Italian Crack Bread

Served this with the pasta!

1 Italian loaf, about 12 inches long 

1 stick butter, melted

1/8 cup olive oil

3 tsp minced onion

2-3 cloves garlic, grated

1 tbsp dijon mustard

1 tbsp poppy seeds

3 tsp chopped parsley (add more if you wish)

12 oz grated cheese (I used a mix of white cheddar and monterey jack.)

Preheat the oven to 350 F. 

Mix the melted butter, olive oil, onion, garlic, dijon mustard, poppy seeds and parsley in a bowl. 

Cut the bread into cubes with X slices without cutting all the way through the bottom crust. 

Pour the butter-onion garlic mixture carefully into those X cracks using a small spoon and over the top of the bread. Fill those delicious cracks with the grated cheese. (It seems like a lot of work and trouble but it's all worth it. Yes.)

Wrap the entire loaf with foil, sealing the sides properly and bake for 15-20 minutes. Remove from the oven and unwrap. Bake for another 10 minutes until the cheese is melted and gooey.

Creamy Tomato Tortellini Soup

This is so good if you're looking for something nice and warm to eat in the winter (or anytime of the year :P)

Ingredients:
2 whole large Cloves Of Garlic Minced
2 Tbl Olive Oil
2 10 3/4 oz Cans of Condensed Tomato Soup
1/4 cup Sun Dried Tomatoes, chopped or 2 Tbl Of Sun Dried Tomato Paste
2 cups Half-and-half
2 cups Chicken Stock or Vegetable Stock
1 tsp Onion Powder
1 Tbl Italian Seasoning
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Pepper
1 whole 9 Oz Package Of Cheese Filled Tortellini
1/2 cup Shredded Parmesan Cheese, for garnish 

Instructions:
Saute garlic with the olive oil in a large stock pot over medium heat until golden brown.
Be sure to keep an eye on it so it doesn’t get too brown or burnt.
When the garlic is done, add tomato soup, tomatoes, half and half, chicken stock and spices.
Bring to a simmer.
Once simmering, drop tortellini into the soup. Cook according to the package directions.
After tortellini are cooked, ladle soup into bowls and top with parmesan cheese.

Cake Batter Fudge

Alright, 10 minute easy recipe. I really liked it, although if you don't have a sweet tooth, you probably won't find it as good as I did.

Ingredients:
1 cup dry cake mix
1 cup powdered sugar
4 tbls. (1/2 stick) butter
1/4 cup milk

Instructions:
Mix dry cake mix and powdered sugar in a MICROWAVE SAFE bowl
Add butter and milk, but DO NOT mix
Put bowl in the microwave for 2 minutes.
Take it out and stir until everything is well incorporated.
Put the batter in a flat pan (I used a plastic Tupperware container) and refrigerate for 1 hour

Macaroni and Cheese

 This is the most delicious mac and cheese recipe I have ever come across. I added a few things of my own to the recipe (like panko bread crumbs... and bacon.)

Ingredients:
For the cheese sauce:
14 oz. shredded cheddar cheese (I used Kraft medium cheddar)
2 oz. shredded jack cheese (I used Tillamook)
4 tbsp. (1/2 stick) of unsalted butter
1/3 cup flour
3 cups milk
1/2 tsp. course salt
1/4 tsp. chile powder
1/8 tsp. garlic powder

For the mac and cheese:
Butter/vegetable oil/cooking oil for cooking pan
1 box penne
1 oz. cheddar cheese
1 oz. Gruyere cheese (I found and applewood smoked cheese that smells like bacon and I would not use another type of Gruyere cheese now)
Bacon (optional)
Panko bread crumbs (optional)

Instructions for cheese sauce:
1. Melt butter in sauce pan over medium heat. Whisk in flour. Continue whisking and cooking for about 2 minutes.
2. Slowly add milk, whisking constantly. Cook, stirring frequently until sauce has thickened. This should take about 10 minutes. Add jack and cheddar cheese, chile powder, garlic powder and salt. Stir until cheese has melted and remove from heat.

Instructions for mac and cheese:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a large baking dish and set aside.
2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook pasta according to package directions but for 2 minutes less (al dente) Rinse pasta in cold water and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, mix cheese sauce and pasta until well incorporated.
4. Pour pasta in prepared baking dish and sprinkle cheddar cheese over the top. Next, chop up the bacon into small-ish pieces and put the bacon over the top, followed by the bread crumbs, and then the gruyere cheese. Bake uncovered for 20 minutes. Done! Let cool and enjoy!

Pigs in a Blanket

Okay, these are super easy! The only ingredients are  Pillsbury crescent dough and little cocktail weenies :P

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Just cut the dough into small triangles, (I managed to cut about 6 from every sheet of dough) and wrap each mini hot dog and cook for about 10-15 minutes or until they are golden brown!

Fish Taco Bowls

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 3-4 tilapia filets (or other fish filet of your choice)
• 1-2 cloves minced garlic
• (I used a pre-seasoned blackened Mahi Mahi and it was perfect with this recipe. So if you have another type of seasoning you like on fish, that will work too.)
• 1 cup fresh sweet corn kernels (sliced off the cob is the best)
• 1 red onion, diced
• 1 bell pepper, diced
• 1 can black beans
• cooked brown rice (I used about 2 cups)
• fresh cilantro, avocado, sour cream (I used Jalapeno Ranch instead), or pico de gallo for topping

Instructions

1. Mix the spices together in a small bowl and sprinkle evenly over both sides of the fish filets. (I like to season my fish a LOT, but just sprinkle on however much looks good to you.) Add salt and pepper to taste.
2. In a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat, heat a drizzle of olive oil. Add the garlic and saute for 1-2 minutes. Add the fish filets to the pan. Grill the fish on each side for several minutes, checking the middle for doneness (fish should be completely white and flake apart easily). Remove fish filets and set aside.
1. Since I used a pre-seasoned fish, I skipped these steps and instead just grilled the fish until done.
3. Add corn, red peppers and the black beans to the pan and heat through.
4. Layer rice, corn/peppper mixture, and fish in a bowl – or mix everything together in the skillet. Top with any of the toppings listed above! (My favorite mix of toppings was the cilantro, jalapeno ranch, avacado, and pico de gallo.

Italian Cream Sodas

Ingredients

• Club Soda
• Half & Half
• Torani Syrups
• Ice

To make one Italian Cream Soda, you'll need:

• 1/2 cup Club Soda
• 3 TBSP Torani Syrup
• 1 TBSP Half & Half
• ice cubes
• whipped cream and a cherry for the top!

It's as easy as that!