of whipped cream. Mix until light and fluffy. Once the crust is cool spread the cream cheese mixture over the crust. Place it in the fridge while you prepare the next layer to keep everything cool.


7. Prepare the chocolate pudding as per the instructions on the package. Spread the chocolate pudding over the cream cheese layer. Again, place it in the fridge to keep cool and firm up a little. This step is more critical on the pudding layers than other layers.


8. Prepare the vanilla pudding as per the instructions on the package. Spread over the chocolate pudding.


9. After the vanilla layer is a little firmer you can top with the whipped cream and sprinkle with the chocolate. I didn't have any chocolate shavings at the time I made this- it is completely optional, it just looks a little fancier when you add them!


10. Refrigerate for a couple hours so that it sets.

It was good, but I'm not sure I really tasted the vanilla layer enough to go through the extra trouble (versus the normal Chocolate Delight). And I would also say that I've had better desserts, so I'm not sure its worthy of the aforementioned title, but regardless, it didn't stay around our house for very long!

Chicken Rotel Pasta

 

Ingredients:

3-4 chicken breasts

1 green pepper; chopped

1 white onion; chopped

3/4 stick of margarine

8 oz spaghetti noodles

1 can Rotel tomatoes; drained

1 tbsp Worcestershire

1 lb Velveeta

 

Directions:

1.  In a large pot, cook 3-4 chicken breasts in about 2.5 quarts of water.  Save 3 – 3 1/2 cups of the chicken broth for cooking the spaghetti.

2.  While the chicken is cooking, sauté the green pepper and onion in a skillet with 3/4 cup of margarine.

3.  Once the chicken has been cooked thoroughly, remove it and set it aside to cool. Using the reserved chicken broth (3-3/12 cups) add the spaghetti to the pot to cook.

4.  Once the spaghetti is al dente add the can of drained Rotel and Worcestershire (you will not drain the liquid from the spaghetti, there shouldn't be much at this point). Cook until thickened.

5.  Cut the Velveeta cheese into smaller squares and add; stir until melted.

6.  Add the peppers and onion. Continue to stir.

7.  Tear the cooked chicken apart and add to the spaghetti mixture.  Salt and pepper well.

8.  Pour into a 9×13 baking dish and bake at 325 degrees for 30-40 minutes.  Remove from oven and let pasta set about 10 minutes before serving.



This recipe has a little kick to it, but it isn't overwhelmingly spicy and it received 2 thumbs up from every person that tried it!

 

Crescent Taco Bake

 

 

Ingredients

 

• 1 tube (8 ounces) refrigerated crescent rolls


• 2 cups crushed corn chips, divided ( I used Fritos)


• 1-1/2 pounds ground beef


• 1 can (15 ounces) tomato sauce


• 1 envelope taco seasoning


• 1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream (Optional)


• 1 to 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

 

Directions

 

• Unroll crescent dough into a rectangle; press onto the bottom and 1 in. up the sides of a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish. Seal seams and perforations. Sprinkle with 1 cup of chips; set aside.




• In a large skillet, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Stir in tomato sauce and taco seasoning; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Spoon over chips.




• Top with sour cream, which I left out because Adam doesn’t like sour cream, (he’s weird I know!) cheese and remaining chips.




• Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until crust is lightly browned. 

Adam loves tacos and I mean LOVES them so I knew this would more than likely be a big hit- I was so right!

Blueberry Cream Cheese Pastries

Ava and I made these one morning for breakfast. It’s a super simple treat that she was able to help with, plus it looks like you know what you are doing in the kitchen when they come out of the oven- aren’t they pretty?! They tasted just as good as they look too!

 

Ingredients:

1 pkg (8oz) Refrigerated Crescent Roll Dough

4 oz Cream Cheese (Softened)

2 Tbsp Sugar

1/2 C. Blueberries, divided

Directions:

Heat oven to 375. Unroll dough and press seams together along the perforations to create rectangular shapes. Combine the sugar and cream cheese and spread on the the rectangles leaving about a 1/2 inch on each side. Top evenly with blueberries. Bring together opposite corners of dough and press together. Place on baking sheet and bake for 11-13 minutes or until golden brown.

 

Rotel Cups

I made these for Christmas Eve at Memaw’s…You know, we don’t get together at Memaw’s and she isn’t even there, but I think I will forever call it Christmas Eve at Memaw’s, it just doesn’t seem right not too. Anyways, they were a big hit. Plus they were super simple and quick- two things that are important during the Christmas season!

3 pkg. Fillo Pastry Cups (thawed)
1 Can Rotel (drained)
1 bag Real Bacon Bits
1 cup Cheese (shredded)
1 cup Mayo

Mix all the ingredients and spoon into the pastry cups.

Cook at 350 for 15 minutes.

Told you it was quick and easy- perfect for when you have a lot of people to feed!

Neiman Marcus Dip

I’m not real sure why this is called Neiman Marcus dip, but I’ll take anything with NM on it ! I made this for when we had family over and it was a hit.

Ingredients:

1/2  cup sliced almonds (toasted is optional)
6 slices bacon, cooked,crumbled and cooled (you could also cheat and use Real Bacon Bits if pressed for time)
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated
5-6 green onions, sliced thinly
1-1/2 cup mayonnaise
salt. to taste

Directions:
1. If you choose to toast the almonds,  Preheat the oven to 350F.  Spread almonds on a cookie sheet and toast for 10 minutes and let cool.  It’s totally optional whether you want to toast them or not. I’ve also seen it made with pecans, which would probably be really good as well.

2. Combine all ingredients until well mixed.

4.  Chill for a couple of hours.

5. Serve with crackers or apple slices.

 

 

.

Crockpot Chicken Fajitas

Chicken Fajitas

Ingredients:

• 2 peppers (any combination of red, green, or yellow will work)


• 1 onion


• 1 1/2 pound chicken breast


• 1/2 cup chicken broth


• taco seasoning packet


• 1 tsp. chili powder


• 1/2 tsp. paprika


• 1 tsp. salt

You will also need tortillas, cheese, sour cream, and any other toppings you choose.

Directions:

1. If prepping and freezing, just put all the ingredients in a large freezer bag. (Make sure you label the bag with instructions.)


2. When it’s time to cook it, dump it all in your slow cooker and cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 5-6 hours.


3. When it’s cooked, shred the meat and add it back to the pepper mixture and serve on warm tortillas and add any additional toppings (such as: sour cream, cheese, salsa, hot sauce)

 



They are super simple and taste good- two combinations that always work well together

Green Chile

I don’t know if you remember, but when we were out in Denver October 2011, we had some green chile that would knock the socks off of anyone and ever since then we have been trying to recreate it.

Last year we made 2 batches. The first one didn’t have the flavor, so it was back to the drawing board. The 2nd batch we did had the flavor but it was wayyyyy too hot. So we made a few adjustments and I believe we have hit the nail on the head!

Without further ado, I give you our Green Chile recipe.

Green Chile

Ingredients:

¼ cup vegetable oil

4 lbs. Boston Butt Pork Roast (aka pork shoulder)- Diced into bite sized pieces

¼ cup minced garlic

1 medium onion, chopped

¾ cup flour

2 tbsp of Salt

2 tbsp of Pepper

2 pounds of Anaheim Chile peppers

¹/₂ - ¾ pounds of Jalapeno peppers

1-28 oz can Rotel with Green Chiles

1 quart Chicken Broth

1 quart Water

Spices for Spice Mix:

2 tsp Celery Salt

1 Tbsp dried oregano

2 Tbsp Cumin

2 Tbsp dried cilantro

2-3 tbsp salt

Preparation:

1. Roast peppers* and remove outer layer of skin. Slice the peppers and remove the seeds. Once the peppers are roasted and seeded, dice the peppers and set aside for later.

2. Mix together spices and set aside.

Cooking Directions:

1. Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the pork and brown. Add garlic, salt, and pepper. When pork is browned drain well. Sprinkle in ¼ - ¾ cups of flour to absorb remaining oil.

2. In a large pot combine the pork, Rotel tomatoes, green chiles, chicken broth, water, and spice mix.

3. Simmer for 4 hours

4. After it has simmered for about 2 hours, use a blender/mixer to shred the pork, continue cooking

5. Optional- May add flour to thicken

*To roast peppers, place peppers on very hot grill (or under a broiler) and slightly char the outside of the peppers. Place in a brown bag (or plastic will work) and let them sit for 15-20 minutes. After allotted time has passed, remove from bag and begin peeling off the outer layer of the skin. I typically cut off the top, slice it down the middle, open it up, scrape out the seeds and flip it over. Then I *gently* use my knife to scrape off the outer layer of skin.

**Be sure to wear gloves to protect your hands when handling hot peppers.

 

Chicken Taco Soup

1 onion, chopped

1 (16 oz) can chili beans

1 (15 oz) can black beans

1 (15 oz) can whole kernel corn, drained

1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce

1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce

12 oz broth

2 (10 oz) cans diced tomatoes with green chilies, undrained

1 (1.25 oz) pkg taco seasoning

3 whole skinless, boneless chicken breasts

2 cups rice, uncooked

1 cup water

shredded Cheddar cheese (optional garnish after cooking)
sour cream (optional garnish after cooking)
crushed tortilla chips (optional garnish after cooking)

Combine all ingredients into a Ziploc bag except for rice and water. Freeze. Thaw and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Add rice and water after thawed (or at least an hour before serving). Serve topped with shredded Cheddar cheese, a dollop of sour cream, and crushed tortilla chips, if desired. Served approx. 5-6 people.

**When I initially made this dish it wasn’t quite hearty enough for us (mainly me since I don’t eat the chicken) so I added the rice and it ended up being great!

Potato Soup (in the Crockpot)

 

Adam and I both LOVE potato soup, so when I saw there was a recipe that I could freeze and then dump into the crockpot I was all over it! It ended up being so good, both of us liked it, so it has officially made it into the keeper pile!

Ingredients:

30 oz bag of frozen, shredded hash browns
32 oz container of chicken broth. Veggie broth works fine too
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder
8 oz cream cheese (not fat free, it wont melt in)

 

Directions:

Cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 4-5 hours. About 1 hour before serving, add in the cream cheese and heat until thoroughly melted.

 

If you are making this and freezing it to use at a later date, jus combine all the ingredients in a freezer bag, except for the cream cheese since it will not freeze well. The day you want to eat it, just dump the bag’s contents into the crockpot and cook as the directions indicate.

 

It was super creamy and Adam even enjoyed it as leftovers (which is saying something!) We serve it with cheese and bacon.