Heavenly Artichoke Dip

I am not making this up. I don't even like artichokes that much. But this dip is A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. I didn't get a good picture of it because it was devoured before I had a chance. More proof that this dip is a must try!

Ingredients:
1 8oz pkg. cream cheese softened and cut into cubes
2 14oz cans quartered artichokes-diced smaller
1 cup + 2 Tbsp. mayo
2 cups shredded Parmesan cheese
3-4 cloves pressed garlic
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Combine all ingredients using only 1 1/2 cups of Parmesan. Mix well making sure to get all of the cream cheese mixed in. Pour dip into a 9x9 glass baking dish and top with remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan. Bake at 375 for about 20 min or until bubbly. Serve with sliced baguette, bagel chips, or crackers.Try not to eat it all.

Roasted Jalapeno Soup

This soup is so incredibly delicious! It super quick and when served with fresh hot scones, it makes for an amazing dinner!   Roasted Jalapeno Soup

Author: Carla Cardello (www.chocolatemoosey.com)

Serves: 2 cups

Ingredients

• 4 green jalapeno peppers
• 1/2 cup carrots, peeled and chopped (roughly 2 carrots)
• 1/2 cup onion, peeled and chopped (roughly 1 small onion)
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 3 Tbsp butter, softened
• 1/4 cup flour
• 2 1/2 cups chicken stock
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
• Salt and pepper
• 1/2 cup tomatoes, chopped and peeled
• 1/4 cup mushrooms, sliced

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400F. Line a cookie sheet with foil. Cut each jalapeno in half lengthwise and remove the seeds and membrane. Place them face down onto the cookie sheet. Roast for 10-15 minutes or until slightly darkened. When cool enough to handle, chop.
2. In a medium sauce pot, heat the olive oil. When hot, saute the carrots, onion, and garlic for about 5 minutes or until the carrots and onions start to soften.
3. Add in the butter. Once the butter has melted, stir in the flour until everything is coated. Stir in the chopped jalapenos. Slowly stir in the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Then stir in the heavy cream and bring back to a boil. Turn the heat down to simmer and cook until the soup has thickened, about 5-7 minutes. If you feel that your soup isn’t thick enough, add more flour, 1 tablespoon at a time.
4. When the soup has thickened, turn off the heat. If using an immersion blender, blend the soup directly in the pan. If using a regular blender, add about half the mixture then puree until smooth.* Add the rest of the soup then puree until smooth. Pour back into the sauce pan. Stir in the tomatoes and mushrooms. Reheat if necessary.

Notes

*Hot soups expand much greater in a blender than cold soups. Use extra caution and do not overfill the blender. Pulse a few times before turning the setting on low.

Hawaiian Chicken

When I was a kid my Mom would make this chicken using chicken legs. I l.o.v.e.d it! It was my favorite! Its sweet and tangy goodness takes me back to my old house growing up sitting around our huge kitchen table waiting impatiently for my turn to dish up. But its not just one of those dishes that's only good because I have some emotional attatchment connected. Everyone loves it! I don't use chicken legs like my Mom always did but its the same sauce recipe. Can't mess with perfection!

Hawaiian Chicken

2 1/2-3 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast's chopped and cooked
2 Tbsp. sugar
1 (8 oz) can crushed pineapple
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. cornstarch
2 Tbsp. butter or margarine
1 Tbsp. dried onions-or more until you like the flavor.

Once your chopped chicken is cooked add all ingredients for the sauce in the same pan and stir over medium heat until sauce thickens. Serve over rice.
Quick. Painless. Delicious.

Enchilada Soup

I love this soup. It is packed with creamy smooth flavor. This is another quick any time recipe. I first tried this soup as a teen at my sisters house after going through a corn maze. It has been a favorite ever since. That is just what this soup is good for, a chilly fall night.

Enchilada Soup

1 can Campbell’s^® cheddar cheese or fiesta nacho cheese soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 10 oz can red enchilada sauce
4 oz can chopped green chilies
2 2/3 cup milk
1 chicken breast cooked and then shredded or for an even faster fix, 1 12 oz can of chicken, drained.

You can just throw everything in a pot and heat it through for about 20 minutes, or you can throw it in the crock pot on low for up to 6 hours. Serve with scones or tortilla chips.

Garlic Pull-A-Part Rolls

If you want a fast and incredibly easy bread recipe, you just got lucky! These pull-a-part rolls are a great way to liven up any meal in no time!

Garlic Pull-A-Part Rolls

1 T. active yeast
2 T. sugar
1 t. salt
1 C. warm water
1 T. melted shortening
2 C. flour

1/2 C. melted butter
2 t. garlic powder
Parmesan Cheese

Preheat oven to 350. Place yeast, sugar, and salt in a medium mixing bowl. Add water and melted shortening. Stir well. Add flour a half a cup at a time until soft dough forms. Let stand 5 minutes. Kneed dough for another 5 minutes. Place dough on floured surface and roll out to 1/8" thick. Using a pizza cutter, cut into small chunks. Add garlic powder to melted butter and mix well. Pour garlic butter into 9x13 pan and put dough chunks on top, flipping once to coat. Sprinkle generously with Parmesan cheese and bake in oven for 15 min. Serve hot.

Pasta Pomodoro

My sister is always talking up the recipe book her kids elementary school put together, saying how awesome the recipes are. This weekend she was handing out copies of the famed book so I snatched one up! Yesterday was the first chance I had to sample a recipe, let me tell you, I was not disappointed!

Pasta Pomodoro
Adapted from "A Taste of Northridge"

1-12 oz. pkg. rotini pasta noodles
1/4 C. extra virgin olive oil
2 1/2 C. diced tomatoes
2 T. basil pesto
1 garlic clove, peeled and grated
3/4 C. chicken broth
1/4 C. Parmesan cheese, grated
salt and pepper to taste

Add pasta to 2 quarts boiling water. Cook pasta for 7 minutes, until al dente. While pasta cooks, heat olive oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add tomatoes, pesto, and garlic. Season with salt and pepper to taste and saute for 4 minutes. Add chicken broth to skillet and simmer for 2 minutes. Drain pasta and add to skillet stirring well. Sprinkle with Parmesan and serve immediately.

Ham, Bacon, Avocado

I love Sunday's because I get to spend the whole day with hubby-no work or school! We love to just lounge around all day. That being said, I'm not a big fan of cooking on Sunday's. Last night was no exception so I whipped together these quickies and continued my lazy evening with the hubby.

Ham, Bacon, and Avocado Sandwiches

2 Slices of whole wheat bread (per sandwich)
Honey mustard sauce
Bacon
Deli ham
Cheese
Tomatoes
Avocado
Ranch dressing

Honey Mustard Sauce
3 T. Mayo
1 t. Honey
1 t. Yellow Mustard
-Mix together are set aside

Heat up a frying pan over medium heat and cook your bacon. Set aside on paper towels to drain.
Slice tomatoes, avocado, and cheese.
Lay out two slices of bread and spread honey mustard on both sides.
Put cheese on one slice of bread and ham on the other and toast in the toaster oven for about 3 minutes or until cheese melts. I set my toaster oven to 300.
Once cheese is melted pull toast out of oven and layer 2 slices bacon, 2 tomatoes, and 3 slices avocado, on top of the slice with cheese. Then drizzle with ranch and place the side with ham on top.

Mini Tacos

I found the idea for this on Pinterest but changed it for a quick, easy meal. These are really good and really easy, perfect for our busy life and often late dinners.

Mini Taco's

16 Wonton wrappers
1 15oz can Chili-I used Nalley but use whatever you prefer
Salsa Con Queso (2 t. per taco)
Chunky Salsa (2 t. per taco)
1/2 of a jalapeno
Cheddar cheese
Sour cream

Preheat your oven to 375. Lightly grease 8 muffin tins.
Clean out jalapeno membranes and chop into small piece's.

Put one wonton wrapper in each muffin tin

Put a teaspoon of Salsa Con Queso in each wrapper

and spread around. Add about two teaspoons of chili,

a few pieces jalapeno, a teaspoon of salsa and sprinkle 

with cheese.

Top with another wonton wrapper and repeat all 

the toppings

Bake for 10-15 min or until golden brown. Top with

sour cream.

Simple and Delicious!

I made these wonderful little devils last night! They are easy peasy and super yummy! I found the recipe here.

Funeral Sandwiches 

             (strange name considering how amazing these are!)

6 dinner rolls*

1/2-1 lb. good ham deli meat

colby jack cheese, thinly sliced

1/2 c. butter, melted

3 T. worcheshire sauce

2 T. mustard

2 T. brown sugar

dash of onion powder

Cut rolls in half and separate. Put a slice of ham and cheese on each roll bottom and then put tops back on and place rolls on a cookie sheet.

Combine melted butter, worcheshire sauce, mustard, brown sugar and onion powder. Pour over rolls. Cover rolls tightly and place in refrigerator and allow to marinate for anywhere from 4-24 hrs.

Preheat oven to 350. Cook sandwiches uncovered for 10-15 minutes or until cheese melts. 

 

*The original recipe said to use 1 package of King's Hawaiian Rolls but I don't care for those so I just made my own. You can find the recipe for my yummy homemade rolls here.

An Original

I wanted something with garlic, mozzarella, and chicken. It was a must. I couldn't find a recipe that sounded good and was still fairly simple, because I wasn't feeling patient enough for complex. Well when all else fails, I improvise. In this instance I just made something up. This isn't a recipe your going to see featured on the Food Network, but it did turn out really good. And flip, I made it up!
P.S. This is not diet friendly.

Three Cheese Garlic Butter Chicken and Noodles (talk about a name eh?)

2 cloves garlic
4 T butter
1/2 C mozzarella cheese
4 oz cream cheese softened
1 T basil pesto
6 oz spaghetti noodles
1-2 large chicken breasts
Parmesan cheese

Directions:
Chop and then cook chicken.
While chicken is cooking, peel and grate garlic cloves and put in a microwave safe bowl. Add butter to garlic and place in microwave to melt. Once chicken is cooked through, pour garlic/butter over chicken and let it cook into the chicken for about 5min. Add the mozzarella cheese and continue to cook until cheese melts.

In a medium sauce pan, cook noodles. Mix cream cheese and pesto together in a small bowl. Once noodles are done, drain and add cream cheese mixture to the noodles. Now add chicken to noodles and mix well to make sure the noddles and chicken get totally combined. Top with Parmesan.

I made the meal complete by adding garlic cheese bread made from my awesome bread recipe. Once your ready to make the loaves, dived the dough in half then roll each half out. Brush dough with garlic butter and add 1/4 cup mozzarella. Then roll the dough into loaves, making sure to seal the ends good, and bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Brush the baked loaves with garlic butter and BAM! You've got a flippin' amazing dinner!

Dinner Rolls

Whenever my family has a get together we hand out food assignments so no one is stuck making everything. When we needed rolls my sister would always volunteer and then show up with these light and fluffy rolls that would disappear in a matter of minutes. Well this came to a screeching halt when she moved out of state. I knew I couldn't last very long without her rolls so I stole the recipe from her before she could get away.

Dinner Rolls

2 1/2 C. Hot tap water
2 Eggs
1/2 C. Dry milk
1/2 C. Oil
1/3 C. Sugar
2 t. Salt
2 T. Yeast
3 C. Flour

Wisk  everything together. Add an additional 3-4 cups of flour and kneed well. Cover and let rise for 1 hr. Make rolls and let rise for another 20 minutes. Preheat oven to 400. Bake for 10-15 min. Brush with butter when done baking.

A Bread Affair

I come from a large family and hence I have been making bread since I was "knee high to a grasshopper". When I married my significant other, he always raved about his mothers bread. so I called my Mother-in-law to get the recipe for this amazing bread. Come to find out, she didn't even know how to make bread. She just always bought the frozen bread dough and made that. Talk about a blow, hubby like store bread better than my home made! I let it go but I stopped making bread so often. Then last week, a neighbor gave us a small loaf of bread her mom had made. Again hubby ranted and raved about it. This was the piece of straw that broke the camels back and I set out determined to master my bread making skills. So I did my homework and found tips for making great bread and put together my own recipe. Its the first time in my life I have made up my own recipe! It turned out pretty stinkin great! And yes, hubby even gave his stamp of approval!

The New and Improved-White Bread

1 T. Instant Yeast
1 T. Sugar
1 t. Salt
1 Egg, beaten
1 C Milk
2 1/2 C Flour

Start by placing milk in a small sauce pan and setting on burned set to med/high heat to scald. Stir constantly so you don't get a thin film. Milk is done when small bubbles form around the edge of the milk. Remove the milk from burner and allow to cool to warm to the touch-it will cool faster if you pour it into a different dish.

Put your dry ingredients in a medium size bowl. In a separate bowl, beat the egg. Once milk is cooled add it and the egg to the dry ingredients. Stir well with spoon. Add flour a half a cup at a time until dough comes away from the sides of the bowl but is still very sticky. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for 20 min.

Take plastic wrap off bowl and knead bread for 5 min. Form dough into two loafs and allow to rise for 45min. to 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook bread for 20-25 min. When done, remove bread from oven and place on a cooling rack. Butter top of bread immediately.

Brinner

Who doesn't love breakfast for dinner (aka-brinner)?! When I'm drawin' a blank of what to make for dinner, brinner is what I fall back on. The other day on Pintrest, I saw the pins for mini German Pancakes and bacon wrapped eggs. They were super easy, fun, and delish! I'm sure they will become regulars at the Oakley home.

Mini  German Pancakes

 Original Recipe

1/2 cup milk
3 eggs
1/2 cup flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
3T. butter, melted

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Beat first 5 ingredients together until smooth.  Be careful to see that any flour clumps get well-blended.
2. Blend in butter a little at a time in order to temper the eggs.
3. Grease muffin tins well and distribute batter evenly between 6 tins.  Bake for 15 minutes, or until puffy and golden on top.
4. Served with your favorite toppings. I sprinkled mine with powder sugar and topped with fresh peach jam.

Bacon Wrapped Eggs

 4 eggs
milk
salt and pepper
6 slices bacon

Wrap 6 slices of bacon in muffin tin. Whip eggs. Add milk until eggs reach desired consistency.Add salt and pepper to egg/milk mixture. Pour eggs into bacon lined tin. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35min.

**Can add cheese to eggs as well.

Chicken, Jalapeno and Cheddar Casserole

A few days ago I found this recipe. I just pinned it and made a mental note that I needed to make it very soon. Well I was having another intense, do it now, craving for something with a kick and this recipe popped into my mind. It had just the spicy kick I was craving today. It is for sure one I will make again!

Chicken, Jalapeno and Cheddar Casserole

2 chicken breasts
1/2 red bell pepper
2 jalapeños
1/2 onion
1 garlic clove
1/2 cup grated cheddar
1 tbsp oil
1oz butter
1 1/2tbsp flour
3/4 cup milk
1/4 tsp mustard powder
nutmeg
pepper
salt
red pepper flakes
Preheat your oven to 350F (175C).



Remove the seeds and membranes and chop up jalapenos.
Slice the onion in half-rings.
Slice the bell pepper in rings.
And grate the garlic.
Place the chicken breasts in an oven dish and season them with a generous amount of salt and pepper.
Heat the oil and lightly sauté the vegetables. Except the garlic.
Keep them moving around. As soon as the peppers get pliable, divide them over the chicken.
Put the chicken in the oven and bake at 350F for 20 minutes.

Mix the flour and mustard powder.
Heat the butter.
Add the garlic to the butter and give it a few seconds before adding the flour.
Add the flour, keep stirring and cook for 2 minutes.
Pour in the milk and stir
Season the sauce with 1/4 a tsp salt and pepper.
Add a dash of nutmeg.

Add a teaspoon of red pepper flakes
Melt the cheese into the sauce and check the seasoning.
Remove chicken from oven and pour sauce evenly over it.

Turn the oven up to 475. Put chicken back in oven for 10min or until sauce is bubbly and chicken is tender.

 

Italian-ish Subs

I have never actually had a real Italian sub so when I saw this recipe on Pintrest claiming to be as close to the real thing as possible, I thought I'd give it a whirl. I changed a few things though according to my tastes, here is my version.

Italian Layer Bake

• 1 (8-ounce) container refrigerated crescent rolls
• 8 slices (1/2 pound) deli turkey
• 8 slices (1/2 pound) deli ham
• 12 slices (1/2 pound) deli hard salami(No salami for me)
• 8 slices (1/2 pound) Swiss(cheddar) cheese
• 1 (12-ounce) jar roasted peppers, drained(didn't do these either but only because I didn't have any)
• 4 eggs, beaten

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Unroll crescent roll dough without separating triangles. Separate dough into 2 squares along center cut line.
    
2. Place 1 square of dough into an 8-inch square baking dish; using your fingertips, press dough to fit bottom of dish.
    
3. Layer with half of each of turkey, ham, salami, Swiss cheese, and roasted peppers. Pour half of beaten eggs over peppers and repeat with remaining meat, cheese, and peppers.
    
4. Place remaining square of dough over peppers. Pour remaining beaten eggs over dough and cover lightly with foil.
    
5. Bake 20 minutes, remove foil, and bake an additional 20 to 22 minutes, or until golden and heated through. Let cool 15 to 20 minutes then cut and serve.

Read more at http://www.mrfood.com/Casseroles/Italian-Layer-Bake/ml/1#B56EK7FGfqS71C2A.99

Turnin' up the Heat

They tell me that spicy foods will give your nursing baby gas and make them more fussy. They say I should stop eating them. I can't leave em' alone though. I love the powerful flavor. I like the kick. Lets face it, I'm addicted. So when my friend posted this recipe on FB, I had to try it out. My taste buds wouldn't have it any other way. Go on, give in to the craving within. From one addict to another, trust me, its worth it.

Thai Peanut Pork

2 red bell peppers (sliced in strips)

4-6 boneless pork loin chops

1/4 cup creamy peanut butter

2 tbsp rice vinegar,

1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

2 cloves minced garlic

honey soy sauce mixture: 1/4 cup honey, 1/4 cup soy sauce, 3/4 tsp minced garlic, 1/8 cup ketchup, very small pinch of red pepper flakes, and 1 1/2 tsp oil. 

First, coat slow cooker with cooking spray. Place bell pepper strips and pork chops into the slow cooker. Mix together honey soy mixture, vinegar, red pepper flakes, and garlic in mixing bowl. Pour over the pork chops and make sure it all gets covered evenly. Cover and cook on low one hour, and then on high for 3 1/2 hours. Or until pork is tender. Remove pork and whisk in peanut butter until smooth. Return pork to slow cooker for ten min. Break apart pork. Serve with rice. you can also add chopped peanuts on top.

*Notes: I used chicken instead of pork because that is what I had on hand at the time-it was still delicious. I also added a few fresh strips of yellow onion with the pepper before putting the meat in.