Chocolate Mint Crack(le)

I made this for a church potluck yesterday, from a recipe I got from Taste of Home.  A couple of my friends and I agreed that it's so addictive we couldn't stop eating it, so it was basically the food version of crack.  Hence my new name for it.  I've changed it a bit, so posting my version here.

Chocolate Mint Crack(le)

2 (10 oz) packages dark chocolate chips
12 mint Oreos -- broken into chunks
1/2 cup white baking chips
1 candy cane -- crushed

Line a cookie sheet with sides (not the totally flat kind) with parchment paper.  In a microwaveable bowl, microwave dark chocolate chips for 1 minute.  Stir.  Microwave again in 30-second increments, stirring between each heating, until fully melted and smooth.  Stir in cookie pieces.  Spread on your parchment-covered cookie sheet -- it might not go all the way to all the edges, but spread it out until it's fairly smooth and not a big glob.

Microwave white baking chips until melted, stirring every 30 seconds like before until smooth.  Drizzle over your dark chocolate-and-Oreos mixture, then sprinkle with crushed candy canes.  Refrigerate for one hour, or longer if it's not set yet.  Break or cut into pieces -- be careful, because those candy cane shards can be sharp.  Store in an airtight container, preferably tucked out of sight so you don't eat the whole thing in one sitting.

Cajun Cabbage

We tend to eat this as a main dish or casserole, but you could use it as a side dish too at a bigger gathering.  It's too spicy for our kids, so we tend to skip the Tabasco sauce if they're going to be eating it.

Cajun Cabbage

1 lb. Ground Beef
1 medium Green pepper -- chopped
3/4  cup Onion -- chopped
2 cloves Garlic -- minced
1 can Diced Tomatoes with Green chilis
1 8oz. can Tomato sauce
1/2  cup Rice
1 small Cabbage –--chopped
1 cup Colby cheese -- shredded
1 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Pepper
1/2  tsp. Basil
1/2  tsp. Oregano
1/2  tsp. Cayenne
1/4  tsp. Tabasco

Brown beef and drain fat. Add green pepper, onions, and garlic; sauté. Pour into a non-greased 9x13 pan. Stir in tomatoes, tomato sauce, rice, and seasonings. Top with cabbage and cheese. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 75 minutes.

Caesar Tortellini

We just made this for the first time recently, and it's such a neat blend of textures, with the noodles and the salad leaves.  I cooked up a couple of slices of bacon for the bacon bits.  If you wanted to make this meatless, you could easily leave those out.

Caesar Tortellini

9-13 oz. package Cheese tortellini -- cooked and rinsed
1 bag Caesar salad mix (including dressing and croutons)
1 medium Tomato -- chopped
1/4 cup Bacon bits
1/4 tsp. Pepper

 Mix all ingredients in a large salad bowl and toss to coat.

Caesar Wraps

These are quick and tasty.

Caesar Wraps

8 medium Tortillas
6 Eggs -- hardboiled and sliced
1 small Onion -- sliced thin
8 Lettuce leaves
4 Roma tomatoes -- sliced
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup Caesar salad dressing

Place lettuce, onions, tomatoes, and eggs in tortillas. Drizzle with dressing and sprinkle with cheese. Roll up and eat.

Caesar Burgers

These are nice when you want burgers that aren't just regular burgers.  Broiling the bread adds such a nice crispy, crunchy texture!

Caesar Burgers

4 Hamburger patties
1 tsp. Garlic powder -- divided
1/4 tsp. Pepper
2 tbsp. Parmesan cheese
8 slices Sourdough bread
1/4 cup Caesar salad dressing -- divided
Butter
Lettuce

Season hamburger patties with 1/2 tsp. garlic powder and pepper. Fry or grill as normal. Meanwhile, butter the bread and sprinkle with remaining garlic powder. Broil until crispy. Place letter on the garlic bread, add a burger, and top with dressing and cheese.

Creamy Grapes Salad

This is soooooooooooo yummy.  You don't have to cut the grapes in half if you don't want to, but if you're going to feed this to kids, go ahead and do it, please.  I think it makes the sauce stick to the grapes better, too.  Also, you can use regular cream cheese if you don't like/can't find Greek, but the Greek cream cheese has so much more protein and less fat!  I am loving it.

Creamy Grapes Salad

8 oz. Greek cream cheese
1 cup Sour cream
1/3 cup Sugar
2 tsp. Vanilla
2 lbs. Red grapes -- halved
2 lbs. Green grapes -- halved

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese, sour cream, sugar, and vanilla until smooth. Add grapes and toss to coat.

Grandma O's Corn Bread

This is my grandma's recipe for corn bread.  My parents recently lost their copy of the recipe, so I'm really happy I had one and could share it with them!  Here it is for anyone else who'd like to try it.

Grandma O's Corn Bread 

1 1/4 cup flour
3 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 cup corn meal
1 egg -- well beaten
1 cup milk
1 Tbsp. melted shortening

 Sift together flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Add corn meal, mix well.  Add well-beaten egg, milk, and shortening into dry ingredients. Beat briskly. Pour into a well-greased 8x8" pan. May line pan with waxed or brown paper. Bake in a slow oven. (I bake it at 400 for 20 minutes.)

Happy Cake

I have one of these in the oven right this very minute -- I'm taking it to church for the Easter brunch tomorrow.  I call it "Happy Cake" because eating it is like taking bites of cheerfulness.  It's sunshiny and bright and... happy.  I first made this with my college roommate Emily when we were at my parents' house for... Spring Break, maybe?  Anyway, it's a really simple, yummy, joyful cake.

Happy Cake

1 box yellow cake mix
1 cup oil
9 oz. whipped topping (aka Cool Whip)
1 pkg. vanilla instant pudding
4 eggs
11 oz. can mandarin oranges + juice
13 oz. can crushed pineapple + juice

Mix cake mix, eggs, oil, and mandarin oranges plus their juice.  Batter might be a little lumpy, just be sure your eggs are truly mixed in.  Pour into 9x13" pan.  Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes.  Let cake cool completely.  Mix whipped topping, pudding mix, and crushed pineapples plus their juice.  Spread on cooled cake.

This freezes well.

Brownie Pops

This is a dangerous recipe.  I could eat six of these in a single sitting if I let myself.  Possibly more.

Brownie Pops

1 box family-size brownie mix, plus what the box says you need to make brownies
24 (or more) lolipop sticks
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 1.55-oz Hershey's bars -- broken into pieces
1 Tbsp shortening
Sprinkles, if desired

Prepare the brownies as directed on the box.  Bake in a 9"x9" pan until they're almost done, but not quite -- the toothpick should come out with stuff sticking to it, but the center of the brownies shouldn't be liquidy or goopy anymore.

Cool brownies completely.  Line a baking sheet with waxed paper.  Cut off the edges and keep them for eating later, feed them to your kids, quick eat them when no one is looking, whatever.  Crumble up the rest of the brownies in a medium bowl and mix them around with your hands so that the crusty top part is kind of evenly distributed (you don't want one brownie pop that is just all crusty and weird, you see).

Form this brownie glop into balls -- I made 24 about the size of a ping-pong ball, but you can make them bigger or smaller, as you desire.  Put them all on your waxed-paper-lined baking sheet and put them in the freezer for at least 2 hours.

When the brownie balls are good and solid, but the Hershey pieces, chocolate chips, and shortening in a microwavable (glass is best) container and microwave it 30 seconds at a time until they're totally melted, stirring in between each 30-second stint.

Take the brownie balls out of the freezer.  Dip a lolipop stick about half an inch into the melted chocolate, then stick into a brownie ball.  Dip the whole brownie ball in the melted chocolate, let the excess drip off a bit, then set back on the baking sheet or in a fancy-shmancy (aka I Don't Have One Yet) cake-pop-drying-rack thingie.  Sprinkle with sprinkles if you want to.  Allow the chocolate to harden.  Lick out the melted chocolate bowl when you're done to keep yourself from eating the cake pops right then and there.

Makes about 24, depending on how big you make them.