Pumpkin Pie Milk Shakes

JUST WHEN ALL OF OUR GREAT READERS WERE FEELING RELIEVED THAT MY PUMPKIN SPICE FIXATION MIGHT BE OVER...

ANOTHER RECIPE!!!!!

WOOT ~ WOOT!

Pumpkin Pie Milkshake

Original Recipe by Our Best Bites

1/3 C pumpkin puree

1/4 - 1/2 C {skim} milk

1/4 t vanilla

1/2 t cinnamon

1/16 t cloves

1/16 t nutmeg              {I used 1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice instead}

2 T brown sugar           {I used 1 Tablespoon}

2 C vanilla ice cream    {I used low fat vanilla frozen yogurt}

1-2 graham crackers     {I used 1 sheet reduced fat graham crackers}

Pop everything but the graham crackers in a blender. Start with 1/4 C milk and then slowly add more if needed to make the blender process it all. Pour into two glasses and top with graham cracker crumbs. Enjoy!

Cheesy Bacon Crescents

Hoosier Homemade is one blog I follow almost religiously! Liz is at the top of the blogging world with her hard work, drive, creativity, and organization! I basically worship the ground she blogs on! This is just one of the 1000+ recipes she has shared with me, and they were divine.

 And really, who doesn't LOVE a recipe with only 4 ingredients? 

Seriously! 

Yippee!

Cheesy Bacon Crescents

Cheesy Bacon Crescent Recipe…

• 1-2 tubes of Crescent Rolls (depending on how many you need to serve)
• 10-15 slices of bacon (I cook bacon in the oven)
• 1 cup cheese, grated (any kind)
• 3-5 tablespoons Hellmann’s® or Best Foods® Real Mayonnaise

Directions:
Cook bacon, cool and crumble into small pieces. Mix with cheese and Hellmann’s® or Best Foods® Real Mayonnaise. Open crescent rolls and place on greased cookie sheet. Spoon a heaping teaspoonful of bacon mixture onto large end of crescent roll, and roll up.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Check out Hoosier Homemade-she is the ultimate CUPCAKE LADY!

Crescent Roll Burrito's

We love this recipe.  I have always felt like any dish that contains crescent rolls is going to be yummy, and this one didn't let me down!

(This picture is actually the one from the Pillsbury website. I didn't get the chance to take any photo's of my creation, they were eaten before I turned around! I guess that's a sign of a good dish...)

Crescent Roll Burritos

adapted from a A Pillsbury Recipe

1/2 lb. ground beef

2 Tbsp. chopped onion

2 Tbsp. taco seasoning

1/2 c. water

1/2 c. refried beans (optional)

2 cans crescent dinner rolls

1/2 c. salsa 

1/2 c. shredded cheddar or jack cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350.  Spray cookie sheet with cooking spray.

2. Cook ground beef and onion in skillet until thoroughly cooked, drain.  Stir in taco seasoning and water and cook over medium for about 5 minutes.  Stir in beans if using.

3. Separate dough into eight rectangles and press perforations to seal.  Divide beef mixture over rectangles and top with a tablespoon of salsa and a tablespoon or so of cheese.  Starting with the short end of the dough, roll up each rectangle and pinch the edges to seal.  Place seam side down on cookie sheet.

4. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.  Serve with more salsa, guacamole, sour cream or whatever catches your fancy.

Spinach Artichoke Pasta

I love this recipe, and make it at least once a month.  It's a favorite with my family as well!

 8 oz. pasta, cooked according to package directions

I almost always use Cavatappi pasta. It's an excellent casserole pasta

 2 c. cooked and cubed chicken
2 tsp. olive oil
1/2 c. onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
Salt and Pepper
1 can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1 (8 oz.) box frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 c. diced Mexican style tomatoes
1 (8oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened
1/2 c. sour cream
1/2 c. chicken broth
1/2 c. half and half
1 c. Parmesan Cheese, grated
2 Tbsp. hot sauce (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Coat a 9 x 13 baking dish with non-stick spray.

In a large skillet heat the oil over medium high heat. Toss in the diced onion and cook about 5 minutes until the onion is soft and slightly translucent. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more. Now add the cooked chicken and stir until the chicken is heated.  Add the cream cheese and sour cream, cooking until they are melted and incorporated into the mixture. Add the artichokes, spinach, tomatoes, chicken broth, 1/2 and 1/2, Parmesan cheese and hot sauce. Mix well until all ingredients are blended in.

 Remove from heat, stir in the pasta and then pour the mix into your prepared baking dish.
Bake for 15-20 minuted until it is bubbly around the edges.

Taco Pockets

Here is a recipe I found at Pillsbury.com, and then adapted to my family's tastes...

Fun and easy, this makes a great finger food or appetizer for parties

and a quick dinner when time is short.

 TACO POCKETS

1 (1 oz.) pkg. taco seasoning mix

2/3 c. water

1 c. chunky salsa

1 (8oz.) can tomato sauce

1 lb. ground hamburger, cooked and drained

2-3 cans refrigerated biscuits

1 c. Monterey Jack Cheese, shredded

1 c. sour cream (optional)

Heat oven to 375 degree's.

In a medium saucepan, mix the cooked hamburger, taco seasoning, water, salsa and tomato sauce. Heat, stirring often until sauce has thickened.  Remove from heat, and let cool for several minutes.

 Press out the biscuits into flat circles, place some of the meat mix on 1/2 of the dough circle, sprinkle a little cheese on top, then fold the other 1/2 of the dough over the top of the filling. Press the edges together with a fork.  Transfer to a baking sheet. Repeat until all the mix is used up.

 

 

 

 Bake for 20 minutes or until the biscuits are golden brown. Serve with sour cream!

We're linking up with:

Spinach Enchilada's

CHEESY SPINACH ENCHILADA'S

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp. oil
• 1/2 yellow onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 (10 oz.) pkg. frozen chopped spinach , thawed, drained and squeezed dry
• 1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened
• 1 c. cottage cheese
• 1/2 c. sour cream
• 2 c. Jack cheese, shredded, divided
• 10 (6 inch) tortillas (corn or white flour)
• 1 (19 oz.) can enchilada sauce

Preheat oven to 375 Degree's.

Coat a 9x13 baking dish with non-stick spray.
In a large skillet cook onion in oil until tender and translucent. Add garlic and cook for about 1 minute longer.
Stir in spinach, and cook for about 5 more minutes. Add cream cheese and stir until it is melted and completely mixed in. Remove from the heat, and add the cottage cheese, sour cream, and 1 c. Jack cheese.

Spoon about 1/4 cup of the spinach mixture onto the center of each tortilla. Roll up, and place seam side down in a 9×13 inch baking dish.

Pour enchilada sauce over the top, and sprinkle with the remaining cup of  Jack cheese.

Bake uncovered for 25 minutes.  You can also cover the dish with foil and bake for around 40 minutes if you need to hold the dish a bit longer before serving.

TIP: I made these twice in 1 week for my family and also for a family who needed a meal brought to them.  I made the meal for the other family 1st, and when I made the one for my family I discovered the only enchilada sauce I had on hand was Green Chili Enchilada Sauce.  Well the enchilada's turned out amazingly good. I think I prefer them with the green sauce~try this variation too~

We love linking up with:

Muddy Buddies are GLUTEN FREE!

I think everyone probably has this recipe on hand, but when I found out that Muddy Buddies are Gluten Free, I thought it would be worth posting~for those who are looking for great GF recipes!

Muddy Buddies

3 c. each Rice Chex, Corn Chex 

& Chocolate Chex cereal
1 c. semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 c. peanut butter
1/4 c. butter
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 c. powdered sugar

Place the 9 cups of cereal in a medium-large mixing bowl.
In a microwavable bowl, melt chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter uncovered on High 1 minute; stir. Microwave about 30 seconds longer or until mixture can be stirred smooth. Stir in vanilla. Pour mixture over cereal, stirring until evenly coated. Pour into 2-gallon resealable food-storage plastic bag.

Add powdered sugar. Seal bag; shake until well coated. Spread on waxed paper to cool. Store in airtight container in refrigerator.

Tip I recently found: Freeze your Muddy Buddies - you will never go back! The only downside is you do have to wait at least 15 more minutes to taste these frozen goodies.

Pumpkin Spice Oreo Cheesecake bites

PUMPKIN OREO CHEESECAKE BITES

2 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened

1/2 c. sugar

2 eggs

2 Tbsp. sour cream

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 c. canned pumpkin

1/4 c. milk

2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

 1 package Oreo cookies

Whipped Cream, sweetened

Preheat oven to 350 degree's.
With an electric mixer beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the sugar and cream again. Add the eggs one at a time mixing well after each addition. Beat in the pumpkin, milk and spice. Make sure the batter is well incorporated.  Place cupcake papers in 2 cupcake baking pans. Split apart 24 Oreo's. Place the side with the filling still attached in the bottom of each cupcake liners, filling side up.Pour about 1/3 c. cheesecake batter over each Oreo until the liner is about 2/3 full. Place the remaining Oreo side's on top of the batter.  Bake for 20-22 minutes.

(I ran out of Oreo's before I finished, so I'm missing a few tops)

Cool in pan for 15-20 min before removing and placing on a wire rack to finish cooling. Once they have been cooled completely, store in the fridge. When ready to serve, top with the sweetened whipped cream and Oreo sprinkles.

The original recipe called for a whole cookie in the bottom of the cup

I found after making this batch, that we liked them better with just the 1/2 cookie in the bottom

Ranch Mac and Cheese

Along with procrastinating almost everything this past month, I totally spaced out on the Sunday Mac and Cheese recipe posts I planned on doing. Duh!  Well, I'm back on track (I hope), so here is a of the M & C recipes my family loves...

RANCH MAC AND CHEESE

• 1 (16 oz.) package elbow macaroni
• 1 c. milk
• 1/4 c. butter
• 1 envelope ranch salad dressing mix
• 1 tsp. garlic salt
• 1 tsp. pepper (or amount you prefer)
• 1 c. Monterey jack cheese, shredded
• 1 c. Colby cheese, shredded
• 1 c. sour cream
• 1/3 c. grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 c. crushed Ritz crackers

 

Cook macaroni according to package directions, until just al dente.  Meanwhile, in a Dutch oven, combine the milk, butter, dressing mix and seasonings. Heat thoroughly.  Stir in the jack and Colby cheeses until they are melted. Stir in the sour Cream.
Drain the cooked pasta, and stir into the cheese sauce, along with the cracker crumbs.  Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, and serve.

Smore's Cake Please!

This is an unusual cake recipe, because there is no flour in the batter! But this is a cake that your kids are gonna love, from it's graham cracker cake to the truly divine marshmallow frosting (my favorite part).

Cake:

1/2 c. shortening (I use the butter flavor)

1/4 c. butter, softened

1 c. sugar

3 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 3/4 c. graham cracker crumbs

3 tsp. baking powder

 1 (12 oz.) can evaporated milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Line 2- 9 inch round baking pans with waxed paper and then spray the paper with non-stick spray.  In a large bowl, cream the shortening, butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Beat in the vanilla. Combine the graham cracker crumbs and baking powder: add to the creamed mixture alternately with the canned milk, beating well after each addition.

 Transfer to prepared pans in equal amounts.  Bake for 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool cakes in their pans for 10 minutes, then remove from pans to wire rack to cool completely (use the waxed paper to simply lift the cakes out).

FROSTING:

4 egg whites

1 c. sugar

1/2 tsp. cream of tartar

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

 1/2 c. miniature chocolate chips, divided

In a large heavy saucepan, combine the egg whites, sugar and cream of tartar over low heat.  With a hand mixer, bead on low speed for 1 minute. Continue beading on low over low heat until frosting reaches 160 degree's (about 8-10 minutes).  Pour into a large bowl: add the vanilla extract.  Beat on high until stiff peaks form (about 7-8 minutes).

 Place a cake layer on a serving plate: spread with 2/3 c. frosting and sprinkle with 1/2 of the chocolate chips.
Top with remaining cake layer and frost top and sides. Sprinkle with remaining chips.

YUMMY! 

 (After making this cake twice, I have decided that adding an additional 1 c. chocolate chips to the cake batter would be fabulous.  Bring out more chocolate flavor... ;)

This recipe was adapted from Taste of Home Recipes