Soft Gingerbread Cookies

INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 c. butter
2 c. brown sugar
2 eggs
1/2 c. molasses
4 1/2 c. flour
4 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. salt

extra sugar for rolling
2 12 oz. bags white chocolate baking chips

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a mixing bowl cream butter and sugar. Add the eggs and molasses and mix well. In a separate bowl mix dry ingredients together then slowly combine dry ingredients with the wet ingredients. Form dough into 1-2 inch balls and roll into sugar. Place on baking sheets lined with parchment paper and bake for 10-12 minutes.

2. Melt your white chocolate chips and dip half of the cookie into it or drizzle over the top of your cookies and add sprinkles. Place onto wax paper and let dry. Enjoy!

The Ultimate Sunday Dinner of Meat and Potatoes

My sister in law Angela shared this recipe with me. She says its her absolute favorite dish. It was awesome! I love a good roast and this one is simple, easy to prepare and absolutely delicious!

INGREDIENTS
Extra-virgin olive oil
3 lbs. top round, in one big hunk
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 onion, sliced
2 fresh rosemary sprigs
3 fresh thyme sprigs
1/2 bottle dry red wine
2 cups beef broth
2 bay leaves

DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Heat a 2-count of olive oil in an oven proof braising pan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat until smoking. Season the meat well with salt and pepper, put in the pan, and brown for 10 to 12 minutes. Make sure it's really well seared on all sides-this is where the flavor comes from. Take the meat out of the pan and put it on a plate.

Add the onion, rosemary, and thyme to the pan and stir and cook for about 5 minutes to give the onion a good sear. Now add the wine, broth, and bay leaves and bring the whole thing to a simmer. Return the meat to the pan. Cover, put the pan in the oven, and cook until the meat is fork-tender, about 2 1/2 hrs.

Remove the meat to a platter. Taste the braising liquid for salt and pepper and discard the bay leaves. Slice the meat and serve in shallow bowls atop a big spoonful of mashed potatoes. Top with some of the sauce and garnish each bowl with a drizzle of olive oil to finish.

Andes Peppermint Crunch Cookie

Our cute little neighbor Cooper made these cookies all by himself for our family. His mom later told us that they found the recipe on the cover of a Utah magazine and it received a #1 Christmas cookie award. I love shortbread cookies or Mexican wedding cookies so these were a HIT at our house!

INGREDIENTS
1 c. soft butter
1/2 c. white sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
2 3/4 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 bag Andes Peppermint Crunch baking chips

DIRECTIONS
Cream together butter and sugar. Add egg and vanilla. In a separate bowl combine flour, baking soda and baking powder. Add dry ingredients to the mixer. Pour baking chips into the cookie dough and be careful not to over mix.

Form small cookie balls onto a baking sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes at 375 degrees. *I used a small cookie scoop and was able to make 40 balls. I also baked each batch for 11 minutes; maybe my oven temp is off.

Sausage and Penne Pasta in Tomato Cream Sauce

My sister in law Jenny shared this yummy recipe with us. I'm not a huge fan of Italian sausage so we both use regular ground sausage and it works great!

INGREDIENTS
1 onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 T. olive oil
1 lb. hot Italian Colosimo sausage
3/4 cup white wine
1 14 oz. can tomatoes
1/2 pint whipping cream
1/4 c. fresh Italian parsley, minced
1 c. grated Parmesan cheese
12 oz. penne pasta, cooked and drained

DIRECTIONS
In a large frying pan, saute onion and garlic in olive oil until tender. Add sausage and cook until done. Add white wine and reduce until almost evaporated. Add tomatoes and cook 3-4 minutes. Add cream and cook until slightly thickened. Add parsley, Parmesan and season with salt and pepper to taste. Toss with pasta and serve.

Marshmallow Creme Fruit Dip

Fruit Dip is such a great idea for any gathering. It's light and refreshing and can be served as an appetizer or with a meal. Or you can be like me and serve it to my son who will eat almost everything all by himself!

INGREDIENTS
1 8 oz. package cream cheese, softened
1 small jar marshmallow creme
1 T. orange juice concentrate
grated orange zest (optional)

DIRECTIONS
Blend ingredients until smooth. Serve with fresh fruit.

Cheese Ball

This recipe comes from our good friend and neighbor growing up.

INGREDIENTS
2 8 oz. packages cream cheese
1 8 oz. grated cheddar cheese
1 T. finely grated onion
1 tsp. lemon juice
1 T. Worcestershire sauce
Dash salt
Dash cayenne pepper
1/2 cup to 1 cup crushed nuts

DIRECTIONS
Mix all ingredients thoroughly except nuts. Divide mixture and shape into 2 balls. Roll balls in crushed nuts. (I used pecans this time around). Wrap in saran and refrigerate.

Apple Streusel Cheesecake Bars

My neighbor shared this yummy Betty Crocker dessert recipe with us and it is delicious! On their website it says it was the Prize-Winning Recipe for 2007 so it's definitely a keeper!

INGREDIENTS
1 pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker oatmeal cookie mix
1/2 cup firm butter or margarine
2 packages (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
2 T. Gold Medal all-purpose flour
1 tsp. vanilla
1 egg
1 can (21 oz.) apple pie filling
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 cup chopped walnuts

DIRECTIONS
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray bottom and sides of 9x13 inch pan with cooking spray.

Place cookie mix in large bowl. With pastry blender or fork, cut in butter until mixture is crumbly and coarse. Reserve 1 1/2 cups crumb mixture; press remaining crumbs in bottom of pan. Bake 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, in large bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar, four, vanilla and egg with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth.

Spread cream cheese mixture evenly over partially baked crust. In medium bowl, mix pie filling and cinnamon. Spoon evenly over cream cheese mixture. Sprinkle reserved crumbs over top. Sprinkle with walnuts.

Bake 35 to 40 minutes longer or until light golden brown. Cool about 30 minutes. Refrigerate to chill, about 2 hours.

Fish and Sand

Our friends came over last year for a dinner and planning meeting for our upcoming trip to California. I thought it would be fun for the kids to have a beach themed dessert to get them in the mood for our upcoming vacation!

INGREDIENTS
36 vanilla cream-filled sandwich cookies
3 (3.9 ounce) packages instant vanilla pudding mix (You could also try lemon flavor)
6 cups milk
1 large package gummy fish candy
umbrellas

DIRECTIONS
1. Place the sandwich cookies into a resealable plastic zipper bag, and crush with a rolling pin into crumbs. To get finer sand, chop cookies in a food processor.
2. Whisk together the pudding mix with the milk in a bowl, stirring for 2 minutes. Sprinkle about 1/3 of the crushed sandwich cookie crumbs into the bottom of a serving bowl, and spoon the pudding over the crumbs. Smooth out the top of the pudding, then top with the rest of the cookie crumbs to resemble sand. Poke gummy fish halfway into the sand and add a cute umbrella. Refrigerate until serving.

Irish Chicken and Dumplings

I found this recipe on All Recipes.

INGREDIENTS
2 (10.75 ounce) cans condensed cream of chicken soup
3 cups water (I like to substitute chicken broth for the water to add more flavor)
1 cup chopped celery
2 onions, quartered
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. poultry seasoning
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
5 carrots, sliced
1 (10 ounce) package frozen green peas (sometimes I substitute peas for corn)
4 potatoes, quartered
3 cups baking mix
1 1/3 cups milk


DIRECTIONS
In large, heavy pot, combine soup, water, chicken, celery, onion, salt, poultry seasoning, and pepper. Cover and cook over low heat about 1 1/2 hours.

Add potatoes and carrots; cover and cook another 30 minutes.

Remove chicken from pot, shred it, and return to pot. Add peas and cook only 5 minutes longer.

Add dumplings. To make dumplings: Mix baking mix and milk until a soft dough forms. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto BOILING stew. Simmer covered for 10 minutes, then uncover and simmer an additional 10 minutes.

Sloppy Joes

INGREDIENTS
2 lbs. hamburger
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery

2 10 3/4 ounce cans tomato soup
2 T. vinegar
1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup ketchup
2 T. sugar
1/4 tsp. pepper

DIRECTIONS
Combine hamburger, green pepper, onion and celery in dutch oven or skillet. Cook over medium heat until hamburger is browned. Drain. Add the rest of the ingredients. Bring to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes. Serve over toasted hamburger buns.

Cola Hot Wings

I'm an absolute 100% fan of these chicken wings. We made them Saturday night and I'm already trying to decide when I can make them again this week! I don't list anything on my blog that I don't love and these are seriously at the top of the list! This isn't the best picture but we gobbled them up so fast these were the 3 remaining...and then I ate them! :)

INGREDIENTS
3 lbs. chicken wings
1 cup Louisiana-style hot sauce
1 can (12 oz.) cola
1 T. soy sauce
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp. pepper
Blue cheese salad dressing

DIRECTIONS
Cut chicken wings into three sections; discard wing tip sections. In a small bowl, combine the hot sauce, cola, soy sauce, cayenne and pepper.

Prepare grill for indirect heat, using a drip pan. Moisten a paper towel with cooking oil; using long handled tongs, lightly coat the grill rack. Grill chicken wings, covered, over indirect medium heat for 10 minutes. Turn; grill 10-20 minutes longer or until juices run clear, basting occasionally with sauce. Serve with salad dressing.

*I recommend using a charcoal grill for these bad boys! You won't be disappointed! I also poured about 1/4 of the marinade into a gallon zip-lock with the chicken and let them flavor up for about 1/2 hr.

Grilled Salmon

INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 pounds salmon fillets
lemon pepper to taste
garlic powder to taste
salt to taste
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup water
1/4 cup vegetable oil

DIRECTIONS
Season salmon fillets with lemon pepper, garlic powder, and salt.

In a small bowl, stir together soy sauce, brown sugar, water, and vegetable oil until sugar is dissolved. Place fish in a large resealable plastic bag with the soy sauce mixture, seal, and turn to coat. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Preheat grill for medium heat.

Lightly oil grill grate. Place salmon on the preheated grill, and discard marinade. Cook salmon for 6 to 8 minutes per side, or until the fish flakes easily with a fork.

*I always make a foil packet for the fillet and close it up, leaving a little room for air to circulate inside.

Stuffed Mushrooms

This is a super easy Stuffed Mushroom recipe that everyone is sure to love. 

INGREDIENTS
1 box Stovetop Stuffing Mix
1 package large mushrooms (I like the ones at Sam's Club or Costco, jumbo)
5 oz. sausage
freshly grated Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a skillet over medium heat, chop up sausage and cook until done. Prepare stuffing in a separate pot according to directions on the box. Combine sausage and stuffing into a separate bowl, cover, and set aside. Clean mushrooms and remove stems. Lightly saute mushrooms in a pan with 1 T. butter for 3-5 minutes depending on size. Remove mushrooms from skillet and place on a baking sheet. Fill each mushroom with approx 1-2 T. stuffing mix. Top with a sprinkle of Parmesan Cheese and bake in oven until cheese is a golden brown. Enjoy!