Italian Comfort Food

I've already mentioned that one of my favorite comfort foods is pasta, and does it get any better than spaghetti with a ground beef sauce?  Also, if you want to throw in a few extra veggies, you can serve this sauce over roasted spaghetti squash instead of pasta. Super tasty stuff!

Spaghetti Sauce with Ground Beef

Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 small green bell pepper, diced
1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 (16 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons dried basil
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 tsp ground cayenne red pepper

Directions:

Combine ground beef, onion, garlic, and green pepper in a large saucepan. Cook and stir until meat is brown and vegetables are tender. Draine grease.

Stir diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, and tomato paste into the pan. Season with oregano, basil, salt, and pepper. Simmer spaghetti sauce for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

Source: Allrecipes.com, submitted by Hank's Mom. Recipe can be found here.

Notes: I added the cayenne pepper because I like to have a little bit of kick to my sauce. I might have even added close to 1/2 tsp. Just add it to your taste, or leave it out if you don't want your sauce to have any kick. I also skipped the green bell pepper because I didn't have it on hand, I don't really love them that much.

Spaghetti Squash with Garlic

Ingredients:

2 spaghetti squash (2 pounds each)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, slivered
Coarse salt and ground pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. With a fork, prick squash in several places. Place on a rimmed baking sheet; bake until soft to the touch, about 1 hour.

When cool enough to handle, halve squash crosswise. Scoop out seeds; discard. Scrape flesh into strands.

In large skillet, heat oil over low heat. Add garlic; cook until fragrant and just starting to color, about 5 minutes. Add squash; season with salt and pepper. Cook, tossing frequently, until squash is very hot, about 5 minutes.

Recipe note: Holding squash half over a wide bowl, use fork to scrape the flesh into long, thin strands.

Source: Martha Stewart Everyday Food recipe, found here.

Notes: You can also use bottled, minced garlic and butter in place of the slivered garlic and the olive oil.

 

Above: Here is a bonus shout out to one of my all-time favorite meat sauces. I already blogged this one last year. It is Spanish Spaghetti and it is a wonderful mix of spices, ground beef, green olives, and capers. Ooooooh, it's so good. You can find our original post with the recipe here.

Haystacks--Two Ways

I'm going to share a recipe for Hawaiian Haystacks and one for Mexican Haystacks. These are both a very easy way to feed a lot of people without a ton of work. Plus, they really do hit the spot!

Hawaiian Haystacks
 
Ingredients:

10-12 chicken tenders (or 4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts)
1 cup chicken broth
2 cans (10 3/4 oz each) cream of chicken soup, condensed
1 can (12 ounces) evaporated milk
6 cups cooked white rice

Suggested Toppings:

Shredded Cheddar cheese
Peas
Pineapple tidbits, drained
Shredded coconut
Raisins
Chinese noodles/crispy chow mein noodles
Sliced olives
Diced tomatoes
Diced green pepper
Sliced green onions

Directions:

Place chicken in a 3 1/2-5 quart slow cooker. Combine all remaining ingredients except rice and toppings and pour over chicken. Cover and cook on high heat for 3-4 hours, or on low heat for 6-8 hours.

serve over hot rice with a variety of toppings.

Makes 4 servings.

Source: I got this from a cookbook called 101 Things to do with a Slow Cooker, by Stephanie Ashcraft. You can find it here. There's a sequel to that cookbook called 101 More Things to do with a Slow Cooker. You can find that one here.

Above: Don't forget the salt and pepper!

Mexican Haystacks

Ingredients:

8 oz. cream cheese
2 cups milk
1 cup water
1 cup sour cream
2 tsp cumin
1 medium sweet onion, diced
1 tbsp. chicken bouillon
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1 pkg. Hidden Valley Ranch Dip (dry seasoning mix)
3-4 frozen chicken breasts
2 (4.5 oz) cans diced green chiles
1 bag frozen corn
2 cans black beans
2 cans Rotel (diced tomatoes with chile peppers)
Hot cooked white rice, for serving

Suggested Toppings:

Fresh cilantro, chopped
Shredded cheese
Shredded lettuce
Diced tomato
Sliced green onions
Tortilla chips or Tortilla strips (can be served on the side, crushed on top, or with the rice on the bottom)
Salsa
Guacamole
Sour cream
Sliced black olives

Directions:

Combine all ingredients except chicken, beans, corn, and Rotel. Heat until smooth, and blend until creamy. You can do this in batches in a blender, or by using an immersion blender. Place chicken, beans, corn, and Rotel in a slow cooker. Top with cream cheese mixture and cook on low for 6-8 hours.

Once the chicken is done, shred it, and stir until mixture is combined.

Serve over hot cooked white rice and top with favorite toppings.

Source: I found this on Pinterest, from a website called Jen's Yummy Fun. You can find the original recipe here.

My Ultimate Comfort Food

 

My ultimate comfort food is pasta, by the way. There is just nothing quite like a good bowl of spaghetti, some homemade lasagna, a baked pasta...yum. I can never get enough. I also never get over the joy of finding and trying new pasta recipes. I have my old favorites, to be sure. I guess it's the thrill of the hunt.

So, let me share some fantastic pasta recipes that I have recently discovered.

The first is a baked pasta recipe that I made for my sister-in-law just recently when she had her baby. She had posted it on her Pinterest page months before, and I squirreled it away thinking that it would be the perfect dinner to make for her after her baby came. I made a few small changes, but this recipe was to die for. I will share the original recipe and the recipe with my changes.

The second is another baked pasta recipe, but it is a recipe for baked and stuffed shells. I was drawn to this recipe because it had pepperoni in it (I hoped that might be a selling point for my two little boys). I was also intrigued because this recipe called for shredded zucchini to be mixed into the ricotta filling. My mom's garden yielded a ton of humongous zucchini this summer. I had shredded a few of them and frozen the zucchini to use later in some baked goods that I wanted to try (but haven't had the time yet...maybe for some Christmas gifts...). I was excited to use some of my zucchini for this purpose. Oh, and if you want to skip the pepperoni, you could easily, and it would still taste great. Then, both of these dinners would be vegetarian. Meat free dinners, especially the Pasta al Forno, are pretty easy on the budget.

So, without further adieu, let me share my baked pasta discoveries!

Tomato and Mozzarella Pasta al Forno (original recipe)

Ingredients:

2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 (14 oz) cans diced Italian plum tomatoes
1 tsp dried oregano
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 pound penne pasta
8 oz. mozzarella cheese, cubed
2/3 cup Parmesan

Directions:

Heat oil in skillet. Add garlic and cook over medium high heat, 1 minute. Add tomatoes and oregano and simmer rapidly, stirring occasionally until thickened, 15 min. Add salt and pepper, to taste. Meanwhile, cook pasta. Toss pasta with sauce. Place half of pasta in an oiled 9x13" dish. Cover with half Parmesan and half mozzarella. Top with remaining pasta, then Parmesan and mozzarella. Bake at 400 degrees F. for 15 minutes.

Source: I found this on Pinterest. It came from a blog/website called "Annie's Eats. You can find the original post here. Apparently, she got it from a book called Pasta by Dorling Kindersley that was published in 1995.

Tomato and Mozzarella Pasta al Forno (with my changes)

Ingredients:

2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 cup diced onion (1 medium onion, or half of  large onion)
2 teaspoons bottled minced garlic or 2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
Salt and pepper, to taste
3 (14 oz) cans diced tomatoes
1 lb. penne pasta
2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
2/3 cup Parmesan, shredded

Directions:

Heat oil in skillet. Add onion and cook for about 5 minutes. Add garlic, oregano, and salt and pepper, to taste. Cook just until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add tomatoes and simmer rapidly, stirring occasionally until thickened, about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook pasta and drain. Toss pasta with sauce.

Place half of pasta in an 9x13" dish. Top with 1 cup mozzarella cheese and 1/3 cup Parmesan. Top with remaining pasta, Parmesan, and mozzarella.

Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes, or until bubbly and cheese is melted.

Notes: Here's a simple explanation in regards to the changes I made. I added an onion to boost the flavor because I worried that garlic alone wouldn't add enough flavor. I added minced garlic instead of fresh simply because it was faster and I didn't have the time the day I made this to peel and crush fresh garlic. I increased the amount of oregano used since I added an additional can of tomatoes (I just like tomatoes and wanted more). I used shredded mozzarella because that is what I had. This was so good, and from everything I heard, it hit the spot for my sister-in-law too.

Pepperoni Pasta Bake

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups part-skim ricotta (20 ounces)
1 1/4 cups grated zucchini (from 1 medium zucchini)
1/3 cup chopped fresh basil leaves, plus more for serving
1 large egg, beaten
coarse salt and pepper
3 cups marinara, divided
28 jumbo pasta shells (7 ounces total), cooked according to package instructions
26 small pepperoni slices (2 ounces total)
3/4 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella (3 ounces)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. In a medium bowl, combine ricotta, zucchini, basil, and egg; season with 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Spread 1 cup marinara in a 9-by-13-inc broilerproof baking dish.

Fill each shell with 1 heaping tablespoon ricotta mixture and arrange in an even layer in dish. Top with remaining 2 cups marinara, then pepperoni, and mozzarella.

Cover with foil and bake until sauce is bubbling, about 30 minutes. Heat broiler, remove foil, and broil until cheese is browned in spots, about 3 minutes. Top with additional basil and serve.

Nutrition information: Serves 4, 694 calories, 28 g fat, 39 g protein, 72 g carbs, 3 g fiber.

Source: this is a Martha Stewart Everyday Food recipe that I found in my October 2012 magazine. You can find it online here.

Notes:  I LOVED this. It was so good. I think the nutrition information is a little off though. If they stuffed 28 shells, that means that if this makes only four servings, each serving is a whopping 7 shells! I had three or four shells, and my husband had about 5. We served this with a salad and some homemade French bread. Yum! Good stuff! We were full and satisfied...if we had each had 7 shells, we would have needed to loosen our belts!

Halloween: Better Late Than Never!

 

Well, life has been pretty busy lately and I haven't had the time to blog that I would like. So, I'm trying to play a little bit of catch up. We did a Half-o-ween party earlier this year and made a lot of fun Halloween-themed recipes...I think we burned ourselves out because when actual Halloween hit, we didn't do much! Oh well, these are fun to make at any time of the year!

 

Terrifying Tamale Pie

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/3 cup chopped red bell pepper

1 clove garlic, minced

3/4 pound ground turkey

3/4 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano leaves

1 can (14 1/2 ounces) Mexican-style stewed tomatoes, undrained

1 can (15 ounces) chili beans in mild chili sauce, undrained

1 cup corn

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 package (8 1/2 ounces) corn muffin mix, plus ingredients to prepare mix

2 cups taco-flavored shredded cheese, divided

Green and red bell pepper, pickle slices, pimiento pieces, chopped onion, chopped black olives, and carrots for decoration 

Directions:

Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and bell pepper; cook until crisp-tender. Stir in garlic. Add turkey; cook until turkey is no longer pink, stirring occasionally. Stir in chili powder and oregano. Add tomatoes with juice; cook and stir 2 minutes, breaking up tomatoes with spoon. stir in beans with sauce, corn, and black pepper; simmer 10 minutes or until liquid is reduced by about half.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly grease 1 1/2 to 2 quart casserole. Prepare corn muffin mix according to package directions; stir in 1/2 cup cheese. Spread half of turkey mixture in prepared casserole; sprinkle with 3/4 cup cheese. Top with remaining turkey mixture and 3/4 cup cheese. Top with corn muffin batter. Decorate with assorted vegetables to make monster face. Bake 20 to 22 minutes or until light golden brown.

Recipe notes:  Make this pie cute instead of creepy by creating a simple jack-o'-lantern face with bell pepper cutouts.

Source: This was in one of our old cookbook booklets. I think it was a Kraft recipe. However, I couldn't find it on their site anymore. When I did a search for it online, I finally found the recipe here.

Notes: We all really liked this. Just make sure to bake it until the cornbread topping is completely done. Ours took a little longer than the recipe stated.

 

Cheesy Jack-o'-Lantern

Ingredients:

3 green onions, divided

2 pkg. (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened

1 pkg. (8 oz.) shredded Cheddar cheese, divided

1/4 cup finely chopped red peppers (I used bottled roasted red bell pepper, chopped and drained)

2 slices pepperoni

Crackers for serving

Directions:

Cut 4-inch length from green end of 1 onion; slice remaining onions. Beat cream cheese and 1 1/4 cups Cheddar with mixer until well blended. Stir in sliced onions and peppers. Refrigerate 1 hour.

Shape into ball; roll in remaining Cheddar. Cut pepperoni into shapes for the jack-o'-lantern's eyes, nose and mouth; press into cheese ball to make face. Insert green onion piece into top for stem.

Serve with crackers.

Variation: Prepare using Neufchatel cheese and 2% shredded Cheddar.

Source: Kraft recipe found here. 

Notes: As mentioned above, I used roasted red bell peppers instead of fresh chopped red peppers. I also skipped the pepperoni to decorate a jack-o'-lantern face. So, it was just a Cheesy Pumpkin. Not a Cheesy Jack-o'-Lantern. But this was one yummy cheese ball...and I'm a sucker for a good cheese ball!

Monster Finger Cheese Sandwiches

Ingredients:

Refrigerated bread stick dough (canned, 12 breadsticks)

String Cheese

Green food coloring

Directions:

Open bread stick can. Place six breadsticks on a cookie sheet. Place string cheese on top of each breadstick (I used 1 string cheese stick for each sandwich. I split them in half and laid it down on the breadstick to cover the whole length of the dough). Place remaining six breadsticks on top of the six breadsticks with string cheese. Pinch seams together. Use a knife to cut six slits in each breadstick so that it resembles a finger. Press one end of the breadstick to resemble a fingernail. Use food coloring (green for monsters, red for witches) to color the "fingernail."

Bake according to breadstick package directions.

Source: I found something similar to this in the same Kraft recipe booklet that I found the Terrifying Tamale Pie.

Spooky Pudding Cups

Ingredients:

Vanilla pudding mix

Melted chocolate chips

Oreo cookies, crushed

Clear plastic cups

Food coloring

Directions:

Prepare pudding according to package directions. Tint pudding with food coloring (orange, purple, green, or no food coloring, if desired). 

Paint inside of each plastic cup with melted chocolate to make a spooky face. You can also use a Sharpie and decorate the outside of the cup, if you prefer not to use melted chocolate.

Fill each cup with pudding and top with crushed Oreo cookies.

Source: I saw ideas similar to this all over the place. Just check Pinterest if you want to know what I mean.

Notes: It was surprisingly hard to paint faces with melted chocolate! It is not an easy medium to work with, as an artist. :) I would suggest using a Sharpie. :)

Spooky Pizza Biscuit Sandwiches

Ingredients:

Canned refrigerated biscuits

Pizza sauce

Mozzarella cheese, shredded

Favorite pizza toppings

Food coloring

Directions:

Place four biscuits on a cookie sheet. Top with pizza sauce, mozzarella cheese, and favorite pizza toppings. Top each biscuit and pizza toppings with another biscuit. Press edges together to seal. Use a Halloween cookie cutter to make an imprint in each biscuit. Paint each imprint with food coloring.

Bake according to biscuit package directions.

Source: Again, I found this idea in that same Kraft recipe booklet. I'll have to check it to see if there is an ISBN number on it, or something.

Notes: These were pretty hearty. If you wanted to make them smaller, you could cute each biscuit in two and make eight sandwiches instead of four. Especially if you are making these for little kids, that is what I would suggest you do. The edges aren't that easy to press together to seal. You could try using a fork to press together the seams.

Halloween Rainbow Party Bundt Cake

Ingredients:

1 box Betty Crocker SuperMoist white cake mix

Water, vegetable oil, and eggs called for on cake mix box

1 box Betty Crocker SuperMoist Dark Chocolate cake mix

Water, vegetable oil, and eggs called for on cake mix box

Black food coloring

Purple food coloring

Orange food coloring

1 (12 oz) can Betty Crocker Whipped Fluffy White Frosting

Directions:

Heat oven to 325 degrees F. Generously grease a 12-cup tube cake pan. Make cake batters as directed on boxes. Divide the white cake into two separate bowls.

Add orange food coloring to one bowl and mix to the desired color. Then, add purple to the other and mix to the desired color. 

Pour 2/3 of the chocolate cake batter into a bowl and mix with a few drops of the black food coloring. Discard the remainder of the batter, or use it for cupcakes. (You only need 2/3 of the chocolate cake batter, because if you use the whole thing, it won't fit in the tube pan).

Pour 1/2 of the chocolate cake mix into the bottom of the greased pan. Carefully pour the purple over the chocolate, making sure you don't stir it. Just pour it on top. 

Then, carefully pour the orange batter over the purple batter, and pour in the remainder of the chocolate. 

Bake as directed on box, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes. 

Turn pan upside down onto cooling rack that is placed over a cookie sheet. Cool cake completely, about 30 minutes. 

Once cake is cool, equally divide your frosting into 3 bowls. Use the food coloring again to make one bowl orange, one purple, and one black.

Microwave each bowl of frosting for a few seconds on high until it is smooth enough to drizzle over the cake (start with about 10-15 seconds). With a spoon, drizzle the black frosting back and forth around the whole ring in a striping pattern until you use it all. Then do the same with the purple, and then the orange. 

Set cake aside to dry.

Store loosely covered and unrefrigerated.

Cake can be made a day or two in advance.

Source: I found this on Pinterest. You can find the original cake here. You HAVE to check it out. Hers looks amazing. It is from a website called "Cooking with Sugar." Hers is way cooler than mine.

Notes: I didn't have purple food coloring. I thought I did, but I didn't. So, I tried to make my own by mixing blue and red food coloring together. It didn't work very well. It made my frosting look almost black once it was poured on the cake, and it was only visible in certain lights on the actual cake. But this was still a super yummy cake, and really easy to make. I used the excess batter to make cupcakes for the kids. Also, when I heated my frosting, I heated it a little too long, so it became more of a frosting glaze, than a rainbow drizzle.

Marshmallow Ghosts

Ingredients:

White chocolate chips, or vanilla candy coating

Black gel frosting

Large marshmallows

Sucker sticks

Directions:

Melt chocolate or candy coating. Stir until smooth. Place each marshmallow on top of each sucker stick. Dip each marshmallow in chocolate or candy coating. Place on wax paper covered cookie sheet and let set up. Use black gel frosting to decorate eyes onto each marshmallow ghost. 

Source: My mom made these and I'm not sure where she found the idea.

Notes: The kids loved these and had a fun time eating them!

Orange Witches' Brew Punch

Ingredients:

1 package (6 ounces) orange gelatin

1/2 to 1 cup sugar

2 cups boiling water

1 can (46 ounces) apricot nectar (you can also use mango nectar/juice)

1 can (46 ounces) pineapple juice

3/4 cup lemon juice

4 liters ginger ale, chilled

Directions:

In a large bowl, dissolve gelatin and sugar in water. Stir in the apricot nectar, pineapple juice, and lemon juice. Freeze in two 2-quart freezer containers. Remove from the freezer 2-3 hours before freezing. Place contents of one container in a punch bowl; mash with a potato masher. Stir in ginger ale just before serving. Repeat for second batch using the second container of the frozen apricot, pineapple, and lemon juice mixture.

Yield: About 8 quarts.

Nutrition facts: 1 serving (1 cup) equals 122 calories, trace fat, 0 cholesterol, 23 mg sodium, 31 g carbohydrate, trace fiber, and 1 g protein.

Source: This is a Taste of Home recipe that you can find here.

Notes: we bought plastic gloves and froze water inside them to make hand-shaped ice cubes for the punch. This was really yummy!

Smooth

Let me tell you what I've been eating for breakfast over the past few weeks: smoothies. I realized that I wasn't eating enough fruit and dairy. So, I started making myself some smoothies for breakfast. It has been the perfect way for me to eat fruits and dairy. It helped me lose a few of my baby weight pounds (that had just been HANGING on!). And since I lost those pounds, it has helped me maintain. Plus, it keeps me full until lunch so that I don't snack like a crazy person.

It's a pretty basic formula and really easy to change up to keeps things from getting boring.

I like to freeze my yogurt for a thicker smoothie. I fill up an ice cube tray with vanilla yogurt and freeze it. Then I pop out the cubes and keep them in a zip-top bag until I use them. Each cube holds about 1 tablespoon of yogurt.  I also like to freeze my fruit (whether I use fresh or canned) so that it makes for a thicker smoothie too. But it doesn't have to be frozen. I just find that it tastes a little more like a milkshake when you use unfrozen fruit.

Breakfast Smoothies

Ingredients:

1 cup fruit (fresh, canned, or frozen)
1 cup skim milk
4 cubes of frozen vanilla yogurt (about 4 tablespoons--it doesn't have to be frozen)
Sweetener, to taste (sugar, honey, brown sugar, Splenda...whatever you want to use)

Directions:

Place all ingredients in a blender. Process until smooth.

Source: No source really, I had just seen a ton of smoothie recipes on Pinterest and it got me in the mood. Then, when I was at the grocery store, I bought one of those Yoplait smoothie packs in the frozen food section. It was soooo good and really low-calorie. But I was surprised to discover when I opened the package, that all of the ingredients could be easily replicated at home.

Notes: I've tried a lot of different types of fruit. I used fresh cantaloupe--which made for a nice, frothy milkshake. I have used frozen canned peaches (I just drained them, put them in a zip-top bag, and froze them in a single layer). I used cuties/tangerines and added a little frozen orange juice concentrate (about 2 tbsp) for an extra kick. The same method worked when I used an orange. I added a little vanilla that time and it tasted like an Orange Julius. I had some lovely red plums that added such a pretty color to the smoothie. I sometimes add a half a banana to whatever fruit I am already using. I used some canned crushed pineapple (undrained) that I had leftover from a recipe one day. It tasted really good--very similar to our frog eye salad recipe.  Really, I think the possibilities are endless.

 

Check Out These Chex

I have found that Chex cereal is a most versatile ingredient.  20+ years ago, we were all amazed that Chex Mix could be combined with peanuts and pretzels to make a snack.  Boy, did we have limited vision then.  There are all kinds of Chex Mix out there to suit every taste.  So here are just a few that we have tried over the past year.

CAKE BATTER BUDDIES

5 c. Chex cereal (Rice Chex or Corn Chex)
10 oz. (5 sq.) vanilla flavored Almond Bark
1 1/2 c. Funfetti cake mix (any kind of cake mix would work)
1/2 c. powdered sugar
1 tsp. vegetable shortening

Melt almond bard according to package directions, adding vegetable shortening to thin.  Pour the cereal into a large bowl and drizzle the melted almond bark over the cereal.  Mix gently with a large spoon or spatula.  dump the cake mix and powdered sugar onto the cereal and mix gently with large spoon until all the cereal is evenly coated.

HOT BUTTERED YUM CHEX MIX

4 c. Honey Nut Chex cereal
2 c. Cinnamon Chex cereal
1/4 c. butter or margarine
1/4 c. packed brown sugar
2 T. honey
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon rum flavoring
2 c. miniature marshmallows.

1.  In large microwaveable bowl, place cereals.  In 2 c. microwavable measuring cup, microwave butter, brown sugar and honey uncovered on High 2 minutes, stirring after 1 minute, until mixture is bubbly.  Stir in spices and rum flavoring.  Pour over cereal mixture, stirring until coated.
2.  Microwave uncovered on High 3 minutes, stirring and scraping bowl after every minute.
3.  Cool slightly, about 5 minutes.  Stir in marshmallows.  Spread on waxed paper.  Store in airtight container.

16 servings, 1/2 c. each.  140 c., Fat 3 1/2g., Fiber 0., Protein 1 g.

Recipe from Chex.com


CHEX PUMPKIN PIE CRUNCH

1/4 c. brown sugar
1 T. pumpkin pie spice
1/4 c. butter
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 c. Cinnamon Chex cereal
2 c. What Chex cereal
2 c. Honey Nut Chex cereal
8 oz. pecans

1.  In small bowl, mix brown sugar and pumpkin pie spice; set aside.  In small microwave-safe dish, microwave butter on High about 30 seconds or until melted.  Stir in vanilla.  In large microwaveable bowl, mix all cereals and pecans.  Pour butter mixture over cereal mixture, stirring until evenly distributed.  Add sugar and spice mixture and stir until coated.
2.  Microwave uncovered on High 5 minutes or until mixture begins to brown, stirring every minute.  Spread on wax paper or a cookie sheet to cool.  Store in airtight container.

16 servings, 180 c., Fat 9g., Fiber 2 g., Protein 2 g.

Recipe from Chex.com

CINNAMON CHURRO CHEX MIX

9 c. Rice Chex cereal
3 c. Cinnamon Chips
1/2 c. powdered sugar
1/4 c. granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Pour Chex cereal into a bowl.  Set aside.  Combine sugars and cinnamon in another small bowl.  Set aside.

In a microwaveable bowl, melt the cinnamon chips.  Heat for 1 minute then stir.  Heat for an additional 30 seconds.  Stir.  Continue with additional 30 seconds until completely melted.  Pour melted cinnamon chips over the cereal.  Stir until cereal is well coated.

Sprinkle with half of the cinnamon sugar mixture.  Toss to coat.  Pour out the cereal onto a cookie sheet.  Continue to sprinkle and toss the cereal with the rest of the cinnamon sugar mixture.

This was on a website called "Just Another Day in Paradise."

The Cinnamon Churro was my favorite.  It was beyond yummy.  The Cinnamon Chips that I used were Hershey brand.  They made the mix and it tasted just like a churro.

Dessert Blast From the Past

I don't know if you're like me or my family, but do you ever go through food phases? You know, where you have a favorite side dish that you make all the time...or a go-to dinner that you make quite frequently. Then suddenly, you're on to a new favorite side dish or go-to dinner and your old favorite somehow gets forgotten.

Well, the dessert that I am going to share tonight is one that I remember my Mom making quite frequently when I was a kid...and then suddenly it wasn't the go-to dessert anymore and it got forgotten for years. I ran across this recipe and realized that we needed to add it to the blog. It's such a nostalgic dessert to me. In addition to that, it's delicious, easy to make, and the topping can be altered to suit different tastes.

The dessert is...drum roll, please...Debbie's Easy No-Bake Cheesecake. Yummy! Is it time for dessert yet?

Debbie's Easy No-Bake Cheesecake

Ingredients:

1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup sour cream
2 tsp. vanilla
2 cups whipping cream
1 graham cracker pie crust
1 can favorite pie filling (such as blueberry or cherry)

Directions:

Blend together cream cheese, sugar, sour cream, and vanilla. Whip 2 cups whipping cream and sweeten to taste with sugar. Combine whipping cream and cream cheese mixture. Pour into graham cracker crust. Freeze at least 1/2 hour before serving. Top with pie filling of choice.

Source: I don't know who this Debbie person is or where my Mom found this recipe. But it's a good one!

I actually found two versions of this recipe. Here is the earlier version that I found:

Earlier Version of Debbie's Easy No-Bake Cheesecake

Ingredients:

1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese
1/4 cup sugar
1 pkg. Dream Whip or 2 cups Cool Whip
1 graham cracker pie crust
1 (21 oz) can cherry pie filling (or favorite pie filling)

Directions:

Cream cheese and sugar together. Mix in Dream Whip or Cool Whip. Pour into crust and freeze for 2 hours. move to refrigerator and when ready to serve, top with pie filling.

Source: Granger South Second Ward Cookbook...from long, long ago (before I was born, I think).

Notes: I found it interesting that I discovered two recipes submitted by the same person (whose name I forgot to note) but that the recipe had evolved. I guess we learn from that that recipes can evolve over time. We can also learn that if you don't have all of the ingredients or you have similar ingredients, you should feel free to add, omit, or substitute ingredients to get a similar result. Obviously, you can't do this with ALL ingredients...because after all, if you don't have cream cheese, it won't really be cheesecake.

I personally like this cheesecake with blueberry, cherry, or raspberry pie filling. But you can really top it with anything you want. You could use peach or apple pie filling, leave it plain, top it with caramel sauce...be creative!