Pesto Lasagna

If you love pesto, this is the recipe for you! We love pesto in our house, and this lasagna could not be easier!

Prepare sauce by diluting one bottle of pesto sauce (generally pretty small jars) with milk, cream, or half 'n' half (can dilute quite a bit as long as it still tastes like pesto). When I make mine, it looks more creamy than pesto-y (I know, I made that word up). Just taste it with your finger to make sure it doesn't lose its pesto flavor. Layer sauce, mozzarella, & no-boil lasgana noodles. Bake according to lasagna noodle directions.

We're kind of pasta snobs in our home (with Braden serving in Italy and me being Italian) so we only use Barilla. According to their box directions, bake at 375 for 50 minutes (covered with foil). Uncover and continue cooking until cheese is melted (about 5 minutes). This can make a 9x13, but I do smaller lasagnas for us.

As a note, if you keep it fairly saucy it won't dry out at all in the oven. Also, pesto is naturally quite oily - a very oil based sauce. Usually some green oil pools up on top of the lasagna and we dab that off with paper towels. We like to put sun dried tomatoes on top for the perfect addition. Yum!
Goes oh-so-well with parmesan rolls. I use Rhodes and roll them in butter and parmesan cheese and bake them as normal.

Looking for a Christmas morning casserole?

Here's a great one!

I made this for my ward's Christmas party a couple weeks ago, and added it to the mix of 25 or so others on the serving table. But then I had so many people come up to me afterwards and say how good it was, and I've already sent the recipe out to some. So here it is - I hope you give it a try! My mom always makes that "souffle" Christmas casserole with ham and bread and cream of mushroom soup (you know the one - everyone has a slightly different version). That's tradition and all, but honestly, I think I like this one better...

WAKE-UP CASSEROLE

8 frozen hash brown patties (instead I used about half a package of frozen hash browns - the cubed kind)

4 c shredded cheddar cheese (i only used 2 - i don't know how 4 would even fit and 4 is way too much)

1 lb cubed fully cooked ham/bacon/sausage (ham is best in my opinion)

7 eggs (i used 8 just because i bought medium sized eggs instead of large, and i wanted to be sure it was enough)

1 cup milk

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground mustard

Place hash browns in a single layer in a greased 13x9 baking dish. Sprinkle with ham and cheese. In a bowl, beat eggs, milk, salt, and mustard. Pour over ham. Cover and bake at 350 for 1 hour. Uncover; bake 15 mins longer or until edges are golden brown and knife inserted near the center comes out clean.

(I actually baked it for 45 minutes at 400, then removed the foil and did that for another 15... but only because I didn't get it in quickly enough to be ready for the party. I actually think I liked it cooked at the higher temp. It was a little crispy on the sides.)

Enjoy!! And Merry Christmas, everyone. :)

My new favorite cookies...

These are amazing. I'm a mint-loving kind of person. Mint-chocolate chip ice cream is my favorite, mint hot chocolate, mint brownies, you get the idea...Dan on the other hand does not love mint and even he loved these cookies. These are really and truly my new favorite cookie.

I got the picture and recipe from http://www.justcookalready.com/

I haven't dipped them in hot chocolate yet, but I definitely plan to! Maybe some MINT hot chocolate!

Creme De Menthe Cream Cheese Cookies

by Sweet Treats and More

1/2 c. cream cheese, soft

1/2 c. butter, soft

1 c. sugar

1 egg

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. baking powder

1 c. flour
1 pkg Andes Creme De Menthe Baking Chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper (I didn't have parchment paper so I just greased the pans and it worked just fine). In a large bowl beat cream cheese and butter together. Gradually beat in sugar, at medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and salt. Whisk together baking powder and flour in a small bowl and, mixing by hand add to cream cheese mixture. Stir in 1/2 of the bag of Andes Creme De Menthe baking chips. Let chill in the refrigerator for 20 minutes. Drop by rounded tablespoons onto baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 9-10 minutes (for some reason mine took closer to 11-12 minutes, but I would check them at 10 minutes), until bottom edges barely turns brown. Don't overcook. Remove cookies and let cool.

In a small bowl, microwave the remaining Creme De Menthe chips until melted. Drizzle the chocolate over the cookies and let cool.

Pulled Pork Roast

Ok, so I don't know if you can really call this a recipe - more like a meal idea... But we LOVE this in our house! It couldn't be any easier and it tastes fantastic! We made this on fast Sunday and it was lovely to have it in the crock pot before church and to come home to an amazing smelling house and ready to eat.

2 lb. pork roast

bottle of good BBQ sauce

med. onion

Just throw a pork roast into the crock pot. I use a fork and poke holes all across the top and sprinkle garlic salt for tenderizing/flavoring purposes. Add a med. onion cut into wedges. Pour in an entire bottle of BBQ sauce on top and add a little bit of water (I add mine to the bottle, shake it up, and get all the rest of the good stuff out). Cook on low heat all day or high heat for half the time. Pull apart with a fork.

We like to eat ours with very simple roasted potatoes (oil, salt & pepper, oregano) and rolls.
Yummy!

We always have plenty left over. We freeze the rest of the pork and use it another time to have pulled pork sandwiches - just toasting some hard rolls under the broiler (with provalone cheese).

truly I do cook!! Beef Stroganoff

I feel terrible that I havn't posted on my day in like a month...truth is I have been cooking everybody elses recipes on this blog..haha but I am doing my quick beef stroganoff tonight and thought even though it's not my day I better post SOMETHING..

egg noodles
1 lb beef
cream of mushroom soup
cream cheese
sour cream
milk

1 - boil egg noodles while browning beef in a big skillet
2- once meat is cooked add 1 can cream of mushroom 1/2 block cream cheese and like 1/2 to 3/4 cup sour cream (it all depends on your taste buds) keep on medium until everything is blended together.
3- once noodles are cooked add to the meat mixture, if really thick then add little bits of milk until you get whatever consistency you are looking for.
4- you'll probably have to add salt, but I rather do it at the end than over salt anything.

I threw this together with some pillsbury crescent rolls and WALAH it's a nummy dish.

Crock Pot Chicken Cordon Bleu

I know Amanda, it took me long enough, right?? :)

This is SO DELICIOUS and we eat it up like crazy every time. ENJOY!


Chicken Cordon Bleu

8 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I didn't use that many-too much for us)

1 tsp salt

1/8 tsp white pepper (I just used black pepper)

1 tsp dried thyme leaves

8 thin slices boiled ham

2 onions, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 (16 oz) bag baby carrots

1 (16 oz) jar Alfredo sauce

1 (10 oz) can cream of chicken soup

2 cups shredded Swiss cheese

Rice

1. Sprinkle chicken breasts with salt, pepper, and thyme. Wrap a slice of ham around each breast and secure with toothpicks.

2. Place onion, garlic, and carrots in a 5 to 6 quart slow cooker. Top with wrapped chicken breasts.
(I didn't use the carrots and onions. We had veggies on the side instead. I think it would be fine either way. I did use the garlic and just mixed it into the sauce.)

3. In medium bowl, combine remaining ingredients. Pour into slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or until chicken is thoroughly cooked. Serve over rice.

Cafe Rio Salads

I mentioned I was making this for dinner tonight and had several requests for the recipe, so I figured it would be easiest to post it all here (even though it's not my day to post, but it's okay because I missed my day this time anyway).

For those of you who are new here, this is just a blog I put together to learn new recipes and exchange recipes between friends. I've decided that I love to cook lately, and I'm always looking for new recipes to change things up! I would love to have you post your recipes! So, if you're interested, just send me your e-mail address and I'll send you an invite to be a publisher or whatever on this blog.

For those of you who aren't new here, I am going to take the posting schedule away (life is busy, I know, and it's not really working out anyway). So please still post! But post to your heart's desire as much as you want!

On to the deliciousness. I don't remember where exactly I got this recipe. I'm thinking it was out of a ward cookbook or something. So glad I finally tried it. It was so yummy. I'm so full right now and yet already looking forward to my leftovers for lunch tomorrow...or maybe a midnight snack? Say no to the tempation Amanda!

Cafe Rio Shredded Pork

- 4 lbs. pork roast - bone in (I think I actually just used some pork tenderloin I had in my freezer)
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons crushed red pepper
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 1 sliced onion
- 2 cloves minced garlic
- 1 cup chicken stock (I used broth - anyone know the difference between the two?)
- 1 can of Coke - not diet

Trim the fat off the roast. Rub the brown sugar, red pepper, salt,cumin, and paprika over the roast covering it completely. Place in the crock pot. Add the garlic, onion, chicken stock, and Coke. Cook on low for 5 hours.

- 1 cup brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons paprika

Take the pork out of the crock pot and shred. While the meat is out, add the brown sugar and paprika to the crock pot and let it dissolve. Return the meat to the crock pot and continue to cook another 3 hours on low

(I apparently don't like to follow directions. I just left the pork in the crock pot, added the brown sugar and paprika to the juices around the meat and stirred them in and let them dissolve while I was shredding the pork with 2 forks while still in the crock pot and then just stirred it all together. It's so much easier that way - for me anyway, and less messy).

Also, the original recipe says to cook on low for 8 hours in the first step, then shred and add the brown sugar and paprika and cook for an additional 8 hours on low. That seemed absurd to me so I just did 8 hours total (5 then shred then another 3). It worked perfectly, but I'm sure if you wanted to let it cook for that addional 8 hours it would make the meat that much more tender and flavorful.

I served the meat with tortillas (the uncooked kind is the best), black beans, cilantro lime rice (recipe below), romaine, and cilantro lime dressing (recipe source below). You can use any other toppings you like.

Cilantro Lime Rice
- 1 cup white rice
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 pinch of salt
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro

Cook rice according to package directions using broth instead of water. When done, fluff with a fork and add the remaining ingredients.

*Again, I don't like to follow directions I guess. I used minute rice so instead of 1 cup, I used 2 cups of rice with the 2 cups of broth and it worked well.

Cilantro Lime Dressing

I got this recipe here. It is one of my favorite recipe websites!

Check out their spa week stuff. Natural facials, hair treatments, and a brown sugar body scrub. All on my list for the next time I need a ME day. Who's in for a girl's spa night?! Not to mention all of their Christmas goodies - YUM. So many recipes - way too many calories. Is it worth it? I think yes! 

Spaghetti Squash Spaghetti

Wow, I just noticed that nobody has posted for awhile! I'm late myself, but here is one my husband and I ate tonight and we were both LOVING it. Plus, it's extremely simple and filling. This will make you squash-haters change your minds. :)

1 spaghetti squash

1 jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce (or homemade would be great)

italian style cheese for the top (mozzarella, parmesan, etc)

1 to 2 TB oil

salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400. Cut your squash in half lengthwise. Drizzle 1 TB (or a little less is fine) over each half, then sprinkle salt and pepper. Turn them cut-side-down on a cookie sheet, and roast in oven for 45-60 minutes.

Take a fork and rake it along the inside of each half so the little spaghetti strings come up from the sides. Pour some of the sauce directly into each half and top with cheese so it melts. Serve it just like that!

Soooo yummy!