Baked Chicken with Dried Beef and Bacon

I had this at a friend's house as her "company meal". And as the way of most "company meals" it got my compliments and request for the recipe. So I thought I would share it with the rest of you...

8 chicken breasts, boneless, skinless

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 cup of sour cream

4 oz jar dried beef

8 slices of bacon

Place 2 slices beef on each chicken breast. Wrap bacon around the meat to hold it together. Mix mushroom soup and sour cream together well and pour over chicken spreading evenly. Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 300 degrees for 2.5 hours. (I don't think it hurts it to cook at a higher temp like 350 or 375 to cut back on some of the time.) Also note that this chicken is somewhat tinted pink from the bacon, so don't freak out about it being pink, make sure it is cooked all the way through however.

Taste Rating: 3.5

Difficulty Rating: 3 (not really hard to do, but timely on the cooking)

Great served with rice! Also another variation of this that I tried was instead of using dried beef I used a thin slice of deli ham, actually I prefer the ham over the dried beef, but that is just me, let me know what you like.

Sweet Catalina Chicken

I got this recipe from my aunt. Now I know you can do chicken and rice about 5000 different ways, so if you don't know of this one, you may want to add it to the list...

Sweet Catalina Chicken

4-5 boneless, skinless chicken breast, cubed

Mix together:

1 small bottle catalina dressing

1 cup apricot or peach preserves

1 pkg dry onion soup mix

Pour over chicken in casserole dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Serve over rice.

Taste Rating: 4

Difficulty Rating: 2.5

Let me know what you think, or what your favorite chicken and rice dish is.

Unstuffed Peppers

This I learned from a friend who is way into health foods, so I am proud to present a dinner that is not only healthy for you, but also tastes great!!!

Unstuffed Peppers

1 lb ground turkey (sometimes I cheat and use ground beef)

1 pkg sweet peppers (they sell this at walmart they are just small red, yellow, and orange peppers, but you don't have to use all of them, just put in how many you would like)

1/2-1 cup traditional ragu sauce (be careful, you don't want to make it soupy)

garlic salt (season to taste)

salt (season to taste)

pepper (season to taste)

brown the ground turkey/beef in skillet, add diced peppers, and ragu sauce. Season to taste and voila!! I love to serve this with brown rice to keep with the healthy theme.

Taste Rating: 4 (I make this a lot, and my kids love it!!)

Difficulty Rating: 2.5 (it is quick and easy!!)

Halloween Treats

Halloween is just around the corner and you might be looking for some cute snacks for a party, or just to make with the kids. I have not made any of these yet so I can't give them a rating, but I promise I will. Also check out some other really cute ideas for halloween treats at picky palate!

Bugs in a blanket

Bugs in a Blanket

by Pillsbury

1 can (11 oz) refridgerated original breadsticks

24 cocktail-size smoked link sausages

3/4 cup shoestring potatoes

Ketchup, bbq sauce, or mustard

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Unroll dough; separate at perforations into 12 breadsticks. with a knife or kitchen scissors, cut each breadstick into half crosswise, making 24 pieces.

2. wrap each piece of dough around center of each sausage, pinching to seal and leaving each end of sausage showing. Place seam side down and 1/2 inch apart on ungreased large cooking sheet.

3. Bake 11-14 min or until golden brown. Immediately remove from cookie sheet; place on serving plate or tray. Cool 2 minutes.

4. Insert shoestring potatoes into baked dough to resemble legs and antennae. Decorate "bugs" with dots or stripes of ketchup.

Taste Rating: 3

Difficutly Rating: 3

Scary Skull Cakes

Scary Skull Cakes

by Pillsbury

1 box (18.25 oz) white cake mix with pudding in the mix

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

12 large marshmallows, halved

1 container (12 oz) vanilla whipped ready-to-spread frosting

48 small chocolate-covered mint candies (from 4.75-oz box)
24 chocolate chips

1/4 cup slivered almonds

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Place paper baking cup in each of 24 regular-size muffin cups. Make and cool cupcakes as directed on box.

2. Carefully pull back a small section of paper from each cupcake; insert marshmallow half between paper and cake of each. Frost tops of cupcakes and marshmallows to look like skull shape.

3. For each skull cake, use 2 mint candies for eyes, 1 chocolate chip, point side down, for nose, and 6-8 almonds for teeth. Store loosely covered.

Wickedly Fun Witches

Wickedly Fun Witches

by Pillsbury

24 oblong peanut butter-filled sandwich cookies

1/2 cup vanilla creamy ready-to-spread frosting (from 1 lb container)

9 drops green food color

4 drops yellow food color

72 mini candy-coated chocolate baking bits

24 pieces candy corn

3 bars (1.55 oz each) milk chocolate candy

12 chocolate wafer cookies

1. Line cookie sheet with waxed paper. Place sandwich cookies on cookie sheet. In resealable food storage plastic bag, place frosting and food colors; seal bag. Squeeze bag until frosting is well blended. Cut small hole in bottom corner of bag.

2. Pipe thick line across each sandwich cookie mear the top. Pipe 1 large dot of frosting above the line on each cookie. Pipe squiggles of frosting to look like hair below each green line. Pipe 2 dots for eyes, 1 for nose and 1 for mouth on each cookie. Place baking bits on dots for eyes and mouth; place candy corn on dot for nose.

3. Cut candy cars crosswise into quarters. Cut each quarter in half to form 2 triangles. Place 1 candy triangle over large dot of frosting on each cookie to look like top of witches hat.

4. With serrated knite and sawing motion, cut each chocolate wafer cookie in half. Place cookie upright on green line at base of each candy triangle to look like hat brim.

Monster Burgers

Monster Burgers

by Pillsbury

8 ground beef patties (4 oz each)

8 burger buns, split

8 slices (3/4 oz each) american cheese

8 thin slices cookes ham

16 slices dill pickles

ketchup

1. Place ground beef patties in broiler pan. Broil 3-4 inches from heat 10-12 min or until throughly cooked, turning once.

2. Place bottom halves of buns on serving platter. For each monter burger, place 1 cooked patty on bottom half of bun. cut cheese slices in half in zigzag pattern to look like teeth. Place half of cheese slice on burger, with "teeth" hanging off 1 side of patty.

3. Loosely fold ham into tongue shape; place on top of "teeth" place remaining cheese "teeth" on top of "tongue". Top with top half of bun. Place 2 pickle slices on top for eyes. Dot "eyes" with kethup for pupils.

Halloween Cake

Halloween Cake

by Betty Crocker

Cake:

2 boxes (1 lb 2.25 oz) yellow cake mix with the pudding in the mix

Water, oil, and eggs called for on cake mix boxes

Frosting and Decorations:

2 containers (1 lb each) vanilla creamy ready-to-spread frosting

yellow and red food color

1 pkg pull apart green licorice twists

chewy fruit-flavored snack rolls (any flavor)

edible glitter, if desired

1. Heat oven to 325 degrees. Spray 2 1/2 qt ovenproof bowl with baking spray with flour. In large bowl, make 1 box cake as directed on bow, using water, oil and eggs. Pour batter into ovenproof bowl.

2. Bake 1 hr and 15 min or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 15 minutes. Run knife just around top edge of cake. Remove cake from bowl; place rounded side up on cooling rack. Repeat with remaining box cake mix to make second cake. Cool cakes completely, about 1 hr.

3. In medium bowl, tint frosting with 9 drops of yellow and 6 drops of red food color to make orange frosting. Trim both cakes to form flat surfaces. Place 1 cake, round side down, on plate. Spread 2/3 cup of orange frosting over flat side of cake almost to edge. Place second cake, round side up, on frosted cake to make round shape. Frost entire cakes with remaining orange frosting.

4. To make stem, cut twist of licorice crosswise into thirds. Gather pieces together and twist. Use toothpick to make hole in top of cake; insert licorice stem. Pull apart licorice to make vines. Cut leaces from fruit snack rolls. Garnish cake with vines and leaves. Sprinkle with glitter.

Witches' Brooms

Witches' Brooms

by Betty Crocker

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup butter, softened

2 Tbsp water

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/8 tsp salt

10 pretzels rods (about 8 1/2 inches long, cut in half crosswise)

2 tsp shortening

2/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/3 cup butterscotch chips

1/2 tsp shortening

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. In medium bowl, beat brown sugar, butter, water and vanilla until well blended. Stir in flour and salt. Shape dough into 20 (1 1/4 inch) balls.

2. Place pretzel rod halves on ungreased cookie sheets. Press ball of dough onto cut end of each pretzel rod. Press dough with fork to resemble bristles of broom. Bake 10-12 min or until set but not brown. Remove to cooling racks; cool completely.

3. Cover cookie sheet with waxed paper. Place brooms on waxed paper. In 1-qt saucepan, melt 2 tsps shortening and chocolate chips over low heat, stirring occasionally, until smooth. Remove from heat. Spoon melted chocolate over brooms, leaving about 1 inch at top of pretzel handle and bottom halves of cookie bristles uncovered.

4. In a small microwavable bowl, microwave butterscotch chips and 1/2 tsp shortening uncovered on med-high 30-50 sec, stir after 30 sec, until chips can be stirred smooth. Drizzle over chocolate. Let stand until chocolate is firm before storing.

Salsa

This is by far my favorite salsa, because it is the real thing!! None of that Pace picante or stuff made in New York City for me! My friend taught me how to make this recently and I have been making and eating it ever since! The only thing is that I don't have an exact recipe, which is rough for someone like me. I about have a panic attack when I try to cook without a recipe. But this is so good it was at least worth me trying to explain the instructions, and it is actually easier than you think, at least give it a try.

Salsa

what you need:
Roma Tomatoes (about 4-5 and you don't want them too ripe. dicing is easier if they are still slightly firm)
White Onion (1 will be more than enough, we won't use that much)
Cilantro (oh my favorite, these are usually sold bunched together, we only need a handful so just buy one thing of it and you will have plenty left over)
1-2 limes
salt


For the Hot Sauce you will need:
2 Roma tomatoes

chili de arbol

garlic

So lets start with the hot sauce:

take 2 of the roma tomatoes (i know the picture shows 3 but we only ended up using 2 and it made a lot, since you don't use much of the hot sauce) and about 4-5 of the chiles (pinch the caps off) and place them in a skillet over med-high heat, flip and cook until blackened. Note-when the chiles and tomatoes blacken they will pop open which can cause coughing so have the stove fan on (I have no idea what causes this, if there are any scientist out there that can give me the chemical analysis of why this happens I would love to know).

Then throw them into a blender (I like to use my magic bullet) and add in a clove of garlic. Turn it on high speed and mix until well blended.

Strain through a colander into a small bowl so that you get nothing but the juice, you may need to stir it around so that all of the juice comes out. And ta-da, you have your hot sauce, and be careful it really will be hot.

So then all that is left to do is dice up the other roma tomotoes, onion (I use my kitchen aid chopper and only about 1/4 of the onion), and a handful of the cilantro (which I also chop). What you are trying to accomplish is having a nice mix so that everything looks about like this...

After you throw all the tomatoes, onion, and cilantro together you want to add the lime and the salt, and you are going to have to go by taste (as a guess I would start with 1/2 of the lime and 1-2 tsp of salt). This is what gives it its flavor, so just keep tasting. Now to give it some spice! Everyone likes different levels of spicy, I am personally a mild or medium spicy person so I add about 1-2 Tbsp of the hot sauce, but taste it has you go, one extra spoonful can make it too hot! if you do get it too hot it's okay, just add some more lime and salt or tomatoes or something. So I know this is not as exact as I usually like for a recipe to be, but I promise it is really good!!

Taste Rating: 5 (like I said it is my favorite salsa!)

Difficulty Rating: 3.5 (mostly you are just chopping and dicing, but clean up is definitely the worst part)

Thanks to my friend for teaching me how to make this great salsa, I hope you enjoy it as much as I do, and don't forget to let me know!

Potatoes Deluxe

Potatoes Deluxe

I got this recipe from Wayne's cousin, but I don't know where she got it from. I am not a photographer, so I hope my pictures don't turn you away from trying some of these recipes. Especially this one! I just took this to a pot luck and came home with nothing, it got all eaten up!

1 (2lb) pkg frozen hashbrowns (i use the southern style)

1 cup diced onions (this is optional, i don't my family doesn't like onions)

1/2 cup margarine

1 (8 oz) pkg grated sharp cheddar cheese

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 cup of sour cream

Thaw potatoes 30 minutes (or until you can break it all up into little pieces). Combine all ingredients. Bake in greased 13 x 9 pan @ 375 degrees for 1 hour.

Taste Rating: 4.5 (we make this a lot)

Difficultly Rating: 2.5 (mix and bake, easy enough!)

Let me know what you think, try and give your own ratings

Sweet Potato Casserole

So I am not going to lie, I am not a huge fan of sweet potato casserole...scratch that, I am not a fan of sweet potatoes. That was until this recipe came into my life!!! This is my Aunt Nancy's recipe and it is as sweet as candy!! I love it, so try it out and let me know what you think. After you try it come back and give your own ratings!

Sweet Potato Casserole

3 cups mashed sweet potatoes (fresh is great, but I just use one large can and one small one, which is about 3 cups, plus it is much easier! Don't forget to drain them really well)

3/4 cup sugar

2 eggs, slightly beaten

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup butter

Mix together and pour in greased casserole dish. Then top with:

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1/3 cup flour

1 cup chopped nuts (I use pecans)

1/3 butter

Mix flour and sugar with butter and nuts. Sprinkle on top of casserole. Cook at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Taste Rating: 4 (candy, candy, candy...)

Difficulty Rating: 3 (this is probably because I chop my own pecans, but really it is not that hard to make)

Corn Pudding

I am not going to lie, I never had any desire to try corn pudding! It just sounds gross! But then I married Wayne, the pickest eater I know, and it is one of his favorites. So I thought to myself, if he eats it, it can't be that bad! And as quoted by Sam-I-Am, "...try them, try them, and you may! try them and you may, i say!" Well I tried them, and I liked it!!! This is by far the best corn pudding recipe I have tried.

1/2 stick of butter

place butter in dish (I use a 9x13, because that is all I have, but I would recommend the next size down, like an 8x11, is that a choice?) and preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place dish in oven to melt the butter. Meanwhile mix together:

2/3 cup sugar

3 Tbsp flour

3 eggs, slightly beaten

1 can cream corn

add to dish when butter is melted. Bake for 40-45 minutes (in a 9x13 dish it takes less time, maybe around 30-35 minutes, or whenever top is golden brown.)

Taste Rating: 4

Difficulty Rating: 2

This goes as a really good side to ham.

Best Punch Ever

This is another recipe that I got from my Mother-in-law. It is by far my most favorite punch! You should probably make two batches if you are doing this for a party, because I am not kidding, people will drink this until they make themselves sick, it is just that good!!

1 pkg. lemon jello
1 large can pineapple juice
1 qt hot water
2 cups sugar
1 qt cold water
also need bottles of ginger ale

Dissolve jello and sugar in hot water. Add pineapple juice and cold water. Add a few drops of food coloring. Freeze in plastic containers. Remove from freezer 4 hours before using. Chop and add ginger ale to taste.

I am sorry that I don't have any pictures, but I promise the next time I make this I will photograph it and add some.

Taste Rating: 5!
Difficulty Rating: 2.5

Roast Beef Bruschetta

Roast Beef Bruschetta

by Betty Crocker

1 loaf baguette French Bread, cut into 1/4 inch slices

2 Tbsp olive oil

5 small plum (Roma) tomatoes

1/2 cup chive and onion cream cheese

1/2 lb thinly sliced cooked roast beef

1/4 tsp coarsely ground pepper

8 medium green onions, sliced (1/2 cup)

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Brush both sides of bread with olive oil. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake about 5 minutes or until crisp. Cool 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, cut each tomato into 6 slices; set aside. Spread cream cheese over each bread slice. Top with beef; sprinkle pepper. Top with tomato slices and onions.

Taste Rating: 4 (I make this a lot of times for brunches and pot luck lunches, it is always a big hit!)

Difficulty Rating: 2.5 (too make this a little bit easier, you can make the bread a day in advance and just store loosely covered at room temperature then top them right before you need them.)

Mini Fruit Pizza

Mini Fruit Pizza

by Pillsbury

1 package refridgerated sugar cookies, the roll or the precut (guess which one I use!)

1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened

2 Tbsp frozen limeade concentrate, thawed

1/2 cup powdered sugar

10 fresh strawberries, quartered

1 kiwifruit, peeled halved lengthwise and cut into 10 slices

1/2 cup fresh blueberries

1/2 cup fresh raspberries

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Bake cookies as directed by the package. Cool completely, about 10 minutes.

In medium bowl, beat cream cheese, limeade concentrate and powdered sugar until smooth.

Spread each cookie with 1 Tbsp cream cheese mixture. Arrange fruit on top of each. Serve immediately, or cover and refridgerate up to 2 hours.

Taste Rating: 5 (this is one of my favorite cookies, I love fresh fruit! I also like a soft cookie better than a crunchy one so I use the lower cooking time from the directions, and I try to stay away from a dark pan on this one.)

Difficulty Rating: 2 (hardest part is slicing the strawberries and making the fruit look pretty! especially if you use the cookies that are already cut out, however the precut cookies don't spread as much so you end up with a smaller, thicker cookie, but that is okay with me!)

Deviled Roasted Potatoes

Deviled Roasted Potatoes

from Cuisine at Home: weeknight meals

Makes 3 cups

Total time: 35 minutes

Whisk Together:

2 T. olive oil

2 T. dry mustard

1 T. white vinegar

2 t. kosher salt

1/2 t. dried dill weed

1/4 t. cayenne

1/4 t. black pepper

Add; Toss:

1 lb. red potatoes, quartered

Now before I give the instructions I would like to tell my variations to this recipe. I only use about 1 T of dry mustard and only do a scant 1/4 t. of the cayenne and black pepper. This recipe has a kick, so this will cut it down a bit. I also cut my potatoes into smaller pieces, probably just slice at one more angle. But I love this recipe, it is full of flavor!

Preheat oven to 450 degrees; line a baking sheet with foil and coat with nonstick spray. Whisk together all ingredients (except potatoes) in a large bowl.

Add potatoes and toss until coated. Place potatoes in a single layer on prepared pan and roast for 25-30 minutes, or until potatoes are tender when pierced. (if you cut them smaller you might want to go with 20-25 min, but still they are ready when they are tender.)

Taste Rating: 4.5

Difficulty Rating: 2

(the hardest part of this is cutting potatoes, because even clean up is easy with the foil protecting your baking sheet!!!)

Chicken Pillows

OK so I got off to a slow start. This recipe I have had for a long time, I got it from my mother-in-law. I am making this my first official recipe because I have had about four people ask me for this recipe and I never got around to giving it to them...so here it is.

4 cups cooked chicken breasts, cubed (reserve broth)
8 oz cream cheese
4 green onions, chopped (this is optional, and I opt not to use them)
4 oz sliced, canned mushrooms, drained and chopped (I like them, Wayne doesn't)
1 pkg. crescent rolls (10 rolls)
1 cup corn flake crumbs or bread crumbs (I use plain bread crumbs)
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 onion powder
1/2 c. melted butter
1 can cream of mushroom soup

Soften cream cheese. Add (onion, mushrooms), and chicken. Mix well. Melt butter and set aside.

Combine crumbs, garlic and onion powders in shallow dish. Press rolls flat and thin. Place 1/4 cup chicken mixture on each roll. Seal edges and shape into a pillow. Dip pillow in butter, then roll in crumbs.

Bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Serve with cream of mushroom soup thinned with chicken broth.

Taste Rating: 4
Difficulty Rating: 3.5
see scale on side: This is a scrumpcious meal but I have two kids hanging off my legs and so this one takes a little more effort than I like to put forth, but I don't like to put forth any effort when it comes to cooking. So try it out and then give me your own ratings!

I know there are a lot of variations to the way people make this, so if you know of one please share. There is one listed on kevinandamanda.com, I have not tried it, but I have tried a lot of their stuff and everything I have had so far has been great.

Introductions

One of my favorites things about life is the food. I always thought that I missed my calling in life as being a food critic. Now that I am in charge of feeding a husband and two little ones, food has taken on a whole new meaning. It is not just about my taste but what to feed other hungry mouths. I also have to consider how much effort and time goes into it without losing the most important factor, the taste!! So I am creating this blog to share the recipes that I have collected over the years and to allow others to share their knowledge. I am going to give each recipe a rating and hope that as you try them you will rate them along with me, give ideas for variations, and any sides that would go well. Fill free to invite others to join in, I will try to post a new recipe once a week on Monday/Tuesday. Also I don't take claim on any of the recipes I share, so I will try to at least give credit to where ever I got the recipe from. Hope you Enjoy!!!