Sunday Brunch Bake

I made this this morning for my boyfriend and I and it was a huge hit!! Although it is not super healthy…it was definitely yummy!

From:  Kraft Foods

Prep Time: 20 min Total Time: 50 min

Makes: 12 servings

What You Need!

12 large eggs

1/3 cup  BREAKSTONE'S or KNUDSEN Sour Cream

1 lb. pork sausage

1 cup  sliced fresh mushrooms

1 onion, chopped

2   tomatoes, chopped

1 pkg. (8 oz.) KRAFT Finely Shredded Triple Cheddar Cheese

Make It!

HEAT oven to 400°F.

BEAT eggs and sour cream with whisk until well blended. Pour into greased 13x9-inch baking dish. Bake 10 min. or until egg mixture is softly set. Meanwhile, cook sausage, mushrooms and onions in large skillet on medium heat 6 to 8 min. or until sausage is done, stirring occasionally. Drain.

REDUCE oven temperature to 325°F. Spoon tomatoes over egg layer; cover with sausage mixture and cheese.

BAKE 30 min. or until center is set.

Brie en Croute

I grew up in a very Southern family.  We never really had fancy dinners so I wasn’t exposed to a lot of “fancy” foods growing up.  In elementary school, my best friend always took me out to eat with her family so I got a chance to try lots of different types of cuisines that we never had at home (Chinese, Italian, etc.)  I not only learned to try new things, but I also learned that I liked a lot of different types of food.
Specialty cheeses were something I never knew anything about until I worked at Creative Campus.  We had a lot of wine and cheese receptions and I was constantly having to order “fancy” cheeses.  One cheese that I fell in love with (thanks to not only Creative Campus, but Alex as well) was brie.  Last summer, while browsing the discount section at Barnes and Noble, I ran across this Campbell’s Cookbook.  I knew that I had eaten a ton of recipes that mom got off the soup labels and they were always good, so I thought this might be a good purchase and boy was it worth more than the $2.99 I paid for it! :)
I’ve tried several recipes out of it, but the first one I tried was the Brie en croute.  I made it as an appetizer one night as part of the dinner I made for Alex last year (I made a 3 course dinner…I was so proud)  Anyway, here is the recipe

Click on the picture to go to the website and see a video on how to make it! :) (By the way, mine was not near this pretty, but tasted good!)

Brie en Croute

From: Campbell's Kitchen
Thaw: 40 minutes
Prep: 15 minutes
Bake: 20 minutes
Stand: 1 hour
Serves: 12

Ingredients:

1/2 package of a 17.5 ounce Pepperidge Farm® Puff Pastry Sheets (1 sheet)
1 egg
1 tablespoon water
1/4 cups toasted sliced almonds (optional)
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 (1 pound) Brie cheese round
1 package Pepperidge Farm® Entertaining Quartet Distinctive Crackers

Directions:

Thaw the pastry sheet at room temperature for 40 minutes or until it's easy to handle. Heat the oven to 400°F. Beat the egg and water in a small bowl with a fork.
Unfold the pastry sheet on a lightly floured surface. Roll the pastry sheet into a 14-inch square. Cut off the corners to make a circle. Sprinkle with the almonds and parsley in the center of the circle. Top with the cheese. Brush the edge of the circle with the egg mixture. Fold the sides of the pastry over the cheese. Trim the remaining two sides to 2 inches  from the edge of the cheese. Fold the two sides up onto the cheese. Press the edges to seal. Place seam-side down onto a baking sheet. Decorate the top with pastry scraps, if desired. Brush with the egg mixture.
Bake for 20 minutes or the pastry is until golden brown. Let stand for 1 hour. Serve with the crackers.
My notes:

• It was quite yummy and I was super proud of how it turned out :)  It was a great start to our dinner that evening :) 
• It did not say to take the casing off, but I might do that next time.  It was a little hard to cut into and I like the melted cheese running out :)

Easy Cheesy Chicken Spaghetti

My brother’s football coach used to invite the team over every once in a while for dinner.  Since the coach’s wife had a big group to feed, she made spaghetti quite often.  Not just any spaghetti though…it was chicken spaghetti.  My brother would come home raving about it and finally asked what was in it.  My mom just happened to run across a recipe that was very similar, if not identical, to the one his coach’s wife made for them. 
Mom actually made it this weekend and it has definitely become one of my favorite meals (I’ve even made it for Alex and he liked it too!)
So here is the yummy recipe (from Neighbors magazine October 2008)

EASY CHEESY CHICKEN SPAGHETTI
1 pound spaghetti
2 (13-ounce) cans chicken, drained and flaked
2 (10-ounce) cans cream of chicken soup
1 (10-ounce) can cheddar cheese soup
1 (10-ounce) can mild Rotel tomatoes
2 cups shredded three-cheese blend
Salt and pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cook spaghetti according to package directions and drain. In a large bowl, stir together spaghetti and remaining ingredients. Pour into a greased 9- by 13-inch casserole dish and bake at 350 degrees until bubbly.

I will say, it is super easy to make (like I said, even I’ve made it!) and super yummy!
As always, if you try it, let me know what you think! :)

Steak Salad with Avocado Dressing

Picture from kraftfoods.com
It was super easy to make and although the salad part was nothing impressive, Alex is a huge fan of avocados so that’s what drew us to the recipe.  Anyway, here it is!  (Recipe from kraftfoods.com)
Prep Time: 15 min    Total Time: 29 min
Makes: 4 servings, about 3 cups salad

What You Need!

1 lb. boneless beef sirloin steak
Dash  of chili powder
8 cups torn mixed salad greens
1 cup  cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup sliced red onions
1/4 cup  sliced black olives
1/4 cup KRAFT Light House Italian Dressing
1/2   of a medium ripe avocado, peeled, pitted

Make It!

PREHEAT grill to medium-high heat. Sprinkle steak with chili powder. Grill 5 to 7 min. on each side or until medium doneness (160ºF). Remove from grill; cover loosely with foil. Let stand 5 min.
MEANWHILE, toss greens with tomatoes, onions and olives; place on serving platter. Place dressing and avocados in blender; cover. Blend until smooth.
CUT steak across the grain into thin slices; place over salad. Drizzle with dressing mixture.
My tips (We had to tweak the recipe a little):

• We cooked the steak on the stove instead of on the grill just to save some time.  It was fine, but I think it could use a little more flavor (so you may want to marinate it however you’d like) and of course grilling will add flavor as well.
• We doubled the ingredients for the dressing and we barely had enough!  I highly suggest you do that because it is a thicker dressing, it did not go very far.
• You could easily substitute chicken instead of the steak to make it a healthier (and equally yummy) option :)

Our favorite part was the dressing and we decided it would be yummy just pouring it over meat or chicken so we might try that next time.
This salad was super easy to make, perfect for a summer dinner, and surprisingly very filling :)

Simply Lasagna

I’m a huge fan of Italian food, and almost every Italian restaurant Alex and I go to, he orders lasagna.  My grandmother has always made an excellent lasagna, but it always looks so hard to make.  Well, one night I was determined to find something to make Alex for dinner and I ran across a recipe in my Kraft Food & Family called “Simply Lasagna”.  The best part about this recipe is that you don’t have to boil the noodles before putting it together (which makes it much easier and quicker!) and still tastes really good!  To make things even easier for you, Kraft even has a “how-to” video here.


Picture from Kraft Foods.com
Here’s the recipe:
Prep Time: 20 min      Total Time: 1 hr 35 min
Makes: 12 servings

What You Need!

1 lb. ground beef
2-1/2 cups  KRAFT Shredded Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella Cheese, divided
1 container (15 oz.) POLLY-O Natural Part Skim Ricotta Cheese
1/2 cup  KRAFT Grated Parmesan Cheese, divided
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1   egg, lightly beaten
1 jar (26 oz.) spaghetti sauce
1 cup  water
12 lasagna noodles, uncooked

Make It!

HEAT oven to 350°F. Brown meat in large skillet on medium-high heat. Meanwhile, mix 1-1/4 cups mozzarella, ricotta cheese, 1/4 cup Parmesan, parsley and egg until well blended; set aside.
DRAIN meat; return to skillet. Stir in spaghetti sauce. Add water to empty sauce jar; cover with lid and shake well. Add to meat mixture; stir until well blended. Spread 1 cup sauce onto bottom of 13x9-inch baking dish; top with layers of 3 lasagna noodles, 1/3 of the ricotta cheese mixture and 1 cup sauce. Repeat layers twice. Top with remaining noodles, sauce and cheeses. Cover with greased foil.
BAKE 1 hour or until heated through, removing foil after 45 min. Let stand 15 min. before cutting to serve.

My Notes:

• I’m not sure why, but mine didn’t turn out quite as pretty as the picture.  It was still yummy though!

Strawberry Pretzel Squares

My aunt makes “Strawberry Pretzel Salad” every year for the holidays and my mom absolutely loves it!  When she saw this recipe in one of my recipes books, she requested I make it, so I did.  It was a hit :)

From:  Kraft Foods
Prep Time: 25 min  Total Time: 4 hr 55 min     Makes: 20 servings

 

What You Need!

2 cups finely crushed pretzels
1/2 cup  sugar, divided
2/3 cup butter or margarine, melted
1-1/2 pkg.  (8 oz. each) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
2 Tbsp. milk
1 cup  thawed COOL WHIP Whipped Topping
2 cups boiling water
1 pkg.  (6 oz.) JELL-O Strawberry Flavor Gelatin
1-1/2 cups cold water
1 qt.  (4 cups) strawberries, sliced

 

Make It!

HEAT oven to 350°F.
MIX pretzel crumbs, 1/4 cup sugar and butter. Press onto bottom of 13x9-inch pan. Bake 10 min. Cool.
BEAT cream cheese, remaining sugar and milk until blended. Stir in COOL WHIP; spread over crust. Refrigerate.
ADD boiling water to gelatin mix in large bowl; stir 2 min. until completely dissolved. Stir in cold water. Refrigerate 1-1/2 hours or until thickened (spoon drawn through leaves definite impression). Stir in strawberries; spoon over cream cheese layer. Refrigerate 3 hours or until firm.
My Notes:

• I didn’t crush up the pretzels as finely as it directed, but it still tasted good (although it was not near as pretty as the picture)
• I used as much lowfat stuff as possible:
• Skim Milk
• Reduced Fat Cream Cheese
• Lite Cool Whip
• I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter Cooking Butter

 

Peach Mug Pie

I made this as a dessert to go along with my penne with sausage meal and it was equally as yummy.

I pretty much followed the recipe exactly except that I bought whipped cream instead of making it (hence the marked out ingredients and directions:))

From:  Sandra Lee, Food Network

Prep:  5 min    Cook: 15 min.   Yields: 4 Servings

• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 (15-ounce) can peach halves, juice reserved and peaches chopped
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 3 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
• 4 graham crackers, crumbled
• 1 pint vanilla ice cream, softened
• 1 container whipped cream

Directions

In a small bowl whisk together 2 tablespoons water with the cornstarch. In a small pot over medium heat reserved peach juice, cornstarch mixture, brown sugar and salt. Once the sauce thickens, about 5 minutes, stir in the chopped peaches.

In a chilled mixing bowl whip heavy cream with confectioners' sugar until soft peaks form. Use 1 cup for mug pies, and reserve the rest for the Caramel Cocktail recipe.

Begin assembling peach pies by in clear glass mugs. Place a layer of graham crackers at the bottom, then a big spoonful of the peach pie filling. Sprinkle with another layer of graham crackers. Top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, then another layer of graham crackers followed by a dollop of whipped cream.

Notes: 

• I put a lot of peaches in the glasses, so mine didn’t quite yield 4 servings.  It was very good that way so I might just double that part of the recipe instead of decreasing the amount of peaches.
• I’m also thinking about trying this same sort of method with banana pudding.  I’ll let you know how it turns out :)