Appetizers

Slow Cooker Tex Mex Spinach Dip

April 24, 2013 By Paula 5 Comments

$Tex Mex Slow Cooker Spinach Dip Recipe$

While this recipe does not include avocado, I made it for my party since it was supposed to be Cinco de Mayo inspired. I have the cookbook to review: Triple Slow Cooker Entertaining: 100 Plus Recipes and 30 Party Plans and this recipe came out of it. Once I’ve shared the three recipes I made I will give you my full review of the book, but I will tell you now that I’ve made five recipes from the book and I haven’t found one I don’t like! This is a really good dip to have going for your Cinco de Mayo party!

Slow Cooker Tex Mex Spinach Dip

Ingredients

1- 10 oz packaged frozen chopped spinach
Nonstick baking spray
1- 10 oz can diced tomatoes and green chilies, with juice
8 oz cream cheese, softened and cut into 1/2" cubes
2 cups shredded Colby-Jack cheese
1/4 cup Salsa

Instructions

Thaw spinach and drain well, squeezing between paper towels until dry.
Spray one slow cooker stoneware with baking spray.
In a large bowl, combine spinach, tomatoes and chiles with juice, cream cheese, Colby-Jack and salsa. Transfer to prepared stoneware.
Cover and cook on High for 1 hour, stirring occasionally, until cheese is melted and dip is hot. Turn to Warm for serving.

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If you want to make this ahead, you can prepare dip through step 3, cover and refrigerate overnight. Cook as directed.

$Tex Mex Spinach Dip$

Filed Under: Appetizers, Cinco de Mayo, Recipes, Slow Cooker Tagged With: appetizer, cheese, Cinco de Mayo, dip, recipe, spinach

Homemade Honey Bread

April 19, 2013 By Paula 4 Comments

Homemade Honey Bread

Earlier today you saw that the kids helped me make some honey bread. I’ve been making this bread for months. I got the recipe from Kim at What’s that Smell? I had a major learning curve in order to make it work for me, though. For starters my kitchen doesn’t seem to be warm enough for bread to rise so I had to learn how to preheat my oven just enough to let my bread sit in it and rise. Also, the bread wouldn’t rise for me right in silicone pans. I switched to cast iron and now get perfect loaves of bread.

Stages of homemade honey bread

There you can see the stages of the bread. I forgot to take a picture before the first rise. I feel like the bread knew I was going to blog about it, because it came out beautifully! This was the fluffiest batch of bread I made yet. This bread is delicious with the honey butter recipe I’ve posted before.

Fluffy Homemade Honey Bread with Honey Butter

Homemade Honey Bread

Ingredients

1 cup warm water
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 egg
3½ cups bread flour (I use King Arthur flour)
1 teaspoon salt
2½ teaspoons yeast
½ cup honey (you can use sugar here if you don’t have honey but honey is a better option)

Instructions

Mix all ingredients together in mixer with dough blade until dough forms. It should be dry enough to not be sticky but wet enough to not crumble.
Lift dough out of bowl, spray with olive oil (I spray the bowl) and place dough back in bowl covered with towel, allow to rise for 30-60 minutes. (I do this in the oven. I start the oven pre-heating to 350 while I'm mixing the ingredients and turn it off. I put the covered bowl in the oven to rise for 1 hour)
Knead with dough blade (will deflate).
Remove from bowl, place dough on flowered surface and knead by hand a few times. (Don't over-flour your surface. I always waste too much flour! It doesn't take much)
Divide in half.
Roll into 2 loaf shapes and place in loaf pans (mist pan with olive oil first).
Cover and allow to rise (depends upon temp in room, but usually around 60 minutes – it should be slightly over the top edge of the pan, do not allow to over-rise). (Again, I do this in the oven with the same method.)
Bake at 350 for around 20-30 minutes or until golden brown on top. At around the 15 minute mark, I mist the top of the loaf with olive oil and continue cooking until done.

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Homemade Honey Bread Be sure to visit Kim and thank her for this awesome recipe! If you come up with any differences on how you have to make it, I’d love to hear them.

Homemade Honey Bread

Filed Under: Appetizers, Clean Eating, Lunch, Recipes Tagged With: bread, honey, recipe

Crackled Deviled Eggs

March 30, 2013 By Paula 4 Comments

If you remember, last year I showed you how to dye your deviled eggs. This year I saw a few people do some deviled eggs that looked like dragon eggs, or crackled eggs. I had to try it! I told you yesterday in the Kids in the Kitchen post that I would get these up today. I’m sorry it wasn’t earlier. I didn’t get them made until 10 and then the day just got away from me!

Unfortunately, the eggs took MUCH longer than I planned. I thought it was just like any eggs, you throw them in the dye for 30 seconds and viola. Nope!! The ones I took out after a minute had very little color to them. That beautiful purple egg up there in the picture? It was in the dye for near 22 hours! I LOVE how brilliant those eggs turned out, though.

Under Deviled Eggs

You can see the eggs in the middle were not very brilliant. Those were the ones that were taken out too early. This year I actually measured my servings for how I made my eggs. Keep in mind, I make them for a LARGE family, so I made 30 eggs or 60 halves!

Crackled Deviled Eggs

Ingredients

30 large eggs
food dyes
water
1 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup mustard
paprika

Instructions

Place your eggs in water on stove and bring to a boil. Once boiling, remove from heat, cover and let sit for 15 minutes.
Immediately run eggs under cool water to stop them from cooking. When eggs are cooled, it's time to dye them.
Prepare your water for your eggs. You may just want to put it in plastic bags so that you can put them in the fridge and not worry about someone knocking the glass over. I probably used about 15 drops of dye per 2 cups of water.
Now crack your eggs and roll them on the counter to create a spider web crack all over them. Place your cracked eggs into the dye and leave them from 3 hours to overnight.
Peel your eggs after they are sufficiently dyed.
Cut your eggs in half and remove yolks into a bowl. Mash your yolks until they are very fine.
In a stand mixer, mix your yolks, mayonnaise and mustard until well incorporated and not chunky.
You can then put your yolk mixture into a plastic baggy and cut the tip to squeeze it out into your eggs, or if you have cake decorating materials, you can put it into a frosting bag and I used the Wilton tip #199.
Sprinkle your eggs with paprika and enjoy!

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Crackled Deviled Eggs

Filed Under: Appetizers, Easter, Recipes Tagged With: deviled eggs, dyed eggs, Easter, eggs

Slow Cooker Chicken Caesar Sandwiches on Whole Wheat Slider Buns with Fleischmann’s Yeast

January 31, 2013 By Paula 7 Comments

Slow Cooker Chicken Caesar Sandwiches So the big game is this Sunday. I have a simple recipe that you can make that’s delicious! The best part? It’s homemade! Before I get there, I want to talk a little about how I got to this point. I haven’t bought bread in probably 3 months or longer. It’s not because I gave up bread, though, it’s because I’ve been making it from scratch at home. Whenever my kids see me making bread they start to cheer. Monkey is always begging for the bread straight out of the oven. I love that the bread I make not only makes them happy, but it’s made with ingredients that I can pronounce and that are healthy for them. Because of my love of home made bread, I applied to be an Fleischmann’s Yeast Ambassador and I got it! Over the next 8 months I’ll be sharing four different from-scratch recipes. I wanted to start off with a great recipe that’s good for the Super Bowl. Fleischmann’s provided the recipe for the Whole Wheat Slider Buns and I found the recipe for the slow cooker chicken Caesar sandwiches through my friend Alison on Pinterest.

Slow Cooker Chicken Caesar Sandwiches

Ingredients

2 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
2 cups of Chicken broth (or water)
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
2 envelopes Fleischmann's® RapidRise Yeast
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons butter OR margarine
1 to 1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups of your favorite Caesar dressing (original recipe called for 1 cup but I like it wet)
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese (I used grated this time because I was out of shredded)
2 cups of shredded romaine lettuce

Instructions

Place chicken in a 3-4 quart slow cooker with 1-2 cups of chicken broth or water, cover and cook on low heat for 4-6 hours.
For the rolls: Combine whole wheat flour, undissolved yeast, sugar and salt in a large mixer bowl. Heat milk, water and butter until very warm (120° to 130°F). Add to flour mixture. Beat 2 minutes at medium speed of electric mixer, scraping bowl occasionally. Add 1/4 cup all-purpose flour; beat 2 minutes at high speed. Stir in enough remaining all-purpose flour to make soft dough. Knead on lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 8 to 10 minutes. Cover; let rest 10 minutes.
Divide dough into 12 equal pieces; shape into balls. Place in greased 8 or 9-inch square pan. Cover; let rise in warm, draft-free place until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.
Bake in preheated 375°F oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until done. Remove from pan; cool on wire rack.
When the chicken is done cooking: Remove chicken from cooker using a slotted spoon and drain the broth or water from the slow cooker. Place chicken on a cutting board and pull chicken into shreds, discarding any fat.
Place chicken back in the cooker and pour dressing and Parmesan cheese over the top. Stir until mixed evenly. Cover and cook on high heat for 30 minutes or until mixture is hot.
Spoon 1/4 cup mixture onto each slider bun.
Top with extra shredded Parmesan cheese and lettuce to serve.

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Just a quick note on the chicken. I’ve read on Pinterest that an easy way to shred your chicken is to throw it in the bowl of your electric mixer with the paddle attachment. If you turn it on, it’s supposed to shred the chicken quickly and easily. I haven’t tried it, but I saw good comments on it.

The rolls turned out a little dry for me. I’m not sure if it’s because I did it all by hand instead of pulling out my mixer. When my son saw that we were eating these for dinner, though, he was super excited. He loves this meal. I think it’s a great meal for a group of people, because it’s hand held. You can put the sandwiches together ahead of time or keep the meat warm in the slow cooker and let your guests assemble themselves.

In honor of the Super Bowl, Fleischmann’s Yeast is having a contest:

The Big Game promotion for Fleischmann’s Pizza Crust yeast will take place from 1/21 – 2/3 (the two weeks leading up to the Super Bowl). The promotion asks fans to submit their favorite pizza topping for the chance to win free product. If fans also submit their favorite “Big Game” pizza recipe, they will be entered to win a grand prize including a pizza stone, pizza cutter, and other great prizes.

What are your go to recipes for the big game? Last year we went to a party and tried buffalo chicken cupcakes. I actually liked them and would like to make them for a party but anyone that ever visits my house wouldn’t eat them.

Note: I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for ACH. I received a promotional item as a thank-you for participating.

Filed Under: Appetizers, Recipes, Slow Cooker Tagged With: bread, buns, chicken, recipe, slow cooker, yeast

Bite Sized Brunch #Recipe and #Giveaway

April 19, 2012 By Paula 171 Comments

With Mother’s Day coming up, it’s time to start thinking brunches. What’s better than a Bite-Sized Brunch? Land-O-Lakesasked me to share with you a bite-sized egg recipe. Before I give you mine, here are three ideas that they gave me to use.

They all sounded good, but I wanted to give you something simple and quick to make. Here’s a little “Did you know?” about Land-O-Lakes Eggs:

There are four varieties of all-natural eggs offered under the LAND O LAKES brand: Farm-Fresh All-Natural Eggs, Cage-Free All-Natural Eggs, All-Natural Eggs with 160 mg ALA Omega 3 and Organic All-Natural Eggs. All varieties are produced by hens fed a premium vegetarian, whole-grain diet.

We tend to use Organic Brown eggs in our house now. We even dyed brown eggs for Easter. Speaking of Easter, you can use dyed deviled eggs as a bite-sized brunch item for your spread for Mother’s Day, as well. There are so many fun ways to make bite-sized items. I’ve always had a thing for mini foods and mini toys, so this was a fun recipe to pull together.

Ok, I’m going to share my simple bacon and cheese bite-sized eggs recipe with you and then below it will be a giveaway to win a very fun prize pack from Land-O-Lakes.

Bite Sized Bacon and Cheese Egg Recipe

Ingredients

8 Eggs
Non-stick cooking spray
4 slices precooked bacon
Garlic Salt (I used a grinder and ground it fresh)
Pepper (I used a grinder and ground it fresh)
Mexican blend cheese (or cheese of choice)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375.
Spray muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray.
Scramble eggs with garlic salt and pepper (to taste).
Pour eggs into each muffin hole.
Sprinkle eggs with bacon and cheese.
Bake for about 20 minutes or until knife inserted in the center of the eggs comes out clean.
Serve hot.

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Land O Lakes, givewaway The kids all had a blast helping me make breakfast that morning. It was such a simple breakfast to make and the kids kept coming back for more. You know you have a keeper when they ask for seconds! (or thirds or fourths!) Land-O-Lakes wants to offer you a special premium gift package (valued at more than $100) including an On-Ice Deviled Eggs Server, Mini Muffin Tin, Two-Tier Server with Plates and a full-value coupon redeemable for any variety of LAND O LAKES® Eggs. The photo up top shows the Deviled Eggs tray in action for Easter. I used the two-tier server for a Scentsy Party that I had. (Shown to the right.) I love all these serving pieces and they will be used for a long time to come in my house! For your chance to win the below pictured prize pack, please fill out the Rafflecopter form.

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Filed Under: Appetizers, Breakfast, Recipes, Reviews & Giveaways, Uncategorized Tagged With: breakfast, Brunch, giveaway, Mother's Day, recipe

Bays Top This Contest: Chicken Alfredo Pizza #Recipe

April 12, 2012 By Paula 8 Comments

Bays English Muffins is having a Top This Pizza Challenge where they’re asking people to create pizzas out of their English Muffins and submit the recipe for a VIP trip to Italy for two. Wouldn’t that be awesome! They are taking entries here until May 31, 2012. Five runners up will get a case of Bays English Muffins. Imagine the possibilities for recipes when you have a whole CASE of English Muffins!

One of the things I really loved about Bays English Muffins is that they’re already split! I hate having to cut my English Muffins before I use them. They never split evenly and I get crumbs everywhere. (Did I ever tell you that I’m a very messy cook?) One of the things I don’t like about Bays, though, is that their bags are not resealable. If you’re not going to use all 6 English muffins at once, you need to pull out a close able bag to keep them fresh.

I made Chicken Alfredo Pizzas for my recipe. I absolutely loved these little pizzas! Little Man asked for seconds and he didn’t even want to touch them at first. I love how easy these were to make and they came out perfect, in my humble opinion.

Feel free to enter the contest and to “Like” Bays on Facebook. Periodically they will be giving out packages of free English muffins to follows! If you want to buy Bays English Muffins, you can find them in the refrigerated section at the grocery store.

If you follow Bays English Muffins on Facebook, maybe you’ll see my recipe pop up as the winner! If you enter, good luck! I’d love to see your recipe as well! What is your favorite way to enjoy English Muffins?

Chicken Alfredo English Muffin Pizza

Ingredients

6 Bays English Muffins
2 thin or 1 large chicken breast
Garlic Salt
Pepper
3/4 cup Alfredo Sauce
1 1/2 cup Kraft Italian Five Cheese With A Touch of Philadelphia
Shredded Parmesan Cheese
Fresh Parsley

Instructions

Season chicken breasts with garlic salt and pepper.

Broil chicken (or grill) until no longer pink.
While chicken is broiling, add 1 tablespoon of Alfredo sauce to each half of your English muffins.

Remove chicken and preheat oven to 350.
When chicken is cooked, cut into small pieces and top your English muffins.

Sprinkle about 1/8 cup of cheese on each English muffin half.
Sprinkle with a little shredded Parmesan cheese.
Add a little bit of finely chopped parsley.

Bake at 350 for about 9 minutes.
Move to broiler for 2 minutes, until a nice golden brown starts to appear on the cheese.

Enjoy!

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Top This Contest, Bays English Muffins

Note: I was given a case of Bays English Muffins to facilitate my recipe and review and to pass out to friends. All opinions are my own.

Filed Under: Appetizers, Main Course, Recipes Tagged With: chicken, pizza, recipe

Slow Cooker Tex Mex Spinach Dip

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Homemade Honey Bread

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Crackled Deviled Eggs

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Slow Cooker Chicken Caesar Sandwiches on Whole Wheat Slider Buns with Fleischmann’s Yeast

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Bite Sized Brunch #Recipe and #Giveaway

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Bays Top This Contest: Chicken Alfredo Pizza #Recipe

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Slow Cooker Tex Mex Spinach Dip

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Homemade Honey Bread

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Crackled Deviled Eggs

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Slow Cooker Chicken Caesar Sandwiches on Whole Wheat Slider Buns with Fleischmann’s Yeast

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Bite Sized Brunch #Recipe and #Giveaway

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Bays Top This Contest: Chicken Alfredo Pizza #Recipe

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