Baked Sweet Potatoes with Cool Chili Dipping Sauce

 

Start by scrubbing 1 large sweet potato. Then, slice into circles.

 

Toss sliced potatoes with olive oil, kosher salt and pepper in a large bowl.

Next, spread potatoes out in a single layer on a baking sheet and roast in 325º oven for 30 - 35 minutes or until starting to brown. 

Jello Shot Fruit Slices

 

After seeing photos of these on different online sites, I decided to give them a try. After a bit of trial and error, I think I have come up with the best way to make them. They were a hit at the party I took them to and I will definitely be making them again. I tried using four different kinds of citrus fruit (oranges, regular lemons, Meyer lemons and limes). Using limes is pretty much impossible ... as the flesh inside does not release well from the outer "skin." The oranges were the easiest to get the flesh out of and the lemons were somewhere in the middle.

Parmesan-Crusted Pork Chop Casserole

 

Ingredients:

3 - 4 thin, large boneless pork chops (or 5 - 6 small ones)

Salt & pepper

1/2 sleeve saltine crackers, crushed finely

Olive oil

2 cups instant white rice

1 can cheddar cheese soup

1/2 can cream of mushroom soup

Water

Shaved Parmesan

Cheesy Bacon Ranch Pull Bread

I just had to share this fun, scrumptious pull bread because it is so easy to make and incredibly addicting. It is super quick to assemble and takes less than thirty minutes to bake. It's perfect for snacking on with the family on movie or game night at home.

 

Grab a round loaf of bakery bread. Cut some slices in it. Stuff it with bacon, cheese, butter and ranch mix. Then, wrap it in foil and toss it in the oven. Um, how simple is that?

Grandma's Lemon Chiffon Cheesecake

 

 

This is such a light, refreshing version of cheesecake ... so fluffy! It truly lives up to the "chiffon" part of its name. And, no baking is required! It is fabulous with blueberry pie filling on top, but can be left plain!

Macaroni and Cheese

 

 

This can be made in advance and popped in the oven in time for dinner. This will serve 7 - 10 people. This can be made in advance and frozen, as well. Just tightly wrap dish first in plastic wrap, then in foil and freeze. Allow to thaw on counter for a few hours or overnight in fridge. Remove plastic wrap and foil before baking ... reserving foil to loosely cover dish during first part of baking.

Chicken Meatballs in Parmesan Cream Sauce

 

This is one of my family's favorite meals. It is an easy thing to have prepped in advance. Make the meatballs the night before or morning of ... and everything will come together quickly at meal-time. The meatballs can, also, be made in advance and frozen.

Pork Chop, Stuffing and Mashed Potato Casserole

This dish is a combination of several of our traditional Thanksgiving dinner fixings married together in one casserole - with pork chops taking the place of turkey. It isn't anything fancy and it certainly won't win the award for "Most Beautiful Dish of The Year." However, it is a perfect all-in-one dish that is ultra comforting and one that will most-likely become a family favorite.

This dish is a blend of both store-bought shortcut items and from-scratch components. Of course, you could make stuffing and/or mushroom gravy from scratch if you'd prefer. {The preparation of the whole dish would, of course, require more of a time investment in doing so.}

The recipe may look complicated, but here's the overall gist:

Whip up some homemade mashed potatoes. {Keep them a little thicker than normal.}
Mix together some stuffing mix with water, butter and dried cranberries.
Sear off some pork chops.
Layer it all together in a casserole dish and top it all off with a mushroom soup sauce/gravy.

Simple. Uncomplicated. And, oh, so scrumptious.

Yields 4 servings.

Slow Cooker Chicken Cordon Bleu

 

You can make these stuffed chicken breasts ahead of time and freeze until ready to put the dish together (just make sure you don't start with chicken that has been previously frozen). Or, everything can be put together the day you plan to make.

Chicken Pot Pie

 

 

This will make one large pot pie ... baked in a large pie dish or round casserole dish. It can be made in advance and frozen, if desired. Just thaw on the counter for a few hours or overnight in the fridge before baking. If I have any filling leftover after filling the pot pie, I create a couple of small pot pies in those little foil pie tins and freeze them for another time.