Baked Mac and Cheese

I made this for Benjamin's birthday and it was really quite yummy. Rich and creamy. Just what you want out of your mac and cheese! I got the recipes from AllRecipes.com

Ingredients:
1 (16 ounce) package elbow macaroni
2 eggs
1 (12 ounce) can evaporated milk
1/4 cup butter, melted
2 tablespoons prepared mustard
1 teaspoon seasoned salt 1 teaspoon pepper
8 ounces process cheese (Velveeta), melted
2 cups shredded mild Cheddar cheese,
divided
2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese,
divided

Directions:
1. Cook macaroni according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, butter, mustard, seasoned salt and pepper until combined. Stir in the process cheese and 1-1/2 cups of each cheddar cheese.
2. Drain macaroni; stir into cheese mixture. Pour into a greased 3-qt. baking dish. Top with remaining cheeses. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees F for 25-30 minutes or until cheese is melted and edges are bubbly.

Favorite Tarts

Filo Dough is my favorite way to make beautiful and super yummy tarts! Here is how I did it. I bought some frozen filo dough at the store. I thawed it following their directions. Then using lost of slightly damp paper towels to help keep the dough from drying out as it does very quickly. I used three sheets of filo dough at a time brushing butter in between each sheet. Then I cut the three layered sheets using cooking scissors to cut them into small rectangles. Then I gently pressed then into a small cupcake pan. I think I baked them at 400 degrees. I baked them until light golden brown about 5 minutes. I removed them immediately from the pan to cool on my counter then I continued working with three sheets at a time. You get a lot of the tarts from one package. These can be made a day ahead of time and still be great.

I filled them with two different types of filling:

The raspberry ones I filled them with layered vanilla pudding, homemade raspberry syrup, and then whipped cream.

The chocolate tarts had vanilla pudding, homemade chocolate ganache, and whipped cream.

Benjamin's Birthday Cake - Peanut Butter and Chocolate

Fudge Version

Adapted from recipes from this blog

One Bowl Chocolate Cupcakes
Adapted from Martha Stewart's CupcakesMakes 18 cupcakes

1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
3/4 c. unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1 1/2 c. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
2 eggs
3/4 c. buttermilk
3 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3/4 c. warm water

1 package of chocolate instant pudding mix

1. Preheat oven to 350. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners (Amy's note: I always use baking spray with flour instead). With an electric mixer on medium speed, combine dry ingredients. Reduce speed to low. Add eggs, buttermilk, vegetable oil, vanilla extract, and water; beat until smooth and combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. then stir in the box of chocolate pudding mixes.
2. Divide batter evenly among 18 cups, filling each about 2/3 full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool 10 minutes; turn out cupcakes onto rack and cool completely.Cupcakes can be stored overnight at room temperature, or frozen up to 3 months in an airtight container.

Peanut Butter Frosting
Adapted from The America's Test Kitchen Family Baking BookMakes 3 cups, enough for 24 cupcakes or the top of 1 sheet cake

1 stick unsalted butter, cut into chunks and softened
1 cup creamy peanut butter
2 tbsp heavy cream
2 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

1. Beat the butter, peanut butter, cream, vanilla, and salt together in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until smooth, 1-2 minutes.
2. Reduce the mixer speed to medium-low, slowly add the confectioners' sugar, and beat until incorporated and smooth, 4-6 minutes. Increase the mixer speed and beat until the frosting is light and fluffy, 5-10 minutes.

Fluffy Version

from this really cute blog

One Bowl Chocolate Cupcakes

Adapted from Martha Stewart's CupcakesMakes 18 cupcakes

1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour

3/4 c. unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder

1 1/2 c. sugar

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

3/4 tsp. baking powder

3/4 tsp. salt

2 eggs

3/4 c. buttermilk

3 tbsp. vegetable oil

1 tsp. vanilla extract

3/4 c. warm water

1. Preheat oven to 350. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners (Amy's note: I always use baking spray with flour instead). With an electric mixer on medium speed, combine dry ingredients. Reduce speed to low. Add eggs, buttermilk, vegetable oil, vanilla extract, and water; beat until smooth and combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.

2. Divide batter evenly among 18 cups, filling each about 2/3 full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool 10 minutes; turn out cupcakes onto rack and cool completely.Cupcakes can be stored overnight at room temperature, or frozen up to 3 months in an airtight container.

Peanut Butter Frosting

Adapted from The America's Test Kitchen Family Baking BookMakes 3 cups, enough for 24 cupcakes or the top of 1 sheet cake

2 sticks unsalted butter, cut into chunks and softened

1 cup creamy peanut butter

2 tbsp heavy cream

2 tsp vanilla extract

pinch of salt

1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

1. Beat the butter, peanut butter, cream, vanilla, and salt together in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until smooth, 1-2 minutes.

2. Reduce the mixer speed to medium-low, slowly add the confectioners' sugar, and beat until incorporated and smooth, 4-6 minutes. Increase the mixer speed and beat until the frosting is light and fluffy, 5-10 minutes.

Tarts

" OOOOO, Fancy!" were the words out of Bridger's mouth when he saw these babies lined up in the Refrigerator. My girlfriend decided that I should give catering desserts a try. So I thought I would just that for my friend's birthday party. Since they are close friends I experimented a little bit. I wanted to find out what was the best crust for my mini tarts. I tried sugar cookie, sugared pie crust, and puff pastry dough. The results, to my complete surprise, was that we liked the pie crust the best. Cookie was ok but I thought it'd be better with an apple filling, and puff pastry didn't get to puff enough to reach its potential in that form so we all thought they were best in their fully puffy state as tartlets. - I loved those :O) I made lemon cream filling (vanilla pudding, lemon curd, and whipped cream) and creamy chocolate filling ( chocolate fudge, vanilla pudding, and chocolate mouse) for my experimental mini tarts. Oh, the fancy goodness!

Lemon Cream Tarts

Chocolate Mouse Tarts

Tartlets

Halloween Monster Pancakes

On Halloween morning I thought I would start our day off with a spooky grouse monster breakfast. The kids thought it was great but that snot buttermilk syrup was bit too real in consistency for me to really enjoy it. It was thick and gooey and I really did have a hard time eating it. But he kids thought it was great fun!

"Monster Snot"
Green Buttermilk Syrup

"Monster Head"
Our died Orange German Pancake

The monster combo! Yum!

Halloween Feast

This year I thought we should start doing a tradition of a spooky Halloween dinner. The kids thought it was really fun and helped me make dinner every step of the way. Next year I think I will make orange mashed potatoes and monster brains (soupy pot roast). We'll see, it is over a year away. ;)

Mummy Dogs

Witches Fingers

Worms in Dirt

Chili

1 TB oil
1 large onion
1 clove garlic chopped
3 pieces bacon cooked and cut into big chunks to easily be removed later
1 lb. ground turkey
2 tsp Beef bullion
2 TB Chile powder
1 tsp garlic pepper
1/2 tsp Oregano
1 can kidney beans
1 can beef consume
1 cap petite diced tomatoes
1 small can tomatoes sauce
1 can of Rotal mild lime and cilantro diced tomatoes

I totally made this up and loved it. Who knew cleaning out he pantry could be this much fun. In a large soup pan saute onion in oil until transparent. Add bacon and garlic. cook until aromatic. Push onion to side of pan and add the Turkey cook until browned through. Seasoning with beef bullion, chili powder. Cook for 1 or 2 minutes letting flavors meld. Remove bacon pieces. Add all the canned goods. Add garlic pepper and Oregano. Bring to a simmer and then cover and continue to simmer for 45 + minutes. Adjust flavors to your liking. Serve warm with cheese and a side of chips, rolls, crackers or corn bread.

* I also added a few dashes of Tabasco sauce and Louisiana seasoning salt.
* the Rotal tomatoes are spicy if your family is spice sensitive I would just buy a good brand of Mexican seasoned tomatoes like green chilies and garlic tomatoes or something like that.

Bread Pudding!

I found this on AllRecipes.com the commenters gave a lot of good suggests: use half white chips, use half and half instead of milk, use less sugar, add raisins, use raisin bread and cinnamon chips, use really nice french bread,...all sorts of things. So follow your heart if you don't like butterscotch then use something else. I used this recipes because I had a bunch of old bread to use up and Stew told me he did not like bread pudding. I thought this one could win him over. I am not sure if it did. Next time I think I will use thicker bread, add a few dashes of cinnamon, and let it sit for an hour before serving. I melted the leftover butterscotch chips and drizzled it on top. I think it could be a good breakfast for Christmas morning or something.

*I love the thigh comment. I think after making this one a few times we'll know exactly what she means by a "well endowed thigh".

Ingredients:

1 (10.75 ounce) loaf day-old bread, torn into

small pieces

4 cups milk

2 cups brown sugar

1/2 cup butter, melted

3 eggs, beaten

2 tsp. Vanilla extract

1 cup butterscotch chips

Directions:

1.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Butter a 9x13 inch baking dish.

2.) In a large bowl, combine bread, milk, sugar, butter, eggs, vanilla and butterscotch chips; mixture should be the consistency of oatmeal. pour into prepared pan.

3.)Bake in preheated oven 1 hour, until nearly set. (It should have a "thigh wiggle" or wiggle as much as a well endowed thigh.) Serve warm or cold.

Apple Cobbler

This is my first time making apple cobbler since I can remember. I am sure I have helped my mom a million times but for all intensive purposes this felt like my first cobbler. I used the apples we picked from the apple farm and my mom gave me her cobbler recipe and then I made a few adjustments to what I thought would fit my taste and it was magic. I LOVED it! This is going to be my go-to recipe for apple cobbler for forever! I seriously thought I had created the best thing ever. Yum!

Apple Base
5 - 6 large tart apples
dash of salt
cinnamon
1/2 sugar

Cobbler Topping
1 1/4 cups flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
2/3 cups white sugar
1 cube butter
dash of salt
1 tsp vanilla

Butterscotch Sauce

1 cup packed light brown sugar

8 tablespoons butter (1 stick)

½ cup heavy cream

2 teaspoon light corn syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1.) Peel and slice five large tart apples or enough to fill a 9 x 13 pan. Don't slice them too thin. I sliced them about 1/4 inch or bigger. Spray 9 x 13 with non-stick spray. Toss apple with cinnamon, salt, and sugar. Set aside.

2.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium mixing bowl add very soft butter, sugars, vanilla and salt and mix until creamy. Then add the flour and mix until incorporated and crumbly. Sprinkle the crumb topping over the apples. Bake until apple juices are visible on the sides and the crumb topping is golden brown.

3.) While the cobbler bakes make the butterscotch. Cook the brown sugar and butter in a medium sauce pan over med-high heat stirring often. Cook until the mixture bubbles and becomes lighter in color about 3 - 5 minutes. Off the heat slowly add the cream while whisking the mixture. Mix until smooth. Stir int eh corn syrup and vanilla. you can use it warm or cool to room temperature. It stores up to two weeks in the refrigerator. Set aside until it is time to serve cobbler.

Serving
I let my cobbler sit in the warm stove until ready to serve. I serve with a large scoop of vanilla ice cream and drizzle with the home made butterscotch sauce. It is SO GOOD!

Snicker's Pie

Ok here is the original pie recipe and I think next time I will tweak it. I think I would do softened vanilla ice cream as a replacement for half of the the whipped cream and omit the cream cheese. I guess I would buy a half gallon and mix in as I went to see what made a good amount. I think a double churned type of ice cream that is airy and soft would work best. Then I think I would like whipped cream on top of the ice cream heaped high with toppings. I think that wold take this good pie and turn it into a true taste bud celebration. Stew told me his mom's favorite candy bar is snicker's so I will have to make this for her one of these days. ;O)

8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1½ cups powdered sugar
½ cup chunky or creamy peanut butter
3 regular-sized Snickers candy bars, chopped
16 ounces Cool Whip, thawed (or about 8 cups of stiffly whipped, sweetened cream)
Two prepared graham cracker pie crusts or chocolate cookie pie crusts
chocolate syrup, caramel syrup, chopped snickers and chopped peanuts for garnish

1. In a large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese sugar and peanut butter until creamy.

2. Stir in chopped candy bars.

3. Gently fold in the whipped cream just until mixed.

4. Divide between the two crusts. Drizzle chocolate and caramel syrup on top and sprinkle with chopped peanuts and additional chopped snickers. Keep in refrigerator until ready to serve.

Yield: 2 pies

Read more: http://www.recipegirl.com/2008/08/26/snickers-bar-pie/#ixzz0TkwUuZOP

Best Snickerdoodle Cookies I've Ever Made

When I am craving cookies but don't have any chocolate in the house I turn to Snickerdoodles. Now every time I make these chocolate-less cookies I am sadly disappointed. They just don't do much for me. But Then I made a change this time and it made all the difference in the world. Chewier, richer, and a just plane old better taste.

1 cup sugar, divided
1 TB cinnamon
2 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
8 TB unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
2 Large Eggs

1.) preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine 1/4 cup sugar and cinnamon in a shallow bowl for coating and set aside. Whisk flour, the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl and set aside.

2.) Beat the butter, shortening, and remaining sugar, and brown sugar together until light and fluffy, 3 to 6 minutes. Beat in the eggs, one at a time until just mixed.

3.) Slowly mix in the flour mixture until combined about 30 seconds. Give the dough a final stir to make sure there isn't any flour on the bottom.

4.) Form balls out of 2 TB of dough at a time with wet hands. roll sin sugar and cinnamon until coated then place on cookie sheet to bake. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or just until begins to turn golden brown. Remove sheet from the oven and let cool on the cookie sheet for 10 minutes and then remove from cookie sheet .

I like them the very best when they are still warm!

Caramel Popcorn

Since I am in the middle of a caramel/butterscotch obsession I thought I would try my hand at making my own caramel popcorn. The entire family got into it and it was clear that this would be a family favorite for years to come. I think we will give big bags of this away at Christmas time. Its pretty, easy, festive, and very yummy.

Ingredients:
1 cup butter
2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
6-8 quarts popped popcorn

Directions:
1.) Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Pop pop corn. Pour Popcorn in a very large bowl (we used three large bowls) that has been sprayed with Pam or like spray. Try to keep popcorn warm. (ex. keep next to stove)

2.) In a med saucepan over med heat and melt butter. Once butter is melted pour in brown sugar, corn syrup, and slat. Stirring constantly bring mixture to a full boil. Boil with out stirring for 4 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in baking soda and vanilla. Pour a thin layer over popcorn stirring to coat. Place popcorn in a very large bowl.

3.) Spray two cookie sheets with Pam and spread pop corn on the baking sheet. Place in over for 15 minutes for softer caramel or 30-60 min turning half way through for crunchy caramel.

*if you like it really soft skip baking all together.

Hershery's Mint Dessert

I saw this on a bag of Hershey's chips and it made me think of my sister-in-law Kirsten who loves mint and chocolate combos and thought I would try this recipe to see if it was worthy to pass on to her. It is. Stew and I really liked it. My kids weren't big fans...they are not mint lovers even though the mint in these is not over powering. I think it won me over with all the creamy accents the butter added. Some chocolate and mint treats are so harsh with super dark chocolate and really intense mint but these were creamy, refreshing, and super satisfying. I think these would be great to bring to a Christmas party because they are pretty, yummy, can feed a lot of people with one pan, and do well being cooked ahead of time. I hope you enjoy!

* they actually taste better a day in the fridge. We loved it served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream...tasted like the best mint chip ice cream you've ever had.

Brownie Base:
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
4 eggs
1 1/2 cup Hershey Syrup

Mix all together and bake in a 9x13 pan at 350 degrees for 25- 30 minutes. set aside.

Mint Cream Center:
2 cups powder sugar
1/2 cup butter softened
2 TB green creme de menthe (or 1 TB water plus 1/2 - 3/4 tsp mint extract and 4 drops green food coloring)

Mix together with a mixer until smooth and spread over completely cooled brownie base

Chocolate Glaze:
6 TB butter
1 cup Hershey semi sweet chocolate chips

melt butter and chocolate in a small pan over very low heat. Remove from heat and stir until smooth. Let it cool slightly and then pour on top of the mint layer. Cover dessert and refrigerate at least one hour before serving.

Tomato and Almond Pesto

In Italy pesto can be more then basil, Parmesan, olive oil and pine nuts. This recipe from America's Test Kitchen was inspired by the various types of "red" pesto that must be discovered and loved by people on this side of the Atlantic. I LOVED this and Stew said he might even like it better then classic pesto. That's big. Try. Its so good!

Ingredients:

1/4 cup slivered almonds
12 oz cherry or grape tomatoes (about 2 1/2 cups)
1/2 cup packed fresh basil
1 medium garlic clove minced
1 small pepperoncini minced (can sub with 1/4 tsp of red pepper flakes and some vinegar)
table salt
pinch red pepper flakes
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound pasta, preferably linguine or spaghetti
1 oz Parmesan cheese grated (about 1/2 cup)
plus extra for serving

Toast almonds in small skillet over med heat, stirring frequently until pale golden and fragrant (2 to 4 min). cool almonds to room temp. Add to blender (or processor): almonds, tomatoes, basil, garlic, pepperoncini, 1 tsp salt, and red pepper flakes and blend until smooth. With machine on low slowly drizzle in oil.
Meanwhile bring 4 quart water to a boil in large pot. Add pasta and 1 TB salt and cook until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup cooking water, drain pasta and transfer back to cooking pot.
Add pesto and 1/2 cup Parmesan to cooked pasta and adjust consistency with reserved pasta cooking water so that pesto coasts pasta. Serve immediately, passing Parmesan separately.

Grandma Iny's Prune Cake

I found this on The Pioneer Women site and she talked about how it was in her top five favorite recipes and it seemed like one of those funky grandma cakes you are scared to try but once you do you are in HEAVEN! I realized I had to try it this Fall. Maybe as soon as I have a chilly day I will have to celebrate with this beauty. PRUNE CAKE! AHHHH! I love it!

*review it was good but I think once in my life will do. You see that icign is my family's favorite buttermilk syrup so I have had it a million times. I think I like it better on a pancake then on a spice cake. Whatever! it was really fun for me to try. ;)

Cake
1 cup prunes
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 cup canola oil
1 ½ cups flour, sifted
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Cover prunes with water. Bring to a boil and cook until soft and mashable, about eight minutes.
Remove from heat, drain water, and mash on a plate. Set aside.
Sift together dry ingredients.
Mix together oil, sugar, and eggs.
Combine wet and dry ingredients, add buttermilk, and stir gently until just combined.
Throw in the mashed pruned and stir gently to combine.
DO NOT OVERMIX.

Pour batter into buttered baking dish (9 x 13 or so) and bake for 35 to 40 minutes. DO NOT OVERBAKE.

While cake has five minutes remaining, make the icing:

Icing
1 cup sugar
½ cup buttermilk
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon white corn syrup
¼ cup butter
½ teaspoon vanilla

Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan over medium heat and bring to a slow boil. Boil without stirring for 5 to 7 minutes, or until icing starts to turn dark. Do NOT allow icing to reach soft ball stage; icing should be caramel in color, but not sticky like caramel. Icing should be easily pourable.* almost the same as my favorite buttermilk syrup recipe. :)

Remove cake from oven and pour on icing immediately.

Allow to rest on the counter. Serve warm.

NOTE: She said there isn't a “prune effect” associated with this cake.

Homemade Brownies that actually ROCK

These were a recipe that I adapted from a cookie brownie bar I found on this food blog. But the cookie did nothing for me and was a ton of extra work so I dropped the cookie layer and made these on the next round and found the best homemade brownies I have ever had. Really very yummy. Fudge chocolate to the max. So dang good with a tall glass of milk!

Ingredients

6 oz. bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
3 oz. unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
2 sticks butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup walnuts coarsely chopped
1/2 cup chips (whatever kind you like: milk chocolate, butterscotch, white...)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and center rack. Butter a 9x13 inch baking pan, line it with parchment paper and butter the paper too.

Melt the butter and both chocolate either with a double broiler or carefully in the microwave. melt until shiny and smooth. DO NOT LET IT GET TOO HOT! then in a large bowl beat the sugar and eggs on med-high speed for about 2 minutes, until pale thick and creamy. Beat in the salt and vanilla extract. Reduced speed to low and mix in the melted chocolate and butter mixing until incorporated. Scrape down the sides then add flour mixing only until it just barely mixed. With spatula mix in walnuts and chips. Bake until a knife inserted in the center comes out basically clean. Check at 20 minutes. Cool. Cut. Gorge!

Pecan Pie Cookies

We had our ward party the other night and I was asked to bring desserts. So I made these to play off the slight hints of autumn in the air along with the peanut butter bars I knew would be hits (recipe below). I really liked these pretty cookies but I didn't get any rave reviews about them. But I think they are a great fall cookie. I couldn't figure out why people weren't that into them and then I realized that after you had eaten a super rich peanut butter bar these seemed lacking in sweetness. Plus at our little gathering they were mostly kids and you know kids...obvious nuts are scary. And women are so annoying...diets! I think next time I make them I will add a little butter to the filling mixture just to amp the butterscotch flavor. I'm a fan.

Pecan Pie Cookies

Adapted from Land O' Lakes Butter

Ingredients

Cookie Ingredients:

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
3/4 butter, softened
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla *I did a TB
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder

Filling Ingredients:

1 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla


Directions
Heat oven to 350°F. Combine all cookie ingredients except flour and baking powder in large bowl.Beat at medium speed until creamy.Reduce speed to low; add flour and baking powder. Beat until well mixed.Shape dough into 1 1/4-inch balls. Place 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets.Make indentation in each cookie with thumb; rotate thumb to hollow out slightly.Combine all filling ingredients n small bowl; fill each cookie with 1 rounded teaspoon filling.Bake for 8 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheets.

Recipe Tip
These cookies can be made ahead and stored in the freezer up to 3 months. Place cookies in containers with tight-fitting lids, separating layers with waxed paper.

Peanut Butter Bars

This is a crowd pleaser every time. One pan feeds a lot of people so it is a really good recipe to have on hand for parties and stuff. Really yum!

Peanut Butter Bars

2 cups chunky style peanut butter
2 cups powder sugar
2 cups crushed graham crackers
1 stick + 1 Tablespoon melted butter
12 oz. semi sweet chocolate chips

Melt butter and mix with the first three ingredients.
Spread mixture into 13×9 pan.
Melt chocolate chips and spread on top.
Refrigerate for exactly 1/2 hour and cut into small sized bars (they are rich).
Keep refrigerated until you are ready to enjoy!

Mom Ras' White Cocholate Cookies

These cookies are on my top fav cookie recipe list. Really so good. The texture, sweetness, and flavor are right on. You don't really taste the coconut so if you are shy of coconut make these anyways you wont even know that it is there. I have thought about adding macadamia nuts too...oh, the possibilities!

Cream:
2 cups butter
2 cups brown sugar
2 cups sugar

Stir in:
4 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla

Add:
2 tsp salt
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
3-4 cups flour

Fold In:
6 cups oats
2 cups coconut flake
2 cups white chocolate chips

Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes. Yields about ten dozen cookies. Mom Ras always freezes the extras to have later. :)

Chicken Noodle Soup Rice

Most versital rice side dish ever! Childhood favorite served with Lawry's Mesquite Lime Chicken. YUM!

3 cups water
1 package Lipton dry chicken noodle soup mix
2/3 cup and 1/2 cup medium grain rice (calrose)
sprinkle with salt

Bring water to a boil. Stir in the soup mix. Add the rice and salt. Cover and steam over low heat for 20 minutes. Fluff with fork and ta da! side dish magic in record time.

Chicken A La Renne

Had this at my mom's house and really loved it. Enjoy!

12 chicken breasts sliced in half ...I would use less then that- like half
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup parsley finely chopped
2 cloves chopped garlic
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 pepper
1/4 melted butter
8 ish slices of Swiss cheese enough to place slice on top of watch piece of chicken
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup water
1 3/4 cup corn bread stuffing tossed with 1/4 cup butter

Directions
mix lemon juice, parsley, garlic, salt, pepper and butter together. mix prepared chicken and seasoning together in a 9x13 pan making sure that each piece of chicken is coated nicely. Then place a slices of Swiss cheese over the chicken. mix cream of chicken soup and water together and pour over cheese. Then in a separate bowl mix dry stuffing mix and butter together. Sprinkle over the soup. cover with aluminum foil and bake at 375 degrees for 1 hour then turn up heat to 425 and bake for 20 minutes or until topping is golden brown. Enjoy!

Served great with rice, noodles, potatoes

Autumn Treasure: Banna Cake with Caramel Frosting

This cake killed me! I eat so much of it and loved every single bite a little too much. I think I gained three pounds in the days of cake gorging. But it was worth it. The super moist banana/cinnamon cake with the rich butterscotchy frosting was a match made in heaven!

Banana Cake/Bread

1 cup oil

3 eggs

2 1/2 cups sugar

2 cups mashed bananas or finely shredded zucchini

(bananas best when they are yellow and brown spotted on the peels)

1/4 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

3 tsp. cinnamon (I always wimp out and just do 2 tsp.)

1 tsp. baking soda

3 cups flour

Nuts (optional)

Directions

Mix all ingredients together. Blend well. Pour into greased and floured bread pans.

For Bread:

Large loaf pans: Bake 350 degrees for 45 minutes to 1 hour

Mini loaves (Kirsten's fav): Bake at 300-305 degrees for 50 minutes or so.

For Cake:

* What I did when I made the cake was make a doesn't cupcakes and then poured the rest in a greased bunt pan and cooked at 315 degrees until knife came out clean

Caramel Frosting

1/4 cup Butter (salted)

1/2 cup Brown Sugar

2TB Milk

3/4 cup Powdered Sugar

In a medium sauce pan melt butter. Stir in brown sugar. Bring to a full boil. cook 2 minutes stirring constantly. Pour in milk and stir until full boil is resumed. Remove from heat and cool slightly. Add powdered sugar and beat until smooth. double recipe for a 9x13 pan.

*for my bunt cake I didn't cool sugar mixture at all and then I added enough milk to be just slightly runny and poured it over bunt letting it drip down nicely. Then I frosted the cupcakes with the rest.

Brickel Heaven

Ok, these were fun to make and even more fun to eat. LOVED LOVED these and could not keep myself from eating like ten a day...so be warned these are dangerous! :O)


Why these are so delicious: First, they marry salty and sweet perfectly which is a favorite (if you are shy of salty and sweet then just use reduced salt saltines and they would still be right up any sweet lover's ally) . Second, they are super easy to make. Third, it is best kept and eaten frozen so it is awesome for summer time. Fourth, the texture is so great...chewy, crunchy, and melty. Fifth, they are pretty.

- 40 Saltine crackers (one sleeve about)
- 1 Cup salted butter (don’t substitute with margarine!)
- 1 Cup brown sugar
- 1 12 ounce package of good milk chocolate chips
- 2/3 bag of Heath bar toffee bites or 5-6 Heath bars, crunched up... for topping

*and I added about 1/2 or crushed pecans to the caramel before I poured it over the crackers, optional, I just wanted to use them up, I liked what they added

1.) Lay foil on top of a large cookie sheet. Then arranged the 40ish saltines on top of the foil.

2.) melt butter then add the brown sugar. Stirring constantly bring butter/sugar to a boil. Once it is boiling reduce the heat to medium and let it continue boiling with constant stirring for about three minutes. Remove from heat and add crushed pecans if you want to add them.

3.) Turn on the oven to 375. Evenly pour the caramel over the crackers and spread with a spatula to get the crackers covered as much as possible but don't worry about making these pretty.

4.) Then place the cookie sheet in the oven and let it bake for a couple minutes until the edges brown a little and all the caramel is bubbling...be careful to not let it burn.

5.) Remove from the oven and evenly spread the chocolate chips over the top. Let it rest until all the chips are melted then spread the chocolate over the top. Then while still warm sprinkle the top with the Health toffee bites.

6.)Put in the freezer until hard. Flip the cookies over and peel off the foil. Then break into pieces.

Store in the freezer and serve cold. Seriously the best thing to ever happen to saltines! I dream of having company over and having these served up with really great vanilla ice cream and my homemade butterscotch sauce. TO DIE FOR!!!

Chcolate Chip Cookies - I found my FAVORITE!

Ok, so my quest for the best chocolate chip cookies has ended in a glorious way...despite my thwarted weight loss :) I ended up just tweaking my old favorite and TaDa! Heaven was created in my very our kitchen. I just reduced the flour and they were what I always wanted them to be...less dense and full of rich butter sugar chocolate flavored goodness. So here is my adapted favorite recipe. I hope you try them and love them like I do!

Makes about: 20 large cookies

Prep time: 5 minutes

Total time: 35 minutes plus cooling time

You can do any type of chips and can add ½ cup chops nuts too if you want to

3 cups flour

¾ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

2 sticks butter melted and cooled

1 ¼ cups packed light brown sugar

½ cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

2 large egg yolks

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 (12 oz.) bag of milk chocolate chips (2 cups)

1.) adjust racks so they are in the middle of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees. Melt butter in microwave and set aside to cool until needed. Mix flour, baking soda, and slat together and set aside.

2.) beat butter and sugars in a large bowl using an electric mixer on medium speed until combined, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the eggs, egg yolks, vanilla, until combined, about 30 seconds. Make sure to scrap down the bowl and beaters as needed.

3.) Reduce the mixer speed and slowly add the flour mixture until combined. Stir in the chocolate chips until well incorporated.

4.) Measure out ¼ cup (or less if your like me and don't want monster cookies, adjust time accordingly) of dough and then roll it in your hand to form a ball. Place the balls about 2 ½ inches apart. Bake until the edges are golden but the centers are still soft and puffy, 17 to 20 minutes. DO NOT OVER BAKE, UNDER BAKE THEM!!! other wise they become cakelike and not chewy. To keep both sheets cooking at the same pace rotate and switching the baking sheets halfway through baking.

5.) Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes, then serve warm or transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.

Note: These are crispy on the outside but soft and chewy on the inside. This is achieved in part because of the melted butter. This gives the center its chewiness. But to keep the cookie from being tough the yolks are needed - - extra fat. They keeps the cookies tender. The third secret step to these perfect cookies is that you remove the cookies from the oven before they are completely baked. Then you let then finish baking as they sit on the cookie sheet for ten minutes. These are the picture perfect cookie! Perfect every time! And pretty. Good enough for a bake sale for sure!

Pecan Bars

I stole this recipe from this really cute food blog who stole them from Martha Stewart. These are probably my favorite cookie EVER. Really, so good. I could not stop eating them. I will only make these when I know I have to give 99% of them away. I can not resist!



Ingredients

• 18 tablespoons (2 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3/4 cup light-brown sugar, firmly packed
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup light-brown sugar, firmly packed
• 6 tablespoons honey - I did half honey and half corn syrup, I am not a huge honey fan and they worked out perfect!
  
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups (8 ounces) pecan halves
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

1. Place rack in center of oven. Heat oven to 375 degrees. To make the crust: In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix butter and brown sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add salt, and mix to combine. Add flour 1 cup at a time, on medium speed, mixing until fully incorporated after each addition. Continue mixing until the dough begins to come together in large clumps.
2. Press dough about 1/4-inch thick into a 9-by-13-by-1-inch baking pan. Prick the pastry with the tines of a fork. Chill until firm, about 20 minutes. Bake until golden brown, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool completely.
3. Reduce oven to 325 degrees. To make the filling: Place butter, brown sugar, honey, granulated sugar, heavy cream, and salt in a medium saucepan over high heat. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly until mixture coats the back of a spoon, about 1 minute. Remove pan from heat; stir in nuts and vanilla.
4. Pour filling onto the cooled crust. Bake until filling bubbles, 15 to 20 minutes. Carefully transfer pan to a wire rack to cool completely. Run a paring knife around edges of the pan, and invert onto cooling rack, leaving the pastry on the rack. Invert rack with pastry onto a cutting board, leaving the pastry on the board, filling side up. Use a sharp knife to cut into 1-by-3-inch bars. Store in an airtight container up to 1 week.

Makes about 3 dozen

Best Chocolate Frosting Ever

I haven't tried this yet but it sounded fun to try...some day I will surely do it!

Frosting:
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted

To make the frosting: In a small saucepan, whisk together sugar, flour, cocoa, salt and milk; bring to a boil, whisking frequently. Boil 1 minute or until thickened; remove pan from heat and strain mixture into a small bowl. Cool completely in the refrigerator or freezer.

Beat the butter until creamy, about 1 minute, in a large mixing bowl, using a mixer on medium speed. Beat in "chocolate pudding" mixture until well combined, about 1 minute. Beat in melted chocolate until well combined and fluffy, about 2 minutes.

*stole from this blog and this blog

Best Paper-Mache Recipe

To make it, combine 1/2 cup all-purpose flour and 2 cups cold water in a bowl. Add this mixture to a saucepan of 2 cups boiling water and bring it to a boil again. Remove from the heat and stir in 3 tablespoons of sugar. Let it cool; it will thicken as it cools. Once it does, it's ready to use.

Skillet Brussel Sprouts

500 g Brussel sprouts
3 TB Olive Oil
4 big cloves garlic
1/4 teaspoon dried chili flakes
1/2 teaspoon Salt
Freshly Squeezed lemon juice Cut about 0.5 cm (1/4 inch) off the end of each sprout.
Remove and discard the outer leaves.
Remove and save the rest of the leaves until you get to a heart of a sprout.
Cut the heart of a sprout in half.
Heat the oil together with the sliced garlic in a big skillet on medium heat.
Fry the garlic for about 4 minutes until it's golden, but not burned.
Add the brussels sprouts leaves and hearts into the skillet and mix.
Season with salt and chilli flakes.
Cover and let it cook for about 4-5 minutes mixing occasionally.
After 4-5 minutes, turn the leaves on the other side, using tonks, cover and cook for another 4-5 minutes until they are cooked through and shrank a little.
The leaves shouldn't get too much colour, just a little caramelization here and there.
Add the freshly squeezed lemon juice, mix and serve.

*recipe and picture from imagelicious

Choclate Chip Cookies recipe number 3 & 4.

Ok this is my deal. I am looking for the best recipe I can find for chocolate chip cookies. I am searching food blogs like crazy and like myself everyone seems to love the Cook's Illustrated version the best but my problem is that they are not like the ones I had growing up and thus lacking something for me. Every time I make them I get rave reviews and they are really good but I just want a different texture or something. So I am on a quest for my back-up recipe for when I want a cookie like I loved as a kid. These looked more like my childhood version so I am adding them to be tested someday. Someday I am having a bake off for chocolate chip cookies. And all my friends are going to have to come over and rate them. This will be one of them. :O)

Ingredients
1/2 c. butter, softened
1/2 c. white sugar
1/2 c. packed light brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. hot water
1/4 tsp. salt
1 c. chocolate chips
2/3 c. walnuts (optional)

Directions
In a large bowl, cream together butter, white sugar, and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in egg, then stir in vanilla extract. Dissolve baking soda in hot water. Add to batter along with salt. Stir in flour, and cream of tartar until incorporated. Fold in chocolate chips and nuts. Refrigerate for at least one hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease two baking sheets. Remove dough from refrigerator and drop large spoonfuls onto baking sheets. Bake for about 8 to 10 minutes, or until edges are lightly browned. Remove from oven and cool completely on wire racks. Makes about 2 1/2 dozen cookies (probably closer to three in reality, sans dough sampling)

* from Pookie Pantry

Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

This one has been on several food blogs so it must be good. We'll have to give it a try

2 cups + 2 Tb all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

1-1/2 sticks butter (3/4 cup)
1 cup brown sugar

, packed
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 egg yolk
2 tsp vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups chocolate chips
1 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Mix flour, baking soda and salt together, set aside. Mix butter and sugars in mixer until well combined. Beat in egg, egg yolk and vanilla. Add dry ingredients and beat at low speed until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips and walnuts. Using a cookie scoop, place cookies two inches apart on greased or parchment-lined cookie sheets.

Bake 10-12 minutes or until cookies are golden brown.

*from blisstree

Girl Scout Knock Off - Samoas!

I love the real deal these look great! Want to try someday! :) a lot of work but for yummyness why not?!?!

Cookie Base:
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 large egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
Topping:
3 cups shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened)
12-oz good-quality chewy caramels
1/4 tsp salt
3 tbsp milk
10 oz. dark or semisweet chocolate (chocolate chips are ok)

Directions:
First, make the crust.

Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking pan, or line with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, cream together sugar and butter, until fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla extract. Working at a low speed, gradually beat in flour and salt until mixture is crumbly, like wet sand. The dough does not need to come together. Pour crumbly dough into prepared pan and press into an even layer.
Bake for 20-25 minutes, until base is set and edges are lightly browned. Cool completely on a wire rack before topping.

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

Unwrap the caramels and place in a large microwave-safe bowl with milk and salt. Cook on high for 3-4 minutes, stopping to stir a few times to help the caramel melt. When smooth, fold in toasted coconut with a spatula.

Put dollops of the topping all over the shortbread base. Using the spatula, spread topping into an even layer. Let topping set until cooled.

When cooled, cut into 30 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 scorching. Dip the base of each bar into the chocolate and place on a clean piece of parchment or wax paper - I used a spoon to spread some melted chocolate on the bottom of each bar. I then laid them chocolate side up to set the chocolate.
Let the chocolate set and harden.

Transfer all remaining chocolate into a piping bag or a ziploc bag with the corner snipped off and drizzle bars with chocolate to finish on the coconut caramel side.
Let chocolate set completely before storing in an airtight container.
Makes 30 bar cookies.

* stole from Bean Town Baker and Loves to Eat

Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies

Apparently, "The peanut butter, honey and relatively low amount of flour really gives the finished product a tender, creamy texture." I liked them but I think I might just like peanut butter blossoms even more. But everyone I gave them to really liked them. I don't know I think I am just not that into PB these days. But if you are I think you will love these.

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1 cup smooth peanut butter

1/2 cup light brown sugar (packed)

1/2 cup granulated sugar

8 tbs unsalted butter (room temperature)

2 tbs honey

1 large egg

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

6 oz semisweet or milk chocolate (chopped into large chunks)...I used chips instead, lazy me.

Preheat the oven to 350F. Line 2 large heavy duty baking sheets with aluminum foil.

Mix the flour, baking soda and the salt in a medium bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat the peanut butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, butter, honey egg and vanilla in a large bowl until well blended. Stir the dry ingredients into the peanut butter mixture in two additions. Stir in the shoppes chocolate.

Scoop about 2 tablespoons of dough for each cookie onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 2 inches apart. Bake for about 12 minutes (shorter time if using a convection oven), or until the cookies puff and begin to brown on top but are still soft to the touch.

Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes. Then use a spatula to transfer the cookies to a wire rack.

* from Ceramic Canvas...the pic is too. Mine looked a lot different. I wonder why. hmmmm.

Chocolate Chip Cookies...the family's favorite recipe!

Everyone on this ladies blog said they were their families favorite cookie too so I tried them. I was not impressed. They were not the texture I wanted and the flavor was so bland. I think you lose something in the flavor when you don't go all the way with the butter. But I LOVE this ladies blog anyways.

2/3 cup shortening
2/3 cup butter (or you can use margarine)
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
3 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 bag chocolate chips

Cream butter, shortening, and sugars together. Add eggs and vanilla and mix well. Add soda, salt, and flour and mix until combined. Stir in chocolate chips. Bake at 375 on an ungreased cookie sheet for 8 to 10 minutes. Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

* I stole this off of the Real Mom Kitchen Blog