Cowboy Hash and Eggs, Texas Toast and Salsa by Rachel Ray

This is another recipe that I tried long ago and lost the card for. I made it in November '04, long before I had a houseful of kids. My notes said this was good, but it looks like a lot of steps so I know I won't have time to make this again for a very long time.
12 medium sized mushrooms, quartered
1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced
1/2 medium red onion, chopped
8 small red potatoes
3 slices applewood or hickory smoked bacon, chopped
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons grill seasoning (recommended: Montreal Steak Seasoning) or coarse salt and pepper
Hot sauce (recommended: Tabasco), to your taste
2 cups, 8 ounces, shredded sharp Cheddar, pepper jack or smoked Cheddar cheese
3 tablespoons butter, divided
4 extra large eggs
4 thick cut slices bread, 1 to 1 1/2 inches thick, white, wheat or crusty farmhouse
1 clove garlic, cracked away from skins
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper or several drops hot sauce (recommended: Tabasco) Chopped fresh cilantro leaves, for garnish

Yellow Tomato Salsa: Any flavor or variety of store bought salsa that you may have in your pantry is a fine substitute here as well
3 medium or 2 large yellow tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1/2 medium red onion, finely chopped
1 serrano or jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped
2 tablespoons cilantro or parsley leaves, chopped
Salt

Chop all veggies for hash. Pierce potatoes with a fork and cook on high in microwave 5 minutes. Remove potatoes from microwave oven and cool for 5 minutes.

While potatoes are working, add chopped bacon to a large skillet over medium high heat and brown until crisp. Remove to paper towels to drain, wipe pan and return to heat.

Preheat your broiler to high. Preheat a nonstick griddle pan for frying eggs over medium heat.

Chop or wedge potatoes. Add oil to the skillet which you returned to the heat, then potatoes. Begin to brown and crisp potatoes, 2 minutes on each side. Use this time to chop your salsa ingredients.

Combine salsa in a small bowl and season with salt.

Back to the hash: add the mushrooms to potatoes. Brown mushrooms a minute or 2, then add peppers and onions and season mixture with grill seasoning blend or salt and pepper, then hot sauce. Cook 3 to 5 minutes longer until veggies are just tender and potatoes are cooked through. Turn off heat and add bacon back to the pan. Combine bacon with the veggies then add cheese to the pan to evenly cover the mixture. Tent the skillet with foil to gently melt cheese over vegetables and potatoes and to retain heat.

Add a couple pats, 1/2 tablespoon butter, to preheated griddle pan. Crack extra large eggs on to griddle and fry to desired doneness. Eggs may, of course, be scrambled as well. As you like!

Place thick cut bread under broiler and toast 6 inches from heat on both sides. Place 2 tablespoons butter in a small cup with a clove of garlic and ground cayenne pepper or a few drops of hot sauce. Melt in microwave for 30 seconds.

Brush toast with garlic cayenne butter and sprinkle with parsley. Remove from broiler.

Transfer vegetable and bacon hash to plates. Top each portion with a single fried egg or arrange the fried eggs evenly over the platter. Serve with Texas garlic toast and serve the salsa on the side to compliment either menu item.

Creamy Corn and Turkey Soup by Kraft

I just found this recipe in a stack in my classroom. I first made it in January of '05. Thank goodness I make notes on my recipes because I don't even remember making this. My notes said that I used chicken and I might use more cream cheese next time. Overall, this was a good soup and I said I'd have it again. Now that I've found the recipe, I guess I will :)
1/2 cup chopped onions 1 Red pepper, chopped, divided
2 Tbsp. Butter or margarine  substitute I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Light for WW points
4 oz. (1/2 of 8-oz. pkg.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, cubed MUST USE LIGHT FOR WW points
2 cups shredded cooked turkey
1 can (14.75 oz.) cream-style corn
2 cups Chicken broth
3/4 cup Milk
1/2 tsp. cracked black pepper

COOK onions and half the red peppers in butter in large saucepan on medium heat 5 to 6 min. or until crisp-tender, stirring frequently.

ADD cream cheese; cook on low heat 3 to 4 min. or until melted, stirring constantly. Stir in turkey, corn, broth and milk.

COOK 5 min. or until soup is heated through, stirring occasionally. Serve topped with remaining red peppers and black pepper.
Kraft Kitchens TipsSubstitutePrepare using PHILADELPHIA Neufchatel Cheese.Special ExtraFor more robust flavor, roast and peel the red peppers before chopping. Add to soup along with the turkey. Or, use drained, jarred roasted red peppers instead.

Make AheadSoup can be made ahead of time. Cool, then refrigerate up to 2 days. Reheat before serving.

Monoprint Painting

I saw this on Family Fun and thought it would be great for my kids:
Materials
Washable, nontoxic tempera paint
Cookie sheet
2 large pieces of paper
Cotton swabs, plastic utensils

Instructions
To start, ask your child to squeeze blobs of washable nontoxic tempera paint onto a cookie sheet.

Lay a large piece of paper on top of the paint and have her smooth it down with the palms of her hands. Lift off the paper, then lay the print flat to dry.

Next, encourage your tot to make designs with her fingers, a cotton swab, or a plastic utensil in the smooth surface of the paint that remains on the cookie sheet. Lift off additional prints on clean sheets of paper. You can add more paint as desired

Lime Chicken Soft Tacos by allrecipes.com

A friend of mine posted on Facebook that she was going to make this, only she was going to make the chicken in the Crock Pot. She was making lime rice to go along, I'll have to ask her how she made the rice. I can't wait to try the tacos.


1 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast meat - cubed
1/8 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 lime, juiced
1 teaspoon white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 green onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
10 (6 inch) flour tortillas
1 tomato, diced
1/4 cup shredded lettuce
1/4 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1/4 cup salsa

Directions
1.Saute chicken in a medium saucepan over medium high heat for about 20 minutes. Add vinegar, lime juice, sugar, salt, pepper, green onion, garlic and oregano. Simmer for an extra 10 minutes.
2.Heat an iron skillet over medium heat. Place a tortilla in the pan, warm, and turn over to heat the other side. Repeat with remaining tortillas. Serve lime chicken mixture in warm tortillas topped with tomato, lettuce, cheese and salsa.

Notes from my friend who made this in the Crock Pot: We really liked it. I ended up adding more of the flavorings (lime, cilantro, garlic, sugar) toward the end. I put it in (on low) around 9 am and turned it off at 4:30 pm or so. I think next time I'll put it on a little later (the edges had some burnt spots). It was really good and shredded easily with a fork. We all decided it's definitely a recipe to repeat often.

The Cutest Things

Lately I've been visiting a lot of other cooking and baking blogs. I stumbled upon Bakerella and until tonight, I thought it was just another good baking blog. Today's post blew me away. The author has created the most adorable cake pops and now she has a book coming out this fall. Please go check out her amazing creations!
Bunko-The cutest things! Oh, I already said that. But they are!

Rudolph

Frosty
There are MANY, MANY more......

You can join her group on Facebook, too! If you haven't already, join Aggieland Mommy Cooks on FB as well.

Goofy Goo by McCormick

This is definitely for older kids.

INGREDIENTS
2 tablespoons white glue
2 tablespoons water
Paper cups
1/4 cup water
3/4 teaspoon borax laundry booster
McCormick® Assorted Food Colors and Egg Dye or McCormick® Assorted NEON! Food Colors and Egg Dye

DIRECTIONS
1. Mix glue with 2 tablespoons water in a paper cup.
2. In another paper cup, mix 1/4 cup water, borax and 10 drops of food color.
3. Stir 2 tablespoons of the borax mixture into glue mixture until well blended. It's fun to play with in your hands! Store in an airtight container.
TipsTest Kitchen Tip: To avoid stained hands, wear latex gloves

Playtime Pasta by McCormick

This looks like hours and hours of fun!

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Dry Time: 30 minutes

INGREDIENTS
Assorted uncooked pasta shapes, such as ziti, macaroni, shells, bow-ties or rotelle
White vinegar
McCormick® Assorted Food Colors and Egg Dye or McCormick® Assorted NEON! Food Colors and Egg Dye
Small resealable plastic bags

DIRECTIONS
1. Put a handful of pasta, 1 tablespoon vinegar and 2 to 3 drops food color into a resealable plastic bag. Shake until pasta is tinted.
2. Spread pasta on paper plate or paper bag to dry.
3. Tint pasta different colors in separate bags.
Kitchen Tip: For pasta necklaces, use pasta with holes in the middle for stringing - like ziti or rotelle (wagon wheels). String them together with yarn.

Colored Desert by McCormick

Do your kids love to play with colored sand? Mine do. Here is how you and your kids can make it at home:
Prep Time: 5 minutes

Dry Time: Overnight

INGREDIENTS
White sand or salt
Jars with lids
McCormick® Assorted Food Colors and Egg Dye or McCormick® Assorted NEON! Food Colors and Egg Dye
Clear jars or containers

DIRECTIONS
1. Pour sand or salt into jars with lids.
2. Add a few drops of food color to each jar and replace lid.
3. Shake like crazy!
4. Open the jar and let sand or salt dry overnight.
5. Pour layers of different colored sand or salt into a decorative jar or vase.

Kool Aid Play Doh

Image found on Google

Ingredients:
• 1 1/4 cup flour
• 1/4 cup salt
• 1 pkg unsweetened Kool-aid (just the dry koolaid, don't mix it into juice)
• 1 cup boiling water
• 1 1/2 Tbsp vegetable oil

Directions:
1. In a bowl, mix flour, salt and kool-aid.
2. Stir in water and oil
3. Knead with hands for about 5 minutes.
4. Store in ziploc bag for up to 2 months.
5. Use like playdough.
6. Smells wonderful and takes on the color of the koolaid.

SOUTHWESTERN MONTEREY JACK & SHELLS by Land O'Lakes

Preparation time: 20 min Baking time: 30 min
Yield: 6 (1-cup) servings

Casserole Ingredients:
7 ounces (3 cups) uncooked dried pasta shells
1 pint (2 cups) LAND O LAKES® Half & Half*
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 (4-ounce) can chopped green chiles, drained
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 ounces (2 cups) LAND O LAKES® Jalapeño Jack Cheese, shredded

Topping Ingredients:
1/3 cup crushed nacho-flavored tortilla chips

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 8-inch square (2-quart) baking dish with no-stick cooking spray.

2. Cook pasta shells according to package directions. Drain.

3. Heat half & half in 4-quart saucepan over medium-high heat until half & half just comes to a boil (3 to 4 minutes). Add cream cheese, stirring until mixture is smooth and thickened (2 to 3 minutes). Remove from heat. Stir in green chiles and salt. Add cooked pasta; toss to coat.

4. Spread half of pasta mixture evenly into bottom of prepared baking dish; top with half jalapeño jack cheese. Repeat layer once with remaining ingredients.

5. Sprinkle crushed tortilla chips over top of casserole. If freezing, skip this step until time to put in the oven. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until mixture is bubbly and topping is golden brown.

*Substitute 2 cups milk.


In my opinion: We love this cheesy dish. I have been looking for the recipe all summer. I thought I must have left it in my classroom, but after searching there, I went through my cookbooks and found that I never copied it to a card. I can't wait to make it again.

Paula Deen's Baked Spaghetti

2 cups canned diced tomatoes
2 cups tomato sauce
1 cup water
1/2 cup diced onion
1/2 cup diced green bell pepper
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
1 1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1 1/2 teaspoons House Seasoning, recipe follows
1 1/2 teaspoons seasoning salt
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
2 small bay leaves
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
8 ounces uncooked angel hair pasta
1 cup grated cheddar
1 cup grated Monterey Jack
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.


1. In a stockpot, combine the tomatoes, tomato sauce, water, onions, peppers, garlic, parsley, seasoning mixtures, sugar, and bay leaves.
2. Bring to a boil over high heat, and then reduce the heat and let simmer, covered, for 1 hour.
3. Crumble the ground beef in a large skillet. Cook over medium-high heat until fully cooked, with no pink color remaining. Drain the fat from the meat, and then add the ground beef to the stockpot.
4. Simmer for 20 more minutes.
5. Cook the pasta according to the package directions.
6. Cover the bottom of a 13 by 9 by 2-inch pan with sauce. Add a layer of pasta and then a little less than 1/2 of each cheese; repeat the layers, ending with the sauce.
7. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes. Top the casserole with the remaining cheese, return it to the oven, and continue to cook until the cheese is melted and bubbly, about 5 more minutes. Cut into squares before serving.

House Seasoning:
1 cup salt
1/4 cup black pepper
1/4 cup garlic powder
Mix ingredients together and store in an airtight container for up to 6 months.
Yield: 1 1/2 cups
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes

Ease of Preparation: Easy

In my opinion: Everybody loves a Paula Deen recipe, right? I mean, I have tried about 50 of her recipes so far. I did love this one, but I'll have to admit, with 4 small children, it is a bit time consuming. I also made a note on my recipe card that it dirties a LOT of dishes. It might be worth while to double the recipe and freeze one.

Penne with Tomato and Smoked Cheese by Betty Crocker

3 cups uncooked penne pasta (9 oz)
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
2 cups Alfredo pasta sauce
1 cup shredded smoked mozzarella cheese (4 oz)

1.Heat oven to 350ºF. Spray 1 1/2-quart casserole with cooking spray. Cook and drain pasta as directed on package.
2.Meanwhile, in 2-quart saucepan, heat tomatoes to boiling. Reduce heat to medium; cook uncovered 6 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until liquid has evaporated.
3.In 2-quart saucepan, heat Alfredo sauce over medium-low heat until warm. Stir in cheese until melted. Mix sauce, pasta and tomatoes. Pour into casserole.
4.Bake uncovered about 30 minutes or until hot in center.

In my opinion: This was a good pasta dish. We haven't had it in a long time, it's time to try it again.

Creamy Chicken and Biscuits

by my friend Terri
9 points if you use low fat everything

This recipe can easily be doubled and divided into 4 8x8 pans.

1/3 c chopped green pepper
1/3 c chopped onion
3 T butter  or I Can't Believe It's Not Butter *
1/4 c flour
1 1/2 c milk (2% for WW points)
1 can cream of mushroom soup (lowfat for WW points)
2 c cooked cubed chicken (I always cook tons of chicken, chop it, and divide it into baggies to have on-hand in the freezer. You can get enough for 4-6 meals and clean the pan once.
1 c frozen peas
2 tubes regrigerated biscuits (or keep the frozen biscuits on hand) low fat
3/4 c shredded Cheddar cheese 2%
**I might add 4 oz sliced mushrooms if I have them on hand'

Preheat oven to 425.
1. In a large saucepan, saute green pepper and onion in butter until tender. Stir in flour until blended.
2. Gradually add milk and soup; whisk until blended. **Add mushrooms if you are going to.
3. Bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 2 minutes.
4. Stir in chicken and peas. Transfer to a greased 13x9 (or 4 8x8s if recipe is doubled).
5. Separate biscuits and arrange over the top. Note-sometimes I buy one tube and split the biscuits in half horizontally.
6. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake, uncovered, at 425 for 17-20 minutes or until golden brown.

Directions for freezing: Follow steps 1-4. Let cool completely and cover with foil. Write cooking directions on the foil and then freeze. To cook, just thaw TO ROOM TEMP (or the biscuits will not cook thoroughly) and bake at 425 until mixture is warm, about 10-12 minutes. Add biscuits & cheese (steps 5&6), and bake until biscuits are done.

In my opinion: We love this recipe. We have it really often and never get tired of it.

Feta and Spinach Lasagna Rolls

This is a "cook in bulk and freeze" meal. I got the recipe from my friend, Julia, when I heard that she and some other friends were doing this together, and I anticipated how busy my nights were going to be once Stephen had to go back to working 12-9. As if our work schedule wasn't enough to make you tired, Lauren has dance on Mondays and Girl Scouts every other Thursday, and I've signed Caleb up for soccer. I still have no idea how I am going to shuttle all 4 kids to these places, and on those nights when we'll be getting home just in time for dinner, I am going to turn to my good ol' friend, Crock Pot. But on the other nights, I'll be pulling pre-made meals from my freezer and so I tried this recipe.

3 1/2 (16 oz) boxes lasagna noodles **** see note below
24 oz crumbled feta cheese (5 c)
32 oz low-fat cottage cheese
32 oz part-skim ricotta cheese
1 c shredded Asiago cheese (4 oz)
1 c shredded Parmesan cheese
2 t black pepper
15 oz frozen chopped spinach, water squeezed out and leaves broken apart

Tools:
8 one-gallon freezer bags, labeled
Large bowl (5 quarts)
Stockpot for boiling noodles
strainer?
baking sheet
****pastry bag(s)

What you need for preparing the meal:
2 c marinara or pasta sauce (or more to taste)
1 c shredded mozzarella cheese (or more to taste)

1. Working in batches, boil noodles until flexible enough to roll, but not completely cooked.
2. Meanwhile, mix all other ingredients, except spinach, in large bowl. Stir in spinach leaves last.
3. Place partially cooked noodles on a clean work surface in a single layer (do not overlap). I used a piece of foil. Measure how long 4 lasagna noodles would be if lined up end-to-end.
4. Spread about 3 T filling down the length of each noodle. I cut the noodle in half vertically first. Roll noodle and place seam side down on a rimmed baking sheet. Place rolls in the freezer for 30 minutes.
5. Divide frozen rolls evenly among the freezer bags. Seal and refreeze.

*******This procedure was taking a super long time, and the noodles seemed too narrow to me. My hands were covered in filling from trying to roll the noodles. As I was nearing the end of 3 hours of boiling noodles, arranging the filling "just so", and rolling them, it dawned on me that 1) I could use a pastry bag to fill the noodles, and 2)instead of the time spent on rolling hte lasagna noodles and partially freezing them, I could have used canolli/manicotti noodles! This epiphany came from working with Nancy and Charlie at their family Italian restaurant. It would have saved SO much time.

When preparing:
Use a 9x13 when preparing 10 rolls.
1. Place lasagna rolls in a greased baking dish. Cover with foil; completely thaw in refrigerator.
2. Preheat oven to 350.
3. Pour 2 c marinara over rolls and top with mozzarella; replace foil.
4. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until center is hot and cheese is melted.

In my opinion: These were really, really good! I think I'll use more pasta sauce next time, but I like my pasta smothered in sauce. I don't think I'll get tired of eating all 7 bags that are left in the freezer.

Cherry Almond Blonde Brownies by Land O'Lakes

2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
3/4 cup Butter, softened
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup chopped almonds
1 cup dried cherries, coarsely chopped
Drizzle Ingredients:
2 (1-ounce) squares bittersweet baking chocolate (or white)
1 teaspoon shortening

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Combine brown sugar and butter in large bowl; beat at medium speed until creamy.
2. Add eggs and almond extract; continue beating until well mixed. Reduce speed to low; add flour and baking powder; beat until well mixed. Stir in almonds and cherries.
3. Press or spread mixture into greased 13x9-inch baking pan. Bake for 28 to 35 minutes or until top is golden brown and center is set. Cool completely.
4. Combine chocolate and shortening in 1-quart saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until melted. Drizzle over brownies. Cut into bars.

In my opinion: These bars were really yummy! I think next time I'll add white chocolate to the batter before baking.