Ham & Swiss Rolls

1 pkg King's Sweet Hawaiian Bread

1 pkg Sliced Ham

1 pkg Sliced Swiss Cheese

tub of butter

Mustard

Poppy Seeds

Aluminum Foil

I do this the easiest way I know. Cut the bread in half (tops and bottoms). Spread butter on the bottom portion of the bread. Sprinkle with poppy seeds. (I put my poppy seeds in the sandwich, but you can put them on top of the bread too if you would like!) Next put on as much ham as you would like. Then the swiss cheese on top of the ham. Finally, spread mustard on the top portion of the bread and put the tops on the sandwich. This will look like one large sandwich. Wrap entire thing in aluminum foil and bake at 350 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes (until cheese melts). Open aluminum foil, slice into individual sandwiches and serve!

Sugar Cone Cannoli

12 sugar cones
1 bag (12 oz.) mini chocolate chips

24 oz. container Ricotta cheese

8 oz. package cream cheese (room temp)

1 cup confectioners sugar

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tsp. almond extract

2 tsp. grated orange zest (optional)

4 tbsp. finely chopped pistachio nuts (optional)

Put the ricotta in a fine mesh sieve set over a bowl. If you don't have a fine mesh sieve the recipe suggested lining the bottom of a colander with two coffee filters slit up the side and opened up. Refrigerate 30 to 45 minutes to drain. (I skipped this step so the cannoli got a bit soggy by the time I served them. Word to the wise...don't skip this step.)

As an extra little decoration, I melted some chocolate chips in a pan on the stove top and dipped the cones into the chocolate and then dipped them in sprinkles. I set them aside to cool while I made the cannoli filling.

Put the drained ricotta in a large bowl, add the cream cheese, confectioners’ sugar, vanilla and almond extracts, and the orange zest, if using. Beat with a mixer until smooth and fluffy. Add in the mini chocolate chips (I chopped up large chocolate chips in a food processor). Mix well.

Spoon into a plastic icing bag (I used my pampered chef decorator for this). Squeeze mixture into cones and top with mini chocolate chips.

**The filling tastes so much better after it sits for a day. I recommend you make the filling, and refrigerate it overnight before making the cannoli's the next day. Don't get me wrong the filling was great the day of, but it was even better on day 2!! **

S'mores Bread Pudding

1 Fresh Loaf French Bread

1 package of graham crackers

2 C mini marshmallows

1 Pint Heavy Whipping Cream

1 Cup half and half

1 package milk chocolate chips

1 Cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

10 eggs

2T vanilla

1 package giant marshmallows

1. Pour the chocolate chips into a bowl
2. In a saucepan, heat the cream, half and half and vanilla until small bubbles start to form at side of pan.  (don’t let it boil)
3. Pour the warm cream over the chocolate and whisk until smooth.  Let cool slightly.
4. Meanwhile, cut the baguette and graham crackers into ½ inch cubes and put them into a 9×13 baking dish.  Add the mini marshmallows and toss it all to distribute everything evenly in the pan.
5. In another bowl, whisk the eggs and add them to the cooled chocolate mixture, whisking constantly.  Slowly pour the chocolate over the bread mixture.  Saran the whole thing, pressing down tightly.  Let the pudding sit for 30 minutes to an hour to absorb the liquid.
6. Uncover and bake in a 350 degree oven for 40 minutes or until the pudding is firm and mostly set.  The center may jiggle a little.
7. Let cool.
8. Before serving, top with giant marshmallows and put back into the oven under a low broiler to brown the marshmallows on top.  Drizzle with chocolate syrup for design if you desire!

Crockpot Beef Stroganoff

Always on the lookout for good crockpot recipes, I came across this recipe for Beef Stroganoff, which is a dish I generally don't like. We had it all the time when I was a kid, and it wasn't one of my favorites even back then. This piqued my interest because it had some different ingredients from the normal recipe I am used to so I thought I would give it a try.

2 pounds cubed stew meat
2 cans Condensed Golden Mushroom Soup
1 large onion diced
4 T of Worcestershire
1/2c water
couple of dashes of Garlic Salt
couple dashes of Hot Paprika
8 oz of cream cheese

Combine all the ingredients in the crockpot except the meat and cream cheese. Once they are combined add in the meat and mix again. Cook on Low for 8 hours.

Cube the cream cheese and add to the crockpot. Turn on high and cook for 10 minutes or until the cream cheese "melts" into the sauce.

Serve over egg noodles or maybe mashed potatoes.

Kitchen of Reality Tips:
- I didn't have Hot Paprika so I used some regular Paprika and a little cayenne. I could probably use more of both next time.
- I think I accidentally cooked it on High instead of Low - oops! My meat definitely fell apart in the sauce as I stirred in the cream cheese.
- Mine was a tad runny but this could have to do with the wrong cooking temperature.
- Doesn't call for salt and pepper, you can add to taste.

What a delicious meal! It makes enough for some leftovers which will be great reheated. I really preferred the cream cheese to the normal sour cream recipe.

Chicken Bacon Ranch Quesadillas

Two things that I love:  Chili's and Cheap food!  And this is both.  I love the Chicken Bacon Ranch Quesadillas from Chilis.  And this week, Harris Teeter has a Meal Deal that is perfect to make them.  If you don't know about the Meal Deals at Harris Teeter you need to.  Here are the details of this week's meal deal:

BUY ALL 4 FOR $5.99:

• One (1) 9 oz. Perdue Short Cuts Chicken;--> precooked chicken in deli section
• One (1) 17 oz. Mission Soft Taco Tortillas;
• One (1) 7-8 oz. Kraft Shredded Cheese; and
• One (1) 16 oz. Harris Teeter Sour Cream 

It's super easy to find these items, because HT puts a white "meal deal item" sign below each item that qualifies.  So there are several varieties of each of the above to choose from.  We like Lite Sour Cream so that's included.

Now for the recipe!

All of the above plus:  Spray butter, bacon bits and Ranch dressing.  I always have these on hand.  I buy the Sams club bag of Hormel Bacon pieces.  We use it in a lot of recipes, baked potatoes, and salads. 

Instructions:
1.  Place Perdue pre-cooked chicken on a microwave safe plate and per the instructions on the box, microwave 45 seconds until warm.
2.  Preheat to Medium heat a non-stick skillet to big enough for your tortilla to fit flat in.
3.  Spray your tortilla with butter and lay down flat.
4.  Spread about a 1/2 cup of the shredded cheddar cheese on the bottom.
5.  Layer 1/3 of the chicken pieces.
6.  Sprinkle with about a Tablespoon of bacon pieces.
7.  Squirt small dots of Ranch around the whole tortilla.  Less is more here.
8.  Place top tortilla on.  Spray with butter.
9.  KEY:  Take a smaller skillet and put on top with a few cans of fruit or veggies on top to weigh it down.  This is what gives you the crispy tortilla like restaurants serve you.  Check after a minute and turn when the bottom tortilla is golden brown.  Put weight back on and cook until bottom is crispy.
10.  Cut in wedges and serve with sour cream.

Delicious and our entire families meal cost us $5.99.  ONE of these at Chili's is at least $8.00.  This makes 3 whole quesadillas.  Matt and I each ate one and the boys split the third.  And if both boys eat it, it's a keeper recipe at our house! 

This meal deal only lasts through Tuesday so rush to your local Harris Teeter and make this yummy meal or appetizer for your family! 

Peppermint Bark

Last year I mastered Mark's FAVORITE Christmas candy, Peanut Brittle! This year I decided to take on his other favorite, Peppermint Bark. This was much easier than the brittle. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 24 ounces white chocolate chips
• 24 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
• crushed candy canes or peppermints
  
• Cookie Sheet lined with foil
• Cooking Spray

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with tin foil and spray.

2. Pour the semisweet chocolate chips onto the pan and spread them around evenly. Bake for a couple of minutes until they look barely melted. Then take the pan out of the oven and spread the chips around with a spatula. Put the pan in the refrigerator to cool and harden for at least 30 minutes.

3. Melt the white chocolate chips in a double boiler, stirring constantly. (You can do this in the microwave but I have the tendency to burn chocolate in the microwave.) Stir in 1 teaspoon of peppermint extract and the candy cane dust. Mix until smooth.

4. Pour over the top of your COOLED semisweet chocolate layer. Do it quickly as the brown chocolate will begin to melt from the heat of the white chocolate and too much spreading around will cause swirls in your bark. (Tastes the same, but not as pretty.)

5. Sprinkle top with candy pieces and press down to ensure they stick.

6. Refrigerate for several hours, then break the bark into chunks.

7. Store in an airtight container in the fridge. Remove from fridge about 5 minutes before serving.

Tips from a Kitchen of Reality

- Go to ALDI to buy your chocolate!! We don't have one at the beach and I paid an arm and a leg for bags of chips. Might have been cheaper to buy the bark already made... but we won't think about that!!

- I used starlight mints for my peppermints and they were a PAIN to break up. Candy canes would be easier for sure!

- I'm not sure why you have to store this in the fridge, I am not and it isn't sticking together. Can't think of any other reason to do so.

*** Original recipe found HERE ***

Blue Bacon Stuffed Mushrooms

Yummy new appetizer we had over Thanksgiving! Really easy and not greasy like the typical recipes for stuffed mushrooms I’ve made.

Ingredients

• 3 strips bacon
• 6 large mushrooms
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 1 clove garlic, sliced
• 3 ounces cream cheese
• 3 ounces blue cheese
• 1/3 cup bread crumbs

Directions

1. Cook bacon strips in a large skillet over medium heat until crispy; drain on paper towels. While the bacon is cooking, remove stems from mushrooms. Set caps aside, and chop stems.
2. Add butter to skillet with bacon grease. When melted, stir in mushroom stems, onion, and garlic. Cook, stirring frequently until the onions caramelize, 15 to 20 minutes.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a small baking dish with cooking spray.
4. Once the onion mixture has reached a deep, rich brown color, place into a blender along with bacon, cream cheese, blue cheese, and bread crumbs. Blend on low until ingredients are roughly chopped and evenly combined. Stuff cheese mixture into mushroom caps and place into prepared baking dish.
5. Bake in preheated oven until lightly browned, 10 to 15 minutes.

 

Tips from a Kitchen of Reality

- I didn’t want to buy blue cheese and cream cheese, especially for such a small amount, so I opted for the Laughing Cow Spreadable wedges in the Light Blue Cheese flavor. Much cheaper than buying a hunk of blue cheese!
- As always, I cut WAY back on the onion. I’m just not an onion girl.

Warm Spinach and Artichoke Cups

A good friend of ours, Cindy, made these for a Thanksgiving Day appetizer. She sent me the recipe to post. Hope you enjoy these like we did!

Ingredients:

36 won ton wrappers (look for these in the produce section of the supermarket)

14 oz. can artichoke hearts, drained, finely chopped

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

10 oz. pkg. frozen chopped spinach, thawed, squeezed dry

1/3 cup Kraft Mayo with Olive Oil Reduced Fat Mayonnaise

1/3 cup grated (or shredded) parmesan cheese

¼ cup red bell peppers, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

Directions

Heat oven to 350°. Place 1 won ton wrapper in each of 35 mini muffin tins sprayed with cooking spray, with edges of wrapper extending over top of cup. Bake 4 min. Meanwhile combine remaining ingredients.

Spoon mixture into won ton cups.

Bake 12 to 14 min. or until filling is heated through and edges of cups are golden brown.

Potato Parmesan Pie

Another Iron Turkey 2011 recipe, actually comes from weight watchers, only 4 points a serving, but you’d never know it. So good.

Ingredients

- 2 lbs Yukon Gold potatoes

- 1 Tbsp plain dried bread crumbs

- 1 Tbsp plus 2 tsp olive oil

- 1 chopped small onion

- 2 tsp chopped garlic

- 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese plus 1 Tbsp

- 1/2 tsp salt

- 1/4 tsp pepper

- 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

- 2 beaten large egg whites

- 1 tsp chopped fresh rosemary

Directions

1. Peel and cube potatoes. Cover with water and cook until fork tender. About 20 minutes. Drain potatoes reserving 1/3 cup of the cooking liquid.

2. Spray spring form pan and dust with breadcrumbs.

3. In skillet heat 2 tsps olive oil and sauté chopped onion and garlic until golden. About 8 minutes.

4. To the potatoes, add reserved cooking liquid, 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. Mash well.

5. Cool 5 minutes and stir in onion/garlic mixture, cheddar cheese, egg whites, 1 Tbsp olive oil, and rosemary.

6 Spread in spring form, Sprinkle with 1 Tbsp Parmesan cheese.

4. Bake at 350 for 50 minutes, top with be golden.

5. Cool in pan 5 minutes, and cut in 8 wedges.

Tips from a Kitchen of Reality

- We did not use a whole onion, we thought that would be a bit too much.

- This can be made and refrigerated up to a day ahead of time then baked after letting stand at room temp for one hour.

Bogart’s Butterscotch Brownies

My sister and I used to eat these brownies all the time in college. Denise (friend, college roommates, and my maid of honor) worked at Bogart’s restaurant in Raleigh and would bring this home for us after a late night at work. It was so good and we were nearly crushed when Bogart’s closed this year. HOWEVER, the recipe surfaced on the internet after its closing and we had to try it for Iron Turkey 2011. YUM!! Just as good as I remember it. Hope you enjoy it too!!

Ingredients

- 1 pound (4 sticks) butter

- 1 1/2 lbs. brown sugar

- 4 eggs

- 2 tablespoons vanilla

- 5 cups flour

- 1 teaspoons baking powder

- 1 teaspoon salt

- 2 1/2 cups butterscotch chips, divided

Captain Morgan's Caramel Sauce

- 2 C sugar

- 1 C water

- 1 oz. corn syrup

- 2 oz. heavy cream

- 2 oz. butter

- 3 oz. spiced rum

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

2. Get out a 9x13 baking dish--no greasing necessary.

3. In a mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, followed by vanilla.

4. In a separate bowl, mix together flour, baking powder and salt to combine well. Slowly add flour mixture to butter mixture, beating to combine well. Stir in 2 cups butterscotch chips.

5. Spread batter into greased pan and top with 1/2 cup butterscotch chips.

6. Bake nearly 1 hour until a tester inserted into the center of the pan comes out clean. Let cool before cutting into 3-inch squares.

Captain Morgan's Caramel Sauce

1. Place sugar, water and corn syrup in medium saucepot and bring to a boil. Allow to turn a dark amber. If crystals appear on sides of saucepot, brush sides with clean pastry brush and cold water.

2. Combine cream, butter and rum. Whisk into sugar mixture. Serve warm over the top of the brownies.

Tips from a Kitchen of Reality:

- Recipe makes 12 HUGE brownies. It is not good for you at all, but it is better served with ice cream. The restaurant served it with coffee ice cream, but I don’t like coffee flavor so we did caramel vanilla ice cream.

- Next time I will try to bake this in a large bar pan, I liked the brownies thinner than they came out using a 9x13.

Creamy BLT Coleslaw

Another Iron Chef recipe for 2011… this was a great alternate to the typical coleslaw recipe.

Ingredients

• 4 slices bacon
• 1 cup mayonnaise or salad dressing
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon celery seeds
• 5 cups shredded green and/or red cabbage or packaged shredded broccoli (broccoli slaw)*
• 1 cup shredded carrots (2 medium)*
• 1/2 cup sunflower kernels
• 1/2 cup quartered cherry tomatoes
• 1/3 cup thinly sliced green onions

• Salt

• Ground black pepper

Directions

1. In a large skillet cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon and drain on paper towels, reserving 1 tablespoon drippings. Crumble bacon; set aside.

2. In a large bowl combine the reserved drippings, mayonnaise, vinegar, sugar, and celery seeds. Add cabbage, carrots, sunflower kernels, tomatoes, and green onions; toss gently to coat. Stir in crumbled bacon. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer coleslaw to a bowl or storage container; cover and chill overnight.

3. Serve within 2 hours after removing coleslaw from refrigerator; discard any leftovers.

** Recipe comes from Better Homes and Garden.

Spinach and Bacon Stuffed Pork Loin

This is one of the recipes the guys cooked for the 2nd Annual Slivensky Iron Chef competition. It was AWESOME. Totally recommend this recipe, and since our 3 typically-not-in the kitchen husbands made it… it should be pretty easy for all you cooks out there.

Roast
6 slices side bacon or pancetta, chopped
2 shallots, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup (50 mL) dry white wine
1 pkg (10 oz/300g) spinach, trimmed
1 cup (250 mL) fresh bread crumbs
3 to 4 lb (1.5 to 2 kg) boneless pork single loin roast
1/2 tsp (2 mL) salt
1/4 tsp (1 mL) freshly ground black pepper

White Wine and Rosemary Cream Sauce
2 shallots, finely chopped
1 tsp (5 mL) finely minced fresh rosemary
1/2 cup (125 mL) dry white wine
1 cup (250 mL) whipping cream
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 325°F (160°C).
2. In a large frying pan over medium-high heat, fry bacon until crisp. Drain off fat. Reduce heat to medium and add shallots and garlic. Sauté for 1 minute or until translucent. Add wine and spinach and sauté just until wilted. Transfer to bowl and let cool completely. Stir in bread crumbs.
3. Meanwhile, place pork on board with fat-side up. Starting at right side and knife parallel with board, cut pork in half, almost but not all the way to left side, to butterfly. Open up loin so it lies nearly flat in one layer. Pat flat. Starting in the center of opened loin and knife parallel with board, cut in half on the left side to butterfly again, almost but not all the way to the end. Butterfly again on the right hand side. Lay open. It will unfold like a fold-out section in a magazine, with four segments. Lightly pound with a meat mallet to make even thickness. Sprinkle both sides of pork with salt and pepper.
4. Spread cooled spinach mixture evenly over cut side of pork, leaving about 1 inch (2.5 cm) at one short side bare. Starting opposite bare edge, tightly roll up jelly-roll style and tie with kitchen string. Heat clean frying pan over high heat until hot. Add roast, fat-side down, then sear on all sides. Place in roasting pan; set frying pan aside. Roast the pork uncovered for 50 minutes or until meat thermometer reads 155° to 160°F (68° to 70°C) and a hint of pink remains in pork. Place on cutting board and tent with foil. Let stand for 10 minutes before slicing.
5. To make sauce, heat reserved frying pan over medium heat. Add any juices from roasting pan and bring to a boil. Add shallots and rosemary and sauté for 2 minutes or until soft. Add wine and bring to a boil, stirring. Boil until wine is reduced by half. Add cream and boil until slightly reduced and thickened. Season with salt and pepper. Serve slices of roast drizzled with sauce.

Recipe from LCBO.

Ham & Cream Cheese Wrapped Asparagus

An easy and cost effective appetizer. These were a huge hit on Thanksgiving.

Ingredients:

1 Bunch - Asparagus
8oz - Cream Cheese
2 Tbls - Sour Cream
1/2 tsp each - Oregano
                      Thyme
                      Tarragon
                      Basil
Salt & Pepper - To Taste
4 - 6oz - Thin Sliced Ham

Steps:

Blanch asparagus for 2 mins, and quickly shock in ice water to stop cooking process. Set aside on a hand towel to dry while you prepare the cream cheese filling.

Wip room temperature cream cheese with sour cream and herbs till smooth and light in texture. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Cut ham into ablaut 3 inch squares (or what ever shape about 3 inches in size). Pipe a small amount (about 2 inches long and 1/2 inch wide) of cream cheese mixture onto center of each square. Place blanched asparagus onto the piped mixture and wrap ham around.

Chill till guest arrive.

Brussel Sprouts with Bacon

I LOVE brussel sprouts but I know it’s not a big hit with most people. HOWEVER… this recipe is awesome!! Try it, you’ll like it… unless you are Brian Raynor! :)

Ingredients

- 1 pound Brussels sprouts, stem trimmed and quartered
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 slices local thick sliced bacon, diced, fat rendered and fat reserved
- Lemon juice, salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Directions

- Blanch sprouts in boiling water for 4 to 5 minutes, or until just tender, and put into ice water to stop the cooking process. Allow to cool in ice water for about 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from ice water and dry sprouts very well.
- In a large skillet add all the bacon fat plus 2 tablespoons canola oil place over medium high heat.
- When the oil is hot, add Brussels sprouts and caramelize well on all sides, about 5 to 6 minutes or until sprouts are cooked through but still have a slight crunch.
- Remove from pan, toss with rendered bacon, season and serve.

Wild Rice and Cornbread Stuffing

Thank you Emeril, we loved the new stuffing recipe for Thanksgiving this year!!

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups chicken stock
• 2 cups water
• 1 cup wild rice
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 cup finely chopped yellow onion
• 1/2 cup finely chopped celery
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon Essence, recipe follows
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley leaves
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme leaves
• Basic Cornbread, recipe follows, or 4 cups crumbled leftover cornbread
• 3/4 cup chopped toasted pecans
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Lightly grease a 9-inch square baking dish and set aside.

To cook rice, combine 2 cups chicken stock, water, and rice in a medium saucepan. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook until tender, about 1 hour. Drain rice and transfer to a large bowl.

Heat olive oil in a medium skillet. Add onion and celery and season with salt, Essence, and black pepper. Cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add parsley and thyme and cook another minute. Remove from the heat and add to bowl with rice.

Add 4 cups of crumbled Basic Cornbread and pecans to the rice mixture and stir to combine. Transfer rice mixture to baking dish. Drizzle remaining 1/2 cup chicken stock and butter over mixture. Bake until cornbread is golden and crispy, about 20 minutes.

Emeril's ESSENCE Creole Seasoning (also referred to as Bayou Blast):

• 2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 2 tablespoons garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon dried thyme

Combine all ingredients thoroughly.

Basic Cornbread:

• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
• 4 tablespoons melted unsalted butter, or bacon fat, plus 1/2 tablespoon, softened
• 1 1/2 cups yellow cornmeal
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Grease a 9-inch square baking dish with 1/2 tablespoon butter.

Combine eggs, buttermilk, and 4 tablespoons melted butter in a large mixing bowl, and whisk to combine. Combine cornmeal, flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, and baking soda in a separate large bowl, and whisk to combine. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Pour batter into prepared baking dish. Bake until top is golden brown and edges have pulled away from sides of pan, about 30 minutes. Remove from oven and let stand for 5 minutes.

Tips from a Kitchen of Reality:

- My sister made this and said it was pretty easy. She didn’t put pecans in it and she used Jiffy cornbread instead of making the homemade.

Chicken Enchilada Soup

Got this recipe from Real Mom Kitchen blog, but of course I altered the recipe. :)
It's perfect soup weather!!

Ingredients:
1 small can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 small can diced tomatoes
1 10-ounce package frozen whole kernel corn
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped yellow, green, or red bell pepper
1 10-ounce can enchilada sauce
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 1/2 cups milk
1 cup shredded Pepper jack cheese
2 chicken breasts (cooked and cubed) or 1 large can of chicken

Directions:
In crock pot, combine all ingredients and cook for 3 to 4 hours on low. Top with pepper jack cheese and serve. Can also be topped with avocado, sour cream, or crushed tortilla chips.

Tips from a Kitchen of Reality:
- I left out the onion, used canned chicken, and HOT enchilada sauce.
- Great EASY recipe... ENJOY!

Cheesy Chicken Ranch Lasagna

This is an easy one, with easy ingredients. It was something different for a quick throw together meal. Enjoy!

Ingredients
2 (12 oz) cans evaporated milk
1 (1 oz) pkg. dry Ranch dressing mix
3 C. cubed, cooked, chicken
1/8 tsp pepper
1 (16oz) lasagna noodles, cooked

1 1/2 to 2 C cheddar cheese, grated

1 1/2 to 2 C mozzarella cheese, grated

Directions
Combine evaporated milk and Ranch dressing and pepper in a 3 quart heavy saucepan. Heat over low heat, stirring frequently until dry ingredients are dissolved. Simmer, uncovered, 25 minutes, stirring frequently. Sauce will thicken slightly. Layer half of lasagna noodles, chicken, sauce, and cheese in well-greased 9×13 pan. Repeat layers again. Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Let rest 10 minutes before serving.

Tips from a Kitchen of Reality:
- I rarely have or buy evaporated milk, so I used skim milk and thickened with a little cornstarch.
- I used can chicken.
- Next time instead of lasagna noodles I will use penne or rotini-- I think this recipe would be better as a "casserole" type dish instead of a layered lasagna. If you make it the original way, you'll see what I mean.

Crock Pot Ranch Pork Chops

It doesn't get any easier than this...

Ingredients:

6 pork chops, 1/2 inch thick
1 packet dry Ranch Dressing Seasoning
10 oz can Cream of Chicken Soup

Directions:

Place pork chops, Ranch seasoning and soup into a medium sized crock pot over high heat for 4 hours or low heat for 6 hours.

Tips from a Kitchen of Reality:
I had chicken in the freezer instead of pork... so we had chicken. Super easy and great with Parmesan mashed potatoes!

Cake Batter Blondies

My husband LOVES funfetti/rainbow chip cake and my oldest daughter loves anything with sprinkles. When I ran across this recipe, I knew they'd both love it and I was right.

Ingredients:

1 box yellow cake mix
1/4 cup oil
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup rainbow sprinkles
1/2 cup white chocolate chips

Directions:

Combine the first four ingredients in a large bowl. Add the milk slowly – you want the batter to remain as dense as possible. Then mix in the rainbow sprinkles and white chocolate chips. Bake in a greased 9x9 pan at 350 for about 30 minutes.

Tips from a Kitchen of Reality:

You want it to brown on the edges but not get too dry throughout. 30 minutes wasn't quite long enough-- mine was a little mushy in the middle. You'll have to play around with it depending on your oven.

Baked Zucchini with Mozzarella

I'm always looking for a new way to eat vegetables-- after awhile you get sick of cooking them the same old way. And everything is better with cheese, right?! This one is super easy and we loved it. I think I baked mine a bit too long, I'd rather have them a bit crispy, but they were still yummy. Enjoy!


Ingredients:

2 medium sized (or about 5 small) zucchini

Your favorite salt seasoning-- I LOVE Krazy Jane's!!

2 C shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:

1. Slice your zucchini into 1/2 inch rings.
2. Lay them out flat on a large greased cookie sheet. Sprinkle with seasoning.
3. Bake in the oven at 350 for about 10-15 minutes or until crisp tender.
4. Take the hot pan out of the oven and sprinkle the zucchini with cheese. Turn the oven to broil, put the cookie sheet back into the oven and let the cheese get all bubbly and a bit browned. This should only take about 3-5 minutes. Watch your oven, time will vary.

Poppy Seed Chicken Casserole

I always like a new chicken casserole like recipe. It was a great variation and I had everything to make it in the pantry. The 15 month old ate two helpings, so even the little ones will like it. Enjoy!

Ingredients

5 cups chicken breasts, cooked and cubed

1 cup sour cream

2 cans condensed cream of chicken soup

1 tsp Worchestire sauce

1 tsp minced garlic

1 T lemon juice

1/4 tsp pepper

2 cups crushed Ritz crackers (about 1 1/2 rolls of crackers)

1/2 cup melted butter

1 T poppy seeds

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cook chicken breasts with salt and pepper until done. Let chicken cool slightly and cut into one inch cubes. Place cubed chicken in a 9X13 casserole dish.

Stir together the condensed soup and sour cream. Stir in the worchestire, garlic, lemon juice, and pepper to the soup and sour cream mixture. Pour over the chicken.

In a separate bowl, stir together the crushed crackers, poppy seeds and melted butter. Sprinkle over the chicken and sauce.

Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until the top of the casserole is browned and the sauce is bubbly.

Serve as casserole with veggies, or over rice.


Tips from a Kitchen of Reality:
- I used cream of mushroom soup because that is what I had and less butter on the cracker topping.
- It was a little saucy but I didn't have quite enough chicken in it... so I will have to adjust for this next time. But the flavor was great.

Apple and Sweet Potato Casserole

This recipe just sounded like fall to me so I gave it a try. I enjoyed a new twist with two of my favorite fall things, see what you think!

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
½ cup sugar (brown or white)
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
¼ tsp. fine sea salt
3 medium sweet potatoes
3-4 sweet, crisp apples (Like Gala or Honey Crisp)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 35o°F. Butter a 9″ x 5″ loaf pan.
Stir together the sugar, cinnamon and salt; set aside.

Peel and thinly slice the potatoes, then the apples. Line the bottom of the pan with a layer of sweet potatoes, overlapping the slices to limit breaks/holes. Next, add a layer of apples. Sprinkle with the cinnamon mixture. Repeat the layers, potatoes, apples, cinnamon sugar, until the pan is filled.* Top with another sprinkle of cinnamon sugar.

Bake 35-45 minutes, until a knife can cut through without much resistance. Let sit for 10 minutes before cutting and serving.

Tips from a Kitchen of Reality:

Mine needed more baking time, but it was still really good.

Chicken Biscuit Stew

As a couponer, I found myself with two cans of Pillsbury Grands biscuits in the fridge b/c they were crazy cheap with my coupon.  So I got on their site and found this recipe.  Oh so yummy on this cool rainy night.  This will be a regular in my line up during the winter.

1/4 cup margarine or butter
1/3 cup all purpose flour
Dash pepper
1 (10 1/2) can of chicken broth
3/4 cup milk
2 cups cubed cooked chicken breast
1 cup fresh baby carrots
1 cup frozen peas
1/3 cup chopped onion
1 (12 oz) can of Pillsbury Grandes refrigerator biscuits

Directions:
1.  Heat oven to 375.  Melt margarine in 10-inch ovenproof skillet.  Stir in flour and pepper; cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute or until smooth and bubbly.
2.  Gradually stir in broth and milk with a whisk.  Cook until mixture boils and thickens, stirring constantly.  Add chicken, peas, carrots, and onion; cook until hot and bubbly, stirring occasionally.
3.  Arrange biscuits over hot chicken mixture in skillet.
4.  Bake for 20-25 minutes or until biscuits are golden brown.

Tips from the Kitchen of Reality:
-We don't eat peas.  So I omitted them.  Also, the veggies need to be precooked a little.  I would steam them for a minute or two in my micro-steamer from pampered chef.  Just until they were tender-crisp.
-I didn't have cooked chicken, so I chopped two boneless skinless breasts and cooked them quickly in the pan I made the 'gravy' in.  This really added some more depth of flavor I believe.
-The recipe calls for no seasoning besides the pepper.  I thought this was odd so I added a little garlic salt to my chicken when I cooked it and seasoning was spot on.
-I don't have an oven safe skillet so I made mine in a skillet and then poured it into a pyrex oval baker before topping with the biscuits.  Worked perfectly.
-Put a cookie sheet under your skillet or baker because mine bubbled over a little.

This was an easy recipe to make, used ingredients I always have (besides the biscuits) and it was super delicious.  I highly recommend it!

Crispy Parmesan Asparagus Sticks

I'm usually an olive oil and Crazy Salt kinda girl when it comes to cooking my asparagus in the oven. Saw this recipe and decided to try it. It was tasty! We will definitely be having it again.

Ingredients:

1 bunch of asparagus

2 egg whites

1/4 cup flour

1 cup seasoned breadcrumbs

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

salt and pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Lay a wire rack on a baking sheet and coat with non-stick spray.

Snap off the tough ends of each asparagus spear.

On two separate plates, add the eggs whites (lightly beaten) and the panko + flour + cheese.

Season the panko mixture with salt and pepper if desired.

Coat each asparagus spear in egg whites, then lay in the panko mixture and thoroughly cover. If the panko won’t stick, dip back in the egg whites and roll in panko once again.

Lay each spear on the wire rack.

Bake at 425 for 15 minutes, or until golden brown and crispy.

Grilled Romaine with Blue Cheese Bacon Vinaigrette

Who wouldn't love a new YUMMY salad alternative?! My mom has been telling me about this for weeks and since they've been down this week we've had it twice. YUM!! So easy, so different, and so delicious!! Try it!
Food Network... Guy Fieri)


Ingredients:

4 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 cup chopped red onion
1/2 pound bacon, chopped
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
3 heads romaine lettuce, cut in 1/2 lengthwise
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
Freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
Preheat the grill to high heat.

Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a saute pan over high heat. Add the onions and bacon and cook until the bacon is crispy. To the same pan add the balsamic vinegar and 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and stir to combine. Remove from heat and set aside.

Brush the lettuce with the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil, place on the grill cut side down, and quickly sear.

Serve the lettuce, cut side up, and drizzle the balsamic dressing over the lettuce. Sprinkle with blue cheese and garnish with cracked black pepper.

Apple Cider Floats

This was a new fun drink/dessert I saw online last month (comes from Rachael Ray Everyday) and with all the fresh apple cider that is out in the stores, I thought I'd share. If you don't like floats you probably won't like it, but I was a big fan.

Ingredients:

2 cups apple cider

1 cinnamon stick

1 cup vanilla ice cream

1 tbsp caramel sauce

1 pinch of nutmeg

cinnamon stick

Directions:

- Heat apple cider with cinnamon stick and pour into 2 large mugs.

- Top with ice cream, sauce, and nutmeg.

Tips from a Kitchen of Reality:

- This really doesn't need a recipe, just the idea shared.

- Amounts totally depend on your mug size. So... fill mug with ice cream, top with warm apple cider, and caramel sauce.

- I didn't use the nutmeg or cinnamon stick and still thought it was delicious!

Happy Fall!!

Angel Chicken

Another new crockpot favorite...

Ingredients:

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

1 pkg (8 oz) button mushrooms, quartered

1 pkg (6 oz) fresh shitake mushrooms, stems removed, caps slices

1 /4 cup butter

1 pkg Italian dry salad dressing mix

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1/2 cup dry white wine

1/2 8 oz tub of chives and onions cream cheese

Directions:

- Melt butter, add Italian dry salad dressing, stir in soup, wine and cream cheese.

- Place cut mushrooms in bottom of crock pot.

- Place chicken on top of mushrooms.

- Pour sauce over the top.

- Cook on low for 4 to 5 hours.

- Serve over pasta or rice.

Tips from a Kitchen of Reality:

- I used all button mushrooms. We are on a budget... sorry shitakes! :)

Pepper Quiche

My grandma made this when we were up in Michigan and it was tasty! I love this recipe as it shows how she cooks… check out the recipe.

 

Ingredients and Directions:

- 1/2 lb bacon, cooked and crumbled

- spinach, fresh or frozen

- 1 pkg feta cheese crumbled

- fresh or dried dill, one good pinch

- onion, you decide how much

- red and green peppers, diced

- 5 eggs, well beaten with 1/2 to 3/4 cup milk

- salt and pepper to taste

- unbaked crust

- Mix all together and bake at 350 for 45 minutes.

 

Tips from a Kitchen of Reality:

I made it and just tossed in what I had until in looked right. Turned out great but I must say I enjoy eating it better in my grandma’s kitchen.

S’more Dip

So yummy… you’ll be glad you tried it!

Ingredients:

- 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

- 1  can sweetened condensed milk

- 1/2 cup marshmallow cream

 

Directions:

-Heat chocolate chips and sweetened condensed milk until all chips are melted. (It took my microwave about 3 minutes stirring at regular intervals.)

- Drop marshmallow cream on top of chocolate mixture in heaping tablespoons and microwave about 30 seconds.

- Drag a knife through marshmallow and chocolate creating marbled effect.

- Serve immediately with graham crackers.

Shrimp and Grits

Things are still very crazy with us as we are attempting to sell our house and move. We are in temporary housing so cooking these days is nothing elaborate because I have none of my kitchen things to use.

HOWEVER, we live on the coast and can get GREAT seafood at AWESOME prices, it looks like I’ll be venturing into some seafood cooking. This is a traditional dish that everyone loves and this one is SUPER simple. Hope you enjoy it as much as we did—it’s a Bobby Flay recipe!

Ingredients

• 4 cups water
• Salt and pepper
• 1 cup stone-ground grits
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 6 slices bacon, chopped
• 4 teaspoons lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
• 1 cup thinly sliced scallions
• 1 large clove garlic, minced

Directions

Bring water to a boil. Add salt and pepper. Add grits and cook until water is absorbed, about 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in butter and cheese.

Rinse shrimp and pat dry. Fry the bacon in a large skillet until browned; drain well. In grease, add shrimp. Cook until shrimp turn pink. Add lemon juice, chopped bacon, parsley, scallions and garlic. sauté for 3 minutes.

Spoon grits into a serving bowl. Add shrimp mixture and mix well. Serve immediately.

Notes from A Kitchen of Reality:

- I used the 5 minute quick cooking grits. I used the amounts indicated on the box for 4 servings instead of following what the recipe recommended. But I still added the butter and cheese that the recipe called for.

-  We were hungry so we did 1 1/2 lbs of fresh shrimp.

- I really can’t ever find what I’m looking for when it comes to recipes with scallions, shallots, and green onions, nor do I really know the difference. BUT I found green onions, so that is what I used.

Spanish Beef and Rice

This is a great weeknight recipe when you have a lot going on. Just dump everything in one large skillet and dinner is ready in 20 minutes. I was pleasantly surprised for how easy this was.

3/4 pound ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
1 medium green pepper, chopped
1 (14 ounce) can beef broth
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
3/4 cup uncooked regular long-grain white rice

1. Cook the beef, onion, and pepper until brown, then drain the fat.
2. Add the broth, tomato sauce, chili powder, garlic powder, and rice. Heat to boiling, then turn down to simmer, cover, and cook for 20 minutes.

Kitchen of Reality Tips
- You can serve topped with cheese, sour cream, crushed tortilla chips, olives, you get the picture.
- I served this with a side of corn, but several reviews of the recipe said that they had added corn and/or black beans into the recipe with the rice. Also, some people said they made it with salsa or taco sauce instead of plain tomato sauce.
- This makes quite a bit and the ingredients are inexpensive. Great for freezing and reheating later.

Beef and Broccoli Ramen Stir Fry

My husband and I both get paid once a month so sometimes things get a bit tight at the end of the month. I was looking around for cheap dinner ideas and ran across this.

1 package beef or spicy beef ramen noodles
2 cups water
1 pound beef steak strips
2 teaspoons oil
2 cups broccoli, chopped
1 cup green onions, chopped
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper (optional)

1. Cook noodles according to package directions and drain.
2. In a skillet/wok on high brown beef and remove (3-4 min).
3. Add oil, 1/2 seasoning packet, broccoli and onions. Stir-fry for five minutes.
4. Add soy sauce and red pepper. Simmer for five minutes more.
5. Put beef back in and stir together. Serve over noodles.

Kitchen of Reality Tips
- I bought the thin cut sirloin tip steak from Aldi (has a yellow label for fajitas). It is $4.29 a pound. I think the broccoli was about $2 also at Aldi. The ramen I got on sale for 17 cents. The green onions were 99 cents. The rest I had on hand. It's a pretty good meal for under $8. If you need to serve 4 adults/teenagers you may need to use a little more steak and broccoli and I would definitely use 2 packages of ramen.
- I added some sesame oil to this as well because I had it on hand. Makes the flavor a little deeper.
- I did my ramen first like it suggested and it turned to glue. I threw it in with the beef and broccoli, mixed it around, and that unstuck it.

Hope you enjoy for some good cheap eats!

Tortellini-and-Tomato Salad

This is a recipe I found in Southern Living. Made it for the entire Slivensky Clan over the 4th of July, with the exception of the kiddos everyone really liked it. Makes a great summer dish, we even ate it cold and liked it.

2 (9 oz.) pkg. refrigerated cheese-filled tortellini

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

3 Tbls. fresh lemon juice

2 garlic cloves minced

1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

1/2 tsp. salt

2 cups cherry or grape tomatoes, halved

1 cup fresh corn kernels (I used frozen run under warm water)

1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions (I did not use that much)

1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil

Salt and Pepper

Prepare tortellini according to package directions.

Meanwhile, process olive oil and next 5 ingredients in a blender until smooth. Toss olive oil

mixture with hot cooked tortellini, tomatoes, corn, onion and basil. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

The recipe did not call for it but I sprinkled freshly grated parmesan cheese over the top before I served it.

Enjoy!

Tex-Mex BBQ Turkey Tamale Pie

This is a Rachael Ray recipe that we saw on her show this morning. Matt asked me to come see it and we both agreed we needed to eat it....TONIGHT. And let me tell you, it did not disappoint. This is the best thing I have eaten in a long time. I am always looking for a new recipe to fix when people come over. This is my new go to recipe. We LOVED it.

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp EVOO - Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 lbs ground turkey

1 hot chili pepper (Jalapeno)

1 small bell pepper -chopped

1 small onion -chopped

3-4 garlic cloves-chopped

salt and pepper to taste

1 Tbsp ground cumin

1 Tbsp ground coriander

1 Tbsp chili powder

1 c. beer

2 Tbsp apple cidar vinegar

2 Tbsp brown sugar

2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

2 cups tomato sauce

1 cup milk

2 cups chicken stock

1 cup polenta

1 Tbsp honey

2 cups shredded cheddar or pepper-jack cheese

I know that seems like a lot. But we had most on hand. I'll get to that in a minute.

Directions:

1. Heat EVOO in an oven safe skillet. Brown turkey well and drain if necessary. Add jalapeno, bell pepper, onion, garlic, season with salt and pepper to taste, cumin, coriander, and chili powder. Stir and cook to soften peppers and onions about 10 minutes.

2. Deglaze pan with 1 cup of beer. Stir together vinegar, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, and tomato sauce in a small bowl. Pour over turkey and reduce heat to simmer to thicken and combine flavors.

3. In a saucepan, heat milk and chicken stock to a boil. Add polenta and whisk. Cook according to package directions. This was about 5 minutes. Stir in honey.

4. Spread polenta over turkey in the skillet going almost to the edge of the pan. Top polenta with shredded cheese. Broil until cheese melts and browns slightly. Serve from skillet.

Tips from Kitchen of Reality:

1. We don't drink beer, so she suggested using chicken stock instead. You need 2 cups of stock for the polenta and one can of stock is just shy of that. So by using another cup to deglaze, two cans of stock work perfectly and there was no waste.

2. I didn't have coriander and didn't want to pay for it, so I doubled the cumin and it was yummy.

3. I didn't have any plain honey so I used 1 1/2 Tbsp of granulated white sugar in my polenta. Tasted good to me!

4. When we went back for seconds, and you will want to do that, it was better because it set up some. I highly recommend letting it sit for 10 minutes or so before serving.

5. This makes a TON. Her recipe says 4-6 servings. I'd say more like 6-8. If I make it again for just us, I will make a half recipe. My boys don't eat it because it did have some heat with the jalapeno and pepper jack cheese.

Seriously, go make this. You won't be disappointed. It was my first polenta experience and as Rachael Ray would say, "Yum-O."