Can't Leave Alone Bars

These are very similar to the Revel Bars Jenn posted. The main difference is that this recipe uses a boxed cake mix for the crust. They are really good and the chocolate is so gooey.

Ingredients:
1 package (18-1/4 oz. size) white cake mix (use chocolate if you're a chocoholic)
2 eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 can (14-oz. size) sweetened condensed milk
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
2 T. cup butter, cubed
1 t. vanilla

In a bowl, combine the dry cake mix, eggs and oil. With floured hands, press 2/3 of the mixture into a greased 13x9x2-inch baking pan. Set remaining cake mixture aside. In a microwave-safe bowl, combine the milk, chocolate chips and butter.

Microwave, uncovered, on HIGH for 45 seconds; stir. Microwave 45-60 seconds longer or until chips and butter are melted; stir until smooth. Add vanilla. Pour over crust.

Crumble remaining cake mixture over top. Bake at 350F for 20-25 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool before cutting.

Creamy Tomato Soup and Bread Bowls

Creamy Tomato Soup

Ingredients

* 2 (15-ounce) containers, chicken or vegetable stock/broth (preferred brand: Kitchen Basics)
* 1 (28-ounce) can concentrated crushed tomatoes
* 1 cup heavy cream
* Coarse salt and black pepper and basil (I used a tablespoon but, used more or less based on your taste)
*One clove of garlic minced



Directions

Combine broth, tomatoes,basil and garlic in crockpot on high for4 to 6 hours. Stir in heavy cream, salt and pepper and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 30 minutes.With an immersion blender, puree soup. (I didn't have an immersion blender so I poured the crockpot contents into a blender a pureed)

Bread Bowl

I cheated on the bread bowls..

Ingredients

*Package of frozen bread loaves such as Rhodes (I brought the gentric with three 1 lb loaves)
*One egg beaten

Directions

I made 2 adult size bowls and 4 kid size bowls but, you can alter the size of the bowls to your needs.

Thaw 2 loaves. When dough is thawed but still cold divide the first loaf in 4 parts for kid bowls and second loaf into 2 parts. Form into ball and put on greased baking sheets, brush with egg. Let rise. I put mine in a 170 degree oven turned off for 2 hours. Bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cut of tops and hollow out in a bowl shape.

These could easily be made from scratch. Easily, if you know how to make bread from scratch, so not easy for me.

This is a new family favorite. My husband doesn't really like tomato soup but, he loved this.

Cake Balls

Easiest thing to make and they are really, really good. These would be especially good for Christmas treats. I found the recipe and picture at allrecipes.com. I've made them with cake and frosting from scratch and from the packaged stuff. We really like chocolate cake mixed with chocolate frosting dipped in white chocolate.

1 (18.25 ounce) package chocolate cake mix
1 (16 ounce) container prepared chocolate frosting
1 (3 ounce) bar chocolate flavored confectioners coating (I used much more than this, and I used the chocolate bark)

DIRECTIONS
Prepare the cake mix according to package directions using any of the recommended pan sizes. When cake is done, crumble while warm into a large bowl, and stir in the frosting until well blended. Melt chocolate coating in a glass bowl in the microwave, or in a metal bowl over a pan of simmering water, stirring occasionally until smooth. Use a melon baller or small scoop to form balls of the chocolate cake mixture. Dip the balls in chocolate using a toothpick or fork to hold them. Place on waxed paper to set.

Lasagna Rolls

This is a great alternative to traditional lasagna and my kids love it.

Sauce:
2 T. unsalted butter
4 tsp. all purpose flour
1 1/4 cup whole milk (I used 2% and it was fine)
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. ground black pepper
pinch ground nutmeg

Lasagna:
1 (15 ounce) container whole milk ricotta cheese
1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeeze dry
1 cup plus 2 T. grated Parmesan cheese
3 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto, chopped
1 large egg, beaten
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
1-2 T. olive oil
12 uncooked lasagna noodles
1 cup marinara sauce
1 cup shredded mozzarella

*spinach and prosciutto are optional.

To make the sauce you are basically just making a white sauce. Melt better over medium-low heat, add flour and whisk for about 2-3 minutes. Whisk in the milk and increase the heat to medium-high. Keep cooking and whisking the sauce until it is thick and smooth and then add salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Pour the bechamel sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 baking pan.

Preheat oven to 450. Boil Lasagna noodles until they are almost done (about 7-8 minutes). If they are too done they will just fall apart when rolling. When noodles are done lay out on baking sheet to prevent sticking and let the noddles cool.

Make Filling. Mix ricotta, spinach, 1 cup Parmesan cheese, prosciutto, egg, salt and pepper until blended.

Put three Tablespoons filling on each noodle and spread all over. Starting at one end roll noodle, jelly roll style, and place in bechamel sauce in pan (seam side down). Repeat with remaining noodles until done. Spoon 1 cup marinara sauce over the lasagna rolls and sprinkle with mozzarella and remaining 2 T. Parmesan cheese.

Cover with foil and cook until heated through and sauce is bubbling, about 20 minutes. Take off foil and cook for 15 more minutes until cheese is nice and brown on top. Let cool for about 10 minutes before serving!

Sesame Chicken

Okay Jenn, I thought I would give Sesame Chicken a try. This is actually my sister Jamie's recipe (maybe she should post something..right Jam). Shawn and I thought it was good.

Sauce:

1/2 cup chicken stock

2 T. soy sauce

1 T. toasted sesame oil

4 cloves garlic, minced

2-3 tsp. grated ginger root

2 tsp. cornstarch

1 tsp. sugar

Chicken:

1/2 cup flour

2 T. sesame sees

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

1 egg, beaten

1/4 cup milk

cooking oil for frying

1 lb. skinless chicken thighs cut into small pieces (I used breasts)

Vegetables:

1 T. cooking oil

2 zucchini, cut into strips (I didn't have any zucchini and was so sad. This would have made a big difference)

1 green bell pepper, cut into strips

6 green onions, cut into strips

(or you can just use a frozen bag or oriental veggies)

Directions:

Mix together all the ingredients for the sauce and set aside.

In large bowl combine flour, sesame sees, salt and cayenne. In a small bowl combine milk and egg. Add to dry ingredients and beat until smooth. In a wok heat 1/4 inch oil to 365 degrees. Dip chicken into coating and then add to oil. Fry until golden brown and cooked. Drain on paper towels. Cook all chicken and keep warm in oven.

Pour cooking oil for veggies in pan. Stir fry veggies for 3 minutes or until crisp-tender. Stir in sauce and cook until thick and bubbly. Add chicken to mixture and stir. Serve with rice. ENJOY!

Mongolian Beef in a Crockpot!!

I got this recipe off http://www.crockpot365.blogspot.com/ and yes, it is good and even better that you cook it in the crockpot. We really liked the sauce!

--1 1/2 pounds flank steak
--3 cloves of garlic, minced
--4 sliced green onions--one is for garnish
--1 t dried minced onion (or 1/2 fresh onion, diced very small)
--1/2 cup gluten free soy sauce

--1/4 cup white wine
--1/4 cup cooking sherry

(but I didn't have either sherry or wine, so I just substituted 1/2 cup chicken broth and it tasted fine)
--1 T white wine vinegar

--1 t sesame oil
--1 t molasses
--1 t ginger
--1/4 t black pepper
--1 t red chili pepper flakes
--1/2 T peanut butter (if allergic, use black bean paste)
--3 T brown sugar
--1/4 cup cornstarch (to dredge meat--don't add to sauce mixture)

--slice your meat in thin strips and toss in a Ziploc bag with cornstarch.
--add all of the liquid and dried spices to your crockpot, and the peanut butter, and mix well. Add the garlic and three of the sliced green onions. If you are using fresh onion, add that now, too.
--put your meat on top, and toss gingerly to coat.

Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours. Flank steak is thin and have very little fat, and will cook quickly. There isn't a lot of liquid in this dish, so if your crock tends to cook hot, please check it after 3 hours.

The meat is done when it is no longer pink and has reached desired tenderness. I cooked our meat in a 6qt oval Smart Pot and it was done after 4 hours on low.
Serve over steamed rice and and garnish with freshly sliced green onion.

Sesame Chicken

I'm going to try this Sesame Chicken recipe this week because I love sesame chicken. The only thing that I will do differently, is that I won't deep fry it. I'm going to prepare the chicken just like the way it's prepared in the Tiny Spicy Chicken that Jenn posted, but then I'll do the sesame sauce. Does that make sense?

If it looks like this and tastes like take-out, I'm going to be pretty happy. I'll let you know how it turns out.

It was okay, it wasn't fabulous like it was hyped up to be. The sauce was more red than the brown sauce of sesame chicken. It didn't really even taste like good sesame chicken. It was more like sweet and sour.

I'll keep searching for a good one.

Mar-a-Lago Turkey Burger

A friend of mine made these and because they were so good, I decided to make them too. They were featured on Oprah. My friend's were a little different, but following the recipe produced an equally good, juicy, flavorful turkey burger balanced with tart apples and lemon, sweet chutney, and hot, smokey tabasco. I would definitely half the recipe, because I used about 2-1/2 lbs. of ground turkey and I got about 8 burgers. There's no way the full recipe would only make 8 patties. Oh, and I used half pure turkey breast, half regular ground turkey to keep the price of meat down.

1/4 cup thinly sliced scallions
1/2 cup finely chopped celery
3 Granny Smith apples , peeled and diced
1/8 cup canola oil
4 pounds ground turkey breast
2 Tbsp. salt
2 Tbsp. black pepper
2 tsp. Tabasco® chipotle pepper sauce
1 lemon , juiced and grated zest
1/2 bunch parsley , finely chopped
1/4 cup Major Grey's Chutney , pureed

Sauté the scallions, celery and apples in the canola oil until tender. Let cool.

Place the ground turkey in a large mixing bowl. Add sautéed items and the remaining ingredients. Shape into eight 8-ounce burgers. Refrigerate for 2 hours.

Season the turkey burgers with salt and pepper. Place on a preheated, lightly oiled grill. Grill each side for 7 minutes until meat is thoroughly cooked. Let sit for 5 minutes.

Serve with a side of Mar-a-Lago Pear Chutney and your favorite toasted bread, pita or hamburger roll. (I didn't make this, and the burgers were still good)

Cajun Chicken

Another Allrecipes classic recipe~Enjoy!

4 ounces linguine pasta
2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning
2 tablespoons butter
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1 green bell pepper, sliced
4 fresh mushrooms, sliced ( I didn't have any, but they would be a great addition)
1 green onion, chopped
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon lemon pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.

Place the chicken and the Cajun seasoning in a plastic bag. Shake to coat. In a large skillet over medium heat, saute the chicken in butter or margarine until almost tender (5 to 7 minutes).
Add the red bell pepper, green bell pepper, mushrooms and green onion. Saute and stir for 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce heat.

Add the cream, basil, lemon pepper, salt, garlic powder and ground black pepper. Heat through. Add the cooked linguine, toss and heat through. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese and serve.

Quick Bread Tip

Just one quick tip that I learned the other day. When you make Banana Bread, or pumpkin or zucchini or whatever kind you can do this trick. Grease your pans and then coat them with a mixture of cinnamon and sugar. It makes a delicious little Cinnamon/sugar crust on the bread. Delicious!

Lettuce Wraps

Again, I found this on allrecipes, but I tweaked it to my taste. Here's the original. This is mine with my changes.

16 Boston Bibb or butter lettuce leaves (I used iceberg because the other stuff looked gross)
1 pound lean ground pork
a little sesame oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
1 tablespoon soy sauce (at least 1 T. I probably used more)
1/2 cup hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar (again, I think I used more)
Asian chile pepper sauce (I used the hot sauce Jenn used in the spicy chicken)
1 (8 ounce) can water chestnuts, drained and finely chopped
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1 carrot, julienned
2 teaspoons Asian (dark) sesame oil

Rinse whole lettuce leaves and pat dry, being careful not tear them. Set aside.
In a medium skillet over high heat, brown the ground pork in 1 tablespoon of oil, stirring often and reducing the heat to medium, if necessary. Drain, and set aside to cool. Cook the onion in the same pan, stirring frequently. Add the garlic, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, vinegar, and chile pepper sauce to the onions, and stir. Stir in chopped water chestnuts, green onions, carrots and sesame oil, and continue cooking until the onions just begin to wilt, about 2 minutes.
Arrange lettuce leaves around the outer edge of a large serving platter, and pile meat mixture in the center. To serve, allow each person to spoon a portion of the meat into a lettuce leaf. Wrap the lettuce around the meat like a burrito, and enjoy!

Hidden Valley Ranch Pull-Apart Bread and Variation

This bread is really good, however when I went to make it this weekend, I realized that I only had enough to make one loaf but I had thawed out enough bread dough to make two. So, I improvised. To find the original bread recipe follow this link

Here's what I did differently.

1 packed dry Italian dressing mix
1 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 package cooked bacon bits (not the Bacos, but the real bacon bits that are packaged in a resealable bag)
1 pound/loaf frozen bread dough, thawed
2 T. oil

Measure oil into a large mixing bowl. Cut bread dough into 1 inch pieces. Add to oil and coat well. Add dressing mix, bacon, and cheese. Put into greased loaf pan and bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes. Remove from oven, cover with foil and return to oven to bake for an additional 10-15 minutes (internal temperature should reach 190-195 degrees).

My husband liked it this way. He said it tasted like bread sticks. I think either version is good, but I liked the ranch bread better.

Ginger Chicken

I got this recipe from one of the other food blogs I read, Pimp My Dinner. It really was easy and pretty tasty so I thought I would share.

Chicken Breast (I used 3 skinless boneless breasts cut up into pieces)

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup orange juice

1 T. green onions, chopped

1 T. grated ginger

1 T. lemon juice

1 T. honey

1 tsp. basil

1/2 tsp. pepper

1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper

4 garlic cloves, minced

Mix together all ingredients and let marinate with chicken for 1 hour. Cook chicken in skillet. {about half way through cooking I dumped in extra marinade and let it thicken into a sauce, this was great over the chicken and rice.} Serve chicken over rice. This marinade is really simple and you could cook the chicken many ways, even grilling would be great. It has a simple yet flavorful taste. I didn't have any green onions so I left those out, but this is a great go-to meal when you don't have a lot in the pantry!

Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas

These really are great enchiladas. I love that they are a little different than the standard enchilada, a little spicy with a little sweet and we really liked them.

3/4 cup honey
lime juice (1-2 limes)
1 T. chili pwd.
1/2 tsp. garlic pwd.
1 tsp. cumin
1 lb. chicken, cooked and shredded
8-10 flour tortillas
monterey jack cheese, shredded

Sauce:
16 oz. green enchilada sauce
1 cup heavy cream

Mix the first five ingredients and toss wiht the shredded chicken and let marinate for atleast 1/2 hour. {I just put those five ingredients with the cooked chicken in a Ziploc bag in the fridge in the morning and let it sit all day}. Pour about 1/2 cup enchilada sauce on the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Fill tortillas with chicken mixture and shredded cheese. Put tortillas in pan and cover with sauce and remaining cheese. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until brown and crispy on top.

To make sauce: mix the remaining enchilada sauce with cream and any leftover marinade. I took a few liberties with the sauce. First, I didn't have any heavy cream, so I used 1/2 cup cream of chicken soup and 1/2 cup regular milk. That seemed to work, but really anything that will thicken up the sauce is good. Also, I didn't have any leftover marinade-my chicken sucked up all the yummy goodness, so I just added about 1 T. of honey and 1 T. lime juice to the sauce.

Almond Poppy Seed Muffins

It is always fun to change things up a bit for breakfast and these muffins are delicious. I did make one change to the original recipe found at http://www.allrecipes.com, I changed the glaze to be more of a frosting because you just can't have too much sugar :). I just added powder sugar until it was the right consistency, but this would be just as good with the regular glaze. This also can be made in loaf pans.

3 eggs
2 1/2 cups white sugar
1 1/8 cups vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups milk
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 tablespoons poppy seeds
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup orange juice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2 teaspoons butter, melted

Beat together the eggs, 2 1/2 cups white sugar and vegetable oil. Add in milk, salt, baking powder, poppy seeds, vanilla, almond flavoring, and flour. Mix well. Bake in paper lined muffin cups (filled 3/4 full or 3 small greased loaf pans) at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 15-20 minutes for muffins and 50-60 minutes for loaves. The tops should be browned and a toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean. Remove muffins as soon as you can while still warm/hot and dunk tops into glaze. Turn right side up and cool on a cookie rack. With loaves just pour the glaze evenly over the three loaves while still in pans. Let cool to a warm temp. and remove from pans. Yes, it is a little messy but it is really good.

To Make Glaze: In a saucepan over low heat, combine 3/4 cup sugar, orange juice, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, 1/2 teaspoon almond flavoring and 2 teaspoons melted butter. Warm in pan until the sugar is dissolved. Pour over loaf pans or dunk muffin tops into glaze when cooled to room temperature. (Omit the glaze altogether if you don't like the mess.)