Cheese Stuffed Meatballs

MI've always loved pasta, it's one of my favourite things to eat which is not very good when you're trying to lose weight but oh well, I would NEVER not eat it, I love it too much. Anyway as I was looking through one of my new cookbooks I found this yummy recipe and had to try it. This was a hit with everyone, my only problem was that I think I should have cooked the meatballs a little longer in the oven and in the pan afterwards but we were in a rush and the pasta was cooked. They were fully cooked but I think they could have been more firm, maybe adding more bread crumbs would have helped with that too, I'll try that next time.
4 sticks mozzarella string cheese, cut into 18 cubes
1/2 c. Italian style bread crumbs
1 jar (48 oz.) tomato pasta sauce
1 1/2 lbs. lean ground beef
2 T. finely chopped onion
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. dried oregano leaves
1 egg
Pasta (how ever much feeds your family normally and whatever type you like)
2/3 shredded parmesan cheese (or whatever cheese you like)

***Place cheese cubes in a baggie and freeze for at least 1 hour before making this recipe***
Heat oven to 375F. Line a 10x15x1 baking dish with foil and spray with cooking spray. In a large bowl mix bread crumbs and 3 T. of the pasta sauce. Next stir in beef, onions, salt, oregano and egg. I used my hands for this, it just made it a lot easier. Shape mixture into 18 (2-inch) balls. Press 1 cheese cube into each ball, sealing it inside. Place each meatball into baking dish carefully. Bake for 10 minutes. Meanwhile pour remaining pasta sauce into a large pot (it said to use a dutch oven but I don't have one) and simmer over med-high heat, stirring frequently. Once meatballs are cooked, add them to the pasta sauce in the pot and reduce heat to med-low. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until meatballs are thoroughly cooked and no longer pink. Serve with any kind of pasta you like. Serve with cheese if you like and ENJOY :) Anything with cheese is great with me and my family, I think that's why I wanted to try this recipe.

Salsa Chicken Fiesta

When I saw this recipe in one of my new cookbooks I thought it looked delicious and super easy so I had to try it. It was super easy but it wasn't as delicious as I thought it was going to be :( It wasn't bad though, I just need to figure out a way for the crust to not be as dry and a way to give more flavour to the chicken part.
1 1/3 c. bisquick mix
1/4 c. water
2 eggs
2 1/2 c shredded cheddar cheese
6 large boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 jar (16 oz.) thick & chunky salsa

Preheat oven to 400F. Spray 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray. In a med. bowl stir bisquick mix, water and eggs. Spread mixture into pan and then sprinkle with 2 c. of cheese. In a skillet cook chicken over med-high heat until no longer pink. Drain juices and add salsa. Heat until hot. Spoon chicken mixture over bisquick mixture within 1/2-inch of edges. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until edges are dark golden brown. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and bake for another 2 minutes or until cheese is melted. This can be served with sour cream and ground red pepper if you like.

Deep-dish Taco Squares

Here's another recipe from one of my new cookbooks. I LOVED this recipe and so did most of my family. Only one of my kids wasn't a fan but I think that was because of the sour cream, she's not really a sour cream fan. Anyway this was super easy to put together and REALLY yummy.
1/2 lb. lean ground beef
1/4 c. chopped onion
2 T. taco seasoning mix
1 c. bisquick mix
1/4 c. cold water
1/2 c. sour cream
1/3 c. mayonnaise
1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1 med. tomato, chopped
1 (4.5 oz.) can chopped green chiles

Preheat oven to 375F. Spray 8-inch square baking dish with cooking spray. Over med-high heat cook ground beef and onions until thoroughly cooked. Drain and then stir taco seasoning into beef mixture until blended. In a med. bowl stir bisquick and water together until it forms a soft dough. Put dough mixture into the square dish and pat down so it's evenly spread and about 1/2 inch up the sides. In a med. bowl mix sour cream, mayonnaise and cheese until blended. Layer beef mixture, tomato and chiles over dough. Spoon sour cream mixture over the top. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until edges of dough are light golden brown.

Monster Cupcakes

My daughter turned 8 in April and she wanted to have a monster themed party. Due to family craziness we opted for an easy party going bowling but we still tried to make it monster themed as much as we could. I made monster feet for the kids to wear and I made these cute monster cupcakes. To make them even more fun I used a recipe for rainbow cupcakes that I found here. I love this blog, I've used TONS of her recipes but all before I started this blog so one day I will blog more about them and try and get pictures when I try them again. These cupcakes were a HUGE hit and were sooo easy to put together. I think the rainbow cupcake idea is FANTASTIC and it can be used for any design you want to use.
1 white cake mix
2 eggs
1 c. sour cream
1/2 c. milk
1/3 c. vegetable oil
Food colouring

Mix ingredients together for about 30 seconds. Scrape around the sides of the bowl and then beat on med-high speed for 3 minutes. Divide batter into small bowls (the amount of bowls you need depends on how many colours you choose to use, I used 5). Add desired food coloring to each bowl of batter. Once you have all your batter ready spoon around 1 T. of the first colour into each of your cupcake papers. The batter is thick so to spread it out I used this great tip that I got from here again. You get a little bowl of water and each time you need to spread out the batter you dip your finger in the water and then gently spread the batter out. After you have done the first colour of batter, repeat this step with each colour you have chosen. Bake according to packaged cake directions or until toothpick comes out clean. This recipe makes around 15-16 cupcakes. These cupcakes are nice and moist to which is always nice :)

Taco Casserole

I made this a while ago but I'm still trying to catch up. This recipe is from our school cookbook but is also one of my really good friends recipe, thanks Susan :) My family really enjoyed this dinner, I especially did. I really love Mexican food, I never thought I would say that but that's due to really never trying any when I was younger. This picture doesn't actually give this meal justice because it was super good and really easy to make aswell.
2 lbs. hamburger
1/2 onion, chopped
2 (10 3/4 oz.) cans cream of mushroom soup
10-12 (6-inch) corn tortillas
1/2 can diced green chilies
1/2 pkg. taco mix
grated cheese (about 2 c.)

Brown hamburger with chopped onions. Drain grease and add chilies, soup and taco mix. Layer in a casserole dish, start with quartered tortillas, then hamburger mixture, then cheese and repeat. Bake for 20 minutes at 350F. Serve with grated cheese, tomatoes, lettuce and sour cream (whatever you like).

Southwest Crockpot Burritos

This recipe is from our school cookbook and because I've been loving Mexican food lately I wanted to try this one. I was a little disappointed only because in my mind I thought it was going to be this fantastic recipe. It was still really good but I think it needed something a little extra. I did like the refried beans with it though, that was yummy :)
2 lbs. boneless chuck roast
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp. beef bouillon granules
1 med. onion, chopped
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. cumin
2 1/2 T. fresh cilantro, chopped
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. water
8 large tortillas
Refried beans
Shredded cheese

Place roast, pepper, garlic, beef bouillon, onion, chili powder, cumin, cilantro, salt and water into a crockpot. Cook on low for 8-9 hours until tender. Remove meat and shred, then place in a bowl. Combine meat with 1 c. of cooking juices. Spread tortillas with cooked refried beans, add beef and sprinkle with cheese. You could really serve this however you like so enjoy :)

Cream Filled Cupcakes

These cupcakes were great because there was NO frosting needed. Not that I don't like frosting, I'm just really picky about it. I'm not the biggest fan of store bought frosting so I don't really eat cake all that often. This recipe was pretty easy, the only problem I had was that the filling kind of went to the bottom of the paper so they weren't that easy to get out. That didn't stop any of us from enjoying them though. My husbands co-workers all really likes these too. After I make goodies I normally send the left overs to work with my husband, they love it :)
1 pkg. chocolate cake mix
1/2 c. sugar
1 c. chocolate chips
1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese (at room temp.)
1 egg
dash of salt

Mix cake mixture as directed on the package. Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full. Blend sugar, cream cheese, egg and salt together. Add chocolate chips to cream cheese mixture. Drop by teaspoonful into center of each cupcake (batter). Bake at 350F for 20 minutes (until toothpick comes out clean). Remember no need for frosting :)