What to do...?

If you're like me, you stocked up on pumpkin before Thanksgiving...I know Christmas is around the corner (yay!) and pumpkin pie is a favorite at Christmas as well, but here's a really easy recipe that you can make anytime during the holidays or after.

Literally, 2 ingredients...you most likely have both in your pantry right now.

Told ya it was easy!

Dump both ingredients in a bowl and mix until well combined.  It was a little thick, so I added a couple splashes of milk and mixed again until it was a mousse like batter (sorry, forgot to take a picture of this step...next time I whip up some of these I'll be sure take a picture).  I always spray my cupcake liners before filling...it seems to help them release the goodness I've baked in them.

Pop them a 350 degree oven for 20-25 minutes.

 light and fluffy..."it's so fluffy!" : )

I also whipped up some cream cheese icing to drizzle over the one (or two) I had.  The amazing thing about these muffins, even though pumpkin is one of the two ingredients, you can't taste the pumpkin!

Go ahead and experiment with whatever flavor of cake mix you have in the pantry...I'm going to and can't wait!!!

Thanks to Sweet Verbena for the helpful way to get rid of that extra pumpkin!

Happy baking!

Easy Eggs

The first thing I remember being put in charge of as a kid in the kitchen was the deviled eggs.  It's not a job you take lightly when deviled eggs are a tradition at every family holiday meal.

Over the years, I got tired of the messy filling and the egg white tearing when trying to fill them using a spoon.  That's when I discovered the secret to easy filling and pretty deviled eggs.

The secret...sandwich baggie.

I use a small measuring cup to hold the baggie while I fill the bag with the coveted golden filling.

tada!



Snip one of the corners of the baggie off and you're ready!  (sorry for the sideways photo)

Now you can easily fill the whites without tearing them up and making a mess!

Glorious!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy cooking!

Holy Fudge...It Worked!

So when I posted about the really easy, no marshmallow fudge, I knew I would have to find ways of using the same recipe to make other kinds of fudge.  Fudge Experiment #1: easy peanut butter fudge

First, a special thanks goes to the inventor of peanut butter, some say it was George Washington Carver, while others say that the Aztecs were buttering the peanuts long before George came along...who cares?!  Genius!!

Second, a special thanks goes to the person who decided that peanut butter needed to be made into a chip form...Reese's were the only kind I saw at Walmart, but maybe there's another company out there somewhere.

It's the same recipe as before, just with peanut butter chips.  (Don't worry, I'll post the recipe again.)

Throw everything in a microwave save bowl, one large enough to allow for stirring.  Then pop it in the microwave for 2 minutes on half power, remove and stir.

Put it back in the microwave for another 3 minutes at half power.  When done give it a good final stirring, making sure to get all peanut butter chips incorporated, then pour in prepared pan (8x8, lined w/ foil, spray with cooking spray).

Put it in the fridge for a couple of hours to chill.

tada!

Easy Fudge

   3 c. peanut butter chips

   1 (14oz) can sweetened condensed milk
   1/4 c. butter
   1/8 tsp salt
   1 tsp vanilla

1. Prep 8x8 pan with foil overhanging, spray with cooking spray.
2. Combine all ingredients in a microwave safe bowl on half power for 2 minutes, stir, then microwave again for 3 minutes on half power.
3.  Give one final stir, making sure to get a consistent, smooth texture.
4. Pour into prepared pan and refrigerate until set.
5. Cut and enjoy!
6. Refrigerated any leftovers.

Fudge Tip:  Remember, you'll have to refrigerate the leftovers because this fudge wasn't cooked at candying temperature, you can't let it sit at room temperature without becoming a mess.

Be watching...Fudge Experiment #2 coming soon!

Happy cooking!

S'mores for Breakfast...French Style

Vacations when I was a kid were packing up the camper and visiting a state park for a week or so.  It wasn't always easy as packing the camper...no, we started with a truck and a tent.  My parents slept in the back of our truck with a mattress while my brother and I slept in this little bitty orange tent my parents got, possibly as a wedding gift.  Our first big camping vacation was through the state of Missouri...we spent a week touring the state, stopping each night to camp.

Our cab and a half truck with a topper, was loaded to the brim with all of the stuff we would need for the week...when I say it was loaded, I mean, stuffed, really stuffed.  Each time we stopped for the night, everything had to come out of the back of the truck and in the morning, it would all have to go back in.  We got so good at packing the truck, by the end of the week we had a whole 2 feet of space that was empty.  Growing up camping, my brother and I grew very fond of s'mores and it's the kind of treat that can take you back to when you had your first s'more sitting around a campfire.  Memories.

I was on my favorite site (Pinterest) the other day when I came across S'mores French Toast...ahhhahha! (angels singing)  I love s'mores and I love stuffed french toast, why didn't I think of this?!

As you can probably already guess...I didn't follow the recipe exactly.  I didn't have any mini marshmallows in the pantry, but I did have regular marshmallows.  So the hazelnut spread is the generic version of Nutella, just as yummy, not as expensive.  If you don't like the flavor of hazelnuts, you could probably just use some chocolate ganache...I'll give you a recipe for that too.

I just cut 3 regular marshmallows in half, but if you have mini marshmallows or marshmallow fluff, those will work too.

Here's where using marshmallow fluff would work the best.  Regular marshmallows are almost too big to really be affected by the little amount of heat that they're getting sandwiched in between the chocolate and bread.  While cooking up my s'more stuffed french toast, I put my 12 inch lid over stop, to help trap some of the heat so the marshmallows would feel the heat.

French toast perfection!

No syrup needed, not that I would use it anyway (just another sauce/topping that I despise).

Okay, so here's the other way that I didn't follow the recipe...the graham crackers.  The recipe calls for the sandwich to be dipped in egg and then in crushed graham crackers before cooking.  The graham crackers would have made the french toast a little more crunchy, but I don't think crunchy and french toast go together.


S'more French Toast
   bread
   mini marshmallows or marshmallow fluff
   chocolate-hazelnut spread or chocolate ganache
   egg
   crushed graham crackers
   

1. Spread chocolate spread on to both slices of bread.
2. Sprinkle mini marshmallows onto chocolate spread.
3. Lay one slice of bread on top of the other, making a sandwich.
4. Whisk egg in dish.
5. Crush some crackers and pour into a dish for dipping.
6. Dip sandwich in egg, turning to coat.  Then dip in graham crackers, turning over to coat.
7. Cook in skillet until lightly browned and marshmallows are melted.

Click here for the printable recipe...thanks to Buns in My Oven for the quick breakfast idea!


I told you I'd give you another little recipe that is sure to change your life...Chocolate Ganache.

Chocolate Ganache
   8 oz semisweet chocolate, finely chopped (or you could use semisweet chocolate chips)
   1 1/2 tsp unsalted butter
   1 c. heavy whipping cream

1. In a saucepan, heat cream slowly for about 4 minutes until boiling (don't stir)
2. Have chocolate and butter ready in a metal or glass bowl.  When cream begins to bubble up the sides of the saucepan, pour it over the chocolate in the bowl.  Don't stir yet...let the chocolate soften.
3. After a couple of minutes, whisk the chocolate until melted completely.  Chocolate should be smooth.
4. It can be used to frost cakes, dip fruit, a dollop over ice cream or spread on bread for s'more french toast!

Click here for the printable version of the recipe...Thanks Cooks.com!

Happy cooking!

Frito Pie

Thoughts on Sunday lunch....it should be simple, quick and still have a lot of flavor.  This recipe may be the easiest Sunday lunch I've ever made...seriously.

Here's just how simple it really is...3 ingredients.

I didn't take any pictures during the building process, but here it is.

S-I-M-P-L-E.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Dump Frito corn chips in 9x13 pan.  Spoon dollops of chili on top of the fritos (dollops beside one another will give you complete chili coverage, because spreading is impossible).  Sprinkle cheese on top of chili.  Put in oven for 20 minutes.

Done!

The recipe calls for 3 cans of chili, but 2 seemed to be enough.  After dishing it out, we topped it off with sour cream.  This easy dish received great reviews from everyone.

Frito Pie

   1 bag of Frito corn chips

   3 cans of chili (w/ or w/o beans)

   1 c. shredded cheese

Click here for the recipe.  Thanks, Chef in Training!

Happy cooking!

Crispy Cheddar Chicken and Cheesy Ranch Potatoes

This was a weekend for cooking at home.  I had several recipes I wanted to try and this was the weekend.  I found this recipe on, where else, Pinterest.  Ok, so when it comes to cooking, there's something you should know about me...I very rarely follow the recipe.  Baking is another story...there's too much science involved in baking to mess to much with the recipe and get a good ending result.

One of my favorite foods is crispy chicken, so when I find a recipe for crispy chicken I'm eager to try it out.

This dish calls for one of my favorite cooking techniques - dredging.  I have no idea why, but I love to dredge.

First you start by crushing the crackers...my tool of choice is a rolling pin.

The dredging station...this step is all about organization (which I love!).

When you see the recipe, you'll notice that I'm missing another bowl for the dredging station...the cheese.  (Next time I plan on making the recipe with the cheese, but this time I was also fixing Cheesy Ranch Potatoes and didn't want to have cheese with sides of chicken and potatoes for dinner.)  I also didn't use the milk to start the dredge...I used 2 whisked eggs (maybe this is why I didn't get the crisp that I wanted?)  You'll notice in the picture below that my chicken pieces look smaller...that's because I used chicken breast tenderloins.  I had them in the freezer and that's what I pulled out...it also saved the step of cutting the chicken breasts into chunks.

Here's the final product...

Even after putting the chicken back in the oven without the foil, the top didn't crisp like I thought it would (possibly because I used egg instead of milk in the dredging process...hmm?), so I put it under the broiler for several minutes.

The recipe also calls for a sauce, which I didn't make for the dinner, but made it for the left over chicken.  When I made the sauce, I added more sour cream and some milk to thin it out some.  (The step-daughter who had some of the left over chicken said the sauce was good...yay!)

Crispy Cheddar Chicken

   4 large chicken breasts

   2 sleeves Ritz crackers

   1/4 tsp salt

   1/8 tsp pepper

   1/2 c. milk

   3 c. cheddar cheese, grated

   1 tsp dried parsley

Sauce

   1 can cream of chicken soup

   2 Tbsp sour cream

   2 Tbsp butter

1. Cut each chicken breast into 3 large chunks.

2. In a small food processor grind up the Ritz crackers.

3. Pour the milk, cheese, and cracker crumbs into 3 separate small pans.  Toss the salt and pepper in with the cracker crumbs and give a little stir.

4. Dip each piece of chicken into the milk then the cheese and finally the cracker crumbs.

5. Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray and lay the chicken inside the pan.

6. Sprinkle the dried parsley over the chicken.

7. Cover the pan with tin foil and bake at 400 degrees for 35 minutes.  Remove the foil and bake an additional 10 minutes, or until the edges of the chicken are golden brown and crispy.

8. Into a medium sauce pan, combine the cream of chicken soup, sour cream and butter with a whisk.  Stir over medium heat until the sauce is hot.  Serve over the chicken.

Click here for the printable recipe, thanks to Jamie Cooks It Up!

Cheesy Ranch Potatoes

Now you're probably going to freak out when I tell you this, but I HATE ranch...anything ranch.  I always have.  I've tried it several times over the last couple of years and have no idea what all the craziness is with putting ranch on absolutely everything you eat.  I have my sauces of choice and they are probably ones that you detest...most of my family does too.  It's okay, I don't mind being different.

Again, I didn't follow the recipe exactly...red potatoes were $2.49 for 5 lbs and russets were $1.39 for 10 lbs.  I'm a bargain kind of girl, so I went for the cheaper, bigger bag.

Spray the baking dish with cooking spray and then start cutting the potatoes into chunks...make sure they're all about the same size, this helps with making sure all of the pieces are cooked evenly.  Then add a couple of dollops of butter, sprinkle with salt, pepper, and I added a dash of steak seasoning...it has a couple of more savory spices that I love and give just a bit more seasoning to the potatoes.  Then cover the potatoes with foil and pop them in the oven to roast.

After an hour of roasting, pull the potatoes out of the oven and remove the foil.  See that little dish?  That's my dish of potatoes WITHOUT ranch.  I added ranch dressing to the other potatoes, stirred and then added the cheese.  Gave everything one last toss and then threw on some bacon crumbles.  Put the potatoes back in the oven for about 15 minutes just to melt the cheese.

Potatoes on the top rack...chicken on the bottom

tada!

Cheesy Ranch Potatoes

   3 lbs potatoes, diced

   dash of salt

   dash of pepper

   dash of chili powder (or steak seasoning)

   4 Tbsp butter, divided

   Shredded cheddar cheese

   Ranch Dressing

   Bacon crumbles

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees

2. Spray 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray.

3. Dice potatoes and put in baking dish and season potatoes with seasonings.

4. Put the divided putter on top of the potatoes and cover dish with foil.

5. Bake potatoes for an hour.

6. Remove potatoes from oven.  Eyeball it when putting on the ranch dressing...you can always add more.  Stir potatoes to coat with dressing.  Sprinkle cheese (you can also just eyeball this...I think I used about a cup).  Stir one more time and then add the bacon (optional) to the top, and put back in the oven, uncovered, for 10-15 minutes to melt the cheese.

Click here for a printable recipe, thanks Mrs Happy Homemaker!

Happy cooking!

SUGAR!

Earlier this year I was diagnosed as a pre-dabetic (insulin resistant)...and have had to adjust my choices in foods.  I'm a carbs girl...I love breads and sweets, I would say it's in my genes.  It might also have something to do with the family bakery that we had when I was growing up.  It's not that I can't have sugar, but I do have to watch my carb intake...which can be a sad day when I just want another piece of dessert.  This post has nothing to do with something you can eat, but rather something that's a little more friendly to the hips and tired hands after a long day.  This post may not involve baking or cooking, but it was made in my kitchen and after you try it, you'll be hooked!

When doing one of my many searches on Pinterest, I came across a great use for sugar that doesn't involve putting it in food...hand scrubs!  When we were on vacation this last summer, we had lunch at a restaurant who had put some hand scrub in their women's restroom.  One of my step-daughters and I gave it a little try when washing our hands and that's when it happened...love <3  Since then, I've thought about that scrub and wondered if I'd ever find anything like it again AND I have!!!

I found 4 basic hand scrubs that took a lot of the same ingredients and most of them natural and things you can probably find in your pantry right now.

Brown Sugar Hand Scrub                Lemon Sugar Hand Scrub

  brown sugar                                       sugar

  extra virgin olive oil                             extra virgin olive oil

   honey                                                lemon extract

                                                            yellow food coloring

Peppermint Hand Scrub                  Pomegranate Hand Scrub

   sugar                                                sugar

   hypoallergenic baby oil                      Dawn with Olay Beauty Hand Renewal

   corn syrup                                                       (pomegranate splash scent)

   peppermint extract

To find the recipes, click on the title of the scrub.

My step-daughters were good sports to stir, smell, and test the scrubs as they were being made.  These scrubs would make great gifts this holiday season.  I got my jars from Walmart for $2.  The dollar store had some for $1, but they were larger and had screw top lids (that wasn't quite what I was looking for, so for me the Walmart ones worked best).

I didn't follow the recipes exactly (go figure).  I filled the jar with sugar and then dumped it in a bowl to add the remaining ingredients.  Once everything was stirred and added to the jar, we had to make a little more of each to top off the jars.

Sugar isn't just for your desserts anymore, it's for that rough, dry skin that needs a good polishing.  A special thanks to The Idea Room, By Stephanie Lynn, and Homemade Mamas for some excellent ideas!

Happy...scrubbing!

Oh Fuuuudddge!

My favorite holiday is Christmas.  My favorite Christmas movie is A Christmas Story.  My favorite holiday treat growing up was fudge.  I remember when my parents would make fudge...it always seemed like it was a two person job.  One of them was cooking down the marshmallows getting them to the right consistency while the other one was measuring out the remaining ingredients to quickly stir in when the marshmallows were done.  And then there were the times that the fudge didn't ever set up and it was more like a 9x13 pan of chocolate goo...no one would eat that kind of fudge.

Fudge always seemed very temperamental to me.  The marshmallows seemed to be the culprit - they needed to get to the correct candying temperature in order for the fudge to set.  But this could also be effected by the weather...somethings just need to be made at a certain time...ugh!

I've only made one pan of the marshmallow kind of fudge and it turned out okay, but it was a lot of work and the chances of getting burned on the pan are high.  Ever since, I've been looking for a non-marshmallow type of fudge...tada!

A 6 ingredient fudge that doesn't even involve turning on the stove!!!

All the ingredients except the nuts go into a microwave safe bowl.

I microwaved the bowl for 2 minutes on medium gave the mixture a good stirring.

Then put it back in the microwave for another 3 minutes on medium.

Once mixture is smooth, stir in the nuts.

Pour into pan and then put in the fridge and wait...

Once the fudge is set (couple of hours), you can then take it out and cut it.  An easy way to check if it's ready to be cut is to lift it out of the pan by the foil and touch the bottom center...if it's still warm, place back in pan and return it to the fridge for a little more chillin'.  If it's cold, you can then pull back the foil and cut.

So pretty!

Easy Fudge
   3 c. milk chocolate chips
   1 (14oz) can sweetened condensed milk
   1/4 c. butter
   1/8 tsp salt
   1 tsp vanilla
   1 c. chopped walnuts (or pecans)

1.  Prep 8x8 pan with foil overhanging, spray with cooking spray.
2.  Microwave first 5 ingredients in a microwave safe bowl on medium power for 2-5 minutes.
3.  Stir in nuts.
4.  Pour into foil lined pan and refrigerate until set.
5.  Cut and enjoy!
6.  Refrigerate the leftovers, if you have any! : )

Tips:

 - The recipe I got from Skip to My Lou doesn't include the refrigerating step, but because this fudge hasn't been cooked to a candying temperature, it can't sit at room temperature without becoming a mess.

 - Smooth down the foil once it's in the pan, making sure there aren't any little edges that could get stuck in the fudge...you'll want smooth and pretty edges if you're making this for a gift.
 - I used pecans in the recipe, only because I had some, but you could add whatever kind of nut you prefer.
 - During the holiday season, dollar stores are filled with cute, decorative tins that you could put this fudge in for gifting...who doesn't love to get fudge?!

Click here to go to the site where I found this recipe...thanks, Skip to My Lou!

I'm going to do some experimenting with this recipe and different flavors...be watching for those posts.

Happy cooking!

A Sweet and Crunchy Treat...Toffee Peanuts

This Christmas I want to give as many homemade gifts as possible.  In search of some easy DIY treats, I came across these little nuggets of sweet delight on Pinterest.  (I tend to lose track of time when I start "liking" and "pinning" things!)  Anyway, I wanted to do a test run on these before making a jumbo batch for gifts.  Since today is a holiday and I had the day off, I got to play in my kitchen!

It's really a simple recipe to follow.  I ended up taking some pictures just to make the post have a little more to it.

 There are only 5 ingredients in this recipe...you might even have 4 of them in your pantry right now.  Just preheat the oven, get out a baking sheet (spray it with a moderate to heavy amount of cooking spray) and you're ready.

Mix the first 4 ingredient together with a whisk.  Add peanuts and use a spatula to stir, coating the peanuts with the liquid gold!

See this picture?  This is where I went wrong.  Remember when I said that you needed to "get out a baking sheet (spray it with a moderate to heavy amount of cooking spray)"...well this is why.  I thought it might be easier to just use wax paper and spray it with cooking spray before pouring on the little nuggets...WRONG!  Once cooled, the sugary mixture fused itself to the wax paper making it nearly impossible to get off.  SO...just use the baking sheet and quite a bit of cooking spray.  (What was supposed to save time only added time and a little bit of frustration to this very simple recipe.)

After you take them out of the oven, leave them on the baking sheet to cool.  I'd recommend stirring them about 8-10 minutes into their cooling...this will help them cool faster and allow you to start breaking them apart with your stirring utensil.  Once cool, you'll need to try them :) and why not?!  I poured everything in to one of my mixing bowls and used my stirring utensil to sort of hack at the peanuts, breaking them apart.  (This is just the method I chose to use.)  Then spoon them into the air tight container you're going to be storing them in.  I picked up some air tight jars at the dollar store for $1 (since mine are going to be gifts) and then added a bit of ribbon to amp up the festiveness of this little treat.

Aren't they cute?!

Toffee Peanuts

   1/4 c. sugar

   2 tbsp melted butter

   2 tbsp corn syrup

   1 1/4 tsp cinnamon

   2 c. dry roasted peanuts

1. Mix sugar, butter, syrup and cinnamon.

2. Add peanuts, stir to coat.

3. Place on a greased cookie sheet and bake at 300 degrees for 20-25 min, until golden brown)

4. Cool and break apart.

Click here to go to the site where I found the recipe. Thanks, Cookin' up North!

Happy baking!



Editor's Note...12.16.11

After making multiple batches of these little nuggets, I've discovered a few things.

1. The recipe calls for 2 c. of nuts...it should really be 2 1/2 cups.  (If you have a lot of the sugar mixture lingering at the bottom of the bowl after adding 2 c. of nuts, add a little more...this is what caused the very sticky, not-so-easy-to-remove-nuts situation.

2.  After baking the nuts, I recommeded to stir them about 8-10 minutes into their cooling....NO, stir them as soon as you take them out and then almost continuously until they've cooled enough to not clump together.

I made two pans of them last night and they turned out great with these two edits to the recipe.

Enjoy!

1st Official Recipe...Chicken Breasts with Creamy Mushroom Gravy

My first from-scratch meal in awhile...it's been a little crazy at our house the last couple of weeks.  Usually we throw something in the oven like little rolls of pizza (yummy) or just thaw some hamburger and add the other ingredients for "the helper" in and it's dinner time, BUT not tonight.

I found this recipe on the Betty Crocker website and have been wanting to try it for awhile now and tonight was finally the night.

As you can see, I had several things going at once.  I served the chicken with mashed potatoes and steamed green beans.  After the chicken was golden brown, I put it in the oven to finish cooking...no one likes pink chicken.  The recipe calls for the chicken to be gently pounded until about 1/4 inch thick...I skipped this step, but if you don't, you won't need to warm up the oven to finish the chicken.

You then use the skillet with the drippings to make the gravy...the recipe calls for fresh mushrooms, but they can be expensive and not easily stored in my pantry, so I used the kind from the can.  If you've never made a rue, then you're in for a treat because that's how you start the gravy to this dish.

I was a little worried that the from-the-can mushrooms wouldn't give as much flavor as fresh, but they're a perfect addition to this gravy that's really flavored with soy sauce.

Here's what your gravy will look like after adding the Bisquick, milk and soy sauce.  (The recipe calls for green onions, but I don't like onions and my husband is allergic, so they're out of every dish I make.)  After finishing everything I had going at once (not-from-scratch mashed potatoes, steamed the real green beans, got the chicken out of the oven), here's what the finished product looked like...

This little creation got excellent reviews from my husband and I even gave myself a pat on the back for the delicious meal.

Chicken Breast with Creamy Mushroom Gravy
   4  boneless skinless chicken breasts (4 oz each)
   1/2 c. Original Bisquick mix
   1/2 tsp garlic powder
   1 egg
   3 tbsp vegetable oil
   1 1/2 c. sliced fresh mushrooms (or 3/4 a can)
   3 tbsp Original Bisquick mix
   2 medium green onions, sliced (2 tbsp)
   1 c. milk
   1 1/2 tsp soy sauce

1.  Between pieces of plastic wrap or waxed paper, place each chicken breast smooth side down; gently pound with flat side of meat mallet or rolling pin until about 1/4 in thick.
2.  In a shallow dish, stir 1/2 c. Bisquick mix and the garlic powder.  in another shallow dish, beat egg.  Dip chicken in egg, then coat with Bisquick mixture.
3.  In 12-inch non-skillet, heat 2 tbsp of the oil over medium head.  Add chicken; cook about 3 minutes or until golden brown.  Turn chicken; cover and cook 4-6 minutes longer or until chicken is no longer pink in center.  Remove to serving platter; cover to keep warm.
4.  In same skillet, heat remaining 1 tbsp. oil over medium heat.  Add mushrooms; cook 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently, until browned.  Add 3 tbsp Bisquick mix and the onions; cook and stir until mixed.  Stir in milk and soy sauce.  Cook until mixture is thick and bubbly.  Serve over chicken.

Makes 4 servings

Click here for the recipe from the Betty Crocker website.

Happy cooking!