Cookin With Brooke

This is a YUMMY kid-friendly appetizer!! Perfect for family New Year’s Eve gatherings!

1 (8 ounce) package softened cream cheese

1/2 cup softened butter

3/4 cup powdered sugar

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips

(3/4 cup finely chopped pecans-we don’t do this part)

In a medium bowl, beat together cream cheese and butter until smooth. Mix in powdered sugar, brown sugar and vanilla. Stir in chocolate chips. Shape into a ball. Wrap with plastic, and chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours.

Roll the cheese ball in finely chopped pecans before serving. (we roll into more mini chocolate chips)

Dip vanilla wafers, plain chocolate cookies, or even Teddy Grahams in and enjoy!

This is a GREAT side dish to the Christmas Breakfast Casserole. Make as individual servings. It is really refreshing and festive!

2 cans (20 oz) crushed pineapple, un-drained

2 packages (10 oz) frozen sweetened sliced strawberries, thawed

1 large can frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed

1 small can lemonade concentrate, thawed

6 medium firm bananas, sliced

Sprite or Bubbly

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients (add different fruits of your choice if you’d like!) Pour into individual plastic beverage glasses. Freeze until solid. When ready to serve, thaw for 30-45 minutes before serving. Top with a few splashes of lemon-lime soda or ginger-ale. (or bubbly Moscato!)

Our family’s FAVORITE Christmas breakfast! We pair it with a delicious frozen fruit cup (topped with 7up or Champagne!). Recipe coming soon!

2.5 cups seasoned croutons

3 cups grated cheddar cheese

2 lbs. sausage (fried, drained, crumbled)

4 eggs

half tsp. dry mustard

3 cups milk (divided)

1 can mushroom soup

Spray 9×13 pan. Spread croutons on bottom of pan. Top with cheese and sausage. Beat eggs, mustard and 2.5 cups milk together. Pour over sausage. Mix 1 can mushroom soup with 1/2 cup milk. Pour over egg mixture. Bake at 300 for 1.5 hours.

I’ve had chicken chili before, but was always too intimidated because I thought it was really difficult to make. That was before I tried THIS recipe. Easy and YUMMY!

2 (24 oz) jars great northern beans (undrained)

Meat from 1 rotisserie chicken

1 (16 oz) jar Pace Picante (your preferred heat)

8 ounces Monterey jack pepper cheese (shredded if you can find it)

Tortilla chips (optional)

Sour Cream (optional)

Put the ingredients in a slow cooker. Cook on low for 4 hours. Stir every 1/2 hour if possible.

Serve with tortilla chips and a dollop of sour cream.

Enjoy!

This is a great and EASY comfort food recipe! My family LOVES it!! The other GREAT thing about it for me is that it doesn’t have chunks of onion or tomato in it! But those flavors are still there!

It’s perfect for those crazy busy nights when your family is running in more directions than there are people!

1 pound ground beef

1 tsp onion powder

3 cups tomato juice

1 TBS Worcestershire sauce

1 TBS vinegar

1 TBS brown sugar

1 tsp salt

1 tsp dry mustard

1/8 tsp pepper

1 cup macaroni

Brown ground beef in like a 5 quart stock pot. Once it gets going, sprinkle the onion powder in and let that fry into the beef. Once the ground beef is no longer pink, drain the fat and keep the beef in the pot. Add everything else right into the pot. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer covered for 20 minutes. Enjoy!

Saw this recipe on Pinterest and made it IMMEDIATELY! Now…you must know from the title and the picture, these are NOT a low-fat veggie option. BUT…if you want a really tasty, gourmet-looking side dish. Cook these instead of the old green bean casserole for Thanksgiving! YUM!

And bonus…it is a way to get the pickiest of eaters to eat their green beans!

1 pound fresh green beans

5-6 slices bacon, cut in half

2 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1.Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Place a cooling rack on a large cookie sheet (or use a broiler pan like me).

2.Wash and dry green beans. Snap off the ends. Grab a small handful of beans (anywhere from 5-10 green beans) and lay them on a half-strip of bacon. Roll the bacon up and around the green bean bundle and place it in the pan, seam side down. Repeat with remaining green beans.

3.Melt the butter in a sauce pan on the stove. Add the brown sugar and garlic powder and mix together until well combined. Remove from the heat and brush over the tops of the green bean bundles. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

4.Cover with foil and roast for 35 minutes. Remove foil and roast for another 10-15 minutes or until the bacon gets nice and crisp. Enjoy!

I love anything cheese-cakey, ya know what I mean? Chocolate Cheesecake, Cherry Cheesecake, Bailey’s Cheesecake, etc. But I don’t like all the fuss and trouble of baking it in a springform pan!! I found a SUPER easy way to make Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars. Ready? Go

1 Graham Cracker Crust (recipe below)

1 1/4 cup Pumpkin Puree

2 tsps Pumpkin Pie spice

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1 container of Philadelphia Ready to Eat Cheesecake Filling

1 cup whipped topping

Mix everything together.

Pour into the graham cracker crust.

Top with extra whipped cream and dust with cinnamon.

Refrigerate for 1 hour and serve!

CRUST

1 3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup melted butter

Crush graham crackers and put crumbs in a bowl. (I put them in a large baggie and then use a rolling pin to crush them.) Mix in the sugar. Add the melted butter and mix well. Press into a 9×13 pan. Bake at 350º for 15 minutes.

I love pumpkin pie, but I wanted to shake it up a bit. This gives you all the flavors of pumpkin pie, but it serves WAY more people and you look like a super star!

1 spice cake mix made per directions

1 large box vanilla pudding (prepared per directions)

1 (30-ounce) can pumpkin pie filling (or some cans say ‘mix’)

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 (12-ounce) container whipped cream

Bake the cake according to the package directions; cool completely.

Meanwhile, prepare the pudding and set aside.

Stir the pumpkin pie filling and brown sugar together then into the pudding.

Crumble half the cake into the bottom of a trifle bowl. Pour 1/2 of the pudding mixture over the cake then add a layer of whipped topping.

Repeat.

Refrigerate overnight.

This recipe is easy and makes MANY MANY MANY! Perfect for teacher gifts or hard-to-buy for friends on your list.

1 bar German Chocolate cooking chocolate

12 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips

48 oz almond bark (24 oz  almond bark and 24 oz milk chocolate bark)

1 16 oz dry roasted unsalted peanuts

1 16 oz dry roasted salted peanuts

Place all ingredients in CrockPot. Cook on low for 1.5 hours or warm for 3 hours. DO NOT TOUCH. Turn CrockPot off and let it sit for 20 minutes. Cover counter top or table with waxed or parchment paper. Stir mixture completely. Drop by spoonfuls onto paper or into small paper muffin cups. Let harden and store in airtight container. Give away and save some or your family to enjoy. (they also freeze!)