Chocolate Cookie Sandwiches

I am slowing getting back into the kitchen.  Very slowly.  I am finding that trying to cook or bake during the day, then take pictures is a bit tough with five little people running around all day. The kids are out of school until a few days after New Years, so, it will be until then that I can start posting everyday again.
But, for now, we have cookies.  Chocolate cookies.   Really chocolaty cookies.  If you have a chocolate craving, these will satisfy it.  Quickly.  They are soft and almost melt in your mouth too.   So, make these and gobble them up before your New Year's resolution of no sweets begins.

Printable Version

Ingredients:
for cookies
6oz (12 tablespoons) butter, softened
1/4 cup white sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup all purpose flour
3 tbsp cornstarch
1/4 cup cocoa powder

for filling
4 oz chocolate chips
2 tbsp heavy cream

Directions:
for cookies
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix butter, sugar  and vanilla in bowl until well combined.  Add flour, sugar, cocoa and cornstarch. Beat until combined.   Spoon approx tablespoons dollops on a baking sheet.  Flatten gently. Bake 10-12 minutes
for filling
Melt chocolate over low heat, then add in cream.  Stir until combined. Let cool.  Spread chocolate filling on backside of cooled cookie, then, top off with another cookie, making a sandwich.
Make sure cookies & filling are completely cooled before frosting them.
Makes approx 10-12 sandwiches. Depending on size.

Pin It

Baked Cinnamon Tortilla Chips

How was every one's holiday?  Mine was great. Kids. Fun.Food.Family.More Food. We are recovering today a bit, but, still chowing on a ton of leftovers that my sister sent home with us.  It's nice. I don't think cooking will be needed around here until tomorrow.  Just reheating in the microwave.
I did have a quick item to share though.  My sister made these for Christmas  and they are awesome! The kids and I have been inhaling a batch that she sent us home with all day while parked in front of the TV. She says they were very quick and easy to make.  My kind of snack.  Thank you Kathleen!

Printable Version
Adapted From

Ingredients:
Tortillas(flour or corn)
cinnamon-sugar ( to your own preference)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a cooking sheet with non stick cooking spray. Cut your tortillas into 4 triangles. Stack them up and cut a few at a time, it makes it quicker. Spray the back and front of tortillas with non stick cooking spray, then sprinkle both sides with cinnamon sugar.  Lay tortilla triangles on cooking sheet in a single layer.  Bake for approx 5-6 minutes or until they are crisp.  Watch them carefully, they can burn quick.

Pin It

Christmas Break

Today is the official start of winter break at our house. That means two blissful, yet, crazy weeks with the entire family home..all day.  Every day. Until after New Year's.  No, it's a good thing.  I am looking forward to spending Christmas with my family and the kids seeing their cousins/aunts/uncles/grandparents..the whole big bunch.
I will taking a bit of blogging break, but, will be back by right after Christmas.  The computer is always on around here, so, I will posting a bit on Facebook though.

Merry Christmas from our family to all our yours!

Kiddie Cocktails

When I see this label, it's a blast from the past.

When I was a kid, every Christmas Eve, my father would make us kids these.  We would sit at the family bar (circa 1960's...very cool) and drink from real bar glasses.  We were very sophisticated.

No bar here in my house, but, there will be Kiddie Cocktails this year on Christmas Eve.  My father isn't with us anymore, but, I have a feeling he would quite happy about it.

To Prepare:

All you need is lemon/lime soda and a nice bottle of Grenadine..which can be purchased at your local liquor store.  Oh, and to clarify for anyone who doesn't know what Grenadine is..simply cherry flavoring. ( no alcohol)

For every 8 ounces of soda, add about an ounce of the Grenadine.  More or less, depending on our much cherry your children ( or you) prefer.

Enjoy.

Pin It

Mini Melt Away Cookies

My kids love Lofthouse cookies.  You know, the frosted shortbread cookies that are in almost every bakery section of every grocery store?  I came across a recipe on Pinterest (of course!) and then, lost it.  So, I searched for something and discovered this one.

A few things about this recipe....I followed it as it is listed.  It states to roll these into balls and flatten with a glass.  The dough was very, very soft and I found it difficult to roll them.  So, I simply spoon dollops onto the cookie sheet.  I also had to flour a small spoon to flatten them or they were too soft and the spoon stuck to them. 

One more thing....I am including the recipe for the frosting.  I realized after starting these, that we were out of cream cheese, so, I use my canned Easy Frosting instead.

After all that, these cookies taste just like the Lofthouse.  They do literally melt in your mouth and it's tough not to eat a few at a time.

Printable Version

Adapted From

Ingredients:

for cookies

2 sticks butter, softened

3/4 c. corn starch

1/2 c. powdered sugar

1 c. flour

for frosting

3 oz. cream cheese, soft

1 tsp vanilla

1 c. powdered sugar

tint with food coloring

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix all cookie ingredients in a bowl until combined. Roll into small balls and flatten or simply spoon approx a tablespoon of batter onto cookie sheet. Flatten.

Bake for 10-12 minutes. 

Frost when cooled.

Linked up at: Tempt my Tummy Tuesday

Linked up at: Tuesdays at the Table

Linked up at: Diary of a Semi-Health Nut Cookie Roundup

Pin It

Homemade Samoas Bars

Who is addicted to Pinterest?  Come on...raise your hand.  If you could see me, you would notice, hand is raised.  It's nuts.  Everyday, it's a new discovery.  Food, crafts, holiday ideas.  Now, this recipe has around for quite a while.  But, thanks to Pinterest,  it's my new favorite treat.

These take a few steps, but, are definitely worth it. I made a batch of these over the weekend and stashed them away for Christmas.  It's going to be tough waiting for these all week.

If you love Girl Scout Cookies Samoas Bars, make these. They do taste exactly like them and our a great dessert for the holidays.

Adapted From

Printable Version

Ingredients:

for base:

1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 large egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour

for topping:

3 cups shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened)
12-oz  caramels
3 tbsp milk
10 oz. chocolate chips

Directions:

for base:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 9 x 13 dish with non stick cooking spray.

In a large bowl, cream together sugar and butter, until fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Gradually beat in flour. Pour dough into prepared pan and press into a layer.
Bake for 20-25 minutes, until base is set and edges are lightly browned. Cool completely on a wire rack before topping.

for topping:

Preheat oven to 300. Spread coconut evenly on a parchment-lined baking sheet and toast 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, until coconut is golden. Cool on baking sheet. Set aside.

Place unwrapped caramels in a large microwave-safe bowl with milk. Cook on high for 3-4 minutes, stopping to stir a few times until caramels are melted. When smooth, fold caramel mixture into toasted coconut.

Spoon caramel mixture onto shortbread base and spread evenly with a spatula. Let it cool completely.When cooled, cut into bars with a large knife or a pizza cutter.

Once bars are cut, melt chocolate in a small bowl. Heat on high in the microwave in 45 second intervals, stirring thoroughly to prevent burning. 

Now, you can dip the base of each bar into the chocolate and place on a clean piece of parchment or wax paper.  ** I didn't really do this. After my  earlier chocolate problem issue, I decided to just coat the bottom of the bars a bit or you can skip this step all together..they will still taste awesome :)

With remaining chocolate, drizzle the top of the bars. * I did this with a small spoon, but, a piping bag would probably work better if you have one on hand.
Let chocolate set completely before storing in an airtight container.

Pin It

Chicken Teriyaki Sliders

I'm not too sure if I mentioned this before, but, just in case....we don't eat red meat here in our house.  Okay, it's not like we never eat it.  We eat it very sporadically.  Maybe once a month.  Mr Plain is not a huge fan of it and besides me, not really anybody else likes it.  I know, weird.  So, instead of just giving up on meatballs, tacos, meatloaf and burgers,  I simply use ground turkey or ground chicken. 

So, these mini burgers fit us just right.  Or sliders, whichever you prefer to call them. 

These are juicy and the teriyaki  gives them a ton of flavor.  They are great for lunch, dinner or would make a great appetizer.

Printable Version

Adapted From

Ingredients:

1 pound ground chicken

1 TBSP grill seasoning
1/4 cup teriyaki sauce
1 TBSP canola oil
1 green scallion, chopped
garlic powder (or fresh), to taste preference
lettuce,pickles to garnish
Small buns or dinner rolls

Directions:
Combine meat, scallions, garlic, grill seasoning and teriyaki sauce.  Divide meat into 8 portions and form small patties, about 1/2 inch thick.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add canola oil.. Cook burgers in the pan, about 3 minutes on each side, until cooked through.

Place burgers on buns, garnish with lettuce, pickles or whatever you desire.

Crock Pot Mac n Cheese

Oh, boy, the craziness of the holidays.  The gifts, the baking, the decorating, the parties, the family dramas,(come on, admit it, your family has it to), it's exhausting, isn't it?  Add all that on top of just your regular daily routine...AH! Who wants to cook?  I have been having a tough time getting motivated to cook dinner lately.  Now, baking cookies, not a problem.  But, it's been tough not to order pizza the last few nights.  But, I have resisted!   Now, our crock pot very rarely gets used, except for this delicious dish on occasion.  But, I dug it out and made some good ole' mac n cheese in it this week.

This is a pretty simple recipe, but, it's perfect for a weeknight dinner after a long day.

Printable Version

Adapted From

Ingredients:

3 cups uncooked elbow noodles

4-1/2 cups milk

3/8 cup all purpose flour

2 tsp minced onion

2 tsp garlic powder

salt/pepper- to taste preference

1-1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Directions:

Spray your crock pot with non stick cooking spray.  In saucepan, combine, flour, onion,garlic powder and salt/pepper.  Add milk and whisk until there are no lumps remaining.  Heat and stir until mixture thickens.  Add cheese and elbow noodles.  Stir until well combined.   Add all into the crock pot and cover.

Cook for 2-1/2 hours on low heat or 1 hour on high heat.

Makes 6 servings

Linked up at: It's a Keeper Thursday

Pin It

Red Velvet Chocolate Chip Cookies

Every year, our kids like to give their teachers and bus drivers a small gift for Christmas.  With all they do everyday for them, it's the least we can do.  So, this year, the kids asked me to make their teachers cookies.  So, we are in major cookie making mode this week at our house.  I have finished peanut butter and these lovely holiday cookies.  I came across this recipe over at How Sweet it Is.  Now, Jessica over there has two recipes for red velvet chocolate chip cookies.  One from a box and one from scratch.   I went with the box version (yes, I'm a bit lazy).   These are chewy and chocolaty and don't take much to put together.
Perfect for the holidays.

Printable Version

Ingredients:
1 box of red velvet cake mix
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup chocolate chips

Directions:
Mix cake mix, eggs, vanilla and vegetable oil until it forms into dough.  Fold in chocolate chips.  Form dough into approx 1-2 balls and bake on ungreased cookie sheet for 8-10 minutes.
Makes approx 20-24 cookies depending on size.

Pin It

Chocolate Eclair Cake

This cake looks like it would be alot of work.  It's not.  It should be though.  That way, you would only eat it on special occasions.  Or, if you didn't care about calories and fat, you would just eat it any old day of the week. 
This is a special occasion cake for us.  It's delicious, but, it's alot of cake.  It's filling, but, scrumptious. It also requires no baking.  None.  Just make it the day(or night) before you need it and there you have it.
It is so perfect for the holidays, you will not want to leave it off your dessert menu this year.

Printable Version

Ingredients:
1 box of honey graham crackers
2-5.1 oz  boxes vanilla instant pudding
2-1/2 cups milk
16oz Cool Whip topping
1-16oz container of chocolate frosting

Directions:
Line a 9 x 13 pan with graham crackers (you will have to crack a few to fit).  In a mixing bowl, mix pudding, milk and cool whip.  Mix until well blended.  Spread about 1/2 of the pudding mixture on the graham crackers.  Then, add another layer of graham crackers.  Cover that with the remaining pudding mixture.  Add a final layer of graham crackers.
Take the foil lid off the the frosting and microwave for a minute or until melted and thin. Pour frosting over the graham crackers.  Cover and refrigerate for 12 hours.

Linked up at: It's a Keeper

Pin It

Super Duper Easy Dinner Rolls

Ah, aren't they cute? They are our new kittens. Both about 4 months old.  

Don't let their cuteness fool you. This is their new toy:

I spent a good part of my Saturday evening chasing these two troublemakers from our Christmas tree.

Yes, my life is that exciting.  

OK, to the recipe.  My new obsession, beside Pinterest, cupcakes and watching old TV shows on Netflix is the Allrecipes Phone App.  Now, I do not have an IPhone. Repeat..not an IPhone.  I have a Windows Phone.  Very cute.  I was browsing their 'dinner spinnner' and came across a quick recipe for dinner rolls.  Now, I am not good at rolling dough, kneading dough or anything to do with the whole bread/dough process.  These are a perfect for me.  It is also great because, the ingredients are things that are always in stock at my house.  

Add some garlic to these or anything your heart desires to spruce them up and then try them warm with a hunk of butter.  Yummy.

Printable Version

Adapted From

Ingredients:

1 cup self rising flour

1/2 cup milk

2 TBSP mayo

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray muffin pan with non stick cooking spray.  Mix ingredients in a bowl and spoon into prepared muffin pan.

Bake for 15 minutes or until brown

Makes 6 rolls

Pin It

The Perfect Vanilla Cupcake

I wasn't going to post this. I wasn't.  Honest.  I mean, vanilla cupcakes?   They are kinda...vanilla. You know, plain.

When this recipe discovered me, I wanted to try it.  I am not a great cupcake maker.  Cupcake eater?   A champ.  But, something goes awry when cupcakes are baked in the house.  Muffins aren't a problem, though.  Isn't that weird?

Back to cupcakes.  I figured, they're vanilla cupcakes! How badly can I mess these up?  Happy to say, they came out fabulous.   Well, perfect and they taste just as good.

Thank you Glorious Treats, you have turned me into a successful cupcake baker.

Instead of just copying the recipe from Glorious Treats(which I followed to a "t"), please just click here and head over to her site for the full version. 

Happy Friday Everyone

Pin It

Warm Bacon & Cheese Dip

This is the season. The season for holiday parties, gifts, baked goods, decorations, good will towards all and of course, bacon.  Yes, bacon.  I like bacon, I do.  We eat alot of turkey bacon around here.  It is better for you and they way my 9 year daughter old chows on it, we must eat it the healthiest way possible.  When she eats it, or even hears that we will be eating it, she turns into a 9 year version of Homer Simpson when he wants doughnuts.  MMMMM...Baaaconnn! She just doesn't love like the turkey kind. She loves the good stuff.  The fancy bacon.  The kind that costs you $7 for a half pound.  It's crazy. She actually told me that everything would taste better if bacon was added to it.  I will need to keep a close eye on that kids cholesterol.

Well, I whipped this dip up for the "Holiday Feast" at Mr Plain's work.  Basically, everyone brings a dish and the whole place eats like savages for the day.  Festive, yes.  He's not a dip kinda guy, but, I wanted to try this recipe and what better people to use a guinea pigs for a new recipe than your husband's co-workers?   Oh, I tried it.  It's great.  Warm, cheesy and yes...Baaaaacccooonnn!

Printable Version

Adapted From

Ingredients:

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

2 cups sour cream 

1/2 cup bacon bits

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1 cup chopped green onion (optional)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a bowl, combine all ingredients. Place the mixture in a baking dish. Cover and heat the dip for 30 minutes or until hot.

Serve with assorted fresh vegetables, crackers and/or chips.

Pin It

Brownie Pops

Isn't this festive?

Take a good look. I made Brownie Pops yesterday and this is the only one decent enough to be photographed.

 I found a recipe. It looked easy. It looked yummy. It looked Christmasy. I am no Martha Stewart, but, these weren't too tough.  I. was. wrong.  What a darn nightmare they turned out to be. 

My first problem was the brownie pan.  I forgot to grease it.  Yes.  Forgot.  Do you know how many pans of brownies I have made?  Oh, a million or so.   I did remember before baking though.  So, I sprayed a new pan and transferred to a new one. Crisis avoided..or so, I thought.   Baked them. Cooled them.  Made them into little balls. Froze them. No problem. 

Then, the chocolate.  Oh, the chocolate.  I actually cursed it.  That has never happened.  It melted the specified amount.  Tried to dip them. I didn't have the right size bowl.  Melted more. Got a deeper bowl.  The chocolate burned.  BURNED.   Aaahh!!  Oh, this happened with regular chocolate and white chocolate.  BOTH. BURNED.  I don't know how. They were on low heat. I kept stirring!

Do you know what white chocolate looks like burnt? 

Here you go...

Oh, the ones I did coat, looked like a 2 year did them.  Not pretty. Not picture worthy at all.  But, after all the mess and and scrubbing of burnt pans, we tried them. 

I think this picture speaks for itself.  If not, YUM.

Printable Version

Ingredients:

Boxed brownie mix - with ingredients {or your own brownie recipe}

Lollipop sticks

Sprinkles

Chocolate almond bark-at least 2-3 squares.

Directions:

Make brownies according to directions.  Cool for about 15 minutes. Scoop approx 1 tablespoon of the brownie and form into a ball.  Then, freeze them for about 5-6 minutes.

Melt chocolate.  Dip end of lollipop stick into chocolate, then into brownie.  Dip brownie into melted chocolate and coat.  Decorate with sprinkles.  Chocolate will set after 10 minutes or so.

I baked a 9 x 9 in pan of brownies and got about 20 pops from it.

Pin It

French Breakfast Muffins

We love muffins in our house.  Love them. My kids favorite are Chocolate Chip with Ricotta Cheese. Well, they are a favorite of mine too.  But, as tasty as those are, we are looking for a new muffin around here. Mix things up.  I know, we are wild and crazy.  This simple, lovely, muffin is what I decided to try out.   I liked these because they appealed to all my picky children and the ingredients are always on hand in my kitchen.

Now, why are these called French Breakfast Muffins? Um, not sure. But, these are light, soft and the buttery cinnamon top is to die for.  Come on! Make these the new muffins in your house too.

Printable Version
Adapted From

Ingredients:
for muffins:
1/3 cup melted butter
1/2 cup white sugar
1 egg
1- 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1- 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 cup milk

for topping:
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. butter, melted
1 tsp. cinnamon

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Spray muffin pan with non stick cooking spray or use muffin papers.
In a  bowl, sift together all dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients and stir until combined. Spoon batter into muffin tins. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until they just start to turn a bit golden at the edges.
For the topping, mix sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Place melted butter in another small bowl. Dip the warm muffins in melted butter, then in cinnamon sugar
Makes 6-8 muffins

Turkey Kielbasa and Cheesy Pasta

Happy Monday!  How was every one's weekend?  Mine was pretty good.  I am getting a cold and it rained too much, but, the kids finally got their flu shots and I started my Christmas shopping. How far did I get?  Not too far.  I bought....one gift.  Didn't really shop for it either. It's a gift for my mom. It's a family calendar. She knows that she gets it.  I started it many years ago and she loved it, so, every year, I gather pictures from all my siblings (not an easy task, but, that's another post, all together) and design it a an online picture site.  It's getting to be quite a project, so, it's nice to have it finished and ordered. When the rest of my shopping is going to get done, is any body's guess. 
The other good thing about this weekend is this dish.  We don't eat barely any red meat in our house, so, the turkey kielbasa is a nice change from chicken and pork.  It's super duper quick,easy and quite tasty.

Printable Version
Adapted From

Ingredients:
2 cups uncooked pasta - I used penne, but, it works really well with rotini too.
1/2 small onion, chopped
1/2 cup snow peas
1/2 cup milk
8 oz Velveeta cheese, cubed
12 oz smoked turkey kielbasa, sliced
1 TBSP soy sauce
garlic powder, to personal preference

Directions:
Cook pasta as directed, drain and set aside.  In a large pot, mix onion, garlic powder and soy sauce. Then, add kielbasa, milk and cheese. Stir until cheese is completely melted and smooth.  Add peas and pasta. Stir until heated through.
                                  

My little friend just couldn't wait for dinner..

Pin It

Tortilla Pizza

Got a pizza dilemma? Got alot of people who want their pizza topped with everything or nothing?  Well, we do.  Somebody wants plain, somebody wants bacon, or no bacon, with pepperoni, alot of sauce, a little sauce. *sigh* 
But, no fear! I figured it out.  Individuals pizzas.  But, instead of pizza crust, make them on tortillas.  Regular, plain (or any variety you wish) flour tortillas.
Just top off your tortilla with whatever your heart desires and bake them in the oven at 350 for approx 10 minutes and everybody is happy. Plus, it's cheaper to buy a 20 pack of tortillas than tiny pizza crusts, they are ready made and it's darn easy to have the kids make their own.
These can also be a quick appetizer for your holiday party!

Here is what we whipped up for ours:

BBQ Chicken
I chopped up 1/2 a pack of the ready grilled chicken, and mixed it lightly with BBQ sauce. Put more BBQ sauce as the base.  Then, topped it off with the chicken, fully cooked bacon, cheddar cheese and a few red & green peppers.

 Pepperoni and Bacon
I used some more ready made bacon, turkey pepperoni, mozzarella cheese and regular pizza sauce.

Chicken & Broccoli

 I topped this one with the remainder of the cooked chicken, broccoli, mozzarella cheese and ranch dressing for the base. 

Cheese
And of course, for Mr Plain.  Mozzarella cheese and pizza sauce.

Pin It

Peanut Butter Cups

This dessert takes me back. Waaayyyy back.  This is another is a long list of desserts that my mom made during my childhood.  I recently came across this recipe in her recipe box and grabbed a copy.  It was surprising to me how little it takes to throw these together.  I also found is a bit humorous that written on the recipe was 'there delicous" in my 10 year old handwriting.  As a kid, it never occurred to me what my mom did to bake for us.   I would come home from school everyday and there were baked good.  Kinda like magic. (yes, everyday).
So, thank you mom for the recipe, oh, and my major sweet tooth :)

Printable Version

Ingredients:
3 cups powder sugar
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
2 sticks butter, melted
1 cup peanut butter
12 oz chocolate chips.

Directions:
Mix sugar, crumbs, butter and peanut butter well.  Spread in a 9 x13 pan or 12 count muffin tin(I actually filled 15 muffin cups with this).
Melt chocolate chips and spread over peanut butter mixture.  Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.

Pin It