Cream Cheese Marbled Brownies

I love brownies and I love cream cheese so when I saw this recipe on the Kraft website some time back I just had to give it a try. I’m really glad I did and I’ve made them frequently since and they have always been a hit. It’s also lower in calories than brownies topped with cream cheese frosting, my very favorite way to have brownies.

Perfect Meatloaf Pan – Review

I see a lot of infomercials and they are always tempting – they definitely know how to make their products sound good! I have, in the past, tried a few of the items and was mostly disappointed in the products.

Before Christmas I started seeing the ads for the Perfect Meatloaf pan, and as always it really sounded good. I love meatloaf but very rarely make it because I haven’t really found a way to cook it without having the bottom sitting in fat, and I DON’T want the extra fat in my diet, so this pan sounded GOOD! But, I’ve been burnt before so I’m no easy sell. Then I started seeing the pans in the “As Seen on TV” section at Walmart. Oh No, I was in trouble then because I could get it now and not even have to pay shipping – WOW!

One day just before Christmas I went into Walmart – the temptation devil was, unknown to me, riding on my shoulder. Of course, I came out of the store with not just one for me but one for my girlfriend also. She called me last week to say she had finally used hers and LOVED it!

Well, I had to get on the ball and try mine. And I have to say, I agree with her. I love mine too!

The pan is heavier duty than I expected it to be. After washing it and spraying it with cooking spray as instructed in their booklet I mixed up my favorite meatloaf recipe and placed it in the pan and then in the oven. When the meatloaf was done I removed it from the oven and, while holding my breath, lifted the pan insert. It lifted right out and there on the bottom of the pan was a layer of fat – below the level of the insert – so my meatloaf had not been touching it. Really good first step! Next I tilted the insert to see if my meatloaf would just slide off and onto my plate as it did in the infomercial. And once again I was impressed – it slid right off. There was no fat on the plate with my meatloaf – I’m a happy camper. The pan cleaned up easily also.

So overall, I think this is a really great pan and I’m not in the least sorry for my purchase. Meatloaf will definitely be on the menu more often now!!

Diabetic Dog Treats

A little over a year ago I was dismayed to find out that my beloved poodle was diabetic. I am happy to report that he now receives insulin shots twice a day and is on a special diet and though he is now 9, he is active and healthy and acts like a puppy. One of the problems I originally had was that he loves treats and they became off-limits once he was diagnosed. I started researching on the internet and found the following recipe for treats. It sounded good so I gave it a try, and I am so glad that I did. He loves these treats and looks forward to getting his shot so that he can then have a liver treat! I have had friends try the treats with their non-diabetic pets and they all report that their pets LOVE them! These treats are easy to make and the recipe makes a large amount of them so I put them in the freezer and always have treats available.

Zucchini Jam

I have always enjoyed having a large garden and then doing a lot of home canning at harvest time. In recent years with my kids all off on their own I just don’t use as many home canned items as in the past so my gardens have shrunk in size. I do always have to grow a few items though. One of the items I cut way back on this year was zucchini, but due to great growing weather I still had a bumper crop. If you’ve ever grown zucchini you know even one plant can produce more than can even be given away – you know they really don’t want any more when your friends won’t answer their doors when they see you coming with zucchini in your arms!

But, since I hate to see any go to waste I was forced to dig out my old recipe for zucchini jam. Don’t know why I haven’t made any recently as this is a great recipe and makes absolutely delicious jam. This is an orange-colored jam. If you don’t care for apricot or pineapple flavors this probably won’t be for you but if you like either this is something you really should try!

Butterfinger and Brownie Cheesecake Dessert

I saw this recipe on Heart of a Country Home and being a cheesecake and brownie lover I just had to give it a try. Well………..this is delicious! It is really rich and you are definitely going to want to cut it into very tiny wedges but it’s not that difficult to make and it is well worth the effort. My family has a reunion every Labor Day and they all love anything made with chocolate and cream cheese so this is going to be on the menu for next year’s get together!

Layered Green Chili Chicken Enchilada Casserole

This casserole is cheesy and as spicy as you want to make it. If you don’t care for spicy food you can use mild enchilada sauce and mild green chilies – if you like your Mexican food with more heat just use hotter enchilada sauce and hot green chilies. Because the casserole is layered it is easier and faster to put together than making enchiladas but still has the same great taste. I originally saw this recipe on Spicy Southern Recipes and tried it and then made a few adjustments of my own. Check her site for the original recipe and many other great recipes! The picture is also hers, Thanks Ann!

Yummy Carrot Casserole

Carrots are so very good for us but often kids just aren’t that interested in eating them. I know mine weren’t, and no amount of telling them how good they would see if they ate them helped! Unfortunately I didn’t have this recipe back then because kids I’ve served it to since have decided that carrots aren’t so bad after all.

Handmade Animal Hats

Winter is the time for another of my interests – I love to crochet and really enjoy making new patterns and coming up with my own patterns and ideas. Now that the holidays are past I have been busy making animal hats. The first animal hat I made was the Angry Bird hat for my grand kids for Christmas. They all thought they were cute and recognized them immediately from the Angry Bird game. That started me thinking of other animal hats I could try to make. These hats were all made using different pictures for the basic idea and then going from there. None of them were made from patterns so when I make additional ones each looks a little different. I plan on trying to sell them so wish me luck!

Blue Cheese Salad Dressing

I really enjoy tossed green salads and love blue cheese dressing. Some of the bottled blue cheese dressings are good, but none of them really have the flavor I was looking for. Then I found this recipe and decided to give it a try, and was really glad that I did. This dressing is great and is simple to make.

Easy Just-Dump-It-In Cake

Time is, for many people, at a premium anymore. When you work, have a family to care for, have kids to run to activities, there just isn’t always time for baking the way our grandmothers did. This is a delicious cake recipe that requires only a few minutes to put together and has almost no time consuming clean-up. My mother used to throw this cake together when people would show up unexpectedly, because in our home, when people stopped by, food was always offered. Next time you need to throw a desert together on short notice with almost no clean-up I hope you give this cake a try. I think you will really enjoy it’s flavor as well as the ease.