Buttered garlic parmesan noodles

 When i was a kid my aunt would always make noodle with butter and i hated it. I never told her i hated it so she keep making then. I knew i would never make them for my own kids. Then my husband told me that buttered noodles was one of his favorite things to eat as a kid. Yes i was grossed out. After years of trying to get me to make it, he finally said that it didn't have to be just butter and noodles. So i looked online and found a recipe close to this, but i tweaked it a bit. Now its one of my families favorites.

1 (16oz.) box of long straight noodles                                                                                                          1/2 cup butter or margarine                                                                                                                      1/4 cup olive oil                                                                                                                                       2-3 teaspoons minced garlic                                                                                                                        3 tablespoons fresh parsley or 2 teaspoons dried parsley                                                                             1/2 cups grated Parmesan cheese; plus extra for top                                                                                                                                                                          
Cook noodles in salted water. Then drain and set aside. In pot that noodles cooked in melt butter. Add oil, garlic, parsley and noodles to the melted butter. Stir to combine then add cheese and stir again.

tomato basil soup

I have always love tomato soup, and when I had applebees tomato basil soup for lunch a few years ago I knew I had to get the recipe. I found a copycat recipe on topsecretrecipes.com. This recipe is easy to make and freezes well. My family loves this recipe and since you make it yourself, you know exactly whats in it and you can control the salt, that's something you just can't do with canned soup.

1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil

1/2 cup minced white onion

1 teaspoon minced garlic

2 (28 oz.) cans crushed tomatoes

3 cups chicken broth or vegetable broth

3/4 cup heavy cream

1/3 cup minced fresh basil

2 teaspoons minced fresh parsley 1/3 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Heat 1 teaspoon of olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat, and add onions and garlic. Saute for about 1 minute. Add crushed tomatoes and chicken broth, and bring mixture to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Turn off the heat and let mixture cool, uncovered, for 30 minutes or so. You can let it sit for as long as an hour, if you like. Pour approximately half of the tomato mixture into a blender with the basil and parsley. Put the lid on the blender and hold it down with a dish towel. Mixture may still be hot and you don't want the lid of the blender to pop off. Blend on high speed for about a minute, pour the mixture into a large bowl or pitcher, then add the rest of the mixture to the blender and blend on high speed for a minute. Pour all of the pureed tomato mixture back into the saucepan, and then add the remaining ingredients. Bring the soup back up to a boil then reduce and simmer for 20 minutes. Makes about 6 servings.

pineapple upside down cupcakes

 

Pineapple upside down cake is a simple but delicious cake. Also cupcakes are great because there small cakes that you can take with you anywhere. This recipe combines them both. Now you can have pineapple upside down cupcake at work, school, in the car, or anywhere really. I found this recipe on Pinterest and I just love it.

Cake Ingredients:
2 eggs
2/3 cup white sugar
4 Tbsp pineapple juice
2/3 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
Topping:
1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick or 4 Tbsp)
2/3 cup brown sugar (packed)
1-can pineapple rings
6-maraschino cherries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray your muffin tins with non-stick cooking spray. In a mixing bowl, add eggs, white sugar, and pineapple juice. Beat for 2 minutes. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to the wet ingredients and turn mixer back on for 2 minutes. In a small sauce pan, melt the butter and add the brown sugar. Stir on low heat for one minute. Spoon a layer of the warm brown sugar mixture into the bottom of each muffin tin, then place a pineapple ring on top. Add a cherry in the middle of each pineapple. Pour cake mixture over to fill muffin tin 3/4 of the way full. If you are using regular muffin tins, you will need to cut down the rings to fit or just use pineapple tidbits. Bake jumbo cakes for 25 minutes. Bake regular cakes for 20 minutes. If you choose to make a large cake, bake for 22-25 minutes in a 10 inch cast iron skillet. The cake is done with a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove from the oven. Let cool in pan for 3 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of each cake to help loosen in case it sticks a little. Place a wire cooling rack on top, and quickly flip over on top of sheet tray to catch extra drippings.

Chicken noodle soup

 On cold nights a good chicken noodle soup is always nice to have. I came up with this recipe on one of those cold nights. This recipe makes enough to feed a hungry crowd without braking the bank. This recipe also freezes well.

1 (3 lb.) whole chicken 

Water to cover chicken
1 cup carrots diced
1 medium onion, diced 

1 cup celery, diced
1 tablespoon parsley 

1 teaspoon sage 

1/2 teaspoon salt 

1/2 teaspoon pepper 

16oz egg noodles, cooked

In large pot bring to boil chicken and water. Once it starts to boil reduce heat and cover. Simmer until chicken is cooked, about 1 hour. Remove chicken. Add vegetables and seasonings to pot and boil until vegetables are tender. Remove chicken from bones and skin. Add chicken and cooked noodles to pot. stir to combined.

creamy seafood pasta

This is my husbands favorite pasta. I told a friend that is a chef in New York about this recipe. Since he doesn't like to work as hard at home as he does at work he agreed to try it. He said that it tastes a lot like what he makes at work but it's a lot less time consuming. He still like his better of course but at home he said “this will definitely work”.

16 oz. uncooked linguine
1 can (18.5 oz) new England clam chowder
1 cup milk
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 lb. uncooked deveined shelled large shrimp, tail shells removed
1 (8-oz.) package sliced fresh mushrooms
1/4 cup green onions, chopped
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
Salt and pepper to taste, if desired
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese, if desired

In 5- to 6-quart Dutch oven, cook linguine as directed on package. Drain well; return to Dutch oven and cover to keep warm. Meanwhile, in blender, place clam chowder, milk, 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese and the garlic; blend on medium speed until mixture is smooth. Set aside. In 12-inch nonstick skillet or wok, heat oil over medium-high heat until hot. Add shrimp, mushrooms and onions; cook about 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until shrimp turn pink. Stir in pepper flakes and soup mixture; cook until thoroughly heated. Stir in parsley. Salt and pepper to taste. Pour over cooked linguine in Dutch oven; toss gently to coat. Top individual servings with shredded Parmesan cheese.

Hot Cocoa

 

This recipe is very good but super rich. It's almost like drinking a cup of melted chocolate. I've made this with bitter sweet and semi-sweet chocolate and either way it is still very sweet. My husband likes to say “it's like drinking from the chocolate river in Willy Wonka”


1.5 cups of heavy cream

1 can of sweetened condensed milk (14 oz)

2 cups of bittersweet chocolate chips

6 cups of milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

In a large pot over low heat, combine all of the above ingredients. Stir regularly for 30-40 minutes until chocolate is fully melted and incorporated with other ingredients.

If you’re making this for a party, you could add all of the above ingredients to a crock-pot a few hours before guests arrive. Provide a ladle and mugs and let them serve themselves.

Cinnamon Rolls

This recipe is a Cinnabon copycat, maybe? I got this recipe off the internet years ago and it's a really good recipe. There isn't a Cinnabon around here and I've never had a cinnamon roll from Cinnabon so I don't know how close this is. Like I said though this is a really good recipe. Using the bread machine makes this one of those easy recipes. Just fill the machine, set it to dough cycle and come back in 90 minutes, easy.

Dough: 1 cup warm milk
2 eggs, room temperature
1/3 cup butter or margarine, melted
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup white sugar
4 cups bread flour
2 1/2 teaspoons bread machine yeast

Filling: 1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1/3 cup butter or margarine, softened

Topping: 4 ounce cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt

Place ingredients in the pan of the bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select dough cycle; press Start. After the dough has doubled in size turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, cover and let rest for 10 minutes. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar and cinnamon. Roll dough into a 16x21 inch rectangle. Spread dough with 1/3 cup butter and sprinkle evenly with sugar/cinnamon mixture. Roll up dough and cut into 12 rolls. Place rolls in a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking pan. Cover and let rise until nearly doubled, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Bake rolls in preheated oven until golden brown, about 15-20 minutes. While rolls are baking, beat together cream cheese, 1/4 cup butter, confectioners' sugar, vanilla extract and salt. Spread frosting on warm rolls before serving.