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Thursday, November 1, 2012

Eggplant Parmesan

I like good food, but I am kind of a lazy cook.  I prefer things that taste good, but didn't take me a long time to make.  Usually when I find something that is labor intensive, even if it's good, I won't make it again because the final product wasn't SO good that it justifies how long it took to make.  
This is different.  This is totally worth it.
 
Eggplant Parmesan
1 lb. eggplant, cut into 1/4 inch rounds
1 1/2 tsp. salt
Peel and slice the eggplant. I prefer to peel mine, but you don't have to. The skin is edible, it's just a little tough for my taste. Place in layers in a colander and sprinkle each layer with salt.  Place over an empty bowl.  Let stand for 30-45 minutes until the eggplant has released at least 1 tablespoon liquid.  The eggplant will change color, but it's fine. Rinse the slices, lay on a paper towel or clean kitchen towel. Press firmly to release as much liquid as possible.  This process prevents the eggplant from becoming mushy.
After about 20 minutes, place a cookie sheet in the oven and heat to 425.
Meanwhile mix together:
1 cup bread crumbs (I use Italian flavor, but you don't have to)
3/4 cup Parmesan cheese (grated fresh or in the can, doesn't matter)
pinch of salt
Set aside
Beat three large eggs and put in a bowl.  Then combine 3/4 cup flour with 1/4 tsp. pepper in a large zip-loc bag.  Add the drained and dried eggplant and shake.  Then dip the eggplant slices in the egg and
bread crumb mixture.  Set aside.
Remove the cookie sheet.  Add 3 tablespoons olive oil to the sheet and tilt to coat.  Place the eggplant slices on the cookie sheet and place back in the oven for 30 minutes (turning once at 20 minutes).
While the slices are baking, you make the sauce.
Sauce
2 cans diced tomatoes (or 30 oz. fresh chopped tomatoes)
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1 T. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, coarsely chopped
Salt and Pepper to taste (if you use fresh tomatoes, you'll need more salt)
Blend half the tomatoes until smooth.  Add pepper, garlic, onion and olive oil to a skillet and saute over medium heat 3-5 minutes.  Then add the pureed tomatoes and chopped tomatoes and increase heat to bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes.  Add chopped basil and salt and pepper. 

Spray a 2 qt. casserole dish, or lasagne pan with Pam.  Pour in some of the prepared sauce.  Add eggplant in layers, putting sauce and mozzarella cheese between each.  You should have two layers, with a few slices making a third.  Top with remaining sauce and more cheese.  Bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes, until cheese is melted and dish is bubbling.     
 

Monday, October 29, 2012

Spinach Tortellini in a Creamy Lemon Sauce


 

For this recipe, you need tortellini, which are little pastas that come with cheese or veggies stuffed inside. If you've never worked with them before, they are wonderful. They can be found in the dry pasta aisle.  If you've got access to a WinCo foods, they can be found with the bulk items, which is much cheaper than buying a pre-packaged bag by the dry pasta.

12 oz. Tortellini
4 oz. bacon (about 4 strips)
3 cloves garlic
1/4 - 1/2 cup chopped onion
2 T. flour
2 C. milk
3/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 1/2 tsp. basil
1/4 tsp. red pepper (optional)
1 medium lemon
2 C. roughly chopped, packed spinach
1 C. Mozzarella cheese, grated
1 C. Parmesan cheese, grated

Cooke tortellini according to package directions. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place bacon in a skillet and cook until crisp.  Remove bacon and drain on a paper towel.  Reserve two tablespoons bacon drippings and discard the rest.  Add garlic and onion to pan and saute 1-3 minutes. Add flour and stir with a whisk to make a roux.  Slowly add milk and continue to stir until smooth. Add salt, peppers, basil and bring to a simmer
While sauce is simmering, zest the lemon to produce 2 tsp. zest.  Cut the lemon in half and juice.  Add zest and 1 T. juice to the sauce and simmer additional 2-3 minutes until thickened. Remove from heat.  Drain tortellini and add the bacon and sauce to the pasta.  Then add the spinach and cheese.  Place in a 9X9 baking dish and bake (covered) for 25-30 minutes.  You can reserve some of the cheese to place on top, if desired. Let sit approx. 10 minutes before serving.    

Saturday, October 20, 2012

Cream of Mushroom Soup

I'm not a good soup photographer, so you don't get a picture of this.  I got the recipe from this blog and she is a good soup photographer.  She's even got some pictures of mushrooms on there, just in case you don't know what mushrooms look like.  However, don't follow her recipe. There's way too much of some things and not enough of other things.  I've improved upon it, after making it once, being disappointed and trying to fix it.  

Cream of Mushroom Soup
2-3 cups roughly chopped mushrooms
1/2 a medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 T. olive oil
1 T. butter
1/2 tsp. thyme
2 cups chicken stock (or two chicken bullion cubes with 2 cups of water)
1 bay leaf
1/4 tsp. black pepper (or a little more to taste, I'm not a huge fan of pepper)
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 T. flour
3 T. water
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup milk

Heat the oil and butter in a saucepan.  Add the onion, mushrooms and garlic and saute about 5 minutes.  Add the thyme, bay leaf, Worcestershire sauce, pepper and chicken broth and bring to a boil. Simmer about 10 minutes.  Meanwhile, dissolve the flour in the water.  Stir into soup until it thickens.  Add the milk and cream. Stir for a few minutes to blend and thicken.  We've made this with the chicken meatballs below and it's a nice combination.

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Chicken Feta Meatballs

I found some ground chicken at the store really, really cheap.  So I bought it having no idea what I'd do with it and it sat in my freezer for a few months.  One day I was taking inventory of the freezer and decided it was time to use it, so I made up this recipe and it ended up being really good.

1 lb. ground chicken
1 egg
2/3 cup seasoned bread crumbs
1 1/2 cups fresh mushrooms
2 cloves garlic
1/2 a medium onion
1/2 cup loosely packed spinach
1 cup (approx) Feta Cheese

Mince the onion, garlic and mushrooms.  If you have a food processor or a good blender, throw them in and make them into a paste.  Finely chop the spinach. Mix the meat, egg and bread crumbs.  Add the mushroom, garlic, onion and spinach and mix well.  Take a bit of the meat mixture and flatten.  Put a few feta crumbles in the middle and form into a ball (about golf ball sized).  Cover and bake for 30-45 minutes.

 

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Sweet&Simple Granola



14 C. Oatmeal
1-2 C. of any 3 of these things: 
Sliced Almonds, Sliced Cashews, Sunflower Seeds, Sliced Coconut, Sesame Seeds (or whatever you want:)
¾ C. Olive Oil 
¾ C. Honey 
¾ C. Maple Syrup 
½ t. vanilla 
½ t. salt 

Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl and set aside. Blend wet ingredients and salt in a blender and pour over dry ingredients. Mix and spread out over 2 large cookies sheets. Cook at 275 for 15 minutes. Stir, cook another 15 minutes. Continue for ~1.5 hours. Freezes well.

Saturday, September 1, 2012

Cinnamon Baked French Toast

This is a recipe from The Pioneer Woman, however I have always had a beef with her blog. The first thing I look for in recipe is "what do I need to make this" If you have ever read her blog you know why am have a beef. The ingredients are all the way at the bottom and that would not be a huge deal if she didn't photograph every step along the way, all 52 of them. But as frustrated as I get, I keep going back because dang, can that chick cook! If you need to know what 8 eggs cracked in a bowl looks like, or which line is the 1 cup mark on you measuring cup, well here is her link..... Otherwise here is the good old fashion delicious recipe.


FRENCH TOAST
1 loaf Crusty Sourdough Or French Bread
8 whole Eggs
2 cups Whole Milk
1/2 cup Whipping (heavy) Cream
3/4 cups Sugar
2 Tablespoons Vanilla Extract
Topping
1/2 cup All-purpose Flour
1/2 cup Firmly Packed Brown Sugar
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1 stick Cold Butter, Cut Into Pieces
Fresh Fruit (optional)



Grease 9 x 13-inch baking pan with butter. Tear bread into chunks (or cut into cubes) and evenly distribute in the pan.

Mix together eggs, milk, cream, sugar, and vanilla. Pour evenly over bread. Cover tightly and store in the fridge several hours or overnight.

In a separate bowl, mix flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Add nutmeg if desired. Add butter pieces and but into the dry mixture until mixture resembles fine pebbles. Store in a Ziploc in the fridge.

When you're ready to bake the casserole, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove casserole from fridge and sprinkle crumb mixture over the top. (If you're using fruit, sprinkle on before the crumb mixture.) Bake for 45 minutes for a softer, more bread pudding texture. Bake 1 hour or more for a firmer, less liquid texture.

Scoop out individual portions. Top with butter and drizzle with maple syrup.

I just might make this all too often. My favorite part is that you make it ahead of time so there is no messing up the kitchen first thing in the morning.

Friday, July 13, 2012

Sweet Tooth Fairy-- Black and White Chocolate Cupcakes


Black and White Chocolate Cupcakes

By Megan Faulkner Brown (’02), Sweet Tooth Fairy Owner and Cupcake Wars Winner
http://www.thesweettoothfairy.com/

1½ cups all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup and 2 tablespoons dark chocolate cocoa
1½ teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup sour cream 
3 eggs
¾ cup ready-to-eat chocolate pudding 
½ cup butter, melted 
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips 

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 24 cupcake pan cups with paper liners.

In a large bowl, mix the dry ingredients together with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds until well combined.

Add wet ingredients and mix on medium speed for 1 minute. Stop and scrape the sides of the bowl and resume mixing on medium speed for an additional minute. Stop mixer and fold in chocolate chips.

Fill the prepared cupcake liners with batter 3/4 full. Bake about 15-18 minutes in the preheated oven, until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Let the cupcakes cool completely before frosting.


White Chocolate Frosting

8 ounces cream cheese, softened 
¼ cup butter, softened 
1 cup white chocolate chips or 6 ounces white chocolate, melted 
1 teaspoon vanilla 
2⅓ cups powdered sugar 

To make the frosting, beat cream cheese and butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed for 1 minute. Add melted chocolate and vanilla; mix for an additional minute. Add powdered sugar gradually, beating until light and fluffy after each addition.

Spread the frosting on the chocolate cupcakes. Garnish with fresh raspberries, mini chocolate chips, or chocolate sprinkles.

Friday, June 15, 2012

Freezer meals

I have a request can you guys post your favorite freezer meal recipes? I am in a rut and looking for motivation!

Thursday, April 26, 2012

Pasta Primavera with Italian Turkey Sausage


I was searching out recipes to use all the yellow squash and zucchini that I got in the last few bountiful baskets that I picked up. I came across this one, and while it isn't vegan, whole grain, etc... I still feel it is a pretty healthy dinner option because of all the veggies, the sausage is turkey & the little amount of cheese. 

I made this last night for dinner, and it was SO YUMMY!


(I followed the recipe exactly and the only thing I think I would change is use just a little less olive oil... but that is just my opinion)

Ingredients

  • 1 (16 ounce) package uncooked farfalle pasta
  • 1 pound hot Italian turkey sausage, cut into 1/2 inch slices
  • 1/2 cup olive oil, divided
  • 4 cloves garlic, diced
  • 1/2 onion, diced
  • 2 small zucchini, chopped
  • 2 small yellow squash, chopped
  • 6 roma (plum) tomatoes, chopped
  • 1 green bell pepper, chopped
  • 20 leaves fresh basil
  • 2 teaspoons chicken bouillon granules
  • 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

  1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Place farfalle in pot and cook 8 to 10 minutes, until al dente; drain.
  2. Place sausage in a large skillet over medium heat and cook until evenly brown; set aside. Heat 1/4 cup oil in skillet. Stir in garlic and onion, and cook until tender. Mix in zucchini, squash, tomatoes, bell pepper and basil. Dissolve bouillon in the mixture. Season with red pepper. Stir in remaining oil. Continue cooking 10 minutes.
  3. Mix pasta, sausage and cheese into skillet. Continue cooking 5 minutes, or until heated through.

Monday, April 23, 2012

Not your average Tuna Casserole



My {99.9% of the time fabulous cook of a} mother used to make a tuna casserole that was NASTY. It had peas and potato chips it and I am sure it was often hid in my napkin. My friends mom on the other hand made one that I could not get enough of. It is easy, kid friendly, cheap and I can always keep the ingredients on hand. My kids love it as well and it can be made ahead of time and frozen for later, just under cook the noodles a little bit.

3 Cups of Cooked Curly Egg Noodles
1 Can of Cream of Celery Soup
1/2 Cup of Milk
1/2 Cup of Mayo
1 teaspoon of Salt
1/2 of a Small Onion-Chopped
1 Cup of Cheese-Divided

Put onions in a bowl, cover with water and saran wrap, microwave for one minute. Mix milk, mayo, salt, tuna, soup, onions, noodles and half cheese. Pour into a casserole dish, top with cheese and bake for 20 minutes at 450.

Sunday, April 22, 2012

Green Smoothie

I know others have posted recipes for these but sometimes it's good to mix it up a little. Especially if you're making them daily. Also, my measurements aren't exact because I measure more by my blender and everybody likes their smoothies different thicknesses.

Green Smoothies


-1 1/2 c juice or tang
-1-2 Tbsp coconut oil
-1/4 c oat groats or steel cut oats
-sprinkling of true lime (a crystallized lime that comes in a spice bottle) or 1 lime, squeezed
-4-8 oz plain homemade yogurt or greek yogurt
-two handfuls of spinach

Blend together then add:
-1 banana
-a few handfuls of frozen fruit (I like the costco bag w/strawberries, pineapple, mango, and papaya)
-handful of frozen or fresh grapes
-1 cup ice.

Serves: 1 adult & 2 children

Sunday, March 25, 2012

Brown Rice



This may seem a little obvious... but I have spent YEARS trying to make a perfect brown rice! I came across this method, and I will not EVER try to make it any other way again.

Ingredients:
brown rice (any amount)
water (use AT LEAST 4 c, per one c of rice)

Method:
Rinse rice in a strainer under cold running water for 30 seconds, swirling the rice around with your hand. Meanwhile bring water to a boil in a large pot over HIGH heat. When the water boils, add the rice, stir it once. Turn heat to MEDIUM and boil, UNCOVERED for 30 MINUTES, stirring occasionally. After 30 minutes, pour rice into a strainer over the sink. Let the rice drain for 10 seconds, then return to pot, OFF THE HEAT. Immediately cover the pot with TIGHT lid and set aside to allow the rice to steam. If your lid isn't extremely tight, cover lid with aluminum foil. After 20 minutes, uncover rice, fluff with fork, season to taste & serve!

*Bonus- you have a perfectly clean pot when done! No sticky rice mess to clean up :)

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Chicken Bowtie salad


As requested, this is what I brought to Lindseys last week.
This is the recipe halved, hence a few odd amounts, so you can double it is you are feeding an army.

3 Chicken Breasts, cooked and cubed
12 oz. Package of Bow tie Pasta-When I double it I do one package of bow tie and one package of colored curly noodles
1/2 Can of pineapple tidbits-save the juice
1 1/2 Cubed Apples-soak in the pineapple juice for 5 minutes or so to keep them from turning brown
1 Cup Water Chestnuts- coarsely chopped
1 Cup grapes-this is my favorite part so I usually do more
4 oz. Cashews-walnuts, pecan or almonds would be good too
1 Cup Chopped Celery
2 Diced Green Onions
4 oz. Coleslaw Dressing
4 oz. Mayonnaise

Combine all the ingredients and stir. Make it the day before and refrigerate over night. Before serving, stir and add more dressing if needed. I always add more, maybe even the same amount that went in before, 1/2 cup of each.

Saturday, March 10, 2012

Spaghetti & Meatballs

Ingredients

    6 portions of lean ground turkey (about 1 1/2 lbs)
    2 egg whites
    1/2 cup dry breadcrumbs
    1/2 cup water
    1/2 onion, finely chopped
    2 cloves garlic, minced
    1/4 cup fresh parsley, minced
    2 tsp dried basil
    1 tsp ground black pepper
    3 cups low-fat marinara pasta sauce
    6 portions spaghetti (about 12 oz uncooked)
    1/4 cup reduced fat parmesan cheese


Directions

preheat broiler
mix turkey, egg white, breadcrumbs, water, onion, garlic, parsley, basil and black pepper. mix thoroughly and then shape into 1 1/2 inch meatballs.
arrange on baking sheet and place under brouler for 10 to 12 minutes, turning occassionally until they are browned on all sides.
in a large saucepan, combine pasta sauce and cooked meatballs. Simmer over low heat until warmed thoroughly, about 20 minutes.
while the pasta sauce is simmering prepare spaghetti according to its package directions

This is a Body for Life recipe and actually the best spaghetti I've ever had. I usually use ground beef instead of the ground turkey. Also the longer you simmer the sauce the better it tastes. I try to simmer my spaghetti sauce for t least a couple hours. I buy my spaghetti sauce and my favorites are Safeway Select brand or Trader Giotto's Bolognese from Trader Joe's. Also I have found that if you eat wheat noodles, the thin spaghetti noodles are the best.

Friday, March 9, 2012

Carly this ones for you...

Homemade Spaghetti Sauce:
2 T olive oil
2 cloves garlic (or 1 t. ready-to-use garlic)
1 onion, chopped (I only use 1/2 of a very small onion, I'm not much of a
chunky/onion-y person:)
1/2-1 lb ground beef (I only do 1/2 lb)
23 oz of tomato juice (so 1/2 of a large 46 oz can pictured)
2 cans of 6 oz tomato paste (or one 12 oz can--whatever is in your pantry:)
2 cans of 8 oz tomato sauce (or one 15 oz can)
1 t salt
1/2 t nutmeg
1 bay leaf
~3 dried chili peppers


Combine olive oil, garlic and chopped onion and brown in frying pan. Add ground beef and cook until gray in color (do not brown.) Pour off excess fat.It will look like this:

Then add tomato products, and seasonings. I put in bay leaf and peppers at the very end. Cover and let simmer for abt an hour, flavor improves with slow cooking.

**Keep in mind this is an old family recipe so you can change it however you'd like--add more meat, more peppers depending on how spicey etc. I would def. use Hunts paste and sauce, it seems to turn out better. Also, my mom would let it simmer all day long sometimes and it turned out good. I only use this on spaghetti--I tried it in lasagna once and didn't love it. It freezes very well so after feeding my family I usually pour the rest into 3 different containers so I can use it for 3 more meals!

Snowy Buddies

Have you guys had these? Oh my, they are good! You just take the good old Chex Muddy Buddies recipe and exchange the chocolate chips for white chocolate chips, I like this brand that you can find at Macey's:



9 cups rice Chex cereal
1 cup white chocolate chips
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1 t. vanilla
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

In a small microwavable bowl, zap chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter for 1 minute; stir until smooth. Microwave about 30 seconds longer if needed. Stir in vanilla.

Pour mixture over cereal, stirring until evenly coated. Pour into 2 gal resealable platic bag.

Add powdered sugar. Seal bag;shake until well coated. Spread on waxed paper to cool. Store in airtight container in fridge.

Sunday, March 4, 2012

Cinnamon Roll Cake


I thought this looked like a good recipe if you ever have to host a brunch or something...(click on link below)

Cinnamon Roll Cake

Saturday, March 3, 2012

Pasta with tomato cream sauce

This one's for you Carly! I made this meal last week and everyone (including the baby) loved it!

Pasta with Tomato Cream Sauce

2 Tablespoons
Olive Oil

2 Tablespoons
Butter
1 whole
Medium Onion, Finely Diced
4 cloves
Garlic, Minced
2 cans
(15 Ounce Each) Tomato Sauce Or Marinara Sauce
Salt And Pepper, to taste

Dash Of Sugar (more To Taste)

1 cup
Heavy Cream
Grated Parmesan Or Romano Cheese, To Taste

Fresh Basil, Chopped

1-1/2 pound
Fettuccine


Preparation Instructions

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain, reserving 1 cup of pasta water.

Heat butter and oil over medium heat. Add onions and garlic and saute for a minute or so. Pour in tomato sauce and add salt, pepper, and sugar to taste. Stir and cook over low heat for 25 to 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Remove from heat and stir in cream. Add cheese to taste, then check seasonings. Stir in pasta and chopped basil and serve immediately. (Thin with pasta water before adding basil if needed.)

by Pioneer Woman

Friday, March 2, 2012

Spaghetti


I have a favor to ask all of you. My husband has claimed to not like spaghetti our entire married life. This has been very distressing to me because spaghetti is a wonderful meal for so many reasons (easy, cheap, good food storage, etc). Just recently, he has said he might like it if I found a good recipe for the sauce. Would any of you mind sharing your favorite spaghetti sauce? Do you make it homemade or do you have a favorite brand? I would love to be able to add spaghetti to our list of go-to meals!

Thanks!

Sunday, February 26, 2012

Whole Grain Flour


Okay, so I am SUPER excited to share this and I hope at least one of you love this as much as I do.

I ran across this girls website/blog a few years ago and have been following her ever since. I think she has some great ideas and ways of incorporating whole foods into your diet that don't seem super radical. But one of my favorite things she introduced me to was her white flour substitute. I have been trying to eliminate white flour from our diet over the last few year. But you can't make chocolate chip cookies with wheat flour, right? Anyways so far I've made pancakes, muffins and cookies with this whole grain flour and they've been delicious and you feel so much better knowing it's whole grain.

Here is the link to the video for the whole grain flour:

Pretty much it's equal parts spelt, barley, and brown rice. Mix and put through the wheat grinder.

Here is a link to her website as well:

Enjoy!

Friday, February 17, 2012

Hot Fudge

Hot fudge is a current weakness of mine....just add it to the growing list.

1 cup butter
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3 cups white sugar
1 (12 fluid ounce) can evaporated milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract



Combine butter, cocoa, sugar and evaporated milk in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil and boil for 7 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla. Carefully pour hot mixture into a blender and blend for 2 to 4 minutes. Serve immediately. Store in refrigerator.

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Yogurt


A friend of mine introduced me to homemade yogurt. It's so easy and really good. I prefer it to store bought yogurt, but honestly it's pretty close. I tried to do the math to see how much it saves you, but it really depends on how much you pay for milk and powdered milk. I bought a gallon of milk for about $3 and a 10 cup container of powdered milk for about $10 and the total cost of the yogurt came to $0.04/oz. My favorite way to eat this is with Nichole's granola and fresh fruit.

Ingredients:

1 gallon whole* milk
1 cup sugar
1 Tbsp vanilla
4 cups powdered milk
Small** container plain yogurt

Bring approx. half of the milk and all of the sugar to a boil. Take off heat. Mix together the other half of the milk, vanilla, powdered milk, and yogurt. Pour the hot milk mixture into the cold milk mixture and stir. Pour into jars (I use mason jars). Put lids on the jars, then wrap each jar in a dish towel like you were wrapping a present. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees, then turn off once it's heated. Put the towel-covered jars in the warm oven and leave overnight. Store in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks. Makes 5 quarts.

*I've also used 2% milk before, it just makes the yogurt a little thinner.
**I just buy the smallest, cheapest container I can find. You can even use your own yogurt as a starter, I just always forget to save some!

Monday, January 23, 2012

Creamy Hot Chipotle Dip

Make this....you'll thank me. I had this at a party over Christmas, I don't have a picture, but I don't want to lose the recipe, so I'm putting it here.

1 cup sour cream
1 8 oz. package cream cheese
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack Cheese
2 Tbsp. chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
2 tsp. chicken flavored bullion
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 Tbsp. lime juice
Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 2 qt. baking dish with cooking spray and set aside. Combine sour cream, cream cheese, 1/2 cup Monterey Jack cheese, peppers and bullion. Bake 20 minutes. Stir in cilantro and line and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake until melted, about 2 minutes.

Thursday, January 5, 2012

Pretzel Jello Salad

This was my contribution to a few of the parties we went to this Christmas. Since it was a hit, I figured it was post worthy. It has been debated if it is a side dish or a dessert. To that I say, who cares, its just yummy.


Ingredients

2 cups crushed pretzels
3/4 cup melted butter
3 tablespoons sugar, plus 3/4 cup sugar
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese
1 (8-ounce) container whipped topping
2 (3-ounce) packages strawberry or raspberry gelatin dessert mix
2 cups boiling water
2 (10-ounce) packages frozen strawberries or mixed berries
1 (8-ounce) can crushed pineapple
Whipped topping or whipped cream, to garnish

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

For the crust, mix the pretzels, butter, and 3 tablespoons of sugar. Press this mixture into a 9 by 13-inch pan and bake for 7 minutes. Set aside and allow to cool.

In a mixing bowl, beat together the cream cheese and 3/4 cup of sugar. Fold in the whipped topping, and spread over the cooled crust. Refrigerate until well chilled.

In a small bowl, dissolve the gelatin in the boiling water, and allow to cool slightly. Add the strawberries and pineapple, and pour over the cream cheese mixture. Refrigerate until serving time.

To serve, cut slices and serve with a dollop of whipped topping.