Life as an Aced

After a long workout at the gym it was time to make lunch - I've had a package of ground sausage sitting in the fridge that I could decide what to do with - so I asked the boys and meatballs it was!! Ended up making meat ball sub paninis to be exact but served the extra meatballs on the side and they were just as good on their own as in the sandwich :) Sausage Meatballs Ingredients 1 package of ground sausage ⅓ cup bread crumbs 1 tsp Onion Powder ¼ cup Parmesan cheese 1 egg ground black pepper Directions 1) Preheat oven to 375°F. 2)Mix ingredients just until blended. 3)Shape into meatballs 4) Bake in mini muffin tin or on a baking sheet for 18-20 minutes

Pinterest is full of a ton of Crock Pot Mashed Potato Recipes and what better day to try them then over Thanksgiving Ingredients:  9 Potatoes 1 Package of Cream Cheese 1 Cup Sour Cream 1 stick of Butter 1/4 Cup Milk 1 tsp onion powder 1 tsp garlic powder 16oz Cheddar Cheese 1 pound of bacon - cooked and crumbled Directions: 1) Peel Potatoes and Cook in CrockPot on low for about 8 hours 2) Transfer Potatoes to a Kitchen Aid and blend until smooth 3) Blend in Cream Cheese, Sour Cream, Milk, Onion Power, Garlic Powder, and half the cheese 4) Put mixture Back into Crock Pot and keep on warm until ready to serve 5) Top with a little bacon and cheese leaving extra cheese - bacon - and sour cream for each portion

For Thanksgiving I had the idea of making mini cheese-balls but with Eddie Rushing me out the door we scratched that idea and just through it all in a dish instead . . . same flavor but OMG so much easier and faster Ingredients: 2 Packages Cream Cheese 8 oz Shredded Cheddar 1 tsp Onion Powder 2 tsp Worcestershire Sauce 1 tsp lemon juice 1 tsp cayenne pepper Chopped Pecans Directions 1) Beat together all ingredients but Pecans until well blended 2) Spread into a serving dish and top with Pecans Serve with Pretzels - Crackers - Bread - really anything :)

Eddie and His Brothers all LOVE chocolate and since today is one of his brothers birthday I decided to go all in with the chocolate and make a chocolate chip like cookie with chocolate batter and throw in some caramel because why not? :) Double Chocolate and Caramel Cookies Ingredients: 1/2 cup butter 1/2 cup brown sugar 1/2 cup sugar 1 eggs 1/2 tsp vanilla 1 1/2 cups flour 1/2 tsp baking soda 1/4-1/2 cup Baking Cocoa 1/2 Cup Chocolate Chips 1/2 Cup Caramel Bites Directions: 1) Pre Heat Oven to 350 degrees 2) Cream Butter and Sugars 3) Add in Egg and Vanilla 4) Add Flour, Baking Soda, and Cocoa 5) Add in your Mix Ins 6) Bake for 10-15 minutes depending on the size of your cookies

As the years before we headed to Eddie's Mom's house for Thanksgiving - theme this year was to keep it easy!! I brought along the appetizers and potatoes and we spend the day watching football and getting our drink on!! No Black Friday shopping this year for us unless it was something we found online and instead spent the night relaxing and not worrying about what was on sale For the Appetizers we went with things that you could spread or put on bread - I've been on a bit of a dip kick lately so this was right up my alley and for the potatoes I've been wanting to try out a crock-pot mashed potato recipe for a while and thanksgiving seems to be the prefect time for that THE APPETIZERS Bread - Pretzels - and Crackers Cheese Ball Spread Bacon Jam Spicy Cannellini Dip Meat and Cheese Plate THE POTATOES Crock Pot Loaded Mashed Potatoes NOTES: 1) The Bacon Jam was a total bust and I will not be sharing that recipe . . . From what sounds li...

I have tried soooooo many recipes for Queso Dip but I think I have FINALLY found one that's perfect - all thanks to Trader Joe's Chili Pepper Sauce!! Eddie Seriously puts this stuff on everything :) Queso Dip Ingredients 1) Package Velveeta Cheese 2) 1/4 cup Milk 3) 1/4 cup Trader Joe's Chili Pepper Sauce 4) Ground Beef (cooked and crumbled) Microwave Directions 1) Cut Velveeta into bite sized squares 2) Microwave Velveeta - Milk - and Chili Pepper Sauce for 5 minutes 3) Stir Until Smooth then Top with Ground Beef and Microwave for 1 more Minute 4) Serve with your favorite chips Oven Directions 1) Pre Heat Oven to 350 2) Cut Velveeta into bite sized squares 3) Bake Velveeta - Milk - and Chili Pepper Sauce in a Cast Iron Skillet or other baking Dish for 10 minutes 4) Stir Until Smooth then Top with Ground Beef and Bake for 5 more Minutes 5) Serve with your favorite chips

These came about the other day when I had a ton of left over taco meat and biscuits in the fridge - super simple, easy, and who doesn't like finger food? They aren't the prettiest things but sure are tasty Taco Bites Ingredients Can of Biscuits Taco Meat Shredded Cheese Hot Sauce Directions 1) Pre Heat oven to 425 Degrees 2) Place 1/2 a biscuit into each hole of a mini muffin tin 3) Top with Meat - Cheese - and Hot Sauce 4) Bake for 10 minutes