Philly Cheesesteak Sandwich with Garlic Mayo

Every few months or so my husband and I host a "game night" at our house.  We have friends over, cook dinner, and play board games.  Its always a good time!  We hosted a game night last night and this time I chose to make something that I could prep for ahead of time and just throw it together without much fuss once our guests arrived.  It was a little messy to eat...but that's usually a sign of GOOD food, right?! :)  This was my first attempt at this particular recipe so  I was a little nervous since we were having company over.  All in all everyone thoroughly enjoyed dinner and we played the best game of Jenga ever!!  We all agreed that we would brush our teeth extra good before bed that night because we could all taste garlic in our teeth all evening. :)

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 C mayo
2-4 cloves of garlic minced (depending on your taste)
1 TBSP olive oil
2 LBS beef round steak, cut into thin strips
1 green bell pepper cut into 1/4 in strips
1 red bell pepper cut into 1/4 in strips
1 large onion sliced into rings
steak seasoning
salt
6 colombo rolls
2 cups of shredded provolone or mozzarella cheese

DIRECTIONS:
At least an hour before cooking Sprinkle steak strips with steak seasoning (a little or a lot depending on your preference), cover and refrigerate.  ( I allowed mine to marinate all day).
Mix minced garlic with the mayo, cover and refrigerate until assembly.
Heat olive oil in a large pot.  Lightly brown the steak.  Add the bell peppers and onion and cook until the veggies are tender.
Meanwhile open up the colombo rolls, place on a large cookie sheet and place under the broiler for 1-1.5 minutes and allow to toast lightly. Once finished spread with Garlic Mayo.  Top with the meat mixture once that is finished and sprinkle with cheese.  Place in the oven just long enough to allow the cheese to melt.  Enjoy! :)

Chocolate White Chocolate Chip Mug Cake

When it comes to cake, I have absolutley zero will power.  Whenever I crave sweets cake ALWAYS does the trick.  So when I found a recipe for a Mug Cake online I was very eager to try it!  It literally took me about FIVE minutes to prep, cook, and clean up my mess.  The recipe I found called for salted caramels, which I didn't have, so I replaced it with white chocolate chips.  I'm not sure if it was due to the amount of salt called for in the cake batter, but the combination of the chocolate cake and the white chocolate chips created a salty/sweet taste...delish!  My hubby and I shared the mug cake and still had some left over (which I plan to polish off just as soon as I'm finished posting this recipe!)

INGREDIENTS:
4 TBSP all purpose flour
4 TBSP sugar
3 TBSP unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg beaten
3 TBSP milk
1 TBSP veggie oil
a small handfull of white chocolate chips (maybe 1/4??)

DIRECTIONS:
In a small bowl combine all ingredients, reserve a few white chocolate chips to sprinkle on top.  Pour the cake batter into a regular sized coffee mug (I used an oversized because it seemed like a lot of batter, but I think a regular sized would've been fine.) Sprinkle the remaining white chocolate chips on top.  Microwave for 90 seconds.  Insert a toothpick onto the center of the cake, if it doesn't come out clean, microwave for an additional 30 seconds.  Be careful...the mug will be HOT! :)

recipe adapted from blogs.babble.com/familykitchen

Sopapilla Cheesecake

I found this recipe a month or so back and was just waiting for the right opportunity to make it.  Yesterday was the day! And boy am I glad that I waited to make it to take along to someone elses house, because had I made it for just us at home we would've been in major T-R-O-U-B-L-E!!!  For me it was one of those things that you taste, then immediately you need to re taste and as you slowly back away, you KNOW that you'll be back in a minute for "just one more" taste.  I didn't stop "tasting"  until the dish was empty. This recipe is perfect for all those non-bakers out there like myself.

INGREDIENTS:
2 cans of pillsbury crescent rolls (I used reduced fat)
2 8oz packages of softened neufcatel cheese
1 C sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 C melted butter
1 TBSP cinnamon
4 TBSP sugar

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl combine cinnamon and sugar and set aside.  In a 13x9 baking dish, roll out one of the cans of crescent rolls flat.  Pinch together along perforation lines.  In a medium mixing bowl, mix together neufchatel cheese, sugar and vanilla with an electric mixer.  Spread the mix evenly over the prepared crescent roll.  Carefully unroll the second can of crescent rolls, flatten, (I used a rolling pin for this one) and close along perforations and lay on top of the cream cheese mixture.  Evenly top with the melted butter and sprinkle with the cinnamon/ sugar mixture.  Bake for 20-30 minutes.
This taste wonderful warm and gooey, but is much easier served at room temperature (which tastes great too!)

adapted from myyellowumbrella.blogspot.com

Lemony Pillow Fluff Cookies

I must confess...these cookies were not really called "Lemony Pillow Fluffs" (well, they are now!).  I made the name up, because frankly, I think it suits them much better than "Lemon Burst Cake Mix Cookies".   I'll admit that upon your first bite your mouth WILL be filled with a burst of lemon, yes, that is truer than true.  But what really made me fall in love was the texture.  The fluff.  Like a fluffy pillow.  They are soft. They are chewy.  They are AMAZING!!!

INGREDIENTS:
1 box of Lemon Cake Mix
8 oz Cool Whip
1 egg
1/3 C confectioners sugar

DIRECTIONS:
Pre heat your oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a cookie sheet and line with parchment paper.  In a large bowl beat the cake mix, cool whip, and egg with an electric mixer until combined.  The mix will be sticky and thick.  Drop by teaspoonfuls into a bowl of confectioners sugar.  Roll to coat.  Place onto the cookie sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes.  (Remember that all ovens vary.  My cookies took 8-9 minutes.)

recipe adapted from TidyMom.net

Cheesy Jalapeno Cornbread

I had planned to make cornbread to go with last nights dinner and after pondering about it most of the day (because you know 75% of my thoughts that occur during a day revolve around food! I'm serious.) I decided I wanted to try a different recipe.  I hadn't had a chance to search for one and as I started pulling out ingredients from my cupboards I had a light bulb above my head kinda moment.  Cheese and jalapenos!!! Who doesn't LOVE cheese and jalapenos?!?!  Thankfully I had a jar of jalapenos in my pantry (high five for a well stocked pantry!) and half a block of cheese in the fridge (and a booty bump for that one!!) So here is what I came up with...

INGREDIENTS:
I C milk
1/4 C melted butter
1 large egg
1 1/4 C cornmeal
1 C all-purpose flour
1/2 C sugar
1 TBSP baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 C jarred jalapenos divided (juices drained)
1/2 C cheese divided (I used Monterrey jack because its what I had, but if I had options I would've went with cheddar or even pepper jack)

DIRECTIONS:
Pre heat your oven to 400 degrees.  Grease a 8x8x2 in square pan.  Beat milk, butter and egg in a large bowl.  Stir in the remaining ingredients.  If desired, reserve a few jalapenos and a small palmful of cheese for topping. ( If topping the cornbread do so before baking.)    Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden and a tooth pick comes out clean.  In my opinion this tastes best when served at room temperature, although its pretty tasty warm too!

Banana Cream Parfait

I started my Valentines Day off having no idea what I'd be serving for dessert that evening.  All  morning I  was brainstorming in a desperate attempt to come up with a game plan for something quick, easy, and something that would please everyone.  Then it hit me... Banana Cream Parfaits!!! I knew I could easily make the parfaitst to look like I spent a long time preparing them...It literally took ten minutes total to throw these together!!!  They are " semi-homemade" meaning I made the whipped cream myself and store bought everything else.

INGREDIENTS:
1.5 c crushed vanilla wafers (plus a few whole ones for garnishing)
2 bananas (1.5 cut into small pieces and the other half can be cut into quarters lengthwise for garnishing)
1 6oz pkg instant banana pudding (prepared with milk according to package directions)
8 oz heavy whipping cream
1/4 C sugar
1 tsp vanilla

DIRECTIONS:
The ingredients can be layered in any way desired, but here is how I did mine.  In any sort of stemware place a layer of crushed vanilla wafers, followed by a layer of banana pudding.  On top of that layer place a thin layer more of crushed vanilla wafers, a generous amount of banana chunks and another layer of pudding.  Top with whipped cream.  Garnish with a whole wafer and a banana slice.

TO PREPARE WHIPPED CREAM:
whip the heavy whipping cream until almost stiff.  Add sugar and vanilla, beat until cream holds peaks.

Brown Sugar Glazed Salmon & Garliky Green Beans with Mushrooms

Over the past four or five years, our family has develped a really fun Valentines Day tradition.  It consists of a "fancy" dinner where I set the table using a red table cloth and red cloth napkins. Dinner is served family style where everything is put into serving dishes and layed out in the middle of the table.  Typically I make plates in the kitchen, spooning things out from the dishes they were prepared in.  While growing up, my mother served EVERY dinner family style and it was our job as kids to wash all the dishes.  I've decided that it is SO unnecessary to dirty and hassle with all those extra dishes on a daily basis. Our son loves that he gets to drink his milk out of a champagne glass. The lights get dimmed and candles are lit and everyone MUST wear PJ's to dinner. (While I was in the kitchen cooking away, my husband walked in with the baby and asked which PJ's he should change the him into, I thought that was so adorable!!) Every year I serve some kind of seafood and nobody has to question if there will be dessert. :)
This year I tried three new recipes...Brown Sugar Glazed Salmon, Garlicky Green Beans with Mushrooms, and a Banana Cream Parfait.  The three turned out so beautifully! I will for sure be adding these recipes to my recipe binder.  :)

BROWN SUGAR GLAZED SALMON
(recipe from Taste of Home)

INGREDIENTS:
1 TBSP brown sugar
1 tsp butter
1 tsp honey
1 TBSP olive oil
1 TBSP dijon mustard (I used 1 TBSP yellow mustard and mixed in 1/4 tsp horseraddish)
1 TBSP reduced-sodium soy sauce
1/2-3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 salmon fillet (2-21/2 pounds)

DIRECTIONS:
In a small sauce pan over medium heat, cook and stir brown sugar, butter, and honey until melted.  Remove from the heat; whisk in the oil, mustard, soy sauce, salt and pepper.  Cool for 5 minutes.
Place salmon in a large foil-lined baking pan; spoon brown sugar mixture over salmon.  Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork.

GARLICKY GREEN BEANS WITH MUSHROOMS

INGREDIENTS:
1 lb fresh green beans, washed trimmed and cut into 1 in pieces
1 C sliced fresh cremini mushrooms
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 tsp butter
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp pepper
DIRECTIONS:
Place beans into a large pot, cover with water and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 8-10 minutes.  Meanwhile in a large skillet, saute the mushrooms and garlic in the butter until tender.  Drain beans; and add them to the skillet.  Stir in the salt, onion powder and pepper; heat through.