Chocolate Chip Cookie Delight

I made this dessert last weekend and it was a big hit!  If you love things that are chocolaty, and creamy and delicious you should give this a try!  The recipe says to refrigerate it for 8 hours or overnight.  I didn't have the patience for that so mine only refrigerated for about four hours before I dug into it and it was pretty darn good.  I noticed the next day though that the cookie on the bottom was quite a bit softer.  So if you like a softer cookie you may want to refrigerate it over night.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Delight

via Dainty Chef via Taste of Home

What you'll need:
1 tube (16-1/2 ounces) refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 carton (12 ounces) frozen whipped topping, thawed, divided
3 cups cold milk
1 package (3.9 ounces) instant chocolate pudding mix
1 package (3.4 ounces) instant vanilla pudding mix
Chopped nuts and chocolate curls, optional
What you'll do:
Let cookie dough stand at room temperature for 5-10 minutes to soften. Press into an ungreased 13-in. x 9-in. baking pan. Bake at 350° for 14-16 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and confectioners' sugar until smooth. Fold in 1-3/4 cups whipped topping. Spread over crust. In a large bowl, whisk milk and pudding mixes for 2 minutes; let stand for 2 minutes or until soft-set. Spread over cream cheese layer. Top with remaining whipped topping. Sprinkle with nuts and chocolate curls if desired.
Cover and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight until firm

Easy Cheesy Chicken Spaghetti

I made this for dinner last night and we loved it!  If you love things that are creamy and cheesy (and who doesn't?) then this recipe is for you!

The recipe calls for four ounces of Velveeta but says you can use more.  I'm a little ashamed to admit it, but I think I used about 8 oz. of cheese and it was a bit much.  Next time I make this I think I'll try being less of a glutton and just use 4 oz.  It was so delicious.  I was sad there wasn't any leftover.

Chicken Spaghetti

2 c. cooked and shredded chicken

3 c. cooked spaghetti

4 oz. Velveeta {or more}, melted

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 can green chilies {or a can of tomatoes with green chilies}
1/2 tsp. garlic powder

Mix altogether and pour into a greased 9x13 pan. Sprinkle the top with some shredded cheddar cheese. Bake at 350 for 30 min. or until bubbly.

Graham Cracker S'mores Candy

These are so good!  I found the recipe for them here.  They have all the flavor of s'mores with a little something extra.  They are also really simple and easy to make.  Their only downfall is that they are pretty messy.  And addicting!  But it's worth it!

S'mores Cracker Candy

Printable Recipe

12 sheets of graham crackers

3/4 cup butter

3/4 cup brown sugar

3 cups mini marshmallows

4 Hershey bars, broken into pieces

1 cup milk chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 15x10x1-inch jelly roll pan with aluminum foil, leaving a 1-inch overhang over the ends, and spray foil with cooking spray. Line graham crackers up on the foil so that the sides are touching.

In a medium saucepan, melt butter and brown sugar over medium heat, stirring constantly, until smooth and mixture comes just to a boil (about 4-6 minutes). Remove from heat and pour evenly over crackers. Bake 5 to 6 minutes, or until bubbly.

Remove pan from oven and immediately sprinkle mini marshmallows, chocolate bar pieces, and chocolate chips over the crackers. 

Return pan to oven for another 2-3 minutes, or until marshmallows begin to soften and puff up. 

Cool completely. Lift from pan using foil edges; cut into bars and enjoy!

Printable Recipe

Bubble Up Enchiladas

This is another recipe I got from Plain Chicken.  I really love her recipes.  This one made me so happy for so many reasons.  It was so simple to throw together which I love for a quick, weeknight dinner.  With this recipe you basically throw everything in a pan, then transfer to a baking dish and bake it.  I used 93/7 ground beef so I didn't even need to drain it!  I love that!  The smell as this was baking was seriously heavenly and when I opened the oven to take it out I was speechless. 

I think next time I might add beans and corn to this but it is pretty delicious as is!

Bubble Up Enchiladas

1 lb lean ground beef
1 packet taco seasoning
8 oz tomato sauce
10 oz can enchilada sauce
1 can refrigerated biscuits (I used Mini Grands)
2 cups Mexican Cheese blend

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Brown lean ground beef in a large skillet and drain off fat. Add the taco seasoning, enchilada sauce, tomato sauce and 1 cup of cheese. Stir to combine.

Cut the refrigerated biscuits into fourths and stir them in the meat mixture.

Spray a 9x13 casserole dish with cooking spray and add the meat/biscuit mixture. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and sprinkle remaining cheese on top. Bake an additional 10 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Chicken and Dressing Casserole

Here is a recipe I tried last week.  It was another good one, for sure!  I served it with sweet potatoes and cranberry sauce.  It was like Thanksgiving in August!  And the best part is that the leftovers were really good too!

I cooked the chicken over the weekend which made putting it together during the week quicker.

The only thing I think I'd do differently next time is to add another box of stuffing to the top.  I looove Stove Top and it seemed to shrink up and disappear a little bit. 

Chicken and Dressing Casserole
Via Eat at Home

3 cups of cooked chicken, approximately
1 box of cornbread stuffing mix
1 can chicken broth
3 Tbs. butter
1 1/3 cups milk
1 can cream of chicken soup

Put the chicken in the bottom of a baking dish (13×9 or nearly that size). In a large bowl, melt the butter in the microwave. Add the chicken broth and stir in the stuffing mix. Set aside while you mix the milk and cream soup together in a separate bowl. Pour the milk/soup mixture over the chicken. Top with the stuffing mix. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to one hour.

Weekly Meal Plan ~ Week of Aug. 22, 2011

This will be week three of school.  The last couple weeks have not been easy.  Extremely large class sizes and major increases in expectations seems to mean endless work.  All I have to say is two weeks is too early to be burned out!  I am hoping for things settling soon and for calmer days ahead.

Here is what we're having for dinner this week.

Sunday - Bacon Ranch Slow Cooker Chicken
Monday - Meatloaf, roasted potatoes, green beans
Tuesday - Creamy Lemon Pesto Linguini
Wednesday - Bubble Up Enchiladas
Thursday - Parmesan Fettuccini (didn't end up making it last week)
Friday- Take out
Saturday - Take out

Have a good week everyone!

Bacon Ranch Slow Cooker Chicken

We had this for dinner tonight and it was a big success!  I always know when a recipe is a success if the hubs and my little Muffin like it because they are such picky eaters! 

As with most crock pot meals, it was really quick to throw together.  My favorite thing about this meal is that if you use one of those wonderful crock pot liners, clean up is minimal! 

I had frozen bscb so I cooked it on low for about six hours instead of on high for 3.5.  I also used precooked bacon and just broke it up into pieces before adding it to the crock pot.  Cause I'm lazy like that.  Finally, I used reduced fat sour cream instead of fat free and I used pene pasta instead of rigatoni. 

Bacon Ranch Slowcooker Chicken
Via Kelly's Healthified Kitchen

4 Servings

2 butterball turkey bacon strips, cooked and shredded
1 tsp minced garlic
1 package ranch dressing mix
1 10.75 oz can condensed cream of chicken soup (98% fat free)
1 cup fat-free sour cream
16 oz. chicken breasts
8 oz. pasta (I used rigatoni)

Combine the first five ingredients. Place chicken in slowcooker and pour sauce over the top. Cook on high for 3.5 hours. Serve over hot noodles.