Big Bears Wife

Crock Pot Macaroni and Cheese

2013-06-17T06:00:00.000-04:00

Mac and Cheese ranks up there in at the very top of my list of "Foods I could eat every day". It's always been my number one comfort food. I know I'm not alone in this! There are countless Mac and Cheese recipes out there, there are tons of pre-packged mac and cheeses and around here you can normally find it on the menus of the local restaurants.

I only have one problem with some mac and cheese. I can not stand a bland, dry to the bone macaroni and cheese dish. I need the ooey, gooey, cheesiness of a good Macaroni and Cheese. It's pretty much one of the only recipes that I don't want to "make lighter", I just want southern, cheese filled, calorie loaded, comfort in a bowl.

Now I have Crock Pot Macaroni and Cheese in my back pocket as one of my go-to Macaroni and Cheese recipes.

I just got a new crockpot after mine died so I'm on that "new appliance high" and want to make everything in the crockpot haha.

I was looking around for a good Crock Pot Macaroni and Cheese recipe when I stumbled onto Julie's recipe for Crock Pot Macaroni and Cheese and my tummy started growling. I read through it and then noticed that she had found it from Six Sisters Stuff, so I clicked on over to see how they liked it.

Turns out that they had found it from Repeat Crafter Me so now, I'm thinking that this mac and cheese must the pretty darn good if I've gone back through 3 blogs so far and they all ~~liked~~ loved it. And then from Repeat Crafter Me's site I notice that she adapted it from Paula Deen's Creamy Crock Pot Mac & Cheese. With that I was sold and started getting together what I needed to make it.

Paula Deen's recipe has eggs in it, which I didn't use. I also added more cheesy soup, more sour cream, a little paprika, changed up the noodle and cooked it for about 3 hours on low.

When you're cooking this, it will look kind of dry and the cheesy will probably be in clumps when you stir it. You'll probably look into the crock pot and think "What the heck, this is not creamy mac and cheese". You'll probably get nervous and think that you did something wrong.

It's ok. Just give it the full 3 hours on low, stirring every so often and once it's been cooking for 3 hours it'll turn into creamy, rich goodness.

If it doesn't... you may in fact have messed it up *wink*

But it's super easy to put together, so I'm sure you'll be just fine :)

I had Crystal and her little ones over for dinner and I think I'm safe in saying that they all enjoyed it! (Well, except for Emma who can't yet have mac and cheese yet haha)

:P

(Printable Recipe Here)

Crock Pot Macaroni and Cheese

by Angie Barrett June-17-2013

Ingredients

16 oz Radiatori pasta (or any small pasta)
4 tablespoons butter
2.5 cups grated cheddar cheese
16 oz sour cream
3 can (10oz cans) condensed cheese soup
2 cups milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon pepper

Instructions

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Cook Radiatori pasta for 6 minutes. Remove from heat, drain and set aside.

In a saucepan, melt the butter and cheddar cheese. Stir until all of the cheese is melted.

In a slowcooker/crockpot combine the condensed cheese soup, milk, salt, dry mustard, paprika and pepper. Stir well. Add in the melted cheddar cheese and stir well.

Add in the drained pasta. Mix well to combine. Set slowcooker/crockpot to low, let cook on low for 2.5 - 3 hours. Stir occasionally.

Yields: 1 crock pot full of Macaroni and Cheese

Blackberry Skillet Cobbler

2013-06-14T15:08:00.000-04:00

If you've stumbled onto this Blackberry Skillet Cobbler recipe in search of a sweetened, sugar loaded blackberry cobbler, I'm afraid that you may not be happy about being here. Mainly because of the fact that even though I have a Blackberry Cobbler recipe to share with you, it isn't one that's packed with blackberry sugary syrup.

I do however have a wonderful blackberry skillet cobbler that it golden brown on top and packed with delicious, tart blackberries.

Now, I know growing up around here that cobblers were always super sweet, all of the fruit cobblers were deep southern, fattening, bites of sugar fruit heaven. There is totally nothing wrong with those haha, well there is something wrong with them if you're looking for a little treat without a ton of regret.

Now I'm not saying that this blackberry cobbler is super healthy or anything, I'm no Doctor or Nutritionist. But I can say that I loved that it isn't packed full of sugar. Yes there is about a 1/2 cup sugar in the recipe. 1/4 cup to go over the blackberries and another 1/4 cup to go into the cobbler topping.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that this blackberry skillet cobbler is quite refreshing to me and I loved being able to actually taste the tartness from the blackberries. haha That's a good way to put it, I suppose.

I saw a recipe for a Strawberry Shortcake Skillet Cobbler on Lori's blog (Recipe Girl) and thought that it was just beautiful. I also just happen to have a beautiful cast iron skillet show up on my door step from Lodge Cast Iron a few days later so I knew that this cobbler had to be made.

I changed it up just a little bit. I used blackberries instead of strawberries and I used a little less sugar. This cobbler goes together in no time and was the perfect way to end a hectic week.

What you need:

3 cups blackberries

1/2 cup sugar, divided

1 cup flour

1 cup cornmeal

6 tablespoons butter, cold and cut into small pieces

1 large egg

1/2 cup milk

pinch of salt

Extra butter to butter the skillet

What to do:

Pre-heat oven to 375F.

In a medium bowl combine blackberries and 1/4 cup sugar. Set aside.

In another bowl, combine the flour, cornmeal, 1/4 cup sugar and baking soda. Whisk together.

Cut butter into flour mixture with a pastry cutter. (Or your fingers) (Got mine at Wal-Mart for $2.00)

In a small bowl, whisk together the egg and milk. Stir into the flour mixture.\

Butter the inside of a cast iron skillet.

Pour blackberry and sugar mixture into skillet.

Hello Beauties!

Scoop dough mixture by the tablespoon on top of the blackberries.

Until the entire skillet it covered.

Bake for 30 minutes or until crust is golden brown.

(Printable Recipe Here)

Blackberry Skillet Cobbler

by Angie Barrett June-14-2013

Ingredients

3 cups blackberries
1/2 cup sugar, divided
1 cup flour
1 cup cornmeal
6 tablespoons butter, cold and cut into small pieces
1 large egg
1/2 cup milk
pinch of salt
Extra butter to butter the skillet

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 375F.

In a medium bowl combine blackberries and 1/4 cup sugar. Set aside.

In another bowl, combine the flour, cornmeal, 1/4 cup sugar and baking soda. Whisk together.

Cut butter into flour mixture with a pastry cutter. (Or your fingers)

In a small bowl, whisk together the egg and milk. Stir into the flour mixture.

Butter the inside of a cast iron skillet. Pour blackberry and sugar mixture into skillet.

Scoop dough mixture by the tablespoon on top of the blackberries.

Bake for 30 minutes or until crust is golden brown.

Buffalo Chicken Bites with White BBQ Sauce

2013-06-11T14:30:00.000-04:00

This year marks a very special celebration for Hellmann's® Mayonnaise‎! Hellmann's is celebrating their 100th birthday this year! Hellmann's has teamed up with Chef Mario Batali and a few food bloggers to help celebrate by sharing some great recipes that feature Hellmann's Mayonnaise!

Hellmann's® Mayonnaise‎ is also celebrating their 100th birthday by helping provide one million meals to Feeding America in order to help fight hunger nationwide! How awesome is that! I think that's a pretty great way to celebrate a 100th birthday!

You can visit Hellmann's Facebook page to watch Mario Batali share a few of Hellmann's classic recipes that he's put his on twist on!

Also on Hellmann's facebook page you can also enter to win a seat at the World’s Longest Picnic Table for Hellmann’s 100th birthday celebration in September. (Click the link above to enter!)

I loved Mario Batali's Recipes so much that I did my very own take on one! This is my take on his Chicken Wings with White BBQ Sauce!

This White BBQ Sauce with Hellmann's Mayonnaise is the perfect, refreshing dipping sauce for these buffalo wings.

To make the White BBQ Sauce, you'll need:

1 cup Hellmann’s® Mayonnaise Dressing with Olive Oil

1/2 cup white vinegar

2 tablespoons sugar

Juice from 1/2 lemon and and zest of whole lemon

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons pepper

In a medium bowl, combine the mayonnaise and vinegar.

Whisk in the Salt and Pepper.

.Whisk in the sugar.

Add in the lemon zest.

Add in lemon Juice.

Whisk Well to combine everything!

Cover with plastic wrap and place into the fridge to chill.

:P

(Printable Recipe Here)

Buffalo Chicken Bites with White BBQ Sauce

by Angie Barrett June-11-2013

White BBQ Sauce Ingredients

1 cup Hellmann’s® Mayonnaise Dressing with Olive Oil
1/2 cup white vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
Juice from 1/2 lemon and and zest of whole lemon
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons pepper
Buffalo Chicken Bites (recipe below)

Buffalo Chicken Bites Ingredients

4 boneless skinless chicken breast, cubed into bites
2 cups flour
A few dashes of Salt and Pepper
1/2 cup milk
3 eggs
2 cups buffalo sauce

White BBQ Sauce Instructions

In a medium bowl, combine all the ingredients for the barbecue sauce. Cover with plastic wrap and place into the fridge to chill.

Buffalo Chicken Bites Instructions

In a medium bowl whisk together the eggs and milk. In a separate medium bowl mix together flour, and a dash of salt and pepper.

Pat chicken bites dry. Place chicken bites in egg and milk mixture. Then dip in the flour mixture, tossing until completely coated.

Pre-heat oven to 425F.

Place a wire rack over a baking sheet. Place chicken bites on to the wire rack. Bake in the oven for 25 minutes.

Remove chicken bites from oven and flip them over with a spatula. Bake for 15-20 more minutes or until done.

Remove from cooked chicken bites from oven and pour into a large bowl. Pour buffalo sauce over chicken bites and toss to coat.

Serve with cold White BBQ Sauce for dipping.

Cheesy Chili Dogs and #KingsHawaiian Buns

2013-06-11T00:00:00.000-04:00

I can not tell you how much I've enjoyed our deck and patio set. Ok, I suppose I can tell you! I LOVE IT. We hardly ever had guest over or had cookouts at the old house but with this new house and deck, I think we've had like three cookouts within the past month, (not including the times I just dragged Thomas and our dinner out there to enjoy the evening). Those bright blue chairs, under that blue umbrella, oh it's pretty much turned into my favorite spot.

I normally over do it big time with food for cookouts. It's not that I think everyone is going to eat it all, it's just that I like for there to be variety. I like for there to be options. But I tried to scale that down for this cookout. After all, I have so many leftovers in the fridge it's crazy. (yes, I pawned some left overs off on my brother, not that he minded getting beef stew, crockpot mac and cheese and whatnot for his lunches) So for this cookout we opted for hot dogs and hamburgers with french fries. (But of course that just wasn't enough and I had to add in some baked beans and mac and cheese as well, ahh it's a curse I tell ya!)

Let's take a second to talk about hot dogs. I have to be honest. Hot Dogs freak me out. I saw a video when I was in high school on how they were made and I about died. All I can think about when I think about hot dogs is "pig tails, pig tails, pig nose, ahhhh". Let's just say that Thomas did not enjoy "hot dog" shopping with me the other day. Who knew it would take so long to pick out hot dogs.

Well I'm sure anyone else would just grab a pack and be on their way, but no, not me. I had to inspect them all, looking for "non-pig tail" hot dogs. I wanted those kosher hot dogs because those are suppose be only be the "normal" parts of the cow, but of course I couldn't find any of those. After a while Thomas convinced me to buy a pack of regular beef hot dogs and so that's how that ended. I've only had like two hot dogs in the past ten years, last night was probably my third since I graduated high school.

To be honest, between the cheesy chili that we made to go on them and the sweet Kings Hawaiian hot dog buns I couldn't even taste the hot dog that much. I may have actually enjoyed it! gasp! I know! haha
Everyone else was in love with both the hot dogs and the cheeseburgers on the King's Hawaiian Buns!

Kings Hawaiian rolls and buns have pretty much become a staple in our house. I always loved their sweet rolls, but now their hamburger, hot dog and sandwich buns are the only kind I buy.

We used my new french oven to fry up some little french fries (ok Thomas did it, but whatever)

Grilled some ~~non-pig tail~~ hot dogs.

Grilled up some hamburgers.

And sat down to enjoy great company and great food.

The Cheesy Chili for these hot dogs is one of Thomas' favorite dips/chilies. We normally just have it as a dip with chips, but he knew that it would be perfect for Cheesy Chili Dogs and Chili Cheese Burgers and he was right! It's so easy to make too! Chili Sauce, cream cheese and cheddar cheese is all you need for this dip/chili!

:P

(Printable Recipe Here)

Cheesy Chili Dogs and #KingsHawaiian Buns

by Angie Barrett June-11-2013

Ingredients

2 cans Chili sauce

8 oz cream cheese cut into cubes

1 cup cheddar cheese

Hot Dogs

Kings Hawaiian Hot dog buns
Extra shredded cheese for hot dogs

Instructions

Mix everything together in an oven safe bowl.

Bake at 350F for about 15 minutes or until everything is melts. Stir.

Grill Hot Dogs until heated throughout. Place into hot dog bun ( Kings Hawaiian Hot dog buns open from the top not the side, I love the way it looks!)

Top with chili and cheese. Enjoy.

Grilled up some hamburgers.

King’s Hawaiian® wants to know how you bring people together. Reply below for a chance to win a $200 gift card! Sweepstakes Rules.
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Kings Hawaiian. The opinions and text are all mine.

White Chocolate Oreo Mint Icebox Cake

2013-06-09T01:45:00.000-04:00

Sometimes I have to make a dessert "just because". Just because I love my husband, just because it looks good, just because I want to get into the kitchen or just because it NEEDS to happen.

Like this White Chocolate Oreo Mint Icebox Cake, it just needed to happen. I've seen ice box cake all over the place. I've seen them in old cookbooks, at church lunches and all over the internet.

While I was browsing through a few of my favorite blogs the other day I ran across this, Oreo Icebox Cake from Cookies and Cups. As soon as I saw it I knew that I needed to make it for Thomas. He loves every thing Oreo. Oreo cheesecake, he needs it... Oreo ice cream, he's in heaven...Oreo Cookies, he'd eat them all if I let him.

So I knew that this Oreo Icebox Cake would be right up this alley.

When I first started out to get everything I needed for this Icebox cake, I planned on making it exactly like the one that Shelly had made. But then I got sidetracked, by Mint Oreos and white chocolate pudding. I didn't even know that white chocolate pudding exist. Oh my gosh, it is good!

While my version of the icebox cake "derailed into mint heaven" and includes pudding, it's still really easy to make and comes together in no time!

You only need a few things for this White Chocolate Oreo Mint Icebox Cake!

What you need:

2 cups milk
1 box Hershey White Chocolate Pudding
2 bags Mint Oreos Cookies (I used 1.5 bags for mine, but you might want more)
1 large tub of Cool Whip
1/2 cup milk for dipping cookies

What to do:

First make the pudding. Combine 2 cups cold milk in a bowl with the white chocolate pudding mix. Mix well with an electric mixed (or in a stand mixer) for 3 minutes. Fold in the cool whip.

Remove the Oreo cookies from the package and dip each on into a small bowl of milk.

You don't need to soak the cookie, just one dip will work. Layer the Oreos in a 9x9 baking dish.

Add a layer of cool whip over the Oreos. Add another layer of "milk dipped" Oreos.

Continue until you have three layers of Oreos and four layers of cool whip.

Finish with a layer of cool whip

Refrigerate overnight.

Then slice into this amazing dessert and enjoy!

You'll thank me. I promise!

Thomas loved it, I loved it. It was loved by all :)

(Printable Recipe Here)

White Chocolate Oreo Mint Icebox Cake

by Angie Barrett June-09-2013

Ingredients

2 cups milk
1 box Hershey White Chocolate Pudding
2 bags Mint Oreos Cookies (I used 1.5 bags for mine, but you might want more)
1 large tub of Cool Whip
1/2 cup milk for dipping cookies

Instructions

First make the pudding. Combine 2 cups cold milk in a bowl with the white chocolate pudding mix. Mix well with an electric mixed (or in a stand mixer) for 3 minutes. Fold in the cool whip.

Remove the Oreo cookies from the package and dip each on into a small bowl of milk.

You don't need to soak the cookie, just one dip will work. Layer the Oreos in a 9x9 baking dish.

Add a layer of cool whip over the Oreos. Add another layer of "milk dipped" Oreos.

Continue until you have three layers of Oreos and four layers of cool whip.

Finish with a layer of cool whip

Refrigerate overnight.

Then slice into this amazing dessert and enjoy!

Have a bite!