Strawberry Cream Freeze

I found this recipe on the inside of the Philadelphia Cream Cheese box. We love anything with Cream Cheese and this was so yummy and refreshing.

STRAWBERRY CREAM FREEZE

1 pkg. (8 oz. ) Cream Cheese, softened
1 cup cold milk
1 pkg. (3.4 oz.) JELL-O Vanilla Flavor Instant Pudding
1 1/2 cups thawed Cool Whip Whipped Topping
20 Reduced Fat NILLA wafers, coarsely broken
3 cups fresh strawberries, sliced, divided
1/2 cup strawberry ice cream topping
1 OREO Pie Crust

Beat cream cheese in large bowl with mixer until creamy. Gradually beat in milk. Add dry pudding mix; beat 2 minutes.

Stir in Cool Whip, wafers and 1 cup berries. Swirl in ice cream topping.

Spread into crust. Freeze 6 hours until firm. Remove dessert from freezer 15 minutes before serving. Top with remaining berries.

I had some chocolate graham crackers and just made the pie crust. It is easy.

CHOCOLATE PIE CRUST

1 cup chocolate graham crackers crumbs
3 Tbsp. sugar
3 Tbsp. margarine, melted

Combine crumbs, sugar and margarine; press into the pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 10 minutes.

Meat 'n' Cheese Stromboli

Brooke came home the other day from school with this recipe in her backpack. First thing she did was pull it out and say "I want this for my dinner night". It looks wonderful so we will try it.

MEAT 'N' CHEESE STROMBOLI

1 medium onion, sliced and separated into rings
1 medium green pepper, sliced into rings
1 Tbsp. butter
2 loaves (16 ounces each) frozen bread dough, thawed
1/2 pound thinly sliced hard salami
1/2 pound thinly sliced deli ham
1/2 pound sliced mozzarella cheese
1/2 pound sliced mild cheddar cheese
1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/8 tsp. pepper
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp. poppy seeds

In a large skillet, saute onion and green pepper in butter until crisp-tender; set aside.

On two greased baking sheets, roll each loaf of dough into a 15-in. x 12-in. rectangle. Arrange the salami, ham and cheeses lengthwise over half of each rectangle to within 1/2 in. of edges. Top with onion mixture; sprinkle with Italian seasoning, garlic powder and pepper. Fold dough over filling; pinch edges to seal well.

Brush with the egg and sprinkle with poppy seeds. Bake at 400 degrees for 15- 20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool loaves for 5 minutes before slicing.

The Perfect Brownies

This recipe is from Julie Hales and it is REALLY good, fast, easy and great when you need to feed a lot of people. THE PERFECT BROWNIES 3/4 c. Margarine 3 c. sugar 1/2 c. cocoa 6 eggs 2 3/4 c. flour 1 tsp. salt Mix it all together and pour on a greased jelly roll pan. Bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees. They are much better under done than over done. FROSTING 1/2 c. margarine 3 Tbsp. cocoa 3-4 Tbsp. milk place the 3 ingredients in a bowl and put in the microwave until the butter is melted. Then add: 2 1/2 c. powdered sugar Mix with blender until it is smooth and then pour over the brownies when they are hot.

Tortellini with Pesto & Sun-Dried Tomatoes

We love anything with cheese and pasta at our house, especially Brooke, so Brooke picked this recipe for her dinner night.

TORTELLINI WITH PESTO & SUN-DRIED TOMATOES

2 packages (9 ounces each) refrigerated Three Cheese Tortellini
1/2 cup Refrigerated Pesto with Basil
1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes, drained and chopped
1/2 bunch basil, chopped
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded Parmesan cheese

Prepare pasta according to package directions. Drain; toss with pesto, sun-dried tomatoes, basil and cheese. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Onion and Herb Focaccia Bread

Truth be told, I haven't tried this recipe yet but it comes from an AWESOME source, Julie Hales, whom I totally trust. So, I love this type of bread and I will try it sometime soon.

ONION AND HERB FOCACCIA

3 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 package(1 scant Tbsp) quick rise active dry yeast
1 cup water
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 egg
1 to 2 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 red onion, sliced thin
1 tsp. rosemary or basil

Coat a large baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray; set aside. In the large bowl of an electric mixer, combine 1 cup of the flour, sugar, salt, and yeast. Mix well. Heat water and vegetable oil in a small saucepan until very warm (120-130 degrees). Add warm liquid to the flour mixture, along with the egg. Beat at low speed until moistened, then beat 2 minutes at medium speed. Stir in by hand an additional 1 3/4 cups of the flour. Continue stirring until dough pulls away from sides of bowl.

Turn dough out onto a well-floured surface and knead in the remaining 3/4 cup flour. Knead until dough is smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Invert bowl over the top of the dough and allow it to sit for 5 minutes. Place dough on prepared baking sheet and roll or press into a 12-inch circle.

Spray a length of plastic wrap with nonstick cooking spray and cover dough loosely; gently place a cloth dish towel over the wrap. Let dough rise in a warm place until double in bulk, about 30 minutes. Remove cover from dough. With your finger or the handle of a wooden spoon, poke holes in dough 1 inch apart. Drizzle olive oil over top of dough. Separate onion slices into rings and arrange on loaf; sprinkle evenly with rosemary or basil. Bake at 400 degrees F. for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove immediately from baking sheet and cool on wire rack. Makes 16 servings.

NOTE: Focaccia is extremely versatile and can be flavored with many different herbs, onions, and cheeses, so experiment with your favorites. Julie's favorite is to add Fetta cheese, Basil and Tomatoes, then cook it. Doesn't that sound wonderful?

To freeze, wrap cooled loaf in plastic wrap or aluminum foil and store in freezer for up to 3 months.

Nutrition (per serving): 136 calories

Blender Whole Wheat Pancakes

This is actually a great recipe to use some of your whole wheat that you might have in storage. It is SO EASY, and you don't have to have a wheat grinder to make it.

Blender Whole Wheat Pancakes

1 cup milk or (1/3 c. powdered milk and 1 cup water)
1 cup uncooked dry whole wheat kernels
2 eggs
2 Tbsp. oil
2 tsp. baking powder
2 Tbsp. honey or sugar
1/2 tsp. salt

Put milk in blender and turn it on to highest speed. Slowly pour in wheat. It will sound like popcorn popping. Blend until it stops making a popping sound (4-5 minutes). With blender on low, add all the rest of the ingredients except baking powder. After mixing well, add the baking powder. Run for 5-10 seconds. Have a hot griddle ready because batter will be rising.

For our family we always double this recipe. We also love adding blueberries or chocolate chips (chocolate makes everything better).

Sweet and Sour Chicken

We LOVE this recipe! We haven't found another recipe quite as good as this one. It a little bit of work but well worth it.

SWEET & SOUR CHICKEN

1-2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken

Beat 2 eggs set aside.

Dip the chicken in the eggs then dip into Corn starch. This can be really messy, I've found it works really well to shake the chicken in a paper bag filled with corn starch. It is Much Easier!

Fry the coated chicken in oil until light brown (very light)

Lay chicken in a single layer 9 x 13 glass pan. Then make the sweet and sour sauce below to pour over the top of the chicken.

Sweet & Sour Sauce

3/4 c. sugar
1/2 c. vinegar
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
4 Tbsp. Ketchup
1 Chicken Bouillon Cube
1/4 c. water

Simmer until bouillon dissolves. Pour over chicken and then turn chicken to cover both sides. This never seems to be enough sauce for us, so we always Double it.

Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour.

Sometimes I add some pineapple to the sauce mix. Brinli, Brooke and I love it that way but it is not the boys favorite.

We love it over rice.