Jazz said this was bland.
Alex said he didn't like zucchini.

Karen threw the leftovers in the trash and felt defeated.


http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/-Bow-Tie-Pasta-with-Zucchini-101932

I had never cooked with fennel or leeks so this was going out on a limb for me. Jasmine doesn't like sausage so she kind of ate around that. Bret and Alex both said that it was a "redo". YEAH!

Ingredients

• 3-1/2 cups chicken broth
• 1 pkg. Regular Flavor Jimmy Dean Pork Sausage
• 2 cups chopped leeks (white portion only)
• 1 cup chopped fennel bulb
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 cup uncooked arborio rice
• 1/2 cup white wine or chicken broth
• 1 package (6 oz.) fresh baby spinach
• 2 cups grape tomatoes, halved
• 2 Tbsp. minced fresh basil or 2 tsp. dried basil
• 1/2 tsp. pepper
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

In a small saucepan, heat broth and keep warm. In a large skillet, cook the sausage, leeks and fennel over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Stir in rice; cook and stir for 2-3 minutes. Reduce heat; stir in wine. Cook and stir until all of the liquid is absorbed.

Add heated broth, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly. Allow the liquid to absorb between additions. Cook just until risotto is creamy and rice is almost tender. (Cooking time is about 20 minutes.) Add the spinach, tomatoes, basil and pepper; cook and stir until heated through. Sprinkle with cheese; serve immediately.

http://jimmydean.com/recipes/

Chocolate Snowstorms

1 1/4 cups brown sugar
1 stick butter
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking soda


Mix butter and brown sugar. Add egg and vanilla. Wisk in flour, baking soda, cocoa powder, and salt. Stir into butter mixture.
Chill 30 minutes.
Roll into balls and bake 12-15 minutes at 350.
Roll finished cookies in powdered sugar.


I made these tonight and kept some home and took some to Bev Ashcroft for teaching my sunday school lesson - Thanks Bev!

Jen's Sweet Chex Mix Recipe

9 cups Rice Chex
9 cups Golden Grahams
2 cups coconut
1 cup sliced almonds
1 cup sugar
1 cup Karo syrup
3/4 cup margarine

Boil 1 cup sugar, karo syrup and margarine for two minutes.
Spread over dry mixture on wax paper
Cool completely.

Makes Lots - Enjoy

Ice Cream Cake

This cake was made by Coach Amy - one of Jasmine's softball coaches from little league. It is so easy and is always a hit!

Ingredients:
Vanilla Ice Cream
Hershey's Chocolate Syrup
Caramel Ice Cream Topping
Oreo cookies, crushed
one carton of cool whip

Layer the crushed cookies in the bottom of a 9X13 pan.
Take a carton of ice cream and cut into slices and place evenly over the cookies.
Warm chocolate syrup. Drizzle over ice cream layer.
Drizzle caramel over chocolate syrup layer.
Final layer is the cool whip.

Freeze to set at least for a few hours - best overnight.

Lemon Squares, by Emeril

1 3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
4 large eggs
pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
2/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon baking powder

Preheat oven to 350
Line a 9X13 pan with foil.
Combine 1 1/2 cups flour with 1/2 cup powdered sugar.
Cut butter in until mixture is fine crumbs.
Press evenly into pan and bake until pale tan - about 20 minutes.
Reduce oven to 325
While the crust is baking, prepare filling.
Beat eggs and sugar until frothy.
Add remaining 1/4 cup flour and the remainder of ingredients.
Combine.
Pour over warm crust.
Bake 20-25 minutes.
Cool completely and dust with powdered sugar.

YUM!

Strawberry Ice Cream like Ben and Jerry's


http://www.recipezaar.com/recipe/Strawberry-Ice-Cream-Like-Ben-and-Jerrys-122151

WINNER!

New favorite chicken dish for the crockpot. We made this for dinner tonight. The house smelled fabulous. It was super easy. Everyone loved it. My potatoes weren't quite done but the kids ate them anyway. I should have made my chunks smaller. Also, I got this from a new Facebook group I joined and followed the reviews that said not to bother browning the chicken first. I just put my frozen breasts right into the crock pot and the meat was so tender by the time it was done cooking - perfect!

Quick and Easy Italian Chicken and Potatoes

4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
1/2 cup Italian salad dressing
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
1/2 cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese.
4-6 medium potatoes/peeled and cut into wedges,or thick slices.


brown chicken in olive oil,salt and fresh pepper on this.
Place in your crockpot.
sprinkle with half of the Italian dressing,spices,and grated cheese.
Place the potatoes on top and around chicken.
Sprinkle with remaining dressing ,spices,and cheese.
Cook on LOW for about 6-8 hours,or until chicken is done and the potatoes are tender.
So easy,a lot of flavor.

Lemon Sorbet
(Cuisinart Recipe)

Alex loved this - said that it reminded him of Italian Ices in Boston.

Ingredients

3 cups sugar
3 cups water
2-1/4 cups freshly squeezed lemon juice
1-1/2 tablespoons finely chopped lemon zest *

Instructions

Combine the sugar and water in a large saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer without stirring until the sugar dissolves, about 3 to 5 minutes. Cool completely. This is called a simple syrup, and may be made ahead in larger quantities to have on hand for making Fresh Lemon Sorbet. Keep refrigerated until ready to use.
When cool, add the lemon juice and zest; stir to combine. Turn the machine on. Pour the lemon mixture into the freezer bowl, and mix until the mixture thickens, about 25 to 30 minutes. The sorbet will have a soft texture similar to a freshly scooped Italian ice. If a firmer consistency is desired, transfer the sorbet to an airtight container and place in freezer for about 2 hours.
Remove from freezer about 15 minutes before serving.

Yummy Grilled Chicken

Bret and I have been doing this marinade for years. It really is just tweaking the recipe on the back.

I take several chicken breasts and put them in a freezer ziploc or a rubbermaid. I place a cut up lemon or two (squeezed) and a cut up onion in the container. I add a fajita seasoning packet. I also add a couple of tablespoons of oil and water. I let marinade for at least a couple of hours if not a day or two. You could easily add a pepper, but I rarely have those in my fridge.

When Mark and Amy were here, the chicken ended up marinading for a couple of days. It turned out great and flavorful, as always.

Pepperoni Pizza Puffs
I found this in a magazine and wanted to try it. The little girls liked it. Bret didn't. I didn't even try it.

3/4 cup flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 cup milk
1 egg, lightly beaten
4 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded
4 ounces pepperoni, cut into cubes
1/2 cup pizza sauce
2 tablespoons fresh basil finely chopped
1 red bell pepper, sliced

Preheat oven to 375.
Grease mini muffin pan

In a large bow, whisk together flour, baking powder. Add in milk and egg.
Stir in mozzarella and pepperoni. Let stand for 10 minutes
Stir the batter and divide among the mini muffin cups.
Bake until puffed and golden, 20-25 minutes
Microwave the pizza sauce and add 1 tablespoon basil.
Sprinkle the remaining basil onto the puffs.
Serve the puffs and red pepper slices with pizza sauce for dipping.

Buttery Bread Machine Rolls

http://www.recipezaar.com/recipe/Buttery-Bread-Machine-Rolls-65340

I stole the pic from the website but mine turned out similar.
They were pretty yummy day of. We are kind of spoiled though for two reasons.
1. We really only prefer BALE ROLLS!
2. When I do make homemade bread or rolls, we only like them hot. By the next day, we have lost interest.

Quick and Easy Brownies

2 cups white sugar
1 cup butter
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup walnut halves (I left these out)

Melt the butter and mix all ingredients in order given.
Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes in a 9X13 pan.

YUM!

Easy Cheesy Frittata

I made this for breakfast this morning and didn't have to throw any of it away.
Alex asked if I made it - when I asked why? He said because it would be the first breakfast casserole that I had made that turned out.

http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/easy-cheesy-frittata-95167.aspx

Taco Casserole

Taco Casserole

I want to try this one.