Creamy Caramel and Apples

From: Anita

INGREDIENTS:
3 cans of condensed milk
Apples (Honeycrisp are my favorite!)

DIRECTIONS:
Peel the labels off the cans of condensed milk. Put in a deep pot and cover with water. Boil for 3 hours (make sure to keep replenishing water to keep cans under water). Let cans cool slightly- and carefully open. Hot, creamy caramel will be awaiting you inside! Serve with sliced apples. Delicious!!!

Andy's French Toast

I am not a breakfast person- mostly because I'm not a morning person... during the week, we eat breakfast bars or instant oatmeal. However, on the weekends, it's a different story because my husband loves to cook breakfast, and he is a morning person! He reluctantly shared his "secret" recipe:

INGREDIENTS:
3 eggs
Milk (even with eggs)
Sugar, to taste (1 TBL)
Cinnamon, to taste
Texas Toast (stale is best)

DIRECTIONS:
Sleep in on Sunday morning, while your husband does the following:
Whisk eggs and milk until well blended. Add in sugar and cinnamon and continue to whisk. Soak bread in mixture- one piece at a time and then cook on a pre-heated griddle or skillet. Top with butter, maple syrup and powdered sugar. Awesome with hot coffee!

Buffalo Chicken Dip

INGREDIENTS:
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup ranch dressing
1/2 cup of buffalo wing sauce
1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese
1/4 cup shredded cheese- mozzarella, cheddar or monterey jack
12. 5 oz of canned white chunk chicken

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350. In a baking dish, stir cream cheese until smooth. Add dressing, wing sauce, and cheese. Stir in chicken. Bake for about 20 minutes- until warm and bubbly. Serve with tortilla chips (I like the scoops!).

Chicken Divan

INGREDIENTS:
10 oz. pkg of frozen broccoli, chopped
3 cups of shredded chicken, cooked
1 (10 3/4 oz) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup mayo
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup shredded cheddar
1/2 TBL fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp curry powder
Salt and Pepper
1/4 cup dry white wine or chicken stock
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs
1 TBL butter, melted

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350.
Steam broccoli in the microwave (if a steamable bag) or in a steamer. Drainand put into a casserole dish (sprayed with non-stick spray). Add the shredded chicken.
In a medium bowl, combine the soup, mayo, sour cream, cheddar, lemon juice, curry powder, salt and pepper (to taste), and wine/chicken stock. Whisk together to make a sauce. Pour the sauce over the broccoli and chicken in the casserole dish. Mix well, then pat down and smooth.
Combine Parmesan, bread crumbs and butter in a small bowl. Sprinkle that over the top of the casserole.
Bake for about 30-45 minutes.

This would be good served over rice or pasta- but also is good with just some warm, crusty bread and a salad!

Easy Halloween Crafts

My kids are still both under 3- so crafts for us means something that we can assemble and clean up very easily- they don't have much attention span and weren't not good with small pieces or multiple steps. 

Here are two crafts we did this year that were right up our alley- easy and not expensive!

Sucker Ghosts! We took Tootsie Pops, wrapped a kleenex around them, tied with a little piece of ribbon and added the eyes/mouth with a black marker. Super easy and cute! I'd recommend using a quality kleenex or doubling it up so it's thick enough to not tear easily. We handed these out at my son's preschool's Trunk or Treat!

Spider Web: They had this at our local state park Halloween party- I thought it was super cute! Just take a paper plate and cut slits in it all across. Take a long piece of yarn and tape one end to the back of the plate and then weave it in throughout all the other holes. Tape the last piece on the back. To assemble your spider- we used the 'gumballs' that fall off sweet gum trees- but you could use a pinecone or piece of a stick, etc. that you find outside- and hot glued pipe cleaners to it for the legs. Then we glued the spider to the plate.

Another version with other colors!

Chicken Sausage, Peppers and Potatoes

I got this recipe from Skinny Taste- although I added a few things to my edition. It was super easy, yummy and a fast clean up- PERFECT for a family meal mid-week. There were no left overs, so if you are feeding more than 3 people, I'd double this recipe.

INGREDIENTS:
1 pkg. al fresco's italian chicken sausage, cut into 1" pieces
Red and Green Pepper, cut into large pieces
1 bag of mixed potatoes, cubed
1 large onion
Olive Oil
Salt/Pepper
Rosemary
Morton's Nature's Seasoning
Garlic Powder

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 375. In a large bowl, mix pepper, potatoes and onion. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle in seasonings. Stir to coat evenly. Pour veggies onto a baking sheet and bake for about 10 minutes. Add sausage and bake about 30 minutes longer- occasionally turning over and checking on potatoes.

Enjoy!

Shrimp and Black Bean Wraps

From Amy


INGREDIENTS:
4 lg flour tortillas
1 TBL olive oil
1 lb. shrimp, peeled & deveined, tails off
1 TBL garlic, minced
1 lime, (juice)
1 15 oz. can black beans, drained & rinsed
1 lg tomato, chopped
2 green onions, sliced
1 1/2 t. tabasco
1/2 t. salt

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Wrap tortillas in foil, place in oven for 10 min to warm. Heat oil and garlic in 10" skillet over med high heat. Add shrimp; cook; stir until pink- top with lime juice. Mash 1/2 c. beans in medium bowl. Stir in remaining ingredients (beans, shrimp, tomato, onions, tabasco & salt). Assemble & Enjoy!