Archive for Recipes

Feb
6

Recipe for Easy Stuffed Crescents with Petit Jean Ham #TXBacon #Cbias

by Brandy

As I am sure you know already, yesterday was Superbowl Sunday. I’m not really a fan of football, but I am a fan of any excuse to have friends over and eat yummy foods. These are the days that I do not cook dinner, I create lots of finger foods for everyone to enjoy.

Since the Dallas Cowboys were not playing, we really didn’t root for anyone. Jeremy enjoys the occasional football game and as games go, I think this was considered a good one. Seriously, I am not going to pretend to know anything about football. I just know about feeding the masses super yummy goodness.

We headed to Walmart to get all of the ingredients for our goodies. You can see what we bought by viewing my Google+ album.

The first thing I made was my awesome recipe of Heaven on a Jalapeno! People normally make these with the bacon wrapped around them. I don’t like it that way, my way is easier and tastier with tons of bacon!

My family has become big fans of Petit Jean Meats. I can not wait until they carry the bacon at Walmart! Right now they only carry the ham, but my family loves this ham more than any other!

So using the Petit Jean Ham (Official Ham of the Dallas Cowboys) I created the perfect Superbowl munchie recipe! I like easy things and this my friends is EASY! During the holidays I always make ham rolls with sliced ham spread with cream cheese with a green onion rolled up in the middle. I wanted to put that flavor into something fun and filling. The recipe below is what we came up with. The masses loved it! I hope you do too!

The Ingredients!

Recipe for Easy Stuffed Crescents with Petit Jean Ham #TXBacon #Cbias

Recipe type: Appetizer

Author: Brandy ~ Not So Average Mama

Prep time: 20 mins

Cook time: 10 mins

Total time: 30 mins

Serves: 8

Easy stuffed Crescents with Ham, Cream Cheese and Green Onions.

Ingredients

1 Package Petit Jean Sliced Ham
2 Packages of Cream Cheeses
1 Bunch of Green Onions
2 Packages of Crescent Rolls

Instructions

Preheat the oven according to the directions on the Crescent Rolls.
Dice the Ham
Slice the Green Onions
Mix the Green Onions and Ham into the Cream Cheese
Lay out your Crescent dough
Add the Cream Cheese filling and roll the Crescents, being sure to pinch the ends closed
Bake according to directions on the Crescent Rolls.

Notes

See the images below for step by step!

Google Recipe View Microformatting by Easy Recipe

If you make these please let me know! I would love to hear what your family and friends thought!

This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. #CBias

1 Categories : Recipes, Uncategorized

Jan
24

Easy Pepper Steak Recipe

by Brandy

I love Asian foods! I love to cook Asian foods…well easy ones I mean. My mom taught me how to make Pepper Steak. It’s a very easy recipe that she learned years ago from Mr. Food when he used to cook on the news show she watched. Atleast I think…I don’t have a fantastic memory for most things. But this is what I am going with!

The Ingredients:

2-3 lbs Sliced Steak (I have the butcher do this for me, my hands are to weak to be able to slice raw meat)
1 lg Onion, sliced
3 Green Peppers cut into strips
8 oz. Picante Sauce, I use Pace
1 cup Water
1/3 cup Soy Sauce
2 tbsp Corn Starch
Garlic, Salt & Pepper to taste

The Instructions:

Stir fry steak and onions until done. Then added the green peppers. Mix the picante, soy sauce, water and cornstarch together to create the sauce and pour over the steak, onions and green pepper mixture. Heat until sauce thickens. Serve over rice.

EASY! Yum!

6 Categories : Recipes

Jan
10

Cheesy Ham Rotini Recipe #CBias

by Brandy

Ok, so I’ll be honest and tell you up front that I am not a fan of ham. I like bacon. Wait. I LOVE Bacon. Ham…eh…

But! My family loves ham. They love ham like I love bacon. So I won’t prevent them from eating it…ha. You can check out our shopping trip and see what else we purchased in my Google+ album.

This recipe is for Cheesy Ham Rotini.

The Ingredients

1 16 ounce box of rotini
1 tablespoon butter
1 pound ham we used Petit Jean Hickory Smoked Ham
1 cup chopped celery
2 small cloves garlic, minced
1 bunch green onions, sliced
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 1/2 cups milk, we used 2%
6 ounces shredded Cheddar cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese, divided (or about 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese)
Leftover crumbled bacon (about 3-4 strips…more if you have it!)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350° and butter a 2-quart casserole. Cook the Rotini according to the instructions. While the Rotini is cooking prepare the other ingredients.

In a large skillet, heat 1 TBSP of butter over medium heat. Add the celery and cook while stirring occasionally. You only need to cook this for about 5 minutes.

Add the ham and cook just until the ham is lightly browned and celery is tender.

Add the garlic and green onions and cook for about 1 minute longer.

Remove this from heat and set aside. Check your pasta! There is nothing I hate more than slimy over cooked pasta! Check it…I’ll wait….

If it’s done be sure to drain and rinse.

In a large saucepan over medium-low heat, melt the remaining butter. Add the flour and stir until blended. Add the milk being sure to stir! Do this until it has thickened up.

Now you want to stir in the shredded Cheddar cheese, salt and pepper. Continue cooking until the cheese has melted.

Now add the rotini as well as the ham mixture to the cheese sauce. Stir it all up so that the cheese sauce has coated everything with its cheesy goodness. Now go ahead and stire in half of the Parmesan cheese.

Now spread that in the buttered casserole dish.

Sprinkle the remaining Parmesan cheese on top.

Now make it even better with bacon! Crumble up some bacon and sprinkle it all over the top. We had some left over from breakfast.

Bake for about 20 to 30 minutes, until bubbly and lightly browned.

Now dish it out and feed the masses…

I ate this and even had seconds! That says a lot!

This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. #CBias

Recipe was adapted from About.com.

7 Categories : Recipes

Oct
28

Beef & Bacon Sausage Linguine with Hillshire Farm #GourmetCreations

by Brandy

We celebrate everyday here at our house! Life is too short to not celebrate! So why not make a weekly gourmet style dinner? We deserve it right? Let’s celebrate because life is a special occasion!

Morgan and I headed out to Walmart for some fun one on one time and to pick up the ingredients for our special dish. You can view our trip by clicking over to the shopping story I posted on Google+. The first sight that greeted us as we walked through the door was a Christmas Tree! Eeek! Already? I still need to get the Halloween Candy! Then Thanksgiving and my birthday! (November 28th, if you were wondering…I love Amazon Gift Cards!)

For this recipe I am using a Sausage from Hillshire Farm Gourmet Creations! It has Bacon in it! Who could say no to that?

So on with the recipe! The delicious sight you see below is what we are making!

The ingredients:

Hillshire Farm Gourmet Creations Beef & Bacon Sausage
Bunch of Green Onions
Small Onion
Clove of Garlic
Olive Oil
Sea Salt
Linguine
Shredded Parmesan Cheese

The instructions:

Put a pot of water on to boil for cooking the Linguine! While you wait prepare all ingredients as instructed below.

Slice the green onions, the small onion and chop the garlic. Set aside.

Slice the sausage into bite size pieces. See those white chunks and the creaminess on the edges? That is Monterey Jack Cheese! It is all through the sausage!

Your water should be boiling by now, so go ahead and add your linguine. I add a splash of olive oil to my water. Cook linguine as directed on the box.

Prepare a skillet by heating up 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the sliced sausage to the hot oil and lightly brown. Once it begins to brown add 1/4 to 1/3 cup olive oil and the remaining ingredients.

Simmer until the onions have softened. This allows the flavors to infuse in the olive oil! You can add a bit of italian seasoning if you like at this point…I did! I also add sea salt at this point.

Mmmmm…..now stir this mixture into your cooked linguine and mix well, being sure that the oil coats the pasta evenly.

Serve topped with shredded Parmesan cheese and garlic bread.

Now this is the part where you eat entirely too much food.

This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. #cBias . All opinions are my own as well as the recipe and image.

7 Categories : Around Our House, Recipes

Oct
20

Insane Amounts of Yum! Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Cake Recipe!

by Brandy

I’ve told you what an amazing baker Morgan is. She is only 13 and can bake the most tasty and pretty things! She makes an amazing Banana Chocolate Chunk Bread that knocks Starbucks into the ground. She rocks the kitchen!

Most recently she wanted to bake a cake for her best friends birthday. Hanna loves her some Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. So what better cake to make than one filled and covered with Peanut Butter Cups?

I can not even begin to describe how awesome this cake was! If you are allergic to Peanuts, I am so very very sorry! This is just so amazing.

Ingredients:

For the cake:

2 cups all-purpose flour
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 ½ cups sugar
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
1 1/2 tsp. Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Bean Paste from Nielsen Massey
1 cup buttermilk

For decorating:

Peanut Butter Frosting

2 cups confectioners’ sugar
2 cups creamy peanut butter
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 teaspoons Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Bean Paste from Nielsen Massey
2/3 cup heavy cream
1 Package of miniature Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups
16 Regular size Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups

Cake Directions:

Make sure to center your rack in the oven and then preheat to 350°. Butter two 9″×2″ round cake pans, then dust the insides with flour.

Whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium mixing bowl.

Soften the butter in the microwave, then beat until soft and creamy. Add the sugar and beat for about 2 minutes, until thoroughly blended into the butter. Beat in the eggs and yolks one at a time. Next, beat in the vanilla. Add the dry ingredients alternating with the buttermilk. Mix each addition only until it is blended into the batter.

Divide the batter between the 2 prepared cake pans.

Bake for 26-30 minutes or until the cakes feel springy to the touch and start to pull away from the sides of the pans. Let cool for about 10 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the cakes, and transfer to cool completely on a wire rack.

Frosting Directions:

Place the confectioners’ sugar, peanut butter, butter, vanilla, and salt in a bowl and mix until creamy, scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula as you work. Add the cream and beat until the mixture is light and smooth.

To assemble the cake, place one cake layer on a cardboard cake circle. Spread peanut butter frosting on top of the cake. Then sprinkle with chopped Reese’s cups. Place the second cake layer on top of the frosting. Frost the top and outside of the cake with remaining peanut butter frosting. Decorate with Miniature as well as halved and chopped Reese’s Peanut Butter cups.

Pin It

Recipe adapted from Annie’s Eats Reese’s Cup Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake.

Enjoy!

14 Categories : Around Our House, Recipes

Oct
11

Nutritional Pumpkin Recipes for the Fall Season

by Brandy

Pumpkin Spice Latte

Servings: 2

2 cups milk or non-dairy alternative, such as soy milk
2 tablespoons canned or fresh pureed pumpkin (unsweetened)
2 tablespoons Truvia or sweetener of choice
1 scoop (about 2.5 Tbs) Vanilla Nutrimeal
1 tsp Fibergy Plus
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
2 shots of espresso (about 1/4 cup) or 1/2 cup of strong brewed coffee

Directions: ?In a saucepan combine milk, pumpkin and sweetener and stir on medium heat until steaming (you can also microwave on high for 2 minutes). Remove from heat, stir in Nutrimeal, Fibergy, vanilla and pumpkin pie spice, then transfer to a blender and whirl for 15 seconds until foamy, then stir in espresso. If you don’t have a blender, whisk thoroughly with a wire whisk.

Optional: Top with light whipped cream if you’re feeling decadent and sprinkle pumpkin pie spice over the top.

Pumpkin Pie Smoothie

Servings: 2

1-1/4 cup cold water
3 Scoops Vanilla Nutrimeal
2 tsp Fibergy Plus
1/2 cup canned or fresh pureed pumpkin (unsweetened)
1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 cup ice

Directions: Combine ingredients in a blender and whirl until smooth. Serve and enjoy immediately.

Optional: 2 tsp of Truvia or sweetener of choice

1 Categories : Recipes

Sep
21

Vanilla Cinnamon Apples Recipe

by Brandy

Don’t Scare Halloween Party Guests with Terrifying Tasting Dessert

Nielsen-Massey’s Vanilla Products Combine with Fall Flavors to Create the Perfect Treat

Waukegan, Ill. (September 21, 2011) – Halloween brings images of ghosts and ghouls, but more importantly it provides the perfect opportunity to satisfy sweet-tooth cravings. Individually wrapped, store-bought candies have always been a staple for kids at Halloween parties, but what about the adults?

Nielsen Massey Vanillas’ Vanilla Cinnamon Apples add an element of sophistication to this year’s festivities and are sure to have guests lining up for seconds. The recipe, found below, combines the savory flavor of Nielsen-Massey’s Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Bean Paste with the delicious tart taste of fall apples to create a treat that is overflowing with gooey goodness. (Just don’t forget the napkins.)

Vanilla Cinnamon Apples

Serves 4

4 baking apples
3 tbsp. butter
¾ cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 tsp. Nielsen-Massey Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Bean Paste
1 ½ tsp. cinnamon
¼ tsp. allspice
1 tbsp. brandy
¼ cup raisins
¼ cup walnuts
Pinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly coat the bottom of a shallow baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Cut a thin slice from the bottom of each apple so it will stand upright. Scoop out the core of each apple from the top down with the small end of a melon ball cutter, making sure not to core all the way through the apple.

Combine the butter, brown sugar and vanilla paste in a medium saucepan and cook over low heat until the butter is melted, stirring frequently. Remove from the heat and stir in the cinnamon, allspice, brandy, raisins, walnuts and salt. Fill the apples with equal amounts of the filling using a teaspoon. Place the apples in the prepared baking dish. Bake for 20 minutes or until caramelized and fork tender.

About Nielsen-Massey Vanillas

Throughout its more than 100 year history, Nielsen-Massey Vanillas has earned its reputation as a manufacturer of the finest extracts in the world. The full line of Nielsen-Massey’s Pure Vanilla products include: Vanilla Beans and Extracts from Madagascar, Tahiti and Mexico; sugar and alcohol-free Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Powder; Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Bean Paste; Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Sugar and Certified Organic Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Extract and Beans.

Nielsen-Massey Vanillas recently introduced a line of Pure Flavors: Pure Chocolate Extract, Pure Almond Extract, Pure Orange Extract, Pure Lemon Extract, Pure Coffee Extract, Pure Peppermint Extract, Orange Blossom Water and Rose Water. All Nielsen-Massey products are Allergen-Free and certified Kosher and Gluten-Free. The company is headquartered in Waukegan, Illinois, with production facilities in Waukegan and Leeuwarden, The Netherlands.

0 Categories : Recipes

Sep
16

My Favorite Raw Kale Salad Recipe

by Brandy

I’ve posted this before, but it was hidden at the end of a Sam’s Club post. It wasn’t easy to find at all and since it is one of my favorite raw recipes I just had to share it again! Kale is extremely good for you!

RAW KALE SALAD

rawkalesaladwmsm

A lot of you are probably thinking Kale? Raw Kale? Yes Kale! RAW Kale! This is an awesome salad, even if you are not going raw! You got to try it! Kale is very good for you, especially in its raw natural state. When you cook foods, you are losing a lot!

Kale is low in Saturated Fat, and very low in Cholesterol. It is also a good source of Dietary Fiber, Protein, Thiamin, Riboflavin, Folate, Iron, Magnesium and Phosphorus, and a very good source of Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Vitamin B6, Calcium, Potassium, Copper and Manganese.

What you need…

1 bunch fresh Kale. You can use dinosaur or red Russian kale, any Kale is fine. Wash it, remove the stems and tear it into bite sized pieces.
Green Onions washed and sliced.
1 Green Pepper, cleaned and cut into small pieces.
2 large avocados cut into chunks.
1 Tomato, washed and diced.
1 Clove of garlic, minced (raw garlic is strong and has a bit of a kick. I like it a lot so I add a lot).
3/4 cup olive.
1/2 cup lemon juice (fresh is best, but bottled is fine too).
1 tsp. Celtic sea salt.
Crushed Red Pepper (I like a lot!)

Put your torn Kale in a bowl and pour the olive oil, lemon juice and sea salt over the kale leaves. Next is my favorite part…massage the kale with your hands. Squeeze it and run it. This will work the “dressing” into the leaves and make it nice and tender. It will also make your hands soft! Continue to do this until it begins to have that cooked feeling to it. Nice and tender.

Next add the remaining ingredients and toss to mix them in. Then EAT IT! This gets even better after it sits for a few days. Please let me know if you try it and what you thought. It is one of my favorite raw meals.

0 Categories : Recipes

Aug
29

Raw Apple Pie, A Yummy Good For You Recipe!

by Brandy

A lot of you know that I used to eat a lot of Raw foods and that I have recently been transitioning back into it. I need to be as healthy as possible and try anything I can to keep my RSD in check. I think last time I lacked support. A lot of my friends just laughed and poked fun. Calling me things like “Hippie”…ya, tons of support. I am certainly not a hippie, but I truly don’t like the way I feel. Atleast on a Raw foods diet I have more energy, I’m in a better mood and I feel healthier. My pain may not go away, but anything that makes me feel a little bit better is better than nothing.

So, I have support this time. I joined a meet-up class that meets every Sunday. Every Sunday we learn about nutrition and bring recipes to share. It’s like this awesome raw food pot luck! There are some really amazing people up there. People that have even beat cancer with raw foods. I’m not kidding!

So this week I made a Raw Apple Pie. It was easy and cheap! I was so nervous about taking this dish. At the end of the meal it looked like the dish was licked clean! They even had a vote and I won best dish of the night! There were children there and they wanted more! I wish I had doubled the batch! I am sure that this would be a hit with anyone! Raw or not! In fact, I am going to take it to the next gathering we go to where we need to bring a dish.

Raw Apple Pie Recipe – It’s GOOD FOR YOU!

What you will need

6 Large Apples. We used Delicious Red.
12oz of Medjool Dates
12oz Raw Pecans
Cinnamon
Lemon Juice

I used a large casserole dish so that it would serve more people. This made for a thinner crust. If you want a traditional pie, then use a pie pan and you will have a thicker crust. The crust is AMAZING!

Take the pecans and process them into small crumbs in the food processor. Then add 1/2 of the dates (be sure to remove the pits!) and Cinnamon to taste. I like a lot of cinnamon flavor. Process this, occasionally scraping the sides down until you have a doughy consistency.

You’ll want to press this down into your casserole dish or into your pie pan. Again, I chose the casserole dish. When you are finished pressing down your crust place this into the freezer to firm up.

Next you want to prepare the apple filling! Wash your apples. You can peel them if you like, but I didn’t. Too much trouble for me. Take 4 of the apples and slice them. Place these in a bowl.

Take the other 2 apples and chop them into cubes and place in the cubed apples in the food processor with the remaining Medjool Dates, 3 Tbsp Lemon Juice and Cinnamon to taste.

Process this until it is an apple sauce consistency.

Then mix the processed apples with the sliced apples.

After you have mixed this up and all the slices are coated you can spread this onto (or into if using a pie pan) your crust.

If you are not eating it right away, then put it in the refrigerator until you are ready. It will be devoured! If you do happen to have left overs then they should be put into the refrigerator and should keep well for 2-3 days.

13 Categories : Recipes

Aug
1

How to Make Raw Banana “Ice Cream”

by Brandy

This is one of the best things ever! Simple and delicious and you can even have it for breakfast! I told my girls they could have it for breakfast and they jumped for joy!

Now before you go thinking I am some horrible mama feeding the kiddo’s ice cream for breakfast read on! This is better for them than cereal I promise!

Preparation: I sliced and froze one banana for each of us. I was making this for the girls and I, so that is 4 Bananas. Frozen in a container overnight.

Ingredients: Frozen Banana, Nut Milk of your choice (I used Soy Milk because that is what I had here) and a Splash of Vanilla.

Directions: Combine Frozen Bananas, a splash of Vanilla and enough Nut Milk to Process it in the food processor. Process in the food processor until it is the consistency of soft serve ice cream. You will need to stop and scrap down the sides a few times and add more nut milk as needed for the proper consistency. Put it in a bowl and enjoy! You could add other fruits to this, using the frozen bananas as the “ice cream” base. We took cocoa (in the future I would like to have Raw Cocoa Powder) and Agave and mixed it together for the chocolate syrup topping.

So good, so easy and so good for you!

0 Categories : Recipes

Archive for Recipes

Recipe for Easy Stuffed Crescents with Petit Jean Ham #TXBacon #Cbias

Easy Pepper Steak Recipe

Cheesy Ham Rotini Recipe #CBias

Beef & Bacon Sausage Linguine with Hillshire Farm #GourmetCreations

The ingredients:

The instructions:

Insane Amounts of Yum! Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Cake Recipe!

Ingredients:

For the cake:

For decorating:

Cake Directions:

Frosting Directions:

Enjoy!

Nutritional Pumpkin Recipes for the Fall Season

Vanilla Cinnamon Apples Recipe

Don’t Scare Halloween Party Guests with Terrifying Tasting Dessert

Nielsen-Massey’s Vanilla Products Combine with Fall Flavors to Create the Perfect Treat

Vanilla Cinnamon Apples

My Favorite Raw Kale Salad Recipe

RAW KALE SALAD

What you need…

Raw Apple Pie, A Yummy Good For You Recipe!

Raw Apple Pie Recipe – It’s GOOD FOR YOU!

How to Make Raw Banana “Ice Cream”

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