Tammy’s Meatballs

Posted by Mandy on June 3rd, 2011

This recipe comes to you from my…well, I’m not really sure what to call her! She was once married to my cousin and although they have been divorced for quite some time, she still remains in contact with our family and we just can’t get rid of her. Just kidding, Tammy, we love you! Anyway, I was talking to her about what to fix for a party the other day and she said she could fix her meatballs. She went on about how easy they were and yet still delicious, how you could serve them as an appetizer or over noodles for a main dish. Thank goodness she was kind enough to share her recipe! I made these last night for my family, and although I have lots of other things to blog I felt that these should take first-post rankings because my family enjoyed them so much.

Now I know some of you in the food-blog world are very anti “cream of whatever soup”, but I’ll be honest with you. I use “cream of” soups quite often because (a) I’m from the South and that’s pretty much mandatory (b) it’s cheap (c) it tastes good (d) it makes for easy meals. So don’t hate me for posting this if you are that type person please. :)

The recipe that I’m posting is how I actually prepared my meatballs. I have a family of five with kids ranging in age from 2-6, so it was plenty for my family. If you have a larger family, though, you may feel the need to double the recipe.

Tammy’s Meatballs

1 pound frozen Italian meatballs

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1/4 cup sour cream

1 cup water

1 beef bullion cube

1 can sliced mushroom, drained (optional)

garlic powder, to taste

pepper, to taste

1 package noodles

Prepare noodles according to package directions; set aside and keep warm. Pour meatballs into a medium-size saucepan with a small amount of water; cook over medium heat until meatballs are heated through, stirring often. Drain water. Add soup, water, bullion cube, mushrooms (if using) and sour cream; season to taste with garlic powder and pepper. Simmer over medium-low heat until the sauce is well combined and heated through. Serve over warm noodles. Top with parsley, if desired.

Note: Tammy’s original recipe calls to dump the sour cream, cream of mushroom soup, mushrooms (if using), pepper, and garlic salt in a slow cooker with the meatballs (still frozen); cook until meatballs are heated through. I was preparing my family’s dinner at the end of the day, though, and didn’t have time to cook mine in the slow cooker. If using this method, you will not need to use the water and beef bullion to flavor and thin the sauce.

Cake Batter Ice Cream

Posted by Mandy on June 2nd, 2011

We live in Mississippi and when I say it’s hot, it’s friggin’ HOT! We completely skipped past Spring altogether. It’s supposed to hit 100 degrees today, and I would not be one bit surprised if it just bypassed 100 and hit 105! I love living in the South just as much as any good Southern lady ever has, but I tell ‘ya what…these summers are almost unbearable! So what better cure for the summer soaring heat than a huge bowl of cake batter ice cream? I have just recently purchased my very first ice cream maker, and after this homemade ice cream, boy am I glad that I did! The only regret about purchasing the maker is that I didn’t purchase it before now! What was I thinking???

I grew up in a family where we made homemade ice cream several times throughout the summer each year, but it always using the same recipe. We’d make big huge batches in the old-fashioned ice cream churner machines where you had to sit and watch it churn for hours. You’d have to stop ever so often and add more ice and rock salt. Then once it was finally ready we’d all sit and eat homemade ice cream until we were sick because it just wasn’t as good after it had been frozen hard in the refrigerator. My Paw Paw was the biggest homemade ice cream lover I’ve ever met. He wasn’t much for eating between meals, but he would never turn down a big bowl of homemade ice cream, no matter what time of day it was. And nothing made me happier than sitting in the doorway of Paw Paw’s dirty old backyard shed watching him eat ice cream while we spun ourselves sick on the merry-go-round. I’d give anything to experience that perfect Southern day just one more time. *Sigh*

So, as I said, this is the first time I’ve used my new “modern” ice cream maker and I was blown away by how easy this was! Literally I just stirred some ingredients together, put it in my ice cream maker, let it churn a while, then poured it into a bowl to freeze in the freezer for a while. I was in heaven eating this delightfully creamy specialty and I can say now that you’ll be seeing a lot more homemade ice cream recipes in the future on this blog!

P.S. If you look closely in the spoon, you’ll see the reflection of my little cutie waiting patiently on his ice cream while I photograph it. :)

Cake Batter Ice Cream

1 cup half & half

3/4 cup sugar

2 cups heavy cream

1 teaspoon vanilla

 1 cup cake mix (I used yellow)

Whisk the half & half with the granulated sugar until the sugar dissolves. Stir in the heavy cream and vanilla. Measure cake mix and then sift into a small bowl. Add cake mix to cream mixture; whisk until combined. Pour mixture into the freezer bowl and churn as directed by your machine’s instruction manual. Remove ice cream from freezer bowl ad place into a freezer-proof container and freeze for 8-10 hours.

Recipe from: http://scoopalicious.blogspot.com/2008/02/cake-batter-ice-cream.html

Green Olive Nut Spread

Posted by Mandy on June 1st, 2011

I’ve already confessed on a previous post my love for anything containing green olives. And that means this recipe is a definite repeater in my house! I honestly don’t remember the first time that I made this recipe. I know that sounds weird for me, but it’s true. You see, a couple of years ago I wrote a cookbook as a fundraiser for my son (he has lots of medical issues that require us to travel cross-country quite often and it gets really expensive). So this recipe was in the cookbook listed as one of the recipes that I myself submitted but I just don’t remember ever making it until last November. When I compiled the cookbook, I only used recipes that I myself truly use over and over because I didn’t want it to be your typical community cookbook. I think it’s God at work trying to show me this recipe because He knew I would love it! :) The first time I made it was for our early Thanksgiving at my house, and we all filled up on the spread so much that we weren’t really hungry for dinner! It’s super simple, inexpensive to make, and always a crowd pleaser. How can you go wrong?

Now I’m wishing I had some leftovers to go munch on now. Just the sight of it again makes me want more!

Green Olive Nut Spread

1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened

1 cup pecans, chopped

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup chopped green olives

2 tablespoons olive juice

dash of pepper

Combine all ingredients and mix well. Serve with toasted baguette slices.

Peanut Butter and Brownie Trifle

Posted by Mandy on May 31st, 2011

I made five different recipes this weekend for my family’s annual reunion. All of the recieps were gone in a flash, but this particular recipe was gone faster than a flash. Seriously. I had brought the dessert in and put it in the fridge while we ate lunch. After lunch, when everyone was fixing desserts I pulled it out and fixed the first serving for myself. I literally walked outside, sat down for a minute or two eating my portion, went back inside and it was COMPLETELY GONE! There were only a couple of brownie crumbs left in the bottom of the trifle dish. I was so happy that it was so well liked!

In addition to being sinfully delicious, this recipe is super easy to prepare and if served in a trifle dish, makes a beautiful presentation! I don’t have a picture of the trifle dish I prepared because I knew it would be hard to take a photo of it before anyone got to it at the reunion, so I just made a tiny version for this photo. These little antique cups make the perfect presentation for individual servings too though, so if you have something like them try them out too! I feel sure that your family will enjoy this yummy summer dessert just as much as mine did!

Peanut Butter and Brownie Trifle

1 (20 oz) package fudge brownie mix

2 cups whipping cream, divided

1 cup milk chocolate morsels

1 cup peanut butter morsels

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups peanut butter and chocolate candies (I used Dove brand), chopped

1 (8 oz) container frozen whipped topping, thawed

Prepare brownie mix according to package directions; cool and crumble. Cook 2/3 cup whipping cream with peanut butter and chocolate morsels in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly, until melted and blended; remove from heat, and stir in vanilla. Chill 30 minutes. Beat remaining 1 1/3 cups whipping cream at high speed with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Stir one-third of whipped cream into chocolate mixture. Fold in remaining whipped cream. Layer half of crumbled brownies in bottom of a trifle dish or bowl; top with half of chocolate mixture, half of chopped peanut butter candies, and half of whipped topping. Repeat procedure with remaining brownies, chocolate mixture, chopped peanut butter candies, and whipped topping. Serve chilled with more candies and/or morsels on top.

Recipe adapted from: http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/peanut-butter-brownie-trifle-10000000549682/

Mexican Chicken & Rice Casserole

Posted by Mandy on May 26th, 2011

This dish is one of those throw-together meals that is so delicious you almost don’t believe it’s true. If you have leftover rice and chicken, this meal is one you can prepare in almost no time at all and it’s guaranteed that your family will love it. I know my family did! My family has been using a particular recipe for chicken and rice casserole so long now that I’m not even sure where it originally came from, so I decided to change things up a bit. This is basically the same recipe, “with the volume turned up” as Ina Garten often says. I think that throwing in some corn and black beans would just send this dish over the top, but seeing as how I have one child that doesn’t eat corn (two that love it) and none of them eat black beans (nor does the hubby) I couldn’t do that. They can be such duds at times! Oh well, maybe next time I’ll do it anyway!

Mexican Chicken & Rice Casserole

2 cups cooked, shredded chicken

1 (10 0z) can cream of chicken soup

1/2 cup mayonnaise

2 cups cooked white rice

1 tablespoon lime juice

salt & pepper, to taste

2 tablespoons taco seasoning

1 cup crushed tortilla chips

spray butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine rice, soup, mayonnaise, taco seasoning, salt & pepper, and lime juice. Stir in chicken until completely combined. Pour into a baking dish. Top with crushed tortilla chips; spray lightly with butter (just enough to make the chips get crunchier when they cook). Bake for about 30 minutes, or until heated through. Serve with salsa, sour cream, and fresh chopped cilantro, if preferred.

Easy Cinnamon Sugar Pull-Apart Bread

Posted by Mandy on May 25th, 2011

About a month ago on another blog, I saw a recipe for Cinnamon Sugar Pull-Apart Bread and it just sounded so absolutely delicious to me! I have no concerns about working with yeast, but was in such a hurry to make this and since I didn’t have some of the ingredients on hand (based off of her recipe) I just decided I would make do and use what I had. Oh, and just so you know…a pastry mat makes this job a lot less messy!

You that yummy inner part of a cinnamon roll, where the dough is so hot, soft, yummy, and full of cinnamon? My hubby and I have been known to fight over that part of a cinnamon roll because we both like it so much! Well that is exactly what this entire loaf of bread tastes like. It’s much easier to throw together because you don’t have to worry about it looking good. You just cut, stack, and throw it in the pan. It’s really that simple! If you prefer, you can make a glaze to go over the top like I did by mixing powdered sugar and milk to the consistency you like and pour it on top. It doesn’t necessarily need it but you can’t go wrong by adding a little extra sugar to anything, but that’s just my opinion. :)

Cinnamon Sugar Pull-Apart Bread

For the dough:

1 box hot roll mix

2 tablespoons sugar

1 cup hot water (120-130 degrees F)

2 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened

1 egg

For the cinnamon sugar filling:

4 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted

1 cup sugar

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large mixing bowl, stir together hot roll mix and yeast packet; mix well. Stir in hot water, margarine, egg, and sugar until dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. With greased or floured hands, shape dough into a ball. Knead dough for 5 minutes, or until smooth. Cover dough with a large bowl; let rest 5 minutes. Roll out with a rolling pin to a large rectangle. Stir together cinnamon and sugar for the filling. Brush the butter onto the dough; sprinkle generously with the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Cut the dough into long strips, then again into squares. Stack the squares on top of each other and then place the stack into a loaf pan. Cover loosely and allow to rise in a warm place for 20-30 minutes, or until doubled in size. Bake until the dough is golden brown. Serve hot.

Recipe idea and filling adapted from: http://annies-eats.net/2011/03/23/cinnamon-sugar-pull-apart-bread/

For reference, I’ve added progress photos of how to cut the dough to make the stack. My dough started out as more of a circle than a rectangle, but you get the point.

Slice the dough vertically into long strips; stack the strips on top of each other. (And yes, those are feet in the background. I thought they were too cute to leave out because it reminds me that if I’m in kitchen, so is my five year old. She’s gonna be a chef when she grows up, she says.)

After slicing the strips into squares, stack the squares and place into a loaf pan life so.

Greek Pasta Salad

Posted by Mandy on May 25th, 2011

This recipe comes from my cousin, Kathy. You may remember a few of her recipes that are already on here like her Mandarin Pasta Salad (http://www.thesupermomchef.com/?p=613). If you’ve tried it then you doubt know how good Kathy’s recipes are. She’s a wonderful cook, and also a pretty sweet person. We’re pretty lucky to have her in our family. Not that she’ll ever see this recipe to know what I’m writing, because she claims she’s computer illiterate and can’t find my blog on the world wide web. Anyway, here’s another one of her delicious recipes. If we get lucky, she may just make some for the family reunion we are having this weekend. *fingers crossed*

Greeky deliciousness!

Greek Pasta Salad

1 box bow tie pasta

1 green bell pepper, chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1 small red onion, chopped

1 can sliced black olives

1 package crumbled feta cheese

1 recipe Greek dressing (see below)

Boil pasta according to package directions and rinse well with cold water. Toss with all ingredients except the feta cheese. Toss the feta cheese with the salad just before serving.

Greek Dressing

1/2 cup white vinegar

1/2 cup olive oil

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 cloves garlic, minced

dash of red pepper

Whisk all ingredients together well.

Peanut Butter Cheesecake Swirl Brownies

Posted by Mandy on May 20th, 2011

Oh my heavens, this is probably one of the most delicious things that has ever come out of my oven! You all know about my crazy obsession with peanut butter and chocolate desserts, right? When I saw this recipe, I knew right away that I just had to make it. Unfortunately I saw it about two days before we left for Boston a couple weeks ago, so amidst all of the last minute things that I had to do, baking just wasn’t an option no matter how bad I wanted to be doing just that.

So now that we’ve been home about a week, I just couldn’t take it anymore. I had to get right into the kitchen and make these. I got the urge yesterday and had everything in the pantry to make it (jackpot!), but unfortunately when I tasted them they were a huge disappointment. I hate when that happens! Wasting the ingredients, the time you take to make them, the excitement you have for trying something new…and then to be let down? It’s so frustrating!

So this morning when I got up, I chunked the bad batch in the garbage and decided to go with a plan that I knew would work. I loved the peanut butter cheesecake part of the recipe I had found, so decided not to change that part but the brownies needed some work. And since I’ve never found a from-scratch brownie recipe that I love, I decided to stick with what I knew would work and just pull out a box mix. Yes, I love to cook and I very rarely ever cook from a box, but there are some instances where you just can and not feel bad about it. And cooking brownies is one of those times because let’s face it…boxed brownies are delicious! So here’s the recipe that I came up with. I know you’re gonna go nuts over them just like I did! Now, can someone come up with an excuse for the pan full that I made this afternoon to be half empty when my hubby gets home??? :)

Peanut Butter Cheesecake Swirl Brownies

1 family size box brownie mix

ingredients needed for brownie mix (usually water, oil, and eggs)

1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup sugar

3/4 cup creamy peanut butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8×8″  or 9×9″ baking dish with foil; spray with non-stick cooking spray. Prepare brownie mix according to package directions (follow the recipe for the fudgy brownies, NOT the cake-like brownies). Pour half of the brownie mixture into the prepared baking dish. In a separate mixing bowl, combine the cream cheese, sugar, egg, vanilla, and peanut butter; stir until completely incorporated. Drop the peanut butter cheesecake mixture by spoonfuls (using about half of the mixture) on top of the brownie mix in the baking dish. DO NOT SWIRL! Top with the remaining brownie batter and smooth so that you can no longer see the peanut butter mixture beneath. Drop the rest of the peanut butter cheesecake mixture by spoonfuls on top of the brownie batter. Using a toothpick or knife to drag through the batters, swirl the two together. Bake until the center is set and the brownies are pulling away from the sides of the dish, about an hour. Allow to cool (trust me, they are much better when they have had time to cool!) on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then remove the foil all in one piece to the same wire rack. Allow to cool completely to room temperature.

Recipe idea and peanut butter cheesecake recipe from: http://lisamichele.wordpress.com/2009/08/04/the-ummm-best-peanut-butter-cheesecake-swirl-brownies-ever/

Cinnamon Sugar “Danish”

Posted by Mandy on May 19th, 2011

Variations of this recipe are all over the place, mostly in old cookbooks that I got from my grandmother when she moved. I went to visit her one day and she had a box full of cookbooks sitting in her garage and said she was fixing to take them to give away. My goodness, my heart almost stopped! Giving cookbooks away is, in my humble opinion, a sin. Every cookbook is usable, including the old ones that have recipes that usually have to be altered in some way. So I kindly :) took said cookbooks off of her hands and went to town looking through them. What a treasure for me and boy did I have fun looking through them! There were about 1,000 variations of this particular recipe in those cookbooks, and since I didn’t use any one particular recipe I can’t really give credit for all of them. So here’s my version of this delicious, perfect-for-brunch (or anytime) treat! It reminds me of a cheese danish in some way, but without all the effort (or expense if you’re buying it in a bakery).

P.S. I think this may be my hubby’s second favorite thing I’ve ever made (his first favorite will always be my Pecan Pie Cake).

Cinnamon Sugar “Danish”

2 cans Crescent rolls

2 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, softened

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla (don’t use imitation if you love me…use the real stuff!)

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 egg white

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Unroll one can of Crescent roll dough and spread it into a greased 9×13″ baking dish, pinching the seams to seal. In a medium mixing bowl, mix together (either by hand or with a mixer) cream cheese, one cup of the sugar, and the vanilla. Spread over the Crescent roll. Top the cream cheese mixture with the remaining can of Crescent roll dough in the same manner as the first can. In a small bowl, beat egg white. Brush the egg white over the top layer of Crescent roll dough with a pastry brush (you will have some leftover). In another bowl, mix together the remaining one-half cup sugar and the cinnamon. Sprinkle over the egg whites. Bake at 350 degrees until done, about 30 minutes. Serve hot if you just can’t help it or allow to cool if you can. :) Store leftovers in the refrigerator.

Bowties & Broccoli

Posted by Mandy on May 18th, 2011

What a weird name for a recipe, huh? This recipe is a Supermomchef original, and came to mind one night when I had been to Sam’s earlier in the day and picked up all the regular items I get there, including a rotisserie chicken and a huge bag of broccoli florets. The chicken was of course going to be for dinner (best $5 you can spend these days, in my opinion) but I had no idea what to cook to go along with it. Then I thought of the broccoli I had purchased and knowing that I always have plenty of pasta on hand I decided to make something using that. Added some seasoning, a little olive oil and butter, and BAM! There’s dinner in no time! Hopefully your kids will actually eat the broccoli rather than just push it to the side of the plate. I’ve converted my hubby to a broccoli lover and I’m bound and determined to do it to my kids too!

Bowties & Broccoli

1 (8 oz) package pasta (whatever shape you like best)

1 1/2 cups broccoli florets

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons butter or margarine

salt and pepper, to taste

Cook pasta according to package directions, making sure to salt the water. About two minutes before the pasta is completely cooked, add the broccoli; continue cooking until the broccoli is crisp and bright green. Drain and toss with remaining ingredients. Serve hot. We like to add some chopped, cooked rotisserie chicken from the deli to the pasta also to make it a whole meal.