Party Potatoes

Everyone who has ever had these potatoes LOVES them and asks for the recipe and apparently I started this post in March and never posted it? So here it is - definitely try this fall & winter, you won't be disappointed. Really really good with grilled pork chops or something of that nature and we make it with green beans or our frozen sweet corn that we make. YUM! :)

Prepare 12 servings of instant mashed potatoes according to directions
Add to mixture:
1 8 oz package of cream cheese (softened at room temperature)
1 C (or 8 oz) sour cream
1 1/2 tsp onion salt

Blend until well mixed. Put into a greased large casserole dish. Top with small chunks of margarine and sprinkle with paprika. Refrigerate if not baking right away.
Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until hot and bubbly. (can be less time if it's not coming out of the refrig.)

Tortellini with Butternut Squash and mushrooms

A must try for this fall, it's delicious and easyyy!!
My mom and I just used shredded parmesan instead of fontina to save $$ and it was fine! (from real simple mag)

1 small butternut squash (2 pounds), peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
1/2 pound button or cremini mushrooms, stems trimmed and halved if large
1/4 cup fresh sage leaves
2 tablespoons olive oil
kosher salt and black pepper
1 pound fresh or frozen cheese tortellini
2 ounces fontina or Gruyère, grated (1/2 cup), plus more for serving
Directions
Heat oven to 450° F. On 2 rimmed baking sheets, toss the squash and mushrooms with the sage, oil, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Roast, tossing once and rotating pans halfway through, until the vegetables are tender, 20 to 25 minutes.
Meanwhile, cook the tortellini according to the package directions. Reserve ½ cup of the cooking water; drain the tortellini and return to the pot. Add the vegetables, fontina, ¼ cup of the cooking water, and ½ teaspoon salt and toss gently to coat (add more cooking water if the pasta seems dry). Sprinkle with additional fontina.


http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/tortellini-butternut-squash-00100000066437/index.html

Wine-marinated Pot Roast

Wine-marinated Pot Roast from Midwest Living

1 3- to 3-1/2-pound boneless beef chuck arm pot roast, beef chuck shoulder pot roast or beef chuck seven-bone pot roast
1 750-milliliter bottle fruity red wine (such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Red Zinfandel or Merlot)
1/2 teaspoon kosher, sea salt or regular salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil or vegetable oil
1 10.5-ounce can condensed beef broth
1/4 cup no salt added tomato paste
1 tablespoon Dijon-style mustard
1 tablespoon herbes de Provence, fines herbes or Italian seasoning, crushed
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 bay leaves
1 large onion, cut into thin wedges
4 medium carrots, peeled, cut in half lengthwise, and halved crosswise or 2 cups packaged peeled fresh baby carrots
4 medium parsnips, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces or 4 medium potatoes, peeled and cut lengthwise into sixths
2 cups whole fresh cremini mushrooms
2 stalks celery, bias-sliced into 1-inch pieces
Hot cooked noodles
2 tablespoons snipped Italian (flat-leaf) parsley
Baguette-style French bread, cut into 1-1/2-inch slices (optional)

Directions
1. Trim fat from meat. Place meat in a resealable plastic bag set in a shallow dish. Pour wine over meat; seal bag. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours and up to 24 hours, turning bag occasionally.

2. Drain meat, reserving wine. Pat meat dry with paper towels. Sprinkle meat with salt and black pepper. In a 4- to 6-quart Dutch oven, over medium heat brown meat on all sides in hot oil.

3. In a medium saucepan, bring reserved wine to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 15 to 20 minutes or until wine is reduced by half, about 1-1/2 cups. Stir in beef broth, tomato paste, mustard, herbes de Provence, garlic and bay leaves. Return to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered for 5 minutes more. Pour wine mixture over meat in Dutch oven; add onion.

4. Bake, covered, in a 325 degree F oven for 2-1/2 hours. Add carrots, parsnips, mushrooms and celery. Bake, covered, about 1 hour more or until meat is very tender. Transfer meat and vegetables to a large serving platter, reserving juices in Dutch oven. Cover meat and vegetables with foil to keep warm.

5. For wine sauce, skim off any fat from juices. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 10 to 15 minutes or until juices are slightly thickened. Season to taste.

6. Slice meat or use a fork to break meat apart into pieces. Serve wine sauce with meat, vegetables and noodles. Sprinkle meat and vegetables with parsley. If you like, serve with French bread. Makes 8 servings.



Here's my version! It was some work and took a lot of time with cooking, but it was SOOOO good and worth it :)

Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Icing

Ok so this is AMAZING.........
made it friday night and we are hoping it never runs out, I will definitely be making this all fall season, forget that whole diet thing that I was thinking about starting......

Found on pinterest and copied the recipe from this blogpost:
http://bakeitandloveit.blogspot.com/2010/11/pumpkin-bars.html

Pumpkin Bars

2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg *
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
4 eggs
1 and 2/3 cups sugar
1 cup oil
1 can (15oz) pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)


Directions:


Sift dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt & soda) and set aside. In a large bowl, combine eggs, sugar, oil and pumpkin until light and fluffy. Add the dry ingredients, gradually. Mix well.


Spread batter in a greased 15x10x1 baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 – 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool completely.


Frosting:


1 8oz. package of cream cheese *
1/3 cup softened butter
4 cups powdered sugar
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 Tbsp milk


Cream together butter and cream cheese until smooth and fluffy. Add powdered sugar, vanilla and milk. Mix on high speed until smooth creamy.

* i added nutmeg to the recipe because i think pumpkin + nutmeg belong together

* the original frosting recipe only calls for 3 oz of cream cheese. i like a good frosting to bar ratio, so i made a large batch of frosting + included it in this recipe

Pumpkin Ricotta Stuffed Shells

I made this friday night for our company and they were delicious. Found it in my most recent country living magazine. A must try for the fall!

Pumpkin Ricotta Stuffed Shells
Makes 8 servings

24 jumbo pasta shells
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
22 ounces ricotta cheese
1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin puree
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons grated pecorino Romano cheese
1 large egg white
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup fresh basil, chopped
1 tablespoon finely chopped sage
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 jar (26 ounces) purchased tomato sauce

Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite. Drain. Transfer to a baking sheet. Drizzle with oil.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, stir together ricotta, pumpkin, 3/4 cup Romano and all remaining ingredients except tomato sauce.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Spread sauce in bottom of 13-by-9-inch pan. Fill each pasta shell with pumpkin-ricotta mixture. Arrange in pan. Cover pan with foil. Bake 30 minutes. Remove foil. Sprinkle shells with remaining Romano. Bake 15 minutes longer.

Better than Chick-fil-a

(photo from Real Simple.com)

Ok, this may or may not be true...
I do love Truett Cathy and his restaurant, but this chicken was dang good.
Only next time I am at Chick-fil-a, I will accidentally take too many chick-fil-a sauce packets and bring them home with me for the next time I make this:

Crispy Popcorn Chicken
Ingredients
kosher salt and black pepper
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 6-ounce boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup canola oil
4 ears corn, shucked
1/2 cup barbecue sauce
Directions
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Place the buttermilk in a shallow bowl. Place the flour in a second shallow bowl. Season the chicken with ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Dip the chicken in the buttermilk (shaking off any excess), then in the flour (tapping off any excess).
In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Working in batches, fry the chicken until golden and cooked through, 1 to 2 minutes per side; transfer to a paper towel-lined plate and season with ¼ teaspoon salt.
Meanwhile, add the corn to the boiling water and cook until tender, 3 to 4 minutes. Serve with the chicken and barbecue sauce.
(By Charlyne Mattox, August 2011)

Here's how mine looked: not bad...

Balsamic Garlic-Crusted grilled pork tenderloin

This is awesome - you should definitely try it if you like meat :)

4-5 garlic cloves, finely minced or crushed
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 pork tenderloins (about 1¼ pounds each)
2 tablespoons canola oil (if preparing in oven)
Stir together garlic, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, and olive oil in a small bowl. Rub the paste all over pork. If you like or have the time, marinate overnight. If not, no worries, it will still be great!

Grill preparation:

Sear the tenderloins on all sides, then grill for about 20-30 minutes, rotating every 10 minutes, until the internal temperature is 160 degrees. Try to let it rest before slicing.

Oven preparation:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Heat canola oil in a large, heavy saute pan over medium-high heat. Working in batches if necessary, add pork, and brown all over, about 4 minutes.

Transfer pan to oven. Roast pork, turning occasionally, until the internal temperature is 160 degrees, about 20 minutes. Transfer pork to a cutting board, and try to let it rest 10 minutes before slicing.

Got the recipe from pinterest and its from here: http://kitchenconfidante.com/if-you-cant-stand-the-heat-part-ii

Perfect Iced Coffee

Pioneer Woman....she's the best.
If you love Iced Coffee, you have to try this. It's definitely the solution to making it at home.
Go to her site for the full explanation, photos, etc on how to make it and why this is the only way to really make it. But read below if you don't have large enough containers to make a full pound of iced coffee (3 weeks worth) at one time...
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2011/06/perfect-iced-coffee
Take out a decent size tupperware and combine 2 qts cold water and a cup and a half of coffee grounds. stir to make sure the grounds have all come in contact with the water. Let sit for 8 hours minimum - I think I left them for 15 hours or so? :) Strain through a coffee filter - I used the wire one from my coffee pot and strained it into a 2 qt pitcher I had. Then refrigerate and then try with creamer or half & half and a tsp of sugar and a glass full of ice. Delicious!!!




*all photos from PW's blog

Peanut Butter Cup Brownies

Peanut Butter Cup Brownies
Recipe adapted from Nestle’s Very Best Baking
Makes 40 brownies as adapted

1 box of your favorite brownie mix
1/2 cup peanut butter chips
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray or grease 40 mini-muffin cups.


Prepare boxed brownie mix as directed. Spoon batter evenly into muffin cups (about 1 heaping teaspoon). Bake for 13-15 minutes or until top is set and a toothpick inserted into center comes out slightly wet. After brownies are out of the oven, wait for centers to fall. This will happen upon cooling. If not then tap the centers with the back of a teaspoon to make a hole for the peanut butter.


Place peanut butter in a small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high for 45 seconds then stir. While brownies are still warm spoon about half a teaspoon of peanut butter into the center of each brownie. Top with semi-sweet chocolate chips and peanut butter chips. Cool completely in pan.

These are SO good, just made them a few nights ago. They are good warm and even better cooled!

Got this recipe from this fun blog: http://homeawaitsus.blogspot.com
She is also the one who I learned about Pinterest from!

Banana muffin recipe

Banana choc chip muffins

1 cup sugar
1 egg
½ c. unsalted butter (or margarine)
1 c. mashed bananas (2)
3 T. milk

2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
1 c. miniature chocolate chips
1 c. chopped nuts (optional)

1. In large bowl, cream liquid ingredients (first 5.)
2. In another bowl, whisk together dry ingredients.
3. Pour liquid ingredients into flour mixture. Stir just until flour disappears.
4. Fold in chocolate chips and nuts.
5. Spoon a into greased muffin tin.
6. Bake in preheated 325⁰ oven for 15-20 minutes or until wooden pick comes out clean


really easy and really good!!

Party Potatoes

If you have been to my house much, you've probably had these. They are fantastic and a favorite of many. My mom made a bunch for us when she was here, so I thought I should share the recipe. very easy and verrryyy good :)
Party Potatoes

Prepare 12 servings of instant mashed potatoes according to directions
Add to mixture:
1 8 oz package of cream cheese (softened at room temperature)
1 C (or 8 oz) sour cream
1 1/2 tsp onion salt (which I can never find, so I do half garlic salt and half onion powder) if you find it somewhere tell me!

Blend until well mixed. Put into a greased large casserole dish. Top with small chunks of margarine and sprinkle with paprika. Refrigerate if not baking right away.
Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until hot and bubbly. (can be less time if it's not coming out of the refrig.)

Panera's Broccoli Cheese Soup

Well, we've been real sick around here...so I just had to make some soup. Sari didn't send me her recipe in time so I made this one that I found online. It says it's Panera's Broccoli Cheese. From the taste of it, I would believe it. It was SO good. Very thick and filling.
Here's the recipe!

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1/4 cup melted butter
1/4 cup flour
2 cups half-and-half
2 cupschicken stock or bouillon
1/2 pound fresh broccoli
1 cup carrots, julienned
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
8 ounces grated sharp cheddar


Directions:

Saute onion in butter. Set aside. Cook melted butter and flour using a whisk over medium heat for 3-5 minutes. Stir constantly and slowly add the half-and-half (this is called making a roux). Add the chicken stock whisking all the time. Simmer for 20 minutes.

Add the broccoli, carrots and onions. Cook over low heat until the veggies are tender for 20-25 minutes. Add salt and pepper. The soup should be thickened by now. Pour in batches into blender and puree. Return to pot over low heat and add the grated cheese; stir until well blended. Stir in the nutmeg and serve.

Easy Chili Cheese Dip

This might be one everyone knows (??) but I learned about it a year or two ago from my sister-in-law. It's super easy, super good. At parties, events or on days when you can't think of anything to have for lunch because your husband left a whole loaf of bread at work....

1 can Hormel chili (without beans typically)
1 8 oz package of cream cheese
1-2 cups of cheddar cheese (just a guess)

Directions: Soften cream cheese and spread evenly along bottom of a microwave safe dish. I use a small quiche or pie plate. spread chili on top evenly and then spinkle a nice layer of cheese over top. Microwave for 5 minutes and voila! It's delicious - serve with tortilla chips!
*thought of posting after we'd eaten a 1/4 of it, so it looks a little torn up in the photo :)