Smoked Mac & Cheese

This smoked mac & cheese gets it's fun flavor from the smoked paprika which makes it super good. IT Guy's not a huge fan of mac & cheese but he loved this. Of course, it has bacon in it so that may have helped push him over the edge, but I'll take what I can get. I loved it and enjoyed the leftovers, too. It only makes a 8x8 pan full so it's perfect for a week night side dish or can be doubled if you need more!

Smoked Mac & Cheese



6 slices bacon ~ diced
1/4 cup diced onion
1 clove garlic ~ minced
2 tablespoons flour
1 3/4 cups whole milk
3/4 cup half & half
3/4 cup shredded guyere cheese
3/4 cup shredded white cheddar cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
8 ounces Rotini pasta ~ cooked and drained
2  tablespoon butter
2/3 cup Panko bread crumbs
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese ~ the kind in the green can

Spray a 8x8 inch baking dish with cooking spray.

In a skillet, cook the bacon until crispy. Remove bacon from the pan and set aside.

Cook the onion and the garlic in the bacon fat until tender.

Add the flour and cook for a couple of minutes.

Pour in the milk and half&half and cook until thick. 

Add the smoked paprika, salt and pepper.

Add the cheeses and stir until melted.

Add the cooked and drained pasta and half of the bacon. Stir to combine.

Pour the pasta mixture into the prepared pan.

In a small bowl, combine the melted butter, Panko and Parmesan cheese.

Sprinkle Panko mixture over the pasta.

Set the oven to broil and place mac & cheese under broiler for about 3 minutes or until the Panko is golden brown, watching closely so it doesn't burn.

Scatter remaining bacon on top. Allow to set for 5 minutes before serving. 
 

Okay...here we go!

 

Combine the melted butter, 

Panko and Parm. Set aside.

 

Cook the bacon. Remove to a bowl. 

Saute the onion and garlic in the bacon fat.

 

Stir in the flour and cook a few minutes.

 

Pour in the milk and half & half 

along with the seasonings. 

Cook until thickened.

 

Then throw in the grated cheese.

 

Pour the cheese sauce over the 

cooked and drained pasta. Throw 

in part of the bacon, too!

 

Pour the mixture into the prepared 

pan. Broil for a few minutes, watching 

it so it doesn't burn! Then add the rest of the bacon.

 

Scoop it up and enjoy!

Oreo White Chocolate Chiller

There's nothing better than a creamy dessert. Am I right or am I right? This NO BAKE treat is something yummy to keep on hand year 'round. But be fore-warned....it'll go fast!

Oreo White Chocolate Chiller



1 14-ounce package Oreo cookies~ divided
1 8-ounce container Cool Whip
2 3-ounce packages INSTANT white chocolate pudding
2 cups milk
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1 cube butter ~ melted

Remove a dozen Oreos from the package and place in a quart sized zip top bag. Crush and set aside for topping.

Place remaining Oreos in a gallon sized zip top bag. Crush.

Melt butter in the microwave in a medium microwave-safe bowl. Add crushed cookies in the gallon sized bag. Stir to combine.

Press Oreo mixture into a 8x11 inch dish and place in the fridge.

In a large bowl, combine pudding, milk, sweetened condensed milk and Cool Whip. Stir to combine. 

Pour pudding mixture over Oreo crust then sprinkle with remaining crushed Oreos.

Chill for several hours before serving. 

 

The line-up!

 

Divide the cookies then crush 'em!

 

Combine the melted butter and 

the big bag of crushed Oreo's.

 

Press into the bottom of the pan. Chill!

 

Then combine the milk. Cool Whip, 

sweetened condensed milk and the pudding.

 

Pour that over the crust.

 

Sprinkle with the small bag 

of crushed cookies. Chill!

 

Slice, eat, enjoy. Repeat.

Slow Cooker Spicy Shredded Chicken Sandwiches

Holy cow but these are good! And easy? Everything goes in the slow cooker for a few hours then onto some yummy bread for sandwiches. Of course the chicken would be great rolled into some flour tortillas, too. Add some cheese...and little more salsa if you want...hey, throw on some sour cream if you want for a tasty burrito. Super-duper good and so simple it'll make you wanna cry.

Slow Cooker Spicy 
Shredded Chicken Sandwiches 



4 chicken breasts (I put mine in frozen and they turned out perfect)
1 cup red salsa
1 cup green salsa (I used Herdez brand)
1 small onion ~ sliced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
Salt and pepper to taste
Kings Hawaiian Rolls

Spray your crock pot with cooking spray.

Place sliced onions in the bottom of the crock pot.

Then add the chicken.

Pour the salsas on top of the chicken.

Add salt, pepper and cumin.

Allow to cook 5 - 6 hours.

Shred chicken with 2 forks and stir well. 

Place some of the chicken mixture on each roll. Add some shredded cheddar cheese, if desired.

 

Okay...here's ALL you need.

 

Slice the onion and throw it in the 

slow cooker. Then add the chicken, 

salsas and the seasonings. Let 'er 

rip for a few hours.

 

Shred, stir and they're done!

 

Seriously....so easy and SO good!

Sausage & Gravy Breakfast Casserole

As you may....or may not know, breakfast isn't my thang. At least in the morning. I don't really like any food in the morning. Breakfast for dinner is fine, though. Now IT Guy, he's a different kettle of fish except he doesn't like fish...but I digress. Not only do I not like to eat in the morning, I'm not that keen on smelling it either. I know...it's weird, huh? Before you get all up in arms and think I don't cook breakfast for my husband, let me tell you I do.

Sometimes.

Maybe once a week.

Or once a month.

Fine. I hardly EVER cook breakfast for him, okay?

But he LOVES breakfast...LOVES. If I would get up at the crack of darkness and cook him eggs and bacon and whatever else...he would...well, he'd be in breakfast heaven. But guess what? That ain't never happened and it isn't GOING to happen. I like to cook breakfast about 10:00 am on a Saturday after I've slept in. Or cook it for dinner. Which is what I did with this dish. I saw a picture of this type of casserole run through my Pinterest the other day and I knew IT Guy would fall in love with me all over again if I made this. And I was right. I used canned biscuits but if you're adverse to using the canned kind, then by all means make your own. Homemade sausage gravy is the only way to go here and don't worry...it's really easy! This casserole would be wonderful for breakfast...I guess, but we loved it for dinner and the leftovers heat up great so you can have yourself a quick snack as you're running out the door in the morning. Super good, guys!


Sausage & Gravy 
Breakfast Casserole



1 12-ounce container buttermilk biscuits
6 eggs
Sausage gravy ~ recipe follows
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup milk
Salt and pepper to taste

Sausage Gravy

1 pound breakfast sausage
2 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk
Pepper to taste

In a large skillet, cook the sausage until done.

Using a slotted spoon, remove sausage to a bowl leaving the fat in the skillet. You may need to add a couple of tablespoons of butter if you're sausage didn't render enough fat.

Whisk the flour into the fat and cook and stir about 1 minute.

Whisk in the milk and bring to a boil.

Simmer for a couple of minutes then stir in the sausage. 

For the casserole: 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and spray a 9x13 inch pan with cooking spray.

Cut biscuits into 1-inch pieces and arrange in the bottom of the prepared pan. The pieces don't need to be toughing. They will expand when cooked.

Sprinkle sausage over the top of the biscuits then scatter cheese on top of sausage.

Whisk eggs and milk together with the salt and pepper and carefully pour over mixture in the pan.

Pour sausage gravy over everything and bake for 45 minutes until eggs and biscuits are cooked through. 

 

Here's what you'll need.

 

Place the cut up biscuits in the pan. 

Don't worry if they're not touching.

 

Cook the sausage then 

remove to a bowl. Add 

the flour to the drippings 

in the pan. Add some 

butter if you need to.

 

Then add the milk and salt 

and pepper and cook until thick.

 

Sprinkle the cooked sausage on the biscuits.

 

Then comes the cheese and eggs.

 

Lastly spread the gravy over the top.

 

Bake it up for breakfast or dinner!

Italian Sausage Potato Bake

This dish reminds me of one similar that I make using kielbasa...one of our favorites. I had a big package of Italian sausage links I needed to use and with the potatoes and bell peppers I had on hand, this delicious dish was made. You can use just about any veggies YOU want or stick with these and add what you like. Mushrooms would be great....cherry tomatoes...zucchini...whatever! It's so simple....throw everything in a pan and bake it up!

Italian Sausage Potato Bake



1 pound mini Yukon Gold potatoes
2 bell peppers ~ large diced (I used one yellow and one green)
1 medium onion ~ large diced (I used a yellow one, but a red one would be yummy)
5 or 6 Italian sausage links
Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a 9x13 inch pan with cooking spray.

Place diced veggies in the prepared pan.

Drizzle some olive oil, 2 - 3 tablespoons, over veggies then salt and pepper to taste.

Place sausage links on top of veggies and cover with foil.

Bake for 1 hour.

Remove foil and bake another 30 - 45 minutes until sausages begin to brown.


 

The line-up.

 

Dice the veggies into big chunks.

 

Then lay the sausage on top.

 

Cover with foil and bake. Then 

remove the foil and cook until 

the sausages are browned.

 

Yummy!

Creamy Vanilla Bean Pie

This simple pie is so delicious! You could add some coconut to it if you want a little added something or throw some cherry pie filling on top for some extra goodness. But my favorite way is plain and simple. I wished I'd had some whipped cream because that would have been my topping of choice but I was out. So I went with meringue since I had the egg whites left over from using the yolks in the pie. If you don't have vanilla bean paste...no worries...just use the same amount of vanilla extract and the world won't come to an end, I promise. Super good pie, guys!

Creamy Vanilla Bean Pie



1 8-inch pie crust ~ baked
2 cups milk
1 cup half & half
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup flour
dash salt
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste
3 egg yolks

In a microwave safe bowl, heat the milk and half & half until hot but not boiling...about 3 minutes.

In a medium saucepan, combine the flour, sugar and salt.

Whisk in the hot milk mixture over medium heat and stir until thickened.

In a small bowl, combine the egg yolks with a little of the milk mixture to temper the eggs. 

Pour egg/milk mixture into the saucepan with the milk mixture and cook and stir until thickened and boiling.

Remove from the heat and add the butter and vanilla bean paste.

Pour filling into the baked pie shell.

Lay down some plastic wrap on top of the filling and place pie in the fridge for several hours or overnight.

Serve with whipped cream.

 
The cast of characters.

 
Mix together the flour, sugar and salt.

 
Add the heated milk/half & half 
mixture and cook until thickened.

 
Pour a little bit the milk mixture into 
the egg yolks to temper the yolks.

 
Then pour that back into the 
saucepan to cook and thicken.

 
Pour into your BAKED pie crust then 
cover with plastic wrap and chill.

 
Top with meringue or whipped cream.

 
Slice and eat! So yum!

Taco Tamale Bake

A long time ago, my mom used to make a dish very similar to this one that my dad loved. It used canned chili and canned tamales. Yes...I'll admit, I used to make it, too and enjoyed it. I changed things up a little bit by making this more along the lines of homemade. I usually use my own taco seasoning but I was out and in a hurry so store-bought it was! And I used frozen green corn tamales instead of beef since there's beef in the dish. Anyway...this is really good and super easy to make if you're short on time. I should probably take my dad some of this...I'm pretty sure he'd like it. I know we did.

Taco Tamale Bake



1 pound ground beef
3 or 4 tamales (can use more) ~ fresh, frozen and thawed or canned, husks removed
1 16-ounce can pinto beans
1 packet taco seasoning
2/3 cups water
1 medium onion ~ diced
Salt and pepper to taste
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

In a large skillet, saute the onion in a little olive oil for about 5 minutes.

Add the ground beef and cook until done.

Stir in the beans and the taco seasoning packet, along with the water and the salt and pepper.

Cook for 10 minutes until thickened.

Unwrap tamales and place on top of the mixture, spooning some of the meat mixture on top.

Sprinkle with cheese.

Cover and bake for 30 minutes until heated through.

 
Here we go!

 
Saute the onion then add the ground beef.

 
Dump in the beans, the taco mix, 
the water and salt & pepper.

 
Add the tamales and scoop a 
little of the meat mixture on top.

 
Add the cheese. Cover and bake 
for a little bit to heat through.

 
So yummy!