Monday, April 21, 2008

Swedish Meatballs

This was a spur of the moment meal, which isn't like me! I am a very "plan the meals for the week" type wife, which usually works great for us. However, since we are leaving in one week, I wanted to use what we had, and this is what we ended up with. I absolutley loved it! I would definitely recommend serving it over noodles, although it can be served on rice or potatoes. I feel like it would be much too heavy of a meal the alternative ways. The meatballs are SOOO flavorful, and the sauce makes this meal a creamy delight.

From: Me and various recipes off the internet!

Meatballs:

1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef

1 egg

1/4 cup ketchup

1/4 cup bread crumbs

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

3/4 tablespoon dry mustard

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 clove minced garlic

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon pepper

 

Sauce:

2 cans Cream of Mushroom soup

1 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/4 cup milk

Mix all meatball ingredients together. Roll into small balls and place on cookie sheet. Broil for 10 minutes or until cooked through. In a medium bowl mix sauce ingredients together. Place meatballs in a baking dish and cover with sauce. Bake at 325 for 25-35 minutes or until sacue warm and bubbling.

Serve over noodles, rice, or mashed potatoes.

Sunday, April 20, 2008

No-Bake Cookies


Gooey, Yummy, Sugar-bomb cookies...yep! I think that we have all had our share of No-bakes. I personally go on streakes where I will bake them for like a month straight...then not cook them for like A YEAR! So, I wanted to remind all of you about some of the most delicious, easiest cookies ever! Don't neglect them like I do!

From: The Smiths

Boil this mixture for 1 minute:

2 cups white sugar
1 cube butter
1/2 cup milk

Then Add:

2 T. peanut butter
3 cups oats
1 t. vanilla
4 T. cocoa
dash of salt

Stir together for about 1 minute. Let sit for approx. 2 minutes, then spoon them onto wax paper like so:

Allow cookies to cool for 10-45 minutes and enjoy!

Creamy Italian Chicken



Creamy, Italian Flavored, and CHICKEN...how much better can it get? O....it gets better! Talk about an easy meal, this is all crock pot doing the work. Perfect for those Sunday dinners or a day when you just don't have time to whip up something fancy....but the best thing is, it still FEELS fancy!

From: Wendy

4 chicken breasts, trimmed up 
1 envelope dry Italian salad dressing mix 
¼ C. water 
¼ C. melted butter 
1 – 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened 
1 can cream of chicken soup (or Organic cream of chicken soup to be GF) 
Hot cooked rice  
Rinse chicken well and place in slow cooker. 
Combine water & salad dressing mix, pour over chicken.
Drizzle with melted butter. Cook on low for 5 hours. Shred chicken.
Add cream cheese and soup to crock pot. Mix in. Cook 1 hour longer.
Serve chicken over hot cooked rice. Easily serves 4-6.

Italian Chicken Sticks

I recently had to go to Wendy, my sister-in-law, for some new tried and true recipes. She seems to always have something for me! This meal was fun to make and fun to eat. I wish I had children, this would be a for-sure love for the kiddos!

From: Wendy
1 C. seasoned bread crumbs 
½ C. freshly grated parmesan 
1 ½ tsp. dried thyme 
1 ½ tsp. dried basil 
1 tsp. dried oregano 
½ tsp. salt 
½ tsp. garlic powder 
Pinch ground red pepper 
8 boneless chicken breast halves cut into ½” strips.
 ½ C. melted butter Marinara sauce for dipping. 
 Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  In a pie plate combine the bread crumbs, parmesan, thyme, basil, oregano,salt, garlic powder and red pepper.  Dip the chicken strips in the melted butter, then dredge them in bread crumb mixture.  Place the chicken strips in a single layer on a lightly greased baking sheet.  Bake for 20 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.  Serve them with hot marinara sauce.
Wendy gave me a great tip that the Bertolli tomato & basil marinara is awesome, and it was! 

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Snickerdoodle Cookies

I am not a snickerdoodle fan...but these are so yummy! I can't stop eating them. This is a bad, bad recipe for my weight loss goals!

From: Jen Johnson

Mix together:
2 c. softened butter
4 eggs
3 c. sugar

Sift together:
5 1/2 c. flour
4 tsp. cream of tartar
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking soda

Add flour mixture to sugary butter eggs.
Chill dough, at least an hour or two.
Roll into walnut sized balls.
Roll into cinnamon & sugar.
Place about 2 in. apart on cookie sheet.
Bake 8-10 minutes at 400ยบ F.

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Whipped Sweet Potatoes




We love sweet potatoes! Okay, so we love sweet potatoes when they are 50% sugar! I thought this was one of the better recipes for marshmallow sweet potatoes that I have ever had...so give it a try! The orange juice adds a special sweetness that makes them o-so-yummy.

Whipped Sweet Potatoes
Printable Version

2 pounds sweet potatoes
2 Tbs. orange juice
1 cup brown sugar (or more if you are my hubby)
1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
2 tablespoons butter, cubed
1 cup mini marshmallows

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large saucepan cook sweet potatoes in salted water over medium-high heat for about 20 minutes or until done. Drain, add orange juice, brown sugar, nutmeg, and butter. Whip until smooth. Spread in a casserole dish and top with marshmallows. Bake in preheated oven for about 10 minutes or until marshmallows are browned.

Recipe from allrecipes.com

Saturday, April 12, 2008

Poppy Seed Chicken

We love WENDY! I got this recipe from her, and it is to die for! Cody requests this any time that we can't think of anything to eat....it is officially our go-to meal. (I had to steal this picture from another website...ours looks tastier!)

From: Wendy the wonderful! (again!)

1 can cream of chicken soup
4 chicken breasts cooked and cut into bite size pieces
1 pint sour cream
1/2 cup milk
2 cups ritz crackers, crushed
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 Tbs. poppy seeds
Cooked rice

In a bowl mix sour cream, milk and soup. Add the cooked chicken pieces. Transfer to a greased 9x13 dish. Mix crackers, butter, and puppy seeds. Sprinkle evenly over chicken mixture. Bake at 325 for 20 minutes. Serve over hot rice.

Thursday, April 10, 2008

Swiss Chicken

Krista gave me this recipe for my wedding shower, and it has been a staple! It is so, so easy, definitely a winner! It has the perfect creamyness(is that a word!?) from the soup mixture and swiss cheese, and the stove top! mmm! I could eat this forever...thanks Krista!

From: Krista Pearson

4-5 Chicken Breasts, Thawed
4-5 slices of swiss cheese
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/3 cup sour cream
2 Tbs. dry ranch dressing 
1 package stove top
1/4 cup melted butter

Place chicken breasts in the bottom of a 9x13 dish. Top each piece with 1 slice of swiss cheese(or more if you are a cheese person!). Mix the cream of chicken soup, sour cream and dry ranch dressing and spread over the top. Bake for 20 minutes at 350. Remove from over and pour dry package of stove top over the top, followed by the 1/4 cup melted butter. Bake for another 20 minutes.

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

The GOO!

Go ahead, think that I am crazy! THE GOO is awesome! It's looks, well, not-so-appetizing...but o how our eyes can trick us! This is a dish to be served with a meal, kind of a fruit salad type dish. But, I did combine it with some cake a couple days after I made it...and mmm mmm! So, eat it how you like, but just EAT IT!

From: Ruth Buxton

1 Large pkg. vanilla cook and serve pudding
1 Large pkg. strawberry jello
8 oz. cool whip
frozen strawberries

Boil pudding mix and 3 cups water for 1 minute or until thickened. Stir in the jello mix powder. Pour into a large bowl and refrigerate for about 4 hours.
Beat with an electric mixer until smooth and add cool whip. Beat again until fluffy. Stir in berries and eat!