Janice's Butterfinger Cake

Oh my, I had forgotten about this one...but think I'll make it this weekend!! Yum, what better way to bring in 2008 than with a great dessert!!! Thanks Janice!!

1. German Chocolate cake mix (bake according to package directions.)
2. Poke holes in cake with a straw.
3. Drizzle 1 can Eagle Brand milk.
4. Drizzle 1 jar chocolate ice cream topping.
5. Chill.
6. Top with Cool Whip (small or medium container).
7. Top with crused Butterfingers (3 or 4 bars).

YUM!!!!!!!

I'm looking for........

Some kind of recipe with meatballs and gravy. I have some frozen meatballs that we made recently, and we need to use them up, but I really don't want to do an Italian night....so, if you have a meatball recipe that you can use with a brown gravy, let me know.....my family is all over gravy......yum yum!!!!!!!
Thanks!!

Baked Chicken

Hi All--
Just had to share this recipe with you that we had tonight....

1 whole chicken cut in half
(I cheated and used an already cut up chicken)
1 onion
1 small bellpepper, if you want (I didn't use it)

Take the chicken, salt and pepper it, place in glass baking dish with about 1/2 cup water and chopped onion and peppers on top, then bake at 350° until golden, turn the pieces over and bake again until golden. That took about 45 minutes, but can vary depending on your chicken and your oven. At this point, add a little more water (as much gravy as you would want), then in a small cup, mix together a little flour and water and add to the dish. Cover with foil and continue to bake until the chicken falls off the bone. (Also to speed things up a little, I turned the heat up to 400°)...the total time it took was about 2 to 2 1/2 hours, but it was so good. The meat was so tender and juicy and the gravy was awesome!! I served it with mashed potatoes, salad, and rolls. YUM YUM...oh and we had some leftover stuffing from Christmas that we used....this is a keeper, especially for those really cold days!!!!!!! Kids and hubby gave it a 5......there were NO leftovers on this one ladies!!!
Enjoy!!

Kathy's menu - week 8 (Last one for 2007!!!)

Saturday - Beef Braised in Guiness, Onion Roasted Potatoes, Green Beans, rolls
Sunday - Brenda's Cajun 15 Bean Soup
Monday - White Chicken Lasagne, Rustic Bread, and salad
Tuesday - Beef Tenderloin, Creamy Au Gratin Potatoes, Salad, No1here's Homemade yeast rolls
Wednesday - BBQ Sausage, Mac-n-Cheese, Ranch Style Beans
Thursday & Friday - Eatin' w/ the in-laws!!! tamales, taquitos, etc... YUMMM....
Saturday - Chalupas
Sunday - Garlic Cheddar Chicken, Crockpot Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans, rolls

We've been taste testing....

Roasted Garlic Cauliflower
I am 37 years old and have never tasted cauliflower in my entire life! Just the thought of it made my stomach turn. Well, I'm here to tell you that I absolutely LOVED this recipe!!! It definitely gets 5 stars!!! My kids even liked it!

Slow Cooker Chicken and Dumplings
We liked this but felt like it needed more salt, pepper, and maybe some veggies. We gave this four stars.

The Pioneer Woman's Favorite Sandwich
This was good but maybe next time we'll have it on a different kind of bread. We're not big Rye bread eaters. We gave this four stars as well.

Dorito Chicken from Mommy Cooks
This was really good but it tasted a lot like our King Ranch Recipe! No1here and I gave it 4 1/2 stars but our second son gave it 5+ stars!!! He loved it!!! The things I did different... I sautéed my onions first. I only used 3 chicken breasts. I used about 10 oz. of Dorito chips. I mixed it all together and then put the cheese on top.

Cindy's Menu 12/10 - 12/14

Of course we eat everyday, I just can't seem to get to the blog to put it down....lol!! Anyway, as terrible as it is....here's my weekly menu......
Monday: Chicken Herb Tortilleni, Salad, Garlic Bread
Tuesday: Cheddar Potato Soup and Sandwiches
Wednesday: Mexican Baked Chicken, Rice Pilaf, Salad
Thursday: hopefully I'll be at Bunko and they will order PIZZA!!! - If NOT, it'll be a leftover night or YOYO!!
Friday: Roast, Potatoes, Carrots, Rolls

Not an exciting menu, and the Fish keeps coming back...it's so good!!! IF you haven't tried it yet, and you like fish, you REALLY should try it, it's so easy and so yummy! My next few weeks will be so crazy....so, don't expect much from me! NEW YEARS RESOLUTION.....Be better at creating more creative menus...LOL!!
Have a great week y'all!!

Tara's Menu

Sorry about being so late with this but I'm just not in the cooking mood lately. So here's to another boring menu...

Monday: Tuna Helper Creamy Parmesan with carrots and rolls
Tuesday: Turkey burgers with tater tots
Wednesday: Mexican baked fish (fish stix for the kids)
Thursday: ordering pizza...Bunko night!!!!
Friday: eating out...Fajita Willies
Saturday: Pork chops with mashed potatoes and green beans
Sunday: Brisket with baked beans and ???

Kathy's menu - week 6 & 7

Saturday - Souvlaki & Rice
Sunday - Slow Cooker Chicken and Dumplings (yep, still haven't made this!)
Monday - Gyros with leftover Souvlaki
Tuesday - we'll taste-test... Pioneer Woman's Favorite Sandwich, grill cheese for the kids & soup
Wednesday - Dorito Chicken from Mommy Cooks and a salad
Thursday - Bunko... ordering a pizza
Friday - Burgers on the grill and fries

Saturday - Basil Shrimp, Rice Pilaf, and grilled Asparagus
Sunday - Chicken Enchilada soup from Picky Palate & quesadillas for the kids
Monday - gymnastics... take out
Tuesday - we'll be taste-testing... Shredded Beef Enchiladas
Wednesday - Spaghetti Casserole, salad, and garlic bread
Thursday - Breakfast for supper
Friday - Beans, cornbread and anything else we can scrounge up!!!

Keepers for a fortnight...

If anyone knows me - they know I absolutely HATE going to the grocery store!!! So, I usually try to shop for two weeks at a time. So, I'll go ahead and post my menu for the next two weeks in a minute, before I end up loosing my Weekly Planner sheet!!! ;)

Here's some "keepers", that we've made over the years, from AllRecipes. We'll be having these over the next couple of weeks, or as the Brits say - a fortnight...

Basil Shrimp

INGREDIENTS

• 2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 1 1/2 lemons, juiced
• 3 tablespoons brown mustard
• 1/2 cup minced fresh basil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• salt to taste
• white pepper
• 3 pounds fresh shrimp, peeled and deveined
• skewers

DIRECTIONS

1. In a shallow, non-porous dish or bowl, mix together olive oil and melted butter. Stir in lemon juice, mustard, basil, and garlic, and season with salt and white pepper. Add shrimp, and toss to coat. Cover, and refrigerate for 1 hour.
2. Preheat grill to high heat. Remove shrimp from marinade, and thread onto skewers. Discard marinade.
3. Lightly oil grill grate, and arrange skewers on preheated grill. Cook for 4 minutes, turning once, or until opaque.

Grilled Asparagus

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pound fresh asparagus spears, trimmed
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat grill for high heat.
2. Lightly coat the asparagus spears with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
3. Grill over high heat for 2 to 3 minutes, or to desired tenderness.

Souvlaki

INGREDIENTS

• 1 lemon, juiced
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 4 pounds pork tenderloin, cut into 1 inch cubes
• 2 medium yellow onions, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 2 green bell peppers, cut into 1 inch pieces
• skewers

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large glass bowl, mix together lemon juice, olive oil, soy sauce, oregano, and garlic; add pork, onions, and green peppers, and stir to coat. Cover, and refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours.
2. Preheat grill for medium-high heat. Thread pork, peppers, and onions onto skewers.
3. Lightly oil grate. Cook for 10 to 15 minutes, or to desired doneness, turning skewers frequently for even cooking.

We usually have this one night and then use the leftover meat for Gyros with Tzatziki sauce!




Spaghetti Casserole
(this comes from Fifi! It's an easy meal that tastes great and the kids love it!)

I can't find my recipe but basically you cook your spaghetti noodles, drain, and then stir in the spaghetti sauce of your choice. You then layer half of that in a casserole dish, then put a full container of sour cream next, then the rest of your noodles and sauce, then top with cheddar cheese. Pop it in the oven until heated through and just beginning to brown on top.

A Christmas Teaser...

for my in-laws. We are excited that Gram and Grumpy will be coming to our house this year!!! :o) So, to make sure they don't change their minds - I thought I'd tempt their taste buds all the way to Tomball!

This is our special meal we have every Christmas season. It's kind of expensive, but sooo worth it!!!

Beef Tenderloin With Roasted Shallots
Creamy Au Gratin Potatoes

I must confess...

I've also been a very bad girl! I didn't post my menu this week because we have several carry-over meals from last week. I always plan my meals but I'm not a stickler about cooking only what that day says to. If on Monday we're in the mood for Wednesday's meal - we'll swap nights! I can only handle so much pressure guys!!! ;) lol...

Anyway, the point is... last week's Taste Test Tuesday never came to be in our house! I did make the Texas Black Bean Soup though and it was wonderful!!!! 4 1/2 stars all around our dinner table!!! :o) It's a keeper!!! No1here came up with a great idea... this stuff is pretty thick so we might even try serving this over grilled chicken next time.

I will be making the Slow Cooker Chicken and Dumplings on Friday and I promise to let you know the results!!! And yes, Tara - I still plan to share with you!!! ;)

Tara's Menu

I've been a really bad girl!!! I have not been cooking much, so half of my menu from last week is on this week. Here ya go!
Sunday: Chicken pot pie
Monday: Crockpot Soft Chicken Tacos with refried beans and rice
Tuesday: Lasagna
Wednesday: Baked Fish
Thursday: Pork chops with gravy and ??? sides
Saturday: Mama Nise's Spaghetti
Sunday: ??Don't know yet??

Cindy's Menu 12/2 - 12/07

Hi everyone...I have been a bad girl...not submitting my menu...but I have to say, I tried Tara's Carne Guisada on Friday and it was the bomb!! All of my kiddos and my hubby ate it up like crazy! And the next day, we ran out of rice and just used pasta from another dish, it was equally yummy that way!! Well, here's my not so exciting menu this week!!
Sunday - Chili Dogs, Frito Pie, Mac & Cheese
Monday - Fried Pork Chops, Mashed tators with Gravy, Broccoli, and rolls
Tuesday - Tara's Mexican Baked Fish, Mexi Rice, Beans or Salad
Wednesday - We will have breakfast....Pancakes, bacon, eggs and biscuts
Thursday - Hamburger Meat and Gravy with Egg Noodles, Salad and rolls again!
Friday - NOT COOKING!!! LOL!

Hope you all enjoy your week!! If you haven't already....start shopping!!!!!!!!!!!