Fried Lasagna

I love watching Next Food Network Star. Vic Vegas, did this dish with left over lasagna . He wrapped it up in a tortilla and then he fried it. Next he put spaghetti sauce and cheese over it. Popped it in the oven for a few minutes to melt the cheese. It looked great. Bobby Flay wasn't so impressed, but I think it was a great idea to do left overs with. It was very creative and good way to get kids to eat something new. I will have to try this.

Chili and Carrots

So I was playing around with my sweet treats this last week and I created Ancho Chili Fudge and Carrot Cake Chocolate Cake balls. Seems the band wagon has caught up to me. I am starting to see Cake balls every where now even Duff has a kit for making them. Well I am going to continue to make them. I am finding ways to make cute designs out of the cake balls. Hope that some time, I can make a go out of this sweet business and really have some fun with it.

Shrimp Primavera

This was my first time making this. It was a lot easier than I thought it would be. I used 1lb of pasta, fresh veggies and shrimp. I boiled the pasta and then the last three minutes I threw in the veggies and shrimp to cook. the sauce was heavy cream, butter, Parmesan cheese, garlic, dill, thyme, salt and a few other items. It came out great. Too bad my company was only one other person. The recipe makes enough for at least 6-8 people. Good food, and short amount of cooking time.

Quick Sweet Fix

I saw this done years ago when I was a server at restaurant  that is no longer. They charged an arm and a leg for something that is so simple and yummy. You take the window frame pretzels and Rolo candies and a nut. I used almonds. Place the pretzel on a sheet then the Rolo on top. Put it in the oven for about 6-8 min , til the candy is soft. Remove from oven. Just after you remove it, push the nut down on top of it, smashing the candy down. Its a nice sweet and salty treat. Total time it takes to make is about 12 min. So if you need something in a fix, this is great.

Canned Frosting

So there are times you run out of time, energy, etc. and you just use can frosting. I recently had one of those experiences. The chocolate never lets me down. Vanilla, on the other hand has this nasty taste. So I did a little experiment and bought three different brands. They all have the same plastic taste. Its like there is something just off in the frosting. I can not put my finger on it, but it just doesn't taste right. From this point on I will probably make my own frosting. I wish I could put my finger on the funky taste. I know its a time saver, but at what cost. I would rather take the time to make it than to server something that leaves a bad after taste in a mouth.

Night time Coffee Craving

I love iced coffee. That being said, its like $ 4 or more for a tall glass. So I attempted to make my own yummy glass tonight. I used some instant hazelnut coffee. Each packet is suppose to be for 6 oz of liquid. I used two packets to make it strong. I used 1/2 cup of milk. about 10 ice cubes. and a little bit , I would guess about 1/4 cup of chai latte coffee creamer and 1 table spoon of sugar. Came out good. Needs some work. But it was drinkable and it gave the kick start that I needed.

Need a Name for it

I will post a picture when I'm done making it. It is inspired by a dear friend that past away. I am doing a red velvet cookie and cream cheese filling. I am considering either dying the filling red white and blue, or just doing sprinkles around it. I will play with the ideas tonight after I put the little ones down. Any ideas for a name just post  me a comment on here or Mama Z's Sweet Kitchen Treats.

Hotel Room Taco Salad

While visiting my husband on base, we stayed at a hotel. They had a tiny kitchen and I made some of our dinners instead of eating out constantly. I made Taco Salad. I had brought a lot of items with me and did some one the spot shopping. I had purchased the shell bowls and made the taco shells my self and baked them in the oven. Not knowing the oven, I didn't cook them long enough so they were crispy. I browned the ground Angus, I added some fajita seasoning along with some garlic powder. Then because of limited space I bought a bag of instant taco rice. I put in the bowl, shredded lettuce, rice, meat, tomatoes (diced) and then a spoonful  of sour cream and sprinkled it with cheese. In the picture, I had forgotten the cheese. It was tasty. Hope you enjoy.