Creamy Crock Pot Spaghetti

I love being a busy Mom.  And I love that my crock pot can help me be a busy Mom and still have dinner with the family in that 1/2 hour of free time we have in the evenings!  I think we'd get pretty sick of fast food as would my pocket book without my dear sweet crock pot.

This is one of my favorite crock pot meals.  I'm not really a traditional spaghetti fan.  I like baked spaghetti's & crock pot spaghetti, but just the sauce over cooked noodles...not so much.  I am also a lover of all things cream cheese.  It makes all the difference in this recipe, but even my "I hate cream cheese" son loves this it.

Try it out, you won't be disappointed!

Creamy Crock Pot Spaghetti

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1 pound ground beef or turkey
salt & pepper to taste
1 teaspoon minced garlic
3 jars (26 oz.) spaghetti sauce
1 pound spaghetti noodles
3/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
4 oz. cream cheese
1 can (14.5 oz.) chicken broth

Brown meat over the stove with the garlic.  Salt & pepper to season.

Pour one can of spaghetti sauce in the bottom of your crock pot.  Break the spaghetti noodles in half and put them on top of  the sauce.

Spread the ground meat over top the spaghetti noodles.

Grate the Parmesan cheese.  I love freshly grated Parmesan, not a big fan of the pre-shredded stuff.

Put chunks of the cream cheese on top of the meat and then sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese.  (you can use the powdered Parmesan cheese here too...about 1/2 cup.)

Pour can 2 of your sauce over the cheeses.

Cover and cook on high for 3 hours.  After the 3 hours give it a good stir.  It will be thick!  Add the last jar of sauce & the can of chicken broth and stir to combine.  Let cook for 1 hour longer.  Serve or turn to warm/low until ready to serve.

Oh, and it makes quite a bit.  About 10-12 servings, but I think it's just as good if not better the next day warmed up in the microwave...perfect for lunch!:)

Lime Sour Mini Pies

If you "like" our facebook page you would have seen our sneak peak photo from yesterday.  

All those mini pies!!  I had such fun yesterday!

Mini pies are so easy to make and are so fun.  They are especially perfect if you need something nice & pretty for a crowd. 

I did.  And they were a hit.

I made 4 different kinds.  Almond Joy Pie.  Chocolate Drizzled Strawberries & Cream Pie.  Peanut Butter & Chocolate Cream Pie.  And then this wonderful Lime pie that I am sharing with you today!  Don't let the name fool you.  These are the perfect mixture of sweet & sour...just as a lime pie should be!  It just has sour cream in it...hence the sour part.:)

Each pie recipe (that will fill a 9" pie plate) will make about 9-10 mini pies, so you can use whatever recipe you like and make mini pies out of it.  So this recipe could also be used to make one 9" pie as well.  Delicious either way!

Lime Sour Mini Pies

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3/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons corn starch
2 large or 3 small limes
1/3 cup fresh lime juice
1 cup half & half
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sour cream
1 cup whipping cream
2 tablespoons powdered sugar

Grate the peel of the limes.

Combine the sugar, cornstarch and grated lime peel in a medium saucepan and mix well.

Juice the grated limes until you have 1/3 a cup.

Add the lime juice to the sugar mixture and stir until smooth.

Mix in the half & half and butter.

Turn stove top on to medium heat and stir mixture until it starts to thicken and just begins to boil, stirring constantly.  This will take about 10-15 minutes.

Remove pan from the heat and let sit until cooled, stirring occasionally.  Mine took about 1 hour before it was cooled enough.

Once cooled, fold in the sour cream.  I know that seems weird, but trust me...it totally works!  (And sorry I forgot to take a picture of that step!:))

Fill pie shells with filling.  

Beat the whipping cream and powdered sugar until stiff peaks form.  Place on top of your pie filling and garnish with extra grated lime zest.

And here's a picture of the Chocolate Drizzled Strawberries & Cream Pie.  I just sliced the strawberries instead of putting whole ones on the top, but you could do whatever.

And the Peanut Butter Chocolate Cream Pie.

(Sorry I forgot a picture of the Almond Joy pie end product, you'll just have to use your imaginations!:)

Biscoff Muddy Buddies

I fell in love with Biscoff a few months ago when I was introduced to this new Biscoff spread.

It will change your world!

It tastes just like the cookie (you know, the ones you get on the airplane?) but in spreadable form.  Which made it perfect to try in place of peanut butter in these muddy buddies.  The kids chowed these so fast I had to hurry and grab some just so I could get a picture to blog!

I found my spread by the peanut butter at my local Walmart.  It also had a $1 off coupon on it...SCORE!  I think this is a product I'm going to have to stock up on, just like I do with peanut butter! 

Biscoff Muddy Buddies

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9 cups rice Chex

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup Biscoff Spread

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups powdered sugar

Measure cereal and pour into a large bowl and set aside.

In a microwavable bowl, microwave chocolate chips, Biscoff, and butter uncovered for 1 minute.  Stir. Microwave about 30 seconds longer or until mixture can be stirred smooth. Stir in vanilla. Pour mixture over cereal and stir until all the cereal is coated. Pour into 2-gallon storage plastic bag. Add powdered sugar, seal bag and shake well until coated. Spread on a cookies sheet or on waxed paper to cool. Store in airtight container in refrigerator....if you have any that doesn't get eaten right away!

Andes Creme de Menthe Cookies

Anyone else have some major Pinterest fails?  

I'm talking about seeing a recipe that looks out of this world delicious on Pinterest that you know you just have to make ASAP.  So you get all the ingredients, prepare and present only to have the dish fall WAY short of your expectations?

I had one of those experiences this week.  I found some Enchilada peppers stuffed with black beans and quinoa that looked so good, I thought I'd try them.  They were okay, but not something I'll ever make again.  

UBER disappointing!!

(I had to look up that word just to make sure I was using it in the right context...did you know it's a German word for above or over?  Learn something new every day!:))

I took pictures throughout the process and they looked fabulous & I even thought about still sharing the recipe here, because I thought maybe someone out there would think it was heavenly.  But then I decided if it's not something I LOVE, I don't want to be responsible for other people's (possible) failed dinners!

Everything here is something I without hesitation would make again.  So, as long as you have taste buds like mine, you're going to love the recipes here!:)

Especially these cookies!!  They are perfect...and I'm not the best cookie maker in the world.  I have problems getting them just right.  Sometimes they go pancake flat & other times they don't flatten at all and are crumbly & dry.  So when I find a cookie recipe that turns out as perfectly as these cookies, I SHARE!!  

You're welcome!

Andes Creme de Menthe Chunk Cookies

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1/2 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 eggs

1 package (10 oz.) Andes Creme de Menthe Baking Chips

2 2/3 cup flour

Add butter, sugars, baking soda & powder, vanilla and eggs to your mixer.

(LOVE my Bosch!)

Beat until combined.  Don't worry if the butter is still a little clumpy.

Add the baking chips (YES, the whole bag!!) and the flour.

Mix until all ingredients are combined.  The mint smells so good!

Put dough in a bowl and refrigerate for 1 hour. This is the hardest part...waiting.  I've never skipped this part so don't know if they will work if you just cook them right away.  Like I said, if I find a cookie recipe that works I stick with it!:)

Remove dough from fridge and scoop dough onto a cookie sheet.

Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes.  Cool on pans for 2 minutes before removing to wire rack.

Try just eating one...and good luck with that!:)

Pumpkin Dump Cake

I'm so excited to let all my wonderful readers know that I am now a regular contributor over at Or So She Says! 

I get to feature a recipe over there every 2nd Friday of each month!  (Except today...as you remember I had computer issues and wasn't able to get the post there in time, so it's up today...but from here on out if will be Friday's!:))  Yeah!  I love Mariel & her blog & am so happy I get to be a part of it!

 

Today to celebrate fall, I'm sharing a wonderful Pumpkin Dump Cake...
 

Head over to Or So She Says & say hi and get this wonderful recipe!

 



Homemade Playdough

This is the first recipe here on Double the Deliciousness that isn't something you're supposed to eat.  Of course you can, but unlike everything else on this site...it won't taste very good!:)

I was asked to make playdough for Rhett's (my Kindergartner) class a couple of weeks ago.  I've made a few different kinds in my years of being a Mom, but never really found one that was awesome.  They always dried out really quickly or they just crumbled.  So, I took to the internet.  I searched A LOT of recipes & finally decided to try this one.  It looked like it would be perfect...and it was!!  Yeah!

 A few things I really liked about his recipe are that it calls for cream of tartar, which helps the dough stay together & not crumble all over the place. Also, it has a lot less salt than most of the other recipes which will help it to not dry out. 

The texture of this dough is the closest thing you're going to find to the real deal.  Honest!  And you can make these any color you like and can even add sparkles to make it a little more fun!

Homemade Playdough

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3 cups flour
3 cups water
3/4 cup salt
3 tablespoons oil (I used canola, but I'm sure any kind would work)
2 tablespoons cream of tartar
food coloring

Combine all ingredients into a medium sized saucepan.  Stir until mostly smooth.  A whisk really helps here!

Heat over medium heat, stirring constantly using a wooden spoon.  The mixture will start to clump, make sure to scrape down the bottom of the pan with your spoon throughout this process.  It shouldn't take too long before you notice it thickening/clumping. 

See those clumps of mess in there...that's good! 

Just keep stirring!  Your arm may feel like it's about to fall off, but keep it going!  The mixture will start to all clump together.

Once it is all stuck together and forms a big blog, remove from the heat.

This is how it'll look when it's ready.

Place dough on your counter and knead.  It's nice and warm and squishy.  If you've got kids around to help you they'll love this part!  Just make sure it's not too hot for them.

After you're done kneading and the playdough is formed, lay on counter to cool down.

Once it's completely cooled, shape into a square.  Using a pizza cutter, cut into as many pieces as you need.  I needed about 13 of each color, so I did 4 x 4, that way I could have a few left-over for home.  Store in air-tight container; Ziploc baggies work great!

  

Recipe adapted from adelynSTONE