Living Insanity's Loving Food

Pasta Salad Rotini noodles Grape tomatoes, halved Red pepper, diced Onion, diced Broccoli, diced Small mozzarella balls Mini pepperoni Italian Good Seasonings, mixed with balsamic vinegar Prepared pesto, a dollop incorporated into the dressing Cook noodles per instructions, cool completely before adding to vegetables, meat, and cheese. Add about half of the prepared dressing.  Let the salad sit overnight.  The noodles will absorb some dressing.  Add the rest of the dressing before serving. Pigs in a Blanket Pack of 5 Hebrew National all beef hot dogs 1 can crescent roll dough Cheese if desired Toppings like various mustards and ketchup Heat oven to 350 Use paper towels and dry the hot dogs to help keep dough stuck on them. Roll out the crescent dough into one large rectangle Cut into 8 long strips and then cut again in half Cut the hot dogs into thirds I sprinkled half of the crescent dough with some shredded cheese before rolling.  Other bloggers suggested using American cheese slices

Meatloaf 1 lb ground beef 6 slices cooked bacon Shredded cheddar cheese Onion, diced Slice of white bread Panko breadcrumbs Milk Worchestershire sauce Salt Pepper Garlic powder BBQ sauce Place a slice of white bread in a mixing bowl and add milk and worcestershire sauce.  Once bread is soaked, add all ingredients.  Mix together with your hands and divide into four even amounts.  Shape into four loaves and place on a greased pan with a lip.  Spread your favorite bbq sauce on each loaf.  Bake at 450 for 20 minutes.   Served with mashed potatoes and sauteed zucchini.  

Sugar Cookies, snickerdoodles, and gingerbread cupcakes with cream cheese frosting Soft Snickerdoodle Cookies makes about 24 cookies 1 cup butter, softened 1 1/2 cups sugar 2 large eggs 2 teaspoons vanilla 2 3/4 cups flour 2 teaspoons cream of tartar 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon cinnamon (Set aside for rolling) 3 tablespoons sugar 3 teaspoons cinnamon  Preheat oven to 350 degrees Mix butter, 1 1/2 cups sugar, eggs, and vanilla thoroughly in a large bowl until creamy Combine flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, salt, and 1 tablespoon cinnamon in a separate bowl Blend dry mixture into the butter mixture.  Add a little bit at a time, blending between additions. Chill dough and an ungreased pan for 15 minutes in the fridge Scoop 1 inch balls and roll into balls with hands.  Roll in the cinnamon sugar mixture  Place on chilled ungreased cookie pan and bake 9-10 minutes.   Let cool a minute and remove from pan to a cooling rack.   Cream Cheese Frosting for Cupcakes 2

  I made my taco soup recipe with roasted chicken instead of ground beef this time.  It was a bit more like a chicken tortilla soup.  I squeezed lime and topped with sour cream and cilantro.  

  It is a rainy Sunday so I made a big pot of soup.  No one came over for any though :(  Today I had mine over rice even though usually I just serve some bread on the side.   Cabbage Soup 1 roll of hot sausage 4 carrots, diced few celery stalks, diced 1 small onion, diced 1 green pepper, diced several cloves of garlic, minced 4 cups chicken broth 1 small cabbage 1 can diced tomatoes with chili a few spoonfuls of salsa salt, pepper, Italian seasoning In a large pot, brown the sausage, use a slotted spoon to remove and set to the side. In the same pot with the bit of sausage grease, add some oil and the carrots, onion, celery, green pepper.  Stir until softened.  Add seasonings and garlic.  Stir for about 30 seconds.  Next add the chicken broth and tomatoes and bring to a boil.  Stir in the cabbage.  Simmer on low for about an hour.  Serve!  Serve with a nice crusty bread with butter or I poured my soup over rice today.  

  Yesterday we tried Smoked bar and grill in the Hershey area.  Boyfriend had a pulled pork cubano that had a small side of tomato soup for dipping.  I had a brisket french dip sandwich.  Both were awesome.  They also had some special non alcoholic drinks.  Mine was pomegranate, pineapple, and something fizzy.  Boyfriend had a carbonated tea with lime and something else.  They were really good.  I already want to go back and try more things on the menu, like the loaded mac n cheese.  

For Candylane they got rid of the Thanksgiving eggrolls this year.  I was pretty sad by this news.  They added a Thanksgiving pizza, but it was sold out on Friday.  I went with the loaded potato.  I had pulled pork and cheddar cheese with a bit of ranch dressing.  They were also out of bacon :(  I did get a few free hot chocolates and boyfriend and I tried the apple pie king sized shake.  It was a lot and it was getting cold out so we didn't actually finish it.  

This recipe was incredibly easy and I'm sure my boyfriend could make it for me sometime! Taco soup served over cilantro lime rice with a side of beef and cheese taquitos.  I felt like the taquitos weren't necessary and I can skip next time. Taco Soup: 1 pounds ground beef, browned and fat drained 1 can corn, drained 1 can pinto beans, drained 1 can stewed tomatoes 1 can diced green chilis 1 can diced tomatoes with green chilis 1 can chili beans 1 packet taco seasoning 1 packet ranch seasoning 1 1/2 cups water ( used some leftover beef broth and then filled the rest with water) Plus additional toppings! Bring soup to a boil and heat at least 15-20 minutes. Serve over rice.  I prefer cilantro lime rice.  I added extra lime juice. Toppings we used were shredded cheddar, sour cream, lime juice, and hot sauce.    

Kelsey's was one of the few places selling a Thanksgiving for 2 and it was only $75.  It came with turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, stuffing with sausage, green bean casserole gravy, cranberry sauce, and rolls with a honey butter.  I ordered an additional apple pie too.  It was a perfect amount and I managed to get everything reheated ready to eat in 1 hour.

  The specialty drink for the show was a frozen hot chocolate.  It had Baily's 

 I had Thanksgiving at the boyfriend's cousin's new house.  We were looking for a house at the same time last year.  They found one first though!  I wanted to take a few things.   I made Buffalo chicken dip and took crackers, chips, and celery to dip in it.  This made way too much!  I would halve the recipe next time. Buffalo Chicken Dip: 2 large cans of chicken 1/2 cup of ranch dressing 1/2 cup of wing sauce 1 container of blue cheese crumbles (save some for topping) 1 8 ounce block of softened cream cheese 1 8 ounce package of shredded cheddar cheese (save some for topping) Mix all ingredients together and then top with reserved blue and cheddar cheese. I put the mixture into a throw away brownie pan with a lid so I wouldn't have to worry about dirty tupperware. Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Next I made homemade cranberry sauce because my boyfriend said he had never had it before. Habanero Cranberry Sauce: 1 8 ounce package of whole cranberries 1 cup

 We went to Universal Studios Florida in November.  We tried a lot of different places to eat! We stayed at Cabana Bay.  On check in day we ate at the Bayliner Diner in the hotel.  We both ordered the half jerk chicken and sides.  I had rice and beans.  The beans were very good and the chicken was moist.  We also bought the refillable soda cup for the resort.  We used it throughout the week and it was a great buy.   For dinner we had a reservation at Vivo in City Walk.  You can easily make and cancel dinner reservations using the Universal Studios app.  We hopped on the Cabana Bay bus and headed to City Walk.  You have to go through security first.  This ended up being our best meal.  I was also huge and we had leftovers we took back to our room.  We had a family suite with a fridge, microwave, a few paper plates, and the kitchenette had stools.  I ordered the caprese to start.  We split it, but it filled me up!  I had the funghi pizza as my entree.  Ate about 2 slices.  The boyfriend