Chocolate Chip Cheese Ball

Sorry that there is no picture of this! We dug into it before I thought about it. This is great for parties...a sweet little ending. You can roll it in chopped pecans at the very end if you wish, but I chose not to. Goes great with graham crackers (plain, cinnamon or chocolate) or those little graham cracker sticks would be perfect too.

What You'll Need:
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened (not margerine)
1/4 tsp. vanilla
3/4 cup powdered sugar
2 Tbs. brown sugar
3/4 cup mini chocolate chips

What You'll Do:
Beat cream cheese, butter and vanilla until fluffy. Gradually add sugars. Stir in chocolate chips.
Refrigerate for 2 hours.
Place mixture in plastic wrap and form into a ball. Refrigerate for 1 more hour.

Bacon Wrapped Jalapenos

OMG!!! That's really all I can say! Try these and you WILL be hooked! I got this recipe from my friend Carla, but also from this amazing blog: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/ These were a big hit! And they only have 3 ingredients! Seriously! I'll be making them again and again I'm sure. A word to the wise, however, make sure you wear gloves when you take the seeds out. I didn't and my fingers burned for two days...not to mention what it does to your eyes when you touch them. OUCH! They were worth the pain though!

What You'll Need:

Jalapenos

Cream Cheese
Center cut Bacon

What You'll Do:

Cut the Jalapenos length-wise. Take out the seeds and the veins.

Smear lots of cream cheese inside each half.

Wrap each jalapeno with a slice of bacon.

Bake for 20 minutes on 375 degrees. If the bacon isn't crispy, put them under the broiler for a couple of minutes. Yum-O!!!

Crock Pot Chili

This chili is rich and satisfying and the crock pot makes it so simple. I combined two recipes to make it my own. We eat it with good ol' saltine crackers, but it would also be great with cheese, sour cream, and fritos!

What You'll Need:
2 lbs. Ground Chuck
29 oz can Tomato Sauce
29 oz. can Kidney Beans (with liquid)
29 oz. can Pinto Beans (with liquid)
1 can Rotel
1 c. Diced Onion
2 Cloves Garlic, minced
1/2 Cup Diced Celery
2 tsp. Cumin Powder
3 Tbs. Chili Powder (I would do a little less next time...it was too spicy for my daughter)
1 1/2 tsp. Black Ppepper
2 tsp. Salt
Water (about 1/2 cup-1 cup...eyeball it)

What You'll Do:
Brown the meat in skillet over medium heat, drain.
Put all ingredients in Crock Pot. Cover and cook on Low 10-12 hours or High 5-6 hours.

Chicken 'n Bacon Ranch Pizza

Pillsbury was nice enough to send me free products to experiment with and their pizza dough was one of those products! This is a great, quick & easy pizza to make...especially since you don't have to make your own dough. If you love bacon and ranch (who doesn't?) then you will love this pizza! Thank, Pillsbury, for the free food and for this recipe!

What You'll Need:

1 can (11 oz) Pillsbury refrigerated thin pizza crust

1/2 cup ranch dressing (I use the Hidden Valley that you make from the packet)

2 packages (6 oz each) refrigerated cooked Italian style chicken breast strips, chopped

4 slices crisply cooked bacon, coarsley chopped (I used 6 slices)

1/4 cup chopped onion

1 large plum tomato, seeded and chopped

1 cup shredded cheddar

1 cup shredded mozzaerella

What You'll Do:

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Spray 15 x 10 inch or larger nonstick cookie sheet.

Unroll dough on cookie sheet; starting at center, press dough into 15 x 10 inch rectangle.

Spread ranch evenly over dough. Top with cheeses and remaining ingredients.

Bake 13-16 minutes until crust is golden brown and cheese is melted.

Pepper Steak

This is really called Green Pepper Steak, but my husband and I prefer red bell peppers so that's how I made it! You probably have almost everything you need to make this already in your pantry. I only had to get the meat and bell pepper. I love that everything goes into one pan...makes for easy clean up! It was really yummy and I'll definitely be making this again.

What You'll Need:

1 lb round steak

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 clove garlic, minced

1/4 cup oil

1 cup green onion, sliced (I omitted this)

1 cup red or green bell pepper, chopped

2 stalks celery, thinly sliced

1 Tbsp. corn starch

1 cup water

2 tomatoes, cut into wedges

What You'll Do:

Cut steak into thin strips.

Combine soy sauce and garlic. Add meat, toss and set aside.

Heat oil over med-hi heat and brown meat.

Cover and simmer on low for 20 minutes.

Turn heat up and add onion, pepper and celery. Cook for about 10 minutes until crisp tender.

Mix corn starch with water, add to pan, stir and cook until thickened.

Add tomatoes and heat through.

Oven Roasted Tilapia & Veggies with Lemon Herb Butter

This is a very light and tasty dish that is so easy to prepare. It goes great with a side of rice...you can pour the lemon butter over it. This recipe originally comes from the "Fresh Fish Cookbook", but my friend Scott Dickenson gave it to me. Thanks Scott! It's a new favorite of mine now!

What You'll Need:

1 ½ pounds of Fresh Tilapia (4 each 5-6 oz filets)

1 each Tomato (sliced in 8 slices)

1 each Zucchini (med sliced)

1 each Yellow Squash (med sliced)

1 each Lemon (sliced in 8 slices)

To taste Italian seasoning

To taste Salt and Pepper

4 Tbsp Butter

2 cups Cooked Rice

4 sheets Aluminum Foil (approx 12-16 inches long)

What You'll Do:

1. Lay four pieces of foil out on counter top or work table.
2. Place two slices of tomato in center of each sheet, and season lightly with salt and pepper.
3. Divide the Zucchini and Yellow Squash into four portions, and place over the top of tomatoes. Try to keep them as flat and evenly spread out as possible so they will cook evenly.
4. Season the vegetables with Italian seasoning.

5. Place the Tilapia on top of the vegetable stack. Place 1 Tbsp butter on top of fish.
6. Season lightly with Salt and Pepper, and same seasoning you used on vegetables.
7. Top with two slices of Lemon. Form a pouch with Foil and crimp edges, forming an envelope or bag.
8. Place in 350 degree oven for about 15 to 20 minutes. (It took about 40 minutes for my fish to be done!)
9. Remove from oven and open foil; use caution as steam will be trapped in foil. Serve the Tilapia and vegetables over cooked rice. Make sure to spoon liquid from bottom of foil over top of the fish and vegetables.