Once again I found myself sitting on the couch looking through the cookbook that we made at work. One of the main things I look for is something my husband will eat, he’s a very picky eater. When I ran across this I thought it was something that he would at least try. This recipe is from one of the first grade teachers that I work with.

Potato and Ham Casserole- Courtesy of a First grade teacher I work with

What You Will Need:

1 can Potato Soup

1 can Cream of Celery Soup

1 Soup can Milk

1 lb Shredded cheddar cheese

1 c Sour cream

1 lb Diced ham

1 (2lb) Bag frozen hash browns

Paprika and parsley

What to Do:

- Preheat oven to 350

-Combine first 6 ingredients in a bowl

- Stir and add hashbrowns; top with Paprika and Parsley

- Place in 9×13 pan and bake at 350 for 1-1 1/2 hours

When I think about one meal that my mother-in-law makes that has always been a huge hit, it has GOT to be Indian bread tacos. We used to schedule get togethers just so that she would make these for dinner. When deciding what we wanted to have for dinner DH really wanted to make these. I’m not going to argue with him, after all he said HE wanted to make them, so I let him. They turned out great (I’m lucky because DH is a great cook and he hasn’t cooked that much since I started blogging because I want to make dinner… so I thought I’d let him do it tonight, it’s always a nice break)

Indian Bread Tacos- Recipe from DH’s mom

What you will need:

- Package of frozen bread dough (let sit out and rise during the day)

- Vegetable oil for frying

- 1 lb ground beef, browned and drained

-1 pkg taco seasoning

- 1 can refried beans

- 1-2 tomatoes, diced

-1 small container of sour cream

- 1 can of pitted black olives, sliced

- 1 bag of fiesta style cheese (or whatever type of cheese that you prefer)

- Any other toppings you can think of for your taco (lettuce, onions, etc…)

What you do:

- Brown hamburger and add taco seasoning according to package.

- Heat oil up in frying pan. You will know the oil is hot enough when you put a small piece of dough into the pan and it browns up right away.

- While the oil is heating up, roll out the bread dough into several small servings (take a handful of dough and roll it out and then continue until you have used all the dough that rose during the day)

- One at a time place the bread dough into the frying pan. Cook on one side for 1-2 minutes and then flip, continue until the bread is golden.

- Place bread on a paper towel lined plate to absorb the grease.

- Continue with the rest of the bread dough.

- Add taco meat, refried beans and your favorite toppings and enjoy!

We were invited to a 4th of July party at one of our friend’s house. We had to bring something so I wanted to think of something cute and festive. After looking through blogs and searching through the internet I ran across this cake and various versions of this cake. I decided to try it… I mean who doesn’t like fresh fruit on their cake? It was a huge hit and everyone made sure to try it because it looked and tasted so good.

Fourth of July Cake- Adapted from Cooks.com

What You Will Need:

1 White box cake (homemade would be great but I didn’t have a lot of time)

1 Container of frozen Cool Whip

1-2 c Fresh Blueberries (set aside some for the corner of the flag, I used 24)

2 small baskets of strawberries (sliced)

What To Do:

-Prepare the box cake in a 13×9 as directed on the box. Cool

- On top of the cooled cake spread remaining blueberries and one sliced basket of strawberries on the cake

- Frost the cake over the fruit using the Cool Whip

- On top of the Cool Whip decorate the cake to look like the flag. I put 24 blueberries in the corner 4 rows of 6. Add the remaining strawberries as rows.

- Chill in the fridge for about 1/2 hour and enjoy!

The Report Card

Me- This cake tasted really good. It was very light and the fruit was just what was needed. Normally I’m not much of a cake person but I could eat this cake alot. I am going to try my hand at more cakes that use fresh fruit in them.

Others: The really liked the cake and that made me feel really good. The girl whose house we were at works for a cooking store downtown and teaches cooking classes so I didn’t want to mess it up!! I think she had at least 2 or 3 pieces of cake!

When deciding what we are going to have for dinner during the week I have grown accustomed to checking the cookbook that was created where I work (as you can tell from previous posts).  I have been meaning to make this recipe for some time now. This recipe is delicious! I got this recipe from our school psychologist. It is super easy to make and really easy to enjoy!

Italian Beef- Found in McKinstry Munchies- Courtesy of the school psychologist I work with

What you will need:

3 lbs Roast Beef (top round or sirloin tip, we used sirloin tip)

1 c Water

1 pkg Zesty Italian powder dressing

1 pkg Brown gravy powder

How to Make It:

- Cook on LOW in crockpot for 8-10 hours. I started with a frozen roast and it turned out great approx 9 hours in crockpot

- When cooked shred meat so it falls apart and works the flavor into the meat

- Cook on LOW for an additional 30 minutes

- Serve on warm buns (or bread if you don’t have buns)

The Report Card:

Me- A: This meal was very good. The meat was juicy and not overcooked. The taste from the dressing and gravy really made this recipe so delicious.

DH- A: I think DH had about 2-3 helpings of this meal. He made me put this meal on our HAVE to make again list. So I think overall he really liked the meal!

This is another recipe that I found in my cookbook that was put together by my co-workers. I have never made ravioli before and am usually not a huge fan. This recipe was really good though. I was waiting to make this on a night my husband was off of work but I was really hungry and decided that he could just eat it when he got off at 2 in the morning!

Easy Baked Ravioli- (Speech-Pathologist from work)

What you’ll need:

1 (25 oz) bag of frozen cheese ravioli

4 c shredded mozzarella cheese

1 jar (28oz) Spaghetti sauce

2 c. small curd cottage cheese

1/4c. grated parmesan cheese

How to make it:

Spread 1/2 cup of spaghetti sauce in bottom of an ungreased 9×13 baking dish.

Layer with 1/2 of the ravioli, 1 1/4 c of sauce, 1 c. cottage cheese, and 2 c mozzarella cheese

Repeat layers

Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Bake uncovered at 350 for 40 minutes or until bubbly.

The Report Card:

Me- A: This was so easy to make and tasted so good. I did forget to put in the mozzarella cheese at first. I put it in the oven and then looked over and saw the bag of mozzarella sitting there. So I took it out of the oven and quickly added some mozzarella to it. It was very cheesy so if you like cheese this is the meal for you. You could also cut some of the cheese down if you don’t like a lot of cheese.

DH- A: When DH got home from work I had the ravioli sitting in the refridgerator so he could have some. The next day when I talked to him he was raving about how good it was… even reheated! Needless to say we had leftovers that next day!

This year at work we decided to create a cookbook with contributions from everyone. I just got it and was excited to try some new recipes. When I saw this recipe in the book I wanted to try it so I went to the grocery store to get everything I needed. This was a good soup to try. It’s rainy here so it worked out perfectly for lunch today. This is a quick easy recipe for anyone who doesn’t have too much time to make dinner.

Chicken Tortilla Soup- adapted from one of the Pre-School Teachers (McKinstry Munchies)

What you’ll need:

2 small cans of chicken broth

2 cans of fiesta nacho cheese soup

2 cans of cream of chicken soup

1/2 c milk

2 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded

6 T salsa

How it’s made:

Cook chicken and shred

Mix soups, salsa, milk, broth and chicken together in quart size cooking dish.

Cook on high until it comes to a boil.

Return to a simmer until ready to eat.

Serve with crushed tortilla chips on top

Enjoy!

The Report Card

Me- B+: It was a good soup but I don’t care for things that are too spicy. I couldn’t find regular nacho cheese soup so I had to get the fiesta soup which made it a little bit spicy when added with the salsa. Next time I would probably put in less salsa or find regular nacho cheese soup. Other than the spicyness to me it was a really good soup.

DH- A: At first he was a little hesitant to try this soup (it looked too creamy for him). After he tried it though he said, “I actually really like this.” That means it was a successful attempt at making this soup.

Recommend/Not Recommend: I would recommend this soup. It was so easy and quick. I will be making this soup again in the future.

Ok, so when I saw this recipe on Bakerella’s blog I had to try to make these. They were so darn cute I just couldn’t get enough of them. I also wanted to make the pink bunnies but I couldn’t find the pastel candy corn anywhere and I tried using tic tacs for the ears and well it just didn’t look right so I decided against it.

Finding this recipe couldn’t have come at a better time. This week we had our spring pals (like secret santa but for spring/Easter). Also, I wanted to make something for my kids at work. I made my husband help me decorate these cake pops and I think he did a great job! It was like a regular assembly line in our kitchen! The one question he asked me was where do I keep coming up with all these smart yet time consuming things to try and make. Of course he already knew the answer!!!

These are very time consuming to make. I baked the cake and formed the cake balls on Monday and Tuesday I dipped and decorated them.

Spring Chicks Cake Pops – Courtesy of Bakerella

What You’ll Need:

For the cake balls:

1 box of vanilla cake mix

1 jar of vanilla frosting

Cooking Spray

For the decorations:

Yellow candy melts

rainbow covered chips

paper lollipop sticks( I found mine at Hobby Lobby) 

black icing or gourmet marker( couldn’t find one so the black icing in a little tube is what I used)

Wild flower sprinkles

Styrofoam blocks

How to make the cake balls:

Spray cooking spray in the bottom of a 13×9 baking pan.

In a 13×9 baking pan cook the cake mix as directed on the box.

After the cake is done take it out of the oven and let it cool.

After the cake is cooled crumble it up with your hands

Next, add vanilla frosting to the cake and mix (I used a spoon to help mix the frosting and cake together. At first I tried my hands but way too messy… that lasted about 5 seconds)

After you have combined the cake and frosting using an ice cream scooper (I found this worked well) roll the cake into balls and place on a wax covered baking sheet.

If you are making and decorating in one day continue to the steps below otherwise what I did was refrigerate the cake balls until the next day.

How to decorate:

Once the cake balls are rolled and placed on a wax covered baking sheet. Take a lollipop stick and dip in a little bit of melted candy coating.

Dip the tip of the stick into the candy coating and then place the lollipop stick into the cake ball about halfway through.

Place in Styrofoam blocks after inserting the lollipop stick.

After Styrofoam block is filled place in freezer for about 10-15 minutes to harden the lollipop stick to the cake ball.

Continue until all cake balls have a lollipop stick in them. Freeze.

While the cake balls are in the freezer warm up the yellow candy coating as directed on the package. It took about 1-1 1/2 minutes to melt. Stir after microwaved to tell if you need to heat it up for an additional amount of time. Make sure to melt enough candy coating to completely cover the cake ball when dipped.

Next, dip the cake pops into the candy melt. To make the candy coating smooth hold upside down and twirl the cake pop using your wrist to get any excess candy melt off. I also used the back of a spoon to help on some of them.

Place candy coated cake ball into a styrofoam block. Continue with cake balls until all have been covered and placed into styrofoam blocks.
(Next I put them in the fridge to help them cool faster, you can just keep them out and wait 15-20 minutes until they have cooled before decorating)

Once the candy coated cake balls are cooled and have hardened. Melt a few more candy melts to use for adhering the decorations for the cake balls.

Using a toothpick dip it into the candy melt and place on the back of 2 orange wild flower sprinkles. Place the sprinkles towards the bottom front on the cake ball (These are the feet)

Next take the toothpick and dip into candy melt and place on flat side of a orange rainbow colored chip and place in the middle of the cake ball inbetween the feet (this is the nose)

Next adhere two yellow rainbow colored chips on to the sides of the chick (these are the arms/wings)

Take the black icing tube or gourmet writer and add eyes to the chick.

Finally place in fridge or let set out to dry

Enjoy!!! They are delicious.

The Report Card:

Me- A: At first I thought this was going to be so sweet because of the frosting and candy melt combination. To my surprise they were not too sweet for my taste. I think this was partly because since they are so small, it’s not too much sugar. They were almost too cute to eat!

Students and Coworkers- A: So I brought about 35 cake pops to work and how many did I end up coming home with?!?! They were gone before I knew it. The students loved them and my co-workers also had great comments. One told me to remember these so that when I have kids here’s a good birthday party idea.

 (Sorry I forgot to take a picture of this one….What was I thinking?!?!?)

So I really felt like having lasagna for supper and when I started to make it I realized that I didn’t have any hamburger in the house. I really didn’t feel like running to the store to get any so I decided that it would be just as good without any meat in it…. and it was!

What You’ll Need:

1/2 box of lasagna noodles

1/2 jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce

1/2 onion chopped and diced

small can of black olives

small can of mushrooms

Parmesan cheese

1/2 c cheddar cheese

How you make it…

1. Boil water on the stove and then add noodles until they become tender. Add salt to the water to keep the noodles from sticking.

2. After the noodles are done cooking, drain and rinse

3. In a 8×8 baking pan put a layer of sauce on the bottom and then begin layering the noodles, sauce, onions/olives/mushrooms and cheeses until the pan is full.

4. Cover with foil and bake in oven at 350 for 20 minutes or until cheese on top is melted

The Report Card

Me- A: Even though a normally like meat in my lasagna this still tasted really good. It was just me for supper that night so I made the smaller portion so it wouldn’t go to waste. You could easily make this dish for a larger group just increase the amount of ingredients you put in. It made a great lunch for work the next day!

I’ve been wanting to make a fritatta for a while so I decided to try it for supper one night. It was good. If I were to make it again I would add some bacon and ham. It was kind of bland for my taste and needed something else but it was still good.

Cheese and Potato Fritatta- Courtesy of allrecipes 

Ingredients:

4 Russett Potatoes, chopped and diced

4 Large eggs, beaten

1 Onion, chopped

2 Tbsp Olive Oil

1/2 c Cheddar Cheese

Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Pre-Heat oven to 400 degrees

2. Heat the oil in a skillet. When oil is hot add potatoes and cook for about 15-17 minutes

3. Reduce heat and add onions, cook until soft

4. Add salt and pepper to taste at your liking

5. Pour eggs on top of the potatoes and onions

6. Place skillet in oven for about 10 minutes

7. Remove from oven and add cheese to the top

8. Put back in oven for 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted

The Report Card:

DH- B: DH is a very picky eater but is getting better at trying new things. This recipe was simple and included everything he really likes. He said it was good but it would be better if I would have added bacon to it.

Me- B: Like I said above this was a little too bland for my tastes personally. It was good, don’t get me wrong but it needed something extra like bacon or ham to make it even better.

So today I didn’t have to work because we had a lot of snow overnight. Tonight it is suppose to get to -25 degrees not including the wind chill. brr! So since I was stuck inside because it was so cold I wanted to make something that would warm me right up! I had everything in my pantry to make this soup so I decided there wasn’t a better time to make this soup. And after I got it started  my husband came home and wanted to take me out to Olive Garden for lunch. How could I say no, I love their soup, salad and breadsticks!!! So while dinner was cooking I was able to enjoy my day off!

Taco Soup (Crockpot365.blogspot.com)

Ingredients:

2 cans of kidney beans

2 cans of pinto beans

2 cans of corn

1 large can of diced tomatoes

1 can of diced tomatoes with chiles

1 packet of taco seasoning

1/2 packet of ranch dressing mix

1 lb browned and drained ground beef

shredded cheese and sour cream for topping

Directions:

1. Brown meat and drain.

2. Put meat and taco seasoning into crockpot

3. Rinse and drain the beans and add to crockpot

4. Put the cans of corn in the crockpot- do not drain

5. Add the cans of tomatoes to the crockpot

6. Cook on low for 8-9 hours

The Report Card:

DH- A: The whole time this was cooking he kept commenting on how good it smelled. When he tried it he really liked it and how it reminded him of chili instead of a big taco in a soup. At first he was hesitant when I told him what I was making but he was glad he gave it a chance!

Me- A+: This soup was really really good. I made sure to make extras so I could freeze some and take it to work for lunch a few times. This would be a really good soup to take to a potluck or to just have on a cold winter’s night. YUM!