Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

I'm not a huge fan of potatoes, but sweet potatoes, are awesome! I always like adding flavor to simple things, to make them extraordinary. I never liked feta or maybe I was scared to try it, but decided to give it a shot one day and turns out, it takes great.

You'll need:
Sweet potato
Feta cheese, crumbled
Chopped spinach, cooked
Chopped Garlic
Salt
Pepper

I like to cook my sweet potato in the oven, but if you're in a hurry, the microwave does just as good to cook it. In the oven, I put the potato on an aluminum foil lined pan and put it in a 400 degree oven for 30-40 minutes depending on how big it is. You can stick a knife in the largest part and if it easily goes through, it's done. In the microwave, I start with 5 minutes and flip it occasionally until a knife slides easily through it. When it's cooked, let it cool slightly so you can handle it. Slice it in half and gently scoop out the potato into a bowl, being careful not to break the skin so you can put it back. Or if you don't care about presentation, just leave it in the bowl. Mash the potato with a potato masher if you have one or just a fork, if you don't. Mix in the feta cheese, spinach and garlic and season it with salt and pepper. Carefully scoop it back into the skin before serving or  eat it straight out of the bowl.

Crock Pot Cream Cheese Chicken Chili

I love anything with cream cheese in it. I also love anything I can put in my crock pot. This recipe is super easy and doesn't have too many ingredients in it. The best part, you dump it all into the crock pot and leave it be.

I found this recipe used often online and they were all pretty much the same, but I based mine from http://www.truelifekitchen.com/2014/01/crock-pot-cream-cheese-chicken-chile.html Theirs has black beans in it, but I omitted them since I don't like beans and used fresh chicken instead of frozen, but I'm sure either version is as good as the other.


You'll need:

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 can Rotel tomatoes
1 can corn kernels, not drained
1 pkg Ranch dressing mix
1 tbsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 8oz pkg cream cheese

Put chicken in crock pot. Pour all other ingredients over top of chicken, except cream cheese, and stir. Lay cream cheese on top. Cover. Cook on low 6-8 hours or high 3-4 hours. You can stir once or twice throughout the cooking process. It will look like the ingredients separated, like you did something wrong, but don't worry. After the full time cooking, mix it well and the everything will combine correctly. Either break up the chicken or as I like to, shred the chicken.

*I like to put mine over a bed of brown rice.

2 chicken breasts, still frozen

1 can Rotel tomatoes

1 can corn kernels, do not drain

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 pkg. Ranch dressing mix

1 T cumin

- See more at: http://www.truelifekitchen.com/2014/01/crock-pot-cream-cheese-chicken-chile.html#sthash.UIdpkt7g.dpuf

2 chicken breasts, still frozen

1 can Rotel tomatoes

1 can corn kernels, do not drain

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 pkg. Ranch dressing mix

1 T cumin

- See more at: http://www.truelifekitchen.com/2014/01/crock-pot-cream-cheese-chicken-chile.html#sthash.UIdpkt7g.dpuf

2 chicken breasts, still frozen

1 can Rotel tomatoes

1 can corn kernels, do not drain

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 pkg. Ranch dressing mix

1 T cumin

- See more at: http://www.truelifekitchen.com/2014/01/crock-pot-cream-cheese-chicken-chile.html#sthash.UIdpkt7g.dpuf

2 chicken breasts, still frozen

1 can Rotel tomatoes

1 can corn kernels, do not drain

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 pkg. Ranch dressing mix

1 T cumin

- See more at: http://www.truelifekitchen.com/2014/01/crock-pot-cream-cheese-chicken-chile.html#sthash.UIdpkt7g.dpuf

2 chicken breasts, still frozen

1 can Rotel tomatoes

1 can corn kernels, do not drain

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 pkg. Ranch dressing mix

1 T cumin

- See more at: http://www.truelifekitchen.com/2014/01/crock-pot-cream-cheese-chicken-chile.html#sthash.UIdpkt7g.dpuf

2 chicken breasts, still frozen

1 can Rotel tomatoes

1 can corn kernels, do not drain

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 pkg. Ranch dressing mix

1 T cumin

- See more at: http://www.truelifekitchen.com/2014/01/crock-pot-cream-cheese-chicken-chile.html#sthash.UIdpkt7g.dpuf

2 chicken breasts, still frozen

1 can Rotel tomatoes

1 can corn kernels, do not drain

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 pkg. Ranch dressing mix

1 T cumin

- See more at: http://www.truelifekitchen.com/2014/01/crock-pot-cream-cheese-chicken-chile.html#sthash.UIdpkt7g.dpuf

2 chicken breasts, still frozen

1 can Rotel tomatoes

1 can corn kernels, do not drain

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 pkg. Ranch dressing mix

1 T cumin

- See more at: http://www.truelifekitchen.com/2014/01/crock-pot-cream-cheese-chicken-chile.html#sthash.UIdpkt7g.dpuf

2 chicken breasts, still frozen

1 can Rotel tomatoes

1 can corn kernels, do not drain

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 pkg. Ranch dressing mix

1 T cumin

- See more at: http://www.truelifekitchen.com/2014/01/crock-pot-cream-cheese-chicken-chile.html#sthash.UIdpkt7g.dpuf

2 chicken breasts, still frozen

1 can Rotel tomatoes

1 can corn kernels, do not drain

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 pkg. Ranch dressing mix

1 T cumin

- See more at: http://www.truelifekitchen.com/2014/01/crock-pot-cream-cheese-chicken-chile.html#sthash.UIdpkt7g.dpuf

2 chicken breasts, still frozen

1 can Rotel tomatoes

1 can corn kernels, do not drain

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 pkg. Ranch dressing mix

1 T cumin

- See more at: http://www.truelifekitchen.com/2014/01/crock-pot-cream-cheese-chicken-chile.html#sthash.UIdpkt7g.dpuf

2 chicken breasts, still frozen

1 can Rotel tomatoes

1 can corn kernels, do not drain

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 pkg. Ranch dressing mix

1 T cumin

1 t chili powder

1 t onion powder

1 8-oz pkg. cream cheese

- See more at: http://www.truelifekitchen.com/2014/01/crock-pot-cream-cheese-chicken-chile.html#sthash.UIdpkt7g.dpuf

2 chicken breasts, still frozen

1 can Rotel tomatoes

1 can corn kernels, do not drain

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 pkg. Ranch dressing mix

1 T cumin

1 t chili powder

1 t onion powder

1 8-oz pkg. cream cheese

- See more at: http://www.truelifekitchen.com/2014/01/crock-pot-cream-cheese-chicken-chile.html#sthash.UIdpkt7g.dpuf

2 chicken breasts, still frozen

1 can Rotel tomatoes

1 can corn kernels, do not drain

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 pkg. Ranch dressing mix

1 T cumin

1 t chili powder

1 t onion powder

1 8-oz pkg. cream cheese

- See more at: http://www.truelifekitchen.com/2014/01/crock-pot-cream-cheese-chicken-chile.html#sthash.UIdpkt7g.dpuf

2 chicken breasts, still frozen

1 can Rotel tomatoes

1 can corn kernels, do not drain

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 pkg. Ranch dressing mix

1 T cumin

1 t chili powder

1 t onion powder

1 8-oz pkg. cream cheese

- See more at: http://www.truelifekitchen.com/2014/01/crock-pot-cream-cheese-chicken-chile.html#sthash.UIdpkt7g.dpuf

No Sew Tie Blanket

Now, I've always seen these awesome looking tie blankets, but never actually made one. After finding out just how easy they are to make, I wish I would've made some a long time ago. I saw some NFL fleece at Joanns on sale and thought it would be a great idea to make one for my boyfriend. He has a king size bed, might I add, so making a blanket to fit, wasn't easy, but I was up for the challenge because I knew it was something that he would enjoy and could actually use.

Here is the site I used for my guidelines of making this blanket. http://www.ehow.com/how_4811095_king-sized-fleece-blanket.html It has more detailed instructions. I'm just giving you some extra tips on the way I made mine, here.

Before you begin, keep in mind that this is for a king size bed so if you need to make it smaller, you will need to look up the measurements for the specified size bed. It is very time consuming though, so make sure you have a good amount of free time. Pick out what fabrics you want to use. You need 8 yards of the 60 in wide fleece, 4 yards per side. Mine was double sided and I made it checkered, so I ended up with 4 different patterns, 2 yards of each: Seahawks print, grey, lime green and navy blue. You can make them all match or do two that go together on one side and two that go together on the other side. I thought about doing that with one side representing the Seahawks for him and the other side representing the Cowboys for me. I then got some posterboard and cut out a 12"x12" square to use as a pattern and traced and cut 128 squares, 32 of each fabric. The blanket was 8 squares x 8 squares. Once the squares are cut, you need to cut 2" x 1"w slits along all 4 sides of each square as well as cut a 4" x 4" square from each of the four corners. This does take a lot of time to do so pace yourself. I was getting cramps in my thumb from cutting so much. Once everything is cut and ready to be assembled, it's smooth sailing the rest of the way. You'll need a good size open area for assembly. Place the squares in the pattern you want them so you know which ones get tied together and start tying. I did a double not on each one to make sure that they would stay together. Once you have one side done, work on the other side. When both pieces are done, you can tie them together by matching up the squares. I didn't do it with this one, but if you are making this somewhere where it gets pretty cold or if you're going to use it as a comfortable on a bed, you can add some stuffing in between the layers for more warmth.


This blanket can be washed. I know he's washed it quite a few times and it hasn't started to come apart or anything.

Soft Baked Pretzels

This is a copykat recipe of Auntie Anne's pretzels. I got the recipe from http://www.food.com/recipe/auntie-annes-pretzels-copycat-59462

You will need:
1 ¹⁄₂ cups water, luke warm
1 ¹⁄₄ tsp active dry yeast (1 pkg.)
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 ¹⁄₄ tsp salt
1 cup bread flour
3 cups flour
2 cups water
2 tbsp baking soda
coarse salt

Toppings:
butter (melted)

cinnamon sugar
ranch dressing seasoning
sour cream and onion seasoning
cheddar cheese and jalapenos

Stir yeast into bowl of lukewarm water until dissolved. Add sugar and salt and stir to dissolve. Then  add flour and knead dough until smooth and elastic. Let rise at least 1/2 hour.

Let rise.

While dough is rising, stir together 2 cups warm water and 2 tbsp baking soda until dissolved. Set aside.

After it rises.

After dough has risen, divide dough into twelve equal pieces and roll into a long rope (about 1/2 inch or less thick) and shape into pretzel shape.
Dip pretzel in baking soda solution and place on greased baking sheet. Allow pretzels to rise again for 10 minutes. If you allow to rise too long, they will get pretty puffy and somewhat loose the pretzel shape, like some of mine did, but they taste just as good. Bake in oven at 450 for about 10 minutes or until golden.

Brush with or dip it in melted butter and sprinkle with coarse salt. You can also try sprinkling it with things like cinnamon sugar or Ranch dressing mix (powder). I thought about sprinkling some shredded cheddar cheese and slices of jalapenos on top as well, before popping it into the oven.

French Dip Sliders

Whenever I got to meet up with friends for lunch, we'd go to Applebees for their lunch specials. They had these little french dip sliders as one of their options and they were sooo good. I thought I'd try to come up with a recipe that was like them, but one that I could make at home.

You'll need:
King's Hawaiian Original Sweet Hawaiian Dinner Rolls 12 ct
12 slices of roast beef
6 slices of swiss cheese
Au Jus gravy mix packet (or can create from scratch)

You can use any other small slider size roll, if there's a different one you like. I like using the sweet hawaiian rolls because it adds a little more flavor with the sweetness. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Split the rolls in half, try to keep both parts attached. Fold up a piece of roast beef and set on slider. Rip a piece of cheese in half and lay on top the roast beef. Do this for all rolls. Stick in oven for 10-15 minutes or until cheese is melted and rolls are slightly toasted, take out of oven and put top of roll over the cheese, completing the slider. While they are in the oven, you can either make an au jus sauce from scratch or do what I did and buy a packet of the seasonings and follow the directions on the packet to make the gravy. Serve it in a little bowl along side the sliders so you can dip the mini sandwiches in it.

Crab and Shrimp Ravioli with a Saffron Cream Sauce

One day, before my boyfriend was leaving to his new base in Anchorage, he wanted to cook me a special dinner. He said anything I wanted, he'd make me. Now, being a person who likes to cook, I wanted to try something different and well, I really wanted to test his cooking skills, so I went online and tried to find the most complicated thing I could find for him to make me and I stumbled across this recipe for crab and shrimp ravioli. http://www.food.com/recipe/crab-shrimp-ravioli-with-saffron-cream-sauce-448376
It ended up being a meal that we cooked together rather than him making it for me because it was a bit tricky making the pasta from scratch, but it was a good lesson for both of us and it was a fun thing for us to do together.

I love crab and shrimp anything, but a saffron cream sauce? I had no idea what saffron was and had to look it up. It's not the easiest thing to find at the grocery store, at least it wasn't at the time we were trying this recipe out, but now I see it all over, at Sam's Club, Walmart, Costco. Maybe it's starting to become popular now? It usually comes in a little glass jar and it's red, but it's not very cheap. I think for a little jar of it, it's around $10, but it will last you a long time.

There are a lot steps to this recipe and it does take a couple hours to make, but it's very good and a great thing to make for maybe a special romantic dinner or maybe you have a fancy dinner party that you're hosting or something. Or if you're not doing anything and just feel like making a special treat one day for your loved one while they're at work or your family. One thing that comes in handy when making this, is a ravioli stamp. We didn't have one when we made these so it took a little longer to cut the dough and they weren't exactly the same size. They were close, but if you can find a cheap stamp on eBay or at Marshalls or something, it'll save you some time and make them look prettier.

 You can buy pasta sheets that would take a load off your time and work, but I wanted to attempt to make pasta dough from scratch. If you choose the easier route, you can skip the first steps and go right to the filling. Before you start, get the ¹⁄₄ tsp saffron and soak in 1 tbsp water for 2 hours.

For the pasta:

1 ¹⁄₂ cups all-purpose flour
4 large egg yolks (save whites, put them aside)
¹⁄₂ tsp sea salt
1 tsp olive oil
2 -3 tbsp water
4 tbsp flour

For the filling:

16 oz ricotta cheese
1 cup lump crabmeat
20 large shrimp, raw, deshelled
2 tbsp butter
3 garlic cloves, minced
¹⁄₂ cup parmesan cheese
salt & pepper
1 tsp thyme

For the sauce:

2 tbsp butter
1 ¹⁄₂ tbsp flour
¹⁄₄ tsp saffron
¹⁄₄ medium onion, finely chopped
1 ¹⁄₂ cups chicken broth
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup dry white wine
³⁄₄ cup heavy cream
salt & pepper
¹⁄₂ cup lump crabmeat
¹⁄₄ cup parmesan cheese (garnish)
1 tbsp parsley (garnish)



To start, you need to make your pasta dough. On a clean surface, make a mound with flour and create a well in the middle for the eggs. Pour egg yolks into the well of flour, along with the olive oil, salt and water. Gradually mix in flour towards the middle until all of it is mixed into the eggs. Add another tablespoon or two of water if the dough is too dry. Knead dough for 10 minutes until dough is smooth and elastic. Prepare filling while dough rests. Wrap the ball of dough in plastic and let it rest for 30 minutes.

Sautee shrimp with butter and garlic until cooked and then remove from pan. Chop shrimp into 1/4" pieces and scrape out eveything from pan and mix with ricottta. Add crab meat, parmesan cheese, salt, pepper and thyme and stir until mixed together. Set aside.

Bring 4 quarts of salted water to a boil. Cut dough in half. On floured surface, roll dough to make a thin sheet (about 1/16" thick) or if you're using pasta sheets, get them available now. Cut rounds using a ravioli stamp or the top of a glass. Brush the edge of each piece with reserved egg white. Fill each piece with about 1 tbsp of filling. If you used the top of a glass to cut your ravioli, fold over and pinch shut, making sure the pasta is completely sealed (will look like the picture above). If you have the stamp, take a second cut out and place over the first and seal the edges together with the egg whites, pressing firmly so filling doesn't come out.

In a large pan, over med-hi heat, sautee butter, garlic and onions 2-3 minute. Whisk in 1 1/2 tbsp flour to create a "roux" or a thick paste. Add wine and reduce 2-3 minutes. Add saffron, chicken broth, heavy cream, salt, pepper and crabmeat, cook 3-5 min until sauce is thickened & bubbly.

Boil ravioli 3-5 minutes until done. Gently remove and add to sauce. You can either toss  the ravioli in sauce until coated or do I like I did and pour the sauce over the center of the ravioli on the plate and garnish with parmesan cheese and parsley. Enjoy!





 *We served ours with sauteed green beans with garlic and sliced almonds.

Strawberry Whipped Cream Roll

I have a huge sweet tooth and growing up, my mom always made me a homemade birthday cake. There was one specific cake that I would always ask for year after year, the strawberry whipped cream roll. It was sweet, but not too sweet , light and fluffy and so good, that everybody always came back looking for more. It got to the point where we had to start making two every time because it would be gone so quickly. One thing to remember tho, is that you are using fresh strawberries so they do get moldy if not eaten up within a few days, but you should never have to worry about throwing any of it away. Kids love it, adults love it and it's perfect for anybody who doesn't want something too sweet but needs to feed their craving.

For the cake:
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3 large eggs
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup water

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease and line with parchment paper, a 15 1/2 x 10 1/2 x 1 pan. Also known as a jellyroll pan.
Blend flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Beat eggs 2-3 minutes until thick. Add sugar. Blend in water and vanilla. Fold in flour mixture. Bake 12-15 minutes.
Take out of pan and put on a powdered sugar covered dish towel and roll up. Let cool.

For the whipped cream:
1 cup chilled whipping cream
1/4 cup powdered sugar, sifted
1 tsp vanilla

Whip whipping cream, powdered sugar and vanilla until thick and fluffy.

1/2 lb strawberries, sliced and patted dry

When cake is cool, unroll, cover with a layer of whipped cream and a layer of strawberries. Roll back up and refrigerate.