Panko Garlic Shrimp

Cooking shrimp can be intimidating for some, but this is a fool proof anyone can do it recipe that is sure to please everyone!  I served this with Cajun Seasoned French Fries and it worked out perfect because they are both baked at the same oven temperature.  

Ingredients:

• 1-1.5 Lbs of Shrimp
• 2 teaspoons Minced Garlic
• 2 Tablespoons White Wine
• 1/2 Cup Panko Bread Crumbs
• 4 Tablespoons Melted Butter
• 2 teaspoons Dried Parsley

Serves 4

Preheat oven to 425.  Place shrimp in baking dish.  Add in garlic and wine.  Toss them around a bit to make sure that they are coated.  In a small bowl combine melted butter, panko, and parsley, use fork to mix.  Sprinkle crumble mixture evenly over shrimp. 

 Bake for about 15 minutes or until shrimp have turned pink  and opaque and are cooked through.  

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Cheddar Garlic Mashed Potatoes with French Fried Onions

I think that mashed potatoes are an ultimate comfort food.  At my house they always accompany warm and cozy foods like turkey, or pot roast.  But I want to eat them way more often than that!  You can change them up and add different things to them to make them better accompany what you are having for dinner.  I don't think I have ever measured the amount of salt, pepper, butter, or milk that I add to my mashed potatoes, but I did today.  Please adjust if you find it necessary.  Mashed potatoes are easy to make just start with less milk because you can always add more.  

Ingredients:

• About 5 Medium Russet Potatoes
• 1 teaspoon Minced Garlic
• 3/4 Cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• About 1/3 Cup Milk (start with a little less)
• 2 Tablespoons Butter
• French Fried Onions

Serves about 6

Wash and peel the potatoes.  Cut into chunks and place them in water.  Bring water to boil and cook until fork tender.  Drain.  Place in large bowl and add butter, milk, and garlic.  Using electric hand mixer beat until smooth.  Add more milk if needed.  Add in cheddar cheese and a handful of French Fried Onions and mix throughout.  Top with a little more cheese and a couple of onions and serve!

I served this with Cranberry Pork Tenderloin, green beans, and Homemade Cranberry Relish.

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Shake It On- Slow Cooker Garlic Chicken

This is a recipe that isn't really a recipe because I don't measure any of it.  The first time that I made this I had a bulb of garlic that needed to be used so I just went with it from there.  I had seen a few different recipes for 30 or even 40 cloves of garlic and a whole chicken.  But I was seriously scared to try that much so I started out small.  This was not my first time making a whole chicken in the slow cooker, as a matter of fact I cook it that way often.  8 Spice Lemon Chicken, Slow Cooker Rotisserie Chicken, and BBQ Rubbed Slow Cooker Chicken are a few of my family's favorites.  All of these recipes are incredibly easy and they are sure to please even the pickiest eaters!

Ingredients:

• 15 Garlic Cloves (or 1 bulb)
• 1/2 of an Onion
• Salt
• Pepper
• Paprika
• Rosemary
• 2 Tablespoons Butter
• 6 lb Whole Chicken
• White Wine

Serves 6-8

This fed my family of  TWICE!!!

Rinse and pat dry the chicken.  Peel garlic, slice onion, and place in the bottom of the slow cooker.  Sprinkle all sides of the chicken with the spices.  Place chicken in slow cooker breast side up.  

 Place a couple tablespoons of butter under the skin of the chicken.  Place about a half a cup of white wine in the bottom of the slow cooker and cook on low for 6-8 hours.

Chicken will be so moist and delicious!  It will fall apart!

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Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs

Spaghetti and meatballs is something that everyone in my house can always agree on and since the meatloaf from the other night was such a hit with everyone I decided to try a meatball variation with the Stove Top Stuffing crumbs.  The kids were a surprised when they cut into their meatballs and found their favorite food- CHEESE!  This recipe is going straight to the top of my "Kid Friendly" recipe list!  The stringy gooey cheese is sure to make anyone say YUM!

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. Ground Beef
• Mozzarella Cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon Basil
• 1 Egg
• 1 Tablespoon Milk
• 1 teaspoon Minced Garlic
• 1 Tablespoon Parmesan Cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon Oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt 
• 1/4 teaspoon Pepper
• 1/3 Cup Stove Top Stuffing Crumbs (place dry Stove top in food processor and pulse a few times)

Makes 12 meatballs 

Grab enough meat to make a meatball and gently flatten it in your hand.  Place a piece of mozzarella inside and then for the meat into a ball.

Place on cookie sheet and bake for about 12 minutes at 375 degrees.

 I made mine the day before I needed them and put them in the fridge.  When ready I heated the meatballs in the pan of spaghetti sauce for about 15 minutes.  Then served sauce and meatballs over pasta.

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Spicy Chipotle Shrimp

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The marinade for this shrimp has just the right amount of spice and heat to make it different from any of our other shrimp recipes.  One trick I have learned is that Chipotles in Adobo Sauce can be frozen so if you buy a can and only use a few place the remaining peppers and sauce in a freezer bag and place them in the freezer.  

Ingredients:

• 1 lb Shrimp (cleaned and deveined)
• 1 Clove of Garlic (minced)
• 2 Tablespoons Lime Juice
• 3 Tablespoons of Honey
• 2 Chipotles in Adobo Sauce
• 1/4 Cup Olive Oil

Combine all ingredients except shrimp in small food processor.  Process until smooth

Place shrimp in ziploc bag and pour marinade over.  Place in fridge for about 30 minutes

Skewer shrimp

Grill 2-3 minutes on each side or until shrimp are pink in color.

ENJOY!!

Garlic Pretzels

                                   

A few years ago we were down at the lake for the weekend with some family.  Everyone had brought a few snacks to share.  One evening Aunt Wendy pulled out these pretzels and we were all instantly hooked!  All I have to say is- good thing we are all family because I am sure we all reeked of garlic the entire evening.  These pretzels go perfectly as a snack with a beer:)

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 teaspoons Garlic Powder
• 1 stick of Butter
• 3 Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
• 1 Bag of Sour Dough Pretzels

Preheat oven to 250.  Gently crush the Sourdough Pretzels.  I leave them in the bag and use a rolling pin.  Place the pretzels in a single layer on a jelly roll pan.   Next, ,melt Butter then add in Worcestershire Sauce and Garlic Powder.  Pour mixture over pretzels and gently mix.  Bake for 15 minutes and toss with spatula. Bake for an additional 45 minutes tossing every 15 minutes, for a total of one hour.

I love to sneak some while they are warm, but you can store them in a sealed container for a long time.   I usually make two bags at a time because they are so addicting!

Herb Butter Steakhouse Steak

Have you ever wondered why you can't ever make a steak quite as good as one from a steakhouse?  Well I can share a couple of their secrets.  Last fall I took a cooking class on how to make the perfect steak.  When I was choosing the class I was leaning towards taking a class to learn how to cook something new or even make my own pasta, but then I thought "why not learn how to make something I already make but make it better."  My husband usually grills, which requires me to wait until he gets home from work to start dinner.  The tips I learned let me make a FABULOUS steak in the middle of winter because no grilling is required.  Yes, I said they do not grill it!  The second secret is that they use butter, butter, and more butter.

Creamy Garlic Ranch Pork Chops and Garlic Mashed Potatoes

This is by far one of the easiest recipes that I have EVER made!  If you are hungry for comfort food but are short on time, give this recipe a try.

Ingredients:

• 4-6 pork chops (I usually buy boneless ones that are about 1" thick and cut them in half length wise to cut  down on cooking time)
• 1 packet of Hidden Valley Ranch seasoning mix
• 1 can Cream of chicken soup
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

First combine Ranch packet, garlic, and cream of  chicken soup in slow cooker, then add in pork chops and stir together.  You don't need to add any additional liquid to the slow cooker the meat will create enough juices.

Cook on LOW for 3-4 hours depending on thickness of pork chops.  Mine took about 3 hours and they were about 1/2 inch thick.  Serve with Garlic mashed potatoes,  the gravy that will be created in the slow cooker is delicious!

This recipe was featured in Two Magical Moms March Menu Madness and our Appetizing April Menu.  Check out the menus and try out some of our other YUMMY recipes!

Sweet and Spicy Bacon Wrapped Chicken

This is something that can be thrown together very quickly with ingredients that you probably have on hand. The blend of the sweet and spicy gives perfect flavor. This recipe is extremely easy to adjust based on the number of people that you need to serve. I can make a small amount for just our immediate family or for a large group. Either way, everyone LOVES it!

Ingredients:

• Garlic Powder
• Chili Powder
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• Chicken Breasts
• Bacon
• Brown Sugar

First, cut the chicken breasts in half lengthwise. Then sprinkle each side with chili powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper.

After that, spiral wrap each piece of chicken with a piece of bacon and roll in brown sugar. Place chicken in baking dish and bake uncovered at 400 degrees for 30 minutes.

Serve with your fave side dish. I am sure that there won't be ANY left over!

This recipe was featured in Two Magical Moms March Menu Madness and our Appetizing April Menu.  Check out the menus and try out some of our other YUMMY recipes!

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Spicy Bacon Carbonara

This recipe is a variation on something that I made before, but this one is MUCH better. My family has actually requested it be put on the menu again and I just made it last week! My oldest son, who is VERY picky, loves bacon so I was able to get him to eat it too!
Ingredients:

• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup Heavy Cream
• 2/3 cup Shredded Parmesan Cheese
• Parsley Flakes (I didn't measure, I just shook it a couple times)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/2 lb bacon fried crisp and crumbled
• sliced mushrooms (I didn't measure, I just through in a couple handfuls)
• 1/2 of small onion
• about 2 tablespoons of butter
• 1 teaspoon garlic
• 1 16 oz box of fettucini

First I cook and crumble the bacon. I have to do this quickly so that my son doesn't try to sneak any! Set bacon aside. Start water for pasta. Next I chop the onion. I am not a huge onion fan, but I do understand the flavor value of onion in cooking so I do use them. I cook the onion and minced garlic in about a tablespoon of butter, but you could use some of the bacon grease for extra flavor. When the onions are almost cooked all the way through I add the mushrooms. You might need to add just a little bit more butter to saute the mushrooms. When done, leave them in pan but set them aside

Next, in a bowl beat with a fork eggs and heavy cream. Add Parmesan, parsley, salt and red pepper and lightly mix again.

Drain pasta (save about 3 tablespoons of pasta water just in case sauce is too thick) and return pasta to pot. Add the mushrooms and onions to pasta (you may need to heat them up in their pan first depending on how long you had to wait for pasta to finish cooking). Pour the egg/cream mixture over the pasta. Stir over LOW heat for 2-3 minutes.

Stir in bacon. Top with additional Parmesan Cheese and serve with bread and a salad! DELICIOUS!
Note: Make sure that when you add the egg/cream mixture that you have the stove on LOW. You do not want to scramble the eggs! I was very worried about this process. The first time I made it I actually made my husband leave the room just in case I completely ruined dinner I didn't want him to witness my failure. It has gone together perfectly every time! Also, if you like less spicy food you can add less red pepper flakes.

This recipe was featured in Two Magical Moms March Menu Madness and our Appetizing April Menu.  Check out the menus and try out some of our other YUMMY recipes!