Daily Archives: December 4, 2007

Butter Pecan Cream Cheese Cookies


These are a quick, soft, yummy, and easy cookie to make with very few ingredients.

1/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
1 egg
1/2 t maple flavoring (or vanilla)
1 box Butter Pecan cake mix

Cream butter and cream cheese together. Add egg and maple flavoring and blend well. Add dry cake mix 1/3 at a time. Mix well. Cover and chill dough for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Drop by teaspoonfuls on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until just lightly browned. I drizzled mine with a powdered sugar, milk, and maple flavoring icing.

TIP: To change this recipe use a devil’s food cake mix and vanilla flavoring for Devil’s Food Cream Cheese Cookies.

Taco Casserole


1 lb ground beef or chicken
1/2 onion, diced
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste
1 packet low sodium taco seasoning
3/4 cup water
1 can pinto beans
1 small package whole wheat penne pasta, cooked and drained
1 cup 2% shredded cheddar cheese

Brown onion and ground beef in large saucepan after seasoning with salt and pepper. Add taco seasoning and 3/4 cup water. Bring to a low boil over medium heat. Add beans and simmer for about 5 minutes. Turn down heat to low and add drained pasta and cheese. Stir well and serve!

TIP OF THE DAY: This can be a super quick dinner if you cook your ground beef or chicken ahead of time.

Mexican Lasagna


1 lb. lean ground beef or chicken
1 small onion, diced
2 cans refried beans (I use fat free)
1 to 1 1/2 cup salsa
1 (8 oz) container sour cream (I use low fat)
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (I use 2%)
12 flour tortillas (I use low carb)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brown ground beef or chicken with onions in large Dutch oven. Drain meat and return to pan. Add beans, salsa, and sour cream. Mix till combined and simmer over medium heat for 30 minutes, stirring often. Spray a 9 x 13 pan with cooking spray. Cut tortillas into wedges. Spoon a small amount of meat mixture in pan and spread to cover bottom. Layer tortilla wedges to cover bottom of pan. Spoon 1/2 of meat mixture on top of tortillas. Spread 1/3 of cheese over meat mixture. Repeat layers. Top with remaining tortillas and cheese. Cover with foil and bake for 30-40 minutes at 350 degrees.

TIP: When covering a dish with foil that is topped with cheese- spray the foil with cooking spray before putting it on top of the pan. It keeps the cheese from sticking.

Coconut Pound Cake


Cake:
1 box white cake mix
1/4 cup cooking oil
3 eggs
8 ounces sour cream
1 (8 ounce) can cream of coconut

Frosting:
8 ounce package cream cheese, softened
1 box powdered sugar
2 T milk
1 t coconut flavoring
1 can flake coconut

Cake:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients at once in bowl of electric mixer. Bake in greased 9 x 13 or two 9 inch round pans sprayed with cooking spray. Bake for 30 minutes. Cool and ice.

Frosting:
Beat cream cheese in mixing bowl. Add milk and coconut flavoring. Work in powdered sugar. Spread over cooled cake and sprinkle with coconut.

Hershey Pound Cake


2 cups granulated sugar
2 sticks butter, softened
4 eggs
2 (5.5 ounce) cans chocolate syrup
7 (1.45 ounce) Hershey® bars, melted
1/4 t salt
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 t baking soda
1 cup buttermilk
1 t vanilla
Powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Cream sugar and butter; add eggs 1 at a time, beating well.
Add syrup and melted candy bars. Add salt to flour; stir baking soda into buttermilk and add to other ingredients alternately with flour, beginning and ending with flour. Add vanilla extract and pour into greased tube pan. Bake for 1 1/2 hours. Cool in pan 10 minutes before removing. Sift confectioners’ sugar over cooled cake.

Egg Nog Tea Bread


1 (16 oz) package Betty Crocker pound cake mix
¾ cup refrigerated eggnog
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 large eggs
1 cup sifted powdered sugar
1 tablespoon refrigerated eggnog

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine first 4 ingredients in a large mixing bowl; beat at medium speed of an electric mixer for 3 minutes. Pour batter into 4 greased 6 x 3 x 2 loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from pans; cool on wire racks. Combine powered sugar and 1 tablespoon eggnog, stirring well; drizzle over bread.

Ravioli Bites


This is a wonderful appetizer to take to a holiday gathering! A nice change from the traditional chips and dips!

1 cup fine soft bread crumbs
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1 t garlic salt
1 t dried leaf oregano
16 ounces cheese-filled ravioli, cooked and drained
nonstick cooking spray
1 cup prepared spaghetti sauce, warmed

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Coat 2 baking sheets with nonstick spray or use nonstick mats or foil to line baking sheets. In a pie plate combine the bread crumbs, cheese, garlic salt, and oregano. Roll each hot ravioli in the crumb mixture until coated. Place the ravioli, 1-inch apart, on baking sheets. Spray lightly with the nonstick spray. Bake 1 sheet of the ravioli until lightly browned, about 5 minutes, then bake the second sheet. Serve with the spaghetti sauce for dipping.

TIP: Frozen ravioli works great for this recipe.

Quick Sticky Buns


1 1/2 T butter, sliced into 10 pieces
1 medium banana, thinly sliced
1/2 cup pecans or walnuts, chopped
3 T brown sugar
1 (7.5 ounce) tube buttermilk biscuits

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Drop a piece of butter in the bottom of each of 10 compartments of a muffin tin. Arrange the banana slices on top. Sprinkle the pecans and brown sugar over the bananas. Top each compartment with a biscuit. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from oven. Place a baking sheet on top of the tin while the buns are still hot. Carefully flip the tin over, tapping the bottom to release the buns. Serve warm.