What to do when you can't find Suddenly Salad....

I went to the grocery store yesterday, had a craving for Suddenly Salad (you know- the box pasta salad mix from Betty Crocker?) . But Kroger had none, no- not one. So, i thought I'd improvise & make my own . There's no exact measurements on this- you just have to wing it ;-) But I'll warn you- my version has a couple of add-ons.....
First, i went over to the pasta aisle & grabbed some Kroger brand rainbow colored rotini, grabbed a can of black olives, moseyed over to the produce section for portabella mushrooms & tomatoes . I was thinking of what to use for seasoning....  italian dressing packet mix! (its on the same aisle as condiments- with the Hidden Valley Ranch dip mixes).  So I took all of my ingredients home. First thing I did was cook the pasta according to the package directions. Once i rinsed, drained, & cooled it- i mixed in the mushrooms & black olives. Then i covered the bowl & put it in the fridge. Next I prepared the italian dressing mix (which according to the directions- you'll need to have some oil & vinager on hand). It was shaken & stirred- then it sat in the fridge overnight to "gel" so to speak. This morning , I got up ready to mix it up. Opened up the bowl, poured the dressing over the pasta . Then I added some Italian Seasoning, salt & pepper, parmesan cheese. Stirred all of it up well. Then i sliced a tomato up for the topping. And believe it or not- it was actually pretty good! I took it to work to share with my co-workers - and it was all gone in a few minutes :-)
Yeah! 

Enjoy :-)

Soooooooo Sweet !!!

It's late at night....you get a hankering for something sweet.... but what ? Here's a couple or recipes for some sweetness when ice cream just won't do ...!

MONKEY BREAD- 

YOU'LL NEED :  4 packages canned biscuits, 2 tsp. cinnamon, 1/4 cup sugar, 1/2 cup margarine, 1/4 cup sugar.

HERE'S WHAT YOU DO : Quarter biscuuits into fourths. Roll into balls. Roll in 1/4 cup sugar  and 2 tsp. cinnamon. Put into a greased bundt pan. Melt 1/2 cup margarine and 1/4 cup sugar. Pour over top . Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

BAYOU BROWNIES-

YOU'LL NEED : 1 cup chopped pecans, 1/2 cup butter (melted), 3 large eggs, 1 box yellow cake mix, 1- 8oz. brick cream cheese (softened), 1-16 oz. package powdered sugar.

HERE'S WHAT YOU DO: Combine pecans, butter, 1 egg, and cake mix- stirring until well blended ; press in the bottom of a lightly greased 9x13 pan.Set aside.  Combine remaining 2 eggs, cream cheese, and powdered sugar in a large mixing bowl ; beat at medium speed with a mixer until smooth. Pour cream cheese mixture over cake mix layer. Bake at 325 degrees for 40 minutes or until cream cheese mixture is set. Let cool completely, then cut into sqaures.

Enjoy :-)

Three Cheese Macaroni

I LOVE Macaroni & Cheese ! Wheather it be out of a box, or from scratch- LOVE it!  I just found this new recipe, cooked it one night when we had some friends over- soooooo good & very cheeeeeeesy !

Three Cheese Macaroni-

 you'll need : 12 ounces dried elbow macaroni, 1 1/2 cups milk, 1/4 cup melted butter, 1/2 tsp. ground white pepper, 1/4 tsp. salt, 8 ounces shredded cheddar cheese, 8 ounces cubed American cheese, 2 ounces mozzarella  cheese (shredded), 20 Ritz crackers (crushed).

here's what you do : preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook macaroni according to package directions; drain & return to pot. Add milk, melted cheese, pepper & salt. Stir in the cheeses. Transfer to a greased 2 quart casserole dish. Bake , uncovered for 15 minutes. Stir mixture. Sprinkle with crushed crackers. Bake 5 minutes more. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Enjoy ;-)

It's HOT outside, and I'm thirsty!!!

If you've been outside lately in our neck of the woods, you would swear its August- instead of May. We've seen a few 90 degree marks, and the humidity- WHEW! And there is nothing better when its hot out than something cold to drink! Today I'm sharing a couple of my favorite punch recipes...

Mixed Fruit Punch Recipe

You'll need : 1-46 oz. can pineapple juice, 1 cup orange juice, 2/3 cup lemon juice, 1 1/2 tbsp. lime juice, 1 cup sugar, 1 -2 liter bottle chilled ginger ale, 1 - l liter chilled club soda, 1 cup strawberries (quartered), 1 thin sliced lemon, 1 thin sliced lime.

Here's what you do :  Combine the first 5 ingredients, stirring until sugar dissolves. Cover & chill for atleast 4 hours. Stir in ginger ale & remaining ingredients.

THIS MAKES 5  1/2 QUARTS

Sangria Punch

You'll need: 3/4 cup lemonade flavor drink mix, 1 quart cranberry juice cocktail, 1 cup cold orange juice, 1 tbsp. lime juice, 3 cups cold club soda, 2 medium oranges (sliced), 2 mediun limes (sliced).

Here's what you do : Empty drink mix into a large pitcher. Add cranberry juice, orange juice, & lime juice- stir until drink mix is dissolved. Refridgerate until ready to serve. Stir in club soda & fruit . Serve over ice cubes in tall glasses.

Enjoy !!

Easy Sides to Share

Looking for a side dish to go with that yummy main coarse? Look no further! And they are veggie related - so it's good for you ;-)

*Broccoli Casserole*

YOU'LL NEED  : 1 -10 oz boxfrozen chopped broccoli, 1 med. grated onion, 1 can cream of mushroom soup, 1 small jar of sliced mushrooms, 1- 8 oz. jar of Cheez Whiz, 1 1/3 cup cooked rice, 1/2 cup butter,

HERE'S WHAT YOU DO : Cook the broccoli & onions according to the directions on the broccoli box. Cook the rice separately. Then mix all of the ingredients , pour into a baking dish thats coated with cooking spray. Then bake at 350 degrees for 30 min.

YUM !!

*Corn Casserole*

YOU'LL NEED  :  1- 16oz. can whole corn, 1-16 oz. can creamed corn, 1 stick butter, 1 -16oz. tub of sour cream, 1 box of Jiffy cornbread mix.

HERE'S WHAT YOU DO : Melt butter in a glass dish. In a mixing bowl , pour box of Jiffy mix- then add in the sour cream. Mix well. Add both cans of corn (include the "liquid" from the cans of corn). Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.

Enjoy :-)

Create-A-Pasta !!

As a lot of you probably already know- I love pasta. I could eat it daily , and be perfectly ok with that ! As we were eating dinner last night (yep, it was pasta), I had a thought for todays post. I used to love eating at Romano's Macaroni Grill, before they closed the one in our area. One of my favorite things there was the "build your own pasta" - i loved the idea of personalizing my pasta. And today, I'm gonna help you to personalize YOUR pasta! Choose from the following :

Pick a Pasta: Ziti, Rigatoni, Bowtie (my personal fave!), Elbow Macaroni, Fettucine, Linguine, Angel Hair

Pick a sauce: ** Garlic Alfredo- you'll need: half a brick of cream cheese (cubed), 1 cup milk, 1/3 cup grated Parmesan Cheese, 1/2 stick butter, 1/2 tsp. garlic powder.

Combine all of these ingredients in a saucepan on medium heat. Stir until cream cheese is melted & mixture is well blended. Add to hot pasta  ;-)

** Cheddar Cheese Sauce-  you'll need: 3 tbsp. butter, 3 tbsp. flour, 1/2 tsp. salt, 1/8 tsp. white pepper (black pepper is ok to use if you can't find white), 1 1/2 cups milk, 1 cup grated Cheddar cheese.

Melt butter, remove from heat. Stir in the flour & seasonings. Gradually add milk, stirring until well mixed. Cook over low heat , stirring constantly until thick & smooth. Cook for 5 minutes longer then add cheese. Stir until smooth & well blended. Serve over pasta ;-)

** Marinara Sauce- you'll need : 1 (28 oz.) can crushed tomatoes
1 sm. onion( diced), 2-3 cloves garlic, 1 tbsp. fresh parsley (or dry), 2 tbsp. olive oil, 6-8 leaves fresh basil (or dry), Salt and pepper to taste.

Lightly saute onions and garlic in oil. Add tomatoes, parsley, salt, and pepper. Simmer about 5 minutes; add basil. Add to pasta!

Now the fun stuff- Toppings !!

Choose your toppings-veggies: mushrooms, olives (black or green), broccoli, carrots, califlower, onions.

  meats: chicken, sausage, ground beef.

seafood : shrimp, clams, crabmeat, mussels, scallops

Ta-dah! Now have fun & make your own designer pasta ;-)

** tip- when doing veggies, add them to your pasta boiling water for the last 3 minutes of the cooking time- then drain. Makes veggies tender !

** cook pasta according to package directions

Enjoy !!!!

Cheesy Chicken & Salsa Skillet

My friend/coworker requested a easy chicken recipe . This is courtesy of wonderful Kraft Food & Family !!  Cooks in 30 minutes- fast & easy! I personally leave the green peppers out - not a pepper fan!  This one is for you, Tara !!!

Cheesy Chicken & Salsa Skillet-
  you'll need : 2 cups multi-grain penne pasta (uncooked) , 1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts (cut into bite size pieces), 1 1/4 cups salsa , 1 cup frozen corn (thawed) , 1 large green pepper (cut into thin strips), 1 cup shredded mexican-style cheese.

**Cook pasta as directed on package. Grab a large non-stick skillet sprayed with cooking spray . Heat over medium heat. Add chicken, cook & stir for 2 min.  Stir in salsa, corn & peppers. Bring to a boil. Simmer for about 10 minutes or until chicken is completely cooked. Drain pasta, add to chicken mixture, & mix lightly. Sprinkle with cheese & let sit for a minute until cheese melts .

Enjoy :-)