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If you put this out as an appetizer before dinner, during a game or  party, I can guarantee it will be GONE. You won’t have to worry about leftovers with this dip. 

• 2 eight oz bricks of cream cheese (room temperature makes it easier to mix)
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 eight oz jar salsa
• 3/4 to 1 lb browned ground beef, drained and cooled
• chopped lettuce, cubed tomatoes, shredded cheese
• tortilla chips

Combine cream cheese, sour cream, and salsa with a mixer (using the mixer makes it easier).  Add in the ground beef.  Spread into a pie plate.  Top with cheddar, lettuce, tomatoes, and more cheddar.  Serve with tortilla chips.

You can find Katie at A Shopper’s Quest.

image sxc.hu

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And after baking . . .

Mmmmmm. Warm delicious goodness. And oh so easy to do.

So far, I’ve tried this recipe with canned peaches, blueberries, and strawberries.  It’s simple to switch it around according to your tastes and easy to double the recipe as well.

You will need:

cooking spray
1 stick butter or margarine
1 cup sugar
1 cup self-rising flour
1 cup milk
2 cups fruit (approximate)*

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray 9×13 glass pan with cooking spray.  Put 1 stick of butter into pan and bake until butter is melted.  Add 1 cup sugar and stir.  Add 1 cup self-rising flour and stir.  Add 1 cup milk and stir.  Add 2 cups fruit (drained) and stir all ingredients together.  Bake at 350 degrees until light brown (approximately 35-45 minutes).

Have you ever made this easy cobbler recipe?

images (c) Karen Weideman

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For this recipe you’ll only need 1/2 cup cold butter, thawed or canned peaches, and one pouch of the Betty Crocker oatmeal cookie mix.  The preparation only takes 10 minutes.  It would be great to keep these ingredients on hand for a quick dessert.  You just never know when someone will stop by or you’ll need something fast for the covered dish dinner at church that you forgot about. 

Of course, I’m sure this recipe is very versatile.  Since it’s blueberry and strawberry season, I’m sure this recipe would also taste great with other fruits.  And if you’re feeling like you could cook with more ingredients, you might want to check out this recipe for Ridiculously Easy Cobbler.  It also works well with blackberries, blueberries, peaches, strawberries, and more.

Happy baking!

image from betty crocker

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Mochaccino Dream

Ice Cream Tiramisu

Mocha Cheesecake Bars

Coffee Pecan Cake

Caramel Macchiato Cheesecake

No-Bake Mocha Roll

Java Jolt Ice Cream Pie

Cappuccine Cheesecake

Let me know if you decide to make any of these.  I’d like to know how it turned out.

Enjoy!

image from woman’s day

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• 1/2 lb Sage flavored ground sausage
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 3/4 cup dried cranberries (4 oz) craisins
• 1 1/2 cup Monterey Jack cheese shredded
• 9-inch deep dish pie crust
• 3 eggs beaten
• 1 1/2 cup half and half

*The frozen deep dish shell is not big enough.  It overflows.  It works better if you use a refrigerated crust and your own pie plate.  You can also put the extra egg mixture in a custard dish with a little bit of the other ingredients to have a small quiche without the crust.

Crumble and cook the sausage and onion.  Remove from heat and stir in the craisins.  Sprinkle cheese on bottom of pie crust.  Add sausage mixture.  Combine eggs and half and half. Whisk until mixed, not frothy.  Pour over sausage mixture.  Bake at 375F for 30 to 45 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean.  Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.  Makes 6 servings.

This is simple to double and would really recommend it.  It warms up great later on.

Thanks to my friend Karen for sending me this recipe and photo.  It looks yummy!  Image (c) Karen Weideman.

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____________________________________________________________
Simply Steamed Island Blue Mussels with Three Different Flavours
Chef Michael Smith

Mussels are super simple to cook and travel with their own built-in sauce base.  They’re easy to steam and when you do, they release a flavourful broth that many connoisseurs swear is the best part.  That broth can be flavoured any way you care too so mussels are also a great ingredient to free style with.

Serves four

Five to six pounds of mussels, rinsed well with lots of cold running water.

Choose 1 of the following three flavouring groups:

• A 12 ounce bottle of your favourite local beer, a sliced onion, a tablespoon of butter
• 1 cup of orange juice, 1 tablespoon of curry powder
• 1 cup of whatever wine you’re drinking, 1 tablespoon of mustard, 1 teaspoon of dried thyme, 1 tablespoon of butter

Wash the mussels very well and discard any that are open and won’t close with a bit of gentle finger pressure.

Pour the liquid and other aromatic ingredients of your choice into a large pot with a tight fitting lid.  Stir to combine and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat.  Add the mussels and cover with the lid.  Shake the pot occasionally and cook until all the mussels have opened, ten minutes or so.

Spoon out the mussels and into a serving bowl.  Strain the remaining liquid to remove any broken shell or lingering sand in it.  Serve the mussels with lots of bread for soaking up the flavourful juice!

Enjoy!

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• 3 large cucumbers, peeled, thinly sliced
• 1 cup white vinegar
• 3/4 cup water
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• dash of ground cayenne pepper
• 1/8 tsp black pepper

Combine all of the ingredients except the cucumber and cook it until the sugar melts.  Pour the warm mixture over the cucumbers.  Store covered in the refrigerator.

This tastes better if you allow it to sit in the refrigerator for a few hours before serving it.

Enjoy!

image (c) Karen Weideman

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Ingredients:

•  4 tablespoons flour 
• 4 tablespoons sugar 
• 2 tablespoons cocoa 
• 1 egg
• 3 tablespoons milk 
• 3 tablespoons oil 
• 3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional) 
• A small splash of vanilla extract 
• 1 large coffee mug (MicroSafe)

Directions:

Add dry ingredients to the mug (flour, sugar, cocoa) and mix well.  Add the egg and mix thoroughly.  Add the milk and egg and mix thoroughly.  Add the chocolate chips (optional) and vanilla and mix.  Cook mug in microwave 3 minutes at 1000 watts. The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don’t be alarmed!  Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate if desired.

I was concerned that my mug was not large enough, so I cooked my cake in a 2 cup measuring cup.  It was plenty big and I’m sure the results were the same.

My thoughts:  This cake is no where nearly as good as an oven baked cake, but it is very comparable to a Betty Crocker Warm Delight and it is much cheaper!  I drizzled some caramel sauce over mine to make it taste better.  I found the cake portion to be too much for me.  I shared it with my daughter.  I think you could add some different items to the cake to change it up a bit.

Have you tried the Five Minute Chocolate Mug Cake?

image (c) Karen Weideman

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You will need:

cooking spray
1 stick butter or margarine
1 cup sugar
1 cup self-rising flour
1 cup milk
2 cups fruit (approximate)*

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray 9×13 glass pan with cooking spray.  Put 1 stick of butter into pan and bake until butter is melted.  Add 1 cup sugar and stir.  Add 1 cup self-rising flour and stir.  Add 1 cup milk and stir.  Add 2 cups fruit (drained) and stir all ingredients together.  Bake at 350 degrees until light brown (approximately 35-45 minutes).

*I usually made this cobbler with fresh blueberries. I have made it with canned peaches.  Simply drain the peaches and slice them into bite size pieces. Other fruits work well too.

The cobbler in this picture doesn’t look as good as normal because I used frozen blueberries.  The frozen blueberries are more juicy and cause the cobbler dough to have the blueberry color in it.  It was still delicious though! 

The recipe does well doubled and tastes great when served warm with ice cream.  Yummy!  Enjoy!

image (c) Karen Weideman

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Sorry. I don’t have an exact recipe. For the fajita seasoning I usually add:

chili powder
Adobo
garlic powder
paprika
sugar
cumin
crushed chicken bouillon cube

You can make a larger batch of the seasoning so that you have it for several meals. It’s very inexpensive to make.

To make the fajitas, you’ll need:

two onions, sliced
one bell pepper, sliced
1 or 1 1/2 lbs chicken, sliced or cut into small pieces
oil
fajita seasoning (recipe above)
tortillas
toppings – pico de gallo (or salsa), sour cream, cheese

Coat raw chicken with seasoning and set aside.  In a skillet, heat about 1 tbsp oil. Add peppers and onions. Cook until they begin to turn brown, stirring as they cook. When peppers and onions are done, remove from heat and set aside.  Add chicken to skillet and cook until done and no longer pink inside.  Add peppers and onions to mixture and continue to cook for just another minute or two.  Microwave tortilla shells inside a plastic bag or on a plate covered in plastic wrap for about 25 seconds; just until they are soft.  To tortillas add chicken, peppers, onions, and desired toppings – cheese, sour cream, and pico de gallo (or salsa). 

Serve with rice and beans or your favorite Mexican sides.  Delicioso.

You may enjoy these other Mexican recipes:
pico de gallo
taco soup
black beans & rice

images (c) Karen Weideman

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