Hamburger Surprise!! :)

When we were first married and I told Mr. Amazing I was going to make "Hamburger Surprise" he got rather nervous. Usually any recipe with the word "surprise" is just another way to say "disgusting" haha. When I pulled them out of the oven and he tried one, he didn't like it. Then I added the MUST HAVE ingredient of Lawry's Season Salt. Bam! It instantly became one of his favorite meals. Which is a good thing, because I make them often!

Dough:

1 tbsp yeast

3 cup flour

1/3 cup sugar

½ tsp salt

1 egg

¼ c shortening 

1 cup warm water

Inside:

Browned, seasoned hamburger to taste

Cheese slices

Put warm water, egg, sugar, salt and shortening into mixer. Start mixing and add 1 cup of flour. Mix until blended then add the yeast. Finish adding flour until the texture is just right then let it raise.

Take a small amount of dough and pull it until very thin a little bigger than your palm. Put a small scoop of cooked hamburger and a small cheddar cheese slice (like the size you’d put on a saltine cracker). Roll up into a ball. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes. When hot put butter on top and sprinkle with seasoning salt.

Zesty Italian Chicken (Easy Peazy!!)

Comfort food. That is how Mr. Amazing described this meal! So good. So easy. Perfect!! Another freezer meal from Jessi that turned out to be a family fav and for sure going on the monthly list!

1 8 oz cream cheese

1 can Cream of Chicken Soup

1 pkg Zesty Italian Dressing Seasoning (the packet)

3 chicken breasts

Put cream cheese, soup and Italian packet into the slow cooker on high for 30 minutes. This will soften it and make it easy to stir until well combined. Add the chicken and cook on low for 5-6 hours (this is a meal that you definitely don't want to overcook). You can serve the chicken breasts whole or do as we do and use 2 forks and pull into smaller chunks. Serve over hot rice! (We have to double this recipe for our family of 6). 

Unstuffed Pepper Bake

This pic is before it's baked and topped with the cheese and tomato sauce so you could see what it looks like :)

I got this recipe in the mail from Smith's Food and Drug with coupons for all the ingredients a couple years ago and thought I'd give it a try. Well, from that moment on it was on "the list." So much less work that actually stuffing a pepper (any easy way out haha...), this meal tastes great and freezes beautifully! I personally prefer it with ranch dressing, but the fam will stick with sour cream any day. And tortilla chips (in my humble opinion) are a must!! It must be good when our buddy had 3 or 4 platefuls in one sitting :) 

1 lb ground beef

1/3 cup chopped onion

1 ½ cups peppers chopped

2 garlic cloves

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp pepper

1 can diced tomatoes

1 ½ cups rice

1 tsp Worcestershire

1 tsp Italian seasoning

8 oz shredded cheddar cheese

1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce

Preheat oven to 375. Saute hamburger, onions, peppers and garlic. Stir in tomatoes, rice, Worcestershire and Italian seasoning. Remove from heat, add 1 cup cheese

Spread mixture in 13x9 pan. Top with tomato sauce and remaining cheese. Bake uncovered for 20 min. Serve with tortilla chips.

Applesauce Chocolate Chip Cookies

To eat these cookies is to step into the memories of my wonderful childhood, with the iconic mom who is baking away in the kitchen making delicious, enticing and aromatic goodies for her kids, friends and guests. These have been my favorite since I was a little kid and because of that, I'm sure they always will be :) More a cake like texture than cookie itself, these are best right off the pan with at least 16 oz of milk!

1 cup applesauce

1 tsp baking soda

1 cup sugar

½ cup shortening

2 eggs

¾ tsp cloves

1 tsp salt

¾ tsp nutmeg

1 tsp cinnamon

2 cups flour

1 bag chocolate chips

In a small bowl add applesauce and baking soda. Stir and set aside. In a larger bowl cream sugar and shortening. Add egg and cream. Add applesauce mixture and stir well. Add all dry ingredients and mix well. Add chocolate chips. (Dough will be fairly sticky). Bake at 400 for 10-12 minutes.

BEST EVER!!! White Chicken Chili

Oh. My. Heck. Seriously. Heaven in bowl right here!! This is so good that I went and bought enough ingredients to make this meal at least 4 more times! My family doesn't really care for chili. I've tried numerous recipes, but unfortunately there has never been one good enough to repeat. Until now! My church was having a Halloween party and asked for people to bring in Chili for the dinner. So I went on a search to find the best chili ever. And I found it on sweetannas.com! I made it for my family a week in  before just to make sure and after my family ate the entire pot in 20 minutes, I knew I had a winner. I also made 2 more batches for the freezer for even less, quicker gratification :) (Note to Wyoming, USA friends: I could only find these beans at Walmart).

3 chicken breasts (raw or cooked), cut into bite-sized pieces

1 onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 cans white beans, drained

1 regular can pink beans (pinquitos)

1 large can diced green chilies

1 cup frozen corn

2 cups chicken stock

1 jalapeno, minced

2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp chili powder

Salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup finely crushed tortilla chips

2 cups shredded pepper jack cheese

Throw all the ingredients (except for the crushed tortilla chips and cheese) into your slow cooker. Cook on low for 8 hours. During the last 30 minutes, stir in the crushed tortilla chips and the shredded cheese and heat until cheese is melted and the chili has thickened up. Serve with sour cream, chips, salsa or whatever else you want!

Sloppy Joes

Are you a Sloppy Joe fan? If my only introduction to these easy little babies were from the school cafeteria, I have to admit, I'd never eat them again. But thankfully my wonderful mom knew how to make good Sloppy Joes. As in, REALLY GOOD (especially to an Idaho meat and potato every night kind of girl)! With 3 ingredients! To this day I could care less for the "sloppy" part of the Joe that looks like it's from the can, all runny and making my bread soggy. But this way is perfect. And you can give it as much or as little umph as you want. And best of all, this meal is ready in less than 15 minutes!

2 lbs hamburger (or adjust the amount to whatever your family will eat)

BBQ sauce

Ketchup

Here I must say, the brand of BBQ sauce and Ketchup does make a huge difference! If you want some serious flavor, you gotta use Heinz Ketchup and a good BBQ sauce (my fav is Bullseye Carolina Flavor).

Brown your hamburger. Then add your BBQ and Ketchup. (Sorry for the vague amount here... it really is just to taste!). I would say it's 3 parts BBQ to 1 part Ketchup (for less kick and a more ketchupy flavor use 1/2 and 1/2) Start with a smaller amount of each, and stir to see if it coats the meat nicely. If not, add more. These aren't meant to be saucy so less can definitely be more with these!

Pizza Rolls

Not that my picture taking skills are anything to get excited about, but I apologize even more so for this one. Mr. Amazing had the camera for the weekend and all I was left with was my really crappy dumb-phone camera. But it worked, right?! .

In all seriousness, these pizza rolls are incredible!!! My kids snarfed these little babies down so quickly that 3/4 of the pan disappeared within 15 minutes! Then hubby came home, ate his fill, and then kept grabbing another and then another. (Addicting? I think, yes!). I can't wait to try these as a freezer meal! Another dang good recipe makes the menu!! (Recipe from honeybearlane.com)

4 cans store-bought buttermilk biscuit dough

1 package pepperoni

3-4 cups of Mozzarella cheese (or Mozzarella sticks cut into 3rds)

Basil, Oregano, Garlic Salt, Grated Parmesan

Open each can and taking one biscuit at a time, press each biscuit flat. Put in 2 pepperoni's and the desired amount of cheese. Fold up sides into a ball and put into a greased 9x13 pan close together. Brush the tops with oil and sprinkle with seasonings and Parmesan cheese. Bake in oven at 425 degrees for 18-22 minutes. For 10 minutes have them covered with foil and for the last 8-12 minutes remove the foil so they can brown.

Slow Cooker Fajitas

If your fam is anything like mine, Fajitas are a required food at least once a month. Nothing beats the flavor of marinated lime chicken, hot off the grill with fresh peppers and onions slightly sauteed for flavor but still with a perfect crunch, all perfectly placed on a grilled tortilla with sour cream, cheese and fresh tomatoes! 

But unfortunately for us, grilled chicken hot off the grill isn't always an option (Mr. Amazing isn't always home on time :). And because I had a jam-packed day and soccer practices in the early evening, I decided to try a crock-pot version instead!

I made up a marinade from Weber I got on clearance at Smith's and poured it over frozen chicken and strips of bell peppers and onion rings. After 7 hours, the chicken shredded perfectly and was ready for a browned tortilla.

Verdict: It's a keeper. I still say hot off the grill wins by a few points, and in the future I think I will just do the chicken in the slow cooker and then saute the peppers and onions right before we eat! But it's definitely easier and quicker, so I'll definitely be repeating it!

3 chicken breasts

3-4 bell peppers, cut in strips 

1 large onion, cut into rings

Tortillas

Sour cream

Cheese

Chopped tomatoes

Put chicken into slow cooker and cover with your fav marinade. Cook on low for 7-8 hours and shred. You can either add the onions and bell peppers with the chicken at the beginning or saute them right before you eat in a pan. Heat up a skillet on medium heat and brown the tortillas on each side. Serve with all your fav toppings!

World's Best Taco Soup

Mr. Amazing does not like Taco Soup. I've tried numerous variations in hopes of converting him. He has to call it Chili to choke it down haha. But when I saw this recipe from iheartnaptime.net, I knew I had to give it a shot!

Well, it didn't work haha. I told him this one had tons more good stuff in it, but when he tried it he said "it tastes like taco soup." Oh well. Can't win them all!

But the rest of us loved it, so it's a keeper! It does taste like Taco Soup, but so much heartier!!! Everyone was stuffed after 1 bowl and it made double the amount of my normal recipe! It would be super easy to make this into a freezer meal, too, either before or after cooking it!

1 lb hamburger

2 tbsp taco seasoning

1 med sweet onion

½ green bell pepper chopped

½ red bell pepper chopped

½ orange or yellow bell pepper chopped

1 15 oz can black beans drained and rinsed

1 15 oz can kidney beans drained and rinsed

1 15 oz can pinto beans drained and rinsed

1 15 oz can corn

1 can Rotel tomatoes

1 15 oz can diced tomatoes

¼ cup salsa

1 8 oz can tomato sauce

Brown hamburger in a large pan. Add in onion and bell peppers and sauté for a few minutes. Add to slow cooker. Add in remaining ingredients and cook on low for 7-8 hours. Top with your favorite toppings and tortilla chips.

Cheesy Chicken Tater Tot Casserole

Photo from thecountrycook.net

Her pic is way better than mine and she deserves all the credit for this meal!

So I found this recipe from Brandie at thecountrycook.net, and my mouth immediately began to water. Just the name of it made me want it instantly,  but the picture got my mouth watering! I couldn't wait to try it out on my family the next day, and I have to say, THANK YOU BRANDIE! My family snarfed this down. I kid you not. They ate their fill before soccer practices and when we got back 2 hours later, they finished it off. Mr. Amazing will eat anything I cook and is usually accompanied by a "thank you" and hopefully "that was good." Well this one got me one heck of a kiss and a raving review that included the desire for it to be made again, and soon! This is an incredible make-over on normal tater-tot casserole recipes and it has made the dang good recipe list!

Ingredients:

1 (32 oz.) bag frozen tater tots

1 (3 oz.)bag bacon pieces

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, diced

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

3/4 cup milk

salt & pepper, to taste

Directions:

Spray slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray. Layer half of the frozen tater tots on the

bottom of the slow cooker. Sprinkle with 1/3 of the bacon pieces. Now top with 1/3 of the shredded cheese. Add diced chicken on top.  Season with salt & pepper. Now add 1/3 of the bacon pieces and another 1/3 of shredded cheese. Put the rest of the frozen tater tots on top.

Finish with the remaining 1/3 cheddar cheese and remaining 1/3 of bacon pieces. Pour 3/4 cup milk all over the top. Cover and cook on low about 4-5 hours.

Cilantro Lime Chicken with Corn & Black Beans

From overthebigmoon.com, this one is a keeper! Holy buckets! Just looking at the picture makes my mouth water! This is definitely going to be doubled for an extra freezer meal! My family loved this one served on heated tortillas with all the toppings. The only thing I would add is some fresh cilantro at the end when it is done.

1 ½ lbs chicken breast

Juice from 2 limes

1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped

1 (16 oz) bag frozen corn

2 minced garlic cloves

½ red onion, chopped

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 tsp cumin

Salt and pepper to taste

Place all ingredients into a resealable gallon-sized freezer bag. Mix together and zip bag closed. When ready to eat, remove from freezer and thaw in fridge for 24 hours. Cook on low for 8 hours. Serve with tortillas and toppings such as sour cream, guacamole, salsa and cheese, and fresh chopped cilantro.

Our Fav Slow Cooker Beef Stew

Heaven in a bowl. I found this recipe on allrecipes.com, tweaked it a bit according to other's opinions and voila! Perfection! Out here in Wyoming, this is a staple in our family in the winter! Double batch it for left-overs or freeze for another day. Pair it with some cornbread and you will have one happy family!

2 lbs beef stew meat, cut into pieces

2/3 cup flour

1 tsp seasoning salt

1 tsp pepper

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 bay leaves

1 ½ tsp paprika

2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 onion, chopped

3 ½ cups beef broth

5-6 potatoes

4 carrots sliced

2 stalks celery

1 pkg McCormicks beef stew seasoning. Mix flour, salt, and pepper in bag. Coat the meat with it. Sear meat. Transfer meat to slow cooker. Pour 2 cups beef broth into pan to deglaze then pour over beef. Add rest of broth and all other ingredients. Stir and cook for 10 hours on low.

(Note: I'm rather horrible at adding the exact amount of veggies. I just dice, throw in, and when it fills up the pot just right, I stop :) Therefore, I almost always end up using 3 cans of beef broth or whatever it takes to get it right to the top of the veggies and meat).

Mock Filet Mignon

So these are totally going on the Dang Good menu! My sweet friend Jen invited our family over for dinner and served us these little babies! Talk about good! And even better...they are easy to make and can be frozen! All my kids loved them, and I seriously can't wait to make a batch so that I can make extras for another meal. Hope you enjoy as much as we did! And thanks Jen, for yet another, Dang Good Recipe!

1 1/2 lbs ground beef (uncooked)

3/4 cup cooked rice

1 cup chopped onion

1 clove garlic

1 1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 Tbsp sugar

Enough strips of bacon for however many balls you make.

Combine everything but the bacon. Shape into balls and wrap bacon around each. Place on a baking sheet and bake at 450 for 30 min. Devour :) 

Breakfast Casserole

I was shocked when I realized I hadn't posted this recipe yet! This is one of our biggest breakfast for dinner fav's EVER! My kids devour this pan so quickly that unfortunately, there is never enough for next night leftovers haha! This meal freezes so good, and I love to make a couple of extra pans to stick in the freezer. (Just note, that it takes quite a while to thaw out though and if not completely thawed out, plan on an extra 20-30 minutes cooking time!). 

1 lb bacon crumbled (or buy the pre-cooked crumbled bacon for an even quicker version :)

1/2 cup onion chopped

3/4 cup red bell pepper, chopped (optional. We like it both ways)

2 tbsp Dijon mustard

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

3/4 cup milk

12 eggs

1 pkg frozen hash browns, thawed

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Cook bacon and then remove and saute onion and pepper. Set aside. In large bowl beat milk and eggs. Add the mustard, salt and pepper. Set aside. Grease a 9x13 and spread half of the hash browns in the dish. Spread the bacon onion pepper mixture on top. Sprinkle on 1 cup of cheese. Spread remaining hash browns  over top. Pour egg mixture over the top of hash browns. Bake, uncovered at 325 degrees for 50-60 minutes. Sprinkle remaining cup of cheese (and any extra bacon if you have it) on top! Serve with toasted English muffins or bread.

Easy Peasy Pumpkin Cookies

I love that Rachel loves to bake! And I love even more that she likes to make my fav sweets :). These awesome cookies are so simple and so quick to make up, you just might find yourself making them more often than you should (not to mention stocking up on Spice cake mixes)!

1 box Spice cake mix

1 small can pumpkin pie

½ tsp cloves

1 tsp cinnamon

3/4 bag of chocolate chips

1/4 bag cinnamon chips (optional but super yummy ;)

Mix everything together and then spoon onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake 375 for 8-10 minutes and then let cool on the pan for a couple more minutes.

River Chicken

Don't be fooled by the simpleness of this recipe! My friend Lilly's dad was a river guide years ago and part of his responsibilities including providing lunch for the people on the raft, so he would make them River Chicken. This seriously couldn't get any easier (or much cheaper for that matter), and yet it is so satisfying! My husband is ecstatic every time he comes and smells this cooking! What's great about it is that if it gets done cooking before you are ready to eat, just fold the tinfoil up on and over itself to trap the moisture inside. And its just as good cold for leftovers.

Bone-in chicken (any part works so choose what your fam likes the best or what's on sale :)

Lawry's Season Salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place tinfoil on a cookie sheet and place chicken on top. Sprinkle Lawry's season salt generously all over the top of the chicken. Bake, uncovered, for 60 minutes. Enjoy one of the juiciest, crispiest pieces of baked chicken you'll ever have!

Chimichanga Heaven

A lifelong staple in our house, it really doesn't get much better than this! Grandma used to work at the Lion House in Salt Lake City, and she would make these for us every time we would visit her (I don't know if this recipe actually came from the Lion House or if it's just because she is an amazing cook and worked there that I associate it with the Lion House :). And to this day, these little babies are one of my fav meals ever. 

These chimicangas are super versatile. Of course you can freeze them. But you really can also make them any way you want! My favorite way is to use left over shredded beef or pork roast for the meat and home-canned pinto beans. Grandma cans huge batches of the beans and then just smashes them up! You can't smash up canned beans though, so if you can't can your own, you'll have to use refried beans.

1 lb hamburger (or left over shredded pork or beef roast)

2 can refried beans (or smashed up home canned pinto beans)

1 packet taco seasoning

8" tortillas

Sour cream

Green onions

Shredded cheese

Cilantro

Salsa

Anything else you like

Canola oil

Brown the hamburger. Add the refried beans to the pan and stir until creamy and heated through. Add the taco seasoning packet and mix well. Spoon the mixture into flour tortillas and fold burrito style. (At this point, you can layer the chimicangas carefully in a ziplock bag and freeze for later). In a pan, heat up 2" of oil on medium heat. Cook 2-3 chimichangas at a time. Flip over after a few minutes (or golden brown on each side) and then set on a plate layered with paper towels to soak up the excess oil. Serve immediately with your choice of toppings!

(I always double this recipe and make enough to freeze for another meal!)

Stay Soft Cookies

Thes cookies are so good (proof: Rachel just made these for a friend who severed most of his thumb. He tried them and told her he was going to cut off his other thumb just to get some more because they were the best he had ever had ;). They stay so soft! And I haven't had to alter this recipe at all for our high altitude. It's a good thing it makes a huge batch, because they disappear so quickly! (Recipe from Jessi).

1 c. brown sugar

2 c. sugar

2 c. Crisco

4 eggs

2 tsp soda

2 tsp vanilla

2 tsp salt

5 c. flour

Mix sugars and crisco. Add eggs, soda, vanilla and salt and mix until creamed. Add the flour. Mix in choc chips. Bake 375 for 8-10 minutes. Also really good with p.b. chips!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

I am pretty much in love with Mel at melskitchencafe.com! She has some amazing recipes that our family loves! I never buy cookbooks because of 1 reason: we usually only like a few recipes in the whole book. Alas, some food blogs are the same way... but not Mel's! She is a standard go-to for our family! Rachel actually made these cookies right after she turned 10... aren't they gorgeous!? And they taste just as good!

From melskitchencafe.com 

1 cup (16 tablespoons) butter, softened to room temperature

2 cups smooth or chunky peanut butter

1 ½ cups firmly packed light brown sugar

1 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 ½ tablespoons milk

1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract

2 ½ cups flour

1 ½ teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

2 cups chocolate chips (or a combination of peanut butter and chocolate chips)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl combine the butter and peanut butter and beat the mixture until it is light and fluffy. Add the brown and white sugars and mix until well combined. Add the eggs and mix for 1-2 minutes, until the mixture is well combined and light in color. Add the milk and vanilla and mix. Add the dry ingredients and mix just briefly. While there are still large spots of flour, add the chocolate chips (or peanut butter chips or both) and mix until the flour is completely mixed in and the mixture is well combined. Let the cookie dough sit for 15 minutes before scooping onto the baking sheets. It will firm up as it sits.

When ready to bake, scoop tablespoon-sized balls of dough onto baking sheets leaving about 1 to 2 inches in between the cookies to allow for spreading as they bake. Bake for 10-11 minutes, taking care not to overbake in the slightest! Leave the cookies on the baking sheet for 2-3 minutes after baking before removing them to a cooling rack. This will help them set up and be firm enough to transfer without having them overbake in the oven. The cookies may look slightly underbaked but they will firm up as they cool. Resist the urge to eat them warm as they taste much better cooled.

To freeze as dough: Just scoop up the cookies onto a cookie sheet like normal and stick in freezer for 15 minutes. Then put in ziplock bag and bake whenever you have a craving! And of course you can freeze the cookies after they are cooked for a quick tasty treat!

Fajita Marinade

I'm so glad I've been able to try so many marinades, good and bad, in order to bring you the best! This one is seriously top notch! You could totally freeze this, too! Our favorite is to use this recipe for quesedillas and fajitas! It's also great for taquitos and Jen's salad! (Another allrecipes.com favorite!)

¼ cup lime juice

1/3 cup water

2 tbsp oil

4 cloves garlic, crushed

2 tsp soy sauce

1 tsp salt

½ tsp liquid smoke

½ tsp cayenne pepper

½ tsp pepper

Mix everything, add chicken and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.