Fruit tart

I have tried a few different ways to make this,

but they required too many ingredients and this one worked out quite well. 

Such a quick dessert! Just grab a graham cracker crust, add some vanilla pudding, and any fruit you like!

You will need :

a graham cracker crust

vanilla pudding cups

kiwi

strawberries

blueberries

apricot jelly

*any other fruit you like*

To Make:

I bought a graham cracker crust (careful not to break it!)

Then vanilla pudding cups and emptied them into the center

then sliced up some kiwi, strawberries & added blueberries.

and this time around, it took NO TIME! 

Then I found a recipe for a glaze over top & it turned out great!

Take 1/2 cup apricot jelly & in a saucepan, melt jelly with 1 Tbsp. water

Brush glaze over fruit & serve!

Roasted Garlic

I how i LOVE roasted garlic. The stuff is amazing, really. On a fresh baguette, on pasta, in potatoes, you name it!

Here is all you need to know to do it yourself!

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Peel away the outer layers of the garlic bulb skin, leaving the skins of the individual cloves intact. Using a knife, cut off 1/4 to a 1/2 inch of the top of cloves, exposing the individual cloves of garlic.

Place the garlic heads in a baking pan. Drizzle a couple teaspoons of EVOO over each head.  Cover with aluminum foil. Bake at 400°F for 30-35 minutes, or until the cloves feel soft when pressed.

Allow the garlic to cool enough so you can touch it without burning yourself. Use a small small knife cut the skin slightly around each clove.  Pull or squeeze the roasted garlic cloves out of their skins.

All finished! 

You can then add to mashed potatoes, baked potatoes, warm bread, anything! I've even known people to eat it right out of the skin! 

Easy Nachos

This is one of the FASTEST, easiest meals to make your family!

 You will need:
1 bag of Tostito's chips
1 Ib of hamburger meat
lettuce, chopped
tomato, diced
cheese, I use extra sharp & grate it
salt
Anything else you would like :  
sour cream, hot sauce, beans, guacamole, jalapenos'

Preheat oven to 350

Cook up the meat in a skillet & drain fat.

Then place as many Tostito's chips in a 9X13 pan as you want.

Place all the meat on top of the chips & then shred cheese over top.

Place

Grate fresh cheddar cheese over it all!

Place in oven just until cheese melts (4-6 minutes)

Pull it out & sprinkle with chopped lettuce & diced tomatoes & any other topping you'd like!

Pasta with shaved veggies

You will need:

1 lb zucchini, ends trimmed

1 ib carrots, peeled

1 box (1 lb) spaghetti

5 Tbsp butter, cut up

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 Tbsp grated lemon zest

1 Tbsp lemon juice

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 pepper

shaved parmesan

To make bring a 5-6 qt pot of water to a boil.

Use a vegetable peeler to shave zucchini & carrots. Cook pasta until al dente.

Then add the veggies to the pasta pot. Cook 1 minute or until veggies are just tender.

Remove & reserve 1 cup pasta cooking water, then drain pasta mixture.

Meanwhile, melt butter in same pot used to cook pasta. Add garlic; cook 30 seconds. Remove from heat.

Return pasta & veggies to pot. Add lemon zest, lemon juice, salt & pepper. Add some of the reserved pasta water to create a thin sauce. Top with parmesan.

*Tip: You can always add melted butter & a little EVOO onto the pasta to enhance the flavor*

PB cup cookies

Peanut Butter Cookie Cups

1 package (17 ½ oz.) PB cookie mix

36 mini pb cups, unwrapped

Prepare cookie mix according to directions. Roll dough into 1 inch balls. Place in greased mini muffin cups. Press dough evenly onto bottom & up sides of each cup.

Bake @ 350 for 11-13 min.’s

Immediately place PB cup in each cup; press down gently. Cool 10 minutes & then remove from pans.

Watermelon Cake

Watermelon Cake

This was a super fun idea that I made for a Youth activity!
I just bought a strawberry cake mix & followed those directions to bake.

Then I colored white frosting pink & some green.
After frosting the cake I put green jellybeans around the rim & topped the cake with chocolate chips on top to look like watermelon seeds!

Brownie Truffles

The best part of these truffles is that they are SO very simple 

to make and you can customize them ANY way you like!

Ingredients:

1 box dark chocolate brownie mix (with chocolate syrup pouch)

¼ cup water

2 Tablespoons light color corn syrup

Coatings like coconut, nuts, sprinkles

To Make:

In a large bowl, stir together dry brownie mix, chocolate syrup from pouch, water, & corn syrup until well mixed. 

Pour each desired coating into separate pie plates.

 Scoop up 1 Tablespoon of brownie mixture; using slightly wet hands, shape mixture into smooth ball. 

Roll ball into coating to cover.

 Place on baking sheet. 

Repeat to make 28 truffles, rinsing hands when mixture is too sticky to roll. 

Chill in fridge for 1 hour.

Fettucine Alfredo

Creamy Chicken Alfredo

1/4 cup flour
6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
fettucine noodles
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 pepper
2 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. EVOO, divided
3 cloves garlic
1 Tbsp. minced onion
1 1/2 cup whipping cream
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley (optional)

Place flour on a plate. Sprinkle chicken with salt & pepper and coat in flour.
Heat 2 Tbsp. EVOO in large skillet over med-high heat.
Add chicken & cook until golden on each side, temp. reaches 180 degrees F & juices run clear.

While the chicken is cooking, I like to get a big pot of water boiling for my noodles.

Then when the chicken is done, take it out of pan & let it sit for a minute.
Meanwhile, in the same pan, put remaining EVOO, garlic, & onion. Cook 1-2 minutes.
Increase heat to med-high & add whipping cream, Parmesan, & pepper.
Cook until sauce is bubbly & slightly thickened (2-3 minutes).

Drain fettucine noodles & put into deep bowl.
Then spoon sauce over noodles & cut up chicken & add it to the top!
Sprinkle with parsley if desired.

*Tip*
I always like to add more garlic & whipping cream.
Just mix sauce & add according to your taste preference!

Raspberry Tart

Raspberry Tart

I got this recipe from a friend & I really liked the way it came out!

If you have a good recipe for a crust, go ahead & make it .

If not, then do what I did & go get a Pillsbury crust & bake according to package directions.

Let it cool.

Then, Make the raspberry glaze

7/8 cup sugar in a bowl

mix with 2 heaping TBSP. of corn starch

5 shakes of salt

Then, take 1 1/2 cup raspberries (or more) and cover with water in a pan and boil.

Let sit for 15 minutes.

Then strain and use the juice (1 1/2 cups of juice)

Put the juice in a pan and boil, then stir in the sugar mixture

Make sure to stir, stir, stir constantly!

Put fresh raspberries in the cooked crust.

Then pour the glaze over the berries and chill in the fridge.

Texas Cinnamon Pecan Strudel

Texas Cinnamon Pecan Strudel

1 package (18 ounce) frozen unbaked cinnamon rolls, thawed

3 Tablespoons honey

½ cup chopped pecans

½ cup chopped walnuts

Additional honey

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Gather cinnamon rolls into one ball. Knead dough in bowl until smooth. Roll out dough on lightly floured work surface to 12 X 7 inch rectangle. Brush dough with 3 Tablespoons honey. Sprinkle dough with pecans and walnuts. Gently press nuts into dough. Roll up dough as for jelly roll.

Place dough, seam side down, on prepared cookie sheet. Bake for 2o minutes, or until golden brown. Cut strudel crosswise into diagonal slices. Drizzle with additional honey and sprinkle with cinnamon.

Serve warm.