Tnt-cook

Sour Cream Pancakes

2013-05-11T09:13:00.000-07:00

We love pancakes at this house. It is Taylors favorite thing to eat on the weekends. Well, really any morning, but I only have time to make them for him on the weekends that I don't work. I had some sour cream that was sitting in the fridge and needed to be used up so I decided to make my little man pancakes.

This recipe had a cup of sour cream and only a few teaspoons of flour. I was hesitant to make them, but pushed on and got over my fear of pancakes with very little flour.

And since I'm a rebel, I switched out the granulated sugar and substituted brown sugar. Just because.

They cook up beautifully, and taste just as amazing. Light and fluffy and a little tangy from the sour cream. The perfect way to eat them is with a dab of butter and real, warm maple syrup. I love the weekends!

Sour Cream Pancakes

INGREDIENTS

Makes 6 5-inch pancakes
- 7 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/ 2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup sour cream (Greek Yogurt or light sour cream also work)
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Butter
- Maple syrup

DIRECTIONS

Heat a cast iron skillet or griddle over medium-low heat. Let it slowly warm up until it’s really hot.
Stir the flour, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt together in the bottom of a medium bowl. Add the sour cream and stir together very gently; it’s okay to leave the texture a bit uneven. The key to this recipe is to not over-mix! Whisk the eggs and vanilla in a separate bowl, and then stir them into the sour cream mixture—once again, being careful not to over-mix.
Melt a little butter in your skillet or griddle and pour the batter in, 1/4 cup at a time. Cook for about 2 minutes on the first side, or until bubbles appear all over the surface. Flip and cook for about a minute on the other side. Repeat with remaining batter.
Serve with butter and a waterfall of maple syrup.

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Bars

2013-05-10T17:33:00.000-07:00

Here is my latest peanut butter and chocolate bar love. It is soooo good. I am totally in love with this bar. It is a little on the crunchy side, especially the topping, but I guess that is what I love about them. I made these for Mr. Pickypants lunch this week, they didn't last very long. Guess that means I will just have to make another batch........

Ingredients

1/2 package semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup peanut butter
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups oats, quick cooking

Preparation

Grease and flour a 9x13x2-inch baking pan; set aside. Melt chocolate chips in the microwave or top of a double boiler over hot water.
In a large mixing bowl, cream butter with peanut butter; beat in sugar, egg, and vanilla.
Combine flour, soda, and salt in a separate bowl; stir into the peanut butter mixture. Stir in oats. Press about 3/4 of the mixture into the bottom of the pan. Spread melted chocolate chips over the top. Crumble remaining peanut butter mixture over the melted chocolate. Bake in a preheated 350° oven for about 20 minutes.

Inside-Out Cheeseburgers

2013-04-28T07:58:00.001-07:00

With this warm weather we are having, I had a craving for burgers, I guess they make me feel like summer and cooking on the grill. I wanted to make cheeseburgers (Mr. Pickypants loves cheeseburgers) but I wanted to make special cheeseburgers. I decided on inside-out cheeseburgers.

They are pretty easy to make. Pretty much your basic hamburger recipe made in to patties with some cheese cubes stuffed in the middle. I have made these burgers before. My favorite is Swiss cheese between the patties with sautéd onions and mushrooms on top. Today I decided on cheddar cheese (I was out of American cheese)

I stuffed cubes of Cheddar cheese in between two hamburger patties and after cooking them I topped them with a special surprise. Remember the homemade BBQ sauce I made last week, well I topped my gorgeous burger with that. SOOOOOOOOO delicious. I think I could drink that sauce right out of the bottle.

Inside-Out Cheeseburgers

INGREDIENTS:

4 slices American cheese
1 1/2 pounds ground chuck (15 to 20 percent fat)
1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 (4-inch) hamburger buns, split and toasted
Your favorite burger fixings (onion, pickles, lettuce, tomato, mayo, ketchup, mustard)

DIRECTIONS:

Cut each slice of cheese in half, then in half again to form 4 squares. Stack the pieces on top of each other to form 4 stacks; set aside.
Place the meat in a large bowl and add the salt, garlic powder, Worcestershire, and pepper. Mix with your hands until just evenly combined.
Divide the meat into 8 equal portions and place on a work surface. Using your hands, press 2 portions of the meat into 2 rough 1/4-inch-thick patties that are each about 1 inch wider in diameter than the hamburger buns.
Place 1 stack of cheese in the center of 1 of the patties
Top with the second patty and pinch the edges to form a tight seal.
Cup each patty with your hands to round out the edges, and press on the top to flatten slightly into a single thick patty.
Transfer to a plate. Repeat with the remaining portions of meat and cheese to form 4 patties in total.
Preheat a cast-iron or other heavy bottomed skillet over medium heat. Cook burgers until well browned, about 4 minutes. It is common for burgers to puff up due to steam from the melting cheese. Turn burgers and prick the top of each to allow steam to escape; cook until browned on the outside and no longer pink on the inside; about 4 minutes. Serve on hamburger buns topped with your favorite burger fixings.

Backyard BBQ Recipes

2013-04-26T17:59:00.002-07:00

Here are some great recipes to get you into the grilling mood this warm weekend.

BBQ Monterey Jack Burgers

Smores Bars

Homemade BBQ Sauce

2013-04-25T16:46:00.002-07:00

We love Sweet Baby Rays BBQ sauce.

Its our go to sauce when we grill out.

With the weather becoming warmer we grilled out for the first time this year!!!

We grilled pork loin chops.

I love pork chops on the grill.

I like to buy the thicker ones so they don't dry out.

Nobody likes dried out pork chops.

I made this imitation Sweet Baby Rays BBQ sauce.
It was sweet and not to spicy, just the way we like it. It wasn't exactly Sweet Baby Rays, but it sure was good.......I might even like it better.
Next time I am going to add a little garlic granules and honey to it, just to mix it up a little bit.
I think the honey sauce would be great over grilled chicken next weekend.

Homemade BBQ Sauce

Ingredients:

1-1/4 cups Dark Brown Sugar, packed
1-1/2 cups Ketchup
1/2 cup Red Wine Vinegar
1/2 cup Water
3 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
2-1/2 teaspoons Ground Mustard
2 teaspoons Smoked Paprika
1-1/2 teaspoons Kosher Salt
1 teaspoon Black Pepper

Directions:

Add all ingredients to a medium pan over medium-low heat. Whisk well until the sugar has dissolved. Let simmer for 10 minutes stirring as needed so the sauce doesn't scorch. Let cool. Serve immediately or cover and store in the fridge.

Baked Breakfast Burritos

2013-04-21T08:22:00.000-07:00

Breakfast burritos are delicious. I love eggs, cheese and sausage stuffed into a warm tortilla shell. These breakfast burritos are super easy to make, you can even make them the night before so you can sleep in the next morning and have a yummy breakfast with no fuss. The egg mixture is poured over the filled burritos and seeps into the nooks and crannies all night. It bakes up light and fluffy the next day.

I made these for my "Breakfast Club" they were a hit. We devoured them with English muffins, hash browns and fresh brewed coffee with a dash of Kahlua! I just love "Breakfast Club" Saturdays.

Baked Breakfast Burritos

Serves: 8
Ingredients:
1 lb breakfast sausage
3 c shredded cheddar cheese (1 cup set aside)
8 burrito sized flour tortillas
8 eggs
1 T all-purpose flour
2 c half-and-half
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1/2 lb bacon, chopped into bite sized pieces
Directions:
In a skillet over medium high heat, start frying the bacon pieces. When the bacon pieces are about half way done, add the sausage and brown the sausage and bacon together until done. Drain the fat. Let the sausage mixture cool. Set aside 1/8 a cup of the mixture to sprinkle over the top. Place 1/8 of the sausage and 1/8 of the cheese mixture down the center of a tortilla. Roll up and place seem side down in a sprayed 9×13 baking dish. Repeat until all tortillas are filled.
In a large bowl beat eggs, flour, salt, pepper and half and half. Pour over the tortillas in the baking dish. Cover the dish and place in the fridge overnight (or bake it immediately).
When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes. Uncover dish and sprinkle remaining 1 cup of cheese and the remaining sausage mixture over tortillas, bake 10 minutes longer or until the eggs are set and cheese is melted.

Loaded Potato Wedges

2013-04-10T18:51:00.001-07:00

These potato wedges are incredible.

They are super cheesy, full of bacon and slathered in ranch dressing.

How can you go wrong with cheese, bacon and ranch dressing?

Mr. Pickypants was in potato wedge heaven for two days.
He had the few that were left over for lunch the next day.
He said they were just as good as the first day.

The recipe calls for real bacon bits.
I made mine with crumbled bacon I had left over from a recipe I had made the day before.
It is such an easy recipe, much like potato skins, but less work because you do not have to hollow the potatoes out.
I liked being able to just cut the potatoes into wedges, bake them, top them with all the goodies and eat!

Loaded Potato Wedges

Ingredients:

Wedges:

4-6 Potatoes

1/4 cup olive oil

Sea Salt

Fresh ground pepper

Seasoning salt

Sour Cream/Ranch Sauce:

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup ranch dressing

1/4 cup milk

Toppings:

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 cup real bacon bits

Handful of chopped Chives,

Instructions:

Cut potatoes into wedges. Place wedges into a deep bowl, drizzle with olive oil, salt, pepper and seasoning salt. Toss until well coated. Place on foiled baking sheet. Bake at 400 for 40 minutes or until fork tender.

While the wedges are cooking, mix together the sour cream, ranch dressing and milk. When the potatoes are done cooking sprinkle the cheese and bacon over them. Place under the broiler for a few seconds to melt the cheese. Remove from the oven when the cheese is melted and bubbly. Drizzle with the ranch mixture and the chives. Serve immediately.

Strawberry Bannana Smoothies

2013-04-07T10:19:00.000-07:00

Taylor loves smoothies. Give that kid a smoothie and he is in heaven. It doesn't matter what kind of smoothie either, he loves them all, but his favorite is strawberry banana. He has been on a smoothie kick again, especially the smoothies from Orange Julius and you guessed it, his favorite is their strawberry banana.

So being the coolest mom around, I have been making my little man smoothies. Strawberry banana smoothies to be exact. I like to make them with milk, but we have also made them with orange juice. Those are my favorite. Strawberry, banana and a hint of orange is so delicious and refreshing, especially in the morning.

You can mix it up and add any kind of fresh or frozen fruit you love or have hanging around the house that needs to used up. Strawberry, blueberry and pineapple is also a favorite around this house. Oh, and don't forget about mangoes, mangoes are awesome paired with pineapple and strawberries. Such a nice refreshing tropical smoothie. Makes me think of summer. So hurry up and make a smoothie so you to can dream about summer coming soon.

Strawberry Banana Smoothies

Makes 2 smoothies

or 1extra large delicious smoothie if you don't want to share!

Ingredients:

1 cup plain Yogurt
1/2 cup Strawberries, fresh or frozen
1 whole small Banana, sliced
1/4 cup Milk
a squirt of Honey
4-5 Ice Cubes

Instructions:

Place yogurt, strawberries, sliced banana, milk, ice cubes and honey all into a blender. Blend until desired consistency. Taste for sweetness, add more honey if needed. Pour into a nice tall glass and enjoy!

Baked Tacos

2013-04-06T07:54:00.001-07:00

This is another quick and easy dinner recipe. Perfect to make on busy weeknight. The tacos are hot, crispy and cheesy after being baked for a few minutes. Pull them out of the oven and load them up with your favorite toppings.

Look at all that cheesy goodness melting over the beef mixture. Pure yumminess.

I topped mine with taco sauce, onions, tomatoes and more cheese. I just couldn't resist the cheese. You could serve this with a side of Spanish rice or guacamole and chips.

When assembling the tacos for the oven, make sure the ground beef mixture is not soupy or greasy. A soupy or greasy mixture will result in the taco shells having a soggy bottom and fall apart when you try to lift them up and devour them. I didn't have this problem, I simmered my ground beef mixture for a few minutes and it turned out perfect.

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground beef
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 package taco seasoning
1 small can of tomato sauce (you only need about 4 ounces)
2 cups of shredded cheese (I used cheddar)
6 hard taco shells (I like the ones with the flat bottom)
And whatever condiments you love - tomatoes, salsa, lettuce, sour cream, etc.

Directions:
Preheat over to 400 degrees.
In large skillet brown ground beef and onion. Drain off any excess liquid. Return to pan and add tomato sauce and taco seasoning. Mix well. You don't want the mixture to be soupy, keep it simmering. Place tacos in a 9x9 inch backing dish standing up. Spoon the taco meat mixture into the taco shells. Fill them pretty full. the meat mixture will bake down. Sprinkle cheese over the top of the taco meat. Place in the oven and bake at 400 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until the cheese has melted. Serve!

Happy Birthday Ashley

2013-04-04T17:24:00.004-07:00

Here is the Birthday cake I made for a friend.

It is chocolate cake,

chocolate frosting,

kit kats,

whoppers,

m&m's

pretzel m&m's

and it is delicious!

Just have a gander at all that chocolate.

To bad it was a surprise

or I would have warned you to have a gallon of milk ready!

Happy Birthday my sweet Ashley and many more to come.

Kit Kat and M&M Cake

Ingredients:

1 (16 1/2 ounce) box cake mix
2 (16 ounce) containers chocolate frosting

36 individual Kit Kat bars (10 packs of 4)
1 (12 ounce) bag m&m's milk chocolate candies (or any variety you like)

Directions:
Prepare cake as directed on package in two 9" cake pans. Let cool completely. Frost cakes generously with chocolate frosting.TIP: Make sure your cake is not higher than a kit kat. Break apart the Kit Kats into 2 piece sections. Place them around the cake, the frosting will help the stick to the cake. Tie with a ribbon to help keep them secure. Top with M&M's of your choice.

BBQ Beef Pie Pockets

2013-04-02T10:05:00.001-07:00

This recipe is soooo easy, so delicious and so fast to make, it perfect for a week night dinner. Who has time after work to come home and make a whole dinner for the hungry family every night???? You do, if the dinner is fast and easy!

Who thought you could feed your family a delicious and hearty dinner on a weeknight. Make this BBQ beef pie pockets served with a simple side salad or your favorite vegetable and dinner is ready lickety split!

BBQ Beef Pie Pockets adapted from

Ingredients

1.5 lbs. ground beef
1 small onion, chopped
1 half green pepper, chopped
1 (18 oz.) bottle BBQ sauce I love Sweet Baby Rays
1 cup shredded cheese divided (I use Cheddar or Colby Jack and Monterey Blend)
1 box refrigerated Pillsbury Pie Crust

Instructions

Cook ground beef, onion and green pepper together in a skillet until browned and cooked through. Drain out juices.
Pour BBQ sauce into pan and stir until ground beef is evenly coated.
Unroll both sheets of refrigerated pie crust dough. Cut each of the round pie crusts into quarters (or smaller if you want smaller sections)
On one quarter of pie crust dough, put 1/4 of ground BBQ beef (about 3/4-1 cup.) Then sprinkle on 1/4 cup shredded cheese over top of the beef. Place a second quarter of pie crust dough over the top (make sure it lines up with bottom quarter) and pinch seams to seal off. You can flute the pie crust edges for a prettier look.
Repeat until you have 4 pie pockets (or more if you cut your pie crusts into smaller sections). Cut about three small slits on the tops of each pie pocket for breathing.
Bake at 425 degrees F for 25 minutes or until tops are golden brown.

Garlic Bread Pizza

2013-03-29T08:49:00.000-07:00

Taylor has become a little chef in the kitchen. He is always thinking up new recipes and trying them out. His specialty is called The Jabba. Grilled cheese stuffed with pepperoni and ranch dressing. He thinks it is delicious,I have to admit, it aint bad!

Today he made garlic bread pizza. It was fast and easy, just the way Taylor like his recipes. We made plain cheese, but the recipes calls for pepperoni. You really could dress these up with any pizza ingredients. Green pepper, black olives, mushrooms, ect.....

Garlic Bread Pizza adapted from Taste of Home

Ingredients

1 package (11-1/4 ounces) frozen garlic bread, thawed (We like Texas Toast)
1/2 cup pizza sauce
1 package (3-1/2 ounces) sliced pepperoni
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

Directions

Place the garlic bread in a foil-lined 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan. Spread with pizza sauce; top with pepperoni and cheese. Broil 3-4 in. from the heat for 4-6 minutes or until cheese is melted. Yield: 8 slices.

Perfect Fried Chicken

2013-03-22T09:55:00.002-07:00

On a busy weekday night I would like nothing better than going through the drive thru of KFC, picking up a bucket of chicken, throwing it on the table and calling it dinner. How can I do that to my wallet. It would never forgive me.

Making fried chicken is not as hard as I would have thought. I soaked the chicken in buttermilk all day so when I got home all I had to do was flour it and fry it up.

An easy weeknight dinner that taste just as great as going through the drive thru, but a lot easier on your wallet!

Fried Chicken adapted by The Messy Baker

2 lbs. chicken thighs/drumsticks, about 12 pieces ( I used the whole chicken)
4 cups buttermilk
1 tbs. hot sauce (Frank’s Red Hot)
4 cups flour
1 1/2 tbs. kosher salt
1/2 tbs. black pepper
1 tbs. garlic powder
1 tbs. onion powder
2 tsp. cayenne pepper
2 tsp. paprika
2 tsp. season salt
oil for frying, peanut or canola
In a large bowl, add the chicken, buttermilk, and hot sauce. Cover and place in the refrigerator. Let soak for 4 hours.
Heat the oil to 350 degrees F. in a large, heavy bottom pot (I use my Le Creuset dutch oven) or fryer. Do not fill the pot more than half way full. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F.
While the oil is heating, place the flour, salt, pepper, and seasonings in a large bowl. Whisk to combine. Take the chicken, one piece at a time, out of the buttermilk and generously coat with the flour mixture. Place 4-5 pieces of floured chicken (no more) in the heated oil. Fry in batches for 14 minutes, turning once. When the chicken is finished frying, use tongs to remove from the pot and drain on a paper towel lined plate. Sprinkle with salt. Place on a cookie sheet and keep warm in a 200 degree oven

Ground Beef Enchiladas

2013-03-18T16:53:00.002-07:00

Everyone knows how much I LOVE Mexican food. What is not to love, all the gooey cheese, the sauce, the tomatoes, lettuce, onions and the cilantro. I absolutely love cilantro. I think it is one of those foods you either love it or you don't. I happen to totally be in love with cilantro. How can you not have Mexican food with cilantro.

I recently made these delicious ground beef enchiladas for some special friends. Friends that I don't get to see very often so when I do I want to make them something that I think they will love.

They are really pretty easy to make. Once they are assembled they bake up pretty fast or you can throw them into the fridge and heat them up the next day. They also reheat well, I had one for lunch the next day and it was just as delicious as the first day.

Ground Beef Enchiladas

Adapted from The Pioneer Woman

Ingredients

FOR THE SAUCE:
1 Tablespoon Canola Oil
1 Tablespoon All-purpose Flour
1 can (28 Ounce) Enchilada Or Red Sauce
2 cups Chicken Broth
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
2 Tablespoons Chopped Cilantro
_____
FOR THE MEAT:
1-1/2 pound Ground Beef
1 whole Medium Onion, Finely Diced
2 cans (4 Ounce) Diced Green Chilies
1/2 teaspoon Salt
_____
FOR THE TORTILLAS:
10 whole (to 14) Corn Tortillas
1/2 cup Canola Oil
_____
TO ASSEMBLE:
3 cups Grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese
1/2 cup Chopped Black Olives (I omitted)
1 cup Chopped Green Onions
1/2 cup Chopped Cilantro

Preparation Instructions

Step #1 – The Sauce
In a large saucepan over medium heat, add oil and flour and whisk together to make a paste, cooking for one minute. Pour in the red sauce, chicken broth, cilantro, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 30-45 minutes.
Step #2 – The Meat
Brown the meat with onions in a skillet. Drain off fat. Stir in 2 cans diced green chilies and seasoned salt. Set aside.
Step #3 – Tortillas
Heat canola oil in a small skillet over medium heat. One by one, using tongs, fry tortillas in oil until soft, not crisp – about 30 seconds per side. Remove to a paper—towel lined plate. Repeat until all tortillas have been fried.
Step #4 – Assembly
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour ½ cup red sauce in bottom of baking pan. Spread to even out. Dip each tortilla into red sauce, then remove to work surface. Spoon meat, a little grated cheese, a little black olives, and green onions in the center of tortilla. Roll up and place, seam down, in baking pan. Repeat until pan is filled. Pour extra red sauce over enchiladas. Top with remaining cheddar cheese.
Bake for 20 minutes or until bubbly. Sprinkle cilantro over enchiladas before serving.

Chicken Enchiladas

2013-03-03T08:07:00.003-08:00

Everyone knows my love for Mexican food. I had a craving for chicken enchiladas, I haven't made enchiladas for a long time. So I decided to remedy that today. I remember seeing this recipe on Pinterest. Chicken enchiladas in a sour cream sauce.

They were soooooooo good. Warm, creamy and cheesy. roasted chicken all wrapped up in a flour shell and smothered in a cheesy sour cream sauce!!! Who could ask for more. Satisfy your craving today and make these delicious chicken enchiladas tonight.

Chicken enchiladas in a sour cream sauce

Adapted from Joyful Momma's Kitchen

10 soft flour taco shells

2 1/2 cups cooked, shredded chicken (I like mine full of chicken)

1 small onion, diced

3 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese

4 Tbsp. butter

3 Tbsp. flour

2 cups chicken broth

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 cup sour cream

1 (4 oz) can diced green chillies

Cilantro, chopped

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13 pan

2. Saute the diced onion in 1 Tablespoon butter until soft.

3. Mix chicken, cooled onion and 1 cup cheese. Roll up in tortillas and place in pan.

4. In a sauce pan, melt butter, stir in flour and cook 1 minute. Add broth and the garlic powder and whisk until smooth. Heat over medium heat until thick and bubbly.

5. Stir in sour cream and chilies. Do not bring to boil, you don't want curdled sour cream.

6. Pour over enchiladas and top with remaining cheese.

7. Bake 22 min and then under high broil for 3 min to brown the cheese.
8. Top with cilantro.

Loaded Baked Potato & Buffalo Chicken Casserole

2013-02-18T16:09:00.001-08:00

Warning: this dish is extremely delicious, but very spicy. Spicy in a buffalo sauce kinda way.

If you love buffalo chicken and loaded baked potatoes with bacon, cheese and chives, than this dish is definitely for you. This recipes was found at Blabbering Thoughts.

Since there are only three of us and I wasn't sure if Mr. Pickypants would really like this casserole because of the buffalo sauce, I only made half the recipe and baked it in a 8X8 inch dish. I am sure substituting BBQ sauce for the buffalo sauce would also work out great. I think I just might do that the next time I make it! I didn't have any green onions so I used chives instead and they worked great. I also used buffalo wing sauce instead of regular Tabasco sauce because that is what I had on hand and I like the creaminess of the buffalo wing sauce over regular Tabasco sauce. This casserole is extremely good. I baked mine at 400 degrees. I was leery of cooking it at 500 degrees. It just seemed to high to me, but I was only making half a recipe so it didn't take as long as a whole recipe would to cook.

Loaded Baked Potato & Buffalo Chicken Casserole

Ingredients

2lbs chicken breast

8 potatoes (I left the skin on)

1/3 cup Olive Oil

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 TBS fresh Ground Pepper

1 TBS Paprika (I didn't used)

2 TBS Garlic Powder

6 TBS Hot Sauce (I used Franks Red Hot Wing Sauce)

{Toppings}

2 cups Shredded Cheese

1 cup crumbled Bacon

1 cup diced Green Onion (I used Fresh chives)

Instructions

Preheat oven 500F

In a large bowl mix Olive Oil, Salt, Pepper, Paprika, Garlic Powder & Hot Sauce

Cube the potatoes & add to the bowl

Coat a 9x13 dish with cooking spray

Add potatoes, allow for excess sauce in the bowl (leave excess sauce in bowl)

Bake the potatoes for 45 minutes, stir every 15 minutes

Cube the chicken & add it to the bowl with the left over sauce

Mix together cheese, bacon & green onion in a small separate bowl

Once potatoes are done, add the uncooked marinated chicken

Then layer the toppings over the chicken

Bake for 15 minutes or until the chicken is cooked

Chicken Parmesan

2013-02-16T16:20:00.003-08:00

Chicken Parmesan

This recipe is so easy and so delicious I just had to share it with everyone. What better than good old fashioned comfort food on a Saturday night with your family or really any night of the week.

Mr. Pickypants really likes Italian food. Spaghetti with homemade sauce, meatball subs with homemade rolls, lasagna, chicken Alfredo, he loves it all. I wanted to make him something he would really love for dinner. Chicken Parmesan with garlic bread. What a great surprise after a long day of working. Who wouldn't want to come home to the smell of chicken Parmesan cooking on the stove nestled in homemade sauce and fresh garlic bread straight out the oven? I know I would and I was sure Mr. Pickypants would.

I was right!!! He LOVED it. I made a half recipe since there is just the three of us and four pieces of chicken would be enough. I should of made the whole recipe so we could have left overs the next day, it was that good!

Chicken Parmesan

Ingredients:

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
8 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed and pounded flat
1 pound thin linguine
1/2 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 whole medium onion, diced
3/4 cups chicken stock
Three 14.5-ounce cans crushed tomatoes
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon oregano
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 half cup freshly grated mozzarella cheese
Fresh parsley, chopped

Directions:

Mix the flour and some salt, pepper and garlic together on a large plate. Dredge the chicken breasts in the flour mixture. Set on a clean plate and set aside.

Cook the linguine until al dente. Set aside

Heat the olive oil and butter together in a large skillet over medium heat. When the butter is melted and the oil/butter mixture is hot, fry the chicken breasts until nice and golden brown on each side, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Remove the chicken breasts from the skillet and set aside.

Without cleaning the skillet, add the garlic and onions and gently stir for 2 minutes. Do not let the garlic burn as it will give off a bitter taste when over done. Pour in the stock and scrape the bottom of the pan, getting all the flavorful bits off the bottom. Allow the stock to cook down until reduced by half, about 2 minutes.

Pour in the crushed tomatoes and stir to combine. Add the sugar, oregano and more salt and pepper to taste. Allow to simmer on medium low for 30 minutes.

Carefully lay the chicken breasts on top of the sauce and completely cover them in the grated Parmesan and mozzarella cheese mix. Place the lid on the skillet and reduce the heat to low. Allow to simmer until the cheese is melted and the chicken is thoroughly heated. Add more cheese to taste if needed.

Place the cooked noodles on a plate and cover with the sauce. Place the chicken breasts on top and sprinkle with fresh parsley. Serve immediately with fresh baked garlic bread or a side salad. Enjoy!
Adapted from The Pionneer Woman

Chicken Gyros

2013-02-13T15:54:00.003-08:00

I love gyros.

The warm pita bread, the meat, the tzatziki sauce.

They are so yummy.

I have bought those gyro kits you see at the grocery store.

They were alright in a pinch, when you can't get to your nearest Greek restaurant.

But those kits just aren't the real thing.

I did some blog stalking and found this fabulous blog called Elly says opa!

Her recipe for chicken gyros was awesome.

Mr. Pickypants even gave them a thumbs up (without the onions and tomatoes of course).

I loved all of it the pita, the chicken, the tomato, the onion and the best part of it all was the tzatziki sauce.

I bought my sauce already made at the grocery store in the deli section.

You can make your own, I just didn't have the time that day, but it is something that I do want to try to make in the future.

Chicken Gyros

Serves 4

1.25 lbs. chicken pieces (I used breast this time, but I also love using thighs, or a combo)
4 cloves garlic, smashed
Juice of 1 lemon
2 tsp. red wine vinegar
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 heaping Tbsp. plain yogurt
1 Tbsp. dried oregano
salt and pepper
1 cup tzatzikisliced tomatoes
sliced onions
4 (pocketless) pitas
Whisk together the garlic, lemon juice, vinegar, oil, yogurt, and oregano in a bowl. Add the chicken and rub the marinade in. Cover and refrigerate for about an hour.
Preheat the broiler (or grill, or pan on the stove). Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper on both sides, and then broil until cooked through, about 5 minutes per side, depending what size/type chicken you are using. Allow the chicken to rest for a few minutes before slicing into strips.
Meanwhile, heat your pitas. I have a gas stove, so I just spray them with a little bit of oil and stick them right on the burner for a few seconds per side. Top the pita with the chicken, tzatziki, tomatoes, onions. Roll up and eat!

Jello Cookies

2013-02-07T15:45:00.000-08:00

Today I made cookies for my honeys, Mr. Pickypants and Taylor. Surfing the Internet I found these luscious looking cookies. I found them at Iheartnaptime. They we all bright and cheerful, just what I needed after a long hectic week and all the snow we got today.

I made three different flavors, grape, strawberry and lime. I used sugar free jello for mine and did not roll my balls in the left over jello as I didn't have any. I did add some food coloring to mine which gave them a vibrant color. They are basically a sugar cookie with jello mixed in. They did taste like grape, strawberry and lime jello.

They were a little bit of work, mixing the different flavored jellos into the cookie dough, but nothing I couldn't handle. I LOVE the end results. I LOVE the colors. Who has ever eaten a purple cookie before that tasted like grape jello.....Well, me. I ate two. And a green cookie that tastes like lime. YUMMY

JELLO COOKIES

Ingredients

3.5 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1.5 cups salted butter softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
4 (3 oz) pkg jello You can use any flavors you want

Instructions

Beat butter in large bowl with mixer until creamy. Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Blend in egg and vanilla. Mix flour and baking powder in a separate bowl. Gradually beat in flour mixture.
Divide dough into 4 sections. Sprinkle 2 Tb of jello onto each section. Knead together with dough. You may want to add a few drops of food coloring to make the dough more vibrant.
Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in the extra jello from the packets. Place, 2 inches apart, on baking sheets. Flatten with bottom of bowl.
Bake 8 to 10 min at 350 on lined baking sheets. Cool on baking sheets 2 min. Remove to wire racks and cool completely.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

2013-02-05T17:32:00.000-08:00

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Banana Bread......For Ashley!

I had a bunch of bananas laying around and decided to make banana bread with them, but not just any banana bread would do.

I made peanut butter chocolate chip banana bread for my peep Ashley. Now I am not going to bust her out and let everyone know that I actually gave Ashley 2 of these mini loaves of love. One for her and one for her hubby. No, I wouldn't want him asking her what happened to his loaf of banana bread and why it didn't make it home for him to enjoy?????? I would never do such a thing...ever.

Sooooo, before he finds out about these little loaves of greatness, here is the recipe Ashley, you can make him a bunch of his own. This recipe is easy and fast to make. The results are super delicious. Even Mr. Pickypants loved them.
This recipe is for mini loaves, but you can make it in a regular size loaf pan and bake for 30-40 minutes, keep checking every few minutes after the 30 minute mark until toothpick comes out clean.

Ingredients:
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup smooth peanut butter
1 egg
2 very ripe bananas, mashed
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup chocolate chips
Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray 6 mini loaf pans with non stick cooking spray and set aside. In a large bowl, whisk all dry ingredients together until combined- flour, baking powder, soda, salt and sugars. Create a well in the center and pour in remaining ingredients, excluding the chocolate chips. Mix until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips. Divide evenly between loaf pans and bake 20-25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean when inserted. Cool 5 minutes in pan and remove to cooling racks. Serve warm or at room temperature.

BBQ Chicken Calzones

2013-01-27T16:28:00.004-08:00

We are a pizza loving family. Mr. Pickypants loves Pepperoni, me and Taylor will eat just about any kind of pizza, but veggie or sausage and mushroom are my favorite. I wanted to make something other than the typical pizza. I thought about calzones. BBQ Chicken calzones.

I love BBQ Chicken pizza, but I changed it up with sharp cheddar cheese instead of the regular mozzarella because I like the the cheddar ad the BBQ sauce combination. The added cilantro makes this calzone awesome.

I made the dough from scratch, using the pioneer woman's pizza dough recipe. It makes 2 crusts, so with the left over dough I made bread sticks. Super yummy.

Everyone loved both the calzones and the bread sticks, even Mr. Pickypants!I will definitely be making these again.

BBQ Chicken Calzones

CALZONE INGREDIENTS:
3 cups chicken, cooked and shredded
1/2 small red onion, diced fine
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated
2/3 cups BBQ sauce (I used Sweet Baby Rays)
2 tea. cilantro, chopped
2 tea. butter
1 egg, beaten
1 recipe pizza dough or 1 can already made pizza dough such as Pillsbury (Receipe Follows)

CALZONE DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F
In a pan add the onion and shredded chicken to the butter. Fry over medium heat until onion is tender. Stir in 1/3 cup of barbeque sauce, and remove from the heat.
Roll the pizza crust dough out onto a greased cookie sheet. Press out to an even thickness, and then cut in half. Divide the chicken mixture between the two pieces of dough, spreading on only half of each piece to within 1/2 inch of the edge. Drizzle the remaining sauce over the filling. Sprinkle the cheese and cilantro over the top. Fold the uncovered portion of dough over the filling, and press the edges together with a fork to seal. Brush the top of the calzone with the beaten egg.
Bake for 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until browned to your liking. Cool for a few minutes, then cut each calzone in half. Each serving is half of a calzone. These can be served with additional barbeque sauce if you like.

PIZZA DOUGH RECIPE: Makes 2 crusts
Ingredients
1 teaspoon Instant Or Active Dry Yeast
1-1/2 cup Warm Water
4 cups All-purpose Flour
1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
1/3 cup Olive Oil

Preparation Instructions

Sprinkle yeast over 1 1/2 cups warm (not lukewarm) water. Let stand for a few minutes. In a mixer, combine flour and salt. With the mixer running on low speed (with paddle attachment), drizzle in olive oil until combined with flour. Next, pour in yeast/water mixture and mix until just combined, and the dough comes together in a sticky mass. Coat a separate mixing bowl with a light drizzle of olive oil, and form the dough into a ball. Toss to coat dough in olive oil, then cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and set it aside for 1 to 2 hours, or store in the fridge until you need it.

Herbed Baked Eggs

2013-01-20T14:36:00.001-08:00

Herbed Baked Eggs

Weekends are the only time I get to make breakfast for my family. I try to make them something fast, easy and delicious before Mr. Pickypants has to leave for work. I saw this baked egg dish from Ina Garten and decided to make it for them this morning.

It was easy, fast and definitely delicious. I served them with toast and sausage. The recipe makes three eggs in individual ramekins. I made six eggs in one large baking dish. The eggs are nice and cooked through the way Mr. Pickypants likes them and the herbs are wonderful with the eggs.

Herbed Baked Eggs

Serves: 4

Ingredients:
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon thyme leaves, minced
1 teaspoon oregano leaves, minced
1 1/2 tablespoons parsley, minced
2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, grated
12 large eggs
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Salt and Pepper to taste
Toasted French bread or brioche, for serving

Directions:
1. Preheat the broiler for 5 minutes and place the oven rack 6 inches below the heat.

2. Combine the garlic, thyme, oregano, parsley, and Parmesan cheese and set aside. Carefully crack 3 eggs into each of 4 small bowls (you won’t be baking them in these) without breaking the yolks.

3. Place four individual gratin dishes on a baking sheet. Place 1 tablespoon of cream and 1/2 tablespoon of butter in each dish and place under the broiler for about 3 minutes, until hot and bubbly. Quickly, but carefully, pour 3 eggs into each gratin dish and sprinkle evenly with the herb mixture, then sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. Place back under the broiler for 5 to 6 minutes, until the whites of the eggs are almost cooked. (Rotate the baking sheet once if they aren’t cooking evenly.)

4. The eggs will continue to cook after you take them out of the oven. Allow to set for 60 seconds and serve hot with toasted bread.

Million Dollar Spaghetti

2013-01-18T17:28:00.003-08:00

Million Dollar Spaghetti

I have made spaghetti for my family at least 1,000 times. Wanting to change things up a little bit I decided to make a recipe I saw on pinterest called million dollar spaghetti.

The recipe came from a blog called Being Grown up. The recipe was easy to follow and didn't take much more time to make than regular spaghetti, except that you need to bake it for about half an hour. I followed the recipe, except I added diced green pepper and onion to my hamburger this and some italian seasoning mix to the cream cheese mixture.I did forget to add the cheddar cheese on top, but I really didn't miss it, I think it was fine without it.

This dish is layered and reminds me of lasagna because of that. We all like the results, even Mr. Pickypants enjoyed this take on spaghetti. I am not sure why the name is million dollar spaghetti, it is quite good, I don't know if it is one million dollars worth, but I will make it again.

Ingredients:

1 lb. of Ground Beef

1 can of Spaghetti Sauce

8 oz of Cream Cheese

1/4 cup of Sour Cream
1/2 lb. of Cottage Cheese
Whole Stick of Butter
8 oz. of Noodles
Bag of Sharp Chedder Cheese

First: Go ahead and put your over on 350! Boil those noodles!! While they are boiling go ahead and mix up the cream cheese, sour cream and cottage cheese!! Make sure that it is mixed up VERY well!

Then.. go ahead and cook that meat! Make sure its good and brown and drain it! Then pour your spaghetti sauce over it! Take a few slices of your butter and put them in the bottom of your casserole dish, Then layer HALF of the noodles in the bottom of the dish! Pour that nicely mixed up creamy mixture on top of the noodles.and SPREAAAAAD it all over!Then add the rest of your noodles and put a few slices of butter on top of those noodles. Now pour the red sauce and meat on top! and once again SPREEAAAAD. Now place that awesome casserole in your oven for 30 minutes! After those 30 minutes take the dish out and pour some chedder cheese on the top and put it back in The oven for 15 minutes! Then your DONE!

M&M Sugar Cookies

2013-01-13T12:40:00.001-08:00

M&M Sugar Cookies.....For My Boys.

Every Sunday I try and make a snack for Mr. Picky Pants for the upcoming work week. This week I made him M&M Sugar Cookies. Something different than the normal chocolate chip cookies.

Look at all those yummy M&M's. Just waiting to be eaten.

This recipe was fast and easy, just what I like on a Sunday afternoon. I know they tasted great also as Mr. Picky, Taylor and David all ate two of them before they were all the way cooled. I made mine with dark chocolate M&M's as that is what I had in the house (because that is what we like). This recipe is from Jamie cooks it up. She has a great site and I have tried quite a few recipes that have all turned out awesome.

M and M Sugar Cookies

Yield: 48 cookies

Time: 1 hour

Ingredients:

1 C butter, softened

1 1/2 C sugar

2 eggs

1 1/2 t vanilla

3 C flour

2 t baking powder

1 t baking soda

2 t cream of tartar

dash of salt

1 medium bag (12 oz) M and M’s

1. In a stand mixer, or with hand held beaters cream the butter and sugar for about 3 minutes, or until fluffy.

2. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix for 2 more minutes.

3. In a separate small mixing bowl combine all dry ingredients. Add to the butter mixture and mix until well combined.

4. Pour in your M and M’s and mix just until combined. Don’t mix too long here guys and gals…you will crush your M and M’s into smithereens.

5. Form into round balls (about 2 inches in size) and lay onto a cookies sheet. I like to smash the dough down just a little bit with the palm of my hand.

6. Bake at 350 for 8 minutes (about 6 minutes at 325 in a convection oven) or until you see the cookies start to crack. Take them out of the oven and let them finish cooking on the hot sheet for about 5 minutes.

7. Remove from the cookie sheet onto a wire rack to finish cooling.

Blueberry Coffee Cake

2013-01-01T06:57:00.001-08:00

Blueberry Coffee Cake....for my husband

My husband, Mr. Picky Pants, loves blueberries. Not plain blueberries mind you, that would be to healthy for him. He loves blueberries surrounded by cake and sugar. I picked up a package of frozen blueberries a few days ago with the intention of making smoothies, but I ran across this blueberry coffee cake at a great blog called The Country Cook and decided to make it for my wonderful husband. The recipe was extremely easy. The batter is very thick, like super thick. The blueberries are stirred into the thick batter at the end, I am glad I used frozen berries because I think fresh berries would have broken open and made the batter turn all purple-ly.

Ingredients

For the cake:

2 ½ cups biscuit mix (like Bisquick)

½ cup sugar

1 cup blueberries

½ cup sour cream

2 eggs

3 tbsp. milk

½ tsp. vanilla extract

Crumb Topping:

1/2 cup sugar

1/3 cup flour

4 tbsp. butter (cut into small cubes)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F degrees

Spray 9x13 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray (I like the kind that has flour in it)

In a medium bowl combine biscuit mix and sugar. Add sour cream, eggs, milk and vanilla extract. Mix until combined. Batter will be very thick. Gently stir in blueberries by hand. This will take a few minutes because batter is thick. Scoop batter into prepared baking dish and make sure it is evenly spread. In a bowl, combine sugar, flour and butter.
Using your fingers or a pastry cutter, start combining mixture until it looks coarse and crumbly. Sprinkle mixture over dough. Bake about 30-35 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

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