"Spaghettio's"

Ingredients

• 1 box small pasta
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, pressed
• Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
• 15 oz can tomato sauce
• 1 cup water
• 1 Tablespoon tomato paste
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. Cook the pasta according to package directions
2. .Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven or large saute' pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook until just fragrant, about 30 seconds. 
3.  Stir in the tomato sauce, water, tomato paste, salt, pepper, and butter. Heat, while stirring, until the butter is melted. Slowly stir in the milk, then turn the heat to low. Simmer at low heat for 10 minutes.
4. Stir the shredded cheese into the sauce until melted. 
5.  Drain the pasta and combine with the tomato sauce mixture. 

Easy Stove-top Mac and Cheese

I Just make it all the time.

Ingredients:
1 16oz box pasta (shells, macaroni, bow tie) 
2-4 Tablespoons butter
1 can cheddar cheese soup(10 3/4 oz)
1 can evaporated milk (12 oz)
2ish cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
Salt and pepper to taste or seasoned salt (like Johnny's) and fresh grated nutmeg

Directions:
Cook and drain noodles.  Add back to warm pot, stir in butter, cheese soup,
and the can of evaporated milk.  Stir until combined. 

Add 1 cup of cheese to start with, add more until desired cheesiness.
Keep the burner on low to help melt things together.
Add salt and pepper to taste and a bit of fresh grated nutmeg. 

Easy Oreo Truffles

These have become a tradition.  This super easy recipe has become very popular, I'm not surprised!
Mint oreos are great with this too.

Ingredients:

1 package Oreo cookies
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
16 ounces chocolate, melted for dipping

Directions:

1. In a food processor, process cookies into fine crumbs.
2. Add the cream chesse, and mix until well blended.
3. Roll mixture into 42 balls, about 1 tablespoon each.
4. Dip the balls in melted chocolate and place on wax paper.

7 Layered Jello

It's a tradition.

Ingredients:

4 jellos (4 different flavors/colors)
2 cups milk
1 cup sugar
2 packages unflavored gelatin
1/2 cup cold water
1 pint sour cream
2 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

1. Mix 1 packages of jello with 1 cup boiling water, stir until dissolved.  Then stir in 1/2 cup cold or ice water.  Pour this into the bottom of a 13x9 inch casserole dish.  (the final jello will fill an entire 13x9 inch pan)
2.  For the white layers:
      Bring 2 cups of milk to boil.
      Dissolve the 1 cup of sugar into the hot milk.
      Dissolve 2 packages of gelatin in 1/2 cup cold water and let sit for a couple of minutes.
      To the gelatin mixture whisk in the sour cram and vanilla.
      In a large boil combine the sour cream mixture with the hot milk/sugar.
      Leave this white mixture covered on the counter.
3.  After 1st jello layer is set, poor 1 1/2 cups of the white mixture over the jello and refrigerate.
4.  Repeat layers of jello and white ending with a jello. 

Each layer should take 30-60 minutes to set.  But you want to work as fast as you can, because the white mixture will start to set as it sits out on the counter and cools.

Candy Corn Sugar Cookies

I love how cute these little candy corn sugar cookies are.  How perfect are they for October?!

Ingredients:

2 Sticks unsalted Butter, softened

1 Cup Granulated Sugar

1 Egg

2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice

2 Teaspoons Lemon Zest

1 Teaspoon Salt

3 Cups All-Purpose Flour

1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda

Red Food Dye

Yellow Food Dye

1/2 Cup Granulated Sugar (for dusting)

Directions:

1.Combine butter and sugar in a large bowl; beat at medium speed until creamy 3-5 minutes.

2.Add egg, lemon juice, lemon zest, and salt. Continue beating until well mixed.

3. Sift the flour and baking soda together and add to the creamed mixture.  Stir just until combined.

4. Divide the dough into thirds (each 3rd is jsut over 1 cup of dough).  Leave 1/3 of the dough white.  mkae 1/3 of the dough yellow and the last 1/3 orange. 

5. Press the white dough evenly into the bottom of a loaf pan that you have lined with foil, wax, or parchment paper.

6. Press orange dough evenly over white dough.

7. Pressyellow dough over the orange dough, so it is even and flat

8. Cover and refrigerate until firm (2 hours or overnight is best). Once chilled, invert your loaf pan and unwrap your dough. On a cutting board cut loaf crosswise into 1/4-inch slices using a sharp knife, trimming edges to make even, if necessary. Cut each slice into triangles.

9. Place 1-inch apart onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 7-10 minutes in a pre-heated 375 degree oven. Place cookies straight into a bowl with sugar and coat. Place coated cookies on a baking rack to cool.

Recipe from: http://kaitlininthekitchen.blogspot.com/2009/10/candy-corn-sugar-cookies.html

Limeade Pie (or lemonade or pink lemonade)

pink lemonade pie (made with extra food coloring until it was pink to Ada's liking)

Limeade pie.... yes, we all eat off our IKEA kids plates.

My mom always made this pie.  It's so so so easy, and it always hits the spot on a warm summer evening.  You can use limeade (it's my favorite) or pink lemonade or regular lemonade.  I usually make two different flavors at a time.  Since they are stored in the freezer, you can save one for another day or keep leftovers for a while.

Ingredients:

1/2 container (you know the regular size 48 oz our 1.5 qt) of vanilla ice cream softened  (it needs to be soft   enough to stir, but not melted)
1/2 of a frozen 12 oz limeade (or lemonade or pink lemonade juice mix), thawed
1 store bought graham cracker or shortbread crust
food coloring (optional)

Directions:

1.With a hand mixer, mix the ice cream, lemonade juice concentrate and a drop or two of food coloring (optional) until combined.
2. Poor mixture into the prepared graham cracker crust. 
3.Cover and freeze for an hour or until ready to serve.

Red Velvet Whoopie Pies

This year we made Santa Red Velvet Whoopie Pies, I think he liked them.

Ingredients:

1 box Red Velvet Cake Mix
1/2 cups vegetable oil
1 tablespoon water
2 eggs
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
2 cups marshmallow cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 pinch salt

Directions:

Combine cake mix with the oil, water and eggs. Use a 2 oz cookie dough scoop to drop the dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake at 325 degrees for abour 13 minutes.
Cool oin wire racks.

For the filling, beat together the butter and powdered sugar until fluffy. Beat in the marshmallow cream, vanilla and salt until smooth. Spoon filling between two cookes to make a sandwich.

Store pies between layers of wax paper in an airtight container and refrigerate.


This makes about 18 cookies

Nutella Fudge Brownies

No No No! I want this recipe erased from my memory. It is too good and too easy. I am going to make it too often and get too fat!!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Nutella
1 egg
5 tablespoons flour
pinch of salt

Directions:

Heat the oven to 350 degrees.
Line a mini muffin pan with paper cups (12)
Mix the Nutella and egg in a bowl until smooth and well blended. Add the flour and salt and mix until combined.
Spoon the batter into the 12 mini muffin cups.
Bake for 11 - 12 minutes.
Set on a rack to cool completely.

*This recipe is adapted from finecooking.com

No Bake Cookies

What? You don't make no bake cookies all the time for your family and eat the whole batch in one day? Well you should, and this is THE recipe.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup unsalted butter
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup cocoa (preferably Dutch processed cocoa, or a mixture of dark cocoa powder)
1/2 cup peanut butter (or any nut butter, try Nutella too!)
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 heaping cups quick cooking oats
a pinch of salt

Directions:

Combine butter, sugar, milk and cocoa in sauce pan over medium heat. Cook and stir until it comes to a complete boil. Boil for 1 minute. Remove pan from heat and stir in the remaining ingredients until combined. Drop spoonfuls of cookie mixture onto wax paper and let cool.
Store cooled cookies in the fridge or at room temperature.

Apple Wrap

This one has made it into the boys lunch rotation. It is simple and healthy.


Ingredients:

Whole wheat tortilla
Apple, sliced or diced
Peanut butter
Cinnamon

Directions:

spread 1-2 tablespoons of peanut butter onto tortilla, top with apple slices and a sprinkle of Cinnamon. Roll up the tortilla and serve, or wrap tightly in plastic wrap for later.

My "go to" granola bars

This recipe originally came from allrecipes. I love this recipe because you can really do so much with it. You can add in anything you want, any kind of nut or fruit or chocolate etc.... The above picture has white chocolate chips, walnuts and dried cherries. My favorite is to add some peanut butter (and reduce the oil a bit) and chocolate chips. I also like to make the recipe more healthy sometimes by subbing some of the oil for applesauce or reducing the sugar etc..... Below is the basic recipe I use (it is a little different from the one from allrecipes)

Ingredients:

2 cups rolled oats

3/4 cups packed brown sugar

1/2 cup wheat germ or ground flax seed or any combination of both

1 tsp cinnamon

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 tsp salt

nuts, dried fruit, coconut, chocolate etc....

1/2 cup honey

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 tsp extract (like vanilla or almond)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and oil a 9x13 inch baking pan. In large bowl, mix together all the dry ingredients. Poor in the remaining ingredients and mix well. Pat the mixture evenly into the prepared pan. Make sure it is really packed in. Bake for about 25 minutes or until the bars are golden around the edges. Cool for 5-10 minutes and then cut bars while they are still warm. Let the bars cool completely and enjoy! Store in an air tight container.

* If your bars come out too crumbly, one good trick is to just break the bars into little pieces and bake them again on a cookie sheet, then you will have some delicious crunchy granola.