Make Ahead Muffin Melts

This recipe comes from the Pioneer Woman.  I actually halved the recipe and had a few variations due to ingredients in the fridge. I could have used the halved recipe for 6 english muffins, but I only had 4 so they had a little more height than PW's but still delicious.  I've mentioned before that I'm not a big fan of cheese, so next time I will make without cheese and just add to the top for Ben.

Ingredients

• 12 whole Hard-boiled Eggs, Peeled And Chopped
• 2 cups Grated Cheddar Cheese
• 1 cup (real) Mayonnaise
• 12 slices Bacon, Fried And Crumbled (I used one roll of Jimmy Dean sausage - cooked and drained)
• 1 Tablespoon (heaping) Dijon Mustard (no dijon, so I used regular mustard)
• ½ teaspoons Garlic Powder
• 3 dashes Worcestershire Sauce
• 6 whole English Muffins Split

Preparation Instructions

Combine eggs with all other ingredients. Fold together gently. Cover and store in the fridge overnight.
Spread on English muffin halves, then broil for 3 to 5 minutes or until hot and bubbly. (Don’t set them too close to the heating element.)

Serve immediately!

Creamed Broccoli

I really just threw this together because I had the ingredients on hand.  For the record I normally do not deviate from solid recipes, but I must admit this turned out pretty well.

1 bag frozen broccoli
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
2-4 oz cream cheese (pending your desired creaminess)

Cook broccoli according to directions. Combine broccoli with cream cheese, Parmesan, and mix until desired consistency. 

Breakfast Cupcakes

Yitin sent me this cute little website called Weelicious! Even though I don't have any kids, this website still had some great & healthy recipes that I think even Ben would like.  I decided to make the breakfast cupcakes for church on Sunday.

If you are used to high sugar muffins something like Otis Spunkmeyer's blueberry muffin, then you are not going to like these.  If you like the idea of low sugar food, then I suggest you try!  My "frosting" didn't turn out as well as Weelicious' but it still tasted good despite being a little drippy.  Next time I'll use less jelly.

Peanut Butter & Jelly Breakfast Cupcakes (Makes 20 Mini Cupcakes)

1 1/4 Cup All Purpose Flour
2 Tsp Baking Powder
1/2 Tsp Salt
1/4 Cup Peanut Butter (you can also use almond, cashew, or sunflower butter)
1 Large Egg
2 Tbsps Sugar
1 1/4 Cup Milk (low fat or whole)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Whisk the first 3 ingredients in a bowl.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk the peanut butter, egg and sugar until combined, then whisk in the milk until incorporated.
4. Whisk the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until just combined (you don’t want to over beat the mixture).
5. Grease or line mini muffin tins and fill 2/3 of the way up with the batter.
6. Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
7. Cool.
8. Spread the top of each cupcake with frosting (recipe below) and serve.

*This batter can also be used to make pancakes

Jelly Frosting (Makes about 2 cups)

1/2 Cup Whipped or Regular Cream Cheese (softened in a microwave or at room temperature)
1/4 Cup Jelly, Jam or Preserves

1. Place all ingredients in a bowl and whisk until throughly combined (you want the mixture to be smooth like frosting).
2. Spread on cupcakes and serve.

Carrot Spread

Thanks to Amanda H., I was able to use the last batch of my carrots!  She said she was a little skeptical of the recipe but it turned out delicious!

Here's to the carrot harvest of 2010.  You were yummy, but I need more room in the refrigerator.

I've had these pecans on hand for quite some time, so I was really excited to use them! I think they were for a pecan pie, but I guess I forgot to make it. 

And I even had some celery on hand from the pasta salad. I still have more celery if anyone has any ideas.

1 cup grated carrots
1/2 cup pecans chopped fine
1/-3/4 cup mayo
2-3 tsp garlic powder

Mix all together. Spread on bread for fingers sandwiches or use as a spread for celery sticks, crackers, etc.

Pasta Salad

For all of you Ruston people, this pasta salad was almost like Ponchatoula's minus the delicious ranch dressing!

16 oz rotini
1/2 cup celery chopped
1/2 cup carrots chopped (I threw these in because I needed to get rid of some)
1/2 cup grated parmesan
2 green onions chopped
1 cup mayo
1/4 cup sour cream
2 tbs milk
1 tsp basil
salt, pepper & Cavenders seasoning to taste

Cook pasta. Drain and rinse with cool water.  Stir celery, carrots, Parmesan, green onions, mayo, sour cream, milk, & basil in a separate bowl.  Once the pasta has cooled, combine ingredients and refrigerate for one hour before serving.  Top with paprika and serve.

Sausage Pull Aparts

I made this recipe for Sunday School this morning. It's from the Pillsbury website and the original recipe calls for bacon, but I used Jimmy Dean sausage instead.

(because I was hungry, one or two biscuits may be missing above)

Ingredients
1 egg
2 tbs milk
1 can of Pillsbury biscuits
1 roll Jimmy Dean sausage (cooked and drained)
3/4 cup shredded cheese
1/4 cup green onions (diced)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl beat egg & milk until smooth.  Cut biscuits into quarters and gently stir in biscuits.  Fold in sausage, cheese, and onions.  Spoon mixture into 11X7 baking dish and arrange biscuits into a single layer.  Bake at 350 for 23-25 minutes or until the tops of biscuits are golden brown.