Red Pepper Meatballs with Cream and Pepperjack Cheese

Another recipe just born out of mid air.

It's been such a busy day for me, as it usually is when my husband has college classes right after work.  It means that dinner has to be on the table at 4pm and with housework, two kids, homeschooling and everything else going on, sometimes there just isn't enough time for everything.

Even though I am so strict about following a menu plan, there are still days that things don't quite work out like I planned, so I ended up with a pound of ground beef and not a clue on what to make.

A little of this, a dash of that, and into the oven it went.  This is what became of the ground beef, and the family approved it with big thumbs up :)

Red Pepper Meatballs with Cream and Pepperjack cheese

1 pound ground beef
salt and pepper to taste
1 garlic clove, finely diced
Massa de pimentao (roasted red pepper paste)
Heavy cream
Pepperjack cheese slices

Mix the ground beef, salt and pepper, garlic and about a tablespoon and a half of the red pepper paste.

Shape into meatballs and place in a casserole dish. 



Pour in heavy cream ( just eyeball it, I would say about a cup or so), and add some pepperjack cheese slices over the top.  Cover with foil and bake at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes or until meatballs are cooked through and juices run clear.  You can cut one open if need be, to make sure.

Serve immediately.

Christmas Fruit Cake

About a week or two ago, I mentioned on Facebook that I really was craving fruit cake, and I was flooded with wonderful recipes from my friends.

I decided to try one right away, and the recipe I picked came from my sweet friend Lindsay at Rocking Chair Reflections. She actually gave me two recipes, and I've made both since then, so I'll share them here for you and if you're going to make one, you can pick whichever appeals to you the most.

Fruit Cake #1

1 and a half pounds of mixed fruit (raisins, sultanas, currants etc)
I lb dates (chopped and stoned)
half lb cherries
half lb walnuts
half lb butter (I use marge)
1 cup sugar
2 cups water
2 heaped cups flour -plain
4 eggs
1 teasp bicarb (baking soda)
2 teasp mixed spice
half teasp ground ginger
quarter teasp cinnamon
quarter teasp nutmeg
quarter teasp cloves (ground)

Cook all the fruit except the cherries and nuts with butter and sugar and 1 cup of water for 5 minutes. In very large pot (I mix the whole cake in this pot)
Allow to cool.
Add cherries and nuts.
Dissolve bicarb in one cup water.
Sift all dry ingredients.
Add eggs to mix, then bicarb, then dry ingredients.
Mix well and pour into greased lined pan.
I roll up newspaper and tie it around the outside of the cake tin as well.
Bake at 180C (350F) for half an hour, then drop the temp to 160C (320F) for about 2 and a half hours.

Once the cake is out of the oven, and still warm, poke holes in the top of it with a skewer, and drizzle/pour brandy over it to soak in. You can do this every now and then from now till Christmas.

Fruit Cake #2

Double this recipe at Christmas.

1lb mixed fruit
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
quarter lb marge
1 teaspoon bicarb (baking soda)
1 teasp mixed spice
dash cinnamon

Mix all the above in a large pot and boil for 10 mins

Add 2 cups flour - plain
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 beaten eggs
cherries
2 pieces of chopped glace pineapple
2 pieces of chopped glace fig
chopped walnuts.

Greased, lined pan + newspaper and string around.
Bake at 180 (350F) for quarter of an hour and then 160C (320F) for 1 and a quarter hours.

Pumpkin Pie Sheet Cake

Pumpkin Pie.

Love it, and love the traditional pie but there are years when you have more people at the Thanksgiving table and it's imperative that everyone get pie.  Right???



It's easier to whip up a big pan instead of a gazillion pies.

Now seeing that it's usually just me, the hubby and our two kids for Thanksgiving, I still prefer to make a big pan because we love having leftovers for a few days and nothing hits the spot late at night, like a slice of pie with some whipped cream on top.  YUM!

This recipe comes from Jamie Cooks it Up and it's a great way to feed a crowd.  The pan I used was my large Pampered Chef Cookie Sheet which is huge, like 15 x 10 x 1 inch I think.  Still, it bakes nice and tall and it's wonderful.

Pumpkin Pie Sheet Cake

Crust:
1 yellow cake mix
1/2 C butter, melted
1 egg

Filling:
1 29 ounce can pumpkin
1 1/2 C sugar
1 t salt
2 t cinnamon
1 t ginger
1/2 t cloves
4 eggs
2 12 ounce cans evaporated milk

1. To make the crust, pour the cake mix into your stand mixer, or medium sized mixing bowl. Pour the melted butter over the cake mix and stir it in for about 30 seconds. Add your egg and mix until all ingredients are well combined.

2. Spray a large jello roll pan with cooking spray. Press the crust into the pan.



3. Into a small mixing bowl combine the sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger and cloves.



4. Crack the eggs into your stand mixer and beat them for about 1 minute, or until frothy.

5. Add the sugar mixture and the pumpkin and mix until combined.

6. Pour in the canned milk and mix until combined.

7. CAREFULLY pour the filling over the crust. Now. Just a word to the wise here. Your pan will be full. Really full. The kind of full that just might spill over the top while you carry it to the oven, if you aren't careful. I would advise setting the crust as close to the oven as possible, then pour the filling in so you don't have very far to walk.

8. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour, or until a knife inserted into the middle comes out clean.

9. Cool completely, then cut into squares and serve with whip cream.

Cheese Enchiladas

You know what I like the most about enchiladas???

The fact that the filling can really be left up to your imagination, it can have meat, it can have chicken, it can have just cheese, it can have whatever your heart desires.

These are extremely simple enchiladas and I guess you could think of them as being simple as can be, but don't be fooled by the simplicity because they really are delicious.

The recipe is for 16 enchiladas, if you think that is too much for your family, just remember you can always freeze them for another meal :)

Cheese Enchiladas

Credit: Taste of Home

Ingredients

2 cans (15 ounces each) tomato sauce
1-1/3 cups water
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
16 flour tortillas (8 inches), warmed
4 cups (16 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese
2-1/2 cups (10 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese, divided
2 medium onions, finely chopped
1 cup (8 ounces) Daisy Brand Sour Cream
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
Shredded lettuce, sliced ripe olives and additional Daisy Brand Sour Cream, optional


Directions

In a large saucepan, combine the first six ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 4-5 minutes or until thickened, stirring occasionally. Spoon 2 tablespoons sauce over
each tortilla.

In a large bowl, combine the Monterey Jack, 2 cups cheddar cheese, onions, sour cream, parsley, salt and pepper. Place about 1/3 cup down the center of each tortilla.

Roll up and place seam side down in two greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dishes. Pour remaining sauce over top.

Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 20 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining cheddar cheese. Bake 4-5 minutes longer or until cheese is melted.

Yield: 16 enchiladas.

Lucky Leaf Winner

Congratulations to Ally Jo from Sweet Woodruffs :)

I'll be contacting you shortly!   Thank you to all who entered and keep an eye out, I have a few more great giveaways coming up like a KitchenAid Slow Cooker  :)

Cherry Kuchen PLUS a Lucky Leaf Giveaway

It's no secret I love Lucky Leaf and have always enjoyed working with them in promoting their amazing pie fillings.

I use them year long, but I must admit that during the holidays, even more so.  My pantry is constantly stocked with Lucky Leaf Cans of all different kinds, apple and blueberry, strawberry and cherry and peach.  So many wonderful flavors, so many different ways to enjoy them.



Last week I received the cutest package in the mail from Lucky Leaf.  It included the pie fillings I love but it also came with the most gorgeous Hot Dish carrier, soooooo pretty.



Good Things Come to Those Who Bake!

That is  Lucky Leaf's theme for this years holiday baking, and I for one couldn't think of a cuter title.

Now on to the recipe, I received 3 in the mail. Cherry Kuchen, Amaretto Peach Cobbler and Blueberry Pecan Crisp. My daughter asked for the Cherry Kuchen because she loves cherries, so that is the one I picked to showcase today.

Cherry Kuchen

Ingredients
1 can (21 oz.) LUCKY LEAF Cherry Pie Filling
1/4 c. butter or margarine
1/2 c. sugar
1 egg
1-1/2 c. sifted flour
2-1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 c. milk
1 tsp. vanilla

Preparation
Sift dry ingredients. Cut in butter. Combine egg, milk and vanilla. Add to flour mixture.



Pour pie filling into greased 7" x 11" glass baking dish (2 quart).



Cover with batter. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

Servings: 8 



My daughter LOVED it. I haven't been able to try it yet as I have been sick with a stomach bug, but trust me, I WILL be very soon because it smells fantastic and even though I'm not a cherry fan, this one is calling my name.

Go on over to the Lucky Leaf website and check out their products.  You can also find them on Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter.

And now for the best part.  One of my lucky readers will receive a package courtesy of Lucky Leaf to get them baking in the kitchen this holiday season.

In prize will include a can of Lucky Leaf Pie Filling, a seasonal kitchen towel and recipe card.

And what do you have to do to enter?????  Nothing much, I won't be sending you on a treasure hunt anywhere.

A comment left right here on the blog will suffice. :)

Giveaway is open to all US residents.  It will run until next week Wednesday, the 14th.

Good Luck!

I was provided with a Lucky Leaf tasting kit to review.  Opinions and thoughts expressed are mine alone.

Impossibly Easy Bacon Pie

Bacon!

That's all. That's pretty much the only word that I need to hear and it sways me immediately in that direction. I mean, could you go wrong with bacon, ever?????

So I'm not going to say much on this, other than it's bacon, and it's bisquick, and it's easy and it's yummy. Ok maybe I've said more than I planned to, but you get the picture right?

Impossibly Easy Bacon Pie

Credit: Bisquick

12 slices bacon, crisply cooked, crumbled
1 cup shredded Swiss cheese (4 oz)
1/3 cup chopped onion (you can substitute with green onion too)
1/2 cup Bisquick
1 cup milk
1/8 teaspoon pepper
2 eggs


Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease pie plate, 9x1/1/4 inches.

Sprinkle bacon, cheese, and onion in pie plate.

Stir remaining ingredients until blended. Pour into pie plate.
Bake 35- 40 minutes or until knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

The recipe says it serves 6, but honestly I think it is maybe a 4 serving recipe. If you serve it with a salad or another side dish, then yes, but if you're going to serve it as the main dish, you'll need to double it.

Homemade Crockpot Applesauce

I think if there's one fruit that screams Fall, it's apples.

I usually buy them in excess and use them in a myriad of recipes, freeze some for later use, or make big batches of applesauce to can.

My youngest can't stand applesauce or anything apple, for that matter. I think it's a texture thing with him.

My daughter on the other hand, loves applesauce, so this is a special treat for her.

When I went grocery shopping yesterday, they were having a huge sale and the apples were super cheap, so I bought a ton for us to enjoy, some to freeze and threw some in the crockpot for this applesauce.

This is how I always make mine, it's so easy you'll quickly remember it....and I don't think you'll be buying store bought again :)

Homemade Crockpot Applesauce

5 big apples or 10 small ones (I like using Honeycrisp)
1/2 cup of water
1/2 cup of sugar
cinnamon


Peel, core and cut the apples into small chunks, drop them in the crockpot. Add the water and the sugar. You don't have to add the cinnamon but we love it, so I sprinkle a good amount on top, just according to taste.

Cook on HIGH for 4 hours or until the apples are mushy.

You can leave them chunky if you like your applesauce that way, but we like ours pureed, so I just use my immersion blender and puree them right in the crockpot.

Pour into jars and either process them for canning, or if you're eating them right away, let the applesauce cool down and then place in the refrigerator.

We also like eating the applesauce warm.

Enjoy!