Dark Chocolate Peppermint Toffee

Here's my adaptation of the previous toffee recipe.

1/4 lb (one sleeve) saltines (the salted ones)

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup butter

1 package dark chocolate chips

Chopped candy canes

Preheat oven to 400-degrees. Line a jelly roll pan with parchment paper (the pan needs to have a lip to it or these things will leak all over your oven.) Place saltines in pan, salted side up. Leave just a bit of space between crackers so the toffee will encase the entire cracker when done.

Bring sugar and butter to a boil in a saucepan. Boil for 3 minutes (time the boiling after the whole thing starts boiling, not just the edges). And, resist the urge to stir it.

Pour boiling mixture over crackers. Place in oven for 5 minutes.

Top with chocolate chips. Then, put back into the oven for 1 minute.

Use spatula to spread the chocolate chips (which have melted). Top with candy cane pieces. Place in freezer for at least 1 hour. Once these are set, crack them into individual pieces.

Adapted from recipe found at http://grinandbakeit.com/peanut-butter-chocolate-holiday-bark-with-a-secret-ingredient

Meatball Nirvana

Meatball Nirvana

Rated:	Prep Time: 20 Minutes	Ready In: 40 Minutes
Submitted By: lovestohost	Cook Time: 20 Minutes	Servings: 4

"Parmesan cheese, Worcestershire sauce, and red pepper flakes combine to make the perfect meatball."

Ingredients:

1 pound extra lean ground beef 1/2 teaspoon sea salt 1 small onion, diced 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt 1 1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning 3/4 teaspoon dried oregano

3/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes 1 dash hot pepper sauce (such as Frank 's RedHot®), or to taste 1 1/2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce 1/3 cup skim milk 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese 1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs

Directions:

1.	Preheat an oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2.	Place the beef into a mixing bowl, and season with salt, onion, garlic salt, Italian seasoning, oregano, red pepper flakes, hot pepper sauce, and Worcestershire sauce; mix well. Add the milk, Parmesan cheese, and bread crumbs. Mix until evenly blended, then form into 1 1/2-inch meatballs, and place onto a baking sheet.
3.	Bake in the preheated oven until no longer pink in the center, 20 to 25 minutes.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © 2011 Allrecipes.com

Chocolate peanut butter toffee

1/4 lb (one sleeve) saltines (the salted ones)

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup butter

2 1/2 cups semi-sweet chips

1/3 cup peanut butter

Chopped M&M’s (I used peanut ones.)

Preheat oven to 400-degrees. Line a jelly roll pan with parchment paper (the pan needs to have a lip to it or these things will leak all over your oven.) Place saltines in pan, salted side up. Leave just a bit of space between crackers so the toffee will encase the entire cracker when done.

Bring sugar and butter to a boil in a saucepan. Boil for 3 minutes (time the boiling after the whole thing starts boiling, not just the edges). And, resist the urge to stir it.

Pour boiling mixture over crackers. Place in oven for 5 minutes.

Put dollops of peanut butter on top and return to the oven for 1 minute.

Spread melted peanut butter over mixture with spatula and top with chocolate chips. Then, put back into the oven for 1 minute.

Use spatula to spread the chocolate chips (which have melted). Top with M&M pieces. Place in freezer for at least 1 hour. Once these are set, crack them into individual pieces.

Recipe found at http://grinandbakeit.com/peanut-butter-chocolate-holiday-bark-with-a-secret-ingredient

Oh so delicious!

Easy Breakfast Casserole

8 eggs
1/2 cup heavy cream (I use milk)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup shredded cheese

Begin your casserole by whisking together the eggs, cream and salt. Pour the ingredients into a 9×13 inch casserole dish. Sprinkle in any “add in” ingredients you wish. Stir them around with a fork. Top casserole with cheese. Bake in a 350° oven for 30-40 minutes, or until the middle doesn’t jiggle.

Add In options:
Cooked sausage
Chopped ham
Chopped and cooked bacon
hashbrowns
Sauteed veggies
Add anywhere from 1/2 cup to 2 cups of any of these “add ins”. You can use a different sized casserole dish, you’ll just need to adjust the bake time. The thicker your casserole, the longer it will take to bake.



I used to make scrambled eggs occasionally, but not any more. I make this recipe because it's easier and the kids love it!

Recipe Source: Heavenly Homemakers

Pizza Casserole

I'm sure there's probably some official recipe for this somewhere, but I wasn't using one when I made it.

Ingredients:
pasta (cooked)
pizza sauce (I used about 1/2 a can)
pepperoni, ground beef (cooked), canadian bacon...(whatever toppings you would put on a pizza)
mozzerella cheese

Mix the pasta, pizza sauce, and toppings. I made it in a 2-quart casserole dish, but you could use anything type of baking dish. Sprinkle a good layer of cheese on top. Bake it at 350 degrees until it is hot (maybe 20 minutes).

Emily even ate this!

Fresh Blueberry Cobbler

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 cup whole milk
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 cups fresh blueberries
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Add flour, 1/2 cup sugar, salt, and baking powder to a mixing bowl; stir to combine. Add in milk and butter; stir to combine. Spread batter into a greased 8-inch square baking pan. Sprinkle blueberries evenly over batter. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup brown sugar and drizzle with vanilla. Bake at 350° for 40-45 minutes or until a pick comes out clean.


Recipe Source: http://momadvice.com/blog/2010/07/blueberry-cobbler-with-a-beautiful-read

BBQ Chicken

Put some BBQ sauce, olive oil, and lemon juice into a bowl. (I didn't have lemon juice, so I just added some water.) Put chicken breasts into bowl and coat with sauce. Marinate for 15-20 minutes. Put chicken breasts on cookie sheet and cook at 400 for 15-20 minutes. (I would put foil on the cookie sheet first because I had a huge mess to clean up.)

The chicken was very tasty and moist!

Adapted from a recipe in Parenting magazine

Nacho Chicken Casserole

Ingredients:
2 cups diced cooked chicken (I probably used about 3 cups)
1/2 cup uncooked instant white rice
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, drained (I only used 1/2 a can so Clare would still eat)
1 can (10 3/4 oz) condensed cream of chicken soup
1 can (11 oz) Green Giant® Mexicorn® whole kernel corn with red and green peppers, undrained
1 can (4.5 oz) Old El Paso® chopped green chiles, undrained
1 teaspoon Old El Paso® taco seasoning mix (from 1-oz package) (I added more seasoning...maybe 1/2 a package)
1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese (6 oz)
1 cup broken tortilla chips

1.Heat oven to 350ºF. Spray 2-quart casserole with cooking spray. In casserole, stir chicken, rice, tomatoes, soup, corn, chiles, taco seasoning mix and 1 cup of the cheese until well mixed.


2.Cover; bake about 1 hour or until rice is tender and mixture is heated through. Top with tortilla chips; sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup cheese. Bake about 10 minutes longer or until filling is bubbly and cheese is melted.

Recipe Source: http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/nacho-chicken-casserole/7d76504c-2e37-446b-898d-068828af18ac

The crossed out ingredients are ones I eliminated when I made it due to family preferences and lack of ingredients (rice). It was REALLY good! The kids and I ate it in tortilla shells (yum!) and Adam ate it with tortilla chips. Both ways were very tasty.

Hearty Chicken & Noodle Casserole

Ingredients
1 can (10 3/4 ounces) Campbell's® Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup (Regular or 98% Fat Free)
1/2 cup milk
1 cup frozen mixed vegetables
2 cups cubed cooked chicken
2 cups medium egg noodles, cooked and drained
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions
Heat the oven to 400 degrees F. Stir the soup, milk, vegetables, chicken, noodles, Parmesan cheese and black pepper in a 1 1/2-quart casserole.
Bake for 25 minutes or until the chicken mixture is hot and bubbling. Stir the chicken mixture. Top with the cheese. Let stand until the cheese is melted.
For Golden Onion Chicken & Noodle Casserole, substitute 1/2 cup crushed French fried onions for the Cheddar cheese.
For Hearty Chicken Casserole with a Twist, substitute 2 cups cooked corkscrew-shaped pasta for the egg noodles.

Recipe source: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/hearty-chicken-noodle-casserole-recipe/index.html

This was good. It is just like a tuna casserole, but with chicken instead of tuna. I think next time I'll do butter/saltines on top.

Baked Spaghetti Casserole

•1/2 – 1 lb. ground beef
•1 small onion, diced
•1/2 green pepper, diced
•3 cloves garlic, minced
•1 14.5 oz. can crushed tomatoes
•1 15 oz. can tomato sauce
•1/4 c. minced fresh parsley
•2 t. Italian seasoning
•1 1/2 t. salt
•1 1/2 t. sugar
•1/2 – 1 lb. spaghetti
•1 c. cottage or ricotta cheese
•3 oz. cream cheese
•1 egg
•1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese
•1 1/2 c. shredded Mozzarella or Italian blend cheese

1. In a large skillet, brown ground beef with onion, pepper and garlic. Drain. Stir in tomatoes, tomato sauce and seasonings. Simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes before removing from heat to cool.

2. Meanwhile, cook spaghetti al dente, according to package directions. Drain and rinse in cool water.

3. In a large bowl, stir together the cottage or ricotta cheese, cream cheese, egg and Parmesan cheese until combined. Add spaghetti and stir until well mixed. Pour into a greased 13×9 casserole dish. Spoon the meat sauce on top of the spaghetti and cover with shredded cheese.

4. Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes, until cheese is melted and golden. (If made during stolen moments, let the casserole dish come to room temperature while the oven heats.)

Recipe taken from : Cooking During Stolen Moments

This recipe freezes well, so I doubled it and stuck one in the freezer. It was pretty good. I wasn't a big fan of the cream cheese flavor with the noodles, so I would probably leave that out if I made it again.