Italian Night!!

First off I found this recipe on this blog and I had to make it! The recipe is very easy and delicious-I had everything on hand-awesome! Can't beat that:)

Head over there and check out her blog-it's great!

It's called Crockpot Italian Chicken

You let the chicken go in the crockpot all day with some of the sauce and then you cook the pasta

and thats pretty much it-EASY!

Click on the above link for the recipe.

Although I will have a printable recipe for you at the bottom of this post.

Looks yummy right?!?

Be sure to head over to RECIPEAHOLIC soon.

Enjoy:)

Printable Recipe

Easter Egg Hunt Cake

You can't always judge a cake by its frosting....

Posted by Holly and Michelle

The inspiration for this cake came from I am baker who does a lot of different cakes with a surprise inside. If you haven't been to her blog I highly, highly, recommend it! One very talented woman:) Amanda just posted an Easter Egg cake with the cutest surprise inside so go and check it out!

Above is Michelle's cake and below is my {Holly} three. She topped hers with white chocolate curls and mine has crumbled cake.

Little minis:)

Voila!!!!

This was the first time i {Michelle} attempted one of these "surprise cakes"!! I was so scared to cut into the cake... i thought it was going to be disastrous! Jimmy (My husband) and I worked on this cake together and let me tell you, i sure wasn't the brainy one!! Jimmy did the "zig-zag" design and has tried to explain to me several times how he did it... yep, still am confused! I tried to make dots along the whole pink layer but didn't quite get it right and there is only a yellow dot occasionally :). (We also forgot to frost between our two middle layers to the cake is tilting a little... lol, character, right?)




We each did our own cakes and have posted them together to show how the same idea can be done several ways!!

We {Hubby and I} decided it would be cute to do mini cakes.

Originally we were going to do 2 4 layer cakes but they would have been

a little too tall.

I was glad to have that many attempts at perfecting the shape of the egg!

The last one-pink topped-was our 1st attempt.

It turned out sorta like a spring colored Christmas tree-Yikes!

That's why we stuck it at the back of the picture;)

The purple-topped was our 2nd attempt,

the green was the 3rd and best:)

You can kinda see on the pink one that I started frosting the bottom-oops!

Oh well, nothing wrong with a little extra frosting right?!?!

The cut out piece (or chunk!) of cake... so cute how you get an Easter egg on every piece!

Here is a little slice so you can see the shape from another angle

It was fun to see what the other came up with,I know I was excited to see what Michelle and Jimmy were going to do! Even though we had talked about what we were each going to be doing I think we were both surprised to actually see the results.

If anyone wants to "see" how the egg came to be in the cakes let me know- cuz I took photo's along the way:)

Enjoy!

Potato Pan Rolls

These dinner rolls are delicious and great for the upcoming Easter Dinner!! I found this recipe quite a few years ago in the Taste of Home cookbook and they have become a favorite! They are a must have for when it comes to family dinners and any other time i get the time to make them!


Hmm...


They are so soft and full of flavor!

Printable Recipe

Good Morning Muffins!

Happy weekend to you all!:)

Here is a quick and easy-peasy muffin recipe.

Using of course a box mix for a base to jump from:)

1 box bran muffin mix{mix in usual way}

1 T. or more cinnamon

1 T. sugar

capful of vanilla

3/4 to 1 c. berries

I used blackberries

Add in the cinnamon, sugar, and vanilla stir until just combined. Fold in the berries. Pour into the muffin pan-you can line them with papers or grease them. Top them with raw sugar for a nice crunchy top. Bake at 350 for12 to 15 mins. or until tops are slightly browned.

Enjoy with a nice hot cup of coffee!!

Printable Recipe

Chili-Rubbed BBQ Pork Chops

Here's a Summers almost here type of a meal for you-but it's all done inside!

Yes I do realize that the first day of Spring was only days ago;)

Chili-Rubbed BBQ Pork Chops

4 pork loin chops 3/4 to 1 inch thick

garlic salt

ground black pepper

2 T. chili seasoning

1/2 c. or more bottled barbecue sauce

Preheat broiler. Line a baking sheet or broiler pan with foil. Place chops on baking sheet. Season with garlic salt and pepper. Rub with chili seasoning.

Broil chops 6 inches from heat for 4 mins per side. Brush chops with BBQ sauce; broil for 1 min. Turn chops and brush with additional BBQ sauce. Broil for 1 more min or until cooked through {160 degrees F}. Serve hot.

On the side of these pork chops were Bourbon Baked Beans.

2 cans {16 oz. each} baked beans, drained

1/2 c. chili sauce

1/4 c. real bacon pieces

1/4 c. bourbon {optional}

2 T. packed brown sugar

1 T. molasses

In a medium sauce pan, combine baked beans, chili sauce, bacon. bourbon, brown sugar, and molasses. Bring to a boil over med-high heat; reduce heat to medium. Cook for 10 min.

Serve hot.

This was this evenings delicious supper-even the kids thought it was good:)

It is very quick and easy to prepare too!

Enjoy!

Printable Recipe

Welcome Kristi!!

You may have noticed the last post for the Spicy Meat and Cheese Strombolis was posted by someone new!!! (If you haven't seen the post, check it out.... they look delicious!!) We have invited Kristi to post on The Peppered Pantry and are excited to see what flavor "The South" can bring to the blog!



For the ones that don't know, the posts are coming from all over the country!! Holly is coming to us from Washington, while Michelle blogs in South Dakota and Kristi has joined us from South Carolina!!

Spicy Meat and Cheese Stromboli

These are so yummy and easy!! These are perfect for a quick meal during the week!  There is alot of spice going on in these sandwhichs!!  You might want to monitor the spice really good or it will be to hot to eat.

Ingredients:

1 pizza dough recipe follows (can be refrigerated pizza dough)

About 24 slices of pepperoni

6 slices of provolone, deli sliced (can use mozerella too)

6 slices of Italian hot ham (or regular ham will work too)

8 slices of Genoa salami

2T extra virgin olive oil

2T sesame seeds

2t Italian seasoning blend

2T grated Parmigiano or Romano

1tsp crushed red pepper flakes ( i would not put this much in unless you can really take the heat..I only put between 1/4-1/2t and mine is still spicy)

1 tsp garlic powder

For the pizza dough:  (i got the recipe a long time ago from here Edens Bouquet )

I love this recipe bc you dont have to let it rise if you dont have time and it still turns out good but if you have time to let it rise (about 15-30 minutes) it is even better!!

1 cup hot water

1tbsp yeast (dissolve in 1/4 cup warm water)

1tbsp sugar

1tbsp olive oil

1tsp salt

Mix in kitchen-aid mixer using dough hook. Add flour until dough is no longer sticky and pulls away from sides of bowl. About 3-3 1/2 cups of flour.

Roll out the dough into a nice big rectangle, gently spreading dough into 4 equal pieces, working across the dough: cut in half and cut each half in half again.

Cover each piece of dough with: 6 slices of pepporoni ( can add more if you want i always do), 1 1/2 slices of cheese,

1 1/2 slices of hot ham, and 2 slices of Genoa salami.

      

Roll each piece on an angle from corner to corner making a long roll that is thicker in the middle and thinner on each end. Mix sesame seeds, cheese, italian seasoning blend, a little bit of red pepper flakes ( i would just do a dash so its not to hot) in a small bowl

Brush rolls with extra-virgin olive oil and sprinkle and pat the mixture onto the dough.

Bake until evenly golden, 12-15 minutes then serve. Serve with dipping sauce.

Simple Marinara Dipping Sauce:

1T extra-virgin olive oil

3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

1 tsp red pepper flakes(again i wouldnt use that much. Start with a sprinkle and increase slowly to your liking)

1T anchovy paste, optional but recommended

1T chopped flat-leaf parsley

1 15oz can crushed tomatoes

Heat a small pot over medium heat. Add olive oil, garlic, pepper flakes, and anchovy paste. Cook 2 minutes. Add parsely, tomatoes, salt and pepper.

Stir sauce, bring to a bubble and simmer 5 minutes over low heat.

Then place in small bowl and serve.

 
Enjoy!! I hope you like them as much as I do..These are also kid friendly..My kids love them!!!
 

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*Recipe adapted from Rachel Ray

Cheesecake Sugar Cookies

We have had this Sugar Cookie mix sitting in a cupboard for a little while and it got me thinking... what could i do to spice up the regular sugar cookie? So i came up with what i call Cheesecake Sugar Cookies!

It was hard to get a really good picture of the end product but here is one!

First, mix up the Sugar Cookie dough as directed on the package. Set aside.


Meanwhile, start the cheesecake mixture by combining the sugar and cream cheese in a large bowl. Beat with an electric mixture until fluffy.

Add egg, beating very well.

Stir in 1 to 1 1/2 ounces melted white chocolate.

Liberally grease muffin pan.

Take a heaping tablespoon of the cookie dough mix and press down into the muffin tin. With your thumb press down in the middle so dough goes up the sides of the pan and makes a"well" to hold your cheesecake.

Fill each cookie "well" with the cheesecake mixture. Bake at 350° for 9 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool slightly. Place in fridge to cool completely. (If you try to remove them from the pan without cooling in the fridge, they just fall apart!!! Yep, happened to me!!) Remove from pan to wire rack or parchment paper.

I drizzled half the the cookies with caramel and half with white chocolate. For the white chocolate ones, melt the remaining white chocolate and using a spoon, drizzle chocolate over cookies.

For the caramel drizzle, melt 20-24 caramels (for half the recipe i used about 10) with 1 tablespoon whipping cream.

Here is the before picture....

Using a spoon, drizzle caramel over cookies!

And the white chocolate ones... Jimmy like the white chocolate ones a lot better! The cookies need to stay refrigerated for the cheesecake so the caramel gets a little crunchy.

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What's the Difference???

Between the Sloppy Joe and the Barbeque??? I grew up with them being called Barbeque's but now they are Sloppy Joes....is it just different parts of the country or is it something else? Hmmm.......Anyway Have I got the ultimate "Sloppy Joes" for you;)

Recipe from * The Somero Cottage Kitchen Cookbook*

1 lb. ground beef or turkey 2 T. brown sugar

1/4 t. salt 3 T. Worcestershire sauce

dash of pepper 1 t. dry mustard

1/4 c. chopped onion 1/4 c. lemon juice

1/4 c. chopped celery 2 T. vinegar

1 c. ketchup 1/2 c. water

Brown meat, drain. Add in order given, remaining ingredients. Simmer 20 mins. or until thickened.

We serve potato salad on the side and I personally like to top mine with relish:)

Hope you try this one you won't regret it!!

Enjoy!

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Crepes ~ Perfect Sunday Breakfast

I had never really tried crepes and my husband was always talking about the crepes his mom used to make and how good they are! So we found a recipe online and I love them!! They are great for something different and, to me, are much "lighter" than pancakes or waffles.

The traditional looking crepes... these ones are blackberry!

After the crepes are made we fill the inside with pie filling and cool whip. Then fold the crepe however you would like and top with more pie filling, cool whip and a dusting of powdered sugar!

Strawberry... my favorite! :)

Enjoy!!

Printable Recipe

After School Snack

I saw these bars over at How Sweet It Is and had to make them Then just today at Buttercream Barbie !! Popular bars hey:)

I'm going to do somewhat of little step by step for ya;)

First: Cream 2 sticks of butter and 1-1/2 c. sugar together until fluffy.

Add 2 eggs and 2-1/2 c. creamy peanut butter mix just 'til combined-about 2 mins.

Whisk together dry ingredients-3 c. flour, 1-1/2 t. salt, & 1 t. salt. Add to the butter mixture until just combined. Add vanilla.

Transfer 2/3 of mixture into baking dish-13x9 in. spreading evenly.

I used a half and half mixture of strawberry and raspberry jams.

This is where I strayed a little from the recipe:)

Spread the jam over the bottom layer.

Crumble remaining peanut butter mixture on top the jam.

Sprinkle with the 1 c. chopped peanuts.

Bake until golden brown, 45 to 60 mins. I baked mine about 50 mins total.

Allow to cool for a few hours before cutting-trust me on this!

MmmmMmm....Yum!

Enjoy!

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