Bread Sticks

I found this recipe. It was so good and so easy. I also made dessert bread sticks dipped in butter and cinnamon. Also so good and so easy.

Here’s the recipe:

1 1/2 cups warm water
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. dry active yeast
3 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup melted butter
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
lemon pepper (or seasoning of choice)
Mix together warm water, sugar, salt and yeast. Allow yeast to activate (about 10 minutes). Add flour and stir in with a fork until dough holds together. Turn out onto floured board. Knead lightly into a ball. Divide into 32 equal portions. On floured board, roll out into bread sticks. Dip into melted butter and then into Parmesan cheese. Place onto greased cookie sheet (16 per bakers half sheet.) Sprinkle with lemon pepper. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. This gives the bread sticks about 10 minutes to begin to rise. Cook at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.

Ranch-Parmesan Chicken

I made this for Fernando for Valentines day and it was really quick and delicious. I found it on food.com. I didn't make as much as it calls for and it still turned out great.

6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 cup dry breadcrumbs (even better, use panko breadcrumbs)
¼-1⁄3; cup parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon seasoning salt
½-1 teaspoon ground black pepper
½-1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 cup prepared ranch salad dressing (use bottled salad dressing, you might need a bit more dressing)
¼ cup melted butter (no substitutes)

Directions:

1 Set oven to 400° degrees (set oven rack to lowest position).
2 Lightly grease a 13 x 9-inch baking dish.
3 In a shallow bowl mix together the dry breadcrumbs with Parmesan cheese, seasoned salt, black pepper and garlic powder.
4 Dip the chicken into the ranch dressing to coat both sides (allow any excess to drip off).
5 Coat in the breadcrumb mixture.
6 Place in a single layer onto a greased baking sheet or line with non-stick foil (do NOT bake in a smaller baking dish or the bottom of the chicken will be soggy).
7 Lightly drizzle the melted butter over each breast (for low-fat option omit the butter or use a diet alternative).
8 If desired you can sprinkle black pepper over the chicken pieces .
9 Bake uncovered for about 30-35 minutes or until the chicken is cooked).

My own slow cooker Taco Soup Recipe

I wanted to make Taco soup, but we didn't have a lot of the ingredients all the recipes called for, so I made my own. I thought it turned out pretty darn good. Fernando liked it too.

Ingredients:
1 can corn
1 can chili
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can diced chilies
1 can black beans
1 lb of hamburger
3 TBSP ranch dressing (I didn't measure,but that's a guesstimate)
onion powder- I didn't measure this either, but a good amount :)
Taco seasoning packet

Put the meat in first and sprinkle the taco seasoning on top. I cooked the meat first before putting it in the slow cooker. Add all other ingredients. Cook for 5-6 hours on low.

Easy Beef Enchiladas

We were in the mood for enchiladas, but not the white sauce. I found this awesome recipe. It was delicious and super easy. I used green peppers instead of zucchini.

Ingredients:
1 pound lean ground beef
1 1/2 cups diced onion
1 1/2 cups (about 2 medium) finely diced zucchini
12 corn tortillas, heated or fried in oil to soften
2 1/2 cups enchilada sauce, canned or homemade
3 cups cheddar- jack shredded cheese
Serve as desired with: shredded lettuce, avocado, cilantro, sour cream

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9x13-inch pan with nonstick spray.

2. Heat oil in a large skillet. Add ground beef; break apart with a spoon or spatula to crumble the meat. Saute the meat on medium heat until browned (about 5 minutes). Tilt the pan and spoon the fat out of the pan; discard. Remove cooked meat to a bowl.

3. Return pan to medium heat and add onion and zucchini. Saute until just softened, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove the vegetables from the pan and add to the meat mixture; set aside.

4. Add 1/2 cup of sauce to the prepared pan. Spread it around so it coats the entire bottom of the pan.

5. Assemble the enchiladas: Place tortilla on a work surface. Spoon 1/4 to 1/3 cup of the meat mixture down the middle. Sprinkle 2 Tablespoons of cheese on top of the meat. Drizzle 1 Tablespoon of sauce on top. Wrap the tortilla around the filling tightly and place it seam-side-down in the pan. Repeat with remaining tortillas and filling until you have finished filling 12 tortillas. Place the tortillas side-by-side in the pan- it's okay if they are all snuggled in there tightly.

6. Pour remaining enchilada sauce over the top of the stuffed enchiladas. Cover the dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes.

7. Remove pan from the oven and take off the foil. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top; return to the oven and let the cheese melt (about 5 minutes).

8. Serve immediately with desired condiments.

Lasagna

JaNae gave me an easy and really good recipe for Lasagna. This was the first time I made home made lasagna and it turned out pretty good. I added onions and used Italian sausage instead of hamburger.

Ingredients

1 pound lean ground beef
4 cups tomato-basil pasta sauce
6 uncooked lasagna noodles
1 (15-ounce) container ricotta cheese
2 1/2 cups (10 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup hot water
Preparation

Cook beef in a large skillet over medium heat, stirring until it crumbles and is no longer pink; drain. Stir in pasta sauce.
Spread one-third of meat sauce in a lightly greased 11- x 7-inch baking dish; layer with 3 noodles and half each of ricotta cheese and mozzarella cheese. (The ricotta cheese layers will be thin.) Repeat procedure; spread remaining one-third of meat sauce over mozzarella cheese. Slowly pour 1/4 cup hot water around inside edge of dish. Tightly cover baking dish with 2 layers of heavy-duty aluminum foil.
Bake at 375° for 45 minutes; uncover and bake 10 more minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Banana Bread

Fernando's been wanting to make banana bread for a while now and finally did. It was delicious.

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
2 medium bananas, sliced


Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.
In a large bowl, stir together the melted butter and sugar. Add the eggs and vanilla, mix well. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt, stir into the butter mixture until smooth. Finally, fold in the sour cream, walnuts and bananas. Spread evenly into the prepared pan.
Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. Cool loaf in the pan for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Owl Cupcakes

I found really cute owl cupcakes on pinterest the other day and decided to make them. Aren't they cute?