Budget Travel

Slow Cooker Cheesy Sausage and Potato Casserole

SERVES 6 | ACTIVE TIME 20 Min | TOTAL TIME 3 Hrs 20 Min

8 ounces cream cheese, cut into pieces
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup half-and-half
1 tablespoon reduced sodium chicken base
1/8 - 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, to taste
1/4 yellow onion, diced
14 ounces hot smoked sausage, cut into moons (halved and sliced)
1 (20-ounce) bag Simply Potatoes Diced Potatoes
2 cups (8 ounces) sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (divided)
1 cup pepper jack cheese, shredded
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

In a 6-quart slow cooker combine cream cheese, butter, half-and-half, chicken base, and cayenne pepper. Whisk to combine. Sprinkle onion and sausage over the top. Layer potatoes on top. Cover and cook on high for 1 hour, do not stir or uncover.

After 1 hour, stir and re-cover. Cook an additional 1 1/2 - 2 hours, until the potatoes are tender. Remove the cover and stir until the sauce is completely smooth, and the cream cheese melts into the sauce. Add 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese and the pepper jack cheese. Stir to combine. Sprinkle the remaining 1 cup sharp cheese over the top of the casserole.

Cover and cook until cheese is melted, about an additional 30 minutes (a total of 3 - 3 1/2 hours). Remove cover and sprinkle with fresh parsley.

Serve and enjoy!

DONNA'S NOTES: If you do not like spicy food, you can leave out the cayenne pepper. The smoked sausage and the pepper jack cheese will just give enough heat to warm your tongue.

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No-Bake Avalanche Cookies

MAKES 18 LARGE TREATS

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
16 ounces vanilla-flavored candy coating (Almond Bark or CandiQuik)
1 (15 ounce) jar creamy peanut butter
2 cups Rice Krispies cereal
1 1/2 cups mini marshmallows

Prepare 2 cookie sheets with a silpat mat or parchment paper. Set aside.

Place chocolate chips in the freezer, until ready to use.

Melt Almond Bark in a heat safe bowl, microwave at half power for 30 seconds at a time until melted and smooth. Meanwhile: Add rice krispies to a large bowl. Set aside.

Add peanut butter to Almond Bark. Stir to combine. Pour vanilla candy mixture over rice krispies. Stir until combined. Allow mixture to cool to room temperature (or until barely warm). Add marshmallows. Mix until combined. Add frozen chocolate chips. Stir to combine.

Use a 2 tablespoon scoop to portion treats onto prepared cookie sheet. Allow to set in a cool place, until firm. You can pop them in the fridge if your kitchen is too warm.

Serve and enjoy!

Recipe developed by Donna Elick - The Slow Roasted Italian
Copyright ©2016 The Slow Roasted Italian – All rights reserved.

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Cranberry Maple Donut Bread Pudding

SERVES 8 | ACTIVE TIME 10 Min | TOTAL TIME 60 Min

8-12 stale glazed cake donuts
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
2 cups half-and-half
7 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
6 tablespoons maple syrup
6 ounces fresh or frozen cranberries
2 tablespoons International Delight French Vanilla Creamer
3/4 cup powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter a deep 9" pie pan (or 9x9 baking pan).

Chop donuts into bite size pieces. You want enough donuts so that your pie plate is heaping, they will be pressed down later. Place them in the buttered baking dish. Set aside.

Whisk the eggs in a large bowl and add cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Whisk to combine. Add half-and-half, 4 tablespoons melted butter, 4 tablespoons maple syrup. Whisk until well combined.

Pour egg mixture over the donuts. Toss donuts to coat and press down into the egg mixture if necessary so they can absorb the mixture. Rest for 15 minutes. Add cranberries and toss to combine. Gently press the donuts into the pan so they will stick together, not so much that you flatten them.

Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake for 15-20 additional minutes, until it is set.

Meanwhile, add powdered sugar to a medium bowl. Add remaining 3 tablespoons butter, 2 tablespoons maple syrup, creamer and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Whisk to combine.

Pour or drizzle frosting over warm bread pudding.

Serve and enjoy!

DONNA'S NOTES: If you are using fresh donuts, you can bake the cut pieces in the oven until they are dry and stale.

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Crockpot Turtles Candy

SERVES 12 | ACTIVE TIME 25 Min | TOTAL TIME 2 Hours 25 Min

16 ounces whole raw pecans (reserve 1/2 cup for garnish)
24 ounces chocolate flavored candy coating (almond bark or candiquik)
2 ounces (1/2 bar) German chocolate bar (by Baker's)
1 (11-ounce) bag caramel bits
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Layer pecans, then candy coating, then chocolate bar into crockpot (I used a 5 quart). Cover. Cook for 1 hour on low temperature. Do not stir.

After 1 hour stir mixture and continue to cook, stirring every 15-20 minutes for another hour (a total of 2 hours). Once mixture has completely come together, stir in caramel bits and turn off the heat. Cover for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile line counter top or table with a long piece of parchment paper.

Stir. Use 2 table spoons to scoop out candy from crockpot and scoop it onto parchment paper. Make sure candy is not touching.

Meanwhile, melt 2 cups chocolate chips and chop 1/2 cup pecans. Drizzle over turtles and garnish with chopped pecans.

Allow to set completely.

Serve and enjoy!

DONNA'S NOTES: You can double the recipe, but the caramels will start to get a little gritty in the candy if not scooped out quickly enough. So, be careful. The photos above are from a double batch that I made, the video is a single batch. Scoop fast.

Recipe developed by Donna Elick - The Slow Roasted Italian
Copyright ©2015 The Slow Roasted Italian – All rights reserved.

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Sprinkle Extreme Sugar Cookie Milkshake

SERVES 2 | ACTIVE TIME 10 Min | TOTAL TIME 10 Min

3 cups vanilla bean ice cream
1 cup International Delight Frosted Sugar Cookie Creamer
3 tablespoons rainbow jimmies sprinkles
1 cup prepared whipped cream
rainbow nonpareils sprinkles
Optional: sugar cookies

Prepare 2 glasses by swirling the rim in a shallow plate of creamer. Then dip into a shallow plate of nonpareils.

In a blender combine ice cream and creamer. Blend until combined. Add jimmies. Pulse until combined, about 2 or 3 times.

Divide milkshake into the prepared glasses. Top with whipped cream and more sprinkles as desired.

Serve and enjoy!

DONNA'S NOTES: If you would like to make this an extreme shake, top with sugar cookies.

Recipe developed by Donna Elick - The Slow Roasted Italian
Copyright ©2016 The Slow Roasted Italian – All rights reserved.

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Cinnamon Pecan Pull-Apart Bread

SERVES 8 | ACTIVE TIME 15 Min | TOTAL TIME 1 Hours 15 Min

16 frozen yeast dinner rolls
1 (2 sticks) cup unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups light brown sugar, packed
1 cup chopped pecans, divided
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt

Cream Cheese Frosting
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons International Delight French Vanilla Creamer
1/4 teaspoon salt

Place frozen dinner rolls on a microwave safe plate and microwave on defrost for about 2 minutes (or until dough is no longer frozen, but not cooked).

Meanwhile: melt butter in medium bowl and prepare cinnamon sugar. To prepare cinnamon sugar, combine brown sugar, 1/2 cup chopped pecans, cinnamon, cornstarch and salt in a 1-gallon resealable plastic bag. Seal and shake to combine. Set aside.

Add two tablespoons of melted butter to the bottom of a 1.75-quart casserole dish (an 8"x8" pan works too), brush butter up the sides or swirl dish to make sure the bottom and sides are buttered. Set aside.

Using clean kitchen shears, cut dinner rolls into 1/4's. Place a handful of the cut rolls into the butter. Toss to coat. Remove from butter and toss in cinnamon sugar mixture. I do about half of the rolls into the cinnamon sugar mixture then I toss to coat well.

Place half of the coated cinnamon bites into the casserole dish in an even layer. Sprinkle them with 1/4 cup of the remaining pecans. Repeat to make 2 even layers. Pour the remaining cinnamon sugar into the bowl with the remaining butter. Mix to combine. Pour over top of pull apart bread. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup pecans. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile: Preheat oven to 350°F.

Remove plastic wrap and bake 30-35 minutes or until the pull-aparts are no longer doughy. If the top starts to brown before the center is cooked, tent loosely with aluminum foil.

Meanwhile, prepare the cream cheese frosting. In a tall bowl beat cream cheese and butter with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Add powdered sugar and continue to mix until incorporated. Add creamer and salt. Mix until light and fluffy.

Drizzle frosting over the entire batch of pull apart bread or serve on the side.

Enjoy!

DONNA'S NOTES: To prevent plastic wrap from sticking to your pull-aparts, first lay out your cut piece of plastic wrap on the counter and spray it with non-stick cooking spray. Then, place it sprayed side down on the pull apart bread.

MAKE AHEAD DIRECTIONS: Once you cover the pan with plastic wrap, place it in the refrigerator overnight. In the morning and place in your preheated oven to bake for 35-40 minutes, until the center is no longer doughy.

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Cheesy Bacon and Egg Breakfast Bombs

SERVES 8 | ACTIVE TIME 60 Min | TOTAL TIME 1 Hour 30 Min

1 pound Jones Dairy Farm Cherrywood Smoked Sliced Bacon
4 large eggs
2 tablespoons whole milk
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
pinch black pepper
16 frozen dinner yeast roll dough balls
flour (to dust counter)
8 ounces shredded milk cheddar cheese
1 medium jalapeno, diced
1/4 cup roasted red peppers, diced

Garlic Herb Butter
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Prepare bacon. I love my bacon in the oven. Bake at 400ºF on a baking sheet. Cook 15-25 minutes or until desired crispness is reached. Remove from oven. Allow to cool and chop into bite size pieces.

Meanwhile: Prepare the eggs. In a medium bowl combine eggs, milk, salt, and pepper. Whisk until completely combined. Spray a small skillet with non-stick cooking spray. Heat skillet over medium heat. Add the egg mixture and stir occasionally until the eggs are scrambled, and no liquid is left in the pan, about 3-4 minutes. Do not cook until they are completely dry, or they will be very dry in the breakfast bomb. Set aside to cool.

Place dinner rolls on a microwave safe plate and microwave on defrost for about 3-4 minutes (or until dough is no longer frozen, but not cooked). Butter a 9" pie plate or a 9"x9" baking pan and set aside.

Lightly flour your counter top. Toss 1 piece of dough in flour and flatten and stretch like you are making a mini pizza. Stretch dough to about 3-4” across.

Sprinkle a tablespoon of cheese over the dough and press into the dough with the palm of your hand. Top with one tablespoon eggs, one tablespoon bacon, 1/2 teaspoon jalapenos and 1/2 teaspoon red peppers onto the center of the dough round. Pull the top and bottom edges of the dough together and then add the left and right edges. Pinch the dough together to create a ball. If the ball won’t seal, tap your finger tips into the flour and then crimp the seal together. Place dough ball in prepared dish. Repeat until all breakfast bombs are in the dish.

Spray a piece of plastic wrap with non-stick spray, place the wrap sprayed side down on the breakfast bombs. Refrigerate until morning or proceed with instructions immediately (cook time will be about 30-35 minutes if not refrigerated).

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Remove baking dish from the refrigerator, remove plastic wrap. Bake for 40-45 minutes until the tops are golden brown and the breakfast bombs are no longer doughy. You can pull one of the edge pieces out and if it is still doughy cook it for another 5 minutes. Cover with foil if the tops start getting too brown (I covered mine at 25 minutes).

Meanwhile: in a small bowl melt butter in the microwave, about 30 seconds or until butter is melted. Add garlic, parsley and salt. Stir with a pastry brush. Remove breakfast bombs from oven. Brush them with melted butter mixture. Serve and enjoy!

DONNA'S NOTES: If you would like these to be round (more like our traditional bomb series) and less like a pull apart bread you can bake them on a cookie sheet about 2-3 inches away from each other.
If you prefer you can use a pastry roller or small rolling pin to roll these bombs out.

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