Recipe: Rice Krispie Turkeys

I made these cute little guys for Thanksgiving last year and they were a huge hit! Even with the adults, LOL!

Rice Krispie Turkeys

Ingredients:
1/4 c butter
8-10 oz mini marshmallows
6 c Rice Krispies
Oreos
chocolate icing
candy corn
PAM cooking spray

Directions:
Melt the butter in a saucepan on the stove top

Add the mini-marshmallows and stir until the melt into the butter

Mix in the Rice Krispies

Let cool (approximately 5 min)

Twist apart Oreos and scrape out the icing with a butter knife

Spray hands with PAM and begin shaping the Rice Krispie mixture into balls approximately 1 1/2" in diameter

Frost the insides of the Oreo cookie halves with the chocolate icing.

Place each ball on an iced cookie half.

Add candy corn to the remaining cookie halves like a fan. Make sure you leave enough open icing for them to stick to the Rice Krispie balls.

Stick a cookie "tail" onto each Rice Krispie ball.

Use a butter knife to put chocolate icing on a piece of candy corn.

Stick iced candy corn to the front of each ball to be the turkey's head.

And... enjoy! Aren't they cute?

Recipe: Chicken Enchiladas with White Sauce

Chicken Enchiladas with White Sauce

Ingredients:
8-10 small soft flour tortillas
3T flour
2 c chicken broth
1 c sour cream
2 1/2 c canned chicken
3 c shredded cheese (cheddar, Mexican blend, or Monterrey Jack)
3 T butter
4 oz diced green chiles

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350

Grease 9x13 pan

Drain the water from the cans of chicken and add to chicken to a large bowl.

Mix chicken & 1 c of the shredded cheese

Fill tortillas with mixture, roll, and place each one in pan

Melt butter in sauce pan on stove top

Whisk flour into the butter while on the stove

Add broth and continue to whisk

Cook until it begins to bubble

Add sour cream & chiles to saucepan and mix together

Pour mixture over enchiladas.

Top with the remaining cheese.

Bake for 20-25 min.

Enjoy!

Recipe: Bell Pepper Nachos

A great low-carb, high-protein appetizer I made these for a family picnic and they were a huge hit. Enjoy!

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Bell Pepper Nachos

Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef
3 bell peppers
3/4 c salsa
1 c shredded cheese (cheddar or Mexican blend)
salt
pepper
chili powder

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375.

Slice each bell pepper into ellipse-shaped nacho "bowls". Make sure to remove seeds, core, etc. You should be able to get approximately 6 per pepper.

Place peppers onto baking sheet.

Brown the ground beef & drain.

Mix ground beef with salsa. Add salt, pepper, and chili powder to taste.

Add mixture to each pepper "bowl"

Top with shredded cheese.

Bake until cheese is melted (approximately 10 min)

Enjoy!

Recipe: Deviled Eggs

A classic picnic or party appetizer, who doesn't love a good deviled egg?

I first started making deviled eggs back when we had chickens and I need some good egg recipes.

My deviled eggs quickly became a favorite at family functions, with several relatives declaring them to be "the best" they've ever had. Well, I don't know about that, and I don't think I do anything super-special, but who am I to argue?

Without farther ado, here's my recipe for deviled eggs.

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Deviled Eggs

Ingredients (brands that I prefer listed in parentheses):
eggs (from my chickens)
mayonnaise (Hellman's)
mustard (French's or Grey Poupon)
relish (Vlasic)
salt
pepper

- get eggs
for the best peeling, use eggs that are 10-12 days old. If you are using fresh-from-the-chicken eggs, let them sit in the refrigerator for at least 7-10 days. If you are buying from the grocery store, they are probably already that old (or older), so no need to wait

- boil eggs
I suggest boiling a few extras, in case you run into some peeling difficulties
how I boil my eggs:
    * put eggs in pot
    * add water till water level is 3/4 of the way to the top
    * put on stove
    * turn stove (ie. burner) on high
    * wait (if you're better at this than I am, you will stir them occasionally during the boil - keeps them from becoming flat on one end)
    * once a rolling boil is achieved, turn stove off
    * wait 20 minutes
    * using a slatted spoon, move eggs to a bowl of ice
    * place bowl of iced eggs in refrigerator for a few hours to cool completely

- peel eggs

- slice eggs in half long-ways

- dig out yolks and put in bowl

- place whites (minus the yolks) on your serving tray

- mix up your schtuff
Here's how I do it. Truth be told I don't actually measure anything, but I've tried to approximate measurements here:
    * use a fork to mush up your boiled egg yolks
    * add in1t mayo
    * add in 1t mustard
    * add in 1t relish
    * salt & pepper to taste
    * stir
    * repeat all but the first step as necessary to achieve the desired consistency

- put your yolk-y schtuff into your icing gun (Pampered Chef)
I highly recommend using the largest opening tip that you have to prevent pickle chunks from the relish from clogging the whole thing up. Not that I know from experience or anything ;-)

- use the icing gun to fill the yolk-holes left in your egg whites

- enjoy your yummy deviled eggs!

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 As you can see from my pics, this is also an easy recipe for kiddos to get involved with. Just not the boiling part. But you knew that, right?

Thanks for checking in!

Recipe: Stars & Stripes Cookie Bites

I made these cookies for our family's Memorial Day picnic and they were a big hit! Cute & delicious. Not one was left. If you like soft cookies like my family does, the secret is cake batter. Keeps the cookies soft like cake, but with the right other ingredients, firm like cookies. Could be used for any patriotic holiday, like the upcoming Independence Day. Enjoy!

Stars & Stripes Cookie Bites

Ingredients:

One 15.25 oz box of french vanilla cake mix

2 large eggs

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 cup red sprinkles

1/4 cup blue sprinkles

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, mix all ingredients together. I recommend adding one at a time, in the order listed, and stirring after each addition.

Spray cookie sheet(s) with Pam baking spray.

Drop dough by large spoonfuls onto cookie sheet.

Bake for 10 minutes. Don't worry if they're not pretty! That's what the cookie cutter is for!

Allow to cool on cookie sheet.

After cooling at least 10 minutes, use star-shaped cookie cutter to cut into shape.

Serve and enjoy!

Recipe: Buffalo Chicken Salad

When I accidentally picked up the Buffalo Boneless Chicken Wings by Tyson Anytizers instead of our usual Honey BBQ, I saw an opportunity. Buffalo Chicken Salad, it is. It turned out great. Yum!

Buffalo Chicken Salad

Ingredients:
Tyson Anytizers, Buffalo Boneless Chicken Wings
Private Selection Shredded Lettuce
Kroger Sharp Cheddar Cheese, finely shredded
Original Fritos
Frozen Corn, cooked
Hidden Valley Ranch dressing

Directions:
Cook the boneless chicken wings as directed. Once cooked, cut into fourths.
Put shredded lettuce in bowl. Add chicken, dressing, corn, cheese, and Fritos as desired.
Enjoy!

I love the combo of hot & spicy with cool. Can't wait to make it again.

Hashbrown Casserole (recipe)

Easy hashbrown casserole. Great as a side dish for any event. I'll be honest, I find this recipe a little bland, but it gets rave reviews anywhere I go, so I haven't adjusted it. Yet. Ha!

Easy enough to let the kiddos help.

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Hashbrown Casserole

I forgot to take a picture at home, and it shifted during the trip to the park. Whoopsie!

Ingredients:

- 2 lbs of frozen hash browns (thawed)

- 1 can of cream of chicken soup

- 1 small tub of sour cream (8 oz)

- 1 small bag of shredded cheese (8 oz)

- corn flakes

- 1/2 onion (diced)

- 1 cup butter (melted)

- salt

- pepper

- preheat oven to 350

- use cooking spray to grease inside of 9x13 pan

- set aside the corn flakes and 1/4 c of butter

- mix the rest of it together. Thoroughly.

- dump into a 9x13 pan

- smooth out as best you can

- crumble corn flakes on top, covering entire casserole

- drizzle remaining butter over corn flakes

- bake at 350 for 50 min

Easy Crockpot Green Beans (enough to share)

I made some easy & yummy green beans for our Easter potluck, so I thought I'd share with ya'll. Definitely enough to share. Enjoy!

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Ingredients:Lots of beans (5 regular cans or one giant can)
Ham shank
Italian seasoning
Water

Directions:1) Drain beans and put into crock pot

2) Add water to fill to the top of the bean level. I know this sounds ridiculous, since you just drained all the beans, but all my cooking advisors swear it helps them taste more fresh and less canned.

3) Add ham shank.Or ham hock. I hear ham hock is better, but I can never find it in my grocery, so I use ham shank and I've gotten no complaints.

4) Add Italian seasoning. Stir. Add more Italian seasoning. Stir. Add more Italian seasoning. Stir. Add more Italian seasoning. Stir.

5) Cook on low for 8-10 hours. After about four hours I like to go in and "shred" the ham shank as much as it will let me. Do that again at six and eight hour marks. Spread the ham love. Or just wait till their done. No harm, no foul.
6) Don't forget your serving spoon with the slat-thingies so water can drain thru.

7) Serve & enjoy!

Bunny Rolls (or Kitties. Whatever)

I decided to try my hand at making bunny rolls for Easter.

They were yummy, but didn't quite look as I'd hoped. But I still think they were cute, so I'm sharing. Enjoy

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1) Buy frozen rolls. The kind that come in little balls.

2) Set them out to rise. This normally takes 2 - 4 hours. Read the bag for better instructions. Being the awesome chef that I am, I had no idea it took so long when I started. At 10pm the night before Easter.

3) Once they have risen sufficiently (usually twice their original size), take kitchen shears (scissors will suffice), and cut bunny ears into the dough. Cut bigger than the pictures I'm showing you or you'll end up with kitty rolls instead of bunny rolls. Trust me.

4) Bake the rolls as per instructions on bag.

5) Take them out & let cool.

6) Poke "eyes" in each roll.

And... you're done!

I'll try another batch and see if I can get the ears sized more appropriately. Will post if I manage it. While I still think they're adorable, I do think these look more like cats than bunnies.

On to try again next time!

How to Make a Rainbow Cake

Now, I am not a baker by any means, but making the rainbow cake for my daughter's birthday was way easier than I thought it would be. Seriously. I was pretty nervous about it, but as you can see, it turned out pretty well.

Here's the deal

1. Mix up your white cake batter as usual.

2. Separate the now-mixed batter into six bowls (or however many different colors you want).

3. Using gel food coloring, color the batter in each bowl to the desired colors

4. Pour each bowl of colored batter into the cake pan one at a time, attempting to making even layers of each.

5. Bake as usual.

Interestingly (and this is what I was worried about), the colors don't mix together. I had a bit of a difficult time getting the layers even, but even so I think it turned out great. Perfect as far as I was concerned.

And seriously, ladies & gentlemen, it really is that easy.

I still can't believe it worked. Already planning out what to practice with next in the kitchen. Ha!

As always, thanks for checking in!

Egg Recipe - Breakfast Casserole

This is a recipe I got at my bridal shower. Unfortunately it didn't come with a name, so I'm not sure who to credit. I love this breakfast casserole for several reasons. It tastes yummy, it's easy enough for me to do, the whole family loves it, and... it uses a dozen eggs! We abound in eggs around here, so finding a good recipe that takes lotsa eggs is a bonus for me.

I also love that leftovers heat up easily, so while I'll feed the three of us for one morning, the rest makes my breakfast for at least 4 more mornings. Yum!

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12 eggs        6 slices bread        1 lb sausage        1/4 cup milk        1 lb bacon        2 cups shredded cheese        salt & pepper (to taste)

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Cook sausage, drain. Repeat with bacon. In a large bowl, mix eggs, milk, cheese, meat, salt & pepper. Tear bread into pieces approximately 1 inch in size and add to the mixture. Grease a 9x13 pan, add mixture. Bake at 350 degrees until golden brown.

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In our stove, with our pan, it takes approximately 30 minutes to cook. I usually start checking it at 25 minutes to be safe.

If for some reason you don't want the bacon, you can also substitute another 1/2 lb of sausage.

To reheat, cut a serving size and place on a small plate. Microwave on high for approximately 90 seconds.