* Menu Monday (#10) *

What are you having for dinner at your house this week? We are having:

Sunday: BBQ Beef Sandwiches & Baked French Fries
Monday: Stromboli & Salad
Tuesday: Salisbury Steak, Mashed Potatoes & Gravy, & Green Beans
Wednesday: Baked Sweet & Sour Chicken & Fried Rice
Thursday: BBQ Ranch Quesadillas
Friday: Breakfast Burritos
Saturday: Hamburgers, Hotdogs, & Pasta Salad

* Three Cheese Stuffed Shells *

I got this recipe from my sister at one of my bridal showers. It has been one of our favorites ever since then! Thanks Tarese :) We usually serve it with these Garlic Cheese Biscuits. I added about 1/2 cup of finely chopped fresh spinach to this batch and it turned out great!

* Three Cheese Stuffed Shells * 12 dried jumbo pasta shells
1 egg, beaten
12 oz. container of cottage cheese
1/2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 c. Parmesan cheese
1/2 T. parsley
1/2 t. oregano
14 1/2 oz can Italian style stewed tomatoes, cut up
8 oz can tomato sauce
(or you can use your favorite marinara pasta sauce instead of the tomatoes and sauce)

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain well and cool shells. Stir egg, cottage cheese, mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese, and spices together. Spoon 1/4 c. of filling into each shell and arrange in a baking dish.

Combine tomatoes and tomato sauce (or use your favorite pasta sauce) and pour over stuffed shells. Bake covered at 350* for 15 minutes. Uncover and bake another 10-15 minutes until heated through.

* Menu Monday (#9) *

Here's what we are going to eat for dinner this week:

Sunday: Marinated Steak & Baked Potatoes
Monday: Tin Foil Dinners
Tuesday: Pizza Rolls & a veggie
Wednesday: Chicken Roll-ups, Mashed Potatoes, & Gravy
Thursday: Stuffed Pasta Shells
Friday: Creamy White Chili & Rice
Saturday: Costa vida chicken Quesadillas or Nachos

* "Homemade" Donuts *

"Homemade" donuts bring back such fun memories for me. Back in my USU days, I had the best roommate (hey Melissa!) that taught me how to make these. We would go country dancing with bunch of friends on Thursday nights and then invite our friends over for "homemade" donuts. We also would have game nights on Sunday after ward prayer (anyone remember those from student singles wards?) and make donuts to eat while we played. Thanks for teaching me how to make these, Melissa!
These are seriously so easy, cheap, & yummy...and unhealthy :) My kids LOVE them every once in a while we make this "special treat."

* "Homemade" Donuts *
Refrigerator Tube Biscuits
Vegetable (or whatever) Oil
Cinnamon & Sugar
Milk, Powdered Sugar, & Vanilla for icing

So, this isn't really a "recipe" but I'll just explain how we make them. First, pour about an inch of oil into a large pot. Allow to heat up over medium heat. It is ready when you can drop a drop of water in it and it sizzles. Next, you get out your can of refrigerator biscuits (Walmart sells a 4-pack for like $2). Flatten them out and cut a hole in the middle (we use one of our kids' medicine cups...it's the perfect size). When oil it ready, fry 3-4 donuts at a time until brown on both sides. Continue until all the donuts are done. Place on plate with paper towel to allow some of the oil to drain off.
Next, mix up a simple icing using powdered sugar, milk, & vanilla. I don't know the exact measurements I use but you could start out with a cup or so of powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon of vanilla, and enough milk to make it the consistency you want. Also, mix up some cinnamon & sugar in a bowl (not sure of the measurements again.)

Dip donuts in cinnamon and sugar and then drizzle with icing.
SOOOOO delicious!!! :)

* Menu Monday (#8) *

Here's what's on our menu this week:

Sunday: Tomato Tortellini Soup & Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
Monday: Navajo Tacos & Spanish Rice
Tuesday: Homemade Pizza & a veggie
Wednesday: Fettucini Chicken Alfredo & Salad (you can follow the link for a recipe but I'm probably just going to get my sauce out of a jar)
Thursday: Enchiladas & Black Beans (here's a link to some yummy enchiladas but I'm going to make some beef enchiladas and use a rosarita seasoning packet)
Friday: Waffles & fruit smoothie
Saturday: Eat out

* Incredible Raspberry Cheesecake Cookies *

There is a great company called The Prepared Pantry that I just recently heard about. They are mostly an online company but they do have one store--here in Rigby Idaho of all places! They sell some very yummy things but my favorite product they sell are their raspberry baking tidbits. Basically they are like chocolate chips...but raspberry. Their flavor is delicious!! I finally ventured out and bought some raspberry tidbits (and cinnamon chips--also like chocolate chips but cinnamon) the other day and using this the recipe I found here, made some yum-o cookies. They are easy (because they call for a pouch cookie mix but you could easily make your own sugar cookie dough and add the cream cheese and tidbits to it) and will disappear quickly if your house is like mine. You can order these raspberry tidbits online at http://www.preparedpantry.com/ or come and visit us and we'll take you there in person :)

* Incredible Raspberry Cheesecake Cookies * 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 egg
1 (17.5 ounce) pouch sugar cookie mix
2/3 cup raspberry baking chips

Preheat oven to 350*. Line baking sheets with parchment paper (I just sprayed mine with cooking spray). In a bowl, beat the cream cheese until soft and fluffy with an electric mixer, then beat in the egg until thoroughly combined. Mix in the cookie mix, then stir in the raspberry chips. Drop the dough about 2 inches apart onto the prepared baking sheets with a tablespoon or small scoop. Lightly pat the cookies to flatten. Bake in the preheated oven until the edges of the cookies are lightly golden, 9 to 12 minutes. Cool before serving.

* Menu Monday (#7) *

It's been a while since I've posted a Menu Monday...in fact, all my postings have been pretty sparse lately. With it being a new year and all I decided that I better start back up with this blog again. So here we go:

Sunday: Meatball Subs & Green Beans
Monday: Winger's Chicken Salad
Tuesday: Pancakes & Fruit Smoothie
Wednesday: Calzones & a veggie (carrots)
Thursday: Pollo ala Crema, Spanish Rice, & Salad
Friday: Biscuits & Gravy & Peaches
Saturday: French Dip Sandwiches

Happy New Year everyone...and Happy Menu Planning!

* Chocolate Chip Cheese Ball *

I was looking for a desserty cheeseball recipe to take to a friend party and found this recipe on Allrecipes. It was a huge hit and I'm pretty sure I could've eaten the whole thing myself! You can use graham crackers, teddy grahams, nilla wafers...pretty much any sweet crackery/cookie to dip with.

* Chocolate Chip Cheese Ball *
(worst picture EVER! I didn't have my camera so I tried to quickly snap a picture with my phone...don't judge it by the picture)
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup toffee bits (this is not in the original recipe but I thought it sounded good)
3/4 cup finely chopped pecans (optional)

In a medium bowl, beat together cream cheese and butter until smooth. Mix in confectioners' sugar, brown sugar and vanilla. Stir in chocolate chips. Cover, and chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours.
Shape chilled cream cheese mixture into a ball. Wrap with plastic, and chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
Roll the cheese ball in finely chopped pecans or toffee bits before serving.