Curly Mac

Curly Mac

I don't know where my mom came up with this recipe but I am sure glad she did.  It is one of my childhood favorites and now it's my husbands favorite.  I promise you won't be disappointed!  I apologize in advanced.  I don't know the size amounts of the cheese.  I only know by box.  I will check next time I'm at the store.

Ingredients

1 box of Pasta Noodles - I use rotini noodles but any kind will work
3-4 cans of Campbell's Condensed Tomato Soup
1 lb Ground Turkey or Ground Beef (optional)
Medium box of Velveeta Cheese or 1/2 of a large box.
2 tbs Oregano (more or less to taste)

Boil noodles and drain.  Brown turkey or beef and drain.  Slice up velveeta into chunks.  Combine velveeta, soup, and oregano into a casserole dish.  Stir in pasta and beef.  Cover with with lid.   You can microwave (if your microwave is big enough) or put in oven.  Because the food is cooked the idea is to just heat it up and melt the cheese.

Tips and Tricks

• If you don't want to add meat you will only need 3 cans of tomato soup.
• If you don't want meat but someone else does.  Make casserol with 3 cans of sauce and no meat.  Remove your portion and add in meat and 4th can of sauce.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Kiss Cookies

Peanut Butter Chocolate Kiss Cookies

This is my FAVORITE cookie to make.  I love to make them at christmas time.  They are so easy and they taste so good.  

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cup Flour

1 tsp Baking Soda

1/2 tsp Salt

1/2 cup Butter or Margarine - softened

1 cup Peanut Butter - smooth

1/2 cup Sugar

1/2 cup Light Brown Sugar

1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract

1 Egg

1 bag Milk Chocolate Kisses 

Mix together all ingredients EXCEPT the flour.  It doesn't matter in what order.  Once the ingredients are well blended gradually add in the flour.  Mix well.  Refrigerate at least 1 hour or overnight.  Roll dough into 1.5 inch balls.  Roll each ball in sugar.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 18 minutes or until light golden brown on the bottom.  Press a chocolate kiss into the center of each cookie.  They may crack and that is perfectly fine.  Return to oven for 1 minute   Remove from oven.  Let cool for about 2 minutes and then remove to a cooling rack.

Tips and Tricks

• Moving them to the cooling rack causes them to stop baking baking.  This will keep your cookie from being too tough.
• You want the bottoms to be very light brown.  Too dark and your cookies will be on the stiff side.
• It take the chocolate kisses a long time to set back up.  If I make these at night they are good to touch or stack by morning.
• I bought the white/milk chocolate swirl kisses by mistake one time.  They were a big hit.  People thought they were cute and my husband actually liked them better.

Cinnamon Cheese Squares

Cinnamon Cheese Squares

Ingredients:

2 cans Crescent Rolls

2 (8oz) Cream Cheese - softened
1 3/4 cup Sugar
1 tsp Cinnamon
1/4 cup Butter - melted

Spray 9 x 13 pan with cooking spray.  Press one can of crescent rolls onto bottom of a 9x13 pan.  Press seams together.  Mix together 1 cup of sugar and cream cheese.  Spread mixture over crescent rolls.  Please 2nd can of rolls over mixture.  Mix together butter, cinnamon  and 3/4 cup of sugar.  Spread mixture on top layer of rolls.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 min.  Serve right out of the oven or place in the refrigerator and serve cold!

Tips and Tricks

• Make sure seams on bottom layer are sealed together well.  This will prevent the cream cheese from seeping through.
• This recipe works best when baked in a glass or stone dish.

Pie Crust

Pie Crust

8 or 9 inch crust

1.5 cups Flour

1/2 tsp Salt

1/2 cup + 2 tbs Crisco (I prefer butter flavored)

5 tbs Cold Water

10 inch crust

2 cups Flour

1 tsp Salt

2/3 cup + 2 tbs Crisco

7 tbs Cold Water

Mix in crisco, salt, and flour.  Add in cold water.  Mix until well blended.  

Tips and Tricks

• I like to mix with my dough hook on my mixer until well blended.  Then I mix it by hand.
• Lightly flour your counter or cutting board too keep dough from sticking to surface.

Mini Fruit Pies

Mini Fruit Pies

I love these little pies because they are so much more conveintent than a regular pie.  They are so easy to eat and taste so good.  These are one of those recipes that can be from scratch or not.  I have made this both ways and under tips and tricks you can find the pros and cons.

Ingredients:

Refrigerated Pie Crust or Pie Crust Recipe

Canned pie filling or Homemade pie filling

Sugar - if pie filling is tart

This is for a cherry pie.  

Prepare your pie crust.  Using a circle with a diameter of at least 4 inches cut out the circles for the bottom part of your pies.  I used a lid from one of my plastc mugs.  Place your dough circles into the muffin pan.  Push the dough down to mold to the bottom and sides.  You a form to poke holes in the bottom of each mini pie.  

Make sure there are no air bubbles in the bottoms of the pies.  Sprinkle a little sugar on the bottom of each pie crust.  Pour in a little pie filling.  Filling it about 1/3 full.  If pie filling it tart sprinkle some sugar on top of filling.  Put in more pie filling this time filling it to 2/3 full.  Sprinkle some more sugar on top.  Using a circle at least 3.5 inches in diameter cut out your dough circles for the top crust.  Cut out any designs you may want on your top crust.  Place top crust onto pie and pinch edges closed.  Brush egg wash on the top of each pie and sprinkle with sugar.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minuets.  

Yield: 

Refrigerated Pie Crust - 9 

Homemade Pie Crust (recipe doubled) -  12 

Tips and Tricks

• Refrigerated pie crust is so easy and convenient   But yield is small and dough tends to be thinner so pies are more brittle.
• I have found using the tradition pie cut for top works the best.
• Let pies cool in pan before removing.

Best Ever Chocolate Frosting

Best Ever Chocolate Frosting

This is another one of mom's recipes.  This is the best chocolate frosting.  It is so easy to make.  

Ingredients:

6 tbs Cocoa

1 Stick Butter (room temperature - softened)

1 tsp Vanilla

2 cups Powdered Sugar

2-3 tbs milk

Mix together Butter and vanilla.  Add cocoa.  Gradually add in powdered sugar.  Mix until well blended.  Gradually 1 tablespoon at a time add in milk until you reach the correct consistency.  Beat on high for a few minutes.

Tips & Tricks

• The key to making this frosting work is to let the butter soften by setting out.  Melting or softening in the microwave will change the consistency.

Taco Dip

Taco Dip

This is a great recipe for taco dip.  Layer with the ingredients you like.

Pictures coming soon!

Ingredients:

1 box Cream Cheese (room temperature)

1 Medium Sour Cream

1 Pkg Taco Seasoning (I use the taco bell one for mine)

2 cups Mexican Blend Cheese or Cheddar Cheese

Optional Ingredients:

Pepperoni (diced or slices)

Lettuce 

Olives

Tomatoes (diced or grape)

Bacon 

Ham

Mix together cream cheese, sour cream, and taco seasoning.  Spread on plate.  Place your cheese on top and add optional ingredients on top of cheese.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.  Serve with tortilla chips.  

Tips & tricks

• Placing your cheese on top of the dip helps to keep the lettuce or other ingredients from getting soggy or wet.
• I like to serve these with Tostitos scoop.

Apple Dip

Apple Dip

I had this apple dip at a fundraiser luncheon.  It was so good I had to have the recipe!  This is a must try recipe!  For christmas I served the sliced red and green apples.  It looked great and was a huge hit.  Great for fall too. 

Ingredients:

8 oz Cream Cheese (room temperature)

3/4 cup Dark Brown Sugar

1 tsp Vanilla

Use a mixer to blend all ingredients.  Refrigerate.  Serve with sliced apples.

Tips & Tricks

• Make sure the brown sugar has no lumps prior to adding.  It is harder to break the lump after it has been added to the cream cheese.
• Dip your sliced apples in lemon juice or lemon/lime soda to keep them from browning.

Pizza Roll

Pizza Roll

If you love pizza or pepperoni roll you'll love this recipe.  

Pictures coming soon!

Ingredients:

1 loaf of frozen bread dough (or dough recipe)

1 cup grated mozzarella

1 cup grated provolone

Pepperoni

egg white (optional)

If you are using the frozen bread dough allow to thaw and rise according to package.  Roll out dough into a long rectangle.  Cover with pepperoni and sprinkle with cheese.  Roll up and tuck the sides under.  Place in a bread pan.  Brush top with beaten egg white.  Bake at 325 degrees for 40 min.

Tips & Tricks

• Don't have an egg white?  No big deal.  I have brushed the top with water and it is still just as good.
• I like using the Rhodes frozen bread dough to save time.  
• Don't like provolone?  I have made this with 2 cups of mozzarella.  Or get creative and try your own cheeses.

Lasagna

Lasagna

This is my mothers recipe for lasagna.  I have never met anyone else that makes lasagna the way our family does.  

I will update with pictures soon!

Ingredients:

1 box of lasagna noodles

1 large jar of pasta sauce (I use Prego)

4 cups Mozzarella

2 boxes of cream cheese

1 lb of hamburger or turkey (optional)

Boil your noodles and brown your meat and set aside.  Warm sauce in pan and set aside.  Spray a cake pan with nonstick cooking spray   Now it is time to assemble   You should have at least 5 piles of 4 noodles each.  Put 4 noodles on bottom of pan.  Place 1/4 of your meat on the noodles.  Sprinkle 1/4 of the mozzarella on the meat.  Then slice up 1/2 a box of cream cheese and place randomly on the mozzarella   Add a few cups of sauce on top.  Add 4 more noodles and repeat the meat, cheese, and sauce combination.  You will end up with 4 layers of meat/cheese.  Once all the layers are done place your final 4 noodles on top.  pour remaining sauce on top.  Sprinkle any remaining mozzarella on top of sauce.  Cover with tinfoil and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

Tips & Tricks

• Try to use just under 1/4 of the mozzarella on each layer to save some for the topping.
• Sprinkle a little brown sugar in your sauce to sweeten it up.
• Check your noodles before you buy.  Tip the box back and forth slowly and listen for broken pieces.
• Lay out you noodles before assembly.  This will insure you have a enough noodles.  If you don't use less in the middle layers.
• If you lay out the noodles ahead of time use 4 perfect noodles for top and bottom.  

Sweet Hamburgers

Sweet Hamburgers

This is a recipe on how to sweeten your hamburgers.  If you have ever eaten at Swensons and wondered what they put in the hamburgers I have the answer.  It is brown sugar!  

Ingredients:

Hamburger 

Brown Sugar

Mix brown sugar into your raw hamburger meat.  I usually just throw a handful in depending on how big my burger will be.  If I was to measure it the measurement would be about 1 tablespoon for every 1/4 lb of hamburger.  Add more or less depending on your preference.  

 Tips & Tricks

• Add my sweet pickles to make the perfect burger!

Rigatoni

Rigatoni

This is the easiest Rigatoni to make.  It has also been a hit at every function I have taken it to.  I also had someone once tell me that he only eats his wife's rigatoni but decided to try mine and he thought it was amazing.  It is my mom's recipe.  She always makes it with italian sausage.  I make it with meatballs.  

Ingredients:

1 lb Rigatoni Noodles

1 large jar of Ragu (I am a Prego girl but Ragu in this Rigatoni is what makes the taste)

1 tbs Oregano

1 tbs Minced Garlic (lightly browned in frying pan)

Italian Sausage or Meatballs (Optional)

Crock Pot

Put the sauce in your crock pot. Stir in your oregano and garlic.  I used 4lb of sauce and 1 lb of pasta in the pictures shown.  This made it more saucey (if that's even a word) than usual.  I would usually use 2-3 lbs sauce for every 1 lb pasta.

If you are adding in meat you may add this in now.  If you have frozen meatballs you can throw those in as is.  They will thaw in the sauce.  Let this simmer on low from a few hours to all day.  

Remember to occasionally stir your sauce.  About 1 hour before serving put your cooked pasta in and turn up the heat.  

Continue to stir occasionally until ready to serve.  

Tips & Tricks

• If you prefer to make your pasta ahead of time like me once you have cooked your pasta, drained, and rinsed it place it in a plastic zip lock bag and store in the refrigerator.  You can even do this a day ahead of time if you are having a big event or dinner.

Sweet Pickles

Sweet Pickles

If you love pickles and things that are sweet these pickles are right up your alley   These are a homemade recipe that has been in our family for as long as I can remember   They are amazing on hamburgers or even just to eat on the side.  We never have a cookout without them!

  

Ingredients:

1 Jar Hamburger Dill Slices

1 cup Sugar

1/4 cup vinegar

First you will need to drain the juice out of the pickle jar.  Then dump in your sugar and vinegar   Put the lid back on you jar and leave sitting out on the counter for a day or so or until the sugar is dissolved   During the time that the pickles are sitting out periodically shake the jar to spread out the sugar and vinegar.  Once the sugar has dissolved store your pickles in the refrigerator.

Tips & Tricks

• Are the pickles all gone and you want to make more?  Save the juice.  The next time you make a new jar of pickles remove the juice in the new jar and pour in the juice from the used jar.  Don't add in the whole amount of sugar and vinegar.  Just add in a little bit. and leave out until dissolved. 

• Add my recipe for sweet hamburgers to make the perfect burger!

Cinnamon Honey Butter

Cinnamon Honey Butter

A twist on my honey butter recipe.  This is comparable to the butter served at the Texas Roadhouse.  This is so easy to make.


Ingredients:

1/2 cup Butter or Margarine
1/4 cup Honey
1/4 cup Powdered Sugar
1 tsp Cinnamon

Directions:

Blend together butter and honey.  Add in cinnamon.  Gradually add in Powder sugar.  Mix until all ingredients are blended well.  Refrigerate.

Honey Butter

Honey Butter

If you love honey butter you are going to love this recipe.  If it also comparable to the butter served at Golden Corral.  It is so easy to make.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Butter or Margarine

1/4 cup Honey

1/4 cup Powdered Sugar

Directions:

Blend together butter and honey.  Gradually add in powder sugar.  Mix until all ingredients are well blended.  Refrigerate.

Pumpkin Roll

Pumpkin Roll

Who doesn't love pumpkin roll?  It is a must have for fall.  Every time I make this I hear I love pumpkin roll but it is so hard to make.  To me this is one of the easiest and one of my most favorite things to make!  It takes 2 things, a good recipe and a good technique.  Well I am here to tell you I have found both.

As you will see below I do not use a jelly roll pan or a baking mat.  They are not needed!  If you have them then great.  If not don't sweat it!  Just follow me.

To start with you will need the following ingredients....

Cake:
3/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp salt
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup pumpkin purée


Filling:
8 oz cream cheese (room temperature)
1 cup powdered sugar
6 tbs butter (room temperature)
1 tsp imitation vanilla extract


Supplies:
1 - 15" x 10" cookie sheet with sides or a jelly roll pan (if you have a larger cookie sheet with sides          that will work too)
Clean towel
Parchment paper or wax paper


Let's begin!

Let's make the cake.

First using your blender or hand mixer mix together all the ingredients for the cake EXCEPT for the flour.  It doesn't matter what order.  I like to dump in the wet ingredients first then add the dry.

Second gradually add in the flour.  Mix until all ingredients are blended well.  I like to let my mixer run for a couple minuets.  Do not be alarmed that it is runny.  It is supposed to be this way.

Prepare you pan.  You will need to cover your cookie sheet with parchment paper.  Cut off extreme excess but leave a little sticking up on edges.  I like to spray the cookie sheet first with Pam.  I do this because it helps hold the parchment in place while I pour and spread.

Now spread the cake batter on to he cookie sheet.

Bake it in the oven for 11 min at 375.  You may need a few more minuets depending on you oven.  If you used the larger cookie sheet you will need less time because it thinner.

While it is in the oven I prepare my towel.  You will need a towel at least the size of the pan.  I lightly dust a towel with flour and then shake off the excess.

Once cake is done remove it from the oven.

Lightly dust the cake with flour.  Lay flour side of the towel down on the cake.  Pull the towel tight and flip the cake onto the towel.

Remove the parchment paper from the cake.

While still hot roll the cake up in the towel and let cool.

Time for filing!

Mix cream cheese,  butter, and vanilla until well blended.  Gradually add powdered sugar.  Mix until well blended   I like to set on a medium speed for about 3-5 min.

Unroll cake and spread filling onto cake.  Try to keep it away from the edges a bit because when you roll it it will spread outward.

Roll you cake back up and wrap in plactic wrap.

Put in refrigerator overnight.  Feel  free to sprinkle top with powdered sugar before serving.

Tips & Tricks

• Make your pumpkin roll unforgettable by using 1 1/2 - 2 times the filling. 
• Try using dental floss to evenly slice your pieces before serving.