Fantastic Family Favorites (2024)

I saw something like this on pinterest and it looked so colorful and fun, I had to try it. It's a little fruity spin on Rice Krispie Treats. My kids have taken it in their lunches the last 2 days and received many oohs and aahs. It only takes 3 ingredients and a microwave!

Trix Crispy Treats
adapted from jamiecooksitup.blogspot.com
1/4 cup butter
1 (10.5 oz) bag miniature marshmallows
12 cups Trix cereal
Cooking spray

1. Place butter and marshmallows in a large microwave safe bowl. Microwave on high for 2 minutes; then stir. If marshmallows are notcompletelymelted, then microwave for 1 more minute.
2. Add Trix cereal and stir to coat, (you need a fairly large bowl bowl for this).
3. Spray a 9x13 inch pan with cooking spray, and scoop cerealmixtureinto the pan. Press cereal mixture down to level it out. The easiest way to do this is to spray a spatula with cooking spray and press down on the top of the mixture. If you don't spray it with cooking spray it ends up looking stringy and the pieces stick to the spatula.
4. Let sit 15 minutes to cool and firm. Cut into squares. Store in airtight container. Best if eaten the same day.

I used a 14.8 ounce box of Great Value brand (Walmart) Fruit Puffs cereal. I measured it out, and there are about 13 cups in the box, so you can just take one cup out of the box, and dump the rest in.

This is a great way to use the garlic butter sauce you get from some pizza chains. I saw my MIL do this years ago, and now I always save my sauce to put in mashed potatoes. If you cook about 3 lbs. of potatoes and use 1 container of sauce you will get a slight garlic flavor. If you want a strong garlic flavor then use 2. Or you could just stir it in to taste. I like to change up my mashed potatoes sometimes and try different things like adding cream cheese, or sour cream, so I don't always follow a recipe, but this is how I made the potatoes in my picture.

Garlic Smashed Potatoes
3lbs. cooked red potatoes (skins on)
1/4 cup butter, cut into pieces
3/4 cup half and half
1 garlic butter cup (more if desired)
3/4 cup cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste

1. Smash cooked red potatoes with potato masher. Add butter pieces, half and half, and garlic butter cup. Mash with potato masher until combined.
2. Sprinkle on cheese and salt and pepper to taste. Mix to combine.

These taste great paired with mymini meatloaves!

This is another dish that I made this week with my leftover Easter ham. It's a version of this Chicken Alfredo Pasta Bake. We loved it! My kids even ate the broccoli because I told them that it was in cheesy sauce. I'lldefinitelybe making this again. It wasespeciallygreat because I used brown sugar glazed ham leftovers. :)

Creamy Ham and Broccoli Bake
2 (15 oz) jars Alfredo sauce(Bertoli is the best)
1 jar of milk (15oz)
1 jar of water, plus 1 cup water(23oz)
2 cups chopped ham
3 cups of fresh broccoli florets, steamed until just tender
2 tsps salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 lb. uncooked Rotini pasta
Parmesan cheese (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly spray large baking dish or 9x13 pan with cooking spray.
2. In large bowl mix both jars of alfredo. Add jar of milk, jar of water plus additional 1 cup water. (Shake the fluids in jar to get all of sauce left behind.) Stir well.
3. Add ham, broccoli, salt, and pepper; stir. Last, add the pasta. Stir well. Pour mixture into baking dish. Spread out and level the top so pasta sticking up won't be burned while cooking. (I press it down with a slotted pancake turner to bring the liquid to the top.)
4. Leave uncovered, place in oven. Cook for 1 hour or until pasta is soft and it is bubbling hot.
5. Remove from oven and let sit 10 minutes.(Sauce will be really runny if you don't do this.) Top with Parmesan cheese if desired.

This is an easy way to use some of your leftover Easter ham. Today I bought an uncooked cheese pizza from Walmart, and a 20oz can of pineapple tidbits. I topped the pizza with the pineapple and about 1 1/2 cups of leftover ham pieces. I don't usually buy the Walmart pizzas, but we really liked it. You could also try it with a Papa Murphy's cheese pizza or any other uncooked pizza.

Homemade Chick-fil-A Sauce
food.com
1/2 cup Ken's Steakhouse Honey Mustard Dressing (must use this brand)
1 tsp BBQ sauce (I used Sweet Baby Ray's)

Mix well and enjoy!!

I made this breakfastcasserolelast night to go along with blueberry pancakes. I wanted to find an all encompassingside dish minus the bread, and this one did the trick. I prepared it ahead of time and stuck it in the fridge. I usually have full stove top with pancakes, eggs, and bacon going at the same time, so it was nice to be working on just one thing while the casserole baked. It got outstanding reviews from my family and the missionaries from our church that were eating dinner with us. My husband even ate some of the leftovers for lunch today and was still raving about it.

Sausage & Hash Brown Breakfast Casserole

adapted from Southern Living
1 (32-ounce) package frozen hash brown cubes
1 lb. mild ground pork sausage
1 lb. hot ground pork sausage
1 1/2 tsps salt, divided
1/2 tsp pepper
1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese, divided
6 large eggs
2 cups milk

1. Prepare hash browns according to package directions, using 1/2 tsp salt and pepper.
2. Cook sausages in a large skillet over medium-high heat, stirring until sausage crumbles and is no longer pink. Drain well.
3. Stir together hash browns, sausage, and 1 cup of cheese. Pour into a lightly greased 9x13in baking dish. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup of cheese over the top.
4. Whisk together eggs, milk, and remaining 1 tsp salt. Pour evenly over potato mixture.
5. Bake at 350° for 35 to 40 minutes.
Makes 10 servings

We really like the pork taco meat recipe I've previously posted here, but sometimes I use chicken instead. It has way less fat and grease, and is a lot easier than working with a big hunk of pork. Plus, I don't cook it overnight like the pork recipe ( I don't like smelling the meat all night long).

Slow Cooker Chicken Taco Meat

3lbs. frozen chicken breasts

1 24oz jar salsa

2 cups brown sugar

1. Place the frozen chicken breasts into the slow cooker. Pour half the jar of salsa over the chicken. Sprinkle 1 cup brown sugar on top. Cover and cook on high for 6 hours.

2. Remove the chicken from the slow cooker and discard the liquid. Shred chicken and place back in slow cooker.

3. Cover chicken with remainingsalsaand brown sugar. Cook on low 1 hour, then stir the chicken to coat the meat. Cook on low for 1 more hour.