Summer Squash Casserole

This recipe is out of our Grandma's collection. I make it every summer. It is a yummy, light casserole. (you do have to turn on the oven... which is no fun to do in the summer time)

Summer Squash Casserole

Cook until tender, then drain:
3 or 4 cups squash (any kind, but different colored ones look better)
2 medium carrots sliced
1 medium onion

Mix together, then add to squash mixture:
1 can Cream of Chicken soup
1 cup sour cream

Place 1/2 of package (7 oz. pkg) Seasoned Croutons in bottom of pan. (I used a 9x9 pan) Then add the mixture. Top with other half of croutons. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20-25 minutes.

*** I usually add salt and garlic powder to my casserole. Also, fair warning... husband's do not like this dish. It must have something to do with the abundance of vegetables. But if you serve it along side marinated chicken... they'll humor you. :) Enjoy!

The cake with many names

This cake is usually known as the "Better than sex cake" But also has lots of other names and lots of different versions, this was how I made mine.

1 box devils food cake mix
caramel topping
heath candy bars
chocolate cool whip

Bake cake according to directions (I did add some of the toffee bits to the cake batter), let cool for a few minutes. Poke holes with fork all over the cake. Drizzle caramel topping over top (to your desired liking) so it starts to melt into the cake. Then I put it in the fridge to finish cooling.
Add cool whip to top of cake and top with heath toffee bits.
Oh so delicious!!


* I grabbed the bag of Heath Toffee pieces from the baking isle, and when i got home realized it only was the toffe bits, so I took about 1 cup of semi sweet chocolate chips and chopped those up and added it to the toffee pieces.

Chicken & Broccoli Alfredo

I found this recipe as it fell out of one of my magazines, and I had all the ingredients in my kitchen already so I decided to try it and it sure was tasty and easy! It's a Campbell's recipe so how could it be bad.

Chicken & Broccoli Alfredo

1/2 of a 16 ounce package linguine

1 cup fresh or frozen broccoli flowerets

2 tbsp. butter

1 lb. skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces

1 can (10 3/4 ounces) Campbell's® Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

Prepare the linguine according to the package directions in a 3-quart saucepan.

Add the broccoli during the last 4 minutes of the cooking time. Drain the linguine and broccoli well in a colander. Heat the butter in a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook until it's well browned, stirring often.
Stir the soup, milk, cheese, black pepper and linguine mixture into the skillet. Heat, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is hot and bubbling.

Serve with additional Parmesan cheese.

Makes 4 servings

(I used cream of chicken- that's what I had on hand)

Service Auction

Our ward had a Service Auction for Enrichment night.
It ended up being a lot of fun.
Here is the basic idea....
Prior to the event, sign up sheets circulated for everyone to list what service they would be willing to share. (Ex. 3 hours of free babysitting, dinner, homemade cookies, 2 large windows cleaned, 1 hour photo shoot, blog design help, scrapbook pages, 1 dozen brownies, 10 holiday/birthday cards, etc.)

On the night of the event, everyone received a 'paddle' as they walked in. They also filled out a questionnaire, to determine how many points they had to bid with. (Example questions - Read your scriptures today 5pts, Had FHE this week 5 pts, Took a shower today 5pts, Made your bed today 5pts for each bed made, etc.)
The points were tallied up via the honor system and the bidding began.
It was a fun night that allowed for socializing and laughter.
Give it a try in your ward!

Trifle Dessert

Every Spring I have to have Trifle, so a couple of weeks ago I decided it was time to make it. Here are a few pictures of the final product.

YUMMY, is all I have to say, looking at these pictures. :)

It is super easy to make. This is my Mom's version of Trifle.

1 yellow cake mix
2 small instant puddings (vanilla, banana, whatever flavor you want)
2 large cartons of strawberries (you can cut up fresh strawberries with sugar and put them in it or you can use the frozen strawberries already in their syrup.)
Cool whip

Make the cake like normal and let it cool. Make the pudding like normal, too. Now all you have to do is put it together. Cut the cake into squares and then slice the squares in half and place the pieces in the bottom of your dish. After you have the bottom full of cake put some of the strawberries on top of the cake. You can be generous so your cake isn't too dry. Then you add some pudding and repeat the process. Top it with cool whip and let chill in the fridge for an hour or so.

Cauliflower Cheese Soup

Background: I volunteered myself to be in charge of our new ward cookcook. Seriously, that's where the best recipes come from and I'm SO sick of the same things I make over and over and over again. Because of this "volunteering" task I've taken upon myself, I get to be the first to see all the fun recipes people are turning in! This recipe isn't from anyone in my ward though- it's from a sample cookbook I received from the company that will be printing our official Ward Cookbook and I thought it sounded yummy and easy.

CAULIFLOWER CHEESE SOUP
1 lg. head cauliflower
2 T. onion, minced
2 T. butter, melted
2 T. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 can beef or chicken broth
3 c. milk
2 c. grater cheddar cheese
1/4 c. parsley (optional- but it adds color, so use it!)

Break cauliflower into small pieces. Cook covered in salt water until tender; drain. Meanwhile, saute onion in butter until tender. Blend in flour, salt and pepper. Gradually stir in broth and milk. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture reaches boiling point. Add cheese and stir until it melts. Add cauliflower and parsley. Heat to serving temperature.

We decided it's pretty much a broccoli cheese soup but with cauliflower. I'm not going to say it's the best soup I've ever had, but it was really quite tasty. My girls loved it!
We even cheated and cooked up a couple pieces of bacon and it gave it a fun flavor, but it's not necessary. When is bacon ever necessary though?

"Life expectancy would grow by leaps and bounds if green vegetables smelled as good as bacon."
- Doug Larson

Indoor S'mores

I am posting this from Debra, she made this delicious treat the other night so I quickly took a picture of my piece that we hadn't devoured yet. Really yummy treat if you can't be outdoors to make the real s'mores.

Indoor S'mores

Golden Grahams

8 cups Golden Grahams cereal

5 cups miniature marshmallows

1 1/2 cups milk chocolate chips

1/4 cup light corn syrup

5 T butter

1 t vanilla

1 cup miniature marshmallows, if desired

Into a large bowl, measure cereal. Butter 13x9-inch pan. In a large microwavable bowl, microwave 5 cups marshmallows, chocolate chips, corn syrup and butter uncovered on High 2 minutes to 3 minutes 30 seconds, stirring after every minute, until melted and smooth when stirred. Stir in vanilla.

Pour over cereal; quickly toss until completely coated. Stir in 1 cup marshmallows.

Press mixture evenly in pan, using buttered back of spoon. Let stand uncovered for at least 1 hour, or refrigerate if you prefer a firmer bar.

*This can be done on the stove-top as well

Giant cupcake

I fell in love with this cake idea when I saw it last year in a magazine. I had to have it, so I thought making it for Claire's birthday cake would be a great time to try it out. I read lots of reviews about it, some people loved it and others hated it! I had no problems with it.

I got mine from Target, here's a picture of what the pan looks like. In this cake I used 1 1/2 boxes of a cake mix and it took about 50+ minutes to bake. And if you are really good at cake decorating there are lots of cute ideas I have seen to decorate this cake.

Skookies

One of our favorite restaurants in S. California is BJ's, they have the best dessert called a Pizookie. Last year a company invented a similar item called a Skookie pan so you can make them yourself at home. Our awesome friend Katie got us it for Christmas, and we are just now getting around to using it. Basically it is just a cast iron skillet, and you add your favorite cookie dough and bake.

Tonight, Debra just used a Betty Crocker chocolate chip cookie mix, popped them in a 350º oven for about 10 minutes. After taking them out of the oven while they are still hot, you top them with some good vanilla bean ice cream.... delicious!

Tortellini with Sun-dried Tomato Cream Sauce

I am so in love with this recipe find! It was very easy to make and tastes wonderful!!
The recipe calls for ravioli, however I only had tortellini... it still tasted amazing.

Original recipe can be found HERE.

Ravioli with Sun-dried Tomato Cream Sauce

"This one also came from a ward cookbook. I altered it a bit (the changes have an * by them)
2 Tbsp. butter
1 garlic clove, minced (more if you want)
1 c. chicken stock or broth
1/2 c. dry packed sun-dried tomatoes (I used from the jar with oil and they were fine)
1 c. whipping cream or 1/2 & 1/2 (*I used 2 c.)
*I also used 2 tsp. cornstarch (not in the original recipe)
8-12 oz. fresh or frozen ravioli, agnolotti or tortellini (I used 4 cheese ravioli- there wasn't a meat brand available- next time I will try the meat kind; but this was still super good)

2 Tbsp. chopped fresh basil or 2 tsp. dried
2 T. chopped fresh parsley (only if using dried basil)
salt & fresh ground pepper

Melt butter in med. saucepan over low heat. Add garlic and cook 30 secs. Add stock and tomatoes and bring to a boil. Simmer uncovered over medium heat about 10 mins. or until tomatoes are tender. Remove tomatoes with slotted spoon. Cut into smaller pieces. Return tomatoes to saucepan. Add cream/half & half and bring to boil, stirring. Simmer over medium heat until sauce is thick enough (about 5 mins). ***At this point, it wasn't thick enough for me- I added another 1 c. of cream and about 2 tsp. of cornstarch to thicken it up. It was a better, thicker consistency. I stirred it until it was how I wanted it.
Cook ravioli according to directions. Drain well. Add basil and/or parsley to sauce. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Mix sauce with ravioli. And you're ready to go."

**I also added the extra cream - I like more sauce with my pasta. It was heavenly!

Felt Quiet Books...

This is my first attempt at making a felt Quiet Book.
I started simple with a 4 page Seasons book.

I had extra felt and decided to make an Animal book as well.
(The pig still needs a curly tail...)

I still need to make cover pages for them,
punch the Grommet holes in them and bind them with binder rings (found at an office supply store)... then they will be finished.
The hinged rings are so more than one child can look at the book at a time.
I printed off clip art pictures and used those as my patterns.
These are VERY basic pages... like I said, first attempt. :)

Now that I know a little more about quiet books,
I will attempt to make a Primary Songs Quiet Book... wish me luck.

Chocolate Banana Cake

½ c butter
1 ¼ c brown sugar
¼ c sugar
2 eggs
1 T water
½ c cocoa
2 cups all-purpose flour
½ t baking soda
¼ t salt
1 t baking powder
1 ½ c mashed, ripe bananas
½ t vanilla

Cream butter, sugars and water together. Add eggs one at a time. Beat thoroughly after each. Stir in all dry ingredients and add to the batter alternately with the mashed bananas; stir in vanilla. Pour into greased and floured 9 inch cake pans. Bake in preheated 350º oven for 30-35 minutes, until cake test is done. Frost with your favorite frosting

* I used this cake recipe for the Sunflower Peeps cake- I tasted a little of it while I was leveling the cakes off- yummy.

Peeps Sunflower Cake

I found this in my magazine that I recently subscribed to, Taste of Home. This recipe was in the back and I knew I had to make it! Now I am not a peeps fan but they work out great in this recipe. Tonight is our Relief Society Birthday event and I signed up to bring a cake for August, so I figured this sunflower would be perfect...and easy!

1 package (18-1/4 ounces) yellow cake mix
2 cans (16 ounces each) chocolate frosting
19 yellow chick Peeps candies
1-1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions: Prepare and bake cake according to package directions, using two greased and waxed paper-lined 9-in. round baking pans. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely; carefully remove waxed paper.

Level tops of cakes. Spread frosting between layers and over the top and sides of cake.

Without separating Peeps and curving slightly to fit, arrange chicks around edge of cake for sunflower petals. For sunflower seeds, arrange chocolate chips in center of cake.

Yield: 12 servings.

* I use one can of frosting and it worked out perfect, if you want alot of frosting then get 2

Easy Baked Italian Chicken

1/3 c Ranch dressing
¼ c Shredded parmesan cheese
4 Boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 T Italian bread crumbs

In a small bowl, combine the ranch and Parmesan cheese. Place the chicken in a greased 11-in. x 7-in. x 2-in. baking dish. Spread with the ranch mixture over chicken. Sprinkle with bread crumbs. Bake, uncovered, at 400° for 20-25 minutes or until juices run clear. (4 servings.)

*This dish is really easy and has lots of flavor, although this last time I made it the bottom ended up really soggy, so I suggest adding some more bread crumbs to the bottom of the dish

Homemade oreos!

These are probably the yummiest naughty treat ever and they're much easier than I thought, so here's the recipe:

2 pkgs. Devils Food Cake Mix (I used 1 Devils and 1 regular chocolate and they were perfect!)
1 c. crisco shortening (the sticks are easiest!)
4 eggs

Mix 1 box with shortening and eggs in large bowl, then add the second box. You may have to use a hand held blender to get it mixed well.
Roll dough into balls (I used the med. size cookie scooper and split that in 1/2 and rolled them to make the not as ginormous).

Bake @ 350 for 9-11 minutes. Let cool, and use canned Cream Cheese frosting and sandwich them together and enjoy!

American Idol Ice Cream

I saw Alisa's post and had to post my favorite new ice cream too! Since Jason works in the frozen department he is always telling me new flavors of ice cream that the Dreyer's vendor brings in- when he told me this I knew I had to have it. COOKIES 'N DREAMS does not dissapoint!!

(the Dreyer's site says it's only available until May, so hurry and try it)

Countdown Chicken Fussili

Okay so I don't really have an actual recipe for this but it is inspired by a recipe from Pizza Port at Disneyland. Jason and I would always get this and share it and it is really yummy! This is what I did this time (I think every time I make it, it varies)

Here's the ingredients you will need:

Boneless skinless chicken breasts
Broccoli
Cheesy alfredo sauce (your favorite will do)
Shredded parmesan cheese
Minced garlic
Cavatappi noodles
sun dried tomatoes (optional)

Cut chicken into thin strips or chunks, add to a saute pan and season with salt and pepper. Add minced garlic and cook until chicken is thoroughly cooked.

Heat alfredo sauce

Cook pasta according to directions on box, last few minutes of cooking add your broccoli to the boiling water.

Combine pasta, sauce, and broccoli in a bowl and stir together. Finish off with Parmesan cheese on top!



** If you'll notice I didn't add any amounts to how much you'll need of each item, like I said I make it different every time. Cook lots of chicken if you have a big fam and maybe you'll need 2 boxes of pasta if your feeding a crowd. One box is plenty for Jason and I with tons of leftovers!
The cavatappi noodles and shredded Parmesan (don't use the grated kind) cheese are keys to this dish. And of course I couldn't find those exact noodles today after going to 2 stores so I settled for campanelle noodles- they look like little horns that curl at the ends. The Disneyland recipe does have sun dried tomatoes but I didn't want to run to the store just to buy those so we did with out.
*The title of this post is the actual name of the dish at Disneyland- since I didn't have my own name for it I used that one.

Peanut Butter Cake

One of my friend's had a birthday and he LOVES Peanut Butter, so I thought it would be fun to make a Peanut Butter cake for him. I found this recipe online at allrecipes.com

It was super easy and it's way YUMMY!!!

INGREDIENTS

• Cake
  
• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 4 eggs
• 1 (18.25 ounce) package butter cake mix
• 2/3 cup water
• Frosting
  
• 1 cup peanut butter
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 4 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• Topping
• Reese's Peanut Butter Cups
• Chocolate Sauce
  

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease and flour two 9 inch round cake pans. (I cooked it at 350 degrees because 325 just takes too long.)
2. Combine 1/2 cup peanut butter and 1/2 cup butter or margarine. Cream until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at time, mixing well after each one. Add cake mix alternately with the water. Stir until just combined. Pour batter into prepared pans.
3. Bake at 325 degrees F (165 degrees C) for 25 minutes or until cake tests done. (I did 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.) Allow cakes to cool in pan for 10 minutes and then turn out onto a cooling rack to cool completely. Assemble and frost with Peanut Butter Frosting once cool. I also put cut up Reese's in the middle layer just to add a little something.
   
4. To Make Peanut Butter Frosting: Combine 1 cup peanut butter, and 1/2 cup butter or margarine cream together until light and fluffy. Add the confectioner's sugar. Mix in enough cream to make the frosting of a spreading consistency. Apply to cool cake.
5. Then I cut up Reese's Peanut Butter cups and put them on top and then drizzled chocolate sauce on top of them. You can use any chocolate sauce you want. I took about a cup of the Wal-Mart brand Milk Chocolate chips (they melted creamy enough that I didn't need to add milk or anything to them) and melted them in a double broiler. (I heard for melting chocolate chips in a double broiler you should use a glass bowl, they say it's better that way. Who knows if it is true, but I am just passing along the information.) I had the temperature on low and melted the chips and then put the sauce in a sandwich baggy, cut a little whole in the corner and drizzled. But it's up to you on how you want your cake to look, just have fun with it.

The final product....

Tomato & Spinach Pasta

This recipe is from the Kraft Foods Magazine.

Tomato & Spinach Pasta

2 cups rotini or penne pasta, uncooked

1/2 lb. hot or mild Italian sausage, casing removed

1 pkg. (6 oz.) baby spinach leaves (7 cups)

1 can (14-1/2 oz.) Italian-style diced tomatoes, undrained

1 cup KRAFT Shredded Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella Cheese

2 Tbsp. KRAFT 100% Grated Parmesan Cheese

COOK pasta as directed on package.
MEANWHILE, crumble meat into large deep skillet. Cook on medium-high heat 10 to 12 min. or until cooked through, stirring occasionally; drain. Add spinach and tomatoes; cook 2 min. or until spinach is wilted, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; cover to keep warm.
DRAIN pasta. Add to skillet along with the cheeses; toss lightly.

Girls Scout Ice Cream

I know I mentioned this on my blog, but I just thought I should make it official by documenting it on this blog as well! If you haven't tried it, I'm highly recommending it!