Peanut Butter Brownie Trifle

This past weekend, we had The Bun's baby dedication at our church.  Afterwards we had our family over to our house for lunch.  Because we would be at church and had such a large crowd coming, I wanted to do something easy.  So we had all cold foods that I made the day before and just pulled out of the fridge when the service was over.  Our menu consisted of:

Luncheon Chicken Salad with Croissants
Sweet Potato Salad
Roasted New Potato Salad (that I normally serve warm, but served chilled this time)
Not Yo' Mama's Banana Pudding
Granny's Cut Out Cookies (shaped with a cross cookie cutter)
And this delicious trifle!  Chocolate/Peanut Butter lover's dream!!!

I tore the recipe out of a magazine months ago and saved it this whole time for this special occasion!

For the kids, I did have grilled cheese sandwiches and chips.  The sandwiches were baked in the oven and kept warm until lunch time.

Peanut Butter Brownie Trifle

1 fudge brownie mix (13x9 pan size)
1 pkg. (10 oz.) peanut butter chips
1 pkgs. (13 oz. each) miniature peanut butter cups
4 cups cold milk
2 pkgs. (5.1 oz. each) instant vanilla pudding mix
1 c. creamy peanut butter
4 tsp. vanilla extract
3 (8 oz.) cartons frozen whipped topping, thawed

Prepare brownie batter according to package directions; stir in peanut butter chips.  Bake in a greased 9x13 baking pan at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Cool and cut into 3/4 inch pieces.

Cut peanut butter cups in half; set aside 1/3 cup for garnish.  In a large bowl, whisk milk and pudding mixes for 2 minutes.  Let stand for 2 minutes or until soft-set.  Add peanut butter and vanilla; mix well.  Fold in 1-1/2 cartons of whipped cream.

Place a third of the brownies in a 5-qt. glass bowl; top with a third of the remaining peanut butter cups.  Spoon a third of the pudding mixture over the top.  Repeat layers twice.  Cover with remaining whipped topping; garnish with reserved peanut butter cups.  Refrigerate until chilled.

Spam and Potatoes

I love fine dining or even just casual dining for that matter, but I am not too proud to admit that I LOVE fried Spam!!!  Just this week our Sunday school had a discussion on Spam and they were shocked to find out I had just bought three cans of it at the grocery store!!! 

I think Spam gets a bad wrap.  I would bet that the majority that say they hate it have never tried it!  The Dish Washer is anti-Spam, but if he tried this he would like it.  It is pork, afterall.  One of his favorite meats.  :)

Spam and Potatoes

3 medium baking potatoes
1 large onion
1 can Spam
vegetable oil

Chop potatoes, onion and Spam into bite size pieces.  In a large skillet, pour some vegetable oil into the pan.  Allow to warm.  Cook the potatoes alone for a little while before adding the onions, so that you don't burn them.  Once onions and potatoes are browned, add Spam and continue until browned.

I only season the potatoes with pepper.  The Spam is salty enough for me, so add salt according to taste.

Very good served with ketchup on top!!  :)

Taco Seasoning

The other day I was planning to make Taco Meatloaf and went to the pantry to get a taco seasoning packet.  Not one!  Bummer!  I went straight to the internet and found out how to make my own.  Very easy and the meatloaf tasted just right.

Taco Seasoning

1 Tbsp. minced onion
2 tsp. chili powder
1-1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. cornstarch
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 to 1 tsp. cayenne pepper

Mix all ingredients.  Makes the equivalent of a 1-1/4 oz. package of taco seasoning.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Sitting around waiting on The Bun has not been easy. My to do list is complete, bags are packed and literally all I am doing is waiting for him now. And the gates aren't even beginning to open for his arrival! I'm trying to stay busy, so I got in the kitchen and made a soup because I love to freeze soup and this will give us something to pull out after his arrival. Or maybe before if I am 42 weeks pregnant and don't feel like cooking!! :) I've got my other household chores on a schedule now that I am a full time "homemaker." Today is washing sheets and going to the grocery store. That transition from full time worker to full time housewife hasn't been as easy as I expected it to be, even though that is all I have ever wanted to be! It was tough giving up something that I had worked so hard at, but I am learning to release control.

This soup was so easy because everything was out of a can. And honestly, I have tasted better versions of this soup but can't argue with easy!

Chicken Tortilla Soup

1 (10 oz.) can chicken, drained
1 onion
olive oil
cumin, to taste
chili powder, to taste
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 can Rotel
1 can black beans
1 can white corn, drained
1 (14.5) oz. can chicken broth

In a pot, heat olive oil and add onion. Cook until tender. Add chicken to onions and season liberally with cumin and chili powder. Next add the other cans and stir. I did have leftover chicken stock I saved from last week, and not really sure how much I ended up adding. Add as much as you want until your soup reaches the consistency that you would like it to be. Simmer on low until heated through. Serve with tortilla chips.

To freeze: Allow to cool and place in freezer safe container (I use ziploc bags.) and freeze up to three months.

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Sausage and Cheese Frittata

from myrecipes.com

I made this a while back when Mom and Dad came to town to see our Christmas tree and The Bun's nursery. I am just now getting around to posting this, but I have a few recipes that I am going to be adding and hopefully with The Bun's very quickly approaching arrival, I will get better about sharing recipes again...maybe when he is sleeping. We will see.

Sausage and Cheese Frittata

1 (12 oz.) package ground pork sausage
8 large eggs
1/3 c. milk
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. butter
1 c. shredded cheddar cheese


Preheat oven to 350. Brown sausage in a 10-inch ovenproof nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Drain and remove sausage from skillet. Wipe skillet clean. (You can see I used a cast iron skillet and it stuck a little.) Whisk together eggs, and next 3 ingredients until well blended. Melt butter in skillet over medium heat; remove from het and pour half of egg mixture into skillet. Sprinkle with cooked sausage and cheese. Top with remaining egg mixture. Bake at 350 for 23-25 minutes or until set.

Cheese Bites

These were what I made for The Dish Washer's family Christmas. I found them to be very good. I messed up and didn't carefully read my recipe, so be sure you look closely and use 1/2 block of cream cheese instead of 1 whole block of cream cheese. :)

Cheese Bites

*Tip- Use a piece of dental floss pulled taut to cut chilled cream cheese. (I used this tip and it is really helpful!)

1/2 (8 oz.) block of cream cheese
1 (16.3 oz.) can refrigerated flaky buttermilk biscuits
1/2 c. jalapeno pepper jelly

Cut cream cheese into 24 pieces, and let soften. Separate each biscuit into thirds, making 3 rounds. Press biscuit rounds into bottom and up sides of 24 mini-muffin cups. Spoon about 1 tsp. pepper jelly into center of each biscuit cup; top each with 1 cream cheese piece. Bake at 425 for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Chicken Squares

HAPPY NEW YEAR!! I am so excited about what this year will bring to our family! I literally was making a new pitcher of tea when the clock struck 12:00. I took about a 4 hour nap when I got home (thanks to needing benadryl that knocks me out cold) and woke up with a burst of energy. The Dish Washer was hungry and my unexpectedly long nap prevented me from making a soup recipe I wanted to try. I was trying to scrounge something up and thought of this recipe. I can't believe I haven't put it on here before. I made this ALL THE TIME when I was still living at home in jr./high school. It is originally from a school cookbook. Sister hated them, but mom and I loved them. They are so quick and easy and I had everything that I needed.

Chicken Squares

3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
butter
onion
1 (8 oz.) cream cheese
2 cans crescent rolls

Boil chicken until cooked. Allow to cool and shred. In a medium skillet, saute onions in butter. Once tender, add cream cheese until melted. Add chicken and mix well until it is all incorporated. Roll out the crescent rolls, keeping 2 individual crescent rolls connected to make one square. (You will have 8 total squares from these two cans...hope that makes sense.) Place spoonful of chicken mixture on one side of square and fold over to connect the pieces. Place on baking sheet and bake at 350 for about 15 minutes or until golden brown.