Mini Meatloaves

This is not your traditional meat loaf. The glaze made with ketchup, honey mustard, brown sugar and barbecue sauce makes for a tangy surprise for your taste buds!

What you will need

1lb ground meat(beef,turkey,chicken)

3/4 cup milk

1 egg

1/2 cup oatmeal

1tbsp prepared honey mustard

1 tsp garlic salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 cup shredded cheese(I used mozzarella)

1tbsp prepared glaze

Glaze

1 cup ketchup

1 tbsp prepared honey mustard

1/2 cup barbecue sauce

1/4 cup brown sugar

Preheat oven to 375*. Start by combining all of your ingredients together in a bowl, mix well. Once you have finished combining all of your ingredients, form them into "mini" loaves(I got 7 loaves out of this recipe). Place in a baking dish.

Next make your glaze(I use a good amount of glaze, if you don't like a lot, you can cut this down).

Spoon your glaze over your meat loaves. Bake for about 35 minutes.

Cake Mix Cookies

I am generally all about homemade everything, but in a pinch this is a nice go to cookie to make. They are really good and really versatile. You choose your cake mix and add in whatever you like. ie: chocolate/chocolate chip, vanilla/chocolate chip, vanilla/toffee chips, strawberry/vanilla chips, chocolate/peanut butter chips

What you will need

This is just the basic recipe, add in whatever you like

1 cake mix

2 eggs

1/2 cup oil

1tsp vanilla(I add but not necessary)

Mix together cake, eggs and oil.

Next roll the cookie dough into balls.

Bake at 350* for 6-8 minutes.

Bow tie Chicken Pasta

This is a very refreshing, healthy pasta for a warm spring or summer day. Add in asparagus, carrots, broccoli or spinach for a more filling pasta.

What you will need:

1 chicken breast

3/4 lb of bow tie pasta

1/2 cup of frozen sweet peas

1/4 cup zesty Italian dressing

1 tsp garlic salt

freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Start by grilled your chicken, season chicken with garlic powder and black pepper and cook in a tbsp of butter. While cooking your chicken, boil the water for your pasta, in this dish it isn't necessary to season the water.

After your chicken is finished cooking, set aside and allow it to rest for a few minutes before cutting.

During the last 20 second of the pasta cook time, pour your frozen peas into the boiling pasta. Make sure you don't used canned peas here, it will alter the taste of the dish.

Drain your pasta and peas. If you would like this to be a cold dish, rinse your pasta under cold water. If not, leave warm

Dump pasta into a bowl and coat with your dressing, stir. Add in your sliced chicken and stir again. Now, freshly grate Parmesan cheese and serve.

Roasted Red Pepper Burgers

We love burgers on the grill and I am always looking for something to make them taste a little different. We wanted red pepper mayo, so I made these.

What you will need:

1 lb ground meat(sub ground turkey,chicken)

1 large roasted red pepper finely chopped

1 tbsp honey Dijon mustard

1 tbsp ground cumin

1 tsp garlic salt

1/2 tsp ground pepper

Chop your red pepper. Next mix all ingredients together and form hamburger patties. I made large square like burgers since we were using ciabatta bread.

To make the mayo

1 cup mayo

1 large roasted red pepper chopped in food processor

mix these ingredients together

Breakfast Casserole

You can change or add in any ingredients that you like to this recipe. Every time it will come out very tasty.

What you will need

10 eggs

1/4 cup milk

salt and pepper to taste

3 large potatoes(grated)

1 1/2 cups cheese

1 package of breakfast sausage or bacon, ham

1 small onion, thinly sliced

Preheat your oven to 375*. Prepare a casserole dish by covering the bottom and sides with butter. Now grate your potatoes. Once you have finished, squeeze out any extra liquid.

I cook the potatoes in a skillet before putting in my casserole dish. This step is not necessary but adds a nice crisp texture to the potatoes. When you have finished browning, place in the bottom of a casserole dish, press down slightly.

The next layer is your sliced onion(for some more flavor here, try adding peppers, tomatoes or asparagus.

Next, brown your sausage or cook your bacon(you can also use deli ham here). Once you have finished browning, place your sausage as your next layer, over the onions.

Now you will add in your cheese, I used Colby Jack cheese, but you can substitute any kind.

Finally scramble your eggs, milk and salt and pepper together. Pour this mixture over your cheese.

Bake for about 30 minutes, or until the eggs are cooked.

Chocolate Mousse

This mousse is relatively simple and tastes delicious. Try changing things a bit by adding in some almond extract, adding in some mint, orange or lemon flavoring or changing the chocolate to dark or white.

What you will need:

8 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate, chopped

2 tbsp. sugar

2 tbsp butter

1/2 cup water divided

1 tsp vanilla

3 egg yolks

1 1/2 cups whipped cream

Begin my chopping your chocolate, coarsely. Next, place your chocolate, butter and 1/4 cup of water in a saucepan. Melt over a low heat while constantly whisking. Once melted, sit aside.

Now, in a separate pot cook over a low heat your egg yolks, sugar and remaining 1/4 cup water. Continue whisking over a low heat until your mixture reaches 160*. If you do not have a thermometer you will want to watch your mixture thicken and turn a tan like color.

Once you are finished with that, combine your egg yolk mixture with your melted chocolate. Add in your tsp of vanilla(this is also where you will add in any extracts.)

Place your pan of chocolate in a bowl of cold water or an ice bath and mix until cooled. Once cool mix in your whipped cream. I used store bought because I was in a time crunch. But, homemade is easy and delicious!

Meatballs

Spaghetti and meatballs is a favorite dinner in our house, we have this very often on Sunday's. This recipe is slightly different from your basic bread crumb Italian meatball recipe, but the flavor is the same.(please ignore the messiness of this plate....the kids were hungry and I was rushing!)

What you will need

1 lb of ground beef(you may sub chicken, turkey or do a combo of beef, pork and veal)

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

1 tbsp parsley flakes

1 tsp pepper

2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 cup oatmeal

1 egg

You will begin by combining all ingredients in a bowl. Bring all ingredients together without over mixing.

Once you have finished combining, form into small balls, about an 1 inch in diameter. Bake at 350* for about 15 minutes(if you are making larger meatballs, allow a longer baking time). When finished baking place in your favorite sauce and simmer on your stove top for at least one hour, this will allow your sauce to cook into your meatballs.