Nut Clusters

One bag of milk chocolate chips

One cup of nuts (Honey roasted taste the best)

Melt chocolate chips in the microwave for one in a half minute or until melted. Poor cup on nuts into melted chocolate. Scoop one spoon full onto wax paper and let dry.

Olive Garden’s Capellini Primavera

Olive Garden’s Capellini Primavera – this is a light and healthy pasta dish filled with vegetables.
14 May, 2009 || CopyKat Recipes, Pasta

This is a light and wonderful dish if you are watching what you are eating. This is full of vegetables, and not overly heavy. Fresh carrots, mushrooms, and broccoli help make for a healthy dinner.

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1 1/2 cups chopped onions
3/4 cup julienne-cut carrots (1/8-by-1/8-by-11/2-inch)
5 cups (12 ounces) broccoli florets, cut into 1-inch pieces
3 cups (about 8 ounces) sliced mushrooms
1 1/4 cups thinly sliced yellow squash (cut squash in half lengthwise before slicing)
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 1/2 cups water
1 tablespoon beef bouillon granules (or vegetable broth)
1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes, oil-packed, minced
1 1/4 cups crushed tomatoes in puree
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 pound fresh angel-hair pasta
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Melt butter in Dutch oven over medium heat. Sauté onions, carrots and broccoli in butter 5 minutes. Add mushrooms, squash and garlic. Sauté 2 minutes.

Add all remaining ingredients except pasta and cheese; stir well. Bring to simmer, then cook 8 to 10 minutes or until vegetables are tender and flavors are well blended.

Serve over cooked angel hair pasta.

Easy homemade Mac and Cheese

Ingredients

* 8 ounces uncooked elbow macaroni
* 2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
* 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
* 3 cups milk
* 1/4 cup butter
* 2 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
* 2 tablespoons butter
* 1/2 cup bread crumbs
* 1 pinch paprika

Directions

1. Cook macaroni according to the package directions. Drain.
2. In a saucepan, melt butter or margarine over medium heat. Stir in enough flour to make a roux. Add milk to roux slowly, stirring constantly. Stir in cheeses, and cook over low heat until cheese is melted and the sauce is a little thick. Put macaroni in large casserole dish, and pour sauce over macaroni. Stir well.
3. Melt butter or margarine in a skillet over medium heat. Add breadcrumbs and brown. Spread over the macaroni and cheese to cover. Sprinkle with a little paprika.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 minutes. Serve.

Charred Tomato & Chicken Tacos

Recipe Ingredients
1 pound ripe plum tomatoes cored (about 4-5)
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil divided
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts trimmed and cut into 1-inch chunks
Salt & freshly ground pepper
1 large white onion finely chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)
2 cloves cloves garlic very finely chopped
2 jalapeño peppers seeded and very finely chopped
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
4 scallions chopped
12 corn tortillas warmed
1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream for garnish
2 limes cut into quarters


Recipe Directions

1. Heat a large cast-iron skillet over high heat until very hot. Place tomatoes in the skillet and turn occasionally with tongs until charred on all sides, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a plate to cool slightly. Cut in half crosswise; squeeze to discard seeds. Chop the remaining pulp and skins; set aside.
2. Add 1 teaspoon of the oil to the pan and heat over high heat until the oil is very hot. Add chicken and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is browned on all sides and no longer pink in the center, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
3. Reduce the heat to medium and add the remaining 1 teaspoon oil. Add onions and cook, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and jalapeños and cook, stirring, for 1 minute more. Add lime juice and the reserved chicken and tomatoes. Bring to a simmer and stir in cilantro and scallions. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover to keep warm.
4. Spoon filling into warm tortillas, roll up and serve with sour cream and lime wedges.

Wrap tortillas in barely damp paper towels and microwave on High for 30 to 45 seconds.

Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup

32 oz box of chicken broth*
1 chicken bouillon cube
1.5 cups chopped carrots
1 cup chopped celery
1/2 onion, chopped
2 cups cooked, shredded chicken
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can evaporated milk
8-10 oz egg noodles

Combine chicken broth, bouillon cube, carrots, celery, and onion into large pot. Bring to boil and boil for about 20 min. While boiling, cook your noodles in a separate pan, add a bouillon cube for flavoring, if desired. Add noodles to the veggies. Let cook about 10 min together. Add shredded chicken, cream of chicken, and canned milk. Stir all together, add salt and pepper to taste, and let it simmer until ready to serve.

This is a thick, creamy chicken noodle soup. *You can add more broth if you want it thinner. I also use the rotisserie chicken from Costco for this. It is cheap, and has great flavor, and mostly it is easy. This soup is delicious!

Grilled Zucchini

1 zucchini
Italian salad dressing (liquid)
Parmesan cheese

Slice up zucchini and put into a zip-lock or Tupperware filled with the salad dressing (enough to cover them). Put into the fridge and let sit and marinate for a few hours.
Grill up zucchini on barbecue grill flipping once until cooked.
Plate up and sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top.

Grilled Steak Quesadillas

1 Lb steak
flour tortillas
Monterey Jack cheese
green onions, chopped (optional)
salsa
sour cream

Season and grill steak to desired doneness (I like to season with Montreal Steak Seasoning), then slice into thin strips. Place on tortilla, add cheese and green onion, fold over. Spray each side of quesadilla with cooking spray, then grill for abour 1-2 minutes on each side or until tortilla becomes golden brown and a few grill marks. Serve immediately with salsa and sour cream.

Muddy Buddies

9 c. Chex cereal (rice, corn, wheat.. or any combination of the 3)
1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 c. peanut butter
1/4 c. butter
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 c. powdered sugar

Into large bowl, measure cereal; set aside. In 1-quart microwavable bowl, microwave chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter uncovered on High 1 minute; stir. Microwave about 30 seconds longer or until mixture can be stirred smooth. Stir in vanilla. Pour mixture over cereal, stirring until evenly coated. Pour into 2-gallon resealable food-storage plastic bag.
Add powdered sugar. Seal bag; shake until well coated. Spread on waxed paper to cool. Store in airtight container in refrigerator.

Germen Pancakes

6 eggs
1 cup flour
6 T. butter
1 cup milk
1/4 t. salt
Melt butter in 9 X 13 baking pan til hot and sizzling. Blend milk, flour, eggs and salt together. Pour batter in hot pan and bake at 425 for about 20 minutes. Serve right out of the oven.

BBQ pork

BBQ pork
Place pork roast in crock pot and cover with coke. Cook over low for 6 hrs.

BBQ Sauce:
1tsp chili pepper
2Tbs. Worcestershire Sauce
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 cup brown sugar

Shred pork and mix with Sauce. Cook at 275 for 20 min.
(This BBQ sauce is awesome! You can use it on anything- or everything like I do!)

Gooey Carmel corn

1 cube of butter (or margarine)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup mini marshmallows
1 bag popped microwave popcorn (plain)

In saucepan melt sugar and add brown sugar and marshmallows. Stir continuously until marshmallows are melted. Pour over popcorn and stir until mixed completely...so YUMMY!

Olive Garden Alfredo

8 ounces Cream cheese −− cut in bits
3/4 cup Parmesan cheese −− grated
1/2 cup Butter
1/2 cup Milk or heavy cream
8 ounces Fettuccine or favorite pasta; cook −− drain

In large saucepan combine cream cheese, Parmesan, butter and
milk, stirring constantly until smooth. Toss pasta lightly with
sauce, coating well.

Tastes great with saute'ed mushrooms.

-Have campers write their name on a quart-size
Ziploc freezer bag with a permanent marker.

-Crack 2 eggs (large or extra-large) into the bag
(not more than 2). Shake to combine them.

-Put out a variety of ingredients such as: cheeses,
ham, onion, green pepper, tomato, hash browns,
salsa, sun dried tomatoes, mushrooms etc.

-Each camper adds prepared ingredients of choice
to their bag and shake
(not too full, or it won’t fully cook).

-Make sure to get the air out of the bag and zip
it up.

-Place the bags into rolling, boiling water for exactly
13 minutes. You can usually cook 6-8 omelets in a
large pot.

-Open the bags and the omelet will roll out easily. Be
prepared for everyone to be amazed.

Twix bars

Crust:
1 1/4 c. flour
1/4 c. sugar
1/2 c. butter & 2 tbsp.
you can also smash chocolate chip cookies into the crust to make it a little sweeter. (smiths cookies are $1.08 and they work great.)
Melt butter. Stir flour and sugar together and add the melted butter. Pat into a 9x9 baking dish. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

Caramel:
1/2 c. butter
1/2 c. brown sugar
2 tbsp. corn syrup
1/2 c. sweetened condensed milk

Boil ingredients over medium heat for 5 minutes; stirring constantly. Remove from heat and beat until thick. Pour mixture over crust. Cool.

Chocolate:
2 c. milk chocolate chips

Melt chocolate chips and spread evenly over caramel layer. Cool. Cut into bars.


Helpful hint: The recipe says to cool the caramel mixture before adding the chocolate layer. I found the last time I made these that since I let the caramel cool before adding the chocolate, once the chocolate was hardened it separated when I cut them into bars. I think if you add the chocolate while the caramel is still warm it will "fuze" together better and allow for the bars to stay in tact when cutting.

Ingredients

* 4 ounces linguine pasta
* 2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
* 2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning
* 2 tablespoons butter
* 1 red bell pepper, sliced
* 1 green bell pepper, sliced
* 4 fresh mushrooms, sliced
* 1 green onion, chopped
* 1 cup heavy cream
* 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
* 1/4 teaspoon lemon pepper
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
* 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
* 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
2. Place the chicken and the Cajun seasoning in a plastic bag. Shake to coat. In a large skillet over medium heat, saute the chicken in butter or margarine until almost tender (5 to 7 minutes).
3. Add the red bell pepper, green bell pepper, mushrooms and green onion. Saute and stir for 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce heat.
4. Add the cream, basil, lemon pepper, salt, garlic powder and ground black pepper. Heat through. Add the cooked linguine, toss and heat through. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese and serve.

Fun food for kids

What You Need!
1 cup sugar, divided
1 pkg. (3 oz.) JELL-O Lime Flavor Gelatin
2 cups boiling water, divided
ice cubes
1 cup cold water, divided
1 pkg. (3 oz.) JELL-O Strawberry Flavor Gelatin
3 Tbsp. miniature semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 pkg. (4 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
1-1/2 cups thawed COOL WHIP Whipped Topping
Make It!

MIX 1/3 cup sugar and lime gelatin mix in medium bowl. Add 1 cup boiling water; stir 2 min. until completely dissolved. Add enough ice to 1/2 cup cold water to measure 3/4 cup. Add to lime gelatin; stir until ice is completely melted. Refrigerate 25 min.


MEANWHILE, repeat Step 1 using strawberry gelatin mix and omitting the refrigeration step. Pour into 16 (3-oz.) paper cups. Freeze 20 min. Stir 1/2 tsp. chocolate chips into gelatin in each cup.

BEAT cream cheese and remaining sugar with mixer in medium bowl until well blended. Stir in COOL WHIP; spread over gelatin in cups.


POUR lime gelatin over cream cheese mixture. Insert wooden pop stick into gelatin in center of each cup. Freeze 3 hours or until firm. Remove pops from cups just before serving.

Easy Peanut butter cookies

What You Need
1 egg
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup chopped PLANTERS COCKTAIL Peanuts
1 tsp. vanilla
Make It

PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Beat egg in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until foamy. Add remaining ingredients; beat until well blended.

SHAPE into 1-inch balls. Place, 2 inches apart, on ungreased baking sheets. Flatten each ball, in criss-cross pattern, with tines of fork.

BAKE 10 min. or until lightly browned. Cool 1 min. Remove from baking sheets to wire racks; cool completely.

Girls night out