Asparagus Cream Pastry

Great new & delicious appetizer!

1 8oz package Philadelphia Cream Cheese, softened

1 sheet Puff Pastry, thawed

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

3 Tbs lemon juice

pinch of basil

1 lb fresh asparagus

Olive oil for drizzling

In small bowl combine cream cheese, parmesan, lemon juice and basil. Unfold puff pastry sheet on greased baking sheet. Cut into 6 rectangles. Spread cream cheese mixture on each pastry. Trim asparagus to be a bit shorter than pastry, alternating directions of spears, place 4-5 on each pastry. Drizzle with olive oil. Bake at 400 for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown. Sprinkle with shaved parmesan.

*I served this with Tomato & Basil soup.

Lasagna Casserole

Got this delicious new idea for lasagna from a friend Jennifer. You must try this one out!

1 to 1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 tsp salt & pepper
1 pound medium shell pasta, cooked and drained
1 pound shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1 24oz carton small curd cottage cheese
2 eggs beaten
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 Tbs dried parsley flakes
1 jar spaghetti sauce

1.) In a skillet cook beef and onion, drain. Season with salt and pepper

2.) In a large bowl mix pasta, 3 cups mozzarella, cottage cheese, eggs, Parmesan cheese, parsley and pepper

3.) Pour into greased large casserole dish, top with beef mixture, then spaghetti sauce. This will make a lot, so either put into 2 pans and freeze one, or a huge casserole dish.

4.) Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Remove foil and top with remaining mozzarella and bake for another 15 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. Great with french or garlic bread and salad.

Enjoy!

Lemon Broccoli Chicken over Rice

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips

2 cups broccoli florets

1 cup uncooked rice

10oz tub Philadelphia Original Cooking Creme

1 tsp lemon zest

In a skillet over medium heat, put in 1 Tbs olive oil, add your chicken strips, season with garlic salt, onion powder, and lemon pepper seasoning. Stirring often while cooking.

Start cooking your rice according to package.

When chicken is done, add broccoli, and cooking creme, stir together, let set for 2 minutes, add lemon zest.

Serve over rice.

I went to one of those Philadelphia Home cooking shows and picked up this yummy recipe. Those new cooking creme's are pretty easy and good to cook with.

Mexican Casserole

1 pound ground hamburger
1/2 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 can Mexicorn
1 4oz can chopped green chiles
1 10oz package corn chips
1 14oz can enchilada sauce
1-2 cups shredded cheese

In a skillet, brown hamburger and onion over medium heat, drain grease, add corn and green chiles. In an ungreased shallow 3qt baking dish, layer meat mixture, corn chips, and enchilada sauce, top with cheese. Bake uncovered at 350 for 8-10 minutes or until heated through.

~Dirt Dessert~

My husband has been asking me to make this for a couple years now, and I just now made it for his birthday dessert. Recipe from a good friend Lyn!

Process 1 package Oreo cookies in food processor until crumbs, set aside
Mix 2 small packages instant vanilla pudding, according to directions, set aside

Beat 2 tablespoons softened butter
1/2 cup sugar
8 oz softened cream cheese
Fold in 8 oz Cool Whip and the prepared pudding

In a trifle dish, layer crumbs then cream cheese mixture. Top with gummy worms if desired.


Very sweet!

Panera's Broccoli Cheddar Soup

I love Fall, the leaves the colors and the cool breeze, and nothing says Fall more than a hot pot of soup on the stove, so I decided to start a little family tradition of Soup Saturday in our home for Fall and Winter. This was last weekends.

Panera Breads Broccoli Cheese Soup

1 tablespoon butter, melted
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1/4 cup melted butter
1/4 cup flour
2 cups half-and-half
2 cupschicken stock or bouillon
1/2 pound fresh broccoli
1 cup carrots, julienned
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
8 ounces grated sharp cheddar


Saute onion in butter. Set aside. Cook melted butter and flour using a whisk over medium heat for 3-5 minutes. Stir constantly and slowly add the half-and-half (this is called making a roux). Add the chicken stock whisking all the time. Simmer for 20 minutes.

Add the broccoli, carrots and onions. Cook over low heat until the veggies are tender for 20-25 minutes. Add salt and pepper. The soup should be thickened by now. Pour in small batches into blender and puree. Return to pot over low heat and add the grated cheese; stir until well blended. Stir in the nutmeg and serve

Very good tasting warm soup! Only thing is make sure you transfer small batches into the blender. Mine was only a little over halfway full and it blew the lid off as I was holding it down and blew soup all over my cupboards! I served it with warm french bread.

Spicy Beefy Enchiladas

One of my favorite things to make!

1.5 pounds lean hamburger
6 large tortillas
2 10oz cans Old El Paso enchilada sauce, I use medium
1 4oz can Ortega diced jalapenos, use half, you can use green chiles if you want less spicy
1/4 yellow onion, diced
around 4 cups shredded cheddar cheese

-brown hamburger with diced onion and jalapenos
-heat up tortillas in microwave for about 20 seconds, they are easier to roll warm
-set cheese in a bowl, (easy to get to)
-dump enchilada sauce into a pie plate, or wide shallow dish
-set out 9x13 baking dish
-set up line cause once you start rolling it gets messy
--slap both sides of each tortilla in the sauce
--load it with a few spoonfuls of beef and then cheese
--roll it up and do another
--dump remaining sauce over enchiladas
--top with desired amount of cheese

Bake at 375 20-30 minutes or until cheese is melted and sauce is bubbly!

This last time I added some spinach in each enchilada and it was really good! I had some frozen spinach, pulled out about 1 cup, let it thaw, then added a little to each one. One of those things where you are getting a serving of vegetables without knowing it!

*Forgot to take a picture before digging in, but they looked amazing!