Cream Cheese Spaghetti

Ingredients

• 8 ounces uncooked spaghetti
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 large can spaghetti sauce (26.5 ounces)
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/2 cup chopped green peppers (or red peppers, or omit all together)
• 1/3 cup chopped onions
• 8 ounces cream cheese
• 2 tablespoons milk
• Fresh grated Parmesan cheese
• French Fried Onions (small can)

Directions

1. Cook spaghetti according to directions on the package. Cook to al dente, drain and set aside.
2. Brown ground beef. Drain excess grease. Add spaghetti sauce to skillet and heat.
3. Combine onions, peppers and butter in small glass bowl. Cover and microwave 4 minutes on HIGH until soft.
4. Add cream cheese and milk to vegetables and stir well. (If cream cheese is not soft, microwave it for 20-30 seconds to make it easy to spread.)
5. Using a 10 x 6 dish, assemble in the following order:
6. Thin layer of spaghetti sauce on the bottom of the casserole dish.
7. Spaghetti
8. Cream cheese/vegetable mixture
9. Spaghetti sauce and beef mixture
10. Parmesan Cheese (amount subject to your own taste)
11. French Fried Onions (added during last 5 minutes of cooking)
12. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Top with French Fried onion and continue baking 5 more minutes. (This is the secret ingredient–don’t let them burn.)

Notes

Make this ahead of time and refrigerate or freeze without the French Fried onions. Don’t forget to add them 5 minutes before casserole is finished cooking.

Serves: 8


recipe: http://www.salad-in-a-jar.com/family-recipes/scooters-spaghetti

Dirt Cake

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup butter, room temperature
• 8 ounces cream cheese
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 2 (3 1/2 ounce) packages jello instant vanilla pudding
• 3 1/2 cups milk (skim works fine)
• 12 ounces Cool Whip, thawed
• 20 ounces Oreo cookies, crushed finely
• 20 candy gummy worms (optional)

1. Mix butter, cream cheese and sugar in bowl and set aside. In separate bowl, mix milk and pudding. Fold in Cool Whip. Combine the two bowls gently by folding until combined completely.
2. You can layer in individual bowls or in one large 12" pan. Start with a layer of 1/2 of the cookies on the bottom, layer mixture in middle and top with remaining cookies. Top with candy gummy worms. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.

Serves: 8-10

www.food.com

Crunchy Broccoli Slaw

Ingredients

• 8 slices bacon
• 1 large head broccoli
• 1 small red onion, minced (1/2 cup)
• 1/3 cup golden raisins
• 1/3 cup mayonnaise
• 3 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
• 2 tablespoons honey
• Salt and pepper

Cook bacon in a large skillet or on a griddle over medium heat until browned and crisp. Drain on paper towels. Crumble into 1/2-inch pieces; set aside.
Cut florets from broccoli stems and chop into small pieces. Transfer to a salad bowl and toss with minced onion and raisins.
In a small bowl, whisk together mayonnaise and vinegar until smooth. Add honey, salt and pepper, whisking to combine. Pour dressing over broccoli mixture and toss to coat evenly. Crumble bacon pieces over broccoli slaw and serve immediately.

Serves: 8

www.americanfamily.com

Tortellini Carbonara

Ingredients

• 8 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled
• 1 cup whipping cream
• 1/2 cup minced fresh parsley
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
• 1 (9 ounce) package refrigerated cheese tortellini

Directions

1. In a large saucepan, combine the bacon, cream, parsley and cheese; cook until heated through. Meanwhile, prepare tortellini according to package directions; drain and transfer to a serving bowl. Drizzle cheese sauce over tortellini and toss to coat. Serve immediately.

Serves: 4

recipe: www.allrecipes.com

Taco Stuffed Shells

Ingredients:

• 1lb ground beef
• 1 package taco seasoning
• 1 4 once package cream cheese
• 12 large pasta shells
• 1 cup salsa
• 1 cup taco sauce
• 1 cup cheddar cheese (shredded)
• 1 cup Monterey jack cheese (shredded)
• 1 ½ cups tortilla chips (crushed)
• 3 green onions (chopped)
• 1 cup sour cream

1: In a fry pan cook ground beef and add taco seasoning and prepare according to package directions. Add cream cheese cover and simmer until cheese is melted. Blend well. Set aside and allow to fully cool. While burger is cooking cook the pasta shells, drain and toss well with butter.
2: Pour salsa in the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch baking dish.
3: Stuff each shell with the meat mixture. Place the stuffed shells in the baking dish and cover the tops of the shells with taco sauce.
4: Cover and bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
5: After 30 minutes, uncover, and sprinkle crushed chips and shredded cheddar and Monterey jack cheeses on top. Cook for about 15 more minutes. Serve with sour cream, additional salsa, black olives or whatever you think goes good with tacos!

Recipe: http://blogchef.net

Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas

Ingredients:

• 1 lb chicken breast , diced
• 1 medium onion , chopped
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 64 inches flour tortillas , softened
• 1 1/2 cups grated monterey jack cheese or 1 1/2 cups Mexican blend cheese , divided
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 (15 ounce) can chicken broth
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chilies
  

Directions:

1. In frypan, cook chicken and onion together in oil over medium-high heat until chicken is just done.
2. Divide cooked chicken evenly between 8 tortillas; add 1 1/2 tablespoons cheese to each tortilla.
3. Roll enchiladas and place seam-side down in 9x13" baking dish that has been lightly sprayed with no-stick cooking spray.
4. Melt butter in a medium saucepan; stir in flour to make a roux; stir and cook until bubbly; gradually whisk in chicken broth then bring to boiling, stirring frequently.
5. Remove from heat; stir in sour cream and green chiles; pour sauce evenly over enchiladas.
6. Top with remaining 3/4 cup cheese (baking dish may be double-wrapped and frozen at this point) and bake at 400° for 20 minutes until cheese is melted and sauce near edges of baking dish is bubbly.

Serves: 8

Recipe: www.food.com

S'mores Cookies

Ingredients:

• 11 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup brown sugar, packed
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 ½ cups flour
• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup mini marshmallows
• 3-4 regular sized Hershey’s bars, broken into pieces
• 3 packages graham crackers, broken into squares

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line baking pans with parchment paper. I used one 11x17 pan and one 9x13 pan but you can really use any sized pans you want.

Lay out graham crackers side by side on the pans as close as possible (they should be touching). I used 16 graham cracker squares on one pan and 10 squares on another. You may have to add or remove graham crackers according to how much dough you have. If you want your cookies thicker you will use more dough and less graham crackers.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, sea salt and cinnamon to combine. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter with white and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix until combined.

Add the flour mixture to the butter mixer and combine on low speed.

Fold in the chocolate chips and marshmallows. (recipe called for chilling for 1 hour, but I did not and they turned out great)

Place tablespoons of dough on graham crackers about 1 – 1 ½ inches apart. I averaged about 1 1/2 tablespoons of dough per graham cracker square as seen in the picture above. Press down slightly with fingertips.

Bake for 5 minutes then remove from oven to press Hershey’s bar pieces on to the top. You can place as many pieces or as little as you want depending how much chocolate flavor you want.

Bake for 5 – 7 more minutes or until dough is beginning to turn golden brown at the edges. Remove to a wire rack to cool. For clean cutting make sure cookies are completely cool and cut with a sharp knife.

Recipe: www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com