Tiana’s Chocolate Love in a Bowl

I have no clue what the real name for this is. All I know is I got the recipe from my SIL Tiana. She used to make it for us when we lived in the same condo complex. I thought it was hard because it tasted so good. Then one day I needed something for Josh’s work party & emailed her for the recipe & found out how easy it is. We then made it for a church function & it was a hit. I hope it’s ok I post this because she really should patent this recipe….

Bottom layer: cook brownies, let cool, crumble into bottom of dish.

Layer 2: jar of butterscotch (or caramel)

Layer 3: Large container of cool whip

Layer 4: broken up Skor bars (I’ve used butterfinger & Heath, they’re all great)

Then keep it cold. Very important. Please beware that you will want to eat the whole bowl yourself. This will only lead you to consuming your allotted calories for the month in one sitting.

Swedish Meatballs

This recipe came with the cookbook that came with my Crockpot 9 1/2 years ago when we got married. It seriously is the best recipe ever. We served it at a church function & I think 1/2 the ward called me later asking for this recipe.

2 1/2 lbs frozen cooked meatballs

1 can cream of mushroom soup, undiluted

1 can golden mushroom soup

1 (14 oz) can of beef broth

1 (3/4 oz) envelope of brown gravy mix

Combine all ingredients in the crock. Stir well. Cover & cook on low for 6 hours or high for 3 hours. Serve over rice. Yummy & Easy

Shrimp Tortellini

This is just what I throw together sometimes for a quick dinner. Riley LOVES shrimp so he gets so excited when I make this. Sorry not really any measurements…

Cook cheese filled tortellini pasta

In the meantime, saute fresh mushrooms & onion. Add a bottle of alfredo sauce (or make your own, I did find a good recipe for one, I’ll have to find it again) and the shrimp. Add the tortellini once it’s cooked. So fast, easy & yummy!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Another one from Erin

1 Spice cake mix

1 (15 oz) can pumpkin

2 c milk chocolate chips

Mix all together, bake at 350 for 17-20 minutes.

Brushetta Chicken Bake

This is a recipe from Erin Pickrell, Susan’s daughter who I used to work with. I love this dinner, but for a funny reason. I ate this the night before I went into labor with my 2nd son (4 years ago). If my husband asks what’s for dinner, I can still say, “Remember that dinner we had the night before I had baby #2” and he totally remembers. I guess in our minds it’s one of those dinners that will put you into labor

1 can (14.5 oz) crushed tomatoes, undrained

2 cloves garlic- minced

1 package stuffing mix

4-5 chicken breasts- cut into bite size pieces

1 tsp dried basil

1 c shredded mozzarella cheese

Heat oven to 400- place tomates and stuffing in a bowl and add garlic & half cup of water. Stir just until stuffing is mixed in.

Place chicken in 9X13 pyrex. Sprinkle with basil and cheese, top with stuffing mixture.

Bake 30 min.

This is so quick to put together is another reason it’s a favorite at our house.

3 Minute Yogurt Pie

I love making this for Baby/Bridal showers. Fast, easy & so yummy! No one ever believes it’s this easy.

1 graham cracker crust

2 (4 oz) yogurt- any flavor

1 ( 8 oz) cool whip

Empty yogurts into a mixing bowl.

Fold in cool whip until well blended.

Pour into graham cracker crust

Chill in freezer until desired consistency is reached.

Banana Cream Pie to Die for!

While I’m in the mode of Pie Crusts, I might as well put this recipe in. I made this for Thanksgiving last year. Now if I ever make a pumpkin pie for anything or am stressing about a dessert for a big dinner, my husband always asks why don’t you make that Banana Cream Pie. Seriously this is probably his favorite pie ever! I got the recipe from Real Mom Kitchen. I love her recipes too! Here’s a link to the actual recipe on her site, but I’ll put it on here as well. So easy & sooo yummy! I used my premade crust from Pioneer Woman.

Banana Cream Pie

• 1 4-serving size box of instant chocolate or vanilla pudding (I did vanilla)
• 1 c. cold water
• 1 14-oz. can sweetened condensed milk
• 2 prepared pie crusts (You choose–regular, graham cracker, Nilla Wafer, shortbread, even Oreo. I used regular -Marie Callendar’s frozen crust- for the banana and oreo for the chunky monkey)
• 6 bananas, sliced
• 2 cups whipping cream, divided
• 1/4 c. powdered sugar
• dash of vanilla

1. In a large bowl combine the pudding, water, and condensed milk. Mix on low speed for 2 minutes; place in fridge to chill for a few minutes.
2. In another bowl, whip 1 c. of whipping cream until soft peaks form.
3. Remove pudding mixture from fridge. Add whipped cream to the pudding and gently fold in.
4. Spoon a little of the pudding mixture into each pie crust, just enough to coat the bottom of the pie crust. Layer each cust with banana slices and top each pie with remaining pudding mixture.
5. Whip remaining 1 cup cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla until thick and fluffy. Spread on top of pie. Garnish with additional banana slices if desired. Refrigerate several hours before serving.

Chunky Monkey Pie Version

Blend 1/2 c creamy peanut butter into the pudding/water/sweetened condensed milk in step 1 above. (I used an oreo crust. and divided the pudding/water/milk mixture. Then blended 1/4 cup peanut butter into one of the pudding mixtures before putting in the fridge. Thus allowing one banana cream pie and one chunky monkey pie. I personally do think the peanut butter would taste better if you used chocolate pudding instead of the vanilla, but that’s just my preference)

All those notes in there are from Real Mom Kitchen. We didn’t do the Chunky Monkey version, although I’m sure we’ll give it a try before long.

Pioneer Woman’s Perfect Pie Crust

I think I owe it to Pioneer Woman that I enjoy cooking. Her blog made everything seem so do-able since it has step by step pictures. The one thing that I love of hers lately is her Perfect Pie Crust recipe. It makes 3 crusts & you can freeze them. In fact it’s better if you do freeze them. So you can start prepping for Thanksgiving pies weeks in advance. Or if you make just one pie, you have 2 other crusts just ready & waiting to be used another time. It’s really made me enjoy making pies. & I can’t mess these up, so neither can you. She has a printable recipe on her site, but to make things easier so I can have it all in one place, I’ll put the recipe on here as well.

• 1-½ cup Crisco (vegetable Shortening)
• 3 cups All-purpose Flour
• 1 whole Egg
• 5 Tablespoons Cold Water
• 1 Tablespoon White Vinegar
• 1 teaspoon Salt

Preparation Instructions

In a large bowl, with a pastry cutter, gradually work the Crisco into the flour for about 3 or 4 minutes until it resembles a coarse meal. In a small bowl, beat an egg with a fork and then pour it into the flour/shortening mixture. Add 5 tablespoons of cold water, 1 tablespoon of white vinegar and 1 teaspoon of salt. Stir together gently until all of the ingredients are incorporated.

Separate the dough into thirds. Form 3 evenly sized balls of dough and place each dough into a large Ziploc bag. Using a rolling pin, slightly flatten each ball of dough (about ½ inch thick) to make rolling easier later. Seal the bags and place them in the freezer until you need them. (If you will be using it immediately it’s still a good idea to put in the freezer for about 15 to 20 minutes to chill.)

When you are ready to use the dough to make a crust, remove from the freezer and allow to thaw for 15 minutes. On a floured surface roll the dough, starting at the center and working your way out. (Sprinkle some flour over top of the dough if it’s a bit too moist.) If the dough is sticking to the countertop use a metal spatula and carefully scrape it up and flip it over and continue rolling until it’s about ½ inch larger in diameter than your pie pan.

With a spatula, lift the dough carefully from the surface of the counter into the pie pan. Gently press the dough against the corner of the pan. Go around the pie pan pinching and tucking the dough to make a clean edge.

A little confession, I love eating this crust raw too

Mom’s Cinnamon Treats

I’m pretty sure my mom will dis-own me if she ever read this blog, but the other day we ate at Costa Vida because my son had a free kids meal there. With the kids meal, they were given a “dessert” that was a tortilla covered in butter & cinnamon. It was so good & reminded me of something my mom used to make. So I emailed her & said, “Remember when we were kids & you made those yummy cinnamon triangle things that we loved? How did you make those or did I dream it up?”

Her reply, “You mean when I took the leftover pie crust & covered them in cinnamon sugar & baked them?” I had no idea… or at least I didn’t remember. So I made up some of Pioneer Woman’s Perfect Pie Crust and made them up for the kids. So easy, but I don’t think I got the measurements right for the cinnamon sugar (since I had no recipe) so next time I make these, I will look one up online & see if I can post it here for you. I just didn’t want to forget these.

You do roll the dough out thin like you would for pie crust & then just cut it into fun shapes for the kids & I think I just baked them on 350 for 8-10 minutes.

Salsa Chicken aka Mexican Chicken

I have been asked 2 times in the last week for this recipe by family members. I got the recipe from my old coworker Susan. Her daughter & her friends made up a cookbook & Susan printed me a copy. It’s just on regular paper with a binder clip. It has so many good recipes, this won’t be the last you hear of recipes from this collection.

4 chicken breast- cubed, but not cooked (honestly I usually use 2 because we have the Costco size boneless skinless chicken at our house. My mom used canned chicken the other night & said that was just fine too)

1 c salsa

2 c cooked rice

1 c black beans- drained

1/2 pkg taco mix

2 c water

 

Bring chicken, salsa, taco mix & water to a boil. Cover & simmer for 10 minutes. Return to a boil. Stir in rice & beans. Sprinkle with cheese. Cover. Cook on low for 5 minutes. Top with sour cream,  guacamole, lettuce, tomato & serve with chips.

When we eat this, we don’t even put utensils on the table, we just use chips for our “forks”. Everyone in our family loves this.