Cheese & Hot Dog Crescents

These are by far one of my kids favorite lunches. Have you ever made them? Pillsbury is genius mixing crescents with hot dogs and cheese - it's a hit at my house! To see a wonderful picture of the final product click on the Pillsbury link below.

Cheese & Hot Dog Crescents

Ingredients:

8 hot dogs
4 slices American cheese, cut into 6 strips each
1 (8 oz) can Pillsbury Crescents

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Slit hot dogs to within ½” of ends; insert 3 strips cheese in each slit. Separate dough into 8 triangles; wrap dough over hot dog, keeping cheese facing up. Place on ungreased cookie sheet, cheese side up. Bake at 375 degrees for 12-15 min. or until golden brown.

Serving: 8
Recipe Given By: Pillsbury

Salsa (Mark's)

I don't have a picture to share with you since I am actually on a computer-free vacation. (Love those scheduled posts.) Anyway, I've shared Lisa's Salsa with you which is more like a salsa you'd find in a restaurant. Mark's Salsa is really Pico De Gallo. I can taste the saltiness of the chips and the tang of the tomatoes just thinking about it.

Salsa (Mark’s)

Ingredients:

2 -3 tomatoes
¼ C water
1 garlic clove
Salt to taste
1 small sliced onion
1-2 yellow chilies
Cilantro – 1 small sprig

Chop and mix all ingredients to taste.

Serving:
Recipe Given By: Martha Martens

Fruit Smoothies

A month ago I managed a beverage station for our Volunteer Celebration event at church. While there I made more smoothies in one night than I had ever made in my life. By chance my blender broke and the following day my husband and I picked out a new Kitchen Aid blender to replace our old one. Thank you Kitchen Aid; your appliances rock!!

We have made smoothies every day since then. really. EVERY DAY! We're fanatics.

Here is the "recipe" I follow:

For each smoothie, I fill the blender about 2 inches full of fruit. (maybe 1 1/2 - 2 C worth.)

Angie
 Strawberry
 Banana
 Mango
 Peach
 Orange
 Blueberry
 Blackberry
 Pineapple

My girls make up little smoothie order forms with the above choices. I use mostly frozen fruit bought in large packages, but we use fresh bananas and any other fresh fruit that would be cheaper than the frozen.

After putting the fruit in the blender, cover the fruit with a liquid. Our favorites around here are orange juice or lemon lime soda (yes, soda - give it a try. It's refreshing.)

If you like your drink a little sweeter, then add 1 T of sugar. Blend on high.

If the liquid seems too thin for you, add ice and pulse until you get a thicker beverage. Usually the fruit is enough to make it thick, but sometimes it needs a little extra help.

Peanut Butter-Candy bar Brownie

Nutter butters, Reeses PB cups, Butterfingers - can you have too much of a good thing? Not in this candy bar brownie. It's very rich, but delicious!

Peanut butter-candy bar Brownie

Ingredients:

1 (16-oz.) package peanut-shaped peanut butter sandwich cookies, crushed
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 (14-oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
5 (1.5-oz.) packages chocolate-covered peanut butter cup candies, coarsely chopped
2 (2.1-oz.) chocolate-covered crispy peanut buttery candy bars, coarsely chopped (we tested with Butterfinger)
1 cup semisweet chocolate morsels
1/2 cup honey-roasted peanuts
1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut (I omitted)

Combine crushed cookies and butter in a medium bowl. Press crumb mixture into bottom of a greased aluminum foil-lined 13" x 9" pan, allowing foil to extend over ends of pan. Bake at 350° for 6 to 8 minutes.

Combine condensed milk, peanut butter, and vanilla in a medium bowl, stirring until smooth.

Sprinkle chopped candy bars, chocolate morsels, peanuts, and coconut over crust. Drizzle condensed milk mixture over coconut.

Bake at 350° for 27 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to a wire rack, and let cool in pan. Use foil to lift uncut brownies out of pan. Peel foil away from sides of uncut brownies, and cut into bars.

Serving: 28 small bars or 18 large bars
Recipe Given by: Southern Living Best Loved Cookies

Sweet-Sour Pasta Salad

My husband and I enjoy this refreshing salad in the summertime. It has fresh flavors and a sweet-sour liquid that makes it a little addictive. My neighbor tried the recipe and loved it, but thought it could use less sugar. I thought I'd try a less sweet version myself sometime so if you give it a try and reduce the sugar let us know what you think of the dish!

Sweet-Sour Pasta Salad

Ingredients:

1 pkg (16 oz) tricolor spiral pasta
1 med red onion, chopped
1 med tomato, chopped
1 med cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped
1 med green pepper, chopped
2 T minced fresh parsley (Never dried!!)

DRESSING:
1 ½ C sugar
½ C vinegar
1 T ground mustard
1 t salt, optional
1 t garlic powder

Cook pasta according to pkg directions; drain and rinse with cold water. Place in a large serving bowl. Add the onion, tomato, cucumber, green pepper and parsley; set aside. In a saucepan, combine the dressing ingredients. Cook over med-low heat for 10 min or until sugar is dissolved. Pour over salad and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours. Serve with a slotted spoon.

Serving: 16
Recipe Given By: Taste of Home A/M 2000 p. 32

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

I love the memories that food can evoke, don't you?

When I had just delivered my fourth child a friend from choir brought our family a meal that included chocolate covered strawberries. I can't tell you how yummy those strawberries were - oh, my! Since that experience whenever I have the opportunity to bless a family who's just had a new baby I always include chocolate covered strawberries. I do this for several reasons: it makes me remember how blessed I was by a friend, it's a great sweet treat that's not too fattening for the new mom, it's fruit and dessert in one, and it communicates I took a little extra time to make sure the recipient knows how much I care about her.

This past week when I made a meal for a co-worker I included these strawberries. I had some milk chocolate chips in my pantry and just followed the bag on the back of the package. You can do that with dark chocolate or semi-sweet too. You might even have a package on hand.

Of course, my family is now campaigning for their own strawberries. I just might have to dip a batch for us soon. Do you have a food memory to share?

Chicken in a Pot

My son is an avid Boy Scout and one of the things that my husband and son share is the love of dutch oven cooking. My husband even put together a dutch oven cookbook for our scout troop and they have enjoyed many delicious meals. In 2008 my husband came along with the American Heritage Girls for a camping trip and he cooked this recipe for our unit. It was so tasty! I figured it could be cooked in a crockpot so we gave it a try and have been eating this "roasted" chicken ever since. This past week I cooked it up and gave it to a new mom and her family. The ease of the dish and the basic taste is a winner with everyone!

Chicken in a Pot

Ingredients:

3-4 lbs. whole frying chicken (we use legs for budget and taste)
1 t. poultry seasoning
½ t. salt
¼ t. basil
¼ t. pepper
(We add a few slices of bacon on top to give it a smokey taste.)

Wash chicken and pat dry. Sprinkle cavity with salt pepper, and poultry seasoning. Put in Dutch oven and sprinkle with basil. Cover and bake for 4-6 hours or until tender.

Our family’s version:
Use a family size pkg. of drumsticks, put one layer in crock pot, sprinkle with half the seasonings, put another layer of drumsticks on top of the first, sprinkle with remaining seasonings. Lay 4 pieces of bacon across the top and cook on low for 4-6 hours.

Serving: 16
Recipe Given By: Boy Scout Cookbook
Hint: Do not add liquid! The chicken will fall off the bones.