Squash Chips

School has started, football season is in full swing, office has switched to winter hours, and Fall is swiftly approaching. Routine, hoodies, baking and cheering for our favorite football teams...this is my favorite time of the year.

During our long weekend we have been Fall cleaning, reorganizing and enjoying this beautiful Wyoming weather. As for me, I am focusing on getting back into the routine of baking, meal planning and blogging!

Today I made Squash Chips. Healthy, tasty and due to the simple fact that they are chips, the kids of course love them.

Making the chips:
Preheat your oven to 200 degrees F. Slice one large squash into thin slices and place on a baking sheet. Salt. Bake for one hour and then flip over chips. Bake for an additional hour or until crisp. Serve with your favorite dip.

Squash Chips

Dark Chocolate Chunk Skillet Cookie

My life has been a crazy blur these past few weeks.  Big changes at work (positive, exciting changes I should add), track meets, school activities, last minute tax preparation...you get the picture.  What better way to relax on an activity-free Saturday than with a cookie that you mix and cook right in the skillet.  Spoon a scoop of ice cream on top, pass out some spoons, and dig in.  Talk about a yummy treat to indulge in after a long busy week.  Go ahead, you deserve it!

Recipe adapted from: Sophistimom

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What you need:
1 stick 8 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 egg
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup chocolate chunks


How to make it:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter in an 8 inch cast iron skillet set over medium-low heat. Next, stir in sugars and vanilla and remove from heat. Let the mixture rest until the pan is warm, but no longer very hot, (about 5 minutes).
2. Crack an egg onto the butter and sugar mixture, and use a fork to whisk it well into the mixture. Place flour, baking soda, and salt on top, and very carefully stir into the mixture until smooth and well-mixed. Stir in chocolate chunks. Place in the oven for 20-25 minutes, or until starting to turn golden on the top and around the edges, but soft in the center. Serve with vanilla ice cream.

Dark Chocolate Chunk Skillet Cookie

Double Oat Breakfast Cookies

Thumbing through recipe cards last weekend while looking for my chocolate chip muffin recipe, I came across a recipe card that a dear friend of mine from Texas gave me about a year ago.  I used to babysit her two little munchkins and most mornings they would arrive at my house with these delicious looking cookie bars.  I finally gave in and asked her what she was sending with them and if I could have the recipe because they looked amazingly delicious.  A few mornings later she arrived with the kids and the recipe for the breakfast cookies and I stuck it in a recipe book, completely forgetting about it.  I was so excited to come across this forgotten card of yumminess and decided to make the cookies instead of the planned muffins that morning for breakfast.  Just picture the surprised looks on my boys' faces when I called them to the table for breakfast and served cookies to them on their plates.  I can proudly say I got the mom award that day.

These cookies taste incredible, they are filling and best of all...freezable!  After we were done with breakfast I put the remaining cookies in a zip lock freezer bag and put them in the freezer.  These are wonderful to eat straight out of the freezer with a hot cup of coffee or cold glass of milk.

My favorite recipes are the handwritten ones given to me from friends....

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What you need:

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

1 1/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 cup water

1 egg

1 tbsp vanilla

1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 cup oats

1 cup chocolate chips  (or your favorite chip, white chocolate, butterscotch, peanut butter, etc.)

3 cups cheerios 

*the cookies pictured above were made with 1/2 cup peanut butter chips and 1/2 cup white chocolate chips)

How to make them:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  In a large mixing bowl combine butter and peanut butter with electric mixer for 30 seconds.  Add sugar, baking soda and salt.  Beat until combined.  Beat in water, egg and vanilla for one minute.  Beat in flour, followed by the oatmeal until well combined.  Stir in chocolate chips and cheerios.  Drop by 1/4 cupfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake 10-12 minutes or until edges are slightly browned.  Let cool on pan for 3 minutes and then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.  

A few substitution suggestions:

*3/4 cup sugar and 1/2 cup splenda 

*1 cup all purpose flour and 1/2 cup whole wheat 

Double Oat Breakfast Cookies

Kentucky Wildcat Cupcakes! Go Big Blue!

Our household, like many others, are excited, nervous and more than anything, anxious for the big game tomorrow.  One that has truly divided the Bluegrass state.  It's March Madness, baby, and two of our Kentucky teams are duking (btw, where is Duke?) it out tomorrow in the Final Four Games.  This is the first time that the Kentucky Wildcats and the Louisville Cardinals have faced the big dance against each other in the Final Four and boy, is it going to be a showdown.  You know it's serious when dialysis patients break out their fists to fight over the big event.  Yes, you heard me right, but I'll say it again.  What?  Fist fight.  Who?  Dialysis patients.  Why?  Ky versus UofL game in the NCAA Final Four Tournament.  Lesson learned from this?  You don't mess with KY fans when it comes to their Cats.

We will be chowing down on our usual game day foods tomorrow (in the comfort and safety of our own home) as well as some Blue Velvet Cupcakes that are perfect for any KY Wildcat event.  I found this recipe last year on bettycrocker.com and made these for my son's 15th birthday last year and they turned out great.  So, whether you are cheering on your team in New Orleans, Lexington, Louisville or Wyoming...be safe, have fun and whatever you do please don't make the same mistake that the dialysis patient did because we all know the UK fan is always right!  Get your Goggles on, boys!  Go Cats!

photo courtesy of kentucky.com.

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Cake:
1 box white cake mix
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
1 tablespoon unsweetened baking cocoa
2 teaspoons royal blue paste food color
1 toothpick violet paste food color

Frosting:
1 jar (7oz) marshmallow creme
1 cup butter or margarine, softened
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS:
1.  Heat oven to 325F.  Line muffin pan with white cupcake liners or grease and flour cake pans if making a cake.
2.  In a large bowl, beat cake ingredients with electric mixer on low speed about 30 seconds, then on medium speed for 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally.
3.  Divide batter evenly into cupcake liners or cake pans.  Bake 22 to 27 minutes or until toothpick comes out dry.  Cool 15 minutes and remove from pans.  Cool completely.
4.  Spoon marshmallow creme into large microwavable bowl; microwave uncovered on high 15-20 seconds to soften.  Add butter.  Beat with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth.  Beat in powdered sugar and salt until smooth.
5.  Pipe your frosting onto your cupcakes and enjoy the game!

*If you are in a hurry or don't have the desire to make the Marshmallow frosting, you can always use a store bought vanilla icing.   

Kentucky Wildcat Cupcakes! Go Big Blue!

Refrigerator Pickles

I have received a ton of cucumbers over the past few weeks in our bountiful basket and so after searching Pinterest for some ideas, I decided to make Refrigerator Pickles.  One Perfect Bite shares a delicious recipe for these pickles.  The recipe I am going to share was adapted from the one I found and  let me tell ya, they are yummy.  They lasted, well, about a day in our house and this morning my oldest asked me when I was going to make some more.  So yeah, you guessed it, I have another batch made up and resting in the refrigerator until tomorrow.

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What you need for these pickles:
1-1/2 cups distilled white vinegar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
4 teaspoons kosher salt
2 3/4 teaspoons of pickling spice
2 cups hot water
2 pounds kirby cucumbers, sliced 1/4-inch thick
1 tablespoon dill weed spice
3 cloves garlic, minced


Making them:
1.  Combine Vinegar, sugar, salt and pickling spice in a medium size bowl.  Add the hot water and stir until the sugar dissolves and the liquid is clear.  Cool to room temperature.  (This only takes a minute or two.)
2.  Place your cucumbers, minced garlic and dill weed spice in a large bowl and toss to combine.  Pour your brine over the cucumbers and stir until cucumbers are well coated.  
3.  Cover them with a plate to weigh them down and keep them covered in the brine.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight, stirring once or twice.    
4.  Transfer to an airtight container and store for up to two weeks. Yield: 1 quart. 

Cover your cucumbers in brine.

Refrigerator Pickles

Beef with Broccoli

My apologies that I have been MIA since Valentine's Day.  My children, as well as myself, got attacked by a horrible viral illness that left us coughing and miserable with fever for a couple of weeks.  Besides a few lingering coughs, it seems that we have overcome yet another round of this stuff and I can speak for all of us in saying, "We are ready for Spring!"

My husband was sweet enough to help me one night with dinner and it was the night that we had beef and broccoli on the menu.  It. Was. Amazing.  We received another head of broccoli in our Bountiful Basket yesterday, and if you haven't already guessed it...yes, this delicious meal has landed on our menu again for this upcoming week.  This was my first attempt at making a beef and broccoli stir fry, like the kind we love to inhale at our favorite little Chinese restaurant, and I have to say I lucked out when I came across this recipe from Rainy Day Gal.  Not only does it taste like it came straight out your favorite take out box, it is even a little better. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

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For the meat marinade you need:
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 tsp sugar
1 tablespoon corn starch
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon water
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 1/2 pounds of flank steak, sliced into thin pieces

*Whisk together all of the above Ingredients in a large mixing bowl.  Once well blended, toss the sliced steak in the mixture until well coated.  Cover and place in the refrigerator for at least one hour.

After you have let the meat sit in the marinade for one hour, you should go ahead and proceed with the rest of the ingredients.  For this part you will need:

1/2 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar
4 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tablespoons flour
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 heads of broccoli, crowns only

1.  In a small bowl, whisk together the first four ingredients until blended and then set aside.
2.  In a large saute pan (or wok if you have one) heat 2 tablespoons of the vegetable oil over high heat until shimmering.  Add your broccoli and saute for 3 minutes, stirring often.  Once your broccoli is sauteed, transfer it to a bowl and set aside.
3.  Carefully add the remaining 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil to your hot pan (your pan will be hot and the oil may pop).  Add the marinated meat and half of your sauce mixture you previously made, and saute for about 5 minutes or until the meat is thoroughly cooked and no longer pink.  Stir in the broccoli and the remaining half of your sauce mixture and saute for one more minute.  Serve hot with steamed white or brown rice.  Makes approximately 4 servings.

*An optional side of eggs rolls and sauteed mushrooms goes wonderful with this dish!

Beef with Broccoli

Sweet and Sour Chicken

I had green and red peppers, and even a fresh pineapple that need to be eaten, so I tweaked our menu a bit and decided to make sweet and sour chicken with white rice and egg rolls.  The egg rolls were some I had previously made, froze and then reheated tonight.  The dish I made was adapted from a recipe I found on Food Network.  The picture they posted showed a typical red sauce that you normally find at an Asian restaurant, but the sauce that I ended up with was nothing like that at all.  However, it was very delicious and had such a good flavor.  I hope you enjoy as much as we did!

Sweet and Sour Chicken

*note: As written, this recipe Serves 2-4.  If you have a large family like I do, you will need to double!
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Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 boneless chicken breasts cut into chunks 
• Salt and pepper
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 cup chopped red pepper
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 4 teaspoons cornstarch, mixed with 4 teaspoons water
• 1 cup pineapple cut into chunks with 1/2 cup reserved juice
• 3 tablespoons light brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup chicken stock
• 1/2 cup chopped green pepper

How to make it!

In a large non-stick skillet, heat oil over medium high heat. Season chicken with salt, pepper and ginger and add to pan. Brown chicken and remove to plate.  Next add the onion, red and green peppers and cook for 1 minute.  Stir in pineapple chunks, juice, sugar, vinegar and chicken stock and bring to a simmer.  Simmer until sauce begins to reduce.  Stir in cornstarch mixture and bring the liquid to a simmer.  Stir in chicken and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Serve over white rice with a side of egg rolls and enjoy!

Sauteing veggies and pineapple

A delicious dinner !

Sweet and Sour Chicken

Red Velvet Chip Cookies!

Tonight I am baking Red Velvet Chip Cookies for my boys' teachers, friends and of course for my own little Valentines.  I wanted a red cookie, something festive, something a little unique and of course something ridiculously delicious!  I stumbled upon this cookie recipe posted by Sweet Dreaming and knew this was the cookie I had been looking for.  I just finished my first batch, and not only are they a beautiful red cookie, they are moist and absolutely delicious!  I am so pleased with how these turned out, I wanted to immediately share with all of you, just in time for your own Valentine's Day celebrations!  Happy Heart Day dear friends!  Much love!

What you need:

1 box Red Velvet cake mix
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350.  Combine cake mix, oil, eggs, and vanilla. Mix until a dough forms.  Dough will be thick!  Fold in the chocolate chips.  Roll into balls and bake at 350 for 10 minutes.  Let cookies stand on pan for about 3 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.

Makes about 30 cookies.

the dough...

Roll them into balls...

Yumtastic!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Red Velvet Chip Cookies!

The Eats for the Week!

Menu Board by Oh So Chichi!

Today, I have done nothing.  There is snow on the ground, it is cold outside, and I have become a permanent fixture on my sofa surrounded by the comforts of my blanket and pillow.  We all need a movie marathon day every now and then, don't you think?  After many hours of debate, I finally came to the conclusion that I should at least find my lap top and plan our meals while I lay here, as I am assuming my family will want to eat this week. They're pretty demanding like that.

Above is a cute menu board created by Oh So Chichi!  Isn't this the cutest thing!  Go here to be taken to the tutorial and learn how to create this menu board for your own home!

Breakfasts and lunches will be fairly basic this week and everything I need for those meal I already have in the pantry, so meal planning this week will consist only of dinners. Yes, is seems as if my laziness is going to be a week long event!

Dinners this week:
Penne with roasted asparagus, red lobster biscuits, spicy roasted cauliflower
Beef with Broccoli , white steamed rice, sauteed mushrooms
BBQ drumsticks, steamed broccoli with a cheese sauce, garlic potatoes
Game night foods: Chicken wings, queso and chips, crescent wrapped lil smokies, carrot sticks
Spaghetti, asparagus, garlic bread
Green salad tossed with roasted chicken breast, carrots, red peppers and tomatoes
Valentine's Dinner Out 

The Eats for the Week!

Caramel Apple Bites

Since the hubby and I are going out to dinner and a movie tonight, I thought I would do a little dessert for the boys to have after their dinner of baked pork chops, roasted asparagus and steamed carrots. Now that I realize how delish their dinner sounds I may be second guessing going out to dinner...roasted asparagus, yum! I had an apple that looked a little bruised, so after slicing it I dipped each piece into some melted caramel and made my sweet darlings some Caramel Apple Bites! Cute, easier to eat and a lot less messy than an entire Caramel Apple!

Caramel Apple Bites