Cream Cheese Alfredo Sauce

I went looking around cyberspace for an Alfredo sauce that used half and half.  I found this one on Cooks.com and the cream cheese sounded too good to pass up.  Half my family loved it (me included) and the other half thought it was too rich.  You be the judge.

1 cube butter
1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese
1 cup half and half
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
1 tsp. garlic powder
Ground pepper to taste

*In a medium saucepan, melt butter on stove.  Add cream cheese and stir together until cream cheese is melted and they are mixed well.  This will take a little while and a lot of whisking.  When they are mixed well, add half and half, Parmesan, garlic powder and pepper.  Stir together until it's all combined.  Take off heat and let sit for a few minutes to thicken up.  Serve over your favorite pasta with some garlic bread to dip.

Jane's Favorite Chocolate Cookies

Nat e-mailed this recipe to me a while back.  She got it from her mother-in-law, Janet, who got it from a lady named Jane.  Jane is the author of a cookbook called "Favorites" (that we love) so I knew it would be a winner.  I was intrigued by the fact that it didn't use normal cookie ingredients like sugar, eggs, baking soda, etc.  It's more like a brownie-fudgie-cookie combo.  In other words, these are really good if you are a chocolate fan.

3 Tbs. butter
1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 (14oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup flour
1 cup pecans (halved or chopped)

*Melt butter, chocolate chips and condensed milk in a double boiler on the stove until smooth and shiny.  Stir constantly and don't overheat.  Remove from stove and quickly fold in flour and pecans.  Scoop with a cookie scoop onto a cookie sheet, two inches apart.  Let sit for 15 minutes in a cool place.  Bake at 350 for 10 minutes.  Cool on a rack before eating.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

Here's what's on our "Tucker Family" Thanksgiving menu today:

Turkey (cooked all night in our neighborhood Turkey Pit)

PW mashed potatoes

Lana's gravy
Stuffing

Creamed corn

Sweet potatoes

Glazed carrots
Homemade cranberry sauce

Jen's rolls

Pretzel Jello

Pumpkin pie

Pumpkin cream pie

Bobby Flay's pumpkin bread pudding

*Cooking and baking done by Holly, Jen, Momma Lana and myself.*

**Missing Ryan Gibb, Dave, Nat and Lucy!!**

(Much too lazy today to put all the links, but the creamed corn, pretzel jello and carrots are on here somewhere.  The mashed potatoes, bread pudding and cream pie are on Pioneer Woman).

Have a great day and enjoy all the good food!

SISTER SCHUBERT'S DINNER ROLLS

Run to the nearest Sam's Club and buy these rolls! You may never make another roll in your life. And believe me...I am a homemade roll snob. These are so convenient and the added bonus--DELICIOUS!! Very reasonably priced too. $5.88 for a bag of 30 (in AZ). They are already baked--no raising. They are frozen and you place them in the oven for 5-10 minutes depending on how brown you want them. Just tell your guests you and Sister Schubert made them. (Oh--they are in the freezer aisle at Sam's). You can just heat how ever many you want and reclose the bag for later. I have been eating 1 or 2 (or maybe 3 or 4) every day with butter and jam. Yikes!! Try them. I promise you won't be sorry!

Baked Spanish Rice

Holly and I both saw this recipe on "My Kitchen Cafe" and we both made it for dinner in the same week.  When we were talking on the phone and realized we had both made it, we each commented that it was an easy and healthy way to make Spanish rice.  Holly told me today that she ate the leftovers a couple days later with some melted cheese on top and it was even better.

2 1/4 cups brown rice
3 3/4 cups chicken broth
1 can rotel tomatoes with chiles, drained
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. cumin
(I also added a little salt and some fresh garlic)

*Combine all ingredients in a casserole dish.  Stir well.  Cover with foil and bake for 80 minutes until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender.

Spicy Quinoa Salad

I am trying to branch out and try new things in my cooking.

I kept coming across recipes with quinoa in them so I decided this was something I needed to try.

I found this recipe on Tasty Kitchen and decided it was too colorful to pass up.

I loved it.  I can't say that it's the most kid-friendly dish, because it's spicy.  But I loved it and I think it would be perfect for a bridal or baby shower, bunco night, book club or some fun get-together like that.  I do have one child who likes spicy food and he ate a whole bowl of it with some tortilla chips.

I'm also a sucker for cilantro and this has the perfect amount.
And the dressing.  Oh my gosh.  My favorite part.

1 1/2 cups cooked organic quinoa (cook according to package directions)
1 Tbs. salt (add when boiling quinoa)
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 1/2 cups corn kernels (I used the frozen white corn from TJ's)
1 cup finely chopped sweet bell peppers
1 whole jalapeno, seeded and chopped finely
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1/4 cup chopped green onion

*Mix these all together with the cooled quinoa and set aside.

Dressing:
5 Tbs. lime juice
1 tsp. salt
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 cup cilantro, finely chopped
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. pepper

*Mix well and toss with salad.
Salad tastes better after being refrigerated for a while.

Yellow Curry

I, like Rachel, have become obsessed with TJ's. Now I have several favorites and must-haves when I go grocery shopping there. One being the yellow curry sauce. So this is my extremely easy yellow curry recipe.

1 bottle Trader Joes yellow curry
1 can coconut milk
vegetables (potatoes, peas, carrots, bell peppers)
any meat/poultry
whatever you want really...

Cook veggies with some olive oil in a frying pan. Once they are close to being done, add the coconut milk and curry sauce. Let simmer until its all warm and veggies are done. Serve with rice! Me and Dave are really into it right now. Great for leftovers. **Obviously cook your meat and add. I usually just do veggies.

Speaking of TJ's... yesterday I bought some chocolate-covered peanut butter pretzels. Can you say YUM!