Friday, February 24, 2012

Your Kids Will LOVE You...

When you make these...



I saw this pop up on Pinterest a couple of weeks ago. I've made these before (without the butter), several years ago, and decided to make them for my kids earlier this week as a special treat on their day off from school.

Let's just say...they LOVED them!! They even had fun helping make them!

You will need:
Vegetable oil (enough to fill your pan to about 1/2" deep)
4 T. Butter, melted
Sugar & Cinnamon Mixture
Grands Biscuits (do not use the flaky layered type)

Heat up the oil on medium heat. While this is heating up, cut the centers out of the biscuits. (I used a small star cookie cutter we have.) When the oil is hot, place the donuts in the oil. When the one side is golden brown, flip with tongs and cook until other side is golden brown. When they are finished cooking, place on a plate lined with a paper towel to absorb the excess oil.

When the donuts have cooled enough, dip one side in the melted butter, let the extra drip off and then dip in the cinnamon & sugar mixture. Repeat for the other side.

I thought these were best served warm, but my kids thought they were really good the next day too.

ENJOY!!

S'more Brownies

YUM!!!

I made these yesterday...



You will need:
1 brownie mix for a 9x13 pan (plus eggs, water and oil)
6 whole honey graham crackers, broken into smaller pieces (about 1" or smaller)
1 bag of milk chocolate chips
2 c. miniature marshmallows

Make brownie mix according to package directions for cake-like brownies. Bake these at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.

While they are baking combine crackers, chocolate chips and marshmallows in a bowl.

When the brownies have baked for 15 minutes, pull them out and sprinkle the cracker mixture over the top. Put back in the oven and bake for 15 more minutes.

Let cool and ENJOY!!

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Will be back to posting soon...

Just wanted to let you know that I will be back to posting soon. I ended up getting sick for a week and it's taking me a little while to totally recover. So needless to say, meals have been very simple around here and I have not been trying anything new...or even really cooking! Tonight was the most I've cooked recently and it was one of my freezer meals, frozen burritos, so I didn't even really have to do anything!! My family thought it was pretty great though, so I suppose that's a good thing!! It was just WAY better than the chicken nuggets I fed them last night...or the mac & cheese the night before! HAHA!

Hope you've all had a great week!!

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Lemon Chicken

I had my menu plan all worked out but came across a recipe for Lemon Chicken the other day and it sounded good. I had all of the ingredients I needed except for a lemon. I was making a trip to the store anyway so I grabbed a lemon and made this for dinner! I thought it was pretty tasty!

I adapted the recipe a little. You can find the original here.


This is what I did...

You will need:
Zest from one lemon
juice from one lemon
1 heaping teaspoon of minced garlic
2 t. dried thyme
1 t. kosher salt
1 t. ground black pepper
3 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut in half for a total of 6 pieces

In a ziploc bag, combine lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic, thyme, salt and pepper. Mix these ingredients well and then add chicken; press air out and seal bag tight. Toss chicken around in the bag until well coated with the marinade. Put the bag in the refrigerator and let it marinate for 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Remove the chicken from the marinade and place in a 9x13 baking dish. Save the leftover marinade.

Bake the chicken for a total of 50-55 minutes. About halfway through the baking time, pour the remaining marinade over the chicken.

ENJOY!!!

Cheesy Potatoes

These are so good!!

You will need:
1 bag of frozen hash brown potatoes (I've used cubes & shreds...either one works!)
1 can of cream of chicken soup
1 16 oz. container of sour cream (reduced fat works fine)
1 8 oz. bag of shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 c. butter, melted (or if you're like me and think it's going to melt in the oven anyway??...just slice it up and mix it in!)
chopped onion, optional (I probably use about 1/4 - 1/2 cup)
salt & pepper, to taste

Mix all together in a large bowl and pour into 9x13 dish. Bake at 350 for about 45-60 minutes.

Some people sprinkle the top with chip crumbs or corn flakes...I prefer mine without, but it's up to you!

ENJOY! :)

**This recipe is too much for our family to eat at a meal. I usually make the whole recipe, but freeze half of it in a ziploc bag or a glass dish that be put in the freezer. When I am ready to use them, I thaw them and bake according to the directions.

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Stromboli

This is YUMMY!! This also works great to put away as a freezer meal!

You will need:
1 1/2 loaves of frozen bread dough
3 eggs--separate yolks & whites (you will use both)
2 T. Parmesan cheese
1 1/2 t. parsley
1 1/2 t. oregano
1 t. onion powder
1/2 t. garlic powder
1/2 t. pepper
3 T. oil
1 3/4 c. Italian sausage
35 pepperoni slices
8 oz. mozzarella cheese
Italian seasoning

Thaw bread dough according to package directions.

In a bowl, combine egg yolks, Parmesan cheese, parsley, oregano, onion powder, garlic powder, pepper and oil.

Roll the dough out on a greased surface to about the size of a large cookie sheet.

*I would recommend transferring the dough to a cookie sheet because it will be easier to move now rather than later when it's filled and heavy.

Spread the spice mixture over the dough, leaving 1" without around the edges.

On one half of the dough, layer with the sausage, pepperoni and mozzarella cheese.

To close it up, bring the side of dough without the meat/cheese over top and pressed the bottom & top edges together to seal.

Once the edges are sealed, beat the egg whites and brush over the top of the stromboli. Sprinkle with Italian seasoning.

Bake at 350, 30-40 minutes, or until golden brown.

Serve with pizza sauce.

If you want to freeze this, only bake it for 15 minutes (rather than the 30-40), let it cool and then wrap well in foil and freeze flat. When you are ready to serve, thaw completely and bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

ENJOY!