Banana Split Friday

My sister, Lindsey, and friends, Sara and Destiny, all got together for girl's night last Friday. We went to Gringo's for mexican food, as usual, and then went over to Sara's apartment to watch a movie. The highlight of the night was the banana splits everyone made. I never knew there was so much controversy over what to put on a banana split...pineapple, caramel, chocolate syrup, marshmallow puff, cherries, different flavors of ice cream, strawberry topping, whipped cream....the possibilities are endless. Here are a few of the concoctions...

Lindsey's: chocolate, chocolate, and more chocolate, with some whipped cream, and a cherry.

Sara's: all vanilla ice cream with chocolate syrup, whipped cream, and cherries.

Destiny's: chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry ice cream, with whipped cream, cherries, and chocolate syrup.

Mmmm, Mmmm good!! Makes you want one too, doesn't it??

New House -- Meatball Pizza Subs

Spring break is here!!! Too bad I'm spending most of it working on the new house. The last three days have been spent painting and cleaning. Anyway, I said I would post some pics of the new house, so here are a few I took this morning.Here is the living room. Remember, we haven't moved most of the furniture, so foldable tables are all we have.

KitchenEntering the house.Part of the back yard.

View of part of the front yard from upstairs bedroom. You can see our tiny pond and the driveway.

Obviously, we have a lot of work to do outside, but we are focusing on the inside of the house for now. A lawnmower will be our next big purchase, and someday we hope to expand the pond.

In spending so much time at the new house, we've had to eat out a lot, which is getting to be very expensive. So, I cooked our first dinner at the new house last night. You need absolutely no dishes for this meal!

Meatball Pizza Subs

Hoagie Buns

1-15oz. jar of pizza sauce

2 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese

20 slices of pepperoni

1 bag frozen cooked meatballs, thawed

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Open hoagie buns and sprinkle approx. 1/3 cup cheese into each bun. Place 4 slices of pepperoni on top of the cheese on each bun. Place 3 to 4 meatballs in each sandwich. Now, spoon about a 1/3 cup of pizza sauce on top of the meatballs for each sandwich. Wrap each sandwich with aluminum foil and bake for approx. 10-12 minutes.

Voila! How easy is that???

Spiral Pepperoni Pizza Bake

I've been pretty busy lately. We recently bought a new house, which happens to be about an hour away from where we currently live. So, we've been spending some of our weekends at the new place, and we'll move there permanently next June. Hopefully, I'll have some pics to post soon. Anyway, I haven't had much time for posting or cooking. This is a recipe I made on Monday.

Spiral Pepperoni Pizza Bake

1-16oz package spiral pasta
2 lbs ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2-15oz cans of pizza sauce
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp italian seasoning
2 eggs
2 cups milk
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1-3 1/2 oz package of sliced pepperoni

Cook pasta according to directions. Meanwhile, in a large pot, cook beef, onion, salt and pepper over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in the pizza sauce, garlic salt, and italian seasoning; remove from heat and set aside. In a small bowl, combine the eggs, milk, and Parmesan. Drain pasta; toss with egg mixture. Transfer to a greased 3qt. casserole dish. Top with beef mixture, mozzarella cheese, and pepperoni. Cover and bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Uncover; bake 20-25 minutes longer or until golden brown.

Notes: You could use spaghetti sauce instead of pizza sauce. Definately salt the pasta while its boiling. I didn't do this, and the pasta layer in the casserole was bland. I used grated Parmesan instead of shredded and the dish came out fine. Lastly, I only used about 3 cups of mozzarella. Four cups just seemed overwhelming.

Sour Cream Beef and Beans

In my never-ending quest to find quick and easy recipes, I found this microwaveable recipe. I know, many of you out there despise the microwave, but oh well. I just can't pass up recipes like this. It was quick, easy, and better than a tv dinner. If you like Frito Pie, then you will like this. It's basically Frito Pie with a mexican twist.

Sour Cream Beef and Beans

1 lb ground beef
1-15oz can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1-15oz can enchilada sauce
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1-4oz can chopped green chilies
1 1/2 cups crushed corn chips
1 cup sour cream
additional corn chips, optional

Crumble beef into an ungreased 2qt. microwave save dish; cover with paper towel or waxed paper. Cook on high for 5 minutes or until meat is no longer pink, stirring twice; drain. Stir in the beans, enchilada sauce, 1 cup of cheese, chilies, and crushed corn chips; mix well. Cover and microwave on high for 3 minutes or until heated through, stirring once. Top with the sour cream and remaining cheese. Heat, uncovered, for 2-3 minutes or until cheese is melted. Serve with corn chips.

The Best Pasta Carbonara

I made the best pasta carbonara last week. The recipe is by Pastor Ryan from The Pioneer Woman website. Its not very healthy, but everything is ok in moderation...right? By the way, I just have to say, that I LOVE bacon. You can find the recipe here http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2008/09/cooking-with-ryan-pasta-carbonara/. I promise, it's worth it.

Spaghetti Hot Dish

I've felt very uninspired lately when making my meal plans. I just can't find any recipes that interest me right now. I think I need to get a new cookbook. Anyway, I made this casserole today because I just couldn't find anything else I wanted to make.

Spaghetti Hot Dish

1 lb. lean ground beef

1 1/2 onions, diced

3 celery ribs, diced

1/4 cup butter

5 tbsp. all purpose flour
salt and pepper to taste

3 1/2 cups milk

2 tbsp. chopped pimientos

2 tbsp. soy sauce

1 1/4 cups cooked spaghetti

1 cup finely crushed butter flavor crackers (about 25 crackers)

In a large skillet, cook beef, onions, and celery in butter over medium heat until meat is no longer pink and vegetables are tender. Stir in the flour, salt and pepper until blended. Gradually add the milk, pimientos, and soy sauce. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Stir in spaghetti; mix well. Transfer to a greased 11x7x2 inch baking dish. Sprinkle with cracker crumbs. Bake, uncovered, at 350 for 30-35 minutes or until heated through.

Superbowl!

We spent this superbowl at our friends, Matt and Sara's, new apartment. We had lots of food, as usual, and I thought I'd post some of it.

Nicci's Superbowl Dip

1 1/2 lbs. hamburger meat

1 envelope of taco seasoning

3 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 large can refried beans (~30 oz)

2 cups guacamole

3/4 cup sour cream

Brown hamburger meat in skillet; drain. Follow directions on back of taco seasoning envelope, but use 1 cup of water instead. While the hamburger meat is simmering, heat the refried beans in the microwave until warmed through. Spread the hamburger meat evenly in the bottom of a 13 x 9 inch pan. Then add the refried beans on top, using a spatula to even it out.

Layer the shredded cheddar evenly over the top. Spread the guacamole over the top of the dish, again using a spatula to make it even. Place the sour cream in a ziploc baggie and press it down to one corner. Cut the corner tip off of the baggie, and pipe the sour cream onto the guacamole in whatever design you like.

Finished Product!

Notes: You can add olives, tomatoes, lettuce, or anything else that is typical of a layered mexican dip.

Matt cooking his jambalaya.

Destiny's jalapeno poppers.

The swedish meatballs my husband made.

Watching the 3D portion after the 2nd quarter.