Stuffed Italian Sausage Peppers

6 red bell peppers

Olive Oil

Kosher Salt

1 pkg Jimmy Dean Italian Sausage

1 can fire roasted tomatoes with garlic

1 boil-in-a-bag rice

Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

Shredded Parmesan Cheese

Preheat oven to 450

Cut off tops of peppers and remove seeds and veins. Wash. Put in microwave safe bowl with olive oil. Toss to coat. Sprinkle Kosher Salt. Put lid or a cover on bowl and microwave about 8-10 minutes.

In skillet brown the Italian Sausage.

Cook bag rice according to package directions. Drain

When sausage in done, stir in tomatoes, rice and cheese. Add to peppers and bake 10 minutes.

Potato Bundles

 6 russet potatoes, scrubbed clean and diced (not peeled) 

1/2 yellow onion, diced 

1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) butter 

1/2 cup heavy cream 

Paprika, to taste 

 Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 

2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley 

Preheat a grill to medium-high heat. Pile the potatoes and onions evenly on 6 squares of foil. Add 2 tablespoons butter to each and splash on some cream. Sprinkle on some paprika, salt and black pepper, then finish with a sprinkle of minced parsley on top. Fold the foil pieces to wrap into bundles. Place the potato bundles on the hottest spot on the grill for 30 minutes. Serve the bundles right on the dinner plates. 

Tex-Mex Fried Rice

 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 

1 pound spicy sausage meat  

1 1/2 cups frozen yellow corn kernels 

1 onion, finely chopped  

1 red bell pepper, finely chopped  

1 jalapeno, finely chopped  

1 teaspoon chili powder  

Pinch kosher salt  

Pinch red pepper flakes  

Freshly ground black pepper 

4 cups leftover cooked rice  

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce  

1 tablespoon hot sauce, or more to taste 

Zest and juice of 1 lime  

4 scallions, sliced  

1/2 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped

Heat the oil in a large skillet and brown the sausage meat, breaking it up into small pieces. When starting to brown, add the frozen corn (no need to thaw), onions, bell peppers and jalapenos. Season with the chili powder, salt, red pepper flakes and plenty of black pepper. Cook until the vegetables are crisp-tender. Add the rice and stir-fry until heated through and coated with the vegetable mixture. Add the Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce and lime zest and juice. Stir-fry until the rice is just starting to brown. Add the scallions and stir well so that they are thoroughly mixed in. Serve and garnish with cilantro.

Red Velvet Poke Cake

 

Ingredients

• 15.25 ounce box red velvet cake mix
• (ingredients needed to make cake - eggs, oil & water)
• 2 (3.4 ounce) boxes instant Cheesecake-flavored pudding
• 4 cups milk
• 8 ounce tub frozen whipped topping (COOL WHIP) thawed
• 10 Oreo cookies, crushed (optional)

Instructions

• Prepare cake mix according to package directions for a 9x13 cake. Once cake comes out of the oven, allow it to cool for just a couple of minutes.
• Then, with a wooden spoon handle, a spatula handle, or some other similarly-sized object, begin poking holes in the warm cake. You want the holes to be BIG so that the pudding has plenty of room to get down in there. Be sure to poke right down to the bottom of the cake.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together pudding mix with 4 cups of milk. Whisk until all the lumps are gone.
• Pour pudding over cake. Taking care to pour it right into the holes as much as possible.
• Spread it all out and using the back of the spoon, gently push pudding down into the holes.
• Put the cake into the fridge to set and cool (about 2 hours).
• Once your cake has completely cooled, spread on whipped topping. Spread it out evenly over the pudding layer.
• Spread crushed Oreos onto the top of the cake.

Cherry-Almond Angel Food Cake

 

• 1box (16 oz) Angel Food Cake Mix
• 1 1/3cups cold water
• 1 1/2teaspoons almond extract
• 1/2cup chopped maraschino cherries, well drained

• 2tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
• 2cups powdered sugar
• 2to 2 1/2 tablespoons maraschino cherry juice
• • Move oven rack to lowest position (remove other racks). Heat oven to 350°F. In extra-large glass or metal bowl, beat cake mix, cold water and extract with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds. Beat on medium speed 1 minute. Carefully fold in cherries. Pour into ungreased 10-inch angel food (tube) cake pan. 
  • Bake 37 to 47 minutes or until top is dark golden brown and cracks feel very dry and not sticky. Do not underbake. Immediately turn pan upside down onto glass bottle, or rest edges on 2 to 4 cans of equal height until cake is completely cooled, about 2 hours. Run knife around edge of cake; remove from pan.
  • In medium bowl, mix butter, powdered sugar and enough cherry juice for desired spreading consistency. Spread glaze over top of cake, allowing some to drizzle down side. Garnish with whole cherries, if desired.

PUMPKIN BREAD

• 5 large eggs

• 1 (15 oz.) can 100% pumpkin puree

• 1/2 cup canola oil

• 1/4 cup melted butter, unsalted

• 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

• 2 cups All-Purpose flour

• 1 cup white sugar

• 1 (5.1 oz.) package instant vanilla pudding mix

• 1 tsp. baking soda

• 1 tsp. cinnamon

• 1/2 tsp. baking powder

• 1/2 tsp. salt

• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg

Cinnamon sugar topping (optional)

• 1 Tbsp. sugar

• 1 tsp. cinnamon

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Using a mixer, beat the eggs in a large bowl.

2. Then add in the pumpkin, oil, melted butter, brown sugar and vanilla extract until smooth.

3. Mix the dry ingredients together in a medium bowl.

4. Gradually beat dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until incorporated.

5. Spray two 8.5 x 4.5 inch loaf pans with non stick baking spray.

6. Pour batter into prepared pans. Sprinkle the top with a cinnamon & sugar mixture if desired.

7. Bake for 65-70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool slightly before slicing and serving. Store in the refrigerator.

Crispy Date Balls

 

1/2 stick butter

1 cup sugar

1 egg, beaten

8 oz chopped dates

Cook in large pan for 10 minutes on low, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and cool slightly.

Stir in:

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup chopped pecans

2 cups rice crispy cereal

Butter hands. Roll into balls. Roll in powdered sugar.

Cheeseburger Casserole

 1 lb ground beef

1 medium onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup ketchup

2 tablespoons mustard

1 cup diced tomatoes (canned or fresh)

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

2 cups cooked elbow macaroni or any pasta of choice (I used GF bow tie noodles)

Salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat Oven: Set your oven to 350°F

Cook Beef: In a large skillet over medium heat, cook the ground beef until browned. Drain the excess fat.

Sauté Veggies: Add the chopped onion and minced garlic to the skillet with the beef. Cook until the onion is translucent.

Add Flavor: Stir in the ketchup, mustard, and diced tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper. Let the mixture simmer for about 5 minutes.

Combine: In a large mixing bowl, combine the cooked pasta and the beef mixture.

Assemble Casserole: In a greased casserole dish, layer half of the pasta and beef mixture. Sprinkle half of the cheese on top. Repeat the layers with the remaining pasta mixture and cheese.

Bake: Place the casserole dish in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and bubbly.

Pecan Pie - my favorite from Nikki

 2 1/2 cups chopped pecans

3 large eggs

1 cup dark corn syrup

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350  Spread pecans inside pie crust.  Whisk remaining ingredients and pour over pecans.  Bake 40-50 minutes or until top is slightly browned.

Cheese Ball

 Cheese Ball

2 pkg cream cheese, room temperature

4 cups cheddar cheese, room temperature

1 pkg ranch dressing mix

Additional chese (your choice, I used Colby Jack)

Mix cream cheese, cheddar cheese and ranch dressing in a large bowl with mixer.

Form into 2 balls. Roll in the extra cheese to coat. Wrap in Saran Wrap.

Make night before.

All reactions:

11Dan Dotson, Donnie Short and 9 others

Blackberry Cobbler

I used 2 boxes pie crust but you can make your own if you want.

• 2 cup granulated sugar

• 4 tablespoons cornstarch

• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 2 cup boiling water

• blackberries (I used 3 packages of fresh and 2 bags of frozen)

• 2 tablespoon cold unsalted butter cut into small cubes

• 1 large egg lightly beaten

• sugar for topping

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.

2. Lightly grease an 9x13 dish or with vegetable cooking spray. Set aside.

3. In a medium saucepan mix together sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon and boiling water. Bring the sugar mixture to a boil over medium heat. Boil 5 minutes stirring occasionally until thickened. Remove from the heat and add the blackberries. Stir gently until the blackberries release some juice. Set aside.

4. Use 1 box of pie crusts to line the baking dish.

5. Pour in the berries.

6. Use the 2nd box of pie crust to cut strips & weave a lattice crust on top.

7. Brush the pastry with the beaten egg and sprinkle with coarse sugar.

8. Place the baking pan on a parchment lined baking sheet to catch any juice that may bubble over. Bake at 400ºF for 10 minutes then reduce the heat to 350ºF and continue baking for about 45 to 55 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and the juices are bubbling. If the crust is browning too quickly, tent the cobbler with foil as needed. (My oven took quite a bit longer to bake this, so just keep an eye on it).

10. Cool to room temperature or serve warm topped with ice cream or lightly sweeten cream.

All reactions:

22Dan Dotson, Angie Doing Gann and 20 others

Potato Soup - improved recipe

 Ingredients

▢ 1 stalk of celery - chopped

▢ ½ white onion - diced

▢ 2 teaspoons minced garlic

▢ ½ cup shredded carrots

▢ 1 tablespoon olive oil

▢ 4 cups chicken broth

▢ salt and pepper - to taste

▢ 1 teaspoon thyme

▢ 3 or 4 large Yukon Gold potatoes - diced

▢ 1 1/2 cups heavy cream

▢ 1/2 cup milk

▢ Sprinkle of Cajun Seasoning

▢ Grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions

Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add celery, onions, garlic, and carrots and saute for 2-3 minutes until onions are translucent.

Add chicken broth, potatoes, salt, pepper, and thyme, bring to a boil, and cook until potatoes are tender.

Stir in milk and cream. and cook a few minutes until soups begins to thicken. Sprinkle with Cajun seasoning. Serve with grated Parmesan cheese.