Recipe Corner

Sandwich Wraps

Dee — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 16:54:38 +0000

I know the idea of this is nothing new, but I wanted to share a quick meal idea that has been working for us lately. On those days that you just need to throw together a quick dinner, these sandwich wraps are perfect. Call them wraps, roll-ups, or whatever you want, these are so easy and a nice change of pace when you get into a rut. Plus, it’s a great way to get some extra veggies in! My picky 4-year-old, my 1-year-old, my husband and I all love them.

Ingredients:
1 package tortillas
Thinly sliced turkey, ham, or other lunchmeat
Garden Vegetable cream cheese (we use the low-fat version)
Shredded Cheddar cheese
Lettuce
Spinach
Tomatoes
Shredded carrots
(You can use whatever veggies you want in this. It’s a great chance to get creative!

Directions:
Lay your tortilla out flat. Spread a thin coat of the garden vegetable cream cheese on tortilla. Lay a couple slices of turkey or ham on top of the cream cheese. Layer the shredded cheese and various veggies on top of that. Roll it all up in the tortilla and enjoy!

Suggestions:
I like to slice the wraps into small pieces (as shown in the horrible picture above). The kids seem to eat them better than when handed an entire wrap. These are also a great way to use up a little bit of left-over salad or veggies from the night before!

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

Dee — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 03:45:48 +0000

Ingredients:
2 cloves chopped garlic*
1 can garbanzo beans (chickpeas)
3 Tbsp Tahini (sesame paste)
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 cup chopped Roasted Red Peppers

Directions:
With food processor turned on, drop garlic cloves in and chop. Drain garbanzo beans and set liquid aside. Add beans, tahini, lemon juice, and red peppers to food processor and mix together. Add liquid from garbanzo beans as needed and mix in food processor until texture is smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Suggestions:
Serve with pita bread or pita chips. It also makes a great spread for sandwiches!

*If you plan to store it for more than 1 day, you might want to go a little lighter with the garlic. The garlic flavor tends to get stronger over time.

Monkey Bread

Dee — Tue, 19 May 2009 15:00:11 +0000

A few years ago, when my son first started going to day care, I discovered the deliciousness that is Monkey Bread. His day care provider made it occasionally for breakfast and after tasting it I demanded to have the recipe. I saw a recipe for it posted on another site the other day and decided that I had to have it this weekend! There are lots of variations and different recipes for Monkey Bread, but this is pretty much how I make it (though I rarely measure anymore).

Ingredients:
3-4 cans refrigerated biscuits (my bundt pan seems to hold 3 better)
1 cup sugar
1 Tbsp cinnamon (more or less to taste)
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 sticks butter

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Open biscuits and cut each biscuit into quarters. Mix sugar and cinnamon in a 1 gallon ziplock bag. Drop biscuit pieces into bag, seal, and shake to coat biscuits with mixture. Place biscuit pieces evenly into bundt pan.

Heat brown sugar and butter (either on stove or microwave) until they blend together and are no longer separated. Pour mixture over the top of biscuit pieces in pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until top is brown.

Let cool for 10-15 minutes, then flip onto plate or serving dish.

Mexican Casserole

Dee — Sun, 17 May 2009 14:27:12 +0000

I first found this recipe over at Blissfully Domestic, but I’ve adapted it just a little by adding black beans. My family loves it! It’s a quick and easy meal and is perfect for big family get togethers because it is filling and everyone can top it their own way!

Ingredients:
2 pounds ground beef, browned
1 can black beans (drained and rinsed)
1 (10-ounce) can Ro-Tel tomatoes
1 envelope taco seasoning
2 (8-count) refrigerated crescent rolls
1 (8-ounce) box Mexican Velveeta, sliced

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Combine browned ground beef with Ro-Tel tomatoes, black beans, taco seasoning, and cheese in skillet. Stir and cook just long enough to melt cheese.

For your crust, simply press 1 can of crescent rolls into bottom of a lightly greased 9×13 pan.

Layer beef mixture on top of crust and spread other can of crescent rolls on top.

Bake 15-20 minutes.

Suggestions: Serve with sour cream, lettuce, tomato, olives, rice and beans for a true Mexican meal!

Banana Bread

Dee — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 04:09:24 +0000

Bananas are a big favorite in my house (although sadly my baby girl can no longer have them) so we usually have a few laying around. The only problem is, I like to eat the bananas when they are still just a tiny bit green. That means I pretty much have a one day window to get them eaten up at premium ripeness. Once they get beyond that point I’m not very interested in them anymore. For years I have said that I was going to learn to make banana bread to help use up my bananas and I finally found a recipe that I absolutely love! The only ingredient I don’t normally have on hand was the buttermilk. The bread turned out delicious and was gone entirely too fast.

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup stick margarine or butter, softened
2 large eggs
3-4 medium bananas, mashed
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour*
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt (I think I left this out and it turned out fine)
1 cup chopped nuts (if desired)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and move rack to bottom (so tops of bread will be in center of oven). Grease bottoms only of 2 8-inch loaf pans or 1 9-inch loaf pan (I suggest using 2 if you have them).

Mix sugar and margarine in large bowl. Stir in eggs until well blended. Add bananas, buttermilk, and vanilla and beat until smooth. Stir in flour, baking soda, and salt just until moistened. Stir in nuts and pour into pans.

Bake 8-inch loaves for 1 hour, 9-inch loaf for 1 hour, 15 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool for about 5 minutes in pans, then loosen sides and remove from pans. Cool completely on wire rack before slicing.

Wrap tightly and store at room temperature for up to 4 days, or in the refrigerator for up to 10 days (although I doubt it will last that long).

*If using self-rising flour, omit baking soda and salt.

Oreo Cookie Bark

Dee — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 19:16:04 +0000

A co-worker passed this recipe along to me just after the holidays and I completely forgot about it until this weekend. When I found it attached to my fridge, I knew I had to make up a batch. With only four ingredients, this is super easy to make. It’s also a great recipe for the kids to help with since the chocolate can be melted in the microwave!

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp peanut butter
1 package (6 squares) white chocolate, melted
1 package (8 squares) semi-sweet chocolate, melted
10 Oreo cookies, crumbled

Directions:

Add peanut butter to white chocolate and stir until well blended. Stir 1/2 of cookie crumbles into each bowl of chocolate. Drop spoonfuls of the chocolate mixtures onto a waxed paper covered baking sheet, alternating colors of chocolates. Swirl with a knife. Refrigerate until firm (about 1 hour). Break into pieces and enjoy!

Oreo Cream Cheese Balls

Dee — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 17:02:18 +0000

This recipe was shared by Barbara Gugel.

Ingredients:
1 package Oreo cookies
1 package cream cheese
1 package Almond Bark (or any melted chocolate)

Directions:
Crush entire box of Oreo cookies. A food processor
works well for this or you can place them in a plastic
ziplock bag and use a hammer. Mix Oreos with cream
cheese then roll into balls.

Melt chocolate. Dip balls into chocolate and place on
wax paper to cool. Store in refrigerator.

You can make these with any variation of Oreos. The
vanilla Oreos are delicious with white chocolate!

Chinese Chews

Dee — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 16:00:45 +0000

This recipe was shared by Patty Perrin.

Ingredients:
5 eggs slightly beaten
1 box brown sugar
2 cups flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup pecans
14 candy orange slices
1 tsp. vanilla

Directions:
Cut candy using scissors – dip them in flour first. Drop
candy and pecans in flour. Beat eggs, vanilla and sugar
together. Combine all ingredients together. Spread on
greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees until golden
brown for about 25 minutes. Cut into squares when
cooled.

Cornflake Christmas Wreaths

Dee — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 17:59:19 +0000

This recipe was shared by Tanya Lock.

Ingredients:
½ C margarine
1 pkg (10 oz) regular marshmallows
1 tsp Green food coloring
6 C Corn Flakes cereal
Red cinnamon candies (Red Hots)

Directions:
In a large saucepan, melt margarine over low heat. Add
marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Remove
from heat. Stir in food coloring. Add corn flakes
cereal. Stir gently until well coated. Drop large spoonfuls
(about ¼ cup) onto waxed paper and quickly shape
into wreaths. Dot with cinnamon candies.
Makes about 1 ½ dozen …. I think.

Marshmallow Creme Fudge

Dee — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 16:58:01 +0000

This recipe was contributed by Reta Adams.

Ingredients:
2 1/2 C Sugar
¼ C Margarine
1 small can (3/4 cup) evaporated milk
¾ jar marshmallow fluff
¾ t. salt
¾ t. vanilla
12 oz. semi sweet choc chips

Directions:
Combine 1st 5 ingredients. Stir over low heat until
blended. Bring to a boil over moderate heat. Boil
slowly stirring constantly for 5 minutes. Remove from
heat. Stir in chocolate chips and vanilla until chocolate
is melted. Pour into buttered 9” x 9” pan. Let cool. Cut
before candy is completely cool.
Makes 2 ½ lb