Sunday, May 24, 2009

No boil baked ziti

Ingredients

  • 1 (26 oz) jar spaghetti sauce
  • 1 (15 oz) container ricotta cheese
  • 2 cups mozzarella cheese
  • 1/4 parmesan cheese
  • 8 ounces uncooked ziti
  • 1 1/2 cups water







Mix the spaghetti sauce (I used traditional Ragu) and the water. Add the ricotta, 1 cup mozzarella, and 1/4 cup parmesan. Mix well. Add the uncooked ziti, mix well, and then poor into a 13x9 inch pan. Make sure the pasta is spread evenly throughout the pan. Cover with foil and bake for 55 minutes. Take the foil off (be careful because it will be full of steam) and top with remaining mozzarella cheese. Return to the oven and bake for an additonal 5 minutes. Let casserole sit for 10 minutes. Enjoy.

Friday, May 22, 2009

Gram's Chicken Pot Pie--Updated


**Directions for either one 11x7 inch pot pie, one 9 inch pot pie or four personal pot pies.
Ingredients
  • 2 Tbsp Italian Dressing
  • 1 lb boneless Chicken Breasts- diced
  • 2 cups frozen mixed veges (I like to use the Flav-R-Pac brand from Winco...I mix the 'gourmet cuts caribbean blend' and 'country trio' which has a nice mix of carrots, corn, green beans, broccoli and red peppers.....any frozen veges will work)
  • 1 can (10 3/4 oz) Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup
  • 1/4 lb (4oz) Velveeta Cheese- cut up into cubes
  • 1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed (I use Pepperidge Farms Puff Pastry Sheets- comes 2 sheets to a box....if making 4 bowls of personal pot pies, both sheets will be needed)
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten
Heat dressing in a large skillet. Add Chicken and cook 5 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through.
Stir in the veges, soup and cheese.
Once cheese is melted and all ingredients thoroughly combined, spoon into a greased baking dish.
  • For 9" dish: Unfold the pastry sheet and place over the chicken mixture. Fold under edges, press onto top of dish to seal. Brush with egg and cut several slits in the pastry crust to allow steam to escape.
  • For modification using 4 small bowls (personal pot pies): 2 pastry sheets are used. Unfold the pastry sheets and cut in half diagonal. Lay a triangle sheet on each bowl and pastry sheet can be folded under to fit the bowl or pinched around the edges to fit the bowl. Brush with egg and cut several slits in the pastry crust to allow steam to escape.
  • For Jessica's modification--pour chicken mixture into an 11x7 inch casserole dish. You will need 1 and 1/3 puff pastry sheets to cover this mixture. Follow Janel's instructions above. We made it this way because we were trying to stretch it and it turned out great! Kuddos to Janel for this versatile recipe!
Place dish or dishes on baking sheet and bake 30 minutes or until the puff pastry is a deep golden brown.
***If only 2 servings are desired, only cover 2 bowls using a single sheet of puff pastry.
The other 2 bowls of pot pie mix can be saran-wrapped and refrigerated. Before baking the remainder bowls, just let set at room temperature for 30 minutes, cover with the 2nd sheet of puff pastry, bake and enjoy another meal of yummy pot pie!
This recipe was submitted by Janel for Recipes from Jessica's sister blog, The Great Northwest for the Fabulous Friday Guest Recipe Blogger Series

Sunday, May 17, 2009

Sour Cream Salsa Chicken

Ingredients:

4 each skinless boneless chicken breast
1 package taco seasoning mix or just scant 1/4 cup bulk variety
1 cup salsa
1/3 cup sour cream

Preparation:

Place chicken breasts in a lightly greased shallow baking dish; season with the taco seasoning mix. Pour the salsa over the chicken; bake at 350° for 35 to 45 minutes, or until chicken is tender. When ready to serve, remove the chicken from the casserole, stir sour cream into salsa, then return chicken.

CROCKPOT EDITION
Spray the crockpot with cooking spray.
Add the chicken breasts.
Sprinkle with Taco Seasoning. Top with salsa.
Cook on low for 6-8 hours.

When ready to serve, remove the chicken from the pot. Place about 2 T cornstarch in a small amount of water. Stir well. Stir the cornstarch mixture into salsa sauce. Stir in 1/3 cup of sour cream.

Friday, May 15, 2009

Snickerdoodles


We got this recipe from here

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup shortening
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons white sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2. Cream together butter, shortening, 1 1/2 cups sugar, the eggs and the vanilla. Blend in the flour, cream of tartar, soda and salt. Shape dough by rounded spoonfuls into balls.
3. Mix the 2 tablespoons sugar and the cinnamon. Roll balls of dough in mixture. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets.
4. Bake 8 to 10 minutes, or until set but not too hard. Remove immediately from baking sheets.

Monday, May 11, 2009

Chocolate Peanut Butter No Bake Cookies

Ingredients
2 cups sugar
4 tablespoons cocoa
1 stick butter
1/2 cup milk
1 cup peanut butter
1 tablespoon vanilla
3 cups oatmeal
Waxed paper

Directions
In a heavy saucepan bring to a boil, the sugar, cocoa, butter and milk. Let boil for 1 minute then add peanut butter, vanilla and oatmeal. On a sheet of waxed paper, drop mixture by the teaspoonfuls, until cooled and hardened.

Friday, May 8, 2009

Super Easy Lazy Rainy Day Chili



















SUPER EASY LAZY RAINY DAY CHILI

1 lb lean ground beef
1 can of S&W Chili Beans with chili peppers, onion, garlic and zesty tomato sauce
1 can of S&W kidney beans
1 8oz can of tomato sauce
1 package of chili seasoning mix
Optional toppings - cheese, sour cream, onions, corn chips

  • Brown the ground beef and drain grease
  • Add tomato sauce and chili seasoning mix.
  • Fill the tomato paste can with water and add to the pot
  • Let it simmer for about 20 minutes on medium low.
  • Add undrained chili beans and kidney beans to the pot. Cover and let simmer for another 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
**Now if your family likes it really spicy you can add chili powder by the teaspoon or tablespoon to heat it up. I made it just how the recipe was written and I felt it was spicy enough for my family.
This recipe was submitted by MIMI for Recipes from Jessica's sister blog, The Great Northwest for Fast Frugal Friday

Saturday, May 2, 2009

Pepperoni Crescent Puffs


These were yummy! I need to roll them better next time but my mouth didn't care what they looked like! :) I found this recipe here

INGREDIENTS:
1 (8 ounce) can refrigerated crescent roll
dough
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
24 slices pepperoni
1 (14 ounce) can pizza sauce
DIRECTIONS:
1.Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2.On a large baking sheet, pinch the 8 crescent roll dough triangles into 4 rectangles. Layer each rectangle with 6 slices of pepperoni and even amounts of mozzarella cheese. Roll tightly lengthwise and slice each into 4 or more pieces.
3.Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown, about 12 minutes. Serve with pizza sauce for dipping.

**I put the turkey pepperoni and the mozzarella cheese in the food processor to chop a bit (makes it easier to cut). I also put the rolled log into the freezer for 15 minutes and then cut with a serrated knife.

FEEDJIT Live Traffic Map

FEEDJIT Live Traffic Feed