Crock Pot Spinach & Tortellini

This meal is delicious, doesn't require a laundry list of ingredients and doesn't take long to prepare.  Did I mention it's delicious?

All you need is:

1 package 1/3 less fat cream cheese

1 package Buitoni three cheese tortellini

1 bag frozen chopped spinach

1 can vegetable broth

1 can roasted garlic tomatoes

Combine in crock pot.

Cook on high for 3 hours, or low for 4-5

And that's it!  My kids even like this & my husband loves it!

And the calorie count is 487 calories for 1 cup

Chocolatey Pretzel Treats

These are so easy to make!  My kids had fun helping with them and we all loved them, they make a great snack!  We did these over Christmas so we used the Christmas color M&Ms but you can use the regular kind or whatever holiday colors are out at the moment!

All you need is:
1 Bag of small pretzels
1 bag M&Ms (I used peanut ones, I accidentally grabbed those instead of plain but they worked great)
1 bag hershey kisses, or hugs (I also tried the cookies & cream kind and they didn't work out as well as the plain chocolate)

Heat the oven to 170 degrees.  Place pretzels in a single layer and place kisses on top of each pretzel.  Bake 4-6 minutes until the chocolate feels soft.  Do not over do it though, you don't want a chocolate puddle!  Press M&Ms into the center of each treat.  Allow to cool and then place in the fridge for about 10 minutes to set.

Herb roasted turkey

This was my first turkey EVER!  I was so nervous but it turned out perfect, so moist & not dry at all!  It had wonderful flavor too :)  I will definitely make this again!

12 lb whole turkey (Mine was 20 I just had to cook a little longer)
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 tbsp garlic powder
2 tsp dried basil
1 tsp poultry seasoning
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 cups chicken broth or stock

Directions:
1.  Preheat oven  to 325 degrees.  Clean turkey (discard giblets and organs), and place in roasting pan with a lid.  (I did mine in a roaster)

2.  In a small bowl, combine olive oil, melted butter, and seasonings.  Using a basting brush, apply the mixture to the outside of the uncooked turkey.  Poor chicken broth in the bottom of the roasting pan and cover.  (I also injected mine with the mixture)

3.  Bake for 3 to 3 1/2 hours or until the internal temp of the thickest part of the thigh measures 180 degrees F.  Remove bird from oven and allow to stand for about 30 minutes before carving.  (Since I had an extra 8 lbs on my turkey, I cooked an extra hour and just kept checking the temp til it hit 180)

I found the original recipe on allrecipes.com but after reading reviews, changed it a little to my liking.

Turkey Veggie Tray

 Found this cute idea on Pinterest!  This was an easy project, cutting up the veggies was really the hardest part lol.  And it's a fun project for the kiddos to help out with!  Mine got a kick out of it!

Here's what we used:

1 bag celery

2 bags of the cut up broccoli & cauliflower

1 bag mini carrots

1 red bell pepper

1 green bell pepper

1 yellow bell pepper

2 cucumbers

1 cheese ball

For the face I just used pieces of an olive for the eyes, and a red bell pepper for the head, and the yellow bell pepper for the beak.  

I also put some ranch on the side for those that prefer that over the cheese ball and a bowl of olives on the side too :)

Double Layer Pumpkin Cheesecake

This was my first year having Thanksgiving at my house.  I was a bit nervous about the whole thing, what if the turkey was dry?  What if I didn't make enough food for everyone?  Or burned something?  But I am so proud of myself because everything turned out amazing!

I had never made a cheese cake.  Or a pumpkin pie.  Or home made pie crust.  BUT I did all of that in this one delicious recipe (Well, 2 actually.  Crust and the pie).  Every body loved it!  It is definitely a keeper and the pie crust was awesome!  

I found both recipes on www.allrecipes.com :)

Double Layer Pumpkin Cheesecake:

2 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

2 eggs

1 (9 inch) prepared graham cracker crust

1/2 cup pumpkin puree

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 pinch ground cloves

1 pinch ground nutmeg

1/2 cup frozen whipped topping, thawed

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 325 degrees F

2.  In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar and vanilla.  Beat until smooth.  Blend in eggs one at a time.  Remove 1 cup of batter and spread into bottom of crust; set aside.

3.  Add pumpkin, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg to the remaining batter and stir gently until well blended.  Carefully spread over the batter in the crust.

4.  Bake in preheated oven for 35-40 minutes or until center is almost set.  Allow to cool, then refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight.  Cover with whipped topping before serving.

Pie crust:

1 1/2 cups finely ground graham cracker crumbs

1/3 cup white sugar

6 tbsp butter, melted

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon 

Directions:

1.  Mix graham cracker crumbs, sugar, melted butter or margarine, and cinnamon until well blended.  Press mixture into an 8 or 9 inch pie plate.

2.  Bake at 375 degrees F for 7 minutes.  Cool.  If the recipe calls for unbaked pie shell, just chill for one hour.  

Jambalaya

My husband and I love cajun food!  I found this recipe a few years ago on www.allrecipes.com and was so glad I did!  You can easily double this recipe, which I always do when I make it because it goes so fast!

Ingredients:
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 lb smoked sausage (or andouille if you can find it, we can't this far north!), cut into 1/4 inch thick slices
1 large onion, chopped
1 cup chopped green bell pepper
1 cup chopped celery
salt to taste
1/2 tsp cajun seasoning, or to taste
1 cup uncooked white rice
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes with juice
1 tbsp minced garlic
2 cups chicken broth
3 bay leaves
1/4 tsp dried thyme leaves
1 lb peeled and deveined medium shrimp (30-40 per lb)

Directions:
1.  Heat the olive oil in a dutch oven or large pot over medium heat.  Stir in the sausage, and cook for 2 minutes.  Add the onion, bell pepper, and celery; season with salt and cajun seasoning.  Cook and stir until the vegetable are soft, 6-8 minutes.
2.  Stir in the rice until evenly coated in the veggie mixture, then pour in the tomatoes with juice, garlic, chicken broth, bay leaves, and thyme leaves.  Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, then reduce to medium-low, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
3.  After 20 minutes, stir in the shrimp and cook 10 minutes uncovered until the shrimp turn pink and are no longer translucent in the center.
4.  Remove the pot from the heat and let stand 5 minutes.  Discard the bay leaves before serving.

Makes 8 servings.

Christmas Card Ideas

Here are a few of my favorites from last year that we used on our Christmas card!