Pineapple Stuffing

This recipe was given to me by my mother-in-law. She always makes it for Easter and it's a sweet treat to go along with ham. This year for Christmas, my mom made a ham and I brought a casserole of pineapple stuffing. While it's not the healthiest, it's ok to splurge and enjoy the holidays!

4 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1 can crushed pineapple in juice
4 slices white bread, broken into small pieces

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream together the eggs and sugar. Add the bread pieces, stir to combine. Add the pineapple with juice and mix together all ingredients.

Pour into a 4 quart casserole dish. Bake for 1 hour or starting to brown and the stuffing is set. Check the browness at 45 minutes and cover the dish with aluminum foil if the stuffing is browning too quickly.

The Secret Recipe Club: Oreo Cheesecake Chocolate Chip Cookies

It's that time again for The Secret Recipe Club! This month I was assigned Erin's blog, Making Memories with Your Kids. Erin is a mom of two cute kiddos and she does the most amazing food activites with them! I'll definitely be borrowing a few ideas when my daughter wants to help out in the kitchen. 

After looking through Erin's blog, I decided on her recipe for Oreo Cheesecake Chocolate chip cookies. It was the perfect recipe especially since I had some cream cheese to use up and I've had a new found addiction to peppermint Oreos (cravings already!) This recipe makes a little less than 2 dozen cookies but it's the perfect way to try out the recipe and it's easy to double or triple depending on how many cookies you need! I took them to work and my coworkers RAVED about them...I didn't get a chance to eat any since they went so quickly.

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
3 ozs cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup flour
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
1 cup crushed oreo cookies

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and cream cheese. Add in the sugar and vanilla. Mix well until completely combined. Stir in the flour and then gently stir in the chocolate chips.

In a small bowl, add the crushed oreos. Scoop the cookie dough into 1 to 1 1/2 inch balls. The dough should be sticky. Roll them in the crushed oreos to completely coat.

Place the cookie balls on the prepared cookie sheets and bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until slightly golden brown on the edges.

Cool on the cookie sheet for 2 minutes before moving to a cooling rack to completely cool.

Want to be part of The Secret Recipe Club? Join here!

Baked Spinach Dip Mini Bread Bowls...and a BIG SURPRISE!

I'll start out with my big surprise....


Drumroll please................................................................................................................................




My husband and I expecting baby #2! We're all super excited especially our daughter. She's ready to be the big sister. I'm a little over 12 weeks and ready to be past this first trimester. This pregnancy hasn't been so kind to me. I've been dealing with all day nausea (notice the lack of new recipes) and metal mouth. I'm slowing feeling better and trying to get back into the kitchen, even though my husband says he's taking over the meal planning and cooking duties. Since he left cooking in a local restaurant almost 5 years ago, he hasn't done much cooking in our house...I don't think it's going to change anytime soon.

And now onto the food....

I saved this recipe since the first time I saw it on Picky Palate. I love spinach dip and then add it to bread bowls....YUM! It made the perfect amount for appetizers for Thanksgiving at my mom's house. My daughter loved them and I had to stop her from eating a second and save room for lunch! Next time I made them, I'm going to add in some chopped artichoke hearts and bake them in mini phyllo cups for a bite-sized treat.

13.3 oz roll of refrigerated french bread
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 cups fresh spinach, coarsely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
3 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup light sour cream
dash of chili pepper, garlic powder, kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
1/3 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 10 muffin cups with non-stick cooking spray, set aside. Unroll the package of french bread. Slice it into 10 equal sizes about 1 inch thick. Press each slice into a 3 inch round piece of bread. Press into the bottom and up the sides of the muffin cup.

In a medium skillet, heat the oil. Cook and stir the spinach until wilted and then add the garlic. Cook for another minute and remove from the heat. Let cool 5 minutes.

In  medium bowl, combine the cream cheese, sour cream, cooked spinach mixture and spices. Mix well until combined. With a medium cookie scoop, scoop the dip into the center of the bread bowls. Top evenly with the mozzarella cheese.

Bake for 15-18 minutes or until the edges start to turn brown. Remove from oven and let cool in the pan for 5 minutes before removing them the muffin tin. Serve warm.

Source: Picky Palate