Category Archives: Six Ingredients or Less

The Best Nacho Cheese Sauce I Have Ever Made

Our youngest child got it in his head that I needed to make nacho cheese sauce while we were in the middle of grocery shopping last weekend. I don’t mind making nacho cheese sauce, but I didn’t have a recipe…thank goodness for smart phones. I looked one up real quick and we got all of the ingredients. This is the best nacho cheese sauce I have ever made.

Ingredients:
4 oz. pepper jack cheese, shredded
4 oz. cheddar cheese, shredded
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 (12 oz.) can evaporated milk, divided
2 teaspoons hot sauce OR 1/3 cup salsa

Instructions:
Toss together cheese and cornstarch, in a medium-sized saucepan, until evenly coated.

Stir in 1 cup evaporated milk and the hot sauce/salsa.

Cook, stirring often, over medium-low heat until thickened, smooth and bubbly.

Stir in additional evaporated milk, if needed, until desired consistency is reached.

Add extra hot sauce/salsa to reach desired consistency and/or heat.

What did the family think? Only three of us were home to try this, but it was gone in a HURRY!

Where did this recipe come from? I adapted it from Kitchen Simplicity and they adapted it from Serious Eats.

photo from Just a Pinch

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Filed under After School Snacks, Definitely Making it Again, Mexican, Six Ingredients or Less, Super Easy to Make

Garlic Parmesan Pull Apart Bread

So, we love carbs at our house. Love them. I am a big label reader, however, so I was SUPER happy when I found these rolls in a can that met my label reading standards. Woot!

My family loved these and we also thought it would be great if we could make a sweet version with cinnamon and sugar. Maybe I will get to that next week, in the meantime enjoy this yummy goodness.

Ingredients:
1 can of refrigerated biscuits (not the flaky layers kind)
1/2 stick of butter
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp Italian Seasoning

Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Throw the cold stick of butter in a bundt pan and let it melt in the preheating oven.

While the butter melts, cut the biscuits into quarters.

In a bowl, toss the biscuit pieces, garlic, Italian Seasoning, and Parmesan cheese together.

Once the butter is melted, add the biscuit mixture, sprinkling with any cheese and garlic that gets let behind in the bowl.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20- 25 minutes until golden brown. Turn out on a dish and enjoy!

What did the family think? They LOVED it!

Where did this recipe come from? I have seen this on Pinterest a lot, but I got this version from The Virtuous Wife

Photo from Gumbo Gang

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Filed under Bread, Definitely Making it Again, Easy, Everybody Ate It, Italian, Side Dish, Six Ingredients or Less, Super Easy to Make, Vegetarian

Parmesan Green Beans

We love cheese around here and things really do taste better when you put cheese on them. My oldest not only will eat these, but he likes them. Likes them!!! They are super easy too!

Ingredients:
Frozen green beans (You’ll need enough to feed however many people will eat them.)
Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper
Parmesan

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Defrost green beans in the microwave. They can still be a little frozen, just not in a huge chunk of ice.

Spread green beans out on a cookie sheet and pour on a few dollops of olive oil. Stir around to coat most of the green beans with the olive oil.

Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper.

Bake for about 12 minutes.

Take out of oven and sprinkle with Parmesan.

What did the family think? They love them. (excpet the youngest who is “allergic to all things green)

photo from The Accidental Southerner I just discovered this blog and am loving it so far.

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Filed under Definitely Making it Again, Side Dish, Six Ingredients or Less, Super Easy to Make, Vegetarian

Balsamic Rosemary Roasted Beets

I am the only person in my house who will eat these which is too bad for them which means more yummy beets for me.

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary or 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
8 small beets, peeled, quartered, and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices*
Salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 450°.

Whisk together first 3 ingredients in a bowl. Add beets and toss until beets are well coated. Add salt and pepper, and toss again.

Place in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet, and bake at 450° for 15 minutes. Stir vegetables, and bake 15 more minutes or until slightly crisp but tender.

*You could also use this recipe with carrots, turnips, rutabaga and/or parsnips. A mixture of all of these is also great.

What did the family think? Thumbs down from everyone but me. Again, boo for them, but more for me.

Where did this recipe come from? adapted from a recipe at myrecipes.com


photo from Okay, Let’s Do This

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Filed under Definitely Making it Again, Easy, Side Dish, Six Ingredients or Less, Vegetarian

El Submarino-Argentinian Hot Chocolate

The tree is up, the stockings are hung by the chimney with care and we went and did a little drive by of our new favorite neighborhood house that is decorated beyond the norm. Then we came home and had some Argentinian hot chocolate…warm, chocolately goodness that only uses four ingredients and is SUPER easy.

Ingredients:
4 cups whole milk
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 ounces bars of good quality dark chocolate broken into 1 ounce pieces

Instructions:
Pour the milk into a saucepan. Stir in the sugar and the vanilla.

Heat milk until it is just about to boil. Remove from heat and divide milk into 4 mugs. Serve each mug with a piece of the chocolate and stir until the chocolate is melted.

What did the family think? It is SOOOO good! Why would anyone EVER drink hot chocolate from a powdery packet after drinking this goodness?

Where did this recipe come from? My friend Jess told me about this delicious winter beverage

photo from about.com

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Filed under After School Snacks, Beverages, Definitely Making it Again, Desserts, Easy, Six Ingredients or Less, Super Easy to Make, Vegetarian

Apple Jack Cheese Spread

We had this as a sample at our grocery store. It was SO good…a little bit sweet/sour from the apples and savory from the cheese/mustard/chives…a great combo! This would be a great dip to take to any holiday party you might be attending in the upcoming months.

Ingredients:
8 oz cream cheese, softened
4 oz Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 large Granny Smith apple, shredded
2 T chives, chopped
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans (optional)

Instructions:
In a food processor or by hand, combine cheeses and mustard, blending until smooth. Place in a medium bowl and add apples and chives. Stir to combine.

Sprinkle with pecans and chill.

Serve with crackers.

What did the family think? This was a sample at the grocery store. I don’t remember who tried it and who didn’t, but I had some and it was GOOD.

Where did this recipe come from? the grocery store

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Filed under After School Snacks, Definitely Making it Again, Easy, Six Ingredients or Less, Vegetarian

Peanut Butter Pumpkin Dip

This is the season of family get togethers and parties. I know that we are always taking a dish to share to these types of events. This would be a great treat to bring for munching with pretzels, apple slices, celery sticks or mini-bagels.

Ingredients:
1 cup smooth peanut butter
1 can (15 oz) pumpkin puree
1/4 cup honey
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
Pretzels, apples slices, bagels

Put peanut butter, pumpkin, honey and cinnamon in a food processor and blend until smooth.

Serve with pretzels, apples slices, celery sticks or mini-bagels.

What did the family think? This was a sample at our grocery store last week. I am not sure if everyone tried it, but I know at least a couple of us did and we liked it. Yum!

Where did this recipe come from? our grocery store

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Filed under After School Snacks, Definitely Making it Again, Desserts, Easy, Six Ingredients or Less, Super Easy to Make, Vegetarian

Sweet Pumpkin Dip

This is a great dip for fall parties. It’s delicious served with toasted pita, toasted bagel bites, vanilla wafers, graham crackers, apple slices and ginger snaps.

1 pkg. (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened
2 cans (15 oz.) pumpkin puree
4 cups powdered sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
Dippers: pita, ginger snaps, graham crackers, toasted mini-bagels, vanilla wafers, apple slices

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and powdered sugar together until well blended. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Refrigerate in an airtight container.

What did the family think? We had this as a sample at the grocery store and luckily they had the recipes available to go with it because we all loved it.

Where did this recipe come from? our grocery store

Photo from Land o’ Lakes

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Filed under After School Snacks, Definitely Making it Again, Desserts, Easy, Everybody Ate It, Make Ahead of Time, Six Ingredients or Less, Vegetarian

Pasta Sauce with Bacon

This is for all of you bacon lovers out there. We had this tonight and I have to say I liked it very much. The bacon gives it a smoky, kind of Tuscan farmhouse, type of taste. (No, I have never been in a Tuscan farmhouse nor have I ever been to Tuscany, but I imagine that when you go there you get to eat lots of yummy food and this just might be on the menu.)

Ingredients:
4 slices of thick bacon, chopped (you can add more less, it’s up to you)
1/4 medium onion, diced
26 oz. jar pasta sauce (I used the garlicky kind.)
1 clove garlic, minced
1/8 tspn cayenne pepper
Parmesan, to taste

Instructions:
In a large skillet over medium heat, sauté the bacon, onions and garlic.

Drain the fat from the skillet.

Keep the bacon/garlic/onion mixture in the skillet and add the pasta sauce and the cayenne.

Heat through.

Serve over pasta. Add Parmesan.

What did the family think? Hubby and I were the only ones who ate this. Hubby said it was fine, but he would have rather had meatballs. I thought it was super tasty.

Where did this recipe come from? Food.com

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Filed under Easy, Italian, Pork, Six Ingredients or Less, Super Easy to Make

Hummus, Avocado and Tomato Sandwich

Last summer, this heirloom tomato sandwich was my go to lunch. This week I discovered this sandwich. Since we don’t have any tomatoes from our garden yet, I had to buy one. (Which absolutely kills me, by the way. I have five tomato plants with green tomatoes on them. I need it to get warmer around here so the tomatoes will actually ripen!) Anyways, this is a tasty sandwich and great if it’s too hot to turn on the oven.

Ingredients:
2 slices of bread {toasted or not, whichever you’d like}
Hummus [store bought or homemade]
1 small avocado – halved, pitted, peeled and smashed
1 tomato, sliced
salt + pepper to taste

Instructions:
Spread hummus on a slice of bread. Add smashed avocado and sliced tomatoes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

What did the family think? I am the only one eating this yummy creation. It’s been my go to lunch this week.

Where did this recipe come from? Adapted from Eat, Live, Run

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Filed under Definitely Making it Again, Easy, Sandwich, Six Ingredients or Less, Super Easy to Make, Vegetarian