Try a few new recipes!

We tried out a new recipe tonight for our movie night (we’re watching Up and The Ugly Truth). The recipe is for chocolate fruit dip…basically chocolate whipped cream! Yum! You can dip whatever you want into it, but hubby and I chose apple slices.

3/4 c. semisweet chocolate chips
1 carton whipped topping
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
Fruit: apples, grapes, etc.

In microwave, melt chips. Stir. Fold in 1/2 cup of the whipped cream, then cinnamon and vanilla. Let sit for 5 minutes. Fold in remaining whipped cream. Cover and refrigerate leftovers.

If you fold in too much whipped cream too quickly, you’ll get streaky chocolate chunks in it, rather than a smooth chocolatey substance.

This stuff is good! Chocolate, but not overpowering. We love it!

I found a recipe for beef stew a few months back and made it. It was okay but needed a little more tomato flavor. I just made the revamped recipe today and it’s perfect! Huge chunks of tender beef, sweet baby carrots, and yummy baby red potatoes. The sauce is just the way hubby and I like it; not too sweet, not too tangy.

1 bag baby carrots
16 baby red potatoes
2 lbs. cubed beef stew meat
1 family size cream mushroom soup, undiluted
2 cans tomato soup, undiluted
1 envelope onion soup mix

Brown beef in skillet. Let rest for a few minutes, then cut into smaller, bite-size pieces.
Wash and cut potatoes into bite-size chunks.
In a large bowl, mix cream of mushroom soup, tomato soup, onion mix packet, and salt and pepper. Add carrots and potatoes; mix well.
Pour vegetables and sauce into a large slow-cooker.
Add meat and stir to combine.
Cook on low for 7 hours or until potatoes are tender/high for 4-5 hours.

I LOVE THIS STEW. It’s way better than any canned stuff I’ve ever tried. If you buy quality ingredients (especially the meat) this recipe comes out so good. It’s perfect for lazy Sundays :)

A few weeks ago, my best friend made us some awesome French bread. It was mustardy, bacony, cheesy and crunchy. I got the recipe and hubby and I tried it out tonight.

1/2 c. softened butter (not melted)
5 tsp. mustard
1 c. chopped scallions
8 bacon slices, crumbled
2 c. shredded Swiss cheese
1 loaf uncut French bread

Slice bread into 1” slices, being careful not to cut all the way through the bottom.
In a bowl, mix butter, mustard, scallions, and bacon to form a thick creamy mash.
Place loaf on long sheet of tinfoil.
Spread butter mix in between each slice. Tuck cheese in between each section.
Wrap tinfoil all around bread.
Bake at 350 for 35 minutes.
Serve by unwrapping tinfoil and fully slicing through each section.

It turned out great! YUM.

This morning I made breakfast and tried a new recipe for Maple Pecan French Toast. I used real French bread, sliced, and chopped pecans, as well as pecan-flavored coffee creamer…all new for me when it comes to French toast. Here’s the recipe:

1 tsp butter
1/2 cup chopped pecans
2 eggs
1/2 cup refrigerated Southern butter pecan creamer
6 slices French bread (1” thick)
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
Maple syrup

In a small skillet, melt butter and add pecans; stir and toast for 3 minutes. In a shallow bowl, mix eggs, creamer, and cinnamon. Dip bread slices into mixture and cook in skillet over medium heat. Sprinkle with pecans and maple syrup to finish.

It’s really good! Tastes like a pecan caramel roll. We’ll definitely be making this again. It’s rich but in small amounts it isn’t overwhelming.

Tonight my husband and I made french bread pizza! It was gooood. And we realized afterward that each of our (eight inch) pieces cost us only $1.75! I love cooking at home. Anyhoo…we took french bread and sliced it lengthwise, covered each half with marinara sauce, then cheese, onions, and Canadian bacon and pineapple. Baked them for about 10 minutes, sliced them up and voila!

They were damn good. Quick and, like I said, cheap. I couldn’t finish mine but I saved the leftovers in tinfoil and I’ll rebake tomorrow for lunch. We also have half of all the ingredients left—so we’ll make these again later this week. We loved these.

These were good and very quick to make. Pretty basic for most people but I’ve never made it before, so it’s a new recipe to me…Last night we had turkey breast (I know, random) and I saved some for tonight’s dinner. I slapped a couple pieces of bread on a plate, heated up some turkey, made mashed potatoes, and piled it all together and smothered it with gravy. Literally 10 minutes to put together. My husband suggested adding stuffing next time, if we’re feeling really hungry. Yum!

Hubby made steak wraps tonight, with red, yellow, and green peppers, and they were pretty good! Low-carb, so great for this gestational diabetes of mine.

These are the best. The best. I didn’t have a recipe for these Honey-Mustard Chicken Wraps so I just picked ingredients and went to work. They turned out fantastic! The honey mustard is mixed with a little honey to lessen the tang, and it becomes smooth and mellow and juicy. We’ll be having these again for sure! This makes about four huge wraps (I could only eat one, that’s how big they are)...

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Head of romaine lettuce
6 tablespoons honey mustard
3 tablespoons honey
4 tortillas (we used 8”)
1/2 c. shredded cheese, optional

Slice the chicken breasts lengthwise—start to butterfly them, but cut all the way through. Sprinkle salt and pepper; Grill on stove. When done, let sit on plate until the juice settles. Then cut into long, thin strips. Meanwhile, rinse and rip apart your romaine lettuce. Remove white stalk chunks. Pat dry. Then in a small bowl, mix the honey and honey mustard. Heat in microwave until warm. Add the chicken strips and toss to coat.

To build, lay down some lettuce on tortilla. Top with chicken, some cheese, and more lettuce. Wrap one end in and roll! If desired, grill on a greased pan for a few minutes. They’re simple but really flavorful. You could add veggies as well, but the honey mustard adds some good flavor by itself.

Baked the quiche tonight. It turned out really good. Lots of flavor from the vegetables and cheese. It didn’t look like a traditional quiche, but that’s probably because it didn’t have the pie crust that most do. I hate pie crusts. But it was good! We had it for dinner and the other half is for breakfast :)

I’ve been finding some awesome new recipes! Ones I really want to try. I’ve found a great one for quiche featuring onion, cubed ham, and green peppers. Hubby would love it, seeing as that’s what he gets in his omelet. Another recipe for honey-mustard chicken wraps sounds delicious. And pretty simple to make.

I’d like to find a good one for gumbo or jambalaya. Unless they’re super spicy…

I’m excited to try some new recipes again! It’s hard for me to find recipes that sound good. Spicy stuff, weird veggies, and too many ingredients (aka too expensive to make) keeps my list pretty short. I like simpler foods that fill me up and don’t bust my food budget. We don’t deep fry anything either. gah. This is so difficult.