Mini Cheeseburger Bites ...

I prepared this for our "family night/game night" ... for something fast, fun, and simple! It was definitely a hit at our game table last night!




Mini Cheeseburger Bites


Ingredients:


- hamburger meat
- seasoning of your choice - mine are: Paula's Deen's Seasoning Salt, Dale's Steak Seasoning Sauce, pepper, and a little bit of onion
- cheese slices
- bread
- condiments of your choice - I used: ketchup, mustard and mayo



Directions:


1. Season hamburger meat to your liking - I added Dale's Sauce, seasoning salt and pepper and a little bit of onion.

2. Mix seasoning well with hamburger meat and roll into small balls - mine were about 2 inches.

3. With your thumb, press into each ball to form a pocket.

4. Fry the mini burgers in a skillet - you can also grill them.



5. I flipped half way through and then flipped back once again where holes were on top. I used the end of a fork to push the holes back in (some of them closed up a bit while frying). But since the original hole was there, it pushed in with ease.

6. Using a small biscuit cutter I pressed out mini bread circles.

7. I placed them on a pan and sprayed "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter" on each bread disc. and toasted in the toaster.

8. I took a slice of cheese and cut it in 1/4's.

9. I placed a 1/4 piece of cheese on each bread disc and put back in toaster for about 25-30 seconds.

10. I placed a mini burger on each cheese bread disc.

11. In each "hole" I squirted a condiment ... I used mustard ...

Ketchup ....
and Mayo ...

comments: To everyone's surprise at the "game table", they were unbelievably good! They were so easy to make and ended up being the perfect little mini cheeseburger meal! I served them with chips and soft drinks. And I loved being able to fill the little holes with the condiments ahead of time. This would make a perfect party food ... easy to pick up and it's all inclusive! I saved on carbs by using one small piece of bread per burger ... I saved on fat by using lean ground beef, non-fat cheese and using a non-fat butter spray for the bread discs. When you bite into the mini burger, because of the hole filled condiment, it goes all the way through, which means each bite is perfect! I am positive this will be made again and again, not just on game night, but for parties as well!

rating: 4.5 for an overall "food" rating, but definitely a 5 for its category!

Cookie-Dough Blondies

I found this recipe and HAD to try it ... I LOVE cookie dough ... so I just needed to "see" ... =0) This is a simple recipe ... but it has some wait time involved ... so not such a fast recipe.






Cookie-Dough Blondies




Ingredients:


Bottom Layer:



1 box of yellow butter cake mix
1 stick of butter, softened
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips




Filling:


1 stick of butter, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
2 Tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup flour, self rising




Frosting:



1 Tbsp butter
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips




Directions:


1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees


2. With a spoon, mix cake mix, butter, egg, vanilla, and brown sugar


3. Stir in chocolate chips


4. Spread evenly into a 9x13 greased dish





5. Bake 15-20 minutes or until golden brown around edges. DO NOT over bake


6. Cool completely


7. For filling - in a separate bowl, mix stick of butter, brown sugar, and sugar together


8. Stir in milk and vanilla


9. Mix in flour


10. Spread evenly over cooled bottom layer



11. For frosting - melt Tbsp of butter and 1 cup of chocolate chips together in a small saucepan until smooth





12. Spread melted chocolate over top


13. Cut into bars (in the dish)



14. Refrigerate at least 2 hours and keep stored in refrigerator





comments: Yummy ... I tasted it before it went into the fridge ... and I think I like it better slightly warm/room temperature better than cold out of the fridge. I definitely taste the "cookie-dough" and the "blondie brownie" concept that this recipe advocates. I would make this recipe again and I might even add some pecans to the bottom layer. It "almost" had a 4-layer dessert taste to it. Very good recipe.



rating: 3 cold - 4 room temp

1-2-3 Peanut Butter Cookies

Here's another "simple" recipe that has been around in my repertoire of recipes for years ... the simplest recipe for peanut butter cookies ever! It's a tasty cookie and calls for only 3 ingredients -thus my nick name for them.



1-2-3 Peanut Butter Cookies


Ingredients:

1 cup peanut butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg

Hershey kisses (optional)


Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Mix together sugar, egg, and peanut butter.

3. Form small 1 inch (or so) balls.

4. Place on greased cookie sheet.

5. "If" you choose to use a bite sized candy (Hershey kiss for example) ... push a candy into each cookie.

6. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes - (oven time may vary)

7. Remove and cool on rack.

comments: I think I like the batter more than the baked cookie itself! (I love any kind of dough, and cookie dough is even better) ... Easy as 1-2-3 and a very quick dessert. Variating the bite sized candy is fun too!

rating: 3.5

Asian Style Chicken Packets

This recipe is from my friend Lori ... she sent this for me to try - thanks Lori! It sounded so good, I couldn't wait! It was on our menu this evening! This recipe is very simple and VERY tasty! And was a very quick fix!



Asian Style Chicken Packets





Ingredients:



4 sheets (12x18 inches each) Reynolds Wrap
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 Tbsp. Soy Sauce
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (1 to 1/4 lb), cut into 1/2 inch strips
1 16oz package frozen stir-fry vegetables



Hot cooked rice






Directions:


1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.


2. Combine brown sugar, soy sauce, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper.



3. Cut chicken in 1/2 inch strips

4. Add chicken strips to mixture.

5. Add vegetables to chicken mixture

6. Toss until evenly coated (I did this in a bowl - but it is much easier adding contents to a gallon size zip lock bag, zipping, and mixing until evenly coated.)




7. Cut Reynolds wrap into 4 12x18 inch pieces.


8. Lay out aluminum foil pieces and place 1/4 of chicken mixture into the center of each.

9. Bring up foil sides and double fold the top to seal.



10. Seal each end with a double fold while leaving room inside for heat circulation.



11. Repeat steps 8-10 for all four packets.


12. Place all 4 packets on a cookie sheet (it case it drains some) and bake on 450 degrees for 15-18 minutes. (cooked the whole meal at once - very convenient that both dishes required the same temp - potatoes of course went in first to cook longer)


13. Prepare rice (I used Uncle Ben's boil in a bag rice ... I used two bags to go with this recipe). I added butter and salt.

14. I plated up rice and emptied the contents of one packet on top. Each packet is a single serving (how nifty is that?!)






comments: This was a VERY good recipe!!! The only thing I would do different 'next time' ... would be to make up more of the brown sugar mixture/glaze. The taste was very good, but could have used a bit more of the glaze for my palate. We ended up sprinkling a little more Soy Sauce over our dish. I also would have added salt and pepper to the chicken before mixing in with the glaze.


rating: 3.5 ... if there had been more mixture/glaze it would get a 4 easy ... Mom liked it - she had two helpings! =0)

Marinated New Potatoes

This was part of our dinner this evening ... it is a side dish potato recipe that I have been using for about 13 or 14 years now. Very easy, simple and delish.

Marinated New Potatoes

Ingredients:


2 lbs red new potatoes
1 envelope Lipton Onion Recipe Secrets Soup Mix
1/3 Cup oil




Directions:


1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

2. Wash potatoes and cut into 1/4's (if potatoes are larger, cut even smaller)



3. Pour oil and onion soup mix into a gallon size plastic bag and add potatoes.

4. Press all air out of the bag, close, and mix thoroughly until evenly coated.



5. Empty into a shallow baking dish.


6. Bake on 450 degrees for about 45 minutes or until brown and tender - stirring occasionally.


comments: This has been a favorite side dish for a long time. I use it most often when having some type of chicken for dinner. It's also an alternative for baked potatoes when having Steak.


rating: 4