Weekend (Easter) Breakfast Menu

I posted a while back about this great Puffed Oven Pancake (German Pancake).  we have made it many many times since and watching it get huge and puff up on the sides never gets old.  Check out the recipe here.

I have been searching for another idea for breakfast to mix it up a bit.  I just stumbled upon a delicious looking recipe for a Sunny-Side Up Herbed Tart from Taste of Home.  This recipes looks great and easy switch out ingredients for those picky eater.

Find it here.

Ingredients
4 slices pancetta or 4 bacon strips
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
2 tablespoons chopped shallot
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon minced fresh tarragon or 1 teaspoon dried tarragon
1 teaspoon sherry, optional
1/4 cup shredded Gruyere or Swiss cheese
1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
3 tablespoons sour cream
1/8 teaspoon salt
Dash pepper

TART:
1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
5 eggs
1 teaspoon water
1 tablespoon minced chives
Dash each salt and pepper

Directions
In a large skillet, cook pancetta over medium heat until partially cooked but not crisp. Remove to paper towels to drain. In a small skillet, saute mushrooms and shallot in oil until tender. Add tarragon and sherry if desired; cook 1 minute longer.

Remove from the heat; stir in the cheeses, sour cream, salt and pepper. Set aside.
On a lightly floured surface, unfold puff pastry. Roll into a 10-in. x 9-in. rectangle. Transfer to a 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Prick with a fork.

Spread mushroom mixture over pastry to within 1 in. of edges. Top with pancetta (place pancetta near the edges of the mushroom mixture). Score edges of pastry with a fork. Beat 1 egg and water; brush over pastry edges. Bake at 425° for 10-12 minutes or until pastry is golden brown.

Carefully crack remaining eggs off-center into each corner. Bake 8-10 minutes longer or until eggs are set. Sprinkle with chives, salt and pepper. Cut into four pieces. Serve warm. Yield: 4 servings.

This will make a great Easter Breakfast or Brunch dish.  I know that I will be removing the mushrooms and likely the Sherry! 

Have a great Easter Weekend!!

What Cookin' this Weekend

The weather may be warming up iaround here...finally but I am not ready to put away the old crock pot to start up the grill.  Sunday is supposed to be a dreary raining day so it will be perfect to plug in the slow cooker and have a nice easy dinner that I get to smell cooking all day long.

I have a great recipes for Lasagna for the oven but I think I am going to give it a try in the crock pot.  I have always wondered how it would turn out...I think it is time! 

Here is the recipe I am going to give a try. 

Find it here.

What You Need
1 lb.ground beef
1 jar (24 oz.) spaghetti sauce
1 cup of water
1 container (15 oz.) POLLY-O Original Ricotta Cheese
1 pkg. (7 oz.) KRAFT 2% Milk Shredded Mozzarella Cheese, divided
1/4 cup KRAFT Grated Parmesan Cheese, divided
1 egg
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
6 lasagna noodles, uncooked

Make It
BROWN meat in large skillet; drain. Stir in spaghetti sauce and water. Mix ricotta, 1-1/2 cups mozzarella, 2 Tbsp. Parmesan, egg and parsley.

SPOON 1 cup meat sauce into slow cooker; top with layers of half each of the noodles, broken to fit; and cheese mixture. Cover with 2 cups meat sauce. Top with remaining noodles, broken to fit; cheese mixture and meat sauce. Cover with lid.
COOK on LOW 4 to 6 hours or until liquid is absorbed. Sprinkle with remaining cheeses; let stand, covered, 10 min. or until melted.
Not sure it is going to be any easier to make than a regular oven lasagna but I will enjoy the smells it creates through out the house. 

Have a great weekend!  What are you cooking?

Horray for Whoopie Pies

Have you ever heard of a Whoopie Pie?  If you are not from the North East, you may not have.  Well..recently there has been much todo over Whoopie Pies and which state owns the claim to fame on the creation of the Whoopie Pie.  Pennsylvania?  Massachusetts?  Maine?  Well, I of course believe that Maine is the state that created the delicious Whoopie Pie!!

Recently there was an article in USA Today explaining the battle.  Read it for yourself here.

Also, last night I saw an old episode of Throwdown with Bobby Flay on the Food Network.  It was a Whoopie Pie episode right in Portland Maine!  Maine beat Bobby Flay!!!  Whoopie Pies are everywhere.

So I pulled out my favorite cookbook: Cooking DownEast by Marjorie Standish and have to make her Whoopie Pies (which she called Whoopsie Pies) this weekend.  My daughter loves chocolate and cannot wait to make these.  I think it is a toss up one who is more excited to make them...me ot my 5 year old!!!

Here is the recipe:

Cookie:
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
2 egg yolks
5 tablespoons cocoa
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

Cream together shortening and sugar. Add yolks. Sift together cocoa, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and add alternately to creamed mixture with milk and vanilla. Drop be teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes, depending on the size cookie you make.

Filling:
1/2 cup shortening
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
2 egg whites
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla

Beat egg whites until stiff. Fold in some of the confectioners’ sugar. (set aside) Cream shortening. Add remainder of sugar and add more if needed. Add salt and vanilla. Fold in the beaten egg whites.

Cool cookies. Then put together with the filling and wrap each separately in wax paper.

Enjoy!!
 
Hare a great weekend!
 

How Yummy Does this Look?

On Fridays I usually post a new recipe that I plan on trying over the weekend.  I try to find new slow cooker recipes for Sunday....it doesn't get any easier.  But after reading my friend Jessica's post over at Barefoot by the Sea, I stopped my search for the perfect dish. 

She posted a Puffed Oven Pancake recipe that looks so yummy I cannot resist!  I love breakfast anytime of the day.

Find the recipe here.

PUFFED OVEN PANCAKES (aka German Pancakes)

From Better Homes & Gardens New Cook Book

- 2 T butter

- 3 eggs

- 1/2 C milk

- 1/2 C flour

- 1/4 t. salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Put butter in baking dish (I just use an 8-inch casserole, I think the recipe calls for a round oven skillet or something)…heat in oven 3-5 minutes, til butter melted.

Beat eggs. Add milk, flour and salt. Beat til smooth. Pour immediately into baking dish. Bake 25 minutes, or until puffy edges and looks done in center. Serve with fruit, syrup, powdered sugar, whatever you like!

I am sure my daughter will like this recipe.  She is so picky but how can she resist a puffy pancake with some powered sugar on top (always enticing).  I think I may cut up some bananas, strawberries and apples to go with this puff.  I cannot wait to try this one.

I know I said I had more giveaways this week but the week got away from me.  I will be rolling out a new giveaway on Monday!  Stop back to enter to win!

Have a wonderful weekend!!



Slow Cooker Friday?

I can't wait for Slow Cooker Sunday for this one.  I am throwing this one in the crock pot today!

Slow Cooker Upside Down Chicken Pot Pie

Find the recipe here.

Ingredients
1 1/4 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs
1 tablespoon instant chopped onion
1 dried bay leaf
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 jar (18 oz) chicken gravy
2 medium celery stalks, cut into 1/2-inch slices
2 1/4 cups Original Bisquick® mix
2/3 cup milk
1 bag (12 oz) Green Giant® Valley Fresh Steamers™ frozen mixed vegetables

Directions
1.Place chicken in 3 1/2- to 4-quart slow cooker. Top with onion, bay leaf, pepper and gravy. Place celery on gravy.
2.Cover and cook on Low heat setting 8 to 10 hours.
3.About 30 minutes before serving, make and bake 8 biscuits using Bisquick mix and milk as directed on package.
4.Meanwhile, gently stir frozen vegetables into chicken mixture. Increase heat setting to High. Cover and cook 15 minutes. Remove bay leaf.
5.For each serving, split biscuit and place in soup bowl or tart pan. Spoon about 3/4 cup chicken mixture on top of biscuit.

Note: This recipe was tested in slow cookers with heating elements in the side and bottom of the cooker, not in cookers that stand only on a heated base. For slow cookers with just a heated base, follow the manufacturer’s directions for layering ingredients and choosing a temperature.

Have a great weekend.

What's for dinner?

I cannot believe that it is Friday again...not that I am complaining in the least bit...but wasn't it JUST Monday.  Boy times flies when you are having fun...or just REALLY busy! 

I feel like I am continuously trying to be organized but never seem to get there.  I would love to be one of those gals who plan their family's meals out just once a month.  Wow...would that be clever or what!!  There would be so many advantages to doing that.  You could buy in bulk, you could have make left overs into a new meal and you could take away the stress of...the "what's for dinner" question every day!!!   I know I would love not to have to think about that all the time. 

I don't think I can dive right in to planning a month ahead of time so I am going to try to do a week at a time which really should not be that hard.  And I can imagine that most of you are saying....don't you do that already?  Well...I try...but it never seems to work out...something come up and we never stick to the meals I planned.    To keep me on track look what I bought....

Starting Sunday I am making a resolution to do it!  Once I get this weekly planning down, I am going to give the monthly menu a good "college try." This calendar opens up to see the full month but the bottom has this great planning section for each day of the week...

If you have any good ideas on how to stay on track...feel free to share.  And if you want to check out a great blog that posts weekly and monthly menu idea visit Hoosier Homemade.  Oh...and you will also find lots and lots of CUPCAKE ideas and other delicious recipes!

Have a great weekend!

It's Football Play Off Time

Well it looks like we have been nominated to host this weekends foot ball play off game party!  In these parts most of us are Patriots fans.   I really could not care less about football but I do like to cook and entertain!  I have my list of the regular snacks I make or bring to other parties but I am really getting sick of the same old thing.  I did find a couple great looking recipes on ivillage. 

The picture alone makes me want to get out the potatoes right now!

Potato Skins

Get the recipe here.

This recipe looks quite time intensive but I think the work will pay off...who doesn't like a fried nugget of cheese!

Cheese Nuggets

Get the recipe here.

I did try another easy idea for potato skins a while ago.  Instead of scraping out the middle of the potatoes, slice them.  Check out Tammy's idea over at Mommy Life With 5.  And the wings pictured look quite yummy too!

Have a great weekend and enjoy the football!!

Another great recipe find

As some of you know, I am always on the lookout for new recipes and food websites.  It is funny because I have a TON of cook books but I always resort to the web to find new things!  If only I had more time to try it ALL!  I just came across this great recipe on Athenos that I can't wait to try. 

5- Layer Greek Dip

Find it here.

Ingredients:

1 pkg. (7 oz.) ATHENOS Original Hummus

1 pkg. (4 oz.) ATHENOS Traditional Feta Cheese, crumbled

1/2 cup chopped tomatoes

1/4 cup chopped cucumbers

2 Tbsp. sliced kalamata olives

ATHENOS Pita Chips Original

Instructions:

SPREAD hummus onto bottom of 9-inch pie plate.

COVER with layers of remaining ingredients.

SERVE with chips.

This will be a great alternative to the regular layered dips and perfect while watching the football games.  Do you have any favorite recipes websites you go to?

Have a great Thursday!



Weekend Cooking Anyone

I know that I have talked about Kraftfoods.com before but I just have to share with you these great recipes I found.  I really like their website too.  It has a section that you can enter the food you have on hand and it will come up with a recipe for you to make with what you have....great idea!!

Check out this great side dish recipe...and you can make it right in the microwave!

Cheesy Spaghetti Squash

Find it here.

What You Need
1 large spaghetti squash (3 lb.)
2 Tbsp. KRAFT Reduced Fat Parmesan Style Grated Topping
1/2 cup KRAFT 2% Milk
Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
2 plum tomatoes, finely chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Make It
PIERCE squash several times with fork or sharp knife to allow steam to escape. Microwave on HIGH 10 min. or just until squash is softened, turning after 5 min. Let stand 5 min.

CUT squash in half; remove and discard seeds. Use fork to scrape insides of squash to form strands; place in large bowl. Add remaining ingredients; toss lightly with fork. Spoon into 1 squash shell; discard remaining shell.

MICROWAVE 2 min. or until heated through.

Kraft Kitchens Tips
Make Ahead: Microwave squash and pull into strands as directed; place in microwaveable bowl. Refrigerate up to 2 days. When ready to serve, microwave on HIGH 3 to 5 min. or until heated through.

And take a gander at this dessert....holy cow do I want to make this right now!!

Under-a-Spell Red Devil Cake

Find it here

What You Need

1 pkg. (2-layer size) red velvet cake mix
3 pkg. (3.3 oz. each) JELL-O White Chocolate Flavor Instant Pudding, divided
1-1/4 cups water
1/3 cup oil
3 eggs
6 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder, divided
1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
2 cups milk
1 tub (12 oz.) COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, thawed
3 squares BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate
1 Tbsp. butter

Make It
HEAT oven to 350ºF.

LINE 2 (15x10x1-inch) pans with foil. Spray with cooking spray. Sprinkle 2 clean kitchen towels with cocoa powder. Beat cake mix, 1 pkg. dry pudding mix, water, oil and eggs with mixer until well blended. Pour into prepared pans.

 BAKE 15 to 17 min. or until toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean. Immediately invert cakes onto towels; remove pans and foil. Cut 1 cake crosswise into thirds; place on wire racks. Starting at one short end, roll up remaining cake with towel. Cool cakes completely.

 BEAT cream cheese in large bowl with mixer until creamy. Gradually beat in milk. Add remaining dry pudding mixes; beat 2 min. until well blended. Whisk in COOL WHIP.

 UNROLL cake; remove towel. Cut cake crosswise into thirds. Spread pudding mixture over all 6 cake pieces. Reroll 1 cake piece; stand in center of large plate. Wrap remaining cake pieces, pudding-sides in, around first piece to resemble spiral, using flat cake pieces for outside layers.

 MICROWAVE chocolate and butter in microwaveable bowl on HIGH 1 min. Stir until chocolate is melted and mixture is well blended; cool. Spoon around top edge of cake to cover outer cake pieces only, allowing glaze to drip down side. Refrigerate 2 hours or until pudding mixture is firm. Cut into wedges.

The dessert is a bit more involved but I think it will be well worth the time and effort.  I will let you know when I make these delicious looking concoctions.  If you make them first....do tell!

Have a great weekend!

New find for Slow Cooker Sunday

One of my favorite websites for recipes hunting is Allrecipes.com  I have made so many recipes from this site over the years I have lost count.  The thing I like about it is that people leave reviews and comment on what they liked about the recipes and give ideas on how to make it better or make it a little different.  So not only do you get the original recipe, you get many varieties of the same dish!

When I am looking for something new and different to make, I enter the type of food I want (chicken, beef, slow cooker...you get the point) and sort it by rating.  This will give you the top rated recipes first. 

I just found this recipe and it is a front runner for this Sunday's slow cookin'! It looks so YUMMY!!

Chicken Taco Soup

Find it here

Ingredients
1 onion, chopped
1 (16 ounce) can chili beans
1 (15 ounce) can black beans
1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (12 fluid ounce) can or bottle beer
2 (10 ounce) cans diced tomatoes with green chilies, undrained
1 (1.25 ounce) package taco seasoning
3 whole skinless, boneless chicken breasts
shredded Cheddar cheese (optional)
sour cream (optional)
crushed tortilla chips (optional)

Directions
1.Place the onion, chili beans, black beans, corn, tomato sauce, beer, and diced tomatoes in a slow cooker. Add taco seasoning, and stir to blend. Lay chicken breasts on top of the mixture, pressing down slightly until just covered by the other ingredients. Set slow cooker for low heat, cover, and cook for 5 hours.
2.Remove chicken breasts from the soup, and allow to cool long enough to be handled. Stir the shredded chicken back into the soup, and continue cooking for 2 hours. Serve topped with shredded Cheddar cheese, a dollop of sour cream, and crushed tortilla chips, if desired.


Check out Facebook Friday...I just stumbled upon this new link up at Mamabytes!!

 
Have a wonderful weekend!

Who doesn't like a good cheese dip?

It doesn't look like we are going to have our first BBQ in our new house this weekend. It may happen in a few weeks....which is fine by me because I am NOT ready for it! Instead we have been invited to another get together. I usually make a shredded Cheddar cheese dip with corn and salsa but I have found another great recipe at Allrecipes.com. I love this site. It has so many recipes...anything you can imagine.

I have decide to bring a crowd pleasing Buffalo Chicken Dip. I found the recipe here on Allrecipes.com. (Photo and recipe taken from Allreipes.com)

Ingredients

Have a GREAT Weekend!
2 (10 ounce) cans chunk chicken, drained
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup ranch dressing
3/4 cup pepper sauce (such as Frank's Red Hot)
1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar Cheese
1 bunch celery, cleaned and cut into 4 inch pieces
1 (8 ounce) box chicken-flavored crackers

Directions

Heat chicken and hot sauce in a skillet over medium heat, until heated through. Stir in cream cheese and ranch dressing. cook, stirring until well blended ans warm. Mix in half of the shredded cheese, and transfer the mixture to a slow cooker. Sprinkle remaining cheese over the top, cover, and cook on Low setting until hot and bubble. Serve with celery sticks and crackers.

I may need to make a double batch it is so yummy!!

Have a great weekend!!

Looking for some good ideas

Being a busy Mom, I am always looking for quick and easy meals that my daughter will eat. I found a very easy recipe for a strawberry roll up.

1 Wrap (8 inches)
Strawberry cream cheese
Strawberries, sliced

Spread the cream cheese on the wrap and cover with strawberries and roll up. Sounds good, huh?!?

My daughter is such a picky eater I had high hopes for this recipe. So Allison helped me make it and she was excited to eat it. I cut it in half and and handed it to her. She takes a bite and.....I got a huge smile and..."Mommy, can we make this again?" And I said "Sure!" She sits down at the table with her plate and takes another bite.....wait for it..."Mommy, I don't really like this."

SHOCKING!

Another idea shot down. I am desperate to find meals for an extremely picky eater.

Help! Anyone have a good idea to try?

Here is a picture of her eating her favorite meal....Chicken Fingers!! She was very proud of herself being able to use the knife and cut it up herself.

Have a great Thursday!

What a great idea!

The other day I was meandering around the grocery store (by myself for a change) and I came across a great meal idea. McCormick came up with the idea to sell recipes which include all the spices you need. You just need to buy the other ingredients!

I decided to try this recipe:

Quesadilla Casserole

This was a really easy recipe to make and can be changed to make it your own. The recipe calls for ground beef but you can substitute with ground chicken or turkey. you can change the flour tortilla to whole wheat tortillas. You can add diced tomatoes to the mixture if you like and use a low fat Cheddar Cheese instead of regular.

These seem like great starting points for many recipes ideas!!

Have a wonderful Friday!

Super Easy and So Good

For quite a while last winter we would have "Slow Cooker Sundays." I would usually make the old favorites like Pot Roast, beef stew or BBQ pulled something or other. I just started using the crock pot again and loving it! I am always searching for new recipes and meals that my daughter will eat. I came across this really easy and delicious slow cooker Mac & Cheese in my Fix-it-and Forget-It cook book.

Lotsa Cheese Macaroni and Cheese
(makes 10 servings) Recommended to use 3.5 quart cooker

1 lb. uncooked macaroni
1lb. pasteurized prepared cheese product, cubed (I used Velveeta)
8 oz. extra-sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
4 cups milk
1 stick butter, cut into small chunks

1. Follow package instructions for preparing macaroni, but cook only half the amount of time called for. Drain. Pour cooked macaroni into slow cooker.
2. Add remaining ingredients on top of cooked macaroni.
3. Cover and cook on high 3 hours, stirring occasionally.

I found that 3 hours on high seemed to burn the edges a bit. You may want to cook for 1.5 hours on high and the remaining 1.5 hours on low and add a bit of time if needed.


This recipe is also a great starting point for a great meal. Add ham, broccoli, hot dogs or even lobster! The possibilities are endless.



I cooked it a few weeks ago and had the neighbor's 2 little girls over and one of them said to me "this macaroni and cheese is better than the kind in the box." I think that is the ultimate compliment from an 8 year old. I didn't know anything was better than Kraft Macaroni and Cheese!

Hope you give it a try and enjoy "Slow Cooker Sunday!"