Ritz Crackers and Cream Cheese

Ever since I was a little kid my mom made these for me and my siblings. It's just Ritz crackers with cream cheese in the middle. I have no idea where she got the idea from, but they are absolutely amazing. On our long road trips my mom would make these and pass them around the car until we were completely out of crackers.

Now I've started making them for my kids. My 3 year old calls them cookies because they look like the white oreo cookies, to a kid anyway. And my 1 year old who will eat practically nothing, loves these too! So every now and again, this is what our lunch or dinner looks like:

Pineapple Bacon Baked Beans

Why do I love these beans? Because they are so flavorful and sweet and yummy and everyone in my family will eat them!! And that's saying something because I have got the world's most pickiest 1 year old. If it's not bread, it goes in and comes straight back out. So I love these beans. I buy precooked bacon and just brown it a little so that it's crisper for crumbling. I'll be honest. I kind of hate cooking bacon. So that's my little cheat.

Ingredients

1 BIG can Bush original baked beans, drained
1 small can crushed pineapple, undrained
1 1/2 celery stalks, chopped
1-2 tablespoons ketchup
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 pound bacon strips, crumbled

Notes / Directions

Cook in crockpot on high 3-4 hours or on low for 6-8 hours.

Blueberry Muffins

My little 2 year old was given blueberries somewhere, I have no idea where.  But one day that's all he was asking for so I went out on  limb and bought a huge box of them at Costco. I've never really bought fresh blueberries so what the heck was I to do with all those blueberries?! We had pancakes and blueberries, salads with blueberries, and blueberries. Wow there were so many blueberries! So I decided to make muffins. I've never made blueberry muffins from scratch and now I'm sitting here scratching my head wondering WHY??? They were absolutely delightful. I will never make them from a box again.

Ingredients
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 cups blueberries

Notes / Directions
Combine butter and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix well. Add milk. Mix dry ingredients together, then add to batter. Mix until just moistened. Fold in blueberries (fresh or frozen). Pour into prepared muffin tins. Sprinkle tops with sugar. Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes until slightly golden on top.

Makes 12 muffins.

*Instead of milk I used almond coconut milk and it was delicious.

Chicken Divan

I grew up eating this stuff.  I know, weird.  Kids don't like broccoli.  But this one did!!!  This was a family favorite and every kid ate it and rejoiced.  It had been a long time since I had made this stuff so I decided it was time to cook some up with my left over rotisserie chicken from Costco.  It was a good call.

My 2 year old is one of the world's pickiest eaters, especially when it came to green things.  He used to eat a LOT of eggs.  He just loved them!  Until the day I used food coloring to make them green....  He would have NOTHING to do with them once they were green so I felt like this meal might be a long shot.  Broccoli is just scary.  And chicken is weird, unless it DQ chicken and then that's all he ever wants.

He tried a bite, and another, and another, and another!!!  SUCCESS!!!  I can die happy now.  My kid likes Chicken Divan.

Ingredients
3 large broccoli heads (3-5 cups of florets)
1 large chicken breast (I use rotisserie chicken)
2 small cans cream of chicken soup
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons lemon juice (you can use less, I like the tang)
2 dinner rolls or 1 cup cornflakes

Notes / Directions
Cut broccoli into bite sized florets, using the stems as well, and steam for 5-6 minutes.  Put broccoli into a 9x13 pan.  Tear chunks of chicken and layer on top of the broccoli.  In a sauce pan, combine cream of chicken soup, mayonnaise, and lemon juice and heat up on medium high heat.  Stir constantly to prevent it from burning and sputtering everywhere.  Once the sauce is nice and hot, add cheese and stir up.  Pour ontop of broccoli and chicken.  Break up dinner rolls over the top of the casserole or sprinkle corn flakes on top.  Cook for 20-25 minutes at 425, until hot and bubbly.

Creamy Spinach Rissoto

Adapted from Around my French Table by Dorie Greenspan

Ingredients:

3 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 cup Arborio rice
6-10 oz spinach 

1 tbs butter
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/4 pound mushrooms, chopped
salt
pepper
1/4 pound Gruyere, Emmenthal, Swiss or even Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup half and half or cream 

Notes / Directions:

In a medium saucepan, bring 3 1/4 cups broth to boil. Stir in the rice. Cover and simmer until almost all of the broth has been absorbed (about 20-25 minutes). Turn off heat and let rice continue cooking on its own. Coarsely chop spinach and set aside. Melt butter in saucepan and sauté onions, garlic, and mushrooms about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.  Add cheese and cream to the rice and stir well, it should be nice and creamy.  Pour in a little more cream if necessary. Add onions, garlic, and mushrooms to the rice and stir.  Gently toss in spinach.

Whole Wheat Pita Bread

Adapted from Food.com

Ingredients
4 cups whole wheat flour (or 2 cups whole wheat flour and 2 cups all-purpose flour)
1 tablespoon yeast
1 1/4 cups warm water
1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)

Notes / Directions
Sift together 2 cups of flour and yeast.  Stir in water and salt.  Mix well.  Gradually add 2 cups of flour, just until dough isn't sticky anymore (there may be remainder flour).  Knead the dough for 4-5 minutes.  Form dough into 10 balls.  On a floured surface, roll out each ball until about 1/4 inch thick.  Pat flour onto both sides so that it doesn't stick and set aside.  Let rise for 30 minutes, until dough looks slightly raised.  Preheat oven to 500 degrees.  Turn dough upside down onto cookie sheet and cook for 5 minutes.  When they come out, they will be extremely puffed up.  Allow them to cool until they are warm and gently press flat.  Store in an airtight container.

*During the kneading process, you can add whatever herbs or spices you'd like.

Banana Bread

I got this recipe from a lady that I lived next door to my whole life. I'm still yet to find a recipe that I like better than hers. She makes the best banana bread.  Her biggest secret was to use incredibly ripe bananas, like almost rotten bananas. I still can't quite figure out why her big loaves turn out different than mine but they do. So I stick to mini loaves which turn out great.

Ingredients
1/2 cup butter

1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 bananas (the browner, the better)
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vinegar

Notes / Directions

Cream butter, sugar, and eggs. Add flour, baking soda, salt, and baking powder. Mix till smooth. In a separate bowl, mash bananas. Stir them into batter. Measure milk and add vinegar, mix a little before adding to batter. Grease 4 mini loaf pans and pour in equal amounts of batter to each pan. Cook at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes.

*You can make 2 regular sized loaves with this same recipe. Cooking time is the same.

French Onion Rice

Ingredients
3/4 cup butter
2 cups rice
1/4 cup wild rice
2 cans french onion soup
1 teaspoon salt
3 cans water
chicken tenders

Notes / Directions
Preheat oven to 350.  In a skillet, melt butter and add white rice.  Stir over medium heat until the rice is browned.  Dump into a large dutch oven.  Add wild rice, french onion soup, salt, and water.  Place chicken tenders on top and cover with lid.  Cook in the oven for an hour or until rice is fully cooked.

Candied Pecans

During the holidays these pecans were sitting out on a dish at my orthodontist.  It took a lot of self control to not eat the whole dish!  So instead, I pestered the receptionist for a few months until I got the recipe.  My orthodontist, Dr. Chan, makes these every year at Christmas time.  I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!

Ingredients
2 egg whites
3/4 tablespoon vanilla
1/4 tablespoon water
1 pound pecan halves (4 cups)
1 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cinnamon

Notes / Directions
Preheat oven to 250.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  In a mixing bowl, hip together egg whites, vanilla, and water until it is nice and frothy.  Stir in pecans until evenly coated.  In a large ziploc bag, mix sugar, salt and cinnamon.  Add pecans and seal shut.  Shake and toss until pecans are completely dusted.  Pour out onto baking sheet and cook for an hour, stirring every 15 minutes.  Let cool and enjoy!

Savory Ham and Gruyere Cookies

 Adapted from Delish

Ingredients
1/2 cup butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup water
1 cup flour
4 eggs
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup finely chopped black forest ham
1 1/2 cups finely shredded gruyere cheese, divided

Notes / Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  In a sauce pan, bring butter, salt, and water to a boil.  Reduce heat and quickly stir in flour.  Continue stirring until a film starts to form on the bottom of the pan, about 30 seconds.  Transfer dough into a bowl and allow to cool for a minute.  Stir in eggs one at a time, making sure each is well incorporated before adding the next.  Stir in pepper, ham, and 1 cup of cheese.  Scoop dough out into a pastry bag with a 1/2 inch star on it.

Grease 2 cookie sheets and squeeze dough out in 1 1/2 inch circles, leaving 1/2 inch between each cookie.  Place cookie sheets in the oven and bake for 20-30 minutes, rotating sheets half way, until golden brown.  Remove from oven and sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup of gruyere cheese on top.  Cook for 3 more minutes or until cheese is fully melted.  Serve warm.

Homemade Chili

Ingredients
2 lbs. ground beef or turkey, cooked and drained
2 quarts low sodium spicy V8
2 cans low sodium dark red kidney beans, drained
1 large yellow onion, diced
1 large green pepper, diced
2-4 jalapenos, seeded if you don't want it too spicy
season with black pepper, chili powder, and garlic powder

Notes / Directions
Brown the meat and put into a pot on medium heat.  All remaining ingredients and reduce to low.  Simmer for 2-3 hours stirring occasionally.  If you want thicker chili, keep lid off.  For thinner chili, lid on.

Peppermint Bark Puppy Chow

 Ingredients
1 (12 oz) box rice chex
1 (12 oz) bag white morsels
12 candy canes

Notes / Directions
Place candy canes into a blender and blend until it's mostly powder and dump into a large ziploc bag.  Melt white morsels in microwave for about 1 minute, stir to make sure it's smooth and melted through, and pour over rice chex.  Carefully stir until well coated.  Pour chex into the ziploc bag with the candy canes and seal off.  Turn the bag upside down and shake the candy cane powder down through the chex.  Keep turning bag until well coated.  Serve and enjoy!

*For more evenly coated chex, reserve a cup or two of chex or add more white morsels.

Andes Mint Cake Mix Cookies

Ingredients
1 box Betty Crocker Devil's Food cake mix
2 medium sized eggs
1/2 cup oil
1 (12 oz.) bag Andes Mint baking chips

Notes / Directions
Preheat oven to 350.  Mix cake mix, eggs, and oil well.  Add 1/2 bag of Andes Mint baking chips and mix well.  Scoop heaping teaspoons full onto greased baking sheet.  Using remaining baking chips, press on about 1/2 teaspoon onto the top of each cookie.  There will be lots of chips left over.  Bake for 8 minutes.

Andes Mint Puppy Chow

Ingredients
1 (12 oz) box rice chex
2 (12 oz) bag Andes mints baking chips
1 1/4 cup brownie mix

Notes / Directions
Melt 1 1/2 bags of Andes mints in microwave and pour over rice chex.  Carefully stir until well coated.  Pour chex into the ziploc bag with brownie mix and seal off.  Turn the bag upside down and shake the brownie mix down through the chex.  Keep turning bag until well coated.  Add remaining half of Andes mints and enjoy!

Mod Podge Ornaments

While I was Christmas ornament shopping for my boys, I was simply annoyed at the ridiculous prices!  I decided that I was going to make my own ornaments and save tons of money and have awesome ornaments.  I made my boys, Hazen and Revin, the same ornament with their initial on it and for the family ornament, I had 4 different pictures that I used.  A motherly moment, a fatherly moment, a brotherly moment, and a family moment.  You could also do 4 different highlights from the year like a vacation or something.  Anyways, this is how it was done!

This is what you will need:

Wooden blocks, paint, sponge brush,

mod podge, ribbons, scrap book paper,

photographs, and wooden letters

 

Trace letters on the back of scrap book paper and cut it

out just a little smaller so that it doesn't hang over

the little wooden letter when placed on top.

 

Paint wooden blocks and letters.  Once they are dry,

paint a very thin coat of mod podge on the surface of

the letters.  Firmly press down paper cut outs and paint

mod podge over the top and set aside to dry.

 

Cut out photos and squares of scrap book paper.  Make sure

that they are smaller than the side of the block.  Paint on

a very thin coat of mod podge and firmly press on photos

and paper.  Be careful when using regular paper because it

can tend to bubble.  Card stock paper is easier to use in this

regard.  After pressing on paper, paint on a top coat of mod

podge.  Choose which side to put the letter on and press it

on tightly to the freshly mod podged side.  Let it dry.

*If  you're putting pictures on all sides, make sure to do the next

step of putting the ribbon on BEFORE you place your pictures.

Paint a thin line of mod podge down the sides and across the

bottom.  Firmly press on ribbon and tie a square knot at the top.

Tie another knot at the top to create a loop to hang it up with.

French Dip Sandwich

Ingredients
deli sliced roast beef
1 package Au Jus seasoning
hoagie buns, french rolls, or make your own French Baguettes

Notes / Directions
Follow directions on Au Jus seasoning.  Bring to a boil and add beef.  Boil for 2-3 minutes.  Cut buns in half and butter each side and fill with roast beef.  Dip each bite in leftover Au Jus juice.

*If making your own French Baguettes, omit the step of brushing the loaves with eggs and water.  This will make your buns softer.

Cranberry Jello Salad

 

Adapted from allrecipes

Ingredients

2 cups fresh cranberries

1 (15 ounce) can mandarin oranges, drained

1 (15 ounce) can crushed pineapple

2 (3 ounce) packages cherry Jello

3/4 cup white sugar

1 cup boiling water

1 cup cold water

whipped topping or cool-whip

Notes / Directions

Place cranberries and mandarin oranges into a blender or food processor.  Blend until finely ground up.  In a separate bowl, mix gelatin, sugar, and boiling water til sugars are dissolved.  Add cold water and stir.  Mix in pineapple, mandarin oranges, and cranberries.  Chill for 8 hours or over night.  Top with whipped topping or cool-whip to serve.

Raspberry Cream Salad

I don't know where my mom found this recipe, but I just about died and went to heaven when I tried it.  It's an all around easy recipe and takes like 2 minutes to prepare.  This is also very delicious with some graham crackers or pie crust in it.

Ingredients
32-36 oz. raspberry yogurt (32 oz. is a large container, 36 oz. is 6 single servings)
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 (8 oz.) tub cool whip
raspberries, fresh or frozen

Notes / Directions
Stir together yogurt, sweetened condensed milk, and cool whip.  Gently stir in raspberries and serve!

Homemade Granola

Ingredients
3/4 cup olive oil
3/4 cup honey
1/2 cup firmly packed golden brown sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup sunflower seeds (optional)
1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut
1 cup almonds
1 cup pecans
1 cup chopped dried apricots
1 cup dried cranberries

Notes / Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a large saucepan set over medium heat, combine the oil, honey, brown sugar, vanilla, and salt. Stir until the sugar dissolves, about 3 minutes. In a large bowl, combine the oats, sunflower seeds, coconut, and almonds. Pour the warm oil and honey mixture into the oat mixture and stir until combined.

Spread the mixture evenly on two 12X17 inch rimmed baking sheets. Bake for 25 minutes, stirring several times, until the granola is a deep golden brown. Cool completely before adding the dried fruit. Store in an airtight container up to 3 weeks.

You can vary the dried fruit: dried figs, raisins, blueberries, apples, etc.

Cream Cheese Caramel Apple Dip

Adapted from Jo and Sue

Ingredients

1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese, softened

14 oz caramels, unwrapped

2/3 cup half and half

2 Crunch bars

8 apples

8 (1/2 cup each) mason jars

Notes / Directions

Heat up caramels and half and half on medium heat until caramels have melted and the mixture is smooth.  Put cream cheese and 1/2 cup of caramel in a bowl and stir until smooth.  Scoop and flatten an equal amount of the cream cheese and caramel mixture into each of the 8 jars.  Top each jar with the remaining caramel sauce.  Crunch up the Crunch bars and sprinkle on top.

To turn into gifts, place one apple on top of the jar and place in a small, clear, plastic gift bag or cover with saran wrap.  Tie shut with a ribbon.

Clean Eating - Chicken, Asparagus, and Potatoes

I love this because it's so simple and quick.  From start to finish is about 10-15 minutes.  There is practically no food prep and it's a healthy clean eating meal.  It avoids common food allergies like gluten and dairy.

Serves 2

Ingredients
1 lemon
2 potatoes
4 frozen chicken tenders
1 bunch of asparagus
1 teaspoon fresh thyme
1 garlic clove, minced
salt and pepper
olive oil

Notes / Directions
Heat up a large deep dish skillet to medium high heat.  Cut up potatoes into small cubes and place in skillet.  Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt, pepper, thyme, and garlic.  Stir up and cover.  Stir every minute or two.  After about 4 minutes, push potatoes to the side of the skillet and place the chicken in their own little are. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and squeeze half of the lemon on top.  Replace lid.  When sides of the chicken begin to brown (after 3-5 minutes), turn over and stir the potatoes.  Add asparagus in their own corner.  Salt and pepper and squeeze remaining half of the lemon on top.  Replace lid.  Stir up potatoes and asparagus every once in a while.  Everything should be ready at about the same time.

Chicken could easily be replaced with fish and asparagus could be replace with broccoli.

Oreo Cheesecake

Adapted from Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Ingredients

2 packages (about 72 cookies) Oreo Cookies, divided
1/2 cup (1 cube) butter
4 packages (8-ounces each) cream cheese, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 large eggs

Notes / Directions

Preheat the oven to 325°F.  Line a 9×13-inch baking pan with foil, with ends extending over sides. Finely crush 1 1/2 packages of Oreo cookies (or about 50 cookies). Melt 1/2 cup butter and mix with crumbs. Press onto bottom of prepared pan.

In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and sugar with mixer until blended and smooth. Add sour cream and vanilla; mix well. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each just until blended. Chop remaining cookies and gently stir into mixture.  Pour over crust.  Bake for about 35-40 minutes or until the sides are set and barely browning and the center is almost set. Cool completely on a wire rack.  Once completely cooled, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Remove the cheesecake using the foil overhang and cut the cheesecake into desired serving sizes.

 

Make Your Own Truck Cake!

 

I cut my cake into thirds and went from there, doing my best to make a truck shape.

I used doughnuts for the wheels but something like oreos would be great too.

I wished he was turning one so that the candle could be the antenna but on well...

Easy 3 Table Toppers in One

A few years back I had a need to make something crafty so I ended up at Micheal's Craft and TONS of stuff was on sale!!  So this is what I bought for $20:

I put some beads that I already had in the jar with the candle and it makes for 3 different table toppers

And then I made the wreath.  I started by placing the flowers where I wanted them to be and then I hot glued them into place.

Put it together and what have you got?  Bippity Boppity Bo!

Grilled Cheese Genius

Snickerdoodle Puppy Chow

I've been craving snickerdoodles but don't like making them because I just find the process a bit irratating.  So I thought, "Hey!!!  Puppy chow!"  I recently made some puppy chow that used brownie batter as the coating so I thought using yellow cake mix would be incredibly delicious.  Turns out I was right!
 
Inspired by Your Cup of Cake

Ingredients
1 (12 oz) box rice chex
1 (12 oz) bag white morsels
1 cup yellow cake mix
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon

Notes / Directions
In a large ziploc bag, combine cake mix, sugar, and cinnamon.  Shake well and smash any clumps of cake mix.  Melt white morsels in microwave for about 1 minute, stir to make sure it's smooth and melted through, and pour over rice chex.  Carefully stir until well coated.  Pour chex into the ziploc bag and seal off.  Turn the bag upside down and shake the cake mix mixture down through the chex.  Keep turning bag until well coated.  Serve and enjoy!

*For more evenly coated chex, reserve a cup or two of chex or add more white morsels. 
**You can also make snickerdoodle popcorn. Instead of chex, pop 1/2 cup popcorn kernels.

                 It really does taste as good as it looks!!!