Easy Stuffed Peppers

In honor of Cinco de Mayo.

My kids LOVE these. I use a bag of the mini sweet peppers from Costco. 

The kids Recipe  

• about 6 oz. of cream cheese
• 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup bacon bits.
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh herbs of your choice.
• a bit of lime squeezed over the top wouldn’t be bad either.  (after baking)

The Adult Recipe

• one tub of Costco's Jalapeño Artichoke dip
• Bacon if you so desire.
• a bit of lime after baking for these too.

 

I just chop off the top of the pepper, quick and easy.

Clean out the inside.

Mix the filling in a zip top bag.  AND WARM IT UP IN THE MICROWAVE UNTIL IT FLOWS OUT OF THE BAG.  IT DOESN’T TAKE LONG! Cut off the corner

Then squeeze it into the peppers.

The Bake them at 375 degrees for about 20 ish minutes.

The filling mostly stays in while baking.

I did say mostly   

ENJOY! 

Gourmet Carmel Apples

I made these guys to sell at a craft fair and for my first ones I thought they turned out wonderful!

So I started by getting a clam shell of granny smith apples from Costco.  Then I washed and dried them really well.  I had one package of caramels leftover from Halloween so I was planning on using those but when I read the package it said that it would only do five apples.  UGH I had 12 apples to do and I REALLY didn’t want to run into town just to get a package of caramels.  Then I remembered that my lovely mother makes the best caramel popcorn balls ever.  So I pulled out my recipe for her caramel popcorn balls and made that caramel for my apples.  WOW it was perfect and WAY better than the store bought kind of caramel.  It was really easy to use and it coated the whole apple beautifully and it was edible without being totally sticky and it didn’t cement your teeth together.  YEAH!

  

After I dipped the apples in the caramel I let them sit in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes to an hour.  After an hour I took them out and dipped them in milk chocolate.  (sorry I forgot to take pictures of that part) Then I rolled them in, nuts, Oreo cookie pieces, toffee bits, or mini chocolate chips w/chopped peanuts.

      

Then I wrapped them up and added a little tag.

  

Caramel Recipe

1/2 cup of butter

2 cups of brown sugar

1 cup of corn syrup

1 can of sweetened condensed milk

Stir on medium high heat until it gets to a very soft ball stage then add 1 tsp. of vanilla.

* For 6 apples I made 1/2 a batch and I had leftovers.

IF YOU WANT TO TRY THE POPCORN BALLS MAKE THE FULL RECIPE AND POUR IT OVER 8-12 QUARTS OF POPPED CORN.  STIR AND FORM INTO POPCORN BALLS. WRAP IN WAX PAPER. 

Golden Harvest Potato Bake

I tried this at Thanksgiving last year and we really loved it (we only made 1/2 a batch it makes a lot). The carrot flavor really shines through, so next time I make it I would add less carrots.  So if you like your sweet potatoes SAVORY and not sweet then TRY this awesome recipe.

5 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
5 large carrots, cut into 2-inch pieces
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, (divided)
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs
2 TB cider vinegar
1 TB butter
1 tsp salt
1 tsp dried parsley flakes
1/2 to 1 tsp of pepper

Place the potatoes, carrots, garlic and tarragon in a large pot and cover with water. Bring to boil. Reduce heat; cover and cook for 15-20 min or until tender. Drain.
In a large bowl, mash vegetables. Stir in 1/2 cup of cheese, milk, eggs, vinegar, butter, salt, parsley and pepper until blended.
Transfer to a greased 13x9 in baking dish; sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Bake uncovered, at 325 degrees for 25-30 min.