Creamy Garlic Alfredo Sauce

I am not lying when I say that this is the BEST Alfredo Sauce I have EVER eaten!!! It was so good, in fact, that not only did all 4 of my kids who eat table foods love it (I have a breast-fed baby, so he didn't have any, ofcours!! LOL!!), but my 3 older kids all asked if they could have the leftovers in their lunch the next day at school!!!! So, SO yummy!! And it was so easy too!!! I only every buy and serve our family whole wheat pasta. But, my hubby had run to the store for me and had picked up white pasta instead. Whatcha gonna do?! I was just grateful he ran to the store for me!!! Happy eating!!

 Creamy Garlic Alfredo Sauce
submitted by Camille
(from Mel's Kitchen Cafe )

INGREDIENTS:
2 tablespoons butter
3 cloves garlic, finely minced or pressed through a garlic press
4 ounces cream cheese, softened and cut into 6 pieces
1 cup milk (I used 1%)
3 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated (about 1 cup)
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt, more to taste, if needed

DIRECTIONS:
In a medium pot or skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for about 2 minutes, stirring constantly, taking care not to let the garlic burn. Add the cream cheese, stirring with a whisk until the mixture is smooth. It will look curdled at first, but with constant whisking for 2-3 minutes, it should come together to form a smooth, creamy paste. Add the milk gradually, about 1/4 cup at a time, whisking quickly and constantly until each addition is incorporated fully into the sauce. Stir in the Parmesan cheese, pepper and salt. Stir until the cheese is melted and the sauce is the desired consistency. Cook for 2-3 minutes for a thicker sauce or remove right after the cheese is melted for a thinner sauce. Serve immediately over hot, cooked noodles.

Spiderweb Munch

I made this for FHE treat last week with the help of my boys. When they weren't looking I added the spider on top, which they loved! 

Make sure to only do a small snip in your bagging when adding the peanut butter. Mine was a tad big and my swirls didn't come out as good looking as the original.

Spiderweb Munch
submitted by Michelle
(from Sugar Tot Design)

2 cups (12 ounce package) Semi sweet Chocolate morsels
1 cup creamy Peanut Butter, divided
1/3 cup powdered Sugar
3 cups Toasted Rice cereal

Heat Morsels and 3/4 cup Peanut Butter in small saucepan over low heat stirring constantly until smooth: remove from heat. Add sugar; stir vigorously until smooth.
Place cereal in large bowl. Add 1 cup chocolate mixture: stir until mixed well.
Place un-greased baking sheet.  Shape into 10 inch circle with slightly raised 1 inch wide border.
Pour remaining chocolate mixture in center of circle; spread to border.

For Spiderweb: place remaining Peanut Butter in plastic baggie. Cut tiny corner from bag; squeeze to pipe concentric circles on top of chocolate.
Using wooden toothpick or tip of sharp knife, pull tip through Peanut Butter from center to border. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or until firm. Cut into wedges.

Apple Crisp Pizza

I love fall. I love apple crisp. Apple Crisp just SCREAMS fall to me!!! Well, that and anything pumpkin :) Here is a DELICIOUS take on Apple Crisp. It was very easy. My 11 year old, and 8 year old daughters helped me make it. My 8 year old folded the edges of the pie crust to raise it up a bit. Didn't she do such a good job? Oh yeah, and apple crisp is always best with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side :) Enjoy!!!

Apple Crisp Pizza
submitted by Camille
(from The Girl Who Ate Everything )

Ingredients:
Pastry for single-crust pie (9 inches)
2/3 cup sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground Cinnamon
4 medium apples (like Gala, Fiji, Braeburn, Empire) peeled and diced into 1/4 inch pieces

TOPPING:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup salted butter, softened (see Note)

1/2 cup caramel topping

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Roll pastry to fit a 12 inch pizza pan; fold under edges to give the pizza a bit of a raised crust. Combine sugar, flour and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Add peeled, diced apples and toss. Arrange the apples in a single layer over the pie crust to completely cover it. I didn't use all of my apples because I had really big apples.

For the topping: Combine the flour, brown sugar, oats, cinnamon, and butter in a bowl. Mix well. I like to use my clean hands to get in there and mush it together until it's the texture of wet sand. Sprinkle  topping evenly over the apples.

Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until apples are tender. Remove from oven and immediately drizzle with caramel topping. Cut into pizza slices and serve warm with ice cream. Makes 12 servings.

Halloween Pretzel Bites

During my kids Fall Break we made these fun Pretzel Bites over on Sisters Cafe. I am not a fan of Candy Corn at all, so I used M&M's in fall colors instead. I discovered my oven was broken when I went to use it to melt them, so we did it in our Toaster oven instead. Took a bit longer, but the kids and I still had fun.

HALLOWEEN PRETZEL BITES
(submitted by Michelle)
from Sisters Cafe

Small Pretzels (Snyder’s Snaps work best)
1 bag Hershey’s Hugs
Candy Corn or M&M's
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place small pretzels on a cookie sheet (line with silpat or parchment paper for easy clean up). Top each pretzel with a Hershey’s Hug candy. Place in the oven for 3-4 minutes. The Hugs will look shiny but will still hold their shape. Remove from oven and push a Candy Corn/M&M on top of each one. Let firm up for 30 minutes (longer if kitchen is warm).