Pizza Dip

So, www.Pinterest.com is totally changing my life. Good ways and bad. Gives me great ideas for recipes and such, but totally a time sucker! :)

Look at my latest finding! Pizza Dip! 

Totally sounds good, right? So why haven't we seen or tried this before?

I mean... YUM!!

Let me show you how to make it. 

Pizza Dip
1/2 block of cream cheese, room temp
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup mayo
1 cup Mozzarella cheese, divided
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1 cup pizza sauce
Pepperoni
Olives
Mushrooms
Green pepper
Italian seasoning

First, combine the cream cheese, sour cream, mayo and 1/2 cup Mozzarella cheese. Spread into a pie plate.

The pie plate makes it look so cool! Like a real pizza on top, but you can see the layers! 

Spread the pizza sauce over the cream cheese layer.

Add your toppings. I like the olives, peppers, pepperoni, and mushrooms. You can totally change it up. Don't skimp on the pepperoni though. It's the best part. 

Top with more Mozzarella, Parmesan, more pepperoni, and Italian seasoning.


Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes, or until heated through.

I cannot believe I've never had this in my lifetime. It's so good! 

We ate it with "crusty breads". I took a French bread loaf and baked along with the dip until they were crusty.

Mmmm!!! Look at it!! Go get yourself some.... N   O   W !!!!!!!!

You will be the hit of the party if you bring this dip!

Poppyseed Chicken Casserole

Hello! Wow, have I been busy!! I've been helping out my department quite a bit, and so have been putting in a lot of hours! 

Today I have a delicious, hearty casserole to share!

Poppyseed Chicken Casserole
From The Girl who Ate Everything

5 lbs chicken breasts, cooked and diced
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 cup sour cream
1 Tbsp Worcestershire 
1 Tbsp lemon juice
Sprinkle of celery salt
Sprinkle of garlic salt
Pepper to taste
2 cups Ritz crackers, crushed (about 1 1/2 tubes)
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 Tbsp poppy seeds

Combine cream of chicken soup, sour cream, and seasonings. Toss with chicken and put into a greased 9x13 pan. Combine crushed Ritz with butter and poppy seeds. Top casserole with crackers. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, or until sauce is bubbly and crackers are golden brown and crunchy. 

I cut this recipe in half, which is why I have a smaller pan. 

It got great reviews from the Mr. too! He texted me at work to say "chicken is yumm!!" Haha. Score.

And you can see I served this with a baked potato. Worked well because the sauce was like butter and sour cream for the potato! Rice would also be great with it.

P.S. Do you know where I find a lot of these recent recipes? Pinterest. Have you ever?  You should really try it!

Chili Soup & Corn bread!

Yep, we broke out the chili soup this week too! :) Just couldn't resist! 

I stuck with a basic "Sioux Center recipe" for chili. Soup supper anyone? 

But it really is a keeper. Can't go wrong with it! I threw in some chopped tomatoes from the garden also, to give it a little more "chunkiness". 

Chili Soup
3 lbs hamburger
1 1/2 cups onion, chopped
2 medium potatoes, diced
4 cans kidney beans
4 cans tomato soup
2 qts tomato juice
2 qts water
3 tsp chili powder
Salt to taste

Brown hamburger with onion in a large pot, when no longer pink drain. Add the rest of ingredients, bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer at least 1 hour. 

Now, to make this a little more "my style" I use Spicy V8 and add a dash of cayenne. And, like I said, I put a few garden tomatoes in there. I also don't think I added all 2 qts of water. I just add water until the soup is my consistency. 

What's the first thing Aaron says? 

Aaron: "Potato? Is that potato? Who puts potato in their chili soup?!" 

Lindsey: "Well dear, do you not like it?"

Aaron: "Oh, its good. Its really good. Just never seen a potato in chili before!" 

And of course, don't forget your chili toppings! Cheese, sour cream, and crackers! :)

Now, on to *Aaron's* corn bread! He was very hesitant to give me his recipe. 

Aaron: "well, maybe I want to keep the recipe secret. So when I start my blog I will have some darn good recipes to use!" 

Lindsey: "Hmmm. Ok dear. When are you starting your blog? And who will read this blog?"

Aaron: "You don't think I could have a blog? I could have a blog." 

Southern Corn Bread
1 stick butter/margarine
1 cup sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup flour
1 cup cornmeal
1 can creamed corn
1 small can green chiles
1 cup cheddar jack cheese

Cream together the butter and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time. Then add dry ingredients and mix well. Then mix in creamed corn, chiles, and cheese by hand. Pour into a greased glass baking dish. Bake at 300 degrees for 1 hour, or until a toothpick comes out clean. 

Oh yes, and as you can see the amount was a little too much for a pie pan, so we used a drip pan too... :)

Make sure you don't have any leftovers of the corn bread. It was DELICIOUS day #1, but leftovers were not near as good. 

Aaron did not like waiting for my picture taking. 

Aaron: "How many pictures do you need?!?! Why was the 1st one not good enough?!!"

Lindsey: "I need a variety of pictures. People like pictures. They need them to envision the goodness."

Aaron: "Oh goodness."


Side note. We went to Luciano's in Sioux City for the 1st time last night. I wanted to try a "unique" place to town, not just the usual Red Robin or Texas Roadhouse. You know? Definitely recommend Luciano's to anyone. It was great! And such a cool place!

Here was my dish... Prosciutto Tortellini. It was very good. But I would probably go for the chicken  next time. Prosciutto made it very salty. Good, but salty.

Bean & Barley Soup

Hi there! Fall time!!!! Woot woo!! :) Check out my new pretties for the fall.

Thanks Pier 1 !!! :) 

So, what do you make in the fall? SOUP soup SOUP soup!!

First soup on the menu for me? Bean & Barley Soup. Something different. 

Bean & Barley Soup

• 7 cups fat free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 6 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 (4-inch) rosemary sprigs
• 1 (19-ounce) can dark red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 cup finely chopped carrot
• 1/4 cup chopped celery
• 1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 cup uncooked quick-cooking barley
• 10 cup torn spinach leaves (about 4 ounces)
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup (2 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese

Preparation

• Bring first 4 ingredients to a boil in a Dutch oven; reduce heat to medium-low, and cook 15 minutes. Drain through a sieve into a large bowl; discard solids.
• Measure 1 cup beans, and mash with a fork in a small bowl. Reserve the remaining whole beans.
• Heat oil in pan over medium heat. Add onions, carrot, and celery; cook 4 minutes. Add broth mixture, mashed beans, whole beans, tomatoes, and barley; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 15 minutes. Stir in spinach and black pepper; cook 5 minutes or until barley is tender. Sprinkle each serving with cheese.

Note: To ensure rich flavor, add garlic and herbs to canned broth for a homemade taste. Mashing a portion of the beans gives the soup extra body. 

 

 

 This soup was hearty and yummy! Just be careful. Can't say I eat a lot of barley in life. Didn't know how much fiber it had in it....  that's all I'll say. 

Snack Time!

Hi there! Chilly day here in NW Iowa! Kinda fun though. I'm making a soup right now, can't wait!! 

I have some snacks to share with you. Really easy stuff today. First off, you don't even have to make anything... just buy it! :) 

Hummus and Pita Chips! Now, don't get any ol' hummus. You must get Sabra brand... it is the creamiest and smoothest hummus I've had. Do you know what hummus is? It's a dip made out of mashed chickpeas/garbanzo beans. So, some that you get can be kinda "gritty" or thick, but not Sabra. It is smooth and delicious! :) 

I like roasted red pepper flavor the best, but they make all kinds! Spinach & Artichoke, pine nuts, roasted garlic, original. They have something for everyone!

Yep, time to dig in!! :)

Better than chips and dip!

And now if you have a sweet tooth I have an easy cookie recipe for you. Only 4 ingredients!

These are Nutella cookies by Pioneer Woman. Have you ever had Nutella?

It's a chocolate hazelnut spread. Now, don't let the advertisements get you. Nutella advertises to be a healthy spread and a good way to get something "nutritious" in your kids. It's really not good for you. It's got a lot of sugar in it, but yes, a few nuts. So take it in strides... it is yummy!

Ok, so your 4 ingredients are--
- 1 cup Nutella
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 cup flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all ingredients and shape into balls. Press onto a cookie sheet with your hand or the bottom of a glass. Bake for 8 minutes or until set. 

These cookies were great fresh out of the oven, but they weren't near as good the next day. I consider them an I-need-something-sweet-right-now-cookie b/c they're quick and use only 4 things! :)

Ok, I have to get back to my soup now! Hope to share the recipe with you later in the week! (Bean & Barley Soup)

Pudgy Cake... It's for Real!

This cake will change your life. 

This cake laughs at other cakes. 


This cake will make you forget all other cakes. 

So, you wanna know what's under that frosting?? 


Get ready..... 


Skinny people close your eyes....


Pudgy people rejoice...

All of your favorites piled high in a 3 layer cake... brownie, cookie dough, and cake!!! And don't forget the frosting! 


I think we all owe a round of applause to Cookies & Cups for opening our eyes to what cake can really be!

Haha. I made this over the weekend for Mom & Whitney's birthdays. It was sinful. But wonderful. And let me tell you, Cookies & Cups' vanilla frosting recipe... OUT OF THIS WORLD! Like, you make it and you will never make another vanilla frosting again. EVER. IN YOUR LIFE! :) 


Ok, let's start at the beginning. First, bake brownies and a funfetti cake in round pans. Use store bought or you'll never have a life... this is a big cake.

Plop it down on a serving platter. And then work on your egg-free cookie dough. Here's Cookies & Cups' recipe, it was great!


1 c. butter, softened
1 c. packed light brown sugar
1/2 c. granulated sugar
4 Tbsp. milk
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 t. salt
2 c. all-purpose flour
1 1/2c. mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Combine first 5 ingredients in a mixing bowl and cream together. Add flour and stir until combined. Stir in chocolate chips.

Plop it on top of the brownie layer, and spread it evenly.

Then top it with the funfetti cake. By the way, the box says it makes 2 round pans, but I just threw it all in one, and it was fine. 

Oh it's getting fun isn't it?!?!?! :) Look at that!! 


Now prepare the frosting of all frostings.

Like, it's lick your finger good.

What a freakin' weirdo. :)

Now frost it and EAT!!!!!

That's a pretty cake, huh? 

I tried to save you a slice, but it was gone in like 3 days.