Coconutty dream bars

I absolutely love anything with coconut in it, so when I came across this recipe I knew I had to try it! Plus it only called for 6 things so I knew it would be quick to make. And honestly this would be the best recipe to throw together at the last minute for a get together. Or when someone calls and say's to bring dessert to a family party and your frantically trying to find something that's yummy, cheap and easy. I almost want to have all of the ingredients on hand just so I can make it on a random night I'm craving something sweet. It would also be amazing with a scoop of ice cream! Mmmh I'm literally drooling as I type this! Anyway, down below is this amazing recipe so I would suggest QUICKLY reading this then RUNNING to the grocery store to get these ingredients!

Coconutty Dream Bars

Ingredients:

20 Graham Crackers or 2 packages

 1 1/2 sticks of butter, melted

1/4 tsp salt (optional)

1 1/2 cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

1 bag Sweetened Coconut Flakes

1 can Sweetened Condensed Milk

Preheat oven to 350 

Crush graham crackers into crumbs and mix into melted butter and salt. I would suggest that if you use salted butter to not use any salt. You could use a food processor or even put them into a ziplock and use a rolling pin to smash them.

Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray and press crumb mixture onto the bottom of the pan. 

Mix the coconut flakes and the chocolate chips in a bowl and then spread evenly onto the graham cracker crust.

Pour the sweetened condensed milk over the top of the coconut mixture and put in the oven for 30 minutes.

Take out and try not to eat the whole thing by yourself!! 

found recipe on this site

Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars With Streusel Topping

For our Christmas Eve party I was assigned to make a dessert. At first I was thinking about making these really yummy twix that I have a recipe for (I will post it later!). But me being me I decided to try something new! Whenever I have to bring something to a party or a get together I always want to make something I've never made before! Not the smartest idea considering that the recipe may not turn out right. But so far they haven't! I've heard from several people that this Paula Deen recipe for Caramel Apple Cheesecake is to die for. So I decided it was something I would try. And I must say, everyone who tried it LOVED it! I was so proud of myself! I also made homemade whip cream with whipping cream and powdered sugar to go on top. I must say this is a long process and it has many steps but it is well worth it! And I would highly suggest prepping everything before you begin to bake that way you don't stress about hurrying to put it together once the step before is over.

Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars With Streusel Topping

Paula Deens Link

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar, plus 2 tablespoons, divided
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and finely chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• Streusel topping (recipe below)
• Caramel Topping ( I used the caramel sunday syrup in the bottle, it makes it easier to drizzle.)

Streusel Topping:

1 cup firmly packed Brown Sugar

1 cup All Purpose Flour

1/2 cup Quick Oats

1/2 cup Butter(1 stick), softened

In a small bowl combine all ingredients until Crumbly, set aside.

Here we go!

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.

In a medium bowl combine flour and brown sugar. Cut in butter until it is crumbly. I don't own a Pastry Blender so I used a potato masher and worked just fine! You could even use a fork or your hands!

Press evenly onto a 9x13 pan that has been well greased or lined with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Bake 15 minutes or until golden brown. I baked mine for about 20 minutes. It depends on how thick you layer the crust.

In a small bowl stir chopped apples, nutmeg, cinnamon and 2 tablespoons of sugar. Set aside.

In a large bowl beat cheesecake with 1/2 cup sugar with an electric mixer at medium speed until no longer lumpy. Slowly add one egg at a time, then vanilla.

Add Cheescake to warm crust, then top with apple mixture evenly. Add the streusel topping making sure the cheesecake is fully coated.

Bake for 30 minutes or until Cheesecake is set. Take caramel topping and drizzle it on the Cheesecake. 

Crock Pot Turkey Chili

I love a good hearty meal! Especially when the weather is yucky outside. I have looked at a few chili recipes but haven't really found one that screamed my name. So I figured I'd try to make my own by grabbing ideas off of different recipes and hope for the best!

Crock Pot Turkey Chili

Ingredients:

1 lb ground Turkey

1 8oz can Tomato Sauce

1 can Black Beans (drained)

1 can Hot Chili Beans (drained)

1 can Kidney Beans (drained)

1 can Corn (drained)

1 can Diced Tomato's with Green Chilies (drained)

A pinch of Cumin

A pinch of Chili Powder

1 tablespoon of Garlic Powder

1 tablespoon Taco Seasoning

Cook ground turkey on the stove until it is no longer pink. Add the cumin,chili powder, garlic powder and taco seasoning and stir. You may drain the excess fat, but most the time with turkey there isn't any.

Add the tomato sauce and the drained diced tomatoes to the crock pot. Drain all the beans and corn and add those as well. Lastly add the ground turkey. Cook on low for 4-5 hours.

Crock Pot Chicken and Dumplings

I found this recipe on Pinterest awhile back. I made it once a few months ago and it turned out really well! It's an easy dinner and you need very few ingredients to make it. All in all we enjoy it! I didn't get a chance to take a picture of the final steps because I had a VERY  huge surprise! My brother who lives in California showed up at my house! I was so EXCITED to see him, considering the last time I saw him was in July and my son was only 4 months old!

Crockpot Chicken and Dumplings

Ingredients:

4-6 Chicken Breast

2 tablespoons Butter

2 cans Cream of Chicken soup

1 can Chicken broth

1 onion diced

1 tablespoon dried parsley

4 Grands flaky refrigerator biscuits

Add all to crockpot except biscuits. 

Cook on high 4-6 hours. Shred chicken with fork.

 Take 4 grands biscuits and cut into 9 pieces. Add to crockpot and cook for 30 minutes.

Easy Peezy Pulled Pork Sandwiches

So at our home we are a HUGE fan of Pulled Pork Sandwiches! I found this recipe on the Campbell Kitchen Website and ABSOLUTELY love it! It's super easy and I love easy. Our family likes to put coleslaw on top of it. I highly suggest you try it! You wont be let down! I'm not a big fan of coleslaw but I could eat it on my sandwiches ALL day long. Hope it becomes a favorite in your home just like it is in ours!

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Sandwiches

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

3-4 lbs boneless Pork Loin

1 can Campbells Condensed French Onion Soup

1 cup Ketchup

1/4 cup Cider Vinegar

3 tablespoons packed Brown Sugar

12 Hoagie Rolls

Heat the Oil in a skillet. Sear Pork Loin on both sides until brown.

In the meantime

Add all ingredients to the Crockpot!

Put Pork Loin in Crockpot and cook on low for 8-9 hrs or on high for 4-5

Remove Pork from Crockpot and shred.

Put back into the Crockpot and serve!   

On the Campbells website it says Pork Shoulder netted. But I find that Pork Loin is cheaper and it taste amazing! It's never dry and the leftovers are great too!

Olive Garden Tuscano Soup!

You will thank me once you've made this! It's absolutely DELICIOUS! I found the Recipe at Tasty Kitchen but tweaked it just a little the second time I made it and it turned out even BETTER! It's definitely filling and great for winter time. It's so quick and easy it takes about 30 minutes!

Ingredients:

• 1 lb Mild Breakfast Sausage
• 4 slices of Bacon (diced)
• 3 cloves of Garlic (minced)
• 3 whole medium Potatoes (sliced into decent size)
• 1 quart warm water
• 2 cubes Chicken Bouillon 
• 1/4 bunch Kale (roughly chopped) I use a little bit more!
• 1/2 cup Heavy Cream ( 1/2 and 1/2 would work too)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Okay lets begin!

Crumble the breakfast sausage into your pot and cook on medium heat until its done. Drain it and set it aside.

In the same pot add your chopped bacon and and cook until they are almost done. Reduce the heat and add the garlic for about 1 minute.

Take your 1 quart of WARM water and add your Chicken Bouillon cubes to it and stir until they dissolve. Add your cut potatoes to the pot and pour the water mixture into the pot as well. Simmer for 15-20 minutes until potatoes are almost done.

Add the Kale, Sausage and Heavy Cream and let simmer for 5 more minutes.

And guess what?? YOUR DONE!

Enjoy it with some warm bread sticks or garlic bread! 

It's time

So I finally decided I'm going to start blogging all of my favorite recipes or recipes that I'm going to attempt to try. I ABSOLUTELY love to cook! Especially now that I am a stay at home mom. I can spend all day looking up great/interesting recipes to try on my family. Some are great and some not so much. But it's a great feeling knowing that I put it all together and I love knowing what exactly I'm eating. So this will be an adventure but I'm so excited to get great feedback! If anyone has any good recipes let me know :)