Butternut Squash Soup

2 tbsp. butter
1 medium onion chopped
2 lbs butternut squash peeled and cubed
2 cups water
½ tsp. dried marjoram
¼ tsp. Pepper
4 chicken bullion cubes
8 oz cream cheese
Sauté onion in butter until tender. Add all ingredients except cream cheese to crock pot. Cover and cook on high for about 4 hours or until squash is tender. Puree in batches in blender with cream cheese until smooth. Return to crock pot and heat through.

Buffalo Chicken Wing Dip

My friend Krystal made this the other night, and I have been craving it ever since so I had to get the recipe from her. I have a special place in my heart for Franks :)

1 chicken breast- cook/shred
2 8oz blocks of cream cheese
3/4-1 c. Franks red hot sauce
2 c. ranch

Mix together cream cheese, Franks, and ranch dressing (make sure cheese is quite soft or it won't mix well). Stir in cooked chicken breast. Heat and serve! (I usually just heat it in a crockpot then it stays warm, but you can heat it up in the mircowave/stovetop also).*this makes quite a bit- if it's just for you or a small group, you'll probably want to split it.

Spinach & Sausage Stuffed Shells

Sausage, Spinach, Ricotta Stuffed Pasta Shells Recipe
Ingredients
1 12-ounce package jumbo pasta shells
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup finely chopped yellow onion
1 pound sweet Italian sausage, casings removed or chicken sausage
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 large egg
16-ounces ricotta cheese
6-ounces chopped frozen spinach, thawed, squeezed dry, chopped further (or 10 ounces chopped fresh spinach)
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 Tbsp chopped fresh basil or 1 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 cup unseasoned bread crumbs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 cans spaghetti sauce
2 9x13 shallow baking dishes
Method
1 Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil (1 teaspoon salt per quart of water). Cook the pasta shells according to the instructions on the package. Drain, rinse in cold water, and set aside.
2 Heat olive oil in a large skillet on medium high heat. Add the onions and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the sausage to the pan, breaking up the sausage into smaller bits. Cook sausage until cooked through, and no pink remains, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds to a minute more. Remove pan from heat.
3 Beat the egg lightly in a large bowl. Mix in the ricotta, chopped spinach, 1/2 cup of the Parmesan cheese, basil, bread crumbs, salt, pepper, and sausage mixture. Fill each cooked pasta shell with some of the ricotta, spinach, sausage mixture.
4 Spread 1/2 cup chopped canned tomatoes over the bottom of each of the baking dishes. Arrange the stuffed pasta shells in the dishes. Spread the remaining tomatoes over the top of the pasta shells.
At this point you can make ahead, to freeze (up to four months) or refrigerate before cooking. (If freezing, cover with foil, then wrap with plastic wrap.)
5 Heat oven to 375°F. Cover the pans with foil and bake for 30 minutes, until hot and bubbling. Remove foil and sprinkle with remaining Parmesan cheese, bake uncovered for 10 more minutes.
Serves 8.

Starbucks Coffee Crumb Cake

• Ingredients:
  
• 1 Box Yellow Cake Mix (plus ingredients on back of box)
• 2 Sticks cold salted butter
• 2 1/4 Cups flour
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons cinnamon
• 1 3/4 Cups sugar
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons vanilla
• Powdered sugar (for dusting)
• 
  

DIRECTIONS

PREPARE cake mixe in large bowl according to directions on box. Spray 9X13 pan with non-stick spray. Pour batter into pan. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes or until center is just barely set.

WHILE cakes are baking, prepare crumb topping. In large bowl of electric mixer combine, butter, flour, cinnamon, sugar and vanilla until all crumbly.

Breakfast Casserole

1 (16 oz) pkg. Frozen Shredded hash browns (for the hash browns I got the ones with peppers and onions.)

3 C. Shredded Cheese

1 lb. chopped ham or sausage cooked and crumbled

8 eggs

1 C. milk

1 tsp salt

½ tsp ground mustard (if you don't have ground mustard just use regular mustard)

Layer hash browns, then cheese, then meat in a greased 9x13 pan. Whisk together eggs, milk, salt, and mustard. Pour over layered ingredients. Cover with foil. Casserole can be baked right away or refrigerate overnight. When ready to bake, bake in 350 oven for 1 hour covered. Uncover and bake 15 minutes more, until edges are golden brown and knife comes out clean.