Dinner Tonight

Ground Beef and Potato Meal Recipe

cdkitchen.com

Ingredients:
1 1/2 pound ground beef
1 clove garlic
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon thyme
6 medium potatoes
2 large onions
1 can cream of mushroom soup (10 3/4 oz.)
1/2 cup water.

Directions:
Cook ground beef and garlic in skillet until lightly browned. Stir in pepper and thyme. Peel and slice potatoes and onions. Put 1/2 potatoes and onions into buttered crock pot. Add browned beef and top with remaining potatoes and onions. Mix mushroom soup with water and spread over top of contents. Cover. Cook on low for 8 to 10 hours or on high for 3 to 4 hours.

Dinner Tonight

Chicken and Ramen Noodles

recipegoldmine.com

4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
1 (10 3/4 ounce) can cream of chicken soup
1 package roasted chicken or vegetable flavored Ramen noodles with seasoning packet
4 ounces sour cream

Place chicken in crock pot.Mix together the soup with the seasoning packet included with the Ramen noodles, and spoon over the chicken. Break apart the noodles and sprinkle over the soup-seasoning mix. Cover and cook on LOW for 5 or 6 hours, or on HIGH for 3 to 4 hours.

During the last 15 minutes of cooking time, stir in the sour cream.

Serve while hot.

Dinner Tonight

Chicken Cordon Bleu

recipegoldmine.com

3 boneless chicken breasts, boned
3 Swiss cheese slices, halved
3 ham slices, halved
2 tablespoons butter
1 can cream of mushroom soup
3 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon sherry (optional)
1/4 teaspoon seasoned pepper

Flatten chicken breasts with wooden mallet. Cover each half breast with a slice of cheese and ham (thinly sliced ham). Secure with toothpicks.

In skillet, brown chicken in hot margarine. Arrange in crock pot. Combine soup and remaining ingredients and pour over chicken. Cover crock pot and cook on LOW for 4 to 5 hours.

Dinner

Last night...

Creamy Chicken and Noodles

(BHG New Cookbook 12th Edition)
bhg.com

Prep: 25 minutes Cook: 8 to 9 hours Makes: 6 servings

2 cups sliced carrots (4 medium)
11/2 cups chopped onion (3 medium)
1 cup sliced celery (2 stalks)
2 tablespoons snipped fresh parsley
1 bay leaf
3 medium chicken legs (drumstick-thigh portion) (about 2 pounds), skinned
2 10 3/4-ounce cans reduced-fat and reduced- sodium condensed cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
10 ounces dried wide noodles (about 5 cups)
1 cup frozen peas
Salt (optional)
Black pepper (optional)

1. In a 3 1/2- or 4-quart crockery cooker place carrots, onion, celery, parsley, and bay leaf. Place chicken on top of vegetables. In a bowl stir together soup, water, thyme, and the 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Pour over chicken and vegetables.
2. Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 8 to 9 hours or on high-heat setting for 4 to 4 1/2 hours. Remove chicken from cooker; cool slightly. Remove and discard bay leaf.
3. Meanwhile, cook noodles according to package directions; drain. Stir peas into soup mixture in cooker. Remove chicken from bones; discard bones. Cut meat into bite-size pieces; stir into mixture in cooker. To serve, pour chicken mixture over noodles; toss gently to combine. If desired, season to taste with salt and pepper.

Nutrition Facts per serving: 396 cal., 7 g total fat (1 g sat. fat), 114 mg chol., 554 mg sodium, 56 g carbo., 5 g fiber, 26 g pro.
Daily Values: 213% vit. A, 21 % vit. C, 6% calcium, 20% iron
Exchanges: 1 Vegetable, 31/2 Starch, 2 Very Lean Meat

Dinner Tonight

Chicken Stuffing Casserole

recipegoldmine.com

Chicken Stuffing Casserole

4 to 6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 small box Stove Top Stuffing for chicken
1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped broccoli, thawed
1 can broccoli with cheese soup
1/2 cup chicken broth

Lightly butter a 3 1/2-quart crock pot and place chicken on the bottom.

Mix together the remaining ingredients, and place on top of chicken. Cover and cook on LOW for 6 to 7 hours.

My crazy weekend!

On Saturday morning, I went to my Graduation Ceremony. I walked across stage and received my Associates degree. I am finally complete with school now!

That evening, I went to a jewelry party at my friend’s house. It was a blast! I brought red velvet cake mix cookies with chocolate chips melted on top. Yum! (recipe is below). I didn’t buy any jewelry (which I wasn’t planning on anyways), but I did sign up to host a party. We get free jewelry for being a host, which is the only way I would feel comfortable with getting any of it (I am beyond extremely frugal and stingy when it comes to buying stuff for myself). The next party will be mid-July.

That night, my lovely sister stayed over and we had a “Darko Movie Night”. We stayed up all night and watched Donnie Darko and then S. Darko. I’ve seen Donnie Darko before and knew I absolutely loved it!!! They were both amazing, although I must admit that Donnie Darko is sooo much better (Doesn’t it always work like that, the first one is always the best?). DH described it well when he said that it seemed like S. Darko was being weird and emo just for the sake of being weird and emo. It’s kind of true though… I mean it was a good movie, don’t get me wrong, but it just didn’t quite make complete sense with its purpose. Idk.

(click on images for IMDB description/review)

Anyways… Sunday, after taking sis home, was a complete waste of day. Period! Seriously, I don’t know how or why it happened, but I went to take a nap around 1:30pm. DH joined me a little while later. Crazy thing was that I didn’t even get up again until 6pm! And DH stayed in bed ‘till 8pm! What?!? I have no idea, but like I said… complete waste of day. It was pretty rainy and dreary outside though. But once again, there are still a million things to do on our To-Do List.

Red velvet cake mix cookies

www.recipezaar.com

Ingredients
1 (18 ounce) box red velvet cake mix (any brand will do)
2 eggs
1/3 cup oil

Directions
1 Mix all the cookie ingredients together. This will make a cookie dough.
2 Roll into balls and place on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Flatten down slightly (depending on the thickness you desire).
3 Bake at 375° until the tops crackle (about 8-10 minutes) or until desired doneness.
4 Cool and then frost (they're also good without the frosting).

Dinner Tonight

Shell Casserole. Minus the red wine, replaced with broth. Also, minus the mushrooms (DH doesn't care for them).

Shell Casserole

http://www.recipegoldmine.com/crockpotcass/shell-casserole.html

1 pound lean ground beef
1 small onion, chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups hot water
2 teaspoons beef bouillon
2 tablespoons red wine
6 ounces large shell pasta
1 (4 ounce) can sliced mushrooms, drained
1 cup sour cream

In skillet, cook ground beef and onion until meat is brown and onion is tender; drain. Place in crock pot. Stir in salt, garlic powder, Worcestershire sauce and flour. Add water, bouillon and wine; mix well. Cover and cook on LOW for 2 to 3 hours.

Meanwhile, cook macaroni according to package directions. Add cooked macaroni, mushrooms and sour cream to crock pot; stir to mix ingredients. Cover and cook on HIGH for 10 to 15 minutes.

Dinner Tonight

Rootbeer BBQ beef sandwiches. Since I am only making for 2 people, I will have to adjust the recipe accordingly. With a side of left-over potato salad. :)

Root Beer Barbecue Beef Sandwiches

http://www.massrecipes.com/recipes/03/01/rootbeerbarbecuebeefsandw345285.html

1 4-pound boneless beef rump roast

2 cups barbecue sauce

1 cup root beer

1 dash salt and pepper -- if desired

16 sandwich buns -- split

In 31/2- to 4-quart slow cooker, place beef. In 4-cup measuring cup or bowl, mix 11/2 cups of the barbecue sauce and the root beer; pour over beef. Cover; cook on Low heat setting 10 to 12 hours.

About 20 minutes before serving, remove beef from slow cooker; place on large plate. Pour juices from slow cooker into 12-inch skillet. Cook over medium-high heat about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until juices are thickened and reduced to about 3 cups. Meanwhile, shred beef with 2 forks; return to slow cooker.

Stir remaining 1/2 cup barbecue sauce into reduced juices in skillet; pour over shredded beef in slow cooker. Stir in salt and pepper to taste. Spoon about 1/2 cup beef mixture into each bun.

Yield: "16 sandwiches"

Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 476 Calories; 9g Fat (17.0% calories from fat); 9g Protein; 90g Carbohydrate; 6g Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 4285mg Sodium. Exchanges: 0 Grain(Starch); 1 1/2 Fruit; 0 Fat; 4 1/2 Other Carbohydrates.

Mothers day get-together

Our Mothers Day family get-together was good. Lunch was simple, smart and yummy. We had make-your-own sandwiches with veggies 'n dip or chips 'n dip. I brought a couple desserts. I didn't know what to make at first; I knew I didn't have any chocolate and we hadn't gone shopping yet. I thought about using peanut butter, so Sunday morning I woke up and looked up recipes. I made blondies (minus the chocolate and nuts) with peanut butter frosting, and 1lb of peanut butter fudge (instead of 2, since I only had half a container of marshmallow fluff.) They turned out pretty good and were quick and fairly easy to make. :)

Blondies

(BHG New Cookbook 12th Edition) http://www.bhg.com/bhg/store/product.jsp?psrc=origsource&prodid=prod590004

A Southern cook's preference for brown sugar over granulated sugar resulted in these butterscotch bar cookies many years ago.

Prep: 20 minutes Bake: 25 minutes
Oven: 350°F Makes: 36 bars

2 cups packed brown sugar

2/3 cup butter
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup semisweet chocolate pieces
1 cup chopped nuts

1. Grease a 13x9x2-inch baking pan; set aside. In a medium saucepan heat brown sugar and but­ter over medium heat until butter melts and the mixture is smooth, stirring constantly. Cool slightly. Stir in eggs 1 at a time; stir in vanilla. Stir in flour, baking powder, and baking soda.
2. Spread batter in prepared baking pan. Sprinkle with chocolate pieces and nuts. Bake in a 350° oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until a wood­en toothpick inserted near center comes out clean (avoid chocolate pieces). Cool slightly on a wire rack. Cut into bars while warm.

Nutrition Facts per bar: 157 cal., 8 g total fat (4 g sat. fat), 21 mg chol., 65 mg sodium, 21 g carbo., 1 g fiber, 2 g pro.
Daily Values: 3% vit. A, 2% calcium, 5% iron
Exchanges: 1 1/2% Other Carbo., 1/4 Fat

Fluffy Peanut Butter Frosting

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Fluffy-Peanut-Butter-Frosting/Detail.aspx#nutri-box#nutri-box

"The perfect fluffy frosting for brownies or chocolate cake. Sweet but not too sweet. Peanut buttery but not greasy. So wonderful and it won't over power your brownies!!!"

PREP TIME
10 Min
READY IN
10 Min
Original recipe yield 2 cups

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup creamy peanut butter
3 tablespoons milk, or as needed
2 cups confectioners' sugar

DIRECTIONS
Place the butter and peanut butter into a medium bowl, and beat with an electric mixer. Gradually mix in the sugar, and when it starts to get thick, incorporate milk one tablespoon at a time until all of the sugar is mixed in and the frosting is thick and spreadable. Beat for at least 3 minutes for it to get good and fluffy.

Peanut Butter Fudge with the Marshmallow Fluff

http://www.cdkitchen.com/recipes/recs/35/Peanut_Butter_Fudge_with_the_Marshmallow_Fluff42723.shtml

Ready in: 30-60 minutes Difficulty: 3 (1=easiest :: hardest=5)
Serves/Makes: 2 lbs

Ingredients:

2 cups sugar

1 cup milk

1 jar peanut butter (12oz.) smooth or crunchy
1 jar marshmallow Fluff (also called creme)1 teaspoon Vanilla extract

Directions:
Boil 2 cups sugar and 1 cup milk to soft ball stage. Remove from heat and add 1 jar peanut butter, and 1 jar marshmallow fluff, add vanilla. Pour into a buttered pan 8x8x8-inch. Let cool and cut into squares.

Have sprinkled red and green sugar on for the holidays too.