Cheddar Bay Biscuits

I don't know if you've noticed, but I'm not much of a seafood fan.  I so wish I was, because lets be honest, it can be really healthy and good for you!  One of my New Years Resolutions though was to try new things this year and cooking Seafood is definitely one of them!  So, needless to say, you should be seeing some seafood dishes hopefully in the near future.  (if you all have any recommendations on what type of fish is your favorite and how to cook it, I will definitley take anything you've got!)

Anyways, so the reason I even babbled about all that seafood jibberish is because I LOVE Red Lobsters Cheddar Bay Biscuits.  I don't eat there very often because of my fish disliking, but I crave these biscuits on a regular basis.  They are so full of flavor and they can be paired with so many different meals.  These biscuits are so simple to put together that I'm sure you will find yourselves whipping these up more often that you think :)

Recipe:

2-1/2 cups Bisquick

4 Tbsp. cold butter

1 cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese

3/4 cup milk

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

For the Butter Topping:

3 Tbsp. Butter (melted)

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/4 tsp. dried parsley flakes

pinch of salt

Preheat your oven to *400.  In a large bowl, using a pastry blender (or a fork) cut the butter into the bisquick till the mixture becomes crumbly.  Using your hands mix in the cheese, milk, and garlic powder till well incorporated but DO NOT overmix. 

Drop spoonfuls of batter about 1/4 cup in size onto a parchement or silicone lined baking sheet.  Bake for 13-17 minutes until lightly browned on top.

Right before the biscuits are done baking, melt your butter, then combine all the seasonings into the butter.  Right when the biscuits are done, brush a generous amount of the garlic butter over the top of each biscuit.   Makes a dozen biscuits.  Enjoy!

Recipe Source: Top Secret Recipes



Twice Baked Potatoes

These were so much easier than I thought they were going to be.  I don't know why I thought they were going to be difficult to make, I think all of the steps had me thinking I would be in the kitchen all day.  But I was so wrong, these were so easy and so tasty that now all I can think about is how many different things I could stuff into the center of these babies!  I served these with my oven baked ribs but you could even eat these alone with a veggie or salad and that could be a meal in itself!

Recipe:

2 large Russet Potatoes

3/4 cup Cheddar Cheese (shredded and divided)

1/4 cup Sour Cream

2 Tbsp. Milk

1 Green Onion (diced)

6 pieces Bacon

Preheat the oven to *400.  Wash your potatoes then poke them with a fork a couple of times.  Place them in the oven (DO NOT wrap in foil, I learned the hard way)  and bake for about 1 hour.  While the potatoes are cooking, cook the bacon, then drain any excess fat, crumble, and set aside.

When the potatoes are done, remove them from the oven and slice them in half lengthwise.  Take a cloth in your hand and hold the hot potato to keep its shape, then using a large spoon, carefully remove most of the cooked potato from the center (leaving just a thin ring of the potato left in the skin).

Place the scooped out potato in to a bowl and mash it with a potato masher.  Stir in the sour cream, green onion, 1/2 cup of shredded cheese, 4 slices of crumbled bacon, and milk. Scoop potato mixture back into the potato skins.  Sprinkle with remaining cheese and bacon bits.  Place back into the oven and bake for another 10 minutes. 

(Recipe source: Me)

Pasta Salad

This pasta salad is perfect for summertime and for the upcoming holiday festivities of the 4th of July.  We made this salad yesterday for a BBQ we had at the pool, in *100 + degree weather and it held up perfectly! We served this with salmon and burgers but I think it would go perfect with anything really.

Recipe:

1 pound Rotini Noodles

1 small head broccoli (stemmed and washed)

1 cup cherry tomatoes

1 green bell pepper (diced)

1 (8oz) fresh mozzarella (cubed)

1 (4oz) jar marinated artichoke hearts (diced)

1-1/2 cup Zesty Italian Dressing

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook the noodles for 9 minutes.  Drain and rinse the pasta with cold water.  Dice the bell pepper, mozzarella, tomatoes, and artichoke hearts and place in a large bowl along with the cooked noodles.  Blanch the broccoli and add it to the pasta mixture. (blanching for those of you who aren't familiar with the term means to steam the broccoli for just a few minutes then quickly place it into ice cold water) Pour the dressing over the top and toss till well incorporated.  Enjoy!

Creamy Vegetable Bake

Ok, so one thing that you should all know about me is that I LOVE Cream Cheese! Like, I REALLY like cream cheese! I love it when it's in desserts like cheesecake, or in a pastry, but I also love when you can incorporate it into a savory dish like these Chicken Rolls, and this Casserole Italiano.

So when I heard that Kraft came out with a new product called Cooking Creme (it's pretty much a cream cheese in a creamier, more liquid-y, form) I knew that I was definitely going to want to give it a try, and that's when this dish was created! 

It's a dish full of delicious veggies, some egg noodles, cooking cream, then topped off with bread crumbs.  Really, it's a perfect side dish to any meal, or for you vegetarians out there, this would make a great entree too!

Plus! Don't Forget to ENTER the Giveaway! It ends tomorrow at midnight! If you already entered you may just want to double check that your entry is still there! Sorry, But Blogger decided to delete the contest the day after I put it up and a bunch of entries were deleted! CLICK HERE TO ENTER!

Recipe:

1 medium zucchinni (sliced)

1 medium yellow squash (sliced)

1 cup of grape tomatoes (cut each tomato in half)

1/2 of a red onion (diced)

1/2 cup of sliced mushrooms

1 (10oz) container of Savory Garlic cooking cream

1/2 of a (12oz) package of egg noodles (cooked and drained)

2 Tbsp. olive oil

3/4 cup Seasoned Bread Crumbs

3-4 Tbsp. Butter (melted)

Slice and dice all the vegetables then put them in a large saute pan, and saute them in 2 Tbsp. of Olive oil for just a couple of minutes (about 3-4 min)  Bring a pot of water to boil and cook the noodles as directed on package. (it's generally about 6 minutes for al-dente). 

Once the noodles are done cooking, pour them into a strainer, and drain them completely. Now, when the veggies are just about done cooking, stir in the container of cooking cream and noodles till everything is well incorporated.  

Now place your noodle/veggie mixture into a casserole dish or an 8x8 baking dish.  Melt your butter and combine it with the bread crumbs.  Sprinkle the bread crumbs over the top of your noodle mix and place into the oven @*350 and bake for 15 minutes or until the bread crumbs are slightly browned.  Serve hot!

Sauteed Vegetable Medley

I honestly NEVER in a million years thought that it was possible for me to crave vegetables till I came across this delightful recipe for sauted vegetables.  Ever since I have made these, all I can think about is how I have to get back to the store and get me all of these veggies again!  I was so happy cause even the whole family loved these including the hubs who usually doesn't care for most of the vegetables that go into this dish.  I have never wished for my own garden more than after making this!

Recipe:

1/2 of a whole red onion (diced very small)

1 large Garlic Clove (minced)

2 Tbsp. Olive Oil

2 medium Zucchini (cut into 4ths)

1 medium Yellow Squash (cut into 4ths)

5-6 Button Mushrooms (sliced)

A handful of Cherry Tomatoes

1/2 tsp. Salt

1/2 tsp. Pepper

1 cup shredded Cheddar Cheese

In a large saute pan, heat the oil over medium heat and add the onion and garlic and stir till the onion has softened a bit (about 2-3 minutes) add in the squash and zucchini stirring well to make sure all the veggies are coated with the oil. Lastly, add in the tomatoes and mushrooms and seasoning with the salt and pepper. Give it one last good stir then cover and let cook for about 7-10 minutes.  Sprinkle the cheese over the top of the veggies, then cover until the cheese has melted.  This makes a great side dish to any meal!

(Recipe Source: Family Comfort Favorites Cookbook)

Zucchini Bites

These things were so yummy we gobbled them up so fast! We just served them with some ranch dressing and they were delish! Thinking about it now, I wish I would have thrown in some BBQ sauce and made a bbq ranch sauce and that would have been yummy too! Really these would would make a great side dish to any meal. We had ours with hamburgers and loved them.

Recipe:
2 medium size zucchinis
3/4 cup flour
3/4 cup yellow corn meal
1/2 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1 Tbsp. water

In two separate bowls, mix together the eggs and water, then in the next bowl mix together the salt, flour, and corn meal.  Slice the zucchini's into thin strips.

First dip the zucchinis, into the egg wash, then dredge them into the flour mixture coating them well. Place them into a large pan coated with oil enough to cover the bottoms of the zucchini's. Cook over medium heat till browned on one side then flip over and cook till browned on the other side.  About 2 minutes per side (watch closely)

(Recipe source: Family Comfort Favorites Cookbook)

Sweet Potato Fries

My husband and I are not huge fans of sweet potatoes, however my little girl loves them and she loves french fries so I decided to give them a try and can I just say that even I was pleasantly surprised! They were sweet, but with the right amount of saltyness, and well they were pretty darn good. And with summer really not to far away, these are the perfect side to all those BBQ's to be had.

Recipe:
1-2 large sweet potatoes
2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground black pepper
1-2 Tbsp. brown sugar (I prefer 2 Tbsp but if you dont want them as sweet just use 1)
Pinch of season salt

Preheat oven to *425. Peel sweet potatoes and then slice into thin strips. Place them into a bowl and drizzle them with the olive oil.  Next, in a small bowl combine all the seasonings then sprinkle them over the potatoes. Give them a good stir till all the potatoes are well coated with the seasonings. Place on to a lighlty greased, foil lined baking sheet. Bake for 25-30 minutes turning over half way through. 

South Of the Border Rice

This is the perfect side dish if your feeding a crowd! It made so much I wasn't sure what to do with all of it, except of course eat it cause it was sooo good! Thanks for sharing this recipe with me Mal! We loved it! I served this with Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas. Recipe to come tomorrow...

Recipe:
2 cups cooked rice
2 (10 oz) cans cream of celery soup
1 (16 oz) sour cream
1 tsp. salt
2 (4oz) can of diced chilis
10 oz of shredded Cheddar Cheese

Cook the rice as directed on package. Mix together the rice, soup, sour cream, juice from the chilis, and salt.  Now, layer half of the rice into an 8x8 baking dish, then 1 can of chilis and half of the cheese. Repeat.  Cover and refridgerate over night.  When ready to bake, preheat oven to *350 and bake for 35-40 minutes. Serve with enchiladas, tacos, or just any dish that rice would pair well with. Enjoy!

(Recipe Source: Maloree D.)

Fruit Salad-The perfect side dish to any meal

We make a fruit salad at least once or twice a week for a side dish to our dinner or even just as a quick and healthy breakfast.

Recipe:
1 banana (sliced)
1 apple (we prefer gala or fuji)(chopped into small cubes)
1/2 cup grapes
6 strawberries (sliced and cut into 4ths)
1 orange (sliced)
1 strawberry banana yogurt (I prefer yoplait)

Slice and chop all fruits. Place in a large bowl and pour the yogurt over top. Fold the yogurt into the fruit until all the fruit is covered in yogurt. Cover and chill in the fridge till ready to eat.
*You van substitute or add any fruits to your desire. You can also switch up the flavor of the yogurt also. If you want to get creative or make it more of a treat, instead of using yogurt you can fold in 8oz of cool whip and 1/8 cup shredded coconut.

Steak Asparagus

Ok so this is not really much of a recipe it's more of "Ok we are sick of the typical baked veggie" so all we did here was drizzle some olive oil onto some asparagus then sprinkled Mccormick Steak Seasoning over the top and baked it at *400 for 10 minutes. And now you have asparagus with a bit of kick to it!