Italian Zucchini Crescent Pie

19 Dec

 

My Papou (Greek for grandfather) first made this for me many years ago, and I enjoyed it so much, I had to make sure I got the recipe for it. When we get zucchini, this is one of the first things I make with it.  It’s like a quiche, but there is not a whole lot of eggs in it like a quiche, but there is plenty of cheese.  The crescent roll crust is perfect and gives it a nice buttery flavor too.

 

Italian Zucchini Crescent Pie
Serves 6

What you need:

1/2 cup butter or margarine
4 cups thinly sliced, unpeeled zucchini
1 cup onion, diced
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley or 2 Tbsp dried parsley flakes
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp dried oregano
2 eggs, well beaten
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
8 oz can Pillsbury refrigerated crescent rolls
2 tsp dijon mustard, optional

How to make it:

Preheat oven to 375 F.  Grease or spray a 9″ deep dish pie dish.

In a medium skillet, melt butter or margarine.  Add zucchini and onion, and cook until tender.  Stir in seasonings and remove from heat.  In a large bowl, mix together the eggs and cheese.  Stir in zucchini mixture.

Separate crescent roll dough into the 8 triangles.  Press into the pie dish, covering bottom and sides (see picture below).

 

If using, spread the crust with mustard.  Pour the zucchini/egg mixture evenly pie dish.

Bake in the preheated oven for 18-20 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.  If crust starts to become too brown while baking, cover the sides with foil.  Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.  Cut into 6 wedges.

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S’mores Bars

19 Dec

This is another holiday recipe from my mom.  It’s been a part of her holiday treat baking for a while, but I can’t remember exactly when she first made them for us.  Anyway, I make them now at the holidays and my kids were excited to see these tonight.

S’mores Bars

What you need:

6 Tbsp butter or margarine
1/3 cup light corn syrup
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
5 cups miniature marshmallows
1 tsp vanilla extract
8 cups Golden Grahams cereal
1 cup  miniature marshmallows

How to make it:

Grease a 9×13 pan.

In a large pot, combine butter or margarine, corn syrup, chocolate chips, and the 5 cups marshmallows over low heat.  Stir frequently until smooth.  Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract.  Immediately stir in cereal and 1 cup marshmallows, and coat evenly. Press into the prepared 9×13 pan using a buttered spoon or a piece of wax paper.  Let it set on counter or in the refrigerator for 1 hour before serving.

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Original Chex Party Mix

18 Dec

 

My mom and I have made this for years, usually for New Year’s Day.  Around this time of year, Chex cereal usually will go on sale and coupons come out around the same time.  Last year, they went on sale for $1.99, and the coupons were $.50 off, which doubled to $1, making them $.99 a box.  Right now, at Fry’s they are $1.99 a box and there were $1 off 2 boxes Chex cereal in a General Mills insert in the 11/13 newspaper, making them $1.49 each.

Now, the recipe that is out on the Chex cereal boxes today is not the same as it used to be, at least not what I remember.  It seemed to change some once they started making the pre-made bagged Chex Mix sold now in stores.  I will eat the pre-made mix, but much prefer the homemade mix.  This recipe here is a mix of the old and new recipes.  This can be done in the microwave, but I really prefer and recommend oven roasting it.  It’s somewhat time-consuming in the oven, but well worth the wait.  I usually end up doubling this recipe because we eat it so fast!

 

Original Chex Party Mix

What you need:

8 cups of Chex cereal (I use 3 cups Rice, 3 cups Corn, 2 cups Wheat)
1 cup peanuts
1 cup pretzels
4 Tbsp butter or margarine, melted
2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 tsp seasoned salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder

How to make it:

Preheat oven to 250 F.

Combine cereals, peanuts, and pretzels in a large bowl.  In a separate, small bowl, combine the remaining ingredients.  Pour over the cereal mixture and stir to coat evenly.  Spread evenly on a baking sheet.  Bake in oven for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes.  Spread on paper towels to cool.  Store in an airtight container.

Microwave instructions:
Prepare as above, but instead of baking in oven, put in microwave for 5-6 minutes, stirring every 2 minutes.  Spread over paper towels to cool.  Store in an airtight container.

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Rewards Programs

17 Dec

There are many Rewards/Customer Loyalty programs out there.  It seems like every store has a card available or has some other way of rewarding customers for shopping in their stores.  I’ve talked some about the Staples Rewards program, today I’m going to talk about a few other rewards programs that I participate in and find to work pretty well.  Rewards programs aren’t for everyone, but I like the free, low maintenance ones to get some extra bonuses or gifts throughout the year.

 

Disney Movie Rewards
My kids love the Disney movies.  A lot of them we receive as presents, but buy some as well.  A lot of new releases from Disney have had $5 printable coupons available, plus rebate offers tied to other products as well.  Inside the box for each movie is a code for Disney Movie Rewards, the amount varies for each title.  The rewards are fairly decent.  In the past, I have gotten things like a Toy Story 3 ornament, a Tangled charm bracelet, a coupon for a free 3 pack of microwave popcorn, and most recently, a Disney Princess scooter.  I got the scooter as part of their 12 Days of Cheer promotion at a discounted points price of 700 points.  Those scooters retail for about $20-$25 in stores.

 

Huggies Enjoy the Ride Rewards
I’ve only been able to use Huggies on my girls, most other diapers didn’t fit right or gave them a rash.  I was excited when Huggies started the Enjoy the Ride Rewards program because we have gone through a lot of diapers and wipes.  The codes are printed on the insides of the packages, and vary depending on the package type and size.  There are some cute toys on their now, better than it used to be.  I got my older daughter a cupcake baking set, that had silicone cupcake holders, a chef hat, a timer, and a wisk.  I got my younger daughter a Disney Princess funtainer.  You can also use points to get free jumbo packages of diapers or Pull Ups.

 

Shop Your Way Rewards
This is a program offered by Sears, but is for Sears, KMart, Land’s End, My Gofer, and The Great Indoors.  You earn 10 points for $1 you spend, plus they run a lot of bonus point promotions.  Every $1,000 points is worth $1, which can be taken off a purchase in store or online.  I don’t shop too often, but I have redeemed $11 in rewards on a purchase at LandsEnd.com, and currently have $8.14 to spend.   Also, by having the card, you now have the option to have the receipt e-mailed to you for your records instead of a paper receipt printing.  I have too many receipts as it is, so this is a nice option for me to be able to have them electronically.  

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Sweet Potato Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

17 Dec

 

I’m finally getting around to finishing off all the sweet potatoes I had accumulated from Bountiful Baskets.  I wasn’t going to frost it, but since I had everything on hand to make cream cheese frosting, I went ahead and made it.  Funny story about making frosting, growing up, I only thought it came in a tubs at the store, I had no idea you could make it.  So, the first time my mom made frosting, I was totally impressed.  Silly, I know.  This frosting recipe will make more than you need for the cake, so store the leftover in the refrigerator until you have another use for it.

This cake turned out very moist and tasty, my daughter had no idea it was made from sweet potatoes.  This would be go to make with the leftover sweet potato dishes from the holidays, you will just want to decrease the sugar in the cake if you had sugar in your sweet potato dish.

 

Sweet Potato Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

What you need for the cake:

1 cup white sugar
3/4 cup light brown sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil or applesauce (I used Homemade Applesauce since I was out of vegetable oil)
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups cooked, mashed sweet potatoes
2 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 cup beer (I used non-alcoholic.  Beer may be omitted, or use water, milk, or apple juice in its place)

 

What you need for the frosting:

1/2 cup butter, softened
8 oz cream cheese, softened
2-4 cups confectioner’s sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract

 

How to make the cake:

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease and flour a 9×13 inch baking pan.

Stir together the sugar and vegetable oil (or applesauce) in a large bowl until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla and sweet potatoes.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.  Stir flour mixture into the batter 1 cup at a time, alternating with the beer just until everything comes together. Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan.

Bake for 35 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting or serving.

 

How to make the frosting:

Beat together the butter and cream cheese.  Stir in vanilla.  Stir in confectioner’s sugar, starting with 2 cups.  Increase amount of sugar up to 4 cups, depending on how sweet you want frosting.  Spread evenly on cake.

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Roasted Asparagus

16 Dec

Asparagus is one of my favorite vegetables.  Unfortunately, it’s really only affordable for me when it’s in season, which isn’t very long.  So, I was pleasantly surprised to get a bunch in last week’s Bountiful Baskets.  It was a nice vegetable to have with the Market Day Seasoned Salmon my mom recently had shipped to us and the mashed potatoes I needed to make to use up some Yukon Gold potatoes.   Normally, I steam it in my steamer, but tonight I roasted it.  This can be done to other vegetables as well, like broccoli or cauliflower.

Roasted Asparagus

What you need:

1 bunch asparagus
Olive oil
Garlic salt
Ground black pepper

How to make it:

Preheat oven to 425 F.  Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.

Remove tough ends from asparagus.  To do this, bend the asparagus, and where it will no longer bend easily, break off the end at that point.   Line asparagus on the baking sheet.  Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with garlic salt and ground black pepper.  Mix together and lay out across the baking sheet.  Bake for about 15 minutes, or until it starts to brown.  Serve immediately.

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Chicken Enchiladas

16 Dec

This is my go-to enchilada recipe.  I love that the sauce is made from scratch, not from a jar or a can.  If you don’t want to make the sauce, you could use a jar or can of sauce, but I really like the way this is made.  It’s a creamy red sauce, and it’s delicious.  This was also a nice way to use up some of the Hatch green chiles I had in the freezer.

Chicken Enchiladas

What you need:

1 Tbsp butter
1 cup chopped onion
2 cups cooked chicken, chopped or shredded (I use a rotisserie chicken from the store)
4 oz can diced green chiles, or 1 cup diced fresh roasted, peeled green chiles
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
1 T chili powder
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
2 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 8oz can tomato sauce
1 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese, divided
12 small corn tortillas

How to make it:

Preheat the oven to 350 F.  Grease a 9×13 pan.

In a medium skillet, melt the 1 Tbsp butter and cook onions until softened.  Remove to a bowl.  Stir in chicken and green chiles.

Meanwhile, melt the 1/4 cup butter.  Blend in flour and seasonings, and cook for 3-5 minutes.  Whisk in chicken broth and tomato sauce, making sure there are no lumps.  Cook, stirring until sauce boils thickens.  Remove from heat.  Stir in sour cream and ½ cup cheese.  Stir ½ cup of the sauce into the chicken mixture.

Heat a small skillet over medium low heat.  Place a tortilla in skillet and heat on each side for a few seconds to make tortilla easier to roll.  Spoon about 2 Tbsp of the chicken and sauce mixture onto one end of the tortilla and roll up.  Place in 9×13 pan.  Repeat for remaining tortillas.  Pour remaining sauce over the rolled tortillas, and sprinkle with the remaining 1 cup of cheese.

Bake uncovered for 20-25 minutes.  Allow to cool and serve.

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Chicken Taquitos

16 Dec

Oh, these are yummy!  They are pretty easy to put together, just takes some time to get them all fried.  I considered baking them this time instead of frying them, but my oven already had enchiladas cooking, so I decided to stick with frying them.   Maybe next time I will bake them.

Chicken Taquitos
Makes 18-24 taquitos 

What you need:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 cups Salsa Verde
1 cup Mexican blend shredded cheese
2 dozen 6 inch corn tortillas
Oil for frying

How to make it:

Place chicken in slow cooker and pour salsa verde over chicken.  Cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4.  If you don’t have a slow cooker, cook chicken by your preferred method and mix with salsa verde.  You could even buy a rotisserie chicken at the store and shred it.  Next, mix cheese in with the chicken and salsa mixture.

Heat oil in deep fryer or a large, heavy pot.  Line a baking sheet with paper towels.

Heat a small skillet over medium low heat.  Place a tortilla in the skillet and heat for a few seconds on each side to make it easier to roll. Put about 2 Tbsp of filling at one end of the tortilla and roll tightly.  Use a toothpick in the center to keep them rolled.  Repeat for remaining tortillas.

Place 5-6 in oil at a time.  Cook for a few minutes, or until golden brown.  I don’t have a deep fryer, so I fry mine in a large pot.  And, of course, I didn’t have enough oil on hand to fully cover the taquitos, so I had to flip them halfway through cooking.

Once they have cooked, remove taquitos from oil and onto the paper towel lined baking sheet.  Allow to cool, then serve.

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Handprint Wreath

15 Dec

 

My 2-year-old is still very into tracing her hands and feet, so when we needed an activity for this week’s Toddler School and with the upcoming holiday, this was perfect.

Handprint Wreath

What you need:

Paper plate
Green construction paper
Red construction paper
Scissors
Glue

How to make it:

Cut a hole in the center of the paper plate.

Fold 2 pieces of green construction paper in half.  Trace the child’s hand on one side of each piece of paper, then keep paper folded while you cut.  This gets you 4 handprints at once, 8 total.  Cut some small circles of red construction paper for the berries.

Glue the green hands on the bottom of the paper plate, around the opening.  Glue on berries.  Enjoy your new decoration!

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Bountiful Baskets Hiatus

15 Dec

I didn’t contribute for this week’s distribution, and there will be no contributions for the following 2 weeks due to the holidays.  I still have a few recipes to share this week, if I can hopefully get to them, and then will be back with Bountiful Baskets in January.

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