Mint Ice Cream Pie

Mint Ice Cream Pie

In a large chilled bowl stir 2 pints (4 cups) mint chocolate chip or peppermint ice cream until softened but not melted. Spoon ice cream into a purchased chocolate-flavored crumb pie shell, spread evenly. Cover; freeze for 4 hours or until firm. To serve, let pie stand at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes before slicing. Top slices with warmed hot fudge ice cream topping and, if desired, coarsely chopped chocolate-mint layered candies or crushed peppermint candies.

I found this recipe in my Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook.

Stovetop Casserole

In all my cookbooks, I have a lot of different versions of this casserole.

One day I looked at them all, and decided to create my own version.

This is the one we liked the best because the chicken wasn't too dry, and the stuffing wasn't too soggy.

Hope you like it too!

Stove Top Casserole

Ingredients:

1 pkg Stove Top Stuffing Mix (for Chicken), prepared as directed on box

4 Chicken Breasts, thawed and cubed

1 can Cream of Chicken Soup

1/2 cup Milk

1 and 1/2 cups shredded Mozzarella Cheese

Directions:

Combine soup with milk till smooth, then add 1 cup cheese.

Stir in raw chicken pieces.

Pour mixture into 9x13 pan, and spread remaining cheese over it.

Cover with prepared stuffing.

Then bake about 35 minutes at 375 degrees or until chicken is completely cooked.

Enjoy!

Fruit Dessert Recipes

I must be dreaming about my fruit trees that I am going to plant.  I'm always in the mood for fruit lately.  Luckily for me, my husband made a fruit dessert the other night that was fabulous.  It was a Blueberry Peach Crisp.  I haven't done a lot with blueberries before, but I really enjoyed them with the bottled peaches from my tree last year.  Brian found the recipe on www.userealbutter.com.

Blueberry Peach Crisp
from Fine Cooking issue #93

• 2 oz. unsalted butter, softened (plus more for pan)
• 3 oz. all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2/3 cup pecans, coarsely chopped
• 3 cups (~1 lb.) blueberries, washed, drained, and room temperature
• 3 medium peaches (~1 lb.), halved, pitted, and sliced 1/2 inch thick
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3 tbsps cornstarch
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground nutmeg

Place rack in center of oven and preheat to 375°F. Butter a 9-inch square pan (I used my 8-inch pan). For the topping, mix together flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and 1/8 tsp of salt in a bowl. Work butter into the mixture with fingers until clumpy. Stir in the pecans. In a large bowl, toss the blueberries, peaches, granulated sugar, cornstarch, 1/8 tsp salt, and nutmeg together. Pour the fruit into the pan and level out. Sprinkle the streusel topping over the fruit. Bake for 45-50 minutes until the center is bubbling and the topping has browned. Serve warm.


Another one that I really enjoyed a while ago and need to make again is a Crock Pot Apple Crisp.  I have to thank my friend Tara R. for sharing it with me.    It was super easy!


Butterscotch Apple Crisp

• 6 cups sliced peeled tart apples (about 5 large)
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup quick-cooking oats
• 1 package (3-1/2 ounces) cook-and-serve butterscotch pudding mix
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup butter
• Vanilla ice cream, optional

Place apples in a 3-qt. slow cooker. In a large bowl, combine the brown sugar, flour, oats, pudding mix and cinnamon. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle over the apples. Cover and cook on low for 5 to 5-1/2 hours or until apples are tender. Serve with ice cream if desired. (source: Taste of Home)

Chicken Tetrizini

This is one of our "Regulars".  In fact, we had it for dinner last night.  I should have taken a picture of it!

Chicken Tetrizini
2 T Butter
1 4oz can Mushrooms (stems and pieces)
4 Chicken Breasts
2 cans Cream of Chicken Soup
1 16oz tub of Sour Cream
1 package Angel Hair Noodles
Parmesan Cheese (Optional)

Melt butter in a large frying pan, simmer mushrooms.  Add cooked, cubed chicken.  Add cream of chicken soup and sour cream.  Meanwhile, cook noodles.  Stir all togheter and put in 9x13 pan.  Top with Parmesan Cheese.  Cook at 300* for 45 minutes.

Crock Pot Sweet Pork

This recipe is to die for!  We love it.  It makes a lot of meat for our little family though, so we like to half the recipe.  Just be sure to plan ahead!  I ususally start it before I go to bed the night before we want to eat it for dinner.  We use the uncooked flour tortillas and lettus to make tacos.  YUM!

Crock Pot Sweet Pork

5-6 pound pork roast

1 T. cumin

1 cup brown sugar

12 oz bottle La Victoria taco sauce

20 oz bottle of Coke

Place pork roast in crock pot and fill about half way up with water.

Cook on low for 12 hours.

Drain off almost all the water,  and add all other ingredients.  Cook another 4 hours on low.

Shred prok.  Cook another 2 hours.

I'm not sure my picture does it justice, but here it is:



Andes Crème de Menthe Cookies

 

 

Ingredients:

1/2 cup salted butter - softened
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup white granulated sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 package (10 oz.) Andes® Crème de Menthe Baking Chips
2-2/3 cups sifted all-purpose flour

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350° F.
Blend butter, sugars, baking soda, baking powder, vanilla and eggs until mixed.
Stir in Andes Baking Chips and then flour. Chill approximately one hour in the refrigerator.
Measure out approximately 1 oz. of dough. Form a ball and slightly flatten.
Raise oven rack one level above the middle and bake on non-stick baking pans.
Bake at 350° F for approximately 8 - 10 minutes.
Cool on pans for two minutes before removing.

Yield:

4 dozen cookies.

This recipe is from http://www.tootsie.com/rec_cdmcookies.php.

Cinnamon Rolls

These cinnamon rolls are a family favorite. The great thing about them is you can make one batch and have enough for you and your neighbors!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups scalded milk
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1 cup mashed potatoes (or the dry potato and liquid ingredients for instant potatoes!)
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 tablespoons yeast
• 2 eggs, slightly beaten
• 7 cups flour

Directions:

Here is my simplified and shortcut version for mixing the ingredients. I've included some tips to help you learn from my experience making cinnamon rolls.

• Combine milk, shortening, mashed potatoes, waster, sugar, and salt in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high for 3 minutes.
• After heated up and hopefully melted, stir the ingredients together. This is a good time to make sure the shortening melted properly. Add more microwave time if necessary. Just don't get the mixture crazy hot or you'll have to wait before putting it together with the rest of the ingredients.
• Put flour and yeast in your mixer. I like to mix them up a bit. If you have a smaller mixer or are nervous about combining all of the flour and liquid together in one step, feel free to start with only 1/2 of the flour here and then add the rest of the flour after adding the liquid. Once your Bosch or Kitchen Aid mixer works on it, it doesn't really seem to matter (to me).
• Optionally, add 2 tablespoons of soy/liquid lecithin. It helps the yeast grow a faster. (I learned this trick from Pantry Secrets. You could make cinnamon rolls with their simple generic dough recipe, but it's missing the nice properties you get from a potato dough.) Just squirt it on the dough in two globs each the size of a quarter. Don't measure, and don't get that stuff on your clothes!
• Add the eggs and the milk mixture. Mix and knead the resulting dough with the dough hook/attachment until soft and smooth.
• Spray the bottom of a large bowl with cooking spray. Place your dough in the bowl and apply some cooking spray on top to avoid sticking to the plastic wrap you'll put on top. What I've learned is to allow the plastic wrap to come down from the sides of the bowl and wrap the contour of the top of the dough. This keeps the dough from drying out on top. As the dough rises, it pushes the plastic up, but has enough give in it to go above the bowl, if necessary.
• Set the dough aside for a while until it doubles in size. If you added the lecithin, you won't have to wait longer than 15-25 minutes. If you didn't, it will take little longer. To speed up the process, put it in a warm place. To slow it down, toss it in the refrigerator or some other cooler spot.
• Ready to make the rolls? This recipe makes 2 dozen large cinnamon rolls, or 3 dozen medium-sized rolls. Decide which one you want and cut the batch into 2 or 3 portions. Each portion will be shaped to create a dozen.
• Roll out the dough to a rectangle shape with the dough about 1/2 inch thick. If you did 3 dozen, the dough will have to be thinner.
• Apply some moisture to the dough. Traditionally you can melt butter and spread it out, or to simplify add some water to your hands and pat them around the dough. The only disadvantage of the water method is if you get too much on there, your cinnamon can leak/drain out of the bottom of the finished product. Either way, it's quite similar.
• Sprinkle on cinnamon sugar. At the "top" of the dough (farthest from you), leave an inch or so uncovered.
• Roll up the dough, starting closest to you. You will have to go back and forth like a typewriter to roll the dough consistently. When you get to the "top" where the dough has no cinnamon, check to see if it has any moisture. If it isn't, add a small bit of water to the dough so that it will stick to your rolled portion. Make sure to put the seam on on the bottom touching the counter so that it has a good opportunity to melt together.
• Take some dental floss and slide it under the dough. Cross the front piece with the back piece and slice it in two. This is the cleanest way to cut cinnamon rolls. Sure you can cut it with a knife, but you want it to look good and you definitely don't want your nice knife's blade to be dulled by your hard kitchen counter (or cut your kitchen counter -- ouch). Cut 12 rolls.
• Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray and place the dough rolls on the cookie sheet. Cover with a towel or loosely with plastic wrap (w/cooking spray) and let them rise. If you cook them before they are big enough, you will have dense rolls. You will regret it. When they are big enough, bake them at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. They should be lightly browned on top.
• After they come out of the oven, let them cool off a little bit before you get crazy icing them. At this point they are so hot that the icing will melt off too fast.

Cream Cheese Icing Recipe

If you like cream cheese, you'll love this. If you don't, you may want to go with a less glamorous icing.

• 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons milk or water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

For the cinnamon rolls above, it usually requires a double batch of the cream cheese icing to go far enough... or maybe I like to spread it on thick. =D

Fruit Dip

When I need a snack that feels a little healthier, I like to make some fruit dip.  This is an easy way to get my kids to eat LOTS of fruit.

Fruit Dip
1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese
1 jar (8 oz.) marshmallow cream
2-3 TBS orange juice concentrate

Whip cream cheese, add marshmallow cream and orange juice.  Whip.   Serve with any fruit.  Enjoy!

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Snickers Cupcakes

I saw this recipe a while ago on Kevin and Amanda's blog and just knew it would be a keeper!  Luckily for me, my husband loves to cook and bake.  So, he whipped up some cupcakes for fun today.  They are my new personal favorite and I have already requested more of them for my birthday!  (Wish I didn't have to wait till June!)  

I love the surprise in the middle!  This is the first time we've ever tried putting stuff in the middle.  Love it.

It wan't long until it looked like this:

You have to try this one!  Enjoy!

Decadent Snickers Cupcakes

with Chocolate Mousse Filling

1 box Devils Food Cake Mix

1 small box Jello Chocolate Fudge instant pudding mix

4 eggs

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 cup milk

1 cup sour cream

Chocolate Mousse Filling

2 cups heavy whipping cream

2 cups milk chocolate chips

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

1 stick softened butter

2 1/2 to 3 cups powdered sugar

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 bag mini Snickers

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 24 cupcake tins with liners. To prepare the cupcakes, place the cake mix, pudding mix, eggs, oil, milk and sour cream into stand mixer. Beat until well combined, about 2 minutes. Scoop the batter evenly into the cupcake liners. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until cupcakes are cooked through and a toothpick comes clean from center. Remove the cupcakes from the tin and let cool.

2. To prepare the mousse, melt the milk chocolate chips in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds. Set aside to cool. Meanwhile, whip the heavy cream with a stand or electric mixer until it looks like whipped cream and stiff peaks form. Fold melted chocolate chips into whipped cream until well combined, then transfer batches into a piping bag. When cupcakes have cooled, press the tip of the piping bag into the center of the cupcake, about 1 inch deep. Squeeze the mousse into the cupcake while pulling the tip out. It doesn’t take much, just one firm squeeze is perfect. Continue filling all the cupcakes.

3. To prepare the frosting, beat the butter, powdered sugar, cocoa and vanilla until well combined and a nice frosting consistency. Spread over cupcakes then top with chopped Snickers.

Makes 24 cupcakes.

PS - If you could please vote for our money jars HERE, we would appreciate it!  Thanks!

Beef and Broccoli

Beef and Broccoli

Ingredients:

2 lbs lean beef

1 lb broccoli

4 garlic cloves

1 TBS olive oil

Marinade:

3 TBS rice vinegar

3 TBS cornstarch

3 TBS water

3 tsp sugar

3 tsp soy sauce

Sauce:

1/4 cup Oyster sauce

Instructions:

Cut the beef across the grain into thin slices. Mix marinade ingredients and soak beef in it for several hours (for the most flavor). Boil broccoli and brown beef in oil. After beef is cooked through add garlic, broccoli, and oyster sauce. You can add more soy sauce or water to thin it out, if needed. Salt to taste, serve with rice and enjoy!

Cracker Jack

Cracker Jack

Large Bowl of Popped Popcorn

Mix together:

2 cups brown sugar

1 cup margarine

1/2 cup corn syrup

Bring to a boil and cook 5 minutes. Take off stove and add:

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp baking soda

Spread in roaster pan and bake in 200 degree oven for 1 hour stirring every 15 minutes.

This would have to be one of my all time favorite treats. Yum! Enjoy. My good friend Amy J. shared this recipe with me. Thanks Amy!

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Tortellini Primavera

I found this awesome recipe HERE

My family loved it.

Tortellini Primavera

Ingredients:

1 14 oz. can vegetable brother or reduced sodium chicken broth

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

3 cloves garlic, sliced

1 cup shredded fontina cheese or 3/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese

1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon, dill or chives, or 1 teaspoon dried tarragon

1/8 teaspoon salt

4 cups chopped vegetables (such as broccoli, carrots, and snap peas) or 16 oz bag frozen mixed vegetables

1 16 oz package frozen cheese tortellini

Preparation

1. Put a large pot of water on to boil

2. Meanwhile, whisk broth and flour in a small bowl. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring, until just beginning to brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the broth mixture to the pan, bring to a boil and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 3 minutes.  Remove from the heat and stir in cheese, tarragon (or dill or chives) and salt. 

3. Add vegetables and tortellini to the boiling water; return the water to a simmer and cook until the vegetables and tortellini are tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Drain; add to the pan with the sauce and stir to coat.

I did make a few adjustments.... 

* I didn't have tarragon, dill, or chives so I used basil and italian seasoning. It turned out great.  

*I also had some leftover chicken I threw in, and that was a great addition.

*The one thing I didn't love was the amount of garlic. I would put in less next time, if not just use minced garlic (the spice). My house smelled like garlic for quite awhile after I made this. 

Definitely a keeper!