Brown Sugar Carrots

This is Gray's grandmother's recipes for carrots! They are so easy and very hard to mess up which is a perfect recipe in my book!

16 oz bag of carrots
2 1/2 tbsp butter
1/3 cup brown sugar

Bring a pot of water to a boil, add carrots. Boil until you can stick a fork in them. Drain out water and add butter and brown sugar. Stir together and let cook over low heat for 10 to 15 more mintues, stirring every few minutes. Serve warm.

Grilled Portobella and Brie Sandwiches

I got the idea for this sandwhich from Aggie's Kitchen but ended up just doing it my own way instead. So here is my version

Large Portobella Mushroom Caps
Red Pepper (sliced)
Red Onion (sliced)
Brie
Olive Oil
Buns
Salt & Pepper

Coat vegetables with olive oil and sprinkle them with seasoning. Grill mushrooms, onions, and red peppers until done. Remove from grill. Grill buns remove from heat and add slices of brie to the warm bun. Layer the onions and red peppers on top of the mushroom and add to bun. Serve warm.

Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs

I saw this recipe on Tasty Kitchen and it was posted from Your Everyday Mama's blog! It made a ton of meatballs so we have been eating this for a few days! It's perfect to reheat at the office for a good lunch!

1 1/2 pound Ground Chuck
3/4 cups Italian Bread Crumbs
1/4 cups Parmesan Cheese, Grated
2 teaspoons Salt
1/8 teaspoons Pepper
1 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
1 whole Egg
1/2 cups Milk
1 bunch Parsley, Rough Chop
1 whole Mozzarella Ball, Fresh

Mix together bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, Worcestershire, egg and milk. Add ground beef and mix just until combined. Scoop out the amount of meat you want for the meatball and form the meatball around a small piece of the fresh mozzarella. Continue until all the meat is gone.

Now there were 3 different cooking options listed, I used the last one.
1. Cook the meatballs and sauce in a crockpot on low for 6 to 7 hours.
2. Brown meatballs slightly and cook on low in the crockpot with sauce for 5 to 6 hours.
3. Brown the meatballs almost completely and bake at 350 for 10 minutes on a foil lined cookie sheet.

Serve over pasta.

Cream Cheese Brownies

1 cup Canola Oil
2 cups Sugar
4 whole Eggs
2 teaspoons Vanilla
2 cups Flour
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
½ teaspoons Salt
½ cups Unsweetened Baking Cocoa
1 package (8 Oz) Cream Cheese (softened)
5 Tablespoons Butter Or Margarine (softened)
½ heaping cup Sugar
2 Heaping Tablespoons Flour
1 teaspoon Vanilla
2 Tablespoons Milk

Mix together the first 4 ingredients. Next sift together flour, baking powder, salt and baking cocoa then add to the first mixture. In a separate bowl blended together cream cheese, butter, flour, vanilla and milk until smooth. Pour half the brownie batter into a 9x13 greased baking dish, spread out. Then pour the cream cheese mixture and spread evenly, then spoon the remaining brownie mixture on top and spread as well as possible. Bake at 325 degrees for 50 to 55 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Oven Roasted Green Beans

Another amazing side dish! For so long I was only adding main dishes to our new recipe collection and I was getting so tired of the same sides, they can really change a meal! These green beans were easy and delicious. Recipe from Cooking During Stolen Moments.

1 lb of fresh green beans, trimmed
1 1/2 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 Tsp Salt
1 Tsp black pepper
1 Tsp Italian Seasoning

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Toss Green Beans with 1 Tablespoon of Olive Oil. Mix in Seasonings. Drizzle 1/2 Tablespoon of Olive Oil onto cookie sheet. Spread out Green Beans into 1 layer across cookie sheet and bake for 5 minutes then flip and cook for 10 more minutes.

Sesame Chicken and Broccoli

This is another winner from The Single Dish! Who needs take out when you can make your own!

3 Tbsp Honey
2 Tbsp Seasame Seeds
2 Tbsp Soy Sauce
1 Garlic Clove minced
1 large Egg
1/4 cup Cornstarch
1 1/2 lbs of chicken cut into 2 inch pieces
Salt and Pepper to taste
2 Tbsp Vegetable Oil
4 Scallions Thinly Sliced (totally forgot to use these, whoops!)
1 1/2 lbs broccoli cut into large florets

In a small bowl combine Honey, Soy Sauce, Seasame Seeds and Garlic. In a large bowl mix together the Egg and Cornstarch. Season chicken with salt and pepper then add to the cornstarch egg mixture and coat well. Heat a large nonstick skillet to medium and add 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil. Add half the chicken and cook until golden brown, stirring and turning frequently as you cook. Remove chicken and add another tablespoon of vegetable oil and cook remaining chicken. Once that chicken is cook add the other chicken and add the sauce. Also cook the broccoli by bringing a pot of water to a boil and cooking for 4 to 6 minutes. Once broccoli is cooked add it to the chicken as well and toss to coat with sauce. Serve the chicken and broccoli over brown rice.

Patty Melts

These were too good! Even though it is not even close to being cold here and won't be for months I have a feeling this will be one of our favorites during the winter. This recipes came from the Newlyweds and is slightly adapted.

1lb ground beef
1 medium onion cut into rings
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
2 dashed of worchestershire sauce
8 peices of bread (we used good old fashion white bread)
8 slices of cheese (we used 1 slice of cheddar and 1 slice of provolone on each melt)
4 tbsp soften butter

In a medium size mixing bowl add the egg, seasonings and beef. Mix until combined and form 4 patties. Cook burgers in a skillet over medium heat until done. Add the onions and worchestershire and saute. Butter 1 side of each peice of bread, place 4 peices, butter side down on the skillet. Add 1 slice of cheese, onions and burger. Top with another slice of cheese and another peice of bread and flip after two minutes. Let cook for another two mintues then remove from skillet and serve.

Spicy Sweet Potatoes

I think this is one of my new favorite ways to make sweet potatoes. The sweetness of the potato along with the hint of spice from the seasoning was delicious! Recipes is from Recipe for Disaster?

3 large sweet potatoes peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 Tbsp Brown Sugar
1 Tsp Chili Powder
1/2 Tsp Salt
1/4 Tsp Cayenne Pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Coat the potatoes with olive oil then add the spices and toss together well. Transfer to a well coated baking pan. Bake uncovered for 40 to 45 minutes, turning every 15 minutes until done.

Slow Roasted Pork

I was running late to work last friday and Gray had the day off so I asked him to put it together. Yes it's easy but as much as I love that man it scares me to death to let him cook. I told him exactly how to do it as I was running out the door and when I got home the house smelled amazing and a few hours later when it was time for dinner we got to taste the deliciousness! The recipe is from Mama Loves Food!

1 Pork Butt Roast
1/4 cup of Worcestershire sauce
3/4 cup of brown sugar
1 1/4 cups apple juice
1/2 teaspoon salt

Place the pork in the crockpot and coat with worchestershire on all sides. Then pat with brown sugar. Pour the apple juice down the side of the crockpot, do not pour it over the pork, you want to keep the brown sugar on the pork and that will wash it off. Cover and turn on high for 30 minutes then turn down to low. Cook for the majority of the day or overnight. Ours was in the crockpot for 9 hours. Remove from crock pot and shred, mix back with the juices or drain and add your own bbq sauce.

Spicy Black Bean Dip

I made this one up on a whim the other night when friends were coming over and I needed something quick. I have to say, it turned out much better than I thought. We dove right in and I forgot to take a picture of it till after it was gone! Hopefully I will make it again and add a picture soon! (now we make it all the time and I finally got a picture of it)

1 26.5 oz can of black beans
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tbs diced jalapenos
3/4 cup of shredded pepperjack
extra pepperjack to put on top of the dip

Preheat oven to 350. Drain the top liquid off the beans, don't drain all the liquid just what's on top. Mix together beans, chili powder, garlic salt, jalapenos, and 3/4 cup of pepperjack. Bake in oven for 15 minutes, remove and stir, place back in the oven for 15 more minutes, remove and stir. Top with more shredded pepperjack and place back in the oven for 5 to 10 more minutes. Serve with tortilla chips!