Christmas Cooking...

So, what Christmas goodies are you making this year? Can you believe it's already time to start thinking about teachers, parties, etc...?!?! I've had these bookmarked since last year and thought these were really great ideas!

So, here's what made my list...

Frito Candy
Oma's Peppermint Cookies
White Chocolate and Peppermint Popcorn
Empty Tomb Marshmallow Delights
Hot Chocolate on a Stick - with Christmas sprinkles or even crushed peppermint!

I'd love to hear your ideas - I might even need to adjust my list!!! ;)

New Favorite Enchiladas...

I found this recipe over at Family Favorite Recipes and it has quickly become our family's new go-to enchilada recipe!!! You've got to give it a try!!! Thanks Erica :O)

Easy Cheesy Enchiladas

Sauce ingredients:
2 Tbs. oil
1 med. onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. cumin
1 can (14 oz) Fire-roasted crushed tomatoes
1/2 cup Chicken or Beef stock

12 Corn tortillas
3 Tbs. oil
4 scallions, chopped
3 Tbs. cilantro leaves, finely chopped (we use more of course)
4 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese, divided

Pre-heat the oven to 375ºF. Heat the 2 Tbsp. oil in small pot over medium heat and sauté the onion and garlic until tender (about 7-8 minutes). Season with salt and pepper, chili powder and cumin. Add the fire-roasted tomatoes and stock, bring to a boil then reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes. While the enchilada sauce is simmering, place a skillet over medium heat and a little oil (3 Tbsp). Using tongs, soften each tortilla for 15 seconds on each side in the oil, shake off any excess then transfer to a plate covered with paper towels. Repeat this process with the rest of the tortillas. In a bowl, combine the scallions and cilantro with 3 cups of cheese. Fill each softened tortilla with about 1/4 cup of the cheese mixture and roll it up. Set the rolled tortillas in a row in a baking dish. When all the tortillas have been rolled, ladle the sauce evenly over the dish and top with the remaining cup of cheese. Bake until bubbly and brown on top, about 15 minutes. Serve with spanish rice, refried beans, and guacamole!

Happy Taco Day!!!

October 4th is National Taco Day!!! What a great food to celebrate!!! :O)

Migas Breakfast Tacos

Follow the recipe here and then serve wrapped in a tortilla!!! What a perfect way to start your day!!!

Who would have thought....

that Jessica Simpson cooks? Well, she does and here is one of her favorites! It comes from one of her parent's church cookbooks and her mom used to make this all the time while she was growing up! I thought it would be perfect for this cold front that blew in! LOL - it's still in the high 80's!!! Now with football on TV, it really puts you in the mood for colder weather and comfort food! And this really fits the bill! And since my oldest requests this all the time, I thought it was time to put in on the blog. So, enjoy :O)

Jessica Simpson's Chicken and Dumpling Casserole

3 rolls of croissant rolls, divided
1 small rotisserie chicken, cubed (we cook a few chicken breasts instead)
1-2 cups frozen mixed veggies (my addition)
1 can of cream of chicken soup
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
1 cup chicken broth
Salt and ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 400ºF. Roll out the cans of croissant sheets and separate into diamond shaped sections. Place a small handful of rotisserie chicken on each diamond, fold dough over and press ends together to create dumplings. Cut up any excess dough into strips. Line a 9x13" baking dish with one layer of dumplings. Toss in the frozen veggies in between all the dumplings. Pour the can of cream of chicken soup over the layer of dumplings, followed by the can of cream of mushroom soup, and then your chicken broth. Place strips in a crisscross pattern on the top of the dumplings and soup mixture, season dish with salt and ground black pepper and bake until the dumplings are tender and cooked through and the top is bubbly and brown, about 30 minutes.

**she does fat free of everything - but I of course took that off!!! ;-)

School is in session!!!

So, that means I am in desperate need of quick and easy meals!!!! This is definitely a kid favorite in our house! Thanks Big Red Kitchen for coming to my rescue :O)

White Castle-like Sliders

1/2 cup dried onion flakes
2 pounds ground chuck- 80/20 ground beef
1/2 t. seasoned salt
6 slices cheddar cheese
24 small party rolls
24 dill pickle slices

Evenly spread the onions on the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Gently press the ground beef on top of the onion flakes. Press evenly making one giant patty. Sprinkle with seasoned salt. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes. Using a paper towel, pat the excess grease from the top of the patty. Top with cheddar cheese, return to oven for 2 more minutes. Remove from oven, let set 5 minutes then cut into 24 patties. Slice open and separate each party roll. Place bottom of rolls on a large platter. Using a spatula lift patty with onion layer onto each bun bottom. Top each slider with a pickle slice then the bun lid. Serve immediately.

Makes 24 Sliders.

* I think next time we will cut back on the onion flakes - just a tad too much for our tastes!

Happy Labor Day :O)

I'm sure most of you are grilling today - well, here in Tomball and most of South Texas we've been having torrential downpours off and on all day. Instead of grilling, we are having a fish fry. In the spirit of this holiday weekend, I thought I'd post this photo from a while back... Enjoy!!!

Margarita Pork Tenderloin
(from myrecipes.com)

3 garlic cloves, minced
1 green onion, minced
1/2 jalapeño pepper, minced
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 1/2 tablespoons tequila
1 tablespoon fresh orange juice
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
2 (1-pound) pork tenderloins

Combine first 10 ingredients in a shallow dish or large zip-top plastic freezer bag. Cut pork diagonally into 1-inch-thick slices, and add to tequila mixture. Cover or seal, and chill 1 hour, turning occasionally. Remove pork from marinade, discarding marinade. Grill, covered with grill lid, over high heat (400° to 500°) 3 to 4 minutes on each side or until done.

* We served this with Tex-Mex Summer Squash Casserole, that I'll try to post tomorrow.

Last Dish of the Summer....

This is a wonderful Taste of Home recipe - just perfect for those warm summer evenings! My hubby was not to thrilled with the idea of eating strawberries on top of his grilled pork, but he loved it!!! It was actually a great combination! This was even better right on top of the salad!!! This would be a great recipe to impress your dinner guests with!!!

Sweet and Tangy Chops

3/4 cup raspberry vinaigrette
2 tablespoons chopped green onion
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons dried rosemary, crushed
1/2 to 1 teaspoon pepper
4 pork loin chops
1 tablespoon canola oil
2 cups sliced fresh strawberries

In a small bowl, combine the vinaigrette, onion, brown sugar, paprika and Worcestershire sauce; set aside. Combine rosemary and pepper; rub over both sides of pork chops. In a large skillet, cook chops in oil over medium-high heat for 5-6 minutes on each side or until a meat thermometer reads 160°. Pour vinaigrette mixture over meat; cook 3-4 minutes longer or until pork juices run clear. Remove chops and keep warm. Add strawberries to the cooking juices and toss to coat; serve with pork chops.

* We grilled the pork instead and just mixed the vinaigrette mixture in a saucepan on the stove. Towards the end of the cooking time, we added the strawberries to the pan and then poured over the pork when ready to serve.

Summer Favorite!!!

My kiddos requested this all summer long!!! We had it several times - not only is it to die, for but it is soooo easy!!! So, how could I say no? Thanks Robin Sue for a great idea!!!

Cookie Dough Pie

15.25 ounce package Chips Ahoy Cookies- Original kind

8-12 ounces Cool Whip
1 1/2 cups milk

Quickly dip cookies in milk, shake off excess liquid, and layer in 9 inch pie plate, breaking cookies to fill any gaps. Once the first layer is complete, top with a thin layer of Cool Whip. Repeat twice more making last layer of Cool Whip a bit thicker. Garnish with chocolate syrup if desired. Place in freezer 2-3 hours before serving. Serves 6-8.

Back to School Breakfast...

Man, where did the summer go? I can't believe the kiddos have already been in school a whole week?! I need some back to school breakfast ideas!!! What are y'all cooking at your house? My oldest loves French Toast and this is his favorite recipe! It's my favorite because it's quick and easy!!!

Favorite French Toast

4 eggs
3/4 cup milk
3 Tbs. brown sugar
1 tsp. ground nutmeg
12 slices white bread
1 Tbs. ground cinnamon
Toppings: syrup, powdered sugar, whipped cream, strawberries, etc...

In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs. Add the milk, brown sugar and nutmeg; stir well to combine. Soak bread slices in the egg mixture until saturated. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Brown slices on both sides, sprinkle with cinnamon and serve hot. Add whatever toppings you desire. Enjoy!

Summer Cook-off...

Butter Brickle Frozen Delight

We, here on Three On Food, have decided to do some joint-venture cooking! We thought every season it would be fun to try a recipe and then we could all comment on what we liked about the recipe, what we would do different, etc... all within the same post!!! So, Tara picked our first recipe that just screamed SUMMER!!!!!!!!!!! Yummmm.... Let's get cookin'....

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Butter Brickle Frozen Delight
recipe: allrecipes.com

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1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/3 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup white sugar

1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup quick cooking oats
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted
3/4 cup chopped pecans

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 (12 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed

1 (12 ounce) jar caramel topping


Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). In medium bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs, 1/3 cup melted butter and white sugar until well mixed. Press into bottom of a 9 inch springform pan. Bake 6 minutes, until set. Cool completely. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). In a large bowl, combine flour, oats, brown sugar, 1/2 cup melted butter and pecans until well mixed. Lightly pat onto a baking sheet. Bake 10 to 15 minutes, until light brown. Crumble while still hot. Cool completely. In large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Beat in condensed milk until well blended. Fold in whipped topping. Spread half of the cheese mixture over the crust in the springform pan. Sprinkle half of the oat crumbles over the cheese mixture, and spread half of the caramel sauce over that. Repeat layers. Freeze until firm, remove pan sides and serve cold.

Tara... Okay, so when Kathy told me about her idea of doing this summer cook-off thing I thought "Cool, that sounds like fun!" but it just so happened that I had also embarked on another adventure of.... losing weight!!!! or shall I say "trying" to lose weight! I had been eying this recipe and had it saved in my Allrecipes box for a while and when Kathy said those magic words I knew the exact recipe I wanted to try. But, on my recipe I did everything low fat/low sugar as I could! and let me tell ya is was still awesome!!! So what I did next was when it was ready to be gobbled up I took a very small sliver just to have a few bites so I could tell how YUMMY it was and I gave all the rest away to my neighbors. Let me tell ya, they all loved me before but after my husband and I delivered this to all of them they loved me even MORE!! ;o) So, not only did we love this recipe but all my neighbors did as well! And the give away worked cause I lost 6lbs. on my first week of my weight loss journey!! Here's to continued success for me!!! Happy cooking!!!

Here's what I changed in the recipe:

• substituted I can't believe it's not butter for butter.
• 1/3 less fat cream cheese for regular cream cheese.
• fat free sweetened condensed milk for regular sweetened condensed milk.
• and I only used 1 (8oz) container of sugar free frozen whipped topping instead of the 12 oz of regular frozen whipped topping.
  

Kathy... We really liked this recipe, well almost all of us except for our 14 year old who can't eat nuts right now because he has an expander in his mouth!!! :( Hubby said it sort of tasted like popcorn!?! It was very good, but I'm not sure I'd ever make it again. There's nothing wrong with this recipe - I'm just a chocolate lover!!! If you love caramel - then this is the recipe for you!!! If you decide to make this one, here's some things you should know... I bought the 15oz. tub of Cool Whip and just didn't use it all. Also, I cooked my oats and nuts mixture the whole 15 minutes and ended up burning the ones on the edges. I also didn't spread my oats and nuts thin enough, so I felt like the ones in the middle didn't get toasted enough. If I were to do this again, I would just stir half-way through and keep a careful eye on them!

If you want to join in on our little Food Challenge... Try the recipe and leave us a comment and let us know what challenges you had or what changes you made! We'd love to hear from you :O)

A big thanks to Christy's Granny Jordan!!!

I found this great recipe over at Christy Jordan's Southern Plate. It's a classic recipe with a unique twist - an addition of ritz cracker crumbs and potato chips! We were in such hurry that we just served it cold! Wouldn't this be perfect by the pool!?!

Granny Jordan’s Chicken Casserole/Salad

1 cooked, cut up chicken

1/2 cup mayo
1 can cream of chicken soup
2 boiled eggs, cut up
3/4 cup celery, diced
onion, diced (I used half of an onion)
1/3 cup cracker crumbs (I omitted these)
Potato Chips
Ritz crackers
Lettuce

Mix chicken, mayo, soup, eggs, celery, onion, and cracker crumbs in a bowl. Spread into an 8×8 pan. Top with crushed potato chips. Bake at 350 for twenty minutes. Serve hot or cold. If cold, serve over bed of lettuce with Ritz crackers.

Another Go-To Meal...

This is a true family favorite for all in our house! I found it forever ago at Real Mom Kitchen and it quickly became a go-to meal for us! This is a perfect recipe to use when you have no time to spend in the kitchen!

Enchilada Style Burritos

8 frozen prepared beef and bean burritos
2 Tbs butter
3 Tbs flour
1-1/4 cups water
1 can (8 oz.) tomato sauce
1-1/2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp beef bouillon granules
3/4 tsp ground cumin
2 cups (8 oz.) shredded Mexican Cheddar

Place frozen burritos in a greased 9x13-in. baking dish; set aside. In a saucepan, melt butter. Stir in flour until smooth; gradually stir in water. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Add the tomato sauce, chili powder, bouillon, cumin and salt. Simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes or until thickened. Pour over the burritos. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 35-40 minutes or until heated through. Add any additional toppings that you desire.

New Quiche Recipe...

I got this wonderful recipe from myrecipes, which is from Southern Living - and let me tell you this has "Southern" written all over it!!!!!! The crust is the best part which will remind you of a classic Southern cheese wafer! This is perfect for brunch, or for dinner with soup and salad!

Chicken-Pecan Quiche

1 cup flour
1 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
3/4 cup chopped pecans
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. paprika
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup mayonnaise
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups finely chopped cooked chicken
1/2 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
1/4 cup minced onion
3 drops of hot sauce
1/4 cup pecan halves

Combine first 5 ingredients in a medium bowl; stir well. Add oil; stir well. Firmly press mixture in bottom and up sides of a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate. Bake at 350° for 12 minutes. Cool completely. Combine sour cream and next 3 ingredients; stir with a wire whisk until smooth. Stir in chicken, 1/2 cup cheese, onion, and hot sauce. Pour chicken mixture over prepared crust. Arrange pecan halves over chicken mixture. Bake at 350° for 55 minutes or until set. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Summer Snackin' with the Kids...

Okay, this photo was taken way back during the spring, but who says you can't use a bunny plate in the summertime?! And this cute little cookie is good year round!!! It's also very easy so the kids can help out, if you can get them inside. I love to make fruit dip for our strawberries and decided that it would be a good combination with sugar cookies. This kid snack was a BIG hit - even with the adults!!!

Strawberry Shortcut Cookies

Fruit Dip
1 (8oz) pkg cream cheese, softened
1 (7oz) jar marshmallow creme

Using an electric mixer, blend cream cheese and marshmallow creme until mixed thoroughly. Store leftover dip in refrigerator.

Sugar Cookies - make according to directions or your favorite recipe.
Strawberries - Rinse, hull, and slice strawberries.

Once cookies have cooled, layer them with the fruit dip and top them off with your strawberries!

Calling All Taco Lovers!!!

I must say that we really love tacos in our house, so we are always looking for a new way of eating them. If you're the same, here's a couple for you to try...

Deep-Dish Taco Pizza

1 lb. hamburger meat
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 (15 oz.) can Rotel, drained
1 pkg. Taco seasoning
1 (10 oz.) can refrigerated pizza crust dough
2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar
Salsa (optional)
sour cream (optional)

Preheat oven to 425°. Cook beef and onion in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until beef is browned, stirring to crumble. Drain well, and return beef mixture to pan. Stir in rotel and taco seasoning; cook over medium-high heat 1 minute or until thoroughly heated; set aside. Unroll pizza crust dough. Press into bottom and halfway up sides of a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Spoon beef mixture over pizza crust dough. Bake at 425° for 12 minutes. Top with cheese, and bake 5 minutes or until cheese melts and edges of crust are browned. Let stand 5 minutes before slicing. Serve warm. Top with salsa and sour cream, if desired.

Taco Cups for the Kiddos!

This is not really a recipe - I just put normal taco meat in Tostito Scoops Chips and top with Sharp Cheddar and put until the broiler until the cheese melts. This was so easy for the kids to pick up and eat! A big hit for sure!!!

Perfect Dessert for a Mexican-themed meal!

Here's a favorite dessert of ours that I'm posting especially for my CBS ladies!!! I've seen this in the blog-world for a long time, but liked the allrecipes version better! I tried to simplify it though. Give it a try and let me know what you think!

Sopapilla Cheesecake Pie

2 (8oz.) pkgs. cream cheese, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 tsp. mexican vanilla extract
2 (8oz.) pkgs. refrigerated crescent rolls
3/4 cup white sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup honey

Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9x13 inch baking dish with cooking spray. Beat the cream cheese with 1 cup of sugar and the vanilla extract in a bowl until smooth. Unroll one can of crescent roll dough, and press it into the bottom of your dish until there are no seems. Evenly spread the cream cheese mixture into the baking dish, then cover with the remaining piece of crescent dough, lightly pressing seems together. Stir together 3/4 cup of sugar and cinnamon, and set aside. Melt your butter in the microwave. Pour the butter over the top of the cheesecake. Sprinkle your cinnamon and sugar mixture over the butter layer. Bake in the preheated oven until the crescent dough has puffed and turned golden brown, about 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and drizzle with honey. Cool completely in the pan before cutting into 12 squares.

* Then store leftovers in fridge and eat the next day cold! It keeps a crunchy crust - we love eating it this way even better!!!

Crockpot Mondays...

Mondays have become my "crockpot cooking" days! This is the day that I call all my CBS ladies and now my daughter is back into tumbling. So, needless to say, I have no time for cooking in the evenings on this day of the week! I got this great recipe over at Jadi's Favorite Recipes - thanks Jadi for making my life easier!!! I'd love to hear from y'all if you have any crockpot favs - I need all the help I can get!!! :O)

Taco Soup

1 lb ground beef
1 (16 oz) can pinto beans
1 (16 oz) can kidney beans
1 (11 oz) can of corn
1 (28 oz) can of diced tomatoes
1 (4 oz) can of green chilies
1 envelope of taco seasoning
1 envelope of hidden valley ranch dressing mix
garnishes of choice

Cook and drain the ground beef. Add all ingredients to the crock pot. Do not drain cans. Stir it all together and cook on high for a couple of hours or on low for 4-5 hours. Garnish soup with shredded cheese, sour cream, and tortilla chips. You can also use avocados, chopped green onions, and cilantro if you desire.

Cold front coming...

Even though our cold front tomorrow will only bring our "high" temp down to 70 degrees - you might still consider this recipe. We had it awhile back when it was really cold and it really hit the spot. It is a combination of several white chili recipes I found. It was wonderful!!!

Creamy White Chili

3 chicken breasts, cut into 1/2" cubes
1 medium onion, chopped
3-4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tablespoon oil
1 can (15 1/2 oz.) Great Northern Beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (14 1/2 oz.) chicken broth
2 cans (4 oz. each) chopped green chilies (or jalapenos if you prefer)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 cup sour cream
1 cup heavy cream
8 oz. Monterrey Jack Cheese
Garnishes: sour cream, avocado, cilantro, and fried tortilla strips

In a large saucepan, saute chicken, onion and garlic in oil until chicken is no longer pink. Add beans, broth, chilies and seasonings. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Remove from the heat; stir in cheese, sour cream and cream. Add your garnishes at this time. Serve immediately. Makes about 6 servings.

He is Risen!!!

This would be a great side dish to your Easter Dinner today! I found it over at Back to the Cutting Board. Thanks, Emily for a great recipe - it was perfect paired with our ham awhile back!!!

Scalloped Pineapple

2 cups sugar
1 cup butter, melted (I didn't use a full cup)
1 20 oz. can crushed pineapple, undrained
3 eggs, beaten
4 cups finely torn, and packed down, white bread
2-3 tbsp. milk (I skipped this)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream together butter and sugar. Add crushed pineapple and mix well. Fold in the beaten eggs. Fold in bread and stir with wooden spoon until it’s all incorporated. Pour in greased 13×9 dish. Spread milk over the top to moisten. Bake about an 1 hour, until the edges start to get crispy and the top is a lightly browned. Let sit for 5-10 minutes before serving.

More snow in H-town!!!

Wouldn't this soup be perfect for the cold weather headed back our way?! This recipe comes from Pine Cove's Crier Creek Cookbook. We went there this past October for a CBS retreat!!! We girls had so much fun and the food there was wonderful. This was my first time having lentils, can you believe it?!?! lol... I'm so sad I waited so long. You definitely need to give this recipe a try!

Lentil Soup with Knockwurst

2 Tbs. olive oil
1 lb. knockwurst or kielbasa, sliced in 1/4" thick
2 med. sized carrots, peeled & chopped
1 lg. yellow onion, chopped
1 med. sized stalk celery, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced (I'm sure I used more)
1/4 cup minced parsley (I omitted this)
8 oz. dried lentils (1 1/4 cup) sorted and rinsed
1 (14 1/2 oz.) can diced tomatoes
1 can Rotel (I used mild)
1 whole bay leaf
2 cans beef stock
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. black pepper

Heat oil in a 4-quart saucepan over medium heat for one minute. Add knockwurst and brown lightly, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes. Drain on paper toweling, remove all but 1 Tbs. for fat from pan. In the same pan, saute the carrots, onion, celery, garlic, and parsley over medium-low heat until onion is tender, about 5 minutes. Add the lentils, tomatoes, bay leaf, stock, water, knockwurst, salt, pepper, and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low, cover anc cook for 40 minutes or until lentils are tender. Discard bay leaf. Serves 4-6.