Mac 'N Cheese

One time, I asked Alex what food he thought would be served in heaven. He instantly declared, "My Mom's mac 'n cheese!" This is his all time favorite dish. I'm not the biggest mac 'n cheese (or pasta) fan, but even I will confess to liking this version. This shouldn't surprise me as everything that comes out of Janet's kitchen tastes amazing! Plus, it is a one-dish meal--I always love an easy clean up!

Mom's Mac 'n Cheese
From the kitchen of Janet Diestler

Ingredients:

• 1 box Barilla Cellentani Pasta
• 3 cans Campell's Cheddar Cheese Soup
• 1 can full of milk (from the above soup cans)
• 2 Cups fresh shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 smoked sausage, cut into slices (or cocktail sausages work well too)

Directions:

Cook pasta according to directions, subtracting one minute on suggested cook time. Preheat oven to 350. Combine pasta, soup, milk, 1 cup cheese, and sausage together in a 4 quart casserole dish. Top with remaining cheese. Cover with foil, and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake for an additional 10 minutes, or until cheese starts to brown. 

Alex's Chocolate Chip Cookies

My wonderful husband makes the best chocolate chip cookies. They're crispy on the outside, and soft and gooey on the inside. Everyone who has tried these would agree! If you are going to eat them the next day, I recommend putting one in the microwave for 10 seconds because they taste best warm and gooey. The trick is not to overcook them.

I have so many wonderful memories of Alex lovingly making these for me and other important people in our lives.  One time, he threw them together while my old roommates were visiting, and they hit the spot.  

Alex's Chocolate Chip Cookies
Recipe from Alex Diestler


Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter flavored shortening
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter flavored shortening, brown sugar and white sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well with each addition, then stir in the vanilla .Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; gradually stir into the creamed mixture. Finally, fold in the chocolate chips. Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto the prepared cookie sheets.
3. Bake for 12 minutes in the preheated oven, until light brown. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Carmel Brownies

These are the best caramel brownies I have ever had! Seriously, I dream about them at night. I came across this recipe on a foodie blog from someone in our ward. These are really easy to make and don't require very many ingredients. Just make sure you let them cool down before cutting them.

Carmel Brownies:

Recipe Credit: http://mcconkiemenu.blogspot.com/2009/05/caramel-brownies.html

1 Box German Chocolate Cake Mix

1/2 Cup Butter, melted

1/3 Cup Evaporated Milk

14 oz. Package Caramels {I think the Kraft brand works best}

1/3 Cup Evaporated Milk

1 Cup Milk Chocolate Chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x13 inch cake pan with non-stick cooking spray.

2. Stir together cake mix, butter, and 1/3 cup evaporated milk until no more lumps appear.

3. Press half of the cake mixture into the prepared pan (this may seem like an impossible task, but it'd doable! Just imagine that the dough is play-do--use your hands!). Bake for 6 minutes.

4. While brownie mix is in the oven, melt together caramels and 1/3 cup evaporated milk in small sauce pan. Set aside

5. After 6 minutes, pull brownies out of oven and sprinkle 1 cup chocolate chips over crust. Pour caramel mixture over chocolate chips. Take remaining batter and use your hands to make small, flat balls. Place the dough balls over the caramel mixture and spread evenly (If you can connect the dough together, great. Otherwise, don't worry about it. It will all sort of meld together anyway).

6. Return to oven and bake for an additional 16-18 minutes. Refrigerate for 30 minutes before cutting and serving. Makes 12-15 generous servings.

Crescent Roll Chicken Pockets

I had these at a baby shower, and they were delicious! I believe this is a variation of a famous Pillsbury recipe made with Brie cheese (instead of cream cheese). I made these for Alex and he loved them! I love an easy recipe that makes it seem like you spent hours slaving in the kitchen.

Crescent Roll Chicken Pockets:

1 (8-z.) can refrigerated crescent dinner rolls
2 Tbls. Finely chopped green onions
6 oz. cream cheese, cubed
1 ½ cups chopped cooked chicken breast
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp. Crushed dried rosemary leaves
1 Tbls. Grated Parmesan cheese

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. On a greased baking sheet, separate dough into 4 rectangles; firmly press perforations to seal.
3. Spoon ¼ of chopped green onions onto center of each rectangle; top with ¼ of cheese cubes. Top each with ¼ of chicken, pressing into cheese.
4. Fold corners over chicken, overlapping slightly, and seal together any openings that may be visible.
5. Cut three 1-inch slashes on top of each roll to form steam vents. Brush with egg; sprinkle with rosemary and Parmesan cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 21 to 26 minutes or until golden brown. Serves 4.

Stuffed Pasta Shells

Here is another great recipe from my former roommate, Brittany Bitner. Alex LOVES pasta, and I'm not a huge fan. However this is a great recipe that we can both agree on. Another plus: this recipe can be frozen for later!

While this recipe is a keeper, it is a labor of love.  There are many ingredients that need to be prepared before assembling the shells.  For that reason, we don't eat these too often, but they do make for an occasional fantastic dinner. 

Brittany's Stuffed Pasta Shells

From the Kitchen of Brittney Bitner

Ingredients:

• ½ package jumbo pasta shells (about 15 shells)
• 6 oz. cream cheese, softened
• 2 c. cooked shredded chicken
• 2-3 c. of fresh spinach (I used frozen spinach, and it worked just fine)
• 2 c. shredded mozzarella or Italian cheese
• 1 bottle of pasta sauce 
• 1 T. Italian seasoning
• Butter or oil

Directions:

1. Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, sauté spinach in heated butter or oil, and cook until wilted. Drain the spinach and mix with meat, cream cheese, 1 cup of shredded cheese, and Italian seasoning.
2. Pour enough pasta sauce into a pan or microwave safe dish to thinly cover the bottom. Stuff the cooked shells with the meat and cheese mixture. Top shells with desired amount of pasta sauce and remaining cheese. Sprinkle with a little extra Italian seasoning or parsley for color if you wish.
3. Cook at 350 in the oven until cheese melts, about 25-30 minutes.

Chicken Green Bean Casserole

This is one recipe that I never appreciated until I grew up! When I was on one of my trips to Utah, my mom made this. I knew Alex would love it too, so a couple of weeks later I called to get the recipe. As I'm sure many of you can relate, I got no specific measurements for the ingredients. And regrettably, I make it the same way! But for the purpose of this blog, I have tried to quantify the ingredients. This is a super-easy, no-fail recipe, that can be assembled ahead of time. Enjoy!

Chicken Green Bean Casserole
From the kitchen of Carol Hutchins

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups cooked chicken, cubed
• 1 can Campbell's Cream of Celery Soup (I get the 98% fat free)
• 1 1/2 cups frozen french-cut green beans
• 1/3 cup light sour cream
• 2 Tbsp. milk
• 1 cup long-grain wild rice, already prepared (I prefer Zataran's)
• 1/2 tsp. pepper
• 1 1/2 cups French's Fried Onions (to taste)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. Mix first 7 ingredients, then spread mixture evenly in an 8" x 11" glass pan (or an equivalent casserole dish). Top evenly with French's Fried Onions. Place aluminum foil over casserole dish, and bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes.  Remove the foil for the last 10 minutes in order to brown the fried onions.