Top Ten of 2010

Here are my readers top ten recipes from 2010. Next I will be posting my top ten recipes of 2010. It is no surprise to me that 7 out of 10 are dessert recipes. Hopefully that will change with the new year and healthy goals. Enjoy!

# 10 Bloomin Onion bread

#9 Cookie Bars

#8 Upside Down German Chocolate Cake

#7 Crock Pot Mexican Chicken

#6 Mexican Chicken

#5 Oreo Ice Cream Dessert

#4 Peanut Butter Cup Sugar Cookie Cups

#3 Butter Bars

#2 Lemon Drop Cookies

#1 S'mores Bars

Tomato Bisque Soup

If you enjoy tomato soup then this is for you. It was so wonderful, one of the best tomato soups I have tried. I think it would be good to turn into tomoto ravioli soup for a more hearty main dish. We just had it with bread and I couldn't get enough. I found it here and if you don't believe me that it is good, check out her review.


Tomato Bisque Soup

1/2 c onion, diced
1/2 c butter, divided
2 garlic cloves minced
1 1/2 t dill weed
1 t oregano
1 t basil
5 c canned crushed tomatoes
1 (6 oz can) tomato paste
4 c chicken stock or broth (2 cans)
2 T flour
2 t salt
1/2 t white pepper
4 t honey
1 1/4 c heavy cream
2/3 c half & half


In a large pot, melt 6 T butter. Saute onions, garlic, and herbs on medium low for about 5 minutes, until onion is SOFT and translucent. Add tomatoes, tomato paste, and chicken stock and heat to simmer. In a separate small saucepan, make a roux with the flour and remaining 2 T butter, whisking constantly over medium heat for 3 minutes, without browning. Add roux to stock, whisking to blend. Add salt and pepper. Bring to a boil to thicken, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to simmer, uncovered for 15 minutes. Add honey, cream, and half & half

Source: Dinner's Ready

Hot Chocolate Cookies

I have not blogged in a while and have many recipes to post. This one gets to be first in line because they are SO darn good. They just may be my new favorite cookie, or at least in the top three! I had my husband take all the extras to work but next time I am going to hide them in the freezer and enjoy them all to myself.

Hot Chocolate Cookies

2 sticks softened butter
1 cup sugar
⅔ cups brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
3-¼ flour
4 packets hot chocolate mix
1 teaspoon salt
1-¼ teaspoon baking soda
1 cup Each White, Milk, And Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips
mini marshmallows

Cream butter and sugars until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla until combined. In a separate bowl, combine flour, hot chocolate mix, salt and baking soda. Add to wet ingredients until well combined. Fold in chips. Chill the dough for about an hour. Scoop dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350 degrees for 9-11 minutes or until edges are golden brown. During the last couple minutes of baking add marshmallows to the tops of the cookies. Let cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan.

Adapted from: Tasty Kitchen

Peanut Butter Cup Sugar Cookie Cups

This is one of the most delicious and easy recipes. You need only four ingredients and one bowl. I made a batch of 24 from start to finish in under 30 minutes and the clean up was a breeze. Did I mention how delicious these are?

You will need a package of sugar cookie mix. My mom and I were at Costco last week and they were sampling Betty Crocker Sugar Cookie Mix and it was so good. I reminded us both a lot of these, which has been our favorite cookie lately.

This is all you need: (the big box is the Costco size of the small pouch, you only need one pouch)

Peanut Butter Cup Sugar Cookie Cups

1 sugar cookie mix

1 egg

1 stick of butter

24 mini Reeses peanut butter cups

Make cookies according to package directions. Roll a heaping Tablespoon size into a ball and put in a mini muffin tin. Press peanut butter cup into dough until top is even with dough. Bake at 375 degrees for 7-10 minutes, or until the edges are golden. Makes 24.

Coconut Bread

In high school I had a project where I typed up all of my mom's great recipes in a book and made copies for all my family and some friends. It is FULL of typos and errors and it is one of my motivations for this blog, to re-organize them and type them up correctly. I am most know for that cookbook for the recipe where I tell you to "ass the chicken" (it was meant to say add chicken). I still get asked by people who have this cookbook how to ass a chicken. This recipe is in that cookbook that I typed many years ago and yesterday is the first time I have ever made it. Where have I been and why haven't I made it sooner? I guess I have been too busy figuring out how to ass a chicken to notice this gem of a recipe hiding in there. I do not know where my mom got this recipe so many years a go, I just know that it was a delightful treat for a rainy, foggy afternoon. Instead of making two loaves, I made 6 small loaves so I could give them away.

Mom's coconut bread

4 eggs, beaten

2 cups sugar

1 cup oil

1 Tablespoon coconut extract

3 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup buttermilk

1 cup shredded coconut

1 cup chopped pecans

In a medium bowl, mix eggs, sugar, oil and coconut extract. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Alternate adding flour and buttermilk to egg mixture. Fold in coconut and pecans.

Bake at 325 degrees for an hour or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Glaze

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup water

1 teaspoon coconut extract

1 teaspoon almond extract

2 Tablespoons butter

Put butter, sugar and water in a saucepan and boil for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add almond and coconut. Pour over warm bread and let sit for a couple of hours to soak in.

Makes 2 large loaves or 6 small loaves.

Chewy Chocolate Cookies with White Reese's Chunks

I bookmarked these in September when I saw them and I am wondering what took me so long to try them. I am in love with the chocolate cookie mixed with white chocolate and peanut butter. I found them at Confessions of a Cookbook Queen, a wonderful blog full of yummy desserts. It is easy to see why I love it so much, I have such a sweet tooth and I drool over all the desserts posted there.

Chewy Chocolate Cookies with White Chocolate Reese's Chunks

Confessions of a Cookbook Queen

1 1/4 cup butter, soft
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups flour
3/4 cups cocoa
1 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
20 oz bag Miniature Reese's White Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups, chopped into chunks (or about 2 generous cups)

Preheat oven to 350.

Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time then add vanilla until just combined.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Add to butter and mix until well blended. Add white chocolate chunks.

Drop by tablespoonfuls on an ungreased cookie sheet for 7-9 minutes or until the edges look set. They will continue to bake a bit as they cool. Allow to cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before removing to cooling racks.

Manicotti w/ Meat Sauce and some mishaps

I came across this while reading a Cook's Country magazine. I thought it looked so good and was looking for a new Italian meal for my menu. My family loved this and I am sure it will be great tomorrow as leftovers. I will never use manicotti noodles again when making manicotti (that sounded funny). Using softened no boil lasagne noodles softened and rolling them is 100 times easier than trying to stuff manicotti. They are fragile and it is a mess, at least when I have tried anyway.

Meat Sauce

1 onion, chopped

6 ounce package sliced pepperoni
1 pound lean ground beef
1 tablespoon tomato paste
5 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 (28 ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
Salt and pepper

Manicotti

3 cups ricotta cheese
4 cups shredded provolone and mozzarella mix (I found it shredded together in a package)

1 large egg , lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh basil
16 no-boil lasagna noodles

Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees.

Pulse onion and pepperoni in food processor until coarsely ground. Put in large saucepan with ground beef, mix together well over medium heat until no longer pink.

Transfer 1 cup beef mixture to paper towel-lined plate and set aside. Add tomato paste, garlic, and pepper flakes to pot with remaining meat mixture and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in tomatoes and simmer until sauce is slightly thickened, about 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Combine cheeses (mozzarella, ricotta and provolone), egg, salt, pepper, basil, and reserved meat mixture in large bowl. Place noodles in a 9 x 13 pan and pour boiling water over them to soak until pliable, about 5 minutes. Drain noodles on kitchen towel, discard water and dry pan for manicotti.

Spread half of meat sauce over bottom of baking dish. Place ¼ cup cheese filling on each noodle and roll up. Arrange with seam-side down over sauce in baking dish. Spread remaining sauce over manicotti. Cover with foil and bake about 40 minutes, until bubbly. Remove foil and sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and provolone. Bake until cheese is melted, about 5 minutes. Let cool 15 minutes. Serve.

Tonight was the second time I made this, but the first we actually ate it. I first tried yesterday but noticed some paper in the ground onion and pepperoni. I just thought it was a sticker from the meat or something then I realized it waas one of these:

I guess there was one in the pepperoni. I was too disturbed to even research to see if it would hurt and dumped the whole thing down the sink. Strike one.

Tonight when I was seasoning the sauce with pepper, the lid wasn't on the pepper. Oops. Strike two.

By the time I scooped out all the pepper, about 3 cups of the sauce was gone. So, our manicotti wasn't sauce-y enough but delicious nonetheless. Just thought I would share my mistakes of the day. Please learn from mine, these aren't my first kitchen mishaps and certainly won't be the last.

Waffles and homemade syrup

Happy Election Day!

Here is an easy and delicious meal to reward yourself for voting. Doesn't everyone love breakfast for dinner? True, this is more like dessert than dinner but it is a reward, right?

I was looking for a waffle recipe and came across this one from Food Network, it is officially named Waffles of Insane Greatness. The name, although silly, intrigued me enough to make them and I think they are acurately named. I am normally a store bought syrup kind of gal but didn't have any on hand so I made my own, it was better than store bought and made the waffles that much better. I doubled the recipe for my family of 6.

Waffles (of insane greatness)

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup buttermilk (you can use all milk or all buttermilk instead of half of each)
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; mix well. Add the milk, vegetable oil, egg, sugar and vanilla and mix well. Let the batter sit for 30 minutes.

Preheat a waffle iron. Do not use non-stick spray on the waffle iron; the oil in the batter will allow the waffle to release easily. Follow the directions on your waffle iron to cook the waffles. Serve immediately with butter and syrup.

Syrup

1 cup water

1 cup white sugar

1 cup brown sugar

1 Tablespoon maple flavoring

Combine water and sugars in a saucepan and bring to a boil. When it starts to boil, reduce heat and then add maple flavoring. Allow to simmer over low heat for about 5 to 10 minutes. Serve warm.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Chicken tortilla soup has become tradition for halloween at our home. I love could eat mexican food everyday for lunch and dinner and never, ever get tired of it. We had it with the worlds best cornbread and honey butter. Click here for that recipe and if you still haven't tried it, I suggest you do so and soon!

Chicken Tortilla Soup

2 Tablespoons oil

1 small onion, diced

1 jalapeno, seeded and diced

5 cloves garlic, minced

6 cups chicken broth

1 (14 ounce) can diced tomatoes

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chilies

1 cup cilantro, chopped

Mexican Crock Pot chicken, recipe found here

sour cream

avacado

shredded cheese

tortilla chips, crushed

Saute onion in oil. When onion is transluscent, add chopped jalapeno and garlic cloves. Cook for a couple of minutes then add chicken broth, tomatoes, black beans, green chilies, chicken and cilantro.

Serve with sour cream, avacado, cheese and tortilla chips.

Oatmeal Coconut Chewies

I knew I had to try these when Melanie from Mel's Kitchen Cafe declared them her new favorite cookie. I knew I was going to love them before I even tried them. They are the perfect oatmeal cookie and very addicting, I don't even want to admit how many I must have eaten. They reminded me a little of oatmeal crispies but I think I like these even better.

Oatmeal Coconut Chewies

Mel's Kitchen Cafe

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 stick butter, room temperature

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 1/2 cups flour

1 cup shredded, sweetened coconut

1 cup quick oats

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream together butter and sugars, eggs and vanilla until fluffy. Add the dry ingredients and mix until combined. Place on greased or parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until cookies are set but not overly brown. For crispier cookies, bake longer.

Pumpkin cookies with Caramel Frosting

These are incredibly soft and the caramel frosting is quite tasty. I enjoyed these much more after they had completely cooled. I first tried them out of the oven and I was actually a little disappointed. I thought I would have a bite of one the next morning and I suddenly loved them. If you make these, be sure they have plenty of time to cool before sharing them.

Pumpkin Cookies with Caramel Frosting

1 cup butter, soft
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 brown sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
1Ttablespoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups all-purpose flour

Cream together butter sugar and brown sugar. Add eggs and vanilla and mix well then stir in pumpkin. In a separate bowl, add the baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, ginger, salt and flour and combine with a whisk. Add to pumpkin mixture and mix well. Drop onto a parchment lined or greased cookie sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes at 350 degrees.

Caramel Frosting

3 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 cup powdered' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
Pinch of salt

In a medium saucepan, combine butter, cream, and brown sugar over medium heat until it just begins to boil. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Cool then stir powdered sugar into it. Spread over cooled cookies.

Originally found in the kitchen of Let's Dish.

Potato Soup

We woke up to snow yesterday and it put me in the mood for soup. I wanted something light and healthy too and this is what I came up with. Who doesn't love easy, healthy and inexpensive meals? I had some for lunch today and it was even better than last night.

Potato Soup

6-8 small potatoes cut into small chunks

2 cups chopped carots
2 cups diced celery

1 large onion, diced

2 Tablespoons butter

2 Tablespoons flour

1 cup lowfat milk

1 cup lowfat or fat free half and half

4 to 5 bouillon cubes

salt

pepper

In a frying pan, saute onion and celery in butter until tender then add flour. In a separate large pot, add potatoes and fill with water, just enough to cover potatoes. Add carrots and bouillon cubes and boil until potatoes add carrots are tender. Add onion and celery to the potatoes and carrots then add the milk and half and half. Salt and pepper to taste. Simmer until ready to serve.

Garnish with grated cheese and sour cream if desired.

Halloween Bark

I have been wanting to try this since last Halloween. It comes from Your Home Based Mom, she makes bark for all holidays and not only does it look wonderful, it is delicious, highly addicting and really easy. This is perfect for giving away, it looks so cute in a celephane bag tied with a bow. Now I want to try the cookies and cream bark, red white and blue bark, bunny cookie bark, cupid corn cookie bark, lemon bark, lucky leprechaun cookie bark and even the reindeer cookie bark. (I told you she has some for all occasions!) I love how easy this is and how great the presentation is for gifting.

Halloween Bark

1 pound melting chocolate or almond bark

14 Oreos

1 1/2 cups pretzel sticks, broken

1 cup candy corn

Halloween colored sprinkles

Cover a cookie sheet with wax paper. Break Oreos and pretzels and toss them along with 3/4 cup of the candy corn onto the cookie sheet. Melt chocolate and drizzle over the top and sprinkle with remaining candy corn and some sprinkles. Allow to cool and harden completely before breaking into pieces.

Thanks again Your Home Based Mom!

Click here to see more of her Halloween treat ideas

Cinnamon Stuffed French Toast with Cinnamon Maple Syrup

Happy Sunday morning! I came up with this for breakfast today. I have said it before, we eat oatmeal all week long and then comes Sunday. There are no rules for Sunday breakfast in my kitchen. Consider yourself warned.

You need cinnamon chips for this, they can be hard to find. I have only been able to find them in one local store (Macey's, if you live in UT) They are so yummy and I have so many recipes brewing in my head in which to use them. Stay tuned for those and in the mean time, try to get your hands on some of these:

Cinnamon Stuffed French Toast

with Cinnamon Maple Syrup

For the Syrup:

1/2 cup butter

1 cup buttermilk

1 Tablespoon corn syrup

1 Tablespoon vanilla

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 cup maple syrup

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

In a large saucepan, heat butter, buttermilk, corn syrup, vanilla, cinnamon and sugar to a simmer. Add baking soda and stir with a whisk for a few seconds (beware, the baking soda makes it rise fast so be sure to stay with it and stir until you remove it from the heat). Remove from heat. Add powdered sugar and maple syrup. Serve warm.

Stuffed French Toast

1 loaf dense bread, sliced

4 ounces cream cheese

1 Tablespoon brown sugar

1/4 cup cinnamon chips

4 eggs

1 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Mix cream cheese, brown sugar and cinnamon chips. Spread mixture over slice of bread and place another slice of bread on top of it to make a sandwich. In a shallow dish, whisk eggs, milk, vanilla and cinnamon together. Dip bread into egg mixture on each side. Place on heated griddle until toasted.

The melt-y gooey goodness of the cinnamon chips makes me want more.

The cinnamon syrup tends to do that too.

Nacho Cheese

Football season around my house means a lot of Saturday nights I get to have girls night out with my three girls. Last week when the boys were at the big game I wanted something yummy and fast and I was not in a mood where I cared about calories. This is what we came up with. I wish this was healthy because I would love to eat it every Saturday night. It would be fun for a party as an appetizer.

Nacho Cheese Dip

1 (8 ounce) package cheese slices (yes, the processed kind)

1 cup milk

1 Tablespoon flour

1 Tablespoon butter

1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chilies

2 teaspoons cumin powder

2 teaspoons garlic powder

2 teaspoons onion powder

cayenne pepper to taste

Melt butter in a medium saucepan, add flour and combine then add milk. Add chilies and spices. Add salt to taste. Enjoy with chips, salsa and sour cream.

Orange Cookies

These are a new family favorite, I made a batch last night, hid some in the freezer and the rest? Gone. My husband already asked me when I am making them again. These cookies are very soft with a hint of crisp on the outer edges and the glaze is just heavenly. I will be making these a lot in the future. My husband even dared to say he likes them better than these Lemon Drop Cookies. I was a little offended but I can almost see why he said it ;)

Orange Cookies

1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup shortening

2 eggs, beaten
1 cup sour cream
2 Tablespoons grated orange rind
3 Tablespoons orange juice
4 cups plus 2 Tablespoons flour

1 Tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

Combine first 4 ingredients in a large bowl; beat until smooth and creamy.
Add orange rind and juice; beat well.
Combine flour, baking powder, soda, and salt in a separate bowl with a whisk; gradually add to creamed mixture, beating well.
Drop cookie dough onto greased cookie sheets; bake at 350 degrees for 14-16 minutes or until edges just begin to brown.
Cool on wire racks.Spread tops of cookies with orange glaze.

I would actually prefer them completely submerged in the glaze, but maybe that is just me :)

Orange Glaze

2 pound bag powdered sugar

2 Tablespoons grated orange rind5 tablespoons orange juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Combine all ingredients; beat until smooth.

Add more orange juice if needed to thin or more powdered sugar to thicken.

Source : 30 Handmade Days

Cheesy Rice and Broccoli Casserole

I got this recipe from my sister in law Dawn, she got it from Cooks Country. She was describing it to me once and it made me so hungry. I like having another meatless meal in my rotation. You could add chicken to it, but I don't think it is at all necessary. I had to double the bread crumb topping, it was too good not to. We had about half the pan left over and I have a feeling it will be even better tomorrow and am already looking forward to the leftovers. This was a big hit at my house, my husband and all my kids loved it and wanted seconds (granted, my four kids all love broccoli). When I first read through the recipe, it seemed like a lot of steps but it really was quite easy to throw together. I will be making this again very soon and suggest you do too. Thanks for yet another delicious recipe Dawn!

Cheese Rice and Broccoli Casserole

2 slices hearty white sandwich bread, torn into pieces
3/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese
4 Tbsp. butter, melted; plus 2 Tbsp, chilled.
1 garlic clove, minced
2 lbs. fresh broccoli, florets cut into 1" pieces, stems peeled & chopped. Keep florets and stems separate! (2 pounds is about 3-4 medium heads of broccoli)
1 onion, chopped fine
1 1/4 c. long grain white rice
4 c. chicken broth
1 1/4 c. half-and-half
1 tsp. salt
2 c. shredded extra-sharp cheddar cheese
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper

Prepare topping: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat to 400 degrees. Grease 9"x13" baking dish. Pulse bread, 1/4 c. Parmesan, and melted butter in food processor until coarsely ground. Add garlic.

Make filling: Microwave broccoli florets, covered, in large bowl until bright green and tender, 2-4 minutes; set aside. Melt remaining butter in Dutch oven over medium heat. Cook onion and broccoli STEMS (not the florets you microwaved) until softened, 8-10 minutes. Add rice and cook, stirring constantly, until rice is translucent, about 1 minute. Stir in broth, half-and-half, and salt and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, stirring often, until rice is tender, 20-25 minutes. Off heat, stir in cheddar, cayenne, remaining Parmesan, and broccoli florets.

Top and bake: Pour mixture into prepared baking dish and top with bread crumb mixture. Bake until sauce is bubbling around edges and top is golden brown, about 15 minutes. Cool 5 minutes. Serve.

Make ahead: Filling can be prepared, placed in greased baking dish, covered with plastic wrap, and refrigerated for 1 day. Refrigerate topping separately. Bring filling to room temperature before adding bread crumbs and baking as directed.

Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies

My friend made the best cookies one time and I have yet to get her recipe, the only thing I know about them is that she uses pudding in them. I came across a cookie recipe with pudding at BeDifferent, Act Normal and was anxious to try them. I had a hard time staying out of these, the next day I ate them for (at least) one of my three meals. These are so soft and yummy and I will absolutely be making them again. I added white chocolate chips to mine along with the chocolate chips.

Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies with pudding

2 1/4 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup white sugar

1 (3.4 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream butter and sugars, add pudding mix until blended. Stir in the eggs and vanilla. In a separate bowl, combine the flour and baking soda with a whisk then add it to the butter mixture. Stir in the chocolate chips. Drop cookies by rounded spoonfuls onto greased cookie sheet. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in preheated oven. Edges should be golden brown.

Crock Pot Mexican Chicken

My friend Lisa gave me this recipe a few months ago and I am wondering why in the world it took me so long to try it. I totally trust her when it comes to recipes, I always love everything she makes. I absolutely love this chicken and it will be a very regular part of my menu rotation. I chose to serve it in quesadillas tonight but am looking forward to using this in tacos, burritos, salads and anything else I can think of. It is SO yummy. Try it!

Lisa's Cafe Rio Chicken

3 lbs boneless, skinless chicken

1 1/2 cups italian dressing

1 Tablespoon minced garlic

1 Tablespoon chili powder

juice of 1 lime

1/4 cup cilantro

Place chicken in a 4-6 quart slow cooker. Pour dressing over top and sprinkle with chili powder and garlic. Cover and cook for 7-8 hours on low or 3-4 hours on high. Remove chicken from crock pot, shred with a couple of forks, then put back in crock pot. Cover and cook an additional 30 minutes. Add lime juice and cilantro.

Serve in tacos, burritos, quesadillas or taco salad.

Marinara Sauce and Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs

This is the sauce I make if I am having company and want something tastier than jar sauce. I mostly use jar sauce and doctor it up a bit with tomatoes and some seasonings.

Marinara Sauce

2 Tablespoons olive oil

1 large onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 cup sliced mushrooms

1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon dried basil

1/4 teaspoon fennel seed

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 8 ounce tomato sauce

1 6 ounce tomato paste

2 14 ounce cans diced tomatoes

saute onion in olive oil until translucent. Add garlic, mushrooms, parsley and spices. Stir to combine. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce and tomato paste. Fill empty tomato cans and tomato paste cans with water and add to sauce. Allow to simmer for up to an hour.

Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs

1 pound lean ground beef

1 pound ground pork (or you can use all beef)

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

2 Tablespoons dried or fresh parsley

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

salt and pepper

2 eggs

1 cup bread crumbs

8 ounce package mozzarella, cut into small cubes (about 1/4 inch in size)

Mix all ingredients and form into walnut sized balls, forming meat around cheese cube. Cook in olive oil in a large pan. Try to be gentle, the cheese tends to ooze out if you turn too much. Serve over pasta and marinara. Top with parmesan.

This makes about 2 1/2 dozen meatballs. I usually use half and freeze the rest or save them for leftovers. Or, just cut the recipe in half.

Easy Breadsticks

I am not really a bread maker, I wish I could whip up heavenly dinner rolls but I have yet to master that. I try but mostly mine turn out mediocre. I really love these bread sticks because they are easy, fast and they always turn out, even for someone like me when it comes to yeast bread.

Easy Breadsticks

1 1/2 cups warm water

1 Tbsp instant yeast

2 Tbsp sugar

3 1/2 cups flour

1/2 tsp salt

2-4 Tbsp olive oil

1 Tablespoon garlic salt

1-2 tsp italian seasonings of your choice

4 Tbsp melted butter

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Mix together water, yeast, sugar, flour, and salt in a large bowl or electric mixer and knead for three minutes. Let the dough rest for 10 minutes.

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Brush 1-2 TBSP olive oil onto the bottom of a cookie sheet. Roll out thebreadstick dough about 1/4 to 1/2-inch thick and large enough to fit onto baking sheet. Place whole sheet of dough on baking sheet, then brush 1-2 TBSP olive oil over top of dough making sure it is all lightly covered. Sprinkle garlic salt and herbs of choice over top of olive oil. Using a pizza cutter, cut breadsticks into desired length and width. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise for 30 minutes.
Remove plastic wrap and place in preheated oven and allow to bake for 15-17 minutes until golden brown. Remove from oven and brush melted butter all over top and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Source: Siggy Spice via Baking and Creating with Avril

Butterfinger brownie bites

Last week I saw a recipe for home made butterfinger at Confessions of a Cookbook Queen. She made the cutest Owl pops with it. I was so intrigued that had to try it. I came up with these using the recipe for homemade butterfinger. It really has the same texture and very similar taste to a butterfinger bar. I thought it was a bit more peanut buttery and next time will use a little less. These are SO rich, I could only have a small piece. I think a scoop of vanilla ice cream would be a nice touch. Be prepared with a glass of milk!

Butterfinger Brownie Bites

1 box of your favorite brownie mix (my fav is Betty Crocker Hershey's triple chunk)

2 cups candy corn

2 cups peanut butter (like I mentioned, next time I am going to usea little less. Let me know if you try it that way)

1 cup chocolate chips

4 Tablespoons butter

Prepare brownie mix according to package directions. Allow to cool completely. In a microwave safe bowl, microwave the candy corn in 30 second increments, stirring after each 30 seconds. Microwave until completely melted. Add peanut butter and stir until smooth. Spread over brownies. In another microwave safe bowl, melt chocolate chips and butter together. Again, stir after 30 seconds and then again after 30 more seconds. It shouldn't take more than 1 minute to melt. There should be some unmelted chocolate peices left, stir and allow the warm chocolate to melt the remaining chocolate. If you over microwave the chocolate will turn powdery and/or the cocoa butter will separate and your chocolate layer will be covered in white spots and will look unappetizing. (trust me, I know from experience) Spread chocolate over butterfinger layer and allow to cool in fridge. Cut into little squares or use a biscut or circle cookie cutter to cut. I topped mine with some peanut butter pieces.

Mom's Pumpkin Bread

This is the perfect pumpkin bread, it is one of the things I love most about Fall. My mom has made it all my life and what a lucky girl I am! My mom is THE best cook I know and I have been spoiled with her cooking. I have made this on several occasions for friends and everyone absolutely falls in love with it and wants the recipe. It is extra yummy served warm and smothered with cream cheese frosting.

Mom's Pumpkin Bread

3 cups sugar

4 eggs

1 cup oil

2 cups pumpkin puree

3 1/3 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 Tablespoon baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon ground cloves

2 Tablespoons cinnamon

1 cup chopped nuts

Beat sugar, eggs, oil and pumpkin in large bowl together well. In a separate bowl, combine flour, soda, salt, cloves and cinnamon with a whisk. Gently mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Add nuts (optional).

Grease two bread loaf pans and divide batter into the two pans. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour and 15 minutes.

For cream cheese frosting:

mix:

8 ounces cream cheese

4 Tablespoons butter, softened

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 pound powdered sugar

Add more sugar to thicken and/or milk to thin out. You want it to be pretty thick. Serve with slices of bread.

Mint Brownies

I was in the mood to make mint brownies and needed a recipe because I have never made them. I went to one of my very favorite places, Mel's Kitchen Cafe. I have yet to try one of her recipes that I don't absolutely love. Her blog is the first cooking blog that I discovered and fell in love with and it remains one of my very favorites. These originally came from Cooking Light Magazine which interested me even more. These are so very moist and delicious. They were a hit at our Sunday dinner, we ate them with a scoop of ice cream.

Mint Brownies
Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Bottom layer:
1 cup all-purpose flour (about 4 1/2 ounces)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
4 large eggs, beaten (FYI: the original recipe replaces two of these 4 eggs with 1/2 cup egg substitute)
1/4 cup butter, melted
2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 (16-ounce) can chocolate syrup

Mint layer:
2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted
2 tablespoons milk
1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
2 drops green food coloring

Glaze:
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
3 tablespoons butter

1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. To prepare bottom layer, lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour and salt; stir with a whisk. Combine granulated sugar, 1/4 cup melted butter, 2 tablespoons water, vanilla, eggs, and chocolate syrup in a medium bowl; stir until smooth. Add flour mixture to chocolate mixture, stirring until blended. BATTER WILL BE VERY THIN! Pour batter into a 13 x 9–inch baking pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 23 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out almost clean. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack.

3. To prepare mint layer, combine powdered sugar, 1/4 cup melted butter, and next 3 ingredients (through food coloring) in a medium bowl; beat with a mixer until smooth. Spread mint mixture over cooled cake. (Kylie prefers the non-mint version: she substitutes vanilla extract for the mint extract.)

4. To prepare the glaze, combine the chocolate chips and 3 tablespoons butter in a medium microwave-safe bowl. Microwave at HIGH 1 minute or until melted, stirring after 30 seconds. Let stand 2 minutes. Spread chocolate mixture evenly over top. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. Cut into 20 pieces.

Thanks Melanie, we love them too!