Hashbrown Cheesy Casserole

This casserole is amazing! It's creamy and cheesy and delicious and a perfect addition to a regular meal, a special meal, a potluck, or a holiday meal. I love potatoes in pretty much every way possible, and this recipe does not disappoint. This is supposed to be a copy of Cracker Barrel's hashbrown casserole, and I found two recipes that were just slightly different, so I made my own decision on how to prepare this.

26 oz bag frozen hash browns
1/2 cup margarine or 1/2 cup butter, melted
1 (10 1/4 oz) can cream of chicken soup
1 pint (16 oz) sour cream
1/2 cup onion, peeled and chopped
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 cup shredded Colby cheese
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl combine melted butter, cream of chicken, onion, and sour cream. Stir until well blended.

Stir in potatoes, cheese, salt and pepper.

Grease a 9x13 baking dish. Pour hashbrown mixture into baking dish.

Bake for about 45 minutes until top is golden brown. Enjoy!

German Chocolate Cake

Is there anything more decadent or delicious than a rich German Chocolate Cake? It's not only one of my favorites, but it's a favorite of many of my friends and family. So, to make them happy I went on a search for a recipe. I found one online titled Original Baker's German Chocolate Cake, and it was a wonderful find. Everyone who has tried this recipe loves it. It's a straight forward, simple recipe that will make you look like a pro, even if it's your first baking attempt.

4 ozs Baker's German's Sweet Chocolate, melted and cooled
2 1/3 cups cake flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 9-inch round or 9x13 cake pans and line bottoms with parchment paper. Sift together flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Cream butter.

Add flour mixture, 3/4 cup of the buttermilk, and vanilla. Beat at medium speed of electric mixer for 2 minutes, stopping to scrape bowl periodically.

Add melted chocolate, eggs, and remaining 1/4 cup of buttermilk. Beat 1 minute.

Pour batter into prepared cake pans. Bake for 28-35 minutes until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool in pans on rack for 15 minutes. Remove and cool completely before frosting the cake.

For Coconut Pecan Icing

1.5 cups evaporated milk
1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup butter
2 tsps vanilla
6 egg yolks, slightly beaten
2 2/3 cups sweetened coconut
2 cups chopped pecans

In a saucepan combine milk, sugars, butter and vanilla over medium heat.

Bring to a full boil, stirring constantly. 

Remove from heat, add a small amount to the eggs, mixing quickly, and then return the egg mixture back to the pot, mixing thoroughly and quickly. 

Return to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in coconut and pecans.

Cool to spreading consistency, beating occasionally. Spread evenly over cake layers.

Quesadillas

I love Mexican food... even Americanized Mexican food. And what could be more delicious than quesadillas? This is my own creation, but I used Applebee's former quesadillas as my inspiration. These are super easy to make. The hardest part is chopping everything. But the flavor is amazing! Add a little homemade salsa verde and you've got a super easy and delicious dinner.

Quesadilla cheese
tortillas
jalapeños
tomatoes
onion
bacon bits
olive oil spray

I prep the quesadillas on a plate so that they're ready to cook. Put about 1/3 cup of cheese on half of a tortilla. Sprinkle with tomatoes, jalapeños, onions, and bacon to taste. 

Heat a skillet large enough to hold the tortillas on medium-high. Spray lightly with olive oil spray. Fold tortilla in half and carefully place in skillet.

Cook for 3-4 minutes on each side until slightly browned.

Keep prepping and cooking quesadillas until you have how many you want. If they start to cook too quickly then turn the heat down to medium. Cut up and enjoy!

Honey Sriracha Chicken, Spinach, Alfredo Pizza

I'm all about making decisions that make my life easier, and this is one of those decisions. I prep Honey Sriracha Chicken on the weekend for freezing, and then the night before I'm going to make it for dinner, I pull it out of the freezer and put it in the fridge. After cooking this I save 7-9 pieces to make this super delicious pizza later on in the week. Did I mention that it's delicious? The creamy alfredo sauce, fresh spinach, the chicken, and lately I've added a few thin onion slices to it and I love it. You really should try this pizza. You're going to love it!

Pizza Dough Crust
Shredded Honey Sriracha Chicken
Mozzarella Cheese
Spinach
Alfredo Sauce
Onion slices (optional)
Olive Oil
Garlic Salt

Turn the oven on 475 degrees Fahrenheit. Cut the dough ball in half and spread out the dough on your pizza pan or peel or parchment paper. Lightly grease the ouster edge and sprinkle with garlic salt. Swirl a thin even layer of alfredo sauce to the edge of the oil. Sprinkle several ounces of mozzarella evenly on the pizza. Layer out the spinach and then sprinkle with chicken. Add onion slices if using, and then add another couple of ounces of mozzarella.

Bake the pizza until the cheese begins to bubble and brown slightly and the crust should be golden brown. Remove pizza and carefully slice it. Enjoy!

Use the other half of the dough to make another delicious pizza.

Greek Spinach Pie

Just go ahead and add this recipe to your try list. This Greek Spinach Pie was so delicious. It is so flavorful, and a great meal for any time. I found this recipe on Pinterest at Crispy Greek-style Pie. I also included some bacon, which added so much more flavor. I paired this with a Caesar salad and finished off the meal with some baklava. You're really going to want to try this.

200 g spinach (one bag plus a handful more)
175 g sundries tomatoes in olive oil
100 g feta cheese
2 eggs
1/4 cup bacon pieces
1/2 pack phyllo pastry

Put the spinach in a large pot with 2-3 Tbsps of water and cook until wilted.

Drain spinach. Allow to cool; squeeze excess water; and then  chop as desired. Add to bowl with feta, eggs, tomatoes, and bacon. Stir.

Place a piece of parchment in pie plate. Layer one piece of fillo into the pie plate. Brush with oil from tomatoes jar.

Add another piece of fillo slightly offset from the first, and then brush that layer with oil. Place one or two more layers, brushed with oil and offset until fillo completely surrounds the pie plate. Spoon filling into the pie plate.

Fold edges over (add one or two more pieces of fillo if you need to). Brush top with olive oil.

Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Slice and serve and enjoy!!!

Chocolate Oatmeal Cake

Chocolate cake with chocolate chips topped with chocolate icing... could this possibly ever be wrong??? No, it isn't, and I assure you, you're going to want to try this cake. It's so moist and chocolatey and delicious. It has oatmeal in it which is part of what keeps this cake so moist. And this icing is amazing. I've never made an icing like this, and it's definitely one to keep in the arsenal for future use. I found this recipe on Pinterest titled: The World's Best Chocolate Oatmeal Cake.

1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 eggs, lightly beaten with fork

1 tsp vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 Tbsps unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup quick cooking oats
1 3/4 cups boiling water
1 12 oz bag chocolate chips, divided

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease and flour or spray with baking spray a 9x13 pan. Put oats in large bowl and add boiling water. Add butter and let sit for 20 minutes until butter is melted. Stir until combined.

Add brown sugar and stir until blended.

Add sugar and stir until combined.

Add eggs and vanilla and stir until combined.

In separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder. Sift into other ingredients. Stir just until combined.

Stir in half the chocolate chips.

Pour into prepared pan and sprinkle remaining chips over cake.

Bake for 30-40 minutes until the cake surface springs back lightly when touched. 

Icing

6 Tbsps butter
6 Tbsps cream
1½ cups sugar

1/2 tsp espresso powder
1/2 to 3/4 cup chocolate chips
1/2 to 3/4 cup mini marshmallows

Melt the butter, sugar and cream in a medium saucepan.

Add the espresso power and mix until combined.

Bring to a boil and boil for 30 seconds. Reduce heat to low and add the chocolate and stir until melted.

Add the marshmallows and whisk until icing is smooth.

Pour icing over cooled cake.

Allow icing to cool and harden, and then enjoy!