January 7, 2016

Pretzel S’mores Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

by penji1

Some treats to go along with the dinner for the neighbors with little kids, don’t most kids love s’mores?

1 pouch chocolate chip cookie mix plus ingredients to make cookies

2 1/2 cup mini marshmallows

1 cup mini pretzel twists, about 25 – 30

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1 Heat oven to 350. Line 8″ square pan with foil, extending over 2 sides. Spray foil with cooking spray.

2 Prepare cookie mix as directed on package. Press dough into bottom of prepared pan. Bake 15 – 18 minutes or just until center is set.

3 Remove from oven and sprinkle marshmallows over crust. Arrange pretzels over marshmallows in 5 – 6 rows of about 5 pretzels each. Sprinkle chocolate chips over top.

4 Return to oven and bake 5 minutes longer. Remove from oven and cool at least 30 minutes before cutting into bars.

recipe from Pillsbury

January 6, 2016

Slow Cooker Pizza Joes

by penji1

Slow Cooker Pizza Joes

I made dinner last night for some friends with little kids so I went looking for kid friendly recipes and found this one which reminded me of one I used to make for my kids called Taco Joes as they never really liked Sloppy Joes so I thought I’d give it a try. She texted me after and said it was a hit with her kids and that the two littlest had more than one. I think the baby pepperonis make this especially kid friendly.

2 pounds hamburger

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced

2 (14 oz each) jars pizza sauce

1 (5 oz) package mini pepperonis

1 teaspoon dried basil

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

18 hamburger buns

2 cups “pizza” cheese (combo of Mozzarella, Provolone, Parmesan and Cheddar)

1 Cook hamburger, onion and garlic in skillet over medium high heat until beef is cooked through. Drain off grease.

2 Pour beef mixture into slow cooker/crock pot then stir in remaining ingredients except buns and cheese.

3 Cover and cook on low for 4 – 6 hours.

4 To assemble, spoon about 1/3 cup beef mixture onto bun and top with about 2 tablespoons of cheese.

recipe from Betty Crocker

January 5, 2016

Slow Cooker Chili with Black Beans and Corn

by penji1

Slow Cooker Chili with Black Beans and Corn

So here’s the New Year’s Eve chili in the bread bowl, Bob was happy! I didn’t have a bread bowl but this chili was yum-o! (Click here for bread bowl recipe.)

2 pounds hamburger

1 large onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, pressed or minced

32 oz tomato sauce

1 (14.5 oz) can Italian diced tomatoes with liquid

2 (16 oz each) cans black beans, drained and rinsed

1 (16 oz) can corn, drained

2 – 4 teaspoons chili powder, depending on your taste

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

2 teaspoons sugar

1 Cook hamburger, onion and garlic in a large skillet until beef is cooked through.

2 Transfer beef mixture to slow cooker or crock pot. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Cook on low for 6 – 7 hours or on high for 4 – 5 hours.

recipe from Chew Out Loud

January 4, 2016

Easy Homemade Bread Bowls

by penji1

Easy Homemade Bread Bowls

Bob loves a good bread bowl full of soup or chili which is what he requested for New Year’s Eve dinner so I decided to give the bread bowls a shot. They came out pretty good, I’m sure I’ll get better at it.

1 1/2 cups warm water

2 tablespoons instant yeast

1 tablespoon sugar

3 1/2 cups flour, more as needed

2 teaspoons salt

spray bottle with warm water

1 In bowl of mixer with bread hook attached, mix water, yeast, sugar, 3 cups of the flour and salt. Add remaining flour, 1/4 cup at a time, until dough pulls away from sides of bowl and is only slightly sticky to the touch. Knead until smooth, 5 – 10 minutes. Place dough in lightly greased bowl, cover with damp towel and let rise 30 minutes.

2 Preheat oven to 500. Punch dough down and divide into four equal pieces. Shape each piece into a ball and place on lightly greased baking sheet. Score top of each piece and sprinkle with salt then spray with warm water and let rise 15 minutes. Bake in for 2 minutes at 500 then reduce heat to 425 and bake an additional 16 – 18 minutes or until golden brown.

recipe from The Baker Upstairs

January 3, 2016

Buttermilk Cake with Caramel Icing

by penji1

Buttermilk Cake with Caramel Icing

There has to be dessert when company comes so I made this cake for my niece and her kids when they came to visit. The cake is great but it’s the frosting that makes this so delicious!

cake

1 cup butter, softened

2 1/3 cups sugar

3 eggs

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

3 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup buttermilk

icing

1/4 cup butter, cubed

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/3 cup heavy whipping cream

1 cup powdered sugar

1 For cake, preheat oven to 350. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Combine flour, baking powder and baking soda in small bowl. Add flour mixture to butter mixture alternately with buttermilk, beating well after each addition. Batter will be thick.

2 Pour into 10″ Bundt pan sprayed with cooking spray for baking. Bake at 350 for 45 – 50 minutes or until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool 10 – 15 minutes before removing from pan then cool completely.

3 For icing, combine butter, brown sugar and cream in small saucepan and bring to boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and cool 5 – 10 minutes then gradually beat in powdered sugar until smooth. Drizzle over cake.

recipe from Taste of Home

January 2, 2016

Southern Style Baked Macaroni and Cheese

by penji1

Southern Style Baked Macaroni and Cheese

I made this the other day when my niece and her kids came over to visit, she said they liked macaroni and cheese. I also love a good homemade mac n cheese, none of this blue box stuff that Bob and I ate so much of when we were first married and sooooo poor! I don’t love a super creamy one, I want it to be nice and firm and cheesy and this one fit the bill perfectly plus it was super easy to make!

1 (16 oz) package elbow macaroni

4 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided

2 cups milk

4 eggs, beaten

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) of butter

4 oz cream cheese

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 Preheat oven to 400.

2 Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and return to pot.

3 Add 3 cups of cheese, milk, eggs, butter, cream cheese, salt and pepper and stir until butter and cream cheese are melted and mixture is fully combined.

4 Pour into a greased 9 x 13″ pan and top with remaining cup of cheese.

5 Bake for 30 minutes.

UPDATE – If you want to amp this up, throw some bacon in then you’ve got a grown up version of mac n cheese, I used some of the bag of bacon that you can get at Costco or Sam’s Club which makes adding bacon to recipes so much easier!

Macaroni and Cheese Cupcakes

Here’s another fun thing you can do with this recipe, make Mac n Cheese Cupcakes! Follow the recipe above then spray muffin pans with cooking spray and fill with noodle mixture, bake at 350 for 20 – 30 minutes. Let cool in pan for a few minutes before removing. Kids love them!

Yield – about 30 cupcakes

recipe from The Budget Diet

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December 31, 2015

Most Popular Posts in 2015

by penji1

WordPress sends me an annual report at the end of every year which is fun to look at and see how my blog has grown. If you’d like to see the full report then you can click here but I thought it would be fun to share the 5 posts that got the most traffic on my blog this year so here they are!

#5 Halloween Ghost Cupcakes from October of 2012