Peanut Butter Blossums

One more delicious new cookie recipe I found that was addicting! I probably ate these in 3's after every meal...breakfast included!!

Ingredients

• 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 4 ounces (1 stick) butter, at room temperature
• ½ cup smooth peanut butter (I used crunchy!!)
• ½ cup granulated sugar, more for rolling
• ½ cup light brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• Nonstick spray or vegetable oil for cookie sheet, optional
• 5 dozen (one 11-ounce package) Hershey’s Kisses, foil removed

Preparation

1. Sift together flour, baking soda and salt; set aside. Using an electric mixer, cream together butter, peanut butter, 1/2 cup granulated sugar and light brown sugar. Add egg, milk and vanilla; beat until well blended. Gradually add flour mixture, mixing thoroughly. If the dough is very soft, refrigerate for about 1 hour.
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray, oil or line a cookie sheet with nonstick liner and set aside. Roll dough into 1-inch balls. (For a precise number of cookies, divide the dough into 5 pieces, and shape each piece into 12 balls.)
3. Roll cookies in sugar and place 2 inches apart on cookie sheet. Bake until very light brown and puffed, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove sheet from oven and lightly press a candy kiss into center of each cookie, allowing it to crack slightly. Return to oven until light golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from oven, cool completely and store in an airtight container.  

**I kept these in the fridge to keep the chocolate from melting in the humidity and they kept great!

Link:Peanut Butter Blossoms 

Pumpkin Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting

I love pumpkin cookies, but haven't found a cookie recipe I love, until now! These are not a super sweet cookie and NEED a frosting with them. I'm not a big frosting person, but found a yummy cream cheese frosting to pair with this recipe and love it. Normally, I put chocolate chips with everything, but I think this needs the frosting to add the sweetness. I put the link to the website where I pulled the recipe from at the bottom. However, the recipe I posted has a few changes based on some of the reviews I read. Also, it called for a brown butter frosting if you like that instead of the cream cheese.

Pumpkin Cookies 

2/3 cup granulated sugar  
2/3 cup packed brown sugar   
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla  
3/4 cup pumpkin   
2 eggs
2 1/4 flour  
1 teaspoon baking soda  
1 "heaping" teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt 

1. Heat oven to 375°F. In large bowl, beat granulated sugar, brown sugar, 3/4 cup butter and 1 teaspoon vanilla with electric mixer on medium speed, scraping bowl occasionally, until well blended. Beat in pumpkin and eggs until well mixed. On low speed, beat in flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.  

2. On ungreased cookie sheets, drop dough by heaping tablespoonfuls.  

3. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until almost no indentation remains when touched in center. Immediately remove from cookie sheets to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 45 minutes.

Link: Betty Crocker Pumpkin Cookies 

Cream Cheese Frosting

2 8-oz. packages cream cheese
1/2 cup butter, softened
3 1/2 cups sifted powdered sugar
2 teaspoon vanilla or almond extract

Whip together the cream cheese, butter, and extract until light and fluffy. Add in the powdered sugar and whip until smooth and fully incorporated.
**This made enough frosting for a double batch of cookies.

I pulled the cream cheese frosting recipe out of a Best Bites book, but the recipe on their website is different so I didn't post the link.

I stored these in the fridge and they have been delicious everyday!!

 

Chicken Cordon Bleu

Hi Lins! This is the chicken cordon bleu recipe I made. No big surprise, it's from Mel's Kitchen Cafe!! It's Livie's favorite.

Ingredients:

• 25 Ritz crackers, regular or whole wheat
• 4 slices hearty sandwich bread, white or whole wheat
• 6 tablespoons butter, melted
• 8 thin slices deli ham (about 8 ounces)
• 2 cups shredded Swiss cheese
• 4 thick boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 2 pounds total), see note
• Salt and pepper
• 3 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1 cup all-purpose flour

Directions: 

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Pulse the crackers and bread in a food processor until they are coarsely ground. Drizzle in the melted butter and pulse until the ingredients are incorporated. Transfer the crumbs to a rimmed baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the crumbs are lightly browned. Transfer the crumbs to a shallow baking dish (a pie plate works great!) or leave them on the pan and scoop them together into a low mound. Reduce the oven temp to 400 degrees F.
2. Top each ham slice with about 1/4 cup shredded cheese. If your ham slices are too small, shingle two ham slices on top of each other to create a larger slice and roll the cheese up in that. Roll tightly and set aside. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels. Following the pictures below, cut a pocket in the thickest part of the chicken breast and stuff each pocket with 2 ham/cheese rolls. Pull the top flap of chicken over the rolls and press to seal (you can use a toothpick to gently secure the pocket edge, if you like). Season both sides of the chicken with salt and pepper. Refrigerate the stuffed chicken, covered, for at least 20 minutes.
3. In another shallow dish or pie plate, beat the eggs and mustard. Place the flour in a final shallow dish. Remove the chicken from the refrigerator. Working with one stuffed chicken breast at a time, coat the chicken lightly with flour and then dip in the egg mixture, covering both sides. Dredge the chicken in the toasted bread crumbs, pressing lightly to help the crumbs stick to the chicken. (The breaded chicken can be refrigerated covered for up to 1 day.)
4. Transfer the chicken to a lightly greased rimmed baking sheet. Make sure an oven rack is in the center of the oven. Bake the chicken until golden brown and cooked through (160 degrees on an thermometer inserted into the chicken, not the filling), about 25-30 minutes. Let the chicken rest for 5 minutes before serving.

http://www.melskitchencafe.com/chicken-cordon-bleu/

Breakfast Overload

If you don't know, I LOVE breakfast food! I could eat breakfast for every meal. Part of that love, comes from my sweet tooth. I have had some recipes I've wanted to share for a while and just keep forgetting, so now you are getting them all together. 

First, remember that butterscotch syrup recipe I posted with the Aebleskivers? I make that in large batches now and haven't bought syrup in over a year to save on money and enjoy more flavor. I made one slight change for the large batches:

1-1/2 Cup sugar
1-1/2 cubes butter
3/4 Cups milk
1 Teaspoon baking soda
1 Teaspoon vanilla
1 Teaspoon maple extract - this adds a lot of flavor

Melt butter in pan, then add sugar, milk and baking soda. Cook 7mins stirring constantly and barely boiling. Take off heat and add vanilla and maple.

Next, Brons has become a bit of a breakfast chef and loves to surprise me with delicious breakfasts. He found this pancake recipe a few years ago and we have not made any other kind of pancake since. He found this recipe on Allrecipes.com.

3/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons white vinegar
1 cup flour
2 tablespoons while sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
2 tablespoons melted butter
*I add 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla and 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
 
1. Combine milk with vinegar in a medium bowl and set aside for 5 minutes to "sour".
2. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Whisk egg and butter into "soured" milk and vanilla and almond extract. Pour the flour mixture into the wet ingredients and whisk until lumps are gone.
3. Heat a large skillet over medium heat, and coat with cooking spray. Pour 1/4 cupfuls of batter onto the skillet, and cook until bubbles appear on the surface. Flip with a spatula, and cook until browned on the other side.

**You will definitely want to double or triple this recipe. 1 batch makes about 10 pancakes.

Finally, this is my absolute favorite! Croissant French Toast. I got this recipe from The Pioneer Woman.

8 croissants (rounder is better) - If they are large croissants, 4-6 or you will run out of batter.
1/4 cup half and half (heavy cream or whole milk works too)
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon cinammon
5 large eggs

Split the croissants in half through the middle.

In a bowl, whisk together the half-and-half, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and eggs. Dunk each croissant half into the mixture so that it's fully coated. Set the pieces aside on a plate.

Heat a large nonstick skillet (I use my griddle) over low heat, then melt a small amount of butter in it. Add as many croissant halves as will fit, cut-side down, then increase the heat very slightly (don't go above medium low). Allow the pieces to cook on the first side for 3 to 4 minutes. Move them around to make sure they don't burn. When they're deep golden brown on the bottom, flip them to the other side and let them cook for another 2 minutes or so. Remove from the pan and cook the rest of the croissant halves.

She serves this with a blackberry syrup that is so tasty.

1 pint fresh blackberries

1 cup sugar (I use 1/2 cup)

1/2 cup water

2 tablespoons cornstarch

In a saucepan, combine the blackberries, sugar and 1/2 cup water. Bring to a gentle boil and cook for 5 minutes on low. Stir in the cornstarch, then continue cooking, using a whisk or spoon to mash the larger pieces of blackberries. Remove from the heat when it's nice and thick.

We eat our french toast with fresh whipped heavy cream, fresh berries, some of the blackberry syrup and my homemade maple syrup on top. Definitely, not something we have on a regular basis, but such a yummy indulgence for special occasions.

Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ree-drummond/croissant-french-toast.html?oc=linkback  

Golden Skillet Potatoes

I just made these last night and they where amazing. We couldn't get enough of them. The original serving was perfect for all of us, but next time I'll double it just so we can keep eating them!! I made these to go along with our chicken last night. Can't wait to make them again probably next week! I feel like the directions to cooking are too long and make it seem a little more complected than it really is. Basically, once you add the potatoes to the skillet you just toss them around making sure they cook/brown evenly and then add the ingredients and mix together. That's it. 

Enjoy!!

Golden Skillet Potatoes: 

2 pounds Yukon gold or red potatoes (peeled if using Yukon gold potatoes), cut into 1-inch pieces

2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon olive oil

Salt and pepper

2 garlic cloves, finely minced

2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary (I used dried rosemary and worked great)

Directions: 

1. In a large microwave-safe bowl, toss the potatoes with 1 tablespoon oil and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Microwave uncovered for 10 minutes, stirring every 1-2 minutes, until the potatoes soften but still hold their shape. It is really important to stir every couple of minutes or the potatoes might not cook evenly and you'll end up with some pieces that are super tender and others that are hard. Drain any excess liquid from the potatoes. 

2. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat until very hot. Don't add the potatoes until the oil is sizzling. Add the potatoes (cut side down in using red potatoes with the skins on) in a single layer and cook them without stirring for 5-6 minutes until they are golden brown in the first side. 

3. Gently stir the potatoes, rearranging them again into a single layer and flipping so the unbrowned side is down. Cook until the potatoes are golden brown on the second side, another 5-6 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. 

4. Combine 1 teaspoon oil, minced garlic and rosemary. Clear the center of the pan and add the mixture, cooking and mashing the garlic into the pan for about 30 seconds. Take rare not to let the garlic burn. Stir the potatoes with the garlic/rosemary mixture. Serve.

Pesto Marinated Grilled Chicken

We tried this new recipe last week and now it's one of our new favorites. We don't have a grill, so I bought a grilling pan. I've been wanting one forever and finally bought one when I found this recipe. The chicken turned out soooooo good I can't even begin to imagine how amazing it would be cooking it on the grill.  We can't wait to buy a grill, but first we need a yard!!! I served it with a light pasta on the side. Super easy, fast and delicious!! Enjoy!!

Pesto Marinated Grilled Chicken:

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 cup pesto (store bought or homemade)

1/4 cup rice vinegar

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

Directions:

1. Place the chicken on a gallon-sized ziploc gab. Pour in the pesto, rice vinegar, salt and sugar. Seal the bag and shake it up until the marinade is combined and the chicken is well coated. 

2. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 12 hours. 

3.Preheat an outdoor grill. Grill the chicken for 5-6 minutes on each side until cooked through (or an instant read thermometer reaches 160 degrees). Tent the chicken with foil and let rest 5-10 minutes before slicing and serving.

4.Alternately, the chicken can be broiled or cooked on an indoor grill pan or skillet. 

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Loaded BBQ Chicken Nachos

Here it is Jodi! :) We just made these tonight and they where glorious. Seriously. I got the recipe from Facebook! Have you heard/seen the facebook page Tasty? Well I follow that page and everyday on my feed I see different recipes. I saw this one yesterday and just had to try it. These nachos where incredible and super easy to make. This is the original recipe and we ate it all in one sitting (we're pigs)  so some of you will want to double or triple or quadruple or whatever because the more there is the better!! 

Loaded BBQ Chicken Nachos:

• 1 Tbsp. oil

• 2 chicken breasts, finely diced

• ½ Tbsp. kosher salt

• ½ Tbsp. freshly ground black pepper

• 1 Tbsp. garlic powder

• 1 Tbsp. chili powder

• ¾ cup barbecue sauce

• 1  bag of tortilla chips

• 2 cups shredded cheese blend (or more!!!!!!!)

• ½ red onion, finely sliced*

• 1 tomato, diced*

• 8 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled*

• 2 Tbsp. parsley, finely chopped

• sour cream
• 1 avocado, diced

*Instead of chopping up onions and tomatoes, I just got a little bowl/container of pico de gallo at the store and it was great and easy. And instead of cooking and cutting up bacon, I got a packet of bacon bits at the store. I do this with EVERY recipe that asks for bacon no matter what. It's faster, easy, less messy and it tastes the same!!!!
Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Heat the oil in a pan over high heat. Cook the chicken with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and chili powder for two to three minutes. Add the barbecue sauce and cook until the sauce has reduced by about half, about five minutes. Remove from heat.

In a large skillet, spread out two large handfuls of tortilla chips. Layer with half of the barbecue chicken, followed by half of the cheese, onion, tomato, bacon, and parsley. Repeat with the remaining ingredients (two layers). Bake for 15 minutes.

Drizzle the sour cream and sprinkle the avocado on top. Serve!

Here's a link to a fast video of the recipe. I'll give you a better idea of how to make them. ENJOY!!!

Loaded BBQ Chicken Nachos Video

I had to

I realize this isn't a recipe but I thought you all would enjoy this. We were at a soccer game and Kel and saw this lady from across the field and said "hey look it's grandma!"

Pretty close....

Pat's French Fries

Pat made the most delicious french fries for dinner the other night and I asked her if we could post the recipe here, so you can all try it. They are so delicious! I doubled this  when I made it and ate them all (with Bronson and Elle's help, not by myself).

3 medium sized potatoes
1.5 tbl oil
1/4 tsp thyme
1/4 tsp oregano
1/8 tsp rosemary
1/4 tsp garlic
1/4 tsp old bay seasoning (I didn't have this when I made them, so I just added some salt and pepper)
2 tbl Parmesan cheese (Pat shook a whole bunch on before baking them and it made them really yummy)

Cut the potatoes up, put them in a big ziplock bag with all the 
seasonings and oil and shake it up really good. Put the potatoes onto a greased cookie sheet, then sprinkle the Parmesan cheese on top. 

Bake 425, 30-45 minutes. 

I cut my fries a little thicker and they took closer to an hour, flipping them throughout. Pat cut her potatoes thinner and they cooked up much faster. 

Thanks Pat!! These are great!

Italian Chicken 2 Ways

Brons told me this week he wanted Italian chicken and so I looked through some recipes of my mom's and found this super simple recipe.

4 chicken breasts
1 packet Italian dressing mix
1/4 oil
1 tablespoon vinegar

Mix the dressing mix, oil and vinegar together to make a thick paste. Baste the chicken breast with the mixture. Broil the chicken on hi for 6-8 minutes until center is no longer pink or I just cooked it up in the skillet. Super tasty and easy!

While making the above chicken, I noticed on the Italian dressing box, another simple recipe that looked tasty. We made this one tonight and it was delicious too!

6 SMALL chicken breast halves
1 packet Italian dressing mix
1/2 cup parmesan cheese (I used 3/4 cup)
1/2 tsp garlic powder

Defrost the chicken breasts if frozen and then cut them in half horizontally, so they are not so thick. Mix the Italian dressing, parmesan cheese and garlic powder in a bowl. Dip the chicken in water, then in the dressing mixture. I used my fingers to make sure the chicken got a thick coating on it. Place the chicken in a greased, shallow baking dish. Bake 20-25 mins at 400 degrees. If you want the coating to be a little crispier, it recommended broiling the chicken for 4-6 minutes after baking. I thought this didn't make a huge difference and made the top of the chicken a little too tough. However, it was still really good! 

Here's the Italian dressing mix I used for both recipes: 

My Favorite Lasagna

This is my absolute favorite lasagna recipe. It doesn't fall in the easy and fast category but it is absolutely delicious. It is also my go-to meal when I'm taking dinner to someone. I love taking this meal because it's filling, gives them leftovers and I can deliver it without heating it in the oven so they can heat it whenever they are ready to eat and have a fresh hot meal and not something that's already cooled down or they have to reheat (to me once you reheat it's not fresh anymore and it automatically becomes leftovers). It's also a good recipe to make the day/night before and stick in the fridge. And it's also a good freezer meal. When I take this to someone I also make them a salad, fresh bread from the store's bakery (because heaven knows I can't bake) and for dessert Edward's Hershey Pie (from the freezer section at the store. It's delicious and like I said, I can't bake!). 

Lasagna:

Half of a 1-lb package lasagna noodles
1 to 1 ½ lbs ground beef (I always use 1 ½ lbs)

1 c. chopped onion

1 28-oz can diced tomatoes (undrained)

2 6-oz cans tomato paste

2 tsp sugar

2 ½ tsp dried basil

¼ tsp pepper

1 15-oz container ricotta cheese

1 egg, beaten

1 Tb parsley flakes

4 c. shredded mozzarella cheese

¾ c. grated parmesan cheese

Prepare lasagna noodles, drain. Cook ground beef and onion. Stir in tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar, 2 teaspoons of the basil and pepper. Bring to boil then reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 20 minutes. In a small bowl blend ricotta, egg, parsley, and ½ teaspoon salt. In a second bowl combine the mozzarella and the parmesan cheese.

Put a layer of noodles in a 9x13 pan, a layer of meat sauce, a layer of ricotta mixture and a layer of the mozz/parmesan cheese then repeat all the layers. Cover with foil. Bake at 375° for 30 minutes. Uncover, bake 20 minutes more. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting.

Buffalo Chicken Soup

Over a month ago Gabe randomly asked me to make him buffalo chicken soup. The only soup I like is broccoli cheese so I wasn't even sure if what he wanted was a real kind of soup. I looked through my favorite recipe website and nothing. I ended up on google and a bunch of recipes came up. I started looking through them and since I wasn't interested in eating it I picked out the easiest one one to make (selfish I know). Well he LOVED it. And I was happy because I didn't have to go looking for another recipe. I don't like it and it's too spicy for the boys so when I make it for Gabe I make something else for the boys and I (like tonight I made homemade man n cheese for us and Gabe had his soup). I'm not sure if any of you will like this, but I decide post it just in case. And it is ridiculously easy to make. You literally dump all of the ingredients together and and mix. That's it. It makes a ton so I half the recipe and it's still a lot for just Gabe. He always has leftovers. 

Buffalo Chicken Soup:

6 cups of milk

3 (10 1/2 ounce) cans cream of chicken soup (use any flafor creamed soup you like chicken, mushroom, celery, etc.)

3 cups cooked chicken (I buy rotisserie chicken at the store and cut it up)

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup ranch dressing or 1/2 blue cheese dressing

1/2 cup hot sauce, adjust to taste.

1. Stove Top: Combine all ingredients in a large pot and cook on stove until hot and flavors have blended. Stir often to dissolve everything and to keep from scorching on the bottom. At least 30 minutes.
2. Crock Pot: Follow same directions above using crock pot. Just put everything in, stir well to combine everything and then cook on low for 4 hours.

Slow Cooker Chicken Fajitas

Here is one of my favorite quick prep dinners. It literally takes 5 minutes to prep and when it's done cooking you just mix it up and serve it on tortillas. We love guac and sour cream with it, but really is good enough to serve as is.

Ingredients:
-1 tablespoon butter
-2 onions, sliced
-2 bell peppers (I prefer red, yellow or orange, but green work too)
-3 boneless skinless chicken breasts (they can be frozen)
-2 packets Taco Bell Fajita seasoning (I use either some taco seasoning or fajita seasoning I get from the store vs buying the packets, either works)

Instructions:
1. Add the butter, then sliced peppers, then sliced onions, then chicken breasts to the slow cooker.
2. Sprinkle the seasoning packets over the chicken.
3. Cover and cook on high in the slow cooker for 4 hours.
4. Remove the chicken breasts, shred them and return to the slow cooker. Stir it all together and serve!

http://www.mombythebeach.com/slow-cooker-chicken-fajitas-recipe/

Sesame Chicken Asparagus Pasta with Creamy Peanut Sauce

I figure it's only fair if I ask you guys for some new recipe ideas, to share some with you. I have really appreciated the recipes you've given me and we've tried almost every single one and loved all of them so far. I've really loved how simple they are. Thank you! Jodi, you've got me hooked on the Mels Kitchen Cafe website. We just tried one tonight that was super easy and so delicious. I didn't have sesame seeds, cucumbers or tomatoes for garnish and it was still delicious!

INGREDIENTS

Pasta, Chicken and Extras:
• 8 ounces linquine, thin spaghetti or regular spaghetti (whole wheat works great)
• 3 cups diced, cooked chicken (rotisserie chicken meat works great here as well as this simple skillet method for quick, shredded chicken)
• 1 pound asparagus, tough ends trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1/4 cup sesame seeds, toasted (optional but adds great flavor)
• 3 green onions, chopped
• 1/2 English cucumber, diced
• 1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
• Chopped fresh cilantro, to taste
Peanut Sauce:
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon red wine or rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar or honey
• 6 tablespoons chunky or smooth peanut butter
• 1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
• Hot sauce (like sriracha, to taste)
• 3 tablespoons sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Pinch of black pepper

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large pot of salted, boiling water, cook the linguine according to package directions. During the last two minutes of cooking time, add the asparagus pieces. Drain the pasta and asparagus together in a colander. 
2. While the pasta cooks, make the sauce by combining the garlic, vinegar, brown sugar, peanut butter, soy sauce, and hot sauce in a blender or food processor. Blend until well-combined. With the blender or food processor running, drizzle in the sesame and olive oil and process until blended and smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper, if needed. Set aside. 
3. Transfer the pasta and asparagus to a large serving bowl. Add the chicken. Pour the sauce over the top along with two tablespoons of the sesame seeds. Toss to combine so the ingredients are coated with the sauce. 
4. Top the pasta dish with the green onions, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, cilantro and sprinkle with the remaining sesame seeds. Serve immediately.

http://www.melskitchencafe.com/sesame-chicken-pasta-with-thai-style-peanut-sauce/