Yummy Recipes

Million Dollar Spaghetti Casserole is an easy hearty casserole that is both budget-friendly and easy to make. This casserole is simple and a delicious way to feed a family or a crowd!

PREP TIME: 40 minutes

COOK TIME: 45 minutes

TOTAL TIME: 1hour 25 minutes

SERVINGS: 12 servings

INGREDIENTS:

16 ounces dried spaghetti noodles

1 large yellow onion chopped

4-6 cloves garlic minced

1 ½ pounds sweet Italian sausage casing removed

3 teaspoons dried Italian seasoning divided

48 ounces spaghetti sauce 2 jars, divided

8 ounces cottage cheese or ricotta cheese

8 ounces cream cheese at room temperature

¼ cup sour cream

3 cups mozzarella shredded, divided

½ cup butter cut into slices, divided

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta according to package, drain well and return pasta to original pot. Add 1 jar of prepared spaghetti sauce and combine. Set aside.

In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and cook until they begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Add sausage and 2 teaspoons Italian Seasoning to skillet, and cook until no pink remains. Drain well. Add 1 jar of spaghetti sauce to skillet. Set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine Cottage cheese or ricotta cheese, cream cheese, sour cream, 1 cup mozzarella, and 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning. Set aside.

Place half the slices of butter in a 9×13 baking dish. Spread half the spaghetti in dish, then spread cheese mixture evenly over spaghetti. Spread remaining spaghetti over cheese mixture. Top with the remaining butter slices.Pour tomato meat sauce evenly over top layer of spaghetti.

Top with remaining mozzarella and bake in preheated oven until casserole is heated through, about 35-45 minutes.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 583, Carbohydrates: 32g, Protein: 23g, Fat: 39g, Saturated Fat: 19g, Cholesterol: 109mg, Sodium: 826mg, Potassium: 337mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 3g, Vitamin A: 745IU, Vitamin C: 2.5mg, Calcium: 209mg, Iron: 1.7mg

Homemade caramels from scratch, for a fun homemade holiday gift-giving! Surprisingly easy with one special tool!

The only thing you need to make homemade caramels is a candy thermometer. I have one of those clip-on candy thermometers, but I also really love this one with the thermometer inside the spatula! Either will work for this recipe.

For homemade chewy, sticky, creamy BEST EVER caramels, you just have to be able to boil a mixture. Twice. To two different temperatures. I think we can handle that, yes?

Homemade caramels recipe, plus variations.

When you make your own homemade caramels, you no longer have to ask a Trader Joe’s employee if they could give you all of the boxes of fleur de sel caramels they have in stock and a bigger shopping cart. (Guilty).

I want to try making all sorts of flavored caramels now. Even if you leave the vanilla out of the batch (like I did the first time), the caramels still taste great. I’ve got my eye on apple cider caramels next. I’m not from a state with abundant apples, so I’m not well versed in apple treats, but I want to be! Would you believe I’ve never had a proper apple cider donut? I’m on a mission!

Please, friends, be careful when making these caramels. Boiling things are, um, hot. Don’t burn yourself. When the sugar gets to the right temperature, move quickly but skillfully. And please, whatever you do, do not scrape the pan! You will burn your fingers!

Use both hands to steady the pot of boiling hot stuff, and then be done with it. Let the caramels cool a few hours, or overnight (unconvered)

A small batch of homemade caramels with just 5 ingredients. Optional sea salt sprinkle on top!

PREP TIME: 5 minutes

COOK TIME: 15 minutes

ADDITIONAL TIME: 30 minutes

TOTAL TIME: 50 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

½ cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

¼ teaspoon salt

¾ cup granulated sugar

2 tablespoons light corn syrup

2 tablespoon water

½ teaspoon vanilla

INSTRUCTIONS:

Line a 9 x 5 x 3-inch bread loaf pan with parchment paper, and spray with cooking spray.

In a 2-cup glass measuring cup, add the heavy cream, butter and salt. Microwave in 30 second pulses until melted and steaming. Set aside.

In a 2-quart saucepan (seriously, don’t use a smaller one-it boils up), add the sugar, corn syrup and water. Turn the heat to high, and cook without stirring until it reaches between 290-295 degrees.

Turn the heat off.

Slowly stream in the heavy cream mixture, and whisk gently. Turn the heat back to high, and cook without stirring until it reaches 240 degrees.

Turn off the heat, and add the vanilla. Whisk gently to combine.

Immediately pour the mixture into the loaf pan; do not scrape the bottom of the pan.

Let sit for at least 30 minutes until firm but somewhat soft. This might take a few hours on humid days. You can always leave them overnight, too.

Slice into desired shapes and wrap individually in wax paper.

Nutritional Info:

YIELD: 20 SERVING SIZE: 1

Amount Per Serving: CALORIES: 66TOTAL FAT: 3gSATURATED FAT: 2gTRANS FAT: 0gUNSATURATED FAT: 1gCHOLESTEROL: 10mgSODIUM: 30mgCARBOHYDRATES: 9gFIBER: 0gSUGAR: 9gPROTEIN: 0g

 

Butter Cookies are buttery, tender cookies that can be enjoyed as-is with a cup of coffee or tea or as a base for decorating holiday cookies.

Prep Time: 15mins

Cook Time: 15mins

Total Time: 30mins

Course: Dessert

Keyword: butter cookies, christmas cookies, cookie exchange

Servings: 16 cookies 

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup (2 sticks / 227 g) unsalted butter, softened

⅔ cup (133 g) granulated sugar

2 large egg yolks, room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

¼ teaspoon kosher salt

2-3 tablespoons whole milk, room temperature

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl using a hand mixer on medium speed, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

Add the egg yolks and vanilla. Mix until combined.

In a separate bowl whisk together the flour and salt.

Slowly add the flour mixture to the butter mixture. Mix on low until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Working 1 tablespoon at a time, add milk until the mixture is sticky, thick, and well combined. Set aside.

This is a very thick batter, so you will need a heavy-duty piping bag, or you can use the double bag method. To do that you will need two piping bags, one fitted with a large star tip and one that has not been cut. Transfer the batter to the piping bag with no tip. Clip the tip of that bag and place it inside the second piping bag that is fitted with the star tip.

Pipe the batter into a circular pattern onto the lined baking sheet, leaving about 1 inch in between each cookie.

Bake 13-15 minutes, or until golden brown.

Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Let the cookies cool completely before decorating.

Nutrition

Calories: 202kcal

French Toast Roll-Ups have cream cheese, fruit, or whatever fillings you like rolled up in cinnamon sugar bread. Impressive and crowd pleasing, you’ll love these French Toast Roll-Ups for breakfast.

These French Toast Roll-Ups have cream cheese, fruit, or whatever fillings you like rolled up in cinnamon sugar bread.

PREP TIME: 5MINS

COOK Time: 10MINS

TOTAL TIME: 15MINS

SERVINGS: 8 SERVINGS

INGREDIENTS:

8 slices white sandwich bread

softened cream cheese, diced strawberries, or Nutella

2 eggs

3 tablespoons milk

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1 heaping teaspoon ground cinnamon

butter, for greasing the pan

INSTRUCTIONS:

Cut the crust from each slice of bread and flatten it out with a rolling pin.

Place about 1-2 teaspoons of your chosen filling 1 inch from one end of the bread in a strip. Roll the bread up tightly and repeat with the remaining pieces of bread. I really like cream cheese with diced strawberries as one combination and Nutella with diced strawberries as another combination.

In a shallow bowl whisk the eggs and milk until well combined.

In a separate shallow bowl mix the sugar with the cinnamon.

Heat a skillet set over medium heat and melt a tablespoon of butter.

Dip each bread roll in the egg mixture coating well and then place them in the pan seam side down. Cook in batches until golden brown, turning them to cook and brown on all sides, about 2 minutes per side. Add butter to the pan as needed.

Add cooked rolls immediately from the pan to the cinnamon sugar and roll until completely covered in sugar. You can serve with syrup for dipping but I think they’re perfectly good all by themselves.

NOTES:

Source: inspired from Cinnamon Spice and Everything Nice

serving: 1grams

This easy mini quiche recipe comes together quickly using mini phyllo shells and an assortment of simple ingredients that you may have on hand. Toss these bite size quiches together for an easy appetizer or breakfast item that will please a crowd.

 Prep Time: 15 min

Cook Time: 15 min

Total Time: 30 min

Yield: 30 Category: appetizer

Method: bake Cuisine: French

INGREDIENTS:

2 boxes (15 count) mini phyllo shells

1 small broccoli floret finely chopped

5–6 baby spinach leaves finely chopped

2 tablespoons cheddar finely shredded

1 1/2 tablespoons chopped ham

1 mushroom finely chopped

1 1/2 tablespoons Swiss Cheese finely shredded

1 slice crispy cooked bacon finely chopped

1 green onion finely chopped

4 eggs

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray mini muffin pans with nonstick cooking spray.

Add a pinch of broccoli, spinach, and cheddar to 10 phyllo shells. Add a pinch of ham, mushrooms, and Swiss cheese to 10 phyllo shells. Add a pinch of bacon, green onion, and cheddar cheese to the remaining phyllo shells.

In a medium whisk together eggs, cream, salt, and pepper. Using a teaspoon pour the egg mixture over the ingredients in the shell. Bake for about 15-20 minutes or until set and golden brown.

NOTES:

Phyllo shells can be found in the freezer section of most finer grocery stores. If you can not find the phyllo shells at your local grocery store, you can substitute ready-made pie crust or puff pastry. Cut the dough with a 2 1/2-inch cookie cutter or biscuit cutter and press the rounds into the muffin cups. Then proceed with the rest of the recipe.

These should not be assembled in advance because the moisture from the veggies, meat, cheese and eggs will start to break down the shells. However, they are easy enough to assemble that even older children can help.

When I say chop everything very fine, I mean really super crazy fine.

The amount of each ingredient added to the quiche is very small, so look around your fridge and see what you keep on hand.

Other add-ins for Mini Quiche might include red or green pepper, onions, tomatoes, asparagus cooked sausage, gouda, gruyere, or Monterey Jack.

Brownie Bomb Bars are perfect for football season, my favorite time of year. Football season here in Wisconsin is a sure sign that fall has officially arrived. Football season also signals that comfort food is back on the menu and “grilling time” is reserved for brats on Sunday before the big game. The hot, humid days of summer are replaced with cool, crisp days. Lazy days of summer are gone and school is back in session. I can hear all you Mom’s cheering, Yippee!!

Three layers of goodness!

Course: Bar, Dessert

Cuisine: All-American

Servings: 8 servings

INGREDIENTS:

1 18 oz box double chocolate premium brownie mix with chocolate chips

1 egg

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup water

1 7 oz jar jet-puffed marshmallow creme

1/3 to 1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut

2 cups milk chocolate chips

1 cup chunky peanut butter

3 1/2 cups cocoa krispies cereal

INSTRUCTIONS:

Bottom Layer:

Heat oven to 325º Lightly grease 13 x 9-inch baking dish/pan.

In a medium bowl, stir together brownie mix, egg, oil and water until fully blended.

Spread brownie batter into prepared dish/pan.

Bake for 35 to 45 minutes. Do not over bake.

Let cool completely.

Middle Layer:

When cool, spread jet-puffed marshmallow creme on brownies.

Sprinkle coconut over marshmallow creme.

Top Layer:

Place chocolate chips and peanut butter in a medium size microwave safe bowl. Microwave until well blended and smooth, stopping at 1 minute intervals to stir. Once melted and smooth, stir in cocoa krispies cereal.

Spread evenly over marshmallow/coconut layer.

Cover and chill for 2 hours before cutting into bars.