Honey Sesame Chicken

I am always looking for easy crock pot meals and a dish that can used in many different ways. This is a simple base to have over rice, in tacos, or I'm sure you could think of another way to use it. Its sweet, tangy, and delicious. This is what you should have for dinner tonight!

Honey Sesame Chicken
Recipe Source: SixSistersStuff.com

4 Chicken Breasts
Salt and Pepper
1 1/2 cups Honey
1 cup Soy Sauce
1/2 cup Onion, diced
1/2 cup Ketchup
4 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil
4 cloves Garlic, minced
1/2 cup Cornstarch dissolved in 3/4 cup water

1. Season your chicken with salt and pepper and put in crock pot. In a small bowl, combine honey, soy sauce, diced onion, ketchup, oil, and garlic. Pour over the top of chicken. Cook on low for 4 hours or until chicken is cooked through.

2. Remove the chicken from the crock pot. Pour the cornstarch water into the crock pot. Stir combining with the sauce. Replace lid and cook sauce on high for about ten minutes or until thickened. Shred the chicken and return to the pot and stir with the sauce.

Spaghetti Pie

My girls favorite dinner is spaghetti. Its easy for me to brown some hamburger, open a jar of Ragu, and boil some noodles but its not very exciting. So I searched for something not as labor intensive as lasagne but better than regular old spaghetti and I found it! Spaghetti Pie. The tomato sauce is homemade and it has 4 different cheeses. It isn't dry at all. Its creamy and saucy. Its a meal your family will be begging to have all the time. I know cause mine does.

Spaghetti Pie
Recipe Source: MelsKitchenCafe.com

12 oz Thin Spaghetti Noodles
1 lb lean Ground Beef
1 small Onion, diced
1 clove Garlic, finely minced
1 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon Black Pepper
28 oz can Crushed Tomatoes
16 oz Tomato Sauce
1 teaspoon Dried Basil
1/2 teaspoon Dried Oregano
4 oz Cream Cheese, softened
1/2 cup Cottage Cheese
3/4 cup Parmesan cheese, divided
3/4 cup Mozzarella cheese, divided

1. Lightly spray a 10-inch deep dish pie plate with cooking spray and set aside. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

2. Cook noodles to al dente in salted water. While the noodles are cooking, heat a large skillet over med-high heat, brown the ground beef. Add the onion, garlic, salt and pepper. Continue stirring to break up the meat, until the meat is cooked. Remove from the heat and drain the grease. Return the skillet to medium heat and stir in the crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, dried basil and oregano. Simmer the sauce over medium or medium-low heat for 10 minutes.

3. When the noodles are done cooking, drain and return to the pot. Quickly stir in the cream cheese and toss the noodles until its mostly melted. Stir in the cottage cheese, 1/2 cup of the Parmesan cheese, and 1/2 cup of the mozzarella cheese. Toss so the noodles are evenly coated. Stir in 2 cups of the spaghetti sauce. Keep the rest of the red sauce warm on the stove.

4. Pour the noodles into the pie plate and using a spatula, press the noodles into the dish so they are tightly pressed together and are flat on the top. Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan and 1/4 cup Mozzarella cheese on top.

5. Bake the pie for about 20 minutes, until hot and the cheese on top is golden. Let the dish rest for 15 minutes. Serve with remaining spaghetti sauce.

Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes

Sweet and tangy. The perfect strawberry lemonade cupcake for me. Sweet strawberry and tangy lemonade. They compliment each other. Its my perfect cupcake!

Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes
Recipe Adapted from: ConfessionsofaCookbookQueen.com

Cupcakes
1 box White Cake Mix
3oz box Strawberry Jell-O
2 1/2 cups Strawberries, diced
2 Tablespoons Granulated Sugar
4 Eggs
1/2 cup Vegetable Oil
1/4 cup Water

Frosting
1 cup Butter, room temp
5 cups Powdered Sugar
1/3 cup Country Time Lemonade Powder
1/2 teaspoon Lemon Extract
3 Tablespoons Water

1. In a medium bowl combine the strawberries and the granulated sugar, mix to combine and refrigerate for 2 hours. Then puree. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners. 

2. Combine the cake mix and strawberry jello in the bowl of stand mixer and stir. Add in strawberries, eggs, oil, and water. Mix on medium until well combined. Fill the cupcake liners about 2/3 full. Bake for 18-22 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack. 

Frosting

In the bowl of a stand mixer add the butter and beat until fluffy. Add in the powdered sugar and lemonade powder on low until just combined. Add in the water and beat on medium high until light and fluffy. Add more water if its too thick.

Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream

I know its not the right season for strawberries and ice cream but I just couldn't help myself. I love ice cream, cheesecake, strawberries... Mix them all together and you have this delicious concoction. Sweet and strawberry-ee, tangy from the cream cheese, with a little crunch from the graham crackers folded in at the end. You have to love homemade ice cream!

Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream
Recipe Source: CinnamonSpiceandEverythingNice.com

2 cups Strawberries, diced
1 - 8oz pkg Cream Cheese, room temp
3/4 cup Granulated Sugar
1 cup Whole Milk
1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice
1/8 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
1/2 cup Heavy Cream

3/4 cup Graham Crackers, chopped into bite size pieces

1. Purée the strawberries in a blender. Add the cream cheese, sugar, milk, lemon juice, and salt. Blend until smooth and creamy. Stir the heavy cream in and refrigerate until completely chilled.

 

2. Add the chilled mixture to your ice-cream maker. Follow the instructions that came with the ice cream maker and add the graham crackers during the last 5 minutes. Freeze for at least 2 hours before eating.

Apple Brown Betty

I shared this at Sawdust and Embryos last week and I had to share it with you!

Have you ever heard of Apple Brown Betty? I think I’d heard of it but I had no idea what it was or what was in it. So while search through apple recipes I came upon this recipe. I was a little hesitant cause there is bread in it people. Bread. But as it turns out its pretty delicious and you’ll want more. Promise.

Apple Brown Betty
Recipe Source: PioneerWoman.com

3 Granny Smith Apples
7 slices Wheat Bread
3/4 cups Butter, Salted
1 1/2 cup Brown Sugar, packed
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
4 Tablespoons Water

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Slice bread strips and then into a small pieces. Peel and thinly slice your apples.

2. In a small bowl combine your cinnamon and brown sugar. Generously coat your pie plate with butter. Then add 1/2 cup of brown sugar/cinnamon mixture, 1/3 of the apple slices, and 1/3 of the breadcrumbs. Repeat the layers two more times, ending with the breadcrumbs. 

 

3. Slice butter and place the slices over the breadcrumbs. Sprinkle the water over the butter and then sprinkle little more brown sugar over the butter. Cover in foil and bake for 45 minutes. Remove the foil and bake 10 more minute to brown the top. Serve warm with sweet whipped cream.

Cherry Crisp Cookie Pizza's & Secret Recipe Club

For the Secret Recipe Club this month I had Crumb. It is home to an awesome lady named Isabelle and she has a passion for food, writing, and photography. She loves to use fresh ingredients and make everything from scratch. 

I came upon this recipe and changed it a little cause it seems things have been crazy in October. But I know the recipe would've been better if I'd followed her recipe exactly.  She used pizza dough for her base, I used a sugar cookie. She used homemade raspberry filling, I used canned cherry pie filling. I did follow her crumb recipe and it was so sweet and crunchy.

Make my version and go check out her recipe and make the original. They are both delish!

Cherry Crisp Cookie Pizza's
Recipe Source: CrumbBlog.com

1 can Cherry Pie Filling
1 recipe Sugar Cookies

Crumble Topping
1 1/4 cups Quick Oats
2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar, packed
1/4 teaspoon Cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon Salt
2 Tablespoons Butter, softened

In a small bowl, combine the oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Add in the softened butter and mix until it is crumbly and set aside.

Roll out your sugar cookies and place on a silpat mat or parchment paper. Evenly spoon your cherry pie filling on the sugar cookie and sprinkle your crumble on top. Bake for the recommended time or until the edges turn golden brown.