Bacon Ranch Potatoes

This is a new twist on funeral potatoes or potato casserole.  I wasn't sure the hubs was going to like it because he is not much of a ranch fan, but to my surprise he quite liked them as did I.  They were super easy to throw together. This made enough to feed our family of six with one serving of leftovers. I found the recipe on pinterest, but when I went back to link to it, the site wouldn't work.  I modified it quite a bit from the original and it worked out well for our family.  Just a side note, our family's new favorite vegetable...edamame beans!

Bacon Ranch Potatoes

2 C sour cream

2 C cheddar cheese, shredded

7-9 strips bacon cut and cooked (I use turkey bacon)

3 TBS dry Ranch powder

4-5 C frozen shredded hash browns

Combine first 4 ingredients, mix in hash browns. Spread into a sprayed 9x13 pan. Bake covered at 400 degrees for 45-60 minutes. 

Snicker Apple Salad

I remember having this salad years ago and forgetting about it until I saw it on pinterest!  This past weekend we had three gatherings that all required me to bring a side dish.  I decided this would be a good time to bust this out and introduce it to the family.  Let's just say it is so yummy that I tried to convince the kiddos that it was potato salad (because my kids don't like potato salad) so they wouldn't want to eat it all!  The original recipe calls for vanilla pudding, I only had french vanilla, hence the more yellow color.  It has an amazing combination of flavors that are sure to be a hit with your family!

Snicker Apple Salad

Ingredients:

6 regular size Snickers Candy Bar

6 apples (I used Granny Smith)

1 (5 oz.) package Vanilla Instant Pudding ; powder only (I used French Vanilla)

1/2 cup milk

1 (12 oz.) tub cool whip

Caramel ice cream sauce for drizzling on top

Instructions:

Whisk vanilla pudding powder, 1/2 cup milk and cool whip together until well combined.

Chop up apples and Snickers.  Stir chopped apples and Snickers into pudding mixture.  Place in a large bowl and drizzle with caramel ice cream topping.  Chill for at least 1 hour before serving.

Triple Berry Salad

Looking for a new and tasty treat to serve up on Valentine's Day for your loved ones?  My kids told me that if I posted this to Facebook, they would give it one million likes!  There you have it!  This was a pinterest find...again.  I halved the recipe (which is what is listed below) and was plenty for my family of six.  It could easily be doubled.

Triple Berry Salad

1 ½  lbs. of frozen mixed berries  (slightly thawed out)

8 oz.  Cool Whip

16oz.  of vanilla yogurt

½  3oz. pkg of Cheesecake instant pudding mix

Add the Cool Whip, yogurt and then sprinkle in the pudding mix. Blend with beaters until well mixed.  Stir in slightly thawed berry mix.  Fold gently until blended.  Chill before serving.

*I used 1 ½ C heavy cream instead to make my own ‘Cool Whip’.  Whip cream until it begins to make stiff peaks.  Adding about 2 TB of sugar will help the cream thicken.

Crunchy Granola

I had  a friend share this amazing granola with me.  My whole family loves it.  It goes really well in a bowl of yogurt for breakfast or a light snack during the day.  The recipe comes from here.

Crunchy Granola

1 ½ cups brown sugar

½ cup water

4 teaspoons vanilla extract

½ teaspoon salt

8 cups rolled oats

¾ cup pecans, coarsely chopped

¾ cup almonds, coarsely chopped

½ cup sunflower seeds, unsalted

½ cup shredded coconut

dried fruits, if desired (tropical fruit is good, raisins, blueberries, cranberries, cherries are all great.)

Heat oven to 275 degrees.  Combine brown sugar and water in a 4 cup microwave proof cup.

Microwave on high 5 minutes, or until the sugar is completely dissolved. (I did mine on the stovetop)  Remove from microwave and stir in vanilla and salt.  In a large mixing bowl, mix oats and nuts.  Add the brown sugar mixture.  Mix thoroughly.  Spread onto 2 cookie sheets and bake for a total of 45 minutes or until golden brown. After 25 minutes, stir and put back in the oven for the rest of the time.  When granola has cooked completely, add dried fruits.  Store in an air tight container.

Pineapple Salsa

My sister-in-law made this at our family reunion a few weeks back and I fell in love!  It is a very strange combinations of flavors, but somehow, it all just comes together in your mouth and leaves you wanting more!

It is one of those recipes that you really just put in the amounts that give you the flavor that you like.  I searched out a few online, and listed below is a starting point.  I found that I like mine chilled for a few hours for two reasons.  I like my salsa cold and it gives the flavors time to blend together.

The recipe below came from here:

2 cups diced fresh pineapple
1 cup diced red pepper
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
3 tablespoons finely chopped jalapeno pepper, stemmed and seeded
1 clove garlic, minced (I did not add this)
Juice of 1 large lime
Salt, to taste

In a medium bowl, combine pineapple, red pepper, cilantro, red onion, jalapeno, garlic, and lime juice. Stir until well combined. Season with salt, to taste. Serve at room temperature or chilled.

Brazilian Cheese Rolls - Pao de Queijo

I can't remember how I came across this recipe, but I am so glad I did!!  It comes from Our Best Bites.  I have made two batches in two days and my sister has made 4 batches just today they are that yummy.  It takes a little less than 30 minutes to make a batch and the finished product is so light and fluffy that it will be hard to eat just one, or two or maybe even three!

Quick Brazilian Cheese Rolls {Pao de Queijo} 
Recipe by Our Best Bites

1 large egg
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup light olive oil/avocado oil
1 cup tapioca flour (sometimes labeled tapioca starch) no substitutions
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 C grated cheddar cheese (preferably medium or sharp)

** I also add 1/4 C parmesan cheese, a heaping TBSP of garlic and diced green chiles...

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place egg, milk, oil, tapioca flour, and salt in blender and blend until smooth. Add cheeses and pulse 2 times. Immediately pour batter into a mini muffin tin (if your muffin tin isn’t non-stick, spray lightly with non-stick spray first), filling each well about 3/4 full, or just slightly less.

Bake for 15-20 minutes until puffed and golden. Remove from oven and cool for a few minutes before removing rolls from pan. Serve warm.  These actually don’t re-heat well so I recommend making and eating fresh.

Yield: anywhere from 16-24 rolls, depending on how full you fill your muffin pan. I fill mine pretty full (a good 3/4 full) and I generally get about 16-18.

Mini Sweet Peppers

This is a new found favorite snack!!  Even my three year old likes them.  They are way easy to prepare.

Sweet Mini Peppers (I get mine at Costco)
Cream Cheese
Pampered Chef Southwest Seasoning

Slice and clean out seeds from pepper. In a bowl soften cream cheese and add seasoning to taste.
Fill each pepper with cream cheese.  Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to use.

Calypso Spinach Salad - Rumbi Island Grill Copycat

We spent the last week and a half in Utah visiting family for spring break.  We went to eat at Rumbi Grill and this is the salad I chose.  It is so delicious!!  I would like to figure out how to make my own Balsamic Vinaigrette that tastes just like theirs, but until then, I just bought Smith's Brand Private Selection Creamy Balsamic Light.

Baby spinach
Grilled chicken pieces
Bacon bits
Mandarin oranges
Feta cheese
Carrots - grated
Red onion finely diced
Caramelized walnuts ( I did not use these)
Creamy Balsamic Vinaigrette

Homemade Refried Beans

Tuesday is 'Taco Tuesday' at our house and the best part of that meal is the homemade refried beans.  After eating these homemade beans, I can't bring myself to eat the 'stuff' they sell in the cans!  This recipe took me a few times to get the flavor right to our liking.  The more garlic powder and dried onions, the better!  I am able to cook  2 C of dried pinto beans in my 4 quart crock pot on high in 4-5 hours.  My crock pot cooks things really fast, so this time frame will vary with every crock pot.  The amounts I have listed for the garlic, onions and salt are just a starting point.  This is something you will have to experiment and adjust to your liking.

Refried Beans
Yield: 4-5 C refried beans
2 C dried pinto beans
2 1/2 quarts of water
1-2 TBS garlic powder or fresh minced garlic (This amount is really a personal preference)
1/4-1/3 C dried onions (This amount is really a personal preference) 
2-3 tsp salt (This amount is really a personal preference)  (but do not add this until after the beans are cooked and drained)


Place beans, garlic, onions and water in crock pot. Cover and cook on high for 4-5 hours.
When beans are soft, drain and reserve juices.  Place beans in blender, add salt.  If beans are to thick, add some of the reserved juices.  Beans will thicken up as as they cool.  May serve hot or refrigerate until needed.

Seriously the best beans ever!!

Chili Dip

This recipe is one you can adjust to the size of crowd you would be feeding. (With what is listed below, I served 5 people - 1/2 C serving  each and had about 2 C leftover)  

3 cans of Hormel Chili (with beans)

1 8oz. Cream Cheese (cut into smaller chunks)

2 tsp. Taco Seasoning

Grated Cheddar Cheese

Chips for dipping

Add chili, taco seasoning and cream cheese chunks into crock pot.  You are only cooking it long enough to melt down the cream cheese.  If you are in a hurry, put it on high.  I like to simmer mine for about three hours on low, stirring every thirty minutes.  Before serving you can add grated cheese to the entire batch, or serve it separately on the side.

Sweet Italian Sausage with Zucchini and Tomatoes

This has been an awesome summer addition to our dinners.  There is just something great about tomatoes and sausage together!  Even my three year old had multiple servings.

6 links Whole Ranch Sweet Italian Sausage (I just used the horseshoe shaped ones I get from Sam's or Costco)

2 TBS Extra Virgin Olive Oil

4-6 large garlic cloves finely chopped

3 TBS fresh oregano finely chopped (or 1 TBS dried oregano)

1 pound of zucchini cut into 1/2 inch pieces

3/4 pound mixed red and yellow cherry or grape tomatoes cut in half (I only had red)

1/2 C chopped fresh basil (I used about 1 1/2 tsp dried)

Salt and pepper to taste

Prepare sausages according to package directions, either in a sauté pan or on the grill. While they are cooking, heat olive oil in a large heavy sauté pan over medium high heat. Add garlic and oregano, stir for a few seconds, then add zucchini and cook 3 to 5 minutes.

When sausages are cooked, cut into large bite-sized pieces and add to pan along with tomatoes, basil, salt and pepper. Continue to sauté until tomatoes are just softened, about 1 minute more. Transfer to a large platter and serve.

**The first time I made this I followed the directions as outlined above.  I felt like between the olive oil and the grease from the sausage in was a bit to much.  So the second time I did not use the olive oil.  I just cooked the sliced sausage pieces until heated through and then add the remaining ingredients and followed the remainder of the recipe as above.

Crepes

My brother's wedding is coming up and the gal in charge of making the desserts called and asked me for a GF crepe recipe.  I had made some in the past by just switching out the flour for a GF flour blend.  Knowing that it would be a hassle for her to go and find all the flours she would need, I thought there has to be other versions out there.  Sure enough...thank goodness for Google Search!  This recipe was the most common one I kept finding.  It calls for very few ingredients and tasted awesome!  The great thing about crepes is that they are very versitile.  You can make them with fruit and cream, cheeses, thinly sliced meats or meats and cheeses together.  Since I had some fresh raspberries in the fridge, that is what we used.

2 eggs
¾ cup milk
1 tablespoon oil
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup cornstarch

In a blender, combine eggs, milk, corn oil, salt and cornstarch; blend 30 seconds or until smooth.

I have a crepe maker which works really nice.  If you do not have one you can use the following method.

Spray small nonstick skillet with cooking spray. Heat well over med-high heat. Pour about 2 T batter into center of skillet, rotating quickly to evenly coat pan. Cook about 30 seconds until the edges begin to brown and pull away from pan. Carefully turn crepe; cook 30 seconds longer. Slide out of skillet onto holding dish. Repeat with remaining batter. Makes about 10 six-inch crepes.  Recipe can easily be doubled or tripled.

Fill crepe with your choice of fruit and cream, meat and or cheese and roll up.

Quinoa and Black Beans

Don't you love a pleasant surprise?  This was one of those recipes.  It was liked by all!

Quinoa and Black Beans
• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
• 3/4 cup uncooked quinoa
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 cup frozen corn kernels
• 2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1. Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the onion and garlic, and saute until lightly browned.
2. Mix quinoa into the saucepan and cover with vegetable broth. Season with cumin, cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes,
3. Stir frozen corn into the saucepan, and continue to simmer about 5 minutes until heated through. Mix in the black beans and cilantro.

**This makes a TON... Half a recipe was still more than enough for our family of five.

Sweet Potatoes

Sweet Potatoes

Butter

Sour Cream

Cinnamon

Nutmeg

Ginger (just a tiny)

Bake the potatoes at 400 degrees for one hour wrapped in tinfoil. Cut in half and scoop potato away from skin. Add enough butter and sour cream to create a creamy potato. Add spices to taste. Sprinkle top with cinnamon and sugar.

Rainbow Jell-O

Rainbow Jell-O

1 each of following 3oz Jell-O
Lemon, Orange, Strawberry, Black Cherry

1st Layer:
Divide 1 pkg of Jell-O in half (approx ¼ C)
Dissolve in ½ C boiling water
Add ½ C cold water and let set for 1 hour in refrigerator.

2nd layer:
Take the remainder of the 1st pkg of Jell-O
Dissolve in ½ C boiling water
In separate bowl, use a wire whisk to mix ½ C sour cream or plain yogurt and ¼ C water.
Mix with Jell-O
Pour on top of first layer of Jell-O.

Repeat 1st and 2nd steps with each pkg of Jell-O
Spread cool whip on top of last layer of Jell-O

Steamed Carrots with Dill and Brown Sugar

Steamed Carrots

Enough melted butter and brown sugar to lightly coat your carrots and a sprinkle of dill seasoning.

Zucchini Bars

One of the things I have missed the most during summer is the taste and smell of zucchini bread. I have tried several recipes and still have not found one. Then the thought occurred to me to try it using the Sour Cream Banana Bar recipe and just subbing out the banana's for the zucchini and adding a little cinnamon. Very happy with the outcome!!

1 ½ c. sugar
1 c. sour cream
½ c. butter, softened (or substitute ¼ c. butter and ¼ c. applesauce)
2 eggs
2 ½ c. Shredded zucchini
2 tsp. vanilla
2 c. GF flour (featherlight or sorghum/cornstarch mix)
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. xanthan gum
1 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

Add zucchini, sugar, butter, sour cream, and eggs. Cream together. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Grease and flour 15 ½ x 10 ½ x 1” pan (deep cookie sheet). Spread batter in pan. Bake at 375 degrees until light brown (20-25 minutes). Mine takes closer to 30-35 minutes. Cool slightly. Frost with Browned Butter Frosting.

Browned Butter Frosting
¼ c. butter
2 c. powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
3 Tbsp. milk

Heat butter over medium heat until delicate brown. Mix in sugar, vanilla, and milk. Beat until smooth.

**UPDATE:  I now use this really cool pan to make my Zucchini and Banana Bars and I just melt some cream cheese frosting over the top.

Stuffed and Wrapped Green Chilies

This is a recipe I got from my mother-in-law several years ago. I was very nervous to try it because I am not a huge green chili fan, but you know what? They are so yummy. The combination of the hot chili and cool cream cheese go very well together.  When baking them, I use toothpicks to hold them together. You can serve them with or without the toothpicks still in them.

Green chilies (I use mild.  If you like a fiery burn, go with something hotter!)
Cream cheese
Bacon (we use turkey bacon)
Toothpicks
Cut the ends of the chilies and clean out the seeds. If the chilies are long enough, I cut them into two to three sections. Fill each section with cream cheese and wrap a slice of bacon around it. Secure it with a toothpick. Place on baking sheet lined with  tinfoil. (I spray my tinfoil with non-stick spray)  Bake in oven at 350 degrees until bacon is browned and crispy. During the summer, I actually cooked mine out on the grill on a sheet of tinfoil so I don't heat up the house. Turned out great!

Toad in the Hole

This has always been one of Jon's favorite recipes, and not so much mine. Morgan and Jon read a book together that reminded him of this recipe. He ask me to add the ingredients to my shopping list. Being a good wife, I did just that. So I attempted to convert this to being GF and it worked out really well. Jon says it tastes just like the real thing. It doesn't make very much so we made a side of waffles and muffins and had breakfast for dinner. I actually even really liked it this time.

1 C GF flour mix
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
2 eggs
1 C milk
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 lb small breakfast sausages

Prepare batter and refrigerate for 1 hour. Half cook sausages in pan. Transfer to greased baking dish (8x8). Space sausages 1 inch apart. Pour batter over sausages and bake in preheated oven at 400-425 degrees. for 30-40 minutes.

Sweet and Sour Smokies

This recipe is a 'however much you want' recipe!

Smokies

Barbeque Sauce

Pineapple chunks, tidbits or crushed ( I even use some of the juice)

Place everything in the crockpot. Cook until heated through.