Chicken w/ broccolli, bacon & shreaded cheese in the middle

I found this recipe on the kraft foods website and it looked so good I had to try it last night. A new twist to making chicken. It was so easy...the only tricky part was actually wrapping the chicken tightly with the chopped broccoli, bacon bits & shreaded cheese in it.

Ingredents:

Chicken breast, thighs (which ever you prefer)
Chopped fresh or thawed broccolli
Bacon chopped (I used bacon bits)
Bread crumbs

Using a meat tenderizer, flatten the chicken to about 1/2 inch. Sprinkle the chopped broccolli, bacon, & cheese on the chicken, then wrap tightly and secure with tooth picks. Coat wrapped chicken in bread crumbs and make sure completely covered.

Pre-heat oven to 400*, place breaded wrapped chicken, seam side down in a foil lined shallow baking dish. Cook for 25-30 mins or until chicken is cooked through. Remove all toothpicks and serve.















This took a bit longer to bake then the 30 mins it says...but that could just be my oven and the fact that I dont have a meat tenderizer and couldnt flatten the chicken as much as I should have. Kevin loved it, and I would def make this dish again. Very tasty.

Cream Filled Cupcakes

Sunday we threw my brother and his fiance an Engagement party. My sister and I were pretty much in charge of all the preparing of food and desserts. We each made 2 salads a piece and I made all the desserts. I decided to make cupcakes (enough to feed 60+ people). Amanda's colors for her wedding are yellow and blue, so of course thats the color of the icing I made. To be a little different, I thought I'd try to stuff each cupcake with icing ( like a hostess cupcake ). I thought they came out AWESOME!! Rusty loved them =). Next time I might try stuffing them with more of a pudding or custard, instead of icing. I thought they were a little too sweet.

To actually stuff them was simple enough. First I used a regular cake mix and baked the cupcakes according to the box directions. After they were completely cooled, I used the smallest tip of a decorating kit and poked a hole right thru the paper liner on the bottom. Then I used the larger circle tip and squirted the icing into the whole already made in the bottom of the cake. Worked great =).

I'd definally make these again!!!

Watermelon ice pops - August recipe

I know Im posting this a bit late...but heres my August recipe. I had bought a whole seedless watermelon to bring up to Shinhopple one weekend and nobody cut into it. I searched all over for something to do with it. I couldnt eat a whole water melon by myself..LOL. I thought something cool would be good, since it was in the middle of summer. I found a recipe on the kraft food site for these ice pops. They are so simple to make:


2 cups water
1/2 cup COUNTRY TIME Lemonade Flavor Drink Mix
3 cups chopped seedless watermelon
1 cup ice cubes


Now, instead of making the drink which was the original recipe, I though freezing them would make a yummier treat.

My first attempt with this was horrible...the country time lemonade made this so sour I couldnt stand it. Kevin who likes sour ( and lemonade ) said he couldnt eat it either. Way way too sour =(. I had to throw the whole batch right down the drain. My second attempt instead of using lemonade mix, I used raspberry ice mix from crystal lite. What a difference. The second batch came out great!! Kevin ate them very quick on those hot summer days. I'd definally make these again next summer. They turned out to be a nice cool summer treat.

Kath's May Recipe- Kabobs on the grill

Not sure if this counts as the May recipe, but theres beef in it too :). I wanted to bbq for Kevin the other night, and not just burgers so I thought I'd try to make some kabobs. I had plenty of chicken at home, so I stopped at the store and bought some cubed beef figuring a mixture of both would be good. They were pretty basic kabobs, I started off by marinating the chicken in some Kraft roasted red pepper w/ parmesean italian dressing and marinating the beef in some italian ( didnt have enough of one to marinate both the chicken and the beef ). I think because the chicken pieces were thinner then the beef, the chicken took the marinate much better. The chicken melted in your mouth..mmmm...I also added one green peper, one onion, some brocolli to each skew. I have to say, they turned out great. I had to buy some skews to use on my baby weber grill and found the cutest set in CVS by me. It came with 6 metal skews and a metal holder you put them on ( so they dont sit on your grill ). Kevin loved them, I had no leftovers!!

I'd definally make these again. I think the beef didnt have enough marinate to soak in the flavor so next time I'll make sure I have enough dressing. This meal was very quick to prepare and fun to cook on my grill.

Egg Toast Sandwich

Well, I thought I'd put a new twist on that breakfast sandwich Michelle made a few weeks ago. I drove up to my sisters place in the Pocono's last saturday and we started talking about breakfast foods. I mentioned that egg sandwich Michelle made and she told me about another one that my Mom and her use to make at least once every weekend. Its very simalar to Michelles, exept this is made with that yummy english muffin bread ( which is a bit thicker then regular bread ). You take a shot glass and make a hole in the bread, butter the ends on both sides, dont forget to spray some pam on your frying pan so it doesnt stick. Crack one egg into the hole in the bread and let it cook. I sprinkled some salt and peper on it, and flip when the one side is cooked. Kevin LOVED it. I had made him two slices and he came back and asked for another. I also added one slice of cheese and let that melt when the egg was cooked. This was extremely easy and quick to make. I'd do it again since Kevin loved it so much =)

Cream Puffs

Happy Easter everyone!!! I hope everyone had a nice day yesterday and a good weekend. Mine was very nice, kind of busy, but nice none the less. Saturday night I got to go out and celebrate Kevins birthday with him and a few of his good friends. We went to a local tavern and Kevin enjoyed some drinks bought by his friends. Anyway...Sunday I told my family I was going to attempt to make a dessert my Mom was famous for. Cream Puffs. I was very nervous making them, I didnt want to mess up something everyone loved that my Mom was so good at making. I always remember my Mom saying there was a trick to not having the 'puff's' turn out heavy. So, as Kevin was napping on my couch I started making the dough for the cream puffs. I was pleasently suprise at how easy they were to prepare. This is what I did:

Ingredients

1 cup boiling water
1 stick butter (1/2 cup)
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
4 eggs


Melt the stick of butter in the water as it starts to boil. While the water is starting to boil, in a med size bowl mix together the flour and salt. Once the water is boiling, stir in the flour mixture until well blended and forms a dough ball. Remove from heat for 5 mins to cool off slightly, then add 1 egg at a time, mixing thoroughly before adding the next egg. After all 4 eggs are mixed together, drop tsp size balls of the dough on a ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 425 degrees for 30-35 mins ( check after 30 to make sure there not burning ). Turn off oven, then cut a line in each puff to let the insides dry a bit, keep the puffs in the warm oven for another 20 mins with the oven off. Remove from oven, cut off the top of each puff and let cool completely. Fill each with chocolate pudding and cool whip. Sprinkle with powder sugar to finish off.

I was so excited that these cream puffs came out just like my Moms. Everyone loved them. I would definally make them again. They werent as tricky as I first thought they were going to be.

Chicken Cordon Bleu

This is my moms Chicken Cordon bleu recipe. Its so easy and great to make for company. Its a recipe you can prepare in advance. This picture isnt one I took, my chicken was more then half eaten when I realized I forgot to take a picture of it..lol. Anyway...heres the recipe for my moms Chicken Cordon Bleu:

Boneless chicken breast ( I just lay it in the dish your baking to see how much will fill it- depending on how many your cooking for )
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can/cup of milk ( just fill the soup can with milk ) ( or you can use white wine, or cream of mushroom soup )
1/4 pound of ham
1/4 pound of swiss cheese
( only need a few slices of ham and swiss, just to cover the chicken )
bread crumbs
2-3 tbsp melted butter

Line your baking dish with defrosted chicken breast. Cover with a slice of ham over each piece, then with the swiss cheese.

Mix in a bowl the cream of chicken soup, milk (cr of muchroom, or white wine ) and pour over chicken.

Melt the butter and mix that with the bread crumbs. Sprinkle all over the chicken dish.

( if your preparing this in advance, wait until your ready to bake before putting the bread crumb topping on ).

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 mins or until chicken is cooked.


This recipe is great with some rice cooked with some chicken flavoring. If your not a rice fan like my boyfriend, you can cook some fetticchini alfredo instead.

This is very simple and the chicken is so moist and flavorful when its done.

Nutter Butter Frozen Peanut Butter Pie

This was the dessert I made last Saturday night. I needed to think of something non-chocolate since I gave up Chocolate for lent. This was very good but extremely rich. Everyone tried some, but most people couldnt finish their piece. The crust was awesome!!! I think everyone kept eating the crust and leaving the filling. You have to really like peanut butter too, sine that mostly what this was made of. For all you peanut butter fans...heres the recipe for this:

Prep Time:15 min
Total Time:4 hr 45 min

Makes:12 servings

24 NUTTER BUTTER Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies
5 Tbsp. butter, melted
1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
1 cup creamy peanut butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 Tbsp. vanilla
1 tub (8 oz.) COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, thawed, divided

CRUSH cookies in resealable plastic bag with rolling pin or in food processor. Mix cookie crumbs and butter. Press onto bottom and up side of 9-inch pie plate.

MIX cream cheese, peanut butter, sugar and vanilla with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Gently stir in 1-1/2 cups of the whipped topping. Spoon into crust.

FREEZE 4 hours or overnight until firm. Let stand 30 minutes or until pie can be cut easily. Garnish with remaining whipped topping.

Cheese ball

This was the other appetizers I made for Saturday. More people snacked on this then the pepporoni cups. One of the girls I work with at the salon makes this all the time and its always a hit. She calls it a cheese ball. Again, this was very easy to make and you can prepare it in advance. It calls for:

1 pkg cream cheese

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

chopped onions

2 tsp chopped pimentos

2 tsp worshester sauce (sp)

chopped walnuts

You basically just mix all the above together with your hands ( exept the walnuts ). Roll into a ball, then roll that in the chopped walnuts just to coat the outside. Serve with chips, pretzels or anything else you enjoy.

Pepporoni Cheese Cups

My cousin Michelle recommended me making these for my guests Saturday night. She told me how much everyone loves them when she makes them. I thought I'd give it a try. She calls them Pepporoni Cheese Cups. They were pretty simple to prepare and only take a few mins to cook. Here is the recipe:

2 cups (8oz) shredded cheddar cheese

2 pks (2 1/2oz) sliced up pepporoni

3/4 cup mayo

1/3 cup bacon bits

2-3 tsp mustard

1 tube large flaky biscuits (grands)

1. In a large bowl, combine the cheese, mayo, bacon and mustard. I divided up the cheese, mayo and bacon and mustard into 2 bowls, then put ham in one and pepp. in other)

2. Split the biscuits into thirds. press each 1/3 into the bottom oand up the sids of aungreased miniature muffin cups. Fill each with about 1 tablespoon of cheese mixture.

3. Bake at 450 degrees for 9-11 minutes onr until golden brown and the cheese is melted. Let stand for 2 minutes before removing from the pans. Serve warm. Makes about 2-2/12 dozen. Enjoy!

You can make this appetizer using ham as well as pepporoni. Michelle recommended pepporoni, she said the ham wasnt as big of a hit. I think if I had more then just 4 people over, these would have all been eaten. This was only one of the appetizers I made for Saturday night and theres only so much you can eat before dinner..LOL.

Kevins weekly dinner - Taco Bake

Hi all, I've said before I was going to try and think of different dishes to make Kevin for those nights he works late so he has something quick to eat for dinner when he gets home. This past week I tried this taco bake. It was so easy to prepare. I think the total time was about 15 mins. He must have like it, I made it for him last friday and by last night, it was all gone =). I have to start timing the meals better so he's got them during the week. The whole point is for him to have dinners all ready for him when he gets home from work. Anyway...here is my taco bake:

Prep Time:15 min
Total Time:35 min

Makes:6 servings, 1 cup each.

1 pkg. (14 oz.) KRAFT Deluxe Macaroni & Cheese Dinner
1 lb. ground beef
1 pkg. (1-1/4 oz.) TACO BELL® HOME ORIGINALS® Taco Seasoning Mix
3/4 cup water
3/4 cup BREAKSTONE'S or KNUDSEN Sour Cream
1-1/2 cups KRAFT Shredded Cheddar Cheese, divided
1 cup TACO BELL® HOME ORIGINALS® Thick 'N Chunky Salsa


PREHEAT oven to 400°F. Prepare Dinner as directed on package. While Macaroni is cooking, brown meat; drain. Add taco seasoning mix and water to meat; simmer 5 min.


STIR sour cream into prepared Dinner. Spoon half of the Dinner mixture into 8-inch square or 9-inch round baking dish; top with layers of the meat mixture, 1 cup of the cheese and remaining Dinner mixture. Cover.


BAKE 15 min. Top with salsa and remaining 1/2 cup cheese. Bake, uncovered, an additional 5 min. or until cheese is melted.

I have to say, this smelled soooooo good when it came out of the oven. I was good and didnt cut into it. You could smell the salsa right away.

Lasagna Rolls

Here is one of the meals I've made for Kevin since he's been getting busier at work. This is just a twist on his favorite meal. Thanks to Heidi for giving me the idea of rolling the lasagna noodles instead of laying them flat. I had one roll when I was over Kevins and it was very good. I'd do it again, and maybe next time add something more too it, like spinach or something.

Dutch Windmill Cookies

I was at Mrs. Pennings on Sunday and she made me some tea ( coffee for her and Kevin ) and she served us these Dutch Windmill Cookies. They are awesome!! They taste like a gingerbread cookie. I tried to read the box, but it was in Dutch =). Kevin said he grew up on these cookies and they were one of his favorites. They were perfect for dipping in a nice hot cup of tea. I'd love to find a recipe for cookies like these. I'll have to do some serching and see what I can find. If anyone out there has one and wouldnt mind passing it along, I'd be grateful. I've had other really good Dutch treats over there...one of these days I'll ask Mrs. Pennings how to make some of them. I know Kevin loves them, and he's not a hugh sweets fan. I've noticed the Dutch treats arent too sweet.

Easy Shepards Pie

I got this recipe from Kraft foods and wow, it was very easy. Kevin ( my boyfriend ) is starting to get really busy at work, and I've decided to make him a different meal each week that he can re heat when he gets home at night. I know how tired he is after a really long day at work and I thought this would help him have nice dinners at night. This shepards pie was delicious. Here is the recipe:

Prep Time:10 min
Total Time:30 min
Makes:Makes 6 servings.

1 lb. ground beef
2 cups hot mashed potatoes
4 oz. (1/2 of 8-oz. pkg.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, cubed
1 cup KRAFT Shredded Cheddar Cheese, divided
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups frozen mixed vegetables, thawed
1 cup beef gravy

PREHEAT oven to 375ºF. Brown meat in large skillet. Meanwhile, mix potatoes, cream cheese, 1/2 cup of the shredded cheese and the garlic until well blended.

DRAIN meat. Return to skillet; stir in vegetables and gravy. Spoon into 9-inch square baking dish; cover with potato mixture and remaining 1/2 cup shredded cheese.

BAKE 20 min. or until heated through.

I left out some of the ingredients ( just didnt think they were nesseccary ), like the Cream Cheese. I also used garlic mashed potato's so I left out the garlic cloves.

I would make this again in a heart beat.

Kath's Jan pic'

I know this isnt a chili or a soup...but its close...I decided to make a yummy beef stew. I got the recipe from Kraft foods, and wow, it was so easy. The prep time was nothing...just cutting up the potato's, veggies and letting the meat marrinade. I didnt have a chance to try it last night..it didnt finish cooking until almost 8:30, but I gave some to my brother and he called and told me it was excellent!! I brought some in for lunch today, so I'll see for myself at lunch time. Heres the recipe:


Prep Time:15 min
Total Time:2 hr 15 min
Makes:8 servings, 1-1/4 cups each
3/4 cup KRAFT Zesty Italian Dressing
2 lb. beef for stew, such as beef chuck roast, cut into 1-inch chunks
6 slices OSCAR MAYER Bacon, chopped
3 cups sliced mushrooms
1 cup chopped onions (about 1 large)
3 cups sliced carrots (about 6 medium)
1-1/2 lb. potatoes, peeled, cut into large chunks (about 4 cups)
1 can (14-1/2 oz.) stewed tomatoes, undrained
1 can (14-1/2 oz.) beef broth
POUR dressing over meat in large resealable plastic bag. Seal bag; turn to evenly coat meat with dressing. Refrigerate 30 min. to marinate. Meanwhile, cook bacon in large saucepan on medium heat 5 min. or until crisp, stirring occasionally. Remove bacon from saucepan; drain drippings.
ADD mushrooms and onions to same saucepan; cook on medium-high heat 10 min. or until tender, stirring occasionally. Remove meat from marinade; discard marinade. Add meat, carrots, potatoes, tomatoes, broth and bacon to saucepan; stir.
BRING to boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 1 hour 15 min. Uncover; simmer an additional 15 min. or until meat is cooked through and sauce is thickened, stirring occasionally.

Chocolate covered peanut butter crisp balls

1 1/2 cups Rice Krispies
1 cup crunchy peanut butter
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
2 tablespoons butter or margarine, at room temperature
12 ounces white chocolate
Colored sugar for sprinkling (optional).
1. In a medium bowl, combine Rice Krispies, peanut butter, confectioners’ sugar and butter or margarine. Mix until very well combined. Firmly compress into balls 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Place on a baking sheet, cover and refrigerate until well chilled, about four hours or overnight.
2. Line a baking sheet with waxed paper and set aside. In a double boiler over medium-low heat, melt white chocolate until completely smooth. Remove from heat and pour chocolate into a wide, shallow bowl. Working quickly in small batches, roll chilled balls in chocolate, turning gently with a fork. Transfer to waxed paper. If desired, sprinkle tops of cookies with colored sugar.
3. Place baking sheet in refrigerator long enough for chocolate to become firm, 30 minutes to 1 hour, then transfer to an airtight container. Store at room temperature for up to three days, or refrigerated for up to three weeks.
Yield: 3 dozen cookies.

These are out of this world..if your a fan of chocolate and peanut butter. I know the recipe calls for white chocolate but I used milk instead. I also only had creamy peanut butter so they didnt have nuts in them. Everyone in my family loved these. They were a hugh hit on Christmas!

Apple Pie

Well, this is probably the last apple pie I will make until next season. It was very tasty and my dad said it's almost as good as the way my mom made them. Its a very simple recipe, I make the pie crust from scratch using :

4 heaping tablespoons of crisco
2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk

This crust is very tricky to make. You have to get a knack for it. the way I do it is mix the crisco and flour ( crumble it all together ) then when its nice and mixed, add the salt and the milk. Its going to get VERY sticky, you might need to add more flour. Add a little at a time until it doesnt stick to your hands anymore. This makes enough for the bottom and top of the pie crust.

Then cut up the apples of your choice...I prefer Mac's or Cortlandts ( they get very soft but keep their shape ) add sugar and cinnaman. Bake for about an hour at 350 testing to make sure the apples are soft.

This was my grandmothers recipe that my mom made and taught to me. Im very glad I learned it so well so I can teach it to my kids. My mother would be proud.

Wilton 2104-4010 Cookie Pro Ultra Cookie Press

This is the cookie press Karen and I used to make our spritz/butter cookies. Its awsome..so easy to use and OMG...the cookes come out awsome. Here is the recipe for the classic spritz cookies:

1 1/2 cups butter
1 cup granuated sugar
1 egg
2 tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp almond extract ( if you dont have...i used an extra 1/2 tsp of vanilla- came out awsome )
3 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder

Pre heat oven to 375. Thoroughly cream butter and sugar. Add egg, milk, vanilla and almont extract; beat well. Mix in flour and baking powder; gradually add to creamed mixture, mixing to make a smooth dough. Do not chill. Place dough into cookie press and press cookies onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 10-12 mins or until lightly browned around edges. Remove cookies from sheet and cool.

Makes 7-8 dozen cookies

Enjoy your holiday baking :)

Mint Chocolate Sandwiches

MINT CHOCOLATE SANDWICHES

1 cup semi sweet chocolate
2 cups flour
2/3 cup butter
1/4 cup corn syrup
2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg
1 cup sugar - divided
24 chocolate covered thin mint candies

Melt chocolate pieces.

In large bowl beat melted chocolate, flour, butter, corn syrup, baking soda, salt, egg, & 1/2 cup sugar.

Roll dough & refrigerate for 2 hours. With hands, shape dough into small balls and roll in sugar to coat. Place on ungreased cookie sheet and bake about 12-15 mins. Quickly move half of cookies. Place mint pattie on bottom cookie and place second cookie on top. Press together so mint spreads evenly. Remove to cool.

* use very thin balls.

Christmas Cookies

Hi Girls...Karen and I got alot of baking done yesterday. Here is a pic' of the assortment of cookies I made. They are all my moms favorites...or most of them anyway. I made the chocolate chip cookies with the reeses mini cup in the center, chocolate mint sandwiches, chocolate spritz cookies ( butter cookies ) and regular spritz cookes. I made alot so I could give my brothers, sister and Dad a taste of the holidays, just like my mom would have done =).