Cafe Rio Chicken

I really miss Cafe Rio. Wish we had one around here. But until we get one, here's a knock off recipe that's currently brewing in my crock pot. Yum!!!!!

Happy Weekend!


Cafe Rio Chicken

Ingredients

• 2 lbs. CHICKEN BREAST
• 1 cup ZESTY ITALIAN DRESSING
• 1/2 Tablespoon MINCED GARLIC
• 1 packet RANCH DRESSING MIX
• 1/2 cup WATER
• 1/2 Tablespoon GROUND CUMIN
• 1/2 Tablespoon CHILI POWDER

Instructions

Place all ingredients in the crockpot.

Cook on low for 7-8 hours or high 3-4 hours.

Shred and serve how ever you like - as filling for tacos, burritos, nachos, quesadillas or burrito bowls, etc.

It is easy to double or triple this recipe and freeze the extras.

Pot Roast

This is our dinner tonight! So good! The smell of pot roast brings back memories of my mom making it. Sunday night was the only night we ever had pot roast and here I am,making it for my family (for the first time might I add) on a Sunday night. So happy!

 POT ROAST

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 4 pounds boneless chuck roast
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
2. Heat a heavy Dutch oven on top of the stove over medium high heat. Add oil, and sear meat in the center of the pan for 4 minutes. Turn meat over with tongs; sear all sides for 3 to 4 minutes on each side. Remove meat from pan. Arrange onion, garlic, and 1 bay leaf in the bottom of the pan, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Return meat to pan, place remaining bay leaf on top of meat, and cover.

Cook in the oven for 30 minutes at 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Reduce the heat to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C), and cook for 1 1/2 hours. Remove roast to a platter to rest for 10 to 15 minutes. Slice, and top with onions and gravy.

7-UP Biscuits

2 cups Bisquick

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup 7-up

1/4 cup melted butter

Preheat oven to 450.

Cut sour cream into biscuit mix, add 7-Up. Makes a very soft dough.

Sprinkle additional biscuit mix on board or table and pat dough out. Melt 1/4 cup butter in a 9 inch square pan.  Place cut biscuits in pan and bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown

Petite Lasanga Cups

This is dinner tonight! I can't wait to dive right into these little gems. So yummy! I mean lasagna in little petite sized cups of cheesy goodness! How can this not be the best thing you've ever put in your mouth?!?!?!

I love little variations on traditional meals. This is a great example of that. This would also be good for a dinner party-everyone gets their own little lasagna.


Petite Lasagna Cups
(makes 12)

12 oz raw ground turkey (or whatever meat you want to use-or go meatless-that would be good too!)

¼ tsp salt, divided

¼ tsp pepper

1 cup chopped onion

½ cup chopped mushrooms

14.5 oz can crushed tomatoes, or tomato sauce

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 tsp dried oregano, divided

½ tsp dried basil

1 ½ cups cream cheese (i'm using the philadelphia baking cream cheese-italian herbs)

12 lasagna noodles, cooked and cooled and cut in 1/2

1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese



Preheat oven to 375ºF. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the turkey, onions, mushrooms, salt, and pepper. Crumble the meat and saute the mixture for about 10 minutes, or until the turkey is cooked through. Add the garlic and stir constantly for 30 seconds.

Add the crushed tomatoes and 2 tsp of oregano. Bring the pan to a gentle boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the cream cheese, a pinch of salt and pepper, the remaining teaspoon of oregano, and the basil. Stir to mix well. Set aside.

Coat a 12-cup muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray. Place 1 noodle into each of the 12 cups, pressing firmly in the bottom of the cup and up the sides.

Using half of the ricotta mixture, divide it among the 12 muffin cups. Next, using half of the turkey tomato sauce, spoon it evenly over each of the ricotta filled cups. Sprinkle with 2 tsp of mozzarella.

Gently press another noodle on top of the mozzarella layer.

Repeat the process by distributing the remaining cream cheese, then the remaining tomato sauce, and finally the rest of the shredded mozzarella.

Bake for 10 minutes, or until the cheese has melted.

Let the cups cool, remove them from the pan, and serve!

picture courtesy of CAN YOU STAY FOR DINNER

Mexican Stuffed Shells

Who doesn't love tacos??? They are a favorite in this house for sure!! We love all things tacos. It's one meal I KNOW my kids will eat without any hesitation. We usually have tacos every couple of weeks.

So as I was browsing Pinterest one night I stumbled upon this gem! Thought "oh yeah-the kids will adore this" and THEY DID!!

So here you go! I hope your family enjoys it as much as mine did!!! YUM!!!

Mexican Stuffed Shells
Ingredients:
1 lb. ground beef
1 package low-sodium taco seasoning
1 can refried beans
4 oz. cream cheese (I used a veggie cream cheese that I already had in the fridge)
14-16 jumbo pasta shells
1.5 cup salsa
1 cup taco sauce
1 cup cheddar cheese
1 cup monterey jack cheese
3 green onions
Sour cream

Preheat oven to 350°.

In a frying pan cook ground beef; add taco seasoning and prepare according to package directions, add refried beans. Add cream cheese, cover and simmer until cheese is melted. Blend well. Set aside and cool completely. While ground beef is cooking, cook the pasta shells according to directions; drain. Set shells out individually on cutting board/baking sheet so that they don’t stick together.

Pour salsa on bottom of 9×13 baking dish. Stuff each shell with the meat mixture. Place shells in 9×13 pan open side up. Cover shells with taco sauce. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, add shredded cheese and bake for 10-15 more minutes, with the foil removed. Top with any condiments you’d like (green onions, black olives, etc.) Serve with sour cream and/or more salsa

picture courtesy of THE WAY TO HIS HEART

This was so good! Kids ate and ate!! Well yeah, I did too!!

Happy Eating!

Mushroom Swiss Steak in the Crock Pot

Mushroom Swiss Steak in the Crock Pot
1 large onion, chopped (1 cup)
1 bag baby carrots (fresh)
1pkg fresh mushrooms
1 1/2 lb boneless beef round steak, cut into serving-size pieces
2 cans (10.5oz) cream of mushroom soup

1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce

1.  In 3- to 4-quart slow cooker, layer onion, carrots, mushrooms and beef. Sprinkle pepper over  beef. In medium bowl, mix soup and tomato sauce; pour over beef.
2.   Cover; cook on Low heat setting 8 to 10 hours. 
3. Place beef on serving platter. With slotted spoon, remove vegetables from cooker and spoon over beef. Stir gravy in cooker with wire whisk to blend. Serve gravy with beef. 

weight watchers points per serving: 6

This is our dinner for tonight! I love the idea of crock pots! After the crazy busy week we've had there's nothing like putting dinner in the pot and leaving it all day to cook. I can only imagine what the house will smell like when we get home from church. My mouth is watering just thinking about it!!!

This meal is hearty and scrumptious!! You can serve it over noodles or not. I don't think i'll be serving it over noodles this time around. With the veggies cooking along with the meat and sauce it's a complete meal in a pot! No other dishes to mess up!! I like that for sure!!!

Happy Sunday and I hope you enjoy your day!!

*picture courtesy of betty crocker website

Taco Soup

I saw this recipe on my friend's blog. I tweaked it a bit to better suit our family. It was really tasty! Her's called for ground beef but I liked the idea of using shredded chicken. Use which ever you prefer!! You could also add corn and remove the spinach etc. This is one of those fabulous recipes that you can mix and match to your liking! Go crazy with it!!!

Taco Soup

recipe courtesy of my friends blog

1 1/2 lbs shredded chicken
1 large onion, diced
1 pkg frozen spinach, thawed and drained
1 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
2 cans diced tomatoes with green chilies
1 pkt original hidden valley ranch dressing (dry)
3 cups water, or more
2 TBSP chopped fresh cilantro

for serving:
Tortilla chips
Shredded nacho cheese or sharp cheddar

Saute onion until soft.
Combine chicken, sauteed onions and the rest of the ingredients in a big pot. Simmer for one hour. Stir frequently.

Serve with tortilla chips and cheese.
6 servings

Points per serving: 6

This was so good and hearty and filling I can't even tell you!!! My kids liked it too, which was surprising since I put spinach in it. But they enjoyed it. I'll be making this again for sure!!!

Sherpards Pie

This dish gets a bad rap from a lot of people. I am wondering if those of you who aren't fond of it, are that way because of the mashed potatoes on top. I've talked to my mom about this and that is her reason for disliking this dish. She likes the mashed potatoes, but it's something about mixing them with everything else. Not sure. Well I hope you try the way I make it and reconsider. BUt hey, if you just don't like it, then I can totally respect that. There are things out there that I feel the same way about.....


Easy Shepards Pie

• 1 pound stewing beef that has been cut into small bite size chunks (or you could use ground hamburger, turkey sausage, etc)

• 1 16oz bag frozen mixed veggies

• 1 1/2-2C left over or freshly made mashed potatoes

• bbq sauce of choice (will only need about half the bottle)

• 3/4 C shredded cheddar cheese (optional for topping)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Brown off the meat but do not cook all the way through, It will finish cooking in the oven.
Add bbq sauce to liking and add the veggies (I added them right out of the bag-if you do this cut back on the amount of bbq sauce you use or it will result in a very runny pie).

Place all ingredients (except potatoes) into a casserole dish. Top with potatoes. Top with the cheese and then add some paprika for color.

Bake for about 30 minutes until hot and bubbly. Let sit for about 5 minutes before eating

Best served with biscuits but feel free to eat it with whatever your family likes!!

Enjoy!!!

Mexican Pizzas

I love Taco Bell. All things Taco Bell. Unfortunately we don't go out to eat that often so I've been scrounging for copy cat recipes (plus it's cheaper). My favorite thing there I still can't find a recipe for so if you know of a killer copy cat recipe for the Beef Meximelt I'm all ears. But the other night I found a copy cat recipe for their Mexican Pizza. So I decided to try it out. It wasn't a HUGE success but it was tasty. The kids aren't fond of cilantro and tried to be sneaky about not eating it. Otherwise, it was ok. A bit messy but good none the less (at least to me anyway).

Ingredients

• 12 (6 inch) Flour Tortillas, cooked into crispy tortillas
• 1-1/2 cups refried beans, prepared
• 1-1/2 pounds ground beef, chuck, raw
• 1/2 packet taco seasoning
  
• salt to taste
• pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons pizza sauce, prepared
• 1-1/2 cups Mexican Cheese Blend, grated, prepared
• 3/4 cup Roma tomato, fresh, small chop
• 2 tablespoons cilantro, fresh, rough chopped
  

To make the Crispy Tortillas: Place all 8 tortillas directly on the oven rack of a 350 degrees F oven and bake for 8 minutes. Remove from the oven and reserve on your work surface.

1. Heat the 1 cup of refried beans for 1 minute in the microwave to get hot and reserve for the recipe build.
2. Season the ground beef with salt, pepper and taco seasoning and saute for 8 minutes in a non-stick pan, drain and reserve hot for the recipe build.
3. To build 1 Mexican Pizza: Place 1 crispy tortilla on work surface.
4. Evenly spread tortilla with hot refried beans.
5. Evenly top refried beans with of the cooked ground beef.
6. Top ground beef with second crisp tortilla and evenly spread 1 heaping tablespoon of pizza sauce over the tortilla.
7. Evenly top the pizza sauce with grated Mexican cheese blend and 2 tablespoons chopped tomatoes.
8. Repeat steps 1 through 5 for remaining 3 servings.
9. Place all 4 pizzas, at one time, in 350 degrees F oven on a cookie pan/flat pan, and bake for 2 minutes to melt the cheese. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon chopped cilantro evenly over the top of each pizza. Serve each pizza whole.

*We didn't cook the pizzas after assembled. And if I were to do this again I would not cook the tortillas before hand but warm them through after assembled. They were very messy!!

Hawaiian Sandwiches

Our favorite pizza is the Hawaiian. I just love the flavors of the pineapple and ham. I also love it when it has bbq sauce slathered all over it. My mouth is watering just thinking about it-really.Great, now i want pizza!! haha!

Hawaiian Sandwiches

Hamburger buns or hoagie rolls - we used hamburger buns-cheaper and easier!
Deli Ham
Sliced Pineapple
Barbecue Sauce
Deli Sliced Provolone Cheese - feel free to use whatever you family likes best-mozzarella would be fab here as well!!

Preheat oven to 425 degrees

Assemble melts starting with Ham, Pineapple Slices, BBQ sauce, and Cheese last. Put the top on and individually wrap the sandwich snugly in the foil. Place sandwiches in the preheated oven for 15 minutes. Give it 5 minutes to cool and enjoy!! If you are using hamburger buns I wouldn't go the full 15 minutes, maybe shave off about 5 or so minutes. Depends on your oven. Ours were super ooey and gooey. But hey if you like that then go for it (we were split down the middle on who liked the ooey and gooey and who didn't).

Serve these with your favorite potatoe or macaroni salad! SSSSSOOOOOO easy and ssssssoooo good!!!

Pineapple Pepper Chicken (crockpot)

I didn't realize how far off the radar i've become!!! My sincerest apologies!

I've been cooking and eating and forgetting to do anything about it! Guess it's a big case of the lazies!!

So recently I made this fab dish. I originally found it on FabulesslyFrugal.com. I love reading about all her freezer cooking. I'll be using several of her dishes when we get closer to having this baby! The newest one I've tried was a HUGE hit. I didn't make it as a freezer meal, just made it on the night I had it set on my menu.

Pineapple Pepper Chicken (in the crockpot)
2 cups unsweetened pineapple juice-the juice leftover in the cans I used came up just short, you might want to buy 1 extra can of pineapples to make up the difference
1 cup sugar
1 cup vinegar
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup ketchup
3 Tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp. chicken bouillon granules
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1 whole chicken-cut up or left whole, I left mine whole
1 can (8 oz.) pineapple chunks, undrained - *see above note*
1 medium green pepper (or red as the case may be-they are on a super sale at our store so I substituted those-use what you like)

Place thawed chicken and other ingredients in crock pot. Cook on low for 5-6 hours. 30 minute before it is finished add pineapple and green pepper, cook an additional 30 minutes. Serve over rice (we had noodles with ours).

OR: Place chicken in a 13x 9 pan. Heat sauce on stove until it starts to thicken. Pour sauce over chicken. DO NOT over fill the pan. There will be extra sauce. Pour sauce in a container and freeze so you can make this dish again later! Place pan in oven at 350° and bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven place peppers and pineapple on top and bake for an additional 15 minutes.

I recommend using the crockpot, but by all means if you don't have the time then use the oven. I like any excuse to NOT turn on my oven in the heat of an AZ summer. Plus in the crockpot you get to smell it's citrusy awesomeness all day long!! I HIGHLY recommend this dish. It was sssssooooooo good. And like me if you use a whole chicken, save the bones for making stock and add whatever juices you have leftover. I did and the stock it made was heaven for sure!!

Thanks Fabulessly Frugal for another FAB recipe!!

Happy St. Patricks Day!

I have to say this isn't an original idea. I tweaked the original to suit our family and it was AWESOME!!! I hope you'd had a great day doing whatever your family's traditions dictate. We don't do much other than wearing of the green and some sort of fun "green" or Irish themed dinner. For the past few years I've done a green themed dinner, but didn't feel like doing that this year. I had been wondering what on earth to do, when I was watching Food Network a couple of weeks ago and Guy Fieri made this on his show. The moment I saw it, I knew this is what I wanted to do. So tonight I got everything ready and made my substitutions not knowing how it would turn out. Some of my subs were pretty radical. But it was AWESOME! Did I say that already! So I must suggest that you MAKE this and make it SOON!!!! My kids even enjoyed it, which in and of itself is amazing!


Corned Beef and Pasta Toss
2 tablespoons butter, unsalted
1 tablespoon canola oil
1/4 cup small diced carrots
1 cup diced cabbage
1 onion, diced
1 teaspoon season salt
2 cups cooked corned beef, sliced
1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 cups half-and-half
1 tablespoon mustard
1 tbsp relish
2 cups grated mozzarella cheese
3/4 cup fresh peas, or frozen
1 pound cooked linguine

Directions

In a large saute pan over medium-high heat, add the butter and 1 tablespoon canola oil. Add the carrots and cabbage and saute until they are just tender and the cabbage is starting to caramelize, about 20 minutes. Stir in the onions and salt and saute 3 to 4 minutes longer. Add the corned beef and black pepper and cook until the beef is starting to crisp, about 10 minutes. Stir occasionally during this process. Add in the cream, half- and-half, the mustard and the relish. Let simmer until the sauce has tightened up a bit, about 5 minutes. Stir in the shredded cheese and adjust seasonings, as needed. Stir in the peas and the pasta, then transfer into a serving dish. Serve immediately.


As an added bonus I added food coloring to the pasta water turning it green. It's a little harder to do with whole wheat pasta, but it sort of looked green. Regular pasta probably would've tinted better.

Carribean Chicken

I do need to apologize for lack of pictures. My computer isn't recognizing the pictures from my camera so I can't download any. I guess until I can get it fixed you'll just have to use your imagination!! :)

So here is what's for dinner tonight. This is making my house smell so good right now. This is glorious! I hope you enjoy it too!!

Caribbean Chicken

1/4 C freshly squeezed orange juice
1 tsp orange zest
1 tbsp veg oil
1 tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice
1 tsp lime zest
2 tsp ginger (or 1 tsp minced fresh ginger)
2 cloves of garlic, whole
1/2 tsp fresh oregano
1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast, thighs or tenderloins (i'm using tenderloins this time around)

In a small food processor or a blender, combine all ingredients except chicken. Blend into a marinade, making sure that the garlic is in small bits.

Place chicken in a ziptop baggie (gallon sized) and put marinade on top of it. Refrigerate for 2-24 hours. The longer the better.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Remove chicken from marinade (discard marinade at this point) and cook chicken for 10 minutes on each side or until no longer pink (ovens may vary-you can adjust heat as you see fit).

Serve with favorite sides. We are having this with a four cheese alfredo and a veggie. This would be awesome grilled too!!

Thai for Dinner

Thai for Dinner Tonight!

My mom and dad sent me this little box set of Rachael Ray recipes a while ago and I've just never gotten around to cooking anything in them until now. Here's the one we did last night! Itw as really good and the kids gobbled this up (well they DID eat all the chicken, weren't so crazy about the lettuce underneath....)

I made a few modifications and that's what I'm sharing with you here.

And by the way did I mention that it's good for you too????

Ginger-Soy Chicken on Shredded Lettuce
3 tbsp veg oil
1 1/4 pounds chicken breasts, cut into strips
salt and pepper
ground ginger (I didn't measure, just dumped in until I thought it looked right)
4 large garlic cloves, chopped
1 tsp curry powder
6 scallions, cut into 2 in lengths, then cut again lengthwise into thin matchsticks
1/4C tamari (soy sauce)
3 tbsp honey
1 head of iceberg lettuce, core removed, shredded (or just use bagged lettuce-i had it on hand so that's what I used)

Heat a large nonstick skillet over high heat.

Add the veg oil. it should smoke up a bit

Add the chicken and season with salt and pepper. Stir fry for a minute to sear the meat at the edges, then add the ginger, garlic, and curry powder and cook for 2 minutes more.

Add the scallions and stir fry for another minute, then add the tamari and honey to form a sauce and glaze the chicken. Remove the pan from the heat. Cover a platter with shredded lettuce, top with the chicken, and serve.

picture courtesy of rachael ray's recipe

Frito Pie

I've heard so many people talking about this and I never tried, well tonight we had it and it was a hit!!!!! So much so that it's almost gone. The hubs may not get any for lunch tomorrow! Will FOR SURE be making this again!!!

Frito Pie

• 3 cups Fritos corn chips
• 3/4 cup chopped onion
• 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
• 2-1/2 cups chili (your favorite -- homemade, canned, whatever)

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Spread 2 cups of Fritos in a baking dish. Sprinkle half the onion and half the cheese over the Fritos. Pour the chili over the onion and cheese. Sprinkle the remaining Fritos, onion and cheese over the chili.

Bake for 15 or 20 minutes and cheese is bubbly. Serve hot.

Broccoli, Cheddar, Chicken and Spaghetti Casserole

Broccoli, Cheddar, Chicken and Spaghetti Casserole

2 small cans cream of chicken soup

2 small cans cheddar cheese soup

1 1/2 Cups milk

8-10 Cups broccoli florets

4-5 large chicken breasts, diced and cooked in pan. Season liberally (as Emril says...."I don't know where you get your chicken, but mine doesn't come seasoned at the store!")

8oz spaghetti noodles

1 Cup shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Cook spaghetti until slightly al dente (it will continue cooking in the oven).

Place soup and milk into a large pot over medium heat. Whisk until smooth and heated through, about 5 minutes.

Stir in broccoli and cook for 5 additional minutes to soften slightly. Stir in chicken, salt, pepper and garlic seasoning.

Pour spaghetti into the bottom of 11X7 baking dish that’s been sprayed with cooking spray. Pour soup mixture over spaghetti. Top evenly with cheese; bake for 20 minutes then cover with foil. Bake for an additional 15 minutes with dish covered with foil. Remove from oven and serve.

This makes a TON, so I would half the recipe unless you want leftovers. This would also be great to make and then freeze the leftovers for another meal. That's what I plan on doing with ours!

HAPPY EATING!!!!

Sausage and Peppers Rigatoni

Sausage and Peppers Rigatoni

1/2 pound turkey sausage, cut into 1/2 in slices (I just used ground turkey-it was on sale)
2 large green peppers, sliced
3C rigatoni, uncooked
1 jar of favorite spaghetti sauce
1C mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

(If you are using ground sausage like I did precook it with the peppers until just starting to brown) Place sausage and peppers in a 9X13 in pan sprayed with cooking spray.

Bake 15-20 minutes or until sausage is done (I baked mine for about 10 min since the sausage was already partially cooked). Meanwhile cook the pasta.

Drain pasta. Add to baking dish with spaghetti sauce and stir. Bake 15-20 minutes or until heat through. Top with cheese, bake an additional 2-3 min or until cheese is melted.

This is really good with a crusty italian bread and garlic butter. My mouth is currently watering!!!

HAPPY EATING!!!!!!!!

crock pot chicken cordon bleu

This is our dinner for tonight. My camera is acting all funky so no pictures!! Sorry! I will say that my house currently smells good. I can't wait to try this recipe. Enjoy!!


Crock Pot Chicken Cordon Bleu

4 chicken breasts
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup milk
4 oz sliced ham
4 oz sliced Swiss cheese
1 (8 oz) package herbed dry bread stuffing mix
¼ cup melted butter


Mix together the cream of chicken soup and milk in a small bowl. Pour enough of the soup into a slow cooker to cover the bottom. Layer chicken breasts over the sauce. Cover with slices of ham and then Swiss cheese. Pour the remaining soup over the layers, stirring a little to distribute between layers. Sprinkle the stuffing on top, and drizzle butter over stuffing. Cover and cook on low for 4 to 6 hours, or 2 to 3 hours on high.

HAPPY EATING!!!

Halloween Eats

I've been doing a lot of baking lately for Halloween and haven't been posting it....shameful!! This is always a busy time for us and I just kept forgetting to post the recipes. So here goes...



This first one I made for a Halloween party we'd been invited to. Everyone was supposed to bring something to munch on and I really didn't want to go wtih the standard chips and salsa that the husband always suggests (I seriously think he could live off that stuff!!!). So I found this in the TASTE OF HOME HALLOWEEN edition and couldn't resist.

CHEESENSTEIN

2 packages cream cheese (8 ounces each), softened
1/4 C mayo
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp hot pepper sauce
2 C shredded sharp cheddar cheese
6 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled
3 green onions, thinly sliced
2 cartons (4 ounces each) whipped cream cheese
Moss-green food coloring
3 large olives
1 pepperoncini
black decorating gel
1 pretzel rod
assorted veggies

In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese (not the whipped just the carton), mayo, Worcestershire sauce and pepper sauce until smooth. Stir in the cheddar cheese, bacon and onions. Shape into a 5in. x 4in. x 3in. rectangle, wrap in plastic wrap, Refrigerate until chilled and firm.

Unwrap rectangle; place on serving platter with 3in. side on top.Tint whipped cream cheese green, spread over top and sides of rectangle.

Add pepperoncini for ears (cut in half). Cut one olive in half and place on front for eyes. Slide other olives on pretzel rods and insert in sides for bolts. With black decorating gel pipe mouth, brown and stitches.

Add assorted veggies and crackers.



Next up is what I made for Sunday dinner last week. Also found in the TASTE OF HOME HALLOWEEN edition. I knew that Hallween weekend would be crazy busy so I made this one in advance. Besides, we always order the pumpkin shaped pizza from a certain pizza place for Halloween and I didn't want to interrupt that tradition. ;O)

YUMMY PORK MUMMY
3/4 C heavy cream
1/4 C dijon mustard (I used honey mustard because I already had it)
2 tsp minced fresh thyme or 1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 pork tenderloin (about 1 pound), however I used a pork roast that was about 4 pounds because I had bought it on sale!
2 tsp oilve oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
10 sheets phyllo dough (14 in X 9 in)
6 tbsp butter, melted
1 medium apple, peeled

In a small skillet bring cream and mustard to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 10-15 minutes or until mixture is reduced to 2/3 C. Remove from the heat and add thyme.

Meanwhile, place pork on rack in shallow baking pan. Brush with oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Broil 6 in from the heat for 6 minutes. Remove from the oven, cool slightly. Change oven temperature to 400 degrees.
Set aside 1/2C mustard sauce for serving. spread remaining mixture over pork.


Place one sheet of phyllo dough on a work surface; brush with butter. (WARNING: NOT CALORIE FRIENDLY!!!!!!!!) (Keep remaining phyllo dough covered with wet towel to keep from drying out). Repeat layers four times.

Place pork on one edge of phyllo dough; roll up tightly to form mummy's body and tuck in ends.

Plae another sheet of dough on work surface, brush with butter and repeat 3 times. Cut into thin strips; wrap around pork bundle.

Cut remaining dough in half, brush with butter. Cut 1 in. cube from apple;wrap in prepared dough. Position at the wide end of the bundle for the head. Save remaining apple for another use. Discard remaining phyllo dough. (I did not do this part with the apple)
Place bundle in ungreased shallow baking pan. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a meat thermometer reads 160 degrees. Transfer to a serving platter. Let stand for 10 minutes before slicing. Serve with remaining mustard sauce.

I can feel my arteries hardening with this one!! But the mustard on it made it ssssoooooo moist and tender that you didn't even need a knife to cut it. The husband even praised it's yumminess so it had to be good!!!

Next up..........some halloween cookies!!!

HAPPY EATING!!!!!!!!!!

Tonight I took a recipe from 30 Minute Meals and Rachael Ray. I just happened to be flipping channels a while back when I saw her making this. So I figured I just had to try it. Looked too good to pass up. My family LOVES lasagna and thought this would be a nice twist. She really does come up with some great ideas. Makes me wonder why I didn't think of it you know?!

You'll have to forgive me, no picture. We has a school function tonight and everyone scarfed it down before I realized I hadn't taken a picture. But believe me....it really is that good!!!!

Two Sauce Weeknight Lasagna Bowls

Ingredients

• Salt
• 1 pound Campanelle pasta
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/4 pound pancetta, a couple of thick slices, chopped
• 3/4 pound ground beef pork and veal mix or ground beef
• 1/2 large carrot, peeled and grated or finely chopped
• 1 small to medium onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, 2 chopped or grated, 1 peeled
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice, a couple of pinches
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1/2 cup dry red wine
• 2 cups beef stock
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 2 cups milk
• Nutmeg, to taste
• 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano, plus some to pass at table
• A handful fresh parsley leaves, finely chopped

Directions

Heat large pot of water to a boil, salt water and cook pasta to al dente.

While pasta water comes to a boil, heat olive oil in a medium sauce pot over medium-high heat, add pancetta and render 2 to 3 minutes then add meat and break up as it browns. When the meat has begun to caramelize and develops a nice brown color, 4 to 5 minutes, add carrot, onion, 2 cloves of garlic, allspice, salt and pepper and a bay leaf. Cook 3 to 4 minutes more to soften onions and carrots bits then stir in tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes, then stir in wine and cook out 1 minute then stir in stock and reduce heat to simmer.

While red sauce cooks, cut remaining whole clove of garlic and rub the inside of a medium sauce pot with it. Melt butter in pot over medium heat. Add in flour and whisk together a minute or so then whisk in milk and bring to a bubble, reduce heat then season sauce with salt, pepper and nutmeg, thicken 8 to 10 minutes.

Toss pasta with white sauce and 1/2 cup grated cheese. Serve pasta in individual bowls and top with a ladle of meat sauce in the middle of the bowl for mixing in. Garnish with parsley.

HAPPY EATING!!!!

Savory Pumpkin Tarts

I love fall and I love Halloween. Well most holidays for that matter, but especially Halloween. I love all the fun food things you can do!! Tonight for dinner we had these little savory tarts. They were so tasty. They'd make a really good appetizer for a Halloween party or a yummy after school snack for the kiddies. After giving me a weird look, the kids ate these up. They had to get past the color... But how fun were these to make? Seriously!!! Enjoy!

Savory Pumpkin Tarts
1 pkg (15 ounces) refrigerated pie crust
3 tbsp honey mustard
1/2 pound fully cooked ham, thinly sliced, (I used the little packages of deli ham found near the bologna at the grocery store)
1C mozzarella cheese
2 egg yolks
4-6 drops red food coloring
1 egg white
2-3 drops green food coloring

On a lightly floured surface, roll out one sheet of pie crust. Using a floured pumpkin cookie cutter (or any halloween cookie cutter for that matter), cut out 8 pumpkins. Repeat with remaining pie crust. Spread mustard over eight of the pumpkins.

Layer with ham, onions and cheese to within 3/4 in of edges.




With a pastry brush (or your finger) dip in water and wet outside edges of pumpkins. Top with remaining pumpkins, press edges to seal.

In a small bowl beat egg yolks with enough red food coloring to achieve an orange color. In another small bowl beat egg white with enough green to get desired color. Brush colors over pumpkins to get desired effect.

Transfer to a greased baking sheet (s). Bake at 400 degrees for 15 min or until browned. Mine were done at 13 minutes. So just keep an eye on them after about 10 minutes.

These were really good and fun to make. You could easily do this with any type of cookie cutter for any type of occassion! Go wild and crazy!!!

HAPPY EATING!!!!!