Wednesday, December 25, 2013

Two-Ingredient Fruit Dip (Fat Free) ***

We actually got this recipe at the 8-year-old's school Christmas party.  Someone else had brought it in, and he just fell in love and insisted on making it at home.  I freaked out when we first mixed it up, because the Cool Whip was so cold that it stiffened the marshmallow creme up quite a bit and left a lot of marshmallow chunks.  They all combine well once refrigerated, though, and it was definitely a hit with our kiddos.  They were practically licking their plates afterwards, lol.


TWO-INGREDIENT FRUIT DIP (FAT FREE)
(luckymommyto2boys ~ Amy)

16 oz tub Fat-Free Cool Whip, thawed
7 oz jar Jet-Puffed Marshmallow Creme
Assorted fruits, sliced

Combine Cool Whip and Marshmallow Creme in medium-sized bowl.  Use mixer to blend well (there will still be some lumps - this is okay).  Refrigerate overnight.  Serve with sliced apples, strawberries, raspberries, or any other fruits that you prefer.

Gluten-Free Crockpot Chex Mix (Gluten Free) *

This was just okay, in my opinion.  It was a little too buttery, though.  It's a basic mix, but it just didn't taste right, for some reason.  It was also REALLY salty.  I'm going to keep looking for a better one.

GLUTEN-FREE CROCKPOT CHEX MIX
(BakingWithLove)

4 cups rice chex cereal
4 cups corn chex cereal
4 cups pretzels (GF)
2 cups bagel chips (GF)
1 cup mixed nuts
6 T unsalted butter
2 T worcestershire sauce (GF)
2 t salt
2 t garlic powder
1 t onion powder
1/2 t sugar

Add first 5 ingredients to a crockpot. Melt the butter & worcestershire sauce in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir in salt, garlic powder, onion powder & sugar. Pour mixture over ingredients in crockpot. Mix well until chex mix is coated. Cook on low for 2.5 hours, stirring every 30 minutes. When the chex mix is done cooking, spread it out to cool. Store in an air-tight container.
Yield: 15 cups

Pickle Wrap Dip ***

First off, sorry for the crappy picture.  I forgot to take one when I was making it, so I had to grab one at the last second.  It's blurry and hard to see much detail.  Maybe I can get a better one next time.

We absolutely adore the Dill Pickle Roll-'Em-Ups, but they take forever to make.  As soon as this popped up on Pinterest, I knew I had to try it.  The flavor in this is really wonderful.  I did the ham and pickles in my food processor, but that actually makes them a bit too small.  It makes the texture more like that of a ham salad.  Next time, I would use the dill pickle relish and just chop the ham by hand.  Either way, though, it was really good!


PICKLE WRAP DIP
(luckymommyto2boys ~ Amy ~ via KeyIngredient)

16-oz cream cheese, softened
12-oz deli-sliced ham, chopped
16-oz baby dill pickles, drained, diced
Ritz crackers

In a large mixing bowl, combine cream cheese, chopped ham, and diced pickles; mix well.
Place mixture in the refrigerator for 1 hour, before serving.
Serve chilled, with crackers.

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Cowboy Caviar ***

This was loosely based on a few different recipes I pulled from Pinterest.  We loved it.  I can eat just about anything with corn, though.  Oddly enough, even though I normally don't care for mayo-based dips, I really liked this one.  The sour cream adds enough of a damper on the mayo taste that you really don't even notice it.  I used mild Rotel this time, but I think I might try it with hot as well.  The sour cream brings down the heat a lot, so I think I could get away with the hotter version.  All in all, a really easy and tasty recipe.


COWBOY CAVIAR
(luckymommyto2boys ~ Amy)

2 cans Mexicorn
1 can hot or mild Rotel (according to taste)
1 green pepper, chopped (optional)
2-1/2 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese
6 green onion stalks, sliced
1 cup mayo
1 cup sour cream
Fritos

Mix all ingredients together and refrigerate for at least an hour.  Flavors are best if refrigerated overnight.
Serve with Fritos.

Friday, December 20, 2013

Slow Cooker Spaghetti Pie ***

This was pretty good.  It's really easy, which I obviously love, lol.  I let mine go about 6 hours, and that was honestly a bit too long. In my crockpot (which always runs hot), it probably would have been better around 5 hours.  But the kids absolutely loved it.  Hubby and I liked it too.  I used whole grain noodles, so they held up a bit better than plain ones would have.  I'll definitely make it again.


SLOW COOKER SPAGHETTI PIE
(GetCrocked)

8 oz. spaghetti
2 eggs
1/3 c. Parmesan cheese
1 lb. ground beef
32 oz. jar spaghetti sauce
3 c. cottage cheese
4 oz. mozzarella cheese

Boil spaghetti until al dente, about 7 minutes.  Meanwhile, brown the beef, drain, and return to pan.
Next, add sauce to pan, cook on low heat a few minutes.
After spaghetti is done, drain, cut, and add to separate large bowl; add parmesan cheese and beaten eggs and stir to combine.
Next, pour 1/2 c. meat sauce to the bottom of the crock. Layer 1/2 pasta, 1/2 cottage cheese, 1/2 meat sauce, 1/2 mozzarella. Repeat layers.
Cover and Crock on LOW 6-8 hours.

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Overnight Ham and Cheese Breakfast Enchiladas ***

These were a hit yet again.  I still subbed unsweetened almond milk for the half-and-half.  It tastes better that way, in my opinion.  I forgot that I wanted to use green peppers this time, and I ended up doing the onions again.  I'm just not a fan of the ham/onion flavor combo, though.  That's absolutely nothing against this recipe, because I absolutely adore it.  I just need to remember to leave out the onions.  I'm thinking ham and mushrooms would be a tasty idea as well.  I'm going to change it up some next week.  Still a keeper for us, and they reheat beautifully in the microwave.  I did leave out the salt this time, and it was perfect.  I don't see any need at all for the salt, since you have the salt from the ham.  Anyway, I'm already looking forward to trying them again next week. :-)


OVERNIGHT HAM AND CHEESE BREAKFAST ENCHILADAS
(luckymommyto2boys ~ Amy ~ TheGirlWhoAteEverything)

2 cups cubed and cooked ham
1/2 cup chopped green onions
2 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided
10 flour tortillas (6-8 inches)
1 1/4 cup half-and-half
4 whole eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon flour
salsa, sour cream, and additional green onions for serving

In a medium bowl stir together ham, green onions and 2 cups of cheese (save the remaining 1/2 cup for later). Spray a 9x13 inch baking dish with cooking spray. Use a 1/3-cup measuring cup to scoop out cheese mixture onto a tortilla. Roll up tortilla and place seam side down in the baking dish. Roll up all tortillas and place them into the baking dish with the sides touching.
Whisk together half-and-half, eggs, salt, and flour. Pour over tortillas. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
In the morning, preheat oven to 350*. Bake for 30-40 minutes. Remove and sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup of cheese over enchiladas. Bake for 10 more minutes or until tops are golden brown and the egg mixture is set.
Serve with salsa, sour cream, and additional green onions.
*Amy's notes: I leave out the salt and sub almond milk for the half-and-half.

Previous reviews:
4/10/13 ~ These were actually pretty good, and they took less than 5 minutes to throw together, since I used presliced onions.  I subbed almond milk for the half-and-half, and I would absolutely do that again.  Worked beautifully.  My only complaint was that it was a bit too salty.  There's honestly no need for the salt when you're using ham.  I'm going to leave it out next time.  I'm also thinking of subbing green peppers for the green onions, since that just sounds good to me for some reason.  I loved that I got to throw it together after supper last night and then throw it in the oven this morning while I was still in my zombie state.  I normally dread mornings, and this made it just a little bit easier.  :-)

Monday, December 16, 2013

Crockpot Cube Steak and Gravy *

Sorry for the lack of posting. I've been cooking, but with all of the holiday rushing around, I've basically stuck to the good old reliable classics (in other words, the ones I can make from memory, lol).

Let me start this by saying that I don't really care for cube steak all that much in the first place.  However, the OP made a point of stating that she normally wasn't a cube steak fan until she found this recipe.  She said it was unbelievably tender.  It was still dry and chewy, in my opinion.  The sauce was decent, but as you can see from the picture, it came out with way too much liquid.  Hubby liked it okay, but I just wasn't a fan at all.  The flavor of the gravy was good, but the chewy meat was just too much of a distraction.  I might actually try this again with pork chops instead of cube steak.  That might make it a little less icky.  I don't know.  I'll have to think about it. :-(


CROCKPOT CUBE STEAK AND GRAVY
(The Post-It Place ~ via Pinterest)

Cube steak   (I used a family size pack)
2 cans (10.75 ounce size) cream of mushroom soup
1 envelope onion soup mix
3/4  cup water
Salt and Pepper to taste

Place all ingredients in a crock pot. Cook on low all day. Serve over rice, noodles, mashed potatoes or with your favorite side dishes.