RIBEYES!!!

For supper tonight, we had grilled ribeye steaks, a baked potato, and leftover cornbread. There isn't much of a recipe for this just 4 simple ingredients; Ribeyes, Country Bob All Purpose Sauce, Tone's Canadian Steak Seasoning, and Worchestershire Sauce. I first put my steaks in a glass dish, then pierce them with a fork several times on both sides. Season liberally with steak seasoning on both sides, and drizzle the Country Bob over the top. Finally, I pour the Worchestershire sauce over it all. Normally I marinate this overnight, but at least for 2-3 hours. Grill to desired doneness. These always turn out very tender and juicy.

"JIFFY" CORNBREAD

For those of you who like Jiffy Cornbread, you will LOVE this recipe. I have tried several recipes that claim to be the same as Jiffy, but none have even come close. This one is the closest I have ever found. The only difference, is that it didn't seem to be as sweet as Jiffy. So the next time I make this, I will add a little extra sugar, and see if that does the trick! Overall, it is really good cornbread.

"Jiffy" Cornbread

1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 cup flour
4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup milk
1 egg
1/4 cup oil

Combine cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add milk, egg, and oil. Beat until fairly smooth. Bake in a greased 8" square round pan in preheated oven (425 degrees) for 20-25 minutes.

HOMEMADE CROUTONS

Do you ever get down to the last 7 or 8 slices of bread, and it's dried out? Well, don't throw it away! You can use it to make these yummy croutons. You can use white bread, wheat bread, french bread, the options are endless! You can also change up the seasoning to suit your taste. Use Ranch dressing mix to make Ranch croutons, or spice it up with some fajita seasoning! If you don't use croutons, make them, and crush them up to make seasoned bread crumbs. Roll chicken, or pork chops in them and bake!

Homemade Croutons:

4 tbs melted butter
1 clove of garlic, minced (I used 1/2tsp of pre-minced garlic in a jar)
8 slices of bread, cut into cubes (any kind)
2 tsp Italian Seasoning

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a small bowl, melt butter, add garlic and Italian Seasoning. Pour over bread cubes and toss well to coat. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes or until dry and crisp. Check frequently to prevent burning. Let cool, and store in a Ziplock bag.

CREAMY CHICKEN ENCHILADAS

The original recipe for this came from Taste of Home Magazine. I got out the recipe, and decided it didn't have enough...."stuff" in it. I was afraid it would be too bland, so once again, I tweaked a recipe to make it my own. The end result was YUMMY! (pat myself on the back!) So give this one a try, and let me know what you think!

Creamy Chicken Enchiladas:

2-8oz pkg cream cheese, softened
1-4oz can diced green chilis
2-3 cups cooked chicken, diced
1 can Fiesta Nacho Cheese condensed soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 small can sliced black olives
6 flour tortillas
Shredded Mexican style cheese

Mix softened cream cheese, green chilis, shredded cheese(about a handful, you know I don't measure LOL!) and cooked chicken in a bowl, set aside. Combine soups and also set aside. Spoon chicken mixture in the center of each tortilla. Roll up and place seam side down in a 9x13 baking dish. Pour soup mixture over the top. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes. Top with shredded cheese and olives. Bake an additonal 5-10 minutes or until cheese is melted. Serve with mexican rice sour cream and salsa.

CROCKPOT ROASTED CHICKEN

For supper tonight, I am making CREAMY CHICKEN ENCHILADAS,(I will post this recipe later today) and the recipe calls for two cups of rotisserie chicken. Normally, I would boil a whole chicken on the stove, and pull the chicken off the bone to use instead of buying a rotisserie chicken. Luckily, I found a recipe on the STEPHANIE COOKS blog for CROCKPOT ROASTED CHICKEN. This recipe is the best!!! I put my chicken in the crockpot last night, and set it for 8 hrs. This morning(after taking the picture) I tried taking the chicken out of the crockpot, and the chicken fell off the bone! No need to pick the chicken off the bone, that step is already done! So here is the recipe for this yummy fall off the bone chicken. Hope you try it and enjoy it as much as I do!

Crockpot Roasted Chicken:

1 whole chicken(4-5 lbs)
1/2 cup chicken broth
4 cloves of garlic, peeled
olive oil
Seasoning of your choice (I used Seasoned Salt, but you could use any seasoning you like!)

1- Prep the chicken- remove the bag from the inside, thoroughly washing out the cavity and outside of the chicken. Pat dry.
2- Roll 3 pieces of tin foil into balls, about 2 inches in diameter. Place them in a triangle shape on the bottom of the crockpot.
3- Pour the chicken broth into the bottom of the crockpot. Toss the garlic cloves, whole, into the broth.
3- Place the chicken on top of the tin foil balls. Rub a small amount of olive oil over the skin(about 1-2 teaspoons).
5- Season heavily with the seasonings of your choice, gently rubbing them into the skin.
6- Cook on low 8 hours. The meat will literally fall off the bone!

JUST ANOTHER MANIC MONDAY!!

What a day! Is there a full moon or what?!? Almost everything I have touched today has turned to mud! LOL! Even supper was a flop! Well, most of it anyway. I found a recipe for a stir-fry in an old cookbook. It sounded really good.....ummmm not so much. Good thing I made Crab Rangoon to go with it, and they were delish! So, tonight that is the recipe I am sharing with you. This recipe came from Kraftfoods.com, but as usual I tweaked it just a little to make it my own. I served this with sweet and sour sauce, and VOILA!...supper!

Crab Rangoon:

1 tub(8oz) Philadelphia Chive & Onion Cream Cheese Spread
1 can(6oz) crab meat, drained, flaked
1-2 tbs. sugar(this was my addition, you can omit if you like)
30 wonton wrappers
1 1/2 cups oil, for frying
Kraft Sweet & Sour Sauce(or you can make your own!)
Mix cream cheese, crab meat, and sugar; spoon evenly on wonton wrappers, adding about 1 tsp. of the crab meat mixture to each wrapper.

Moisten edges of each wrapper with water; fold in half to form a triangle. Press edges together to seal.

Heat oil in medium skillet or wok to 360 degrees. Add wontons in batches. Cook 1-2 minutes or until golden brown on both sides, turning once. Remove from skillet with slotted spoon; drain on paper towels. Serve hot with the Sweet & Sour Sauce.

CAKE MIXES & TOXINS!!!!

I'm sure some of you have already received this e-mail, but for those of you who have not, I hope you read this and pass it along to everybody on your email list!

This is confirmed on Snopes http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/pancake.asp

A student at HBHS (high school) had pancakes this week and it almost became fatal. His Mom (registered nurse) made him pancakes, dropped him off at school and headed to play tennis.
She never takes her cell phone on the court but did this time and her son called to say he was having trouble breathing. She told him to go to the nurse immediately and proceeded to call school and alert the nurse.
The nurse called the paramedics and they were there in 3 minutes and worked on the boy all the way to the hospital.
He came so close to dying. Evidently this is more common than I ever knew.
Check the expiration dates on packages like pancakes and cake mixes that have yeast which over time develop spores. Apparently, the mold that forms in old mixes can be toxic!
Throw away ALL OUTDATED pancake mix, brownie mixes, Bisquick, cake & cookie mixes, etc., you have in your home.

P.S. Tell this to your children, grandchildren, nephews, nieces and anyone else who keeps these types of mixes in the cupboard.

If you love someone tell them, for who knows what the next moment may hold.

GARLIC TOAST

So, this morning, I made Strawberry Cream Cheese Filled French Toast, which required me to buy a whole loaf of Texas Toast that I don't normally use. Luckily, tonight we had Spaghetti & Meatballs for supper, and I was out of the frozen garlic bread! At the last minute, I decided to whip up some garlic butter, and use up some of that Texas Toast, but I didn't have a recipe so I just made one up. Believe it or not it was really good! I was very proud of myself. Now the rest of that Texas Toast won't go to waste! Here is the recipe I came up with. (This Garlic Toast is pictured with the Spaghetti & Meatballs recipe)

1 stick butter, softened
1/2 tbs. minced garlic
2 tbs. grated parmesan cheese
1 tsp. garlic seasoned salt
1 tsp. Italian seasoning(I use the kind with a grinder)
Texas Toast

Blend all ingredients together, and spread on both sides of Texas Toast. Place under broiler, and broil until the top is browned. Turn over and do the same with the other side. Be careful and watch closely because it will burn fast!

SPAGHETTI & MEATBALLS

Spaghetti and meatballs is one of our favorites. The great thing about this recipe is that the sauce and meatballs both make enough for two meals, and can both be frozen. Earlier this week my son and I made up the meatballs and froze them, then last night I took them out of the freezer and put them in the fridge to thaw. I made my sauce in the crockpot, but you can also simmer it on the stove. Either way, this recipe is very, very yummy!

Sauce:

2 tbs. olive oil
2/3 cup chopped onion
4-5 cloves of garlic, minced
2-28oz cans crushed tomatoes
2-12oz cans tomato paste
2 3/4 cups water (I omitted this, I like a thicker sauce!)
2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 tbs. sugar (I used 3)
1-2 whole bay leaves (I used 2)

Meatballs:

1 1/2 lbs ground beef (85% lean)
2 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1/2 up Italian bread crumbs
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1 tbs. dried minced onion
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes (optional, I omitted this)
1/2 tsp. pepper
(I also added about a tbs. of Spicy Italian Seasoning, the kind in a grinder)

For Meatballs:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, mix all of the meatball ingredients together. Use a 1/4 cup measure for large meatballs, and a small cookie scoop for small meatballs. Place meatballs on a large baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes. If you are making these ahead, this is where you would flash freeze the meatballs, and put in freezer bags. Otherwise, bake and drain on a paper towel, and add to your sauce.

For Sauce(stovetop):

In a large pot, heat oil on medium heat. Saute' onion until translucent. Add minced garlic and stir for one more minute. Reduce heat to medium low, and add the remainder of the sauce ingredients. At this time you would add your cooked, and drained meatballs. Let sauce simmer for 1 1/2 hours stirring occasionally. If sauce starts to stick reduce heat to low. Remove bay leaves before eating.

For Sauce(crockpot):

Saute' onion and garlic in a small saucepan, and then add to crockpot. Add the remaining ingredients and cook on low for 6 hours. I added the cooked meatballs the last 2-3 hours of cooking.

FRENCH TOAST!

Breakfast at our house usually consists of the basics, eggs, bacon or sausage, pancakes or biscuits and gravy. All of these are good, but I wanted something different. I came across 2 recipes for Strawberry Cream Cheese Filled French Toast. I found the first on Foodnetwork.com, and then the same day, Sarah from "What's Cookin'?" posted the same recipe. It sounded so good, I decided to make it this weekend. I tweaked it just a little because I didn't have all the ingredints listed, but it was still a BIG hit with my family! Here is the recipe, according to how I made it. Try it out, and see what your family thinks!

Strawberry Cream Cheese Filled French Toast:

Filling:
8oz cream cheese, softened
2 tbs. Strawberry freezer jam
1 tbs. orange juice

French Toast:
4 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla
about 1/4 cup orange juice (I didn't measure, just added until I got the right consistancy!)
8 slices, Texas Toast style bread

Preheat griddle, combine filling ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.(I kept mine in the fridge until I was ready for it) In a shallow dish, beat eggs, milk, vanilla, and orange juice together. With a paring knife, slice a pocket into the side of the bread, but don't cut all the way through. Fill the pocket with about a tablespoon (I used more!) of the filling. Dip the bread into the egg mixture, and place on the griddle. Cook about 2-3 minutes per side. Repeat with remaining slices. Serve hot with additional strawberry filling, and powdered sugar if desired. (We poured more freezer jam on top, and drizzled with pancake syrup!)

FALL OFF THE BONE RIBS

For tonight's supper, I used a recipe I found on the "Mommy's Kitchen" blog. Fall off the bone ribs, and they definitely live up to their name! Although, mine were boneless, but they were fork tender. You can also use beef ribs with this recipe. Tina from "Mommy's Kitchen" used country style pork ribs. So if you like ribs, you should give this one a try! Let me know what you think.

Fall Off The Bone Ribs:

Take a broiler pan and fill the bottom section about half full with apple juice or beer. On the top section (the part with the slits) lay out your ribs. You may add a rub or sauce at this time or leave them plain. Use Seasoning Salt, Emeril Essence Spice or whatever spices you have on hand will work.

Cover the pan with foil and fold edges under to seal in the steam as they cook. Place in a 300 degree oven for 2 1/2 - 3 hours. Remove foil carefully as steam will be hot! Now all the grease is down in the bottom of the pan with the beer or apple juice, the ribs are completely cooked and tender.

All you need to do is finish them up on the grill or under the broiler with sauce. Add honey and brown sugar to any barbecue sauce. For grill: place ribs on grill and coat with your favorite sauce. Grill on each side just a few minutes until crispy. For broiler, add barbecue sauce and broil for a few minutes on each side. Watch closely because sugar in the BBQ sauce will burn quickly.

KEEP IT OR TOSS IT!

Do you ever find yourself opening the fridge or the pantry and asking "I wonder if this is still good?" I know I do! Well, recently a friend of mine sent me a link to a website that answers that question for you. It tells you how long to keep things in the freezer, and the fridge, and the shelf life of things in your pantry. It also gives tips on the best way to store your food. So here is the link to this website. I hope that you find it as handy as I do!

http://stilltasty.com/

STRAWBERRY ICEBOX PIE

Springtime is here, and Summer is right around the corner. Everyone is ready for light, cool and refreshing recipes. This one comes from my Mom. She found this recipe a few years ago, and we changed it up a bit to fit our taste buds. The original recipe was a bit tart for me, and Mom and I didn't think it had enough strawberries, so I am giving you the original recipe, and putting our adjustments at the bottom. You choose, everyone's taste buds are different! Hope you enjoy!

Strawberry Icebox Pie:

1 12oz container Cool Whip (if you can't find this size, just use 1 8oz, and half of another!)

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1 16oz container of frozen sweetened, sliced strawberries, well drained

1/2 cup lemon juice

1 cup chopped pecans, optional

2 6oz graham cracker pie crusts

Combine milk, and lemon juice. Fold in Cool Whip, strawberries and pecans. Pour into crusts and chill until ready to serve.

**For a less tart pie, use 1/3 cup lemon juice.

**I use 2 16oz containers of strawberries to give more strawberry flavor!

COOKIE PROBLEMS?

Have you ever made a batch of cookies, and your dough is too dry, or too sticky? Maybe they come out thin or spread out while baking? Well, this website has the answers you have been looking for! Check it out, and then go bake some delicious cookies!!

http://www.baking911.com/cookies/problems.htm

YUMMY PUDDING CAKE

This recipe originated from Beth's Favorite Recipes, but I tweaked it a bit to make it my own. Her recipe uses chocolate cake, chocolate pudding, and chocolate chips. For those who know me best, you know I like chocolate, but not THAT much chocolate!!! You also know I would rather have peanut butter any day, but I do like chocolate and peanut butter together! Reeces Cups YUMMOLICIOUS!!! So I took that idea and ran with it. Here is what I came up with, and it was sooooooooo good and moist! Hope you give this one a try.

Pudding Cake

1 small pkg instant chocolate pudding
2 cups milk
1 devil's food cake mix, dry (or any chocolate cake mix)
2 cups Reeces peanut butter chips

Mix 2 cups milk with the pudding mix. Add the dry cake mix and mix well. Spread into a greased 9x13 pan. Sprinkle with peanut butter chips and bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

SLOW COOKER ITALIAN CHICKEN

Ok, for tonight's dinner, I made Italian Chicken in the slow cooker using the McCormick Slow Cooker Italian Chicken packet....it was ok, but the sauce was a little bitter. I think if you add a tablespoon or so of sugar to it, it would be ok. Other than that, it was really good. I used bone-in chicken thighs, and removed the skin. It was so tender, it fell off the bone!! I think the next time I make this, I will either use store bought sauce and jazz it up a bit, or just make my own sauce. There is a sauce that Mommy's Kitchen posted a couple of days ago, I haven't tried it yet, but it's on the agenda for this weekend. She said it makes enough sauce for two meals, and that she freezes half for another meal. Maybe I will do that. I will let you know how it turns out! Anyway, I served this over bowtie pasta, and with garlic bread.(I cheated, the bread is frozen!) So, here is the recipe, it can also be found on the back of the seasoning packet.

Slow Cooker Italian Herb Chicken

2 1/2 lbs bone-in chicken pieces, skin removed
1 can (8oz) sliced mushrooms
1 pkg McCormick Slow Cookers Italian Herb Chicken Seasoning
2 cans stewed tomatoes, undrained (I used 1 can crushed tomatoes, and 1 can diced tomatoes)
1 can (6oz) tomato paste

Place chicken and mushrooms in slow cooker. Mix seasoning, tomatoes and tomato paste until blended. Pour over chicken and mushrooms. Cover and cook for 8hrs on low, or 4hrs on high. Stir sauce before serving. Serve over hot cooked pasta.

Taco Salad

1 lb ground beef
1 pkg taco seasoning
2/3 cup water
3 tbs taco sauce
1/4 cup salsa
tortilla chips
shredded lettuce
shredded cheese
sour cream
Wish Bone Western Dressing

Brown ground beef in a skillet; drain. Add taco seasoning, water, taco sauce, and salsa. Bring to a boil. Let simmer about 5 minutes. Meanwhile. Crush tortilla chips on a plate. Next add lettuce, and then meat mixture. Top with cheese and sour cream. Drizzle dressing over all.

HAM & CHEESE STROMBOLI w/ SWEET BREADSTICKS

For tonight's dinner, my goal was to duplicate Pizza Inn's Ham & Cheese Stromboli. I have searched, and searched for a recipe similar to it, and just haven't had any luck. So I decided to make up one on my own. Did it work? Well, my husband said it was better than Pizza Inn! While I don't agree completely with that, it was really, really good, and did taste very similar.

I also made Sweet Breadsticks to go along with the Stromboli. The recipe called for Pillsbury refrigerated breadsticks.(located near the biscuits) When I bought the ingredients for this meal, I had every intention of getting 1 can of pizza dough, and 1 can of breadsticks. When I got home, I had 2 cans of pizza dough!!! Never fear, I improvised, and rolled out the pizza dough, an used it instead. Honestly, I couldn't tell the difference. Needless to say, dinner was a BIG hit! Here are the recipes for both the Stromboli, and the breadsticks.

Ham & Cheese Stromboli

1 can refrigerated pizza dough
1 cup diced ham
1/2 cup diced onion
1/2 cup diced bell pepper
2 tbs minced garlic, divided
1 stick of butter, divided
Combo of shredded cheese of your choice (I used Mozzarella, and Colby Jack)
Grated Parmesan cheese

Saute' ham, onions, peppers, and 1 tbs of the garlic, until veggies are tender. Unroll pizza dough, sprinkle one side generously with cheese; add ham and veggie mixture. Top with more cheese. Fold dough over filling, and pinch to seal edges. Melt more butter, and add the rest of the minced garlic. Simmer for 1-2 minutes. Brush on top of dough, and sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Drizzle remaining butter/garlic mixture over the top. Bake @ 400 degrees for about 15 minutes or until dough is nice and golden brown.


Sweet Breadsticks

1 can refrigerated breadsticks
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
3 tbs butter softened

Mash breadsticks into a round pizza pan. Melt butter, add brown sugar and cinnamon. Brush generously over breadsticks. Bake @ 400 degrees for about 15 minutes.

Icing:
Powdered sugar
melted butter
milk
vanilla

I'm not real sure of the measurements on this, but its just a basic powdered sugar icing. I mixed this in a bowl with a spout, and just drizzled it over the hot from the oven breadsticks.


This recipe is linked to: Eat At Home Ingredient Spotlight

CHICKEN CORDON BLEU

I have been married almost 10 years, and have always wanted to attempt making Chicken Cordon Bleu, but have been too intimidated to try. Well, tonight I finally did it, and guess what.....it was sooooo easy, and very good! I am now wondering what was so intimidating about it. I guess the pounding the chicken and rolling the chicken just seemed like alot of trouble! LOL!

This recipe is actually a combination of 3 different recipes. I just couldn't seem to find one with everything I wanted. So here is what I came up with. Try it out and let me know what you think!

Chicken Cordon Bleu

3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
3-4 string cheese sticks
3-4 thin slices of deli ham
1/2 cup melted butter
1 cup seasoned bread crumbs (I used crushed herb seasoned croutons)
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

Sauce:

1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup milk (I only used about 2 tbs of milk, I wanted my sauce thicker!)

Place chicken between two pieces of wax paper, pound to 1/2 inch thickness. Place one or two slices of deli ham on each piece of chicken, (one piece is plenty!) top with 1 string cheese stick. Roll up the chicken around the cheese and ham and secure with a toothpick. Mix together crumbs and parmesan cheese. Dip rolls in melted butter, and roll in bread crumb mixture. Place seam side down in a greased baking dish. Bake for 30-45 minutes @350 degrees, or until juices run clear. Mix sauce together and heat in a small saucepan. Top each piece of chicken with sauce when serving.


This recipe is linked to: Eat At Home Ingredient Spotlight

NEAT GIFT IDEA!!

I just found this nifty idea on the Gourmet Mom on-the-go blog. These would be cute gifts for a neighbor who lives alone, shut ins, or even teacher gifts! I have not tried these, so I don't know how easy....or not so easy, they are to make, but I thought they were cute, and wanted to share them with you!

Apple Surprise Mini Pies:
The surprise? There's actually a cheesecake layer beneath the apple pie filling!
How cute would these be as end-of-the-year Teacher gifts? I used half pint jars but you could use ramekins or whatever else you want.

Apple Surprise Mini Pies
makes 12
Ingredients:
1 3/4 C. (1 package) Graham Crackers
1/3 C. butter, melted
24 oz. (3 pkg) Philadelphia Cream Cheese
3/4 C. sweetened condensed milk
2/3 C. white sugar
2 eggs
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
2 tsp. vanilla extract
3 cans apple pie filling
2 ready-made pie crusts (the kind that is just dough that you unwrap, or make your own)
12 half pint canning jars or ramekins
Drinking glass (a little larger than your jar lids), to cut out crust
Directions:
Place graham crackers in ziploc bag and crush. I think this was the kids' favorite part. Wham! Wham! Wham!
Pour melted butter into baggie with graham crackers and shake to mix well. Place 2 heaping tablespoons of graham cracker mixture into bottom of a half pint jar and carefully spread around.
For cheesecake layer, beat cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk until smooth. Add sugar, eggs, vanilla, and lemon juice and mix well. Place 1/3 c. of cream cheese mixture into each jar.
Fill jars to the top with apple pie filling (about 1/2 C).

Unroll pie crust. Find a drinking glass or round cookie cutter that is about 1/2" larger than your jar lid and cut out 4 circles. Re-roll remaing dough and cut out 2 more circles. Repeat with other pie crust. If desired, cut small slits or a little shape in the middle of your crust.
Place one cutout crust on each jar and pinch edges to resemble a pie crust. Finish with a light dusting of white sugar.

Place on a cookie sheet (just in case any of them leak, you don't want to clean that out of your oven!) and bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes until pie crusts are browned.
I came back in the kitchen to find these two little bakers waiting veeeeeery patiently for their pies to come out of the oven... Remove from oven. Tie a small ribbon around each jar, if desired, and serve. I can't wait to make these for our next sit-down dinner, they'd be adorable served to each guest for dessert!

KIELBASA & BOW TIE PASTA

Ok, here is another great recipe from the Mommy's Kitchen blog. I made it tonight for the first time, and it definitely won't be the last time I make it! If you like kielbasa, garlic and cheese, this is for you!

Kielbasa & Bow Tie Pasta

8 ounces uncooked bow tie pasta
1 pound fully cooked kielbasa or smoked sausage, cut into 1/4-inch slices
1 jar (4-1/2 ounces) sliced mushrooms, drained
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1-1/2 cups milk
1-1/2 cups fresh or frozen snow peas or regular peas
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese or montery jack cheese

Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, saute the sausage, mushrooms and garlic in butter. Combine cornstarch and milk until smooth; gradually add to the skillet. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Drain pasta; add to sausage mixture. Stir in the peas and cheese; cook until cheese is melted.

YUMMOLICIOUS COOKIES!!!

Hey guys, Zach and I tried a new cookie recipe today "Dishpan Cookies". I found this recipe on the Southern Plate website a few days ago, so when I got my groceries yesterday, I picked up the ingredients to make them. I will warn you....this makes ALOT of cookies especially if you drop by the spoonfuL!!! The recipe says to drop them using a 1/4 cup measuring cup, but I really didn't want my cookies that big, so I used my Pampered Chef medium scoop, and they came out just the right size. I still got about 50 or so cookies.....so much for the diet!!! Anyway, here is the link to the recipe, I hope you try these soon. I'm sure you will love them just as much as we do! :)

http://www.southernplate.com/2008/10/dishpan-cookies-have-you-baked-for.html

NEW CROCKPOT RECIPE

Ok, I tried a new recipe yesterday for the crockpot. It is called "Stuffed Round Steak". I'm not really sure why it's called "stuffed", because you don't actually stuff the round steak you top your round steak with stuffing. Confused yet? LOL! Anyway, I made this yesterday, and it was good, but I thought after the juices from the steak mixed with the stuffing, it made the stuffing too soupy. The recipe says to fix the stuffing according to the package directions, and add Cream of Mushroom Soup on top. I'm wondering if you should not prepare the stuffing, just sprinkle it over the steak first and pour the soup over that and let the juices create the stuffing. I don't know, what do you think? Here is the recipe, it is very simple, and only uses 3 ingredients.

Stuffed Round Steak

1 round steak
1 pkg instant stuffing mix
1 can cream of mushroom soup

Lay round steak in bottom of slow cooker. mix stuffing according to package directions and put on top of steak. Cover with cream of mushroom soup. Cook on low all day. (at least 8 hrs on low, no less than 4 on high)

Cream Cheese & Olive Spread

1 8-ounce package cream cheese
1/4 cup green olives, finely chopped
1/4 cup pimiento, finely chopped
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup walnuts or pecans, finely chopped

Blend all ingredients well. If using for party sandwiches, makes 6 whole sandwiches before cutting into triangles. Best on cracked wheat bread. Is also good on crackers or toasted pitas for snacks.

**This recipe was given to me by my good friend Michelle Rhoden. Hope you all enjoy it as much as I have! :)