Happy Election Night! I have a feeling it's gonna be a long one!

I found this idea over at Plain Chicken. She has some *amazing* quick dinner ideas. These could not be easier, or more delicious.

 {Ingredients: Crescent rolls, roast beef, provolone cheese, spicy mustard, au jus mix}

 {Spread mustard onto rolled out crescent, top with roast beef and cheese}

 {Pop into the oven at 375 for 15 minutes}

 {Whisk up the au jus while the crescents are baking}

 {Fresh out of the oven}

{Plated up and ready to eat}

French Dip Crescents, from Plain Chicken

1/2 pound deli roast beef, thinly sliced

4 slices provolone cheese
4 tsp horseradish sauce or Ranch dressing ( I used spicy mustard)
1 can refrigerated crescent rolls
1 packet Au Jus Gravy mix

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Separate crescent rolls into 8 triangles.  Spread 1/2 teaspoon horseradish sauce or Ranch dressing on each crescent.  Top each crescent with 1/2 slice provolone cheese and roast beef.  Roll up crescents and place on baking sheet.  Bake for approximately 15 minutes or until golden brown.

While crescents are baking, make Au Jus according to directions on packet.  Serve with warm crescents.

Cake Batter Fudge

For 'food day' at work this week I made Cake Batter Fudge, found over at Girl Meets Life. Check out her blog, she has all kinds of awesome cake batter recipes!

{cut into chunks}

{ready for a close up}

{the remnants}

Cake Batter Fudge, from Girl Meets Life

2 cups yellow cake mix

2 cups powdered sugar

1 stick butter

1/4 cup milk

1/2 cup rainbow sprinkles

Place cake mix and powdered sugar in a large bowl and combine. Pour in milk, top with stick of butter, and microwave for 2 minutes. Immediately begin mixing everything together-- the butter may not be completely melted but will as you continue mixing. Lastly, mix in the rainbow sprinkles, then pour fudge into a greased baking dish.  Chill for at least 2 hours before cutting.

Crock Pot Potato Soup

I found this recipe last week and it could NOT be easier or yummier. The soup itself contains about 4 ingredients (not including seasonings & toppings) and just cooks all by itself in the crock pot. I didn't take a lot of pictures for this post, only because there wasn't much to do!

Here is what everything looked like when combined in the crock pot and cooked for 7 hours. This is the hashbrowns, cream of chicken soup, chicken broth, cream cheese, and seasonings.

The finished product ready to eat!

Crock Pot Potato Soup, adapted from Pearls, Handcuffs, and Happy Hour

1 30 oz bag of frozen, shredded hash browns (Ore-Ida worked well)

3 14.5 oz cans of chicken broth

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 1/2 blocks of cream cheese (8 oz), softened

Garlic powder, salt, pepper to taste

In a crock pot, combine everything except the cream cheese. Cook for 6-8 hours on low heat. About 1 hour before serving, add the softened cream cheese and keep heated until thoroughly melted. Serve with cheese, sour cream, bacon bits, green onions, etc as toppings.

S'mores Snack Mix

Happy Sunday! This is another Pinterest recipe...s'mores snack mix! This treat does need to be made AND eaten on the same day, otherwise it will be soggy. 

The ingredients: Golden Grahams, Karo light syrup, marshmallows, milk chocolate chips, butter, and vanilla

Start by melting together the corn syrup, butter, and chocolate chips.

Stir constantly until smooth. Remove from heat, and stir in vanilla.

Pour over Golden Grahams until the cereal is coated in chocolate. Stir in marshmallows.

Pour mixture onto a cookie sheet and press into the pan. Enjoy!

S'mores Snack Mix, from Real Mom Kitchen

9 cups Golden Grahams cereal

3/4 c Karo light corn syrup

3 tbsp butter

11.5 oz package of milk chocolate chips

1 tsp vanilla

3 cups mini marshmallows

Grease a cookie sheet with butter.

Measure 9 cups of Golden Grahams into a large mixing bowl. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine Karo syrup, butter, and milk chocolate chips. Stir constantly until chocolate chips are melted and ingredients are smooth and combined.

Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Pour the chocolate mixture over the Golden Grahams and stir quickly until cereal is coated. Stir in mini marshmallows.

Pour mixture onto the greased cookie sheet and press into the pan.

*Side note: After trying it, we decided the flavor of the vanilla was a little overpowering for us. I would probably omit it completely if we made it again, but it's all a personal preference. :)

Crock Pot Chicken & Dumplings

I found THE BEST chicken and dumplings recipe on Pinterest. It is also extremely easy and made in a crock pot. We tried this a couple of Sundays ago and it's our new favorite. 

Add your chicken breasts (I used 3), butter, cream of chicken soup, and chicken broth to the crock pot. I seasoned everything with garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Cook on High for 4-6 hours. (I cooked mine for 6)

Cut up 5 flaky refrigerated biscuits into 8 pieces each. 

Remove the chicken breasts and shred the meat. 

Add your biscuit pieces and shredded chicken back into the crock pot and stir. Cook on High for another 30 minutes.

Serve it up! This is the perfect winter comfort food.

Crock Pot Chicken & Dumplings, adapted from Polish the Stars
{Print this recipe!}

1 lb of boneless, skinless chicken breasts (3-5)

2 tbsp unsalted butter

2 cans (10.5 oz) condensed cream of chicken soup

1 can (14 oz) chicken broth

5 large, flaky refrigerated biscuits

Garlic powder, salt, and pepper to season (no measurements, I just eyeballed it)

Place chicken in crock pot and top with butter. Add cream of chicken soup and chicken broth. Season with garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Cook on High for 4-6 hours.

Remove chicken from crock pot and use a fork to shred. Return chicken to the crock pot. Cut each uncooked biscuit into 8 pieces and stir into the chicken mixture. Continue to cook on High for 30 minutes. Serve hot.

Sausage Roll-Ups

This is a super easy and yummy recipe that is perfect for breakfast or even as an appetizer. I use this filling for a few different recipes ; it is good mixed into scrambled eggs and at Christmas I use it to make stuffed mushrooms. 

Start by browning a roll of Jimmy Dean HOT sausage. (It's really not that spicy, just more flavorful)

After the meat is browned, mix it with a block of softened cream cheese, 1/2 a bag of shredded parmesan cheese, and garlic salt to taste.

Spread the cream cheese mixture onto the rolled out crescent roll dough.

Roll the dough up into a log. Mine is always a little bigger b/c we like bigger slices and more filling. Let the log chill in the freezer for 20 minutes to get firm.

Cut the log into about 1/4" slices, place on a cookie sheet and bake at 375 for about 15 minutes.

Ready to eat!

Sausage Roll-Ups

1 Roll Jimmy Dean HOT sausage

1 block (8 oz) cream cheese

1 bag shredded parmesan cheese

1 tube crescent rolls

Garlic salt to taste

Brown sausage and drain.

In a large bowl, combine sausage, softened cream cheese, parmesan cheese, and garlic salt.

Remove crescent roll dough from tube, do NOT separate. Roll dough into a rectangle and seal the perforated areas with your fingers.

Spread the cream cheese mixture over the dough in an even layer. Roll the dough lengthwise and put in freezer for 20 minutes until firm.

Cut dough into approx. 1/4 " slices and lay on baking sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes.

Beef Stroganoff

This recipe for Beef Stroganoff is one of our favorites, and SO easy. 

Cast of  (Non-refrigerated) Characters: Extra wide egg noodles, cream of mushroom soup, beef bouillon cubes, flour, garlic powder

Refrigerated Items: Lean ground beef, sour cream

In a large skillet, brown the ground beef and pour off the fat. 

After browning the ground beef, start boiling the egg noodles.

Add the flour, bouillon, soup and water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes.

Combine the remaining flour and sour cream, stir into beef mixture and pour over egg noodles.

Beef Stroganoff

1 package (1 lb) extra wide egg noodles

1 lb lean ground beef

1 tsp garlic powder

2 tbsp flour

2 cubes beef bouillon

1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup

1 cup water

1 8 oz container sour cream

In large skillet, over medium heat, brown ground beef; pour off fat. Cook noodles according to package directions and set aside.  Add garlic powder, 1 tbsp flour and bouillon, then soup and water to ground beef and mix well. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Combine sour cream and remaining 1 tbsp flour. Stir into beef mixture and heat through. Serve over the cooked egg noodles.

Crispy Cheddar Chicken

Last night I tried out a new recipe for Crispy Cheddar Chicken (found here). The prep was a little time consuming, but the results were good! B asked that this one be put into the regular dinner rotation so that's always a good sign.

 Start by cutting 3-4 large chicken breasts into 3 pieces each.

Grind up 2 sleeves of Ritz Crackers in your food processor, then add to the shredded cheddar cheese. The original recipe called for the cheese and crackers to be separated to coat the chicken, but I couldn't get the cheddar cheese to stick easily on its own. 

Here's the assembly line. Dip your chicken into the milk, then coat in the cheddar/cracker mixture.

Ready for the oven! Bake at 400 degrees for 35 minutes covered with foil, then another 10 minutes uncovered.

Start the sauce once the chicken has 10 minutes left to go. Combine the butter, sour cream, and cream of chicken soup and heat through.

Here's a pic of B's plate. Serve the chicken with the sauce ladled on top. The ginormous side of mashed potatoes is optional. :)

Crispy Cheddar Chicken, adapted from Jamie Cooks it Up!

For the chicken:

3-4 large chicken breasts

2 sleeves Ritz crackers

1/4 t salt

1/8 t pepper

1/2 C milk

3 C shredded cheddar cheese

For the sauce:

1 can cream of chicken soup

2 T sour cream

2 T butter

Cut each chicken breast into 3 large chunks.

In a small food processor, grind up the Ritz crackers.

Pour the milk and cheese/cracker mixture into 2 separate pans. Toss the salt and pepper into the cheese/cracker mixture and stir to combine.

Dip each piece of chicken into the milk, then the cheese/cracker mixture.

Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray and lay the chicken in the pan.

Cover the pan with tin foil and bake at 400 degrees for 35 minutes. Remove the tin foil, bake for an add'l 10 minutes, until the edges of the chicken are golden and crispy.

In a medium sized saucepan combine the cream of chicken soup, sour cream, and butter with a whisk. Stir over medium high heat until it is hot. Serve over the chicken.

Brown Sugar Cupcakes w/ Brown Butter Frosting

Last night I tried out a new recipe for brown sugar cupcakes. I think the big difference in these vs. other cupcakes is the buttermilk. It adds a little something special! The frosting gets a nice flavor from the browned butter too. 

Here's the cast of characters for the cupcakes: Eggs, Baking Powder, AP Flour, Salt, Brown Sugar, and Buttermilk (Not pictured: Stick O' Butter)

Here's what your cupcake batter looks like after mixing it all together. Fill your cupcakes about 3/4 full then bake at 325 degrees for 20-25 minutes. ( I did 25.)

Fresh out of the oven! Let these cool for at least 10 minutes while you make the frosting.

This is the color your butter should be after cooking it over medium heat for about 10 minutes, kind of an amber color.

Mix in the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla.

Frost your cooled cupcakes and you're done! The original recipe called for a dip and swirl method of frosting but that did NOT work out well for me. I just went ahead and frosted them the old-fashioned way with a butter knife. :)

Brown Butter Cupcakes w/ Brown Butter Frosting adapted from Kitchen Trial and Error

For the cupcakes:

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, softened

1 cup + 2 tbsp light brown sugar

2 eggs, room temperature

6 tbsp buttermilk

For the frosting:

1/2 stick butter

1 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 tbsp milk

Preheat the oven to 325F and line the muffin tins with paper liners.

Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, until incorporated.

Mix in baking powder and salt, alternate adding flour and buttermilk until everything is incorporated.

Fill muffin tins 3/4 full. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Cool in the tin for at least 10 minutes and then remove. Cool completely before frosting.

While waiting for the cupcakes to cool, make the frosting. Start by melting the butter over medium heat in a pan that is NOT nonstick. Cook until the butter turns a nutty amber color, 6-10 minutes. Pour off the browned butter (avoid getting the burnt black sediment in the bowl) into a glass or heat proof bowl. Add the sugar, vanilla, and milk. Mix until smooth.

Frost the cupcakes once they are completely cooled.

Salted Caramel Bars

I made a new dessert this weekend, salted caramel bars. They were delicious, but I have to warn you they contain a LOT of butter. As in 1 lb.

(source)

I heart Paula Deen, and making this recipe in all its buttery glory definitely reminded me of her. I found this recipe on Pinterest (shocker!) and based on its rave reviews thought I would give it a try.

Start out by mixing your butter and sugars. Add in the vanilla then gradually sift in the flour until a soft dough forms.

This is what happens when you use a hand mixer in my kitchen.

Press your bottom crust (1/3 of the dough, chill the remaining 2/3) evenly into a 9x13 baking dish, bake, and let cool for 15 minutes. While it's cooling go ahead and melt your caramels and heavy cream together.

Pour the caramel mixture onto the bottom crust, then add sea salt evenly across the top. Don't overdo it! Next, crumble the rest of your chilled dough over the top of the caramel. Stick it back in the oven for about 30 minutes.

Here's what it looks like when it's done and cut into squares. Sorry for the yellowish tint on this pic, not sure what was up with my camera!

The dough has a shortbread taste and texture and the meltiness of the salted caramel just adds to the flavor. SO good and a big hit with all who tried them! Definitely a keeper.

Salted Caramel Butter Bars from Cookies and Cups

For the Crust:

1 lb. salted butter room temp

1 cup sugar

1½ cups powdered sugar

2 Tbs vanilla
4 cups All Purpose flour

For the Filling:

1 bag (14 oz.) caramel candies (about 50 individual caramels), unwrapped

1/3 cup milk or cream

½ teaspoon vanilla

1 T. coarse sea salt (optional)

To make the crust:

In a large bowl, combine the butter and sugars. Using mixer on medium speed, beat together until creamy. Add the vanilla and beat until combined. Sift the flour into the butter mixture and beat on low speed until a smooth soft dough forms.

Spray a 9×13 inch baking pan lightly with non-stick cooking spray. Press one-third of the dough evenly into the pan to form a bottom crust.

Preheat to 325F.

Bake until firm and the edges are a pale golden brown,  approx 20 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack and let cool about 15 minutes.

While the bottom crust is baking and the remaining dough is chilling, make the caramel filling. Place the unwrapped caramels in a microwave-safe bowl. Add the cream. Microwave on high for 1 minute. Remove from the microwave and stir until smooth. If caramels are not completely melted, microwave on high for 30-second intervals, stirring after each interval, until smooth.

Pour the caramel filling over the crust. If you are going to salt the caramel sprinkle it on caramel layer now.

Remove the remaining chilled dough from the refrigerator and crumble it evenly over the caramel.

Return the pan to the oven and bake until the filling is bubbly and the crumbled shortbread topping is firm and lightly golden, about 25 – 30 minutes.

Let cool before cutting into squares.