Cream Cheese Jalapenos (wrapped with bacon)

Cream Cheese Jalapenos

(wrapped with bacon)

Bacon, Cream Cheese and Jalapenos! Oh My! These little guys right here are great finger foods! I brought these to a party and they where a huge hit! Everyone kept asking for more! 

Ingredients:

12 Jalapenos

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

2 teaspoons onion powder

2  teaspoons garlic powder

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon Old Bay

Pinch of Salt

24 – six inch pieces of bacon, uncooked

Let's Get Cooking!

1.     Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2.    Take Jalapenos and cut a slit from one side of the Jalapeno to the other. Remove seeds and          rinse under water.

3.     In a mixing bowl, combine Cream Cheese and Spices.  Spoon mixture into each pepper, until level. 

4.     Wrap each in bacon, and place on baking sheet.  Bake for 40-45 minutes. Remove and Enjoy! 

Cheesecake Filled Strawberries

Cheesecake Filled Strawberries 

A delicious bite size of heaven. Easy, Simple and oh so tasty! These are great for any occasion! The first time I made these, I brought them to Thanksgiving. Everyone loved them! They will definitely be a returning guest.   

Ingredients:

• 1 lb large Strawberries
• 8 oz. Cream Cheese, softened 
• 3-4 tbsp Powdered Sugar (4 tbsp if you like it sweeter)
• 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
• Graham Cracker Crumbs

Let's Get Cooking! 

1. Rinse strawberries and cut around the top of the strawberry. Remove the top and gently clean out the inside with a knife or small spoon. Prep all strawberries and set aside.
2. In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla until creamy. 
3. Put cream cheese mix into a Ziploc bag, seal and cut the corner off. Fill strawberries with cheesecake mixture until the mixture is just over the top of the strawberry. 
4. Once strawberries are filled, sprinkle graham cracker crumbs on top of each strawberry. If not serving immediately, refrigerate until serving.

Enjoy!

*Helpful Hint: If you don not want to make the cream cheese mix, you can buy a pre-made mix* 

Onion-Garlic Burger (w/ Avocado & Havarti Cheese)

Onion-Garlic Burger

 (w/ Avocado & Havarti Cheese)

Need a semi-quick meal for the week? Burgers! The great things about burgers are that you can put anything on them! The Onion Garlic Burger is one of our favorite combinations that we have come up with. 

Ingredients:
▸1 lb. Ground Beef
▸ 1 Avocado (sliced) 
▸ 2-4 Slices Havarti Cheese
▸ Lettuce
▸ Mayo (if you wish)
▸ Salt & Pepper (to taste)
▸ 1/4 teas Garlic Power

Let's Get Cooking!

1.) Preheat electric griddle to about 250-275 degrees F.

2.) Take (defrosted) ground beef & put it in a bowl. Next, add Garlic Powder, Salt & Pepper to Ground Beef. Mix ground beef & ingredients                                                           together.

3.) Divide Ground Beef into even-sized balls (We made three). Next, begin to shape and form the Ground Beef into the shape of a burger. Make sure to get as many air pockets out as you can.

4.) Put burgers onto the griddle and cook each side for about 12-15 Min. Cook until brown. We like ours medium-rare, so there was still a little pink in the middle.

5.) When burgers about done, add Havarti Cheese on-top of burgers so cheese can melt.

6.) Remove burgers from griddle. When preparing, add mayo (if desired) and top burger with slices of Avocado and lettuce.    

       Enjoy!                     

           

Piggies In A Blanket (with a kick)

Piggies in a Blanket
(with a kick)

                              Pigs in a Blanket are easy to prep and cook. I love making these for parties, get togethers and holidays. They always get great reviews. 

Ingredients:

1 can (8 oz) Pillsbury refrigerated crescent dinner rolls 

1 Package of Hillshire Farm Little Smokies 

Honey BBQ Sauce

Hot Sauce (Optional)
Pam

Let's Get Cooking!

1.) Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

2.) Unroll Crescent Rolls. I cut each triangle in half to make smaller triangles.

3.) Spray Cookie sheet lightly with Pam.

4.) In a small bowl mix Honey BBQ Sauce (about 1/4 cup) & Hot Sauce (about a tablespoon or to taste). If you are not using Hot Sauce , just  put Honey BBQ Sauce in a dish that you can easily scoop from).

5.) Take your first piece of Crescent Roll dough, lay on a flat surface. In the middle spoon sauce mix onto center of dough. Spread around until lightly covered. Add one Little Smokie to wider end of dough. Roll the Little Smokie along with the dough inwards rolling to the other end of the dough. Place on Cookie sheet. Continue Step #5 until finished. 

6.) Cook in the oven on 375 degrees F. for 11-13 minutes, or until golden brown.

Take out of oven and Enjoy!

Onion & Garlic Beef Pizza

Pizza!  Pizza!
(Serves 2)

Making a home made pizza is fun & easy. The toppings for a great pizza are endless! This delicious pizza is covered in cheese, ground beef, onion and garlic.    

       Ingredients:

           1/2 lb. Ground Beef

           Pizza Crust Mix (I used Betty Crocker)

                1/2 Can Pizza Sauce

           1/4 Cup Sharp Cheddar Cheese

           1/2 Cup Italian Blend Cheese

           1/4 Cup Onions, Chopped

           1 Clove of Garlic, Chopped

           Pam Cooking Spray

           Ground Beef Seasoning: (Season to taste)

               1/2 tea.Oregano

               1/2 tea.Sage

               1/2 tea. Italian Seasoning,  

               1/4 tea. Onion Salt

               1/4 tea. Garlic salt

                               

Let's Get Cooking!

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. (Or to the temperature on the Pizza crust      

    mix package)

2. Brown ground beef in a large skillet on medium-high heat until brown. I    

    seasoned the ground beef with: Oregano, Sage, Italian Seasoning, Onion 

    Salt and garlic salt. When done, drain and set aside.While ground beef is 

    cooking, prepare your pizza crust according to the package directions

3.  Spray cookie sheet or pizza pan with Pam. Spread prepared pizza crust mix    

     onto your cookie sheet.

4.  Add Sauce, spreading evening over the pizza dough. (I added about 1/4  

     teaspoon of Italian seasoning on-top of the sauce. 

5.   Next, Spread Sharp Cheddar Cheese and Italian 

      Blend Cheese evenly onto pizza. 

6.   Then add, Onions, Garlic and Ground beef. Spreading 

      Ingredients evenly over pizza. 

7.  Cook Pizza according to Pizza Crust Mix Directions. I cooked ours for 11  

     Minutes at 425 Degrees F. Cook your pizza on the lowest rack in the Oven.

Enjoy!

* I'm still working on getting better pictures up.

Nutty Brownies

Nutty Brownies

Here is a quick, from scratch Brownie recipe that will leave all chocolate and nut-lovers happy. 

What you will need:

1 Cup Butter 

2 Cups White Sugar

1/2 Cup Cocoa Powder

1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

4 Eggs

1 1/2 Cups All-Purpose Flour

1/2 Teaspoon baking powder 

  1/2 Teaspoon Salt

   1 cup walnut halves

Time to Cook!

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.  Melt the butter in a medium bowl.  Next add the White Sugar & Cocoa Powder  and Vanilla Extract. When mixed, begin adding and mixing one egg at a time. Then add Flour, Baking Powder, and Salt. After you have mixed all your ingredients add the Walnuts! 

Bake for 20 to 30 minutes in a 9 x 13 inch greased pan. Enjoy!

Lasagna Roll-Ups

Lasagna Roll-Ups

After making this dish my husband said "This is the best meal you have made me!". With that I accepted the challenge to continue making awesome meals for us.  Lasagna Roll-Ups are an easy meal to make during the week or on the weekend. Since it was my first time making them, Prep time was about 30 minutes and cooking time was about 20 minutes. Bear in mind that part of your "prep time" you will be cooking at the same time.

What you will need:

8 Lasagna Noodles

1/2 lbd.  Ground Italian Sausage 

1 Tablespoon Olive oil

1 1/2  Clove Garlic

1/2 Onion

1 Tablespoon Garlic Salt

1 Teaspoon Pepper

1 can Crushed Tomatoes (14.5 oz)

1 Egg

1/2 cup Ricotta Cheese

1/4 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese

1 1/2 Tablespoon Fresh Basil, chopped

1 1/2 Tablespoon Fresh Oregano, chopped

1/4 cup Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

1/2 tsp Crushed Red Pepper Flakes

Let's Get Cooking!

First, preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Next, heat a large pot of water to boiling over high heat.  When it reaches a boil, add a pinch or two of salt and place noodles into the water.  Stir occasionally and cook the noodles so the are firm but not hard. When the noodles are done,  drain them and set aside.

Meanwhile (while noodles are cooking)  in a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat.  Add garlic and onion and saute for 2-3 minutes.  Next add ground Italian sausage  and cook until almost brown.  When almost cooked through, add your can of crushed tomatoes and reduce heat to medium low.  Cover skillet and let simmer for about 15 minutes.  

Now for the good stuff!  In a small bowl, lightly beat an egg.  Add ricotta, Parmesan, basil, oregano, pepper and garlic salt and stir together.  Spray pan lightly with cooking spray.   To assemble, on a drained noodle, add a spoonful of ricotta mixture.  Then top the ricotta mix with a spoonful of meat sauce and roll up.  Place seam side down in pan (I found that if you don't it still come out good).  Continue until you've used all the noodles.  Use any remaining sauce mix and pour it onto your lasagna rolls and  sprinkle with mozzarella and crushed red pepper flakes.  Bake approximately 20 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly. Let cool. Enjoy! 

After Cooking Notes:

This recipe already  calls for a good amount of cheese. But if you are a cheese lover like my husband and I are, then I recommend adding some Parmesan cheese to the top before you eat your lasagna rolls. It gives it a gooey-cheesy goodness!