Country Green Beans

I am trying very hard to eat more vegetables and my husband will actually eat green beans. I adapted this recipe from Allrecipes, using onion powder because we don't like whole onion, and using bacon in place of ham because it was what I already had in the house. These were quite tasty and I would definitely make them again.

Country Green Beans:

Adapted from allrecipes.com

1 lb. fresh green beans, trimmed

1 tsp. onion powder

3 slices bacon, cooked and chopped

2 Tbsp. butter

1/4 cup water

1 garlic clove, minced

1/2 tsp. salt

In a saucepan, combine all ingredients and simmer 8-10 minutes until done.

Crispy Rosemary Chicken & Fries

I am trying very hard to eat healthier and this recipe sounded really good to use up some chicken thighs I had in the freezer. I also love these little red potatoes. Perfect! The chicken was very juicy and the potatoes, while not exactly crispy, were yummy as well.

Crispy Rosemary Chicken & Fries:
from allrecipes.com

8 chicken thighs
6 small red potatoes, quartered
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil, or as needed
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh rosemary (I used dried)
1 1/2 tsp. chopped fresh oregano (I used dried)
1 1/2 tsp. garlic powder (I used garlic salt)
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Place chicken and potatoes into a large bowl. Pour olive oil over them and stir to coat. Scatter the chicken and potato pieces in a large baking dish, or cookie sheet with sides. Sprinkle with rosemary, oregano, garlic powder, salt and pepper.

Bake for 1 hour (mine took 1 hour and 10 minutes) in the preheated oven, uncovered. Baste during the last 15 minutes for extra crispness.

Brooke's Best Bombshell Brownies

Brooke's Best Bombshell Brownies:

from allrecipes.com

I needed a sweetie of some sort for my husband's lunch this week. Coming out of all the Christmas goodies, I couldn't give him Oreos and such. I wanted to bake him something. We are trying to eat through our pantry, so my ingredients were limited. This was a very simple recipe, but produced a very rich and decadent brownie. One of these at a time is more than enough!

1 cup butter, melted

3 cups white sugar

1 Tbsp. vanilla extract

4 eggs

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tsp. salt

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (I used milk chocolate ones because I had them in the pantry.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9x13 pan.

Combine the melted butter, sugar and vanilla in a large bowl. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each, until thoroughly blended.

Sift together the flour, cocoa powder and salt. Gradually stir the flour mixture into the chocolate mixture until blended. Stir in the chocolate morsels. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared baking dish.

Bake in preheated oven until an inserted toothpick comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Remove and cool pan on wire rack before cutting.

Linguini Salad

This is my mother's recipe and she's been making this for as long as I can remember. It's a perfect side dish to go along with any sort of cookout type food. My husband drools every time he hears that she is preparing this. I hope you enjoy it too!

Linguini Salad:

courtesy of my mom

1 lb linguini, cooked

1 bottle Zesty Italian salad dressing - you can use Light

1 jar Salad Supreme

1 cup chopped pepperoni

1 cup chopped green pepper

1 cup chopped tomato - optional

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and refrigerate overnight. Stir before serving.

Calico Beans

I love baked beans and was looking for a new way to prepare them. This is a nice change with the additions of multiple types of beans - baked, kidney, cannelini and butter. The bacon gives it a nice smokiness too. This is now a staple dish that I have to bring any time we have a cookout.

Calico Beans:
adapted from allrecipes.com

1 15 oz can kidney beans - dark red - drained

1 15 oz can cannelini beans - drained

1 15 oz can baby butter beans - drained

1 16 oz can baked beans - I used Bush's Country Style

1/2 cup ketchup

2 tsp. white vinegar

1 Tbsp. dry mustard

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

4 oz bacon, fried crisp and chopped

onion powder to taste

Combine all the ingredients in a crockpot and cook on low all day, 8-10 hours.

Rice & Ground Meat

This is my mother-in-law's recipe for what she calls rice & ground meat. It's always served with mashed potatoes. Basically, it is the stuffing that is typically put into stuffed peppers...minus the peppers! It is actually quite tasty.

Rice & Ground Meat:
courtesy of my mother-in-law

1 lb ground beef
2 cans tomato with rice soup - condensed
1/3 cup Minute rice

Brown ground beef in skillet. Drain off fat and then add both cans of soup and the rice. Simmer for about a half hour to allow flavors to meld. Serve with mashed potatoes.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

These are the BEST chocolate chip cookie I have ever made or tried. You can mix it up by changing the pudding flavor and the chips flavor. I also love making these with peanut butter chips and butterscotch pudding. They are very moist and almost melt in your mouth. The pudding is the key for this recipe.

Chocolate Chip Cookies:
courtesy of allrecipes.com

1 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup white sugar

1 3.5 oz package instant vanilla pudding mix

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

2 cups milk chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars. Add pudding mix, eggs and vanilla. Combine flour and baking soda; add to creamed mixture and mix well. Fold in chocolate chips.

Drop by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned.