Cheeseburger Casserole

Craving a nice juicy cheeseburger tonight? Does the thought of cheese, beef, pickles, and tomatoes tickle your fancy? Then this, my friends, is the recipe for you!

I found this recipe on a blog I stumbled upon, however, I tweaked it a bit to accomodate our needs. It called for some mustard in it, however, we aren't fans, so we didn't include it.

Ingredients

• 2 cups (6 oz) uncooked rotini pasta (use brown rice pasta for a gluten free option)
• 2 tsp oil
• 1 1/2 cups onions, finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• 1 lb lean ground beef (95% lean)
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 2 tbsp tomato paste (we didn't have paste on hand, so I substituted tomato sauce)
• 28 oz diced tomatoes
• 2 tbsp Dijon Mustard (optional)
• 2 cups reduced fat grated cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup chopped dill pickles

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 x 13 inch baking dish with cooking spray. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the pasta according to the package directions for al dente and drain well.

In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-low heat. Add the onions and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Stir in the beef and cook until browned; season with salt and pepper. Stir in the tomato paste (or sauce in our case), then add the tomatoes and mustard (optional). Let the mixture bubble gently until it is slightly thickened, about 2 minutes.

Toss the meat mixture with the pasta and spread it into the prepared dish. Top with the cheddar and bake until the cheese is melted, about 15 minutes. Sprinkle the chopped pickles over the top and serve. Makes about 9 cups.

Copy Cat: Pasta e Fagioli (a.k.a. Olive Garden's soup)

I am smitten with the OG's soup. Sign me up for soup, salad and breadsticks any ol' day, and I'm a happy gal! :)  I went to Pinterest to try to find myself a similar recipe, and low and behold, look what I found!

I made a few alterations, based on items I had (or did not have) in the pantry.

Pasta e Fagiolimakes 8 generous servings

1 lb ground beef
1 small onion diced fine (1 cup)
3 stalks celery chopped (1 cup)
3 carrots grated (1 cup)
3 cloves garlic minced fine
2 14.5 oz cans diced tomatoes with juice
1 15 oz can tomato sauce
12 oz V-8 vegetable juice blend
1 T white wine vinegar
1 can cannolini beans (white kidney beans), drained and rinsed
1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1.5 t dried oregano
.5 t dried thyme
1 T kosher salt OR 1.5 t table salt
2 cans water (I use the tomato sauce and diced tomato cans, that way I rinse out the tomato residue into my soup)
1/2 lb (1/2 box) ditalini pasta (short round tubes)

In a large dutch oven or soup pot brown the beef. Drain off any excess fat. Add the onions, carrots, celery and garlic. Sautee about 10 minutes or until the veggies are starting to soften. Add everything EXCEPT the pasta to the pot. Stir well, bring to a boil, reduce to simmer and cook for 1 hour, stirring 2-3 times during the cooking process.

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and reserve.

Put about 1/3 c cooked pasta in each bowl and ladle hot soup over top. Serve with grated cheese if desired.

Coconut Macaroons

Let me share a little story with you about macaroons.  When Mr. D and I were in Maui this past year, we treated ourselves to a much deserved couple's massage. In the waiting area at the spa, they served the most delicious and heavenly warm coconut macaroons known to man! Mr. D couldn't keep his hands off them!

I tried my hand at this Taste of Home recipe, and while it isn't the same recipe we had at that spa, it comes darn near close!! If you are a macaroon person, you will flip over how simple this is.

Shopping List

2 1/2 cups sweetened flaked coconut

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 (14 oz) can of sweetened condensed milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

 

 

 

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Spray your cookie sheet with Pam or line it with parchment paper. Set aside.

In a mixing bowl, combine coconut and flour with a wooden spoon. Stir in your salt, milk and vanilla.

Drop by the two tablespoons full on to your waxed paper.

Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until lightly brown and toasted.

Remove from oven and serve either warm or room temp.

This recipe should make about 1 1/2 dozen macaroons.

 

 

 

ADDICTIVE Seasoned Pretzels

Hands down, THE. BEST. SNACK!

Need a little healthy snack? These seasoned pretzels are to die for!! SUPER easy too! Here's what you need.

2 lbs. pretzels (I use the small twists)
2 TBSP dill weed
1 TBSP garlic powder
1 envelope of Hidden Valley Ranch dressing (dry mix)
1 bottle of Orville Redenbacher's Popcorn Oil

Dump all the ingredients (except the pretzels) together, stir, and heat in the microwave for approximately 1 minute. Pour over pretzels and mix together in a large bowl. Be gentle stirring so you don't break too many pretzels!

Continually stir every half hour or so (or when you walk by it in the kitchen), so the oil mixture can soak into the pretzels. Once the pretzels seem to have soaked in the mixture (and they aren't oily looking), store in an airtight container.

Your guests will love this flavorful, yet healthy option for a snack!

St. Patty's Day Minty Brownies

For this week's dessert for the Dykema household, I found this scrumptious version of minty brownies! Mr. D and I are HUGE fans of anything mint (including Thin Mints! - which we have so far been able to avoid bringing into the house). In celebration of that huge feat, I decided this was pretty much close to being like Thin Mints...just in the brownie form! With a little green food dye, it was perfect for tomorrow's lucky holiday!

Shopping List

1 box of chocolate cake mix

4 eggs

1 stick melted butter

1 box of powdered sugar (about 4 cups)

8 oz package of cream cheese, softened
2 teaspoons peppermint extract
green food coloring
1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease (I use Pam) one 9x13 inch pan.  Set aside.

In a mixing bowl, combine cake mix, 2 eggs and melted butter.  Spread in bottom of pan to form your "crust" layer.

In a second bowl, beat with an electric mixer, powdered sugar, 2 more eggs and cream cheese until smooth.   Beat in your extract and 2 or 3 drops of food coloring.  Finally, stir in your chocolate chips.

 Spread cream cheese mixture on top of crust mixture.

Bake 35-40 minutes until edges are brown and center set (it will still be slightly wobbly in the middle).

Cool on counter 30 minutes, then refrigerate 2 hours up to 2 days.

Slice into bars and serve.

I'm telling you...you will kiss me...which is okay every though I'm not Irish.

Chocolate Chip Dip

I stumbled on this dip by pure accident and am glad I did! Need something sweet? Need something that tastes pretty much like Chocolate Chip Cheesecake? Then here you go! Try this!

Ingredients

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup confectioners' sugar (powdered sugar)

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup (6 ounces) mini semisweet chocolate chips

Graham Crackers or Graham Cracker sticks

 

In a small bowl, beat cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy. Add the sugars and vanilla; beat until smooth. Stir in chocolate chips. Serve with graham cracker sticks. YIELD: 2 cups

 

You guys, this is just pure AMAZING! Kids love it, adults love it! The only hard part is knowing when to stop eating it.  Enjoy!

 

Carrot Cake

Wait. Is it Easter already? No.....

Carrot cake is HANDS DOWN my hubs favorite type of cake. Being the awesome wife that I am, I decided to try my hand at it. And not just any ordinary "Betty-Crocker-just-add-water" cake, but an honest to goodness "made from scratch" kind. Go me!

I found this recipe during my nightly ritual of Pinterest perusing, and it looked like a winner to me! I asked the hubs if his mother made her carrot cake with honest-to-goodness REAL carrots, to which he replied, "No". Ha! Now was MY time to shine! Here's what you need to get started.



1 cup oil

2 cups white sugar

3 eggs, beaten well

2 cups carrots, peeled and grated fine

1 (8 ounce) can crushed pineapple, undrained

2 teaspoons vanilla

3 cups flour (replace one cup with whole wheat flour for a denser, nuttier taste)

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup chopped pecans (I didn't use any, since I'm not a fan)

Cream Cheese Frosting:

1/2 cup butter, softened

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla

1lb (4 cups) powdered sugar

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix oil, sugar, eggs, carrots, pineapple and vanilla until combined.
3. Mix dry ingredients in a bowl and add slowly to the wet ingredients.
4. To make a 9x13 cake, pour into a greased 9x13 baking dish for 45 minutes.
5. To make a 2 layer cake use 2 round pans and bake for 35-40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. If using 2 round pans make sure to really grease or use parchment cut in circles so that your cake comes out clean. Invert cakes into a cooling rack.
6. When cake has cooled frost with cream cheese frosting.
7. For the Cream Cheese Frosting: Beat butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and then powdered sugar one cup at a time, scraping the bowl often. Frost the carrot cake. Enjoy!