Just Make Stuff

Overnight Oatmeal...

I have earlier classes again this semester, so breakfast has to be quick. For the last few weeks I have been making a batch of over-night oatmeal to eat with a sprinkle of granola and almond slices. This recipe gets me four small servings. 

Overnight Oatmeal

• 1/2 cup old fashion oats (I generously fill the measuring cup so it's slightly overful)
• 1 tablespoon of chia seeds
• 1 (5.3 ounce) greek yogurt (I like vanilla bean or coconut from Trader Joe's)
• 2/3 cup of milk
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla (I actually use vanilla paste)
• pinch of salt

Using a small mixing bowl or other container with a cover, stir all the ingredients together until well-mixed. Store in the fridge overnight and up to five days.

You could use any flavor yogurt, a pinch of cinnamon (or I sprinkled in a little apple pie spice last week). You can eat it with fruit like bananas or berries. You could stir in peanut butter and top it with a few chocolate chips. The options go on and on...

Caramel Cream Cheese Apple Dip...

This is as good as recipes get. It's easy, can be made in advance, is perfect for parties and is just basically amazing. It's similar to this recipe I've shared before, but the couple of differences make it even better.

A good friend shared this and a spinach dip recipe ten years ago and they both have been made for so many parties around here. In fact, that seems to be just about the same thing I said when I shared the spinach dip recipe.

I also have made this caramel dip as a snack for events like mini cheer camp and have just omitted the toppings. It's a great way to get kids to eat apples.

Plus if you have pretzels or potato chips sitting around and love salty sweet combos as much as I do, dip those in too.

Caramel Cream Cheese Apple Dip

• 2 eight ounce blocks cream cheese; room temperature
• 3/4 cup brown sugar; packed
• 2 tablespoons vanilla
• 1 sixteen ounce tub caramel dip (I use Marzetti brand)
• 6 Heath Bars; roughly chopped (Skor bars work too)

Using a hand-mixer, blend cream cheese, brown sugar and vanilla together until smooth. Spread the mixture into the dish you will serve it in. Top the cream cheese with the caramel dip, spreading it to the edges of the cream cheese layer. Sprinkle Heath Bar all over the top. Can be made in advance and stored in the fridge. 

Crockpot Barbecue Beer Chicken Grilled Cheese Sandwiches...

I have decided that meat + beer + crockpot is pretty much my favorite cooking trick. Or at least in my top ten. I use this same chicken to make quesadillas, but it is also awesome as a grilled cheese sandwich with buttery toasted bread.

Crockkpot Barbecue Beer Chicken Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

(makes 6 sandwiches)

Ingredients:

• 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts*
• 1 large onion; rough chopped
• 1 bottle of beer (I used Sam Adams Boston Lager)
• 1 cup barbecue sauce (use your favorite--I used Sweet Baby Rays)
• 12 slices provolone cheese
• 12 slices sourdough bread
• 3 tablespoons butter; softened
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder

Instructions:

Place chicken breasts in a crockpot with chopped onion. Pour in barbecue sauce and beer. Cook on low for six to eight hours.

*You can also use frozen chicken breasts. When I do, I cook on high for an hour and then switch to low for 6-8 hours.

Remove chicken breasts from the crockpot and shred them. Add the shredded chicken back into the sauce to keep warm.

Spread softened butter on slices of bread and sprinkle lightly with onion powder. Build the sandwich with a slice of cheese on both pieces of bread and a pile of shredded chicken in the middle. Grill sandwich on both sides until browned and toasty.

Creamy Tomato Soup...

During the school year, I prep a couple of dinners on the weekend and we switch back and forth between the two. This has been one of our meals this week and is a new favorite. Since it's taken me well into adulthood to start liking tomatoes, I never understood the tomato soup & grilled cheese combo. After concocting this, I totally get it...and it's amazing.

Creamy Tomato Soup

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 onion; rough chopped
• 4 cloves of garlic; smashed
• 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes 
• 15 ounce can tomato sauce
• 6 ounce can tomato paste
• 3/4 cup chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon better than bullion
• 2/3 cup heavy cream; room temperature
• 1/2 cup fresh parmesan cheese; finely grated

Instructions:

In a heavy stock pot or dutch oven melt butter over medium heat and cook onion and garlic until tender. Add canned diced tomatoes, sauce, paste and chicken broth and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat and use an immersion blender (or transfer to a blender) to blend until smooth. Bring soup to a light simmer again, add bullion, sugar, heavy cream and 1/4 cup of grated parmesan. Serve sprinkled with remaining parmesan and a grilled cheese sandwich.

Sourdough Garlic Butter Croutons...

My love of croutons developed early on in my childhood. In fact there was one restaurant where my brother, sister and I would simply ask for a bowl of croutons and a side of ranch.

I pretty much could do the same thing as a full-grown adult.

Several years ago, when I learned how to make panzanella salad, it involved making your own croutons. It is so easy and so good and helps your house be scented like a buttery garlic toast factory. 

Sourdough Garlic Butter Croutons

• 8-10 slices of sourdough bread (I like to slice a sourdough boule, but any bread would work)
• 6 tablespoons butter; melted
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut bread into half inch cubes and place in a large mixing bowl. Melt butter in a small saucepan on the stove. Let cool slightly. Add sugar, onion powder, garlic powder and salt into the melted butter and mix well. Stir the olive oil to the butter mixture. Toss the bread cubes with the butter/oil mixture, coating each one well. Lay the bread cubes out in one even layer on a baking sheet. Cook the coated bread cubes for 8-10 minutes, remove from oven to stir and return to the oven for 3-5 more minutes, watching them closely to make sure they do not over bake.

Remove from oven and allow them to cool completely on the pan. Keep in mind if they are not completely dried and crunchy when they come out of the oven that they will continue to crisp up as they cool. I store the croutons in the fridge due to the butter and they keep up to a week. 

Drunken Wienies...

In case you were wondering, I did not find it easy to photograph pieces of hot dogs that simmered forever (or like an hour and a half) in a tomato-ey sweet and savory bourbon sauce. This is the best I got before Sean and I sat down to devour a bunch while watching college football bowl games (we had spinach artichoke dip too) a few weeks ago.

This recipe came from my aunt back when I was a teenager on Christmas Eve eating these one after another. I rarely make them since it means buying a bottle of Jim Beam, that we don't use for anything else, but Sean loves them too, so it was worth it.

I like using chunks of hot dogs for this, but I have seen many more recipes that use small cocktail smoked sausages.

Drunken Wienies

• 2 packages of all beef hot dogs; chopped 
• 1 1/2 cups ketchup
• 3/4 cup brown sugar; packed
• 2/3 cup bourbon
• 1/2 small onion; grated 

Mix together all ingredients and cook on very low heat on the stove for an hour to an hour and a half, stirring every five to ten minutes. Or, if you have more time, cook in a crock-pot on low 5-7 hours. 

Cucumber, Tomato, Olive & Feta Bites

This is barely a recipe, but is an idea I have been obsessed about since we had them on our tiny trip to LA for Mac's birthday this past summer. Sean and I assembled a bunch of them (two full platters) to bring to the appetizer house of our neighborhood holiday progressive dinner (maybe to counteract all the trifle eating later that night). I may or may not have eater about a dozen just as we were making them too. 

Cucumber, Tomato, Olive & Feta Bites

Ingredients

• 10 ounces feta cheese (we used one 8 oz block and a quarter of a second one)
• 12 fluid ounce jar of pitted kalamata olives in olive oil (we used about half)
• 16 ounce package of grape tomatoes (we used about 3/4 of the box)
• 1 English cucumber
• toothpicks

This amount of ingredients made about seventy-five bites, so you can adjust amounts to make more or less.

Cut the cucumber into 1/2 inch cubes. Slice the olives in half lengthwise. Cut the grape tomatoes in half. Make sure the feta is very cold before carefully cutting into cubes. After cutting the cubes put them back into the fridge for another 10 or so minutes for them to remain cold.

Have piles of all the other ingredients ready to assemble before pulling the feta out to use. We also kept a couple small plates of the feta cubes so that half could remain in the fridge while we assembled. I found the easiest way to assemble the toothpicks was to start with the cucumber, then the olive, then carefully slide the cheese (it can crumble easily, but it worked well when I was careful) and then use the tomato half to sandwich the feta securely. Store in the fridge until ready to serve. 

Cranberry Orange Simple Syrup...

Last weekend when we ended up not cooking a Sunday dinner (instead we had it Monday), we grabbed some soup and sandwiches from Panera. As we were waiting, I looked at the menu boards and saw, "seasonal iced tea".

I had no idea what they meant by seasonal iced tea and did not ask, but I mentioned to Sean that I thought a cranberry orange iced tea would be really good. And then I realized I should make a cranberry orange simple syrup...with a little of the mulling spices we had picked up on our afternoon of errands. 

I made a special trip to the store to buy fresh cranberries since I was obsessed with the idea. It came together in about 20 minutes total and when it was completely cooled it was mixed into a glass filled with freshly brewed iced tea. 

Cranberry Orange Simple Syrup 

• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 heaping tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 orange; with the rind carefully peeled off to have chunks of zest (not the white part)
• 2 handfuls fresh cranberries
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 teaspoon mulling spices (optional)

In a small sauce pan combine water and both sugars stirring until slightly warm. Add the cranberries, orange zest, cinnamon stick and mulling spices and bring mixture to a simmer. Simmer for about 10 minutes and allow mixture to cool (I took the cinnamon stick out so it wouldn't be that strong). After the syrup has cooled use a strainer to remove everything but the liquid and store the syrup in a jar or pitcher in the refrigerator. 

Chicken & Rice Soup with Avocado & Lime

Our favorite Mexican restaurant has the best soup. They even have fireplaces in the restaurant, so it is super cozy on a cool, cloudy day. 

I usually make chicken noodle soup, but in the past year decided to try to concoct our own version of their chicken and rice soup. I usually like it with just a ton of avocado, so it's never been very photogenic. The last time we had it Sean added some tomatoes and cilantro (and the avocado I am barely willing to share) which made it look darn right pretty. A generous squeeze of lime and some tortillas on the side and this is one of our favorite dinners.

Chicken and Rice Soup with Avocado & Lime

• 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• sea salt & pepper
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 tablespoons butter 
• 1 large onion; diced
• 1 cup uncooked rice
• 2 1/4 cups water
• 2 teaspoons Better than Bouillon
• 64 ounces chicken broth
• 1 tomato; diced
• 1 ripe avocado; diced
• cilantro; minced
• lime; cut into wedges

Preheat oven to 350. Place large cast iron soup pot on the stove, pour in olive oil and preheat. Sprinkle chicken breasts generously with salt (and pepper if desired) on both sides and place in soup pot. Allow the chicken breasts to brown on one side in the olive oil then flip to brown on the other side-approximately 4 minutes per side. Place chicken breasts in an oven safe pan, with a small pat of butter on top of each and finish cooking in a 350 degree oven for twenty minutes. When chicken comes out of the oven, allow it to cool slightly then begin shredding it with two forks. 

While chicken is cooking in the oven, add a small pat of butter to the soup pan (that still has the olive oil the chicken browned in) and add diced onion. Cook for a few minutes until lightly browned. Add uncooked rice, water, and 1 teaspoon of bouillon (reserve the other) to pot and cook rice (stirring occasionally) for twenty minutes or until liquid is absorbed. When the rice is finished add 64 ounces of chicken broth, the shredded chicken, and the reserved teaspoon of bouillon. Bring soup to a boil and then it is ready to serve. Pile into bowls with any combination of avocado, tomato and cilantro. Generously squeeze lime over each serving of soup and serve.

Chocolate Marshmallow Pound Cake...

I have used this cake recipe time and time again (from the Cake Doctor) and add various things in like toffee chips or chocolate mints. This time I had a leftover bag of mini marshmallows so I tossed them in the batter and they melted into the cake to make it extra good.

Chocolate Marshmallow Pound Cake

• 1 package devil's food cake mix
• 1 (4 ounce) box instant chocolate pudding mix
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup room tempertature water
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 4 large eggs
• 3 cups mini marshmallows

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 12-cup bundt pan generously with cooking spray. In a large bowl use an electric mixer to blend together cake mix, pudding mix, sour cream, water, oil and eggs until well combined. By hand, stir in 3 cups mini marshmallows. Pour batter into bundt pan and bake in the oven for 45 to 50 minutes. Cool in the pan, on a wire rack, for 20 minutes. Run a long knife around the edge of the cake and invert it onto the rack to cool completely. Or remove to a cake plate and serve slices while it is still warm.

Garlic Butter Orzo...

This has been a favorite side dish around here for years. I think of it as a lazy way to make risotto.

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup uncooked orzo pasta
• 16 ounces chicken broth
• 2 cloves garlic; finely minced
• 1 teaspoon Chicken Better than Bullion
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese; freshly grated

Melt butter in a medium saucepan over low heat, add minced garlic and continue to cook on low heat for two minutes. Add dry orzo, coat in melted butter and toast in the pan for one minute. Turn heat to medium and add chicken broth. Bring to a boil. Add the Better than Bullion. Cover the pan, reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally.  Cook until orzo is tender and the broth is absorbed, about 15 to 20 minutes. If the broth is absorbed before the orzo is tender, you can always add an additional splash. Finally stir in Parmesan cheese and serve immediately.

Bacon & Goat Cheese Spinach Salad with Orange Marmalade Dressing

 I love making various salad concoctions and this was a recent favorite...

Bacon & Goat Cheese Spinach Salad with Orange Marmalade Dressing

• 6 ounce bag baby spinach
• 8 slices apple wood smoked bacon; cooked crisp, drained, cooled and crumbled
• 3 ounces goat cheese; crumbled
• small shallot; finely minced (about 2 teaspoons)
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon champagne or white wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon orange marmalade
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• pinch of sea salt

In a large bowl mix together spinach leaves, bacon bits and crumbled goat cheese. To make the dressing combine the vinegar, sugar, mustard, marmalade, pinch of sea salt and shallot. Stir continuously while drizzling in the olive oil until the dressing is emulsified. Lightly toss salad with dressing and serve immediately.

Cheesy Chicken and Rice

I make a lot of recipes ahead of time on the weekend. However, if I have an hour on a weeknight, this is super easy to pull together in one pot. 

Cheesy Chicken & Rice

• 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts 
• Sea Salt
• Olive Oil
• 2 tablespoons of butter
• 1/2 onion; diced
• 2 cloves of garlic; minced
• 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
• 2 teaspoons chicken Better than Bouillon
• 1 cup rice
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/2 bag frozen vegetables (I often use more and sometimes the whole bag)
• 1 cup shredded cheese (I use the lite three cheese blend from Trader Joe's)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Preheat an oven-safe pan on the stove with a little olive oil. Take chicken breasts, and lay them in a piece of plastic wrap to cover the chicken. Pound the chicken out, just a little, to a uniform thickness. Remove plastic wrap, salt generously and place all three in the pan to brown. Once browned on both sides (just a couple minutes), take chicken out and let it rest on a plate.

Add butter to the warm pan and saute both the onion and garlic until cooked through. Turn the heat on high to get the pan hot as you pour 1 3/4 cups of the chicken stock (reserving a 1/4 cup), stirring to loosen all the bits of browning in the pan. When the stock is simmering, add the Better than Bouillon and stir in. Add rice, milk and frozen vegetables. Return the chicken to the mixture in the pan, cover with the pan lid, and place in the oven for 20 minutes. 

Take the pan out of the oven, add a drizzle of chicken stock if the rice looks dry. You want the rice to look a slightly too moist. Shred the chicken in the pan, stir the mixture and top with shredded cheese. Return the pan to the oven, uncovered, for an additional few minutes (5 to 7) until you see the cheese has lightly browned. Remove from oven and serve immediately.

You can also make this a little lower carb by reducing the rice to 3/4 of cup with then 1 cup of broth with a half cup of milk.

Cheesy Taco Bean Dip...

I had this weird idea for a bean-dippish-taco-meat-cheesy-onion-dip-type-combination-concoction-thing for a few months, but finally got around to seeing if my idea worked a couple weeks ago. 

It worked. Enough so that Sean has asked for this to eat while we watch the Super Bowl this weekend (and after he runs a half-marathon that morning). 

It's important to note that both Sean and Mac said this could use a kick of spice. I know absolutely nothing about spice (I am such a wuss that I cannot even handle black pepper), therefore please remember to add whatever hot sauce/spice/heat adding situation that you prefer to the ingredient list. Sean also mentioned he thinks this would be really good with shredded chicken instead of ground beef.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound ground beef; cooked with fat drained
• 1/2 onion; diced
• 1 can (16 ounce) Rosarita Traditional Refried Beans 
• 1 can (15 ounce) tomato sauce ( I used Trader Joes)
• 1 (8 ounce) block of cream cheese; softened
• 1 envelope Lipton's Onion Soup Mix
• 1/3 cup sour cream
• 1 (8 ounce) block of Monterey Jack cheese; shredded
• 1 bag Fritos scoops or tortilla chips
• Hot Sauce (if desired)

In a large, nonstick saute pan, cook ground beef, adding chopped onion halfway through the browning process. Drain the meat and onion mixture of fat. Add the can of refried beans and tomato sauce stirring well until heated through. Add softened cream cheese and onion soup mix to the pan and continue to stir in as the cheese melts into the mixture. Finally add the sour cream.

Can serve as a warm dip with chips or assemble as nachos. Either way, sprinkle a generous amount of monterey jack cheese over the dish before serving.

Garlic Butter Grilled Cheese...

My mom's best friend told me about this recipe years ago and I have rarely made grilled cheese any other way. I made these for a cheer team dinner a few weeks ago, along with a big bacon ranch salad, and decided to take the recipe one step further and saute a few cloves of garlic in some melting butter.  

Ingredients

• 1 package (3 ounces) cream cheese, softened
• 3/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
• 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/8 teaspoon seasoned salt
• 10 slices Italian or sourdough bread (1/2 inch thick)
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 3 garlic cloves; smashed

Directions

• In a large bowl, mix cream cheese and mayonnaise until smooth. Stir in the cheeses, garlic powder and seasoned salt. This can be done a day in advance and stored in the fridge.
• Spread five slices of bread with the cheese mixture, about 1/3 cup on each. Top with remaining bread.
• In a skillet over low heat melt the butter with the smashed garlic cloves for 3-4 minutes. Pour the butter and garlic into a small bowl. Use a brush to spread the melted garlic butter onto each side of the sandwiches. Using the same skillet from the garlic butter, toast sandwiches for 4-5 minutes on each side or until bread is lightly browned and cheese is melted. 

Spinach Artichoke Dip...

This is the stuff...one of the best recipes I've got. A friend gave it to me back in 2006 and I have made it for about 254 parties since then...give or take a couple. 

Spinach Artichoke Dip

• 10 oz frozen chopped spinach; thawed & drained
• 16 oz artichoke hearts in water; drained & chopped
• 8 oz cream cheese; softened
• ½ cup mayonnaise
• ½ cup sour cream
• ½ cup heavy cream
• ½ cup parmesan cheese; grated
• 1 cup monterey jack cheese; shredded
• 2 cloves of garlic; minced

Mix all ingredients together, by hand, in a large mixing bowl. Pour dip into a shallow, uncovered, glass baking dish,  Bake at 375 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes until bubbling hot and slightly browned on top.

Apple and Gruyere Chicken Salad...

I concocted this sandwich idea over the summer for one of our picnic dinners at a concert in the park. They have a sweet and tangy mustard dressing, lots of apple and cheese.  I am totally craving them again this fall. 

Apple and Gruyere Chicken Salad Sandwiches

• Loaf of french bread; sliced
• 2 tablespoons butter; room temperature
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 3 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
• 1/2 cup celery; diced fine
• 1/4 cup green onion; minced
• 1 cup apple; diced fine
• 1 cup gruyere cheese; shredded

Take eight pieces of bread, spread with butter, sprinkle with garlic powder and toast lightly. Set aside to cool. Mix together dressing of mayonnaise, dijon mustard, sugar, white wine vinegar, and onion powder. In a large mixing bowl combine the shredded chicken, celery, green onion, apple, and gruyere cheese. Pour dressing over the mixture and stir well, incorporating all the ingredients. Pile the chicken salad onto bread to make four sandwiches.

Banana Hot Fudge Cake

This cake was inspired by one in a Cake Doctor cookbook that I have had for so many years that it's falling apart. I had ripe bananas and needed a treat for a cheer board meeting, so I used the Cake Doctor recipe as a guide and put this together. As most people know, Sean is usually the baker around here...but he may have some competition with this cake.

Banana Hot Fudge Cake

• 1 box yellow cake mix
• 1 box (3.4 ounce) Jello cheesecake pudding mix
• 1 cup ripe banana; mashed (approximately 2 large or 3 medium bananas)
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 4 tablespoons brown butter; cooked and cooled 
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 jar (16 ounce) hot fudge 

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Spray a 9x13 pan well with cooking spray. Place cake mix, pudding mix, buttermilk, mashed bananas, brown butter, and eggs in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer until the batter looks well incorporated, Slightly warm half the hot fudge sauce in a separate bowl so it is easy to stir and set aside. Pour half of the mixed cake batter into the prepared pan. Spoon the slightly warm fudge onto the batter and sprinkle with half of the chopped walnuts. Top with remaining batter and place into oven for 42-47 minutes. Remove from oven and allow cake to cool. Heat the remaining hot fudge sauce so it is slightly warm and easier to spread. Carefully spread on the top of the cake and sprinkle with remaining walnuts. Store cake, covered tightly, in the refrigerator.

Salted S'more

The idea of a s'more on a ritz cracker has been tucked away on my list to try for awhile now. This week I got out the box of social snackers from Trader Joe's, smeared a little bit of Nutella on one side and one little square of Hershey's chocolate on the other. I carefully toasted a marshmallow since I do not like it burnt and gave this combo I try.

Oh my goodness gracious, it was good. 

Brown Sugar Dijon Grilled Chicken...

I present to you, yet again, proof that I am the worst food blogger ever. I should have styled a plate or something to create a "pinnable" image of this recipe I concocted over the weekend, but  I decided to snap a photo with my phone and sit down to eat it right away instead. Therefore this chicken might not look like much, but it was surprisingly good.

Brown Sugar Dijon Grilled Chicken

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts; pounded thin
• 1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
• 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons dijon mustard
• 3 garlic cloves, smashed
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• salt and pepper

Flatten the chicken breasts between two layers of plastic wrap. Combine the remaining ingredients, adding as much salt and/or pepper as desired, in a shallow baking dish. Place the chicken in the dish making sure to cover both sides in the mixture. Marinade in the refrigerator for at least three hours. Grill the chicken over low flame until it is cooked through.

This is a small recipe since two chicken breasts will easily feed the three of us dinner, so you can always double or triple the amount. I served the chicken with homegrown, sauteed summer squash with grated parmesan cheese, fresh corn cut off the cob and sauteed in a little butter and we tried this rice dish...which turned out to be really, really good.

Twice Baked Potatoes...

We barbecued some tri-tip this weekend, along with lots of corn cut off the cob and twice baked potatoes. These potatoes very well might be the first real thing I ever learned to cook when I was a teenager...you know, right after hot pockets and macaroni and cheese. So that means almost 25 years of twice baked potato making now...and they are still as good as ever. This is my current "recipe", but it really is a throw things together kind of a dish.

Twice Baked Potatoes

• 4 russet potatoes
• 3 tablespoons whipped cream cheese
• 3/4 cup of shredded cheese
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 cup half and half
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon season salt
• salt and pepper

Bake potatoes at 400 degrees for one hour. Remove potatoes from the oven and carefully slice them in half lengthwise. Scoop each potato into a bowl. Combine hot potatoes with all the ingredients, reserving half of the the shredded cheese.

After smashing the potatoes together with the ingredients salt and pepper as desired, scoop mixture into a buttered casserole dish, and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Return to the oven for 10-20 minutes until the cheesy crust is puffed slightly and golden brown.

Caramel Brownie Cheesecake Trifle...

I hosted the last meeting for the cheer booster board tonight...elections are next week so this was the end of our gatherings for the school year. To celebrate and thank everyone I made a Cinco de Mayo dinner with shredded beef soft tacos, corn cake and cherry lime-aid. I also needed a dessert that could quickly be made ahead of time, so that I could get back to work on preparing for the actual meeting. 

I went with one of my stand-by ideas...a trifle. This time it was a caramel brownie cheesecake one. 

I baked a pan of brownies to crumble up. Then I mixed together one softened block of cream cheese with one tub of cool whip. I layered both the brownies and cream cheese mixture with crushed Skor bars and a light drizzle of store bought caramel sauce. It seriously is the easiest dessert to make.

And we really needed the sugar to discuss all things cheerleading related. 

You can see more trifle ideas here.

Banana Nutella Protein Smoothie...

I mentioned earlier in the week having to have a smoothie for dinner due to my mouth being numb from getting a cavity. It turns out that was my only option the next morning too, since three rounds of injections can leave your jaw feeling really tender. Between making those two smoothies I discovered my new favorite. It has a couple of redeemable health qualities, but mostly tastes like a great dessert.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup (a small spoonful) Dryer's Slow-Churned Vanilla Ice Cream
• 1 small banana
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 scoop Trader Joe's Vanilla Whey Quick Dissolve Protein Powder
• 1.5 tablespoons Nutella

Instructions:

Simply blend everything together and grab a straw.

Meatloaf Muffins...

This photo is just another example of how I will not be leaving my day job to become a food blogger anytime soon, not that meatloaf is the most photogenic food anyway. It tastes good and that is all that really matters. 

These are basically giant meatballs, but they cook up much faster and have more of that delicious meatloaf crust. The very best part though is the sauce. The sauce recipe comes from an old Chicago high school fundraising cookbook my mom has had forever. 

Ingredients:

• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1/2 cup onion; grated and drained of excess liquid
• 4 garlic cloves; grated
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup plain breadcrumbs
• pinch of salt

Sauce Ingredients

• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard

Instructions:

Mix together all ingredients and roll into large balls. You can get somewhere between 9 and 12 muffins per pound of meat. Place in a muffin tin sprayed well with cooking spray.

Mix together ingredients for sauce. Put half of the sauce aside to use as an additional topping for the cooked meatloaf. Use the remaining sauce to generously brush onto the meatloaf muffins. These are better when made a few hours ahead and the flavors have a little time to meld. Cook in a 375 degree oven for 35 to 40 minutes.

Mix and Match...

Every single school day last semester I took a small handful of cashews and chocolate chips as a snack to get me through my second class of the day right before lunch. This semester I decided it was time for a little variety. I went to Trader Joe's for more cashews, almonds, yogurt covered raisins, dark chocolate covered almonds, sea salt & turbinado sugar dark chocolate almonds, honey roasted almond slices, and banana chips. 

I put everything into wide mouth mason jars and now I can mix and match all kinds of little snacks together. 

Easiest Thanksgiving Stuffing

In addition to teaching me to use holiday paper plates, my mom also has awesome recipes. They can be made ahead of time, are pretty darn easy, and people usually love them. Her best recipes don't have official measurements, but I have done the best I can to estimate after making this stuffing for over ten years. 

Easiest Thanksgiving Stuffing

• 2 bags (12 ounces each) Pepperidge Farm Cubed Herb Seasoned Stuffing (make sure it's the cubed stuffing)
• 2 cups celery; finely chopped
• 1 large onion; finally diced
• 3/4 cup butter (a stick and a half)
• 1 box of chicken broth (32 ounces...you probably will not use all of it)
• 1.5 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons poultry seasoning 

Melt the butter in a very large saute pan. Add onion and celery with a sprinkle of salt (not the entire teaspoon) and poultry seasoning (again not the entire amount). Cook the onion and celery, stirring often, for five to ten minutes. Add the cubed stuffing to the pan, sprinkle with remaining poultry seasoning, salt and sugar. Poor chicken broth over the stuffing mixture until it is very damp, but not so much that it pools at the bottom of the pan. Sometimes we add some stuffing, dampen it with broth and then continue to add the dry stuffing and broth so that it all does not tumble out of the pan and onto the stove. When the stuffing looks sufficiently damp (it should look just a little too wet to eat) remove from the pan into a 9x13 buttered baking dish. At this point you can cool the stuffing, wrap it tightly and store it in the fridge for the next day. Cook stuffing covered with tinfoil at 350 degrees for 40 minute. Remove stuffing from the oven, stir it, and return it to the oven uncovered for an additional 15 minutes or until it has browned on top.

Pumpkin Apple Bacon Soup...

This might actually be the first recipe I futzed with enough to call it mine. It started out years ago as a butternut squash soup then I read a few more recipes and combined ingredients. This soup is made once a year for our Friendsgiving celebration...it has a lot of ingredients and steps, but I promise it's worth it.

Pumpkin Apple Bacon Soup with Caramelized Croutons

Ingredients:

• Roasted Garlic; 12 cloves
• 1 lb bacon cooked and crumbled, fat reserved
• 2 small (or one large) onion; chopped
• 2 Granny Smith apples peeled and chopped
• 32 ounces chicken broth
• 8 ounces apple cider
• 2 tablespoons of sugar
• 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
• ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
• ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 29 ounces of pure pumpkin puree
• 2 tablespoons Chicken Better than Bouillon
• 8 ounces heavy cream

Croutons:

• Baguette; sliced
• ½ a stick of butter; softened
• 3 tablespoons of brown sugar
• ½  teaspoon of cinnamon

Instructions:

Roast the garlic tossed in a little olive oil to keep it from sticking in a tinfoil pouch for about 45 minutes in a 400 degree oven...it should be lightly browned and mushy. You can do this a day or two before and keep the cloves in the fridge. 

The night before you can also toast up the croutons.  Mix together the softened butter with the brown sugar and cinnamon.  Spread the mixture onto the bread slices and bake in the oven until slightly browned and crispy...approximately 5 minutes at 400 degrees, but keep an eye on them. Croutons can be stored in the fridge, but take them out in advance to come to room temperature before serving the soup.

Use a big soup pot (I love my Le Creuset) to cook up the bacon, I usually cut it into pieces before cooking as opposed to keeping it whole and crumbling it after, but either way would work.  Cook until crispy, take out all the bacon, and some of the fat carefully reserving enough just enough fat (about 3 tablespoons) to cook the chopped onion and apple in until it is softened. Add the salt, sugar, nutmeg, cloves and poultry seasoning.

Add the roasted garlic and the some of the chicken stock and some of the apple cider; SLOWLY not all 32oz of broth or 8oz of the cider, just enough to cover the onion, apples and garlic and then see if you need more. Allow mixture to simmer until soft enough to puree with an immersion blender or transfer to a regular blender and then back to the pot. 

After you have a smooth consistency add the pumpkin puree, the Better than Bouillon and then slowly add some of the cream until you have the consistency and creaminess you want. If the soup is still too thick at this point you can thin it out with a little more chicken broth. You can continue to let the soup simmer for about twenty minutes before serving.

Serve the soup with a crouton floating in the middle and a sprinkle of the crispy bacon bits.

Cranberry Orange & Green Onion Cream Cheese Dip

Last year I needed an appetizer to bring our street's holiday progressive dinner and was inspired by this recipe. Instead of cilantro and jalapeno, I went with lots and lots of green onion and some onion powder. And then I made fresh cranberry sauce the way I like to with orange juice, zest and lots of brown sugar. Add some butter crackers and it's one of my favorite recipes.

Cranberry Orange Green Onion Cream Cheese Dip

• 1 bag fresh cranberries
• 1 orange zested
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 1/2 cup brown sugar; packed
• 16 oz cream cheese (2 blocks); room temperature
• 1 large bunch green onion including white portion; finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon onion powder

Rinse cranberries and drain them well. Place into pot with orange juice, zest and brown sugar. Bring cranberry mixture to a simmer and stir carefully while they pop open. When the mixture begins to reduce it may need to thicken up, in this case use a little cornstarch (1 tablespoon) mixed into a little more orange juice and drizzle it in until the sauce is really thick. If mixture is too tart add more brown sugar. Set sauce aside to cool completely.

Combine softened cream cheese, chopped onion and onion powder with a hand-mixer. If you can do this step a few hours, or even the night, before it helps the flavors meld. After the cream cheese mixture is made, smear a thick layer into a serving dish. Top with cooled cranberry sauce leaving the edges of the cream cheese exposed a little. You might not use all of the cranberry sauce on the dip, but you can save it for turkey sandwiches or something. Pile crackers around the dip and enjoy.

Brown Sugar and Vanilla Applesauce

We make homemade apple sauce almost every weekend in the fall and then pack it in our school lunches throughout the week. After experimenting with different combinations I think we have finally settled on a favorite.

Brown Sugar and Vanilla Applesauce

• 3 pounds of apples (we often use Gala apples)
• 1/2 cup of apple cider (but you could use apple juice, orange juice or even water just a little liquid on the bottom of the pot)
• 1/2 cup of loosely packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla bean paste

Wash the apples, core, and slice them. There is no need to peel them though. Place all the apple slices in a big stock pot with the apple cider. Cook apples until fork tender. Drain the apples and grind them either in a food processor or foley food mill. Add brown sugar and vanilla paste. Grab a spoon and enjoy a little while it's still warm.

Barbecue Beer Chicken Quesadillas with Gorgonzola and Pineapple

On Sunday night I mentioned having the ingredients prepped to make some sort of dinner resembling this barbecue chicken and pineapple quesadilla recipe. I took the basic idea, but I cooked the chicken up in the crock-pot using something kind of like this crock pot barbecue chicken recipe. Then I decided to add gorgonzola since it's one of my favorite pizzas that we have been eating for a couple years now. Combining a bunch of recipes to make your own concoction is my absolute favorite part of cooking. We have had these for the last two nights and I am officially obsessed. There are a few extra steps to this recipe, but if you make them up in advance it's quick and easy to assemble the quesadillas in between school, meetings, tutoring, coaching, tumbling class and lesson planning.

Barbecue Beer Chicken Quesadillas with Gorgonzola and Pineapple

• 3 to 6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• Onion Powder
• Garlic Powder
• Bottle of BBQ Sauce (Garland Jack's Secret Six Sweet Brown Sugar BBQ Sauce)
• 1 bottle beer (Sam Adams Boston Lager)
• Flour Tortillas (Tortilla Land uncooked tortillas from Costco)
• 1/2 red onion, chopped
• 1 can pineapple tidbits
• 1/2 cup crumbled gorgonzola cheese
• 2 cups shredded cheese (Trader Joe's lite three cheese blend) 

Place chicken in crock pot (we used three breasts), sprinkle generously with onion and garlic powder, pour about 1 cup of your favorite barbecue sauce over the chicken and then pour the beer on top. Cook on low for eight hours. When the chicken is done cooking you shred it all up to use immediately or put it away in the fridge for later. Make sure to drain the pineapple tibits very well to prep for assembling the quesadillas.

Saute onion in a little butter until soft. Place shredded chicken in a saute pan with another 1/2 cup of barbecue sauce to heat it all up. Cook up tortillas or place pre-cooked tortilla on a hot pan with a tiny pat of butter. On half the tortilla sprinkle the chopped onion, well-drained pineapple tidbits, a light sprinkle of gorgonzola cheese, the barbecue chicken and a pile of shredded cheese. Fold the tortilla in half and toast up on both sides. Cut the quesadilla into pieces and dig in.

Mix and Match Trifle

I shared this recipe on Eighteen25 last week and wanted to share it here too... 

A trifle has been one of my favorite things to have at a party or bring to a potluck for the last couple years. I have taken the same basic recipe and just created new combinations of fruit and cake. Two of my favorites are a strawberry shortcake made with butter recipe yellow cake and a brownie raspberry. 

I know these are not the most artistically prepared desserts, since I usually heap together the ingredients in just a few minutes. Using a pastry bag for the coolwhip mixture would probably go a long way when trying to make a trifle all neat and pretty.

I simply bake up a box of cake mix, pan of brownies or get a pre-made cake like angel food from my grocery store bakery. All you have to do is tear the cake/brownies into small chunks. Next step is to mix together a cream cheese coolwhip concoction, and have lots of fresh fruit that I toss in just a little sugar.

The trifle can be made in advance and stored in the fridge. It really holds up well as it sits out during a party. I also have packaged up individual trifles in little mason jars.

Another combination I really want to try is peaches with yellow cake...or some apples sauteed in a little butter and brown sugar with spice cake as a fall themed dessert. Love that there are so many mix and match possibilities!

Sausage, Potato and Cream Cheese Egg Breakfast Burritos...

There have been a few weekends now that Sean and I have invested some serious time crafting up a big batch of breakfast burritos. Before I share this tortilla wrapped concoction, let me take a minute to explain cream cheese eggs. My dad is a physician who has made hospital rounds on his patients almost everyday of his forty year career. That meant I spent a decent amount of time in local hospitals when he had us for the weekend and we happened to eat a lot of hospital cafeteria food growing up. One hospital in particular actually had a good cafeteria...and my dad took full advantage of it eating there several times a week. One of the things they would make was a cream cheese omelet. Granted I have never duplicated it, but I always add a tiny scoop of whipped cream cheese when I make scrambled eggs. It melts right in and makes the eggs extra creamy. This recipe will make a ton of burritos...the last time we made them we got twenty-one packaged up. 

Sausage, Potato and Cream Cheese Egg Breakfast Burritos

Ingredients:

• 1 pound sausage; cooked, drained of fat and crumbled
• 10 eggs
• 1/8 cup half and half
• 3 tablespoons whipped cream cheese
• 6 potatoes; peeled and finely diced
• 1 onion; finely diced
• bacon grease 
• butter
• salt
• 2 cups shredded cheese
• 15-20 flour tortillas

Take a large skillet and melt some bacon fat and butter in it. Add the chopped potatoes and onion to the pan with a generous sprinkle of salt. Cook, stirring often, for 30 minutes to evenly brown the potatoes and crisp them up. I usually have to add more bacon fat and butter half way through the cooking process because the potatoes soak it up. Set aside to cool. To make the scrambled eggs add the half and half to the ten eggs cracked into a medium mixing bowl. Add a sprinkle of shredded cheese and the whipped cream cheese broken up into tiny spoonfuls so it will melt into the eggs well. Simply cook over low heat while continuously scraping the pan. Set aside to cool. To assemble the burritos line up all your cooled ingredients including a stack of tortillas. Place a small bit of the potatoes, eggs and sausage then sprinkle with cheese. Start to roll the burritos tightly carefully tucking in the edges as you roll it closed. Wrap each burrito in plastic wrap then tin foil and store in the fridge for several days. Use the microwave to reheat an unwrapped burrito, usually thirty seconds is all it takes.

These can be a little time consuming to cook and put together, but the result is a pile of breakfast-y goodness waiting for you in the fridge all week long. 

Vanilla Mint Iced Tea

I have grown up loving hot black tea with too much sugar and half and half. In the summer that turns into iced tea, but with a reasonable amount of simple syrup and a splash of half and half. In the last few weeks though I have tried to be a little creative the the herb garden harvests and came up with this. I should mention I like my tea to be very strong and dark, so please keep in mind that you might want to cut back a little from the amount of tea bags that I like to use.

Vanilla Mint Iced Tea

• 6 cups of boiling water
• 8 Irish breakfast tea bags (I love the decaffeinated tea from Trader Joe's)
• 2 Vanilla Comoro tea bags (these aren't necessary, but they are a total favorite)
• 1/2 cup Sweet Mint or Chocolate Mint leaves
• Vanilla Torani Syrup
• Half and Half

Place the tea bags and pile of mint leaves in a very large measuring cup or bowl. Pour boiling water over the tea and mint and allow to steep for at least 15 minutes. When it has cooled strain the tea into a pitcher and store in the refrigerator. Fill a glass with ice, pump or pour a couple tablespoons of vanilla syrup to sweeten the tea and then a splash of half and half to finish it off. 

Hot French Onion Cheese Dip

I was taking an appetizer to a friend's house a couple weeks ago and decided a hot, cheesy dip sounded good. I searched and read several onion dip recipes and then combined a few to make this. I figured with these ingredients it couldn't be bad...and thankfully it wasn't.

Hot French Onion Cheese Dip

• 2 onions, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 8 oz cream cheese; room temperature
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 1/2 cups shredded gruyere cheese 

Melt butter in a large sauce pan and add sliced onions. Sprinkle with salt and sugar and cook over medium low heat, stirring often, until onions reduce down significantly and turn a deep brown. This often takes over 30 minutes. Remove onions from pan, draining any remaining fat/liquid and set aside to cool. Using a large spatula mix together softened cream cheese, mayonnaise, sour cream, parmesan cheese, mozzarella and half of the gruyere with the cooled caramelized onions. Butter or spray a casserole dish with cooking spray and pour in dip. Sprinkle remaining 3/4 cup gruyere cheese over the dip. Cook at 350 degrees until hot and bubbly, around 25 minutes. You can turn on the broiler for a couple minutes at the end to really brown the top. Serve warm with torn up bread or tortilla chips. 

Broccoli Slaw with Apples and Feta

Ingredients

• 2 bags broccoli slaw 
• 1 medium apple; diced small
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 1 cup honey almond slices

Dressing

• 3/4 cup of mayonnaise
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dijion mustard
• 1 tsp cider vinegar
• 1/2 shallot; finely diced
• 1 1/2 tablespoons honey
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

In a small bowl mix together all dressing ingredients. In a larger bowl combine, broccoli slaw, apple pieces, and feta. Pour some dressing over the mixture being careful to coat, but not drown the slaw. You might not use all the dressing. This can be made a couple hours in advance, but reserve the almond slices to add right before serving or have in a small bowl on the side to sprinkle on individual servings. 

Chopped Salad with Creamy Green Onion Dressing

In my one night a week Intro to Sociology class this past semester I offered extra credit to students who wanted to bring in a snack for everyone to enjoy during our class break. I brought in snack for five classes and the other ten were arranged by groups of four or five students. Usually it was some candy, drinks, chips and other snacks. All of sudden, three weeks before the end of class, one group brought in a huge tray of pasta, homemade cupcakes, six pizzas and a salad. The pasta and salad was made by one of the guys in the class and I was completely taken with the combination. The class laughed at me as I wrote down the ingredients, but I knew I needed to make this. He served it was a ceasar dressing, but since I like to make my own I concocted a creamy green onion dressing.

Dressing Ingredients

• One bunch of green onions
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• Drizzle of buttermilk
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 tablespoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon red wine vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard

Salad Ingredients

• 8 cups romaine and iceberg lettuce; chopped
• 1 cup garbanzo beans; drained
• 1 tomato; chopped
• 1 ear of corn; boiled and cut off the cob
• 3/4 cup shredded Monterrey jack cheese
• 3/4 tortilla chips; crushed
• 1 avocado; chopped

Roughly chop green onions, including the white portion, into a food processor. Add mayonnaisse, a drizzle of buttermilk and blend. Add garlic powder, salt, sugar, red wine vinegar, and Dijon mustard and blend again. Check to see if the dressing needs any additional seasoning, pour into a container and store it in the refridgerator at least a couple hours in advance. Combine all salad ingredients, adding crushed tortilla chips and avocado last. Toss with dressing and serve immediately.

Loaded Baked Potato Salad...

While Sean and Mac were digging out a tree this past weekend I was doing the super strenous work involved in prepping dinner. I was going to make some Dill Potato Salad, but when I saw five lonely pieces of bacon hanging out in the fridge and decided to try to make this Loaded Baked Potato Dip recipe into potato salad. It worked and was really good with dinner, but the next day it was so much more amazing. Something magical happens to potato salad when it is made a day in advance.

Loaded Baked Potato Salad

• 1.5 pounds red potatoes; boiled until tender, cooled and chopped
• 3 tablespoons of whipped cream cheese; at room temperature
• 2 tablespoons sour cream
• 1/3 cup of mayonnaise
• Green Onion; small bunch finely chopped
• Bacon; six to eight slices cooked crisp and crumbled
• 1.5 cups shredded cheese (I really like Trader Joe's lite three cheese blend)
• Salt 
• 1/2 teaspoon of onion powder
• 1/8 Lawry's season salt

Mix together room temperature whipped cream cheese, sour cream and mayonnaise. Season with onion powder, season salt, sea salt and pepper, if desired. Combine mixture with chopped potatoes, crumbled bacon, green onion and shredded cheese...breaking up and smashing the potatoes a little as you mix it together. Best if made in advance to allow flavors to meld.  

Honey Lemon Shrimp...

Sean and I went to a cooking demonstration this weekend and learned about grilling shrimp on a Himalayan salt slab. We immediately bought the slab and went in search of shrimp for tonight's dinner. I just decided I actually like shrimp a couple of months ago, so I was eager to figure out how to cook it. I took the recipe from the class, made a couple of adjustments, and found my new favorite dinner.

Honey Lemon Shrimp

3 tablespoons butter

1 small shallot, peeled and finely minced

2 medium garlic cloves, peeled and finely minced

4 tablespoons honey

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 pound large shrimp, cleaned

Sea salt, as needed

In a small saucepan melt butter over medium heat. Add shallot and garlic and cook until softened, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add the honey and lemon juice and stir to combine. Taste and season with salt as needed. Pour half the sauce into a small bowl to brush onto the shrimp and leave the remaining sauce in the pan to toss the shrimp when they are finished cooking. 

Heat a grill or saute pan coated with a little olive oil. Place shrimp in the hot pan and brush with the honey lemon sauce. Cook until lightly browned, about 2 to 3 minutes. Using tongs, turn shrimp, brush again with the sauce and continue cooking until the center is slightly opaque, about 2 to 3 minutes more. When the shrimp are done cooking place them in the pan with the sauce to toss them and keep them warm. Serve immediately.

Caramel Brownies

This week I was notified that I had been given an outstanding professor award from the disabled student services department and that I had missed the ceremony. To say I felt like the most reprehensive person to walk the earth is an understatement. In addiditon to apologizing a hundred times, which they were exceptionally kind about, I hoped the situtaion might be made a little better with a batch of brownies. We learned about these caramel brownies around ten years ago now from a math teacher I worked with when I was a high school instructional aide and they are easily a top five favorite family recipe around here. 

Caramel Brownies

14 ounce bag of individually wrapped caramels

2/3 cup of half & half – divided in half

Package of German Chocolate cake mix

½ cup of butter, melted

6 ounce bag of chocolate chips

Set oven to 350 degrees, melt caramels and 1/3 cup of half & half until smooth (it is not neccesary to stir constantly). Mix remaining half & half (1/3 cup), melted butter & cake mix with electric beater. Divide mix (it’s really thick) into 2 parts, spread ½ in 9x13 pan sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Bake for 6 to 7 minutes. Take pan out of the oven, top with chocolate chips, then caramel mixture, and then rest of thick batter (batter best if dropped on in pieces since it’s too thick to spread without mixing everything up). Return the pan to the oven to bake for another 20-25 minutes (closer to 25) and make sure to cool completely.

Sundae Sunday...

I decided awhile ago that to celebrate my birthday I just wanted to have ice cream sundaes and play some games out in the backyard. Sean was really awesome about putting everything together and set up a sundae bar with all my favorite toppings...homemade whipped cream, heath bars, caramel sauce, oreos (that have been crushed, combined with melted butter and frozen so they are like a cookie crust) and my mom's fudge sauce. It was really nice to have family and friends stop by and just hang out for a little bit. Too bad every Sunday can't be a sundae afternoon. 

Oh and here is my mom's fudge sauce recipe. It comes together easily, reheats really well, and is the most wonderfully rich chocolate sauce you'll ever taste. 

Mud Pie Fudge Sauce

2 squares Bakers unsweetened chocolate

1/2 cup sugar

1 tablespoon butter

2/3 cup evaporated milk (whole carnation, not fat free)

Use a double boiler to start melting chocolate squares. Add butter and sugar. Slowly add evaporated milk. Cook over hot water until it is thickened. Stir occasionally…it takes awhile to thicken. This recipe makes a small amount, so you might want to make somewhere between two and four batches at once.

Green Rice Casserole...

I found this recipe via Cook's Country which I learned about from my brother. A dinner side dish that included cream cheese sounded like a really good idea to me. I tried it out for dinner one night and only made half the recipe since it's just the three of us. We will definitely be making this again...and it'll be a great side dish the next time we are hosting a dinner.

Green Rice Casserole

Ingredients

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 onion chopped fine

Salt and pepper

4 garlic cloves, minced

½ teaspoon minced fresh thyme

4 cups low sodium chicken broth

2 slices hearty white sandwich bread, torn into quarters

1 ounce Parmesan cheese, grated (1/2 cup)

1 ¼ pounds frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

8 ounces cream cheese

2 cups long-grain white rice

8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (2 cups)

Instructions

Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Add onion and ½ teaspoon salt and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and thyme and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add broth, increase heat to medium-high, and bring to boil. Cover and remove from heat.

Pulse bread, Parmesan, remaining 2 tablespoons butter, ½ teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper in food processor until coarsely ground, 8 to 10 pulses; transfer to bowl and set aside. Combine spinach, cream cheese, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper in now-empty food processor and process until smooth, about 10 seconds.

Spread spinach mixture in even layer in 13 by 9-inch baking dish. Sprinkle rice evenly over spinach mixture. Sprinkle cheddar over rice. Pour broth mixture into baking dish, cover tightly with double layer of aluminum foil, and bake for 25 minutes.

Remove casserole from oven, remove foil, and stir to redistribute ingredients. Return casserole to oven, increase temperature to 450 degrees, and continue baking uncovered, until all liquid is absorbed, about 15 minutes, Sprinkle bread-crumb mixture over top and bake until golden brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Let casserole cool for 20 minutes. Serve.

Pineapple Marinated Grilled Chicken...

Sean and I had a mutual friend in college and his mom made amazing, marinated grilled chicken. We have used this recipe countless times over the years and call it Mrs. Benanti's chicken. This is one of Mac's favorites except he once mistakenly called it "Ben Menanchi's Chicken" and the name stuck. We grilled this up for one of the cheerleading team dinners we hosted last fall and I figured calling it Ben Menanchi's Chicken wouldn't make much sense so instead I went this...

Pinapple Marinated Grilled Chicken

• Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
• Italian Dressing...I've always used Wishbone
• Teriyaki Marinade...I get a generic pineapple teriyaki
• Pineapple Juice...usually the little cans that come in a six pack since you don't need that much
• Minced Garlic...for marinades I just use the stuff in a jar packed in oil, but you could always smash some fresh garlic cloves

The ratios are relatively equal for the dressing, teriyaki and pineapple juice and then somewhere between a heaping teaspoon and tablespoon of garlic.

If I were making six boneless, skinless chicken breasts I would probably use a little less than half of a small bottle of dressing, half a bottle of teriyaki and one can of pineapple juice with a couple teaspoons of garlic. Marinating it over night is absolutely necessary and then grill it carefully since it can burn easily.

Meyer Lemon Simple Syrup...

With springtime officially starting this week, big glasses of iced tea are sounding awfully good. I have been making simple syrup to sweeten iced tea for awhile now, but I haven't tried flavored syrups. We have a couple dwarf meyer lemon trees in our yard that are actually starting to produce reliable little crops, so I picked a couple, read a few recipes, and came up with this... 

Meyer Lemon Simple Syrup

1 cup granulated sugar

2/3 cup water

1/3 cup lemon juice

lemon zest

Take a paring knife to peel off pieces of lemon zest being carefully to just get the yellow zest, not the white rind. Squeeze one or two lemons to get a third of a cup of lemon juice. In a small sauce pan combine sugar, water, lemon juice and lemon zest pieces. Bring mixture to a simmer while stirring often. Once the sugar is completely dissolved into the liquid remove from heat and let cool completely. Strain zest pieces from the syrup and store simple syrup in the refrigerator.

Dill Dip...

My mom taught my sister, brother and I plenty of fantastic recipes, but this one just might be the very best of them. It is a great substitute for the ever-present ranch dip, but is just as simple to mix together.

Dill Dip

• Cream cheese; 8oz block at room temperature
• Mayonnaise; 1/2 cup
• Green Onion; 4 to 5 stems finely chopped
• Dried Dill; 1 to 2 tablespoons

We like a very generous amount of dill, but you can start with one tablespoon and see what you think. Simply mix together all the ingredients with a hand mixer. Keep in mind if the cream cheese is not room temperature it often does not mix very smoothly. The flavors intensify when this is made in advance. Overnight is usually ideal.

You can serve dill dip with anything, but our family tradition is pretzels and/or carrot sticks.

Loaded Baked Potato Dip

Chips and dip are a major weakness of mine...and I'm guessing I am not alone. This particular dip is just about the ultimate opportunity for potato chip dunking. I was inspired by this recipe, but made a few changes of my own.

Loaded Baked Potato Dip

• Cream cheese; 8 oz block at room temperature
• Mayonnaise; 1/2 cup
• Sour Cream; 2 tablespoons
• Shredded cheese; 2 cups of sharp cheddar or a blend of cheddar and jack cheese
• Green Onion; small bunch chopped finely
• Bacon; 1/2 pound cooked crisp and crumbled

Mix together cream cheese, mayonnaise and sour cream. Add in the cheese, bacon and green onion. It's best to make this a few hours ahead of time or even overnight to allow the flavors to meld.

Grab potato chips, some kind of carbonated beverage and begin devouring.

Cranberry Orange Chicken Salad

This is my go to recipe when hosting a luncheon. It can be served with fresh sliced strawberries in the spring, but in the fall I like it with mandarin oranges and dried cranberries. The dressing is the simplest I have ever made and is often asked about. I used to think I didn't like paprika, but this vinaigrette completely changed my mind. The candied pecans are a recipe from Melinda Lee. You will be lucky if you have enough left to put in the salad because they are an irresistible snack all by themselves. 

Cranberry Orange Chicken Salad

Ingredients:

Small can of mandarin orange segments

¼ dried cranberries

¼ crumbled feta cheese

¾ cup shredded chicken

½ candied pecans (recipe below)

6 cups chopped romaine lettuce

¼ cup vinaigrette (recipe below)

Instructions:

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and toss with vinaigrette.

 

Vinaigrette

½ cup extra virgin olive oil

¼ cup white vinegar

¼ cup sugar

¼ teaspoon paprika

¼ teaspoon salt

Instructions:

Pour all ingredients into a jar and shake vigorously.

 

Candied Pecans

1/2 cup, granulated sugar

1/4 cup (1/2 stick), unsalted butter

1 tablespoon, water

11/2 cups, pecan halves  (or substitute another type of nut, if you prefer)

1 1/2 teaspoons, salt

Instructions:

On a counter top, spread out a large piece of foil or wax paper generously sprayed with cooking spray to avoid the pecans sticking.

In a medium-size saucepan, combine the sugar, butter and water. Heat over medium-low heat until the butter has melted, then add the pecans (or other nuts). Continue to cook the nut mixture, stirring constantly, for about 10 minutes.

Pour the nut mixture onto the prepared foil or other surface. Immediately (working quickly) spread the nuts apart to separate each one. Sprinkle the salt over the nuts and allow the nuts to cool for 30 minutes or until completely cooled.

The finished nuts can be stored airtight for up to 2 weeks. 

Honey Balsamic Marinade

I know it's getting close to the end of grilling season for many of you, but that won't be the case for awhile here in Southern California. Over the summer, when we had a meat waiting to be barbecued, I tossed together these ingredients and discovered it makes for some pretty tasty grilled steak. This is my recipe, so please keep in mind all measurements are my best estimate...I'm the worst at keeping track.

Honey Garlic Marinade

Ingredients:

Top Sirloin Steak or desired cut of beef; one pound 

Honey; 3 tablespoons

Balsamic Vinegar; 4 tablespoons

Soy Sauce; 4 tablespoons

Worcestershire Sauce; 4 tablespoons

4 garlic cloves; minced (or 2 tablespoons from a jar of garlic)

Dijon mustard; 3 tablespoons

Instructions:

Place meat into a zip lock bag and add marinade ingredients. Marinade for several hours or over night in the refridgerator and then it's all ready to barbecue.

Roquefort and Onion Dip

This is the only recipe I have from my dad's side of the family and we don't actually call it Roquefort and Onion Dip. We call it something much more disgusting, a name my mom coined years ago when she tried it for the first time...vomit dip. So, maybe it's not for everyone, but the rest of us love it. I think it's best served with pretzels and cold soda...preferably at a family reunion in Philidelphia or Traverse City at about one in the morning laughing hysterically with cousins. 

Ingredients:

Cream Cheese two 8 ounce packages at room temperature

Roquefort or Blue Cheese 3 ounces

Worcestershire Sauce 2 heaping tablespoons

Onion 1 medium; grated

Instructions:

Combine all ingredients with a hand mixer. Refrigerate for several hours to meld flavors before serving.

Sugar Donut Muffins

These muffins were found at All Recipes years ago now and are a total favorite little breakfast treat. I use only 1/2 of the teaspoon of cinnamon the recipe calls for for the sugar topping.

Sugar Donut Muffins

Ingredients:

For the muffins:

1/2 cup white sugar

1/4 cup butter, melted

3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 cup milk

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup all-purpose flour

 

For the sugar topping:

 1/4 cup butter, melted

1/2 cup white sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

 

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease 24 mini-muffin cups.

Mix sugar, butter, and nutmeg in a large bowl. Stir in the milk, then mix in the baking powder and flour until just combined. Fill each mini muffin cup about half full.

Bake until the tops are lightly golden, 15 to 20 minutes.

While muffins are baking, prepare the ingredients for the topping. Place melted butter in a bowl. In a separate bowl, mix together sugar with the cinnamon. When muffins are slightly cooled dip each one in the melted butter, and roll in the sugar-cinnamon mixture. Let cool and serve.

Cake Batter Rice Crispy Treats

Pinterest led me to Gimme Some Oven which revolutionized how rice crispy treats will be made in this house from now on. Instead of sprinkles I added a little colored sugar to the top. 

Ingredients:

• 3 Tbsp. butter
• 1 (10 oz.) bag of mini-marshmallows
• 1/3 cup yellow cake mix (the dry cake mix, not prepared into a batter!)
• 6 cups crispy rice cereal
• 1 (1.75 oz.) container of sprinkles

Method:

Melt butter in a large saucepan over low heat and add marshmallows. Stir until they begin to melt, adding in (dry) cake mix one spoonful at a time so its combined. Stir in cereal so it is completely coated with marshmallow mixture. Sprinkle in half of the sprinkles and mix. Press into a baking dish (any size will do) and top with remaining sprinkles. Let sit for about 30 minutes before cutting. Spraying a knife with nonstick spray helps to cut them.