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Archive for the ‘Cooking’ Category

Salsa Sloppy Joes

Posted in Cooking, tagged , , , , , on January 5, 2013| 16 Comments »

Looking for a quick, easy, and tasty weeknight meal idea?  Look no further than this Salsa Sloppy Joe from Eat Cake For Dinner.  Ms. Eat Cake for Dinner always has yummy recipes on her site and I have followed her for quite a while.  There has never been a disappointing dish!

salsasloppyjoe1

1 lb. ground beef

1 cup salsa of your choice

1 can condensed tomato soup

1 1/2 tbsp. brown sugar

salt & pepper to taste

hamburger buns

sliced cheese of your choice (I used provolone and American.)

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Brown meat in a skillet over medium heat.  Add the salsa, soup, sugar.  Add salt and pepper to your taste.  Stir to combine ingredients and simmer for 10 minutes.  Serve on buns with cheese.

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salsasloppyjoe

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White Chocolate Raspberry Cake

Posted in Cooking, tagged , , , , , , on December 29, 2012| 25 Comments »

I am going a little off-subject here, but most people love doughnuts, especially Krispy Kremes.  I LIKE doughnuts, but they are not the first thing I want when I crave a sweet except maybe the raspberry filled ones.  Those are my favorite! Then a local restaurant served a white chocolate raspberry cake (not from scratch, but still pretty good) and I wanted to try my hand at making one.

This recipe is not completely from scratch either since it takes advantage of a white cake mix for the cake, but the taste was awesome!  It also turned out to be really pretty with the white cake, white frosting and the bright red raspberry jam filling.  Yum!

The cake recipe is from Kraft.com and the frosting is from Diana’s Desserts.

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For the cake:

1 pkg.  (6 squares) BAKER’S White Chocolate, chopped

1/2 cup  butter or margarine

1 pkg.  (2-layer size) white cake mix

1 cup  milk

3 eggs

1 tsp.  vanilla

1/4 cup seedless raspberry jam

For the frosting:

4 1/2 ounces white chocolate, finely chopped
1 3/4 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick/3 oz./85g) unsalted butter, softened
Pinch of salt

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Preheat oven to 350°F.  Prepare 2 (9-inch) round pans; set aside. Microwave chocolate and butter in medium microwaveable bowl on HIGH 2 min. or until butter is melted. Stir until chocolate is completely melted; cool slightly.

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Combine cake mix, milk, eggs, vanilla and chocolate mixture in large bowl with mixer until well blended. Pour into prepared pans.

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Bake 25 to 28 min. or until toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean. Cool cakes in pans 10 min.; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool cakes completely.

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For the frosting:

Melt the white chocolate in a double boiler. Stir until smooth. Let cool to room temperature.

Sift the confectioners’ sugar into a medium bowl. Stir in the milk and vanilla. Add the butter and salt and beat until smooth. Stir in the cooled white chocolate. Refrigerate until firm enough to frost the cake, about 30 minutes.

I then split the cake layers in half so I would have more filling to enjoy.  Place 1/2 of a layer on to the cake plate and spread half of the raspberry jam and a dollop of frosting.  Do this in between each split layer.

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Spread the remaining frosting over the entire cake.  Chill for about an hour and enjoy!

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whitechocraspcake

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Scalloped Pineapple

Posted in Cooking, tagged , , , , on December 22, 2012| 10 Comments »

Have you ever read a recipe and think that there is no way it could be good?  This is definitely one of those.  I first tried this dish years ago when a co-worker brought it to a Christmas dinner and was hooked.  There are several different variations of this on the internet, but not this exact recipe so I don’t know where it originated before my co-worker had it.  If you like pineapple, give this a shot and I think you will be pleasantly surprised.  I could eat the whole pan!

ScallopedPineapple

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3 tbsp. all purpose flour

20 oz. pineapple chunks, drained & reserve 3 tbsp. juice

10 oz. crushed pineapple, drained

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese (Shred it yourself.  None of the pre-shredded non-melting cheese.)

1 cup Ritz cracker crumbs

1/2 stick butter

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Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray an 8 inch baking dish with non-stick spray.  Combine the sugar, flour, and reserved juice in a medium saucepan.  Cook over low heat until the sugar melts.

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Add the drained pineapple and cheese; stir to combine.  Pour this into the prepared baking dish.  Melt the butter and stir in the cracker crumbs.  Sprinkle the butter/crumb mixture on top of the pineapple.  Bake for 20-25 minutes or until bubbly.

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ScallopedPineapple

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Bubble Up Enchiladas

Posted in Cooking, tagged , on December 15, 2012| 14 Comments »

When I first found the blog, Plain Chicken, on Pinterest, I was hooked!  Their site is full of easy and delicious recipes and all of them that I have tried have turned out great.  I started making their Bubble Up Pizza months ago, and it has become one of our favorites.

Now they have a Bubble Up Enchilada that is just as good, if not better than the original pizza recipe.  This is quick and easy and, oh, so tasty!  It makes a wonderful week night supper, but would also be perfect to take to a potluck meal.

This is the first time ever that I have used enchilada sauce and now I am wondering why.  I loved the flavor and may use it in place of taco sauce with other recipes.

Bubble Up Enchilada Bake

1 lb. lean ground beef

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped bell pepper

1 packet taco seasoning

8 oz. tomato sauce

10oz. can enchilada sauce

12oz. can refrigerated biscuits

2 cups Mexican cheese blend

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Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Cook the beef with the onion and bell pepper until the meat is cooked through.  Drain any excess grease.  Add the taco seasoning, enchilada sauce, tomato sauce and 1 cup of cheese.  Stir.

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Tear the biscuits into fourths and put into a large bowl.  Pour the meat mixture over the biscuit pieces and toss to combine.  Pour this into a greased 13×9” casserole dish.

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Bake for 25 minutes then sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top.  Bake for another 10 minutes and let cool for 5 minutes before serving.

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Taco Burgers for Two

Posted in Cooking, tagged , , , on December 8, 2012| 1 Comment »

C is a big burger fan, but sometimes I get tired of plain old burgers and try to come up with some new ideas.  I have had a few failures, but some successes, too.  When I posted about my steakburger recipe here, I came up with the idea of a taco burger.  Now I know this probably isn’t a new concept, but this is my original recipe and it turned out pretty good.

Taco Burgers

1/2 lb. lean ground beef

1 tbsp. olive oil

1 tbsp. taco seasoning

2 buns

2 slices provolone cheese

taco sauce to taste

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Combine the beef, oil and seasoning and make 2 patties from this mixture.

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Grill over medium high heat for 8-10 minutes for medium well to well done.  Toast the bun.  Add the cheese and continue toasting until cheese just starts to melt.  Add the burger patty and top with taco sauce.

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Orange Fluff Salad

Posted in Cooking, tagged , , on December 1, 2012| 9 Comments »

While browsing Pinterest one day, I found this Jello salad recipe and thought it looked pretty tasty.  I checked out the originating site, Six Sisters’ Stuff, and realized these ladies know what they are doing. 

I made Orange Fluff Salad to go with a chocolate chip Bundt cake and the combination was so very good.  It was almost too good, because every time I went through the kitchen, I had to stop and take a bite.  Needless to say, I ended up sharing this with family and friends so I wouldn’t eat it all!

Orange Fluff Salad

1 large package Cook and Serve vanilla pudding

1 large pack orange gelatin (I couldn’t find a large box so I used 2 small.)

2 cups water

1 16oz. container frozen whipped topping

1/2 bag mini-marshmallows

1 can pineapple tidbits, drained (any size)

1 can mandarin oranges, drained (any size)

 

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In a medium sauce over medium heat, combine the pudding, gelatin and water.  Cook and stir until it boils.  Remove from the heat and pour into a large mixing bowl.

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Refrigerate until the mixture has thickened (about an hour).  Beat until creamy and add the remaining ingredients.  Chill for about an hour before serving.

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Baked S’mores

Posted in Cooking, tagged , , , , , on November 24, 2012| 13 Comments »

I really like s’mores, but we are not really into campfires too much so I was delighted to find this baked version. The recipe originates from Baked Perfection, but I, of course, found it on Pinterest and saved it for later.  Later finally came and these bars are so ooey, gooey good!  Hurry to the store and pick up the ingredients because these are awesome.

BakedSmoresPinterest

1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs (approximately 7 full graham crackers)
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
2 super-sized (5 oz.) dark chocolate bars (e.g. Hershey’s)(I didn’t check my bar size so I ended up with HUGE chocolate bars, but don’t worry because the extra didn’t go to waste.)
1 1/2 cups marshmallow crème/fluff (not melted marshmallows

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Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and prepare a 8×8 inch baking pan. 

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light. Beat in egg and vanilla.

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Whisk together flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt. Add the flour mixture to butter mixture and mix at a low speed until combined. Divide dough in half and press half of dough into an even layer on the bottom of the prepared pan.

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Then layer the chocolate over the cookie dough…

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THEN layer the marshmallow crème over the chocolate and top that off with the remaining cookie dough.  You will probably have to carefully work the dough over the crème to have complete coverage.

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Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until lightly browned.  Let cool completely and then try to keep from eating the whole pan by yourself.  It will be hard to do, I promise.  As you can tell by the photo below, I didn’t let mine cool quite enough before cutting into it. Oh, well…

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Slow Cooker Meatball Sandwiches

Posted in Cooking, tagged , , , on November 17, 2012| 2 Comments »

Guess where I found this recipe?  I know what you’re thinking…Pinterest, right?  Wrong!  This one was in a Better Homes and Gardens magazine and it is also published on their website here.  I did “pin” it to save it and that was a good thing because these sandwiches are so good.  This recipe makes enough for several servings and the flavor is awesome! 

sandwich

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/3 cup fine dry bread crumbs

2/3 cup finely chopped onion

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 pound lean ground beef

1 15 ounce can tomato sauce

1/2 cup chopped green sweet pepper (1 small)

2 tablespoons packed brown sugar

1 tablespoon yellow mustard

1 teaspoon chili powder

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

8 hoagie buns, split and toasted

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (8 ounces)

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In a large bowl, stir together egg, bread crumbs, 1/3 cup onion, the salt, Italian seasoning, and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Add ground beef; mix well. Shape meat mixture into 32 balls. Arrange meatballs in a single layer in an ungreased 15x10x1-inch baking pan. Bake, uncovered, in a 350 degree F oven for 25 minutes. Drain off fat.

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Stir together tomato sauce, the remaining 1/3 cup onion, the sweet pepper, brown sugar, mustard, chili powder, garlic salt, and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Pour the sauce into your slow cooker.  Add cooked meatballs, stirring gently to coat with sauce.

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Cover and cook on low for 3 to 4 hours or on high for 1-1/2 to 2 hours.

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Place four meatballs on the bottom of each bun. Top with some of the sauce and some of the cheese. Add bun tops. Makes 8 servings.  I wrapped my sandwiches in foil and put them in a warm oven for about 5 minutes to melt the cheese.

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Honey BBQ Meatloaf

Posted in Cooking, tagged , , , on November 10, 2012| 5 Comments »

I have a basic meatloaf recipe that a co-worker gave me and it has been my favorite for quite a while.  In fact, it is the only meatloaf recipe I used until I spotted this little number at Mommy’s Kitchen.   Honey barbecue is my favorite kind of barbecue flavor and since my father-in-law and his cousin actually have bee hives and I have honey that produced by bees buzzing around in my backyard and the fields next door, I just have to try it. 

Wow, it turned out so good.  You get a little sweetness from the honey, but still have the kick of the barbecue sauce and mustard.  Yummy!  If you live in the South Central Kentucky area and would like some local honey, just e-mail me and I will hook you up.

honey meatloaf

 

For the meatloaf:

1 lb. ground beef

1/2 cup crushed saltine crackers

1/2 cup barbecue sauce

1 tsp. yellow mustard

1 tbsp. honey

1/4 tsp. seasoning salt

pepper to taste

For the glaze:

1/2 cup barbecue sauce

1 tsp. Worcestshire sauce

1 tbsp. honey

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Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix the ground beef, cracker crumbs, 1/2 cup barbecue sauce, mustard, 1 tbsp. honey, seasoning salt and pepper.  Mix well and shape into a loaf.  Bake for 45 minutes then prepare the glaze.

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Mix together all of the glaze ingredients.  When the 45 minutes have passed, spread the glaze onto the meatloaf and bake for another 10 minutes.

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Pizza Puffs

Posted in Cooking, tagged , , on November 3, 2012| 6 Comments »

Since discovering Plain Chicken on Pinterest a few months ago, I have been finding more and more of their recipes that I would like to try.  This is one of them…I made these for supper one night with pizza sauce for dipping and a fresh salad on the side.  Mm, mmmm, yummy!

There was enough left over for lunch the next day and they were even great reheated.  Plain Chicken makes hers in a mini muffin pan and I used a regular one.  If you use a regular one also, add about 3-4 minutes of extra baking time.

pizza puffs

3/4 cup all purpose flour

3/4 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

3/4 cup milk

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1/2 pound Italian sausage

1/2 cup diced green peppers

1/4 cup finely chopped onion

pizza sauce

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Cook the sausage, green pepper, and onion in a skillet over medium heat until the sausage is completely cooked.  Drain on a paper towel lined plate and cool completely.  Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Grease a muffin pan.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and garlic powder.

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Whisk in the milk and egg.  Stir in the cheese and sausage mixture.  Let stand for 10 minutes.

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Stir the batter and divide it among the muffin cups.  I was able to get 10 regular sized puffs.  Bake until puffed and golden about 20-25 minutes.  Warm the pizza sauce in the microwave for dipping.

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