recipe
Chocolate Crackle Cookies
Chocolate Crackle Cookies are the most amazing cookies on earth. We just discovered them this weekend, and they are wonderful. They are super easy and fun to make too!
Our niece was visiting us this weekend and was a huge help making these cookies. I told Kelly that the more sugar she used, the better the cookies would be. So she buried them! I think she had a good time getting all messy. This was a perfect project for a kid. She had fun and did a fantastic job too!
Just look at all the sugary goodness! The cookies really do need a good coating of powdered sugar, so don’t be shy.
Ingredients:
1 box chocolate cake mix (I used Devil’s Food Cake)
2 eggs
1/2 cup oil
Powdered sugar
Instructions:
1. Pre-heat oven to 350° F.
2. Mix the first three ingredients together.
3. Create tablespoon sized balls and roll in the powdered sugar. Make sure that you generously coat each cookie.
I mean generously. Use A LOT of powdered sugar. (See photos above.) If you don’t, the cookies will just be plain old chocolate cookies. And you don’t want that!
4. Place on cookie sheet 2 inches apart.
5. Bake for 8-10 minutes. 8 minutes if you want them under baked or 10 minutes if you want them more like cake.
Enjoy your cookies with a nice cup of coffee. Or hot cocoa or milk. Or whatever you like! You can substitute the chocolate cake mix for other types of cake mix for different flavors and colors. Around Christmas time, you could use a white cake mix mixed with red or green food coloring. Or maybe you could even try a nice spice cake flavored cookie in the fall. I would bet there are no bad combinations with this recipe!
Potato Soup
On miserably cold, snowy days, I make soup. We have a lot of days like this in Central New York, so I make a lot of soup! This is my classic potato soup recipe. We like to add bacon bits or ham. You can also add onions, mushrooms, carrots, celery or even broccoli if you’d like. It’s a classic hot and creamy soup to warm you up on a cold day.
Ingredients:
3 tbsp butter
1 tbsp flour
2 chicken bouillon cubes
1/4 cup water
1 cup half & half
4 cups 2% milk
5-6 medium potatoes, cut into small pieces
1 tsp each: salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion salt
2-3 tbsp of Real Bacon bits
Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add flour and stir with butter until well mixed. Dissolve bouillon cubes in about 1/2 cup of hot water and add to flour and butter mixture and stir. Add the half & half and milk into the pot and mix well. Add potatoes. Sprinkle salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion salt. Stir well. Cook over medium heat until bubbly. Add bacon bits to soup.
Turn to low heat for about an hour. Stir frequently. You may want to mash up some of the potatoes as they soften to help thicken the soup. Ladle into soup bowls, sprinkle with shredded cheddar cheese, serve with fresh rolls and enjoy!
Turn to low heat for about an hour. Stir frequently. You may want to mash some of the potatoes in the pot to help thicken the soup. Ladle into soup bowls, sprinkle with shredded cheddar cheese, serve with fresh crescent rolls and enjoy!
Cream of Broccoli Soup
Is there anything better on a cold winter’s night than soup? Well, maybe a trip south where it’s warm would be better, but that’s unfortunately not in the cards for me. So I make soup. One of my all-time favorites is homemade cream of broccoli. I created this recipe by using my creamy potato soup recipe, and just substituting the potatoes for broccoli. It’s the creamy base that makes this soup. (I haven’t posted my potato soup recipe yet, but I will soon!)
Ingredients:
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp flour
1 chicken bouillon cube mixed with 1/4 cup of water
1 cup half and half
4 cups 2% milk
2 Broccoli crowns, cut into small pieces
4-5 mushrooms, sliced (optional)
1 small onion, diced (optional)
Salt & pepper, to taste
Instructions:
Melt the butter in a fairly large pot. Add the flour. Using a wire whisk, mix together well. Add the bouillon cube/water mixture slowly and whisk together. Slowly add the half and half. I like to make sure there are no lumps and that it’s very creamy, so I whisk constantly. Heat just to boiling. Then slowly add the milk. Mix well, add the broccoli, mushrooms and onions (or whatever else you’d like to add!) Heat until just boiling, then turn heat to low, so it is just simmering. Stir often with a wooden spoon until the broccoli is soft, but not too soft, about 15-20 minutes. Serve immediately, with rolls or crackers. Top with shredded cheese if you’d like. Enjoy!
Italian Chicken Pasta Skillet
This recipe is perfect for a busy weeknight. I think it took a total of 20 minutes to prepare this meal. I cooked the chicken while the pasta boiled, combined everything into the skillet with the chicken, let it heat through for a few minutes and boom! Dinner was done.
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into small pieces
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 cups ziti, cooked, drained
Green onions for garnish
Instructions:
Cook chicken in large skillet with 2 tbsp olive oil on medium heat 5 min. Add onions and mushrooms; cook for 5 min. or until chicken is done. Drain any excess olive oil. Add sauce, stir well. Then add the pasta. Cook for a few minutes until heated through. Stir occasionally. Stir in the mozzarella cheese. Cover and let stand for 2 minutes or until cheese is melted. Serve warm, top with a little more shredded mozzarella and some green onions for color.
Feel free to add any other fresh vegetables or other combinations to make it your own. I would have added green peppers if it were just me, but sadly, I have a green vegetable hater in the house.
* This recipe was inspired by Kraft Foods.
Crock Pot Chili
Chili is a mainstay in our house, whether it’s a special occasion or just a cold winter night. Today is the Super Bowl, Chili is a perfect dinner for such an event. It cooks all day in the crock pot and it’s ready when you are. It goes great with tortilla chips and wings and everything else that goes along with celebrating the Big Game.
My chili is of course, very simple, with very few ingredients. My husband is a picky eater and hater of most vegetables, so I have created an excellent chili compromise. If I were to make this for myself or for others who enjoyed vegetables, I would add green peppers, onions and lots of tomatoes. However, this version has none of that. But it’s still quite delicious!
Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef (or ground turkey – our favorite)
1 can red kidney beans
1 can black beans
1 can chili beans
2 cans tomato sauce
1/2 tsp chili powder
Hot sauce to taste (We like a lot!)
Instructions:
Spray the inside of the crock pot with cooking spray. Pre-cook the ground beef. While the meat is cooking, open the cans of beans and tomato sauce. Drain the kidney beans and black beans, pour into the crock pot. Do not drain the chili beans. Use that liquid in the chili, so just pour the whole can of chili goodness into the crock pot. Add the tomato sauce and chili powder. Sprinkle with hot sauce, if desired. Stir well. When the beef is done, add that to the mixture. Stir until well mixed. Cook on medium heat for 4-6 hours.
Scoop into bowls and top with sour cream, cheese and green onions. Serve with tortilla chips. Enjoy!
Queso Dip
I’ve been trying to figure out a menu for the Super Bowl tomorrow. It will be just my husband and I. He’s not a big football fan. (But he loves the commercials!) However, I am a big fan. And I am a New England Patriots fan at that! (Haters, be nice. I have been a fan my entire life.) I am very excited that the Super Bowl is tomorrow and that my favorite team is playing! So I have to do something a little ‘extra’ special for a menu, right? Well, here’s the start. I made a tasty Queso Dip today. This will sit over night and I’ll heat it up again tomorrow before the big game. It’s so easy and only uses 4 ingredients.
Ingredients:
16 ounces of Velveeta Cheese
4 oz cream cheese
10 oz can of Rotel (diced tomatoes)
1 lb of ground pork sausage
Instructions:
Cut the Velveeta and cream cheese into cubes. Then place in a bowl to melt in the microwave. Cook the pork sausage until it is browned. Sprinkle some salt/pepper if you’d like. Add the tomatoes, mix well and heat for a few minutes. Stir in the cheese until thoroughly mixed. Heat through. Pour into container and served with your favorite tortilla chips! This keeps well for about a week in the fridge. Melt a little in a small bowl and have with chips for an afternoon snack!
Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
These cookies are a request of a blog reader and friend, Rebecca. I’m always looking for ideas for recipes and things to make. I will try anything! I love oatmeal cookies and chocolate chip cookies. The combination of both together is fantastic. Then again, I’m pretty sure anything combined with chocolate is fantastic!
I found a ton of recipes for Oatmeal Chocolate Chip cookies. I might try a few of the other varieties sometime. A common recipe I found had vanilla pudding. Which I didn’t have on hand, so I couldn’t try that one. But it peaked my curiosity, so I might just have to try it soon. In the meantime, here’s the recipe I used for these delicious little bits of sweetness.
Ingredients:
1 cup butter
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups quick cooking oats
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 325º F.
2. In a large bowl, mix the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar together until smooth. Beat the eggs, then the vanilla.
3. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; stir into the creamed mixture until just blended. Mix in the quick oats and chocolate chips. Drop by heaping spoonfuls on to baking sheets covered with parchment paper.
4. Bake for 12-15 minutes in the oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
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I’d like to welcome all of my new followers from the “Grow Your Blog” party yesterday! That was such a neat experience. I’m looking forward to getting to know each of you through your blogs and hope you enjoy visiting my blog as well.
Buffalo Chicken Lettuce Wraps
I was searching for recipes to make for the Super Bowl and came across this amazing twist on Buffalo Wings. It’s a little healthier than the typical ‘chicken wing’ and it’s got that same crispy, wonderful flavor.
1 lb boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
1/2 cup Buffalo wing sauce
2 cups plain Panko bread crumbs
4-6 large leaves of Boston lettuce
1 cup cooked white rice
Sliced black olives
Bleu cheese dressing
Scallions for garnish
- Preheat the oven to 375º F.
- Line a baking pan with parchment paper.
- Marinate the chicken in a container with the 1/2 cup Buffalo sauce, cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Pour the Panko breadcrumbs into a shallow dish.
- Coat the chicken pieces evenly with the Panko and place them in the baking pan.
- Bake the chicken for 30 minutes.
- To assemble the wraps, fill each leaf of lettuce with the rice, chicken and top with black olives. Drizzle the Bleu Cheese dressing over the chicken. And then add the scallions.
These lettuce wraps are fantastic for either lunch or dinner. Feel free to experiment with toppings. I saw one recipe that included avocados and another that added celery. So try some other options as well as the ones above and enjoy these fabulous lettuce wraps. I will be adding this to my regular rotation of meals, they were that good!
Sweet Potato Chew Toy for your Dog
A friend of mine found this recipe for me. She knows I look for interesting homemade treats and toys for my dog. She also knows my dog is slightly insane. This Chew Toy was touted as “Indestructible.” However, I can assure you that is not the case! Not by a long shot. It’s super easy to make though, and your dog will love it. At least for a little while.
All you need are a couple of big sweet potatoes and some hemp rope. Wash the sweet potatoes and cut them into 1/4″-1/2″ slices. (See above photo.) Then use a small cookie cutter to cut out the inside. You’ll need a large enough opening to fit the rope through the hole. (I saved the sweet potato insides, we’re going to cook them up this week and have a nice side dish of roasted sweet potatoes!)
Then bake the heck out of the sweet potatoes. You’ll want to put them in for 2 1/2 hours at 250º F. Then flip them over and repeat. Yes, that’s another 2 1/2 hours at 250º F. So that’s 5 hours total. That’s a long time to be baking something!
This is what they will look like after they’ve been baked to death. They should be hard as rocks. Because they are so hard, there are some dogs (Chihuahuas maybe?) that will probably not be able to chew through them. We have a Corgi. She wasted no time ripping these apart. So just beware, they do kind of make a mess. We tried to keep Jenny in the kitchen for an easy cleanup.
This is what the finished product looks like. I got the rope at Lowe’s for 49 cents per foot. You could get a thinner rope and quadruple it up to make it thicker.
Jenny was pretty hesitant at first when I gave her the toy. She didn’t really know what to make of it.
But it didn’t take her much time at all to start chewing those sweet potato rings right up!
I ended up having to take it from her. She probably would have devoured the entire thing in one sitting. Which probably wouldn’t have been good for her digestive system! This entire project cost me around $3. The rope was $1.50 as were the sweet potatoes. It was a fun little project and Jenny loved the outcome.
* * * On a side note, if you were wondering how Jenny has been enjoying the Peanut Butter Pumpkin Dog Treats I made for her last week, she LOVES them. As a matter of fact, she might have an addiction problem. She sits in front of the pantry where she knows they are stored and whines. A lot. She’s never done that for before for anything. They must be good!
One Pot Dinner
I love a dinner you can cook in one pot. Less clean up is a very good thing! This recipe was inspired by Martha Stewart and my need to use up the mushrooms, broccoli and chicken I had in the fridge. I never thought of cooking a meal like this, and it might very well be life changing for me!
The idea of this recipe is to throw everything into the same pot and cook it all at once. I had to use up some chicken that was already cooked, otherwise, I would have thrown in the raw chicken as well. But since it was pre-cooked, I didn’t want to dry it out. So I added it at the end, just to heat it up.
Here is the recipe for this fabulous dinner.
Ingredients:
8 ounces of pasta
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 cup cubed chicken
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for serving
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
3 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup half and half or heavy cream
Salt & pepper to taste
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions:
Place the pasta in your pot, along with the chicken, broccoli, onions, and mushrooms. Pour the chicken broth over the top and add the olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper.
Bring the pot to a boil over high heat. Reduce to medium heat and cook. Stir the pasta frequently with a wooden spoon to break it up and prevent it from sticking to the pan. Cook the pasta for about 9-10 minutes. Most of the liquid will have evaporated. Add the half and half and heat until warm. Remove the pan from the stove and garnish with grated Parmesan cheese before serving. Enjoy!
