Fabulous Fruit Salad

This is a simple fruit salad with a wonderful sweetness. I got the idea from Jason's Grandma.

INGREDIENTS

8 oz can pineapple tidbits
11 oz can mandarin oranges
15.25 oz can Bartlett pears
15 oz can peaches
10 strawberries
2 kiwis
1 banana (I didn't add this because the store was out)
1/4 cup reserved fruit juice
1/3 to 1/2 package of pudding mix (i usually use french vanilla, but they were out, so I tried cheesecake and it was great....you can always use other flavors, such as banana cream)

DIRECTIONS

Drain (but reserve some of the juice) all the canned fruits and chop all the fruit. Combine fruit in a bowl with about 1/4 cup reserved fruit juice (I used some of the pineapple juice). Mix in the pudding and mix until well combined. Add more fruit juice if you feel it needs more. Let is hang out in the frig a few hours before serving. If you want to make it even better you can serve the fruit salad with some whipped cream on top!

The Moistest Slow Cooker Pot Roast

This was seriously the moistest pot roast I have ever made...and probably least healthy. It was good though!

INGREDIENTS

Roast (mine was about 2.5 lbs)
1 can of Roasted Garlic Cream of Mushroom Soup
1 pkg of Lipton's Beefy Onion Soup Mix
1.5 to 2 cups of water
pepper
thyme

DIRECTIONS

Combine the last five ingredients in the slow cooker and mix until well combined. Place your roast in and cook on low. I cooked mine while I was at work...about 11 hours, but it does not have to cook that long. If you want to use the juice as a gravy you can coat the roast in flour before you place it in the slow cooker and that will help make the juice more like a gravy.

Stuffed Peppers and Tomatoes

I had some leftover fried cabbage (cabbage sauteed in oil and bacon grease...so bad for you, but oh so good) and had this great idea to use it in stuffed peppers. Since I do not like green peppers I also made a stuffed tomato version.

INGREDIENTS

ground beef, cooked and spiced how you like it

cook cabbage, chopped up

cooked rice

can of tomato sauce

tomatoes/green peppers for stuffing

cheese (optional)

DIRECTIONS

Combine the first four ingredients and set aside (keep warm). Cut the tops off the tomatoes and green peppers and scoop out the insides. Place your tomatoes and green peppers open side up in a baking dish. Sprinkle some shredded cheese in the bottom of each, fill with the meat mixture, and top with more shredded cheese. Bake on 350 for about 20 minutes. For a softer pepper and quicker cook time try blanching your pepper before stuffing it.

Eat to the Beat -Be My Guest for Beef Ragout

This was my first blog event...Eat to the Beat from Elly's Blog. I went with my favorite Disney movie, Beauty and the Beast. There is a song titled "Be Our Guest" and it mentions many dishes. Here are part of the lyrics:

Be our guest! Be our guest!
Put our service to the test
Tie your napkin 'round your neck, cherie
And we'll provide the rest
Soup du jourHot hors d'oeuvres
Why, we only live to serve
Try the grey stuff
It's delicious
Don't believe me? Ask the dishes
They can sing, they can dance
After all, Miss, this is France
And a dinner here is never second best
Go on, unfold your menu
Take a glance and then you'll
Be our guest! Be our guest!
Beef ragout
Cheese souffle
Pie and pudding "en flambe"
We'll prepare and serve with flair
A culinary cabaret!
You're alone
And you're scared
But the banquet's all prepared
No one's gloomy or complaining
While the flatware's entertaining
We tell jokes!
I do tricks
With my fellow candlesticks

I know nothing about Beef Ragout so I did some searching on the Internet and found this Beef Ragout - Country Style recipe. I really enjoyed the recipe and next time I plan to add some tomato paste and something with more salt.

INGREDIENTS

2 pounds beef chuck roast, cut in 1 1/4 inch cubes
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 large onions,each cut in 8 pieces
4 large garlic cloves, peeled and minced
28 ounces tomatoes, canned, drained, quartered
5 tablespoons parsley leaves fresh chopped, divided
1 teaspoon thyme leaves dried
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup red wine burgundy
1 cup beef broth
1/2 pound mushrooms quartered
6 ounces olives pitted, ripe, drained

DIRECTIONS

Trim excess fat from beef cubes.

Brown cubes in hot oil in Dutch oven over high heat (in 2 batches, if necessary).

Add onions; brown lightly; add garlic.

Stir in tomatoes,3 tbsp. parsley, thyme, salt and pepper.

Add wine and beef broth to just cover; bring to boil.
Reduce heat; cover and simmer 1 hour.
Add mushrooms;cover and simmer 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until beef is tender.
If desired,simmer, uncovered, last 10 minutes to reduce liquid.
Add olives; heat through; stir in remaining parsley.
Serve ragout with hot cooked noodles, rice or mashed potatoes
Garnish with parsley.
Makes 4 to 6 servings

Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs

This recipe has a long story....but let me just say that my oven stopped producing heat while I was making this dinner, and because of that I learned you can cook pasta in the microwave! I am not sure where I found this recipe....but I am pretty sure it was adapted from a Rachael Ray recipe. It was SO good. This was also the first time I had ever made meatballs.

INGREDIENTS

1 lb hamburger
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup milk
1 egg
2 tsp parsley
1/2 cup shredded parmesan
salt
Mozzarella, cut into 1/2 in cubes
garlic
Italian blend seasoning

DIRECTIONS

Mix milk with bread crumbs set aside to soak up milk. Add hamburger, egg, parsley, parmesan, salt. Mix all together until well blended. Scoop 2 tsp of meat mixture into your hand, add a cube of cheese in the middle, roll a ball around cheese cube. Bake on cookie sheet at 350 for 25-30 min.

Peanut Butter Bars

I believe I saw these on Amber's blog and they were fantastic! It was like eating a big 'ol Reese's!

INGREDIENTS

1 ½ cups graham cracker crumbs (very finely crushed)
2 cups powdered sugar
8 tablespoons butter, melted
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 ½ cups chocolate chips (I used half milk chocolate and half semi-sweet)

DIRECTIONS

Mix the crumbs and sugar until completely combined.
Add the melted butter and peanut butter to the mixture above.
Mix well and press into a 9x13 inch pan.
Melt the chocolate chips in microwave
Spread chocolate over the bars.
Refrigerate until hard.
Let sit at room temperature for about 15 minutes before cutting.

My Notes: Next time I want to try them out in an 8X8 or 9X9 dish so they are nice and thick!

Sausage Gravy

INGREDIENTS

1 lb bulk pork sausage

1/4 cup flour

2 cups half and half

salt

pepper

sage

DIRECTIONS

Crumble and cook sausage, sprinkle in some sage, cook until browned. Stir in flour until dissolved. Gradually stir in half and half. Cook gravy until thick and bubbly. Season with salt and pepper.

Serve hot over biscuits, I used store bought.

Shrimp and Pasta in Parmesan Cream Sauce

This really isn't a "recipe"...but it was a great was to use up some leftover Parmesan Cream Sauce from the blog entry below.

On the stove top I reheated my leftover cream sauce and added some white wine to thin it out. Then I simply added some cooked pasta and steamed shrimp...viola! I topped it with some grated parmesan and parsley. It was really good!

Pepperoni and Cheese Stuffed Chicken with Parmesan Cream Sauce

This was very good! It could of used a little something more to flavor the chicken meat. I think next time I will either marinate the chicken or well season both sides of the chicken before stuffed and rolling.

INGREDIENTS

boneless skinless chicken breasts
sliced pepperoni

cheese (I used tomato basil sharp white cheddar....SO good)

extra virgin olive oil

Italian seasoning

salt

pepper

toothpicks

For the Parmesan cream sauce I made a basic bechamel sauce and added some Parmesan cheese, garlic and pepper. (I cut the linked recipe in half).

DIRECTIONS

Between wax paper pound out your chicken breasts.

Layer down your sliced pepperoni (I used 11 small slices per chicken breast).

Layer on your cheese (I used 2 quarter inch slices per chicken breast).

Secure with toothpicks.

Place in oven safe dish, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, and sprinkle with salt, pepper and Italian seasoning to your liking.

Bake on 325 until done.

If you choose to make the Parmesan Cream Sauce you can do that will the chicken it baking.

Photo without the Parmesan Cream Sauce:

Lemon Curd and Raspberry Filled Cupcakes

This recipe was very "Sandra Lee".....but it was good!! I had some lemon curd and wanted to do something fun with it.

INGREDIENTS

Lemon Cake Mix (and ingredients required to make the mix)

Lemon Frosting

Lemon Curd

Raspberry Preserves

DIRECTIONS

Baked your lemon cake mix in cupcake form as directed by the box.

While they are baking, mix together the lemon curd and raspberry preserves to suit your taste. You are going to need more raspberry preserves than lemon curd since the lemon curd is very powerful.

One the cupcakes have cooled use the cone method (cut out a cone shape from the top, cut off the point of the cone, stuff the hole with filling, then put the top back on) fill them with the mixture of lemon curd and raspberry preserves.

Frost the cupcakes (this will also cover up and "uglies" from the coning).

**You need to keep these in the refrigerator because of the lemon curd.

Melissa's Three Bean Beef Chili

I had a craving for Chili that would not go away. There are so many chili recipes out there and I could not choose! So, I made up my own and it came out GREAT. I did use a package of chili seasoning mix since this was my first time....but you will see I added my own spices to it as well. I'm ready for another bowl right now!

INGREDIENTS

1 lb ground chuck
1 lb stew meat
1 - 29 oz can diced tomatoes and green chilies
2 - 15 oz cans tomato sauce
1 can pinto beans
1 can black beans
1 can red chili beans
4 stalks of celery
Texas Pete hot sauce
hot chili sauce
mild jalapeno hot sauce
1 pkg McCormick's chili seasoning
my own seasonings - garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, chili powder, cayenne pepper, smoked paprika, chipotle seasoning, cumin, thyme, oregano and brown sugar

Optional

sour cream

shredded cheese (I used Chipotle Cheddar)

DIRECTIONS

Cook the ground chuck on the stove top with some garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, chili powder, cayenne pepper, smoked paprika, chipotle seasoning, cumin, thyme and oregano.

In your slow cooker combine all the above ingredients (including all the spices you cooked the meat in).

I cooked mine on low while I was at work...which was over 10 hours.

Please note: I put my stew meat in the slow cooker raw so it would cook slowly and be nice and tender...and it was!!

Sweet, Salty Frito Candy

Since chocolate pretzels are a great thing, I thought I would try this recipe out. I am always up for a no-bake sweet recipe! This was very good and everyone liked it!

INGREDIENTS

2 cups pretzels

1 cup Fritos

8 mini peanut butter cups

1 stick unsalted butter (8 tablespoons)

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips (or however many you want)

Optional: Some peanuts for the top

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line a 13×9 inch pan with parchment paper or no-stick (Release) foil.

Place pretzels in food processor and pulse to break - don’t pulverize. Add Fritos to processor and break them up with pretzels.

Dump into pan.

Unwrap peanut butter cups and throw them in the mix.

Place butter in a non-stick saucepan and melt over medium heat. When butter is melted, stir in brown sugar. Bring mixture to a full boil and boil for 1 minute, stirring once or twice. Pour over Frito mixture and bake for 8 minutes.

Remove pan from oven and sprinkle chocolate chips over hot candy. Return to oven for 1 minute to soften chips. Spread softened chocolate chips over bars.

Cool at room temperature until you feel the pan is cool enough to be transferred to your refrigerator, then transfer to refrigerator to set the chocolate. When chocolate is set, lift from pan and break the candy up as you would almond toffee. You can eat it cold or let it come back down to room temp. It doesn’t have to be refrigerated, really.

My Notes: I crushed the pretzels (sticks) and Fritos in a bag with a rolling pin. I also cut the mini Reese's into quarters. Since I had mini chocolate chips on had, so I used them...plus they melted faster =).

Caramelized Baked Chicken

I thought I would try this recipe from Allrecipes since I had everything on hand and the ratings were so high.

INGREDIENTS

3 pounds chicken wings (I used chicken breasts)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 cup honey
1 clove garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

Place chicken in a 9x13 inch baking dish. Mix together the oil, soy sauce, ketchup, honey, garlic, salt and pepper. Pour over the chicken.

Bake in preheated oven for one hour, or until sauce is caramelized.

My Notes: As stated above I used chicken breasts for this. I also cut the recipe down to accommodate two pieces of chicken. It was just "ok". If I make it again I plan to brown it in the sauce mixture on the stove top, then transfer it to the oven. I also spooned the mixture over the chicken while it was baking so it had a nice coating.

Chocolate-Vanilla Swirl Cheesecake

On my favorite board on The Nest, Katie was nice enough to put together a recipe exchange. We all decided on desserts for the exchange due to some peoples dietary restrictions. I am not sure who submitted the recipe I made (yet)...but I am pretty sure they got it from the Kraft website.

INGREDIENTS

20 Oreo Chocolate Sandwich Cookies, crushed (about 2 cups)
3 Tbsp. butter, melted
4 pkg. (8 oz. each) Cream Cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup Sour Cream
4 eggs
6 squares Semi-Sweet Baking Chocolate, melted, cooled

DIRECTIONS

PREHEAT oven to 325°F. Line 13x9-inch baking pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over sides of pan. Mix cookie crumbs and butter; press firmly onto bottom of prepared pan. Bake 10 min.

BEAT cream cheese, sugar and vanilla in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add sour cream; mix well. Add eggs, one at a time, beating on low speed after each addition just until blended. Remove 1 cup of the batter; set aside. Stir melted chocolate into remaining batter in large bowl; pour over crust. Top with spoonfuls of the remaining 1 cup plain batter; cut through batters with knife several times for swirled effect.

BAKE 40 min. or until center is almost set. Cool. Refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight. Use foil handles to lift cheesecake from pan before cutting to serve. Store in refrigerator.

Buffalo Chicken Burgers

I wanted to make a burger that had a buffalo chicken wing taste. Jason thought it was too salty...but I love salt and thought it was perfect. Since I did not added any salt I guess it was the cheese or wing sauce that had a high sodium content. Nonetheless - I LOVED it!

INGREDIENTS

Ground Chicken

Wing Sauce (I used Budweiser brand - SO good)

Blue Cheese Crumbles

Bread Crumbs (you may not need this depending on how "loose" your meat mixture is)

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

DIRECTIONS

Combine the ground chicken, wing sauce, blue cheese and bread crumbs (feel free to add an egg if you need the meat to bind more). Shape into patties and cook on your stove top, flip as needed. I added some more wing sauce and extra virgin olive oil to the pan to keep the burger from sticking.

Classic Pecan Pie

This was my first Pecan Pie! When trying to find just the right recipe I thought the best place to look would be the Karo Syrup website. Everyone loved it so much I have been told that I HAVE to make it for Christmas dinner!

Prep Time: 15 minutes - Cook Time: 55 to 60 minutes - Yield: 1 pie

INGREDIENTS

3 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup Karo® Light OR Dark Corn Syrup
2 tablespoons butter OR margarine, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups (6 ounces) pecans
1 (9-inch) unbaked or frozen** deep-dish pie crust

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Beat eggs slightly with fork in medium bowl. Add sugar, Karo® Corn Syrup, butter and vanilla; stir until blended. Stir in pecans. Place pie dough in pie pan. Pour pecan filling into pie crust.

Bake 55 to 60 minutes or until knife inserted halfway between center and edge comes out clean.

Cool on wire rack.

**To use prepared frozen pie crust: Place cookie sheet in oven and preheat oven as directed. Pour filling into frozen crust and bake on preheated cookie sheet.

TIPS: Pie is done when center reaches 200°F. Tap center surface of pie lightly - it should spring back when done. For easy clean up, spray pie pan with cooking spray before placing pie crust in pan. If pie crust is over-browning, cover edges with foil.

My Notes: Once I poured the filing in the crust I added in a little more pecans so it looked nice and full!

Lemon Bundt Cake with Glaze

I was looking for a easy and moist recipe for Lemon Bundt Cake. I found this one on Allrecipes and it was WONDERFUL...so moist and lemony!

INGREDIENTS

1 (18.25 ounce) package lemon cake mix
1 (3.4 ounce) package instant lemon pudding mix
3/4 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1 cup lemon-lime flavored carbonated beverage (I used Sprite)

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease and flour a 10 inch Bundt pan.

In a large bowl, combine cake mix and pudding mix, then stir in the oil. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then stir in the lemon-lime soda.

Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool.

My Notes: Mine took about 20 minutes longer to cook. I also made a glaze using powdered sugar and some left over Sprite. Next time I want to use some lemon juice and lemon zest with the powdered sugar instead of Sprite.

Hershey's Deep Dish Brownies

While working on an all sweets menu for a family gathering I thought brownies would be a good way to bring in some chocolate. I found this Hershey's recipe and thought I would give it a try.

INGREDIENTS

3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks) butter or margarine, melted
1-1/2 cups sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 eggs
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease 8-inch square baking pan.
2. Combine butter, sugar and vanilla in bowl. Add eggs; beat well with spoon. Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt; gradually add to egg mixture, beating until well blended. Spread batter evenly into prepared pan.
3. Bake 40 to 45 minutes or until brownies begin to pull away from sides of pan. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into bars. About 16 brownies.

VARIATION: Stir 1 cup REESE'S Peanut Butter Chips, HERSHEY'S SPECIAL DARK Chocolate Chips or HERSHEY'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips into batter before spreading batter in pan. (I Added in some chocolate chips!)

My Notes: Aside from adding in chocolate chips, I had to cook mine a little longer...and probably could of cooked them another 5-10 minues, but I like my brownies a little undercooked.

Dorito Chicken

Not sure why the pic came out blurry...but you get the idea.

Jason is a BIG fan of Doritos. When I told I saw this recipe he kept asking when I was going to make it. I finally did....it was ok. We think it needed some more flavor (even though I added some spice). It was missing something.

INGREDIENTS

Egg Wash

Chicken Breast

Crushed Doritos

Ranch Dressing (I added this)

Hot Sauce (I added this)

Red Pepper Flakes, Cumin, Garlic, Smoked Paprika and Chili Powder (I added these)

DIRECTIONS

Crush Doritos and mix in spices. Mix ranch and hot sauce together. Dip chicken breast in egg wash, then ranch mixture and lastly dip into Dorito mixture.

Bake at 350 for about 25 minutes (or until done).

I believe the orginal source of this recipe is: Southern Living's Easy Weeknight Favorites

Peanut Butter Delights

Jason was asking for something that was salty and sweet. I saw how simple these treats were in Carrie's blog and thought I'd give them a try.

INGREDIENTS

Ritz Crackers

Peanut Butter

Bakers Chocolate (I used semisweet...use can also use "Almond Bark")

DIRECTIONS

Spread the peanut between two Ritz crackers.

Melt chocolate

Dip peanut butter filled crackers in chocolate.

Place them on wax paper and allow them to set (I put mine in the frig).

*I meant to add some almond extract to the chocolate....but got excited and forgot. Next time I will add it in...I think it will be a nice touch.