Pizza Rolls

I came across this fun recipe at brokeassgourmet.com.  She has tons of really neat, creative recipes.  (I'm going to try her homemade pop tarts soon!).  Anyways, I'm not a pizza fan...but I am a "dough" fan (crescent rolls, pastry dough...).  This recipe was really easy and my whole family loved them!  Perfect for a family lunch!

Ingredients:
*Flour for dusting
*1 pizza dough (pilsbury kind in the can)
*3/4 Cup tomato sauce
*2 Cups shredded cheese (approximate amount...just enough to cover whole pizza dough)
*Pepperoni slices that have been cut into quarters

Directions:
* Lightly flour your counter

*Unroll pizza dough and stretch it out to about the size of a baking sheet

*Spread your tomato sauce all over the dough except for the very top, long side.  (If it has sauce it won't stick once you roll it up.  All the other edges can have sauce all the way to them).

*Now put your cheese and then your pepperoni's on top of the cheese.  (If you want to add other ingredients you can...green peppers, onions, olives...)

*Now roll the pizza dough with ingredients up from the longest side.  You want to go lengthwise so you have more rolls and that they aren't too thick or they won't cook.

*Now cut your dough into about 10 equal pieces ("rolls").

*Place your rolls cup side up, not dough side up on a baking sheet that has been covered in tin foil and sprayed down with cooking spray.

*Put in a pre-heated oven of 400* and bake for 15 minutes.  (I baked mine about 17 minutes.  Just keep checking on them starting at 13 min's and pull them out when they are as done as you would like them to be).

*Super easy, and fun!  Enjoy!

Pretzel Hugs

This is so easy its silly!  Perfect for having as munchies for sports games at your house or to bring over to family/friends house.  Sweet + Salty = Amazingly good!

(Sorry, this picture was taken before they completely dried...We ate them all before I had a chance to take a "finished" picture!)

Ingredients:
25 Pretzels
25 Hershey's Hugs (or kisses.  Do not use the caramel one's though...they don't melt right in the oven)
50 M&M's

Directions:
*Put a piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet.

*Preheat your oven to 200*F (you don't want it any warmer, I promise!)

*Put all of your pretzels on the parchment paper.  Now unwrap all the Hugs and place one hug on top of each pretzel.

*Place the pretzels and Hugs into the oven and bake for 8 minutes

*Take the baking sheet out and put 2 M&M's on each of the pretzel/Hug mix.

*Let cool for HOURS (Or put in the fridge once the baking sheet has cooled off).

Mozzarella Chicken

This is so tasty!  YUM!  I found this recipe at "Wearing Gackey's Apron" blog.  She has tons of simple family recipes there.  Anyways, I saved this recipe a few weeks ago and finally got around to cooking it tonight.  I'm so glad I did because it was delicious!  It was so creamy!  PERFECT winter meal!

Ingredients:
3-4 Chicken breasts
6-8 Mozzarella cheese slices (you need 2 slices per chicken breast)
1 Can cream of chicken soup
1/4 Cup white wine (I used chardoney)
1 Cup Stovetop stuffing mix
1/2 Cup melted butter

Directions:
*Pre-heat oven to 350*F.

*Spray down a baking dish with cooking spray.

*Place chicken pieces in baking dish.  Now put 2 slices of cheese over each chicken breast to cover the breasts up.

*In a small bowl mix the soup and the wine.  Now pour it over the cheese/chicken.

*In a different bowl, mix the melted butter with the stuffing mix.  Now pour this over the soup that is on the chicken.  No stirring, just pour it on top.  (I thought it would be dry not stirring it all up, but don't worry...its super creamy at the end!)

*Put chicken dish in stove and cook for one hour.

Maple Sausage Alfredo

I know this sounds like a really strange recipe...but its delicious!  I went to the dentist today and my mouth is so sore...so I took easy ingredients and voila, "sausage alfredo."  Nick asked me after dinner how hard it was to make, I asked him why.  His response: "because its really, really good."  :)

Ingredients:
1/2 box spaghetti or fettucini noodles
1 package maple breakfast sausages
1 cup heavy whipping cream
salt to taste
pepper to taste

Directions:
*Start cooking your noodles since they always take the longest to do.

*While noodles are cooking, take all sausages out of their casings (if they are in casings).  Also, you MUST have maple flavored because of its sweetness...

*Start cooking the sausages, mashing them into small pieces, while the noodles are cooking.

*Once the noodles are cooked, poor them into the skillet with the meat.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Now add the whipping cream.  Stir for a few minutes over medium heat to mix all the flavors.

*RIDICULOUSLY EASY!!!

Cooper loved it too!

Stuffed Bauk-Bauk

Well, thats the title I get when I ask my husband what he wants his chicken dish to be called.  Nick was on cooking duty tonight so he created this masterpiece!  We were at the store shopping for dinner ideas and he kept grabbing ingredients and here is what he came up with!

Ingredients:
2 Chicken breasts
2 or 4 asparagus'
4 Slices of Provolone Cheese
2 Slices of bacon
Poultry Spice
4 toothpicks

Directions:
*Cook bacon in the skillet on top of your stove until done

*Spray a baking sheet lined with tin foil with cooking spray

*Butterfly your chicken breast and place one piece of cheese down.  Place a slice of bacon on top of your cheese, then 1-2 pieces of asparagus on top of the bacon.  Now put the second piece on cheese on top of the asparagus.  Close/fold the chicken breast over and put 2 toothpicks in to keep it held shut.

*Do the same thing to your second chicken breast.

*Shake your poultry spice on top of your chicken breasts.

*Bake in a pre-heated oven at 425*F for 30 minutes.  If you are worried about your chicken breasts being too dry, put a glass bake safe dish in the stove with water while cooking your chicken.

Monkey Bread

Oh...My...Goodness!  This is incredibly easy, and ridiculously delicious!  Perfect for a quick weekend breakfast!

Ingredients:
2 Packs of Grands Flaky Biscuits (no-name brand works just as good)
1/2 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
7 Tbsp butter
1/3 Cup Brown sugar
1 Tbsp Maple Syrup (real if you have it)
Dash of nutmeg

Directions:
*Pre-heat oven to 350*F

*Cut each biscuit into 4 pieces.

*In a small bowl, mix the cinnamon and white sugar.

*In a large bowl with a lid (if you have it), pour all the biscuit pieces and the cinnamon/sugar mix.  Shake until the pieces are all coated.

*Pour the pieces into your bundt pan that has been sprayed down with cooking spray.  (There always seems to be quite a bit of the sugar mixture that doesn't stick to the biscuit pieces.  I sprinkle a bit of it over the biscuit pieces once its in a dish, and then throw the rest out.  You CAN sprinkle it all over and use it all, but I don't.  It will  taste great either way!)

 

*In another small bowl, melt the butter.  Now mix in the brown sugar, maple syrup, and nutmeg.  Mix well.

*Pour the butter mixture over the biscuit mixture.

 

*Bake in oven for 30 minutes until browned.  (Since buying our new home, I notice that the oven at the new house isn't quite as hot as the old one.  I cook the monkey bread for about 33-34 minutes at the new house.)

Love Bird Chicken

I got this recipe from my friend Susan.  She got the recipe from Rachel Ray and made some changes.  I used her recipe...but left out the rosemary (not a rosemary fan.  I feel like I'm eating tree branches...).  So here is our rendition of Rachel's recipe!

 

Ingredients:

1 chicken breast per person

1/2 puff pastry sheet PER chicken breast

1/2 cup jam/preserves (we used raspberry)

1 slice of provolone cheese per chicken breast

salt to taste

pepper to taste

1 egg

rosemary (if you want it)

Directions:

*45 minutes before you start cooking, take your puff pastry sheets out of your freezer to thaw.  They WILL NOT WORK FROZEN.

*Preheat oven to 400*F

*Cook the chicken in a bit of oil, salt, and pepper (I also put water in the pan so the chicken wouldn't dry out) in a skillet on the stove.  It took about 12 minutes for mine to cook.

*Cut your pastry sheets in half so  that each chicken has a piece of pastry sheet.

*Put one slice of cheese, and a tablespoon or so of the preserves on top of the cheese.  Now place a chicken breast on top of the preserves.

*Roll up the pastry sheets so that none of the inside fillings can escape. 

*Put each pastry roll up on a piece of parchment paper that has been sprayed with cooking spray.

*Mix the egg with a tablespoon of water and spread it over each of the pastry sheets.  

*Bake 12-15 minutes until the pastry sheets have browned up a bit.  

(If you want Rachel Ray's recipe, it can be found here: 

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/love-birds-chicken-in-pastry-recipe/index.html)

Peanut Butter Stir Fry

I read about a peanut butter stir-fry online, then twisted it up and came up with this.  My hubby and I loved it!

Ingredients:
3 chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
1 1/2 cups carrots, sliced
3 green onion stalks, sliced
2 Cups frozen broccoli, uncooked
1-2 cups sno peas
water
3/4 Cup peanut butter
1/2 a bottle of Stir Fry Sauce (I used Kikkomans Stir Fry Sauce)

Directions:
Put chicken in a skillet on the stove with a tablespoon of oil and cook until done (about 7 minutes).

*Put chicken in a bowl.

*In the skillet, put half a cup of water and the carrots.  Cook them until they are almost done.  The water cooks off quite quick, so keep adding about a fourth of a cup as needed.

*Once the carrots are almost done, as the green onions and frozen broccoli.  Add more water if needed.

*Cook for 4 minutes or so and then add  the snap peas.  These only take a minute or two to cook.

*Now add the chicken, peanut butter, and stir fry sauce.  Mix well, and cook until hot.  Serve over white rice.

Ritz Cracker Pizza Snackers

Cooper LOVES "tiny pizza things" (lunchables pizza's).  One day he wanted one, and I didn't have any lunchables at home.  SO...I created my own for him!  So easy, and the kiddo's love them.

 

Ingredients:

Ritz Crackers (as many as you want to eat)

Spaghetti sauce

Shredded Cheese

Directions:

*Put a bit of spaghetti sauce on top of each ritz cracker.  Now add  shredded cheese to the top.  Your kids will think your a genius!