Julie' Eats & Treats: March 2012

Cadbury Mini Egg Blondies

Here is an easy and fun Easter twist for you to whip up!

It takes my basic Blonde Brownie recipe and adds the scrumptious Cadbury Mini Eggs to it. I'm a sucker for these little chocolate filled goodies. As I get sick from chocolate I can have about two of these and I have to cut myself off. Trust me, this is probably a GREAT thing for the hips!

Stay tuned for the post on Monday for my Easter recipe round-up!

Cadbury Mini Egg Blondies

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Ingredients

1 C. Butter, Softened
3 C. Brown Sugar
4 Eggs
3 C. Flour
2 tsp. Vanilla
1 tsp. Baking Powder
1 tsp. Salt
1 bag Cadbury Mini Eggs

1. Mix all ingredients except Cadbury Mini Eggs.

2. Spread in a 10x15 jelly roll pan.

3. Sprinkle Cadbury Mini Eggs on top. These will sink into the dough as they bake. If you want them on top so you can see them I would wait out the bars are done baking and press them on immediately after taking them out of the oven for a pretty presentation!

4. Bake 25-30 minutes at 350 degrees. The middle takes a while to set and stays a bit gooey but honestly it's my favorite part of these bars!!!

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Labels: Desserts

Chicken Alfredo Roll-Ups

Is it lasagna is it not?

That's the big question. These cute little roll-ups are a play off of the typical old lasagna. Throw in some Alfredo sauce instead of marinara and we have a fun new twist on lasagna.

These are filling as is any pasta. I whipped up a side of Olive Garden Breadsticks to serve with it. A nice accompaniment to finish off this meal would be a simple tossed salad.

Chicken Alfredo Roll-Ups
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Ingredients
9 lasagna noodles
1 jar Garlic Alfredo Sauce
2 c. cooked, shredded chicken
Oregano
Garlic Salt
2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese

1. Spray an 8x8 inch pan with non-stick spray. Pour 1/2 c. Alfredo sauce on bottom of pan.

2. Cook lasagna noodles until they are al dente. Don't overcook them as you will be baking them also. Drain and rinse the noodles with cold water so they don't stick together.

3. Lay out the noodles and blot the water off of them with a paper towel. Spread about 2 Tbsp Alfredo sauce on the noodle. Sprinkle a small amount of oregano and garlic salt on top of sauce. Spread 1/9 of chicken on noodle. Sprinkle with cheese. Roll up the lasagna noodle.

4. Place the roll-ups in the pan, seam side down. Once they are all in the pan pour the rest of the Alfredo sauce over them. Top with the remaining cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Recipe From: Mmm...Cafe

Labels: Main Dish

Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad

I'll admit it. I use the Kraft box salad mixes. They are so dang handy when you are trying to get a quick supper together in the summer.

This salad is a perfect summer treat to accompany your grilled food. It is going to be replacing my need for the box mixes. Plus I usually have everything on hand to make this salad. It doesn't get better than that!

If you are grilling out in this fabulous spring weather we have been having this will be the perfect addition to your meal. Plus it's easy! I found this recipe over at Everyday Mom's Meals. If you haven't visited her blog I highly recommend it. She is a wonderful lady and has super simple recipes that won't disappoint!

Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad
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Ingredients
1 lb pasta
3/4 c. Ranch dressing
3/4 sour cream
1 c. frozen peas, thawed
1 c. shredded carrot
1/2 c. real bacon bits

1. Prepare pasta according to directions. Rinse with cold water and drain well.

2. In a large bowl combine other ingredients. Stir in pasta and combine well. Chill for 2 hours before serving.

Recipe from: Everyday Mom's Meals

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Twice Baked Potato Casserole

I LOVE twice baked potatoes so when I saw this recipe I knew it was right up my alley of course. Plus with this dish I can make it ahead of time and pop it in the oven when I need it.

I was craving Sweet 'N' Sour Meatballs and thought this recipe would be the perfect accompaniment. I knew I wouldn't have enough time to make this meal plus get to volleyball so I made both recipes and stuck them in the fridge for the next night. Then I got to looking and realized and I now had 3 lbs of meatballs and 5 lbs of potatoes. My hubby is hearty eater but not quite that hearty!

Time to call in reinforcements. After a quick text to my 'lil bro and 'lil bro in law I had rounded up my victims for supper. They raved about it. I must say I think I might call them again for when I need a confidence boost! Bro in law even said the text message was the highlight of his day and he hadn't ate this good of a supper for over a month. He possibly could have been sucking up but I think he was just being honest!

If you are in charge of the potatoes for your Easter get together these would be perfect!

Twice Baked Potatoes
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Ingredients
5 lb russet potatoes
Real Bacon Bits (3 oz)
8 oz cream cheese
1/2 c. butter
1 c. sour cream
2 1/2 c. grated cheddar cheese
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Peel potatoes and cut into 1 inch chunks. Place in a large pot and add enough cold water to cover by 2 inches. Bring to a boil and reduce to simmer. Cook until tender and easily pierced with a paring knife, about 20 minutes. Drain and put in a LARGE bowl.

2. Using a mixer beat potatoes until light and fluffy. Add cream cheese, butter, sour cream and stir until combined and smooth. Add cheddar cheese, half the bacon bits, salt and pepper. Mix until well combined.

3. Transfer to a butter 3 qt baking dish. Top with remaining 1/2 c. of cheddar cheese and bacon bits. Bake for 30 minutes or until the potatoes are heated through and the top is slightly golden brown.

*I made these the night before by stopping after I put them in the baking dish. The next day I just pulled them out and topped with the cheese and bacon bits. I cooked them for 45 minutes since they were cold to start.

Recipe Adapted From: Six Sisters' Stuff

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Labels: Side Dish

Baked Chimichanga

It's been awhile since I posted a main entree so here it is! I'm a big sucker for anything Mexican. I've been meaning to try Chimichangas for a while but have never done it. These are great because they are baked instead of deep fried, which I refuse to buy a deep fryer. I'm not a health freak but I figure that is one thing I can live without!

These little babies get nice and crunchy on the outside from the fact you use butter on the shell before you bake them. The hubby once again gave them rave reviews. Watch out they are very filling so don't eat to many!

Baked Chimichangas

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Ingredients

2 lb ground beef

2 packages taco seasoning

1 1/2 c. water

1 1/2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp dried oregano

1 can (7 oz) green chiles, chopped

3/4 c. sour cream

3/4 c. shredded cheddar cheese

6 Tbsp melted butter

8 flour tortillas

1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese

Garnish: Tomatoes, Lettuce, Cheese, Guacamole, Salsa, Sour Cream

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

2. Saute beef until cooked through. Drain grease. Add water and taco seasoning, stir. Cook over medium low heat until liquid has reduced by 2/3.

3. Add cumin, oregano and chiles. Simmer until the rest of the liquid has evaporated. Remove from heat and let cool 5 minutes. Stir in sour cream and 3/4 c. cheddar cheese.

4. Lay tortillas on wax paper and brush both sides with the melted butter. Spoon 1/8 of the filling into center of tortilla and fold like and envelope.

5. Put tortillas, seam side down on a non-stick sheet pan. Do not let them touch. Baked 20-25 minutes or until golden and crisp. Sprinkle with cheese and return to oven to melt. Serve with garnishes.

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Labels: Main Dish

Elephant Ears

It's time for another Secret Recipe Club reveal! If you aren't familiar with this once a month I'm in a group of bloggers and we get assigned a different blog and get t pick a recipe try from that blog. We try out the recipe, write a blog on the recipe and then all reveal our blog posts on the same day. It's fun and it introduces you to all kinds of fabulous new blogs!

This month I had Lick the Spoon. Louise at Lick the Spoon as all kinds of yummy, posts that are mainly desserts. I mean how can you not love a blog like that?

I picked out her Elephant Ears to try. I've never used a puff pastry before so I thought it would be fun to make a recipe with it. It was so simply and yummy. I made this for breakfast and added a powdered sugar glaze to the top of them. They disappeared quickly and my hubby said if there was another pan he'd eat them all to because they were fabulous. I love cinnamon rolls but I'm not a big fan of all the preparation that goes into them. If you are looking for a quick breakfast treat this one is it!

Elephant Ears
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Ingredients
1 sheet thawed puff pastry
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon
1 tbsp butter, melted

1. Using a pastry brush, coat one side of the thawed pastry with melted butter. Combine the sugar and cinnamon and generously spread over the butter.

2. Starting at one end, gently roll the pastry towards the middle. When you reach the middle, start rolling the pastry from the opposite end so the pastry rolls meet each other in the middle. Cut into 6 discs and place on a parchment lined or greased baking sheet.

3. Lather with the leftover butter and place the oven at 400 degrees for 10-15 minutes until puffy and golden.

4. If you want to top it with powdered sugar glaze (mix a little milk and powdered sugar together).

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To see other great recipes from Secret Recipe Club members, visit the links below!