Chocolate Chip Cookies

This is my favorite recipe for Chocolate Chip Cookies! So yummy!!

Ingredients:

2/3 cup shortening

2/3 cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar, packed

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

3 cups flour

1 tsp soda

1 tsp salt

1 cup chopped nuts

2 6oz pkgs semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix thoroughly shortening, butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla. Stir in remaining ingredients. For a softer, rounder cookie, add 1/2 cup flour. 

Drop dough on cookie sheets with parchment paper for 8-10 minutes. Cool slightly before moving from cookie sheet. Makes roughly 5 dozen cookies. 

Nutter Butter Ghosts

These were so fun to make! Super easy and kid friendly, too! When you make these, I would suggest a scary Halloween playlist playing in the background. It perfected the ambiance for me. :0)

Ingredients:

1 package Nutter Butters
1 package White Chocolate or Vanilla Bark
1 package Chocolate Chip Minis

Directions:
Melt chocolate in a microwave safe bowl for 1 minute increments, stirring between each set.
Place nutter butters in the white chocolate and set on a baking rack to dry. This is good and messy!
While wet, place the mini chocolate chips on the cookies as the eyes. Let them dry for about 20-30 minutes and then voila, scary ghosts! Three steps, fun and surprisingly really yummy!

Spicy Sausage Skillet

This dish is amazing! I didn't have to tweak it AT ALL! Perfect. What I love about this dish is it only uses one pan! Yay for little cleanup! Awesome!

*Note: I find mild Rotel to be plenty spicy. If you like the heat, feel free to substitute medium or hot instead.

Ingredients:

1 tbsp. olive oil
1 lb smoked sausage, sliced
2 tbsp. dried onion flakes
1 tsp garlic powder
2 cups chicken broth
1 10 oz can mild rotel
1/2 cup heavy cream
8 oz campanelle pasta (if you can't find it, use penne)
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 cups Monterey jack cheese, shredded

Directions:
Heat oil over medium high heat in an oven safe skillet until hot. Add sausage and cook until lightly browned.
Add onion flakes, garlic powder, broth, tomatoes, cream, pasta, 1 cup of cheese, salt, pepper and stir. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cover skillet. Simmer for 15-20 minutes or until pasta is tender.

Remove skillet from heat and top with the next cup of cheese. Broil until cheese is brown, bubbly and delicious! Enjoy! :0)

Apple Enchiladas

Holy MOLY this was good! And SO easy!!!

Ingredients:

1 21oz can apple pie filling
6 8in flour tortillas
1 tsp ground cinnamon
3/4 cup butter
3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup water

Spoon about one quarter cup of pie filling into each of the tortillas. Sprinkle with cinnamon, tucking in edges and placing seam side down in prepared baking dish. In a medium saucepan, combine butter, white sugar, brown sugar and water. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly and reduce heat and simmer for 3 minutes. Pour sauce over enchiladas and let stand 45 minutes. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

*Note: Would be awesome with vanilla ice cream.

Spanish Rice

I was really surprised how good this was! And so easy!! Very light and fluffy and better than a lot of restaurants!

Ingredients:

2 cups rice
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup tomato sauce
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp minced garlic
4 cups water
1 chicken bouillon cube
Dash of cumin

Few dashes of hot sauce
Dash of garlic pepper

Directions:

Heat oil in large frying pan or dutch oven on medium heat. Add rice and cook until golden brown. Add bouillon cube to 4 cups of water and microwave for 3-5 minutes. When rice is brown, add water, tomato sauce, salt, garlic, cumin and garlic pepper to a pan. Add hot sauce to your taste. Stir and cover pan. Let simmer for 30-40 min.

*Note: I couldn't find the garlic pepper spice so I made my own. I mixed some pepper with some garlic and it tasted fantastic.

Pizza Casserole

This recipe is family friendly and tastes great! If you have someone that doesn't like onions, feel free to leave them out.

Ingredients:

3 cups uncooked spiral pasta
2 lbs ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
1 15 oz can tomato sauce
1 14 oz jar pizza sauce
1 6 oz can tomato paste
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp dried oregano
4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1 3.5 oz pkg Hormel pepperoni
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a dutch oven, cook beef and onion over medium heat until cooked. Drain. Stir in the tomato sauce, parmesan cheese, tomato paste, pizza sauce, sugar and seasonings. Drain pasta and stir into meat sauce mixture. Simmer for 10 minutes.

Place half of the mixture at the bottom of a very deep casserole dish. On top of that layer, spread half of the cheese on top and add half of your pepperoni on top of the cheese. Add the remainder of the meat mixture on top of that and place in the oven for 20 minutes.

Take out and add the rest of the cheese and pepperoni on top of the cheese and broil until the cheese is brown, bubbly and delicious! Yum!!

Ravioli Soup

This soup rocks! 'Nuff said.

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef
2 cups of water
1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 14.5 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 6oz can tomato paste
1 medium onion
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
2 garlic cloves, minced
3/4 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp onion salt
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
Another 1/2 tsp salt to use later
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp dried thyme
18 oz pkg refrigerated cheese ravioli
1/4 cup grated Parmesan Cheese

Directions:

In a dutch oven, cook the beef until no longer pink. Season the cooked beef with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Drain. Add the water, tomatoes, tomato paste, onion, parsley, garlic and seasonings. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook ravioli according to package directions and drain. Add to soup and heat through. Stir in the parmesan cheese. Garnish with additional parsley and parmesan if desired.

Serves 10!

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

This is one of my favorite cakes. My brother always requests this as his birthday cake every year, and I request it about every other year. SO good!!




1 stick of butter
3 eggs
1 pkg Duncan Hines Pineapple Supreme cake mix
1 1/3 cup water
1/3 cup vegetable oil
12 pineapple rings
1 small jar of marischino cherries
1 cup brown sugar

Directions:

Melt 1 stick of butter and pour evenly in the bottom of a 9X13 cake pan. Add the brown sugar on top of the butter, spread evenly. Place the pineapple rings on top of the brown sugar/butter mixture. Cut cherries in half and place each half of a cherry in the middle of the pineapple, cut side UP. Make the cake batter by mixing together the cake mix, eggs, water and vegetable oil. Pour the cake batter over the pineapple rings. Spread evenly and place in a 350 degree oven for 32-35 minutes. Cool. Once cool, place a tray firmly and centered on top and flip it over. Ta Daaaa! You have a beautiful and delcious Pineapple Upside Down Cake! :0)

Southwest Enchilada Bake

This recipe has great flavor and feeds a lot of people.

15 small corn tortillas
2 lbs lean ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1 small can green chilies
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 can ranch beans
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can mild rotel
1 can enchilada sauce
4 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Brown meat, jalapeno and onion. Drain. Add beans, garlic, soups, rotel, and enchilada sauce.

Create layers of:
Tortillas
Sauce
Cheese
Repeat three times
Pour two cups of cheese on top and bake in a 350 degree oven for 20-25 minutes. Enjoy!

Taco Soup

This is my grandmother's recipe. It is OUTSTANDING. I have yet to find a taco soup better than this!

1 pkg smoked sausage
2 lbs ground beef
1 small onion, chopped
1 4oz can of chopped green chilies
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 pkg taco seasoning
1 pkg ranch dressing mix
1 can hominy, undrained
3 cans chili or mexican stewed tomatoes
1 can kidney beans, undrained
1 can pinto beans, undrained
2 cups water

Brown ground beef with onion and green chilies on medium high in large dutch oven. Stir in remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil. Simmer 1-2 hours on low.

*You can add chili powder if it's not spicy enough for you.

Steak San Marino

This recipe is SO easy. I still can’t get over how easy it is! Healthy AND Yummy! This is a slow cooker recipe so you can fix it-and forget it! All the flavor without compromising the calories. I really enjoyed this recipe.

¼ cup all-purpose flour
½ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
1 and ½ lbs beef round steak, cut into 6 pieces
2 large carrots, diced
1 celery rib, diced
1 8oz can of tomato sauce
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 bay leaf
1 tsp Italian seasoning
½ tsp Worcestershire sauce
3 cups hot cooked brown rice
Another 1/2 tsp of salt

In a large plastic baggie, combine the flour, 1/2 tsp salt and pepper. Add beef, a few pieces at a time, and shake to coat. Transfer to 4 quart slow cooker.
In a small bowl, combine the carrots, celery, tomato sauce, garlic, bay leaf, 1/2 tsp of salt, Italian seasoning and Worcestershire sauce. Pour over beef. Cover and cook on low for 6-7 hours or until beef is tender. Discard bay leaf. Serve with brown rice and salad.

Serves 6

Nutrition Facts: Beef with ½ cup rice
Calories: 286
Fat: 5g
Protein: 29g

Goulash

This is VERY similar to my grandmother's recipe, but I add more tomato sauce and bake it in the oven and top with cheese. One of my FAVORITE recipes!

1 lb ground beef
½ onion
½ bell pepper
½ can kernel corn, drained
½ can pinto beans, drained
1 tsp Salt
½ tsp Pepper
Squeeze of Garlic
½ can mild Rotel
1 full can of stewed tomatoes
2 small cans tomato sauce
1 and a half teaspoons Chili Powder
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 small package elbow macaroni
Dash of Paprika
½ tsp of sugar

Directions:
Chop up onions and bell pepper. Brown meat and add onions and bell pepper. Brown together and drain. Add all other ingredients except macaroni, paprika and cheese. Simmer for 30 minutes.

Once the sauce starts to simmer, start boiling the macaroni. After sauce is ready, mix the macaroni into the sauce mixture. Place into a glass baking dish and top with paprika. Top finished mixture with cheese and bake for 350 degrees until cheese is melted.

Serves 8.

Serve with tossed salad and garlic bread.

Vegetable Soup

Lindsey’s Homemade Vegetable Soup

I'm very picky about my vegetable soup. This recipe is similar to my grandmother's but I tweaked it a little bit to my tastes. Is awesome!

1-2 lbs Ground beef/stew meat/boneless chuck roast
½ onion
½ bell pepper
1 can of kernel corn
1 large russet potato
1 can of chopped carrots
1 can mild rotel
1 can diced tomatoes-mexican or chili
1 can green beans
½ can peas
Chili powder
½ package of beef broth
2 cans water
1 tsp Salt
½ tsp Pepper

Brown/Sear meat. Drain but leave a little bit of fat. Add in all other ingredients. Salt and Pepper to taste. Bring to a boil and then simmer for one hour.

Serves 8