Cheese ball

My mom makes this cheese ball all the time. I got the recipe from her. Jared LOVES it and requests it all the time. It was all he wanted for his birthday...



CHEESE BALL

2 blocks cream cheese (8 oz)
1 packet ranch dressing mix
4 oz shredded cheddar
4 oz shredded monterrey jack
4 oz shredded mozzarella
chopped nuts

Let all cheese come to room temperature. Place cream cheese in a large bowl. Add ranch dressing seasoning and mix well. Add shredded cheese and combine until everything is evenly distributed. Divide in half. Roll halves in chopped nuts and wrap in plastic wrap. Store in Refrigerator. Take it out of the refridgerator about 15 minutes before serving. Serve with lots of different crackers.

This can be easily divided in half. Save the extra half of the ranch seasoning for something else or to make another cheese ball.

This doesn't last long at our house...

Grilled Chicken, Pasta Salad, and Squash

This dinner was so refreshing and light. We loved it!

Grilled Chicken


chicken cutlets
EVOO
kickin chicken seasoning

Drizzle chicken with EVOO and sprinkle on seasoning. Grill until done. SO EASY!


Squash


3 yellow squash
cumin
grill seasoning
EVOO
1/4 onion
1 tomato
2% milk shredded cheese, small handful

Slice the squash about 1/4 inch thick. Slice the onion thinly. Dice up the tomato. Heat a skillet and drizzle with EVOO. Add the squash and onion and brown. Add seasoning to taste. I just sprinkled until it looked good. When the squash is almost done, add the tomatoes. I added cheese to entice my kids.


Pasta Salad


1 box ditalini pasta, cooked
4-5 garden fresh tomatoes, diced
1/4 red onion, diced small
1/4 green bell pepper, diced small
grill seasoning
Italian Dressing

Mix the first 4 above ingredients in large bowl. Sprinkle with grill seasoning or salt and pepper. Drizzle with salad dressing, enough to coat the salad, but not too much. Chill until ready to serve. Would be great with parmesan cheese, but I didn't have any.

Voila! It was awesome. No leftovers.


Ethan wasn't crazy about the squash, but I made him eat some of it.

Stuffed Shells

Ingredients

1 box jumbo shell pasta
1 jar favorite spaghetti sauce
1 small container ricotta cheese
1 egg
1 bag shredded mozzarella cheese
Italian seasoning
salt

Bring a large pot of water to boil and cook pasta according to package instructions. While the pasta is cooking, mix the ricotta, 1 tsp salt, dash of italian seasong, and large handfull of mozzarella cheese and egg together. When the pasta is done, drain it and rinse with cold water until you can handle it. Then fill the pasta with the cheese mixture and place in a 9X13 dish that you put a layer of sauce across the bottom (so it won't stick).




Cover with remaining pasta.


Top with cheese and sprinkle a little Italian seasoning on top.


Cover and bake at 350 for about 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake another 5 minutes.


My mom puts a frozen Italian meatball in each shell instead of the cheese combo and she says it is awesome. I like cheese better than meat.