Meatball Sub Bubble Up

This is a quick weeknight meal that won’t disappoint. It’s kid friendly and takes no time at all to throw in a pan and bake. 

1 can Grands Biscuits

1 bag frozen meatballs (as many as you prefer)

2 cups spaghetti sauce, pizza sauce or marinara, whichever you prefer

1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

Cut the uncooked biscuits into 8ths. Place in an even layer in a greased 9x13 pan. Cover with sauce. Place meatballs on top of the biscuits in an even layer. You can fill the dish, or spread them out sparingly, it depends on how much you like meatballs. Sprinkle with cheeses. Bake at 375 for about 30-40 minutes, until biscuits are cooked through. Enjoy!

*From Life With the Crust Off

Oreo Pops

I LOVE Valentines Day! It’s one of my favorite holidays. I might go a little over the top, but I love it so much. This year Bryce picked Oreo Pops for his Valentine to give to his friends at school. I was just giddy because I love making things so cute.

I usually make a bunch so that we can give them to teachers and neighbors too. They’re just so dang cute!

Here’s how we attached a Valentine to the pop. It was so fun doing these with the kids and the end result is so adorable!

These are perfect for parties, showers or just because.Kids die over them, so it makes it all worth it. FYI, you can get all of these ingredients at Walmart, mostly in the cake decorating isle.

1 package Double Stuffed Oreos (I always use the chocolate cream ones)

Chocolate Melts, any color of your choice ( I usually use Wilton, they look like this)

Clear Mini Treat Bags, they look like this.

Lollipop sticks

Ribbon

Sprinkles

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place Oreos in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Place in oven for about 1-2 minutes, no longer. You’re trying to melt the cream a little so it’s easier to insert the lollipop stick without breaking the cookie. Remove cookies from the oven and while warm, insert lollipop sticks. Allow to harden again. 

In a microwave safe bowl, melt the chocolate melts in 20 second increments. Using a spoon, cover the Oreos with the chocolate and let the excess drizzle off. Place on a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet. Sprinkle with sprinkles right away before the chocolate hardens.

Once all of the cookies are covered in chocolate and hardened, place them in the treat bags and tie with a ribbon. Then enjoy the delicious, adorable treat!

Cupcakes in a Jar

These are just so cute and practical. They’re also perfect for class parties and birthday parties since it’s a delicious, messy cupcake in a neat and tidy jar. 

I thought of this because it was my friends birthday and all he asked for was a batch of my cupcakes. I contemplated how I could do this since he lives back in Henderson and I’d have to ship them. That’s where I thought of putting them in a jar. They shipped GREAT and were still fresh 2 days later when they got them. I might also add that they put them in the freezer and ate them for several months. 

So whether you’re doing a party, saving a treat for later, or just want to be dang cute, make these cupcakes in a jar!!

What you Need:

1 recipe of your favorite cupcakes, mine is here

1 recipe of your favorite frosting, mine is here

Toppings of your choice, mine is Dulce de Leche

Kerr Half Pint Wide Mouth Jars, 12 count. They look like this. You can usually find them in grocery stores in the canning section. I’ve never been able to find them in Walmart or Target, so you’re better off looking in a regular grocery store. You need to make sure they are this kind or something similar to it. Make sure they have straight sides and are 1/2 pint. They are the perfect size.


Directions:

Clean out jars with hot soapy water and let dry. Mix up your cake mix. Spray jars with nonstick baking spray (I use this.) Fill jars about half full. You don’t want them topping the jar because you need room for your fillings in the jar. These were a little too full. I had to cut a little out to make all the ingredients fit.

Baking time will vary, but bake them at 350 degrees and after about 15 minutes, keep a close eye on them. Once they spring back when touched, remove them from the oven to cool for about 5-10 mintues.

Then pop them out of the jars to cool completely. They should release very easily if you’ve used the spray. You might need to run a knife around the edges to help them out. Once they’ve completely cooled, cut them in half.

Then layer them with the frosting and toppings. Start with the bottom part of the cake, pipe in frosting, layer whatever toppings you like, then put the top of the cake on and repeat the layering one more time.

It should look like this when you’re done:

Then you pop the lid on and voilà!! You have a cupcake in a jar!! It’s most cute when you cut out craft paper for the lid and decorate it with some ribbon around the lid. It’s even cuter when you attach a plastic spoon to the lid with the ribbon. PERFECT party gift!!

Crockpot French Dip Sandwiches

This quickly became a family favorite. I even made them for the masses for our Super Bowl party and a big family dinner over the holidays. It’s PERFECT for feeding a lot of people. And it’s just so simple too. I love how it’s a crockpot meal. As a busy mom, most of the time the last thing I want to think about is dinner. These are such a cinch for those busy nights…it even makes it’s own au jus!

1- 3-4 pound chuck roast, remove excess fat

Montreal Steak Seasoning

2 T olive oil

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup water

2 cups beef broth

1/2t dried, rosemary

1/2t dried thyme

1T dry minced onion

2t minced garlic

6-8 french rolls

6-8 slices of provolone cheese

Sprinkle meat with Montreal Steak Seasoning and rub in. In a heavy pan, heat 2T olive oil and sear each side of the roast. Place in the crock pot. Mix together soy sauce, beef broth, water, rosemary, thyme, garlic and onion. Pour over roast. Cook on low for 8-10 hours or high for 5-6 hours. Cook until tender and easy to shred. Shred with tongs. Strain remaining juice for the au jus. If you are serving a large crowd, double the recipe, it will still fit in a large crock pot. Enjoy!!

*Adapted from yourhomebasedmom.com

Enchilada Pork Tacos with Sweet Corn Slaw

I love dinner that goes in a crock pot. It’s so much less stress! I also love to pair crock pot meat with fresh ingredients. The contrast is so refreshing. The corn slaw just makes the dish. These also are the BEST with fresh uncooked tortillas that you cook at home. We get Tortilla Land brand from Costco and they are amazing! Really brings home that fresh Mexican flavor. So give those a try too. Here’s to a quick weeknight meal!

3-4 pound pork shoulder

1 taco packet

1 can diced green chilies

1/2 onion, finely diced

1 (10oz) can enchilada sauce

Sweet Corn Slaw

2 ears cooked sweet corn, removed from the cob

1 T olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

2 cups shredded cabbage

Juice of 1 lime

2 t seasoned rice vinegar

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

Mix together taco seasoning, green chilies, onion and enchilada sauce. Pour over pork in your crockpot. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours.

For the corn slaw, add corn, oil, salt, pepper, cabbage, lime vinegar and cilantro to a bowl. Toss well and cover and place in fridge until ready to eat. 

When the pork is falling apart, shred with 2 forks and mix with remaining sauce in the crockpot. To eat, heat a fresh tortilla and top with meat and corn slaw. ENJOY!!

*From Betty Crocker

Honey Butter

Ok, so I was gone for a while:) A long while. I am just OVERLOADED with awesome recipes to share! Including this gem. I got this recipe from my sister-in-law. She introduced it to us a few years ago at Christmas and we’ve all been dreaming about it ever since. I’ve tried a lot of different kinds of honey butter, but his one is BY FAR the best. It’s so creamy and delicious. The best part is that it stays soft in the fridge. There’s nothing worse than trying to spread hard butter on a warm roll.

This year for Christmas I bottled up some homemade strawberry jam (here) and honey butter with homemade rolls (here) for all of my neighbors and friends. I think it must be a new tradition! Not to mention less work than making hundreds of treats that people are already getting. It’s nice to get something different. Impress your neighbors with this amazing recipe.

Honey Butter

1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 cup honey
1 cup sugar
1 pound (4 sticks) salted sweet cream butter
1 tsp vanilla

Bring whipping cream, honey and sugar to a boil to dissolve the sugar. Put cold butter in a blender. Pour boiling mixture and vanilla over butter and blend until smooth. Pour into containers and refrigerate overnight before eating. Store in the fridge.

Pizza Lasagna Rolls

I love a twist on a classic. Who ever thought about putting pepperoni in a lasagna roll? Well, it’s delicious.

It may require a little more time to roll them all up, but guess what…you can do it the day before or even earlier in the day and put it in the fridge until you want to bake it and eat it!! I’d say that’s a successful busy mom dish:)

The kids love it and I love it. Such an outstanding dish and the leftovers are amazing also!

For the Sauce: (You can also just use your favorite marinara sauce if you’re short on time)

1T butter
1t olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 medium onion, diced small
28oz can diced tomatoes
3oz tomato paste
1t dried basil
1/2t dried oregano
1/2t sugar
salt, pepper, red pepper flakes to taste


For the Lasagna Rolls:

10-12 lasagna noodles, cooked, drained and laid out on wax paper
2 cups pizza sauce from above
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 1/4 cups ricotta cheese
1 1/2 cups mozzerella cheese, divided
3/4 cup parmesan cheese, divided
1/4 cup fresh parsley (or 1T dried)
1/4t pepper
50-60 slices pepperoni (3oz), cut into quarters

Directions for the Sauce:

In a large pan over medium-low heat, heat the butter and olive oil until the butter is melted. Add the garlic and onion and saute until tender, about five minutes. Stir in HUNT's Tomatoes, tomato paste, basil, oregano, sugar, and red pepper flakes. Bring the sauce to a boil and then reduce heat to low. Place a cover on the pan, tilted slightly to let some steam out.

Simmer for 15 minutes. Cool slightly. With an immersion blender (or a food processor), CAREFULLY blend until sauce has desired texture. I love it slightly chunky. If you like it really smooth you can also throw it in a blender. Store in fridge unless using immediately. (It makes more than is needed for this recipe. Refrigerate or freeze extras.) 

For the Lasagna Rolls:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook noodles according to directions on package -- once cooked, drain and rinse with cold water and lay out on sheets of wax paper so they don’t stick together.
Spray a baking dish with nonstick cooking spray and spread 1/2 cup of pizza sauce into the bottom of the pan. Set aside.
Meanwhile, prepare filling in a large bowl by mixing beaten egg, ricotta cheese, 1 cup mozzarella, 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, parsley and pepper until well combined.
To prepare lasagna rolls, lay out one lasagna noodle and spread it with about 2 tablespoons of cheese filling. Lay out 5-6 pepperonis, quartered, on top of cheese filling. Roll up each noodle starting at one of the short ends. Place in prepared baking dish, seam side down. Repeat until all noodles have been filed and rolled. Pour 1 and 1/2 cups pizza sauce over the rolls and top with 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese.
Cover baking dish with foil and bake for 45-50 minutes (remove foil for last 10-15 minutes) or until hot and cheese is melted. Let stand about 10 minutes prior to serving.

Note: May be prepared in advance and baked the next day.

*From Rachel Cooks