Homemade Mac N Cheese

I have been out of town for 2 weeks, and though I have had lots of delicious food, I haven't had a chance to share any of it with you! I was too busy having fun to even take pictures of the delicious food! So, my apologies for the temporary hiatus. Now as soon as my AC is fixed and I start cooking at home again, we'll be back in the swing of things! In the mean time, here's a tasty dish that would be great at a potluck bbq- our upcoming theme! I love the combination of flavors- the creamy cheese, the salty ritz topping, the bacon. It really culminates to something wonderful. When I made this in the picture, I had been out of milk and used evaporated. I wouldn't recommend it- it wasn't as smooth and creamy as it should have been.

1/4 C butter or margarine

1/4 C flour

1 C milk

1/2 lb velveeta cheese, cubed

6-10 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

2 1/2 C elbow noodles, cooked and drained

6-10 Ritz crackers, crushed

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter in saucepan on medium heat. Whisk in flour and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Gradually stir in milk. Cook until mixture boils and thickens, stirring constantly. Add velveeta and cook for 2 minutes or until melted, stirring frequently. Stir in bacon and noodles.

Spoon into a 2 qt casserole pan sprayed with cooking spray. Sprinkle with Ritz {I added about a 1/2 C Italian bread crumbs for a little extra flavor}. Bake 20 minutes or until heated through.

Fruity Crepes

We voted that Jayme Welly won first prize for presentation the night we did breakfast. Add to it the fact that she was about 35 weeks pregnant and just let off bed rest... I've been dying for this recipe to make for my family. It is sooo dang good! Crepes take a little time, but are certainly worth the effort.

1 1/2 C flour

1 tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

2 C milk

2 tbsp melted butter

1/2 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

Mix dry ingredients. Add the rest. Whisk whisk whisk.

Filling:

1 box instant vanilla pudding, prepared according to box directions. Stir in your favorite fruit (bananas, strawberries, etc), then roll in prepared crepes! Serve with additional fruit, whipped cream, and chocolate and caramel sauce.

Popcorn Cake

My husband loves popcorn so I can't wait to give this a try for him! This 'cake' makes me want to go to a baseball game... Thanks, Cami Robson!

2 bags popped popcorn
1 stick melted butter
1 bag melted marshmallows
Stir contents together and add M&M's of your choice. Put in a bundt or cake pan and let chill in fridge for 30 minutes to an hour before serving.

Peanut Butter Truffle Brownies

Janece Perkins brought this yummy dessert recipe that she found on RealMomKitchen. You have to be careful with peanut butter & chocolate recipes because they can very easily become too rich. This had all the right balance so there was plenty of the moist chocolate and rich peanut butter, yet didn't stick to the roof of your mouth!


1 box Betty Crocker Original Supreme brownie mix
ingredients called for on box


Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease bottom only of 9x13" pan with cooking spray or shortening.(For easier cutting, line pan with foil, then grease foil on bottom only of pan.)
In medium bowl, stir brownie mix, pouch of chocolate syrup, water, oil and eggs until well blended. Spread in pan. bake 28-30 minutes or until toothpick inserted 2 inches from side of pan comes out almost clean. Cool completely, about 1 hour.

Filling:
1/2 C butter, softened
1/2-3/4 C creamy peanut butter
2 C powdered sugar
2 tsp milk

In medium bowl, beat filling ingredients with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Spread mixture evenly over brownie base.

Topping:
1 C semisweet chocolate chips
1/4 C butter
In small, microwavable bowl, microwave topping ingredients uncovered on high 30-60 seconds; stir until smooth. Cool 10 minutes; spread over filling. Refrigerate about 30 minutes or until set. Store covered in refrigerator. (Best if taken out of the fridge about 15 minutes before serving so the chocolate topping has time to soften for cutting.)

Strawberry Cream Dessert

I apologize for how ordinary these pictures are. I would have loved to have the time to stage these all to look their very best- at least as good as they tasted! Alas, the night didn't play out quite like I hoped and I ended up getting most of these shots as I dashed in and out of line while women were serving up... Sorry to all those I cut in front of! I hope you are able to tell from the title and recipe just how good these all were, if the pictures aren't appealing enough. This dessert tasted just like it's called- strawberry cream! From Rachel Schaub.

2 1/4 C graham cracker crumbs (about 36 squares)

6 tbsp sugar

10 tbsp butter, melted

1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese, softened

1 C confectioners sugar

24 oz whipped topping, thawed and divided

1 pkg (3 oz) strawberry gelatin

1/2 C boiling water

1 C (8oz) strawberry yogurt

2 tbsp graham cracker crumbs

1 1/2 tsp sugar

1 1/2 tsp butter, melted

In a large bowl, combine 2 1/4 C graham cracker crumbs, sugar and butter. Press into an ungreased 9x13" pan. Refrigerate for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, in a small bowl beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Stir in 1 C whipped topping. Spread over the crust.

In a large bowl, dissolve gelatin into boiling water. Stir in yogurt and 6 C of the whipped topping until blended. Pour over the cream cheese layer. Refrigerate for 1 hour. Spread remaining whipped topping over strawberry layer. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Just before serving, combine 2 tbsp graham cracker crumbs, 1 1/2 tsp sugar and 1 1/2 tsp butter; sprinkle over whipped topping.

3 Layer Brownies

These were a tasty surprise. A layer of marshmallow creme and a layer of peanut buttery chocolate with crispy rice all over a moist brownie. I love the assortment of textures in this- creamy, chewy, crispy, ooey gooey! This is from Janna Ellsworth.

1st & 2nd Layers:

1 box brownies

Ingredients as called for on box

10 oz mini marshmallows

Prepare and bake brownies according to directions on box. Remove from oven and cover with marshmallows. Return to oven for 2-3 minutes.

3rd layer:

1 1/2 C chocolate chips

1 C peanut butter

1 tbsp butter

2 C Rice Krispies

Melt chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter. Stir in Rice Krispies. Spread over brownies and cool completely.

BONUS!!!

The woman's group at our church was having a Do-It-Yourself night. To kick start it a bunch of us signed up to bring side dishes and desserts for sampling and sharing! Sound familiar?? It was like a bonus exchange night! I was super excited when they asked me to grab pictures and share the recipes that were brought. As soon as I get them, they'll be posted. In the meantime, here's a few of the many dishes...

In the meantime, check out this recipe and this recipe that were my offerings. Stay tuned... And if you were one of the people who brought something- I'm waiting! ;)