Saucy Pepper Steak

This was de-lish! A twist on stir fry. Came together quick too. I used a honey BBQ for a bit of sweetness. Spicy BBQ sauce would also be good. It's so pretty and colorful! My 2 year old wouldn't touch it though, ahhh toddler tastes! She enjoyed a lovely dinner of white rice and a peanut butter sandwich!

Saucy Pepper Steak

1 green pepper - cut in strips
1 red pepper - cut in strips
1 yellow pepper - cut in strips
1 small onion - cut in strips
1lb sirloin - cut in strips
2 cloves garlic - minced
1/2tsp pepper
3T soy sauce
1/2C BBQ sauce
2T olive oil
2C cooked rice

Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Add peppers and onion, cook and stir 6-8 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl. Keep warm. Add meat, garlic and pepper. Cook for 3 minutes. Add soy sauce and BBQ sauce. Stir in the pepper/onion mixture. Cook until heated through. Serve over rice. 1

Salted Caramel Butter Bars

These are soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo rich but delicious!! I was telling my husband what was in them and he said - like a REAL pound of butter?? Yep - 4 whole sticks. These would be perfect for a cookie exchange because a small square is all you need!

My dough was pretty sticky...I don't know if that's how its suppose to be or if I measured the flour wrong. It's most likely the 2nd. I suck at measuring.

Salted  Caramel Butter Bars

For the Crust:
1 lb. salted butter room temp
1 cup sugar
1½ cups powdered sugar

2 Tbs vanilla 
4 cups all purpose flour

For the Filling:
1 bag (14 oz.) caramel candies (about 50 individual caramels), unwrapped
1/3 cup milk or cream (I used milk - you know to keep it healthy)
½ teaspoon vanilla

1 T. coarse sea salt

To make the crust:

In a large bowl, combine the butter and sugars. Using mixer on medium speed, beat together until creamy. Add the vanilla and beat until combined. Sift the flour into the butter mixture and beat on low speed until a smooth soft dough forms.

Spray a 9×13 inch baking pan lightly with non-stick cooking spray. Press one-third of the dough evenly into the pan to form a bottom crust.

Preheat to 325F.

Bake until firm and the edges are a pale golden brown approx 20 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack and let cool about 15 minutes.

While the bottom crust is baking and the remaining dough is chilling, make the caramel filling. Place the unwrapped caramels in a microwave-safe bowl. Add the cream. Microwave on high for 1 minute. Remove from the microwave and stir until smooth. If caramels are not completely melted, microwave on high for 30-second intervals, stirring after each interval, until smooth.

Pour the caramel filling over the crust. If you are going to salt the caramel sprinkle it on caramel layer now.

Remove the remaining chilled dough from the refrigerator and crumble it evenly over the caramel.

Return the pan to the oven and bake until the filling is bubbly and the crumbled shortbread topping is firm and lightly golden, about 25 – 30 minutes.

Let cool before cutting into squares.

 

where i got the recipe!

1

Braided Spaghetti Bread

Yep, it's as awesome as it sounds.

I love carbs. This is noodles WRAPPED in bread!
I love spaghetti piled on garlic bread. This is spaghetti WRAPPED in garlic bread!
It's the perfect meal. It's heaven.

It is a little *tricky* but it's not hard! Handling dough is always a bit risky at this house!I mean check out my "braiding" skills! LOL!  But it's worth it! MAKE THIS RECIPE!!!! If doing a whole loaf scares you to much - use rolls. Flatten out the rolls and make little individual ones (holy crap I just thought of this idea and it's great - now I must make this recipe again!)

**this recipe is also a great way to use up leftover spaghetti!**

I served this with some extra red sauce on the side - if you follow my blog you know every thing must have a dipping sauce/condiment pal!

Braided Spaghetti Bread

1 Loaf Rhodes Bread Dough - thawed to room temperature

6 oz spaghetti, cooked

1/2lb browned hamburger

1 cup thick spaghetti sauce (MAKE YOUR OWN!!!! there is a recipe on my blog!)

8 oz mozzarella cheese, cut into 1/2 –inch cubes

1 egg white

Parmesan cheese

Parsley flakes

garlic powder

butter

Roll loaf into a 12x16-inch rectangle. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 10-15 minutes. Remove wrap from dough.Spread butter over dough and sprinkle with garlic powder and parsley flakes. Place spaghetti lengthwise in a 4-inch strip down the center of dough. Top with sauce, meat and cheese cubes. (I mixed my spaghetti,sauce and meat together). Make cuts 1 ½-inches apart on long sides of dough to within ½-inch of filling. Begin braid by folding top and bottom strips toward filling. Then braid strips left over right, right over left. Finish by pulling last strip over and tucking under braid. Lift braid with both hands and place on large sprayed baking sheet. (or transfer parchment paper to baking sheet). Brush with egg white and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and parsley (I added garlic powder). Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. Cool slightly and slice to serve. 1

Crab Cakes & Easy Creamy Baked Asparagus

Fast, easy, light and refreshing! Which all made me feel better about having Taco John's for lunch! The crab cakes are suppose to be a knock off of Joe's Crab Shack...I've never had their crab cakes so I don't know how they compare but they were good! The asparagus was great - but I'll eat almost anything if you put ranch dressing on it! Dustin insists on having some sort of "dipping sauce" for EVERYTHING (we own 13213465 bottles of different mustards, ranch dressing and Dorothy Lynch!) so the sauce on top I pulled out of thin air so there aren't exact measurements!

As for the crab....I live in small town Iowa. It came from a can. That's all we got!

Crab Cakes

2/3 cup mayonnaise
5 egg yolks
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon blackening seasoning (I used Cajun seasoning)
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 cup crushed, chopped parsley ( I used a couple T's of dried)
2 1/2 cups breadcrumbs (used Panko)
2 lbs crab meat

Directions:

Mix all ingredients together.
Make into 4 oz. patties.

Fry in 1 inch of oil until golden brown.

 

 

Easy Creamy Baked Asparagus

1lb asparagus
1/4C Ranch dressing
2T shredded Parmesan
12 crushed Ritz crackers

Preheat oven to 350*. Cook asparagus in simmering water in a large skillet 2-3 minutes or until bright green. Drain.
Toss asparagus with dressing in a baking dish. Sprinkle with cheese and crackers.
Bake 10-15 minutes or until heated through.


The sauce:
Couple spoonfuls mayo, a small spoonful dill relish, few shakes lemon pepper, couple dashes of hot sauce

1

Pesto & Mozzarella Stuffed Chicken with Creamy Noodles

Ok. I suck at making things that you have to roll up. My filling always just spews out everywhere. This was no exception! It was suppose to have a breading on it...I just patted some filling on the outside since well it was already leaking out! It was still very good - I love pesto!

The Creamy Noodles - holy moly. Don't eat them if you are on a diet. They are rich and delicious but not even close to healthy! Do serve them right away - if you can't and the sauce gets to thick, add a little milk to help thin it back out.

Pesto & Mozzarella Stuffed Chicken

Ingredients:
2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 T pesto
2 T sour cream
2 T grated mozzarella cheese
(I used heaping tablespoons of pesto, sour cream and cheese)
2 eggs, beaten (or if they're large eggs one will probably be enough)
3 T finely grated Parmesan cheese
3 T almond flour (or almond meal, but almond flour is better for this because it's more finely ground)
black pepper to taste

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375F/190C. Spray a small casserole dish with non-stick spray. Trim any visible fat from chicken breasts, then put them one at a time inside a heavy plastic bag and pound with meat mallet until the chicken is as thin as you can get it. Don't worry too much about the shape or whether there are some loose pieces, you can tuck them in when you roll up the chicken.

In a small bowl mix together the basil pesto, sour cream, and grated mozzarella. Use a rubber scraper to spread a thin layer of this mixture over each chicken breast, stopping about 1/2 inch from the edge of the chicken (so it doesn't run out so much as it cooks.) Roll up the chicken breasts and secure them with a couple of toothpicks. (I roll them so the finished piece is as thin as I can get it so they will cook quickly.)

Prepare two bowls, one with the beaten egg and the other with the grated Parmesan-almond flour mixture, seasoned with black pepper to taste. Dip each chicken breast roll first into the egg mixture and then into the Parmesan-almond flour mixture, patting it on so the chicken breast roll is well-coated with the mixture.

Put chicken breasts into the casserole dish and bake until the chicken is firm and lightly browned. (Start checking after about 25-30 minutes; total baking time will be 30-35 minutes.) Serve hot.

 

 

Creamy Noodles

 

8oz thin spaghetti - cooked

3 garlic cloves - minced

3T butter

6oz cream cheese - cubed

3T sour cream

3T milk

1/2tsp onion powder

1/4tsp Cajun seasoning

1/2tsp dried basil

 

In a saucepan saute the garlic in the butter until soft. Add remaining ingredients. Cook and stir over low heat until smooth. Remove from heat, toss with the noodles.

1

HOMEMADE!!!!!! Chili Cheese Hamburger Helper

I DESPISE Hamburger Helper! It's not food people! Read the ingredients! Gag me. But people (my husband) like it. I refuse to buy it. Then I found this! I personally can't tell you how it tastes. I left detailed instructions and everything laid out for Dustin to make it on Daddy/Daughter night. He said it could be cheesier...this is coming from someone who thinks EVERYTHING can be improved upon so that means it was good! Check out the link to where I got the recipe - she's got a ton of recipes for all different kinds of Hamburger Helper!

Side note: In college a guy invited me over to his house to cook me dinner. He grilled a steak and made Panburger Partner-Hamburger Helper's evil store brand twin. I never talked to him again.

Chili Cheese Hamburger Helper

pound ground beef
1 cup hot water
2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups elbow macaroni
1 tablespoon corn starch
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

Brown ground beef in a large skillet; drain.  Add hot water and milk. Then add in the pasta and homemade "sauce packet" (corn starch, chili powder, garlic powder, salt, sugar, paprika). Stir to combine and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer on low about 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until pasta is tender. In the last few minutes of cook time, stir in the cheese; cover the pot again for the final few minutes of cook time. When the pasta is tender and the cheese is melted, turn off heat and uncover. Let mixture stand, uncovered, about five minutes. It will continue to thicken as it stands.


where I found the recipe - check it out! Lots of great ideas! 1

Crispy Cheese Pulled Pork Tacos

Cheese taco shells? Um yeah, I'll make that recipe. And I did and....well making the shells - kind of a bitch. Oh the grease. And they didn't get as crispy as I thought BUT it's melted cheese so it didn't suck that's for sure!!! I also only had sesame SEED oil and no sesame oil. There is a HUGE difference in the two so I added like 1/2c mayo to the slaw and 2-3 drops sesame seed oil instead of following the recipe exact. If any of you know me pork and slaw is one of my all time favorites (evidence in the recipes on this blog!)

Crispy Cheese Pulled Pork Tacos

Ingredients:
for the pulled pork:
1 3-4 lb boned pork shoulder roast
1 cup beef broth
1 cup favorite BBQ sauce
salt
pepper
——
1 cup favorite BBQ sauce
1 tablespoon yellow mustard
1/2 cup brown sugar
salt
pepper
for the sesame slaw:
4 cups coleslaw cabbage mix
2 green onions, sliced
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
for the crispy cheese taco shells:
6 cups grated cheddar cheese
Directions:
Place pork shoulder into cold crock pot and cover with beef broth, BBQ sauce, salt and pepper. Cover with lid and cook on high for 3-4 hours or until pork is very tender.
Remove pork from crock pot and drain off fat and most of the cooking liquid, leaving about 1 cup in the bottom. Shred pork being sure to remove any visible fat. Place shredded pork back into warm crock pot and stir in remaining 1 cup BBQ sauce, mustard, brown sugar, salt and pepper to taste. Keep warm in crock pot until ready to serve.
For the sesame slaw, combine cabbage mix, cilantro and onions. Set aside. In small bowl, mix sesame oil, vinegar, garlic, salt and pepper together. Pour over slaw and toss to combine. Set aside until ready to serve.
Preheat a small (preferably non stick) skillet to medium heat. Sprinkle 1/2 cup shredded cheese into hot skillet, making a 4-5 inch circle (approximately). Cook 2-3 minutes or until cheese is completely melted and the bottom is golden brown. Remove carefully in one piece and place on some paper towels. Dab the top to remove any excess grease and quickly place over a small cup or handle to shape cheese into a taco shell shape. Let crispy cheese cool and remove. Repeat this process until all shells have been formed.
To serve, spoon some warm pulled pork into the bottom of a crispy cheese shell and top with sesame slaw.

Link to where I found the recipe 1