Wednesday, March 29, 2006

Ice Cream Dessert

Again this is a recipe that was passed on by another lady. I tried it during the summer and it was such a HUGE hit. Everyone loved it, family and friends you name it.

This is one of those desserts that is so easy to make but it tastes just heavenly and it's great for that chocolate craving too. Try it!!!

ICE CREAM DESSERT

Ice cream sandwiches (I use the little mini ice cream sandwiches – they’re easier to work with)
1 Tub Cool Whip
1 package of 10 small butterfinger candy bars
Caramel sauce in the squeeze bottle

I usually make this desert in a big deep round Rubbermaid container. The amount of ingredients is dependent on the size desert you want to make. I use 20 oz of cool whip.

I take the candy bars and put them into 2 Ziploc bags (5 bars will fit in a sandwich size bag). Crunch them up with a hammer (it gets out the frustrations).

Layer the bottom of the container with ice cream sandwiches.

Put a layer of cool whip on top of the ice cream sandwiches.

Then pour a layer of the caramel sauce on top of the cool whip.

Take the crunched up pieces of the candy bar in one Ziploc bag and spread on top of the caramel sauce.

If your container is deep enough, put another layer of cool whip, caramel sauce, and crunched up candy bars.

Put it into the freezer.

Omelletes made Easy!!!

I got this recipe a while ago and I honestly can not remember where from. I know it was from one of the ladies at one of the Message Boards I go to.

When I first got the recipe I thought, there's NO WAY, it will work. I tried it and I'm in complete shock. Go ahead and give it a try and then let me know ok?

OMELETS IN THE BAG

This is a good way to fix breakfast if you're having a lot of family members in (or friends) It works great! Good for when all are together and no one has to wait for their special omelet to be fixed after another.

Have everyone write their name on a quart-size, zip-lock freezer bag with permanent marker.

Crack 2 eggs (large or extra-large) into each bag (not more than 2 eggs) and shake to combine them.

Put out a variety of ingredients such as: cheeses, ham, onion, green pepper, tomato, hash browns, salsa, etc.

Each member adds prepared ingredients of choice to their bag and shakes; make sure the air is out of the bag and the bag is well-zipped.

Place the bags into rolling, boiling water for exactly 13 minutes.
You can usually cook 6-8 omelets in a large pot. For more, make another pot of boiling water.

Open the bags and the omelet will roll out easily. Be prepared for everyone to be amazed.

Nice to serve with fresh fruit and coffee cake; everyone gets
involved in the process and it's a great cheerful conversation-starter for the morning.

Monday, March 27, 2006

Slow Cooker Pot Roast

I'm going to be making this one today. I love my slow cooker because honestly, let's face it, who has time nowadays to be sitting in a kitchen for hours?
One thing I also love about using a slow cooker, is that during the day your house is filled with a wonderful scent, always makes my mouth water :)

So here we go:

Awesome Slow Cooker Pot Roast


INGREDIENTS:

* 2 (10.75 ounce) cans condensed cream of mushroom soup
* 1 (1 ounce) package dry onion soup mix
* 1 1/4 cups water
* 5 1/2 pounds pot roast

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a slow cooker, mix cream of mushroom soup, dry onion soup mix and water. Place pot roast in slow cooker and coat with soup mixture.
2. Cook on High setting for 3 to 4 hours, or on Low setting for 8 to 9 hours.

Enjoy :)

Thursday, March 23, 2006

Baked Ziti!!!

I made this one for dinner the other night and the kids really enjoyed it. :) I got the recipe from the Allrecipes.com site, they have great ideas and great recipes provided by members. This baked ziti was by Shawna Ballard.

Baked Ziti
Baked Ziti


INGREDIENTS:

* 1 pound dry ziti pasta
* 1 onion, chopped
* 1 pound lean ground beef
* 2 (26 ounce) jars spaghetti sauce
* 6 ounces provolone cheese, sliced
* 1 1/2 cups sour cream
* 6 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded
* 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS:

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add ziti pasta, and cook until al dente, about 8 minutes; drain.
2. In a large skillet, brown onion and ground beef over medium heat. Add spaghetti sauce, and simmer 15 minutes.
3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Butter a 9x13 inch baking dish. Layer as follows: 1/2 of the ziti, Provolone cheese, sour cream, 1/2 sauce mixture, remaining ziti, mozzarella cheese and remaining sauce mixture. Top with grated Parmesan cheese.
4. Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until cheeses are melted.

Baked Ziti

Friday, March 17, 2006

Mexican Lasagna

This one is yummy too and I actually got it online from "Quick Fix Meals by Robin Miller", after watching it on her show.




Mexican Lasagna



Cooking spray
12 ounces cooked chicken, cut into 1-inch cubes (about 3 cups)
1 cup sour cream (regular or low-fat)
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese (regular or low-fat), divided
1 cup shredded Cheddar (regular or low-fat), divided
1/2 cup mild, medium or hot salsa
1 (4-ounce) can chopped green chiles
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves
1 teaspoon ground chili powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
8 (6-inch) corn tortillas, cut into 6 wedges



Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Coat an 11 by 7-inch baking pan with cooking spray.
In a large bowl, combine chicken, sour cream, 3/4 cup of the Monterey Jack cheese, 3/4 cup of the Cheddar, salsa, chiles, cilantro, chili powder, and cayenne pepper. Mix well and set aside.

Arrange half of the tortilla pieces in the bottom of prepared pan, overlapping pieces slightly to cover the surface. Top with half of the chicken mixture and smooth over with the back of a spoon to even the top. Layer remaining tortillas over top, and spoon over remaining chicken mixture. Top with remaining 1/4 cup each of Monterey Jack and cheddar cheeses.

Cover with foil and bake 30 minutes. Uncover and bake 30 more minutes, until top is golden and bubbly. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

To reheat, bake in a preheated 375 degree F oven for 15 minutes.

Enjoy :)

Ham and Cheese Chicken Rolls

Ham and Cheese Chicken Rolls

I got this recipe a while ago and I don't remember where, but it's one I always turn to when I run out of ideas for chicken dishes. The family loves it and it's also really filling.

Ham and Cheese Chicken Rolls
Ham and Cheese Chicken Rolls


4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
2 thin slices of Swiss cheese
2 thin slices of porsciutto or ham
1 teaspoon paprika
6 tablespoons bread crumbs
2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
3 tablespoons melted butter

Pound each chicken breast to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut cheese and prosciutto slices into halves. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Layer cheese and prosciutto on chicken; roll to enclose filling and secure with toothpicks or kitchen twine. Mix paprika, bread crumbs, parmesan, garlic salt, oregano and basil in a shallow dish. Dip chicken rolls in butter, roll in crumb mixture to coat. Place rolls seam sides down in a baking dish.


Bake for 25 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and golden brown. Serve with mashed potatoes and a green salad.

Enjoy :)

Ham and Cheese Chicken Rolls

Thursday, March 16, 2006

Menus March 16th - 30th

So I have my menus all planned for the next two weeks. I always find it so much easier to do this so I don't end up walking aimlessly through the grocery store. Obviously there's lots of times that I end up switching one day with another, but that's ok.

Here we go:

Thursday 16th
Ham and Cheese Chicken Rolls

Friday 17th
Mexican Lasagna

Saturday 18th
Ribs with Fries and Corn

Sunday 19th
Seafood Subs

Monday 20th
Stuffed Green Peppers

Tuesday 21st
Baked Ziti

Wednesday 22nd
Parmesan Chicken

Thursday 23rd
Shepherds Pie

Friday 24th
Lasagna

Saturday 25th
Steaks with Mushroom Gravy

Sunday 26th
Waffle Fry nachos

Monday 27th
Sausage Spaghetti Spirals

Tuesday 28th
Mini Meatloaves

Wednesday 29th
Homemade Pizza

I will try to post the recipes for each day, didn't get a chance to last week because things got so hectic around here. But it shouldn't be a problem this time.

Let's see how the kids do with these meals, I'm hoping that they eat without complaining, although that might be too much to ask?

Wednesday, March 15, 2006

Wow it's been forever!!!


It's been a while since I posted here, can't believe it's almost a month.

The kids have been doing great with meals....I don't know what it is, I'de like to believe that it's just because I make good food, BUT, it's not like I'm making something different, it's always been the same LOL

Anyway, last night I made Fettucine Alfredo. Now this is a recipe that I always turn to when I have NO idea what else to make. The kids love it and so do we, so it's a great quick and easy pasta dish.

Sandy's Fettucine Alfredo

1/2 package bacon, chopped into bite sizes
1 medium onion, chopped
1 can mushroom soup
1 cup heavy cream
1 tsp crushed garlic
1 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
Half a package of fettucine noodles

Boil the pasta as directed on package and then drain. In a skillet, put olive oil, onion, bacon and garlic. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.
Cook until onion is see through and bacon is cooked through, it won't be crispy.
Add can of mushroom soup and heavy cream, stir and simmer for about 5 minutes or until heated through.

Add to pasta and toss together. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese (optional).

Enjoy!!!

It's a super fast meal to make and it's really yummy. Let me know if you try it :)

I've found for my kids that anything pasta or FUN to eat is what makes them enjoy it. Spaghetti Pizza Pie, Meatballs and Spaghetti, Lasagna, Fettucine Alfredo etc, but what I've started doing is telling them that if they take a bite they will grow bigger and bigger. Then we make it into a game. They pick up the fork and I say "DON'T YOU DARE TAKE A BITE", they start giggling uncontrollably and do it just to spite me. LOL
They don't know that in the end they have eaten everything on their plates LOL

Have fun with your kids!!!

Monday, March 06, 2006

Beef Curry

Ok I remember being in SA and eating tons of curry, anything from chicken to beef and my favorite shrimp or crab curry. OMG my mouth waters just at the thought.

So anyway, this weekend I made beef curry. I'm going to post the recipe here, again please remember I don't usually measure, I just eyeball.


http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/6250/2781/1600/DSCF1637.jpg
Beef Curry


1 lb cubed steak cut into bite size pieces
1 1/2 tbsp. curry powder (make sure it's a good one, mine is from south africa)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
1 bay leaf
1 tsp crushed garlic
white wine
salt and pepper to taste
1 can of coconut milk

Put the olive oil in a pan, add the steak, onions, tomatoes, curry powder, bay leaf and garlic, salt and pepper to taste. Add about 1/2 cup of white wine. Stir and simmer for about 20-30 minutes or until meat is cooked. Remember to keep adding a bit of water so it won't dry out completely.

When meat is done, add the can of coconut milk and continue cooking for about 5 minutes or until heated through.

Serve with white rice. Now here is something that my family back home always does. On the side we have a bunch of small plates with different toppings to add to the curry. Coconut, sliced bananas and green peppers, chopped into small pieces. Try it, believe it's DELISCIOUS!

Enjoy :)

Thursday, March 02, 2006

Sausages in tomato and Onion



Ok so tonight I'm making the Sausages in Tomato and Onion with some rice to go with it.

This is so simple and I remember eating this meal while I was growing up. Good memories!
Now, you gotta remember that I don't measure, I learnt how to cook with my greatgrandmother, grandmother, mom and stepmom and we don't measure, we just eyeball it. So, this is just the basic recipe, you go according to your own taste ok?


  • 1 lb smoked sausage, sliced
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 1 medium tomato, chopped
  • 1 small can of tomato sauce
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tsp crushed garlic
  • paprika
  • 1 bay leaf
  • white wine
  • salt and pepper to taste

I start off by putting the olive oil in the pan, add the onions and the tomatos, garlic, salt and pepper, sprinkle with paprika, bay leaf, sliced sausage and tomato sauce.
Give it a good stir and then place the lid on it and let it simmer for about 20 minutes, remember to stir now and then. If you want more gravy just add a little bit of water. You'll be surprised at how yummy it is and how easy. Remove from the heat, take out the bay leaf (you don't want to eat that lol).

Serve with white rice, or mashed potatoes or whatever you wish. I'm serving mine with rice tonight.
I wish I could give you exact measurements but it's hard to when I don't have a recipe for it and am used to just going by taste. Just love this recipe because it's easy to make, it's inexpensive and the kids gobble it up.

Hope you enjoy it.