CREAM CHEESE SPRITZ COOKIES

Spritz cookies are one of the simplest cookies you will find and they come in many flavors. Our favorites are chocolate, butter and cream cheese. Traditionally, they are shaped with a cookie press, but if you do not have a cookie press, you can shape them in 1" balls and flatten...

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PIZZA ROLLS - A QUICK PARTY SNACK

What do you make, when you should have gone grocery shopping yesterday, and hubby says "whats to snack on?" Hmmmm, well, I did a quick check of what I had on hand and came up with this idea. The possibilities are endless; tuck in a few chopped mushrooms or pieces of broccoli,...

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OPEN FACE SURIMI MELT SANDWICHES

I don't want this to sound like a commercial, but I would like to say something about Alaskan surimi (I get the impression some people aren't familiar with it). Surimi is made from boneless, skinless Alaskan Pollock fillets that are cooked and flavored with crab meat, then pressed...

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PIZZA-STUFFED PEPPERS

In a recent issue of Pillsbury's Pot Pies & Casseroles cookbook, I found a recipe for Pizza-Stuffed Peppers, made with orzo pasta instead of rice, which intrigued me. They were very easy to make and were quite good. This would be a great recipe for kids. 1/2 cup uncooked...

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FUN FOOD FACTS & OUR DOG CHLOE

This is our dog Chloe, she just turned five. Our oldest son calls her "his youngest sister" (insinuating that we treat her like a human lol). We bought her from puppy rescue when she was just 6 weeks old and (by the look of the doggie toy basket) she has the run of the house....

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VEGGIE CALZONES

Lately I've been making calzones. They are a very versatile "hot sandwich" and since they require small amounts of filling...they are a good way to us any leftovers on hand. Hubby loves big meat sandwiches, so I've made them with leftover BBQ chicken, steak & cheese, ham...

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PINEAPPLE-PECAN CUPCAKES

A few days ago, Donna, over at My Tasty Treasures, posted a yummy looking recipe for Pineapple Pecan Cake. Today, I decided to cut her recipe in half and make cupcakes instead (half of the recipe makes 15 cupcakes).With my "tweaks" I was aiming for sort of a pineapple upside...

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RICE STUFFED MUSHROOMS

The origin of this recipe is fairly humble: Hubby was hungry for steak and I was not, so I stuffed some large button mushrooms full of leftover spicey red  rice and topped them with Monterrey Jack cheese and baked them. They were so good, I ate way too much...the rest of...

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CHOCOLATE-VANILLA CHEESECAKE

I served this delicious new recipe last weekend. Hubby and I couldn't stop nibbling on it. It has a bottom chocolate layer and a top vanilla layer, then I topped it with my newly discovered cream cheese-whipped cream. Talk about a one-two punch!! It is super quick to make and...

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ULTRA TENDER PORK RIBS

This is more of a cooking technique than a recipe. I've made country style boneless pork ribs using this technique for as long as I can remember and they are fork tender every time. I am guessing that most of the experienced cooks out there already know this method, but there...

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PITA BREAD

Pita bread made with a bread machine, what could be easier? The only trick is to roll them thin enough (I didn't roll my first batch thin enough and they were lofty little pillows, but bad minimal pockets). The thinner batch made perfect pocket pitas.This was a quick fun project...

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PEANUT BUTTER RICE KRISPIE TREATS

A few weeks ago, Heidi at Tried-and-True Cooking with Heidi posted a recipe that she called Old-School Peanut Butter Squares. The recipe caught my eye because it does not call for marshmallows (we like marshmallows, but they aren't always in the pantry). The only tweak I made...

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GREEN ENCHILADA SAUCE

I have always cooked with canned Ortega mild fire-roasted chilies (if hubby doesn't know they are in a recipe, he magically does not get heartburn lol). However, I have put off the urge to cook with fresh Anaheim chilies because I think he would seriously panic if he saw them....

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SWEET AND SOUR MEATBALLS

Hubby has a serious sweet tooth; he even likes SOME savory dishes on the sweet side, like this (quick and easy) sweet and sour sauce. It works equally as well with chicken, pork, country style ribs and shrimp.SWEET AND SOUR MEATBALLS MEATBALLS1 pound of very lean ground...

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PEACH PIE and a QUESTION ABOUT CURRY POWDER

Our fall is revving up...the Alaska State Fair is underway and it is the absolute end of our growing season (we will have frost in less than two weeks). What does all that mean? It is finally cool enough to bake to my hearts content, which makes me a happy camper.Hubby is the...

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