Creamy Broccoli Bake

Craig's favorite veggie is broccoli. I dont dislike broccoli, in fact, I love when it is raw, and I can eat it with a yummy dip, but just plain steamed broccoli, just doesnt do it for me.

But since he loves it so much, I am always looking for new ways to incorporate cooked broccoli. The whole family loved this dish. Its a yummy side dish for sure!

Creamy Broccoli Bake

2 12 oz packages fresh broccoli florets (i used frozen)
1 tbsp salt
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups milk
1 3 oz package cream cheese, softened
1 4 oz package crumbled blue cheese
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup finely crushed saltine crackers, about 10 crackers

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coarsely chop broccoli. Cook broccoli and 1 tbsp salt in a dutch oven in boiling water to cover 3 minutes or until crisp tender, drain.
2. Melt butter in a medium size heavy saucepan over low heat; wishk in flour until smooth. Cook, whisking constantly, until mixture is thickened and bubbly. Stir in cheese and 1/4 tsp salt until melted. Stir in broccoli.
3. Place in a lightly greased 11x7 inch baking dish; sprinkle with crackers.
4. bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until golden and bubbly.

Avocado, Tomato and Cucumber Dice

This is one of my favorites. So. so. so. so. good. So fresh. So yummy.

Try it. Now.

Avocado, Tomato & Cucumber Dice

4 tomatoes diced

3 avocados diced

1/2 - 1 cup chopped red onion - to your taste

3 small cucumbers diced

1 jalapeno pepper, diced finely

Mustard Vinaigrette

2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar

2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 1/2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard

2 cloves garlic minced

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup olive oil or canola oil

In a small bowl mix all of the vinaigrette ingredients and wisk to blend.

Pour over chopped salad and serve.

Serve as a side dish with fish or chicken or spoon into a pita for lunch.

Corn Salad

I love corn. This salad is really great. Easy to make. And easy to bring places.

If you like corn, and you like corn in salads, you will like this recipe! Try it!

2 cans corn, drained (I use frozen)
1 medium onion chopped
1 medium green bell pepper chopped ( I leave this out)
6 oz grated cheddar cheese
1 cup Miracle Whip
1 10 oz pkg chili cheese fritos

Mix all ingredients together, except the fritos. Chill in fridge Add the fritos right before serving.

Buttermilk Chicken

This is one of Craig's favorite meals that we make. So you know it has to be pretty easy, if I am making it! :) I found the recipe from Southern Living. Really, you should make this soon. Your fam will love it.

1/4 cup butter or margarine
4 bone in chicken breasts skinned (I use boneless skinless chicken breasts)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 cups buttermilk, divided
3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 can cream of mushroom soup

-Melt butter in a lightly greased 9x13 baking dish in a 425 degree oven
-Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Dip chicken in 1/2 cup buttermilk, and dredge in flour. Arrange chicken, breast side down, in dish
-Bake at 425 degrees for 25 minutes. Turn chicken, and bake 10 more minutes. Stir together remaining 1 cup buttermilk and soup; pour over chicken and bake 10 more minutes, shielding with aluminum foil to prevent excessive browning if necessary.

Mexican Corn

On Friday, I posted an Creamy Chicken Enchilada recipe that is fabulous.

Well, one thing that is always tough for me when I am cooking mexican food, is figuring out side dishes.. I am not a HUGE rice fan, and you dont just want chips and salsa. So I am always on the hunt for a good side dish for when I cook mexican food.

I found this recipe on allrecipes.com. And it is really really good. You can change it, by adding or taking away certain ingredients to fit your taste. But we really really enjoyed it.

• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 (16 ounce) package frozen corn
• 1 red bell pepper, diced- i used half....
  
• 8 fresh jalapeno peppers, diced- i used three...
  

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a saucepan over medium-low heat, melt the cream cheese and butter, and mix with the milk until smooth and bubbly.
3. In a medium casserole dish, mix the frozen corn, red bell pepper, and jalapeno peppers. Pour in the cream cheese mixture, and toss to coat.
4. Bake 35 to 45 minutes in the preheated oven, until bubbly and lightly brown.

Easy Chicken Enchiladas

My all time favorite type of food is mexican. I could eat it all the time. Its just so yummy. And I have found that if you have to bring food to people, they always enjoy mexican food too!!

These enchiladas are so easy, but they are so good. My family loves them. They are easy to make, with few ingredients, so they are great to bring to other people too.

4 chicken breasts
Fajita Seasoning
16 oz fat free sour cream
1 can 98% fat free cream of chicken soup
Mexican Blend of Cheese
Tortillas

Bake the chicken with the fajita seasoning before time to make the enchiladas.

Once the chicken has cooled, cube or shred the chicken.

Mix together the chicken, sour cream and cream of chicken soup. Put mixture on tortilla and roll. I can normally get 10 enchiladas in a 9x13 dish. Put the leftover mixture on top of the enchiladas.

Bake the enchiladas at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Sprinkle cheese on top. Put back in oven for five minutes or until cheese is melted.

Toffee Butter Bars

This is a recipe that I got from Paula Dean, from Food Network. There are alot of variations to this recipe, but we always make it with toffee. It is extremely rich, and not a dessert that you want to make if you are going to have alot left over (forcing yourself to eat it!). But if you are serving a crowd, it is always a favorite!


Cake:

1 (18.25-ounce) box yellow cake mix

1 large egg

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

Filling:

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 (16-ounce) box confectioners' sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

1 cup almond toffee bits or chocolate toffee bits

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 13 by 9 by-2-inch baking pan.

For the cake: In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the cake mix, egg, and butter and mix well. Pat into the bottom of prepared pan and set aside.

For the filling: Still using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Beat in the eggs and vanilla. Dump in confectioners' sugar and beat well. Reduce the speed and slowly pour in butter. Mix well. Fold in toffee bits.

Pour filling onto cake mixture and spread evenly. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes. Don't be afraid to make a judgment call on the cooking time, because oven temperatures can vary. You want the center to be a little gooey, so don't bake it past that point!

Remove from oven and allow to cool completely. Cut into squares. Just remember that these wonderful cakes are very, very rich, and a little will go a long way.

Chocolate Chip Pound Cake

This is one of our all time favorites. It is perfect to bring to people after they have had a baby, or have had surgery, or if you have new neighbors, etc. Its easy enough to always have the ingredients on hand, and people always love it.

It is super moist and very chocolatey.. so so so so good!!!

Chocolate Chip Pound Cake

1 boxed yellow cake mix
1 small box instant chocolate pudding
1 small box instant vanilla pudding
1 1/2 cup water
1/2 cup oil
4 eggs
1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease bundt pan.

Mix together cake mix, both puddings, water, oil and eggs for 3 minutes. You want the batter to be fluffy. 3 minutes is perfect! Mix in the chocolate chips. Pour into bundt pan. Cook for 1 hour.

Let cool for 15 minutes in pan before taking out of the pan.

Red Velvet Whoopie Pies

My husband LOVES red velvet cakes. For his cake at our wedding, he had mini red velvet cupcakes. I didnt really eat much red velvet growing up.. and still think it is somewhat unsettling how much red food coloring it calls for when you make it. BUT, I keep my eyes peeled for recipes for red velvet cakes to make for special occasions for Craig.

We found this recipe. And love it!

2 cups all purpose flour
2 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 1 oz bottle red food coloring (2 Tbsp)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment; set aside. In medium bowl combine flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt, set aside
In large mixing bowl beat butter on medium to high 30 seconds. Beat in brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Alternately add flour mixture and buttermilk, beating after each addition just until combined. Stir in food coloring
Spoon batter in 1 or 2 inch diameter rounds about 1/2 inch high on prepared baking sheets, allowing 1 inch between each round
Bake 7 to 9 minutes for 1 inch cookies or 9 to 11 minutes for 2 inch cookies, or until tops are set. Cool completely on baking sheets on rack. Remove cooled cookies from baking sheets

Whoopie Pie Filling
In a medium mixing bowl beat 1/4 cup softened butter and half an 8 ounce package softened cream cheese until smooth. Fold in one 7 ounce jar marshmallow creme.

To fill, dollop Whoopie Pie Filling on flat sides of half the cookies. Top with remaining cookies, flat sides down.

Refrigerate in airtight container up to 4 days. Let stand at room temp 15 minutes before serving.

Green Bean Casserole

This is one of our favorite side dishes, especially for the holidays. Although, I enjoy the green bean casserole with the canned cream of mushroom soup and the french fried onions on top.. this is SO. MUCH. BETTER. It does have more ingredients and definitely takes more time. BUT, it is delicious.

2 9 ounce package frozen green beans- thawed
10 slices bacon
10 small mushrooms chopped
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1 cup half and half
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
salt and pepper
french fried onions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put in a one quart dish.
Fry bacon until brown and crispy.
Keep enough bacon grease in the pan to coat the bottom
Add mushrooms to the grease
Season with garlic and onion powder
Cook and stir until tender, about 4 minutes
Pour half and half into the pan with mushrooms and stir to scrape the bacon flavor from the bottom of the pan.
Simmer until thickened slightly about 5 minutes.
Pour this mixture over green beans.
Crumble bacon over top and sprinkle with Parm cheese
Season with salt and pepper
Bake 20 minutes in the preheated oven

*Because we didnt want to switch things up too much, we just mixed the bacon cheese and green beans together and tossed the sauce in. We cooked the casserole for 15 minutes and then added the french onions on top (like the original recipe).

Apple Feta Salad

I made this salad for Christmas and then for a friend dinner last night. It is a hit and really easy to make!

For the salad:
Head of red leaf lettuce
Spinich
Feta Cheese
Green aplle

For the pecans:
1/2 cup pecan pieces
2 tablespoons of sugar

For the dressing:
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup red onion chopped finely
1 garlic clove minced

Wash and tear up lettuce into bite sized pieces.

Put pecans and sugar into a pan and cook over medium high heat, stirring constantly till the sugar coats the pecans.

Mix together all ingredients of dressing, stir to combine.

Slice apple in very thin slices.

Combine all ingredients. Toss in dressing. And serve!

Make this soon! So so so good!!!