Apple Dump Cake

Quick, easy, delicious and perfect for fall.  Be sure to serve this with a scoop of vanilla ice cream...YUM!

1 pkg yellow cake mix
1 stick butter
2 cans apple pie filling
1 T cinnamon
2 T brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350.  Dump the apple pie filling into a 9x13 pan and spread out until even.  Sprinkle with cinnamon and brown sugar.  Spread cake mix over top evenly.  Dot top with butter.  Bake 45 minutes or until bubbly and brown. 

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1.03.01

Busy Night Chimichangas

I've just started back to school and with 3 kids at home looking for meals that are inexpensive, quick, easy, and delicious has become a necessity.  This recipe is a nice change of pace and goes over well with kids and adults alike.  You can top them with any combination of shredded lettuce, sour cream, salsa, or even white cheese sauce.  They may look difficult, but they're really a breeze.  I usually double the recipe and wrap each leftover in aluminum foil to freeze or to eat the next day.  They're just as good the next day, if not better.

1 pkg flour tortillas
1 pound ground beef
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 T prepared minced garlic
1 cup salsa
2 cups shredded mexican cheese
2 T vegetable oil

Serves 6

Brown the beef, onions, and garlic in a skillet and drain.  In a large bowl combine the beef mixture with cheese and salsa and mix until combined evenly.  Use a tablespoon to "scoop" out about 3 heaping tablespoons onto each flour tortilla.  Fold into a rectangle.  Meanwhile heat oil in a skillet and cook each chimichanga seam side down first 2-3 minutes on each side until browned.  Drain on paper towels. 

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1.03.01

Buffalo Chicken Dip

This recipe I found on a can of Hormel Premium Chicken Breast, believe it or not!  I have to give credit where credit is due.  This recipe would be wonderful for entertaining, on salads or stuffed in a wrap or a pita.  The possibilities are endless.

2 8 oz pkgs cream cheese, softened
1 cup prepared Ranch salad dressing
3/4 cup hot wing sauce
1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
2 12.5oz cans Hormel Chicken Breast
Crackers or Tortilla chips for dipping

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  In large bowl, combine cream cheese, Ranch dressing, hot wing sauce and shredded cheese.  Gently stir in chicken.  Spoon mixture into a 2 qt casserole dish.  Bake for 20 min or until hot and bubbly.  Serve warm.

Steam N' Mash Masterpiece Mashed Potatoes

Making great tasting mashed potatoes couldn't be easier than with this recipe and Ore Ida Steam N' Mash frozen potatoes.  I have perfected this recipe over the past 6 months or so, the result is a savory, easy dish that I hope you'll enjoy.

What you'll need:

2 bags frozen Ore Ida Steam N' Mash Cut Red Potatoes (my Wal-Mart carries them, not widely carried yet)
1 1/2 sticks salted butter
1/2 cup half n' half
1 Tablespoons Durkee Grill Creations Kansas City Style Steak Seasoning (or just steak seasoning will do)
1 tsp garlic salt
1/8 tsp pepper
2 Tablespoons white sugar

• Prepare steam n' mash potatoes according to pkg directions.
• In a large bowl put in the butter, half n' half, steak seasoning, garlic salt, pepper and white sugar
• Put cooked potatoes on top
• Mash with potato masher (Is that the technical term? :) )

Close your blinds, put on your stretch pants and enjoy!  Please remember that sample bites used for seasoning purposes have zero calories according to southerner rules.

Awesome Chicken Casserole

I was in a pinch the other day for something to throw together for dinner.  I found a recipe online and altered it to fit the ingredients I had on hand.  The result was one of the best chicken casseroles I've ever had.  I let my picky boys be the judge and I got more than a few compliments from them on this one.  You can add this one to your list of comfort food classics.  Paula Deen would be so proud.  (sniff, sniff)


2-3 large chicken breasts (I use the frozen kind, no need to thaw)
2 stalks of celery, sliced
1 medium onion chopped
3 tsp chicken flavored soup base
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
2 bags Uncle Ben's white rice, cooked according to pkg directions
6 oz sour cream
2 cans (10.5 oz) condensed cream of chicken soup with herbs
1/4 tsp celery salt
1/8 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
2 cups crushed buttery crackers (Ritz or Club)
1/2 cup butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350F
Bring to a boil the chicken breasts, celery, onions, soup base, salt and pepper and enough water to cover.
Cover, reduce heat to medium low and simmer for about 35 minutes.
Reserve about 4 cups of the chicken broth and cool chicken.  Cut into bite sized pieces.
In a large bowl, stir together sour cream, cream of chicken soup, onion powder, garlic powder, broth, and celery salt.  Mix in cooked rice and chicken.  (Mixture will be somewhat thin, do not worry)
Spoon into 9x13 casserole dish.  In a resealable bag mix together melted butter and crushed crackers. 
Sprinkle over top of casserole.  Bake 30-35 minutes or until bubbly.

Watermelon Glazed Barbecue Meatballs

I wish I could take full credit for this one, but I happened upon this recipe recently at my local grocery store.  I must admit that it was so simple looking that I just had to try it, not to mention that I have a watermelon addiction.  Sadly, whenever watermelons are in season I buy those seedless ones and usually end up eating the entire thing myself.  I was worried that the watermelon wouldn't make it long enough in my house to end up in this recipe, but somehow I was able to keep my watermelon addiction at bay long enough to make this super fast, yummy dish.  The watermelon puree adds a very interesting layer of flavor with a hint of sweetness.  These would make an excellent appetizer as well.  Even my pickiest kid loved these!

1 pkg frozen meatballs (about 24-30 meatballs)
2 T vegetable oil
1 cup watermelon puree
1 cup barbecue sauce  (I used Maul's Kansas City Style, but I'm sure just about any brand would do fine)

Heat oil in large skillet on medium-high.  CAREFULLY put frozen meatballs in and cook until browned and heated through then turn the heat down to low.  In the meantime, combine the barbecue sauce and watermelon puree and pour over the meatballs.  Simmer on low for about 3-4 minutes and serve hot.

A word about the watermelon puree:  I used a seedless watermelon and there were still a few seeds here and there.  I would not sweat picking out every seed when making the puree.  If you make the puree ahead of time, any seed fragments will settle to the bottom of your bowl and you can just dip the puree from a dish or bowl until you reach the bottom.

Infused Waters

After living it up all year eating Paula Deen recipes, I've started trying to lose weight recently and know that I should be drinking lots of water.  When I was in really good shape I was drinking water with lime or lemon religiously or I'd buy that expensive bottled water all the time. Recently I've found a way to drink water without having to buy the $1.00 a bottle spring water and I wanted to share it here.


Lemon, Cucumber, Mint Infused Water

1 Gallon Jug or Pitcher
1 Large lemon, sliced
1/2 Large cucumber peeled and sliced thinly
5 or 6 mint leaves

Here's the hard part:  Put all of the ingredients into the jug/pitcher and fill with water.  Wait 1 hour and drink.

You may want to try these variations as well:

• Watermelon mint
• Rosemary lime
• Cucumber, mint, rosemary & lemon