MIL Sugar Tea Cakes

These are the best sugar cookies EVER!

And you guessed it, they're my mother-in-law's recipe.

I've started making them every year for her birthday and this year I wised up and made enough for myself! The best thing about them is that you probably have all of the ingredients already in your pantry. (Maybe with the exception of cream of tarter. What other recipe calls for that?)

Anyway... here ya go!

Ingredients:

2 eggs

2 sticks margarine

1 c Wesson oil

1 c powered sugar

1 c sugar

1 t cream of tartar

1 T vanilla extract

1 t almond extract

1 t baking soda

4 1/2 c flour

Directions:

Sift together flour, cream of tarter & baking soda. Set aside.

Beat margarine, oil & sugar until creamy.

Add eggs. Add vanilla and almond extract.

Add flour and stir until it becomes dough-y :)

Refrigerate dough overnight. Then pinch of pieces and press each cookie (with a glass dipped in sugar) onto an un-greased cookie sheet.

Bake 10-12 minutes on 350.

Enjoy!!

Recipe {Creamy Chicken Casserole}

This is one of my weeknight favorites!

Ingredients:

3 cups shredded or chopped (cooked) chicken

1 can of cream of chicken soup

1 8 oz carton of sour cream

1 tablespoon poppy seeds

1 1/2 cups crushed Ritz crackers

1/4 cup melted butter

Combine first 4 ingredients: spoon into a lightly greased 9x13 baking dish. Combine Ritz and butter, and sprinkle over chicken mixture.

Bake uncovered at 350 for 30 minutes.

Yum!

Crock Pot Recipes

Believe it or not, my hubby found this website for me.

Crock Pot Girls

Maybe that's a subtle hint that my routine dinners are getting a bit routine. Ha!

But seriously, check it out! There's more recipes on there than I can even count. And I tried. I got to 42 under "chicken" and thought forget it! And it's not just chicken dishes. There's beef, mexican, breakfast, desserts. Even kid favorites.

I'm doing the Barbeque Chicken today, so we'll see how it goes!

Recipe {Herbed Chicken & Tomatoes}

I have {REALLY} been unmotivated lately when it comes to making dinner!

Anyone else go through that?
Well, today I'm sharing a simple crockpot recipe that makes dinner easy & tasty!

Ingredients:
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces {I cooked mine whole and cut after cooking}
2 cans (14.5 oz each ) Italian diced tomatoes
1 envelope savory herb with garlic soup mix {for life of me I couldn't find this... so I used herb and garlic pasta sauce mix}
1/4 teaspoon sugar
Hot cooked pasta
Shredded or grated Parmesan cheese

In a slow cooker, combine the chicken, tomatoes, soup mix and sugar. Cover & cook on low for 5-6 hours or until chicken juices run clear.
Serve with pasta and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

I hope you enjoy this easy meal!! My 5 year old had 3 servings... so it's kid friendly! :)

Recipe {Fruit Dip}

I recently made this dip for an event & it's always a crowd pleaser.

It's great for parties, tailgates, showers, etc. and super easy to make.

Ingredients:

1 cup Cool Whip

1 cup sour cream

1 cup brown sugar

1 Tbsp vanilla

1 t kahlua (or chocolate extract)

Just stir it all together & keep refrigerated until you're ready to serve.

It's delicious!!

Pinterest Dinner

Have you all discovered the bliss that is Pinterest!? Well, I for one am loving it (even when it locks up on me because a million other people are browsing and pinning).
I decided to actually make something that I'd pinned and let me tell you it was fantastic!!!

Head over to The Larson Lingo for an easy and tasty dinner!

You'll be glad you did!!

(Recipe) Chocolate Cupcakes

Do you need a dessert for that New Year's Eve party that you're going to? Try these bite-size chocolate cupcakes! I've taken them to many events and they're always a crowd favorite!

Ingredients:

Devil's Food Chocolate cake mix + whatever it calls for (water, oil, eggs, etc)

8 oz creme cheese

2 cups chocolate morsels

1/3 cup of sugar

1 extra egg

Directions:

Mix cake mix by "back of the box" directions

-Separately- Mix creme cheese, sugar & egg and blend until smooth

Fold in morsels

Grease mini-muffin pan

Alternate cake mix and creme cheese mix until 3/4 full

Bake 15 minutes (or use toothpick test) at 350

Enjoy!!

{Recipe} Chicken Spaghetti

This chicken spaghetti is unlike most I've seen/cooked before. How many have you seen with the Rotel? I love those versions but I like that this is just as tasty and doesn't have a bit of rotel in it!

Gather your ingredients:
8 oz package of spaghetti
2 cups grated cheddar
4 TBSP parmesan cheese
2 cups cooked, diced chicken (I used 3 chicken breasts)
1 can of cream of chicken
1 can of cream of mushroom
1 can of chicken broth

Cook & Drain spaghetti. Combine 1 cup cheddar & 2 TBSP Parmesan with all other ingredients. Toss with spaghetti. Place in greased casserole & sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Cook covered 45 min @ 350*.

I hope you enjoy this alternative to the typical chicken spaghetti!!

(Recipe) Maw Maw's Pecan Pie

Do you need a pie recipe for this Saturday?

If you're like me, you cook pies about twice a year, Thanksgiving and Christmas...

So if you need something easy and delicious, try this pecan pie. It's a family recipe, passed down from my husband's great-grandmother and it's worth it's weight in gold! I set this pie out last weekend, ran to get my camera & this is what was left when I returned. It's that good!!

Ingredients:

4 eggs

1 cup sugar

1 cup white Karo syrup

1 cup pecans

2 Tbsp margarine (softened, not melted)

1 tsp vanilla

1 deep dish pie crust

Directions: Beat the eggs (not to foamy). Add sugar, syrup & butter and beat with a spoon until well mixed. It will still be a little lumpy. Add vanilla and the pecans. I use more pecans than it calls for because who doesn't love pecans?? Poke the pie crust with a fork and pour mix into the crust.

Bake at 400 for 5 minutes and then turn down the oven to 350 and bake for another 50-55 minutes. It's done when the top cracks. It may still be a little giggly.

Enjoy!!

Seriously, it's delicious! Your family will LOVE it!

{Recipe} Chewy Chocolate Cookies

These cookies are OH SO GOOD!! I made these on a whim a while back and my husband loved them. So, when I was getting ready for a cookie swap he told me I needed to make these! The only problem is they make a LOT so be prepared to gain a few pounds... or give them away!!

Gather your ingredients:
2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 sticks of butter or margarine, softened
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
10 oz pkg peanut butter chips

1. Heat oven to 350*
2. Stir together flour, cocoa, baking soda & salt. Beat butter & sugar in a large bowl with mixer until fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Gradually add flour mixture, beating well. Stir in peanu butter chips.
3. Drop by rounded teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8-9 minutes. Do not overbake; cookies wil be soft. They will puff while baking and flatten while cooling. Cool slightly; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely. About 4 1/2 dozen cookies.

Enjoy with a big glass of milk! Yum yum!



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{Recipe} Nacho Chicken

It's about time that we had a recipe to share with you! Does this mean that we haen't been cooking much? Well I can't speak for Tiffany...but I for one have needed some motivation! This week I made one of our favorite meals... Nacho Chicken.

Gather your ingredients:
1 Chicken (or 4-5 chicken breasts)
1 bag Doritos (nacho cheese flavor)
1 can corn (whole kernel)
Cheese (grated; to taste)
1 small onion (diced)
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup milk
1 can Ro-tel tomatoes

Boil and debone chicken. Layer chicken, Doritos, cheese, onion, and corn in casserole dish. Mix soups, milk and tomatoes. Pour over casserole. Top with cheese. Bake at 375 degrees for 30-45 minutes.

Enjoy!

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Cake pops!

Have you heard of these?

I was just introduced to them this week by my good friend Misty.

Seriously, I never knew what I was missing!! They are delicious!

And not to mention, adorable!!

You can make them as basic or elaborate as you would like. These are definitely more on the elaborate side, but just for fun, here are a few pictures of inspiration from the experts at Bakerella...

Adorable, right??

Well, Misty & I tried our hand at them last night.

Here are the basic directions...

1. Bake and cool one 13x9 cake, according to package directions. After it has cooled, smash it up and mix in 1 can of frosting. It's a fun & messy project! Refrigerate the mixture for 15 minutes.

2. Form the mixture into balls (or whatever) & insert a sucker stick into each one. (To prevent bobble-head balls, dip the end of your stick into melted candy melts and then insert them into the balls.) Refrigerate them for another 15 minutes.

3. Melt your candy melts or chocolate bark and dip the cake balls. Add glitter, sprinkles, faces (for you advanced Martha Stewarts), etc..

4. Stick each pop into a block of styrofoam so that the chocolate can harden. And voila! It's that easy!! We made Christmas presents using chocolate bark and red icing.

Are they perfect? Heavens no. Are they perfectly yummy? You bet!

Happy baking!

Halloween treats

For simple Halloween treats, I dipped apples and pretzels in caramel and chocolate candy melts and then added some nuts and sprinkles! Yum!

They are super easy & delicious!

Can I claim this as a healthy snack??

They're just apples right??

{Recipe} Group Meal Swap... Taco Soup

Recently a group of ladies from my Sunday school participated in a group meal swap. If you've never done one of these before I highly recommend it!! Here's the lowdown...
Once you know many friends are going to join in on the fun you'll make meals for everyone of them (including or not including yourself... that all depends on YOU!). Example... in the last swap there were 7 of us participating so I made 6 meals. You're going to want to make meals that are easily frozen and reheated, etc. Did you know there are cookbooks for this concept?? Of course you did. :)

Then you just meet up and swap. Bring a laundry basket or something to carry all your meals home in (keeping in mind that they can be HEAVY). The great thing about this swap is that you will have 6 nights of 'mindless' cooking. Just pull something out of the freezer the night before and you're set! I LOVE LOVE LOVE that. All you working moms out there... you really should do this! How great would it be to come home and enjoy your kids, enjoy your couch or enjoy your fantastically decorated home instead of cooking dinner?

Now what you were all waiting for.... MY RECIPE!
TACO SOUP
this is by far the easiest meal I make and has been one of my favorites since college days

2 lb ground beef, browned and drained
3 cans Mexican Stewed Tomatoes (or Ro-Tel)
2 cans Ranch Style beans
1 can corn
2 cups water
1 package Ranch dressing mix
1 package Taco seasoning

Bring all ingredients to a boil. Then serve with Fritos or tortilla chips and top with cheese. Mmmm.... Unfortunately I didn't make one for myself so no picture... Sorry! But trust me... it's delicious and did I mention EASY? So, get your friends together and SWAP your meals.

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{Recipe} Crockpot Potato Soup

A friend of mine shared this recipe at an exchange we had last year. It comes from Cindy Buban's My Three Best Recipes.

5 cups shredded frozen hash browns (1 bag)
1 cup onion, chopped
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup cream of chicken
1 cup cream of mushroom
2 cups milk
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Separate hash browns into crockpot (sometimes they are stuck together from being frozen). Add chopped onion. Combine remaining ingredients and pour into crockpot. Add 1 cup water and stir well. Cook on low for 6 hours or high for 4 hours. Add more water if needed. Top with cheese and bacon bits and serve.

Thanks for sharing, Lyndsey!! Our family loved this! Perfect for the fall evenings we are having now.

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{Recipe} Chocolate Chip Dip

YUM!!! If you're headed off to some Halloween parties in the near future this is a great recipe to make for an instant hit!

Your Ingredients:
1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup confectioner's sugar
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup (6 oz.) miniature semisweet chocolate chips
Graham cracker sticks (I have had a hard time finding these... so I used Scooby Doo graham cracker sticks... even though they look like dog bones they are tasty!)

In a small bowl, beat cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy. Add the sugars and vanilla; beat until smooth. Stir in chocolate chips. Serve with graham cracker sticks.

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{Recipe} Creamy One-Pot Pasta

This recipe comes from Pampered Chef and is a really fresh and fairly light pasta dish.

Gather your ingredients:

4 large garlic cloves, peeled

1 jar (7 oz) sun-dried tomatoes in oil, undrained

3 cans chicken broth (5 1/4 cups)

1 lb. uncooked penne pasta

1 head broccoli (2 cups small florets)

2 medium carrots, peeled

4 oz. reduced fat cream cheese (Neufchatel)

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper

Grated fresh Parmesan cheese and snipped fresh basil (optional)

Thinly slice garlic (or I use my garlic press). Place garlic and 1 tbsp oil from sun-dried tomatoes into stockpot. Cook garlic over medium heat 2-3 minutes or until garlic is golden brown, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; add broth. Return to burner; increase heat to high. Cover and bring to a boil. Stir in pasta; cover and simmer vigourously 8-10 minutes or until pasta is almost cooked but still firm.

Meanwhile, cut broccoli into small florets; place into mixing bowl. Cut carrots in half lengthwise; thinly slice crosswise on bias. Drain sun-dried tomatoes; pat dry with a paper towel. Slice tomatoes into thin strips. Add carrots & tomatoes to bowl.

Cut cream cheese into cubes. Add vegetables, cream cheese, salt & black pepper to stockpot. Stir until cream cheese is melted and fully incorporated. Reduce heat to medium; cover and cook 2-4 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Serve immediately and if desired top with Parmesan and basil.

**This last time I made this dish I added chicken to it just for a little extra somethin' somethin'.

I just bought the bag of pre-cut chicken strips that you either cook on the skillet or microwave and stirred into the mixture once they were cooked.

Hope you enjoy!

{Recipe} Golden Chicken

This is a perfect little chicken dish!

Both my kids & husband love it, so it's become a regular in our house.

Ingredients:

4 Tbsp butter

1 pkg Italian dressing mix

1/2 cup white wine (or cooking sherry)

1 can golden mushroom soup

4 oz cream cheese

1/2 lb angel hair pasta

4 chicken breasts

In a small pan, melt butter. Add dressing mix, white wine, soup & cream cheese and stir until smooth and cream cheese is melted. Do not boil. Arrange chicken breasts in a single layer in a sprayed 9x13 baking dish. Pour sauce over chicken. Bake 1 hour at 325. 20 minutes before baking is finished, bring a large pot of water to boil. Cook pasta until tender (about 5 minutes). Drain. Serve chicken & sauce over pasta.

Note: I cut my chicken into strips and decrease the cooking time by 15 minutes.

Thanks Amber for passing this one along. We've come to LOVE it!

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{Recipe} Company Chicken

We're back with another tasty recipe. This time it's Company Chicken from a church cookbook! Yum-o! Those ladies at FBCTW know how to cook! :)

Ingredients:
6 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (I only used 4 and it worked out okay too)
6 slices of Provolone cheese
10 3/4 oz. can cream of chicken soup
1/2 soup can of water
1 stick unsalted butter, melted
2 cups herb-seasoned stuffing mix or crushed croutons

In 9x13 inch greased baking dish, arrange chicken and top each piece with cheese. Mix soup and water and pour over chicken. For topping, mix melted butter and stuffing mix and sprinkle over chicken. Bake uncovered at 350* for 45 min. or until done.


This one is a man-pleaser (at least my man!). I fed it to my family plus my 22 year old brother and they both gave it good reviews. Hope you have the same results. Enjoy!!




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{Recipe} Zesty Italian Crescent Casserole

We're back with another recipe! This one is a first time for me but I think it will be a keeper especially since it is really simple. This time the recipe comes from a church cookbook. Get your ingredients ready...
1 lb. ground beef
1 cup spaghetti sauce
1 cup mozzarella cheese
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 Tbsp. melted butter
8 oz. crescent dinner rolls

Preheat the oven to 375*. Brown and drain the beef. Add the sauce and heat thoroughly. In a separate bowl, mix together the mozzarella, sour cream and Italian seasoning. Pour the beef mixture into a 13 x 9 inch casserole dish. Spoon the mozzarella mix over the beef. Mix parmesan and melted butter and set aside. Unroll the crescent rolls and place over the mozzarella mixture. Seal the edges of the rolls. Spread the pamesan and butter mixture over the dough. Bake about 20 minutes until deep golden brown.

And serve it up!!! Let us know if you try it and the family enjoys!