Mississippi Mud Cake

OH MY GOODNESS!!!!!!!!!!
Seriously, OH MY GOODNESS!!!!  This thing is SOOOO good!!! 
I had found a few different Mississippi Mud Cake recipes online, but really wasn't satisfied with any of them, so I took things from all of them and made my own recipe.  Now, this cake is not the prettiest, but WHO CARES when it tastes this good!!!  Its sort of like a cake, and a brownie, and a smore all rolled into one!
Note:  You can make the chocolate frosting a little thinner by only adding 2 cups (16oz) of powdered sugar and then you could drizzle it on top of the cake all nice and pretty.  I didn't do that.  I like my frosting a little thicker, so I added another 1/2 cup to 1 cup of powdered sugar, but then it doesn't drizzle and look all pretty.  Seriously... WHO CARES.  Its that good!  But I just wanted to add that note for anyone who wants their cake to look prettier - especially if you make this for a party or get-together.

Anyway, on to the recipe...

Bacon and Cheese Muffins

Good morning everyone!  This morning I got up early specifically to try out a new breakfast recipe - Bacon and Cheese Muffins!  I found this recipe on bigoven.com.  If you've never check it out, its an AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME site.  (Did I mentions that its awesome?)  I have the BigOven app on my ipod touch & I LOVE IT!!!!  So many great recipes with tons of ratings and reviews.  ONe really cool feature of the ipod/iphone app is the "What's Cooking Around You" feature.  The app actually uses your location (if you give it permission to) and it shows you what people that live near you who are using BigOven are making for dinner.  How cool is that!

Roach Family Meal Plan - Feb 27th - March 5th

Well, I'm finally back into the swing of things!  After being gone myself for two weeks and then my husband being gone for a week (leaving the day after I came home), it's been pretty hectic around here.  But, I recovered this weekend and am back into normal life.... so with normal life comes a meal plan.  I also need to get moving posting some new recipes......But first, the meal plan:

Rebekka's Menu Plan for Saturday, February 25th through Tuesday, March 13th

Saturday, 02/25 - Sausage and Rice Casserole, Green Beans, Roasted Cauliflower (lunch)
Saturday, 02/25 - Jammin' Jambalaya (dinner)
Sunday, 02/26 - leftovers from Saturday
Monday, 02/27 - eat out
Tuesday, 02/28 - Crockin' Pork Chops, Little Ma's Potato Salad, Squash and Onions, Field Peas and Snaps
Wednesday, 02/29 - Chicken Salad Sandwiches and chips
Thursday, 03/01 - leftovers from Tuesday night
Friday, 03/02 - Chicken with Green Beans and Tomatoes served over rice, Cuban Crushed Potatoes, Cheesy Garlic Pull Apart
Saturday,03/03 - Taco Bake (lunch)
Saturday, 03/03 - Chicken Cornbread Dressing, Macaroni and Cheese, Lima Beans (dinner)
Sunday, 03/04 - leftovers from Friday night
Sunday, 03/04 - leftover Taco Bake

Southwest Chicken

Well, its been a little while since I posted a recipe.  Sorry.  We've been out of town twice, and between those visits sickness has been running rampant in our house.  But I'm back!  Unfortunately, we are all sick - again.  UGH!  Thank goodness for super easy recipes!  And this just happens to be one of them!  I LOVE LOVE LOVE this recipe!  Seriously!  Its probably the easiest recipe I make, yet its SOOOO yummy!!!  And because of its antioxident properties and immune-boosting properties, its the PERFECT meal for my sick family.

Vietnamese Fried Rice

This is one of the first things I learned to cook.  It was a staple in our house.  My mama made it a lot because it was one of my dad's favorites.   I love how "customizable" it is!  Add whatever floats your boat!  My mama even changed up the meat in it.  Sometimes she used chicken, occasionally strips of steak, and even ground hamburger.  We weren't big seafood eaters in our house, but I bet if you love shrimp, that would be yummy too.  Today I added about 1/2 a cup of frozen peas, which is something I'd never done before.  You could also add carrots, scallions, water chestnuts, baby corn, etc.  Get creative people!  :)

Buttermilk Cheddar Biscuits

Awesome, awesome, awesome is all I have to say.  Cooked these today and they are fantastic!  I mixed everything by hand and they were fluffy and delicious! :)  I also added as much cheese as I wanted...didn't stick to the 1 cup.  Yummy!

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more as needed
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, diced
• 1/2 cup cold buttermilk, shaken
• 1 cold extra-large egg
• 1 cup grated extra-sharp Cheddar
• 1 egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon water or milk
• Maldon sea salt, optional

Cheesy Chicken Ranch Lasagna

 I made this for the first time last night. I forgot that it takes a little longer to prepare lasagna, but it was well worth it. I'm not a big red sauce fan so this was perfect for me! My husband on the other hand I think would eat red sauce every meal if given the chance...so when we sat down he tasted it, liked it, and then went and grabbed some leftover tomato sauce to add to his. He said he would eat it again so that's always good with a new recipe!!

Cheesy Chicken Ranch Lasagna

2 (12 oz) cans evaporated milk
1 (1 oz) pkg. Ranch Mix (not the dip blend)
3 C. cubed, cooked, chicken
1/8 tsp pepper
1 (16oz) lasagna noodles, cooked
1 1/2 to 2 C cheddar cheese, grated (I used 1 cup per layer...made two layers total)
1 1/2 to 2 C mozzarella cheese, grated (again I used 1 cup per layer)

Italian Mac and Cheese

I made this last night for Italian night at church.  It was absolutely fantastic!   We are eating the leftovers today for lunch!  This is the ulitmate in comfort food!!! 

          Butter, for greasing dish

• 16 ounces wide egg noodles
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 2 cups whole milk
• 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more for pasta water
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cups (packed) grated Fontina
• 3/4 cup (packed) finely grated Parmesan
• 3/4 cup (packed) grated mozzarella
• 4 ounces cooked ham, diced, optional
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves (I used dried)

Best Banana Pudding EVER!

3 cups milk
1 family size instant vanilla pudding
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 can sweetened condensed milk
8 ounces cream cheese softened
8 ounce container frozen whipped topping (Cool Whip) thawed
6 (or as many as you like) bananas
12 ounce package vanilla wafers

Cayman's Menu Plan for Feb. 5-11

For whatever reason this week was a struggle to come up with menus, but they are done! So here is my meal plan for Feb. 5-11

Sunday- Slow Cooker Salisbury Steak, rice, green bean casserole, bread, and jello

Monday- chicken roll ups (these were one the menu last week, but we never got around to making them)

Tuesday- Slow Cooker Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, green beans

Rebekka's Menu Plan for Wednesday, Feb. 1st through Monday, Feb. 13th

Wed., 02-01 - Eat Out
Thurs., 02-02 - Spaghetti and Meatballs, Garlic Bread
Fri., 02-03 - Grilled BBQ Chicken, McCormick BBQ Potatoes, Lima Beans
Sat., 02-04 (Lunch) - leftover Spaghetti and Meatballs
Sat., 02-04 (Dinner) - Pork BBQ Sandwiches, Corn on the Cob, Sweet Potato Fries
Sun., 02-05 (Lunch) - leftover BBQ Sandwiches, Sweet Potato Fries
Sun., 02-05 (Dinner) - Appetizers to watch the rest of the Super Bowl (after church)
                             will probably make some finger sandwiches, some stuffed mushrooms, some
                             chips and dip, etc.

Chicken Tetrazzini

I was never much for Chicken Tetrazini but I think it's because it was a recipe I didn't grow up having.  My mom never cooked it for some reason or another, but it is such an easy meal to throw together and put in the oven that I quickly got the recipe from my Mother in law.  I know it is not my husbands favorite either but sometimes its the easy go to recipe.  Plus I can freeze half of it for another dinner because we only need an 8x8 of it at a time.

Strawberry Cake Mix Cookies

Once again another wonderful Pinterest find.  I am telling you if you aren't on there you should be cause I have made some good stuff thanks to recipes on there.  And I can say I love a box strawberry cake with cream cheese frosting so I knew these cookies would fit right in!!

Before I was a sahm I spent some time being a nanny for these two children who are now basically like my own.  Well Caroline came over to spend the night with me so we had a girls night....baking, movies, and so forth.  I decided to try this recipe out that I found on Pinterest and we loved it.  The recipe called for half the cake mix box but I doubled the recipe because I knew she would want to take some home, and of course I was gonna want to keep some too :)

Here is my picture taken with the iPhone again...sorry doesn't make the prettiest pictures but it's easy!!

You can find the original recipe here since I doubled it here is the recipe with the whole box of mix: (I would say just for kicks head on over to her blog and read the recipe because her pictures are MUCH prettier and she probably gives you more explanation than I did)

Kitchen Sink Pasta Salad

We just got back from out of town last night.  I realized this morning that I didn't have anything planned for lunch for me and the munchkin, so I decided to go with an old standby - and personal favorite - this pasta salad.  I call it "Kitchen Sink Pasta Salad" because its totally customizable and extremely "pantry friendly."  You can just see what's in your pantry or fridge and invent a new pasta salad!  Just throw in everything but the kitchen sink!  ;)

Crockpot Chicken Casserole

No doubt about it I love using my crockpot for sure!  This is a super easy and flexible recipe as well.  I thought I found it on pinterest but I couldn't seem to find the pin so I am guessing that I got it from Crockin Girls on Facebook.  This is super easy!

I didn't take this picture I found it online but had to put a picture with it!!

Ingredients:

4 boneless/skinless chicken breasts (On a side note....I always salt, pepper, and garlic powder my meat!)

4 slices Swiss cheese (if you aren't a Swiss fan, put your fav cheese on there)

1 can cream of mushroom soup (or can substitute cream of chicken if you don't like mushrooms)

1/4 cup milk

2 cups stuffing mix (flavored stuffing makes it awesome)

1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted 

Menu Plan for Jan. 29th-Feb.4th

Here is the menu plan starting Jan. 29th-Feb.4th

Sunday- chicken from the freezer (already bought seasoned just have to cook it), green beans, bread, Parmesan rice, and jello

Monday- hot dogs, mac and cheese

Tuesday- omelets in a bag, bacon, muffins, hash browns, and pretzels with white chocolate slightly melted and a yellow M&M on top (to represent bacon and eggs)

Sarita's Carbonara

I had a limited amount of time and energy so this is what I came up with.

1 lb of pasta
2 boiled chicken breasts shredded or cubed(done earlier for another meal)
4 slices bacon chopped
1/4 onion chopped
2 cloves garlic chopped
3 tbsp oil
1 pat butter
Parmesan cheese

Pizza Biscuits

This is another wonderful Pinterest idea but it didn't come with a link.  It could easily be an appetizer if you wanted it to be, but I often make these on a night where we don't want a big dinner or we have something going on and need a quick dinner.  They are super easy and a big hit at my house!!!

the picture is from Pinterest but like I said it didn't come with a link to the website

Can of Biscuits (I usually buy the four pack pillsbury and use them for different things like this and mini monkey breads)
Mozzarella Cheese
Pepperoni (cut up or buy the mini's)
Garlic Powder, Basil, Oregano, Parsley (this is where you can get creative and add whatever you want or nothing at all!!!)
Pizza Dipping Sauce

Herbed Lentils and Rice

3 1/3 c. veg. broth                                     3/4 c. dry lentils (rinsed)
3/4 c. chopped onion                                 1/2 c. uncooked brown rice
1/4 tsp. salt                                                1/2 tsp. dry basil
1/4 tsp. thyme                                            1/4 tsp. dry oregano (I omit this)
1/8 tsp. pepper                                           1/8 tsp. garlic powder