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.