Christmas Goodies

This was our Christmas Snowman this year. I have made him before using my Popcorn Cake recipe but this year we made a Rice Krispie Treat Snowman.
Troy thought it would be fun to have Annalynn help me decorate it but all she wanted to do was eat the candies - big surprise!
We had a lot of fun making these cute icecream sandwiches. Everyone enjoyed them! They looked a little messy but tasted good!
We have a BIL who is a chef at the Doubletree Hotel. He made this beautiful fruit tray for our Clark Christmas party!

Menu Plan Monday

I did pretty good about staying with my menu last week. We did eat leftovers one night instead of the planned meal. Also, Friday we had to go out of town to a funeral unexpectadly so we ended up eating on the road both meals. This week will be a short one and then Friday we will be off to my sisters' so no menu next week. You can check out more menu ideas at Laura's blog - I'm An Organizing Junkie.

Monday - Pizza and Movies - no big plans for Christmas eve
Tuesday - Christmas - I am making the Holiday Rolls that are in this post for Christmas breakfast and taking my Spinach Artichoke dip to my sister's
Wednesday - Spaghettii
Thursday - Leftovers
Friday - Vacation starts!

I am going to do another post about some of the fun things we made this weekend for our various Christmas parties.

Stuffed Green Peppers

Stuffed Green Peppers is one of Troy's favorite dishes. I don't fix them often because I don't care for green peppers. Not a good reason, I know! Anyway, I did fix them last night and used this recipe over at Simply Recipes. They were good and very easy to make. I think in the future I would mix the sauce in with the rest of the ingredients. The sauce was good (I added more Worcestershire sauce then it called for) and I think it needed to be mixed in rather than just on top. Surprisingly, my two year old loved them and ate the green pepper and all! The green peppers were not that strong and I think it may be because the recipe had you boil them before hand for a few minutes.
If you like green peppers (or even if you don't :-) ) I would give them a try!

Easy Stuffed Chicken for a Crowd

Several years ago I discovered this recipe and it is my standby for a good company meal or a dish for a large gathering. I have made it for anywhere from 4 to 60 people. It is so easy but gets rave reviews whenever I fix it.

Easy Stuffed Chicken for a Crowd

1/2 skinless, boned chicken breast per guest
Stove Top dressing, prepared according to pkg. directions. 1 package will do about 12 chicken breasts.
Cream of chicken soup (about 2 cans per 12 chicken breasts)
Paparika
Sesame seeds (optional)
Fresh Parsley, chopped fine

Place chicken breast on cutting board with membrane side down (one side will be smooth and have an almost invisible membrane). Pound chicken with meat mallet until it is about double in size. Place 2 tablespoons of dressing on ckicken breast. Fold edges toward middle over dressing. Chicken will be very sticky after it has been pounded and should stick together easily.

Place chicken, seam down, in 13x9 inch baking dish and repeat with remaining chicken. After dish is full, pour 2 cans of cream of chicken soup over chicken. Sprinkle with paparika and sesame seeds. Bake at 400 degrees for 1 hour. Remove from oven and sprinkle with fresh parsley and serve immediately.

I have made these a couple of times for "potluck" type dinners where I knew there would be other meat dishes. After stuffing and rolling the chicken I cut them in half so the portions were not to large.

Menu Planning Monday

I have not been to good about posting recipes and did not get around to posting my menu last week. I am trying to get all of my recipes organized and need to start putting some of them here. You can find more menu ideas at Laura's site. Anyway, here is my plan for this week.

Monday - Spaghetti (still have one batch of sauce frozen from a few weeks ago)

Tuesday - Stuffed Green Peppers

Wednesday - Couldn't Be Simpler Tuna Casserole

Thursday - Sweet and Sour Chicken

Friday - Mushroom Cheddar Frittata

Saturday - Christmas get together with Troy's family

Sunday - Christmas get together with my family at our house

Yummy Breakfast Recipes

Here are some yummy breakfast recipes if you are looking for something to make over the Holidays.

I had been eyeing this Fruity Baked Oatmeal from Simple and Delicious for awhile and this morning seemed the perfect time to try it. It was yummy but very filling and even the 8x8 pan was way to much for us. We will see how it is heated up tomorrow. It would be good if you had company staying over or a larger family.

Fruity Baked Oatmeal

3 cups quick-cooking oats
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup milk
1/2 cup butter, melted
3/4 cup chopped peeled tart apple
1/3 cup chopped fresh or frozen peaches
1/3 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
Additional milk

In a large bowl, combine the oats, brown sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Combine the eggs, milk and butter; add to the dry ingredients. Stir in apple, peaches and blueberries.
Pour into an 8x8 inch baking dish coated with nonstick cooking spray. Bake uncovered, at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Cut into squares. Serve with milk if desired.

Another recipe is one that our Bible Study leader has made for several occasions lately. It is super simple and super good! It is one you make the night before and bake in the morning.

Holiday Morning Rolls

20 frozen Rhodes Rolls
3 ounce package butterscotch pudding (NOT instant)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
Cinnamon

Place 1/2 of the rolls in a well greased bundt pan. Sprinkle with 1/2 of pudding powder. Melt butter and sugar, pour half of mixture over rolls. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Repeat. Let rise uncovered on counter overnight.
Bake in 350 degree oven 30-40 minutes. Invert onto plate and serve immediately.

Another recipe that is really yummy is Apple Pie Morning Cereal. You can find the recipe for it over at my sister's blog, Comfort Cooking.

Menu Planning Monday

Another Monday has rolled around and I have a menu of sorts planned. I had a very busy week last week and managed to cook at home but can't remember what :-) You can go over to Laura's site for lots of other menu planning ideas.


Monday - Slow Cooker Beef Stew
Tuesday - Spaghetti Carbonara
Wednesday - Parmesan Pork Chops
Thursday - Peanut Chicken Stir Fry
Friday - Leftovers
Saturday - We have 3 Christmas events to attend
Sunday - Potluck for my in-laws 50th anniversary!

3 of my 4 recipes this week come from Taste of Home's Simple and Delicious. I am working on going through all my issues and recording the recipes that I would like to try.

Slow Cooker Beef Stew

With the threat of snow later today, beef stew seemed in order! I am headed to the grocery store to get the few ingredients that I do not have to make it and the shopping for the rest of my menu I have planned for this week. I made this stew a couple of weeks ago for company and they loved it! I found this recipe in my Nov/Dec 2007 Simple and Delicious magazine.

Slow Cooker Beef Stew

2 pounds boneless beef top round steak, cut into 1 inch cubes
8 medium carrots, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 pound small red pototoes, quartered
1/2 pound sliced fresh mushrooms
1 medium sweet red pepper, chopped
1 can (14 1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste
3/4 cup beef broth
1/3 cup dry red wine or additional beef broth
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

In a large skillet, brown beef on all sides. In a 5 quart slow cooker, combine the carrots, potatoes, mushrooms and red pepper. Pour tomatoes over the top.
In a small bowl, whisk the flour, tomato paste and broth until smooth. Stir in the wine or additional broth, salt, garlic, pepper and thyme; pour into slow cooker. Top with beef. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or until meat is tender.

Enjoy!