Skillet Beef and Potatoes with Biscuits

This is a good, hearty, easy skillet dish.  It is just like my Meat Pie recipe minus the crust and the carrots.  Basically, I just replaced one carb with another, because I served this with my Go-To Biscuits and it was delicious. I was planning on making a homemade gravy, using beef broth, but ran out of time, you know how that goes.

This was fabulous and I think your whole family will love it.

Skillet Beef and Potatoes
slightly adapted from: Hungry Little Girl
(Printable Recipe) and (Printable with Picture)

4 large potatoes (I used Russet)
2/3 c. frozen peas
1 Lb. lean ground beef
1/2 c. chopped onion
2 tsp. garlic powder

salt and pepper, to taste

2 c. prepared brown gravy

2 Tbl. milk

Peel and slice potatoes; add to a pot of water and boil until fork tender, about 10-15 minutes.  A minute or two before the potatoes are done, add the frozen peas to the boiling water.  Meanwhile, brown the ground beef in a large skillet; add the chopped onions and cook until tender.  Season with garlic powder, salt and pepper.  Drain the potatoes and peas and add to skillet.  Add the brown gravy and milk.  Carefully stir until everything is coated with gravy.  Makes 4 big servings.

Jenn's Notes:  I made the recipe as typed above and I served it with my go-to biscuits and it was delicious! 

Loaded Baked Potato Salad

I have never been a fan of regular potato salad for one reason.  I feel like it should be warm.  I hate eating those cold potatoes.

This Loaded Baked Potato Salad is my PERFECT solution.  I have made it a few times and I love it.  You can serve it warm or you can serve it cold.  Obviously, I serve mine warm which isn't a problem, since I make it right before dinner.

I haven't served this at a party yet, but I would imagine you would get multiple requests for the recipe.  I think your family would be super impressed and, like Leslie said, I am sure you will get "Oohs and Ahhs"!

Loaded Baked Potato Salad

adapted from: Dishing with Leslie

(Printable Recipe) or (Printable with Picture)

4 large russet potatoes

1/4 c. Mayonnaise

1/2 c. sour cream

1/2 c. shredded Cheddar cheese

1/4 c. freshly chopped chives, divided

8 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled

1/2 tsp. seasoned salt

pepper, to taste

Wash, peel and cube potatoes into bite-sized pieces.  Put in a large pot, cover with water and boil until fork tender, about 15-20 minutes.  You do not want mashed potato consistency.  Drain and let cool a bit (or a lot if you plan to serve chilled).  In a separate bowl, stir together the mayo, sour cream, cheese, half the chives, about 6 strips worth of crumbled bacon, seasoned salt and pepper; mix well.  Add mixture to potatoes and fold together until all the potatoes are completely coated.  Taste and add more seasoned salt and pepper, if needed.  Garnish with remaining chives and crumbled bacon.  Serve immediately or refrigerate if serving later.  Serves 4-6.

Jenn's Notes:  If your potatoes are very large, you may want to add a little extra mayo and sour cream.  I have used light mayo and light sour cream every time I have made this, I omit the chives and sprinkle with a little dried parsley before serving.  So good!

One Bowl Mini Red Velvet Cupcakes with Whipped Vanilla Frosting

My regular, go-to, red velvet cupcake recipe requires the use of 5 different bowls (no lie), so I was beyond excited to try a recipe that uses only ONE BOWL!

Instead of the same old red velvet cupcakes, I felt like changing things up a bit this time.  Rather than regular cream cheese frosting, I went with my favorite whipped vanilla frosting.  This frosting is the lightest frosting I have ever eaten, similar to whipping cream, but it holds its shape very very well and it is extremely easy to work with.  It's the same frosting I used in these Oatmeal Cream Pies and the same type I used in this Eggnog Frosting.  

I thought these cupcakes turned out super yummy.  The cake itself reminded me of the flavor and texture of a box mix, which I think a lot of people will love!  The whipped frosting was awesome, as always, but since it takes a bit of planning, you could always use regular cream cheese frosting.  

One Bowl Mini Red Velvet Cupcakes

adapted from: Boastful Baker

(Printable Recipe) or (Printable with Picture)

1/2 c. buttermilk

3/4 c. vegetable oil

1 egg

1/2 tsp. white vinegar

3 tsp. red food coloring

1 tsp. vanilla

1 1/4 c. all-purpose flour

3/4 c. sugar

1/2 tsp. baking soda

3 tsp. cocoa powder

1/2 batch Whipped Vanilla Frosting

  or you could always use cream cheese frosting

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Combine the buttermilk, vegetable oil, egg, vinegar, food coloring and vanilla.  Beat for two minutes.  Add the flour, sugar, baking soda and cocoa and beat two more minutes.  Divide batter between mini muffin tins that have been lined with paper liners and sprayed lightly with cooking spray (about 1 Tablespoon batter per cupcake).  Bake 10-11 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Yield: 40 mini cupcakes.  Cool completely and top with frosting.  

Jenn's Notes: No notes today.  These are awesome.

Tomato Alfredo Pasta with Grilled Chicken

This pasta dish is INCREDIBLE.  I see this dish becoming a family favorite.

It was a cinch to throw together.  I made a half a batch of this guiltless alfredo sauce which can be made in a matter of minutes.  I really don't see the point in buying store-bought alfredo sauce, when you can make a homemade one that is so much healthier and tastes so much better.  

Speaking of being healthier, store-bought marinade packets are loaded with sodium.  Definitely not something you are going to want to eat everyday.  I still used it and the chicken tasted AMAZING.  It was moist and juicy and the flavor went perfect with the alfredo sauce.  Next time, I want to try and create my own marinade.  The marinade packet ingredients included: salt, red pepper, thyme, onion, garlic, white wine and red bell pepper along with a whole bunch of weird things.  If you try a homemade version and it turns out great, let me know.    

Either way,  MAKE THIS - YOU WILL LOVE IT TOO!

Tomato Alfredo Pasta with Grilled Chicken

adapted from: Plain Chicken
(Printable Recipe) or (Printable with Picture)

1 pkg. Grill Mates Garlic Herb Wine Marinade packet

3 boneless chicken breasts

1 c. prepared alfredo sauce
  or recipe below for Guiltless Alfredo Sauce

1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce (I only used 1/2 the can)

1 tsp. Italian seasoning

8 oz. penne pasta, cooked and drained

Prepare marinade according to package directions.  Add the chicken and allow to marinate for several hours.  Grill chicken until done (I grilled mine on the George Foreman) or you could bake in the oven, if you don't have a grill.  Slice into strips.  Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions, drain.  In a large pot, combine alfredo sauce, tomato sauce and Italian seasoning.  Stir in the pasta.  Serve with sliced chicken.  Serves 3-4.  

Guiltless Alfredo Sauce
adapted from: Our Best Bites
1 c. low-fat milk
2 oz. cream cheese
1 Tbl. flour
1/2. tsp. kosher salt
1/2 Tbl. butter
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 c. freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Add milk, cream cheese, flour and salt to a blender.  Blend until smooth.  Heat 1/2 Tablespoon of butter in a medium skillet over medium heat.  Add 1 clove of minced garlic; saute 30 seconds.  Add the sauce mixture and whisk until thickened, about 5-10 minutes.  Add the Parmesan cheese and whisk until melted.  

Jenn's Notes: I made this with the Guiltless Alfredo Sauce and it was incredible.  

Bread Machine Dinner Rolls

I have made these rolls a few times.  The first time, I baked them the time suggested (13 minutes) and the insides were dough balls still.  I tried again, baked an extra few minutes, and they were great.  Serve them with Cinnamon Honey Butter and they will disappear in no time. 

These are a great "Beginner Roll", because they are so easy to make since the bread machine does all the work.  Wake up, throw the ingredients in the bread machine,  hop in the shower and get ready for the day, shape the rolls, let them raise, bake and enjoy.  Simple enough?      

Bread Machine Dinner Rolls

(Printable Recipe) or (Printable with Picture)

1 c. warm milk (I used 1%)
1/4 c. (4 Tbl.) unsalted butter, softened
1/4 c. sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 tsp. salt
4 c. bread flour
2 1/4 tsp. instant yeast

Place ingredients in the bread machine in the order suggested by manufacturer.  I added mine in the exact order the recipe is listed, starting with milk and ending with yeast.  Once you add the flour, make an indent in the top and add the yeast to that pocket.  Select dough setting (mine takes 1 1/2 hours) and let the bread machine work its magic (check the dough after five minutes to see if 1-2 Tablespoons of water or flour is needed).  Mine was perfect and I didn't have to add any extra ingredients.  When cycle is done, turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and punch down to get rid of air-bubbles.  Divide dough into 24 even-sized pieces; shape each into a ball and divide between two greased 9x13-inch pans (12 rolls per pan).  Cover and let rise in a warm place 30 minutes or until doubled.  Bake at 375 degrees for 17-20 minutes or until golden.  Remove from oven and rub butter over the top of each roll.

Jenn's Notes: The original recipe called for 1/2 cup (8 Tablespoons) of butter, but since I was planning on serving these with cinnamon honey butter, I didn't want all that extra butter in the dough.  I cut the recipe in half and it worked great.

adapted from: Love Bakes Good Cakes originally from: Taste of Home

Light and Fluffy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffin Tops

Remember my walk down memory lane when I made these Chai Cupcakes?  Well, it helped me remember that while I was in Seattle I purchased a muffin top pan.  I only used it once or twice before it got pushed to the back of my cabinet and I totally forgot about it.  

I felt like being lazy, yet I wanted something different.  So, instead of the same old pumpkin muffin, I created a muffin top.  Pumpkin Muffins or Bread usually turn out more on the heavy and dense side, but not these muffins.

They turned out extremely light and fluffy and I even impressed myself with how delicious they are.  I made some with butterscotch chips, some with mini chocolate chips and some with a mixture of both.  I loved the butterscotch flavor mixed with the pumpkin and wished I would have made more that way.  These muffins are awesome the first day and the 2nd day, but I would try to eat them up by the 3rd day.

Light and Fluffy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip 

Muffin Tops

From: Jenn@eatcakefordinner
(Printable Recipe) or (Printable with Picture)

1/2 c. unsalted butter, softened
1 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 c. canned pumpkin puree
1/4 c. buttermilk
2 c. wheat pastry flour

4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. salt
chocolate chips or butterscotch chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Cream together butter and sugar.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition.  Add the pumpkin and buttermilk and mix well.  In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt and add to wet ingredients.  Mix until just combined.  Do not overmix.  Spoon batter into a lightly greased muffin-top pan.  Press chocolate chips or butterscotch chips into the top of each muffin, as many as you like.  Bake for 14-15 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Yield: 18-20 muffin tops.  

Jenn's Notes: If you do not have a muffin top pan, I would recommend baking these in a mini-muffin tin (bake 10-12 minutes).  Since they are extremely light and fluffy, they might be too hard to eat as a regular-size muffin.  I purchased my wheat pastry flour in the bulk section at Winco.    

Almond White Chocolate Chunk Oatmeal Cookies

Oh my goodness, these cookies are good! I mean real real good.  Some of my favorite ingredients went into making these bad boys.  Almond extract is my favorite thing right now and I added plenty of it to these cookies.  Plus, I have a whole bunch of white almond bark, so I decided to chop that up instead of using chocolate chips and it was perfect.  The white chocolate chunks got super melty and creamy and tasted divine.  I couldn't get enough of these things and I had to really limit myself or I would have eaten the whole batch in one night.   

By the way, I am really picky with my almond extract and I have found that I like one specific brand.  I had been buying a 2 oz. bottle of it at the grocery store for $7.99 each and I was going through it so fast, I needed a better solution.  I found a 1 pint bottle (16 oz.) for only $6.75 at my favorite kitchen supply store.  Can you believe that?  If I was to buy that much almond extract in the 2 oz. bottles, I would have paid $64.  I guess with the money I saved myself, I can get that pan I have been eyeing at Costco :)

Almond White Chocolate Chunk Oatmeal Cookies
from: Jenn@eatcakefordinner
(Printable Recipe) or (Printable with Picture)

1/2 c. butter flavor shortening
1/4 c. + 2 Tbl. sugar
1/4 c. + 2 Tbl. light brown sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 - 1 1/2 tsp. almond extract, depending on
     how strong an almond flavor you want
1 egg
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 Tbl. warm water
1 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. quick-cooking oats
1 1/4 c. chopped white almond bark
    or white chocolate chips
1/2 c. sliced almonds, opt.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a large bowl, cream together shortening, sugar and brown sugar until very light and fluffy.  This will take several minutes.  Mix in the vanilla extract, almond extract and the egg.  Dissolve the baking soda in water and add.  Mix in the flour, salt and oats.  Stir in the chopped white almond bark and the almonds.  Drop dough (about 1 Tablespoon each) onto lightly greased baking sheet.  Bake for 10 minutes, they will look underdone.  Store cookies in an air-tight container.  Yield: 1 1/2 - 2 dozen cookies.

Jenn's Notes:  These would also be amazing with a Tablespoon or two of orange zest added to the dough.