See what happens when the kids sleep in...

Happy Wednesday everyone, we have made it to the middle of our work week! My son had hockey practice last night so we didn’t get home until late. The kids are sleeping in which is wonderful. Dawson slept until 7:50 and Bella slept until 8:10, that’s a few extra hours than normal in this house. So I thought I would create something new and different to try for dinner tonight. There are more steps than I would normally do for a weekday meal but now that it is done and ready to throw in the oven all the fuss seems worth it. Plus the house smells AMAZING!


Sweet Potato and Onion Stuffed Manicotti with Butternut Squash Sauce

1 large onion chopped
3 Tbs butter
1 tsp garlic power
¼ tsp salt
8 oz. box of Manicotti
¼ C. Chicken Broth
¼ C. Apple Juice or Cider
1 ½ C. Mashed Sweet Potato
1 C. Shredded Asiago Cheese

Saute onions and butter until soft, then add garlic powder and salt. Turn to low and simmer for 15 minutes.

While the onions are cooking boil the Manicotti according to box directions.

After the onions have simmered for 15 minutes add chicken broth and apple juice. Cook until most of the liquid is absorbed.

Add the onion mixture to the mashed sweet potatoes. You could use left over mashed sweet potatoes or peel and boil your own before making. It is an extra step but doesn’t take too much time. In order to get the amount of sweet potatoes that you’ll need for the recipe I used 2 small and 1 large sweet potato.

Once the manicotti is boiled you can start to stuff them with the sweet potato mixture.

Preheat oven to 375 and begin making the Butternut Squash Sauce.

Butternut Squash Sauce:

1 1/2 cups butternut squash
2 cups chicken broth
2 cups apple juice
Dash of Cinnamon
1 Bay Leaf
1 Tbs butter
½ C. Parmesan

Peel and cut butternut squash into small chunks. You can even buy butternut squash cubes in the produce section. That’s what I did and it saved a ton of time!

Boil all ingredients except butter and parmesan until squash is soft. Separate the liquid and the squash.
DO NOT throw away the liquid!

Mash the squash, butter and parmesan together with a mixer. Mashing will leave the sauce like more of a chunky sauce, kind of a marinara sauce type texture. If you want a smooth texture you can puree the ingredients.

Grease a 9x13 pan and pour just enough of the sauce into the pan to coat the bottom. Place the manicotti in pan. Top with the Sauce and Bake for 15 minutes until bubbly.

Try to leave a little bit of the sauce in a bowl so you can top the manicotti with some before serving. Make a big side salad and you’ve got yourself a heartwarming comfort meal!

We will be taste testing ours tonight and will let you know what reviews I receive. I do know that the Sweet Potato & Onion filling tasted delicious! And the Butternut Squash Sauce was mighty tasty also. The two combined should be a treat!
　
　

You go grab them tater chips, I'll whip up some party dip

We got some laid back country tunes on the radio! (Gotta love Blake!) Happy Friday all! Get yourself all the ingredients below and whip it up and enjoy...

I have made this recipe for about 10 years now, and no one ever gets sick of it and I still get requests for it often.

Pizza Dip

2-8 oz pkg. cream cheese
1 Tablespoon Italian Dressing
Pinch of Garlic
2 c. mozzarella cheese shredded
Parmesan Cheese
16 oz. pizza sauce
Pizza toppings: we love green peppers and pepperoni but whatever your family enjoys will work perfectly.

Mix:
2- 8 oz. pkg. of cream cheese ( I usually soften for 30 seconds in microwave)
1 Tbs. Italian Dressing
Pinch of garlic powder

Place in the bottom of 9x13 baking dish. Top with 1 c. mozzarella cheese shredded, then 16 oz. pizza sauce, 1 c. mozzarella cheese shredded, parmesan cheese and any pizza toppings that you like!

Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes. Serve with tater chips or crackers.

Snow and Stuffed Pepper Soup

Woke up to ice and snow...Scraped off my truck then an hour later it was completely covered again, gotta love it! Took the kiddos to school, came home and logged in for a long day of work. Thank God I get to work from home with my handy extra large coffee cup beside me. Stuffed pepper soup is starting to heat up in my good ole' crock pot. And by ole' I mean 10 years, not ancient. That crock pot has saved me and my marriage many a nights! Let's see how this goes, we can all test it out. Let me know what you think! Happy Wednesday All!

STUFFED PEPPER SOUP

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs ground beef
1/2 pound of pork sausage
2 c chicken broth or beef broth
1 lg. can of crushed tomatoes
1 can of sloppy joe sauce
1 c of cooked rice
2 green peppers (chopped)
1 yellow pepper (chopped)
1 red pepper (chopped)
1/4 c sugar
1/2 tsp salt ( you can always add more to your taste)
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic


Instructions:

1. Roast peppers in oven before chopping. (Drizzle with olive oil and roast on 400 for 20 min.)
2. In a large skillet brown ground beef and sausage.
3. When done, drain ground beef and sausage in colander.
4. In a crock pot add all ingredients.
5. Set on high for 4 hours or low for 6 hours.

Welcome to Northern Girl With A Southern Heart!

Welcome to northerngirlwithasouthernheart.blogspot.com/. I began this blog as a way to de-clutter my cluttered mind. The goal is to create new and loved recipes on this site and keep track of my crazy life. I am the mama to two children, one boy, one girl. I am married to the man of my dreams, who is a school teacher and hockey coach. He is one man but plays many roles. I have successfully worked from home for eight years now. Country music makes me smile. I love to bake, hate to diet, and love life! I am a country girl at heart and can't wait to have a cabin in the woods someday...

Follow me and you'll learn some new recipes and laugh along with me at the funny mom moments we all encounter daily.