Stuffed Shells

Freezer-Friendly Stuffed Shells recipe

16 shells, cooked
1 pkg spinach
1 c. cottage cheese
1 c. mozzarella
2 c. pasta sauce
1/4 c. parmesan

Cover with foil. Bake at 375 25-30 minutes.

Easy to double and freeze! I'm always amazed that my kids will actually eat this.

My Little Pony Cupcakes

For Sienna's third birthday we made My Little Pony cupcakes. I bought cupcake wrappers and little ponies on Amazon.  Sienna picked out confetti cake mix, and I made blue frosting.  We used Airheads Xtremes candy and marshmallows for the rainbow and clouds.

The cupcakes were a big hit with her friends, who all got to keep a little pony. And they were easy, which is just what I needed at 40 weeks pregnant. 

Potato Pancakes

Potato Pancakes

4 cups grated potatoes
2 T chopped green onion
4 T flour
2 eggs
Salt
Pepper
Garlic powder

Squeeze water out of potatoes. Mix all ingredients scoop 1/3 cup into a hot, oiled pan, and flatten with a spatula. Brown on both sides.

I made these with loaded scrambled eggs for dinner.

Bowling Cupcakes

Another birthday, another fun (but lazy) cake. Dalton had a bowling party for his 6th birthday, so we made bowling ball cupcakes. I ordered mini bowling sets to use as favors for his party guests and we opened one to use the pins on the cupcakes. Chocolate cake, with chocolate buttercream frosting (dyed black).

Wonton Chicken Salad

Wonton Sesame Chicken Salad (serves 4)

1 head romaine lettuce, shredded

1 chicken breast, cooked and shredded

1 cup uncooked pasta

3 green onions, sliced

mandarin oranges *optional (my family doesn't like this)

wonton strips

sesame seeds

Asian sesame dressing (Kraft)

Cook the pasta, and rinse with cold water to cool.  Mix the lettuce, chicken, pasta and green onions in a large bowl.  Plate the salad, and drizzle the dressing on. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and wonton strips.

We serve this with potstickers (from Costco) and jasmine rice.  The kids love the meal, and it's easy to make a ton to feed a big crowd.

Refried Beans

I finally learned how to make these well.  It's so cheap to make refried beans from dried pintos and my whole family loves them with homemade tortillas.

Refried Beans in the Crock Pot
2 lb dry pinto beans
10 cups water
1 onion, finely diced (or half an onion tossed in, and pull it out after)
3 T minced garlic
2 t cumin
1 t pepper
1-2 T salt

Mix in the crock pot and cook on high 6 hours.  Mash wit ha potato masher until the desired consistency.  Sometimes I need all the water and sometimes I don't, so I usually scoop some out and save it to see if it's needed, rather than risk the beans being too runny.

Wisconsin Cauiflower soup

This is a Zupa's copycat recipe my whole family enjoys.

2 T butter
1 onion, chopped

1:4 c flour
1/2 t salt

2 c milk
1 can chicken broth
1 1/2 c water

1 head cauliflower cut into 1 inch pieces. Add and simmer until tender (15 min)
Blend in blender, then add
1 t  Dijon mustard
1 c shredded cheddar
1 c pepper jack

Elsa Cake and Frozen Ice Candy

Maggie requested an Elsa cake for her 8th birthday. We looked on Pinterest and I narrowed it down to about 2 that I could actually make.  She picked this one, with homemade "ice" candy around it. The cake itself was red velvet with cream cheese whipped cream frosting.

The candy was easy to make and turned out well on the first try (whew). I got the recipe here: Elsa's Ice Candy

3 3/4 c. sugar

1 1/2 c. corn syrup

1 c. water

a few drops of light blue food coloring (the McCormick NEON colors)

Boil to 300 degrees (this took a long time and I was late picking Dalton up).  Once it was the right temperature, I poured it onto my Silpat and set it on the counter to cool.  This recipe made a TON (we gave it away in goodie bags and still had tons left over) and I wished I had spread it thinner to make it easier to break.

Caramel Corn

1/2 c popcorn, popped

1/4 c butter
1/4 c light corn syrup
1/3 c brown sugar
Bring to a boil. Boil 2 min.

Add 1/2 c marshmallows. Stir 1 min. Pour over popcorn.

I make homemade popcorn in the microwave in a paper bag.  I put 3 tablespoons of popcorn kernels in a bag and cook for about 2 1/2 minutes, watching it.  For this recipe I make two bags worth.

The kids also like the homemade popcorn with butter and salt (the way daddy makes it!)