Rocky Road Pizza

This was soo yummy! It was gobbled up at the family reunion with rave reviews! Plus it is soo easy!







1 roll of pre-made chocolate chip cookie dough (you can use home-made)
1 cup miniature marshmallows
1/2 cup salted peanuts
1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
1/3 cup caramal topping

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 12 inch pizza pan. In pan break up cookie dough and press evenly in bottom of pan (flouring your fingers may help). Bake 12-17 min or until light golden brown.

Sprinkle marshmallows, peanuts, and chips evenly over crust. Drizzle with caramel. Bake 8-10 min longer or until topping is melted. Cool completely. Cut into wedges.

You can also experiment with different toppings.

Hopi Corn Stew

This was a surprise for me because I don't usually like ground beef in stew. However, I do love Hominy so
maybe that is why this soup has now become a favorite. It is so tasty. This recipe will most likely be more then your family can eat so you can either freeze it, eat it for leftovers or just cut the recipe in half. But when it freezes so well, why would you do that? :)

3 lbs. ground beef

2 large onions, diced

2 tbsp. Chili powder

7-10 potatoes, diced

1 lb. carrots, diced

3 cans hominy (I used 2 cans white and 1 can yellow)

3 cans peeled tomatoes with liquid, chopped

2 can chopped green chilies

3 cups beef broth

1/2 tsp. salt (or to taste)

1/2 tsp. black pepper (or to taste...my family likes pepper so we use more)

Cook ground beef in large pot until brown; stir in onions and saute until soft and translucent. Add Chili powder. Cook for about 2 min. Add carrots, hominy, tomatoes and chilies. Pour in beef broth. Season with salt and pepper. Reduce heat and simmer for 1 1/2 hours. Add potatoes and cook another 1/2 hour or until potatoes and carrots are tender.

Beef Wellingtons

This is a fancy meal that is sure to please! My husband said he would willingly pay $20+ for this meal because it was soo good and it was easy too. It is a little pricey but considering you WOULD pay $20+ dollars for this meal if you were to eat out, it is well worth it!

1 lbs. fresh mushrooms, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1/2 cup dry sherry (or I used 1/4 cup orange juice with 1/2 tsp. vanilla)
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup parsley
6 (8oz.) Beef fillets (I used fillet Mignon, but you can use a cheaper cut)
salt and pepper
1 (17.5 oz) pkg. frozen puff pastry, thawed

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a large skillet over medium heat, combine the mushrooms, garlic, onion, orange juice, vanilla, butter and parsley and saute until the liquid is absorbed and the mixture resembles a paste. Set aside in a small bowl.

Salt and pepper liberally both sides of fillets. In a hot pan, sear both sides of meat, about 2 minutes on both sides.

Roll out puff pastry thin enough to wrap around the 6 fillets. Cut into 6 equal sections. Place one fillet in center of pastry. Top with 1/6 of the paste. Wrap up pastry around the fillet and push ends together on the top. You can use egg yolk wash on the pastry but I did not and you don't have to. Place wrapped steaks on a cooling rack and then on a cookie sheet. (The cooling rack is to keep the wellington out of the juices keeping the pastry from getting soggy.) Cook for 25 minutes. This will cook the steaks to medium. Let rest of 5 minutes before serving. If you like them more done, then place foil loosely over them and let sit for another 10 min. We served with mashed potatoes and carrots.

Fresh Cherry Crisp

I was craving a recipe with fresh cherries and since it was Sunday and I couldn't go to the store I made this one because I already had all the ingredients on hand. I am not a huge fan of crisps to begin with but this was very good. I loved the fresh cherries in it. And it was awesome with the vanilla ice cream.

4-5 cups fresh cherries, pitted (we use a dowel to pit our cherries and it works great)

1 1/4 cups white sugar

4 tbsp. flour

1 1/2 cups flour

1 cup old fashioned oats

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup butter

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a 9x13 pan, combine cherries, 1 1/4 c. sugar and 4 tbsp. flour. In a medium bowl, combine 1 1/2 cups flour, oats and brown sugar. Cut in butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over cherries. Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes until topping is golden brown. Serve with vanilla ice cream!

Moroccan Spiced Chicken and Rice

This was actually quite good with a slightly different flavor but in a good way. The raisins were actually not as weird as they might seem. This is also a cheap meal to make.

6 cups cooked white or brown rice (that is two cups dry rice with 4 cups water)
1 Tbsp. Cumin
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground pepper
1 1/2 tsp. paprika
6 chicken thighs, skin removed
2 Tbsp. olive oil
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped (or I just grate mine)
1 can (12 fl. oz.) evaporated milk
1 can (14.5 oz.) diced tomatoes, drained
2/3 cup raisins
3 tbsp. lemon juice
1/2 cup toasted slivered almonds (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease 13x9 baking dish.
Combine cumin, salt, pepper and paprika in small bowl. Sprinkle about half of the seasoning over the chicken (both sides).

Heat olive oil and garlic over medium-high heat in large skillet. Brown chicken a couple of minutes on both sides.

Meanwhile, combine cooked rice, milk, tomatoes, raisins, lemon juice and remaining spice blend in pan. Place thighs on the rice mixture. Bake 40 min. or until Chicken is no longer pink in center. Sprinkle with almonds before serving.

Tip: Boneless chicken thighs can also be used. Reduce baking time by 10-15 min.

BuckEye Cake

This recipe made it to my husbands list of top 5 desserts and he said maybe even top two! This is pretty good considering I make at least 3 new dessert recipes each month. This recipe is done in a couple of steps but it is so worth it. It is very rich (even for me and I love rich desserts). You can either serve it in very small slices and savor every bite or you can serve it with whipped cream or ice cream. It also tastes best the next day but same day is great too!


CAKE
2 large eggs
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
3 packets (1 oz. each) NESTLÉ TOLLHOUSE CHOCO BAKE Pre-melted Unsweetened Chocolate Flavor
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
PEANUT BUTTER LAYER
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup powdered sugar
GANACHE
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels

1/3 cup Peanut Butter & Milk Chocolate Swirls (or you can just mix PB chips with chocolate chips)

PREHEAT oven to 350º F. Grease 9-inch-round cake pan. Line bottom of pan with parchment paper; grease.

FOR CAKE: COMBINE eggs and sugar in large bowl. Stir in flour, melted butter, Choco Bake, vanilla extract and salt until smooth. Pour into prepared pan. BAKE for 25 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool on wire rack for 5 minutes. Run knife around edge of cake; cool for an additional 10 minutes. Invert cake onto serving platter. Remove pan and parchment; cool completely.

FOR PEANUT BUTTER LAYER: BEAT peanut butter, butter and vanilla extract in medium mixer bowl until combined. Gradually beat in powdered sugar. Spread mixture on cake. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

FOR GANACHE: HEAT cream in small saucepan to boiling; remove from heat. Add semi-sweet morsels; let stand 5 minutes. Stir; refrigerate for 30 minutes or until mixture is spreadable. Spread chocolate on top and sides of cake.

MELT peanut butter & milk chocolate morsels in resealable plastic bag on MEDIUM-HIGH (70%) power for 30 seconds. Knead bag to mix. If necessary, microwave at additional 10- to 15-second intervals until melted. Cut a small hole from corner of bag; squeeze to drizzle over cake. Store in refrigerator. Let stand for 30 minutes before serving.

Three Cheese Loaf

This was soo good. The whole family loved it! We served it with spaghetti and meatballs.

Rhodes Bread loaf, thawed (or any home-made recipe after one rise)
8 oz. Swiss Cheese
1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese
8 0z. Cheddar Cheese
1 Tbsp. pepper
2 Tbsp. butter, softened

Once the bread has thawed or risen then roll it out into a 19x15 square. Brush butter onto dough. Mix all the cheeses and pepper together and sprinkle on loaf. Roll it up and place on greased pan (you may have to set it on the pan diagonally). Cut 3-4 slits in the bread diagonally 1/4 inch through. Let rise for another 30-45 min. Bake for 30-35 min. in a 350 degree oven. Let rest for about 5 min. before slicing. ENJOY!