Sassy Sloppy Joe's

The other night I started making sloppy joes' needing a quick and easy dinner, hamburger was browned added the seasoning packet and water, then realized I had no tomato paste or sauce.  Okay, so I just started adding any tomato substance I could find and came up with the following recipe and my family LOVED them and keeps requesting them so I thought I better write down the combination before I forgot.

Ingredients:
1 green pepper
1 onion
2 lbs hamburger
2 sloppy joe seasoning packets
1 cup water
1 cup ketchup
1 (10 oz.) can diced tomato & green chili's (undrained)
1 (4 oz.) can diced green chilli's HOT (undrained)

Saute onion and green pepper in same pan brown hamburger and drain. Add remaining ingredients and bring to boil, cook down liquid.  Serve.

Hot Bacon Dip

Ingredients

• 1 (16 oz.) package sour cream
• 1 (16 oz.) jar Real Bacon Bits
• 2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
• 1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup chopped green onions

Directions

1. Heat oven to 400°F.
2. In bowl, combine all ingredients. Place in 2-quart baking dish; cover.
3. Bake dip 25 to 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Serve with assorted fresh vegetables, crackers and/or chips.
4. Makes approximately 5 1/2 cups.
5. Just for fun, place 2 1/2 to 3 cups dip in a hollowed, round sourdough loaf. Wrap bread in foil and bake 30 minutes at 400°F.

Slow Cooker Chicken and Dumplings

Super Easy to make and turned out pretty good!

INGREDIENTS:
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
2 tablespoons butter
2 (10.75 ounce) cans condensed cream of chicken soup
1 onion, finely diced
2 (10 ounce) packages refrigerated biscuit dough, torn into pieces

DIRECTIONS:
1. Place the chicken, butter, soup, and onion in a slow cooker, and fill with enough water to cover.
2. Cover, and cook for 5 hours on High. About 1.5 hours before serving, shred the chicken and place the torn biscuit dough in the slow cooker, turn on low. Cook until the dough is no longer raw in the center.

(***I like to add half water and half chick broth and add some veggies)

Caramel Filled Chocolate Cookies

I love these rolo cookies! I made them for a church gathering and they were a big hit!!! I can't get enough of them. I found the recipe on sisterscafe.blogspot.com.

2 1/2 C. all purpose flour

3/4 C. unsweetened cocoa

1 tsp. baking soda

1 C. sugar

1 C. firmly packed brown sugar

1 C. softened butter

2 tsp. vanilla

2 eggs

1 C. chopped pecans

48 Rolo, unwrapped 9 oz. pkg.

1 Tbs. sugar

4 oz. vanilla flavored candy coating (I used guittard vanilla chocolate chips)

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly spoon flour into measuring cup and level off. In a small bowl, combine four, cocoa and baking soda; blend well.

In a large bowl, beat 1 cup sugar, brown sugar and butter until light. Add vanilla and eggs; beat well. Add flour mixture, blend well. Stir in 1/2 Cup of the pecans.

Form each cookie with floured hands, shape about 1 tablespoonful dough around 1 Rolo, covering completely.

In a small bowl, combine remaining 1/2 pecans and 1 tablespoon sugar. Press one side of each ball into pecan mixture. Place nut side up, 2" apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake at 375 degrees for 7 to 10 minutes or until set and slightly cracked. Cool 2 min. Remove from cookie sheet to cool on wire rack. Melt the vanilla flavored candy coating in a saucepan or in a baggie in the microwave. Drizzle over cookies.

Magic Cookie Bars

This is one of the most decadently sweet bar cookie recipes ever. I make them in a 9 X 13-inch pan for thin multi-layered bar cookie. If you prefer thicker bars, a 9 X 9-inch pan works well. You will just need to bake them for about 10 minutes longer when using the 9-inch square pan. To keep things super easy and avoid unnecessary clean-up, melt the butter right in the baking pan.

• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 1 to 1 1/2 cups mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 to 1 1/2 cups coconut (try unsweetened dessicated coconut for a less sweet option)
• 1 to 1 1/2 cups butterscotch chips (optional)
• 1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts or pecans
• 1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk

1. Preheat oven to 350F degrees.
2. In a 9x13-inch baking pan mix butter and graham cracker crumbs and press evenly to cover the bottom of the pan.
3. Sprinkle, in order: chocolate chips, coconut, butterscotch chips, and then the nuts over the crumb base.
4. Drizzle condensed milk over the top.
5. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes.
6. Cool completely on a wire rack and cut into bars. Because these magic seven layer bars are so sweet, I prefer to cut them into little bite-sized bars.

Breakfast Bake

New favorite, courtesy of Betty Crocker!

 

1 cup diced fully cooked ham (6 oz)

2

boxes Betty Crocker® Seasoned Skillets® hash brown potatoes

1

medium green bell pepper, chopped (1 cup)

1

tablespoon dried chopped onion

2

cups shredded Cheddar cheese (8 oz)

1

cup Original Bisquick® mix

3

cups milk

1/2

teaspoon pepper

4

eggs

 

1. Grease 13x9-inch (3-quart) glass baking dish with shortening or cooking spray.
2. Layer ham, potatoes, bell pepper, onion and 1 cup of the cheese in baking dish. In large bowl, stir Bisquick mix, milk, pepper and eggs until blended. Pour into baking dish; sprinkle with remaining 1 cup cheese. Cover; refrigerate at least 4 hours but no longer than 24 hours.
3. Heat oven to 375ºF. Bake uncovered 30 to 35 minutes or until light golden brown around edges and cheese is melted. Let stand 10 minutes.

Makes 12 servings.

 

 

Sesame Seed Cookies by Helen

Sesame Seed Cookies were my very favorite thing my Aunt Helen made. I loved it when she brought these to Family Parties they were so yummy.  I can't wait to try to make them, I know that she be watching and me as I panic because they don't turn out fabulous the very first time, "Practice, just keep practicing and you will get feel of it." That's what she would tell me and just knowing that will keep me braiding those 16 dozen cookies, yikes.

Sesame Seed Cookies

1 dozen eggs, separated
1 lb butter
1 cup shortening
Large can evaporated milk
About 20 cups of flour
4 Tbs baking powder
4 Tbs vanilla
3 1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup orange juice
Sesame seeds

Melt butter and shortening and let cool.  Add sugar and egg yolks.  Beat egg whites until stiff and fold in.  Add the rest of the ingredients and enough flour to make an easy dough. Roll out flat and cut with a pizza cutter and then shape. Braid on an oiled board.  Brush with eggs and sesame seeds.  Bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees.  Makes 16 dozen.

1/4 Recipe
3 eggs
1 cube butter
1/4 cup shortening
3 oz. can evaporated milk
1 Tbs baking powder
1 Tbs vanilla
1 cup sugar
2 Tbs orange juice

Chicken Turnovers by Helen

Ingredients:
3 chicken breasts, cooked
4 oz. cream cheese
1 Tbs minced dry onions
1/4 tsp minced dried garlic
1 Tbs parsley flakes
Dash of pepper
12 refrigerated crescent rolls
1/4 cup butter, melted
Crushed croutons

Chop chicken in blender, set aside. Beat cream cheese until softened; add onions, parsley flakes, garlic and pepper.  Stir chicken into mixture. Place about 1 1/2 Tbs chicken mixture on each crescent roll; roll up.  Dip each roll into melted butter then roll in crushed croutons.  Bake on ungreased baking sheet for 20 minutes at 350 degrees.

Slime

Cash made this yesterday at preschool and it was such a hit we have now made it twice more!  Who knew slime was so easy and super fun.

SLIME

4 oz. Glue
1/2 cup Water
Food coloring

1 tsp Borax
1/2 cup Water

Mix glue, 1/2 cup water, and food coloring.  In a different bowl mix Borax with 1/2 cup water.  Combine both mixture's together and Hello Slime!

Chicken Rolls by Helen

Ingredients:

4 Chicken breasts, cooked & shredded
3 pkgs. Crescent rolls
1 (8 oz.) Cream cheese, softened
Salt & pepper to taste
Corn Flakes, crushed
Margarine, melted

Directions:

Put shredded chicken in a bowl with softened cream cheese add salt and pepper and blend. Put about 2 Tbs mixture on an uncooked crescent roll and roll up dip in melted butter and crushed corn flakes. Put on cookie sheet and bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees. Serve with gravy on top.

How to Hard Boil an Egg

With Easter coming up boiled eggs are on my mind because I hate it when it's hard to peel the egg. I know that by now I should know how to boil an egg but, I am always longing for those perfectly smooth peeled eggs. So a few tips on How to Hard Boil an Egg

Deviled Potato Salad

Ingredients:
5 potatoes, peeled and diced

Kosher salt
1/4 onion
3 Tbs prepared yellow mustard
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tsp sweet paprika
1 tsp hot cayenne pepper sauce (recommended: Tabasco or Frank's Red Hot)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Boil potatoes in water seasoned with kosher salt until they are tender, about 10 minutes. Drain cooked potatoes and return to the warm pot to dry them out. Let the potatoes stand 2 minutes, then spread potatoes out on to a cookie sheet to quick-cool them. In mixing bowl grate 1/4 onion. Add mustard and mayonnaise, paprika and cayenne pepper sauce to the grated onion and stir to combine. Add potatoes to the bowl and stir to evenly distribute dressing. Season potato salad with salt and pepper and taste to adjust your seasonings.

This is a recipe I just ran across, it is a Rachel Ray recipe and is a fabulous spicy twist to this classic potatoes.

Easter Bunny Cakes

It's almost Easter and my kids are getting so excited to decorate eggs and for the Easter bunny to come.  Last year I made these Betty Crocker Easter bunny cakes for my kids and they just loved them.  Now cake decorating is not my thing, I mean I can bake but, fancy frilly decorating just isn't my game. This recipe is super EASY, fun, and the kids could actually help.  I think we will make them a family tradition and make them again this year.  Happy Easter annd enjoy! 

1	box Betty Crocker® SuperMoist® yellow cake mix
	Water, vegetable oil and eggs called for on cake mix box
2	containers (1 lb each) Betty Crocker® Rich & Creamy vanilla frosting
	Neon purple and/or pink food color
	Construction paper (inedible)
2	small marshmallows, cut in half, flattened
2	small jelly beans, cut in half
2	(5-inch) strips rainbow-colored sour candy, separated into strips
2	large jelly beans or candy-coated chocolate-covered peanut candies
2	rectangular-shaped white chewing gum, cut in half
2	large marshmallows

 

Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pans). Make, bake and cool cake as directed on box for 2 (8-inch or 9-inch) round cake pans, using water, oil and eggs.

In medium bowl, tint 1 container frosting with neon purple food color. Using 1 cake round, cut in half to form 2 semicircles. Put halves together with 1/4 cup frosting to form body. Place upright on serving plate, cut side down.

Frost cake with frosting. Cut ears from construction paper; insert into cake. Using toothpicks to attach, use 2 small marshmallow halves and 2 small jelly bean halves for eyes. Use large jelly bean for nose and sour candy strips for whiskers. Place gum halves just below nose for teeth. Use large marshmallow for tail.

Repeat with remaining cake to make second bunny, using pink neon food color. Frost and decorate as above.