Russian Tea Cakes

Also known as "Wedding Cookies". This is my mother-in-laws recipe and my first attempt at baking them. A co-worker and friend gathered on Sunday to bake and put together Christmas goodie boxes for fellow physicians and their staff members. We made a variety of treats, including these Russian Tea Cakes. They looked great in the boxes and tasted like the ones we had as children. Enjoy!

The Ingredients:
1 cup soft butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup pecans chopped fine in a chopper

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Cream together the first two ingredients, add the vanilla and then stir in the flour and salt. Add the nuts and mix well. Roll into 1" balls and place on a cookie sheet. (These will not expand so they can be placed close together). Bake for 12 minutes. After removing from oven roll each ball into the powdered sugar while hot. Set aside and let them completely cool and then roll each ball in the powdered sugar again.

Yields approximately 4 dozen.

White Chocolate Candy Cane Martini

'Tis The Season...for fabulous holiday drinks!  Recently at a local restaurant I was served a Candy Cane Martini.  Instantly, I was hooked and searching for a recipe so that I could enjoy this drink in the comfort of my own home.  The recipe I am using originated from One Martini At A Time.  I am actually sipping on one as I blog...yum!  Sit back, relax, and enjoy this Ridiculously Delicious Holiday Drink.  You deserve it!

Makes Two Drinks

The Spirits:
2 ounces of Vodka
1 ounce of Peppermint Schnapps
4 ounces of a White Chocolate Liqueur
3 ounces of half and half
Mini candy cane for garnish
Red sugar sprinkles for cuteness

In a cocktail shaker combine the spirits and half and half with ice, shake and strain into a martini glass.  Garnish your glass with the miniature candy cane and sprinkle in some red sugar sprinkles for a little extra Christmas.

The Great Food Blogger Swap 2012: Cake Batter Chocolate Chip Cookies

This year I was excited to be able to participate in The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap.  Money collected by each participate went to support Kid's Cancer through the organization Cookies For Kids Cancer.  The cookie swap was a really fun event in that I received names and addresses of three fellow bloggers, and three bloggers received all of my information.  No one knew who got who's name until you received your packages of cookies in the mail.  As the deadline grew closer my boys waited patiently for our cookies to arrive and once they did we were treated to some delicious tasting treats and I have been introduced to some pretty amazing bloggers.

The cookies I made, packaged and mailed were Cake Batter Chocolate Chip Cookies.  The recipe I used was a new to me recipe that I discovered from the blog Six Sisters' Stuff.  Not only are they the easiest cookies to make, they are very yummy too!

For these cookies you will need:
1 (18.25 oz) box cake mix, any flavor
1 tsp. baking powder
2 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.  In a medium bowl, stir together the cake mix and baking powder.  Add the eggs and oil.  Mix until blended well and then stir in the chocolate chips.  Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes.  Let cool on pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Be sure to check out these fabulous blogs that have been introduced to me through The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap:

Meet Claire at www.claireknudsen.wordpress.com (your chocolate-peppermint cookies are delicious!)
Carrie can be found at  www.kissmywhisk.com (the Chewy Pumpkin Cookies with Chocolate and Caramel were AMAZING!)
Kelli blogs at www.thecornerkitchen.blogspot.com (the Snickerdoodles with White Chocolate Chunks instantly disappeared!)
Say Hi to Toni at www.atasteofalaska.blogspot.com
Laura's blog is www.ringfingertanline.com
Stephanie can be found at www.munchimunch.blogspot.com 

A HUGE Thank You to Love and Olive Oil and The Little Kitchen for organizing the event!  Now, what to bake next year...

Raspberry Santa Hats

So once again it was time for our family to provide snack to 35 little munchkins at Jaxon's pre-school. Since it was December I decided to make a basic chex mix with rice cereal, goldfish, pretzels and M&M's along with some precious little raspberry Santa hats! Strawberries would work beautifully, but in December in Wyoming those are impossible to find.

To make these cute little hats I pipped a small amount of Pillsbury peppermint icing into the bottom of mini silver cupcake papers, placed a fresh red raspberry on the top of the icing and then pipped a small ball on the top to the raspberry to finish off the hat. I placed them in the refrigerator over night so the icing would firm up a bit and to keep the raspberries cold and fresh.

Homemade Strawberry Jam

Here we go.  Another 2012 DIY project I was able to cross off my list this year.  Homemade Strawberry Jam.  This Summer, from Bountiful Baskets, I purchased a large amount of strawberries at a very cheap price.  I made jam, a topping for strawberry shortcakes which I froze, cut up and froze strawberries, kept for some for snacks and even made the cutest strawberry ice for fruity summer drinks.  This Strawberry Jam was a huge hit and my most favorite part about this particular recipe is that you do not use Pectin. It is completely natural!  I had never made jam before and after looking at several recipes, most of them containing pectin, I wondered how this one would gel or set, but it did and it tasted amazing!

This recipe was found at Scientficially Sweet.  Hop on over there and check out more delicious recipes!

The THREE Ingredients:

1 lb strawberries, quartered

3/4 cup granulated sugar (don't skimp on this)

2 TBS fresh squeezed lemon juice

How To Make It:

Place strawberries in a large sauce pot over medium-low heat.  Cover and cook gently until they begin to release their juices, about 5 minutes.  Stir in the sugar, increase the heat to medium and bring the mixture to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer until it has thickened, which takes between 10-15 minutes.  Using a potato masher, break down the large pieces of fruit, leaving it a little chunky.  Stir in your freshly squeezed lemon juice (love any excuse to use my grandma's glass juicer) and continue to boil gently until very thick and syrupy (takes about 15-20 minutes).  Be sure to stir often! You will know that the mixture is thick enough when you are able to see the bottom of the pot as you stir and it sets up quickly when dripped onto a cold plate.  If using a candy thermometer, the mixture is done when the temp reaches 215 degrees F.

Immediately pour your jam into a sterilized mason jar and let it seal tightly.  Cool completely before storing in the refrigerator.  Pop an English muffin in the toaster and enjoy! 

Pumpkin Butter

I had some left over pumpkin from our Thanksgiving dinner and with it I decided to make some pumpkin butter. If you love pumpkin, you will love this butter. It is great on french toast, bagels, wheat toast, in oatmeal, as a dipping sauce for your kids' apple slices or just straight out of the jar by itself. Actually, I think I will have some on a bagel when I am done with this post!

*of note: this makes a small amount, so the picture shown of what I made is a tripled recipe!

What you will need:
1/3 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 TBS peanut butter (almond butter would be tasty too. I even added a little extra to give it a more nut butter taste)
1 TBS brown sugar to sweeten
Pinch of salt
Optional: After tasting I decided to add
1/2 TBS of honey. But this is optional.

How to make it:
Combine all ingredients together in a bowl and mix with a spoon. You can use a food processor if you wish. Once combined put in a jar for an store in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

Homemade Doggie Treats

December 1, 2012 and I realize I haven't accomplished half of my DYI projects I had set out to try this year. So, this morning I was determined to cross one off of my list. Homemade doggie treats for Roscoe. It was as if he knew they were for him as he was under my feet the entire time I was preparing them. This recipe yields approximately 40 treats. As
for Roscoe, the pickiest dog I've ever seen, he gives them two paws up!

What you need:
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup honey
1 cup chicken broth
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup oats (I used quick oats)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk together the peanut butter, honey, oil and chicken broth. Add in the dry ingredients and combine. Roll out the mixture onto a floured surface, about 1/4" thick. Using a cookie cutter (I used candy cane shaped, but little dog bones would be cute) cut out your treats and place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Continue to re-roll scraps to get as many treats as possible. Bake for 15 minutes and cool on wire rack. Store in an air tight container.

Cranberry & Orange Relish

This cranberry relish is a perfect side dish for any holiday meal. I have been using this recipe for a couple of years and it has been a huge hit with my family. It is especially good on those left-over turkey sandwiches! Yum!

You will need:
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup orange juice
1/2 cup water
12 ounces cranberries
1 pinch cinnamon, ground
2 tablespoons orange zest
1/2 cup orange segments

1. Rinse cranberries with cold water. In a medium saucepan add sugar, orange juice, and water. Stir until the sugar dissolves.

2. Bring to a boil and add cranberries, cinnamon and orange zest. Return to a boil and then reduce heat to medium low. Cook until cranberries start to burst, about ten minutes.

3. Remove from heat and add orange segments.

4. Let cool to room temperature. Pour sauce into a serving bowl and chill in the refrigerator. Serve chilled.

Southern Pecan Pie

Not just Pecan Pie, but SOUTHERN Pecan Pie. A family recipe I make for my boys every Thanksgiving and Christmas. We all know there's no cooking like grandma's cooking, but I try to use family recipes as much as I can as a reminder of home. No matter what state we live in, thanks to our dear families and deep traditions we at least have some good southern recipes to fill our bellies. We may now call Wyoming home, but Kentucky is forever in our hearts. Happy Thanksgiving!

What you need:
1/4 cup butter
2/3 cup brown sugar
Dash of salt
3 eggs well beaten
1 cup pecan halves
1 tsp vanilla
1 unbaked pie shell

Cream together the butter, brown sugar and salt. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Pour mixture into the pie shell and bake in a 450 degree oven for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake 30 minutes longer.

OXO Good Cookie Spatula

I recently signed up to participate in a Blogger Cookie Swap in conjunction with Cookies for Kids Cancer and to my surprise this week I received a OXO Good Cookie Spatula! I encourage all of my readers to checkout their page http://www.oxogoodcookies.com/cookie_spatula, and purchase one of these adorable cookie spatulas.  50% of the profits from the Spatula benefits Cookies for Kids' Cancer! And don't forget to register your upcoming bake sales at www.cookiesforkidscancer.org and mention OXO because they will match funds up to $100,000.

Happy Baking!

Candy Bar Popcorn

Four kids equals a ton of Halloween candy, so for dessert tonight I decided to put some of that candy to use and created some candy bar popcorn! We have such a variety of candy I mixed it up a bit and used milky way, snickers and twix. It should go great with an after dinner movie, if I can keep my hands out of it long enough to set! Yummo!

What you'll need:
1 bag of microwave popcorn
8-10 pieces of miniature candy bars
1/2 cup of peanut butter
1/3 cup of granulated sugar
1/2 cup honey
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup chocolate chips (I used white chocolate)
Kosher salt to taste

Heat the peanut butter, honey, sugar and vanilla on the stove until smooth. Pour the mixture over the popped popcorn in a bowl and mix carefully with a spoon. Chop up the candy bars and add to the popcorn mixture. Pour the mixture out onto a wax paper lined pan. Lightly sprinkle with salt. Melt the chocolate chips and drizzle over the mixture. Let sit until the chocolate hardens and then enjoy!

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.

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.

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 

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.   

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.

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!

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 !

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!

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 

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!

Freezing Brussels Sprouts

Plunging into water.

For the past few weeks I have been ordering a basket of veggies and fruits for $15.00 from bountiful baskets, and about a week and a half ago I had a freezer day and frozen some of those veggies.  For the next few days I will be sharing my home freezing successes.  I was nervous at first, because I really didn't know what I was doing, but once I got my home freezing book out and started doing it, it was really easy and actually kind of fun!

This is what I received this week in my bountiful basket!

Freezing Brussels Sprouts!

Brussels Spouts actually freeze very well!  To prepare them for the freezer you first have to wash them and trim off any outer leaves and stems that remain.  I sorted them into small, medium and large sizes.  After sorting then you water blanch small sprouts for three minutes, medium sprouts for four minutes and then large sprouts for five minutes.  If you choose to steam blanch your sprouts, small ones should be blanched for four minutes, medium-sized for five minutes and large sprouts for six minutes.  Immediately following blanching, plunge into ice water until completely cooled and then drain thoroughly.  After they are thoroughly dried, you can transfer to freezer bags or containers and place in the freezer.  

My sprouts before the blanching process.

Freezing Q&A:

Why the ice water plunge?

This was a question I had when I first started reading up on freezing veggies.  Little did I know how important this step actually is.  If you don't cool down your vegetables as soon as they emerge from the boiling water or steam, they will get soggy.  So, it is very important not to skip this step!

The sprouts ready to be put in the freezer!

FOOD! FOOTBALL! FUN!

Earlier today on my sister blog, Mocha Mornings I posted some fun ideas and tips about how to make your Superbowl party a bash to remember.  Now, onto the food!  No matter what our differences may be, all those seem to disappear one Sunday out of the year when we all put up a united front, dig into some hot wings and pop open a Bud Lite.

My favorite part of the Superbowl, besides the commercials and the game of course, is the food!  Here are some Ridiculously Delicious Game Day Foods that are sure to be a crowd pleaser.  Let's Chow Down!

Crispy Broiled Wings

The Football Foodie shares a recipe for the delicious wings that are cooked in the oven, but crispy as if they were fried.  They are dry wings, which make it easier for snacking and crispy without the messiness of cooking with oil.  Yum!  I can't wait!

Man-tested Game Day Dip

Man Tested Recipes brings us a Superbowl Dip that has been man tested, so you know it is good!  Cheese, beef, sausage, beans, and salsa.  How can you go wrong with that?  Needless to say, this is also on our Game Day Menu!

Baked Parmesan Seasoned Fries

Playing with Sugar has a fabulous recipe for oven baked Parmesan Seasoned Fries.  If you are having several guests over you will need to double or triple this recipe because I promise they won't last long.

CrockPot Chili

You can never go wrong with a big pot of soup or chili for your guests to munch on.  This Crock Pot Chili is a recipe from my collection and by cooking it in the CrockPot you can prepared earlier in the day and it will be ready to enjoy by the time your party goers arrive!

Stadium Brownies

Betty Crocker tempts us with these amazing brownies that are topped with butter, marshmallows, popcorn and peanuts.  It might be wise to have a copy of this recipe on hand, because you are sure to be asked for it a hundred times!

Bacon Wrapped Li'l Smokes

These Bacon-Wrapped Li'l Smokies in a Brown Sugar and Maple Glaze are found at Tasty Kitchen.  Although not the healthiest snack food to serve, it is sure to be one of the most delicious.  My mouth is watering already!

Taco Pizza

Taco Pizza anyone?  Real Mom Kitchen has a recipe that is out of this world.  Sure to be a hit and so much better than the frozen kind!

Or course it is never a bad idea to whip up some party mix and have a raw veggie spread ready for your guests to munch on throughout the game.  These foods are sure to be a hit at your Game Day Bash.  Remember to take some time to enjoy these goodies yourself, after all, you're the one that spent the day in the hot kitchen!