Colored Rice Krispies for any occasion

          These bright blue rice krispie treats I made for my nephews birthday party, were such a hit & our family loved them! I can't even begin to tell you how easy these are!! Using the original Rice Krispie Treat recipe from RiceKrispies.com I added food coloring of choice and followed this recipe..

INGREDIENTS

• 3 tablespoons butter or margarine
• 1 package (10 oz., about 40) regular marshmallows
• — OR —
• 4 cups miniature marshmallows
• 6 cups Kellogg's® Rice Krispies® cereal

DIRECTIONS 

1. In large saucepan melt butter over low heat. Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Remove from heat. 

2. Add KELLOGG'S RICE KRISPIES cereal. Stir until well coated.

3. Using buttered spatula or wax paper evenly press mixture into 13 x 9 x 2-inch pan coated with cooking spray. Cool.***** Cut into 2-inch squares. Best if served the same day.

*****After they have cooled. Melt white chocolate melting candy waffers, add desired color and spread evenly!

Candy Tray for Christmas

          These cute little do it yourself trays are perfect for the upcoming holiday season! You can make them round, square, or get creative with your own shape! I did not come up with this on my own, although I wish I had! All it takes is these little red and white hard candies, or the green and white ones if you prefer. Wax paper, a cookie sheet, and some patience to unwrap all the little candies. 

Line your tray with wax paper. Place your candy in desired design, not touching but not spread apart far. These candies will spread out as they melt! Place in a preheated 350 degree oven for 7-10 minutes. Place on a wire cooling rack for about 30 minutes! Then carefully turn upside down and take the wax paper off.

 I decided since we weren't going to eat the tray, to just trim the wax paper from the edges. I didn't want the color from the peppermints to transfer on any of our hosts counter tops. Also, DO NOT out in the fridge to cool quicker. I learned the hard way and mine cracked!

After about 3 hours of cooling time the top shouldn't be sticky anymore and should be ready to add treats too!

Pup pb & pumpkin cookies!

Pup pb& pumpkin cookies

2 1/2 cups wheat flour
2 eggs
3/4 cup pumpkin
3 TBSP peanut butter
Candiquik for drizzle (optional)

Mix all ingredients. Flour surface and rolling pin. Roll out very thin. Use a cookie cutter for the shape. Grease cookie sheet and place cookies close but not touching. 

Bake at 350• for 25-30 minutes. Let cool completely. Drizzle with candiquik. 

1st photo is my own, 2nd photo taken by Meredith Leigh Photography

Great chocolate covered pretzels for anytime of the year

These of course I made this year for fall, they are the White Chocolate Candy Corn M&M's. You can buy any type or color depending on your occasion.

All you need is:

   1 bag of the pretzels

   1 family size bag Hershey kisses or Hershey Hugs

   1 bag of M&M's or type of nuts

Preheat your oven to 350. Place your pretzels on a wax paper lined cookie sheet in a single layer. Open up your kisses and place on top of the pretzel. Bake in oven for 2-3 minutes, just long enough that when you pull them out the peak of the kiss is soft to the touch. Then quickly place your M&M or nut on top of each little chocolate pile. Let cool for about a hour, I KNOW, it is terribly hard to stay away from these an hour. :)

Meatloaf stuffed peppers

Meatloaf stuffed peppers! Such an easy, delicious dish. I used sweet yellow peppers, mainly because I had them on hand, but any color pepper will do!



Ingredients:
MEATLOAF:
1 lb ground beef
1 egg
1 med. onion chopped
1 TBSP Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 cup milk
1 cup cracker or bread crumbs
salt and pepper

Topping:
2 TBSP brown sugar
2 TBSP mustard
1/3 cup of ketchup
1/3 cup barbecue


3 bell peppers of your choice


Set your oven to 375* and let it preheat. Grab a sheet tray, line it with wax paper or grease it well.  First I cleaned the peppers and cut it in half, de-seeded it, cut little slits into the outside so the heat can reach the meatloaf quicker, and set it aside. Next you make your meatloaf! Combine all your ingredients together. Grab a handful and stuff your pepper. Place all your peppers on your baking sheet. Bake at 375 for 45 minutes, then take out and add your sauce topping. Place back into the oven for 30 minutes. 
Let cool for 5 minutes, and enjoy!
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measurement cheat sheet

Carmel apples

• 1 (14 oz.) pkg. caramel candies, unwrapped; OR, 1 (11 oz.) pkg. caramel bits
• 2 tablespoons water
• 5 to 6 medium apples
• 5 to 6  craft sticks
• chopped nuts, cookies, or candies (if desired)
• melted chocolate for drizzling 

Directions

Wash apples, dry thoroughly, remove stems, insert sticks in stem end, and refrigerate. Put caramel bits or candies in medium microwave-safe bowl, add water, microwave on high for approx. 3 minutes until melted. Stop at 1 minute intervals to stir. Place each apple into bowl of melted caramel, swirl around until coated, using a spoon to cover apple. Remove apple from caramel and let excess drip off, scraping excess from bottom with spoon. If desired, roll coated apple in chopped nuts, cookies, or candies. Press in with hands to help them set in the caramel. Place on greased waxed paper or aluminum foil and return to fridge to chill and set. If desired, drizzle chilled apples with melted chocolate. Return to fridge. Or, wrap each caramel apple in an individual bag, tie it, and store at room temperature. They will keep for several days.

**Theyummylife.com recipe  MY picture :)

Some of my kitchen essentials

Dawn Power Clean. This soaking soap is no joke. I will never go with out it again! Anything to make clean up easier, is good with me!

A griddle! I absolutely love using my griddle! Chicken, beef tips, pancakes, sandwiches, anything you need a bigger pan for, this is the tool to use! 

The Pampered Chef mix and chop. This is perfect for ground beef or sausage. I also use mine for my lumpier mashed potato's. 

And last but not least, my favorite kitchen gadget of all time, my Kitchen Aid mixer!

I bake a lot, and I couldn't live without this! 

Roasted Red pepper & potato soup

Ingredients
1 red pepper
6-10 medium sized mushroom
4 lg potato's
1/2 a red onion
3 cups milk
1 c water
1 tbsp dry ranch
1/2 c chicken stock
salt and pepper to taste
 1 tsp crushed red pepper 


Prep work:
  Roast your red pepper, preheat your oven to 500 degrees. Place the whole pepper on a sheet try lined with aluminum foil for 30-40 minutes, until the skin is wrinkled and a little charred.  Be sure to turn your pepper a few times during the roasting process. Remove from the oven and immediately cover tightly with aluminum foil. Set aside until they are cool enough to handle. After about 20 minutes or so, de-stem, and cut your pepper in fourths. Discard the stem & seeds. Chop or dice into pieces.

Now you can start your soup.  Using a double boiler is best but if you do not have one, a stock pot will do.
Place your milk and water in your pot and turn it on medium heat. Add chopped pepper. Peel and cut your potatoes into halves. Put them in a separate pot of boiling water, add chicken stock, boil until tender. (I use the potato's for thickening the soup.)  In a small skillet, add a tsp of olive oil. Clean, and cut your mushrooms up, dice onion and add them to the hot oil. Once tender, add them to your soup pot. Adjust your stove to med-high and let it come to a boil. After your potato's are tender, add one cup, diced, to your soup. Take the remainder and puree or finely mash them. The starch from the potato works as a thickening agent for the soup, and unlike flour, it doesn't mask the taste. Add pureed potato's to boiling soup. Stirring until thick. Add dry ranch, crushed red pepper, salt and pepper. Let soup simmer for about 20 minutes, eat and enjoy!!

Honey Mustard Chicken

Ingredients:

2

teaspoons butter or margarine

4

boneless skinless chicken breast halves

1/2

cup apple juice

2

        tablespoons sweet honey mustard

• 
  
• In 10-inch nonstick skillet, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook 5 to 8 minutes, turning once, until chicken is browned on both sides.
• Add apple juice. Reduce heat to medium; cover and cook 8 to 10 more minutes or until juice of chicken is clear when center of thickest part is cut (170°F)
• With slotted spoon, remove chicken  from skillet; place on serving platter and cover to keep warm. Stir mustard into liquid in skillet. Spoon mustard sauce over chicken!
• Fresh steamed broccoli or carrots are wonderful with this, and taste great with the sauce!!

Strawberry Cupcakes (one of my favorite's from All Recipes.com)

Ingredients

Original recipe makes 1 dozen cupcakes

• 
  
  10 tablespoons butter, room temperature
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon strawberry extract
  1 3/4 cups self-rising flour 
  1/4 teaspoon salt
  1/4 cup finely chopped fresh strawberries, drained
  
  
  Directions

• 
  
  
  
• 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease 12 cupcake pan cups or line with paper liners.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the strawberry extract. Combine the self-rising flour and salt; stir into the batter just until blended. Fold in strawberries last. Spoon the batter into the prepared cups, dividing evenly.
3. Bake in the preheated oven until the tops spring back when lightly pressed, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool in the pan set over a wire rack. When cool, arrange the cupcakes on a serving platter. Frost with desired frosting.
4. www.allrecipes.com

Make your own tortilla chips.

SO easy, SO good!! 

*Cut twelve 6-inch corn tortillas into 6 wedges each.
 *Toss the wedges with 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, 1 tablespoon chili powder
 & 1/2 teaspoon salt. 
*Working in batches, spread on 2 baking sheets; bake at 350 degrees F until golden, 20 to 25 minutes.

Delicious stuffed mushrooms

This recipe is pretty interchangeable! I switch it up a little every time I make it! I've added broccoli, red peppers, cheddar cheese instead of pepper jack, green peppers, bacon, etc. Work with the ingredients you have!!

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for tossing and drizzling
• 1 link italian mild sausage (or turkey sausage)
• 24 large white mushrooms, stems removed, reserved and chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 ounces pepperjack cheese
• 3/4 cup  breadcrumbs
• 8 oz cream cheese
•  salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• **optional chopped japlapeno pepper for a nice kick!

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil and once hot, add the sausage and cook, breaking up with the back of a wooden spoon, about 2 minutes. Once the sausage is beginning to brown, add the mushroom stems and continue to cook until soft and the sausage is cooked through. Add the garlic and briefly saute until fragrant. Transfer the mixture to a bowl. Add the pepper jack, breadcrumbs and cream cheese to mixture and stir to combine.

Place the mushroom caps cavity-side up on the a sheet tray. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Spoon the filling into the cavities and drizzle again with olive oil. You may need to pack down the filling with your hands. Bake 20 minutes.

Enjoy!!  And don't forget to invite me over ;)

Stuffed jalapenos!

Ingredients

• 15 jalapenos, preferably red, cut in 1/2, seeded and deveined
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 2 pounds mild Italian sausage, casings removed
• 1/4 cup minced red onion
• 1/4 cup minced red bell pepper
• 3 tablespoons minced garlic
• 2 cups cream cheese
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan, plus more for garnish
• Salt and pepper
• 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• **bacon is optional for wrapping 

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and set a rack in the middle of the oven.

Place jalapenos on a sheet tray and roast for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool. Turn broiler on medium.

Heat the oil in a medium saute pan. Add the sausage and cook for 5 to 7 minutes. Add the onions, peppers, and garlic and cook to soften for about 5 minutes. Remove and place in a large bowl. Cool to room temperature, then add cream cheese, and Parmesan. Mix ingredients thoroughly and season with salt and pepper.

Place approximately 1 tablespoon of mixture into each jalapeno half, and top with 1/2 teaspoon of mozzarella cheese.

Place the sheet tray of stuffed peppers in oven and broil until mozzarella cheese melts.

I have also followed this recipe then wrapped my japs with a piece of bacon, then baked the same as above. They were delicious!! 

Crock Pot chocolate candy

Ingredients

• 2 pounds salted dry-roasted peanuts
• 4 ounces German's sweet chocolate (about 4 squares)
• One 12-ounce package semisweet chocolate chips (about 2 cups)
• 2 1/2 pounds white almond bark

Directions

Put the peanuts in the bottom of a 4-quart slow cooker. Layer the chocolate over the peanuts, beginning with the sweet chocolate, followed by the chocolate chips and then the almond bark. Set the temperature on low and cook for 3 hours. Do not stir the mixture.

After 3 hours, stir the mixture with a wooden spoon until smooth. Drop the candy into cupcake pan liners using about 2 tablespoons per liner. Allow the candy to cool completely before removing the cupcake liners.

Once again, I am a huge fan of the slow cooker liners! These are the best for a no mess clean up!

Crack (Trisha Yearwood's recipe)

This recipe is so good for any sweet tooth! I made the first batch with butterscotch chips instead of chocolate and it was a huge hit!

 

• Cooking spray
• 35 to 40 saltine crackers
• 2 sticks (1 cup) butter
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 8 ounces semisweet chocolate chips (about 1 1/3 cups)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Line 1 large or 2 small jelly-roll pans with aluminum foil, spray with nonstick spray and arrange the saltines salt-side down in a single layer. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter and brown sugar together and boil until it turns a caramel color, a few minutes. Remove from the heat and pour over the crackers, covering them evenly.

Put the jelly-roll pan into the oven and bake for 3 to 5 minutes, or until just bubbly, watching carefully. Remove from the oven and pour the chocolate chips over the crackers. When the chips melt a bit, spread them over the crackers with a knife.

Transfer the pan to the freezer for 15 to 20 minutes, or until completely cold. They will form one big sheet. Break up into pieces. Store in an airtight container.

Chicken Cordon Bleu casserole

Ingredients-
 2 c cooked rice
2-3 boneless chicken breasts, cooked and chopped
6 slices swiss cheese
1 pkg. deli meat ham
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1/2 c milk
1/2 c sour cream
Saltine crackers, paprika, garlic salt, parsley 


Coat 9 x 13 inch baking dish with cooking spray. Spread 2 cups cooked rice in bottom of baking dish. Arrange 3 cups cooked chicken pieces over top of rice. Layer 6 slices of Swiss cheese on top of chicken.  Then layer 10 slices of cut-up ham on top of the Swiss cheese. Mix 2 cans cream of chicken soup, 1/2 cup milk, and 1/2 cup sour cream together. Spread on top of ham. Crush 10 saltine crackers then add 1/2 teaspoon paprika, 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt, and 1/2 teaspoon parsleyand mix together. Sprinkle on top of soup mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Enjoy!

Chicken Torino

My boss made this at work one day and I absolutely LOVED the recipe!! It was also a big hit at home, minus the bacon, since Billy won't eat it! 

Ingredients-

4 boneless chicken breasts
1/2 lb bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 jar of pesto (I use Private Selection brand Basil Pesto, found at Kroger)
6-8 button mushrooms, cleaned and chopped
1-1 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese 
1 bag chopped pecans (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray your 9x13in baking dish with cooking spray. Par-bake your chicken for about 15 minutes. Remove from oven and spread 2 tbsp of pesto over each piece of chicken. Layer your cheese, mushrooms, bacon, and pecans over top. Bake for about 15-20 more minutes. Enjoy! 

This meal is very good with rice pilaf, and fresh steamed veggies! 

Bacon/ranch chicken pasta

Great recipe for the crock pot! 

2 bacon strips, cooked and shredded (turkey or regular)
1 tsp minced garlic
1 package ranch dressing mix
1 10.75 oz can condensed cream of chicken soup (98% fat free)
1 cup fat-free sour cream
1/2 an onion chopped or minced
16 oz. chicken breasts,  defrosted/raw, cut into cubes
8 oz. pasta (I used rigatoni), cooked by pkg instructions 

Combine the first 6 ingredients. Place defrosted/raw chicken in Crock pot, sprayed with nonstick cooking spray and pour sauce over the top (do NOT include water like the can mentions). Cook on high for 3.5 hours.. Cook pasta per package instructions on stove. Add cooked pasta to the Crock Pot. Let it cook on low setting for about 20 minutes. Then its ready to enjoy!

Helpful hint: I use the Slow Cooker bags for my crock pot meals! Easy clean up and no soaking the crockpot to get the sauce off the side!!

My Potato Soup

Ingredients
3 cups peeled and cubed potatoes
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 cube chicken bouillon
1 cup water
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 pinch ground black pepper
2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup chopped ham or bacon

Directions
In a large stock pot add potatoes, celery, onion, chicken bouillon, water and parsley flakes. Season with salt and pepper and simmer until vegetables become tender.
In a separate bowl mix flour and milk. Once it is well blended, add to soup mixture and cook until soup becomes thick.
Stir in cheese, cooked ham or bacon, and simmer until cheese is melted.

Easy cupcakes!!

 White Cupcakes with Creamy Frosting

Makes: 12 servings Serving size: 1  cupcake Yield: 12 cupcakes

Prep 30 mins Cool 1 hr Bake 350°F 18 mins to 20 mins Stand 30 min

ingredients

·         1/3 cup butter

·         2 eggs

·         1 cup all-purpose flour

·         1 teaspoon baking powder

·         ¼ teaspoon baking soda

·         1/8  teaspoon salt

·         2/3 cup sugar

·         1 teaspoon vanilla

·         1/3 cup buttermilk

·         1 recipe Creamy Frosting

·          

 directions

1.Let butter and eggs stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Grease twelve 2-1/2-inch muffin cups or line with paper bake cups; set aside. In a medium bowl stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

2.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large mixing bowl beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add sugar and vanilla. Beat on medium to high speed about 2 minutes or until light and fluffy, scraping sides of bowl as necessary. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until combined after each addition. Alternately add flour mixture and buttermilk to butter mixture, beating on low speed after each addition just until combined.

3.Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups, filling each about half full. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the centers comes out clean. Cool in muffin cups on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Remove cupcakes from muffin cups and cool completely on wire rack. Generously spread Creamy Frosting over cupcakes. Makes 12 cupcakes.

Creamy Frosting

Stand 30 mins

ingredients

·         4 ounces cream cheese, softened

·         2 tablespoons butter, softened

·         1 teaspoon vanilla

·         2 ½ cups powdered sugar

directions

1.In a large bowl beat together cream cheese and butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed until smooth. Beat in vanilla. Gradually add powdered sugar, beating until smooth.