New Recipes Reviewed

We've made lots of new recipes lately and I always want to remember what we liked and didn't like so that I know which ones to add back to our menu, so here's what we thought...

Cheesy Chicken and Rice..... this turned out pretty soupy and though it was tasty, it was missing something for us.  A good recipe, definitely comfort food, but we were wishing for something more.  It is also really similar to the Creamy Crescent Casserole that we love, so we'll probably scratch this particular recipe from future menus and just go with our old faithful.  

Crockpot Beef Gyros.... believe it or not, despite my intense love for Greek food, I never even tasted this recipe!  I made it on a day that I had something else going on, and only Ryan ended up eating it (and the leftovers.)  He says it was super tasty, but didn't do too well re-heated.  Next time, I'll try and be around for the first serving so I can form my own opinion.  But, let's face it, I love tzatziki sauce, so anything wrapped in a pita with tzatziki, I'm bound to love!

Burritacos.... YUM!  Seriously, this recipe combined EVERY ingredient that I love.  It also makes a HUGE amount and thank goodness, it freezes well.  We ate the second batch of this recipe last week and I was even more in love the second time around.  Don't forget to take your reflux medicine though, it's a hot one!

Spicy Sausage Pasta .... Ryan says this recipe is his new favorite food.  Another homerun in the kitchen.  In fact I think he used the phrase "favorite meal you've ever made".  I loved that this entire meal was made in a single (giant) skillet.  One dish to wash = total win.  We made it with original Rotel and loved the spicy-ness.  You could take it down a notch by using just regular diced tomatoes or mild Rotel.  

Crockpot Pork Chops and Apples ... We had pork tenderloin and apples for New Year's this year and when I saw this recipe, I hoped it would be similar.  We used a pork tenderloin instead of pork chops.  Another meal that was good, but left me wishing for something more.  Definitely think we will make it again, just might play around with the spices a little.  

Cauliflower Bacon Cheddar Chowder.... Made this recipe tonight.  Actually, saw it a while back on Iowa Girl Eats, and then when Leigh re-posted it recently and raved about it, I knew we had to try it.  We all know how I love my Easy Potato Soup, and this is a perfect "lightened up" version with cauliflower instead of potatoes.  I can't wait to eat the leftovers tomorrow for lunch!  

2-Ingredient Pumpkin Muffins - A Birthday Breakfast

When my friend Jennifer mentioned these muffins earlier this week, I knew exactly what to make for Ryan's birthday breakfast! This is literally one of the EASIEST recipes ever!  Just two ingredients:

1 Can Pumpkin Puree and 1 Box Yellow Cake Mix

Directions: Mix Pumpkin Puree & Box Cake Mix together, spoon into muffin tin, and bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes!  Top with a dusting of powdered sugar, or if you really want something sweet, maybe add cream cheese icing.   For today, we went with powdered sugar:

The birthday boy approved these with rave reviews!  In my opinion, these are SUPER sweet and could use a little something extra.... maybe cinnamon?  They are also a lot heavier than the muffins I normally make, so a little goes a long way -- I could only eat one.   I'm looking forward to trying this again with some other flavors of cake mix!

Happy 29th Birthday to my husband Ryan! Love you and hope this year is the best yet!

New Recipes Reviewed

Well, we’re nearly half way into our second month of monthly menu planning, so I thought I should tell you how it’s going, and let you know whether those new recipes were actually worth it!   Also, I found out a few weeks ago that my friend Ginny from my pilates class reads this blog and wonders whether or not I actually cook all the stuff I post about.  And, that made me suddenly realize….. There are actually some people out there reading this that I do know in real life!   

Confession: I stalk lots of people through their blogs.  And I’m guilty of not leaving comments.  This is something I want to get better about.  I hope you’ll leave a comment here (or let me know in real life if you have the opportunity) if you’re reading.  I’d also love to read your blog(if I’m not already lurking)!  

So the answer is… I do use the menu plans to make a grocery list, and generally follow them pretty closely, but it is often hard from week-to-week to follow an exact schedule.  Lots of things get bumped around just to fit in our day-to-day activities, but I’m ok with that.   The main point is, to have food in the house for recipes we like so we don’t end up eating out all the time.   So, on to the recipe review….

New recipes we’ve made so far this year….

Chicken Pot Pie … excellent recipe (ThanksLindsey!)  I will definitely make this again.  Also, I will take my indigestion medicine before-hand because it gave me major heartburn, but I LOVED it, and so did my hubby, so that’s a win-win.  Probably need to get it back on the calendar before the weather gets warm though, cause this is a definite winter comfort food.  

Crockpot Lasagna …. Forgot to put it in the crockpot, so just emailed the ingredients to my husband with modified directions for the oven and he made it (he volunteered).  It was FANTASTIC.  I love Lasagna.  Can’t wait to actually try it in the crockpot though.  Also, don’t think I’ll ever get Ryan to volunteer to make it again, apparently he had no idea how much work goes into Lasagna.

Slow Cooker French Dip Sandwiches… oh.my.goodness.  I should’ve known by the frequency that these show up on Leigh’s menu plans that I should’ve made them sooner!  I absolutely love any type of shredded meat in the crockpot (if you’ve read my menus, you already know this), and this was the easiest recipe yet.  We will absolutely eat this again and again.. and again!  

Chicken Enchilada Soup… oh, boy did I flub this one up.  I cannot tell you if I like it or not because I messed up not only the ingredients, but also the instructions.  It was heartbreaking because it was a TON of food, and we ended up wasting it all because it turned out so badly.  I often substitute ingredients in recipes when I don’t have exactly what it called for, and it has never turned out quite this bad.  The only other recipe I remember being this bad was when I mistakenly put Italian tomatoes and peppers in my shredded beef tacos instead of tomatoes and green chiles (that’s the last time I buy store-brand Rotel… the cans for Italian tomatoes looked EXACTLY the same).  If anyone tries this recipe and it turns out good, I’d like to know.  But I think I’m too chicken to try this one again anytime soon! 

NEW! Hot Corn Dip Recipe

Love this recipe that Jennifer made for our Favorite Things party.  It is even simpler thatthe other recipe I use for hot corn dip, and I could eat this stuff by the boat load.  Luckily she left me the leftovers!

Ingredients:

1 (15 ounce) can white corn, drained

1 (15 ounce) can yellow corn, drained

1 (10 ounce) can diced tomatoes with

green chile peppers, drained

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese

½ t. chili powder

½ t. Garlic powder

Cilantro to taste

Instructions:

1.       Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

2.       In a medium baking dish, mix white corn, yellow corn, diced tomatoes with green chile     peppers, cream cheese, chili powder, garlic powder and cilantro 3.     Bake for about 30 minutes until bubbly, then enjoy with tortilla chips!

Beer, Cheese & Corn Chowder

I started with this recipe from Pioneer Woman, but also wanted to add a beer in for more flavor, so I changed the ingredients slightly to accomodate for the beer.  Also, found some Shredded Kraft Pepper Jack w/ Philadelphia and decided to go for that rather than grating up two blocks of cheese (I know, laziness).  

1/2 stick butter

1 onion chopped

1/2 pack bacon, cooked and chopped

3 bell peppers (red and green), finely diced

2 cans summer crisp corn kernels, drained

1/4 cup all purpose flour

1 and 1/2 cup chicken stock

1 beer

2 cups half and half

2 cups shredded pepper jack ( I used the Kraft w/ Philly Pepper Jack w/ Red & Green Jalapenos)
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar 

In a large pot, melt butter over medium-high heat. Cook onions for a couple of minutes, then add bacon, cook another minute, and add peppers.  Cook until tender, then add corn.  Cook another minute and then sprinkle flour over the top, pour in broth/beer and stir well to combine.  Allow this to thicken for a few minutes, then reduce heat and add half-and-half.  Cover and allow to simmer for about 15 minutes.  Finally, stir in cheese.  Once cheese is melted and soup is hot, add salt and pepper to taste, and serve ASAP!

I didn't plan ahead and buy bread bowls, so I served mine with tortilla chips, which was pretty darn good if I do say so myself!  This recipe brings together lots of my favorite things (cheese, corn, bacon, beer, and of course a little mexican flavor with the peppers!!)

Pound Cake for Breakfast

Sometimes you gotta eat pound cake for breakfast. Today was one of those days. I think I learned this habit from my dad. Anytime there was pound cake in our house growing up, it was understood that not only was it a dessert, but it was also breakfast! My favorite flavor of pound cake is chocolate (I always ask for a chocolate pound cake for my birthday – no icing, please!), and I love to heat it in the microwave for just a few seconds and devour it with a glass of milk. However, this weekend I made a vanilla pound cake for Father’s day, and had a hunk leftover, so guess what? Pound cake for breakfast!

And, just to make sure you have a recipe and can bake your own breakfast pound cake, here is the recipe I used:

Ingredients:
2 Sticks Butter
3 Cups Sugar (room temp)
6 Eggs (room temp)
3 Cups Cake Flour, sifted
1/4 tsp baking soda
8oz Sour Cream
1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions:
Cream together butter and sugar in a stand mixer. Then, continually mixing, add eggs, one at a time. Alternate adding scoops of the dry mixture (flour + baking soda) and spoonfuls of sourcream. Mix well. Last, add vanilla. Pour batter into a greased/floured tube pan. Bake in a NON-preheated oven at 325 for 70 minutes. Remove from oven & enjoy! It’s always nice to have a hot slice fresh from the oven, but this cake will last for days, and if you want it hot later, just stick slice in the microwave.

A Summer Side Dish - Tomato Cucumber Salad

I absolutely LOVE tomatoes (no kidding, my favorite food is salsa) and cucumbers are pretty much the only green vegetable that I tolerate without much whining, so this summer side dish is right up my alley!

What you'll need....

Tomatoes (sliced or diced into bite size pieces, about 1.5 cups once cut up)
1 Large Cucumber (cut in half, then sliced as thin as you can slice)
1/4 red onion (sliced or diced, however you like it)
Olive oil (about 2 TBS)
Red Wine Vinegar (a few splashes, to your taste)
Salt & Pepper (to taste)

Slice & Dice your veggies, splash in the olive oil and red wine vinegar, sprinkle on salt & pepper.  Allow to marinate for 20-30 minutes while you prepare the rest of your meal.  Also great the next day, but you may want to double the recipe if you plan to have leftovers, this stuff goes FAST!

Pork Chops for Dinner!

Usually I don't link up to recipes when it's something that I either make up on my own or is a simple variation of something I've made, but these are so simple and too good not to share!

Ingredients:
2 eggs - beaten
4 pork chops
1 cup crushed butter crackers
Garlic salt - to taste
Black pepper - to taste
Butter

Preparation....

Mix crackers, garlic salt & pepper together in one bowl

Beat eggs in another bowl

Dredge pork chops through eggs & then through cracker mixture

Ready to bake

Preheat oven to 375 Degrees 

Place pats of butter around pork chops in the pan

Cover & Bake for 40-45 minutes, uncover & allow to brown for 5-10 more minutes

The finished goodness

We also had sweet potato fries modified from this recipe on the side.  Yum!

Oreo Balls!!!

Well, I owe the credit for this recipe to my college roommate Elizabeth.  She didn't cook much during the year that we lived together, but one weekend, she came back from home with these little babies in tow, and my life has never been the same.  OK, maybe that's an exaggeration, but they are pretty dang good.  The best part is, you need only 3 ingredients!

 

Ingredients:

1 Package Oreo Cookies (or store brand works just as well... since the real thing is twice the price!)

8oz Cream Cheese, softened

Baker's Chocolate (I used white chocolate this time, but have done milk & dark chocolate before, too)

 

Directions:

Crush all cookies using food processor, or throw them in a ziploc and crush manually.  Reserve 5-6 crushed cookies to use to sprinkle on top for decoration at the end.  Mix the crushed cookies with the softened cream cheese until well-blended.  I'm fairly convinced that the best way to do this is get your hands in there and get dirty.  You'll have black fingernails by the time you're done, but you wont spend a lot of time and energy trying to mix it with a fork/spoon. 

 

Once the cookies and cream cheese are mixed very well together, roll into individual balls and place on a pan or cookie sheet covered with wax paper.  What size balls you make depends on how you like them, but I'd say use a teaspoon as your measure and just start with a heaping teaspoon of the cookie mixture for each ball.  Place in refrigerator and allow to cool for 30-40 minutes.

 

Melt baker's chocolate in microwave-safe glass dish or measuring cup.  Drop each cookie ball into the mixture, coat with chocolate, allow excess to drip off, then place back on wax paper to dry.  Sprinkle tops with extra cookie crumbs, or if you're really fancy, drizzle with the opposite color chocolate!  You could make them festive around holidays with colored sprinkles or dye your chocolate with food coloring.... have fun with it!

 

Keep refrigerated until you're ready to serve & enjoy a little taste of yummy goodness.

Breakfast or Breakfast for Dinner - Hashbrown & Sausage Casserole

Well, I meant to take a picture, but my casserole was DEVOURED this morning in Sunday School.  I always debate what to take when it is our turn to take breakfast, because it is always so hit-or-miss what people will eat, and what you'll end up with a ton of leftovers to take home with you.  So far in our history, we've taken home a bag full of bagels and a dozen krispy kremes (not that I'm complaining), but I wanted to try something a little different today, so I made my friend Lorraine's Sausage & Hashbrown Casserole recipe. We've made this for breakfast tailgates and also "breakfast for dinner" and it turns out wonderfully, every time!

Here's what you need:
1 bag southern style frozen hashbrowns
2 cups cheddar cheese
1-2 pounds (depending on how much you like) breakfast sausage
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup sourcream
1/4 cup onion chopped

Directions:
Brown sausage and onion together in a skillet, drain off extra grease.  Mix all ingredients except 1 cup of cheese and spread in greased casserole pan.  Top with remaining cup of cheese. Cook at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until browned to your liking.

If we have another early football game this year, this is definitely what I'll be making for the tailgate!

Oreo & Peanut Butter (or Nutella) Stuffed Brownies

I have a gazillion recipe blogs loaded into my google reader.... plus, I have my sweet friend Leigh who emails me the top 10 recipes she's found throughout the week every Friday.  Seriously, there are so many great cooks out there posting their recipes, it's difficult to decide which ones to make first!  When I first read this recipe on Picky Palate, I immediately emailed it to my co-worker who loves all things peanut butter and chocolate.  Since I have a peanut allergy, I was pretty disheartened because this would add another item to the list of treats that I just couldn't enjoy! 

When I was planning dessert for our tailgate one weekend this fall, I got to thinking, perhaps there's a way for me to have these afterall!  I whipped up a double-batch, making half with peanut butter and half with Nutella.  (Pink cupcake liners for Peanut Butter, so I don't accidentally bite into the wrong one.)

This is one of the EASIEST recipes I've made lately, too. All you need is a box brownie mix, Oreos, and your choice Peanut Butter, Nutella, or both.  Line your muffin tin with cupcake liners, stack two oreos together with a dab of peanut butter in the middle and on top, then pour on the brownie mix!  Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes or until brownies are done, let cool & serve!  We ate these at tailgate, but if I were eating them at home, I'd pour up a LARGE glass of milk to go with them!

Parmesan Chicken Recipe

Tonight I made one of our favorite dinners.  I got the original recipe from my friend Megan a few years ago after she published it in the church cookbook.  She had us over and made it for dinner one night, and I fell in love.  I might not have all the details exactly the same as she makes it, but thought I'd share my rendition.

It is a little bit labor intensive, so I don't make it often, but I had some free time today and hadn't made it in a while.  After eating it, I remembered it is TOTALLY worth all the work.

Parmesan Chicken Recipe:

You'll need:
Chicken (you can use chicken breasts cut in half, I thawed the frozen chicken breast tenderloins)
Shredded Parmesan (I use the bagged grocery store version)
Eggs
Salt&Pepper
Grape Tomatoes
Spinach
Goat Cheese (optional - I left it out this time because we had pasta salad with feta)
Olive oil

Instructions:
Beat your eggs in a small bowl with salt & pepper, dip the chicken in the eggs, then dip it in parmesan cheese, covering both sides.

Heat small amount of olive oil in skillet, and cook chicken (without flipping) until more than half-way done.

When you flip the chicken, the cooked side should be a pretty golden/brown.  Continue cooking until done all the way through.  Then, top with chopped grape tomatoes, spinach & goat cheese (if using).  Allow spinach to wilt, then you're ready to serve!

We had one of our go-to side dishes - homemade pasta salad (noodles, zesty italian, feta, tomatoes), but this would also be great with a big salad or some other green veggie.

Enjoy!

Fruit Trifle Recipe

My summer go-to dessert is the fruit trifle.  Usually, I make it with just strawberries, but for our luncheon at work this week, I decided to change it up a bit and add blueberries, too!  Very "American" themed, huh?  This is the 3rd or 4th time I've whipped up this recipe in the last few months and lots of people have asked me to write it down so they could make it, so here it is!

"USA" Theme Trifle

Ingredients:

Vanilla Jello Instant Pudding Mix + Milk to prepare

Cool Whip

Angel Food Cake (torn into lots of pieces)

Fresh Fruit

Directions:

On the night before your event, slice up your fruit and top with sugar.  Allow to sit in fridge overnight to get good and yummy.  Go ahead and put your cool whip in the fridge to thaw, too!

When you're ready to put it all together, use a glass bowl or trifle dish (this makes for a pretty presentation, but it would definitely be just as tasty in any other dish), tear your angel food cake into lots of little pieces, then get ready to layer:

angel food cake - fruit- pudding - cool whip - angel food cake - fruit - pudding - cool whip

You always want to end with cool whip, then use a little bit of fresh fruit to decorate the top!  

side view to show the yummy layers

I've made it with both vanilla and cheese cake flavored puddings.  I think it would be GREAT with peaches, and can't wait to try that later this summer.  If you're wanting something light & cool, this is your dish!  You can change up the size by using more fruit, larger boxes of jello mix and a larger container of cool whip.

I've gotten lots of compliments on this recipe, especially on hot summer days.  Trust me, you won't ever have leftovers!

Saucy Pork Chops for Crockpot

When we started our supper swap group, I knew that we couldn't eat casseroles all the time.  First of all, there are only two of us.  Second of all, we can't afford a whole new wardrobe for expanding bellies!  While I've made lots of yummy casseroles, I've also scoured the internet for good meals that can be frozen, thawed, and dumped in the crockpot for an easy dinner.  One of my favorites has been these Saucy Pork Chops.

Only 5 ingredients!
6-8 thinly sliced pork chops
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of celery soup
1 dry onion soup packet
1 tsp parsley flakes

Easy Directions!
Just mix up the soups and parsley right in your crockpot, add the pork chops and cook on LOW for about 4 hours!  You'll be left with fork tender chops and some yummy gravy to serve over rice or potatoes.

Strawberry Shortbread Dessert

Today I saw a sign for the Cottle Strawberry Farm and couldn't resist turning off to get a big box of fresh-picked strawberries.  There are road-side stands all over town (and the state) selling Cottle Strawberries, but low-and-behold, the actual farm is not far from home!

It is so great to live in a place where produce is so easy to bring home straight from a farm.  This is one of the things I love the most about Spring & Summer in South Carolina!  

Since we can't possibly eat a whole box of strawberries before they start to go bad, I washed about half to freeze, and the other half to eat this week.  (I actually got started eating the strawberries on the way home, just couldn't resist!)

Tonight I made up a batch of my favorite short-bread to serve with our fresh berries and icecream!  Here's the recipe for the yummy shortbreads which would go great with pretty much any fresh fruit topping!

Shortbread Ingredients:
1&1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup cold butter
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/2 cup sour cream
2 TBS milk

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400F and lightly grease a baking sheet.  In medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Cut in butter until mixture is crumbly.  Combine egg, sour cream and milk in a separate bowl.  Add to flour mixture and stir with a fork until moistened.

Drop dough into 8-10 mounds onto baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes until golden brown.

Enjoy topped with strawberries and ice cream or cool whip!

Hot Corn Dip

For our Superbowl Party this weekend, I made Hot Corn Dip.  I started off with this recipe, but according to my usual cooking style, I couldn't help changing a few things and making it my own.  I was really nervous about how it would turn out since I modified the recipe, but it was a hit, and at the end of the night, there wasn't a single bite left!  So, I thought I would share how I changed it up, that way I'll be able to duplicate it in the future.

Ingredients:

1 (11 ounce) can White Corn w/ Chipotle Peppers (Could also sub Mexicorn)

1/2 tube of Frozen Creamed corn **I used a quart-sized ziploc bag of corn from our annual "Corn-Putting-Up" of my Papa's SilverQueen Corn**

1 (7 ounce) can of chopped green chiles

1 cup grated Monterey Jack & Cheddar Cheese Mix (this is one of the pre-made mixes at Publix)
2/3 cup of grated Parmesan cheese

1 8oz block of cream cheese, softened
1/4 -1/2 cup mayonnaise

1tsp of Ground Red Pepper

2 shakes of onion powder

Ground black pepper, to taste

Extra grated cheese for topping
Corn chips, for dipping

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a 13x9 inch baking dish with non-stick spray or butter. In a separate bowl, mix together the corn, green chilies, cheeses, mayonnaise, and seasoning.  Spread into prepared dish and bake, uncovered at 350 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes, or until bubbly around the edges.  Sprinkle extra cheese on top if you like, continue baking until completely melted, then serve warm with the corn chips. Can also be made/served in a crockpot!

Enjoy!

A Giveaway & Chili Goodness

First things first, head on over to Leigh's blog and enter the Seeking Love First Giveaway.  You can read all about Gray & Leigh's adoption journey on her blog as well!  This is Leigh's 500th blog post and she's celebrating by giving away a precious fabric wreath and one of their super cute fundraising T-shirts.  Head on over there to see how you can enter-to-win, and spread the news to your friends for a chance to have more entries!


Last night was our Sunday School Chili Cookoff..... I've never been a big fan of Chili, but Ryan has always raved about his mom's Chicken Chili and so I used her recipe for the cookoff.  And, get this, we won the SPICIEST category and tied for BEST ALL AROUND.   Not to mention getting to taste a whole bunch of other great chilis like this recipe and this recipe.   You can check out our recipe 


Ryan's Favorite Chicken Chili

Ingredients:

1 ½ pounds white boneless chicken**

3 (14 ½ oz) cans diced tomatoes with onions and green pepper, undrained

2 (15 oz) cans kidney beans, undrained

1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

3 Tbsp chili powder

1 ½ tsp oregano

1 tsp garlic salt

1 tsp sugar

½ tsp black pepper

½ tsp ground cayenne pepper

**The recipe calls for chicken to be cooked & cubed, but I shredded the chicken and everyone loved it.  (I think it would probably also be good if you used shredded rotisserie chicken).

If cooking on the stove, cook/shred chicken, then, mix all ingredients in a pot and cook until mixture comes to a full boil.  Then reduce heat to low for 30-40 minutes.  

If cooking in crockpot, use cooked or frozen chicken pieces, mix all ingredients in a crockpot and cook on low all day.  Remove chicken and shred, then re-mix chicken with other ingredients.

SERVE with cheese, sourcream, and crackers/chips/cornbread.  ENJOY!

Yummy Spinach Dip

We have our monthly dinner club tonight and I'm in charge of bringing the appetizer, so I'm making this yummy spinach dip recipe I got from a co-worker after she brought it to a work luncheon. It's a little different than any spinach dip I've had before since it has some other vegetables and it's made with greek yogurt instead of sourcream. I guess that makes it healthier for you, too! So enjoy this recipe next time you host a party or need something quick and easy to throw together and take along with you:

Ingredients:

1 Knorr Vegetable Mix packet

16 0z Nonfat Greek Yogurt

1 cup Reduced fat mayonaise

1 lb plum tomatoes (diced)

1/4 cup red onion (diced)

10 oz frozen chopped spinach (thawed & squeezed dry)

1/3 cup green onions (thinly sliced)**

Preparation:

Stir together yogurt, mayo, and Knorr vegetable mix until smooth. Fold in tomatoes, onions, and spinach until evenly mixed. Cover and chill for 2+ hours. Serve with bread, crackers, chips, and veggies for dipping.**

**I left out the green onions since there are already red onions and I didn't want to buy a whole bunch of green onion since I didn't have a use for the leftovers. I'm serving it up in a white mountain bread loaf from Publix with extra bread, veggies, and chips for dipping**

Lasagna Casserole

Here is a recent recipe I got from our Supper Swap that has turned out to be a hit with everyone who has eaten it. Jennifer has already made it twice for supper swap since it got rave reviews the first time! I took a pan over to the Sweeten's (you'll have to email and ask to become a reader of this cute blog), shortly after their precious little girl was born. Kate asked for the recipe so she could share it with another new momma, so I figured I would put it out there to the blog world so everyone could have a taste! Hope you enjoy!

Lasagna Casserole

1 package egg noodles

1 jar spaghetti sauce

1 lbs ground beef

4 oz cream cheese

4 cups mozzarella cheese

1 c. sour cream

Directions:

Cook egg noodles. Brown beef, drain fat, add spaghetti sauce and simmer. Mix cream cheese and sour cream. In a 9x13 greased baking dish (or tin foil casserole pan), layer noodles, cream cheese mixture, mozzarella and beef two times. Cover with foil. (Recipe can be frozen at this point, to cook after frozen, thaw completely, then follow the directions below)

Bake at 350 degrees covered for 30 minutes. Uncovered and bake 5-10 minutes longer or until cheese on top is melted & bubbly.

Sorry I don't have a picture, but trust me, you want to try this!

Lockslie