Leesa's Lasagna

When we stayed at Leesa's for the baby blessing she made us this delicious lasagna! My kids gobbled it up and I loved it too.

2 lbs. hamburger

1 jar prego 3 cheese pasta sauce

1 container cottage cheese

Fiesta blend cheese & mozzarella cheese

10-12 lasagna noodles

Brown meat and season with garlic salt and italian seasoning(I just eyeball it and taste it when its fully cooked to see if I need to add more)

Add the pasta sauce and cottage cheese.

Stir and keep cooking it all together on low while you cook your noodles. Once the noodles are cooked I get my pan and lay 5-6 noodles, then the sauce mix and cover that layer with the cheeses. 

Repeat the next layer and then put it in the oven at 350 for 20-25 minutes.

Thanks Leesa!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Dessert

This is very good, but rich! It's a great summer dessert because there's no cooking!

Ingredients:

20 oreos, divided

2 Tbsp. butter, softened

1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup peanut butter

1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, divided

1 carton (16 oz.) frozen whipped topping, thawed, divided

15 miniature peanut butter cups, chopped

1 cup cold milk

1 pkg. (3.9 oz.) instant chocolate fudge pudding mix

Additional chopped peanut butter cups

1. Crush 16 oreos; toss with the butter. Press into an ungreased 9 in. square dish; set aside.

2. In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese, peanut butter and 1 cup confectioners' sugar until smooth. Fold in half of the whipped topping. Spread over crust. Sprinkle with peanut butter cups.

3. In another large bowl, beat the milk, pudding mix and remaining confectioners' sugar on low speed for 2 minutes. Let stand for 2 minutes or until soft-set. Fold in the remaining whipped topping.

4. Spread over peanut butter cups. Crush remaining cookies. Sprinkle cookies and peanut butter cups over the top if desired. Cover and chill for at least 3 hours.

Foil-Pack Chicken and Broccoli Dinner

loved!

1 packageStuffing mix; chicken flavor

1 1/4 cupWater

24 ounceBoneless skinless chicken breast cutlets; 6oz each

4 cupsBroccoli Florets

1 cupShredded chedar cheese

4 slicesCooked bacon; crumbled

4 tablespoonRanch dressing - Oven to 400 - Spray 4 large sheets of heavy-duty foil with oil.

- Combine stuffing mix and water.

- Spoon 1/4 of the stuffing mixture onto the center of each foil sheet.

- Top stuffing with a 6oz. chicken breast half.

- Top chicken with 1 c. broccoli.

- Sprinkle with 1/4 of the cheese and 1 slice of bacon, crumbled.

- Drizzle with 1 T. ranch dressing

- Bring up foil sides and fold to seal, leaving room for heat circulation inside

- Place packets on a cookie sheet and bake 25-30 mins

- Remove packets and let stand 5 mins

- Cut sits in foil for steam before opening.

Beef & Broccoli {Crockpot}

I love setting up a meal and just forgetting about it. you have the freedom to do whatever you want while a delicious meal is cooking away!


INGREDIENTS:
 1 lb. boneless, beef chuck roast, sliced into thin strips
 1 cup beef consumme or beef broth
 1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
 1/3 cup dark brown sugar
 1 tbsp. sesame oil
 3 garlic cloves, minced
 2 tbsp. cornstarch
 4 tbsp. sauce (from the crockpot after dish is cooked) Frozen broccoli florets, as many as desired. (i used fresh) add them in at the same time as you add the cornstarch slurry. cook 30 more mins. White rice, cooked
 INSTRUCTIONS:
 In the insert of the crockpot, whisk together beef consume, soy sauce, dark brown sugar, sesame oil, and garlic. Gently place your slices of beef in the liquid and toss to coat. Turn crockpot on low and cook for 6 hours. When done, in a small bowl, whisk together cornstarch and cooking liquid to create a slurry, pour into crockpot, stir to mix well. Cook on low for an additional 30 minutes to thicken up the sauce. Toss in your broccoli florets then serve hot over white rice. I think it would be good to add any other veggie such as carrots, mushroom, onion, zucchini, bell pepper, celery, asparagus.

Birthday Cake Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, room temperature
• 1 cup dark brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cups cake mix
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup sprinkles
• 2 cups chocolate chips
• 2 cups coarsely chopped Birthday Cake Golden Oreos

1. In a bowl of your stand mixer cream butter and sugar together for about a minutes until light and fluffy. Add in eggs and vanilla and beat until smooth.
2. With mixer on low add in baking soda, salt, flour and cake mix, stirring until mixture just comes together.
3. With mixer still on low add in sprinkles, chocolate chips, and chopped Oreos. Stir until evenly incorporated.
4. Chill dough for at least 2 hours, an overnight is better.
5. When ready to bake preheat oven to 350°
6. Line baking sheet with parchment paper and form dough into round balls, placing them 2 inches apart on baking sheet.
7. Bake cookies for 8-10 minutes until edges are slightly golden.
8. Allow to cool on baking sheet for 3 minutes and then transfer to wire rack to continue cooling.              * I chilled the dough for these.  A few hours in the fridge at a minimum, a few days is even better.  I know.  You can’t wait that long:) This cookie dough  is so so good. As you can tell from my picture i left the sprinkles out. Enjoy! No need for a birthday!  

Cilantro Chicken

This was so good, made it yesterday and it was delicious!! So easy and great to eat off the grill.

2 1/2 pounds boneless/skinless chicken thighs, fat trimmed
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup minced garlic
1/2 bunch fresh cilantro (a big handful)
3/4 to 1 cup sweet chili sauce

Directions:

1. Place chicken in a large zip baggie.
2. Place olive oil, garlic and cilantro in a blender or food processor. Process until the mixture is combined and smooth. Scoop the marinade into the bag with the chicken, press the air out of the bag and zip it closed. Knead the marinade into the chicken until it is evenly distributed. Marinate overnight or all day long.
3. Preheat the grill to medium heat and coat with oil or grill spray. Remove chicken from the bag and grill 4 to 5 minutes on the first side, until good grill marks are showing. Flip and grill an additional 3 to 4 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through.
4. Remove chicken to a platter and brush the sweet chili sauce on top. ( We brushed it on while it was on the grill)

Crispy Quinoa Bites

I have been trying to find some good recipes with Quinoa. But I have had some hard trouble finding something that is really good until I came across this recipe. I could eat these all day.

Crispy Quinoa Bites

Ingredients

• ½ cup uncooked quinoa
• ½ cup uncooked black rice
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup Vidalia onions, finely chopped
• 1 cup dairy-free shredded mozzarella cheese
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• ½ cup fresh basil, finely chopped
• ⅓ cup grape tomatoes, diced
• ½ tsp. sea salt
• ½ tsp. freshly ground pepper
• 1 tsp. chili powder
• 2 chives, finely chopped, for garnish
• 2 cups of homemade tomato sauce, for serving

                                                                    

Instructions

1. Cook quinoa and rice according to package directions. Prepare muffin pan with nonstick baking spray.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
3. In a large bowl, combine cooked quinoa and rice with remaining ingredients, except chives and pasta sauce; mix well to combine.
4. Transfer quinoa and rice mixture to prepared muffin pan. Using a tablespoon, fill each muffin cup to the top, then using a spatula, press down on the mixture to create a flat surface.
5. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven; set aside to cool for 15 minutes. Using a teaspoon, gently remove rice and quinoa snacks from the muffin cups.
6. Transfer to a serving platter; serve with a sprinkle of fresh chives and a side of tomato sauce or Marinara for dipping.