Sunday, July 27, 2008

"Teddy Wants S'More" muffins




Me and Hubby got to keep our nieces this weekend so we did some cooking (and cleaning). We made some muffins that I found on Kraftfoods.com in the kids section. Here is the recipe as follows...

Ingredients:
42 Honey Grahams

1/4 c. Sugar

1-1/2 Tbsp. Baking Powder

1 Egg

3 Tbsp. Honey

1-1/2 c. Chocolate Teddy Grahams, divided

1/2 c. Mini Marshmallows

PREHEAT 350 degrees
1. CRUSH graham crackers in a resealable plastic bag using a rolling pin. Grease muffin pans, crack egg into bowl & slightly beat w/ fork

2. MIX graham crumbs, sugar & baking powder in large bowl.

3. ADD milk, egg & honey; stir in 1 cup of the cookies

4. SPOON batter into prepared muffin cups

5. TOSS remaining 1/2 cup of cookies with marshmallows & sprinkle evenly over batter, pressing lightly into batter.

6. BAKE for 16 minutes, let stand 5 minutes before removing from muffin tin.

Pizza Time!

Nothing like a good ol' pizza that you make yourself, right? Well while we had the girls over we made pizzas and watched Alvin and the Chipmunks while we ate our lunch. Here are some pictures of us making our pizzas.



Ingredients

*Mini/personal pan premade pizza bread

*Ragu Pizza Sauce

*EVOO

*Pizza blend cheese


*Pepperoni

Preheat Oven to 450 degrees
Brush Olive Oil on pizza bread
Put desired amount of pizza sauce on bread
Then sprinkle desired amount of cheese on top of sauce
Then place pepperoni on top of cheese



Here our some pictures of our sweet nieces and Hubby making their pizzas.


















Mountain Dew Cake

One of our favorite drinks in our household is Mt. Dew and mine being Diet Mt. Dew. When I saw this cake in an old magazine of Paula Deans I HAD to make it for hubby. So that my source being Mrs. Paula Deen July/August 2007 issue of her mag.






Ingredients

1 (18.25 oz) box lemon cake mix

1 (3.4 oz) box lemon flavored instant pudding mix


1 (12 oz) can Mountain Dew


3/4 c. Vegetable Oil


4 large eggs



Preheat oven to 325 degrees


Lightly grease and flour a 10-cup bundt pan


In a large mixing bowl, combine cake mix and pudding mix.


Add soda, oil and eggs. Beat at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth.


Pour batter into prepared pan, and bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.


Let cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and let cool completely on a wire rack.








Chicken Pot Pie WW Style

Ingredients
1 can Cream of Chicken Soup
1 bag of Bird's Eye Steam Fresh Veggies
(w/peas, carrots, corn and green beans)
1 lb. of chicken tenders
( I don't use a full lb.)
1 pie crust
Dice up chicken
In a skillet cook chicken until fully done
While cooking chicken microwave the veggies
Combine Veggies, Chicken, and Soup in bowl
Pour into a 7"x11" casserole dish
Then roll out pie crust over the mixture
Puncture holes in top to let breath
Cook at 350 degrees for 20 minutes





Saturday, July 19, 2008

Chicken & Dressing Casserole

SOURCE: My amazing cook of a neighbor Michelle



Ingredients

* 4 chicken breast

boil-cool-break in pieces

*1 can cream of chicken soup

*1 can cream of celery soup

*1/3 c evaporated milk

* 1-8oz box of Stove Top

*5 T margarine

*2 c chicken broth

*Salt and Pepper to taste





PREHEAT 350 degrees

Layer Chicken in long casserole dish

heat soups, milk, salt&pepper : pour over chicken

melt butter in sauce pan - add broth and stuffing & mix - let stand until blended (on med)

Put on top of chicken and soup

Bake 30 minutes

SATC Sexy Cupcakes

These Cupcakes are from none other than the Magnolia Bakery that the SATC (Sex and the City) girls ate in Season 3 a NYC landmark. I was lucky enough to be able to make these at work for the guys and b/c our salesman had sold his first machines, and I told him I would bake him cupcakes. So I thought I would try these...and it goes as follows....


Cupcakes
1 1/2 c. self-rising flour
1 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
1 c. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 c. sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 c. milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Line two 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake papers. In a small bowl combine flours and set aside.
In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add sugar gradually and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the dry ingredients in three parts alternating with milk and vanilla. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated but do not over-beat Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl to make sure the ingredients are well blended. Carefully spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, filling them about three-quarters full. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cupcakes comes out clean.
Icing
1 c (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
6-8 c confectioners sugar
1/2 c milk
2 tsp. vanilla extract
Place the butter in a large mixing bowl. Add 4 cups of the sugar and then the milk and vanilla. On the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat until smooth and creamy, about 3-5 minutes. Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating well after each addition (about 2 minutes), until the icing is thick enough to be of good spreading consistency. You may not need all of the sugar. If desired add a few drops of food coloring and mix thoroughly. (I used yellow) (Use and store icing at room temperature because icing will set if chilled.) Icing can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Lasagna


Ingredients
* 1 lb of ground beef
*1 1/2 c of water
*32 oz. Ragu
* 1 - 15 oz Cottage Cheese
* 3 c of Mozzarella Cheese
*1/2 c Parmesan Cheese
* 1/4 c parsley
*1 tsp. salt
* 1/4 tsp. pepper
* 2 eggs
* 9 Lasagna Noodles (cook extra in case a couple break)
3 parts to this Lasagna...Part One...Sauce....Part Two...Cheese...and Part Three Noodles.
1.) Boil Noodles in pot until cooked.
2.) Brown Meat and Drain...then add Water and Ragu to Meat and let simmer...=Sauce
3.) Add the remainder of the ingredients in bowl and stir together.
4.) Put 1 c. (or cover bottom of 9X13 in glass pan)
Add Three Noodles
Then add cheese
Alternate ending with sauce
5.)Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes
Wa-la....Lasagna...is soooooo good. This recipe was from my neighbor and I was very successful in making this. The only thing that I did wrong was cook the whole box of noodles in a pan too small...but I hope you enjoy!

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Yummy Pizza Bread

:Before:
Before Yummy Goodness is made!
Ingredients:
*1 roll refrigerated french bread dough OR 1 loaf frozen bread dough (thawed)
*Regular or turkey pepperoni
*Mozzarella cheese
*Parmesan cheese
*Extra Virgin Olive oil
*Dried Italian seasoning

*Pizza sauce (in post below)


Directions:Preheat oven to 350.




Roll out bread dough, and drizzle with olive oil, a few small dollops of sauce, sprinkle with mozzarella, Parmesan cheeses, Italian seasoning, and place pepperoni on top of the cheese.




Carefully roll the bread dough into a cylinder shape. Pinch ends and top to seal.


Brush top and sides with some olive oil.If desired, top loaf with cheese, pepperoni, and/or Italian seasoning. Make a few diagonal slices in top of loaf for air to escape while cooking.



Bake at 350 for ~20 min.








Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes before slicing. Serve with pizza sauce.

Pizza Sauce
*8 oz tomato sauce
*3 oz tomato paste
*1 clove garlic, minced
*2 tsp oregano
*1/8 tsp red pepper flakes (or more for a kick)
*pinch of sugar
*pinch of salt & pepper


Mix all ingredients in a bowl, and let flavors blend before using.


I got this recipe from a fellow nestie. (for those of you who don't know what a nestie is...it is a friend on thenest.com) Many many nesties have food blogs on there signatures for you to check out their creations in their kitchens. So far this is the first one I've made and not the last. I will list those that I frequently browse so you can get a good idea! Come back for my recipes! For I will be cooking more!!