Mozzarella Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

I don't know why I never thought of this one before!  It is one of those things you see on Pinterest and say "why didn't I think of that?"

Make it just like you would a grilled cheese sandwich but use mozzarella cheese in place of cheddar.  Also, when I butter the outside of the bread, I also like to sprinkle a little garlic salt and basil on before placing it on the pan.

This is great to serve in place of garlic bread.  Or you could just make this your "meal" with a side of marinara sauce to dip it in. 

Crock Pot Ravioli

This one is so yummy.  I'm getting into crock pot recipes again and was happy to find this one.

Crock Pot Ravioli

24 oz bag frozen ravioli (any kind)
1 jar of your favorite pasta sauce
1 cup mozzarella cheese

Spray crock pot with cooking spray.  Dump in ravioli and cover with sauce.  The original recipe calls for spaghetti sauce but I LOVE it with alfredo sauce!  Mix it up a little bit.  Cook on high for 2-1/2 to 3 hours.  About 20 minutes before it is done, add the mozzarella cheese. 

Homemade Martinelli's

Just in case you needed the recipe for this yummy drink...here it is!

Homemade Martinelli's

2 cans frozen apple juice concentrate, thawed
2 liters club soda

Mix together in a large pitcher or punch bowl.

Enjoy!

Loaded potato soup

This is from the train place(dairy keen) cookbook. So GOOD Levi inhaled it.
The measurements were large so I just made up my own for my little family. Soup is very forgiving so do however much you want or need. You could lighten it up but the half and half make it so creamy and delectable.

Potatoes, diced mine were tiny so I used 5
1 onion, diced
1/2 lb bacon, diced
Flour
1/2 cup or so of chicken stock
2 c half and half
1 c milk I needed more liquid to loosen it up
White pepper
Salt
Cheddar cheese
Sour cream

Dice your potatoes
and either boil separately or in your soup. I boiled mine while the bacon was cooking and i was dicing everything else up.
Cook your bacon and save some grease. Cook onions in grease until translucent. Stir in a sprinkle of flour to make a roux. It should look like wet sand.
Add in broth to deglaze the pan. Stir in half and half and potatoes. Let thick (and potatoes cook if needed)
Season. It will probably need a good amount of salt cause of all the potatoes.
Serve with bacon bits, cheese and sour cream.

Lazy Cake Cookies

These are very addictive so beware if you make them when no one else is home!  You will be tempted to eat them all yourself!

Lazy Cake Cookies

1 yellow or white cake mix
2 eggs, beaten
5 TBSP butter, melted (yes...all 5 of them.  I tried using only 4 and it wasn't the same)
1-2 cups chocolate chips (I like only using 1 but the recipe calls for 2...which is an entire bag)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray 9x13 dish with cooking spray.  Mix all of the ingredients together and bake for 20 minutes.  Let them cool a bit. 

Thank you Pinterest for giving me another reason to pin all of the workout stuff!

Cajun Chicken Pasta

So delicious!! You all need to try it. Yum Yum!! Chicken 1/2 cup olive oil 1/2 cup ranch dressing 3 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce 2 Tbsp Cajun seasoning 2 tsp salt 1 tsp lemon juice 1 tsp white vinegar 1/4 tsp ground black pepper, or to taste 1 Tbsp white sugar, or to taste 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves In a medium bowl, stir together the olive oil, ranch dressing, Worcestershire sauce, cajun seasoning, salt, lemon juice, white vinegar, pepper, and sugar. Let stand for 5 minutes. Pound chicken breast to 1/4" thickness. Place chicken in the gallon size ziplock bag, and stir to coat with the marinade. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours (the longer the better). Preheat the grill for medium-high heat. Grill chicken for 8 to 12 minutes, or until the chicken is no longer pink in the center, and the juices run clear. Slice and serve over pasta. Pasta 16 oz bowtie pasta 2 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream (can substitute evaporated milk) 3 cloves garlic, crushed 1 Tbsp pepper 2 tsp Cajun seasoning 1/4 cup butter 1/2 c. shredded Parmesan cheese Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain; set aside. In a small saucepan, melt butter, add garlic, whipping cream, Cajun seasoning, pepper, and parmesan cheese. Whisk together on low heat for 5-6 minutes. In a large bowl, pour over cooked, drained pasta. Top with Cajun ranch chicken and sprinkle a little bit more shredded parmesan cheese on top.

Chicken cordon blue

10-12 oz. penne or ziti pasta
2 cups heavy cream
1 (8 oz) block cream cheese
1/2 tsp. onion powder more or less to taste
1/2 tsp. garlic salt more or less to taste
1 1/2 cup shredded swiss cheese separated
2 chicken breasts cooked and cut into strips
3/4 cup bacon cooked and chopped
3/4 cup diced ham
bread crumbs

Cook pasta according to its package's directions. Drain. I always add a little olive oil after I drain it and stir in around so the pasta noodles don't stick together or the pot.
Heat cream cheese on stove over medium low heat until melted. Stir in heavy cream. Stir until completely combined. Add onion powder and garlic salt until it tastes how you would like it to. Stir 1 cup of cheese until smooth consistency.
In a 9x13, layer noodles, chicken, bacon and ham. Pour sauce over top. Sprinkle top with 1/2 cup cheese and bread crumbs.
Bake at 350 degrees F for 15 minutes or until heated through.

Banana Bread

 1 cup sugar
1/2 cup oil
2 eggs
3-4 bananas
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
1 tsp soda
 1/4 tsp salt

 Also can add chocolate chips, nuts, raisins, whatever you prefer, or just make as is. Mix and bake in 2 large loaf pans @ 350 for 45 min.

Texas Sheet Cake

2 c sugar
2 1/2 c Flour
1/2 t Salt
1 t baking soda
1 c butter
1 c water
4 T cocoa
1/2 c buttermilk
1 t vanilla
2 eggs

Frosting:
1/2 c butter
6 T buttermilk
4 T cocoa
1 t vanilla
4c or 1 lbs powder sugar

For cake: mix sugar, flour, salt, soda in bowl and set aside. In sauce pan mix butter, water, cocoa. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Mix dry ingredients, with cocoa mixture, buttermilk, vanilla, and eggs.
Pour into greased sheet pan. Bake 350 for 15-20 min.

Frosting:
Bring to a boil: butter, buttermilk, and cocoa.Remove from heat Add powder sugar and vanilla.

Frost cake while cake and frosting are still warm.

Buttermilk Ranch Chicken

2 Cups Buttermilk 1/4 cup Sour Cream 1 pkg Hidden Valley Ranch Seasoning, divided 2 TBS Salt plain Bread Crumbs Chicken Place buttermilk, sour cream, 2 TBS ranch seasoning, Salt in a large plastic ziplock. Seal and shake until combined. Add chicken pieces and let marinate. mix bread crumbs and remaining ranch seasoning together. Pull out chicken and shake off buttermilk. Coat in the bread crumbs. Lay out on a large sheet pan covered in foil and sprayed with cooking spray. lightly spray tops of chicken and cook in oven 450 degree and bake 15 min. Reduce heat to 400 and continue cooking until juices run clear or reaches 165. My Changes: I only did 1 cup buttermilk it's all i had and it was a perfect amount. I didn't reduce any other ingredients. 3 frozen chicken breasts I cut into tenders. faster and easier cooking. My bread crumbs were just a few stale dinner rolls I had left over that I pulsed in the food processor. I mixed in the ranch seasoning and then added 1/4 cup or more of parmesan cheese. That made it EXTRA delicious. Panko bread crumbs would be delicious too. I cooked a pan of my chicken tenders at 450 for 15-25 minutes and they came out perfect and delicious.

Garlic Chicken Yields 4 Servings Ingredients 2 teas. crushed garlic 1/4 cup olive oil 1/4 cup dry bread crumbs 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves. Directions: Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Warm the garlic and olive oil to blend the flavors. In a separate dish, combine the bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese. Dip the chicken breasts in teh olive oil and garlic mixture, then into the bread crumb mixture. Place in a shallow baking dish. Bake in teh preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, until no longer pink and juices run clear. This recipe is so dang good, if you like garlic. You can prepare it ahead of time and cook it later. So yummmmmy! You will love how this turns out! You won't be disappointed.

Green Enchilada sauce

This recipe is from Our Best Bites. It's a cafe rio copy cat. I didn't follow the directions at all. I roughly chopped everything and simmered it all in a big pot for 45 minutes. Then blended it all together. It's pretty much the same thing only I found it easier to just dump it all in, forget it and then blend later when I had more time. It's super yummy!! And made with fresh veggies instead of whatever they throw in a can! 2-3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil 1 large onion, minced 5-6 cloves garlic, minced or pressed 2 green peppers, chopped 1-2 jalapenos, seeded and membranes removed if desired (and I desire. Always.) 1 1/2 lb. tomatillos, husked and quartered or halved 1/2 bunch cilantro, coarsely chopped 1 1/2 tsp. Kosher salt 1/4 tsp. black pepper 1 1/2 tsp. cumin 4 c. chicken broth 2-3 Tbsp. sugar (optional and to taste; the sauce Cafe Rio uses seems to be slightly sweet, so if I’m using this sauce for enchilada-style burritos, I generally add a little sugar, but for everything else, I leave it out.) In a large saucepan or stock pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Saute onions and garlic until tender and fragrant. While onions are sauteeing, combine tomatillos, green peppers, jalapeno peppers, and cilantro in your blender. Process until smooth; you may have to do it in batches and/or add some chicken broth to make things blendable. Pour the tomatillo mixture over the onions and garlic and add chicken broth, salt, pepper, and cumin. Simmer 15 minutes-1 hour, depending on the consistency you want. I usually turn the heat to high and boil it uncovered until I reach the consistency I want; it makes things go a lot faster. The sauce can also be simmered in a slow cooker all day. Serve over tacos, as an enchilada sauce, inside burritos, or as a dip for chips.

Roast with gravy

Roast Dans favorite dry rub -tapp recipe book- 1 can cream of chicken soup 1 can brown gravy or 1 spice pkg brown gravy mix Onion, chunked Carrots Potatoes Rub your roast, we used elk, with dry rub. Sear meat on the stove to create a crust and seal in all the juices, place in a casserole dish including any juices in the skillet. Mix cream of chicken soup with gravy mix. Pour gravy over roast. Add onions and Loosely cover and cook 300 degrees for a couple hours depending on the size of your roast. Serve with potatoes and carrots.

Cookies n cream brownies

1 brownie mix
1 can sweetened condensed milk
2 cups heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla
1 row oreos or any desired mix-ins
Hot fudge

Make brownies according to box. Whip cream to stiff peaks. Fold in vanilla and sweetened milk. Roughly chop Oreos. Fold cookies into cream mixture. Spread over cooled brownies and freeze until cream mixture becomes ice cream OR put cream mixture into a Tupperware container freeze and serve scooped over a brownie with hot fudge on top. The ice cream is very delicious on its own too.

Diamond Chocolate Walnut Toffee Bars

1 cup butter or margarine, softened ( I used butter flavored Crisco)
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups chopped Diamond Walnuts
1 cup semi sweet chocolate pieces

Heat oven to 350 degrees. In mixer bowl, beat butter, brown sugar, egg and vanilla until creamy. Stir in flour, salt and 1/2 cup walnuts. Spread into lightly buttered 13 X 9-inch pan. Bake for 25 minutes or until lightly browned. Immediately sprinkle with chocolate pieces and let stand 5 minutes. Spread chocolate over cookie base. Sprinkle with remaining walnuts and press lightly. Cool; cut into bars. Makes 24 bars.

I got this recipe off of a walnut package.
I think I will make this with butter next time, it came out a little dry. For those of you who don't care for walnuts, use another kind or just leave them out... Hope you enjoy this recipe, it's so easy for a quick treat if company comes over!

Fluffy Frosting

Fluffy Kitchen Aid Frosting
Kitchen Aid book

1 ½ cups sugar
½ tsp. cream of tartar
½ tsp. salt
½ cup water
1 ½ Tbsp. light corn syrup
2 egg whites
1 ½ tsp. vanilla

Place sugar, cream of tartar, salt, water and corn syrup in saucepan. Cook and stir over medium heat until sugar is completely dissolved, forming a syrup.
Place egg whites in mixer bowl. Attach bowl and wire whip to mixer. Turn to Speed 10 and whip about 45 seconds, or until whites begin to hold shape. Continuing on Speed 10, slowly pour hot syrup into egg whites in a fine stream and whip 1 to 1 ½ minutes. Add vanilla and whip about 5 minutes longer, or until frosting loses its gloss and stands in stiff peaks. Frost cake immediately.
We frosted Kristen’s cake with this frosting! It’s really easy to keep its shape and decorates well. It’s not butter cream but it’s still yummy!

Creamy green chili enchiladas

Don't be intimidated by the recipe it's really easy and totally worth it. These are the best enchiladas I've ever had!

Recipe from Mel's Kitchen Cafe

INGREDIENTS:
Filling:
3 cups cooked, chopped chicken
2 (4 oz.) cans of green chiles, lightly drained
1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese, cubed
1 can white or black beans, rinsed and drained (you can really use any type of bean you prefer here)

Sauce:
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup chopped onion (about 1/2 medium onion)
2 tablespoons flour
1/3 cup chicken broth
¼ cup milk
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
1 can (7 ounce) green chile enchilada sauce
½ cup sour cream

8 ounces (about 2 cups) Monterey jack cheese, shredded
8 medium (soft taco size) flour tortillas
Handful of chopped fresh cilantro

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a medium bowl, combine the softened cream cheese and green chiles. Mix well. Add the chicken and black beans. Mix to combine. Set aside.

In a large nonstick skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion softens and starts to turn translucent, about 3-4 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the onions and stir well. Cook for 1 minute, stirring. Slowly whisk in the chicken broth and milk. As you whisk and the mixture cooks, the flour will get less lumpy around the onions and the mixture will become smooth. Cook over medium heat until the mixture is bubbling and has thickened, about 4-5 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in the enchilada sauce and sour cream.

Lightly grease a 9X13-inch baking dish. Spread about 1/4 cup of the sauce on the bottom of the dish. Fill each tortilla with about ½ cup of the chicken/cream cheese filling. Top with a small handful of shredded cheese, a couple tablespoonfuls for each enchilada. Save at least 1/2 cup cheese for the top of the enchiladas. Roll the tortillas up and place seam side down in the prepared baking dish. Continue filling enchiladas until the dish is full (I can easily fit 8 enchiladas in one pan).

Pour the white sauce over the top of the enchiladas. Top with remaining cheese. Bake for 20-30 minutes until the enchiladas are bubbling, hot and lightly browned. Sprinkle fresh cilantro over the top and serve.

Sticky Buns

20 Rhodes frozen rolls
(white or wheat)
1 (4 oz. pkg. butterscotch pudding
3/4 c. brown sugar
3/4 c. butter
3/4 c. pecans

Place rolls in greased bundt pan. Sprinkle pudding and pecans over rolls. Cook sugar and butter to a boil. Pour over rolls. Bake @ 350 degrees for 40 minutes, or until brown. Makes 8-10 servings.

This is different from the sticky buns we have in our family cookbook. I would let the rolls rise a little. I would allow in the fridge overnight would be good, leaving on the counter to rise makes the dough get too yeasty, if that's a word...

The first one to make this tell me how it turns out!

Love
Nana Dewey

Ginger Bread Cookies

1 cup sugar
1 cup sorghum or molasses
3/4 cup oil or lard
1/2 cup hot water

Combine: Rinse sorghum from cup with hot water.

Add: 2 eggs

Mix together the following:
1 teas. soda
2 teas. cinnamon
1/2 teas. salt
2 teas. ginger
6 or 7 cups of white flour

Refrigerate dough overnight. Roll out and cut with cookie cutter. Bake @ 350 degrees for 10 minutes. To roll out the dough we used Pam in place of flour. Cookies freeze well and are softer and more flavorful after freezing.

The history behind this recipe is...
This recipe was received during a family vacation to Nauvoo. The bakery was handing out cookies and ran out so they started to hand out this recipe.

Potato Waffles

These are very yum especially when you want some potatoes with your breakfast and you're already using the waffle iron.

3 Potatoes, grated
1/2 onion, grated
1 egg
1/8-1/4 c sour cream
Salt
Pepper
Garlic

Spread grated potatoes on a few layered paper towels, sprinkle liberally with salt and let the water drain out for a few minutes. (or wring potatoes out with a kitchen towel) Once potatoes are dry mix together with other ingredients. Season according to taste.
Spread out enough to fill your waffle iron. Lock iron and cook potatoes for 10-12 minutes until potatoes are cooked and golden brown.

Recipe from Rachael Ray.com check out her website for other recipe ideas using your waffle iron.

Southwest Black bean "egg" rolls

Rolls:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium yellow or red onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
3 (about 1 1/2 pounds) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed
1 green or red pepper, diced small
1 jalapeno pepper, membranes removed, seeded and finely minced or 4 pickled jalapeno rounds from the jar
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
10 ounces frozen, chopped spinach, defrosted and liquid squeezed out (wringing through a kitchen towel works great)
1 cup frozen corn
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 cup freshly chopped cilantro
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2-3 cups shredded cheese, such as Monterey Jack, Pepper Jack or Cheddar
2-3 dozen small, fajita-size flour tortillas

In a large 12-inch nonstick skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and saute for 3-4 minutes until softened. Add the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Add the cubed chicken breasts and peppers and cook over medium or medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes. Add the rinsed and drained black beans, spinach, corn, cilantro and seasonings. Mix well and cook until the mixture is heated through. Add the cheese and stir well, cooking, until the mixture is hot and cheese is mostly melted.

Warm the tortillas. I place 5-6 between two damp paper towels and microwave for about 45 seconds. Place some of the filling on each tortilla and roll up tightly, egg-roll style, folding in the edges. Place seam side down on the prepared baking sheets (secure with a toothpick if needed).

Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes, until the rolls are lightly browned and heated through. Serve immediately.

* I didn't have any tortillas so I turned this recipe into a dip. I sautéed all the ingredients together and then added:

1/4c chicken broth to deglaze the pan
4 oz cream cheese
Juice of 1 lime
Cheddar cheese
Mozzarella cheese

I threw the skillet under the broiler to melt the cheese. Pulled it out and topped the dip with avocado and tomato.

Mini German Pancakes

I love Pinterest! I'm so thankful that Laurel and her mom got me hooked on it. It has opened my world to so many new things!

Mini German Pancakes

6 eggs

1 cup milk

1 cup flour

1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spray cupcake pans with no-stick cooking spray. Mix eggs, milk, flour and salt just enough to blend. Pour batter in cupcake pan. Bake 18-25 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool for a few minutes. Remove from pan.

Next time I make this, I'm going to put a 1/2 tsp of butter on top of each one to help it not be so dry on top. You could also easily half the recipe.

Enjoy!!!

Crock pot Creamy Chicken

Recipe from Jamie cooks it up
This list of ingredients is something I thought looked Weird, and never would have thought would be good together. I only tried it because I needed dinner and it was a recipe that I had all the ingredients already. It turned out delicious!


5 FROZEN chicken breasts
1 1/2 C salsa
2 cans cream of chicken soup
2 1/2 T taco seasoning
1 T maple syrup
1 t lime juice
1 T butter
1/2 C sour cream


1. Spray the inside of your crock pot with cooking spray and place the chicken breasts inside.
2. In a small mixing bowl stir together all other ingredients but the butter and sour cream.
3. Pour the sauce over the top of the chicken. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours, or on low for 7-8 hours.
4. Take the chicken out of the crock and onto a plate. Shred it all up with a fork and throw it back in.
5. Add the little pat of butter and the sour cream, stir it all around until incorporated.

We served ours on tortillas with black beans, rice, cheese, sour cream, cilantro, more lime juice, salsa or tomatoes. Very delicious.