Peanut Butter Blossoms

Beat together 1/2 C. Butter(or shortening) and 3/4 C. creamy peanut butter. I tend to use closer to 1 C. peanut butter.

add 1/3 c. sugar and 1/3 c. packed brown sugar. mix well add 1 egg, 2 Tbsp milk and 1 tsp vanilla.

Then add 1 1/2 C. flour, 1 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp salt

mix until dough looks like so... Roll dough into 1" balls and roll into a bowl of sugar. Bake on baking sheets at 375 for 8-10 min. 

As soon as you pull them out put a kiss in the center and take off baking sheet and cool on rack.

Dont they look devine?!

Peanut Butter Blossoms

Ingredients

            48 HERSHEY'S KISSES Brand Milk Chocolates

            1/2 cup shortening

            3/4 cup Creamy Peanut Butter

            1/3 cup granulated sugar

            1/3 cup packed light brown sugar

            1 egg

            2 tablespoons milk

            1 teaspoon vanilla extract

            1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

            1 teaspoon baking soda

            1/2 teaspoon salt

            Granulated sugar

Directions

1 Heat oven to 375°F. Remove wrappers from chocolates. 


2 Beat shortening and peanut butter in large bowl until well blended. Add 1/3 cup granulated sugar and brown sugar; beat until fluffy. Add egg, milk and vanilla; beat well. Stir together flour, baking soda and salt; gradually beat into peanut butter mixture. 
3 Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in granulated sugar; place on ungreased cookie sheet. 


4 Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Immediately press a chocolate into center of each cookie; cookie will crack around edges. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely. About 4 dozen cookies.

Chicken & Broccoli Stir Fry

Cut up a few chicken breasts ( I used tenderloins and I used about 5)

steam a bunch of broccoli cut up into small florets- dont over cook as it will be cooked in wok

 cut up some carrots lengthwise (i used baby carrots and cut each one into 6 pieces) - I steamed this with broccoli. I also added 1/2 c. chopped onions to them while steaming as well

For the sauce mix together:

6 Tbsp soy sauce

3 Tbsp orange juice

2 tsp red wine vinegar

3 tsp sesame oil

3 tsp red pepper (if desired)

2 Tbsp cornstarch

1/2 tsp pepper

1 tsp ginger

1/2 tsp garlic powder

Mix well and set aside.

Set a wok over med heat and coat with 1 Tbsp sesame oil.. When oil is hot cook the chicken until done.

Add the sauce let it cook down a bit then add the carrots and broccoli. I also added a handful of cashews. It turned out super yummy

 Cook about 5 min. Serve over rice. 

Chicken & Rice

Add 1 1/2 C RAW rice to a 13X9 casserole dish

Add about 1/2-1 C of shredded cheese on top of rice

Add chicken breasts ( I used 3 Huge ones and just cut in 2-3 pieces), 3 C. cold water, 1 can cream of chicken soup, 1 pkg onion soup mix (I didnt have any so I crushed 2 beef boullion cubes & some onion powder and it tasted the same) and whatever seasoning you want on chicken.

Bake at 350 for 1 hour

add 1/2-1 C. shredded cheese and bake for 30 more min (cover with foil)

And there you have it!! yummy dinner!!! my kids loved this!!

BBQ Chicken Salad

I Have a ton of lettuce in my fridge that really needs used up so I found this recipe from The sisters Cafe and it turned out YUMMY!!!!!

2 Large chicken breasts
1 C. bbq sauce
1 can black beans (I used dried that I had cooked & frozen previously)
1 can corn (I used frozen)
lettuce cut up
shredded cheese
1 bunch green onions
1/2 bunch cilantro
tortilla strips

Cook the chicken breasts in a bit of EVOO. When cooled shred. Return to pan add the bbq sauce. you can add more or less. I used Sweet baby rays. It has the best flavor. Let it cook with the sauce for 5-10 min. Cut up lettuce add onion and cilantro. Add the cooked beans and corn. Its best to let them cool if you just cook them.
Layer the lettuce mixture on plates then add chicken, cheese and top with your favorite dressing. THen add the tortilla strips.
To do the strips. cut a corn tortilla into skinny strips. On a baking sheet spray the tortillas with cooking spray and salt then broil in the oven until crispy. Watch it carefully!!!

Strawberry Cupcakes

These are soo yummy!!! I found the recipe the other day (cannot remember where) and couldnt wait to try them. They have the Perfect amount of strawberry flavor. I cant wait to try them with different berry purees.

2 3/4 c. all-purpose flour            1/2 c. cake flour

1 Tbsp. baking powder                1 tsp. salt

2 sticks butter, softened              2 1/4 c. sugar

3 large eggs                                   1 egg white

1 c. buttermilk                              1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 lb. strawberries, pureed            red food coloring

Preheat oven to 350. Line a muffin pan with paper liners. Whisk flour, cake flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Cream butter and sugar with a mixer until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes).

Add eggs and egg white, one at a time, beating after every addition.

Reduce speed to low. Combine buttermilk and vanilla together and set aside. Add dry ingredients to creamed mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the milk mixture; end with the dry ingredients. Fold in strawberries. If desired, add a few drops of red food coloring until a pretty pink color is reached. Scrape the sides of the bowl to ensure everything has been mixed in. Divide batter among muffin cups (about 30), filling them almost all the way to the top.

Bake cupcakes until a knife inserted into the centers comes out clean, about 22-25 minutes. Allow to cool in muffin tins.

We iced them in piping bags with Buttercream frosting.

1/2 C. softened butter

1/2 C. crisco

4 c. powdered sugar

4 Tbsp milk

2 tsp vanilla

mix well until desired thickness if needed add more milk or sugar. color to your liking.

Pineapple Cheesecake Bars

Crust:

3 C. Flour
1 1/2 C. sugar
1 1/2 C butter, softened

In med bowl combine ingredients. Mix well. Press into large cookie sheet and poke holes with fork. Bake at 350 for 15-20 min or until lightly browned.

While crust is cooking make coconut topping:

2 Tbsp melted butter

3 C. sweetened coconut, grated

In a small bowl mix together. Set aside

cream cheese filling;

16 oz cream cheese
2 eggs
4 tbsp sugar
4 tbsp milk
2 tsp almond extract
2 tsp vanilla extract
20 oz can crushed pineapple

Combine cream cheese, eggs, sugar, milk, almond & vanilla extracts in a large bowl. Beat with mixer until smooth. Add crushed pineapple.

Pour over baked crust

Sprinkle the coconut topping on top

Bake at 350 for 18-20 min or until coconut has browned and middle is set. Chill for at least ONE hour before serving.

Homemade Pizza!!!!

I decided yesterday I'd make pizza and let the kids make their own. I've never done that before and was kinda worried that I'd regret it. It wasnt terrible. My boys (age 3) kept trying to eat the dough and pepperoni (they love pepperoni!!!) even after my daughter had hers made they tried eating the topping off before we baked. All in all they had fun.

Here is the pizza dough i used:

2 Cups whole wheat flour ( you can use all wheat or do some white too)- I ended up using 2 1/3 cups total.
1 pkg (1 Tbsp) yeast
3/4 tsp salt
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 C. warm water
1 tsp honey

Add water & yeast until dissolved. Add olive oil, salt and honey. Add four and knead until smooth. Add more if needed. Just until its a big ball. Place in a greased bowl and let rise 45 minutes.

I doubled the recipe and we had 6 balls of dough to do seperate pizzas.

Then I rolled them out. Layed on cookie sheets. Poured some spaghetti sauce on and then put toppings on and topped with cheese. And baked at 350 for about 10-15 min. I really didnt time it. I just checked the crust and when it seemed like it was browned I took it out.

Toppings we used were: Pepperoni (kids love that!), for mine I used zucchini diced up , spinach & pepperoni (it was yummy!!!)

 Here are my kids helping

and the pizza's