Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Crock-Potting At It's Best!

I made this recipe in my crock-pot for my Norwex Party this past Monday night and it was a HUGE success. Everyone loved it, and couldn't believe just how easy it really was to make. :)

CROCK-POT CHEESE TORTELLINI

INGREDIENTS:
1 Pkg. Butoni Refrigerated Cheese Tortellini; Frozen (throw them in the freezer when you get home)
32 oz. Chicken Broth
2 Cans (14.5 oz) Diced Tomatoes with Basil & Oregano (DO NOT drain)
1 Bag Baby Spinach
8 oz. Cream Cheese; cubed
1 Lb. Sausage; cooked

Cook up the Sausage and throw that along with all the other ingredients into a crock-pot. Cover and cook on LOW for 4 1/2 hours. Stir after 2 hours and again at 4 hours.

See? I told you that it was simple, and it's so tasty with some crusty bread.

Friday, February 7, 2014

Pasta Goodness!

My boss gave me a recipe last week that she had made over the weekend and said that is was phenomenal. She had brought in leftovers for us on Monday, but unfortunately I was sick with the flu, so I didn't get to try any of it. I'm so glad that she shared the recipe with me though. :)

I finally got around to making it last night, and it was AMAZING!!!!! I didn't have one of the ingredients, but I substituted and I will tell you what I did as well.

SMOKEHOUSE BACON ZITI

INGREDIENTS:
1 Lb. Ziti; cooked el dente
6 Slices of Bacon (I used the precooked in the box, and used the whole box)
8-10 Oz. Fresh Mushrooms; cleaned and sliced (I bought already sliced mushrooms)
3 Cloves Garlic; minced (I had minced in my fridge and used about 1/2 tsp. of that)
1-2 C. Fresh Baby Spinach (I used a little more)
3 Tbs. Butter
3 Tbs. Olive Oil
2 C. Heavy Whipping Cream
1 C. Grated Parmesan Cheese
1 C. Mozzarella Cheese
1 tsp. Smoky Paprika (I couldn't find this, so you could use regular Paprika. I used a Smoky BBQ Rub from Pampered Chef)
1/2 tsp. Black Pepper

Cook Pasta according to package directions. Cook the Bacon in a large skillet. Remove. (If you buy the pre-cooked you can skip this step.) In the large skillet, heat 1 Tbsp. Oil over medium heat. Cook Mushrooms until tender. When Mushrooms are just about done, add in the Garlic and cook for 1 minute. Remove the Garlic and Mushrooms from the pan and set aside. Melt 3 Tbs. Butter in the skillet. When melted, add in 2 Tbs. Oil. Whisk in Heavy Whipping Cream and bring to a simmer, stirring frequently. Stir in the Parmesan Cheese and simmer for 8-10 minutes, making sure to stir frequently. After 8-10 minutes, the sauce will start to thicken. Reduce to low. Add in Mozzarella Cheese, Smokey Paprika, and Black Pepper. Stir in Bacon, Fresh Spinach, then add in the Cooked Mushrooms and Garlic. Stir in the cooked Pasta and serve immediately with additional Parmesan Cheese.

I also made up some Garlic Knots, and they were so good with this! This recipe will make a lot of food. I am planning on taking a large dish to my Mom and Bro at their house tonight for their dinner. It's date night for me, so I get to have dinner out with my guy! :) I hope that you all have a wonderful weekend. Give this recipe a try and let me know what you think!

Monday, December 9, 2013

Another Great Christmas Cookie

I was able to whip these up in about 20 minutes or so, and get them chilling in the fridge. The thing that takes the longest is melting the chocolate for dipping and letting them harden back up in the fridge again. Other than that, easy-peasy! :)

PEANUT BUTTER BALLS

INGREDIENTS:
2 C. Creamy Peanut Butter
3 C. Rice Krispies
3 C. Powdered Sugar
1/4 C. Butter; melted
3 Pkgs. Chocolate Chips; melted

Mix together all except the Chocolate Chips. Shape into balls and refrigerate to firm up. Melt Chocolate and dip each ball. Place on wax paper covered cookie sheets in the fridge to harden chocolate. Store in airtight container in the fridge. (I also have these in my freezer right now.)

I'm looking forward to breaking out all of the treats and making cookie platters this year. I have a few more items left to bake, as I do so I will post the recipes!

An Easy 2-Pot Meal!

After baking and making Rock Candy all day on Saturday, I was a bit nervous that this meal that I told my Mom and Bro that I would make them was going to be more time consuming than it actually was. It turned out to be super easy, and one that I will definitely make again.

My boss today gave it 2 thumbs up when we had some of the leftovers for lunch! Another plus! :)

CHICKEN FLORENTINE CASSEROLE

INGREDIENTS:
1 tsp. Oil
1 Lb. Boneless Chicken Breasts; cut up bite sized
1 Clove Garlic; minced
1 Tub (10 oz.) Philadelphia Italian Cheese & Herb Cooking Crème
3/4 C. Milk
2 C. Bowtie Pasta; cooked
1 Pkg. (10 oz.) Frozen Chopped Spinach; thawed and drained
2 C. Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
4 Slices Bacon; crumbled

Heat oven to 375. Spray a 2-quart casserole dish with cooking spray. Heat Oil in a large skillet. Add Chicken and Garlic. Cook and stir until Chicken is cooked through. Stir in all the remaining ingredients EXCEPT the bacon. Spoon into casserole dish. COVER and bake for 25 minutes; or until heated through. Uncovering and sprinkling with Bacon after 15 minutes of baking. Bake uncovered for remaining time.

A Girl & Her Kitchen!

It's that time of year again. The time when I start to bake for Christmas! I LOVE this time of year, but each time I start on a new task I have to ask myself why I love it so much! I love to see all of the lights and trees, I love to shop for my loved ones, and I love to bake. I often give away a lot of baked goods as presents, and this year will be no different.

Almost all of my Christmas shopping is done and wrapped beneath my glowing Christmas Tree! I admire them all each night when I'm in my living room. There's something about the magic and wonder of Christmas. I love the Christmas story about Christ's birth, and I especially LOVE the wonderment in my 4-year-old Sunday Schools kiddos eyes when we talked about this yesterday!

This weekend I spent Saturday baking and making Rock Candy. Ten different flavors of Rock Candy to be exact! And WOW was that very time consuming, but of so worth the rewards. I also made my Mom and Bro dinner on Saturday night, which turned out very good. I will share that recipe in my next post.

In this post I am going to share my recipe for the Cookie Dough Truffles I made. :)

COOKIE DOUGH TRUFFLES

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 C. Butter; softened
3/4 C. Brown Sugar
1 tsp. Vanilla
2 C. Flour
1 (14 oz.) Can Sweetened Condensed Milk
1/2 C. Mini Chocolate Chips (I probably used closer to 1 C.)
1 1/2 lbs. Chocolate Bark; melted

In a large bowl, cream Butter & Brown Sugar until creamy. Add Vanilla. Gradually beat in Flour & add Sweetened Condensed Milk. Add Chocolate Chips; mix well. Shape into 1-inch balls and place on waxed paper covered cookie sheets. Chill for 2 hours. Melt Chocolate Bark in Double Boiler and dip Cookie Balls. Place back on cookie sheets and chill until set. Store in fridge. (I have mine in the freezer. They freeze very well.)

These are a favorite of mine, and are so easy to make.

Thursday, November 21, 2013

Venison, It's What's For Dinner

Oh how I wish that one of my brothers or my dad hunted. But, alas, they don't. So, I am at the mercy of friends and of co-workers of my brother to occasionally bless us with some. Tonight's dinner was courtesy of one of my brother J's co-workers, and I am very thankful.

VENISON STEAKS IN THE OVEN

INGREDIENTS:

Venison Steaks
1 Stick of Butter
2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
Crushed Peppercorns

In a large skillet, put in the Olive Oil and 2 Tbsp. of the Butter. Melt the Butter. Add the Venison Steaks and sear them. Preheat oven to 475. Place Steaks in a roasting pan and pour the Olive Oil/Butter Mixture from pan over the top. Sprinkle the Peppercorns generously over the steaks. Dot the top of each steak with slices of Butter. Bake for 12 minutes or until reached your desired doneness. 


I only baked mine for the 12 minutes and they came out very tender. These were delicious this way. The bro really enjoyed them. His comment to me was, "I figured that you would be able to cook these up a whole lot better than I could, and I was right." Thanks bro!!! I am thrilled that he decided to share them with me, and was happy to have him over to my place for dinner tonight.

Now to figure out how to get my hands on more venison. :-)

Monday, November 4, 2013

Worth A Repost!

Now that Fall is here, and there's a chill in the air I wanted to repost this recipe for those of you who are new to my blog. It is a delicious recipe, that I really love. Give it a try.

SAUSAGE EGG CASSEROLE

INGREDIENTS:
8-10 Hard Boiled Eggs; halved
1/4 C. Butter or Margarine; melted
1/4 C. Flour
1/2 tsp. Salt
Dash of Pepper
2 C. Milk
1 Lb. Pork Sausage; browned and drained
1 Can Whole Kernel Corn; drained
1 C. Soft Bread Pieces (I used 3 slices of white bread)

Preheat oven to 375. Spray a 1 1/2 quart casserole dish. Put half of the Egg halves in bottom of dish. In saucepan, melt Butter. Blend in Flour, Salt & Pepper. Add Milk all at once. Cook, stirring constantly until mixture thickens. Stir in Sausage and Corn. Pour Sausage mixture over the Eggs. Top with remaining Egg halves and Bread Pieces. Bake for 20-25 minutes; or until heated through.