Watergate Cake – Also Known as the Green Cake
I promised you all the recipe to my watergate cake so here it is. I don’t know why it’s called a watergate cake. So don’t ask! That’s what my Mom always called it. I just call it the green cake!
INGREDIENTS:
1 (18.25 ounce) package white cake mix
2 (3 ounce) package instant pistachio
pudding mix
4 eggs
1 cup lemon-lime flavored carbonated
beverage (I use 7up)
3/4 cup vegetable oil
2 cups of milk
1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped
topping, thawed
DIRECTIONS:
1. Mix together cake mix, 1 box pudding mix, eggs, oil, and soda drink. Pour into a greased and floured 9 x 13 inch baking pan.
2. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 35 to 40 minutes. Let it cool completely for at least an hour to an hour and a half.
3.Beat 1 box pudding and 2 cups of milk as directed on pudding package together. Let it thicken for 5-10 minutes then fold in whipped topping. Frost cooled cake. It is recommended that you refrigerate the cake for at least an hour before you eat it and keep any left overs refrigerated.
It’s amazingness I tell you! It’s the most moist cake I have ever ate and perfect to make for St. Patty’s day (or any other day for that matter).
Slow Cooker Stuffed Pizza Joes
So I am really getting into this whole baking thing. I went out Saturday to Walmart and got all the flours I will need (whole wheat, cake, bread), shortening, oils, and even powdered milk so I can bake more and make my own breads in my lovely bread machine. Oh and I also FINALLY got a pastry blender! : ) Haha! Haven’t used it yet but I am sure it’ll make my life easier.
So on Sunday I had this wonderful idea (it actually wasn’t my idea – I stole the idea from Sue) to make dinner in the crock pot for Monday since I already had BBQ Ribs going for dinner that night in the crock pot and Debbie got us a three crock pot thing for Xmas. So anyway my original idea was to make a Pizza Joe recipe I found online. I told Cory to get buns so we can have a pizza sloppy joe on Monday night. Well he thought of a better idea – let’s have the sloppy joe mixed stuffed inside rolls. Mmmmm … okay!
Now I recommend making your own roll dough but seeing it was a last minute idea – and u do need to plan ahead if you want to make your own dough – we just bought a package of Jumbo Rolls at Walmart. So here is how you make it:
For the Pizza Joe Mixture: (I highly recommend you do what I did and make this the night before but I suppose it is not necessary)
Ingredients:
1 lb lean (at least 80%) ground beef
1 medium onions, chopped (about 1 cup)
¼ cup chopped green bell pepper (1/4 medium)
1 jar (12 oz at least) of pasta or pizza sauce (I used pasta and it tasted fine)
½ package (3.5 oz) sliced pepperoni, chopped
1 teaspoon dried basil leaves
½ teaspoon dried oregano leaves
1. In 12-inch skillet, cook ground beef and onions over medium-high heat 5 to 7 minutes, stirring frequently, until beef is thoroughly cooked; drain.
2. Spray 3 1/2- to 4-quart slow cooker with cooking spray. Spoon beef mixture into slow cooker. Stir in bell pepper, pizza sauce, pepperoni, basil and oregano
3. Cover; cook on Low setting 4 to 6 hours (my crock pot was done in 4 hours – it all just depends on your pot)
4. Let it cool for a good 2 hours leaving the lid on and then either put it in the fridge or proceed to the next step:
For the Dough:
Either
1) Follow the directions for your bread machine on how to make homemade dinner roll dough
or
2) 1 package of Jumbo Dinner Rolls
1/2 Cup of Mozzarella Cheese
5. Take 1 can of Jumbo Dinner Rolls. Gently cut each roll in half. Put a teaspoon of the Sloppy Joe mixture into the center of the dough and put a pinch of mozzarella cheese on top of the mixture. Then press the dough down pinching the sides closed so the Sloppy Joe mixture is stuffed inside the dough. Do that until you have used up all of the dinner rolls. Placed on ungreased baking sheet. Should yield 8 Stuffed Joes.
6. Bake in preheated over at 375 for 15 minutes.
You will have LOTS of left overs so this would be a great appetizer to make for a dinner party with lots of people. We have enough probably for 2 more meals. : )
In fact I plan on making it again this week only this time making my own roll dough in the bread machine.
Anyway hope you all try and enjoy! It is yummy!
Braided Spaghetti Bread
So Friday Cory (I helped a little) made this amazing dinner. We are talking like 5 star restaurant quality dinner. Granted it took forever – mainly cause he made his own bread – but it was amazing!!
Here’s how you can make it yourself! There are two ways! The easy way or the time consuming way. It’s not a hard recipe at all. It just took us forever cause again we made our own bread.
So you can go to the store and buy 1 Loaf Rhodes Bread Dough or 12 Rhodes Dinner Rolls and thawed them to room temperature and use that as your dough. Or if you are like us and have a bread machine, you can make your own dough. Here’s how!
Ingredients for Dough (all at room temperature – very important)
1 cup warm milk (70 to 80 degrees F.)
1/2 cup butter or 1/2 cup margarine, softened
1/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
4 cups bread flour
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
In bread machine pan, put all ingredients in order
Select dough setting and let it’s do it’s thing. It takes about an hour and a half. When it is done let it rest in the pan for about ten minutes. Then take it out. That is your dough for the bread.
Now the fun begins! Here is what you will need for the rest of the dinner:
- 6 oz spaghetti, cooked (important that it is only 6oz – 7oz)
- 1 cup thick spaghetti sauce
- 8 oz mozzarella cheese, cut into 1/2 –inch cubes
- 1 egg white
- Parmesan cheese
- Parsley flakes
- Garlic powder
While waiting for the dough to cool, start boiling your water for the spaghetti.
Roll the dough into a 12×16-inch rectangle. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 10-15 minutes. Now put the spaghetti in the boiling water and cook it according to package instructions. Drain and let cool slightly.
Remove wrap from dough. Place spaghetti lengthwise in a 4-inch strip down the center of dough. Tip with sauce and cheese cubes. You can do anything to the sauce. You can add any spices you want, you can add meat, whatever. To make ours a bit thicker we added tomato paste and Cory added tons of spices (from garlic, to basil, to parsley).
Make cuts 1 ½-inches apart on long sides of dough to within ½-inch of filling.
Begin braid by folding top and bottom strips toward filling. Then braid strips left over right, right over left. Finish by pulling last strip over and tucking under braid.
Lift braid with both hands and place on large sprayed baking sheet. (or transfer parchment paper to baking sheet). Brush with egg white and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and parsley and garlic powder.
This is what it’ll look like when it’s all ready for the oven:
Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. Cool slightly and slice to serve.
It was amazing! You all really need to try it. Even if you don’t make your own dough – I am sure it would turn out amazing!!
Easy Peanut Butter Fudge
Okay as promised here is my recipe for peanut butter fudge! It’s really simple and easy to make and best of all it’s YUMMY!!
INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup butter
2 1/4 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup milk
3/4 cup peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
DIRECTIONS:
1. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in brown sugar and milk. Bring to a boil and boil for 2 minutes, stirring frequently.
2. Remove from heat. Stir in peanut butter and vanilla.
3. Pour over confectioners’ sugar in a large mixing bowl. Beat until smooth; pour into an 8×8 inch dish. Chill until firm and cut into squares.
I highly recommend you buy Jiffy Peanut butter. Try to avoid using store brand peanut butter. I used store brand and I could taste a major difference in the store brand and the Jiffy. Jiffy is by far the best.
Enjoy!
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
This last Thursday I made a huge batch of Pumpkin Chocolate Chip cookies for the Lake Havasu Republican Women’s Bunco Event!! They were delicious! Yum Yum!
So here is the recipe if you want to make some yourself:
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
DIRECTIONS:
1. Combine pumpkin, sugar, vegetable oil, and egg. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, ground cinnamon, and salt. Dissolve the baking soda with the milk and stir in the flour mixture. Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture and mix well.
2. Add vanilla and chocolate chips.
3. Drop by spoonful on greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for approximately 10 minutes or until lightly brown and firm.
30 Days of Fall Recipes: Apple Pie
I am going to try and dedicate myself to a new project I came up with.
I LOVE FALL!! I love pumpkin!! ANYTHING pumpkin! I swear I don’t know how by the end of the Holidays I do not look like a pumpkin. I will try and eat anything pumpkin!
Now not all 30 recipes will be pumpkin related (I wish though) but I am going to give you all one recipe a day that coincides with the fall season.
So stop by each day for the next 30 days for a delicious fall themed recipe.
Day 3: Apple Pie
I have to admit one of my favorite pies to make is Apple Pie! I really do make a good apple pie!! So I am going to share with you today the best homemade apple pie recipe.
You can chose to buy store bought pie crust or you can make it yourself. If you chose to make it yourself here is how:
Mix in a large bowl:
2 cups all-purpose flour
I teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
Then cut in using a dough blender (or two knives):
6 tablespoons of melted butter
6 tablespoons shortening
6 to 8 tablespoons ice water
Wrap your pie crust in plastic wrap. Then place in refrigerator for 20 or more minutes, while you make the pie filling.
To make the filling you will need:
INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
7 cups thinly sliced pared apples
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tbsp butter
1 egg white
Handful of sugar
DIRECTIONS:
1. In a small bowl, combine sugar, flour and spices; set aside. In a large bowl, toss apples with lemon juice. Add sugar mixture; toss well to coat.
Now that your pie crust has had plenty of time to cool, divide it into two, equal halves. Roll one of the balls of pie crust out until it is around 1/8th of an inch thick.
Once you have rolled out the dough, wrap it around the rolling pin and unroll it onto your pie pan.
Once you have shaped it to fit the inside of the pan, take a fork and poke holes in the bottom of the crust. This will let the steam out as the pie bakes. Place apple filling into crust; dot with 1 tbsp butter. Roll out the remaining pie dough and place it on top. Cut a few slits in top.
Now you will need 1 egg white. Beat 1 egg white until foamy; brush over pastry. Sprinkle sugar on top.
Bake at 375 degrees F for 35 minutes. Increase temperature to 400 degrees F and bake 10-15 minutes more or until golden.
And you will have the BEST Apple Pie Ever! I promise!
30 Days of Fall Recipes: Pumpkin Pasta
I am going to try and dedicate myself to a new project I came up with.
I LOVE FALL!! I love pumpkin!! ANYTHING pumpkin! I swear I don’t know how by the end of the Holidays I do not look like a pumpkin. I will try and eat anything pumpkin!
Now not all 30 recipes will be pumpkin related (I wish though) but I am going to give you all one recipe a day that coincides with the fall season.
So stop by each day for the next 30 days for a delicious fall themed recipe.
Day 2: Pumpkin Pasta
I made this last year and Cory loved it. I was going to make it last night but didn’t have enough of the ingredients. This recipe is a bit different then the one I did last year. Cory loved it last year but I actually thought it had way too much pumpkin in it (yes I know – the girl who loves ALL things pumpkin felt it had too much! Hehe!) so I am reducing the amount of pumpkin a little. Anyway go try out this recipe. I’m sure you’ll love it.
Ingredients:
6 ounces penne pasta
3/4 cup pumpkin puree (or canned pumpkin used for pumpkin pie is good)
3/4 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon margarine
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 pinch ground cloves
1 pinch ground nutmeg
1 pinch ground cinnamon
1 pinch ground ginger
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus
more for serving
Directions:
1. Fill a large pot with lightly salted water and bring to a rolling boil over high heat. Once the water is boiling, stir in the penne, and return to a boil. Cook the pasta uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the pasta has cooked through, but is still firm to the bite, about 11 minutes. Drain well in a colander set in the sink.
2. Heat the pumpkin puree, chicken broth, milk, margarine, onion powder, black pepper, salt, cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, and ginger in a large skillet over low heat until heated through, about 5 minutes. Stir in the drained pasta, and toss with the Parmesan cheese.
30 Days of Fall Recipes: Apple Square Bars
I have noticed my lack in updating the “food” section of this website. I cook A LOT and I try new recipes all the time. I just am horrible at writing down the recipe and posting it on here for you guys. So I am going to try and dedicate myself to a new project I came up with.
I LOVE FALL!! I love pumpkin!! ANYTHING pumpkin! I swear I don’t know how by the end of the Holidays I do not look like a pumpkin. I will try and eat anything pumpkin!
Now not all 30 recipes will be pumpkin related (I wish though) but I am going to give you all one recipe a day that coincides with the fall season.
So stop by each day for the next 30 days for a delicious fall themed recipe.
Day 1: Apple Square Bars
I made these for the first time last night and I swear Cory and I ate almost the whole 8×8 pan in one setting. They are amazing and yummy!! I give them a 10 out of 10.
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped apple
2 tablespoons white sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 8×8 inch pan. Stir together flour, baking powder, salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon; set aside.
2. In a large bowl, mix together melted butter, brown sugar, and 1/2 cup of white sugar with a wooden spoon until smooth. Stir in the egg and vanilla. Blend in the flour mixture until just combined, and then stir in the apples. Spread the mixture evenly into the prepared pan. In a cup or small bowl, stir together the remaining cinnamon and sugar; sprinkle over the top of the bars.
3. Bake for 35 minutes in preheated oven; finished bars should spring back when lightly touched. Cool in the pan, and cut into squares.
Muffin Donuts
I wanted donuts today for breakfast but didn’t want to go get them so I made my own
Here’s what u need
Ingredients
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup margarine, melted
3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup margarine, melted
1/2 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease 24 mini-muffin cups.
Mix 1/2 cup sugar, 1/4 cup margarine, and nutmeg in a large bowl. Stir in the milk, then mix in the baking powder and flour until just combined. Fill the prepared mini muffin cups about half full.
Bake in the preheated oven until the tops are lightly golden, 15 to 20 minutes.
While muffins are baking, place 1/4 cup of melted margarine in a bowl. In a separate bowl, mix together 1/2 cup of sugar with the cinnamon. Remove muffins from their cups, dip each muffin in the melted margarine, and roll in the sugar-cinnamon mixture. Let cool and serve.
And enjoy warm delicious mini muffin donuts !!
Chicken Parmesan Meatloaf
I made chicken Parmesan Meatloaf for dinner! At first I was a bit nervous that it wasn’t going to taste right but then I tried it … it was amazing!!! You all gotta try it!!
Ingredients
1 lb ground chicken (ground turkey can be substituted)
1 egg
1/4 breadcrumbs
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1-2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 small onion, grated
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup pasta sauce (homemade or store bought)
1/2 cup shredded Italian cheese blend
minced parsley for garnish
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a loaf pan with cooking spray, set aside.
In a large bowl, combine the ground chicken, egg, breadcrumbs, thyme, oregano, basil, garlic, onion, salt, pepper and Parmesan cheese. To not over handle the mixture otherwise it will get tough. Place the mixture in the greased loaf pan and form into a loaf. Top the meatloaf with pasta sauce.
Place filled loaf pan on a baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven for 40-45 minutes. Remove the meatloaf from the oven and sprinkle the top with the remaining shredded cheese. Place the meatloaf back in the oven and bake until the cheese is melted.
Remove the meatloaf from the oven and allow to rest for 5-10 minutes before serving/slicing. Garnish with parsley if desired.
Cinco De Mayo Chicken Enchiladas
I promised I’d post my Chicken Enchilada recipe so here it is!! Try it! I promise you won’t regret it! Also this is my “recipe of the month.” One of my goals for 2012 was to create a unique recipe every month. Here is my fifth recipe so far for 2012. One recipe a month for 2012 is my goal.
May’s Recipe is: Sarah’s Cinco De Mayo Chicken Enchiladas (you can make them ANY day of the year!)
My mom use to make chicken enchiladas ONCE in a great while! If we were lucky – once a year. They were delicious but the problem was (and why she only made them once in a great while) she would spend literally ALL DAY making them! ALL DAY!! I love enchiladas but I don’t want to spend ALL day making them. So here is a recipe that is awesome but doesn’t take you ALL day in the kitchen to make them.
Total prep and bake time: Under an hour
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1/2 cup chopped green onions
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 (4 ounce) can diced green chiles
- 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1 1/2 cups cubed cooked chicken breast meat
- 2 cans of chopped black olives (drained)
- 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese, divided
- 6 (12 inch) flour tortillas
- 2 (10 ounce) cans of enchilada sauce (red or green)
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a large baking dish.
- Over medium heat fry the cubed cooked chicken breast in some oil in a large skillet (about 5 minutes or until white all the way through)
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter and saute the green onion until tender (about 3 to 4 minutes).
- Remove from heat and add the garlic powder, then stir in the green chiles, cream of chicken soup, 1 can of black olives, and sour cream. Mix well.
- Add the chicken and 1/2 cup of shredded Cheddar cheese. Stir together.
- Fill each flour tortilla with the chicken mixture and roll up. Place seam side down in the prepared baking dish.
- Spoon the enchilada sauce over the rolled tortillas, place some black olives on the top of the source, and top with the remaining 1/2 cup of shredded Cheddar cheese. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until cheese is bubbly.
Enjoy!!
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Sarah’s Bacon Wrapped Meat Loaf
So one of my goals for 2012 was to create a unique recipe every month without the help of a cookbook or allrecipes.com. So today I decided to make my fourth unique recipe. One recipe a month for 2012 is my goal.
April’s Recipe is: Sarah’s Bacon Wrapped Meat Loaf
So I have always been horrible at making meat loaf! Every time I attempted to make it the meat loaf looks more like a pancake then an actual loaf. It always flattens itself out EVEN if I put it in a dang loaf pan! I have tried using different meats too like ground beef or ground turkey. I almost gave up on cooking meat loaf until last night. I thought I’d give it ONE more shot and I have to say it turned out perfect.
Here are the ingredients you will need:
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 1 (120 g) package Stove Top Stuffing Mix for Turkey
- 1 pounds lean ground turkey
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 1 cup Cheddar Shredded Cheese
- 6 slices bacon
- A package of gravy mix
- 1 1/4 cups of water
- 1 cup of fresh sliced mushrooms
The first step is to make the meat loaf. First you want to pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees F.
In a large bowl add the milk and stuffing mix together. Stir just until moistened. Add all remaining ingredients except bacon and mix it all up lightly.
Shape it into a 10×6-inch loaf in a 13×9-inch baking dish. Arrange bacon slices in lengthwise fashion on top of the loaf, overlapping slices as necessary to completely cover the top.
Bake it for 55 minutes to 1 hour or until done (a meat thermometer should read between 160-170 degrees F).
While baking mix up the gravy sauce. You can make homemade gravy but I decided to just go buy a packet of plain gravy at the store. You’re going to take the packet of gravy and add 1 1/4 cups of water to it in a sauce pan on the stove. Stir it with a whisk continuously until it boils. Add 1 cup of sliced mushrooms into the gravy to add a little flavor to it. Once the meat loaf is done pour the gravy over top of it. Let the meat loaf stand 10 minutes after it’s done baking before removing from dish and slicing to serve.
I made this tonight with some snap peas and it was yummy! It actually looked like a loaf!
Sarah’s St. Patty’s Day Cake Recipe
So one of my goals for 2012 was to create a unique recipe every month without the help of a cookbook or allrecipes.com. So Sunday I decided to sit down and make my third unique recipe this past weekend. One recipe a month for 2012 is my goal.
March’s Recipe is: Sarah’s St. Patty’s Day Cake (also known as Watergate Cake)
Here are the ingredients you will need:
For the cake:
1 (18.25 ounce) package white cake mix
1 (3 ounce) package instant pistachio pudding mix
3 eggs
1 cup ginger ale
3/4 cup vegetable oil
For the frosting:
1 (3 ounce) package instant pistachio pudding mix
1 cup milk
1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
The first step is to pre-heat your oven to 350. In a medium bowl mix together the cake mix, 1 box pudding mix, eggs, oil, and ginger ale. Pour into a greased 9 x 13 inch baking pan.
Put it in oven for 35 to 40 minutes. Let it cool for about 30 minutes after it’s done before you frost it.
While it’s cooling, beat 1 box pudding and milk together. Fold that into the whipped topping. Frost cooled cake. Keep the cake refrigerated.
I know it’s not a “unique” recipe per say but I thought it was PERFECT for St. Patty’s Day! It’s a delicious cake and really super moist! You’ll love it! I promise!
Moving, Tomatoes & Ranch Dressing
So we officially started packing today. I HATE PACKING!! 
But it seems we don’t have as much to pack this time as we did when we moved last time. We got rid of a lot of stuff when we moved last time and I think we are better organized this time so maybe it’ll make moving a little less stressful. No for sure yet on the duplex but either way we’re moving! If we have to go chill with Debbie for a bit until First Choice finds us a place – we will. Lol! Hope she doesn’t mind, but we are moving. Grrr!
Anyway so I made this chicken dinner tonight. It was stuffed Brushetta and Cheese chicken. Now you know me – I HATE TOMATOES and ranch dressing but this recipe calls for it and Cory always says not to omit ingredients and besides you can’t make this without the two ingredients. So I made it. It also calls for stuffing and I LOVE stuffing. I don’t care how fattening it is – I could just eat stuffing and I’d be good! Anyway, it actually tasted really good. I was impressed. Even Cory liked it! Here’s the recipe if you want to try it:
Ingredients
- 1 (19 ounce) can diced tomatoes with garlic and olive oil, undrained (I added the garlic and olive oil cause I just had regular tomatoes – about a tablespoon of each)
- 1 1/4 cups KRAFT Mozzarella Shredded Cheese, divided
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
- 1 (120 g) package STOVE TOP Stuffing Mix for Chicken
- 8 small boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1/3 cup KRAFT Ranch Dressing
Directions
- Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Mix tomatoes, 1/2 cup cheese and basil in medium bowl. Add stuffing mix; stir just until moistened.
- Place 2 chicken breasts in large freezer-weight resealable plastic bag. Pound with meat mallet or side of heavy can until chicken is 1/4 inch thick. Remove from bag; place, top-sides down, on cutting board. Repeat with remaining chicken. Spread chicken with stuffing mixture. Starting at 1 narrow end, tightly roll up each breast. Place, seam-sides down, in 13×9-inch baking dish. Drizzle with dressing.
- Bake 40 minutes or until chicken is done (170 degrees F). Sprinkle with remaining cheese; bake 5 minutes or until melted.
It actually turned out real good!
Anyway bed time!
Night,
Ps – IT FINALLY REACHED 80 degrees here today! I <3 it!! Time to wear my skirts again! Hehe!
Sarah’s Eggplant Parmesan
So one of my goals for 2012 was to create a unique recipe every month without the help of a cookbook or allrecipes.com. So Sunday I decided to sit down and make my second unique recipe. One recipe a month for 2012 is my goal.
February’s Recipe is: Sarah’s Eggplant Parmesan
Here are the ingredients you will need:
- 2 eggplants
- 2 eggs
- 2 cups Italian seasoned bread crumbs
- 2 cans of Spaghetti Sauce
- 1 (16 ounce) package mozzarella cheese, divided
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
- 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
The first step is to pre-heat your oven to 350. You will need two small bowls, a baking sheet and a 9×13 glass pan. You start by preparing the egg plant!
You will need to peel 
and slice both egg plants. Make the slices as thin as possible.
After you do that get two small bowls out. In one bowl you are going to put 2 cups of Italian Seasoned bread crumbs and in the other you are going to take two eggs, beat them up and pour them into the other small bowl. Like so: 
Then you take your slices of egg plant. Dip them one at a time in the egg and then in the bread crumbs. Set each slice on an ungreased cookie/baking sheet. Like so: 
Bake the egg plant at 350 for five minutes each side. Yes, after five minutes turn the egg plant over and bake the other side for five minutes also. I want to make that clear. It’s important that the egg plant is turned over after five minutes and the other side is baked.
After the egg plant is done being baked on both sides, set them aside. Now take your 9×13 glass baking pan and spread about a cup and a half of the spaghetti sauce on the bottom of the pan like so: 
Place a layer of eggplant slices in the sauce. You will then take your mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese 
and sprinkle over the eggplant slices. Then you will take more sauce and repeat the above sets until all your ingrediants are used or you reach the top of your 9×13 pan. You will always end with the cheese! I noticed that I had more slices of egg plant left over (which is ok). 2 large egg plants was a bit too much for my pan. I used about 1 and a half egg plants. It also depends on how thin or thick your slices are which is why thinner is better. Sprinkle the basil on the top of it when you are done.
It should look like this: 
Put it in the oven at 350 still for abour 32 minutes.
Turns out delicious! Serve it with garlic bread or/and a salad and you’re all done! 
Yummy! Makes for a healthy Italian dish (and awesome left overs).
Sarah’s Special Stuffed Cheese Chicken Breasts
So one of my goals for 2012 was to create a unique recipe every month without the help of a cookbook or allrecipes.com. So today I decided to sit down and make my first unique recipe. One recipe a month for 2012 is my goal.
January’s Recipe is: Sarah’s Special Stuffed Cheese Chicken Breasts
Here are the ingredients I started with:
- Cooking Spray
- 2 Chicken Breasts
- Cream Cheese
- Sliced Cheddar Cheese
- paprika
- Bread Crumbs
- Milk
- Butter
The first step is to take two thawed chicken breasts and lay them on a piece of wax paper. I used a meat tenderizer but you can use a rolling pen if you want to flatten the chicken as best as you can.
Then you spoon creme cheese over one side of each chicken breast and lay a slice of cheddar cheese on each.
Then you roll up the chicken breasts. I use toothpicks to keep them held together.
After that I put about 1/3 cup of milk into a bowl and then 1/2 cup of bread crumbs mixed in with about two tablespoons of paprika into another bowl like so:
You dip each breast into the milk first and then roll it into the bread crumbs until the bread crumbs are spread evenly over the chicken breasts. Then I took a greased 8×8 glass dish and placed each breast into it with the seem side down. Then I took a tablespoon of melted butter and poured it over the chicken breasts and then sprinkled some more paprika on top of each breast.
I originally put them in the oven at 350 for 30 minutes; however it was not long enough. I recommend putting them in the oven at 350 for 45 minutes. If they are still pink in the middle or do not read 165 on a meat thermometer than let them cook an additional 10-15 minutes.
We ate ours with some Uncle Beans chicken and broccoli rice and green beans!
It turned out yummy!
Have you ever tried making your own unique recipe?
Red & Green Sugar Cookies
I made the following Christmas Sugar Cookies the other day! They were amazing!
- 5 tbsp butter, softened
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- red and green sugar cystals
Using a mixer, beat butter and sugar until creamy. Add egg and vanilla, mixing well. In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Gradually stir flour mixture into butter and sugar until dough forms. Don’t worry if the dough seems a little crumbly at first; it will come together. Wrap dough in plastic and chill for two hours in the refrigerator.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to a 1/4-inch or 1/8-inch thickness. Roll doll into tablespoon size balls and dip each one into the red and green sugar crystals. Use holiday cookie cutters dipped in flour to make cutouts. Gather scraps and re-roll until all the dough is used.
Place cookies 1 inch apart on a parchment-lined cookie sheet. Bake for 9-10 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned. Transfer to wire rack after 1 minute to cool.
They are delicious!
#NaBloPoMo Project – Prompt 2
Today’s Prompt is:
If you knew that whatever you ate next would be your last meal, what would you want it to be?
Joe’s Crab Shack’s Crab Cake dinner! Yum! 
And maybe a slice of sausage pizza from Papa John’s 
and than a nice big slice of my mother’s Texas Cake she makes! 
I know it’s a weird combo – but I’d be in heaven!
A Pumpkin Filled Weekend
So this weekend was filled with all things – eatable anyway – pumpkin!!
Saturday I made penne pasta with a pumpkin cream sauce which is by far Cory’s new favorite dish! It was amazing!
Penne with Pumpkin Cream Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 pound penne pasta
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 onion, chopped (I substituted this for chopped onion spice)
- Salt and pepper
- One 15-ounce can pure pumpkin puree
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese, plus more for topping
- 1/4 cup parsley
Directions:
- In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the pasta until al dente. Drain, reserving 1 cup pasta cooking water.
- In the same pot, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Stir in the pumpkin and heavy cream and bring to a boil. Season with the onion and parsley. Return the pasta to the pot along with the reserved pasta cooking water and toss. Stir in the parmesan; season with salt and pepper.
- Top the pasta with the parsley and more Parmesan.
Than for dessert I made a pumpkin roll (recipe courtesy of my besty – Brooke)
Pumpkin Roll
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup pumpkin
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cup flour
Mix together. grease and line cookie sheet with wax paper. Pour batter in and spread evenly. Bake 20 minutes at 350.
Turn out on towel and sprinkle with powdered sugar. let cool. Put on topping and roll. Chill well
Topping:
1 8oz. package cream cheese
1 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons butter
And finally for Sunday’s dinner we had:
Chicken Pumpkin Chili
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground chicken (you can substitute beef or turkey if you want)
- 1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans, drained
- 1/2 (46 fluid ounce) can tomato juice
- 1/2 (28 ounce) can peeled and diced tomatoes with juice
- 1/4 cup canned pumpkin puree
- 1-1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- 1-1/2 teaspoons chili powder
- 2 tablespoons white sugar
Directions
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Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
My FAVORITE cookie of ALL time is Pumpkin Chocolate Chip!! I remember the first time I tried it. I was at Fry’s on my lunch break in Oro Valley. Fry’s was literally the next store over from Office Max when I worked there. I went in and bought a box. I <3 pumpkin and I <3 chocolate chip and let me tell you it is the PERFECT combination!
So a few weeks ago I made my own homemade pumpkin chocolate chip cookies! They were amazing and needless to say gone in 2 days! : )
Ingredients
- 1 cup canned pumpkin
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1 egg
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon milk
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
Directions
- Combine pumpkin, sugar, vegetable oil, and egg. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, ground cinnamon, and salt. Dissolve the baking soda with the milk and stir in. Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture and mix well.
- Add vanilla, chocolate chips and nuts.
- Drop by spoonful on greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for approximately 10 minutes or until lightly brown and firm.
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Every blog post, video, and photo gallery from the years 1999-Present Day.
If you are interested in reading the Diaries of Ann Mathews, those blogs written around the Affair of the Mind Series, please head over to the Affair of the Mind website to read those Archives.
