Recipe of the Week

Mini Oreo Cheesecakes

2009-10-19T06:17:00.000-07:00

Mini Oreo Cheesecakes

12 Oreos plus more for crumbling
2 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 large eggs

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line muffin pans with paper liners or foil cups.
Split the cookies, keeping filling on one cookie. Place filling covered cookie in bake cups, filling side up. Set aside.
Beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla till smooth and fluffy. Beat in eggs just till well mixed. Spoon the cream cheese mixture into bake cups. At this point you can crush the remaining Oreos and sprinkle the fine crumbs over the cheesecake mixture, or you can break up the Oreo halves and stir them into the batter.
Bake, uncovered, in 325 degree F oven for about 25 minutes or till set. Cool in pan set on a rack. Cover and chill. Makes 12

REVIEW:
These were pretty good! I liked the individual size of the cheesecake, as well as it is easy to serve. I made these for a Halloween party so I lined them with Halloween liners, but this recipe could easily be used for any holiday. It would be awesome with the holiday colored Oreos too!

Cheesy Pasta Alfredo with Salmon

2009-10-05T06:35:00.000-07:00

Cheesy Pasta Alfredo with Salmon

16 oz. jar Alfredo sauce
1 pound salmon fillets
1 lemon, juiced
1 TBSP vinegar
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried parsley
16 oz. package uncooked rotini pasta
6 oz. package Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Heat Alfredo sauce in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Place salmon in baking dish. Mix lemon juice and vinegar in small bowl and pour over salmon. Season with basil and parsley.
Bake salmon 15 minutes in oven or until flaked with a fork. Remove from heat and break into bite sized pieces.
Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook 8 to 10 minutes. Drain and place in a large bowl. Gently toss the salmon, pasta and Alfredo sauce together. Serve with Parmesan cheese.

REVIEW:
This was actually pretty good! The salmon especially with the seasonings made a really nice flavor to the pasta. I also added mushrooms (and I had planned on adding broccoli too, but forgot to actually add it in!), and that was tasty too. Other than using a different pasta (I like to mix it up), the recipe is good as is!

Fire Roasted Tomato Soup

2009-09-24T06:22:00.000-07:00

Fire Roasted Tomato Soup

1 medium onions, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
olive oil
28 oz can whole tomatoes
14 oz can fire roasted diced tomatoes
8 oz can tomato sauce
6 oz can tomato paste
4 chicken stock or water
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 cups milk

In a large pot saute onion in olive oil until almost translucent. Add garlic and continue to saute a few minutes more. Add tomatoes, sauce, paste and chicken stock or water. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat to simmer for 30 minutes. Puree in blender until desired consistency. Add milk and seasonings and continue to simmer for another 5 or 1o minutes.

REVIEW:
OK, summer is over and I am back! Technically I wasn't planning on taking the summer off, so I am sorry... but I have some great recipes that I am trying and so hopefully we are back in business!
As for this soup, it was super easy to make which is obviously my kind of recipe. And the taste was excellent! Jared liked it a lot and he doesn't even like tomatoes. It had a little kick for me, but it wasn't over the top hot. I served it with some sour dough grilled cheese sandwhiches and that hit the spot for me!!

Breadsticks

2009-05-02T08:48:00.000-07:00

Breadsticks

12 Rhodes rolls
1/2 stick butter
Parmesean cheese to taste
Garlic powder to taste
Parsley

Defrost the frozen rolls. Roll them out into breadstick shapes. Melt the butter and add garlic powder to taste. Brush the butter mixture on the dough and let the dough rise. When the dough is ready, brush a small amount of the butter mixture over the top again and sprinkle with the cheese and parsley. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.

REVIEW:
These are my mom's 'famous' breadsticks. I love them and they are so easy to make. I made these for a get together and I think just about everyone said how good they were and wanted to know how I made them! That's how you know something is good, right?!

Hawaiian Haystacks

2009-04-15T08:55:00.000-07:00

Hawaiian Haystacks

1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 can milk
8 oz. sour cream
1 TBSP. lemon juice
1 onion soup packet
1 can chicken breast (or you could cook a breast and shred it)
Garlic powder and lemon pepper to taste

Heat all ingredients together and serve over rice. Top with anything you like from there!

REVIEW:

This was a recipe that some friends of ours made for us. Their recipe was approximate, so mine is even more so! However, this was pretty good. The only thing I would do different next time would be to only use half the packet of onion soup. I am not a fan of onions in the least, but my husband is and he loved it this way. So it's all in the eye of the beholder on this issue, but all in all, very good and very easy to make!

Alfredo Tortellini

2009-03-31T07:21:00.000-07:00

Alfredo Tortellini

1 (8 oz) pkg cheese tortellini
1 cup ham, diced
(8 oz) cream cheese
1 pkg dry Italian dressing
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup milk
1/2 stick butter

Add tortellini to a large pot of boiling salted water and let cook for 8 to 10 minutes. Meanwhile, heat a skillet to medium heat. Add the cream cheese, butter, cream of chicken soup, Italian dressing, and milk and stir until smooth. Once smooth, add in ham and stir to coat. After the tortellini finishes boiling, drain, then add to cream sauce. Stir to evenly coat and serve warm.

REVIEW:
This was, like all of my recipes, super easy to make! It had a really good flavor and I would recommend this one for sure. The only thing I did different, was I had bought a 20 oz. pkg. of tortellini and I used about half (so a little more than the recipe called for), but I would even add a little more next time because there was a lot of sauce. But still, really good!

Strawberry Cake

2009-03-24T11:17:00.000-07:00

Strawberry Cake

White or Yellow cake mix
Cream cheese frosting
Strawberry jam
Fresh strawberries
Red sprinkles (optional)

Mix cake mix, using directions on box. Use 8x8 or 9x9 inch pans. Let cool completely. On one half of the cake, place a thin layer of frosting. Then add a thicker layer of strawberry jam. Place the other half of the cake on top and frost the entire cake. Next add the sprinkles wherever you desire. Cut the strawberries in half and line the bottom of the cake. Store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

REVIEW:
OK, so this was my own "recipe" that I tried for a get together with some friends and everyone loved it! We served it with strawberry ice cream and that made it even better! You can see this would be easy to adjust to any cake mix (chocolate would be yum!) or even with different fruit. It's all up to your imagination. If you end up trying this out, let me know what you did! I would love to hear about it!!

Bacon Cheeseburger Chicken

2009-03-16T09:07:00.000-07:00

Bacon Cheeseburger Chicken

6 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, split
1/4 cup teriyaki sauce
1/2 cup Ranch dressing
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1/2 lb bacon (or bacon bits)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large skillet, cook bacon. When bacon is fully cooked, remove from pan. Using about 1-2 TBSP bacon grease, add chicken breasts, and saute 4 to 5 minutes each side, until lightly browned. Place browned chicken breasts in a 9×13 inch baking dish. Cover with teriyaki sauce and dressing. Sprinkle with cheese and top with bacon bits. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear.

Crockpot Rice Pudding with Fruit

2009-02-26T07:15:00.000-08:00

Crockpot Rice Pudding with Fruit

4 C. skim milk

1/2 C. rice

1/4 C. sugar

1 TBSP. butter

1/8 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1/4 C. minced drited apricots or peaches

1/8 tsp. cinnamon

Put all ingredients in crockpot. Stir well. Cover and cook on high 1 1/2 hours stirring once after an hour. Keep cover on . Add a dollop of cool whip if desired.

REVIEW:

I really like rice pudding so I thought I would give this a try (and if you can't tell, I am loving the crockpot more and more!). Anyway, this was good, but it needed a little more sugar for us. Maybe try 1/3 of a cup instead of 1/4 cup. Otherwise, quite tasty!

Winger's Sticky Fingers

2009-02-18T10:30:00.000-08:00

Winger's Sticky Fingers

For the sauce (this covers about 8-10 sticky fingers):
3 Tbsp. Franks Hot Sauce (It has to be Franks Hot Sauce!!)
3/4 c. brown sugar
2 Tbsp. water

Heat up hot sauce, brown sugar and water in a saucepan until all the sugar dissolves

For the Sticky Fingers:
1 c. oil
1 pkg. frozen breaded chicken fingers

In a frying pan, heat oil and cook chicken fingers until crispy and warm. Pour sauce over. Serve with ranch.

REVIEW:
Seriously, this tastes exactly like the real thing! So yummy, so easy, and so much cheaper than going out to dinner to get these!! The only thing I did different was I didn't cook the whole package of chicken, so I used about a half cup oil instead.

Hawaiian Hamburgers

2009-02-13T08:00:00.000-08:00

Hawaiian Hamburgers

1 can sliced pineapple
1 lb. extra lean ground beef
4 whole wheat buns
2 TBSP. pineapple juice
1/4 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. ketchup
2 drops liquid smoke

Drain pineapple, reserving 2 TBSP. juice. Make 4 patties. In a separate bowl, mix juice, brown sugar, ketchup, and liquid smoke. Pan fry patties and pineapple rings. Brush with sauce while cooking.

REVIEW:
These hamburgers were a nice refreshing twist on just our usual hamburgers. We quite enjoyed these! Easy to make, and they were good! 2 thumbs up here!

Crockpot Breakfast

2009-02-05T07:56:00.000-08:00

Crockpot Breakfast

32 oz. frozen hash browns
1 lb. cooked lean ham, cubed
1 1/2 C. shredded cheese
12 eggs
1 C. milk
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
Mushrooms, peppers, and/or onions

Spray crockpot with cooking oil. Divide potatoes, ham, veggies, and cheese so you create several layers. Start with the potatoes, then ham, then veggies, then cheese. Repeat. Beat eggs, milk, salt and pepper. Pour over layers. Cover and turn on low for 10-12 hours. Servings: 12

REVIEW:
This was actually really good. I added some ketchup and a little sprinkle of cheese on top and it was tasty. The one thing I would try different next time would be not to cook it as long. I actually turned the crock pot off at 9 hours and I could have easily turned it off sooner.

Crockpot Pineapple Chicken

2009-01-13T12:00:00.000-08:00

Crockpot Pineapple Chicken

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts halves
Dash of pepper
Paprika to taste
20 ounce pineapple chunks in juice
2 TBSP Dijon mustard
2 TBSP soy sauce
1 clove garlic, minced

Arrange chicken in bottom of crockpot. Sprinkle with pepper and paprkia. In a small bowl, combine pineapple, mustard and soy sauce. Pour over chicken. Add minced garlic. Cover and cook on LOW 7-9 hours or HIGH for 3-4 hours.

REVIEW:
So this is going to be a little funny on my end. I thought that this recipe was really good, but felt that it could have used a little more juice (or water) for the chicken. The chicken was just on the dry side when I made it, but as I am typing the recipe out, it said not to drain the pineapple, and I did (mistakenly!). So if you follow the actual recipe, I bet this will turn out just right for you!!!

Salsa Chicken

2009-01-05T07:17:00.000-08:00

Salsa Chicken

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
4 teaspoons taco seasoning mix
1 cup salsa
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons sour cream (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place chicken breasts in a lightly greased 9×13 inch baking dish. Sprinkle taco seasoning on both sides of chicken breasts, and pour salsa over all.
Bake at 375 degrees for 25 to 35 minutes, or until chicken is tender and juicy and its juices run clear.
Sprinkle chicken evenly with cheese, and continue baking for an additional 3 to 5 minutes, or until cheese is melted and bubbly. Top with sour cream if desired, and serve.

REVIEW:
This was an easy recipe (like all of the ones I try!). It was good and simple. Nothing to die for, but it is something I will still do in the future.

Shredded Kalua Pork

2008-12-22T08:50:00.000-08:00

Shredded Kalua Pork

3-4 pounds pork roast
1-2 tablespoons Hawaiian salt or Kosher salt
1/4 c. liquid smoke
1 c. cup water (you can also use beef or chicken broth)
4 washed ti leaves (if ti leaves aren't available or you don't know what they are, no worries-- it is still great without them. They just add a cool local Hawaiian element to the dish)

Line bottom of crockpot with 2 ti leaves (if you have them). Rub pork generously with salt, pour on liquid smoke then place on ti leaves (or in the crockpot). Add water. Fit remaining ti leaves (again, if you have them) around outer edge of crockpot. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours. Garnish with chopped cilantro. Serve with rice and coleslaw.

REVIEW:
First of all, sorry for the delay in posting... this time of year has caught up with me too! Now, with this recipe, I didn't have the ti leaves, but it still turned out fabulous!! We really enjoyed this recipe. I also spiced things up a bit by making Cafe Rio's cilantro lime rice and serving that instead of the plain white rice. I think that made such a great variation to the flavor! If you need that recipe for the rice, let me know!!

Caramel Rice Krispy Treats

2008-12-08T07:58:00.000-08:00

Caramel Rice Krispy Treats

2 cups brown sugar
2 sticks butter
1 3/4 cup karo syrup
1 can sweetened condensed milk
18 oz. rice krispies

Boil brown sugar, butter, and karo syrup for 3 minutes and remove from heat. Add can of sweetened condensed milk. Boil 3 minutes. Pour over rice krispies and mix.

REVIEW:
This is the way to do rice krispy treats!! They are so yummy and perfect for holiday treats (great neighbor/friend gifts!). This recipe did make a lot... I got 2 9x13 pans from this... so if you are making it just for yourself, you'd better be hungry! Otherwise, perfect for parties or gifts!!

Mexican Lasagna

2008-12-02T09:52:00.000-08:00

Mexican Lasagna

1 lb. ground beef
1 jar spaghetti sauce 24-26 oz.
16 oz. Cottage cheese
1 egg
½ pound grated Mozzarella cheese
½ pound grated cheddar cheese
½ cup parmesan cheese
1 package flour tortilla shells

Brown hamburger in a pan and drain well. Combine with the spaghetti sauce. In large bowl combine beaten egg, and all the cheeses. Save a little of the Mozzarella and cheddar for the topping.
Put a layer of the tortilla shells in a 9x13 pan. Tear them to fill in all the spaces. Then add a layer of sauce and a layer of cheese. Repeat several times ending with the sauce and a topping of the grated cheese. Bake 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Serve hot. On your individual plates top with lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream and chopped olives as desired.

REVIEW:
I didn't really know what to expect when I made this. At first I thought it was going to taste just like regular lasagna, but it was a great combo of Mexican and Italian! I didn't have the full amount of cheese (1/2 pound of each), but it was still plenty without that much. We really liked this recipe and will definitely make it again!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

2008-11-22T14:27:00.000-08:00

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 spice cake mixes
1 large can of pumpkin
1 bag of chocolate chips

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl. Bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Makes approximately 4 dozen.

REVIEW:
The things you are always looking for in a recipe are right here! This is easy, yummy, quick, festive, and oh ya, EASY!!! This has to be the best recipe. Thanks to Brittney!

Caramel Apple Cider

2008-11-15T20:16:00.000-08:00

Caramel Apple Cider

8 oz. Tree Top Apple Juice
1 TBSP caramel
1/2 tsp. to 1 tsp. cinnamon
Whipped Cream

Combine and heat the apple juice, caramel, and cinnamon. Top with whipped cream. Sprinkle with cinnamon for added flavor and presentation. You could also use a cinnamon stick for presentation also.

Caramel Apple Cider

Stephens Cinnamon Apple Cider
1 TBSP caramel
Whipped Cream

Heat the cider according to directions. Mix the caramel in. Top with whipped cream and sprinkle with cinnamon. Use a cinnamon stick for presentation and flavor.

REVIEW:
So this week was a little different. I made up these recipes this week, so I thought it might be nice to try a taste test to see which direction to go. The biggest difference between the two was that the apple juice recipe had a very distinct apple flavor compared to the cinnamon apple cider recipe. After trying both drinks, the apple cider could have used a little more caramel... and a little more flavor to be honest. Jared and I both agreed that the apple juice recipe was the better of the two, hands down!

BBQ Chicken Pizza

2008-11-07T17:11:00.000-08:00

BBQ Chicken Pizza

1 Pizza Crust - uncooked
1 cup pizza sauce
1 cup BBQ sauce
Handful of fresh cilantro
3 cups of mixed cheddar and mozzarella cheese
2 chicken breasts cut into small pieces and cooked in BBQ sauce
1 can pineapple tidbits - drained

Roll your pizza dough onto a pizza pan or pizza stone. Blend together the pizza and BBQ sauces, then add cilantro and mix together. Add sauce to the top of the pizza dough, the sauce should be thick. Then top with cheese, chicken, and pineapple. Bake in the oven at 400 degrees for 18 min.

REVIEW: This was a pretty tasty pizza. Taking from one of my favorite restaurants, I added some cooked bacon to the pizza. That gave a nice addition to the pizza. Also, you could probably get away with only using a 1/2 cup pizza sauce and 1/2 cup BBQ sauce. I had a ton left over, and I felt I used a good amount of sauce. And I had to bake the pizza longer than 18 minutes. I did about 25 minutes, and still could have used a little more time. Just keep an eye on it!

Double Layer Pumpkin Cheesecake

2008-11-01T08:38:00.000-07:00

Double Layer Pumpkin Cheesecake

16 ounces cream cheese -- softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 dash ground cloves
1 dash nutmeg
1 ready-to-use graham cracker crumb crust (6 ounces or 9 inches)

Mix cream cheese, sugar and vanilla with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add eggs; mix until blended. Remove 1 cup batter; stir in pumpkin and spices. Pour remaining plain batter into crust. Top with pumpkin batter. Bake at 350 F for 40 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool.
Refrigerate 3 hours or overnight. Garnish with thawed COOL WHIP.

REVIEW:
First of all, this was so easy to make! I followed the instructions and it turned out so yummy! I made this for a Halloween party, so all of my family were also critiquing the recipe for me. They all gave this 2 thumbs way up. I would agree!

Cafe Rio Sweet Pork

2008-10-25T11:20:00.000-07:00

SWEET PORK

2 lbs. pork roast
1 1/2 cup Coke
1 cup salsa
1 cup brown sugar

Put all ingredients in crockpot. Cook on low for 2 hours then turn on high for 3 more hours. Shred pork. Turn on low until ready to serve.

REVIEW:
OK, so I didn't have regular Coke, so I used Diet Coke and I didn't have brown sugar so I made my own... which is just 1 cup sugar/1 TBSP molasses. I think it turned out amazing!! Jared even said that he thought that this tasted better than Cafe Rio's! I don't know about that, but I do know that when I am wanting Cafe Rio pork, this will absolutely do the job!