Crockpot Applesauce

I got 2/3 a bushel of apples for $10 a couple of weeks ago, and I have been meaning to do something with them before they go bad. I plan on making some apple cobbler, apple tarts and who knows what else, but I have to admit that although I have planned on it, I have had no ambition to actually do anything yet.

Well, I came across this recipe and it sounded yummy, so I decided to make some crockpot applesauce. I doubled the recipe since I have so many apples, and I added a little nutmeg.

I ended up having to leave the house and do some things in town, and by the time I got home, the applesauce had been cooking 8 hours, rather than the suggested 4-6 (oops). I opened the door and the smell of it cooking hit me.... mmmmmm, it smelled soooo good.

I have to say, even though I think I overcooked it just a little, it still is delicious!

Here's the recipe:

Crockpot Applesauce


4 large apples, skinned ,cored, and cut in quarters
3 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
1 T brown sugar
1/4 cup water

Directions:

Dump all ingredients into the crockpot. Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours. When apples are tender enough to mash with a fork, mash with potato masher or your fork.

My apples were pretty much already mush when I got home so I just had to stir them. There were few chunks to mush.

I did add a little more cinnamon and brown sugar as the applesauce was a little too tart for me.

Lion House Recipes

I came across some recipes and tips from Lion House that I thought I would share with you all. Enjoy and Happy Baking :)

you can find the recipe for the Famous Lion House Rolls at LDSliving

And here is a video on how to "flip" them!



Here is another video on what you can do with the dough rather than the regular roll


Here is the recipe for their pie crusts and a video on the filled pies:


Here is a video on the cream pie crusts:


And here is a video that gives you the directions and recipe for the Lion House Whole Wheat Bread:

Lemon Love Notes

Ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 cup butter
• 1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/3 cup confectioners’ sugar for dusting

 Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).
2. Mix flour, butter and powdered sugar thoroughly. Press evenly into an ungreased 8 x 8 x 2 inch or 9 x 9 x 2 inch square pan. Make a little rim up the edges to hold in the filling. A quarter inch or so will do it. Bake 20 minutes.
3. Beat remaining ingredients about 3 minutes of until light and fluffy. Pour over the hot crust, spreading it out evenly.
4. Bake about 25 minutes longer or until no imprint remains when touched lightly in the center. Remove from oven, sprinkle the extra powdered sugar on the top, if you like. Cool, cut into squares.

The Food Nanny

If you haven't ever watched The Food Nanny on BUYTV, you should. Liz Edmunds aka The Food Nanny, goes into peoples homes and teaches how to make dinnertime a success rather than a nightmare.

She has great tips, tricks and meals to get everyone around the dinner table. It's a good show and an actual reality show I will watch.

You can read more about her by going to her website at http://www.thefoodnanny.com/. Make sure you take a look. You won't be sad you did. You may be there a while :)

I love the new beta Nanny Plan that you can sign up for free.

This is an awesome service. You need to know a little background about her to understand it. Basically, she says that you have to have a plan in order for dinnertime to be a success. How many of us have thought about what to have for dinner thirty minutes before dinnertime, or the what's for dinner, I'm hungry question and you haven't even thought about it yet. I know I've been there several times. So, her idea is if you have a 2 week meal plan, you don't have to scramble and be all hectic about what you are going to make for dinner because you already know.

She makes it fun by giving every night a "theme" of your choice. So say Monday is Italian night, Tuesdays Mexican, Wednesday Fish and meatless, Thursday Comfort food, Fridays pizza night..... you get the idea.

Well, she just started this new beta Nanny plan that I mentioned earlier. It's so cool. You can log in.... for free.... and set up what you want the theme for your week to be, or no theme at all, but then she provides recipes that you drag and drop onto your weekly meal plans and you can print the recipes out and waalaa... you now have dinner for two weeks and then you can easily create your shopping list and get what you need all in one shot. No more wondering what's for dinner. And say it's Tuesday and you are supposed to have tacos but you aren't feeling like tacos, have something else on the plan and rearrange it a little.

Anyhow, go to http://www.thefoodnanny.com/ and click on the red Beta link and check it out. You will be pleasantly surprised.

Apple Blossoms

I bought the stuff to make these for Christmas when our family was here, but never got to it. I decided that this would be a great dessert to go with the bbq ribs pizza we had for dinner. That, and I got tired of moving the puff pastry box around in the freezer... I was pretty shocked to see that it was still intact when I opened the box.

This is such a super easy recipe to make. The hardest part for me was waiting the 40 minutes for the pastry sheet to thaw.

For the blossom:

You will need puff pastry sheets, I like pepperidge farms

your choice of pie filling - small can

egg wash - one beaten egg and a splash of water

some sugar and some brown sugar

For the icing:

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1/2 tsp vanialla

1 Tbsp milk

(you can also substitute any flavor yogut for the milk)

Ok, so here we go let's get the party started. First things first, thaw out your pastry puff sheets. This takes a lot of time, so if you are planning on having these for dinner, take them out and let them thaw while you prepare dinner. They take at least 30-40 min. You can follow the directions on the package on how to thaw.

After the pastry sheet has thawed, cut the sheet into thirds on the fold lines. then cut each sheet into thirds again. You will have 9 squares from one sheet. You can cut to any size you want as long as it's square like.

Place 1 tablespoon of pie filling  in the center of each square. For the apple, I added a little of my favorite spices like I would if I were making apple pie. It doesn't look like much filling, but you don't want to put more than 1 tablespoon in because it will overflow.

Now you want to take opposite corners and pull up to the center and pinch then bring the other opposite corners and pinch together at the top. Pinch two of the four openings closed so you have a vent while they are cooking. Place on a silpat lined pan. If you don't have a silpat, you can use parchment paper or just grease your pan lightly.

Brush the blossom with your egg wash then sprinkle each with a pinch of sugar and a pinch of brown sugar to your likeing.

Bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes until golden brown and bubbly.

While they are baking, mix the powdered sugar, vanialla and milk or yogurt until smooth.

Immediatley drizzle with icing and serve. Great with vanilla ice cream or coolwhip!

Enjoy :O)

Cinnamon Roll Sugar Cookies

Oh how I wish that I had dreamed these up! These are an ingenious idea by Jenny over at Picky Palate. She has some great recipes if you haven't been on her blog before, check it out. You won't be disapointed!

On to the yummy goodness now.... I made the dough the other day, but didn't have cream cheese to make the frosting so I only baked up one batch of the 6 it makes. I figured this would be a good idea as well incase we didn't like them. Then we wouldn't be throwing away 6+ dozen cookies because they were awful. But, they weren't. They aren't OUT OF THIS WORLD, but they are good. Better with the cream cheese frosting though! I made 2 more batches today and got about 3 dozen cookies.

They are a really light, soft, fluffy cookie that has a nice cinnamon sugar taste. I would have put some rasins in to make them a little more like a cinnamon roll had I had any. Maybe I will put chocolate chips in one of the next two batches. I have 3 more batches sitting in the fridge still. One is all ready for the oven, it was just getting to warm to cut so I stuck it back in the fridge and didn't finish it, the other two are just discs of dough. Anyhow, here is the recipe... enjoy!

Sugar Cookie

2 Cups sugar

1 Cup butter, softened

3 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 Cup sour cream

6 Cups flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt


Filling/Topping (whatever you call it)

12 tablespoons softened butter, sliced into 2 Tablespoon increments (6 slices of butter, each slice is 2 Tbsp)

1 1/2 Cups packed light brown sugar, divided into 1/4 Cups

1 1/2 Tablespoons ground cinnamon, divided into 1/4 tsp



Frosting

8 oz softened cream cheese

1/2 Cup powdered sugar

2-4 Tablespoons milk, to thin icing



Cream the sugar and butter. Add eggs, vanilla and sour cream until well combined. In another bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Mix together then add slowly to wet mixture until well combined.

Divide dough into 6 batches, place each in plastic wrap in a disc shape and chill for at least 2 hours for best results.

Once chilled, roll into a 1/8 inch thick oval, about 12"x5". Spread each rolled pieces of dough with 2 Tablespoons softened butter, 1/4 Cup packed brown sugar and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon. Start rolling from the long end closest to you, rolling into a log shape. Using a sharp knife, cut 1/2 inch pieces of dough then placing onto a silpat or parchment lined baking sheet (I used my Tupperware silicone mat for the first batch, but used jus the cookie sheet for the second and third batch. Didn't spray it either, just slapped them on there and baked em up) Bake at 350 degrees for 9-11 minutes. Remove and let cool for 5 minutes before removing from baking sheet.

Frosting: Beat the cream cheese until softened and smooth, slowly add powdered sugar and milk until desired consistency. Frost cookies then place in refrigerator until ready to serve. 

They really are better chilled. Great with a glass of milk too!


Makes at least 6 dozen.      I got 3 dozen out of 2 batches so I am going to say it makes more like 8-9 dozen. Regaurdless, it's a bunch of cookies!

They were messy, here is a picture of how the kitchen looked after. But I also had a big little helper too! It was however, worth the time and the clean-up.

Drip Beef Sandwiches

Looks good doesn't it!

IT IS!

Tonight for dinner we had Drip Beef Sandwiches. I have to give a shout out to Ree over at http://www.thepioneerwoman.com/, she has THE most amazing blog on cooking, photography, homeschooling and gardening. She ROCKS! I have made several of her recipes over the past few years and every recipe that I have made of hers have been delish. I do usually add my own style to them, but thats the beauty of cooking. My philosophy is a recipe is just a guideline. Anyhow, back to the Drip Beef Sandwiches. This was a very simple recipe with only a few ingredients, but packs a big punch of flavor. Here is a link to Pioneer Womans blog (she has step by step yummy pictures), otherwise, here is the recipe (minus all the step by step yummy pictures).

Ingredients

1 whole Beef Chuck Roast, 2.5 To 4 Pounds
1 can Beef Consomme Or Beef Broth
3 Tablespoons (heaping) Italian Seasoning
1 teaspoon Salt
¼ cups Water
½ jar (16 Oz) Pepperoncini Peppers, With Juice
Buttered, Toasted Deli Rolls

Preparation Instructions

Combine all ingredients in a heavy pot or dutch oven. Stir lightly to combine seasoning with the liquid.

Cover and bake in a 275 degree oven* for 5 to 6 hours, or until meat is fork-tender and falling apart. **If meat is not yet tender, return to oven for 30 minute intervals till it’s tender!**

Remove from oven. With two forks, completely shred all meat, leaving no large chunks behind. Serve immediately, or keep warm over a simmer on the stove.

May make the day before, then store in the refrigerator. Remove the hardened fat from the top before reheating.

Serve on buttered, toasted rolls. Top with cheese and melt under the broiler if desired. Serve with juices from the pot.

Here's what it looks like straight out of the oven after shredding. It was sooooo good. The pepperoncini peppers added a slight tangy spice to the meat. It was really different, but in a good way. I don't like spicy things, but this I really liked. For those that really like spicy, they can eat the peppers on the sandwich for an added spice. I however just topped the buttered bun with the meat and a little mozzarella and dipped it in the yummy juices. Darin quite enjoyed it and it will be another dish that I will add to my "Make Again List".

Spicy Nacho Bake

This is what we had for dinner tonight...

Again, sorry for the poor picture, my phone doesn't take the best pictures and I didn't want to get out the camera... I had a very light lunch and I was hungry!!!!

This is a recipe that I got from my Taste of Home Church Supper Cookbook. I really like this issue. It is the most that I have ever paid for a magazine, $9.99 for one issue, but I am glad I did. I have liked every recipe but one that I have made from it.

I halved this recipe tonight as this makes 2 13x9 casseroles that contain 15 servings each.

Here is the recipe in full:

2 lbs ground beef

2 large onions, chopped

2 large green peppers, chopped

2 cans (28 oz ea) diced tomatoes, undrained

2 cans (15 1/2 oz ea) hot chili beans

2 cans (15 oz ea) black beans, rinsed and drained

2 cans (8 oz) tomato sauce

2 envelopes taco seasoning

2 packagews (13 oz each) Spice Nacho Doritos

4 cups (16 oz) shredded cheddar cheese

In a Dutch over or large skillet (make sure you are using a large skillet not a frying pan), cook the beef, onions and green peppers over med heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in the tomatoes, beans, corn, tomato sauce and taco seasoning. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 30 min. (mixture will be thin).

In each of two greased 13x9" baking dishes, layer 5 cups of chips and 4-2/3 cups of meat mixture. Repeat layers. Top each with 4 cups of chips and 2 cups of cheese.

Bake, uncovered, at 350 for 20-25 min or until golden brown.

I will make this again... I really liked it, however, I would skip the oven. I would rather eat it as a chip and dip or even as a nachos. I am not much for soggy chips. I like my chips crunchy. It was really good though and I will make it again.

Heaven on a bun

So I know this isn't a very good picture but it's better than nothin! I call this Heaven on a bun, but it's from Prarie Woman and she calls it Marlboro Man Sandwich. I like Heaven on a bun better. Anyhow. It's super easy and well delicious!
If you are watching what you eat, RUN NOW!!! This isn't a "no fat" recipe... in fact, it's exactly the opposite! So, here is the recipe:

2 and 1/2 lbs cubed steak
1 large onion slice
Butter - LOTS
Lawry's seasoning salt
Worcestershire sauce
Tabasco sauce

Melt 1/4 stick of butter. Add onions. Sautee over med-low heat until soft and light brown (about 7-10 min).
Slice the meat, I sliced it about 1/2" thick.
Sprinkle with Lawry's - to your taste.
Remove onions from pan, add 2 Tbs butter turn heat up to high.
When butter begins to brown, add meat in a single layer. Do not stir.
When meat browns (about 1-2 min) turn to brown on other side.
Once both sides are brown, add worcestershire sauce. About 1/2 cup.
I didn't have any so i used 1 garlic clove finely chopped, the remainder of A1 that probably should have just been thrown away rather than put in the fridge. I maybe got 1 tsp out.... some molasses, a splash of apple cider vinegar and about 1/4 cup soy sauce.
Then about 5 splashes of Tobasco sauce. Adjust to your likeing.
Stir together, add 2 more Tbs butter... yep, I told you this isn't a no fat recipe... but it's soooo good!
Add the onions, stir and let sit while you fix the buns.

I didn't have hoagie buns, so I just used sandwich bread and grilled it on both sides like a grilled cheese sandwich.

Put meat on bread and spoon on some of that sauce... yummmm

I also sprinkled mine with a little mozzarella cheese.

Darin really liked this but he said he didn't like the long chunks of meat. Next time I make it, I will do it a little differently, I will probably cube the meat and cook it slower. I would also like to try this with some slow roasted roast beef.

I will be making this recipe again for sure though. It was delicious!

Maple Baked Pork Loin & Dijon Potatoes

Sorry for the late post on this to the FB readers that I said I would post last night... My bad.

Maple Baked Pork Loin
This is one of my favorite recipes because it is so quick and easy to prepare and it is sooo yummy.

You will need:
4 lb pork loin - unseasoned
Salt and Pepper to taste
Flour for dredging (coat in before cooking)
2 tbsp oil

Sauce:
1/3 cup water
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 Tbsp minced garlic

Salt and pepper pork loin and dredge in flour. Heat oil in pan until almost smoking and sear all sides for about 1 min. Create a tinfoil wrap on baking sheet. Remove meat from pan and place on tinfoil. Pour 3/4 of the sauce onto pork loin. Wrap tinfoil to keep sauce in during cooking. Cook at 350 for 2 hours. Let sit for 15 min before serving. Pour remainder of sauce before serving.

Dijorn Potatoes Almost like twice baked potatoes:

You will need

2 Tbsp butter
1/3 cup finely chopped onions
4 good sized baker potatoes
1 cup cheddar cheese
2 Tbsp dijon mustard

Cook potatoes at 350 for 1 to 1/2 hours (or if you are lazy like me, microwave until done)
Cool until handable. Cut in half and scoop out into large bowl while trying to keep shell intact.
Mash potatoes by hand or with mixer. Do not add butter or milk (we aren't making mashed potatoes)

Heat butter in a small pan, add onions. Cook until soft, add mustard.
Combine butter onion mustard mixture and 1/2 cup cheese to potatoes and mix well.

Spoon back into shells. Put back into oven to warm (about 5-10 min)
Top with remaining cheese and serve.

Hope you find these as easy and delicious as we do.

Grape Salad - Caution this is addicting!

2 lbs. green grapes
2 lbs. red grapes

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

8 oz. sour cream

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp. vanilla





Topping:

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup chopped pecans





Wash and stem grapes.

Set aside.

Mix sour cream, cream cheese, white sugar and vanilla by hand until blended.

Stir grapes into mixture, and pour in large serving bowl or a large rectangular baking dish.

For topping: Combine brown sugar, and crushed pecans.



Sprinkle over top of grapes to cover completely. Refrigerate overnight.

Cherry Coffeecake

I made this the whole time thinking how delicious it was going to be and how I hoped it tasted just like my Aunt Becky's cherry coffeecake and oh how my mouth watered with memories of her coffeecake.

I pulled it out of the oven and oh... doesn't it just look delicious! I took a bite and......

it wasn't at all what I was hoping for! Hopefully next time. I guess I will just have to get the recipe from Aunt Becky!

If you would like the recipe, let me know and I will post it. It was okay, but not great!

Slop, Slop, Sloppy Joes

Last night for dinner, we had Sloppy Joes. Normally, I am not a very big fan of these, but last night, I must have combined the right ingredients. They weren't only good, they were DELICIOUS!!! Even Kooper ate them.

Here is what I did. Please bear in mind, I didn't follow a recipe, I just threw everything together so I don't really have any measurements.

about 1/2 a medium red onion
2 celery stalks
2 lbs hamburger
a handfull of brown sugar (more or less if you like)
2 or 3 really good squeezes of mustard (regular yellow)
about 4 seconds worth of white vinegar
a fistfull of cheese (i use a blended cheese - more or less if you like)
about 1 or 2 cups  bbq sauce
1 or 2 cans of tomato sauce (or you can substitue 1 or 2 cups ketchup)

Sorry, not very exact. I literally just threw it together with what I had until I liked the taste of it.

Put a little bit of butter into a pan and add onion and celery cook for about 2 min or until softened. Add hamburger. Cook until no longer pink. Drain.

Add brown sugar, mustard, vinegar bbq sauce and cheese. Mix until blended. Add tomato sauce. cook until thickened. Serve over hamburger buns or bread and enjoy!

Strawberry Pretzel Salad

I love this stuff... Have never made it myself, but Darin's Mom makes this for the holidays and man is it good... I don't know if it's the same recipe as Karen's, but it sounds about the same.
Will have to try it out sometime.

Ingredients
1 1/2 cup crushed pretzels
3 tablespoons sugar
1 stick of butter
1 pkg of cream cheese
1/2 cup sugar
1 small carton of whipped topping
2 smal boxes strawberry jello
Strawberries for garnish (optional)
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
IN a 13x9 pan combine melted butter, pretzel and 3 tablespoons of sugar. Mix together and flatten out as a crust in bottom of pan. Cook in oven for about 10 minutes.
While this layer is cooling, combine cream cheese softened, 1/2 cup sugar, and whipped topping in a bowl until well mixed. Spread over cooled crust.
While this is chilling in the refrigerator, mix together jello according to package directions. Put in the refrigerator for about 45 minutes until it begins to jell slightly. Spread over cream cheese mixture and leave in the refrigerator for 3 hours or until firm.

Baked Ziti Casserole

Tonight we are having Baked Ziti Casserole for dinner. I have been wanting to make this, but I had used all of the Mozzarella cheese on the Parmesan Penne I made last time and just barely got more.

1 16 oz Package ziti or small tube pasta
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 15 oz part-skim ricotta cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
1 28 oz meatless spaghetti sauce
2 cups (8 oz) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain pasta, set aside.
In a small bowl, combine the egg, ricotta and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese.

Spread 1 cup spaghetti sauce in 13" x 9" baking dish coated with cooking spray
Top with a third of the pasta, half the ricotta mixture, 2/3 cup Mozzarella cheese, 1 Tablespoon Parmesan cheese and 1 cup sauce.Repeat layers of pasta, ricotta mixture and mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle with 2 Tablespoons Parmesan cheese. Top with remaining pasta, sauce, mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese.Cover and bake at 375 for 45-50 minutes or until heated through.
I thought this turned out pretty okay. I will make it again, but will use my homemade spaghetti sauce instead of the canned. I like more flavor than the plain sauce added. I would use chicken or hamburger with this too. I thought it turned out rather well though.

Hamburger Casserole with recipe!

ok sorry you all... I didn't post the recipe for this because I hadn't had time... Here is the recipe and btw.... it was delicious! I made this in the crock pot because I am a huge fan of anything you can make in a crock pot... less time slaving over a hot stove, especially in the summer, and pretty much anything turns out... pretty much anything.... not everything... although, I have never had anything I didn't like! It calls for it in the Dutch Oven, but we don't have one, but I will try it next time in the oven. It really turned out good though.

Ingredients:

2 lbs lean ground beef

4 pounds potatoes, peeled and sliced 1/4 inch thick

1 large onion, sliced

1 tsp salt, optional

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 tsp beef bouillon granules (or one cube)

1 cup boiling water

1 28 oz can diced tomatoes, undrained

Minced fresh parsley, optional (i don't use this... dont really care for it)

In a Dutch oven, layer half of the meat, potatoes and onion. Sprinkle with half of the salt if desired and pepper. Repeat layers. Dissolve bouillon in water; pour over all. Top with tomatoes.

Cover and cook over medium heat for 45-50 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Garnish with parsley if desired.

Notes about crockpot:

I prepared this the day before and put in the fridge to make the next day. I put the crockpot on low and let it cook all day. When I checked it, the hamburger didn't really look done, but I knew it was. It just had a pink look because of the tomatoes. I stirred it and the potatoes were so tender that they turned to mush. I would reccomend thicker cuts of potatoes if you use the crock pot.

It just melted in your mouth and had a good comfort food feel to it. I will for sure make this again!

Parmesan Penne

I thought this would be great for dinner.... boy was I right! I really liked this a lot. Darin even said that he thought that my cooking improves a little every few years.... lol!

No step by step pictures today... didn't have enough time... have been rush rush rushing around all day but there is a final picture of the turnout!

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef
1 med onion, chopped
1 28 oz can tomato sauce
1 cup grated parmesan cheese, divided (i accidently used 2 cups mozzarella... just realized this! lol how funny... it was still good though)
1/2 tsp ground allspice
salt and pepper to taste
1 16oz package penne pasta
1/2 cup butter, cubed, divided
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups milk
2 eggs, lightly beaten

Start a pot of water to boil for pasta and preheat oven to 350

In a large skillet, cook and stir beef and onion over med heat until meat is no longer pink; drain (i never do this). Stir in the tomato sauce, 1/3 cup cheese, allspice, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat: simmer, uncovered for 15 min.

Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions. In a large saucepan, melt 1/4 cup butter. Stir in flour until smooth. Gradually add milk. Bring to a boil, cook and stir for 2 min or until thickened. Remove from the heat, stir in 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese. Gradually whick in eggs until blended. (still laughing at the fact that I used mozzarella cheese)

Drain pasta. Add the remaining cheese and butter; toss to coat.... I thought that there was a ton of cheese... another recipe I was thinking about making used 2 cups mozzarella cheese... I just grabbed it because I got mixed up and thought when it said add remaining cheese to add all but the two 1/3 cups that I took out... lol... too funny!!!

ok.. back to the recipe!

Spread a third of the meat mixture in a greased 13"x9" backing dish. Layer with half of the pasta, a third of the meat mixture and half of the white sauce. Repeat layers

Bake uncovered at 350 for 40 to 45 minutes or until bubbly.

I obviously can't follow directions and layered this all wrong... thats what I get for trying to watch a movie, cook dinner and watch a 2 year old... lol... I did the pasta, meat, white sause, pasta mean white sauce meat!

Any wich way you do it, mozzarella or parmesan, the right layers or not, it was delicious. I will make this again for sure... maybe even the right way.... lol

Pull-apart Bacon Bread

Today, I made this yummy dish for breakfast... It was okay... not GREAT, but just okay. I will make it again, but with changes. Not sure just what changes yet, but have lots of ideas!

Ingridients:

12 bacon strips, diced

2 tubes (12 oz each) refrigerated buttermilk biscuits

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1 Tbs Itallian salad dressing

2 tsp olive oil

cook bacon until done but not crispy, remove to paper towel to drain

combine cheese, dressing mix, oil and bacon

Seperate and cut 1 tube of biscuits into quarters and place in a greased 10" fluted tube pan

sprinkle half of the cheese mixture on top of the first tube of biscuit quarters

Separate and cut second tube of biscuits into quarters and place on top of cheese layer mixture.

Top with remaining cheese mixture
Bake at 375 for 25-30 min or until golden brown.

Cool for 5 minutes before inverting onto a serving plate.

Serve immediately!

Hamburger Casserole

This is another recipe from my cookbook. We are having it for dinner tonight... It smells delicious too! We will see how dinner turns out :)

Greek Garden Appetizer

Can you say YUMMM!!! I got this recipe out of my new Taste of Home magazine. It was so easy to make, and very very yummy!


Ingredients:
8oz Garden Vegetable cream cheese
2 cups (8 oz) crumbled feta cheese (couldn't find 8oz pkg so used 6oz)
1/4 cup plain yogurt - (yes... plain not vanialla... plain)
1/2 tsp minced garlic (DO NOT substitue with garlic powder... use the fresh... if you don't like garlic, use 1/4 tsp)
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp pepper
1 1/2 cups chopped cucumber
1 cup chopped seeded tomatoes (next time I will use more tomatoes)
1/4 cup chopped green onions
2 Tbs sliced ripe olives (or if you are like me, thats not enough... add more)
Miniature Pita Pockets (i used regular pita pockets halved then cut each half into thirds)
Yields 4 cups
Combine cream cheese, feta, yogurt, garlic, oregano and pepper. Spred into a 9" pie plate . Sprinkle the cucumbers, tomatoes, onions and olives over the cream cheese mixture. Serve with pita bread. Refrigerate leftovers. Serve with pita bread. Refrigerate leftovers.