Caramel Apple Bars

1/2 c cold butter
1 pouch oatmeal cookie mix
1 egg
1 cup finely chopped peeled apple
1 jar (12.25 oz) caramel topping
1/4 c flour

Heat oven to 350 degrees. In large bowl, cut butter into cookie mix. Stir in egg until mixture is crumbly. Reserve 1 1/2 cups of cookie mixture. Press remaining mixture into bottom of greased 9x13 pan. Bake 15 minutes. Sprinkle apples evenly over crust. In small bowl, mix caramel topping and flour; drizzle over apples. Sprinkle reserved cookie mixture on top. Bake 30 minutes until golden brown and somewhat firm. Cool completely.

My friend Judy brought this recipe over a couple of weeks ago to try and it was heavenly. In the last two weeks, I have made it 3 times. It is quick and easy to make. Everyone that has tried it wants the recipe, so I decided I better put it on my blog. And now that Judy is coming over again on Thursday nights, we will be trying a lot of different recipes. So, hopefully you won't have to wait 5 months for the next post!!!

Cookies 'N Cream Pudding

8 Oreo cookies
1 pkg (3.4 oz) vanilla instant pudding
2 cups cold milk
3/4 cup thawed cool whip, divided

Break 1 cookie into 4 pieces, reserve for garnish. Crush remaining cookies. Beat pudding mix and milk with whisk 2 minutes. Stir in crushed cookies and 1/2 cup cool whip. Spoon into 4 dessert dishes; top with remaining cool whip and reserved cookie pieces.

Sorry that I have neglected by blog for so long. My friend Judy found this recipe at kraftfoods.com and we made it last week. It is so easy and simple and very tasty. This would be a good recipe to get the kids involved in, becuase they could crush the cookies.

One dish chicken and stuffing

1 ¼ cups boiling water
4 T butter or margarine, melted
4 cups herb seasoned stuffing
6 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1 can (10 3/4 oz.) Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup
1/3 cup milk
1 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley OR tsp. dried parsley flakes

PREPARE stuffing according to pkg. directions.

SPOON stuffing across center of 3-qt. shallow baking dish. Place chicken on each side of stuffing.

MIX soup, milk and parsley. Pour over chicken.

COVER . Bake at 400°F. for 30 min. or until done.

I love this recipe because it is quick and easy. For the stuffing mix, I just buy a box of stove top stuffing and prepare as stated on box. I have made this several times. I think the next time I make it, I might put some vegetables in the pan.

Chicken & Biscuits

1 can cream of chicken soup
3/4 cup sour cream, divided
2 cups chopped cooked chicken
1 pkg. (16oz) mixed vegetables, thawed
1 cup shredded cheese
1 cup all-purpose baking mix (like Bisquick)
3 tbsp milk

Mix soup and 1/2 cup sour cream, stir in chicken, vegetables and cheese, place in 8x8 baking dish. Mix baking mix, remaining sour cream and milk until mixture forms stiff dough. Spoon into 6 mounds over chicken mixture. Bake at 375 degrees for 35 minutes or until biscuits are golden brown and chicken mixture is hot and bubbly.

I have made this several times and I LOVE it. It's great. I make no variations to the recipe. I got it out of the Food and Family magazine.

Baked Macaroni and Cheese

16 oz penne pasta, cooked and drained
1/2 c butter
1/3 c flour
2 c milk
3 c shredded cheddar cheese (reserve one cup for topping)
1 small container small-curd cottage cheese
2 eggs
1 tsp salt
1/4 c dry bread crumbs

Melt butter over low heat, whisk in flour until smooth. Cook 1 minute, whisking constantly. Gradually whisk in milk, cook over medium heat, whisking constantly until mixture is thickened and bubbly. Stir in 2 cups cheese and next 3 ingredients. Pour over pasta. Spoon mixture into a lightly greased 13x9 baking dish. Top iwth remaining cheese. Sprinkle bread crumbs on top. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

This is the best baked mac and cheese that I have ever made. It was really good. My husband loved it, he said the only thing he would change is the type of noodles because I have a lot of recipes that I use penne pasta in. I guess he wants a bit of variety. The next time I make this, I will not use quite so many noodles, I thought it was a tad dry. Other than that, I wouldn't change a thing.

Bacon Cheese Spread

16 oz sour cream
1 envelope Hidden Valley Ranch dip
2.5 oz fully cooked bacon pieces
2 cups finely shredded Colby Jack cheese
crackers

Mix sour cream an ranch dip together. Add bacon pieces and cheese. Stir until mixed throughly. Chill at least one hour before serving with crackers.

This is my all-time favorite dip for crackers. It it so good and tasty. I have also cooked my own bacon (about 1/2 pound) until crispy and then crumble, instead of buying pre-cooked bacon.

Ranch Party Mix

1 large box of Crispix cereal
2 bags pretzel Combos
1 bag oyster crackers
1 bag small pretzels
1 box Cheese-It crackers
2 bags Bugles chips
2 boxes Muchems: 1 ranch, 1 original
1 7oz can potato sticks
1 box cheese fish crackers
2 cans mixed nuts
1 pkg Hidden Valley ranch dry mix
1 bottle Orvill Redenbacher popping oil

In large container or trash bag (make sure it is unscented), mix together cereal, crackers, and nuts. Mix together ranch mix and oil, pour over dry mixture. Shake well. Let stand overnight, stirring or shaking every so often.

This is my favorite party mix to make. You can change or add anything to the recipe. We made it this weekend, and it was great.

Chocolate-Cream Cheese-Peanut Butter Bars

Cookie base and topping
1 pouch peanut butter cookie mix
3 tbsp oil
1 tbsp water
1 egg

Filling
1 1/4 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup butter
8 oz cream cheese, softened
2/3 cup crunchy or creamy peanut butter
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup whipping cream

Mix cookie base and topping ingredients until soft dough forms. Shape 6 (1-inch) balls of dough. On ungreased cookie sheet, place balls 2 inches apart and flatten in crisscross pattern with fork. Press remaining dough in 9x13 greased pan. Bake cookies and base 10 to 12 minutes or until edges are light golden brown at 350 degrees. Cool 10 minutes. Reserve cookies for topping. In small microwave bowl, melt chocolate chips and butter uncovered 1 minute to 1 minute 30 seconds, stirring every 30 seconds, until stirred smooth. Spread evenly over bars. Refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes. In bowl, beat cream cheese, peanut butter, powdered sugar and whipping cream until light anf fluffy. Spread over chocolate layer. Crush reserved cookies, sprinkle over cream cheese layer. Press in lightly. Refrigerate until set, about 30 minutes. Store covered in refrigerator.

These were absolutely awesome!!! I got the recipe from the Betty Crocker website. For some reason when I was shopping for the ingredients, I was thinking that whipping cream and cool whip were the same thing, but we know that they are not. So, instead of whipping cream, we used 2 to 3 tablespoons of milk, and it turned out fantastic. The bars were not as rich as I thought they would be, and were very moist. When I make them again, I will use crunchy peanut butter.

Honey Glazed Carrots

1 lb baby carrots
1/4 cup butter
2 1/2 tbsp honey
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/8 tsp ground ginger

Bring carrots to boil, then lower the heat to medium-high and cook until tender. Drain and set aside. Melt butter in pan. Add honey and cook over low heat until combined. Add lemon juice and ginger; mix well. Add carrots to the pan and sitr to coat with honey mixture. Cook over medium high heat, until carrots are heated through. Serve hot.

I got this recipe off of one of the cards you get in the mail that's trying to get you to subscribe to their cookbook. I don't think I have ever really tried honey glazed carrots, so didn't know what to expect. The carrots tasted good, but were not as sweet as I thought it would be. I would make them again.

Banana Bread

1/2 c butter, softened
1 c sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 c mashed ripe bananas
2c flour
1 tsp baking soda

Cream butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs, then bananas. Add flour and soda, stirring just unil combined. Pour into greased 9x5 loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees for about an hour, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove from pan and let cool, store in regrigerator or freeze.

This is the easiest and best banana bread recipe I have ever made. I am not sure where I got the recipe. When I make this bread, I will usually do 1 1/2 of the recipe and then put into two loaf pans (the one loaf was too large and in order for it to get done, the outsides were too brown). Sometimes I will add in some cinnamon or nuts, depends on my mood. You could add anything to this recipe.

Turkey and stuffing casserole

1 can cream of mushroom
1 cup milk
1 16oz bag frozen vegetables
2 cups cubed cooked turkey
4 cups cubed herb seasoned stuffing
1 cup shredded swiss cheese

stir soup and milk together in large bowl. Stir in vegetables, turkey, and stuffing. Spoon into greased 8x12 pan. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or until hot and bubbly, stir. Sprinkle the cheese over the top and bake for 5 more minutes.

I got this recipe out of a Campbell's cookbook. The dish was okay and I will make it again with a few changes. My husband is not a fan of fried meat, so next time I will boil the turkey. I also used just regular stuffing, not the cubed, so will try and find the cubed stuffing. I will also cook it in a 9x13 pan so it's not so thick, I thought the center was still too wet. I had my "cooking assistant" and "taste-tester" here last night and she thought it was a good supper.

This week

I have a couple of new recipes to try, some bread to make, and some snacks to make for this coming weekend (we are going out of town). So be on the look-out for several posts this week.

Chicken with ham sauce

4 chicken breast (about 2 pounds)
4 oz sliced cooked ham, cut into very thin strips
1 can cream of mushroom
8 oz sour cream
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
4 hot baked potatoes, or mashed potatoes

Put chicken in 9x13 pan and bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes. Pour off any fat. Put the ham in the dish around the chicken. Stir the soup, sour cream, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, and pepper in a bowl. Spoon over chicken and bake for 30 minutes or until chicken is done. Remove chicken and stir remaining sauce to serve with the chicken and over the potatoes.

This was very good. The sauce was not as thick as I thought it would be, so next time I might put a small amount of flour in to help thicken it up. Also, for the ham, I just used luncheon meat ham, but next time I will try a ham steak cut-up to try and get a bit of the smoked taste in the sauce. But overall, it was very good. This recipe came from a Campbell's cookbook.

Apple Bread

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 cup sugar
1 cup finely shredded peeled apple
1/4 cup oil
1 egg
1/4 tsp finely shredded lemon zest
1/2 cup walnuts (optional)

Combine flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, baking powder, and nutmeg. In another bowl, combine sugar, apple, oil, egg, and lemon peel; mix well. Add flour mixture, stil just til combined. Stir in nuts, if using.
Pour into a greased loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes. Cool on wire rake

I got this recipe out of the Better Homes and Garden cookbook and the bread was so good that the entire loaf is gone. I used one large granny smith apple for the 1 cup needed. And I have another apple left, so I will be making another loaf of apple bread tomorrow.

Something's in the oven...

And it sure smells good!!! I had two apples that I wanted to do something with before they go bad, so I looked in my cookbooks and found a recipe. It's cooking now and we will eat it later, and I will post what it is and the recipe then. So, for now you can try and guess.

Triple-Layer Lemon Pie

2 cups cold milk
2 pkgs. (4 oz servings) Jell-O lemon instant pudding
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 graham pie crust
1 tub (8oz) cool whip

Pour milk into large bowl. Add dry pudding mixes and juice. Beat with wire whisk for 2 minutes or until well blended. Spread 1 1/2 cups of the pudding into bottom of crust; set aside. Add half of the cool whip to remaining pudding, stir gently until well blended. Spread over pudding layer in crust; top with the remaining cool whip. Refrigerate 3 hours or until set.

I got this recipe out of a Jell-O cookbook and make the recipe as is. However, I would suggest using the Jell-O brand pudding mix, I have tried other brands with this recipe, but the Jell-O brand has a better lemon taste to it. This is one of my favorite pies. And very easy to make

A New Beginning

I have wanted to get into the blogging world for awhile now, but didn't know what to blog about. I have finally figured it out.

One thing I love to do is cook and try new recipes. So, I decided to make my blog about cooking. I will post recipes at least once a week (maybe more often). I will give my opinion of the recipe, if something should be changed, what I changed, and anything else I can think of. I might even try to post a picture of the recipe, but I know that photographing food is hard, so it might not happen to often.

I hope you will enjoy my blog.