Meatball Bubble Biscuits

My girls loved these. They were so cute and fun to eat.  I  made my own meatballs. It would be super fast and easy to use the pre-made ones from the store like the recipe says. I will add my meatball recipe in case you want to make your own. I also made them ahead of time and just covered them and put them in my fridge so when it was time for dinner all I had to do was throw them in the oven. Nice and Easy!

This recipe comes from Kathie Cooks

Meatball Bubble BiscuitsSource: Barbie F.

1 can Pillsbury golden layers biscuits - each pulled into 2 layers
10 frozen fully cooked Italian style meatballs - thawed and cut in half
2 sticks string cheese - cut each into 10 pieces
1 T. parm cheese
1/2 t. Italian seasoning
1/4 t. garlic powder
1 c. marinara sauce

Heat oven to 375. Separate biscuits into 2 layers. Place 1 meatball half and one piece of cheese into each biscuit, wrap dough around it and seal edges. Place seam side down into 9 inch round cake pan. Sprinkle with parm cheese, garlic pwd. and italian seasoning. Bake 18-20 min or until golden brown. Serve warm with warm sauce.

Here is my meatball recipe...

1 lb hamburger

1 egg

1 cup bread crumbs

1 onion finely chopped

4 cloves of garlic minced

1/2 tsp Worcestershire Sauce

1/4 c Parsley

1/4 c Parmesan Cheese

Salt and Pepper to taste.

Preheat the oven to 450.

 Place all the ingredients in a bowl and mix together. Don't over mix, just enough to combine the ingredients. Roll into balls, place on a cookie sheet. Bake for about 12 minutes or until the center of the meatballs are cooked through.

(If I have leftover meatballs I usually freeze them and take them out when I need them. The still taste yummy and you would never know the were frozen.)

Lasagna Soup

I love soup! Even in the summer. It doesn't matter if it is hot or cold. Usually I like my soups, cream based, but I tried this one and really liked it! I made my soup and cooked it in the crockpot all day. Then I added my noodles and the cheese in the bowls like it says in the recipe. It gets kinda crazy around here after school and it was nice to have dinner pretty much done.

The recipe is from A Farm Girl's Dabbles

for the soup:
2 tsp. olive oil
1-1/2 lbs. Italian sausage
3 c. chopped onions
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
2 T. tomato paste
1 28-oz. can fire roasted diced tomatoes
2 bay leaves
6 c. chicken stock
8 oz. mafalda or fusilli pasta
1/2 c. finely chopped fresh basil leaves
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
for the cheesy yum:
8 oz. ricotta
1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp. salt
pinch of freshly ground pepper
2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese

Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add sausage, breaking up into bite sized pieces, and brown for about 5 minutes. Add onions and cook until softened, about 6 minutes. Add garlic, oregano, and red pepper flakes. Cook for 1 minute. Add tomato paste and stir well to incorporate. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, or until the tomato paste turns a rusty brown color.

Add diced tomatoes, bay leaves, and chicken stock. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Add uncooked pasta and cook until al dente. Do not over cook or let soup simmer for a long period of time at this point, as the pasta will get mushy and absorb all the soup broth. You may even want to consider cooking the noodles separately, and then adding some to individual bowls before ladling the soup over them. This would be an especially smart move if you are anticipating any leftovers. Right before serving, stir in the basil and season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

While the pasta is cooking, prepare the cheesy yum. In a small bowl, combine the ricotta, Parmesan, salt, and pepper.

To serve, place a dollop of the cheesy yum in each soup bowl, sprinkle some of the mozzarella on top and ladle the hot soup over the cheese.

Turkey Lettuce Wrap Tacos with Chiles, Cumin, Cilantro, Lime and Tomato-Avocado Salsa

This recipe is from kalyns kitchen. We all really liked them. The kids even at them!

Turkey Lettuce Wrap Tacos with Chiles, Cumin, Cilantro, Lime and Tomato-Avocado Salsa
(Makes about 8 tacos, recipe adapted from Molly Watson's Turkey Tacos, discovered via Twitter from Marisa.)

Ingredients for Tacos:
1 T olive oil
1 tsp. minced garlic (I used minced garlic from a jar, but fresh garlic would be even better)
1-2 T diced green chiles (I used about half of a 4 oz. jar of diced green chiles, recipe called for fresh chiles which would be a bit hotter)
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. ground chipotle chile powder (recipe called for cayenne)
1 1/2 lbs. ground turkey
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions
1 large bunch cilantro, finely chopped (about 1 1/4 cups chopped cilantro. I used 1 cup in tacos and 1/4 cup in salsa. Use more or less cilantro to taste.)
2 T fresh lime juice
2 large heads romaine lettuce (or use iceberg, Boston lettuce, or butter lettuce)

Instructions:

Heat olive oil in heavy frying pan then add minced garlic and diced green chiles and saute about 1 minute. (I used a non-stick pan. If you use fresh garlic and chiles, I'd cook them a bit longer.) Add cumin and ground chipotle or cayenne and cook about 1 minute more. Then add turkey and salt and cook over medium-high heat, breaking apart with the back of the turner as it cooks. Cook about 5 minutes, or until turkey is starting to brown.

While turkey cooks, thinly slice green onions and set aside, then wash cilantro, spin dry or dry with paper towels, and finely chop cilantro. Cut off root end of lettuce, discard tough outer leaves, and wash lettuce and spin dry in salad spinner or dry with paper towels.

When turkey is lightly browned, add sliced green onions and cook about 2 minutes. Turn off heat, then stir in 1 cup chopped cilantro and 2 T lime juice.

Ingredients for Salsa:
2 medium avocados, diced
1 1/2 cups finely chopped cherry tomatoes
1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro
2 T fresh lime juice
2 T olive oil (optional)
sea salt to taste

Instructions:
Peel and dice avocado, place in glass or plastic bowl and toss with lime juice. Stir in chopped tomato, chopped cilantro, and olive oil, season to taste with salt.

To ssemble tacos:
Spoon 2-3 large spoonfuls of turkey mixture into each piece of lettuce. (I used the inner more folded pieces of lettuce and saved the flatter outer pieces for using in salad.) Top meat mixture with salsa. You could also eat this mixture inside whole wheat tortillas or pitas, or even corn tortillas if you're not a South Beach dieter.

Memorial Weekend Cooking Bananza

My sister, sister in laws, and my mom have been getting together once a month and having a baking bonanza day. We find recipes online (mostly pinterest) or wherever and we try them out. Some have been complete failures and others have been really good. We thought we would put them on here to let you know what we have tried and liked.
This month we decided to do this for my dad's birthday. It always falls around memorial weekend, so we asked him what his favorite meals were and he gave us a list. We made some from scratch like his favorites spaghetti sauce, cole slaw and pork chops. Those are all pretty basic recipes. Although the cole slaw in my family is just cabbage, vinegar and oil. YUM (No yucky mayo) We got a recipe for the best potato salad from my aunt and if I can get her to write it down I will post it on here.
Then we got some treats off of pinterest and made a bunch! It was an awesome weekend! Happy Birthday Dad!

These are the ones we tried this month...

Peanut Butter Cup S'Mores 

salted Carmel pretzel chocolate chip cookies

S'More Cups

Lemon Meringue Pie

buttermilk blueberry breakfast cake

breakfast casserole

Cinnamon Rolls

Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Cup S'mores

These were so GOOD! I love anything with Reese's peanut butter cups! mmmmm....I got the recipe from melssweetlife.wordpress.com I did double mine and put them in a 9x13 pan, because and 8x8 pan wouldn't last very long with my family!

yield: 16 large/20 small squares
Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/4 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup graham cracker crumbs
• 16 peanut butter cups, regular size
• 1 1/2 cups marshmallow fluff

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8×8 baking dishing with parchment paper; coat lightly with cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl of the bowl of stand mixer, beat butter and sugars until fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla until combined. Scrape down the sides. With the mixer on low, stir in the flour, baking powder, salt, and graham cracker crumbs until mixed.
3. Spread 2/3 of the dough on the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Lightly press the peanut butter cups into the dough, then spread marshmallow fluff on top. Press the remaining dough on a non-stick surface into the shape of an 8×8 square. Place the square on top of the fluff and press down lightly.
4. Bake for 30 minutes or until the edges just begin to brown. Allow to cool for at least two hours* to give the bars a chance to set, then remove from the pan and cut into squares with a large, sharp knife.

*Originally I said the bars needed to cool for 8 hours, but after making them again I’ve realized they’re ready to go after only about 2. I also bet they are DAAANG good straight from the oven

Salted carmel pretzel chocolate chip cookies

If you were there when these came out of the oven you didn't get them! Michelle got the recipe from www.thediaryofdaveswife.com

3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
2 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup milk chocolate chips
1 cup kraft carmel bites
1/2 cup crushed pretzels

preheat oven to 350 degrees

In a mixer with the paddle attatchment mix together butter and sugars until fluffy. Add in egg and vanilla.mix in flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt. Stir in chocolate chips, carmel bites, and pretzels.

drop dough onto cookie sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes. let cool 5 minutes.

Enjoy!

S'More Cups

These s'more cups were so good! Jen got the recipe from texascottage.blogspot.com

7 whole graham crackers (1 cup finely crushed)

1/4 cup powdered sugar

6 tablespoons butter, melted

4 bars (1.55 oz each) milk chocolate candy, divided

12 large marshmallows

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place graham crackers into a large resealable plastic bag. Finely crush into crumbs. Combine graham cracker crumbs, powdered sugar, and butter in a small bowl.
Place 1 tablespoon of crumb mixture in each cup of a mini muffin pan. Press crumbs to form shallow cups. Bake 4-5 minutes or until edges are bubbling. Meanwhile, break two of the candy bars into rectangles. Remove pan from oven; place one rectangle into each cup.
Cut marshmallows in half crosswise using shears dipped in cold water. Place one marshmallow half, cut-side down, into each cup. Return to oven 1-2 minutes or until marshmallows are slightly softened. Remove pans from oven to cooling rack; cool 15 minutes. Carefully remove cups from pan. Cool completely.
Break remaining candy bars and place in small microwavable bowl. Microwave on high 1 to 1 1/2 minutes or until melted and smooth, stirring every 20 seconds. Dip the top of each marshmallow in melted chocolate. Turn top-side up and let stand 40 to 60 minutes or until set. Makes 24 cups.

Note: Store the cups in a single layer in an airtight container for up to 1 week. Freezing is not recommended.
For a richer chocolate flavor, substitute dark chocolate candy bars for the milk chocolate.
Each cup has 100 calories and 6 g fat.

Recipe courtesy of Sallie @ texascottage.blogspot.com.