Stuffed Mushroom Mussels Oreganata

Wednesday, March 31, 2010
This is a recipe for mussels oreganata using large mushrooms for the shell so the whole appetizer is completely edible instead of using the mussel shells.

The recipe is easy using white wine to boil both the mussels and mushrooms, then stuffed and topped with cheese then broiled to a delicious golden brown crispy crust.

This is a delicious easy Italian American recipe and very popular using clams on most menus in Italian restaurants, and served in their hard shells.

We have made them both ways using the shells filled with the mussels instead of mushrooms and have provided alternate instructions below in our printable recipe card.







9

Slow Cooker Lasagna Easy Recipe

Tuesday, March 30, 2010
If you're looking for a quick weekend night meal this is a delicious lasagna casserole made in the crockpot/slow cooker.

This all-in-one Italian classic is a cinch to make and the magic is done in the slow cooker.

Layering with cooked meats and cheese with raw lasagna noodles will have a banquet meal without all the fuss of cooking and draining the pasta in a hurry!

The kids love all the cheesy goodness and the flavors all meld together perfectly.

This meal always amazes me that a slow cooker can make such a delicious meal easily.

The meats can even be cooked the night before and the assembling for this is super easy using all store-bought ingredients.

Your crockpot lasagna could also be made with all Homemade Traditional Sunday Italian Tomato Sauce if you prefer over storebought and have the time.




11

Lemon Coolers Copycat Girl Scout Cookies

Saturday, March 27, 2010
Thought I would take a little trip down memory lane. My dad used to love lemon cookies, and I remember these cookies being around fifty cents a box, can you believe it?

Back in the early '70s, my favorite cookie (and still is) was Girl Scout Peanut Butter Patties , lucky for me they still make them!

Amazing there are still huge fans out there hoping they bring these back.

Other companies have tried to duplicate the flavor and look of these cookies, but nothing beats homemade and these cookies are very close to the originals on taste.

Below is a printable recipe card if you would like to skip all the little tips just hit print and the ads will disappear.

lemon powdered sugar covered girl scout cookies


15

Crescent Roll Pizza

Thursday, March 25, 2010
Making a Crescent Roll Pizza is perfect for those nights when you get home from work and you just need something quick to whip up for the family and who doesn't love pizza?

The crust is practically made all you have to do is unroll the dough and in return, a flaky buttery pizza crust is born.

All you have to add are your family's favorite toppings, sauce, cheese, bake, and voila, in less than 25 minutes your pizza is on the table.

No, it's not pizzeria-worthy but hey when I work a long day or take care of the kids, making a gourmet meal is out of the question during the week with my busy schedule.

Plus the endless toppings you can add with my suggestions can give you a different meal every night of the week, it's super delicious and seriously easy to make so don't skip my tips below.

Whether you need a quick, brunch, an appetizer, or a quick meal this pizza has them covered too, oh and perfect for a game day get-together, did I mention EASY?

Just scroll down to our printable recipe card for this not really a recipe but a wonderful pizza everyone will rave about made in a hurry.




13

Grilled Garlic Lemon Pepper Chicken over Linguine

Monday, March 22, 2010
Here is the delicious marinade for grilling chicken to keep it moist and perfect for topping any pasta you like.


All the great taste with less fat and calories in this lemon pepper chicken recipe.


The marinade is also perfect for pork and fish.


We love grilling season and this is one of my favorite recipes because it's so easy to put together with just a few pantry ingredients and so flavorful.


The chicken can also be baked in the oven if you don't own a grill no problem.


This fork-tender chicken breast has a tangy flavor after marinating for a few hours, it's just perfect


Simple to make, elegant to serve for your family or guests any time of the week or on special occasions.


Besides these being healthier, I find it so much easier not to stand over a hot stove frying chicken and less fuss.


If you like easy recipes also try my baked beer chicken and baked chicken kabobs, they are two of our favorite baked chicken recipes!


Scroll down for this easy, delicious recipe everyone loves and print it off!



grilled lemon chicken


21

Mom's Style Shrimp Cocktail

Sunday, March 21, 2010
Impress everyone with a Homemade Shrimp Cocktail it's just so simple and my mom's recipe is tried and true over 100 years old.

If you ever wanted to learn how to make a shrimp cocktail sauce with steamed shrimp, you're in the right place and mom's recipe is so much better than a store-bought shrimp ring..

This appetizer for shrimp cocktail is a must every night on a cruise ship for my husband and I, we just love this appetizer and the sauce is marvelous.

Served before dinner with even a few more assorted appetizers, we can really make this a whole meal by itself.

This appetizer is the most asked for on holidays especially Christmas Eve as part of the 7 Fishes in our family, however, is typically served in warmer weather seasons since it's a perfect light appetizer in the summer.

If you wanted an easy recipe, look no further, this is the easiest shrimp cocktail recipe on the planet and if you would prefer another sauce try our recipes for over 14 kinds of dipping sauces!

Scroll down to get this easily printable recipe with step-by-step instructions.




shrimp cocktail with sauce and dill on ice in a glass


27

Caramel Delites Samoas Copycat Cookies

Friday, March 19, 2010

I had to hide a few for our company coming or these would have all been gone in a day. Chocolate, Caramel, Coconut over a crunchy style shortbread buttery cookie, with a chocolate bottom and chocolate drizzle over the top!



The coconut will be crunchy and delicious!


Chocolate and caramel are a perfect match!


Make a great gift!



Don't expect them to wait to eat these, they will vanish quickly~

After spreading the caramel, add the chocolate



There squeeze bottles make it so easy to drizzle the chocolate over the tops!

Add toasted coconut to melted caramel



Adding heavy cream to make it easier to spread on top



Unwrap caramel and get ready to microwave till smooth



After cookies are completely cool dip the bottoms first, they will dry quicker if you put them in the refrigerator till set, oh and guess what? if you don't like caramel, just strip the tops and it's another famous fudge stripe knockoff cookie, so you get two for one in this post!



Prepare the chocolate



Using an apple corer was so easy to get perfect rings for the middles.


Make dough, roll out using a little flour not to stick



Spread out in glass dish for microwave or cookie sheet for oven and toast



Grind coconut fine in food processor




A tender vanilla shortbread cookie, covered with caramel, coconut, chocolate drizzle on top and dipped chocolate on the bottom . Indulge, these do take longer than a normal batch of cookies to make, so set some time aside, you won't be sorry.

1 cup butter softened
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract
3 tablespoon heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon baking powder


Dipping chocolate for tops and bottoms of cookies approx. 2- 12 oz bags of semi sweet

1 bar paraffin wax


Mix all ingredients to form a ball. Refrigerate overnight. Bring dough to room temperature. On a pastry board, roll out. Cut out with a two inch round cutter ( I used a linzer cutter) Cut out the middles using an apple corer. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 350 until edges of Cool on wax paper.


After completely cooled dip bottoms into melted chocolate using 1 - 12 oz bag of semi sweet chocolate melted in microwave refer to directions here . Place cookies on wax paper lined cookie sheet and refrigerate until chocolate is cold.

In a microwave proof bowl melt a 12 oz bag of caramels with 4 tablespoons of heavy cream for three minutes, keep stirring till smooth and totally melted, add three cups of **toasted coconut ( see below for instructions), if while spreading it becomes cold or too hard reheat with more heavy cream a tablespoon at a time until spreading is easy, microwave for one minute at a time . Using a spoon, place caramel in the round part the circle, trying not to file the hole of the cookie. Place back in the refrigerator when you have coated all cookies. Melt more semi sweet chocolate and make thin stripes going in an M direction.
Note: I went to the dollar store and bought mustard and catsup squirt bottles. Worked like a charm. Poured the chocolate in the bottle and drizzled away...so easy~
Toasted Coconut : On a microwave proof pie plate (that has been lightly sprayed with cooking spray) spread 3 cups of coconut that has been finely processed in the food processor. Microwave stirring every minute up to three minutes till lightly browned. Oven method spread on parchment lined cookie sheet bake in 350 oven till brown and crisp also stirring frequently.





Here are the first three in this series of knockoff's if you missed any!






15

Red Clam Sauce Over Linguine

Saturday, March 13, 2010
This is a classic recipe and Naples version for clams in red sauce.

What makes this dish so popular with the Neapolitans is the sweetness of the clams and the fact that Naples is home to those fabulous plum tomatoes called San Marzano which is all I use for this dish when fresh isn't available.

Use littleneck clams and use the best tomatoes available.

Of course if you're a white clam sauce lover, do hop over to our delicious White Clam Sauce recipe on this blog site.

Scroll down to our printable recipe card for instructions.

red clam sauce with linguine


14

Oatmeal Peanut Butter Sandwich Cremes Girl Scout Copycats

Friday, March 12, 2010
If you're a Girl Scout cookie fan, these are one of our favorites you may know them as Do-Si-Dos and we have a similar delicious cookie here today that's easy to make and a copycat.

These Oatmeal Peanut Butter Sandwich Cremes Girl Scout Copycats have a light fluffy peanut butter filling and you can even change them up and make a P&J cookie just by adding a dollop of jam to this decadent filling.

Our photos are step-by-step instructions, and if this isn't your favorite Girl Scout cookie you may want to try our Girl Scout Cookie Roundup with thin, mints, peanut butter patties, and more just to name a few we even have some that are retired cookie recipes.

Just when you think those little Debbie Oatmeal cream cookies in the supermarket are delicious you'll find out just how easy they are to make and a healthier alternative to getting anything with preservatives in there!

Just scroll down to the end of our page for this printable recipe and we included step-by-step photos.


oatmeal copycat Girl Scout Cookies


24

Lasagna Shrimp Florentine

Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Shrimp, Spinach, Ricotta in a Lasagna all surrounded in a delicate tomato and white wine sauce. The crushed tomatoes blended with white wine was just the right liquid and kept it from drying out while cooking. This meal took very little time to prepare after I worked a 12 hour day.





25

Sausage Spinach and Cheese Stromboli

Monday, March 8, 2010
Sausage Spinach and Cheese Stromboli is a delicious pizza roll stuffed with cooked sausage and spinach and loaded with melted mozzarella cheese.

Although the combinations are endless and anything can be added to stuff a pizza dough this one is a family favorite.

Homemade pizza dough or store-bought can be used for busy weeknights, and the fillings can be made ahead of time and just assembled when ready to bake with a rising time of 30 minutes after stuffing it and serve with homemade marinara.

Scroll down and a glimpse of what your next stromboli can be stuffed with the printable recipe card below.





26

Peanut Butter Pattie (Copycat Girl Scout Cookies)

Friday, March 5, 2010
One of the most popular Girl Scout Cookies is these copycat Peanut Butter Patties, a delicious cookie stuffed with peanut butter, and dipped in chocolate.

Back in the early '70s, this is and still is my favorite cookie and I never can wait once a year when they're sold so until then I make my own copycat version!

The cookies are delicious and very similar.

Other companies have tried to duplicate these knockoffs, but nothing beats a homemade version and we love this one.

Below is a printable recipe card if you would like to skip all the little tips just hit print and the ads will disappear.


girl scout copycat peanut butter patties


31

Shamrock Pistachio Cookies with Irish Coffee

Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Shamrock Pistachio Cookies with Irish Coffee for St. Patrick's Day.

A perfect pair for an afternoon treat.

I love this at night to take the chill out.

This light frosting gives the cookie just enough sweetness over a buttery flavored pistachio cookie.

A great cup of Irish Coffee hits the spot on any occasion, but with St.Patrick's Day just around the corner, this coffee goes great with these cookies.

Have a great St. Patrick's day...and hope you find your pot of gold





23