Mocha Frappuccino

(This is DELISH! I decided to try to find something similar to Starbucks frappuccino. Those happen to be my weakness!! Now, I always add an espresso shot, so I like mine strong. This recipe does the trick and saves me MONEY!)

Brew a pot of double strength dark roast coffee, the darker, the better. (I actually brewed a full pot and then poured it into a glass jar and stored it in my refrigerator so that it’s already chilled and I don’t have to brew a fresh pot every day.)

Chill the coffee in the refrigerator, since frappuccinos are typically served cold.

Blend ½ cup coffee, ½ cup of milk, 2 tbsp of sugar and 2 tbsp of chocolate syrup in a blender until mixed. (I use a personal sized blender and had to tweak this down a little because once I added the ice, it wouldn’t all fit. I used 3 ounces of each.)

Add ice to fill cup and blend with the mixture until smooth.

Pour into a serving cup. Top with whipped topping and chocolate syrup.

Tuna Melt

(I found this online here (with many other yummy recipes) and made it for lunch. I loved it. I was fantastic. It was quick to prepare and the sour cream spread with the melted cheese was creamy and added an exciting combination.)

2 tbsp light sour cream

¼ tsp garlic salt

2 slices of wheat bread

3 oz tuna, drained

1 tbsp light mayo

Shredded cheese, to liking

1 tbsp butter

Combine sour cream with garlic salt; spread on one side of each slice of bread. In a small bowl; combine tuna and mayo, top one slice of bread. Top with cheese and cover with remaining slice of bread. Melt butter, add sandwich and cook until bread is browned and cheese is melted.

Cheddar Biscuits

(A friend on Facebook posted this delishiously similar recipe to Red Lobsters Cheese and Garlic Biscuits. They are surprisingly very close and simple to make. My family LOVED these, especially my husband!)

2 cups Bisquick

2/3 cup milk

½ cup shredded cheddar

¼ cup butter

¼ cups garlic powder

Mix Bisquick and cheese; add milk. Spoon on a greased cookie sheet, bake at 425 for 8 to 10 minutes.  Brush with melted butter and garlic powder. Makes about 10.

Creamy Pork Chop Casserole

(This is a pretty yummy casserole and excellent if you’ve run out of ideas and are tired of the same old pork chop dinner. My aunt made this when we were in Florida and I made sure to bring the recipe home.)

Olive Oil

8 boneless pork chops (I use the center cut, more lean meat)

2 cups uncooked rice

¾ cup milk

10 ¾ oz can cream of celery soup

10 ¾ oz can cream of chicken soup

1 medium onion, sliced

2 (14 oz) cans carrots, drained

2 cups water

Salt, pepper and garlic powder

Preheat oven to 350. In large skillet over medium high heat, warm olive oil. Season chops with salt, pepper and garlic. Add to oil and cook about 2 mins. on each side or until lightly browned. Remove from skillet and place in a greased baking pan.  In a medium bowl, combine rice, milk, soups, water and onion. Mix well and pour over chops. Cover and bake for 1 hour or until rice is tender and chops are cooked through.  

I served this with cornbread muffins!

Crockpot Chicken and Parsley Potatoes

(This recipe came from Crock Pot Recipe Exchange's Facebook page. It was a set it and forget it recipe. We all enjoyed it. Was it our favorite, no, but it was simple enough and good enough that I’ll make it again.)

4 chicken breast (one per person)

Garlic powder

Pepper

Salt

Parsley

Potatoes, chopped (about 1 ½ per person)

Onions, chopped (2 medium onions)

Ham, sliced in strips (I used 2 packages of Carl Budding. I don’t think it matters, as long as it’s thin sliced.)

Butter (2 tbsp per chicken)

Foil

Season chicken with garlic, pepper and salt. Set aside. Tear foil in 4 large pieces. Add chopped potatoes to center of foil, in a single layer. Season with garlic and parsley. Top with onions, 1 piece of chicken and ham. Add 2 tbsp of butter, top with garlic and pepper. Wrap up inside foil. Place in Crockpot and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.

Mushroom & Chicken Quesadillas

(My Aunt made these when we were in Florida and they were SO good that we decided to make them again once we got home!)

1 large chicken breast

3 small jars of sliced mushrooms

8 (8 inch) tortilla shells

1 can refried beans

1 (2 cup) bag Mexican shredded cheese

Boil chicken until cooked through. Allow to cool down and shred with two forks. Coat skillet with cooking spray and place over medium high heat. Cook mushrooms. Spread all 8 tortillas with refried beans. Divide cheese, chicken and mushrooms between 4 of the tortillas. Place remaining tortillas on top, bean side down.

**I cooked these on my George Forman. I just placed them between 2 pieces of foil, closed the lid and came back to a cooked tortilla. My aunt used this method:

Place skillet on medium high heat. Coat skillet and tops of quesadillas with cooking spray. Cook one quesadilla 4 minutes per side or until cheese has melted, reducing heat to medium if tortilla becomes too brown.

Cut quesadillas in fourths and serve with sour cream and salsa.

Low Carb Deep Dish Pizza

(This was FANTASTIC. My BFF and her guy gave this to me. I loved it. Kaytie thought it was yummy too. The boys, not so much. I think they knew it wasn’t actually crust and that turned them off from the beginning. I guess it’s a good thing I made “regular” pizza for them. I will be making this again, even if only for myself. This had a wonderful cheesy taste. I think it would be awesome cut into “bread” sticks and dipped in sauce also.)

4 oz cream cheese, softened

2 eggs

¼ cup shredded parmesan cheese

¼ tsp oregano or Italian seasoning

¼ tsp garlic powder

8 oz Italian cheese blend or mozzarella, shredded

How to prepare:

In a medium bowl, whisk cream cheese until smooth and creamy. Whisk in eggs until mixture is well blended and smooth. Add the parmesan and seasonings, then stir in 8 ox of Italian or mozzarella cheese until moistened. Spread cheese mixture evenly in a well greased 9x13 glass baking dish. Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes or until evenly browned, but not too dark. Let cool completely. When nearly cooled, use a metal spatula to pry up the edges from the pan. Ease spatula under the whole crust to loosen. Leave crust in the pan, refrigerate uncovered until serving time.

Spread chilled crust with pizza sauce, cheese and toppings. Sprinkle lightly with garlic and oregano. Bake at 375 for 15 to 20 mins.

***Important Note: You want to make this early and refrigerate for a couple hours to allow the crust to dry out a bit for easy handling when eating. Also, if you make this in a metal pan, it will stick. One recommendation is to lightly grease the pan and line it with parchment paper.