Roasted Red Pepper And Basil Pesto Pinwheels

Okay this is definitely a wonderful recipe and one that I will be making again in the near future. It was so simple yet these little appetizers explode with flavor in your mouth and are nice to pair with homemade soups as well, which is what is for dinner tonight. :)

INGREDIENTS:
1 can (8oz) Pillsbury refrigerated crescent dinner rolls or 1 can (8oz) Pillsbury Crescent Recipe Creations refrigerated seamless dough sheet.
1/4 cup of basil pesto
1/4 cup of roasted red bell peppers (from a jar)

DIRECTIONS: Heat oven to 350 degrees. If using crescent rolls: Unroll dough; separate dough into 4 rectangles. Firmly press perforations to seal. If using dough sheet: Unroll dough; cut into 4 rectangles. Spread pesto over each rectangle to within 1/4 inch of edge. Sprinkle with roasted red peppers. Starting with 1 short side, roll up each rectangle; press edge to seal. With serrated knife, cut each roll into 4 slices. Bake 13-15 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Immediately remove from cookie sheet. These are the best when served warm.  Makes 16 appetizers.

Beefy Tortellini Soup

This soup is scrumptious, pretty, and unbelievably fast to put together. For a creamier version of this soup, you can substitute cream of mushroom soup for the French onion soup. If there are any leftovers, they taste even better the next day.

Ingredients:
1 pound lean ground beef
3 1/2 cups water
1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 (10 ounce) can condensed French onion soup, undiluted
1 (9 ounce) package frozen green beans
1 (9 ounce) package refrigerated cheese tortellini
1 medium zucchini, chopped
1 teaspoon dried basil

In a large saucepan, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Add all of the remaining ingredients; bring to a boil. Cook, uncovered, for 8-10 minutes or until heated through. This makes about 6-8 servings.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

I love CrockPots because they simultaneously make my life easier and make it seem like I've put a lot more effort into dinner than I actually did. Anything that can do that is definitely a winner in my book!

Because we've been experiencing some cooler weather around here, I have decided to use the trusty CrockPot more lately. One of my favorite things to make in the winter is homemade soups and since I haven't posted a recipe in a long time, I thought I'd share with all of you! :)

Ingredients
2 chicken boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 cans Ro-Tel (I like the lime & cilantro, but the regular is fine)
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 can corn
1 onion, chopped
2 cans low-sodium chicken broth
1-2 cups of water
1 Tbsp garlic powder*
1 Tbsp chile powder*
1 Tbsp ground cumin*
1 Tbsp dried cilantro*

tortilla chips
sour cream
shredded cheddar or Mexican blend cheese

*Instead of these spices, you could include a packet of Taco seasoning if you prefer.*

Put chopped onion, cans of beans, rotel, corn, chicken broth, water, and spices in CrockPot and stir to mix. Put chicken breasts on top of mixture and make sure they're at least partly submerged in liquid. Cook on high 6-7 hours or low 8-9 hours. Before serving remove the chicken breasts from soup and shred, if needed, (sometimes they'll just fall apart on their own, but sometimes they need some help). Return chicken to CrockPot, stir to combine.

To serve put a few tortilla chips in the bottom of a bowl, ladle soup over tortilla chips, top with shredded cheddar cheese, and a dollop of sour cream, serve with more chips if you like. Enjoy!

One of the best pie recipes ever!!!

Peanut Butter Pie

Ingredients:

2-3 Oz. Packages of Cream Cheese, softened

1 Cup Peanut Butter (crunchy or smooth, but use a good brand)

1 Cup Powdered Sugar

1 12oz Container of Cool Whip

3 Tbsp Milk

1 Graham Cracker Pie Crust

Directions:

Mix all ingredients together with a mixer until fluffy. Pour into a graham cracker pie crust and chill overnight.


This recipe is not only easy but it tastes oh so good! I had a piece of this luscious pie not long ago at my Mother in law's and it was killer! If you love peanut butter like my family does then this is a pie you will want to try. Just make it one day and chill it overnight and simply enjoy! Try it and let me know what you think......

Chicken & Broccoli Stir-Fry Recipe

This particular recipe is done by per serving. So if there is going to be 2 of you eating just double the amount. It is a weight watchers stir-fry recipe and is sooooo good!!

Chicken and Broccoli Stir-Fry

Ingredients:

2 minced garlic cloves, sauteed
1 cup broccoli florets
1/2 cup sliced carrots
1/2 cup diced green onions
2 tsp olive oil
1 uncooked chicken breast (skinless & boneless)
1 tbsp teriyaki sauce
1 tsp reduced-sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup chicken broth

Directions:

Saute the garlic and green onions for a few minutes in the olive oil until they begin to brown slightly. Then add the broccoli florets and carrots and cook for approximately 5-10 minutes depending on how tough you like your vegetables. Then cut the chicken breast up into approx 1" strips. Add the teriyaki sauce, soy sauce, and chicken broth. Simmer on low for approximately 15-20 minutes. Serve over rice. I always serve brown rice with this dish but you can use any type of rice. This is a very good recipe and one that you're whole family will surely enjoy!!

Crockpot tamales, a must have recipe

Recently Richie and I tried a new recipe for our New Year's Eve dinner. It was a tradition in my family growing up to buy tamales for our dinner on New Year's Eve. I always loved and looked forward to that meal every year. I had always wanted to make tamales but heard how much time they took so I had always been a bit hesitant. Then I came across this recipe that told how you could could make tamales in the crock pot. Ah ha, crock pot! Now we're talking. I love using my crock pot and anytime I can find a good recipe using it I get excited. Anyhow without further ado here is the recipe and some pictures of the final product. This is a wonderful recipe and I would definitely make them again for my family. The only thing is you do have to plan ahead as they do take some time but are well worth it!!

Filling:
1 (3.5-pound) store-bought rotisserie chicken or 3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 tsp cumin

1/2 yellow onion

diced 1 clove garlic

minced 1/2 tsp kosher salt

1 (4-ounce) can chopped green chilies, mild

1 (15-ounce) can corn, drained

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Tamale Dough:
4 cups masa harina

2 1/2 cups beef broth

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp kosher salt

1 1/3 cup lard or vegetable shortening (I used Crisco)

1 (6-ounce) package dried corn husks (I needed to go to a Mexican grocer)

The Directions:
There are a few parts here. I "cheated" and used a fully-cooked chicken as the meat in my tamale filling. If you'd like, you can cook a hunk of beef or pork overnight with spices and chili pods in your crock pot. The meat should shred easily with forks before it is ready to go inside the tamales.

If you're going to use the rotisserie chicken, combine the meat with the onion, garlic, can of green chilies, cumin, salt, and drained corn in a 4 quart (or so) crock pot and cook on high for 3-4 hours, or on low for 6. The onions need to be translucent before going into the tamales. If you don't have time for this step, skip the garlic and onion, and combine the chicken with the chilies, cumin, salt, and drained corn in a mixing bowl. Set aside.

Soften the corn husks by soaking them in very hot water until they are quite pliable.

To make the masa, combine all dough ingredients in a large mixing bowl, and beat on medium-to-high speed until everything is mixed well and the dough is spongy. Check the dough by dropping a little ball of it into a glass of water. It should float. If it doesn't float, this source says to continue to beat the dough. This particular step totally did not work for me. It was very frustrating and discouraging. My dough never did float completely. My dough was well mixed and the tamales did come out perfect! So just be careful on this step!

Take a bit larger than a golf-ball size piece of masa dough, and spread it into a wet corn husk. The dough should be about 1/4 inch thick--you do not want to see the corn husk through the dough. Add a bit of filling, and some cheese. Fold the corn husk over to join the edges of the masa. If you need to add more dough, do so---no filling should peek through. Fold all corn husk edges into the center and place into the bottom of an empty crock pot, seam side down (I used a 6.5 quart, and fit 19 inside).

Repeat. Many, many, many times. It took me about 2 hours to make all of the tamales. If you find that your corn husks are unraveling, you can add another the other way to secure it, and tear off a long piece to tie around. I had to do this a few times. I also needed to add more hot water to the soaking husks to keep them pliable. If you need to step away from the tamale-making-process for a bit, put the lid on your crock pot to keep moisture inside.

When the crock pot is full, put the lid on and cook on high for 4-6 hours, or until a tester tamale looks and tastes done. The tamales on the edges will cook a bit faster. Once your tester looks good (I used the same one, and kept re-wrapping it and adding it back when it wasn't ready), unplug the crock pot and keep the lid off. Don't unwrap any others until they've set for about 15 minutes. My tamales were cooked at 6 hours, but I began checking every 45 minutes at 4 hours.

The Verdict:
I was thrilled that these worked so well! They are definitely labor-intensive, but pack such an impressive presentation. Now that I know how to do them, I'll make them again----but not for a while.

Even our little dogs enjoyed the smell of these tamales and when it came time to dish them up on our plates they about went crazy! And yes I saved a bite of tamale for them once we were done, soooo spoiled!!

I hope you get a chance to try this recipe. My family certainly enjoyed it!