Green Chili Crescent Poppers

Oh my gosh are these ever deeeelicious! I have made these both at home for the family and also brought them to a dinner and they are devoured by everyone. Everyone likes them; they aren't spicy so kids like them, but they have enough tangy savory flavor that adults can't stop putting them in their mouths ;) This recipe makes 32 poppers. And they go FAST! I say just double the recipe and use your whole can of chilies. They also refrigerate just fine, just zap in the microwave to warm up and snack away.

Ingredients:

1 tube regular Crescent Rolls
1/2 of a 4oz can diced Green Chilies (or jalapenos if you prefer)
3/4 (8 ounce) cube cream cheese, room temperature
1 Tbsp. sugar

Directions:
PREHEAT oven to 375° F.

COMBINE about 3/4 of the cream cheese, half of the green chilies and 1Tbsp. sugar in a bowl. This is really not spicy at all so if you want them spicy add more green chilies to taste. Set bowl aside.

Open up your tube of crescent rolls and lay out on your cutting board. Separate in half length-wise (two rectangles, 4 triangles each). You are going to make two long rolls. Pinch together all of the perforations and smooth it out. Feel free to use a rolling pin if you wish. Spread half of the cream cheese mixture onto one of the two rectangles. Once you've spread half of the mixture on one of your rectangles, start with the LONG end of the roll, and get to rolling. Remember you want to end up with long skinny rolls. Once it's all rolled up, you will need to cut your log into 16 pinwheels.

Get a sharp knife. I found that refrigerating the rolls for a few minutes and then using a serrated knife worked best for me. Cut your log right in half. Now you should have two logs. Continue cutting the logs in half until you end up with 16 pinwheel poppers. Now repeat with other half of the crescent rolls.

Place poppers on cookie sheet that has been sprayed with non-stick spray.

BAKE at 375 degrees about 13 minutes until they are golden brown. Keep an eye on them, as each oven varies.

Recipe courtesy of My Homemade Life

Crockpot "Dump" Chili

I have recently discovered the joys of Crock pot cooking! What brought me around to it is the idea of "dump" or freezer cooking which is amazing if you haven't heard of it! Basically you take all your uncooked ingredients (except for ground turkey/beef) and dump it into gallon size freezer bags, then toss in the freezer. The night before you take the bag and move it into your fridge to thaw and then put it in the Crock pot in the morning. Come dinner time you have a tasty meal all ready for you. This is pure genius I tell you and perfect for the Lazy Cook Project, because I am LAZY duh... I am going to start posting a bunch of these type of lazy dump recipes shortly, so stay tuned! :) Enjoy this totally yummy and ridiculously simple chili!

* Recipe for Sweet "Corn dog" Cornbread mini loaves shown in picture.

Ingredients: 
2 lbs. Ground Turkey, browned and drained 
2 16-oz. cans Kidney beans, drained 
2 16-oz. cans Northern beans, drained 
1 16-oz. can Black beans, drained 
4 14 ½ oz. cans Diced Tomatoes 
2 medium Onions, chopped 
1 c. chopped Green Peppers 
1 tsp. Garlic Powder 
3 Tbsp. Chili Powder 
2 tsp. Cumin 
2 Tbsp. Brown Sugar 
1 tsp. Black Pepper 
1 tsp. Salt  

* Feel free to switch up the beans, do more black beans, less kidney it doesn't really matter in my opinion. Just make sure to do 5 cans with some variety. You can also cook your own beans instead of using canned if you have the time. The original recipe called for ground beef, but I don't eat beef. It is excellent with ground turkey. I'm sure you could also use TVP or some other type of substitute as well.  

Directions: 
Combine all ingredients, and separate into 2 1-gallon freezer bags (or just put half of each item into each bag as you go and mix it up in the bag, that's what I do). Seal, making sure you push out as much air as possible and lay flat to freeze. When ready to serve, thaw overnight in refrigerator. Pour chili into crock pot, and cook on low 8-10 hours. Make sure to write the directions on the freezer bag.

Recipe modified from Rachael's Favorite Recipes

Sweet "Corn Dog" Cornbread

If you are in the mood for sweet cake-like cornbread then this is the recipe for you! I surprised my son and husband by hiding cut up hot dogs inside of them so that they were surprise "corn dogs". They loved it :) You can put these in regular muffin tins, mini muffin tins, mini loaf pans or you can do a 9x13 pan, totally up to you! I like the mini loaf pans because they are just so cute.
* Recipe for Crock pot "Dump" Turkey Chili shown in picture.

Ingredients:

2 boxes Jiffy Cornbread Mix

1 box regular Golden Butter or Yellow Cake mix (make sure it doesn't have "pudding in the mix")

1-2 cans of Fiesta Corn (I used one 11oz can and it was not enough)

Mexican blend shredded cheese to taste

Hotdogs of your choice (I use turkey dogs)

Additional ingredients:
You will also need the ingredients that the Jiffy and cake mix boxes call for (eggs, butter etc)

Directions:
PREHEAT oven to 350° F.

COMBINE all of the ingredients for the cake mix in a large mixing bowl until smooth. Add in the additional ingredients for both boxes of Jiffy mix (but not the actual mix), stir until combined. Add fiesta corn and shredded cheese. Then gently add in the Jiffy mix. Do not over stir or your cornbread will be tough and chewy. You will still have lumps in your batter which is fine! Spray pan with cooking spray. Fill your pan 1/2-3/4 full then add in your cut up hot dogs. I like to sink mine in a little bit so they are hidden in the batter.

BAKE at 350 degrees until done, approx. 15min for mini muffins or mini loaves, approx. 20-30min for large muffins or a 9x13" pan. Test for doneness: insert a toothpick, it should come out clean. Cool on baking sheets; remove to wire racks to cool completely. This recipe makes about 24 mini loaves.

Recipe modified from The Sisters Dish

Kitchen Sink Cookies

I keep making additions to this recipe every time I make it. I really love the combo of chocolate, cranberry and cinnamon! Something about it is just so pleasing to my palate :) If you don't have coconut flour (or don't want to use it) then eliminate one of the eggs, leave out the applesauce and use 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour.

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups All-purpose Flour
1 cup Coconut Flour
1 cup Oatmeal
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
1 cup (2 sticks) Butter, softened (not margarine)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 large eggs1/8 cup Applesauce
2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) Dark Chocolate Morsels (or Semi-Sweet)
1 cup chopped Walnuts
3/4 cup Shredded Coconut
3/4 cup Dried Cranberries

Directions:
PREHEAT oven to 375° F.

COMBINE flour, oatmeal, baking soda and cinnamon in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Add applesauce. Stir in coconut, cranberries, chocolate chips and nuts; stirring thoroughly after each addition. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.

BAKE for 10-13 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Thai curry carrot potato pineapple peanut soup (aka Epic Random Soup)

Before I made it more "soupy"

My fiance said this soup should be named "Epic Random soup" hence the name above. The soup got his vote of approval which made me happy!

I made a veggie stew a few nights ago (forgot to write down what I put in it darn it) and had some potatoes and carrots left over and I wanted to use them up. This was a huge experiment for me as this is only my third time making soup and my first time cooking with curry lol But I had this Thai red curry that my brother had given me at Christmas that was looking at me with sad eyes begging to be used, so here we go :) It actually turned out surprisingly well!

If you don't like pineapple you can use a different juice or omit it all together. I really like the way the pineapple, peanut butter and spicy curry all play off of each other. But like all of my made up recipes if there is something you don't like, leave it out!

Ingredients:
3 Carrots chopped
3 large Red Potatoes chopped
1/2C Rice uncooked
1 can Light Coconut Milk
1 1/2 can Water
4T Peanut Butter creamy or chunky
1/4C crushed Peanuts (not needed if you use chunky PB)
1T Thai "Mae Ploy" Red Curry Paste
1T Ground Ginger
1T Sugar
1t Garlic
1t Black Pepper
1/2t Soy Sauce
1/2 can Pineapple Orange Juice concentrate
1 package Quorn "Chik'n Tenders"

Preparation:
Chop all potatoes and carrots, add to pot. Add remaining ingredients except the Quorn. Bring to a soft boil. Boil until potatoes and carrots are almost done. Add the frozen Quorn. Continue cooking until Quorn product has thawed. Eat :)

Jumbo Shells with Cheese and Spinach Filling

Sorry, not the best picture....

You can customize this recipe to your tastes. You can use different veggies if you don't like spinach or no veggies at all. I haven't tried it, but I'm sure you could add in 1lb of any meat or fake meat product, though if you add too much you might need to buy another box of noodles :) Also I use cottage cheese in the recipe to help dilute all the Ricotta cheese which is really heavy and dense, you can use all ricotta or all cottage cheese if you like. I also use the fat-free or light versions when I can just to bring the fat content down, but you can use whichever you like.

Ingredients:
1 box (12 oz.) Jumbo Shell Noodles (I use Ronzoni brand)
15 oz Fat free Ricotta Cheese
16 oz Fat free Cottage Cheese
1C Shredded Mozzarella
2 Eggs
1/8t ground Nutmeg
1/4t ground Black Pepper
1-10 oz package frozen chopped Spinach
1 Jar Spaghetti Sauce (I used Classico Fire Roasted Tomato & Garlic 24oz)
Grated Parmesan Cheese

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 375° F. Cook pasta according to directions. Meanwhile in medium bowl, stir together ricotta, cottage and 1/2C of mozzarella cheeses, eggs, pepper and nutmeg. Lightly spray 13 x 9" baking pan with non-stick cooking spray. Thaw frozen spinach in microwave. After the spinach has been thawed squeeze all excess water from it, break up any clumps and add to cheese mixture. Fill each shell with cheese/spinach mixture and place into pan until entire pan is full. Cover with spaghetti sauce. Sprinkle some Parmesan cheese on top for flavor and add the remaining 1/2C of mozzarella to the top (not too much it really covers when it melts!).

Shown before baking

To Cook:
Bake 35-40 minutes, or until hot and bubbly. Let stand 15 minutes before cutting.

Enjoy! We did! :]

Spinach Shrimp Lasagna

You can customize this recipe to your tastes. If you don't like shrimp you can substitute 1lb of any meat product. You can also use different veggies if you don't like spinach. I like to use the no-boil lasagna noodles because I'm lazy ;] You can use regular noodles if you like, but remember you need to boil them first. Also I use cottage cheese in the recipe to help dilute all the Ricotta cheese which is really heavy and dense, you can use all ricotta or all cottage cheese if you like. Just adjust the amount you're using.Also I found that I could have used more sauce, so if you like a lot of sauce you may want to use 1.5-2 jars of spaghetti sauce instead of the one jar I used.

Ingredients:
1 box (9 oz.) Lasagna Noodles (I used the no-boil Barilla brand)
2 Eggs
1/2C Grated Parmesan Cheese
4C Shredded Mozzarella
10 oz Ricotta Cheese
10 oz Fat free Cottage Cheese
1-10 oz package frozen chopped Spinach
1 Jar Spaghetti Sauce (I used Classico Fire Roasted Tomato & Garlic 24oz)
1lb Shrimp, thawed

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 375° F. Spray 13 x 9" baking pan with non-stick cooking spray. Thaw frozen spinach in microwave. In large bowl beat eggs. Stir in ricotta, cottage cheese, 2C mozzarella and the parmesan. After cheese/egg mixture is blended add the spinach after squeezing all excess water from it.

To Assemble:
When layering lasagna noodles, slightly overlap the sheets. The lasagna will expand to the edges during cooking. Spread fillings to edges to seal in and cook the lasagna during baking.

1. Spread 1C of sauce on bottom of baking pan.
2. Layer 4 lasagna noodles, 1/3 of cheese mixture, half of shrimp, 1C mozzarella, and 1C sauce.
3. Layer 4 lasagna noodles, 1/3 of cheese mixture, and 1C sauce.
4. Layer 4 lasagna noodles, the remaining cheese mixture and shrimp, and 1C sauce.
5. Layer 4 lasagna noodles, the remaining sauce, and remaining 1C of mozzarella.


To Cook:
Cover with foil and bake until bubbly, 50-60 minutes. Make sure that the noodles have cooked fully if you are using no-boil noodles. Remove foil and cook uncovered for 5 minutes. Let stand 15 minutes before cutting.

Enjoy! We did! :]