Pea + Peanut Salad

This is one of those "you have to try it before you decide" recipes. It sounds weird; I was skeptical at first as well. But once I tried it, I was sold. It's sweet and crunchy, savory and creamy, all at the same time.

Pea & Peanut Salad

1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 lb frozen peas, thawed
1 lb Spanish or cocktail peanuts

In a bowl, combine everything except the peas and peanuts. Mix well. Gently stir in the peas and peanuts, ensuring everything is coated well. Chill at least one hour before serving.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars - a nice, different side dish. I served it with smoked sausage and noodles. As a bonus, my two-year old scarfed it down!

Reese Cup Brownie Bites

Reese Cup Brownie Bites

Ingredients:

1 box of Dark Chocolate Fudge Brownie Mix (plus ingredients as the box indicates)

36 Mini Reese Cups

Mini muffin tin liners

Mix the brownie mix as instructed on the box. I prefer to only use one egg for a fudgier brownie. Place liners into cupcake pan. Place approximately 1/2 tsp onto the bottom of each liner. This will prevent the Reese cup from getting hard on the bottom. Center Reese cups into the liners on top of the brownie mix.

Cover the Reese cup with approximately 1 tbsp of brownie batter. I use the small scoop from Pampered Chef for easy measuring. Make sure all sides of the Reese cup are covered with brownie batter to prevent the Reese cup from burning.

 Bake at 350 for 11-13 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes

before removing from cupcake pan.

 I chose to give mine a little flare and frost with Peanut Butter Fluff. I used the Pampered Chef Easy Decorator to make little puffs on top.

Enjoy! Happy 4th of July!

Yummy Potato Casserole

Potato Casserole

1 package (30oz) frozen shredded hash brown potatoes, thawed
2 c. shredded cheddar cheese (I used 1 cup cheddar and 1 cup of hot pepper cheese)
1/4 c. chopped onion
2 c. sour cream
1 can of condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted
1/2 c. butter, melted and divided
2 c. French's Fried Onions
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

In a large bowl, combine the hash browns, cheese, onion, green peppers, salt and pepper. In another bowl, combine sour cream, soup and 1/4 of the melted butter. Pour over potato mixture and mix gently. Pour into a greased 3 qt. baking dish. Toss French's Fried Onions in the remaining melted butter and sprinkle over the top of the casserole. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 45-55 minutes.

This is great for potlucks, dinner parties and holidays.

Yummy Factor: 5 stars!

Salsa

Salsa and Margaritas are a summer staple around these parts. This is a fresh salsa recipe that's easy to make. Thanks for sharing Michelle!

Salsa:

6 Roma Tomatoes, diced
1/2 red onion, diced
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
2 jalapeno peppers, diced
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. lime juice
3 cloves of garlic, minced
salt to taste
pepper to taste
chili powder to taste ( I used 1/2 tsp.)

Mix together in a medium bowl, chill and serve!

Helpful hint: Kevin and I love our Vidalia Onion Chopper. This makes dicing these vegetables effortless. It's well worth the $20.

Peanut Butter Fluff

Amy will testify that this Peanut Butter Fluff, or Fluff as she calls it, is the best thing since sliced bread. It's amazingly easy to make, it makes a great frosting for fudge brownies or just eat it with pretzels or graham cracker sticks like we love to do. This is a staple for get togethers. It's sinfully delicious.

Peanut Butter Fluff

Ingredients:

1 tub of Marshmallow Fluff
1 c. Jif Creamy Peanut Butter (heaping)
1/4 c. milk

In a large bowl, mix ingredients with mixer until fluffy. Serve with graham cracker sticks or pretzels. Try not to eat the whole bowl, I dare you.

Rating: Fluff speaks for itself, but for this blogs sake I give it a 10!

Crab Cakes Amy's Way

Crab Cakes Amy's Way
These are totally un-authentic, but quick and easy and pretty tasty. Oh, and surprisingly not bad for you at all. In my world, quick+easy+tasty+healthy=KEEPER.

1 6 oz can of crab meat, drained and picked through
1 egg
2 T. corn meal
1 t. Tastefully Simple seasoned salt
2 T. finely chopped (or grated) onion
EVOO

Mix all ingredients together and allow mixture to sit for 10 min. Heat a non-stick skillet over med-high heat with a teaspoon or two of evoo in it. Form mixture into patties (I made three), and gently lay in hot skillet. Allow to cook on first side for 5 min before attempting to flip. Cook on other side for additional 3-5 min.

I served mine with a quick dip made of sour cream, horseradish, and garlic. YUM!

This recipe is totally flexible - it could easily accomodate twice as much crab as I used (my patties were breadier than some may like them), different seasonings would taste great, and a variety of sauces would work well (tartar, cajun mayo, etc.)

Flourless Peanut Chocolate Chip Cookies

These are delicious. I have never made a flourless cookie before. They are so quick and easy.

Flourless Peanut Chocolate Chip Cookies
(courtesy of Martha Stewart Everyday magazine)

Ingredients:

1 cup creamy peanut butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg (lightly beaten)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup roasted salted peanuts

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees, with racks in upper and lower thirds. In a large bowl, stir together 1 cup creamy peanut butter, 3/4 cup sugar, 1 large egg (lightly beaten), 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, and 1/4 teaspoon salt until well combined. Stir in 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips and 1/2 cup roasted salted peanuts. With moistened hands, roll dough, about 1 heaping tablespoon at a time, into balls. Place 2 inches apart on two baking sheets. Bake until cookies are golden and puffed, 12 to 14 minutes, rotating sheets from top to bottom and front to back halfway through. Cool 5 minutes on sheets; transfer cookies to racks to cool completely.

Cheesy Jalapeno Dip

This cheesy dip has a slight kick! It's great for pot lucks and parties!

Cheesy Jalapeno Dip

Ingredients:
1 c. Hellman's Mayo
1 c. sour cream
2 1/2 c. finely shredded cheddar cheese
5 jalapeno peppers, chopped into small pieces
1 medium onion-finely chopped
5 dashes of Red Hot
2 small cloves of garlic-pressed

In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients. Chill for 2 hours before serving. Served great with tortilla chips, crackers, pita chips or bagel chips.

Yummy Chocolate Fudge Buttercream Frosting

I can only sum this recipe up in 3 words:

Oh My God!

It's delicious! This recipe is a keeper!

Chocolate Fudge Buttercream Frosting

Ingredients:
1/2 c. butter
1/4 c. shortening
1/3 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
2 c. confectioners' sugar
2-4 tbsp heavy whipping cream (depends on the consistency you are aiming for)
1 c. hot fudge topping
2 tsp vanilla extract


Cream together the butter or margarine with the shortening. Sift the cocoa with the confectioners' sugar and add to the creamed mixture. Mix together adding 1 tablespoon at a time of whipping cream to keep mixture smooth. Add the hot fudge topping and the vanilla extract. Blend until smooth and creamy.

A pretty heart cake for my Valentine!

Rating: 10 out of 5. Seriously, I love chocolate and this is the best frosting I have ever had! Thanks for the recipe Debra via allrecipes.com. I did change a few things, but I based it off of her recipe!

Chicken Enchiladas

These are spicy, cheesy and delicious. Yum!

Ingredients:

1 can Cream of Chicken Soup
1 c. sour cream
4 tsp. chili powder
2 c. cooked chicken, cubed or shredded
2 c. Colby jack shredded cheese
1 c. Pace Medium Picante Sauce
5-6 tortilla shells

In a large bowl combine cream of chicken soup, sour cream, picante sauce and chili powder. In a small bowl combine 1/2 of chicken soup mixture, add chicken and 1 c. cheese. Mix well. Divide the Chicken mixture evenly between the 5-6 tortillas. Toll and place in a 9x13 pan. Spread the remaining chicken soup mixture over the rolled shells. Sprinkle 1 c. shredded cheese over shells. Cover with foil and bake @ 350 for 40-45 minutes. Serve with rice and corn cake.

Yummy Chicken Salad

Chicken Salad

Ingredients:

2 whole boneless skinless chicken breasts cooked and shredded (or 2 cans of Tyson all white meat chicken breast, drained, rinsed and shredded)
1 heaping tablespoon of Hellman's Mayo
3 tbsp. Honey Mustard
40-50 red seedless grapes, quartered
1/4 c. chopped walnuts

In a large bowl, mix shredded chicken breast, mayo, honey mustard, grapes and walnuts. Mix thoroughly. You may need to add a little more mayo depending on how moist you like the chicken salad. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve over a bed of lettuce, on toast or on a bagel. To add a little more flavor, chop one apple right before you serve to mix in. The apples get brown very quickly, so only add them right before you serve.

Meal Rating: 5 out of 5 stars. This is a staple for our house. We never get tired of this chicken salad.

Crock Pot Lasagna

This recipe is courtesy of Bob Evans:

Crock Pot Lasagna

Ingredients:
1/2 lb. Bob Evans Sausage
1/2 lb. lean hamburger
2-24 oz jars of pasta sauce (I used Prego)
12 oz. Ricotta cheese (I substituted 2 c. Provolone)
2 cups Mozzarella
1 cup uncooked lasagna noodles broken into small pieces
1 tsp. parsley

Brown sausage and hamburger in a large skillet. Spray crock pot with non stick cooking spray. In a large crock pot, mix pasta sauce, sausage, hamburger, ricotta (or Provolone), 1 c. of the mozzarella, parsley and uncooked noodles. Cook on low for 4-6 hours or until pasta is tender. 5 minutes before serving, sprinkle the remaining 1 c. mozzarella on top and cover.

Meal rating: 4 out of 5. Kevin really liked it, but it's a bit meaty for my liking. If you like meaty lasagna, than you should be happy with the outcome.

Holiday Fudge-Yum!

This is the easiest fudge recipe. It melts in your mouth!

Holiday Fudge

Ingredients:
1 16oz. container of Marshmallow Fluff
5 c. sugar
2 cans of evaporated milk (5 oz. cans)
1/4 lb. butter
1 jar of fudge (16oz)
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
24 oz. milk chocolate chips (or 2 small bags)

Mix the first 4 ingredients together in a large saucepan. Stir over low heat until blended. Bring to a slow boil over medium heat. Be careful not to mistake the air bubbles for a boil. Boil slowly for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Stir in chocolate chips and vanilla (and optional walnuts) until chocolate is melted. Pour into buttered 9x13 pan or 2 9x9 pans. Cool completely.

To make peanut butter fudge, simply substitute peanut butter chips and a heaping tablespoon of Jif for the chocolate chips.

This recipe makes approximately 5 lbs. of fudge.

Homemade Taco Salad Bowls

These homemade bowls are quick and easy.

Makes Mexi-night even more delicious!

Ingredients:

3 large tortilla shells
3 arms length pieces of foil
Pam cooking spray

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Loosely ball foil into softball sized balls. On a large cookie sheet, spray the tops of the balls with Pam cooking spray. Center the tortillas over the foil balls and gently press down in the center to prevent them from rolling. Spray the tortillas with a light coating of Pam before placing in the over. Cook for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown.

Ideas for serving:

• Fill with lettuce, taco seasoned meat, cheese and ranch dressing for a delicious taco salad.
• While warm, lightly coat with melted butter, sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. Drizzle chocolate over the bowl and service with a scoop of ice cream. Drizzle extra cinnamon, sugar and chocolate on the ice cream and top with whipped cream and a cherry. Yum!
• Fill with steak, sauteed onions and peppers for a great steak bowl

Enjoy!

Cocktail Meatballs - Only 3 yummy ingredients!

These have been around forever, but they are so easy and so yummy, how could I not include them here?

Cocktail Meatballs

1 bag of frozen pre-made meatballs
1 large jar of grape jelly
2 jars of chili sauce

Mix all ingredients in a slowcooker. Cover and cook on low for 4 hours. Stir well before serving.

That's it! So easy!

Hot and Yummy Buffalo Chicken Dip!

This recipe and photo are courtesy of NunPunch via allrecipes.com. This recipe is easy, great and a party favorite!

Hot and Yummy Buffalo Chicken Dip

2-10oz cans of Tyson All White Chicken Breast (drained and rinsed!)
2-blocks of Cream Cheese
1 c. ranch dressing
3/4 c. hot sauce (Frank's Red Hot)
1 1/2 c. shredded Cheddar Cheese

In a medium crock pot, add chicken and red hot on the highest setting. Mix together. Add cream cheese, ranch and cheddar cheese. Let it heat, stirring often. Once hot and all the cheese is melted, turn the temperature down to low and serve with chips and celery stalks.

Enjoy!

Meal Rating: 5 out of 5 stars! If you like it hot, then this recipe is great for you.

Slow Cooker Italian Beef Sandwiches

Sorry it's been so long since I've posted. And don't let Kim fool you - she's as busy as I am! Anyhow, here's one of our favorite dinners. Definitely "WOW, that's yummy!"

Slow Cooker Italian Beef Sandwiches

2-3 lb. beef roast - (I've used both flank steak and chuck roast with success)

1 pkt. italian dressing seasoning

1/2 jar pepperocini with juice (I like sliced)

Sub/hot dog buns

Shredded mozzarella cheese

Rub seasoning all over beef roast. Place in slow cooker that's been sprayed with cooking spray. Pour pepperocini with juice over top. Cook on low 6-8 hours. Shred beef with two forks. Drain excess liquid if desired.

Toast sub buns. Top with shredded beef and mozzarella cheese and broil until cheese melts. And ENJOY!

Meal Rating: 5 out of 5. Easy and tasty - no doubt about it!

Cherry Yum Fluff!

Sorry it's been so long since Amy and I posted anything. I have to be honest, I just have not been cooking. I wish I had worthy excuses like having 2 kids under 2 like Amy, but I don't.

This recipe is courtesy of Chris and Lisa Bors! Thanks for sharing with me.

Cherry Yum Fluff

1 large tub of Cool Whip
1 can of cherry pie filling
1 can of crushed pineapple
1 can of sweetened condensed milk
2 sliced bananas
chopped walnuts (optional)

Mix all of the ingredients together except bananas with an electric mixer. Slice and fold in bananas.

Chill and serve.

Dessert Rating: 5 out of 5. It's easy, you can add any fruit you have laying around and it's still good. Great for cookouts!

Our first guest contributor - Crystal!

I must say, I find it ironic that our first guest contributor is Crystal. Don't get me wrong - Crystal is a great friend, a wonderful mother, and an all-around good person. However, I think she'd be the first to tell you, she's not a cook. So, for her to share this recipe with me, it must be worthy of posting.

There's only one other thing that I know Crystal likes to make, and I encourage everyone to beg her to share her infamous baked chicken recipe - you'll definitely love it! C'mon Crystal - please????

Toddler-Approved Chicken Nuggets
(Recipe courtesy of Huggies Baby Network)

Ingredients:
2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3 tablespoons margarine or butter, melted
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup dried bread crumbs (plain or Italian)
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:
Cut chicken into 1 inch pieces. Combine chicken, melted margarine, and Worcestershire in a 1 quart freezer bag. Combine the bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese in a second freezer bag.

Tape the two bags together. Label and freeze.

To prepare for serving, thaw and remove the chicken pieces from the marinade. Shake them in the bread crumb bag to coat, a few at a time.

Preheat oven to 450. Arrange chicken on a greased cookie sheet. Bake 7-9 minutes or until no longer pink in the center.

Meal Rating: 5 out of 5. Quick, easy, and fairly healthy. And no fighting with toddlers - they'll actually eat this one!

Southwestern Wraps

This is an easy recipe. You can throw just about anything in there and it's still yummy!

Southwestern Wraps

Ingredients:

4 small flour tortillas
1 red pepper-sliced
1/3. c. chopped pecans
1/4 red onion-sliced
1 clove of garlic-pressed
1 tsp. Tastefully Simple Fiesta Party Mix
1/4 c. Ranch
Red Hot
8 slices of bacon (I use the microwavable kind)
1 chicken breast (cooked and cut into cubes-leftover chicken works well too)
1 tsp. butter
1/2 head of lettuce-chopped

In a small pan, sautee butter, red peppers, red onion, pecans, pressed garlic, Tastefully Simple Fiesta Party Mix, a few dashes of Red Hot. Sautee these until the onion and peppers are soft. Add cubed chicken and chopped up bacon to heat.

In a medium bowl, mix together lettuce, ranch and a few dashes of Red Hot. Add hot mixture into that bowl and mix together. Divide evenly over 4 flour tortillas and roll into a wrap.


Meal Rating: 5 out of 5 stars. This is a quick, easy meal that has a spicy kick. Yum!