Homemade garlic balls - don't they look delicious?

My mother made these garlic balls for every occasion, birthday, get-togethers and holidays. She also made these as a side dish for dinner. My kids absolutely love this garlic balls recipe.

Mom’s garlic balls

Ingredients:

1 bag of dough

1/4 – 1/2 cup of olive oil

1 TBL garlic powder

1 tsp salt

1 TBL oregano

Directions:

Use a ball of Italian dough and let it raise for at least a half an hour.  Get flour on your counter to sprinkle all over the dough so it’s no longer sticky. Pull the dough with one hand and cut with the other.  In this recipe you don’t play with the dough.  You get a greased cookie sheet and put them on there and let them raise for 10 to 15 minutes.  Then put them in the oven at 325° for about 10 minutes.  Don’t let them get brown.

These garlic balls are easy to make and super tasty!

In the meantime get a big bowl and put in it olive oil, garlic powder, salt and oregano.  Do this to your own taste and when the balls come out you toss them while hot in the bowl of oil.  Mix with a spoon gently being sure to cover and saturate.  Then add Parmesan cheese to taste.  Serve and enjoy.  These garlic balls are great served with chicken parmesan and my super delicious vodka riggies.

I got this recipe from my mother who in turn got it from a good friend of hers.  It was her personal favorite and I have been making this very same banana bread recipe for 13 years now.  Ever since I have looked to make banana bread has been the one recipe I turn to every time.  This recipe makes two loaves and I usually add nuts to one and the other one I leave without the nuts due to the fact that I have a son with nut allergies.  I personally prefer walnuts in my banana bread, but you can make it either way to your own taste desires.

Best Banana Bread Recipe

Ingredients:

3 bananas

1 tablespoon of water

1 cup of sugar

1/2 cup of Crisco (I use butter sometimes instead)

2 eggs

2 cups of flour

1 teaspoon of baking soda

1 teaspoon of baking powder

1 teaspoon of salt

1/2 cup of nuts

1 teaspoon of vanilla

Directions:

Mash the bananas, water, sugar and other ingredients listed above.  Let this mixture stand for 15 minutes (be sure to use brown bananas as that will give better flavor to the banana bread).

Doesn't the banana bread from this recipe look delicious?

Then bake in the oven for 35 to 45 minutes at 350°.  Be sure and turn on your own like to watch when they’re ready because every oven is old different and some cook faster than others and if you don’t watch it you could burn the outside or the underside of the banana bread very easily.  Let cool then slice and serve.  You can also dress it up a little by garnishing it with a little confectionary sugar.

Here is the banana bread garnished with confectionary sugar.

This banana bread is great in the morning with coffee, at lunchtime, dinnertime or as a quick snack.  Kids love this recipe.  It is also a big hit at Christmas time and the holidays!

I tried these for Christmas as an appetizer.  They were very easy to make and they went over very well - everyone liked them.  They are addicting.  Also, if you don’t feel like making the whole thing just roll out what you want to bake and put the rest in a Tupperware container in the fridge for later.

My Tasty Sausage Balls

Ingredients:

1 pound of hot sausage

1 pound of mild sausage

12 ounces of sharp cheddar cheese

12 ounces of mild cheddar cheese

4 cups of Bisquick

1 cup of chopped sweet onions (I have found Vidalia onions make for the tastiest sausage balls)

They are very easy to make and are great appetizers!

Directions:

mix all the ingredients in a bowl and then squeeze them into large meatball sized round balls.  Place them on a baking she allowing 2to 3 inches in between each of them.  Bake in the oven at 400° for 10 to 12 minutes.  This recipe will make quite a few of these sausage balls depending upon how large you make each of the balls.  Let cool and then serve and enjoy.

This is a great appetizer that everyone will love.  It is super easy to make and everyone will surely rave over these and how great they taste!  This recipe came from my sister-in-law Hilary.  I watched her make it and I was extremely surprised at how flavorful they were. 

Stuffed Sausage Mushroom Caps

Ingredients:

1 package of mild breakfast sausage

1 package of cream cheese

2 containers of whole mushrooms

Directions:

Fry the sausage in a pan first then add in the cream cheese.  While that’s cooking down clean and the stem the mushrooms.  The stem of the mushrooms will come off easily. Then you stuff the mushroom with the sausage and cream cheese mix where you took the stem off.  Place the stuffed mushrooms on a 9 x 13″ dish and bake in the oven for 30 minutes at 325°.

As I told you these are super easy to make and be sure and tell everyone you plan on serving this dish to that you got it on Hotcookingrecipes.com so they can try it and the other great recipes here also.  This is also a great recipe for finding another tasty way to get your kids to eat their vegetables – hint, hint!

This is another favorite of mine.  It is so incredibly easy to make and has tons of flavor.  It is definitely a party favorite and works great with almost any cracker, chips, etc.

Swiss Dip

Ingredients:

1 cup of shredded Swiss cheese

1 cup of mayonnaise

1 cup of chopped Vidalia onions

Directions:

Bake in Corning Ware and served in the same dish to keep it hot.  Bake for 30 minutes at 325° in the oven.  Be sure and cover with aluminum foil and make sure that it doesn’t brown while cooking.  Serve with pita, bagel chips or even Triscuits. 

This is one super tasty dip recipe that will be emptied quickly when you serve it.

You will definitely impress everyone at your next get-together with this tasty appetizer.  Everyone always loves my Swiss dip – it is a favorite at any tailgate party!

We all know that spinach is a very healthy vegetable and the USDA actually claims to be a super food because it is so packed full with vitamins minerals and nutrients.  But spinach has one big problem – most kids and adults absolutely hate its taste.  Well, this recipe changes all that and more.  Just try it and you’ll see what I mean. 

My Fast andEasy Spinach Side Dish

Ingredients:

1 bag of spinach (16 oz.)

1 28 oz. can of crushed tomatoes

1 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp salt

1 TBL garlic powder

3 oz. cream cheese

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

Directions:

I squeezed out the juice and put 2 to 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a pan and sauteed it.  I added 1 teaspoon of salt and 1 tablespoon of garlic powder and 1 teaspoon of nutmeg.  Then I thought it could use something else so I added 3 ounces of cream cheese and let that melt into the spinach on low.  Next I put the crushed tomatoes in and cooked it for several minutes on low.

Then I garnished the spinach dish with Parmesan cheese and it was ready to serve.  This is, as I said, a quick and easy dish that tastes great at the same time.  Serve and enjoy.

Mom’s Meatballs

Ingredients:

1 lb. hamburger

A splash of milk

1 tbs. Parsley

1 tbs. Garlic powder (be sure and use garlic powder and not garlic salt as there will be a huge difference in taste and flavor - it will also make your recipe come out salty tasting).

2 eggs

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup Italian breadcrumbs

Directions:

Mix and smash the ingredients with your fingers and roll into balls.  Place the balls on to a cookie sheet and bake on 250° for about 20 minutes.  That’s it – I told you it was simple!  And look at the picture below.  Don’t the meatballs look mouthwatering and yummy?

These meatballs are great in sauce or even all by themselves!

You can eat them plain when they come out of the oven and believe me they’re tasty as is.  Or you can also sprinkle them with Parmesan cheese and then serve them.  Our brothers go crazy for these meatballs with the Parmesan cheese on them. 

Or you can also add them to your favorite sauce while you’re sauce is cooking down.  For added flavor put some grease in the sauce from the meatballs in the pan.  I’ve found that I get more flavor and softer meatballs when I use hamburger meat with a higher fat percentage such as 73% versus 80%.  Experiment and find what works best for you and your family.

The Best Sweet Potato Casserole

ingredients:

5-6 sweet potatoes

1/2 C milk

1 1/4 C sugar

1/2 stick of melted butter

1 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

1 C mini marshmallows

Directions:

Bake the sweet potatoes at 375° for one hour and a half.  Be sure and rub them with vegetable oil before baking.  The peels will slide off when finished.

Smash up the sweet potatoes in a bowl and add the half cup of milk, one and a quarter cups of sugar, one half stick of melted butter, 1 teaspoon of vanilla, two eggs beaten, and 1 cup of mini marshmallows.  Mix all the ingredients well.  Then spray large casserole dish (9″ x 13″ works well) and place the mixed sweet potatoes in the casserole dish.

Picture of sweet potato casserole prior to baking.

Next comes the topping – my kids favorite part.

Topping ingredients:

1 C brown sugar packed

1/4 C flour

1 C pecans crushed real good

*1 stick of butter melted – be sure and pour this in the bowl last*

Directions:

Mix the melted butter to the dry ingredients last after mixing the dry ingredients well with a spoon.  Then take this topping and spread on top of the sweet potatoes in the casserole dish to completely cover it.

The best sweet potato casserole after baking and ready to serve!

You can double the topping if you like.  Some people prefer the sweeter, cruncher topping. I have found, myself, that I don’t need this and the recipe is perfect as described above.

Be sure and prepare the sweet potato casserole the day before you plan on serving it.  Then bake the day you are ready to eat.  Bake for 35 minutes at 375° and be sure and bake it covered with aluminum foil. Serve this tasty dish and enjoy – it will be the talk for days.

The best sweet potato casserole already half gone at Thanksgiving and the meal has barely begun...

Doesn’t it just look yummy?  Wait until you try it.  It will be the first plate or dish that you run out of and will surely be everyone’s favorite!

As an added plus you will stay healthier this winter with this excellent butternut squash soup recipe – it is loaded with vitamins A and C and great for boosting your immune system!  It is also excellent to eat when you have the flu or are feeling sick.

Butternut Squash Soup Recipe

Ingredients:

2 medium or 1 large squash

1 C oil

5 Cups chicken broth

1 jalapeno pepper

Salt and pepper

The directions here are pretty simple.  You peel and cut the squash into 1 inch cubes to make about 5 cups worth.  Then brown 1 cup of squash in the oil.

In a large pot add all the squash along with 5 cups of chicken broth.  Then slice one small jalapeno pepper to give it a little added zing or spice – this makes the soup really exceptional and stand out. 

Boil all the ingredients in the pot until soft, then put it in a blender to purée.  Follow this by seasoning with salt and pepper to your taste and then enjoy.  This is a great soup served either hot or cold.

You can also make this soup a great anti-cold or anti-flu remedy by adding some garlic (either ground or fresh) to the soup before serving.  I’ve used this remedy myself to weather many a nasty flu bug or cold.  If you didn’t know already, garlic has great anti-cold and anti-flu properties and has been proven through medical science and research to be extremely effective in fighting off viruses like the flu and even H1N1.  Soups are also great to have when you’re sick with or without the garlic.  The garlic just tends to help that much more.

Doesn't the 6 ingredient or layered salad look delicious?

This special salad recipe I craved everyday when I was pregnant.  I literally made it every 3 to 4 days and ate it every night for dinner.  I guess I could’ve craved a lot worse – and it was absolutely delicious!  Your family will love this 6 ingredient salad recipe also.  Hint – kids love this salad and it is a great way to get them to eat their vegetables!

Heavenly 6 ingredient salad

Ingredients:

1 head of shredded lettuce

1 head of cauliflower or broccoli in bite-size pieces

1 medium chopped onion

1 lb. bacon crumbled into pieces (or you can use 4 jars of Hormel Black Label real bacon bits)

8 oz. or 2 Cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1 pint mayonnaise

1/4 C sugar

1/8 C vinegar

Mix the Mayo dressing and ingredients seperately in a bowl (1 pint Mayo, 1/4 C sugar, 1/8 C vinegar).  Put all the ingredients listed above (except the Mayo dressing and the shredded lettuce else the lettuce will wilt and not be soggy) in a salad bowl and mix well.  Then add the mayo dressing you just created.  Lastly add the shredded lettuce and toss the salad well. Serve immediately and enjoy.