Famous Party Meatballs

Ingredients
Big jar of grape jelly
Regular sized bottle of barbeque sauce (doesn't have to be fancy)
96 ct. Cooked Perfect frozen meatballs

Directions
Put in the crock pot on low for about 2 hours.

Made for Ellen and Christo's New Year's Eve Party December 2010.
Made for Christmas Eve December 2010.
Made a gazillion other times.

Pasta Milano

Ingredients

Chicken
2 chicken breasts or some tenders
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Pasta
Bowtie pasta
2 tablespoons butter
Sun-dried tomatoes
sliced mushrooms

Cream Sauce
1/2 quart heavy cream
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup parmesan cheese

Garnish
Parsley
Parmesan cheese

Directions
Mix garlic powder, salt, and pepper and sprinkle on washed and dried chicken.

Grill chicken until it is done all the way through. Set aside.

Cook and drain pasta.

Meanwhile, saute the mushrooms and tomatoes in butter until soft.

Puree heavy cream, garlic, pepper, salt, and parmesan cheese.

Place cream mixture in a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Turn down heat and simmer for 15 minutes or until sauce has thickened.

Mix in mushrooms and tomatoes and add to the cooked pasta.

Slice the grilled chicken and place on top of the pasta.

Garnish with fresh parsley and grated parmesan cheese.

Made for Brian and Randy December 2010.

Artichoke Gratinata

Ingredients

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1 pound frozen artichoke hearts, thawed
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup Marsala wine
2 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup plain bread crumbs
1/3 cup grated Parmesan

Directions

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Warm the olive oil in a heavy bottom skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the artichoke hearts, parsley, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes and cook until the artichoke hearts are starting to brown at the edges, about 3 minutes. Add the chicken broth and wine and simmer for 3 minutes. Transfer the artichoke mixture to a 2-quart baking dish.

Melt the butter in the same skillet used to cook the artichokes. In a small bowl mix the melted butter with the bread crumbs. Stir in the Parmesan and top the artichokes with the bread crumbs. Bake until the top is golden, about 10 minutes.

From Heather Mistretta.

Chicken Piccata with Pasta & Mushrooms

Ingredients

6 ounces angel hair pasta
1/3 cup all-purpose flour, divided
2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
 4 chicken cutlets, (3/4-1 pound total), trimmed
3 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 10-ounce package mushrooms, sliced - I would use more than this.
 3 large cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup white wine
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons capers, rinsed - I would leave these out.
2 teaspoons butter

Directions

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until just tender, 4 to 6 minutes or according to package directions. Drain and rinse.

Meanwhile, whisk 5 teaspoons flour and broth in a small bowl until smooth. Place the remaining flour in a shallow dish. Season chicken with 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper and dredge both sides in the flour. Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook until browned and no longer pink in the middle, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate; cover and keep warm.

Heat the remaining 1 teaspoon oil in the pan over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring, until they release their juices and begin to brown, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate. Add garlic and wine to the pan and cook until reduced by half, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the reserved broth-flour mixture, lemon juice and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring, until the sauce is thickened, about 5 minutes.

Stir in parsley, capers, butter and the reserved mushrooms. Measure out 1/2 cup of the mushroom sauce. Toss
the pasta in the pan with the remaining sauce. Serve the pasta topped with the chicken and the reserved sauce.

From eatingwell.com

Made for Brian November 2010.

Impossibly Easy Toffee Bar Cheesecake

Ingredients:
1/4 cup milk

2 teaspoons vanilla
2 eggs
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup Original Bisquick® mix
2 packages (8 oz each) cream cheese, cut into 16 pieces, softened
3 bars (1.4 oz each) chocolate-covered English toffee candy, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup caramel topping

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 325°F. Spray bottom only of 9-inch glass pie plate with cooking spray.

2. In blender, place milk, vanilla, eggs, brown sugar and Bisquick mix. Cover; blend on high speed 15 seconds. Add cream cheese. Cover; blend 2 minutes. Pour into pie plate.

3. Sprinkle candy over top; swirl gently with table knife to evenly distribute candy.

4. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until about 2 inches of edge of pie is set and center is still soft and wiggles slightly. Cool completely, about 1 hour.

from BettyCrocker.com

Coconut Creamed Corn

Ingredients:
4 ears corn, kernels cut from cob
1 cup light coconut milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon lime juice
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper

Directions:
Combine corn kernels, coconut milk and salt in a medium saucepan.
Bring to a boil, then adjust the heat to maintain an active simmer.
Cook, stirring occasionally, until most of the coconut milk has evaporated, 12 to 15 minutes.
Stir in cilantro, lime juice and crushed red pepper.

From EatingWell.com

Tomato-Less Salsa

Ingredients:
1 can pinto beans (drained)
1 can black beans (drained)
1 can white and yellow corn (drained)
1 green bell pepper (diced)
1 yellow bell pepper (diced)
1 red bell pepper (diced)
1 vidalilo onion, diced
4  celery stalks, diced
1/3 cup vinegar
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
Fresh cilantro to taste

Directions:
Mix vinegar with sugar and heat until sugar dissolves.
Add vegetable oil and refrigerate until cool.
Pour vinegar mixture over bean mixture.
Add fresh cilantro.
Refrigerate.
Before serving, pour out 1/4 to 1/2 cup cup of liquidto keep it from getting too soupy.

From Mom.

Thai Pork with Peanut Sauce

Ingredients
Nonstick cooking spray
1 pork tenderloin (2+lbs), cut into large chunks
2 large red bell peppers, cored, seeded, cut into strips
1/3 cup prepared teriyaki sauce
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 teaspoon red pepper flake
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
Crushed peanuts
Scallions

Directions
Place pork, bell peppers, teriyaki sauce, rice vinegar, curry paste (if using) and garlic in cooker. Cook on low for 8 hours.

Remove pork from the crockpot and shred. Add peanut butter to liquid in cooker, stir to combine, then return pork to the cooker and toss so the sauce coats the meat.

Top with crushed peanuts and scallions. Serve over rice with broccoli.

Made for Olds & Polochock Meeting August 2011.
Made for Parents Spring 2011.
Made for Brian October 2010.
Made for Brian, Randy, Matt & Veronica December 2010.
Made for Parents and Brian January 2011.

Baked Artichoke Dip

1 cup miracle whip
1 cup mayonnaise
2 cans artichoke hearts, drained and roughly chopped
1 cup parmesan cheese
16 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese
A couple tablespoons of minced garlic
Salt/Pepper

Mix all ingredients until well blended. Put a little of the mozzarella cheese on the top Spoon into a casserole dish. Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes 'til lightly browned. If desired, sprinkle chopped fresh tomatoes over the top during the last 15 minutes of baking.

from mom.

Made for Emily's Birthday Party March 2010
Made for My Party April 2010

Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Dessert

Ingredients:

1 pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz)chocolate chip cookie mix
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 egg
1 bottle (7.25 oz) chocolate topping that forms hard shell
1 container (1.5 quart) chocolate chip-cookie dough ice cream (6 cups)
Directions:
1. Heat oven to 375°F. Spray bottom and sides of 13x9-inch pan with cooking spray. In large bowl, stir cookie mix, butter and egg until soft dough forms.

2. On ungreased cookie sheet, make 5 cookies by dropping dough by tablespoonfuls. Bake 9 to 11 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Cool 2 minutes; remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack.

3. Meanwhile, press remaining dough in pan, using moistened fingers (dough will be sticky). Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until set. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.

4. Spread 1/3 cup chocolate topping over baked crust. Freeze 10 to 15 minutes or until chocolate is set.

5. Meanwhile, remove ice cream from freezer to soften. Spread softened ice cream evenly over chocolate-topped crust.
6. Crumble 5 baked cookies; sprinkle over ice cream layer. Drizzle remaining chocolate topping over cookie crumbs. Cover; freeze 2 hours. To serve, let stand at room temperature 5 minutes before cutting. For serving pieces, cut into 5 rows by 3 rows. Store covered in freezer.
NOTE: To cut cake easily, line bottom and sides of pan with foil, leaving foil overhanging at opposite sides of pan. Spray bottom only of foil-lined pan with cooking spray. Use foil to lift cake out of pan. Pull foil from sides of cake before cutting into serving pieces.

from Betty Crocker.com