Butterscotch Bites!

I love surprising my children with a special treat after school.

Today's snack were these teeny tiny Butterscotch Bites which I adapted from a recipe I saw on Simple and Delicious.

Kids will love these, and safe to say that grown ups will too.

BUTTERSCOTCH BITES

6 tablespoons butter, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/3 cup butterscotch chips
2 tubes (8 ounces each) crescent rolls (I like the recipe version)
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
4-1/2 teaspoons milk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract


1. In a small bowl, mix the butter, brown sugar and cinnamon, then stir in the butterscotch chips.

2. Open up each tube of crescent dough, then cut each tube into 4 rectangles. Spread with butter mixture. Roll up each rectangle jelly-roll style, starting with a long side.

3. Cut each into six 1-in. slices; place cut side down into two greased 8-in. square baking dishes. I just used a cookie sheet, so mine are flatter rather than looking more like little cinnamon rolls.
Bake at 375° for 14-16 minutes or until golden brown.

4. In a small bowl, combine the confectioners’ sugar, milk and vanilla until smooth. Drizzle over warm rolls. Yield: 4 dozen.

Rewarding Recipe Awards

I was given this wonderful award by JDaniel4's Mom. Thank you SO much, I truly appreciate it! Please take a moment to check out her site.

The rules for this award are to state 10 things that make me happy. Problem is I have way more than 10 things and I couldn't possibly pick just 10, so I'm going to leave that empty.

Now I get to pass it on to 10 sites I love, so here we go:

1- The English Kitchen
2 - Smoky Mountain Cafe
3 - Southern Plate
4 - Cooking During Stolen Moments
5 - Cooking with Dad TV
6 - Eat at Home
7 - Around Britain with a Paunch
8 - Jam and Clotted Cream
9 - Cinnamon Spice and Everything Nice
10 - Dine and Dish

Spaghetti a la Philly!

I saw this recipe on the Love my Philly website a while ago and finally tried it tonight, the kids loved it.

The secret ingredient here is cream cheese and yes I know, at first I wasn't sure if mixing it with the spaghetti sauce would be good, but surprisingly it turned out pretty tasty.

So here you go, a super easy, super quick recipe that takes just a few minutes to put on the table and I'm sure the kids will enjoy.

SPAGHETTI A LA PHILLY

3/4 lb. spaghetti, uncooked
1 lb. lean ground beef
1 jar (24 oz.) spaghetti sauce
4 oz. (1/2 of 8-oz. pkg.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, cubed
2 Tbsp. KRAFT Grated Parmesan Cheese



COOK spaghetti as directed on package.

MEANWHILE, brown meat in large skillet; drain. Return meat to skillet. Stir in sauce and cream cheese; cook on low heat 3 to 5 min. or until sauce is well blended and heated through, stirring frequently.

DRAIN spaghetti. Add to sauce; mix lightly. Place on platter; top with Parmesan.

Creamy Homestyle Tuna Melts!

I was browsing for some new recipes the other day and I happened upon the Kraft Philadelphia Cream Cheese site.

That's when I saw this recipe and at first I wondered if making a Tuna Salad sandwich without the mayo would be any good, I mean, I'm a HUGE mayo lover, the more the better.

I decided to give it a try tonight for dinner, the kids and I wanted a quick and simple meal and this was just right up my alley.

The verdict: YUMMO! This is now my favorite Tuna Melt recipe, so good, give it a try and let me know what you think.

CREAMY HOMESTYLE TUNA MELTS

6 servings

Ingredients

4 oz. (1/2 of 8-oz. pkg.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
2 cans (5 oz. each) tuna, drained, flaked
1/4 cup finely chopped onions
1/4 cup finely chopped celery
12 slices whole wheat bread
6 KRAFT Singles
2 Tbsp. butter or margarine, softened

Instructions

MIX first 4 ingredients.

Fill bread slices with tuna salad and Singles.

SPREAD outsides of sandwiches with butter.

COOK in skillet on medium heat 3 min. on each side or until golden brown on both sides.

Baked Manicotti!

We love manicotti but I have to admit that making it gets a little frustrating for me.

You know how you cook the pasta and then have to put the filling in, but sometimes you overcook the pasta and it rips and then you can't get the filling in there? Well yeah, it's a little irritating LOL

I went online in search of an alternative and low and behold.....Wonton Wrappers! Duh!

The recipe I used is one I've had for years and it's from America's Test Kitchen. It's the one I always use when making this dish, but I do add maple sausage or italian sausage sometimes to change it up a bit.

BAKED MANICOTTI
*Serves 6 to 8

Tomato Sauce

1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes (in juice)
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 medium cloves garlic, finely minced
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, optional
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons dried basil

Cheese Filling and Pasta

3 cups part-skim ricotta cheese
4 ounces grated Parmesan cheese (about 2 cups)
8 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese (about 2 cups)
2 large eggs , lightly beaten
3/4 teaspoon table salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
2 teaspoons chopped fresh basil
10 Large Wonton Wrappers (I use the Azumaya brand - they are the same ones I use for Egg Rolls)


Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees.

Heat oil, garlic, and pepper flakes (if using) in large saucepan over medium heat until fragrant but not brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, basil and 1/2 teaspoon salt and simmer until thickened slightly, about 15 minutes.

In a medium bowl, combine ricotta, 1 cup Parmesan cheese, mozzarella cheese, eggs, salt, pepper, and herbs; set aside.

Spread bottom of baking dish evenly with 1 1/2 cups sauce. Using spoon, spread 1/4 cup cheese mixture evenly onto bottom three-quarters of each wrap, leaving top quarter of wrap exposed.

Roll into tube shape and arrange in baking dish seam side down. (You should be able to fit 8 manicotti in one row and 2 along the edge).

Top evenly with remaining sauce, making certain that pasta is completely covered.

Cover manicotti with aluminum foil. Bake until bubbling, about 40 minutes, then remove foil. Sprinkle manicotti evenly with remaining 1 cup Parmesan. Bake until cheese is browned and bubbly, about 6-7 minutes. Remove from oven and let sit for 15 minutes before serving.

The manicotti can be prepared right up until the baking step then covered with a sheet of parchment paper, wrapped in aluminum foil, and refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 1 month. (If frozen, thaw the manicotti in the refrigerator for 1 to 2 days.) To bake, remove the parchment, replace the aluminum foil, and increase baking time to 1 to 1 1/4 hours.

Oven Chicken and Rice

This is a dish I make quite often, my children love it even with the veggies.

OVEN CHICKEN AND RICE

8 chicken thighs
1 chourico, sliced
1 medium carrot, sliced
garlic
olive oil
salt and pepper
2 tbsp tomato paste
beef stock
rice
sweet peas


In a large skillet, add a little bit of olive oil and the garlic. Cook until the garlic starts crackling, add the chicken thighs and cook for a few minutes on each side until brown.

Add the sliced carrots and chourico, cook for another 5 or so minutes.

Add the tomato paste, salt and pepper to taste and the beef stock. I just eyeball it, you need enough liquid in there to make a good amount of gravy and to cook the rice in. (I made 1 and a half cups of rice, so I added about 3 cups of beef stock).

Cover and simmer for 30 minutes, keep checking the skillet to make sure you don't run out of liquid.

Remove the chicken to a separate dish, then take out the bones and cut it into big chunks.

Add the rice and the peas and cook until the rice is done, add the chicken to the skillet, mix well and then pour everything into a pyrex dish.

Pop in the oven for about 20 to 25 minutes. Enjoy!

French Lasagne!

I got this recipe from Mari over at My Little Corner of the World.

It's just the kind of food my kids and husband love, pastry, meat, cheese...YUM!

It was super easy to put together and it's really good, it got the thumbs up around here, so thank you Mari :)

FRENCH LASAGNE

1 pound hamburg
1/2 pound sausage
1 small can tomato paste
1 tablespoon parsley
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
2 cans crescent rolls (I use the recipe type, with no perforations)
1 cup cottage cheese
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
4 slices mozzarella cheese

Brown meat and drain fat. Add tomato paste, parsley, oregano, onion, salt, pepper and worcestershire sauce. Simmer 10 minutes.
Place crescent rolls on cookie sheet, long side together. Pinch edges together.
Spread 1/2 of the meat mix down the middle of the crescent rolls.
Mix cottage cheese and parmesan cheese. Spoon over meat.
Spread remaining meat mixture over cheeses. Place slices of mozzarella over top of meat.

Bring sides of crescent rolls up and cover cheese. Seal together. Finished it should look like a large roll of French bread.
Bake 325 degrees for 25 minutes until top is golden. Top may be brushed with melted butter.