There are a lot of different ways to use crescent rolls but this casserole might just be one of the best. Crescent rolls are filled with a chicken and cream cheese mixture and then topped with cheddar cheese and baked in a casserole dish. This is a great way to use up leftover chicken or leftover turkey. This recipe does require a little work but its well worth it in the end. You can leave out the soup if you want and just have the crescent rolls with the filling inside. Just make sure the brush the crescent rolls with butter before baking. This is a fantastic dish to make for winter and is something everyone is sure to enjoy.

Ingredients:
2 (8 ounce) cans Pillsbury refrigerated crescent dinner rolls
1 (10 3/4 ounce) can cream of chicken soup
¾ cup shredded cheddar cheese
½ cup whipping cream
Filling-
4 ounces cream cheese (softened)
4 tablespoons butter (softened)
½ teaspoon garlic powder
1/3 cup onions (finely chopped)
2 large cooked chicken breasts (chopped)
¾ cup shredded cheddar cheese
½ teaspoon seasoning salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
2-4 tablespoons mayonnaise (or whipping cream)
1-2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (for topping)

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a casserole dish. In a saucepan mix whipping cream, ¾ cup of cheese, and chicken soup. Heat just until the cheese melts. Remove from heat and set aside.
Step 2: To make the filling- in a bowl mix cream cheese and butter until smooth, add garlic powder. Add in the chopped chicken, onion and cheddar cheese. Mix until well combined. Add 2 tablespoons of mayonnaise (or whipping cream) mix to combine. You can add a little more if the mixture seems too dry. Season with seasoning salt and black pepper to taste.
Step 3: Drizzle a small amount of the chicken soup mixture on the bottom of the casserole dish. Unroll the crescent rolls, and place 1 heaping tablespoon of the chicken mixture on top of each crescent triangle, then roll up starting at the thicker end. Place into the dish seam-side down. Repeat until all of the crescent rolls have been used up. Drizzle the remaining soup mixture on top and sprinkle 1-2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese on top. Place into the oven and bake for 30 minutes.
(Makes 6 Servings)

White chocolate covered pretzels are almost necessary for the holidays. Chances are the majority of you have already made these before but I figured I would post the recipe anyways in the spirit of Christmas. These are very easy to make and fun for the whole family. White chocolate can be replaced with dark chocolate if you prefer, and you can also add crushed peanuts on top instead of sprinkles. The recipe calls for the use of a double boiler but you can just melt the chocolate in the microwave instead if you desire. Everyone have a happy and safe holiday. Enjoy.

Ingredients:
6 (1 once) squares white chocolate
1 (15 ounce) package mini twist pretzels
¼ cup red and green candy sprinkles

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: Melt the white chocolate in the top of a double boiler sitting constantly until smooth. You can also put the chocolate into a microwave safe dish and microwave until the chocolate has melted.
Step 2: Dip each pretzel halfway into the white chocolate completely covering half of it. Sprinkle or roll in the candy sprinkles and lay each pretzel on a sheet of wax paper. Repeat until all of the chocolate is gone. Place in the refrigerator for 15 minutes to harden the chocolate and store in an airtight container.

These cherry cookies are perfect for Christmas and other holidays. The cookies are chocolate with cherries in the middle topped with even more chocolate. I don’t even need to tell you how perfect chocolate and cherries are together. The flavor of the cookies reminds me of chocolate cake, they are very moist and rich in flavor. If you are looking for a great cookie recipe for Christmas, this is the way to go! Enjoy.

Ingredients:
½ cup butter
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 (10 ounce) jar maraschino cherries
½ cup sweetened condensed milk
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl beat butter and sugar until combined. Add egg and vanilla extract, beat well. Add in flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt, baking soda and stir until smooth. Roll the mixture into 1 inch balls. Place each ball onto an ungreased cookie sheet.
Step 2: Press in the center of each ball with your thumb. Drain cherries and reserve the juice. Place a cherry in the indentation of each cookie.
Step 3: In a saucepan heat condensed milk and chocolate chips until chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth. Stir in 4 teaspoon of reserved cherry juice. Spoon about 1 teaspoons of the mixture over each cherry and spread to cover the cherry. Place into the oven and bake for 10 minutes.

Cookies n’ Cream Brownies are the perfect treat for this holiday season. They put a nice little twist on your average chocolate brownie. Chocolate brownie mix is combined with crushed Oreo cookies in this fantastic recipe. If you want to experiment with different flavors you can use different flavors of Oreo cookies such as peppermint. After the brownies are baked and have cooled, a delicious glaze is drizzled over the top to even add sweeter flavor to these already amazing brownies. This recipe will make about 36 brownies. These are perfect for Christmas. Enjoy.

Ingredients:
1 cup butter
6 ounces unsweetened chocolate (chopped)
3 cups sugar
½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 large eggs (at room temperate)
1 2/3 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3 cups Oreo cookies (roughly chopped)
½ cup powdered sugar
3-4 teaspoons milk

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9×13” baking dish with aluminum foil and lightly grease. In a medium saucepan over low heat, melt together butter and unsweetened chocolate, stirring occasionally. Once chocolate has melted whish in sugar, salt and vanilla extract. Turn off the heat. Whish in the eggs, one at a time. Stir in the flour and cocoa powder until the mixture is well combined. Fold in the ore cookies and pour into the prepared baking dish. Crush 3-4 additional cookies and sprinkle on top of the batter if desired.
Step 2: Place into the oven and bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out with moist crumbs. Remove from the oven and allow the brownies to cool.
Step 3: While brownies are cool. To make the glaze- In  small bowl whisk together powder sugar and milk until the mixture has reaching drizzling consistency.
Step 4: Once the brownies have cooled completely drizzle the glaze over the top of the brownies.

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Sausage stuffed shells are a great way to make good use of those jumbo pasta shells. Using Italian sausage is something different from your normal hamburger or chicken stuffed shells. I also like the addition of lemon juice into the stuffing; I think it adds nicely to the flavor. Some of the stuffing ingredients include Italian sausage, chopped spinach, and parmesan and ricotta cheese. This is a fairly easy recipe, the hardest part is stuffing the shells. If you have an extra hand in the kitchen, it would be wise to get some help. This recipe can be on the table in about an hour. Serve with garlic bread. Enjoy.

Ingredients:
1 (16 ounce) package jumbo pasta shells
½ pound Italian Sausage
1 (10 ounce) package frozen spinach (thawed, drained and squeezed dry)
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 egg
3 garlic cloves (crushed)
½ lemon (juiced)
¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
salt and pepper (to taste)
½ teaspoon dried oregano
2 cups spaghetti sauce
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta shells according to package directions (about 10 minutes). In a large deep skillet add sausage and cook over medium high heat until fully cooked. Chop up sausage into small pieces with a spatula. Drain.
Step 2: In a large bowl combine cooked sausage, spinach, ricotta cheese, egg, garlic, lemon juice, and parmesan cheese. Season with salt, pepper, and oregano. Mix well.
Step 3: Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9×13” baking dish and pour a thin layer to spaghetti sauce onto the bottom of the baking dish. Stuff pasta shells with the sausage mixture and place into the baking dish. Top the shells with spaghetti sauce and mozzarella cheese.
Step 4: Place into the oven and bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until the pasta is heated through and the cheese has melted.
(Makes 6 Servings)

Now I can add a new favorite among chili recipes to my collection, white chicken chili. This was the first time I have ever tried white chicken chili and I didn’t really know what to expect. When the chili had finished cooking and I tasted it, I thought it was great. This is a lot different from your normal chili, as it uses no actual chili powder. Adding the shredded Monterey jack cheese makes a huge difference in the flavor and is necessary so do not leave it out. The original recipe called for diced jalapeño peppers, I wanted to cut down the heat a little bit so I replaced them with canned green chilies. If you want to cut down the heat even more add less cayenne pepper. If you want left over chicken you want to use up, this is a great recipe for that. Enjoy.

Ingredients:
1 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 onion (chopped)
3 garlic cloves (crushed)
2 (4 ounce) cans mild chopped green chile peppers
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
2 (14.5 ounce) cans chicken broth
3 cups cooked chicken breast (chopped)
3 (15 ounce) cans white beans
1 cup shredded Monterey jack cheese (or more)

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: In a large sauce pan over medium-low heat add oil. Add onions and stir fry until tender. Mix in garlic, green chilies, cumin, oregano and cayenne pepper. Continue to stir fry for about 3 minutes.
Step 2: Mix in chicken broth, chicken and white beans. Simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Step 3: Remove from heat and slowly stir in the shredded cheese until melted. Serve warm.
(Makes 4 Servings)

If you enjoy Mexican food as much as I do making burritos is a must. There are so many different ways you can make a good burrito filling. Some of these ways include chicken, bean, and beef. The type of filling that I have presented for you in this recipe includes bean and beef as well as brown rice. The cooking method is simple, the ground beef is cooked with onion and garlic, various seasonings are added and brown rice is mixed in. Tomato sauce is added to the mixture just before the simmering is finished. You can adjust the seasonings to your taste; add more chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper as desired. You can add different types of cheese to the burritos if you want, or even melt cheese on top when they are finished. What I like to do is put a little enchilada sauce on top of the wrapped burritos, add cheese, and place into the oven until the cheese has melted. You can also add additional toppings such as lettuce, tomato and sour cream. This recipe can easily be split in half. Enjoy.

Ingredients:
2 teaspoons oil
1 onion (chopped)
2 garlic cloves (minced)
2lbs ground beef
1 cup brown rice (cooked)
1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
Salt and pepper
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
2 (16 ounce) can refried beans
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
12 large flour tortillas

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: In a large skillet over medium high heat add oil. Add onion and sauté until tender. Add ground beef and garlic and cook until beef is no longer pink. Drain an excess fat. Add chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper. Stir in brown rice. Stir in tomato sauce and simmer for 5 minutes. Add refried beans and stir in until well blended. Cook until heated through.
Step 2: Soften tortillas according to package directions. Lay out each tortilla and place an equal portion of the meat mixture onto each, top with cheddar cheese. Roll up into burritos.
(Makes 12 Burritos)

Perhaps you are looking for a good cheesecake recipe for the Holidays. If so, you have come to the right place. There are a lot of good cheesecakes out there but this berry cheesecake might just be one of the best. Like most traditional cheesecakes we are making a graham cracker crust, and a delicious fresh berry topping. What really impressed me about this recipe is the nice lemon flavor this cake has. The cheesecake itself gets a lot of its flavor from a full tablespoon of lemon zest. The fresh berry topping is basically strawberries, raspberries and blueberries tossed with warmed jelly. Is this sounding good to you yet? If so, give it a try for the Holidays! Enjoy.

Ingredients:
Crust-
1 ½ cups graham cracker crumbs
1 tablespoon sugar
6 tablespoons butter (melted)
Filling-
2 ½ lbs cream cheese (at room temperature)
1 ½ cups sugar
5 extra large eggs (at room temperature)
2 extra-large egg yolks (at room temperature)
¼ cup sour cream
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
Fresh Berry Topping-
1 cup strawberry jelly
½ pint fresh strawberries (sliced)
½ pint fresh raspberries
½ pint fresh blueberries

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl combine crushed graham crackers, sugar, and melted butter. Stir with a fork until moistened. Press onto the bottom of a 9 inch spring form pan and about 1 inch up the sides. Place into the oven and bake for 8 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool to room temperature. Raise the oven temperature to 450 degrees.
Step 2: For the filling- in another medium bowl cream the cream cheese and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs and egg yolks 2 at a time while mixing well. Add the sour cream, lemon zest, and vanilla extract. Mix well and pour the mixture over the cooled crust.
Step 3: Place into the oven and bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 225 degrees and bake for an additional 1 hour and 15 minutes. Turn the oven off and open the door. Allow the cake to sit in the oven with the door opened for 30 minutes to finish setting. Remove from the oven and let it set until completely cooled. Wrap and refrigerate overnight.
Step 4: To make the topping- in a small saucepan over low heat melt the jelly until smooth. Toss the berries with the warm jelly until mixed and arrange over the top of the cake.