Double Frosted Peanut Butter Cookies

These cookies are SO delicious! However, they are extremely rich and will require several glasses of milk with them ;). They are very good without the frosting too so if you require 2 cookies, I'd probably leave the frosting off.

Ingredients:
Cookies:
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups peanut butter
1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 Tablespoons milk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup peanut butter chips)

Peanut Butter Frosting:
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup powdered sugar
4 Tablespoons milk

Chocolate Frosting:
4 Tablespoons (1/2 stick) margarine
5 Tablespoons milk
2 Tablespoons cocoa
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
powdered sugar

Directions:
For Cookies:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl combine butter and peanut butter and beat until mixture is light and fluffy. Add sugars and mix until well combined. Add eggs and mix until the mixture is well combined and light in color. Add milk and vanilla, mix well. Add dry ingredients and mix until flour is incorporated, but there are still large spots of flour in the dough. Add chocolate/peanut butter chips and mix until well combined. Let cookie dough sit for 20 minutes so it can firm up a bit.

Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Roll dough into 1 1/2 inch balls and place on cookie sheets about 1 inch apart. Bake for 10 minutes. Leave the cookies on the baking sheet for 5-10 minutes after baking to allow them to cool and firm up slightly before placing on a cooling rack.

For Peanut Butter Frosting:
Mix all ingredients until smooth. Frost cooled cookies.

For Chocolate Frosting:
Bring margarine, cocoa, and milk to a boil. Remove from heat and add vanilla and powdered sugar until frosting is desired consistency. After cookies are cooled and frosted with peanut butter frosting, frost with chocolate frosting for the final layer.

Helpful Hints:
You can use any combination of chips you want. You can use all chocolate, all peanut butter, half and half, etc. I just like to use half and half.

These cookies are SO much better cooled. Usually I love warm cookies right from the oven, but these ones are much better when they've cooled a bit.

The frosting recipes only frosted about half or a little more than half of my cookies. However, that was completely fine because the frosted cookies are incredibly rich and don't freeze nearly as well.

To frost my cookies I just put the frosting in a zip lock bag and cut the very tip of one of the corners. That way I can just squeeze it out all nice and neat and I don't have to go buy special frosting items.

Soft & Chewy Double Chocolate Cookies

This is my new favorite chocolate cookie! These will definately take care of any chocolate craving you may have.

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup baking cocoa
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
16 ounces semisweet Baker's baking chocolate, chopped
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) butter, softened to room temperature
1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:
Whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl; set aside. In a small bowl, beat the eggs and vanilla lightly with a fork; set aside.

Melt the chocolate in the microwave (50% power for 2 minutes, then stir and microwave in 20 second intervals until chocolate is melted – be careful not to overheat).

Beat the butter at medium speed until smooth and creamy, about 5 seconds. Beat in the sugars until combined; the mixture will look granular. Reduce the speed to low and gradually beat in the egg mixture until incorporated, about 45 seconds. Add the chocolate in a steady stream and beat until combined. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.

With the mixer at low speed, add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Add the chocolate chips. Do not overbeat. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature until the consistency is fudge-like, about 30 minutes.

Adjust the oven racks to the upper and lower-middle positions and preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 sheets with parchment paper (cookies will stick if only using a greased baking sheet). Roll the dough into 1 1/2 inch balls and place them on the cookie sheets, spacing them about 1 1/2 inches apart.

Bake about 9 - 10 minutes, rotating baking sheets halfway through baking time (until the edges of the cookies have just begun to set but the centers are still very soft) Cool the cookies on the sheets about 5 minutes or until set and transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. Enjoy!

Helpful Hints:
* You may be tempted to cook the cookies for a little longer, DON'T DO IT!! They will set up more as they cool.

* Do not substitute chocolate chips for the Baker's baking chocolate because chocolate chips melt differently so the cookies won't be the same.

* Milk chocolate chips are a great substitute for the semi sweet chocolate chips. That's what I had and they tasted great!

* I don't like shaping the balls of dough with my hands and constantly having to wash them so I use a cookie scoop which worked perfectly! I just used a heaping scoop for each cookie and they were the perfect size.

French Bread Rolls

I made these rolls to use with our meatball subs. They were so yummy! So much better than store bought subs. I did attempt to make them into subs, however, next time I will just make rolls because a roll is a much better serving size and if needed you can have two!

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups warm water
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 teaspoon salt
4 cups all-purpose flour, give or take a few tablespoons

Directions:
In the bowl of a stand mixer, let the yeast proof in the warm water and sugar for about 3-5 minutes until it is foamy and bubbly. Combine the oil, salt and 2 cups of the flour. Begin mixing and continue to add the rest of the flour gradually until the dough has pulled away from the sides of the bowl. Judge the dough not by the amount of flour called for in the recipe but in how the dough feels. The dough should be soft and smooth but still slightly tacky to the touch.

Knead the dough in the stand mixer until it is very smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Lightly spray a large bowl with cooking spray and place the dough in the bowl. Cover the bowl with lightly greased plastic wrap. Let the dough rise until it has doubled (this usually takes about an hour).

Lightly punch down the dough and turn it out onto a lightly greased countertop. Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces and form the dough into round balls. Place the rolls on a lightly greased baking sheet about an inch apart. Cover the rolls with lightly greased plastic wrap (don't pin the plastic wrap under the baking sheet or the rolls will flatten while rising). Let the rolls rise until doubled, about 45 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Bake for 12-14 minutes until lightly browned and cooked through.

Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

My sister in law loves Red Velvet cake and so for her birthday I thought I would attempt to make one. I looked all over for a good recipe, but so many of them called for a LOT of oil, so I of course just ended up using the one from Mel's Kitchen Cafe, where I get most of my recipes for yummy desserts. I did make some slight changes after reading several reviews on different websites. I am just going to put my changes on here, but the link above should take you to the original. This cake was so yummy, I will definately make this again! Don't mind the not so great phone pics.

Ingredients:
Cake:
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 (1-oz.) bottle red food coloring
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup lowfat sour cream
1/4 cup canola oil
4 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons white vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

Frosting:
4 ounces lowfat (neufchatel) cream cheese
1/4 cup lowfat Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups powdered sugar (or until desired stiffness)

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly coat 2 round 9 inch cake pans (or a 9X13-inch pan) with cooking spray. Set aside.

In a liquid measuring cup, whisk buttermilk and vanilla together. In a small bowl, mix together cocoa, food coloring, and a little bit of the buttermilk mixture (about 1-3 Tablespoons) to form a paste.

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat sour cream, oil, butter and sugar until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in eggs one at a time, scraping down sides of bowl. Add the cocoa mixture and mix well. Mix in 2 1/2 cups flour, baking powder and salt until just combined. Add the buttermilk mixture and mix again, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Mix in the remaining flour until just combined.

In a small bowl, mix vinegar and baking soda until mixture fizzes then quickly fold into batter. Scrape the batter into the prepared pans and tap on the countertop to burst any air bubbles. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean, 25 to 35 minutes. Don’t overbake or the cake will be dry. Set on a wire rack to cool completely.

For the frosting, using an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat together cream cheese, yogurt, butter and vanilla until well combined and smooth. Slowly mix in powdered sugar. When the cake is completely cooled, spread the frosting over the cake, cut into pieces and serve. If not serving right away, store the cake in the refrigerator until ready to eat.

Helpful Hints:
I used about 5 - 6 cups of powdered sugar in my frosting. I made a layered cake instead of a sheet cake so I needed the frosting a little more stiff to be able to hold the cake together. Since I was adding so much sugar, I also added a pinch of salt.

When I was reading reviews of the different recipes I was considering making, many people said when they didn't make the paste with the cocoa they had chocolate swirls in their cake, which is why I chose to do it that way. I had no chocolate swirls, so it was a success!

Meatball Subs

I like to use this french bread roll recipe for my subs instead of store bought subs/rolls. Homemade is so much better!

Ingredients:
French bread subs
1 1/2 cups flour in a shallow baking dish

For the meatballs:
1 cup unseasoned bread crumbs or crushed saltines
3/4 cup shredded Parmesan or mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup low-sodium beef broth
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 tablespoons dried oregano
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground black pepper
2 teaspoons dried basil
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
2 pounds ground beef or ground turkey

For the sauce:
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon sugar (this helps cut the acidity of the tomatoes)
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:
In a large bowl, mix all of the meatball ingredients together EXCEPT the meat. Let the mixture sit for 10-15 minutes so the breadcrumbs/crackers can soak up the liquid a little bit. Add the meat and mix well with your hands until all the ingredients are combined.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and lightly grease the foil. Form golf ball-sized meatballs and dredge them in the flour until lightly coated. Place the meatballs on the baking sheet about one inch apart. Bake for 20 -25 minutes until the meatballs are completely cooked through.

When the meatballs come out of the oven, let them sit for about 15 minutes. Gently scrape off any fat and place the meatballs in a 9X13-inch baking dish (or similar size). Pour the hot tomato sauce over the meatballs.

For the sauce, combine the sauce ingredients in a medium saucepan and bring to a low simmer. Simmer for 10-15 minutes on low. Keep warm until the meatballs are finished baking.

To assemble the sandwiches, slice buns in half. (If desired, lay the buns flat open on a baking sheet and top one side with cheese – toast in the oven for 4-5 minutes at 400 degrees until the buns are toasted and cheese is melted.) Place 3-4 meatballs on each bun and top with desired amount of sauce. Serve immediately with lots of napkins.

Helpful Hints:
Next time I will make the meatballs a little smaller and I won't dredge them in the flour. Maybe I just don't know how to dredge them, but some of the meatballs had a little flour remaining on them which I didn't like.

If meatballs are prepared earlier, reheat by placing the meatballs in the pot with the simmering sauce and let them warm up together.

To freeze them, place them unbaked on a baking sheet in the freezer. Once frozen, place in a freezer-safe ziploc bags. Bake them (without thawing first), adding 6-7 minutes to the baking time. Or freeze after baked by placing them in a freezer-safe ziploc bag and when ready to eat, reheat them in the simmering sauce until they are warmed through.

Baked Manicotti

I got this recipe from Mel's Kitchen Cafe. It is quite delicious! This is a meal that I am going to make ahead and freeze in smaller amounts next time because we had TONS of leftovers. We had it for dinner and then lunch the next 3 days and we still had some left that went to waste.

Ingredients:
Tomato Sauce:
1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes (in juice)
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 medium cloves garlic, finely minced
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes, optional
½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons dried basil

Cheese Filling and Pasta:
3 cups part-skim ricotta cheese
4 ounces grated Parmesan cheese (about 2 cups)
8 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese (about 2 cups)
2 large eggs , lightly beaten
¾ teaspoon table salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves (or 2 1/2 teaspoons dried parsley)
2 teaspoons chopped fresh basil (or 1 teaspoon dried basil)
16 no-boil lasagna noodles (Barilla brand)

Directions:
1 - Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees.

2 - Heat oil, garlic, and pepper flakes (if using) in large saucepan over medium heat until fragrant but not brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, basil and 1/2 teaspoon salt and simmer until thickened slightly, about 15 minutes.

3 - In a medium bowl, combine ricotta, 1 cup Parmesan chese, mozzarella cheese, eggs, salt, pepper, and herbs; set aside.

4 - To assemble, pour 1 inch boiling water into 13 by 9-inch baking dish, then add noodles one at a time. Let noodles soak until pliable, about 5 minutes, separating noodles with tip of sharp knife to prevent sticking. Remove noodles from water and place in single layer on clean kitchen towels; discard water in baking dish and dry baking dish.

5 - Spread bottom of baking dish evenly with 1½ cups sauce. Using soupspoon, spread ¼ cup cheese mixture evenly onto bottom three-quarters of each noodle (with short side facing you), leaving top quarter of noodle exposed. Roll into tube shape and arrange in baking dish seam side down. (You should be able to fit 8 manicotti in each row, allowing all 16 to fit in the dish). Top evenly with remaining sauce, making certain that pasta is completely covered.

6 - Cover manicotti with aluminum foil. Bake until bubbling, about 40 minutes, then remove foil. Sprinkle manicotti evenly with remaining 1 cup Parmesan. Bake until cheese is browned and bubbly, about 6-7 minutes. Remove from oven and let sit for 15 minutes before serving.

Helpful Hints:
The manicotti can be prepared right up until the baking step then covered with a sheet of parchment paper, wrapped in aluminum foil, and refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 1 month. (If frozen, thaw the manicotti in the refrigerator for 1 to 2 days.) To bake, remove the parchment, replace the aluminum foil, and increase baking time to 1 to 1¼ hours.

I substituted cottage cheese for the ricotta cheese because it was on sale and it tasted delicious!

Crockpot Chicken & Gravy

This is a Sunday favorite of mine that my mom made regularly growing up. It's such an easy meal for Sunday's, or really any day, because it can be cooking while we're at church or while we're at work.

Ingredients:
6 chicken tenders
1 can (10 ¾ oz.) Campbell's Cream of Chicken Soup
1 can (10 ¾ oz.) Campbell's Cream of Mushroom Soup
1 package beefy onion soup mix
Water

Directions:
Mix soups and beefy onion package together in crockpot. Add water until consistency is a little thicker than you want your gravy (gravy will thin a little as it cooks). Add chicken tenders to soup mixture in crockpot. Cook on low setting for 5 - 6 hours.

Helpful Hints:
After putting one of the cans of soup in the crockpot, I like to fill the can ¾ full of water and mix the beefy onion soup mix with the water. Using a strainer, I will drain out most of the onions so there are not so many in the gravy.

The cooking time will depend on how hot your crockpot cooks. I like to cook it for about 5-6 hours because my crockpot cooks hot so cooking it longer burns a little of the gravy on the sides.

This gravy is delicious on rice or mashed potatos.

Chicken & Cheese Enchiladas

I got this recipe from Brooke and I absolutely love them! I like to use medium or hot salsa and sometimes I'll put a little extra chili powder in because I like spicy/hot food.

Ingredients:
1 can (10 ¾ oz.) Campbell's Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup
½ Cup sour cream
1 cup of your favorite salsa (I like Pace Picante)
1 tsp. chili powder
2 cups chopped cooked chicken
½ Cup shredded cheese (I use colby jack)
6 flour tortillas warmed (I like using the ones you cook yourself)

Directions:
1 - Stir soup, sour cream, picante sauce and chili powder in medium bowl.
2 - Stir 1 cup picante sauce mixture, chicken and cheese in large bowl.
3 - Divide chicken mixture among tortillas. Roll up tortillas and put in a 2 qt. shallow baking dish.
4 - Pour remaining picante sauce mixture over filled tortillas.
5 - Put some shredded cheese on the top if desired.
6 - Cover baking dish and bake at 350 for 40 min. or until enchiladas are hot and bubbling.

Grandma Leary's Breadsticks

These breadsticks are so yummy with my mom's chili recipe.  Chili and breadsticks are a Halloween tradition in my family.

Ingredients:
1 package dry yeast (about 1 Tablespoon)
1 1/2 cups warm water
1 Tablespoon malted milk powder
1 Tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon salt

Directions:
Mix above ingredients until dissolved.  Add 4 to 4 1/2 cups of flour, gradually until dough forms ball and is not too sticky.  Turn on floured board and knead lighly.  Divide dough into 12 pieces and shape each into long, thin ropes (10-12 inches long).  Arrange on greased cookie sheet.  Brush tops with melted butter.  Sprinkle with parmesan cheese or desired topping (seasoning salt, coarse salt, sesame or poppy seeds, salad supreme or herb mixture).  Allow to rise 15 - 30 minutes.  Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes

Helpful Hints:
If you like smaller breadsticks you can roll these out into about 2 dozen shorter breadsticks.

Homemade Chili

This is my mom's yummy chili recipe.  So good on a cold day.

Ingredients:
1 pound lean ground beef
1 medium onion, cut up
2 8 oz cans tomato sauce
1/2 cup ketchup
1 large can tomatoes cut up
2 cans chili beans
2 cans kidney beans
3/4 teaspoon salt
2-3 tsp chili powder
1 1/2 teaspoons seasonal
dash worcestershire sauce
dash pepper
3/4 cups green peppers (optional)

Directions:
First brown together the beef and onion.  Drain fat from beef mixture (I like to run it under hot water in a strainer to get a little extra fat out).  Mix remaining ingredients with beef mixture.  Cook in a crockpot on low for 8 to 10 hours or in oven at 325 degrees for 2 hours.  Spices can be adjusted to taste.

Helpful Hints:
My husband doesn't really like kidney beans too much so I only use one can of kidney beans and three cans of chili beans and it is just as good.

I have a hot crockpot so I can only cook the chili for about 6 hours max before it starts cooking the beans too much.

This chili is delicious with my Grandma Leary's breadsticks!

Chocolate Dump Cake

This recipe is from my mom.  It is my favorite chocolate cake recipe right now.  So moist and delicious!

Ingredients:
Cake:
3 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1/3 cup cocoa
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
3/4 cup oil
2 cups water

Frosting:
1 stick butter (softened)
2/3 cup cocoa
3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1/3 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:
For cake: mix all cake ingredients together and pour batter into two round greased pans.  Bake in a 350 degree oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.  Once cooled, cut each in half.

For frosting:  beat butter and cocoa together first, and then beat in all other frosting ingredients.  Beat entire mixture for 2 to 3 minutes on medium speed.

Frost one half of one of the cakes, then set next layer of cake on top and frost, continue until all four layers are frosted and then frost around the cake.

Helpful Hints:
This recipe makes great cupcakes!

You can make this cake a white cake by just leaving out the cocoa if you want, but I think it's much better as chocolate!

I have made this cake into a chocolate mint cake and a chocolate orange cake by just adding 1 to 2 teaspoons of mint extract or orange extract to the frosting, or for the orange I have also added a little orange juice and orange zest to the frosting and it has turned out delicious!

Shrimp Francesca

I found this recipe on allrecipes.com. I made a few changes and really liked it better with the changes I made.

Ingredients:
1 pound uncooked large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 8 oz. can artichoke hearts in water, drained
½ cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
1 Tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1 lemon, juiced
½ cup butter (I use ¼ cup or less)
1 ½ Tablespoons minced garlic (I use 1 tsp, otherwise the garlic is WAY overpowering)
1 Tablespoon finely shredded Romano or Parmesan cheese

Directions
1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9x13-inch baking dish

2) Arrange the shrimp in the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Gently squeeze any excess liquid from the artichoke hearts, break the hearts into quarters or bite-size pieces, and arrange in spaces between the shrimp

3) Sprinkle the bread crumbs and parsley over the shrimp and artichoke hearts; sprinkle lemon juice over the crumbs.4) Melt butter with garlic in a small saucepan over medium-low heat; drizzle the butter mixture over the bread crumbs. Sprinkle the top with Romano/Parmesan cheese

5) Bake in the preheated oven until the crumbs and cheese brown lightly and the shrimp turn opaque and orange-pink in color, 10 to 12 minutes

6) Serve hot over your choice of rice or buttered pasta

Helpful Hints:
I like to put the artichokes in the pan first and cook them for about 10 minutes and then add the shrimp and the rest of the ingredients because I like the artichokes cooked a little more

I don't usually have Italian seasoned bread crumbs so I make my own breadcrumbs and season them how I like.

This is really good with long grain & wild rice. I haven't tried it with pasta yet, but I'm sure it would be delicious with pasta too.

Chicken or Steak Fajitas

Ingredients:
6 Chicken tenders OR 2 medium steaks of your choice cut into pieces or strips
1 Onion
1 Green pepper
1 Red pepper
Water
Taco seasoning
Tortillas (I like the ones you cook yourself)
Fajita toppings (cheese, sour cream, guacamole, etc.)

Directions:
1 – Cut up onion, green pepper, and red pepper to desired size (I’ve tried chopping them and cutting them in strips and I like them better copped). Once vegetables are cut, put in a pan with a little water (about ¼ cup) and turn on burner to medium heat.

2 – In a separate pan, start cooking chicken. Once chicken is cooked and there is little to no liquid in the pan, add ¼ cup water and taco seasoning to taste (I usually use about ½ package of seasoning).

3 – Once most of the liquid is cooked out of chicken and vegetables are tender, pour vegetables in chicken and mix well. If there is any remaining liquid in the pan, allow it to cook out.

4 – Create your fajita! I cook my tortillas and then put on the chicken, cheese, sour cream etc.

Helpful Hints:
When I make these with steak, I usually just season the steak and leave out the taco seasoning since the steak has such a great flavor on its own.

I have tried other seasonings with the chicken, but my favorite is “Old El Paso” taco seasoning.

I have tried many different toppings some of my favorites are; sour cream, guacamole, cheese, black beans, spanish rice, and salsa.

Breaded Chicken

This is one of my easy, semi-quick meals that is a regular at our house.  It sounds like it will take a little while to make, but after you've made it a few times it starts to go really fast which is perfect on those busy days.

Ingredients:
6 Tablespoons flour
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1 egg
3 Tablespoons milk
4-6 chicken tenders
Olive oil

Directions:
1 - Mix together flour, pepper, and garlic salt in a bowl.  In a separate bowl beat together egg and milk.

2 - Pour some olive oil in a skillet and turn burner on allowing oil to get hot (I don't usually measure the oil, but I only put enough to barely cover the skillet surface).

3 - Coat one chicken tender with flour mixture.  After coated with flour, coat chicken in egg mixture and then coat in flour mixture one more time and put in the hot oil skillet.  Repeat this with all chicken tenders.

4 - Cook chicken untill thoroughly cooked, flipping half way through (I usually cook about 5 or 6 minutes on each side, but it depends on how thick the chicken is).  Chicken breading should be golden brown on each side.

Helpful Hints:
You can mix the flour mixture in a ziplock bag or a bowl and then put on a plate to coat the chicken so it is a little easier.  I just use a bowl to dirty less dishes and not waste a bag.

I like to serve this chicken with vegetables and either pasta or rice. It is especially good with long grain & wild rice and zucchini and yellow squash.

San Francisco Chops

Since I've been married and had the responsibility of cooking dinner every day I have become very bored with many of my recipes so I started searching online for good recipes to try. I have come across websites and blogs of people I don't know that have delicious recipes. This is one of those recipes I found from Mel's Kitchen Cafe. This link takes you to her recipe which is also below (with a few of my own tweeks).

Ingredients:
2 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 pork chops, about 1-inch thick (I like to use boneless, but you can use bone-in)
Salt and pepper for seasoning (I only season with pepper since I don't use the reduced sodium soy sauce)
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
¼ cup reduced-sodium soy sauce (I don't use reduced sodium since I use the regular for everything else I cook with soy sauce)
¼ cup low-sodium chicken broth
2 Tablespoons packed light brown sugar
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
1 Tablespoon cold water
Hot cooked rice, for serving

Directions:
1 - In a large 12-inch skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat until it is simmering and hot. Season the pork chops on both sides with salt and pepper. Brown the pork chops for 1-2 minutes on each side in the hot oil until golden. Transfer the chops to the slow cooker.

2 - Add the garlic to the drippings in the skillet and stir constantly over medium heat until the garlic is aromatic and golden (but not burned or it will turn bitter!). Stir in the soy sauce, broth, brown sugar and red pepper flakes; cook and stir until sugar is dissolved.

3 - Pour over chops. Cover the slow cooker and cook on low for 7 to 8 hours until the meat is tender.

4 - If using bone-in pork chops, fish out the bones from the slow cooker. Remove the chops from the slow cooker to a shallow pan or plate – they will most likely be falling apart in tenderness at this point.

5 - In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch and cold water until smooth. Whisk the cornstarch slurry into the sauce in the slow cooker.

6 - Return the chops to the slow cooker. Turn the slow cooker heat to high and cook for 30 minutes to an hour longer, until the sauce is slightly thickened (I cook it for 30 minutes or so while my rice is cooking). If you want a super duper thick sauce, once you remove the chops from the slow cooker, pour the sauce into a pan and place it over medium heat on the stove. Add the cornstarch slurry and bring the sauce to a boil. Boil for 1-2 minutes until the sauce is thick. Add the pork and heat through.

7 - Serve the tender chops over rice and garnish with green onions, if desired.

Helpful Hints:

My crockpot cooks really hot so I usually add about 1/3 cup of chicken broth instead of 1/4 cup and I also add about 1/4 cup of water and there is still not usually much sauce left, but there is still plenty of flavor!

When I take my chops out to mix in the cornstarch I usually shred the meat because then it's easier to get a little in every bite. Plus it makes great shredded pork tacos!

Yummy Chicken Alfredo

I got this recipe from Brooke and it is by far the best chicken alfredo recipe I have tried. The alfredo sauce isn't way thick and heavy like other recipes I've tried. This recipe makes 6 servings.

Ingredients:
¼ Cup all-purpose flour
6 boneless, skinless chicken-breast halves (about 4 ounces each)
½ teaspoon of salt
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon olive oil, divided
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon minced onion
1 ½ cups whipping cream
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
½ teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1 tablespoon coarsely chopped fresh parsley

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Place flour in a shallow dish or pie plate. Sprinkle chicken with salt; coat with flour. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add chicken; cook, turning once, until golden, 2-4 minutes per side. Remove chicken from skillet; place in a 13-x-9-inch baking dish.

2. Heat remaining olive oil in same skillet over medium heat until hot. Add garlic and onion; cook until garlic is fragrant and onion is tender, 1-2 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high; add whipping cream, Parmesan and pepper. Cook until sauce is bubbly and slightly thickened, 2-3 minutes. Spoon sauce over chicken in dish.

3. Bake chicken until and instant-read thermometer inserted in center of chicken registers 180 degrees F, 8-12 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley.

Helpful Hints:
It is important to use whipping cream in this recipe instead of milk because the fat content helps keep the sauce from separating and gives it a rich flavor.

I will leave the parsley out when I don't have any and I think it's fine without it.

If you’d prefer a butter-flavored sauce, substitute butter for the olive oil in this recipe.

Wingers Sticky Fingers Sauce

This is my variation on Winger's sticky fingers sauce. I haven't compared min sticky fingers side to side with theirs just yet, but I am almost certain this is it. Either way, this recipe is super delicious!!!

For the sauce:
1/4 cup Frank's Red Hot Sauce
1 cup brown sugar

Mix together in a sauce pan and heat until all the sugar is dissolved. I'm not sure if you need to store this in the fridge or not but I do just to be safe.

For the chicken fingers I usually just take a large chicken breast, tenderize it (flatten it) until it is about a half inch thick or less, sprinkle it with salt, toss in seasoned flour with salt and garlic powder, dredge it in egg, toss it in the flour again, then fry them up in a pan that has about a 1/4 cup veggie oil that is heated to about medium to med-high heat.

I know, I know, fried foods are "bad" for you, but guess what? When I have fried my own french fries before they retain hardly any of the oil... As in they maybe retain a tablespoon of oil in the multiple batches that I fry for my small family. These retain just a little bit more than that, but honestly they are so much better for you than the frozen breaded chicken breasts that you can buy in the frozen meat section. Plus, it's the carbs that you really need to watch out for, not the veggie fat. So take the lesser of two evils and try these:).


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Chocolate pudding

This is from Tyler Florence.

2 cups whole milk (only I use 2%)
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup cocoa powder
4 tsp corn starch
3 large egg yolks (I break the egg yolk and remove the membrane that surrounds the yolk, very messy but this way the pudding is super smooth)
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 tsp fine salt
3/4 cup whipping cream (for topping, not really necessary for the pudding itself)

Bring to a simmer over med-high 1 1/2 cups milk, sugar, and cocoa. Remove from heat.

Meanwhile whisk 1/2 cup milk, cornstarch, salt, egg yolks, and vanilla. Gradually whisk in cocoa mixture, return to sauce pan over med-high heat, and whisk constantly until pudding comes to a full boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 2-3 mins.

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Singapore fried rice

The day before or the morning of cook the rice

1 1/4 cups uncooked jasmine rice, pour in boiling water (it doesn't matter how much because you drain it and rinse it)
Boil for 20 mins, drain, and rinse in hot water. Allow to cool and place in fridge all day or over night.

2 tbsp olive oil in a pan on med-high heat
2 carrots diced
1/2 yellow onion, sliced length wise so it is in slivers
2-3 cloves garlic finely chopped/minced
Mushrooms, sliced
Zucchini, cut into quarters then sliced into chunks
Peas
Bean sprouts
Grace also says to add peppers like green, red, and/or yellow. I didn't have any so this time I made them without.
Shrimp, beef, or pork

The idea is to add the ingredients that take the longest to cook first so I kind of put them in order above. Cook the carrots in the oil for a couple of minutes, then the onion, and so on until the zucchini is added very last. She says that the veggies should still have a slight crunch to them so I definitely overcooked mine last time.

Once all the veggies are added then sprinkle with a little bit of salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning (surprising, I know). Then add 3 tbsp hoisin sauce (I'll have to get that for you later, I'm giving this to you by memory right now), and pour on a little bit of soy sauce until the flavor is right.

Remove the veggies from the wok (or in my case the big pan), crank the heat up to its highest setting, pour In 2 tbsp olive oil and 2 tbsp butter (grace says to add a desirable amount of oil and butter so I think I'm actually under doing the fats a little). Add the rice and fry until it's a little golden. Create a well in the middle and add in 2 eggs. Mix the eggs into the rice and continue frying until a little more golden. Add in the veggies and add in a little more soy sauce of necessary. This is delicious topped with cilantro as well as sliced green onions.



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Hoisin sauce

1/2 tbsp honey
1 tbsp peanut butter
1/2 tbsp molasses
A couple dashes of garlic and onion powder
Whisk together

2 tsp vinegar (I use rice vinegar)
2 tsp sesame oil
Whisk into peanut butter mixture.

Finally whisk in 1/4 cup soy sauce.


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The best caramel popcorn in the planet!

1/2 cup popcorn kernels, air popped
2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla extract


Directions

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C).

Combine the brown sugar, corn syrup, margarine and salt in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring enough to blend. Once the mixture begins to boil, boil for 5 minutes while stirring constantly.

Remove from the heat, and stir in the baking soda and vanilla. The mixture will be light and foamy. Immediately pour over the popcorn in a large bowl, and stir to coat. Don't worry too much at this point about getting all of the corn coated.

Bake for 1 hour, removing the pans, and giving them each a good stir every 15 minutes. Line the counter top with waxed paper. Dump the corn out onto the waxed paper and separate the pieces. Allow to cool completely, then store in airtight containers or resealable bags.


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Heavenly chocolate mousse

This is from allrecipes.com an is truly heavenly!!!

8 oz semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup water divided
2 tbsp butter and butter ONLY
3 large egg yolks
2 tbsp sugar
1 1/4 cups whipping cream

In microwave heat chocolate, 1/4 cup water and butter until it's melted (for me it only takes 1 min in the microwave).

Cool 10 mins.

In a small sauce pan whisk egg yolks, sugar and remaining water. Cook and stir over low heat until it reaches 160 degrees, about 2 mins.

Remove from heat and stir in chocolate mixture. Set sauce pan on ice and stir until cooled, 5-10 mins.

Whip cream and fold into chocolate mixture. Refrigerate at least 4 hours and voila! You will have the most heavenly dessert!!!


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Sweet and sour sauce

I got this one from allrecipes.com, with the exception of me adding a dash of ginger and garlic powder.

3/4 cup white sugar
1/3 cup white vinegar
2/3 cup water
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon ketchup
2 tablespoons cornstarch
Dash if powdered ginger and powdered garlic

Mix over medium heat and cook until boiling and thick. Watch CAREFULLY because once it starts boiling it boils over very fast! Experience is life's best teacher, right? Right.


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Chocolate chip cookie bars

1/2 cup butter, softened
75 oz granulated sugar
80 oz brown sugar

Beat until smooth

1 egg
Beat into mixture

1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda

Beat into mixture

1 cup plus 2 tbsp flour

Mix, then mix in 4 oz chocolate chips.

Spread in an 8x8 baking dish and place in a preheated oven at 375 for 20 mins. Enjoy!


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