One Food Crazed Maniac and Three Nuts

Almost a treatless party...

2009-11-05T13:26:00.003-07:00

I absolutely LOVE baking treats for class parties!! So of course when Halloween rolled around I volunteered to bake a treat for my daughter Carlee's pre-school class.

What was I thinking???

I can't believe all of the allergies in that classroom.

No eggs, peanuts, strawberries or watermelon.

I knew those though since it's Carlee's allergies!

But they also said no milk, cinnamon, or root beer.

Yikes! Give me an egg allergy any day over dairy! Everything I wanted to make had milk in it. Cake mixes, brownie mixes, butter, etc.

I finally settled on making Jell-O popcorn balls. When I went to make them my air popper wasn't working. Go figure.

So what the heck can I make? I thought. Well, they got orange jigglers shaped like pumpkins and pie crust sprinkled with orange sugar. Not what I wanted to make but it worked.

My little Carlee.

The kids seemed to enjoy them although they thought the pie crust was a sugar cookie. Hope they weren't disappointed!

I think next year I won't volunteer!

They are so cute though. How can I resist???

Frosting Clowns

2009-10-29T06:10:00.011-06:00

For our 3rd cake decorating class one of the things we had to do was make frosting clowns. I've never seen these before but it was a cute idea! :)

My friend Julie made this purple clown.

Her daughter Lyndsey made a pink clown.

I thought she did a pretty good job!!

This cute plate of cupcakes was made by my mother in law Tina.

And here you go. This is my boring white clown. I'll admit it. I was too lazy to get out another bag and split colors!

That didn't stop Collin from trying to lick it though!

Or the hubby either as he tried to eat it up in one big bite!!

I have been having so much fun learning new techniques and the intricacies of the sugar arts. I think after the beginning course is done we'll have to move onto more advanced courses. Can't wait to try and make fondant flowers in lessons to come!

My first cake!

2009-10-28T11:25:00.003-06:00

This month has been a whirlwind of icing! Why? Because I am now taking my first ever cake decorating course. My mom is so gifted in the sugar arts and now I decided that I would like to learn how she does it all.

I know, I know, my cake isn't the greatest but hey it was my first try. It was a learning process. I'm not very talented when it comes to smoothing out the icing. It's a pain in the rear!

Plus, my icing lines weren't the best on the side. You could even see some of the cake peeping through where the icing wasn't connected very well! In the end all that mattered was that my kids loved it and I had a lot of fun with everyone else in the class. That's all that matters right?? Plus I know I'll get better with time. How could I not with such an awesome teacher! Luv ya mom!

Mummies in a Blanket

2009-10-21T07:50:00.002-06:00

I haven't really been in the kitchen much except to hog down pizza or cereal. Nutritious aren't we? So I thought I better get back into the swing of things!

My son and I made these mummies in a blanket the other day and both kids thought they were fun. Collin was just disappointed I wouldn't let him put chocolate chips for the eyes. Hot dogs and chocolate? The very thought makes me queasy!

Mummies in a Blanket

Ingredients:

1 can crescent rolls 8 ct.

8 hot dogs

raisins

Directions:

Pre heat oven to 375 degrees. Separate crescent roll dough into 8 triangles. Taking one triangle, cut it into strips lengthwise. Wrap strips around hot dog leaving a space for eyes. Repeat with remaining dough and hot dogs. Bake for 13-17 minutes or until golden brown. Cut raisins in half for eyes.

Horsie, horsie on your way!!

2009-10-13T13:22:00.003-06:00

I just had to share the horse cake my mom made for my babies 4th birthday.

It was so cute!!

Everyone loved it.

It was a chocolate cake with cookies and cream filling. Ummmm... The stable, fence and horse were chocolate with rice krispies underneath.

The silly birthday girl devoured an entire side of fence waiting for her daddy and grandpa to come. It was too yummy to wait!!

Banana Chocolate Cupcakes

2009-10-06T13:22:00.000-06:00

Oh what to do when you have a pile of brown bananas and you're sick of banana bread. Mash 'em in cupcakes! No one ever gets tired of cupcakes do they? I was perusing the joy of baking website and came across a recipe for chocolate banana cake. It looked so good that I immediately set about making it. This is my first time making ganache frosting but it turned out yummy. Enjoy!

Chocolate Banana Cake (or cupcakes!!):

2 cups (400 grams) granulated white sugar

1 3/4 cups (245 grams) all-purpose flour

3/4 cup (75 grams) cocoa powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 2 medium sized bananas)

1 cup (240 ml) warm water

1/2 cup (120 ml) milk

1/2 cup (120 ml) safflower or canola oil

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Chocolate Ganache Frosting:

8 ounces (227 grams) semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, cut into small pieces

3/4 cup (180 ml) heavy whipping cream

1 tablespoon (14 gram) unsalted butter

Chocolate Banana Cake Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) and place rack in the center of the oven. Butter, or spray with a non stick vegetable spray, a 9 x 13 inch (23 x 33 cm) pan. Set aside. Or you can line muffin pans with paper liners.

In a large bowl whisk together the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In another large bowl, whisk together the eggs, mashed bananas, water, milk, oil, and vanilla extract. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir, or whisk, until combined. You will notice that the batter is quite thin. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 35 to 40 minutes for the cake. Bake 18-20 minutes for cupcakes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack. When completely cooled, frost with the Ganache.

Ganache Directions:

Place the chopped chocolate in a medium sized stainless steel, or heatproof bowl. Set aside. Heat the cream and butter in a medium sized saucepan over medium heat. Bring just to a boil. Immediately pour the boiling cream over the chocolate and allow to stand for 5 minutes. Stir until smooth. When Ganache has completely cooled, beat until soft and fluffy. Then spread the frosting on top of the cake. Can garnish with dried banana chips if desired.

Serves 16 people.

Quick Halloween Snacks

2009-10-01T06:57:00.004-06:00

Here are a couple of quick snack

ideas for your little boys and ghouls!

Cut out peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with a bat cookie cutter. Then put on mini chocolate chips for the eyes. My son usually doesn't eat PB&J but when I fixed them like this he gobbled them right up!

Roll out refrigerated biscuit dough. Top with pizza sauce, cheese and pepperoni cut into fun pumpkin faces. Bake as directed on biscuit container.

Happy snacking!!

Chili Bowls!

2009-09-30T07:09:00.006-06:00

Since the weather has started to turn a little colder I have been craving chili! I've never made chili before and I didn't want to spend a lot of time on it. I know people soak their beans and what not, but after working 8 hours I don't have the time or energy to deal with that. I wanted fast and easy. I was so glad when I found a recipe on allrecipes.com that was titled "Easy Homemade Chili". That was it for me, I had to try it.

I also used my edible bowl maker pan to cook some sweet homemade corn bread. Gotta have cornbread with chili right? I loved the bowls even though no one else in my family wanted their chili to touch their cornbread. Silly family.

EASY HOMEMADE CHILI
(from allrecipes.com)

PREP TIME 10 Min
COOK TIME 20 Min
READY IN 30 Min

INGREDIENTS:

* 1 pound ground beef
* 1 onion, chopped
* 1 (14.5 ounce) can stewed tomatoes
* 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
* 1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans
* 1 1/2 cups water
* 1 pinch chili powder
* 1 pinch garlic powder
* salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a large saucepan over medium heat, combine the beef and onion and saute until meat is browned and onion is tender. Add the stewed tomatoes with juice, tomato sauce, beans and water.

2. Season with the chili powder, garlic powder, salt and ground black pepper to taste. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and let simmer for 15 minutes.

SWEET HOMEMADE CORNBREAD RECIPE
(from grouprecipes.com)

Ingredients:

* 1 1/4 Cup of All-Purpose Flour
* 3/4 Cup of Cornmeal
* 1/4 Cup of Sugar
* 2 Teaspoons of Baking Powder
* 1/2 Teaspoon of Salt
* 1 Cup of Skim Milk (any milk will do though)
* 1/4 Cup Vegetable Oil
* 1 Egg, beaten

Directions:

1. Heat over to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Grease 8-9 inch square pan.*
3. Combine dry ingredients.
4. Stir in milk, oil, and egg until moistened.
5. Pour into pan.
6. Bake 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

*Or use the edible bowl maker pan! Spray pan with Pam. Fill sections 1/2 full. Bake 15-20 minutes. Makes six bowls.

Sugar Free Hot Cocoa

2009-09-27T20:53:00.005-06:00

I was looking for something to satisfy my sweet tooth this weekend without all the extra calories. Oh what to eat even though a Hershey bar is calling my name!!! So I settled for making some sugar free hot cocoa. I was surprised that it actually calmed down my craving and I was satisfied. It had just enough chocolaty flavor to trick my tummy. Try it, you won't be disappointed!

"Perfectly Chocolate" Sugar Free Hot Cocoa

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon Hershey's Cocoa
Dash salt
1 cup nonfat milk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Sugar Substitute with sweetening equivalence of 2 tablespoons sugar

Directions:

Mix cocoa and salt in mug. Heat milk in microwave at HIGH (100%) 1-1/2 minutes or until hot. Gradually add hot milk to cocoa mixture in mug, stirring until well blended. Stir in vanilla and sugar substitute. 1 serving.

I, of course, had to add whipped cream to the top. Yum!

Recipe from Hershey's.com.

Edible Bowl Maker Pan

2009-09-25T12:18:00.004-06:00

photo from cookschoice.com

I love the edible bowl maker pan! I just can't believe that I have had this pan for a long time now and I still haven't used it. Okay, well I've used it but they didn't turn out. I attempted to make brownies in it, but my eggless brownie recipe still needs work. I think I'll have to try something other than brownies in this. Or else just use my tried and true brownies with pumpkin. I'm thinking that corn bread with chili or pancakes and fruit sound like delicious starts to break in the pan. Yum...

By the way if anyone knows of a brownie recipe that works in high altitude and doesn't turn into a soupy mess please let me know!!

This weekend I am going to have to try and post a working recipe for a yummy edible bowl. I know the kids would love it if I do.

Ta-ta for now!

Pirapple Cupcakes...Aaarg!

2009-09-21T07:09:00.012-06:00

Ahoy me mateys! Saturday was "Talk like a pirate day" so we wanted to rustle up some pirate grub. (We use any excuse to party!) We made a meal of Cornish hens, "hard tack" biscuits, and pirate grog. To top it off we served up some Pirapple cupcakes. What the heck is Pirapple you may ask? It's just a combo of yummy apple cupcakes with a little Pirattitude.

I found a new cinnamon apple ice cream topping the other day and I was dying to see how it tasted in cupcakes. Oh boy was it delicious!

Kami's Pirapple Cupcake's

Ingredients:

1 box Betty Crocker Spice Cake
3 eggs
1/3 cup applesauce
1 1/4 cup water
1 medium apple, peeled and chopped
1 jar apple cinnamon ice cream topping

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium mixing bowl add cake mix, eggs, water, and applesauce. Beat for 3 minutes. Stir in chopped apple. Fill 24 muffin cups 1/4 full with cake batter. Place a teaspoon of apple cinnamon topping in middle of each cupcake. Top with remaining cake batter. Bake for 17-22 minutes or until toothpick poked into side of cupcake comes out clean. Once cooled, top with caramel frosting recipe below.

Betty Crocker's Caramel Frosting:

Ingredients:

1/2 cup margarine or butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup milk
2 cups powdered sugar

Directions:

Heat margarine in 2-quart saucepan until milted. Stir in brown sugar. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir over low heat 2 minutes; stir in milk. Heat to boiling; remove from heat. Cool to lukewarm. Gradually stir in powdered sugar. Place pan of frosting in bowl of cold water; beat until smooth and of spreading consistency. If frosting becomes too stiff, stir in additional milk, 1 teaspoon at a time. Frosts a 13x9-inch cake or fills and frosts two 8-or9-inch cake layers. 15 servings; 185 calories per serving.

That there be a mighty fine treat fit for any pirate!

Chocolate Waffles

2009-09-17T22:06:00.008-06:00

I have the hardest time getting my son Collin to eat breakfast in the morning. He inherited his daddy's tummy because he doesn't like to eat in the morning either. Not me! I'm hungry as soon as I get up! Collin is also a major junk hound and would rather eat candy for breakfast. That doesn't really fly with mama.

So, in an effort to find some common breakfast ground we made chocolate waffles. That way it seems like he is getting more of a treat in the morning and I know he's getting something a little bit healthier than the M&M's he wanted for breakfast. We served our waffles with sliced bananas and syrup. Enjoy!

Chocolate Waffles

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups Original Bisquick® mix
1 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened baking cocoa
3/4 cup water
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 eggs

Directions:

1. Heat waffle iron. (Waffle irons without a nonstick coating may need to be brushed with vegetable oil or sprayed with cooking spray before batter for each waffle is added.) In medium bowl, stir all waffle ingredients with spoon until blended. Pour batter onto hot waffle iron. (Check manufacturer's directions for recommended amount of batter.) Close lid of waffle iron.

2. Bake each waffle about 5 minutes or until steaming stops. Carefully remove waffle. Serve with toppings of choice. Makes 6 servings.

Click here for the link to the recipe. It has a delicious banana topping that I totally didn't have time to put together in the morning rush.

Wizard Hats!

2009-09-17T07:00:00.003-06:00

I'm starting my Halloween fun early! These Wizard hats were super fast and super yummy! The kids and I gobbled them up in no time.

Wizard Hats

Ingredients:

1 can Pillsbury crescent rolls
Grated Pizza cheese
Pepperoni slices
Pizza Sauce
Italian Seasoning

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Unroll crescent rolls. Grease cookie sheet and lay down 4 crescent triangles. Set the rest aside. Cut 2 pepperoni into fourths. Place pepperoni's onto middle of one triangle and top with 1-2 tablespoons pizza cheese. Repeat with remaining 3 triangles. Brush sides of triangle with water and top with remaining crescent triangles. Press edges to seal. Fold over bottom to make a hat brim. Sprinkle top of hat with Italian Seasoning. Decorate hat brim with cut pepperoni's if desired. Bake for 8-11 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with warmed pizza sauce for dipping. Makes 4 Wizard hats.

Recipe adapted from Better Homes and Gardens Witch Hats.

S'mores Mix

2009-09-14T20:18:00.003-06:00

Sometimes the simplest things in life are the best things. Take S'mores ingredients for example. They are super simple and great together! I always see recipes of how people use these ingredients in recipes, but why not just let them stand alone? My kids were VERY excited to get little snack baggies of this mix as a treat.

S'mores Mix

1 Hershey's chocolate bar
1 cup mini marshmallows
2 rectangles graham crackers

In a bowl pour one cup of marshmallows. Break graham crackers into bite sized pieces and add to marshmallows. Cut Hershey bar squares in half or in thirds, your preference, and add to bowl. Gently toss ingredients together. Store in airtight container or separate into three snack sized baggies.

Just for fun! The Swedish Chef.

2009-09-09T15:03:00.001-06:00

Now that is one heck of a way to make a donut...

Puffed Pastry Baked Brie

2009-09-09T11:01:00.001-06:00

This weekend we were lucky to get my older brother Mark home. We were lucky not only for his company, but also because he made us baked brie. I have never in my life had it but now I am hooked!! Think of gooey cheese sticks except this is even better.

He said people usually make cute little cut-outs or fancy it up but he just made it plain because we were in a hurry to try it! I'm sure it tastes the same whether it's fancy or plain.

Mark's Baked Brie

Here's what he used:

1 sheet puffed pastry
1 small wheel of brie, wax removed
1 teaspoon McCormick Savory Spice
1/2 teaspoon Thyme
1 teaspoon Parsley

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Spray square glass pan with cooking spray. Roll out pastry sheet. Place brie in center and top with spices. Fold pastry over brie. Bake 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Let stand 10-15 minutes before cutting into the center and taking out a slice of heaven!

Thanks Mark!

Oatmeal Fruit Cocktail Muffins

2009-09-07T10:13:00.006-06:00

What to do when you open up a huge can of fruit cocktail and the kids say, "I don't want to eat that!" First of all you call them little stinkers and then you start dreaming up ways to get rid of it. I did make them eat some of it then I pureed the rest. I instantly thought of putting the puree into muffins. I have been on a really big muffin kick lately! Anyways I thought it would be a great way to sneak these multiple fruits into a recipe.

Oatmeal Fruit Cocktail Muffins

Ingredients:

1 cup old fashioned oatmeal
1 cup pureed fruit cocktail
1 large egg
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup apple juice or cider
3/4 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup raisins or dried cranberries (optional)

Topping:

2 tablespoons old fashioned oatmeal
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions:

Spray 12 muffin cups with Pam or use metal muffin liners. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Stir together the oatmeal, fruit cocktail, juice, egg, and oil. Set aside. Stir together the flour, baking powder, soda, sugar, and cinnamon. Make a well in the center, and add the fruit cocktail mixture. Stir until well combined, but do not over beat. Add raisins or cranberries if desired. Pour into the muffin tin. Each cup should be 2/3 full. Mix topping ingredients together with a fork. Press one teaspoon of topping onto each muffin. Bake 15-20 minute, or until a tester comes out clean. Cool on a rack for 15 minutes before removing muffins. Makes 12 muffins.

(I adapted this recipe from a applesauce oatmeal muffin recipe on cooks. com although I added the topping ingredients and changed the ingredients a little.)

Rice Krispie Ice Cream Cones

2009-09-04T07:14:00.010-06:00

I love to put a special treat inside my kids lunch boxes. I was going to make plain ol' rice krispie treats but then I got brainstorming. My kids love ice cream (not very portable for your backpack) so I came up with this:

Rice Krispie ice cream cones! Aren't they fun?!

To make these you need to make half a batch of rice krispies using regular rice krispies and then half a batch using cocoa rice krispies. Here's Kellogg's recipe. You do the math:

Kellogg's Rice Krispies Recipe

* 3 tablespoons butter or margarine
* 1 package (10 oz., about 40) regular marshmallows
* - OR -
* 4 cups miniature marshmallows
* 6 cups Rice Krispies®

1. In large saucepan melt butter over low heat. Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Remove from heat.
2. Add KELLOGG'S RICE KRISPIES cereal. Stir until well coated.
3. Using buttered spatula or wax paper evenly press mixture into 13 x 9 x 2-inch pan coated with cooking spray. Cool. Cut into 2-inch squares. Best if served the same day.

You can put them into one cake pan. I'm all about using the least amount of dishes!

Once the krispies are cool you can start cutting out ice cream cones.

They would be pretty cute just like this but I wanted to mix the flavors.

I cut the cone off of each ice cream and then stuck them together with opposing colors. The krispies were still pretty sticky so it worked out great.

Now you can decorate them by pressing sprinkles down gently onto the krispies. Don't wait to do this later or they might not stick. You can also heat up some chocolate chips and dip the tops in chocolate. Be creative! Your kids will love to have one of these in their lunch box or as an after school treat. I know mine did!

Eggless Poptarts

2009-09-02T13:06:00.000-06:00

I began to scour the Internet for a homemade pop-tart recipe last week. I always feel so bad when Collin eats a pop-tart in front of Carlee. They make their crust with egg or egg wash so she can't eat them. When I came across a website called Bake Me More I knew I found a recipe worth trying. I adapted the recipe a little to make it Carlee friendly and we were in business! The best part of this recipe is that you can adapt it to suit your taste. You are no longer limited to the flavors on the shelves. Plum is my favorite! As an added bonus you can also freeze these and re-heat on a busy morning. (see below)

Homemade Eggless Pop Tarts

Ingredients:

Pie crust, refrigerated or homemade
Jam or Preserves
Colored Sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

If using refrigerated crust unroll one of the pie crusts and square the edges. If using homemade crust like I did, then just do the best you can to roll out a square or roll out a circle and cut into square. Cut into rectangles with pizza cutter. Center 1 tsp of jam in a rectangle and top with another piece of crust. Crimp all four edges with end of fork. Repeat until all of the pie crust is used. I think the edges of the dough would have stayed together better had I moistened the edges with water. I'll have to try that next time! As it was they stayed together pretty great.

Bake the pop-tarts for about 7 – 8 minutes or until slightly brown. Once pop-tarts are cool, spoon on glaze and decorate with colored sugar.

Ingredients for Glaze:

* 1 cup powder sugar
* milk to thin

Place powdered sugar in bowl. Pour milk slowly until it has a consistency of really thick syrup.

Yummy!

To freeze:

Flash freeze. When partially frozen place in a gallon freezer bag for storage. Microwave 1-2 minutes or heat in oven. Do NOT put in toaster if using glaze.

English Muffin Pizzas

2009-09-01T19:29:00.004-06:00

Pizza ingredients are such a great thing to have on hand! My kids love it when we make our mini pizzas on English muffins. So quick and easy. Plus they can make an awesome after school snack! I made some extras to put in the freezer for when the kids say, "I'm hungry!"

English Muffin Pizzas

Ingredients:

English muffins
1 small jar pizza sauce
Pizza cheese (I like mozzarella and cheddar)
Assorted toppings: pepperoni, Canadian bacon and pineapple, etc.)

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Cut open desired amount of English muffins in half. Spread a spoonful of pizza sauce onto each slice. Sprinkle on cheese and top with desired toppings. Bake for 6-8 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Back to School!

2009-08-31T16:14:00.003-06:00

Yep, it's that time of year again!

I had every intention of baking up some yummy back to school recipes this weekend but that idea fell flat. Hopefully I'll be able to start tonight by making homemade poptarts (Carlee is allergic to the store bought ones). There are so many good recipes that I am dying to try!

Blueberry Muffins

2009-08-25T14:18:00.011-06:00

This is one of Betty Crocker's tried and true recipes. A never fail classic muffin recipe that is a great addition to your breakfast table.

Betty Crocker's Blueberry Muffins

Ingredients:
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
2 cups-all purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup fresh or drained canned blueberries or 3/4 cup frozen blueberries, thawed and well drained*

Instructions:
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Grease muffin bottoms only of 12 medium muffin cups or line with paper baking cups. Beat milk, oil and egg. Stir in flour, sugar, baking powder and salt; all at once, just until flour is moistened (batter will be lumpy). Fold in blueberries. Divide batter among muffin cups. Sprinkle with sugar if desired. Bake until golden brown, 18 to 20 minutes. Immediately remove from pan. 1 dozen muffins; 195 calories per muffin.

*I used 3/4 cup frozen blueberries without thawing them and they turned out just fine.

Apple Crisp Muffins

2009-08-25T14:14:00.012-06:00

If this muffin could talk it would be screaming "Help!" because everyone would be running to gobble it up. These were that good! A must try recipe that I adapted from gourmetmuffinrecipes.com How could you go wrong with something with apple crisp in the title?

Apple Crisp Muffins

Ingredients -

3/4 cup Milk
1/2 cup applesauce
1 Egg
2 cups Flour
1/3 cup Sugar
1 tsp baking powder
2 teaspoons Salt
1 medium Apple, pared and copped
1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon

Crisp:
2/3 cup Brown Sugar
1/2 cup Flour
1/2 cup Oats
1/3 cup Margarine
3/4 teaspoon Cinnamon

Preparation:

Heat oven to 400. Grease muffin pan.

Beat milk, applesauce and egg. Add apples. Stir in flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon, all at once, until flour is moistened.

Divide into muffin tray.

Mix the crisp ingredients together, generously top each muffin with the crisp mixture. Bake about 18-20 minutes.

Pineapple Upside-Down Muffins

2009-08-25T14:05:00.010-06:00

These aren't your usual run of the mill pineapple upside-down muffins. No, these are more adapted to be healthier and still be quite tasty. I found the recipe on eatingwell.com and they turned out great. Of course I left out the nuts and raisins for my picky eaters but I think they would have rocked with them left in!

Pineapple Upside-Down Muffins

Makes 1 dozen muffins

Ingredients:

Topping
2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
1 10-ounce can pineapple slices

Muffins
¾ cup whole-wheat flour
¾ cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
2 large eggs
½ cup packed light brown sugar
¼ cup canola oil
2 tablespoons pineapple juice or orange juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 8-ounce can crushed pineapple (not drained)
1 cup grated carrot (1 large)
½ cup old-fashioned oats
¾ cup raisins, preferably baking raisins (see Ingredient note)
¼ cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Coat 12 muffin cups with cooking spray.
2. To prepare topping: Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar into each muffin cup. Sprinkle nuts, if using, over the sugar. Stack pineapple slices and cut into 6 wedges. Place 2 wedges in each muffin cup.
3. To prepare muffins: Whisk whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a large bowl.
4. Whisk eggs and brown sugar in a medium bowl until smooth. Whisk in oil, juice and vanilla. Stir in crushed pineapple. Make a well in the dry ingredients; add the wet ingredients and stir with a rubber spatula until just combined. Stir in carrot, oats, raisins and nuts, if using. Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin cups (they'll be quite full).
5. Bake the muffins until the tops are golden brown and firm to the touch, 15 to 25 minutes. Immediately loosen edges and turn muffins out onto a baking sheet. Restore any stray pineapple pieces and nuts. Let cool for at least 10 minutes. Serve upside-down, either warm or at room temperature.

Tips:

Ingredient Note: Baking raisins, moister than regular ones, ensure a better texture. To substitute regular raisins, plump them first: soak in boiling water for 10 minutes; drain well.
eating well Pineapple Upside-Down Muffins Tips Cont.

Nutrition Information:

Per muffin: 211 calories; 6 g fat (1 g sat, 3 g mono); 35 mg cholesterol; 36 g carbohydrate; 4 g protein; 3 g fiber; 185 mg sodium.

Jelly-Filled Muffins

2009-08-25T14:01:00.011-06:00

The instant I saw this recipe on allrecipes.com I knew I had to try it. This was by far my favorite muffin that we brought along for a quick camping breakfast treat. I used plum jelly and it was perfect! I will have to make these again next year. And the year after that, and the year after that, and the year after that...

Jelly Filled Muffins

INGREDIENTS

* 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1/2 cup sugar
* 2 teaspoons baking powder
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
* 1 egg
* 1/2 cup milk
* 1/3 cup butter or margarine, melted
* 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1/4 cup strawberry or plum jelly

* TOPPING:
* 3 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
* 1/3 cup sugar
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

DIRECTIONS

1. In a bowl, combine the first five ingredients. In another bowl, whisk the egg, milk, butter and vanilla. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Spoon half of the batter into 12 greased or paper-lined muffin cups. Spoon 1 teaspoon jelly in center of each. Fill muffin cups two-thirds full with remaining batter. Bake at 400 degrees F for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted 1 in. from the edge comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack. Brush tops with butter. Combine sugar and cinnamon; dip tops of muffins in mixture. Serve warm. Makes 12 servings.

Oops

2009-08-18T15:53:00.002-06:00

Actually I don't think I'll be able to post the recipes until I get back from Utah. Too busy, busy!! The muffins were a hit by the campfire in the morning though!

Campin' Muffins!

2009-08-13T09:03:00.004-06:00

Hey everybody! I'm heading to the mountains and taking some sweet muffins with me. When I get back I'll post the recipes but for now you can salivate over these pictures!

Biscuit Pizza Pockets

2009-08-04T14:30:00.002-06:00

What do you do when you have leftover pizza ingredients and yet don't want to go through the work of making an actual pizza? Make pizza pockets ofcourse! At least, that's what I thought of when I perused the fridge and saw a can of biscuits just sitting there waiting to be devoured. This is a quick and family friendly recipe. Feel free to mix and match the toppings, or should I say the innards?

Roll out biscuit dough one at a time.

Spoon 2 tsp. sauce into center.

Sprinkle 2 T. cheese onto sauce.

Top with 4 slices of pepperoni or meat of choice.

Fold in half and seal edges by pressing together with a fork.
Cut two slits into top for ventilation.

Place onto greased cookie sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Ummm...smell that pizza wannabe aroma! Enjoy!

Biscuit Pizza Pockets

Ingredients:
1 can Pillsbury Grands Buttermilk biscuits (8ct)
Pizza sauce (2 tsp. per biscuit)
Approximately 1 cup shredded pizza cheese (2 T per biscuit)
32 Slices Pepperoni (4 per biscuit)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Taking one biscuit at a time, roll out biscuit dough to desired size. Spoon 2 teaspoons of pizza sauce into the center of circle; do not spread sauce to edges. Top with 2 tablespoons cheese. Place 4 pepperoni slices on top of cheese. Fold biscuit in half and seal edges by pressing edges together with a fork. Cut two slits on top for venting. Repeat with remaining biscuits. Place onto greased cookie sheet at least 4 inches apart. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until biscuit is lightly browned.

Pokemon Cake Lollipops

2009-08-03T13:18:00.004-06:00

Why hello there Jigglypuff and Pikachu!
Welcome to Collin's party!

I have no idea how Collin came to love Pokemon so much but he does. So I tried to center my goodies for his party around them.

You've probably seen cake lollipops all over the internet. I've made cake balls before but I haven't perfected the whole cake on a stick thing. This was my first attempt at making some Pokemon lollipops for my son's party. We made his favorite Pokemon which is Pikachu. We also made some pink Jigglypuff characters for the girls. I was hoping that my little guys would be cuter than this but I just could not get the candy melts to stay smooth. Plus my edible decorating pens would NOT write on candy melts. Sigh. Oh well, at least I eventually got them to write enough to sort of make out Pikachu's face. On the plus side though the kids loved them! That's all that matters right? Someday I'll get better at this but you've got to start somewhere...

INGREDIENTS:

1 box cake mix, your choice of flavor! (cook as directed on box for 13 X 9 cake)

1 can vanilla frosting (16 oz.)

1/2 - 3/4 package yellow candy melts
1/2 - 3/4 package pink candy melts
Edible decorating pens
assorted candy decorations (For Pikachu: I pre-cut yellow fondant into ears and let dry overnight. Use the black pen to decorate tips black. I also used red hots for his cheeks. For Jigglypuff I used mini green M&M's for the eyes. I then melted a few pieces of pink candy melts and freehanded ears and let dry on waxed paper. The whites of his eyes are white decorating frosting.)

DIRECTIONS:

1. After cake is cooked and cooled completely, crumble into large bowl.

2. Mix thoroughly with 1 can vanilla frosting. I ended up using only 3/4 of the can of frosting and it was plenty.

3. Roll mixture into quarter size balls and lay on cookie sheet. (Should make 45-50 depending on how big you make the balls.) I used my tablespoon to measure out the dough or use a mini ice-cream scoop.

4. Chill for several hours. You can speed this up by putting in the freezer. (Easy make ahead step-Stick them in the freezer overnight to be ready to dip the next day.)
5. I took the cake balls out one at a time and re-rolled them in my hand to make them smoother and inserted a lollipop stick. Return to freezer.

6. Melt candy melts in microwave per directions on package or on a double broiler. Make sure you have decorations out and ready that you want to attach to the cake ball before it is completely cooled. For Pikachu I used red hots for his cheeks and cut ears out of yellow fondant the night before. The ears need to be prepared far in advance so they are dry and firm enough to handle. For Jigglypuff I used green mini M&M's for his eyes and pink candy melts for his ears.

7. Roll balls in candy melts one at a time (Use a spoon to dip and roll in candy melts and then tap off extra.) If using microwave directions melt a few pieces of candy melts at a time before it starts to cool and thicken. It's easier to work with when it's hot. Add decorations and lay on wax paper until firm.

8. Cake balls are ready for final decorations in only a few short minutes. I drew on their faces with a black decorating pen. I added a tiny dot of white icing on Jigglypuff's green eyes and a little tuft on his head that must be his hair? Not really sure!

Happy Jiggly's!

Happy Birthday Collin!!

Pokeball Cookies

2009-07-31T07:58:00.004-06:00

Just thought I would share a picture of the pokeball sugar cookies I made for my son's birthday. I used my mom's secret frosting recipe for the white and red frosting. The rest is fondant pieces that I cut out. It was one of those labor of love projects because it took forever to complete only a dozen cookies. Oh well, Collin sure enjoyed them!

Chocolate Ice Cream Cake

2009-07-28T12:09:00.023-06:00

I love ice cream cake but I've never attempted to make one before. My father in law isn't a huge frosting fan so my mother and I decided to make him an ice cream concoction. My mom has made a few before but this was my first time. It's kind of a long process but definitely worth the effort!

What's nice about ice cream cake is that you can mix and match any kind of flavor combination you want. Let your cravings run wild!

We used the following as ingredients:

1 jar hot fudge topping
2 cans Dulce de Leche
2 10-inch baked rounds chocolate cake
1/2 gallon vanilla ice cream
whipped cream

1. Cut each cake round in half with sharp knife. Place bottom half of one cake round into a springform pan.

2. Spread one can Dulce de Leche over top of cake layer.

3. Cover with top half of cake round.

4. Soften vanilla ice cream. May microwave in 5 second intervals if needed.

5. Smooth half of ice cream over cake layer.

6. Freeze for at least 30 minutes.

7. Pour your ooey gooey chocolate fudge over ice cream. I heated it in the microwave to see if it would spread easier but it ended up being a chocolatey mess! Oh well, it still tasted good. That's all that counts right? I think next time I'll just spread it on the actual cake piece and forget about trying to get it to adhere to the ice cream.

8. Freeze for at least another 30 minutes.

9. Smooth remaining ice cream over fudge layer.

10. Cover with bottom half of second cake round. Top with can of Dulce de Leche.

11. Follow with top of second cake round and smooth sides with a metal spatula. Freeze for a good hour or so. Meanwhile make up your whipped cream or soften 2 small tubs of Cool Whip. Now you are ready to decorate!

12. We put the whipped cream in a piping bag and quickly decorated the sides with an up and down motion. You can also smooth it on the sides with a small metal spatula, but you need to work fast! Put cake bake in freezer for 15-30 minutes then spread remaining whipped cream on top of cake. Put cake back into freezer until ready to serve.

We added cute chocolate tools on top right before we cut the cake. Aren't they cute!

Yum!

My father in law loved it. He even added his name on my calendar for two more birthdays this month. I think he was wanting another cake!

Collin's Dinner

2009-07-22T07:57:00.009-06:00

The other night my sweet little boy Collin wanted to make dinner. What did he want? Pork chops baby! We got out our spices and he got to work.

At first he wanted to go and change because he didn't want to be photographed in his pajamas. What's wrong with cooking in your P.J.'s? I can't believe how embarrassed he gets at little things these days. Anyways he helped me measure out the spices into a sandwich bag.

Then he shook it all up. I think that was his favorite part.

He placed them on the broiler pan and then we put it in the oven and waited until it smelled so yummy we couldn't stand it anymore and had to get it out of the oven.

Here's the end result. Do you know what Collin said as he was eating them?
He said, "Mom do you know why these pork chops are so good?"
I said, "Why?"
"Because I made them!"
Silly boy.

Collin's Pork Chops
Ingredients:
2 T yellow cornmeal
2 T whole wheat flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp garlic pepper grinders
3-4 medium sized pork chops

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Measure ingredients into a plastic sandwich bag. Place one pork chop at a time into the bag and shake until covered. (May dredge in milk first if spices don't want to stick.) Bake for 30 to 35 minutes.

Collin also had to make chocolate pudding for dessert. Who was I to complain?

His sissy was especially grateful!
Thanks for cooking Collin. I love it when someone else does the work!

"Swirls Gone Wild" Cheesecake brownies

2009-07-16T07:37:00.008-06:00

I'm always up for a good eggless brownie recipe so when I saw this one I knew I had to try it!This recipe is taken directly from the new Hungry Girl 200 under 200 Recipe book. There are so many yummy sounding recipes. They are also low-cal and delicious!

Ingredients:

One 18.25-ounce box devils's food cake mix
One 15-ounce can pure pumpkin
6 ounces fat-free cream cheese, room temperature
1/4 cup Splenda No Calorie Sweetener (granulated)
1 teaspoon Coffee-Mate Sugar Free French Vanilla powdered creamer*
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, combine cake mix and pumpkin, stirring until completely blended. Batter will be very thick.

Spray a large baking pan (about 9 inches by 13 inches) with nonstick spray. Spread batter into the pan and set aside.

Place powdered creamer in a medium mixing bowl. Add 2 tablespoons warm water and stir until creamer has dissolved. Add cream cheese, Splenda, and vanilla extract. Using a whisk, mix vigorously until completely blended, smooth, and lump-free.

Spoon cheesy mixture over the brownie batter and use a knife to swirl it in. Don't worry if your swirl isn't perfect-your brownies will taste delicious no matter what!

Bake in the oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow brownies to cool completely. Cut into sixteen pieces. Enjoy!

Makes 16 servings.

PER SERVING (1 brownie): 133 calories, 1.75g fat, 312mg sodium, 29g carbs, 1.5g fiber, 7.5g sugars, 3g protein.

(I'm loving my new brownie c utter! It makes them look so cute!)

* I didn't have any creamer so I just used 1 teaspoon of vanilla instead. It was still yummy!

Multi-Bean Salsa

2009-07-15T07:20:00.008-06:00

Okay, so last night I was looking at my sorry excuse for cooked tortillas and I didn't want them to go to waste! I must have over-cooked them because they were too hard to roll into burritos. Then I got an epiphany. Why not chop them up and use them with salsa? Then my brain started rolling some more and I started throwing cans out of my pantry that could be used for salsa. The recipe below is what I came up with. It was actually very yummy even though I bet no one else in my family will eat it!

Multi-Bean Salsa

Ingredients:
1 15.25 oz. can whole kernel corn-drained
1 15 oz. can kidney beans-rinsed and drained
1 15 oz. can black beans-rinsed and drained
1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes with chilies-drained
1/4 cup mild salsa

Directions:
Toss ingredients together in a medium-sized bowl. Serve with chips (or in my case tortillas chopped into triangles). Enjoy!

Fourth of July Cupcakes

2009-07-10T13:57:00.003-06:00

Who doesn't like cupcakes? They are the perfect size of cakey goodness. My cousin and I wanted to make some fourth of July cupcakes so we could use the adorable pinwheels and cupcake wrappers I bought. She has never made tri-color cupcakes so we decided to have a little bit of coloring fun. They turned out very patriotic!

Ingredients:

1 box white cake mix plus ingredients listed on box
Red and blue food coloring

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare cake mix according to directions on box. Separate dough into three medium sized bowls. Tint one bowl red, one blue, and leave the other white. Line cupcake pans with paper liners. Start dropping one spoonful of dough in alternating colors into each cupcake paper until about 3/4 full.

Bake according to package directions.

Remove cupcakes from pan and allow to cool completely. Frost using icing recipe below or by tinting store bought frosting. Decorate and enjoy!

Betty Crocker's Creamy Vanilla Frosting:
3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup margarine or butter, softened
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
about 2 T milk

Mix powdered sugar and margarine. Stir in vanilla and milk; beat until smooth and of spreading consistency. Frosts a 13x9-inch cake or fills and frosts two 8-or 9-inch layers. 15 servings. 140 calories per serving.

Raspberry Peach Cobbler

2009-07-05T19:19:00.009-06:00

Don't you just love cobbler! I had fresh peaches and raspberries so I decided to throw them together into one yummy cobbler. It was such a tantalizing aroma as it was cooking and I didn't even wait for it to cool down before I was snarfing it down.

Don't these peaches look good! Loved 'em!

I cut those beauties up (plus a couple of their peach buddies) and mixed them with the raspberries. Even smelling them cooking on the stove top was heavenly!

The poor beautiful raspberries got turned into mush though the more I stirred. That's alright though because they infused their deliciousness into the peaches!

I never make pretty little balls on top for the dough. I'm always in too much of a hurry to get it into the oven!

Ummmmmmm, yummy! Enjoy the recipe below.
I adapted it from one of good ol' Betty Crocker's classics.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 T cornstarch
3 cups peaches (5-6 medium blanched peaches)
1 cup raspberries (6 oz. tub)
1 teaspoon lemon juice
3 T shortening
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 T sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk

Directions:
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Peel and cut up blanched peaches. Set aside. Mix 1/2 cup sugar and the cornstarch in 2-quart saucepan. Stir in peaches, raspberries and lemon juice. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and boils. Boil and stir 1 minute. Pour into ungreased 1-quart casserole; keep peach mixture hot in oven.

Cut shortening into flour, 1 T sugar, the baking powder and salt until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Stir in milk. Drop dough by 6 spoonfuls onto hot peach mixture.

Bake until topping is golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Serve warm and, if desired, with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. Makes 6 servings.

Snickerdoodle Cake

2009-06-21T23:22:00.004-06:00

My family absolutely loves snickerdoodle cookies so when I saw this recipe from kaboose I knew we had to try it! It had a yummy cinnamon sugar crunch on top which we then topped with a dollop of whipped cream. It was a nice change from my usual chocolate cravings!

Ingredients:

* 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
* 2 teaspoons baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 2 cups sugar
* 1/2 cup shortening
* 2 eggs
* 1 cup milk
* 3 tablespoons sugar
* 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Cooking Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13-inch pan.
2. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, cream 2 cups sugar and shortening until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well with each addition. Alternately add milk and flour mixture in three stages, mixing well with each addition.
4. In a small bowl, mix 3 tablespoons sugar with cinnamon. Sprinkle this mixture evenly over cake.
5. Pour into prepared pan and bake in preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes or until done.

Nutrition Facts

Servings per Recipe: 24
Amount Per Serving

* calories: 167cal
* total fat: 5g
* cholesterol: 19mg
* sodium: 100mg
* carbohydrates: 28.9g
* fiber: 0.4g
* protein: 2.2g

Preparation Time: 0
Cooking Time: 0
Ready In: 0
Servings: 24

Pumpkin Struesel Muffins

2009-06-17T08:00:00.005-06:00

I was having a MAJOR craving for pumpkin crunch bars but I couldn't find a recipe that didn't use 3 or more eggs and didn't use nuts on top. Sooooo....I made up one! Sort of. I made them into muffins instead but they satisfied the craving just as good.

Here's what I came up with!

Ingredients:

Muffin:

1 yellow cake mix

15 oz. can pure pumpkin

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Struesel Topping:

1/2 cup quick cooking oats

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 1/4 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

1/4 tsp. cloves

4 T melted margarine

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. In large mixing bowl stir together cake mix, pumpkin and cinnamon until well blended. Fill muffin cups 3/4 full. Toss together all the ingredients for topping saving melted margarine for last. Press 1 T of packed topping on each muffin. Bake for 20 minutes.

Makes approximately 18 cupcakes.

Banana Breakfast Cookies

2009-06-16T08:00:00.001-06:00

Here's a simple healthy breakfast cookie that you can grab and go. I think next time I make these I might add some cinnamon and spices because they turned out just a little blah. They were still yummy though! I put some in the freezer so when I'm running late I can grab a few on my way to work.

INGREDIENTS:

3 ripe bananas
2 cups quick rolled oats
1 cup raisins
1/3 cup applesauce
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl, mash the bananas. Stir in oats, raisins, applesauce, and vanilla. Mix well, and allow to sit for 15 minutes. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until lightly brown.

(recipe adapted from one seen on allrecipes)

Banana Cookies

2009-06-15T08:00:00.002-06:00

If you like incredibly moist delicious banana cookies then you MUST try this recipe! I found it on the Simply Recipes website.

Banana Cookies Recipe

Ingredients:

1/2 cup of unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup of sugar
1 egg, room temperature
1 cup of mashed bananas (about 2 ½ large bananas)
1 teaspoon of baking soda
2 cups of flour
pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon of ground mace or nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon of ground cloves
1 cup of pecans (walnuts and chocolate chips are fine alternatives)
*I used chocolate chips for this recipe and it was fantastic!

Directions:

1 Preheat the oven to 350°F. Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the egg and continue to beat until the mixture is light and fluffy.

2 In a bowl, mix the mashed bananas and baking soda. Let sit for 2 minutes. The baking soda will react with the acid in the bananas which in turn will give the cookies their lift and rise.

3 Mix the banana mixture into the butter mixture. Mix together the flour, salt, and spices and sift into the butter and banana mixture and mix until just combined.

4 Fold into the batter the pecans or chocolate chips if using. Drop in dollops onto parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Bake for 11-13 minutes or until nicely golden brown. Let cool on wire racks.

Makes about 30 cookies.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

2009-06-14T13:35:00.005-06:00

Pure pumpkin goodness!

This recipe I found on food network was excellent! My hubby loves to buy pumpkin chocolate chip cookies from the store so I thought I'd try to make some that are just as good. With this recipe they definitely are!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Recipe courtesy George Duran

Prep Time: 15 min

Inactive Prep Time: 2 min

Cook Time: 15 min

Level: Easy

Serves: 60 cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
2 large eggs *
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
2 cups (12-ounce bag) milk chocolate chips, not semisweet
Nonstick cooking spray or parchment paper

Directions:

Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray cookie sheets with nonstick spray or line them with parchment paper.

Using a mixer, beat the butter until smooth. Beat in the white and brown sugars, a little at a time, until the mixture is light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs 1 at a time, then mix in the vanilla and pumpkin puree. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. Slowly beat the flour mixture into the batter in thirds. Stir in the chips. Scoop the cookie dough by heaping tablespoons onto the prepared cookie sheets and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the cookies are browned around the edges. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let them rest for 2 minutes. Take the cookies off with a spatula and cool them on wire racks.

*The only change I made to this recipe was that I added 2 T of flour to the mix for high altitude and substituted EnerG egg replacer powder for the eggs.

Mexican Chocolate Cake

2009-05-04T21:59:00.010-06:00

Happy Cinco de Mayo!!!

I love any excuse to eat Mexican food! It is all so wonderful I wish I could just wrap myself up in a big homemade tortilla with beans and cheese and eat myself. Just kiddin'! We used this wonderful holiday to gorge on tacos, tostadas and burritos. I wish I could have added taquitos, enchiladas, chips and salsa, and fried ice cream too but I think that would have been overdoing it just a little bit. I couldn't resist whipping up a Mexican dessert though. I based this cake on a recipe from Betty Crocker although I had to change it to make it healthier and eggless. Chocolate is always the perfect ending to any celebration...

For the Cake:

1 box Betty Crocker® SuperMoist® devil's food cake mix
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

water, oil, and eggs called for on cake mix
-or-
I used:
1 1/4 cups water
1/2 cup applesauce
1/4 cup flour
4 1/2 teaspoons egg replacement powder

For the Caramelized-Sugar Frosting:

3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup butter
4 to 5 tablespoons milk
3 cups powdered sugar

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350°F (325ºF for dark or nonstick pan). Grease bottom only of 13x9-inch pan with shortening or cooking spray. Make cake mix as directed on box using water, oil and eggs--except add cinnamon to cake mix.

2. Bake as directed on box for 13x9-inch pan. Cool completely, about 1 hour.

3. In 2-quart heavy saucepan, heat granulated sugar over medium-low heat 6 to 8 minutes, stirring constantly with wooden spoon and watching carefully, until sugar begins to melt. As sugar begins to melt, stir with wooden spoon until sugar is melted and golden brown. (Sugar becomes very hot and could melt a plastic spoon.) Remove from heat; carefully stir in butter and 1 tablespoon of the milk (mixture will become lumpy). Return to medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is smooth. Cool 5 minutes.

4. Add powdered sugar to caramel mixture; beat with electric mixer on low speed until well combined. Add 3 tablespoons milk, mixing until frosting is glossy and spreadable. If necessary, add up to 1 tablespoon more milk, 1 teaspoon at a time. Spread frosting over cake. Store loosely covered at room temperature.

High Altitude (3500-6500 ft): Follow High Altitude cake mix directions on box for 13x9-inch pan.

Mock Sushi

2009-04-09T07:41:00.008-06:00

April Fools!!

I found this awesome Mock Sushi recipe on familyfun.com.

MATERIALS:
1/4 cup butter
4 cups mini marshmallows
6 cups crisped rice cereal
20 to 25 gummy worms
1 to 2 boxes of fruit leather
12- by 17-inch baking sheet
2-quart saucepan

Time needed: Under 1 Hour

1. Grease a 12- by 17-inch baking pan. 2. Melt butter in a 2-quart saucepan over medium heat. 3. Add the marshmallows and stir until smooth. 4. Remove mixture from heat and stir in the rice cereal until it's evenly coated. 5. Turn the baking sheet so that the shorter ends are at the top and bottom. Then press the marshmallow mixture on the sheet, distributing it evenly. 6. Starting at one side and 1 inch up from the lower edge, place gummy worms atop the mixture end to end in a horizontal line. 7. Gently roll the lower edge of the marshmallow mixture over the gummy worms. 8. Then stop and cut the log away from the rest of the mixture. Use the same method for 4 more logs. 9. Slice each log in 1-inch-thick "sushi" rolls and wrap them individually with a strip of fruit leather.

They were fun to make and the kids loved 'em!

Speedy St. Patrick's Day Treat

2009-03-20T07:31:00.006-06:00

I had NO time to make anything fun for St. Patrick's day so I hurried up and whipped out this mini treat.

I used instant cheesecake pudding and crushed grahams crackers. I layered them in a green shot glass topped with shamrock sprinkles. Even though it was quick and easy it was still festive. My son loved it and that's all that counts right?

Lemon Cookie Tarts

2009-03-16T22:53:00.010-06:00

I wanted to find a mini dessert recipe that I could make for my mom's birthday when I came across this recipe at recipezaar. They are a perfect bite sized treat. I used lemon and blueberry fillings. They were both tasty!
SERVES 30

Ingredients

1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
2 cups flour
1/2 cup lemon curd (lemon pie filling, mousse or any kind of pie filling)
1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk (use only if the filling is to thick) (optional)

Directions

1In food processor pulse sugar, powdered sugar and butter till creamy. Can be done with electric beaters as well.

2Mix rest of ingredients except lemon curd and sweetened condensed milk, mix until a smooth dough is formed.

3Chill 15 minutes wrapped in plastic wrap.

4Spray mini muffin tins with Pam.

5Measure 1 Tbsp of dough.

6Roll into ball place one in each hole of mini tart pan.

7Using your thumb make a centre with the dough making sure that the dough in uniform size all around and not to thin on the top.

8Bake at 350°F for 9 minutes or until dough is slightly firm but not set. They may close up during cooking.

9Remove tart shells from oven working quickly and using the back of a rounded 1/2 tsp measuring spoon gently press a shallow indentation in each shell. (Don't let them cool or it will be harder to get them to form a shell).

10Bake 2-3 minutes longer or until edges of shells are firm and golden.

11Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes.

12Carefully remove from pan and transfer to cooling rack, if they need more shaping you can do that now.

13Cool completely before filling. Can be made to this point and frozen (but thaw to room temp before filling).

14For the filling mix together purchased or homemade lemon curd and sweetened condensed milk.

15Put a small amount of powdered sugar in a sieve and shake a little on the top of each tart, garnish with a long piece of lemon zest.

Eyeball Pudding

2009-03-03T22:05:00.011-07:00

We love The Eye Book by Dr. Seuss. This dessert is in honor of EYES!

Ingredients:
1 5.9 oz instant chocolate pudding
3 cups milk
Large marshmallows
chocolate chips

Prepare pudding according to 5 minute pudding directions. Pour at once into individual serving dishes. Press chocolate chip into end of marshmallow to represent a pupil. Place two eyes into each glass. Enjoy!

I think they liked it!

Horton Ears

2009-03-02T21:48:00.011-07:00

I was trying to think of the best snack to make with a Horton theme and I thought, What better than elephant ears? They were fast and simple to make.

Elephant Ears

Ingredients:

1 10 ct. tube refrigerator biscuit dough

Oil for frying

1/4 cup sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

Directions:

Heat oil in frying pan until it starts to slightly bubble. Combine two biscuits together with hands. You can roll it out larger between two sheets of waxed paper or stretch by hand. Fry until golden brown, turning once. Repeat with remaining biscuits. Drain biscuits on paper towels. Stir together cinnamon and sugar. Sprinkle over cooked biscuits. Makes 5 large elephant ears.

They turned out great!

Collin loved them.

And so did Carlee!

For some extra fun serve your drink with a clover straw.

Cut out clover shape, glue on white spec, tape to straw. I like projects that are simple!

Dangerous Chocolate Mug Cakes

2009-02-25T08:19:00.013-07:00

Sunday night my mom came over and helped the kids make wee cakes in a mug. I was going to make one too but instead I was sitting on my butt watching the Oscars. I was just too lazy and tired to move basically! I did take pics though and want to try this out for myself sometime. I think I'd add more chocolate to it with whipped cream and sprinkles on top. I'm salivating already!

If you can't wait for the recipe click on mom and then on her label "just for fun". By the way, they call this cake dangerous because you're only 5 minutes away from chocolate cake. Too easy to make and too easy to eat! Can you see the calories adding up??

Ummmm....chocolate!!!

Collin was mixin' it up.

Carlee stirrin' away. She did a lot of taste testing too.

The finished deliciousness.

Collin gave it a thumbs up.

I think Carlee ate mostly ice cream.

Collin really gets into his food!

Go whip one up. You know you want to!

Chocolate Sandwich Cookies*

2009-02-25T07:18:00.004-07:00

When I saw this recipe on Bakerella

I knew that I just had to make some!

Of course being the chocolate lover that

I am I used chocolate fudge cake mix

instead of red velvet.

They are soooo goood!!!

Red Velvet Sandwich Cookies

1 Box red velvet cake mix*

1/2 Cup butter, softened to room temperature

2 Eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix ingredients until combined.
Drop spoonfuls of cookie batter onto baking sheet about two inches apart.
Bake for 10-12 minutes.
Cool.

Cream Cheese Filling

1/2 Cup butter, softened to room temperature

1 8 oz. Package cream cheese, softened to room temperature

1 1lb. Box of confectioner's sugar

1 tsp Vanilla

In a mixer, cream butter, cream cheese and vanilla.
Gradually add sugar and mix until smooth.

Makes about 24 cookies or 12 cookie sandwiches.

* Any cake mix should work.

Note: For some reason I had a lot of leftover frosting. I might have to cook up some cupcakes and use the rest in the middle!

Twin Baby Cookie Bouquet

2009-02-21T18:45:00.008-07:00

This was a fun baby bouquet to put together!

My friend Josie is having twin girls and we always tease her that their names are "Maui" and "Waui". She and her husband were married in Maui so it seemed fitting!

She loved the cookies! She said she was going to take them home and hide them from her hubby so he wouldn't eat them all. Now I can't wait for the babies to get here!

Baby Shower Cookies

2009-02-21T18:35:00.005-07:00

These are the cookie favor baskets I made for a friends baby shower.

I individually wrapped each in a cookie bag with a tiny baby favor and pink ribbon.

Everyone loved them although they said they were too cute to eat!

Heart Pizza

2009-02-18T07:18:00.006-07:00

Here's a very fast easy pizza we made for our Valentine's dinner.

Ingredients:

1 tube Pillsbury refrigerated pizza dough
Pizza sauce
14 or more Pepperoni slices, cut with mini heart cookie cutter
Assorted grated cheese

Directions:

I accidentally threw out the directions to this. Oopsi! So just follow the directions on the pizza dough package. I rolled out the dough and tried to shape it into a heart shape. Then I topped it with sauce, cheese and pepperoni. I forgot to buy any mozzerella so I used a little cheddar, swiss and colby jack. It was an interesting combo but it actually tasted great!

It cooked fast and the kids loved it!

Whole Lotta V-Day Cookies

2009-02-18T07:14:00.008-07:00

I just love Valentine cookies!!

Here's some examples of some we did this year.

Hearts To You!

2009-02-18T06:44:00.010-07:00

Carlee's Valentine Breakfast

2009-02-18T06:36:00.011-07:00

Little miss Carlee is my pancake eating monster so I wanted to make her some special ones for Valentine's day!

I was going to put the recipe on here but all I did was use the Bisquick recipe. The only difference is that I substituted 1/2 cup of applesauce for the eggs. Plus of course I added mini heart sprinkles on top of the finished pancake. Substituting applesauce for eggs seems to work pretty good for Carlee so she can still enjoy her pancakes allergy free.

Here's little miss bedhead wanting me to cut up her pancake for her. So spoiled!

Yum Yum!!

Sprinkles make anything fun! Collin didn't even want to eat his pancake the little onery boy. He did eat:

Pink milk!

And red applesauce!

Then he wanted to move onto V-Day candy.

I just added a drop or two of red food coloring to the milk and applesauce. I don't know how healthy adding dye is but the kids sure loved it!

So Anti-V-Day!

2009-02-18T06:31:00.010-07:00

My hubby Eric is a long time Valentine hater so I decided to surprise him with an anti-valentine's day cookie bouquet.

Of course I had to have black hearts!

These cookies represent a heart gone bad, cupid with no head, and obviously a stupid cupid heart. Eric thought these were funny but there was a downside to my fun. Now Collin knows how to spell stupid. What's a mom to do?

I'm bananas 4 U!

2009-02-18T06:24:00.008-07:00

This is my first ever cookie bouquet! Collin wanted to give something to his cousin Kaitlyn for Valentine's day so I thought, Perfect! I got a cookie bouquet guinea pig! I've been wanting to try to make one of these for awhile now. It was so much fun to put together.

Baking the cookies took a lot longer than I thought it would since I could only fit two cookies on each cookie sheet. These were big cookies!

I didn't have an actual monkey cookie cutter so I improvised. Using my bear cookie cutter I cut off his ears and placed them down lower. It actually worked out great. Icing these little guys was the best part. I just love cute little monkey faces!

This cookie on the other hand was a disaster. I got too lazy to make royal icing so I just used my regular icing. The tip was too big and the letters spread farther than I wanted but Kaitlyn loved it and that's all that mattered.

I had to test out the placement before putting it all together.

Here's the final result! It was a big hit. When I delivered it to the school the other kids wanted to know where thiers was. I learned a lot making this and hope to improve next time.

Valentine Cookies

2009-02-10T07:30:00.008-07:00

Here's a pic of just a few quick cookies I made for my

brother. I'm going to be making a TON more this week!

Little Carlee decided she would try to make some too.

Then she just started eating the frosting right
out of the bowl! Good thing I was done with it!

This is Collin's favorite cookie that he iced.

Yummy!

We're going to make some hearts to put with

Collin's valentine's cards on Friday.

If I have time to get 'em done that is!

His second favorite cookie was the bear he

made on the top of this picture. He did pretty good!

I'm Screamin for Ice Cream!

2009-02-09T07:39:00.009-07:00

Last Saturday my mom, the kids and I headed out for

ice cream. I could eat ice cream even if it was below zero

outside. I love it that much!

We chose our flavors and they mixed the ice cream right in front of us. The kids thought that was the coolest. Especially since the employees let them put their hands by the bowl and feel the cold "steam".

They had a wide variety of flavors and add-ins to choose from. Collin just had to have chocolate with Oreo cookies.

Carlee had the same kind of course. I didn't want to deal with any ice cream fights! They both ate just about every bite. If only they would do the same with real food...

It was a fun atmosphere and we had a great time.

We'll definitely go back!

Chicken Salad Cream Puffs

2009-02-02T07:47:00.005-07:00

My mother-in-law found this yummy recipe on http://www.allrecipes.com. She used green onions and green grapes instead of what was called for and added a little sprinkling of cummin for extra flavor. I usually only post recipes that I cooked myself but these were so good that I had to save this recipe on here so I can make them later! I did plate them with the fruit and vegi's so I guess at least that credit is mine.

INGREDIENTS
CREAM PUFFS:
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup butter or margarine
Dash salt
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 eggs, room temperature
FILLING:
2 cups diced cooked chicken
3/4 cup chopped celery
1 (2.25 ounce) can sliced ripe olives, drained
1/3 cup mayonnaise or salad dressing
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon grated onion
1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/8 teaspoon pepper
salt to taste

DIRECTIONS
In a medium saucepan, bring water and butter to a boil. Add flour and salt all at once; stir until a smooth ball forms and does not stick to pan. Remove from the heat; and let stand 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Continue to beat until dough to well blended. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto a greased baking sheet, making six mounds 3 in. apart. Bake at 400 degrees F for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown and dry and firm to the touch. Transfer to a wire rack. Immediately split puffs open; remove tops and set aside. Discard soft dough from inside. Cool puffs.

For filling, combine the chicken, celery and olives in a large bowl. In a small bowl, combine remaining ingredients; stir into chicken mixture. Fill puffs just before serving.

Cherry Lime 7-Up Spritzer

2009-02-02T07:45:00.002-07:00

I love simple and quick drinks to pull together.

This is one is one of my fav's!

INGREDIENTS:

2 maraschino cherries plus 1 T. of juice

1 slice of lime

Crushed ice

7-Up

***
Fill glass 3/4 full of crushed ice.

Add maraschino cherry juice and two cherries.

Add 1/2 slice of lime to glass and garnish with other half if desired.

Fill remainder of glass with 7-UP.

Makes 1 serving.

Healthified Brownies

2009-02-02T07:34:00.004-07:00

This is my version of a quick healthier version of

brownies for the kids. They turned out great!

Ingredients:

1 box brownie mix

1/4 cup water

1/2 cup pure pumpkin mix

Substitute powder for 3 eggs

(or you can use real eggs)

1 can ready to use fudge frosting

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix ingredients until blended.

Pour into greased 13x9 inch cake pan.

Bake according to package directions 25-28 minutes.

Cool completely then frost.

Enjoy!

Superbowl Kids

2009-02-02T07:28:00.003-07:00

This was my attempt to make a football-ish snack for the kids. I tried to cut out a football shape with their turkey sandwiches then topped it with sliced cheese to look like the laces. Collin thought it was too silly but he loved it. Carlee just stared at it for awhile before she ate it.

Taco Cups

2009-01-24T06:55:00.006-07:00

This was a fast simple recipe.

Fry up some taco meat according to

seasoning packet directions.

Tear 10" tortillas in half.

Fold into a cup in a

tin cupcake pan.

Top with shredded cheese.

Bake in 350 degree oven

for 6 minutes.

Enjoy!

These are also good

topped with salsa and

sour cream. Yum!

What were the kids reactions?

50/50.

Carlee kept saying

"Num Yum!"

the whole time she was eating.

Collin on the other hand

complained the whole time

though he did finally taste it.

He doesn't like his food

mixed. Even if it's just meat

mixed with cheese. Silly boy.

Chocolate Mint Cake Balls

2009-01-03T15:16:00.002-07:00

For this variation I used chocolate cake mix, 1/2 container chocolate mint frosting and chocolate almond bark to dip. I also melted green candy melts to drizzle on top. Rich and chocolatey!

Spice Cake Balls

2009-01-03T14:35:00.021-07:00

Spice Cake Balls

Bake cake according to package directions.
Cool completely.

Crumble into bowl.

Combine with 1/2 container

cream cheese or vanilla frosting.

Scoop out 1 tbsp of dough.

Roll into ball.

Freeze for a couple hours or overnight

on waxed paper lined cookie sheet.

Dip into melted candy melts according

to package directions.

Decorate! We used mini M&M's, frosting and

edible ink pens to decorate these little snowmen.

My son had fun making most of these.

And of course eating them too!

Collin wanted his on a Popsicle stick.

Carlee enjoyed hers as well.

Christmas Cookies

2009-01-03T14:26:00.006-07:00

Here are a few samples of the cookies I made for

Collin's class Christmas party.

The kids loved 'em!

Don't eat my gumdrop buttons!

Cake Balls

2008-12-10T07:40:00.007-07:00

Red Velvet Cake Balls

ummm....so moist!

INGREDIENTS:

1 box red velvet cake mix (cook as directed on box for 13 X 9 cake)

1 can cream cheese frosting (16 oz.)

1 package chocolate bark (regular or white chocolate)

wax paper

DIRECTIONS:

1. After cake is cooked and cooled completely, crumble into large bowl.

2. Mix thoroughly with 1 can cream cheese frosting. I ended up using only 3/4 of the can of frosting and it was plenty.

3. Roll mixture into quarter size balls and lay on cookie sheet. (Should make 45-50.) I used my tablespoon to measure out the dough or use a mini ice-cream scoop.

4. Chill for several hours. You can speed this up by putting in the freezer. (Easy make ahead step-Stick them in the freezer overnight to be ready to dip the next day.)

5. Melt chocolate in microwave per directions on package.

6. Roll balls in chocolate and lay on wax paper until firm. (Use a spoon to dip and roll in chocolate and then tap off extra.) Melt a few pieces of chocolate bark at a time before it starts to cool and thicken. It's easier to work with when it's hot.

7. Cake balls are ready to eat in only a few minutes of drying time and they are so delicious! (I melted about 6-7 red candy melts to drizzle over the top for a finished presentation.) Enjoy!

Thanksgiving Turkeys!

2008-12-02T12:09:00.006-07:00

I finally ate my last Thanksgiving sugar cookie this weekend. I made probably 8 to 10 batches of these things. Ofcourse not all of them were very elaborate. Towards the end I just started slapping the frosting on there because I was so tired. These things take a LONG time to make.

I sent most of them to my three brothers. They love 'em as much as I do. We've been eating and decorating these cookies since we were young so they hold a special place in our tummies!

They were really yummy and now I can't wait to make Christmas cookies! A co-worker already wants to order some to take to her mom's Christmas party. Plus I always make some for the clinic employees that I work with every Christmas. I'm gonna be busy...

Ghostly Grilled Cheese

2008-11-03T14:30:00.004-07:00

I wanted to go all out and make different kinds of Halloween-ish foods but it just didn't happen this year. I made a simple quick dinner that both of the kids loved the night before Halloween. All I did was make regular grilled cheese and a ghost cookie cutter. Of course we couldn't forget the tomato soup! We eat a lot of grilled cheese in our household and Collin thought the ghosts were cool.

On Halloween night I took the easy way out and we just ordered some pizza! Next year I'll have to have Collin help me make spooky food.

Happy Candy Apple Day!

2008-10-31T14:16:00.003-06:00

Don't you just love October with it's bounteous harvest of apples?

Thank you to whoever invented the candy apple because

they are Sooooooo Gooooooood!!!!

I have to admit I've never made a batch yet.

Maybe next year won't be as crazy and I'll get to it.

For now though I'll just enjoy buying and eating!

Take a bite today!

No food for me please!!

2008-10-21T16:29:00.002-06:00

Sorry, the food crazed maniac has had the stomach flu so NO food looks good!! I hope to be back to cooking soon! My stomach feels like it's on the verge of change. (I hope.)

Yorkshire Pudding

2008-10-13T19:17:00.005-06:00

I remember in my youth my mother making Yorkshire pudding. I pictured dessert when she first said the name. This however was made with meat drippings and is definitely NOT dessert. It is however VERY delicious and compliments the rib roast perfectly. So, being National Yorkshire Pudding Day I just had to make this for the first time on my own. Ofcourse my family wouldn't touch it and I ate alone, but hey, sometimes you just have to make a meal for yourself.

Make your next beef roast dinner extra special by preparing it with this classic English “pudding.” Only 20 minutes hands-on prep time required! This recipe is courtesy the bettycrocker.com website.

Prep Time:20 min
Start to Finish:4 hr
Makes:8 servings

Beef Roast
1 beef rib roast (small end), 4 to 6 lb
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Yorkshire Pudding
Vegetable oil, if necessary
1 cup Gold Medal® all-purpose flour
1 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs

1.Heat oven to 350°F. For easy cleanup, line shallow roasting pan with foil. In pan, place beef, fat side up; sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt and the pepper. Insert ovenproof meat thermometer so tip is in center of the thickest part of beef and does not rest in fat or touch bone. (Do not add water.)

2.For medium-rare, bake 1 hour 45 minutes to 2 hours 15 minutes or until thermometer reads 135°F. Remove beef from pan onto carving board. Cover beef loosely with foil and let stand 15 to 20 minutes until thermometer reads 145°F. (Temperature will continue to rise about 10°F, and beef will be easier to carve.) For medium, bake uncovered 2 hours 15 minutes to 2 hours 45 minutes or until thermometer reads 150°F. Cover beef loosely with foil and let stand 15 to 20 minutes or until thermometer reads 160°F.

3.While beef is standing, make Yorkshire Pudding. Measure pan drippings, adding enough oil to drippings, if necessary, to measure 1/4 cup. Place hot drippings in 9-inch square pan; place pan in oven and heat until hot. Increase oven temperature to 450°F. In medium bowl, beat flour, milk, 1/2 teaspoon salt and the eggs with wire whisk just until smooth. Pour batter into pan of drippings and oil. Bake 18 to 23 minutes or puffy and golden brown (pudding will puff during baking but will deflate shortly after being removed from oven). Cut pudding into squares; serve immediately with beef.

Nutrition Information: 1 Serving: Calories 340 (Calories from Fat 160); Total Fat 17g (Saturated Fat 7g, Trans Fat 1/2g); Cholesterol 140mg; Sodium 390mg; Total Carbohydrate 13g (Dietary Fiber 0g, Sugars 2g); Protein 32g Percent Daily Value*: Vitamin A 4%; Vitamin C 0%; Calcium 4%; Iron 20% Exchanges: 1 Starch; 0 Other Carbohydrate; 0 Vegetable; 4 Lean Meat; 1 Fat Carbohydrate Choices: 1 *Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

Carlee's Banana Chip Muffins

2008-10-10T12:52:00.005-06:00

Ingredients:

2 cups flour

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

2 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 egg (or in Carlee's case 1 egg's worth of egg replacer)

2 ripe bananas

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

1/2 cup milk

1 cup milk chocolate chips

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Combine egg (or egg replacer), milk, bananas and applesauce; stir into dry ingredients until combined. Fold in chocolate chips. Fill cup cake papers 3/4 full. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool. Makes 1 dozen.

Fluffernutter Day!

2008-10-08T12:57:00.005-06:00

According to Wikipedia: "A fluffernutter is a sandwich made with peanut butter and marshmallow creme. Its name comes from the common use of "Marshmallow Fluff" brand marshmallow creme. It is particularly popular in the Northeastern United States states and has been proposed as the official Massachusetts state sandwich."

"Variations of this recipe include the addition of bananas, honey, graham crackers, M&M's, or any ingredients that are deemed compatible with peanut butter. The traditional method of combining the peanut butter and marshmallow creme is simply spreading one slice of bread with each and combining them into a sandwich; however, some purists contend that mixing equal amounts of both in a bowl and spreading them together results in a superior texture and taste. This particular method of preparation, however, has never appeared in the manufacturer's official cookbooks and is contrary to the popular commercial jingle which advises purchasers on the proper way to construct a Fluffernutter.

In June 2006, Massachusetts State Senator Jarrett Barrios gained national attention when he proposed legislation restricting the serving of Fluffernutter sandwiches in public schools. The proposal was widely mocked as an example of trivial and overly intrusive legislation, while Barrios supporters pointed to concerns over the problem of childhood obesity.

"Fluffernutter" is a registered trademark of Durkee-Mower Inc., the maker of "Marshmallow Fluff" brand marshmallow creme. However, Durkee-Mower's US trademark registrations for Fluffernutter cover only ice cream and printed recipes. In 2006, Durkee-Mower sued Williams-Sonoma Inc. in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, alleging that Williams-Sonoma was selling a marshmallow and peanut butter chocolate-covered candy under the "Fluffernutter" name.

If you've never tried one now is the time!

Chocolate Mousse

2008-10-08T12:50:00.023-06:00

Chalk it up to being too tired, overworked, trying to accomplish something when the kids are bothering me, oh just chalk it up to being careless. Here's the chocolate mousse recipe that I was excited about posting from a Betty Crocker recipe I found. The only problem is that I misread the recipe and used egg whites instead of egg yolks! Oopsie! I'll definitely have to try this recipe again when I'm more level-headed. I should have known something was wrong when my egg whites weren't turning lemon colored in the very first step. That's probably why it was a little lumpy before I put the chocolate in too. Hmmm...this is gonna have to be a redo! Enjoy the recipe anyways. This is what it should have looked like:

At least mine still tasted alright! It just wasn't as good as it should have been.

Chocolate Mousse

Prep Time:10 min
Start to Finish:2 hr 20 min
Makes:8 servings

Ingredients:
4 egg yolks
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup whipping (heavy) cream
1 package (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips (1 cup)
1 1/2 cups whipping (heavy) cream

Directions:

Beat egg yolks in small bowl with electric mixer on high speed about 3 minutes or until thick and lemon colored. (Yeah they're still white!)

Gradually beat in sugar.

Heat 1 cup whipping cream in 2-quart saucepan over medium heat until hot.

Gradually stir at least half of the hot whipping cream into egg yolk mixture.

Stir back into hot cream in saucepan.

Cook over low heat about 5 minutes, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens (do not boil).

Stir in chocolate chips until melted. Cover and refrigerate about 2 hours, stirring occasionally, just until chilled. (This is where the lumpiness came into play.)

Beat 1 1/2 cups whipping cream in chilled medium bowl with electric mixer on high speed until stiff.

Fold chocolate mixture into whipped cream.

Pipe or spoon mixture into serving bowls. Immediately refrigerate any remaining dessert after serving.

Next time it'll be better...

Nutrition Information

1 Serving: Calories 390 (Calories from Fat 290 ); Total Fat 32 g (Saturated Fat 19 g); Cholesterol 190 mg; Sodium 30 mg; Total Carbohydrate 22 g (Dietary Fiber 1 g); Protein 4 g Percent Daily Value*: Vitamin A 20 %; Vitamin C 0%; Calcium 6 %; Iron 4 % Exchanges: *Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

So Corny!

2008-10-07T07:17:00.010-06:00

HOMEMADE CORNDOGS!!

I just love going to county fairs and smelling the deep fried corn dogs! These are one of Carlee's favorite treats but with her egg allergy she couldn't have them anymore. She just turned 3 on Sunday so we decided to whip up a batch for her birthday dinner. We even doubled the recipe so I could put some in the freezer for her.

I found a recipe that looked really good off of allrecipes.com and we decided to give it a try. All I had to do was use an egg substitute. Everyone at the party said they were better than store bought!

Prep Time: 20 Minutes
Cook Time: 20 Minutes
Ready In: 40 Minutes
Yields: 16 servings

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup yellow cornmeal 1 egg
1 cup all-purpose flour 1 cup milk
1/4 teaspoon salt 1 quart vegetable oil for frying
1/8 teaspoon black pepper 2 (16 ounce) packages beef frankfurters
1/4 cup white sugar 16 wooden skewers
4 teaspoons baking powder

DIRECTIONS:
1.In a medium bowl, combine cornmeal, flour, salt, pepper, sugar and baking powder. Stir in eggs and milk.
2.Preheat oil in a deep saucepan over medium heat. Insert wooden skewers into frankfurters. Roll frankfurters in batter until well coated.
3.Fry 2 or 3 corn dogs at a time for 8 to 10 minutes, or until lightly browned. Drain on paper towels.

My son getting a hot dog ready for dipping.

Cousin Kaitlyn dipped all the corn dogs into a cup. It was much easier to coat them in a cup than the mixing bowl.

My mother in law took over the cooking. Hmmm...now that I think about it I didn't really do much except provide the ingredients!

The birthday girl couldn't wait for her hot dog to cook so she snuck off with just a hot dog on a stick!

Hip Hip Hooray! It's Noodle Day!

2008-10-06T21:34:00.006-06:00

In honor of National Noodle Day I decided to make lasagna! It's actually Pasta Week too so I killed two birds with one stone. Lazy Lasagna

From Cooking Light

Using precooked or pre-shredded products makes throwing together this lasagna a snap!

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground round
1 26-ounce jar low-fat spaghetti sauce
1 16-ounce carton fat-free cottage cheese
2 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese
Cooking Spray
1 8-ounce package precooked lasagna noodles
1 cup (4-ounces) pre-shredded reduced-fat mild cheddar cheese
Chopped fresh parsley (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cook meat in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until browned, stirring to crumble. Drain well, and return to pan. Add sauce; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes. Combine cottage and Parmesan cheeses in a bowl; set aside.

Spread 1/2 cup meat mixture in bottom of a 13x9 -inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Arrange 4 noodles over meat mixture; top with half of cottage cheese mixture, 1 cup meat mixture, and 1/3 cup cheddar cheese. Repeat layer, ending with noodles. Spread remaining meat mixture over noodles. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Uncover; sprinkle with 1/3 cup cheddar cheese, and bake 5 more minutes or until cheese melts. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. Garish with parsley, if desired.

Yield: 9 servings

CALORIES: 275 (20% from fat); FAT: 6.2g; IRON: 2.8mg; CHOLESTEROL: 43mg; CALCIUM: 181mg; CARBOHYDRATE: 26.1g; SODIUM: 584mg; PROTEIN: 28.1g; FIBER: 1.9g.

Collin pronounced this as "Super Duper-licious!"

Fruity French Toast

2008-10-02T15:07:00.005-06:00

Who wouldn't love a big plate of beautiful french toast? Well, someone allergic to eggs I guess. I had to figure out a way to let my allergic daughter enjoy french toast and not feel left out. This is a nice healthy breakfast to cook for my Carlee although with blueberries it was a little tart. Nothing a little maple syrup didn't cure though! Other fruits can be substituted.

Ingredients:

1 banana

1/3 cup frozen blueberries

1/3 cup apple juice

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

5 slices whole wheat bread

Directions:

Blend the banana, blueberries, apple juice, and cinnamon in a blender. Heat a pan adding a bit of butter to prevent sticking. When the pan is hot soak the bread in the fruit mixture until coated but not saturated. Cook on both sides until lightly browned.

Bell Pepper Nachos

2008-10-02T07:37:00.004-06:00

The next time you are thinking of reaching for that gooey plate of cheese dripping nacho chips, why not try something a little healthier? Cut up some colorful bell peppers and sprinkle with mozzerella and sharp cheddar. Very yummy and a great way to sneak in a little nutrition while still getting your crunch on!

Bonbon Cookies

2008-10-02T07:18:00.004-06:00

These cookies would be perfect for a little girls tea party!

created by Mrs. Joseph J. Wallace

Ingredients:

1/2 cup soft butter
3/4 cup sifted confectioners sugar
1 Tbsp. vanilla
food coloring if desired
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/8 tsp. salt
Filling-if desired. Possible choices chocolate chips, chopped nuts, coconut, cherries...choose your own adventure!

Icing:

Mix 1 cup sifted confections' sugar, 2 tbsp. cream, 1 tsp vanilla, and food coloring (if desired).

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Mix butter, sugar, vanilla and food coloring (if using), thoroughly. Measure flour by dip-level-pour method or by sifting. Blend in flour and salt. If dough is dry, add 1 to 2 Tbsp. cream. Wrap a level Tablespoon of dough around filling. Place 1" apart on un-greased cookie sheet. Bake 12 to 15 minutes. Cool; dip tops of cookies in frosting; decorate with another topping if desired. Makes 20-25 cookies.

Chocolate Bon-Bon Cookies

2008-10-02T06:38:00.022-06:00

Ummmm...chocolate!!

I created this recipe adapted from the original bonbon cookie recipe.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup soft butter

3/4 cup confectioners sugar

1 Tbsp. vanilla

1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

Cream butter, vanilla and confectioners sugar.

Melt semi-sweet chocoate chips in double broiler or in glass bowl over boiling water.

Add melted chocolate to cream mixture.

Mix in flour.

Press 3 semi-sweet chips in middle of 1 Tbsp. dough. Roll dough over chips.

Place at least 1" apart on un-greased cookie sheet. Bake 12 to 15 minutes. Cool.

Chocolate Glaze:

2 oz. semi-sweet chocolate squares

1 1/2 Tbsp. butter

3/4 cup powdered sugar

2 Tbsp. hot water

In small saucepan melt chocolate and butter.

Remove from heat. Stir in powdered sugar.

Stir in hot water until smooth.

Dip top of cookie into chocoate glaze. Hold over bowl until it stops dripping.

Let cookies set.

Enjoy!!

Pudding Season Begins!

2008-10-01T16:05:00.005-06:00

The History of Puddings

The speculative origin of puddings begins in man's distant past. Crude pudding-like dishes likely originated over open fires with the simple boiling of available ingredients. Before medieval times, they were mostly meat based, but with the advent of refined sugar, cooks experimented with sweeter combinations and found them tasty. By the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, people were making sweet puddings of flour, sugar, fruits, nuts, and spices. These were either baked in pans or boiled in a sheep's stomach or in pudding bags made of cloth. Elizabeth herself enjoyed serving elaborate puddings at her royal banquets. The royal table would be loaded with an abundance of rich-tasting, fancy puddings, fruit pies, and marchpanes. In those days, desserts were considered to be the essential part of a banquet or feast. By the late 1700s, few puddings contained meat, and sweet varieties such as bread, rice, and lemon became forever popularized, along with trifles, as desserts. Many of today's favorite pudding dessert recipes evolved from the earlier varieties once made in royal kitchens and crofter's cottages.

Chocolate mousse post coming soon....

This is My Type of Food Pyramid!!

2008-10-01T15:04:00.004-06:00

picture swiped from cakespy.com

I love EVERYTHING sweet. Even the richest most decadent desserts that some find to be too sugary sweet. Bring them on I say! I can't get enough! At least I'm not the only one who thinks sweets should be in every food group!

Now That's a Cupcake!

2008-09-30T09:14:00.005-06:00

Photo Credit Courtesy of the Food Network

Duff Goldman, host of Ace of Cakes, puts the finishing touches on the world's largest cupcake.

Record holder: Duff Goldman
Location: Mall of America, Minneapolis
March 30, 2008

The Food Network's Duff Goldman lives up to his Ace of Cakes title by baking the largest cupcake in history — now entered in the Guinness Book of World Records. The 61.4-pound creation is more than a foot tall and entirely edible. Reportedly 150 times the size of a regular cupcake, this record-breaker called for 16 pounds of butter, 10 pounds of sugar, and three ounces of food coloring. The mammoth confection supported the Great American Bake Sale, which raised $10,000 and awareness for Share Our Strength, a charity working to fight hunger across America.

Article Courtesy of MSN Food News and Events

Mini Frozen Bananas

2008-09-29T06:50:00.005-06:00

This is a very kid friendly dessert. My kids love it! It also sneaks in a little nutrition using bananas.

I used 5 bananas and cut them into bite size pieces. I then put a mini craft stick into each one and laid them on a waxed paper covered cookie sheet. Freeze for at least 1 hour. I heated up an entire bag of chocolate chips because I like them really coated! Then refreeze for another hour. Yum!

Cheesy Pigs in a Blanket

2008-09-29T06:48:00.005-06:00

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Coat baking sheet with cooking spray. Slit 8 hot dogs lengthwise to within 1/2" of each end without cutting through. Place 1 Tbs. shredded Cheddar cheese in each slit. Divide 1 tube (8 0z.) refrigerated breadstick dough along perforations into 8 pieces. Stretch each piece into 24"-long strip; cut in half crosswise. Crisscross dough strips around each hot dog; sprinkle all with 1/2 tsp. dried Italian seasoning. Bake on baking sheet 8 minutes or until golden. If desired, serve with honey mustard or ketchup. Makes 8 hot dogs.

Breakfast Parfait

2008-09-26T07:38:00.006-06:00

This is a quick and yummy breakfast!

Ingredients:

4 sliced fresh strawberries

1/3 cup fresh blueberries

1 container Yoplait Light Stawberry Shortcake

1/2 cup Honey Bunches of Oats Just Bunches Caramel Flavor

Layer strawberries on bottom of dish and top with half of yogurt container. Next add cereal reserving 1 tbsp for top. Layer blueberries and the rest of the yogurt on top. Top with 1 tbsp. of Just Bunches Cereal. Voila!

Serves one.

This is a wonderful cereal for parfaits!

I'm loving the new Yoplait flavors! Who doesn't like strawberry shortcake?

Idaho Annual Spud Day

2008-09-21T09:32:00.017-06:00

Hurray for spud day! Being Idahoans we just had to celebrate potato day. After all aren't potatoes what alot of people associate with Idaho? We ate creamed potatoes and peas. I already saved this recipe on my blog under the potato link. It's one of my husband's favorites.

Creamed potatoes and peas with pot roast.

Then for dessert my mom made an apple raisin cake with potato crust. It was so good we had to sample it before dinner! You can see her recipe on http://rhondasrantsravingsandcravings.blogspot.com.

You couldn't even tell it had potatoes in the crust. It tasted more like pie.

We also had to make Idaho potato doughnuts. Yum! The recipe is on my previous post. If I wasn't so lazy I would have made hash browns for breakfast too!

Idaho Potato Doughnuts

2008-09-21T09:20:00.014-06:00

Makes 4 dozen

Ingredients:

2 packages active dry or cake yeast
1/2 cup warm water (110 to 115 degrees Farenheit)
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup shortening or margarine
1 1/2 cups prepared Instant Mashed Idaho Potatoes, cold
1 T. lemon extract
3 eggs, well beaten
2 cups milk, scalded and cooled to luke warm
1 tablespoon salt
6-8 cups sifted flour

Glaze:

Boiling water
1 lb. powdered sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Dissolve yeast in warm water, set aside.
Cream sugar and shortening. Beat in cold potatoes, eggs, cooled milk, yeast water, salt and lemon extract. Mix in flour adding just enough to make a soft dough. Knead well.
Place dough in greased bowl; cover and let rise in warm place until doubled in bulk. Roll out dough to 1/2 inch thickness. Cut with a well-floured cutter. Let rise uncovered about 30 minutes. Deep fry in oil heated to 375 degrees Farenheit. Drain on paper towl.
To make glaze, gradually add enough boiling water to powdered sugar and vanilla to make thin glaze. Drizzle over doughnuts.

Purple Pancakes

2008-09-17T13:37:00.007-06:00

Ingredients:

2 cups Bisquick
1 cup milk
2 eggs
1 cup frozen blueberries

Place blueberries into microwave safe container. Microwave for 15-20 seconds or until thawed. Set aside. In medium mixing bowl mix Bisquick, milk, and eggs. Stir in blueberries. (Can drain some of the juice but we like to mix it in to get the purple color.) Pour batter in 1/4 cup increments onto hot greased griddle. Cook until edges are dry. Flip; cook until golden.

Makes about 14 pancakes.

Small batch of eggless pancakes.

1/4 cup applesauce
1/2 cup milk
1 cup Bisquick
1/4 cup frozen blueberries with juice

Prepare like above mixing applesauce with batter instead of eggs. Makes 3 large thick pancakes.

Applesauce Oatmeal Cookies

2008-09-14T14:15:00.007-06:00

APPLESAUCE-OATMEAL COOKIES

These soft cookies are low in fat and can be made eggless.

1/3 cup butter or margarine, softened

2/3 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 egg

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/4 cups rolled oats

In medium mixing bowl beat butter or margarine with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add the brown sugar, cinnamon, and baking soda. Beat till combined, scraping sides of bowl. Beat in egg and applesauce till combined. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Stir in remaining flour and the rolled oats.
Drop dough by rounded teaspoons 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 8 to 10 minutes or till lightly browned. Transfer cookies to a wore rack and let cool. Makes about 30 cookies.

67 calories per cookie, 2 g total fat

Make it Eggless: Substitute 5 ml each baking soda and vinegar for the egg.

Eggless Banana Pancakes

2008-08-30T19:42:00.006-06:00

I found this yummy pancake recipe on the internet and now I don't remember where I printed it from! They are healthy and delicious. They are also good with jam!

1 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 tsp salt
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp white sugar
1 1/2 cups skim milk
2 small ripe bananas, finely chopped

In a large bowl, mix all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, salt, baking powder and sugar. Stir in milk and bananas just until moistened. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot.

Makes 12 pancakes. 91 calories each.

Hawaiian Haystacks

2008-08-22T07:57:00.006-06:00

My family loves this recipe although the kids have to eat theirs all separated. Picky eaters! The good thing about this recipe is that you can add or subtract whatever sounds good to you.

Ingredients:

rice
Chinese noodles
cream of chicken soup
sliced olives
pineapple chunks
2-3 chicken breasts, cubed and pan cooked
maraschino cherries, cut small

Cook rice according to package directions. While it's cooking heat up soup using 1/2 of the water that it calls for. Cook chicken over medium-high heat in 1 tbsp butter until cooked through. To serve layer Chinese noodles, rice, cream of chicken soup, chicken, olives, pineapple and cherries.

Crockpot Taco Soup

2008-08-22T07:55:00.004-06:00

Here's a recipe even my hubby can throw together!

1 lb. cooked ground beef, drained
1 pkg. taco seasoning
2 cans red kidney beans, drained (can use black beans)
2 cans kernel corn
2 cans diced tomatoes
1/3 cup salsa

Toss ingredients in crockpot. Don't drain tomatoes or corn. If there is too much liquid for your crockpot drain corn before adding. I usually cook mine on low for 8 hours while I'm at work. Can cook on high for 3-4 hours. Serve by itself or top with cheese, sour cream, or crushed tortilla chips.

Fruit Kabobs

2008-08-20T19:05:00.005-06:00

This is one of my favorite snacks. Very simple and easy. Just cut your favorite fruit and spear on a kabob stick. Then dip it in lemon flavored yogurt. Yum!!

Never Fail Chocolate Chip Cookies

2008-08-05T07:40:00.003-06:00

This NESTLE recipe is ALWAYS enjoyed by my family. It's nice to have a high altitude recipe that works every time!

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 large eggs

2 cups (12-oz) package NESTLE TOLL HOUSE Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

1 cup chopped nuts

PREHEAT oven to 375 degrees

COMBINE flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.

BAKE for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Let stand for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely. Makes about 5 dozen cookies.

HIGH ALTITUDE BAKING (5,200 feet) Increase flour to 2 1/2 cup. Add 2 tsp water with flour and reduce both granulated sugar and brown sugar to 2/3 cup each. Bake drop cookies for 8 to 10 minutes.

Upside-Down Personal Key Lime Pies

2008-07-31T14:08:00.005-06:00

This recipe is from a "Hungry Girl" newsletter. It was really good and tasted sinful even though it wasn't!

Ingredients:

One 4-serving package Jell-O Sugar Free Lime Gelatin dessert mix
2 cups Cool Whip Free, thawed
1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1 no-calorie sweetener packet
8 low-fat honey graham crackers (2 sheets)

Directions:

In a medium bowl, combine 1 cup boiling water with gelatin mix and sweetener. Stir for at least 2 minutes (until completely dissolved). Then add 1/2 cup cold water, the lemon juice, and the vanilla extract. Refrigerate for about 45 minutes, until slightly thickened but still mixable.

Next, stir in the Cool Whip. Mix until thoroughly blended (a wire whisk works best). Divide mixture among 5 dessert dishes. Refrigerate until firm (at least 3 hours).

Once ready to serve, crush graham crackers, and evenly distribute the crumbs over the top of the dishes.

Per Serving: 82 calories, 1 g fat

Twice Baked Potatoes

2008-07-31T14:02:00.005-06:00

I didn't really measure out any ingredients for this! My computer has been down so I threw some stuff in that sounded good.

I baked the potatoes and while still warm scooped out the insides. I combined the insides with sour cream, milk, pepper and salt and mixed to a desired consistency. I then scooped the inards back into thier shells. I put some of the potatoes into a piping bag to make a border around the edges. I filled in the middle with shredded cheddar cheese and baked in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes. The results were very appetizing!

Pantry Mexican Casserole

2008-07-31T13:52:00.004-06:00

My family always has Mexican staples in our cupboards and fridge so I threw together some ingredients I had on hand and the result was delicious!

My Ingredients:

1 can corn (about 16 oz)

2 cups cooked chicken cut into cubes

1/2 cup salsa

1 can drained diced tomatoes (about 15 oz)

1 packet taco seasoning (1.25 oz)

1 can kidney beans (about 15 oz)

1 cup crushed tortilla chips

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Preparation:

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Cube chicken and cook over medium-high heat with 1 tbsp butter until cooked through. In medium bowl combine chicken, corn, salsa, diced tomatoes, taco seasoning, and kidney beans. Place crushed chips on bottom of casserole dish and cover with combined ingredients. Top with shredded cheese and bake in oven for 30 minutes. This was very good served on more tortilla chips with a dollop of sour cream. Also excellent for dipping!