Tuesday, August 21, 2012

#12 - REESE'S Peanut Butter Bark

Today's recipe was so easy, I'm just going to post the pictures I took and link to actual recipe because I don't know how REESE'S would feel with me copying theirs here!

Regardless, it was simple and OH SO YUMMY! A great holiday gift idea!

All you need: 
  • 2 packages (4 oz. each) HERSHEY'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate Baking Bar, broken into pieces
  • 1-2/3 cups (10-oz. pkg.) REESE'S Peanut Butter Chips
  • 1 tablespoon shortening

  • 1/2 cup roasted peanuts or toasted almonds, coarsely chopped (I skipped adding nuts to mine!)

  • FOR INSTRUCTIONS: GO HERE!

Melt

Dollop

Dollop some more

Swirl and chill.

Break it up!

It really is that easy!


That's it! Have a great meal and express your saucy side!

Heather

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

#11 - Bacon Egg Cups

What it was supposed to look like:


Confession time: This meal was actually cooked by my husband, not me. That already gives it an unfair advantage, but I'll try to remain fair :)

Breakfast is my husband's domain, as we really only experience on the weekends and I rarely eat it, so I let him take this one over.

What you'll need for 12 cups (muffins?):

  • 12 slices of bacon
  • 8 eggs
  • 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
  • pinch of salt
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Whip everything except bacon together with a fork.














Spray 12 muffin pans (holes?) with non stick spray.
Wrap each piece of bacon inside each muffin tin.















Fill each muffin tin 3/4 of the way full with egg mixture.



Bake 30-35 minutes or until eggs don't jiggle.












Use a knife to scoop them out, serve immediately.





Each cup is about 100 calories so I'm taking it upon myself to categorize it as healthy too! (Only because of the high protein, low cal!)


The verdict:
On the website, the author posted that readers had commented about partially cooking the bacon in advance. I'd recommend that. The only real downside to this recipe was that the bacon was a little chewy and "clear" in parts. A crunchier bite might make this one a total winner. For 100 calories a pop, I'm totally willing to try it again! Especially if he's the one cooking it!




That's it! Have a great meal and express your saucy side!

Heather

Monday, August 13, 2012

# 10 -Creamy Chicken and Broccoli Casserole

What it was supposed to look like:



First, let me say, I had mixed feelings about attempting this one. I, personally, LOVE a good casserole. But my family. . . eh, they're a little less than joyous whenever I attempt one. But this one had all the makings of something I had to try, and I don't mind making them suffer a little whenever possible, so I gave it a go!

What you need:
  • 3 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded (I used 2 packages of raw chicken tenders and think I got extra chicken. Recommend this. Cooks more quickly and quicker to shred.)
  • 2 cans of cream of chicken soup (I used 99% fat free, which was perfectly fine)
  • 1 cup mayo
  • 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
  • 1 cup colby and monterey jack shredded cheese
  • 1 bag frozen broccoli, chopped (I used florets instead)
  • salt and pepper to taste

Cook the chicken and shred it if you haven't already. Cooking the broccoli is optional. Original recipe doesn't call for it, but I like my broccoli soft so I let it cook for about 10 minutes before adding it to the mix.

Mix together all ingredients, then pour into a greased baking dish. Cook at 375 for 30 minutes until bubbly. NOTE: I cooked mine for about 20 minutes and added more cheese to the top to cook for the remaining 10. If you love cheese like I do, I highly recommend this. You could also top with crushed Ritz crackers and drizzle with butter if you'd like to try a variation on topping!

Serve over rice! (My daughter hates rice, so she skipped this part. Her meal looked a little more soupy than the rest of ours, but... well, I'll tell you in a minute how she felt about that.)

I forgot to take a picture of the final result :( Just trust me. It looked FAB!

THE RESULTS:
LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE!
My non-casserole enthusiast family even loved it! Even my daughter whose meal was a little soupier than ours. It's going in the favorites file and I can guarantee it's going in my Potluck file too!

Side note: I'm thinking this might be an amazing topper for Baked Potatoes when looking for something to do with the leftovers! Or even for night one.

That's it! Have a great meal and express your saucy side!

Heather