I had to do another Paula Deen recipe this week, no real reason except I just love her to pieces and want to support her. And I couldn’t decide what I wanted to make for Mondays This Weeks Cravings. Plus I absolutely adore Tilapia and so do most of my kids, so… it’s fitting. That is all.

Parmesan Tilapia Roll Ups

• 1/2 c. light mayonnaise
• 1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 c. chopped fresh parsley (we actually used Oregano for more flavor)
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 8 Tilapia fillets (about 3-4 oz each)
• Salt & Pepper
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Lemon Wedges, for serving

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a bowl, stir together the mayo, Parmesan, parsley and garlic.

Season the fillets on both sides with salt and pepper.

Spread the tops of the fish fillets with the mayo mixture. Roll up the fillets to cover the filling and secure with a toothpick or two.

Brush the outsides lightly with the olive oil. Arrange the roll ups on a baking sheet.

Bake until the fish is opaque and just cooked through – about 10-15 minutes.

Serve with lemon wedges. Absolutely delicious!!

Parmesan Tilapia Roll Up Recipe originally appeared on The Daily Dish Recipes on February 2, 2012.

I love cookbooks. I have a ridiculous amount of cookbooks. I almost never follow a recipe fully and I’m always substituting or adding my own twist to every meal we make from a recipe. However, my over flowing bookshelf of cookbooks needed a little dusting off and when Tina made This Week’s Cravings a recipe from our favorite cookbook, I knew it was time. The problem is, which cookbook. It took me days to decide which cookbook I wanted to use, and then another week to decide which recipe.

I finally settled on this awesome Cheese and Pesto Italian Baked Spaghetti from Paula Deen’s The Deen Family Cookbook. We had never made it before and it really turned out good. I think that next time I will probably nix the goat cheese (only because it was expensive) and add some low fat cottage cheese, simply to add a little more moisture to the recipe. But honestly the flavor was amazing and it is definitely hearty and rich.

Four Cheese and Pesto Italian Baked Spaghetti

1 lb. uncooked spaghetti noodles
1 lb. ricotta cheese
2 (6-7oz) jars of prepared pesto
2 1/2 c. shredded mozzarella
1 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1 c. crumbled goat cheese

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease a 13×9 dish.

Cook the spaghetti for 2 minutes less than the pkg directions say to cook it. Drain the spaghetti well and transfer it to a bowl. Stir in the ricotta, pesto, 1 cup of the mozzarella, 1/2 cu. of the Parmesan and the goat cheese.

Toss the mixture well and transfer it to the baking dish.

Sprinkle it with the remaining mozzarella and Parmesan.

Bake until the cheese is melted, about 15-20 minutes. Turn the oven to broil and broil for 1 minute or until golden (we skipped the broil setting.)
Serve hot!

I am proud to be co-hosting This Week’s Cravings along with Tina over at MOMS CRAZY COOKING, Angie from Big Bear’s Wife  & Kristi from Veggie Converter. Go visit them and tell them I said hi!

<a href="http://dailydishrecipes.com/" target="_blank "><img src="http://i1112.photobucket.com/albums/k498/Hudgens6/Buttons/ThisWeeksCravingsButton.jpg" /></a>

Participate in upcoming linky parties:

• 2/13/2012 Week # 68 Valentine’s Day Treats or Romantic Dinners
• 2/20/2012 Week # 69 Avocado Recipes & Homemade Salsa
• 2/27/2012 Week # 70 Smoothies & Shakes
• 3/5/2012 Week # 71 5-Ingredient Meal

Would you like to link up a Nutella recipe? Go ahead!

If you are a regular link-up we’re excited to see what you made this week. If you are new please read and follow the simple rules, so that everyone can enjoy the linky party and your recipe doesn’t get deleted!

If you forget to follow the theme, your post will be deleted. Please don’t feel hurt, just come back and link up a recipe that follows the theme. Thanks a million, we look forward to blogging with you!

The LINKY PARTY is opened ALL Week!

PLEASE do not link more then 3 recipes per week.

This week’s theme is: Nutella Recipes

Please only link recipes with our theme!

Cheese and Pesto Italian Baked Spaghetti Recipe originally appeared on The Daily Dish Recipes on January 30, 2012.

It’s time again for another round of This Week’s Cravings.

Our theme this week is Homemade Pies which made me excited because I’ve really never tried a completely from scratch, homemade pie. Guess what? I still haven’t. But more on that in a moment.

I am so proud to be co-hosting This Week’s Cravings along with Tina over at MOMS CRAZY COOKING, Angie from Big Bear’s Wife  & Kristi from Veggie Converter.

We host this party every Monday, so be sure to check out the upcoming themes at the bottom so you can join in too!

Have you made any Homemade Pies and want to link up with us? Go ahead and link it up down below in the linky, just please make sure it’s a homemade pie and not something else. Also, please make sure you read the simple rules first so your post isn’t removed.

Now, onto the yummy recipe and the story behind it.

So at the time we made this delicious pie, I was fresh out of surgery from my severed Achilles Tendon. I am still on the long road to recovery, but that’s okay because mini-chef has stepped up to the plate and is helping me out. I should probably add her bio to my blog too – she’s done a lot on here.

Mini chef is my 13 year old daughter Brielle. She has big dreams and aspirations to attend cooking school someday, so having her in the kitchen is exactly where she wants to be. When she saw the upcoming theme of homemade pies, she decided it would be fun to make a super easy Grasshopper pie and pair it with a wonderful meal she made us all.
Here’s her recipe!

Homemade Grasshopper Pie Recipe

1-1/2 cups cold milk
1 package (3.9 ounces) instant chocolate pudding mix
2-3/4 cups whipped topping, divided
1 package (4.67 ounces) mint Andes candies, chopped, divided
1 chocolate crumb crust (9 inches) (she made her own with Smashed Oreos and butter)
1/4 teaspoon mint extract
2 drops green food coloring, optional

In a bowl, whisk together the milk and pudding mix for about 2 minutes. Let it stand for a few minutes or until it is soft-set. Next, fold in 3/4 cup whipped topping. Then fold in 3/4 cup of the Andes candies.

Spoon into your crust.

In a new bowl, combine the mint extract and the remaining whipped topping. Add some food color if you’d like. Spread the mint topping over the pudding layer and then sprinkle with remaining candies.

Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or until set. We usually allow it to solidify overnight – plus it tastes better and better.

Enjoy!!

Here are more pictures Mini Chef took:

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Participate in upcoming linky parties:

• 1/16/2012 Week # 64 CHEESE LOVER DAY… YUMMY Cheese recipes
• 1/23/2012 Week # 65 Homemade Pies
• 1/30/2012 Week # 66 Recipe from Your Favorite COOKBOOK
• 2/6/2012 Week # 67 Nutella DAY (Peanut Butter, Almond Butter & More)
• 2/13/2012 Week # 68 Valentine’s Day Treats or Romantic Dinners
• 2/20/2012 Week # 69 Avocado Recipes & Homemade Salsa
• 2/27/2012 Week # 70 Smoothies & Shakes
• 3/5/2012 Week # 71 5-Ingredient Meal

This is a BLOG Party hosted by MOMS CRAZY COOKING and co-hosted by the blogs listed in the top paragraph.

If you are a regular link-up we’re excited to see what you made this week. If you are new please read and follow the simple rules, so that everyone can enjoy the linky party!

If you forget to follow the theme, your post will be deleted. Please don’t feel hurt, just come back and link up a recipe that follows the theme. Thanks a million, we look forward to blogging with you!

The LINKY PARTY is opened ALL Week!

PLEASE do not link more then 3 recipes per week.

This week’s theme is: Comfort Food: Casseroles & Soups.

Please only link recipes with our theme!

Easy Grasshopper Pie originally appeared on The Daily Dish Recipes on January 24, 2012.

This is one of my kids favorite meals, and its easy enough that the kids can do most of it. (trust me, I know this because I’m still laid up with the bum Achilles – ha!) This recipes makes 2 casseroles, sometimes 3.

Creamy Ham Pasta

• 10 c. uncooked tri color spiral pasta
• 4 celery ribs, chopped
• 1 med. green pepper, chopped
• 1/2 c. chopped onion
• 1/4 c. butter, cubed
• 3 cans of cream of cheddar cheese soup, undiluted
• 3 cups milk
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. pepper
• 4 c. cooked ham, cubed
• 2 cans mushroom stems and pieces, drained
• 1 c. crushed butter-flavored crackers

Creamy Ham Pasta originally appeared on The Daily Dish Recipes on January 21, 2012.

This is my first time participating in the Improv challenge, mostly because I could not commit during the holidays. This month’s Improv challenged us to use sour cream and lemons. So I started with this Basic Sour Cream Muffin recipe because its one of our favorites and I really wanted to keep it simple. I went back and forth between adding lemon zest to the muffin batter and actually decided against it, only because I said I wanted to keep it simple. So instead I create a quick lemon glaze to drizzle over the top. I also decided to give the muffins a little more oomph with some simple lemon extract, of course you could use lemon zest instead.

Lemon Glaze Sour Cream Muffins

1 stick of unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 c. sugar
1 tsp. lemon extract
4 large eggs (or 8 egg whites + 4 tsp. oil)
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
3/4 c. sour cream
2 3/4 c. all purpose flour

Lemon Glaze
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
3 tablespoons lemon juice

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Grease the muffin cups or line with paper liners.

In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and creamy, about a minute. Next, beat in the lemon extract, eggs, salt and baking soda.
Next, fold in the sour cream and then the flour.

Scoop the batter into muffin cups. Place in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick is inserted and comes out clean.

Allow to cool for about 5 minutes in pan.

Remove from pan and place on wire rack. In a bowl, combine the powdered sugar and the lemon juice to create the muffin glaze; drizzle over muffins. Serve warm.

Makes 24 muffins.

Lemon Sour Cream Muffins originally appeared on The Daily Dish Recipes on January 19, 2012.

Salmon is one of my favorite fish, and then beyond that it’s really one of my favorite foods, period. I love that most of my kids will eat Salmon in any form. They really enjoy it too, and it’s so healthy. This recipe is probably the least healthy recipe I make when it comes to Salmon, but Salmon patties aka. Salmon Croquettes are delicious. We usually serve them over a bed of rice with different sauces for dipping. One of my kids loves smearing mayo all over a hamburger bun and eating it like a “Salmon Burger” as she refers to it. So delish!

Salmon Croquettes Recipe

•  1 1/2 c. fresh salmon or 1 (14.75) can salmon in water
• 1 heaping Tbs. onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 stalk celery, finely diced
• 1 1/2 tsp. Dijon mustard
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/4 c. all purpose flour
• Olive Oil for cooking

Salmon Croquettes Recipe originally appeared on The Daily Dish Recipes on January 18, 2012.

It’s Monday morning. It’s also time for another installment of This Week’s Cravings.

Our theme this week is Cheese Lover Day: Cheese Recipes which made me excited because who doesn’t love cheese? Okay, I know some people don’t love cheese. But anyway. I do love cheese.

I am so proud to be co-hosting This Week’s Cravings along with Tina over at MOMS CRAZY COOKING, Angie from Big Bear’s Wife  & Kristi from Veggie Converter.

We host this party every Monday, so be sure to check out the upcoming themes at the bottom so you can join in too!

Have you made any Cheese Recipes and want to link up with us? Go ahead and link it up down below in the linky, just please make sure it’s a cheese recipe and not something else. Also, please make sure you read the simple rules first so your post isn’t removed.

We are always looking for fun new ways to make Grilled Cheese Sandwiches. The same old, sometimes gets boring – and our favorite is the delicious Grilled Pizza Sandwich but we need something new. We decided that it might be kinda fun to turn a Cabrese Salad into a sandwich and so we set out to do and it turned out delicious.

Grilled Caprese Sandwich

bread
1 tomato, sliced
fresh mozzarella, sliced about 1/4 inch thick
Basil Pesto
Sea Salt & Pepper
Olive Oil

Take a small dish and pour some olive oil into it. Take a slice of bread, spread some pesto on it and set it into the dish, top it with a slice of tomato and sprinkle it with some sea salt and pepper. Now put a piece of Mozzarella on top of that. Take the 2nd slice of bread and smear it with some pesto and put it pesto side down on top of the Mozzarella.

Now flip the sandwich over in the olive oil, so both sides are coated with olive oil.

Now using a griddle or a pan on the stove, grill each side until golden brown and cheese appears melted. It took me about 2-3 minutes and then I flipped it for an additional 2-3 minutes. About 5-6 minutes total.

So delicious!

<a href="http://dailydishrecipes.com/" target="_blank "><img src="http://i1112.photobucket.com/albums/k498/Hudgens6/Buttons/ThisWeeksCravingsButton.jpg"/></a>

Participate in upcoming linky parties:

• 1/23/2012 Week # 65 Homemade Pies
• 1/30/2012 Week # 66 Recipe from Your Favorite COOKBOOK
• 2/6/2012 Week # 67 Nutella DAY (Peanut Butter, Almond Butter & More)
• 2/13/2012 Week # 68 Valentine’s Day Treats or Romantic Dinners
• 2/20/2012 Week # 69 Avocado Recipes & Homemade Salsa
• 2/27/2012 Week # 70 Smoothies & Shakes
• 3/5/2012 Week # 71 5-Ingredient Meal

This is a BLOG Party hosted by MOMS CRAZY COOKING and co-hosted by the blogs listed in the top paragraph.

If you are a regular link-up we’re excited to see what you made this week. If you are new please read and follow the simple rules, so that everyone can enjoy the linky party!

If you forget to follow the theme, your post will be deleted. Please don’t feel hurt, just come back and link up a recipe that follows the theme. Thanks a million, we look forward to blogging with you!

The LINKY PARTY is opened ALL Week!

PLEASE do not link more then 3 recipes per week.

This week’s theme is: Cheese Lover Day: Cheese Recipes

Please only link recipes with our theme!

Grilled Mozarella, Tomato and Basil Caprese Sandwich originally appeared on The Daily Dish Recipes on January 16, 2012.

This creamy decadent dessert wins over the heart of anyone who loves strawberries. It’s almost like some kind of crazy jello strawberry cheesecake-ish dessert complete with a fun and different sweet pretzel crust. It’s seriously good and very easy to make. In fact, I’ve been making this since I was a teen.

This is such a huge hit at parties, brunches and social gatherings of any kind, plus we make it for a dinner dessert and it lasts a few days. It can be made ahead of time and it can even be frozen ahead of time and then thawed. Plus, sometimes, right in the middle of cold weather, I’m really craving Strawberries and since they aren’t in season, I can enjoy a yummy strawberry dessert with frozen strawberries instead.

Creamy Strawberry Pretzel Dessert

• 2 c. pretzel sticks, broken
• 3 Tbs. granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 sticks of melted butter
• 1 8oz. pkg of softened cream cheese
• 1 16oz. container of whipped dessert topping
• 1 c. powdered sugar
• 2 3oz. boxes of strawberry gelatin
• 2 c. boiling water
• 2 10oz. pkgs frozen strawberries

Creamy Strawberry Pretzel Crust Dessert Recipe originally appeared on The Daily Dish Recipes on January 15, 2012.

We love Tuna Casserole – it’s one of those delicious, hearty casseroles that makes a cold winter night, cozy and warm.

This is a pretty simple recipe for a Tuna Casserole and it can be frozen as well.

Tuna Casserole Recipe

• 2 (6oz.) cans of Tuna in water
• 1 box (16 oz. ) seashell pasta, cooked and drained
• 2 (10.75 oz) cans of cream of mushroom soup
• 2 c. skim milk
• 1.5 c. grated cheddar cheese, divided
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 sleeve crushed Ritz crackers

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

In a mixing bowl, mix the tuna, soup, salt and milk together.

Add the pasta and 3/4 c. of cheese.

Pour all of these ingredients into a 9×13 casserole dish.

Bake for 30 minutes.

Remove from oven and top with cracker crumbs and remaining 3/4 c. cheese.

Return the casserole to the oven for about 5 minutes or until the cheese has completely melted.

Enjoy!

Creamy Tuna Casserole Recipe originally appeared on The Daily Dish Recipes on January 11, 2012.

Delicious Apple Dumplings – the easiest recipe I’ve ever found. Some people like them with ice cream, some with whipped topping, but I like them just as they are – warm from the oven, sprinkled with cinnamon sugar. I serve them warm with a hot cup of coffee or tea, sometimes hot chocolate for the kids. You can whip up a batch while you’re making dinner, cook them while you’re eating dinner and have a wonderful, fresh from the oven dessert straight from the oven.

Apple Dumplings Recipe

• 2 Green Apples
• 1 stick of butter
• 1 c. granulated sugar
• 3/4 c. water
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 8ct. crescent rolls (for the record, you can make your own dough – we certainly have!)
• Cinnamon Sugar to sprinkle on top

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Peel the apples and remove the core. Cut the apples into four quarters.

In a small saucepan melt the butter and sugar over med. heat until melted and blended. Next, water and vanilla.

Take a quarter of the apple and roll it up in a triangle of the crescent dough. Make sure you press the dough together to close the apple up inside the dough. Do the same with the rest of the apples and the rest of the triangles of dough.

Place your dumplings in a 9 x 13 pan not too close together.

Pour the butter mixture over the dumplings. Flip them so all sides are coated in the butter mixture.

Bake for 35-40 minutes or until they come out a golden brown. Remove from oven.

Mix together some cinnamon and sugar and sprinkle over the top of the dumplings before you allow them to start cooling.

Easy Delicious Apple Dumplings Recipe originally appeared on The Daily Dish Recipes on January 10, 2012.