Monster Cookies

I am a day late posting but we will just pretend it is still Monday, that will give us more time until Christmas. Anyway, these have to be my favorite drop cookies. I actually try not to make these very often because I eat so many and I can't seem to control myself. It is a big batch and I do make half most of the time. Enjoy!

1 cup butter
6 eggs
2 cups white sugar
2 cups brown sugar
1 t. vanilla
1 t. corn syrup
2 cups peanut butter
4 t. baking soda
9 cups oatmeal
2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips
2 cups M&M's

Cream the butter and sugar and add eggs, vanilla, peanut butter and corn syrup. Mix well and then add the oatmeal and mix very well. Add your chocolate chips and m&m's and mix gently so the m&m's won't break apart. Drop onto cookies sheets and bake at 350 for 12 minutes.

Easy Macaroni and Cheese

This is a great recipe if you need dinner quick but I wouldn't say it was low-fat.

1 lb macaroni

8 oz Velveeta (more if you want it really cheesy)

1 cup cream

Melt Velveeta with cream. Cook pasta and put it all together. My kids gobbled it up.

Chicken and Noodles over Mash Potatos

This is an awesome recipe that my mom made for us growing up and it is my great grandma's recipe.


Noodles

2 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
2 T. oil
1 T cream or canned milk
1-2 C flour

Mix all ingredients together and add enough flour to make a stiff dough. Put on well floured surface and roll out thin. Flour both bottom and top and fold up and cut into long noodles. Unfold noodles and let them dry for several hours on a cooling rack.

Chicken

1 whole chicken with the insides removed
1 onion
4-6 cups of water
2-4 Chicken bouillon cubes
Thickening agent (can use either sure jell or cornstarch)

Place chicken and onion in a large pot and cover 2/3 with water. Allow chicken to simmer in water covered until the meat begins to fall off the bone (this took about an 1 1/2 hours when I did it). Remove chicken and onion from the broth and allow it to cool. Take all the meat off the chicken bones and shred.
Place a handful of ice cubes in the cooled broth and stir. This will help all the left over fat to gel so that you can scoop it up and remove it from the broth. Bring broth to a boil and add as many bouillon cubes you feel are needed for a good flavoring. Add chicken and noodles and simmer until noodles are soft. Add as much thickening as needed to have a gravy consistency. (If you're using the sure jell you can just sprinkle it into the warm broth, if using cornstarch mix several tablespoons with cold water and slowly stir into broth). Salt and pepper to taste.

Serve over mashed potatoes.

Pumpkin Bars

I love pumpkin! I make these every fall and each time I wonder why I waited so long, they are INCREDIBLE!
(Thanks Eyvon!)

Pumpkin Bars

1 pkg. Yellow Cake mix
1/2 c. melted butter
1 egg
1 small can pumpkin made up to make a pumpkin pie

Reserve 1 cup of cake mix and set aside. Pour remaining cake mix in a bowl. Add butter and egg, stir to combine. Press dough into a greased 9X13 pan.

Make pumpkin pie filling as per instructions on the can. Pour filling over cake mix mixture.
Sprinkle remaining cake mix over the top.

Bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes.
DELICIOUS!

Corn Dog Bites

We wanted homemade corn dogs - but thought these little corn dog bites would be easier to make and eat.  They were a huge hit and super easy.  Next time I think I will wipe down the hot dogs first.  They were a bit slick and I think that is why the batter didn't stick real well.  

The recipe calls for 2 packages of hot dogs to make corn dogs with this batter.  Since I was doing the bites, I thought I would need more batter then a big corn dog.  I used this batch for one package of hot dogs and had a lot of leftover, but I don't think a half of a batch would've been enough.

Corn batter

• 1 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 egg
• 1 cup milk

 Mix it all together.  Dip your hot dogs (or hot dog quarters) into the batter and then fry in hot oil.  I used my electric skillet at 350 degrees. 

Cook whole hot dogs (with wooden skewers) for about 8 minutes, these little guys only took 5-6 minutes or until they are golden brown.  I let them get very golden to make sure the inside was done.  Enjoy!

Beef Stew

It's 2 for 1 Thursday.  I just posted a soup recipe and here is another that I would like to share.  It is cooling off and I just love eating soup on a cold night.  My mom posted a stew recipe a few weeks ago but this one is different.  Try them both!  I found this recipe on the blog For the Love of Cooking.  Here is the link to the recipe.  http://fortheloveofcooking-printablerecipes.blogspot.com/2008/03/beef-stew.html

I made a few changes to the recipe.  I like thicker soup so I added an extra can of diced tomatoes and omitted 2 cups of beef broth.  I also doubled the amount of vegetables and added 3/4 cups of mushrooms.  It was heavenly.  I don't have a large cast iron pot so I just cooked the first ingredients on the stove in a large pan for about 1 1/2 hours on medium high heat.  Then I transferred it to my crockpot and added the vegetables.  I cooked it on low for about 3 hours.  It was cooked perfectly. 

Beef Stew

1 lb stew meat (I use lean round cut into small chunks)
1 sweet yellow onion chopped into large pieces
6 cloves of garlic chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
1 can diced tomatoes
1-2 tsp dried thyme
Salt and pepper to taste
1 bay leaf
1 tsp garlic powder
6 cups of beef stock

Preheat oven to 250 degrees (you can also use stove top or crock-pot). In large cast iron (or baking pot) heat olive oil. Add stew meat and onion and cook for about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds before adding tomatoes, seasonings and stock. Cover and cook in the oven (on stove top or in crock-pot) for at least 4 hours. Remove pot from oven place on stove top over medium heat.

1 cup diced carrots
1/2 cup diced celery
1 cup diced baby red potatoes (skin on)

Add vegetables to the stew and add more beef broth if low. Taste and add seasonings if needed. Cover and cook for 1 1/2 - 2 hours.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

I was supposed to blog yesterday and it is now Thursday evening. We had a few hectic days. Yesterday I had to go to a last minute meeting and then came home to find a very sick dog at home. I ended up taking him to an emergency vet and was gone until midnight. I don't want to talk about how much money I spent at the Vet office!  Not that you care what my excuses are, but I feel better sharing them with you.

I made this soup on Halloween weekend and it was delicious. I found this recipe on one of my new favorite food blogs For the Love of Cooking. Here is a link to the recipe. http://fortheloveofcooking-recipes.blogspot.com/2008/10/chicken-tortilla-soup.html

I did make a few changes to the recipe. I only added 8 cups of chicken broth instead of 10 because my husband likes thick soup. I also added a can of black beans and omitted the jalapenos because I didn't have any. The avocado topping with the cojita cheese was amazing. I didn't make my own tortilla strips and we just crushed some tortilla chips on top.  I'm sure the homemade ones would be better and healthier.  Be sure to try the soup.

Shredded Chicken:

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed of any fat
3 cups of chicken broth or water
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tbsp sweet yellow onion, diced finely
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp oregano
Salt and pepper to taste
Combine all ingredients and gently boil for 20 minutes. Let the chicken breasts cool then shred with two forks.

Soup:

2 tsp olive oil
2 cups of onion, diced
1 cup of celery, diced
2 cups of carrots, diced
1-2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped (more if you want spicy)
4-5 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 1/2 quarts of chicken stock (I used homemade)
1 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes
1 tsp of cumin (I used about 1 1/2 tsp)
1 tsp ground coriander seed (I used about 1 1/2 tsp)
Sea salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
1/2 a cup of fresh cilantro, chopped (divided)
6 fresh white corn tortillas

Heat the olive oil in a dutch oven over medium heat. Once hot, add onions and saute until tender. Add the garlic and stir constantly for 60 seconds. Add the carrots, celery, jalapeno, tomatoes, broth, cumin, coriander, sea salt and pepper to taste and 1/4 cup of cilantro. Cut the 6 corn tortillas in half, then cut them crosswise into 1/2 inch strips and add to the soup. Bring the soup to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes or until the vegetables are soft and the corn tortillas have melted away. Add the chicken, taste and re season if needed.

Corn tortilla strips:

5 corn tortillas
Cooking spray
Sea salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray the baking sheet with olive oil cooking spray. Spray each side of all the tortillas & lay in a pile. Cut into thin strips & spread across the baking dish then season with sea salt. Bake in the oven until golden brown - watch them carefully because they burn easily. It usually takes about 3-5 minutes.

Additional Toppings:

1 - 2 avocados, diced
Cotija cheese, grated
Fresh cilantro (remainder from above ingredients)

Ladle soup into large soup bowls. Add some avocado, tortilla strips, a sprinkle of cheese and cilantro. Enjoy!

Oatmeal Cranberry White cocolate Cookies

I have trying to avoid baked goods but finally couldn't resist my craving. I found this in a magazine and it was an add for craisins and thought that it looked good. At first I was disappointed because I thought that they weren't what I had wanted but then decided that they were okay because maybe they can be considered a healthy cookie. They have about half the normal sugar in a cookie and really almost taste like a muffin. I ended up really liking so try them yourself. Enjoy!

2/3 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups old fashioned oats
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt (I never add this)
1 6 oz. pkg. craisins
2/3 cup white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375. Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs. Then add the dry ingredients and mix well. Stir in the craisins and white chocolate chips.
Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets (I use a cookie scoop and parchment paper on my cookie sheets). Bake for 10-12 minutes or until done. Remove and cool on wire rack. Makes about 2 1/2 dozen.

Baked Potato Soup

So my camera died and I cant find my cord to charge it which means I can post a picture with this recipe. Sorry. I made this a couple of weeks ago and I loved it. It tastes just like a baked potato. I found it off of Our Best Bites. Enjoy!


2 Tbs butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 c flour
4 1/2 c milk
14 oz can chicken broth
4 medium potatoes, baked
1 1/2 c grated cheddar cheese1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
3/4 c sour cream
1/4 chopped green onions
5 slices cooked bacon, crumbled

Melt butter in a stock pot over medium heat. Add garlic and saute for 30-60 seconds. Add flour to pan. Slowly add milk a little at a time while whisking constantly to eliminate lumps. Whisk until smooth and then add chicken broth. Bring soup just to a simmer and heat until thickened, stirring often, about 5 minutes.

Once soup is thickened, turn heat down to medium-low. Cut potatoes in half length-wise and use a spoon to scoop out potato flesh into the pot. Use a wooden spoon to smash potatoes, breaking up large clumps. Add grated cheese and salt and pepper and stir until cheese is melted. Remove pan from heat and stir in sour cream, green onions, and bacon. Add additional salt and pepper to taste.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Cupcakes

These were very yummy, we made them for our Halloween treat. Like we needed more treats but they were good. Got he recipe from http://katiescucina.blogspot.com/2010/10/pumpkin-oreo-cheesecake-cupcakes.html.

2 8 oz pkg of cream cheese

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup canned pumpkin

1 tsp vanilla

2 Tbsp sour cream

2 eggs

Oreos

Preheat oven to 350.

Place cupcake liners in a muffin pan. Beat the cream cheese until creamy. Add the sugar and cream again. Add the eggs one at a time beating after each one. Add the rest of the ingredients and beat again.

Place one whole oreo in the bottom of the cupcake liners and fill up the liner 3/4 full with the cheesecake batter. Push another whole oreo into the top of the batter.

Bake for 20-22 minutes. Cool in pan for 15-20 min before removing and placing on a wire rack to finish cooling. Keep refrigerated. Top with whipped cream. The recipe made 18 cupcakes for me.