Monkey Bread 01/08/2012
Bobby and I are going to start our New Year's diet TOMORROW! So today, I am posting an easy favorite - that I haven't made in a while...but may have as a treat in a few months (after we have lost a few pounds...LOL)  Monkey Bread Ingredients: 2 large cans of biscuits any brand 2 sticks of melted butter 1 cup of granulated sugar 1/2 cup of light or dark brown sugar 2 tablespoons of cinnamon Directions: Oven should be preheated at 350 degrees. Spray pan with Pam (any non stick spray, I personally use what I buy from Aldis) In one bowl have your melted butter. In another bowl mix your sugars and cinnamon together (make sure this is smooth...no brown sugar lumps) Cut or tear each biscuit into 4 pieces - first dip in butter then roll in the sugar mixture and place in the prepared pan. You don't want to push them down in the pan...just place them...they will expand as they cook. When you have all your biscuit pieces in the pan...you are ready to bake. Bake for about 35-40 minutes or until when touched it springs back. Just keep an eye on it, so it doesn't burn or get too brown. Let cool for a bit (maybe about 10-15 minutes) then invert onto a plate. Oh My Gosh...it is ooey and gooey and so good! (pictures are from gimme some oven)  Add Comment Oreo Bon Bons 01/03/2012
My niece Christine Collier made these for New Year's Eve...She didn't drizzle with the melted chocolate chips just dipped them in the white baking chocolate. They were very rich and good!  Ingredients: 1 (lb) package of Oreo cookies 8 oz cream cheese 1 (16 oz ) package baking chocolate 1 (16oz) package melting chocolate Directions: Place Oreos in food processor & pulse til roughly chopped. Add cream cheese and process until completely combined. Line baking sheet with aluminum foil. Roll into ball and place on foil. Place in freezer until firm. Melt chocolate according to directions on package. Dip balls into chocolate to cover, place back on foil. Melt chips according to package. Pour melted chips in Ziploc bag and cut the top off one corner. Drizzle with the melted chocolate chips as desired. Let chocolate set and serve. Shoepeg Corn Salad 12/29/2011
 First had this recipe at my sister Linda Collier's house. She is always making something different for us to try. As it turns out...I have to force myself to stop eating this. It is sooooo good! 1 can shoe peg corn, drained 1/4 c. chopped tomato 1/4 c. mayonnaise 1/4 c. chopped green pepper 1/4 c. chopped onion (red) Mix all ingredients together. Add salt to taste. This is a colorful summer salad. Chill and serve. If you need more, just double the recipe. Chicken Fingers in the Oven 12/27/2011
I had 2 large chicken breasts thawed out and wondered how I could stretch those to make a tasty supper. I decided to make up a recipe that could be baked in the oven. Ingredients: 2 very large chicken breasts 1 egg 1cup milk 1 envelop of french onion soup mix 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese 1/2 tsp black pepper 1 tsp garlic powder 1 cup of life cereal crushed Directions: Spray the bottom of the a 13 x 9 pan with no stick spray and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  I took those 2 large chicken breasts and cut them into strips and put them in a bowl of milk and eggs beaten together. Then mixed together all the dry ingredients and put in a bowl.   Take the chicken strips one at a time out of the milk mixture and roll in the dry ingredients and place them in a single layer in the 13 x 9 pan and place in the oven for 35 - 40 minutes. I put in the microwave for 3 more minutes to be sure cooked through. They will be golden brown and crispy!  We served them with some ranch dressing for dipping. Add some seasoned fries and you have a great quick supper. You could use corn flakes as the cereal - I used life cereal because we have that on hand most of the time. You can also increase the amount of chicken used for more chicken fingers. Rolo Turtles 12/23/2011
These have become a favorite Christmas treat! I will say they are dangerous because they are so addictive...you can't just eat one...I have to make myself only eat 2 at one time. Yummy!!!  Ingredients: Bag of small pretzels Bag of pecans Rolos (see explanation at bottom) Directions: 1. Put the pretzels on a baking sheet, you can line with parchment if you want, but I don't find it necessary usually. The key here is to put them pretty evenly spaced in rows, it will make the pecan step MUCH easier. You can use the circle pretzels, or the small twisty ones, but I prefer the snaps, it gives an even surface to place the rest of the stuff. 2. Then you will place one rolo candy on each pretzel 3. Pop them in the oven at 350 (or around there) for 4-5 minutes. They will look shiny, but they will still look like a rolo, they shouldn't melt all over the place. 4. Take them out of the oven (get a helper for this part if you are doing a lot of them) and place a pecan on top of each rolo candy. Be careful not to burn yourself on the hot caramel or the sides of the baking sheet. 5. Then, gently push down squishing the rolo. You do need a light touch on this part because if you squish them too much the rolo gets everywhere and they're hard to remove from the pan when cooled. 6. Let them cool at room temp, then pop them in the fridge or freezer to cool completely. I store in the fridge to keep them longer, but remove them an hour or so before eating so the caramel softens up a bit. You can also store just in a covered tuperware container at room temp if you plan on eating them within a few days. Oh, and one last thing. A REALLY helpful hint. Buy the rolos at the checkout counter, not the bagged ones. I always forget and buy the bagged ones because we need so many of them, but then you spend more time unwrapping each one than you do putting the rest of them together. Source: So Wonderful So Marvelous Baked French Toast 12/23/2011
 Ingredients: 1 loaf sourdough bread (I used Pepperidge Farm) 8 eggs 2 cups milk (I used 1%) 1/2 cup heavy cream 3/4 cup sugar 2 Tbsp. vanilla Topping: 1/2 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 cup packed brown sugar 1 tsp. cinnamon 1/4 tsp. salt 1 stick cold butter, cut into pieces Directions: 1. Grease a 9x13 pan with butter. Tear bread into bite-size chunks and place evenly in the pan. 2. Mix together the eggs, milk, cream, sugar, and vanilla. Pour evenly over bread. Cover tightly and store in the fridge for several hours (I put mine in overnight....it was about 12 hours). 3. In a medium bowl mix together the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender until it all looks nice and crumbly . Place in a ziploc bag and put in fridge. 4. When ready to bake, take pan and bag out of fridge. Remove wrap and evenly sprinkle the crumb mixture over the top. Bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees (or 45 minutes if you like it more soft and pudding-like). Source: Mormon Mavens Crockpot Breakfast 12/19/2011
I made this for a Holiday Breakfast at work. It was a hit and was so convenient to be able to put it on the night before.  Ingredients: 6-8 strips of bacon 1 onion peeled and chopped 1 clove garlic peeled and minced 1 red or green pepper seeded and chopped 1 (2lb bag) frozen hash browns 1 1/2 cup shredded cheese 12 eggs 1 cup milk 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp pepper Directions: Spray crock pot with non-stick cooking spray. Cook bacon til crisp, cool, then chop into 1 inch pieces and set aside. Saute onion, garlic and pepper for 5 minutes. Place 1/3 of hash browns in bottom of crock pot. Add 1/3 bacon, and 1/3 onion garlic pepper mixture and 1/3 cheese. Repeat layers, ending with cheese. In a large bowl mix eggs, milk, salt and pepper. Pour over ingredients in crock pot, cover and turn on low heat. Cook for 8-10 hours. When done the thermometer in center should read 160 degrees F. Yield 8-10 servings. Baked Parmesan Chicken Spaghetti 12/10/2011
I have fixed Parmesan Chicken before but decided to try a variation on it with this dish. It was so good, I am sure we will be having this time and time again.  Ingredients 2 large chicken breasts small onion 1 large jar of spaghetti sauce (I use the one with mushrooms) 1 small can of mushrooms shredded mozzarella cheese 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese 8 oz spaghetti cooked and drained salt garlic powder pepper Directions Preheat oven to 375. Spray a large skillet with Pam like spray and place the chicken in skillet (mine were actually frozen when I put in the skillet) cut up the onion and put around chicken cook on low to medium. Turn chicken cover with salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste then turn again and to the same on the other side. When my chicken was thawed I cut it up in chunks and turned the burner to medium and continued to cook until cooked through. Add jar of sauce and can of mushrooms drained and simmer. Spray a 9x13 inch pan. In a large bowl mix the cooked and drained spaghetti and the chicken and sauce together. Layer half on the bottom of the pan cover with mozzarella cheese and half the Parmesan cheese. Put remainder of spaghetti mixture on top and cover again with the mozzarella cheese and rest of Parmesan cheese.Bake for 30 minutes and cut in 12 big pieces and enjoy. It is great served with garlic bread and side salad. Big-Batch Kris Kringle Cookies 11/22/2011
The Big-Batch Kris Kringle Cookies come from Charlene Lyons Pruett. She is a faithful fan of the Inspiration Blog and I am thankful for her support along with the many of you that haven't missed a post. This recipe sounds yummy! Let us know if you try it and how you liked it!  Ingredients: 1 cup of butter softened 1 cup of granulated sugar 1/2 cup of packed brown suger 2 eggs 1 tsp of vanilla 2 1/4 cups flour 1tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp salt 2 pkg (6 oz each) Baker's White Chocolate, chopped 2 cups Planters Pecans, toasted 2 cups dried cranberries Directions: Heat oven to 375 degrees. Beat butter and sugars in large bowl with mixer until light and fluffy. Blend in eggs and vanilla. Add flour, baking soda and salt; mix well. Stir in chocolate, nuts and cranberries. Drop by tablespoonfuls of dough, 1 1/2 inches apart, onto baking sheets. Bake 9-11 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on baking sheets 3 minutes; remove to wire racks. Cool completely. Saltine Toffee 11/16/2011
First time I had this, my mom made it for Christmas. I was delighted when I found the recipe at "Make Life Delicious" It is easy and so gooooood!  Ingredients: 40 saltine crackers 1 cup butter 1 cup dark brown sugar 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips 3/4 cup chopped pecans/walnuts, if desired (I like it without) Directions: Directions: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line cookie sheet with foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Line cookie sheet with saltine crackers in single layer. In a saucepan combine the sugar and the butter. Bring to a boil and boil for 3 minutes. Immediately pour over saltines and spread t cover crackers completely. Bake at 400 degrees for 5 to 6 minutes, or until toffee is bubbly. Remove from oven and sprinkle chocolate chips over the top. Let sit for 5 minutes. Spread melted chocolate and top with chopped nuts, if desired. Cool completely and break into pieces. | Cookin On A Shoestring
When you start planning how to stretch your money each month, one place that you can begin to stretch is in the kitchen. Food is expensive and "eating out" can't always be a choice. So what is a gal to do? The answer is to find recipes that are tasty and don't break your budget. This blog will be recipes that are tried and true and NOT difficult to prepare. So get ready all you cooks out there...it's time to quit making excuses and start cooking! Step"In The Kitchen With Paula" and make some good food that your family will enjoy. Don't worry...I am not deserting my Inspired to be an Inspiration blog...just expanding to include this blog. I will be transferring the recipes that are on the recipe link there to this site. |
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