Easy Pillsbury Peppermint Crunch Cookies

Pressed for time and need a treat to take to the office holiday party? Well, look no further! Here's a quick recipe from Pillsbury that's festive enough to celebrate the holidays with.

Ingredients:

1 roll (16.5 oz) Pillsbury refrigerated sugar cookie dough
1 1/2 cups white vanilla baking chips or semisweet chocolate chips
8 round hard peppermint candies, crushed into pieces
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Preparations:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Place dough into large bowl. Break into pieces. Knead in 1/4 cup of flour.
3. Shape dough into 36 1-inch balls. Bake 10-14 minutes or until edges are golden brown.
4. Cool cookies completely.
   
5. In small microwaveable bowl, combine vanilla chips and 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil.
6. Microwave on Medium for 2-3 minutes. Stir at halfway point. Chips should be melted.
7. Dip half of each cookie into melted chips mixture. Let excess drip off. Place on lined cookie sheet.
   
8. Sprinkle each cookie with 1/2 teaspoon crushed peppermint cane.
   

Buy Cheap Bread at the Hostess Store

The Hostess Bread store is running awesome deals right now. I bought four loaves of white bread for $3.00. I'm freezing three of the loaves to use for stuffing my Christmas bird. So just because you can't use the bread now - doesn't mean you can't in the future. I was also able to get Don Julio tortillas for $.99 and whole wheat bread for $1.00.

Hostess doesn't just sell Wonder bread and cupcakes! Check out your local store and save money. :)

My Grandmother's Bread Stuffing

I love stuffing. Next to mashed potatoes, it's my favorite thing to eat on Thanksgiving. When I first made my grandmother's recipe, my husband was skeptical because he strongly disliked every other stuffing he'd ever had (i.e. his grandmother's :) but after eating this - he was converted. In fact, we never have enough stuffing when I host family gatherings so you might just want to double this. What doesn't fit in your bird can be baked in a CorningWare dish.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup butter (no margarine!)
2 large stalks of celery, chopped
1 medium sized onion, chopped
15 slices of bread torn into pieces
1 teaspoon salt (add more if need be)
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Preparations:

1. Saute onion and celery in melted butter until onions and celery are soft.
2. Add salt and pepper.
3. In large mixing bowl, combine butter/onion/celery mixture with bread. Mix well.

Here's a tip - it's better to have wet stuffing than dry stuffing so if you find that once you mix your stuffing it's a bit dry then add more butter. Place stuffing inside your very well cleaned out turkey and bake.

Magic Cookie Bars

Here's a great recipe for entertaining over the holidays. They're very sweet so keep milk nearby!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups of crushed graham crackers
1/2 cup of butter (melted)
1 14oz can of Sweet condensed milk
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 1/3 cup flaked coconut
1 cup chopped nuts

Preparations:

1. Combine graham crackers and butter. Press into bottom of 13x9 inch pan.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degree
3. Pour sweet condensed milk over graham cracker layer.
4. Spread coconut, chocolate chips and nuts in even layers on top.
5. Bake for 20 minutes.

Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Treats

Here's another kid-friendly recipe.

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar

1 cup Karo syrup

1 cup peanut butter

6 cups Rice Krispies

1 - 12 oz bag of chocolate chips

Preparations:

1. Mix peanut butter, syrup, sugar and cereal.
2. Press into cold pan.
3. Melt chocolate chips and cover rice krispies.
4. Refrigerate for an hour.

Taste of Home's Chicken Penne Pasta Casserole

I like to make casseroles when I have more than five people to feed. It's less time consuming and you don't have to worry about having enough food. I chose this recipe because it was highly rated on the Taste of Home website and served it to my writing group. It takes some prep time (more than I'm used to :) but they all really liked it.

Ingredients:

1 lb boneless skinless chicken pieces
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped red pepper
1 1/2 cups cooked Penne pasta
1 - 14 oz can diced tomatoes, undrained
3/4 cup chicken broth
3 tablespoons tomato paste
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried basil
2 cups shredded Mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup grated Romano cheese
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon olive oil

Preparations:

1. Saute chicken, onion, peppers and seasonings in oil until chicken is no longer pink.


2. Add garlic.


3. Boil pasta and cook according to directions. Drain.


4. Separately, mix tomatoes and tomato pasted until thoroughly combined.


5. Add chicken broth and tomatoes to chicken mixture and bring to a boil.


6. Reduce heat and let simmer until thickened. (10-15 minutes)


7. Add pasta and mix.


8. Spoon half of mixture into 2 quart greased baking dish. Add half of cheeses.


9. Top with remaining mixture and cover with remaining cheese.


10. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Easy Quick Taco Casserole

Every once and a while, I grab one of the little recipe cards that you can find around name-brand products at the store. I saw a recipe for Taco Casserole from McCormick and figured since it looked easy - I might as well give it a shot.

This is a good recipe for kids. It's not too spicy and it's easy to make.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs lean ground beef or Turkey (with the seasonings the Turkey is the healthier choice and the difference isn't too obvious)
1 pkg Taco seasoning
1 - 15 oz can Tomato sauce
1 - 16 oz can of Pinto beans (drain and rinse)
1 - 11 oz can of Yellow corn drained
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1 cup broken Tortilla chips

Preparations:

1. Brown meat and drain fat.
2. Add seasoning mix, tomato sauce, beans and corn.
3. Bring to boil.
4. Reduce heat and simmer for five minutes, stir occasionally.
5. Spoon mixture into 2 quart baking dish.
6. Top with cheese and tortilla chips.
7. Bake at 400 degrees for 5 - 10 minutes.

Hint: Serve with a side of sour cream and the dish is even tastier!