Cheesy Pesto Pull Apart Bread

1 Large French Bread
1 cup basil pesto
 salt and pepper
2 cups mozzarella cheese
1 cup Parmesan cheese


Cut the bread in slices not going all the way through, about 1 inch apart both making squares.

 Mix some salt and pepper into the basil pesto to taste before spreading into the bread crevasses.
Use a knife to get in between all those squares with the pesto sauce.

 Then squeeze in the cheeses.
Wrap in tinfoil and bake for 10-12 minutes at 400.  Take off the foil put in oven just a minute or so more to golden up the cheese.

 This was super delish!  Can't wait to make it again!

I thought this looked like a winner enough to try out on company.  And it was a total hit all around!
Yummy!


Enjoy!



 

Randomness v39

Gotta admit....it's  been WAY too nice out to blog.

BUT!  I thought it was time for some randomness from the Wright household.

1. Bear-Can it get so hot, that something freezes?

2. Monkey-The funnest place in history?!?.......GRANDMA's.

3. Bear-What's a spongee cord?

4.  Conversation......
Me-Did Lazarus have siblings?
Bear-Yes, he had 2 sisters.
Me-Very good....what were their names?
Bear- I don't remember.
Me-(hinting) Mary and.....
Monkey-(interrupting the conversation) Joseph!...   Oh wait.

5. Monkey-Holy Cow!  This is so awesome!  What is it anyway?

6. Will-Addy, you can't go peeking through peoples drawers.

7. TJ- That burp tasted like cake batter.  They don't usually taste good, but I wish I could burp again.

8.TJ- It must be cold in here, because everytime I try to use my phone it freezes.

9.Bear-I think it's so cold that some of it melted.



(for the life of me, I don't know why my children are so confused with the hot/cold thing....they are frequently saying things wrong like that.)


 

Cheesecake Cups

2 pkgs. 8oz cream cheese
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 8 oz container coolwhip
graham crackers
sugar
butter

Soften the cream cheese. Then mix in the powdered sugar first, vanilla and coolwhip last.

 Crunch up the graham crackers, mix in a little sugar and butter until it sticks together a little.


Line the cupcake liners with the crust.  The using the baggie trick, squeeze out the cheese cake in a swirly design into the cupcake liners.

Top with fruit and enjoy!




 

Beef & Cheddar Taquitos

1 lb hamburger browned
1 bag cheddar
1/2 cup salsa
10 (8") flour tortillas

 Brown and finely chop the beef.  Mix together the beef with the salsa and cheddar cheese.  Spoon down the middle of the tortillas.  Roll tightly.  Place on pan.  Spritz with cooking oil, or pam spray.  Bake at 425 for 16-20 minutes until golden brown and crispy.

I  mixed salsa with sour cream to make a sauce to dip it in.

Enjoy!

 

Toys are overrated #9-lids

Who needs toys when you have jar lids and paintbrushes!

 It's a do it yourself multi-drum! :)




 

Craft-Standing Sheep

Sheep craft.  Make your sheep stand up, and be double sided!

Items needed:
Sheep Template
wiggly eyes
glue
8 cotton balls
clothes pins
black crayon/marker


We've all put cotton on a sheep paper....but here's the next step.  I wanted this to be two sided....so here's a template I made that you can cut out and glue together so his head and eyes are on both sides of his body.

Cut out both sides of the sheep's body.

Stretch 4 cotton balls to make them fill one sheep side, then four more on the other side.  Glue on your Sheep's eyes.  Now glue the body together.  Color your clothes pins black, and attach as the feet.  Now your sheep can stand up!

Happy Crafting!



 

Kansas City Sioux Chicken

I picked a new blog to try recipes from, and they have all been a miss so far.

They are fine, but not great, or awesome.  Maybe worth trying, but not worth making again.  If you know what I mean.  I had one more recipe that I bought ingredients for from this persons blog, but I think I'm going to skip it.

This is similar in nature to my Brown Sugar Chicken.  But maybe not as good, if you ask me.  But a similar quick and easy idea.  But since it's so similar if I compared the two I would say I will repeat Brown Sugar Chicken, but not this one.

Try it for yourself, maybe your taste buds are different than mine and you will enjoy it more.  You never know!  We are all different.

Kansas City Sioux Chicken


4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/4 c. ketchup
1/2 c. apple cider vinegar
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1 onion, diced
1 T. soy sauce
1/2 t. dry mustard
1 c. low-sodium beef broth

Place Chicken in a crockpot.  Mix the rest of the ingredients together and pour overtop.  Cook on low for 6 hours.  Serve with or over rice.

TJ gave this a 6 out of 10

Source: The Farm Girl



 

Chicken Parmesan Bake

Chicken Parmesan Bake

2 Tbsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic
6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
 2 cups spaghetti sauce
 1/4 c. fresh basil, chopped
2 cups mozzarella
1 cup fresh parmesan
1-2 cups croutons (I use my homemade croutons)

Preheat oven to 350°F.  In 9x13 dish, brush olive oil over bottom.  Sprinkle garlic on top of olive oil.  Lay chicken, in one layer, on top of garlic/olive oil mixture.  Pour the spaghetti sauce over the chicken.  Evenly sprinkle basil, 1 cup of mozzarella, and 1/2 cup parmesan over spaghetti sauce.  Spread croutons on top of cheese, spreading evenly, and sprinkle with the rest of the mozzarella and parmesan cheese.  Bake in oven for 40-50 minutes or until chicken is completely cooked through.

You can eat it as whole chicken pieces, or you can cut up the chicken and serve over noodles.

I actually enjoyed this meal. :)

TJ gives it a 7 out of 10.

 All cut up and ready to spoon over top of my cooked noodles.




Enjoy!



 

Rhubarb Freezer Jam

Rhubarb Freezer Jam

5 cups, cut up rhubarb
3 cups sugar
1 cup water
1 (3 oz) pkg. Strawberry Jello

Put rhubarb, sugar and water in a large saucepan.  Cook 15 minutes.  Add Jello and stir until dissolved.  Put in freezer containers.  Cover and freeze.

 

Not-So-Bourbon Chicken

 Not-So-Bourbon Chicken

4-5 chicken breasts
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup apple juice
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 Tbsp. ketchup
1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup soy sauce
pinch red pepper flakes
1 Tbsp. cornstarch


Cube chicken and cook in olive oil for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.  In a medium sized bowl, combine the rest of the ingredients.  Whisk it all together until cornstarch is dissolved and well blended.  When your chicken has a nice brown on some of the pieces, pour the sauce into the pan.  Stir it around to cover all chicken pieces.  Reduce heat to a simmer and cover for 20 minutes, stirring a couple times in between.


Serve over rice.



TJ gave this recipe a 5 out of 10.  It's not bad, but left something to be desired.  Almost felt like there needs to be a veggie or some other spice in there.  Just not sure what it should be.  The source where I got this recipe loves it though.  So maybe it's just us. :)


Source: The Farm Girl


 

Chicken Caesar Sandwiches

Chicken Caesar Sandwiches

2 pds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3/4 cup of Caesar dressing
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
2 tsp of dried parsley
1/2 tsp ground pepper
romaine lettuce
hamburger buns

Place chicken in a crockpot with 1 cup of water.  Cook on low for 4-6 hours.  Before serving, take out chicken, and shred.  Remove most of the water, leaving only 1/2 cup in crockpot.  Add the dressing, parmesan, parsley and pepper.  Mix together and let sit in crockpot until warmed through.  Serve on buns, with lettuce.

TJ gave this a 6 out of 10.  Ok.


Source:
The Farm Girl


 

Slush Punch

Slush Punch

1 (12 oz) can frozen orange juice
1 (12 oz) can frozen lemonade
1 large can pineapple juice
2 cups Hawaiian punch
2, 2 liters lemon-lime pop (7-up, sprite, ginger ale, etc.)

Mix frozen orange juice, frozen lemonade, pineapple juice and hawaiian punch, until well mixed.  Put in a bucket to freeze.  Take out 45 minutes before serving to break apart with a spoon to be slushy.  Put in a punch bowl, and add the 2 liters of pop.  Serves a large punch bowl.  Approx. 25-30 8oz cups.


*You could spread it even further by mixing 3, 2 liters in with one batch of punch mix, if you desire.
*I made 3 batches, it served about 110 people, and some came back for refills.  There was 1/3 of a batch left over.
*Hawaiian punch is for added color, besides the original orange/yellowish color.   You could pick different flavor/colors of punch to make it the color you desire.


ENJOY! 


 

Fajita Pizza

 Fajita Pizza

1 recipe pizza dough

3-4 chicken breasts, cooked and thinly sliced

1 t. chili powder

1/2 t. salt

1/2 t. garlic powder

1 c. onion, sliced thinly

1 c. red bell pepper, sliced thinly

1 c. salsa

2 c. mozzarella cheese

1 c. cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Make pizza dough and let rise.  In frying pan, cook chicken.  Then add chili powder, salt, garlic powder, onion and bell peppers to chicken and cook until vegetables are crispy tender, about 1 minute more. 

Roll out dough, spread on salsa, and top with cheese.  Then add the chicken/vegetable mixture, and sprinkle with a little cheddar on top.  Bake for 15-20 minutes or until crust is golden brown.

 TJ gave this recipe a 6 out of 10.  Ok.



 Adapted from The Farm Girl


 

Creamy Chicken Taquitos

Creamy Chicken Taquitos

4 oz. cream cheese, softened

¼ c. salsa

1 T. fresh lime juice

1 t. chili powder

½ t. cumin

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 T. chopped cilantro

1-2 green onions, chopped

2 c. shredded cooked chicken

1 c. shredded Mexican cheese

10-12 (8in. tortillas) (I used whole wheat tortillas)

Cooking spray

Kosher salt

Sauce:

1 pack (1oz) Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing Mix

1 c. mayo

1/2 c. milk

2 T. lime juice

2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

1/2 c. roughly chopped cilantro

Preheat oven to 425˚ F.   In a large mixing bowl, combine the cream cheese, salsa, lime juice, chili powder, cumin, onion powder, garlic, cilantro, green onions, chicken and shredded cheese.  Mix thoroughly until well combined.

Spread your tortillas out on the counter.  Evenly distribute the filling mixture down the middle of the shells.  Roll the tortilla up tightly around the filling.  Place seam-side down on baking sheet.  Space the assembled taquitos evenly on the baking sheet.  Spray the tops lightly with cooking spray and sprinkle with a pinch of kosher salt. Don't be tempted to skip this part, it adds a very nice touch.  Bake 15-20 minutes, until crisp and golden brown.  

To make the sauce, put everything in the blender and blend until smooth.  Place in bowl and refrigerate until ready.  Make it several hours ahead of time to allow it to thicken.  Serve with warm taquitos and enjoy!

TJ gave this a 7 out of 10.  

Ok, but not awesome.  I definitely want to make taquitos again, just with all new middles.  Never fear, I will post that when I get to it. :)

 Source:   The Farm Girl.


 

Cd Sleeve

I was inspired to create my own custom cd sleeve for my photography clients. :)

Here's the simple design, and layout for you to print and make your own!

Click here to download the blank template.

Print on a full sheet of paper.  Cut on the solid lines and fold on the dotted lines.

Now click on over to see my latest Family Photo Shoot.