M&M's Centerpiece

MEM's M&Ms
Originally uploaded by Mark E Mark.

This is my favorite centerpeice at a kids party. At first everyone made fun of me, but I have since seen it at their house. And, the kids can do all the work for you.

Technorati tags: M&M, Rainbow party, Centerpiece, rainbow, candy, party food, birthday party, birthday party decorations, 1st birthday, kids party

Great Recipe Site!

Technorati tags: Bakespace, recipes. recipe

I have been looking for a great site for recipes. I found a site today for http://www.bakespace.com/. After checking out some of the recipes, I was very impressed. It is a forum site, which allows members to share recipes and techniques.

I also like pictures. This site offers a lot of pictures of the finished product.

Breakfast Burrito

Technorati tags: Breakfast, Burrito, Tortilla, Eggs

Here is a super easy recipe for breakfast. Whether you have a a hungry family, or company. The recipe calls for everything to be cooked with the eggs, but you can cook everything separate. This is always a great way to use up my leftover tortilla shells.

Ingredients
2 lb. sausage
Onion, diced
Green pepper, diced
1 can mushrooms
18 eggs
2 c. shredded cheddar cheese
Salsa (optional)
Soft Tortilla Shells

Brown Sausage, drain. Add onion, peppers, and mushrooms. Add the eggs mixed up with a little milk. Cook until scrambled eggs are done. Serve on warmed up tortilla shells. Top with salsa if desired.

For a spicy variety, add jalapeno peppers and hot sauce. Or, just keep them on the table.

Southern Comfort Punch

Summer is on it's way. Here is a great punch to serve at a BBQ, Shower, or any party. Of course it's not for the kids.

Ingredients
1/5 Southern Comfort
3 qt. white soda
6 oz. lemon juice
6 oz. frozen lemonade
6 oz. frozen orange juice

In a punch bowl, combine all ingredients. Give it a gentle stir and serve.

 

Technorati tags: punch, southern comfort, party drink, white soda, lemon juice, frozen lemonade, orange juice, party

Cheesy Tortellini

This recipe is so easy, your kids can make it. Besides making it, they will love to eat it. Great to take to a party in a crockpot, or serve as an entire meal to your family.

Ingredients
2 lbs. Tortellini
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
1 cup. butter
16 oz. Velveeta Cheese

Cook Tortellini according to package directions. In a crock pot, melt cheese, mushroom soup and butter. Drain tortellini and add to cheese mixture.

 

Technorati tags: tortellini, ravioli, cheese, Velveeta, cheesy, pasta, appetizer, mushroom soup

Ranch Vegetable Dip

Ingredients
2 - 16 oz. pkg. Original Dressing Mix
16 oz. Jar Mayonnaise
8 oz. Small Curd Cottage Cheese
8 oz. Sour Cream

Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl. Mix until well blended. Refrigerate overnight for best results. Serve with veggies. This is a great recipe for a large picnic or party.

 

Technorati tags: ranch, vegetable dip, party dip, party food, dip recipes, recipes, chip dip, ranch dressing mix, mayonnaise, cottage cheese, sour cream

Vegetable Dip with Dill

Ingredients
1 pint sour cream - room temperature
1 pint Hellman's Mayo
3 tbsp. parsley
3 tbsp. onion powder
1 tbsp. dill weed
1 tbsp. celery salt

Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl and blend until well mixed. Let sit in fridge overnight for best flavor.

 

Technorati tags: vegetable dip, dip, dill, mayo, mayonaise, sour cream, onion powder, dill weed, celery salt, parsley, chip dip, veggie dip

Taco Dip

One of my favorite appetizers is Taco Dip. It was at every party I went to. If you weren't careful, it would fill you up and you weren't hungry for the rest of the meal. Who cares! When you are little, you don't like the rest of the meal anyway.

Ingredients
2 - 8 oz. cream cheese
1 lb. small curd cottage cheese ( replace with sour cream if you don't like cottage cheese)
1 pkg dry taco seasoning
1 tomato
1 small bag shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 head of lettuce
Jar of taco sauce
1/8 cup of chopped onion

Soften cream cheese. Beat cream cheese, cottage cheese and taco seasoning until well blended. Make sure you scrape the sides a few times to get everything well mixed. Spread on a 13" x 9" casserole pan or jelly roll pan. Spread taco sauce over mixture. Top with chopped lettuce, tomatoes, onion, and cheese. Serve with tortilla chips.

 

Technorati tags: taco dip, tortilla chips, appetizer, party food, cinco de Mayo, mexican food, mexico, lettuce, tomato, cream cheese, cottage cheese, cheddar cheese, taco sauce, taco seasoning

Smores

Who doesn't like having at least one Smores at a campfire! However, it is a lot to deal with. You have to toast a marshmallow, have the graham cracker and chocolate open and ready to go before your marshmallow falls off the stick. When you are camping out, this can get messy and you may not be able to keep up. Especially if you have 3 or 4 people helping you out with the marshmallows. I found a shortcut to making these delicious treats. Use Fudge Stripe Cookies. They are almost like a graham cracker, and already have a chocolate bottom. You don't have to open anything extra and they travel nicely.

This is a truly inspirational idea. Your friends will be amazed!

 

 

Technorati tags: smores, fudge stripe cookies, marshmallow, campfire, s'mores, bonfire

Pasta Salad

Here is my favorite Pasta Salad. I can be a little picky when it come to this dish. I usually don't like a lot of extra stuff in mine. This is the simplest recipe I know and is definitely a recipe you can add your own ingredients to.

Ingredients
1 Bag of veggie spiral noodles
1 Jar of Italian dressing
1 Cucumber
1 Bell Pepper
2 Tomatoes
salt
pepper

Cook pasta according to package instructions. While that is cooking, remove the skin from cucumber and dice cucumber into 1/2 inch cubes. Cut tomatoes and bell pepper into 1/2 inch pieces also. Set aside. Drain pasta and spray with cold water to help stop the cooking process. Drain again. Place pasta in a bowl with your veggies. Add 2/3 of your Italian Dressing to bowl and stir. Season with a little salt and pepper. Refrigerate over night, or at least 4 hours for best results. Right before serving, add rest of the Italian Dressing and give salad a quick stir.

Other ingredients to add, if you like
Pepperoni
Onion
Mushrooms
Croutons

 

Technorati tags: pasta salad, cucumber, bell pepper, tomato, pasta, salad, picnic food, party food, mushrooms, food for a crowd, cold salad

Taffy Apple Dip

This dip is a great way to get your kids to eat apples and other fruit. A great appetizer to put in the center of the table at a party. If you are going to snack, make it something good for you.

Ingredients
3/4 c. sugar
3/4 c. brown sugar
1 - 8 oz pkg. cream cheese softened
Apples or other fruit cut up for dipping

Place all ingredients into a mixing bowl and beat until well blended. Slice up fruit right before serving.

 

Technorati tags: apple, dip, cream cheese, fruit dip, cream cheese dip, cream cheese spread, brown sugar, apples, pears, bannanas, strawberries, grapes, fruit, appetizer, healthy snack

French Silk Pie

Technorati tags: french silk, pie, chocolate, whip cream, chocolate curls

When I go to a party where I am not sure what everyone likes to eat, I make French Silk Pie. It is creamy and chocolaty. Sure to be a hit with everyone.

Ingredients
Graham Cracker Crust
3 oz. semi sweet baking chocolate
1 c. sugar
3/4 c. butter
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
3 eggs
cools whip (optional)
chocolate curls (optional)

In a sauce pan, melt chocolate on low heat. Stir constantly and remove from heat as soon as melted. Set aside and allow to cool. In an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar. Add chocolate and blend. Add one egg at a time, blending well between additions. The more patient you are with beating the eggs will allow a fluffier chocolate mixture. Add vanilla. Spoon mixture into graham cracker pie crust. Refrigerate for 4 hours. Add cool whip and chocolate curls if desired.

Cream Cheese Squares

Technorati tags: cream cheese, crescent rolls, dessert

This is a great dessert for parties. Not too sweet, but delicious.

Ingredients
2 cans of refrigerated crescent rolls
2 (8 oz) cream cheese
1 cup powdered sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
cinnamon

Spray an 11" x 7" baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Layer the bottom of the pan with 1 roll of crescent roll dough, roll out to cover the entire bottom of the pan. Pressing seams together. In a mixing bowl, combine, cream cheese and sugar. Mix until fluffy. Add egg and vanilla. Mix until well blended. Spread the mixture over the crescent rolls. Ad another layer of crescent rolls on top of the cream cheese mixture. Sprinkle cinnamon over the top of the dish and bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes, or until crescent top starts to brown along the edges.

Rhubarb Upside Down Cake

Technorati tags: rhubarb, cake mix, upside down

It's almost time for Rhubarb Season. Rhubarb is one of those foods you either LOVE or HATE. I love it. But, even I get tired of eating it. After a few weeks of desserts I start chopping it into 1 inch pieces and putting it into a Ziploc bag in the freezer. Then I can make desserts with Rhubarb for a few more months. This is one of my favorite recipes for Rhubarb and super easy to make.

Ingredients
1 yellow cake mix
5 cups rhubarb cut into 1 inch slices
1 cup sugar
1 pkg dry red jello mix

In a bowl, combine rhubarb, sugar, and red jello until rhubarb is evenly coated. Place in the bottom of a 9 x 13 pan. Spray pan with a non-stick spray before adding rhubarb. Prepare yellow cake mix, according to package directions. Pour over rhubarb mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes, until cake is completely cooked. Serve with whipped topping or frost entire cake.

Shh! It's a Secret.

Technorati tags: decorating, cookies

I have always shared my recipes with everyone. I have never held back information about my cooking, until Sunday. I make very good cut-out cookies. I have always been willing to give out the recipe, but I have decided not the share my decorating knowledge. I have thought about selling them for a business and did plenty of work and research on how to make them. I like my frosting recipe, which is Royal Frosting for anyone who wants to look it up. It's no secret. However, I decorate my cookies with a paintbrush. I tried every other way and this works better for me. They looked perfect. When someone plain out asked me how I did it, I couldn't tell the truth. I'm one of those people who hates to lie, but this took me a lot of research and I am not sharing it with every other member of the family. I guess to say I lied is stretching the truth. I just avoiding giving direct answers. I answered yes and no questions honestly. I just never offered the word paintbrush.

I hate to keep this to myself, but this time I have forbidden my husband from sharing the information with anyone. He likes to brag about me, but he understands why. I'm not really all that bad. I am sharing it with you.

Scotcharoos

Technorati tags: scotcharoos, peanut butter, pbars, rice krispie, butterscotch chips, chocolate chips, school treat

Scotcharoos is one of those desserts that you just can't stop eating. I don't know why that is, but one is not enough. You say, I just want one more little piece. Before you know, you have eaten about 4 more little pieces.

Ingredients
1 c. white Karo Syrup
1 c. white sugar
1 c. peanut butter
6 c. Rice Krispies cereal
1 1/2 c. semi-sweet chips
1 1/2 c. butterscotch chips

Combine Syrup and sugar in microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on High for 2 minutes. Stir in peanut butter. Pour over Rice Krispies. Mix thoroughly. Spread in 10"x 13" baking pan. Combine chips in saucepan. Melt over low heat, stirring constantly. Spread over top of cereal. Let chocolate cool and harden before cutting.

Chocolate Brownie Trifle

This delicious dessert will definitely disappear right before your eyes. A favorite at parties and super easy to make.

Ingredients
Batch of Brownies ( Boxed mixes are fine )
Chocolate Pudding ( 2 batches )
Large container of Whipped Topping
Toffee Chips

Make a batch of brownies and let cool. Then make 2 batches of chocolate pudding and refrigerate. In a bowl, break up 1/3 of your brownies and lay them on the bottom of the bowl. Next, a layer of chocolate pudding. Then a layer of Whipped topping. On top of the whipped topping a thin layer of toffee chips. Repeat 2 times. Top with extra toffee chips. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Kids and adults will love this dessert.

 

Technorati tags: brownies, chocolate pudding, cool whip, heath chips, trifle, dessert, party food, kid food, chocolate chips, toffee chips

Garbage Breakfast (Don't be fooled by the name)

Technorati tags: eggs, hashbrowns, garbage casserole, breakfast

This is one of my favorite breakfasts. The name does not make it sound yummy, but you can add anything you want to add. This will keep you full for hours. I'm going to tell you the fast way to make this.

Ingredients
2 hashbrown patties
cooked meat of your choice ( I like sausage)
2 eggs
2 tbsp. milk
2 slices of American cheese
chopped onions, peppers, jalapenos, tomatoes, or whatever veggies you like to add

You start out buy cooking the hashbrowns in a pan until they start to brown. Break up your hashbrowns and add your meat of choice, and any chopped veggies you want. Continue to cook until well blended. In a bowl, combine your eggs and milk with a fork until well blended. Pour over top of the hashbrown mixture. As the eggs cook, fold and cut up the dish with a spatula, so everything is well blended and eggs are cooked. Next break up 2 pieces of cheese and spread on top of dish. Let cheese melt and mix into dish with a spatula. You are done! Serve with toast. Don't be surprised if this is too much for one person to eat.

Blueberry Streusel Coffee Cake

Technorati tags: blueberry, streusel, coffee cake

This is my favorite Coffee Cake. The cake itself is super moist and the streusel topping is a wonderful surprise.

Ingredients
2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup butter softened
1 cup blueberries
1 cup chopped pecan (optional)

Streusel Ingredients
1/2 c. sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/4 cup cold butter

In a mixing bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add egg milk and butter. Beat well. Fold in berries and nuts. Spread into a greased 9" baking pan. Combine streusel ingredients in bowl until crumbly. Sprinkle over batter. Bake at 375 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes.

Potato Salad

This is definitely the best Potato Salad I have ever had. It is sure to please anyone's tastes.

Ingredients
3 lbs. potatoes
Mayonnaise
5 boiled eggs
pepper
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped celery
salt

Boil the potatoes with the skins on and place in the refrigerator over night to cool. The next day, peel the skins from the potatoes with a knife, and cut into small cubes. Next chop celery and onions and add to the cubed potatoes. Next cut your eggs into small slices, but not too small. Add to bowl. Next add a 1/2 cup of Mayonnaise at a time until the potato salad is covered with a light coating of mayonnaise. Add salt and pepper to taste. It is best if refrigerated overnight or for several hours.

Make sure you use real mayonnaise and not miracle whip.

 

Technorati tags: potato salad, salad, potato, best potato salad, simple potato salad, picnic food, party food, food for a crowd, mayonnaise, boiled eggs, celery, onion

Breakfast Pizza

This is a great dish to serve for Brunch. Very easy to make and customize to your personal taste.

Ingredients
1 to 2 cans of crescent rolls (whether you want a thin or thick crust)
2 cup frozen or fresh hashbrowns
1 lb. sausage or bacon, cooked
8 oz. package Cheddar Cheese
6 eggs
1/2 cup milk

In a 13" x 9" pan or 11" x 7" pan, roll crescent roll dough out to the edge. Cover with frozen hashbrowns, meat, and cheese. In a separate bowl, mix the eggs and milk. Pour evenly over dish. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes, until eggs are cooked through.

Personalize this dish to your tastes. You can add anything you would add to an omelet.

 

Technorati tags: breakfast, pizza, eggs, sausage, hashbrowns, breakfast pizza, brunch menu, brunch ideas, crescent rolls, cheddar cheese

Creamy Mashed Potato Casserole

Technorati tags: mashed potato, casserole, garlic potatoes

This is a delicious way to make mashed potatoes ahead of time and then pop them in the oven 40 minutes before dinner to finish cooking.

Ingredients
6 potatoes cubed and cooked until fork tender
1/4 cup milk
1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp. Parsley Flakes
1/2 tsp. Garlic Powder or 1 clove finely minced garlic
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar Cheese

Place all ingredients except Cheddar Cheese into an electric mix and mix until smooth. Put into a 13" x 9" casserole pan. Cover with foil and bake for 30 to 40 minutes at 325 degrees. Remove from oven. Uncover, sprinkle with cheese. Bake an additional 5-10 minutes until cheese is melted. Serve.

Cheesy Broccoli Rice Casserole

 

Easter is coming soon. Here is a great dish to serve with Ham or chicken. Even people who don't like broccoli will eat this.

Ingredients
1 stick margarine
8 oz. jar of cheese whiz
1 1/3 cup of minute rice
1/2 cup of chopped celery
1 pkg. frozen chopped broccoli
1 can cream of mushroom soup (or golden mushroom soup for extra flavor)

In a large bowl, mix all ingredients together, except margarine. Pour into a casserole pan. Put the stick of margarine on top of the dish. Cover with a lid or foil. Bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees. Stir dish after 30 minutes and continue cooking.

 

Technorati tags: broccoli rice casserole, green rice casserole, cheese, cheese whiz, rice krispies, celery, cream of mushroom soup, golden mushroom soup, casserole, party food, picnic food

Salami Bread

This dish is very versatile. You can use it for an appetizer, or a main dish. The main ingredients can be substituted for your personal tastes. Serve it hot or cold. Everyone will love this dish and think you worked very hard on it. After you make it once, everyone will ask you to bring it for every party.

Ingredients

frozen bread dough
1 bag shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 lb. salami slice thin
1 egg
1 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. water

First step is to allow the frozen bread dough to thaw. Cut one loaf in half and roll out until each piece is about 8" x 10". Next, in a bowl, whisk together 1 egg, oregano, and water. Take a pastry brush and spread over each loaf. Place a layer of the salami over the entire loaf, leaving about 1/2 inch from the edge. Spread about 1 cup of mozzarella cheese over the salami. Next, roll the dough like you would roll up cinnamon rolls and pinch all edges together. Brush egg mixture over the entire loaf and place seam side down on a baking sheet. Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 25 minutes, or until brown. Let cool. Slice in one inch servings. This is a great dish to make ahead and store in a fridge or freezer wrapped in foil. You can serve it with pizza sauce, or any sauce of your choice.

Combination Ideas
Turkey and White American Cheese
Ham and Cheddar
Pepperoni and Mozzarella

 

Technorati tags: salami, bread, sandwich, hot sandwhich, roll, appetizer, party food, turkey bread, pizza brea, ham and cheese. frozen bread dough, deli meat, finger food, picnic food