Chocolate Bowls

Chocolate Bowls

1/2 cup chocolate chips
1 T. oil (optional)

Melt chocolate chips.
For microwave: heat in 30-second increments, stirring after each one, until melted.
For stove: Heat in sauce pan over low heat until melted.

 Dip a partially inflated balloon into melted chocolate. Allow chocolate to cool a bit before dipping. (I got too excited and didn't let it cool enough. Balloon popped. Chocolate everywhere....) You might need a spoon or spatula to help spread it around the balloon.

Spoon a small amount of chocolate onto parchment paper to create a base for the bowl. Place chocolate covered balloon on top. Place in fridge to harden.

Oh, and, ya know, there will probably be some chocolate left over. I used some bananas to finish it off :)

 When chocolate has hardened, cut a small hold at the knot of the balloon to slowly release air. If you let too much air out the bowl will crack.

 Carefully peel balloon away from chocolate. (One of mine cracked a little)

Serve with ice cream, brownie, etc.

Candy Cane Cookies

Candy Cane Cookies
 
 Make one batch of plain dough, and another batch with red food coloring added.
 1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar (white or brown)
1 egg yolk
2 tsp. vanilla or peppermint extract
2 tsp. red food coloring
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt

In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer until well combined. Add egg yolk and vanilla and beat for a minute, until smooth and light. For red dough, add the red food coloring.

In a small bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add to the sugar mixture and stir by hand just until you have a soft dough. Shape the dough into a disc, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for an hour or until chilled.

When you’re ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350°F. Roll walnut-sized pieces of dough into ropes, then twist one red and one white piece together to make something that resembles a peppermint stick. Place on an ungreased baking sheet (curled at the end like a candy cane or not). Bake for 15 minutes, or until set and pale golden on the bottom and around the edges.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Brownies

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Brownies

You can use any Basic Brownie recipe (you can use a box mix if you would like) here is the one I used:
Brownie
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 eggs
1/2 cup cocoa
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt

Stir together butter, sugar and vanilla.  Beat in eggs.  Stir cocoa and flour together and add to creamed mixture.  Press into a greased 9 x 13 in pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.  Do not over bake. Cool completely.  I actually put it in my freezer to help it along.


Make cookie dough:
Cookie Dough
1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

1 cup chocolate chips or regular

Mix butter, sugar and vanilla until well blended.  Alternately stir in flour and sweetened condensed milk until blended.  Fold in chocolate chips.

Spread onto cooled brownies. Put back in fridge to harden a bit

Melt 1 cup of chocolate chips and 1 tablespoon oil in the microwave in 30 second increments until melted.  Spread on top of brownie/cookie dough and return to fridge until chocolate is firm

These are best served at room temperature.

I know, right?

Chocolate Peanut Butter Parfait

Chocolate Peanut Butter Parfaits
Ingredients
Graham crackers, crumbled
1 cup peanut butter
1 (8 ounce) block cream cheese, softened
4 tablespoons powdered sugar
1 (8 ounce) tub of whipped topping, divided
1 package instant chocolate pudding
1/2 cup milk

Directions
Prepare the chocolate pudding according to directions on package. Set aside.

Combine the peanut butter, cream cheese, and powdered sugar in a large bowl. Mix together until combined. Stir in the whipped topping.

Spread one heaping spoonful of pudding into the bottom of each glass. Spread one heaping spoonful of peanut butter mixture and a tablespoon of graham cracker crumbs. Repeat layers. Top with a dollop of whipped cream, if desired, and a sprinkle of remaining graham crackers.

Refrigerate before serving. Serves 4-6.

Wow, these were so good! There is really nothing better than chocolate and peanut butter. A nice change up from cake or cookies! The original recipe says to use  melted chocolate chips instead of pudding. I'm sure that would be delicious too. You can get the original recipe here.

Chicken Ranch Tacos

Chicken Ranch Tacos
3 cups cooked chicken, diced or shredded
1 pkt. taco seasoning -chicken or beef (I used about 1 Tablespoon of my homemade Taco seasoning.)
1/2 cup Ranch dressing
taco shells
lettuce
cheese
Ranch dressing
tomatoes
etc...

Heat a skillet over med-high heat. Add chicken & warm it for a few minutes. Sprinkle on the dry taco seasoning. Do not add any water! Heat for 5-7 minuted until all heated through & powder is stuck to the chicken.

Add Ranch dressing, heat an additional 2-3 minutes to warm through.


Serve in taco shells with all the fixings you love - plus an extra squirt of Ranch!

Um, wow! This was so amazingly good to me. A great change up from beef - which has gotten a little boring for me. I wasn't sure how taco seasoning and ranch dressing would go together but it is fantastic!! I didn't get a picture of the made-up taco, though. I was too busy enjoying it!

Country White Bread

Country White Bread

3 cups luke-warm water

1/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 Tablespoon yeast

1/3 cup oil

1 Tablespoon salt

6 - 7 cups unbleached ground white wheat flour (you can use regular all-purpose bleached flour with success as well. It will make a softer, less-coarse bread.)

In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water and sugar. Let sit 10 minutes. Add the oil. Add the dry ingredients starting with 6 cups of flour. Mix all together. Knead the dough thoroughly until all ingredients are incorporated, and dough is smooth, elastic, very slightly sticky, and pulls away from the bowl (6-10 minutes). As you knead the dough, you may add more flour as needed, and repeat the process until dough reaches the desired consistency.

Cover the bowl of dough with a dish towel or plastic wrap and let rise until doubled (an hour or more depending on how warm your kitchen is.) You may speed up this process by placing the covered bowl inside the oven with the oven light on, and another bowl of warm water sitting on the lower rack.

Punch the dough down, divide and and form into 2 loaves. Place the dough in 2 greased bread pans. (I use 9" pans.) Cover and let rise until the top of the dough is an inch or two higher than the bread pans.

Bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes. Remove the baked loaves from their pans immediately, and place on a cooling rack. Slice, and serve warm with butter and honey. Makes 2 loaves.

Store in an air-tight bag. Baked loaves AND bread dough freeze well.

I love, love, love this bread!!! The crust stays soft which makes it great for sandwiches (the most popular use of bread in our house). And it's great for toast. Yay!!!

Pumpkin Waffles

Pumpkin Waffles
2 eggs
1 1/2 c. milk
4 T butter, melted
1/2 c. pumpkin
Whisk together, then add:
2 c. flour
1/4 c. sugar
1 T. baking powder
1 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. salt

Peanut Butter Cup Pie

Peanut Butter Cup Pie

1 Oreo crumb crust

1 pkg. Cream Cheese, softened

1/2 cup plus 1 Tbsp. Smooth Peanut Butter, divided

1 pkg. (4-serving size) Vanilla Instant Pudding

1 cup cold milk

2 cups thawed Cool Whip, divided

1/3 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips

1. Beat cream cheese and 1/2 cup peanut butter in medium bowl with whisk until blended. Add dry pudding mix and milk; beat 2 min. Stir in 1 cup Cool Whip; pour into crust.
2. Microwave remaining Cool Whip and chocolate in microwaveable bowl for 1-1/2 to 2 min. or until chocolate is completely melted and mixture is well blended, stirring after each minute. Cool completely.

3. Spread chocolate mixture over filling in crust. Microwave remaining peanut butter in microwaveable bowl 30 sec.; stir. Drizzle over pie. Refrigerate 4 hours or until firm. 

   

Wow this was SO cool! It tasted just like a Reese's Peanut butter cup. I made this for Sean's birthday today and he was a huge fan. Definitely making this one again! 

Chicken Alfredo Roll-Ups

Chicken Alfredo Roll-Ups 



9 Lasagna noodles, cooked, rinsed, and drained

2 ½ cups Alfredo sauce

2 cups chicken, cooked and shredded

Oregano
Garlic Salt   
2 cups shredded cheese of your choice
1 10-oz. box frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed of liquid (optional)

Spray an 8x8 pan with non-stick spray and pour ½ cup Alfredo sauce over the bottom of the pan.

 

Spread about 2 Tbs. Alfredo sauce over each noodle. Sprinkle oregano and garlic salt on top of sauce. Take 1/9 of the shredded chicken and spread it out evenly over each noodle. Add approx. 3 Tbs. cheese. To roll up, start at one end and roll the noodle over the toppings. 

 

Place the roll-ups in the pan seam-side down. Pour the remaining Alfredo sauce over noodles and top with remaining cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes, until the cheese is completely melted on top.

 

 

I really enjoyed this recipe. I added some frozen spinach for a little veggie. From the comments I saw on the blog where I found this recipe, I would have to agree that there was not nearly enough sauce. It was pretty dry. Definitely double the sauce. You can use the sauce that is on the blog (below) or bottled sauce would be fine too. I wanted to do my low-fat recipe but didn't have all the stuff for it. Next time. Also, she suggests that this serves 3 (3 rolls each.) I had two and it was a little much for me. I'd say this serves 4-6.

 

The Best Garlic Alfredo Sauce

 ½ cup butter

2 ounces cream cheese

2 cups heavy cream (or substitute half and half)

2 teaspoon garlic powder

½  tsp. fresh minced garlic

salt and freshly ground black pepper

½ tsp dried oregano

⅔ cup parmesan cheese

In a medium to large saucepan melt the butter over medium heat. Add fresh minced garlic and cook for 1 minute, or until fragrant. Add the cream cheese and whisk to smooth and melted. Whisk in the heavy cream.

Season with the garlic powder, salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer and whisk frequently until sauce thickens, around 15 minutes. Stir in the cheese and when melted, remove from heat and serve.

Makes 2 ½ cups

 

Fry Sauce

Fry Sauce
1/2 c. mayonnaise
1/4 c. ketchup
1/4 t. vinegar

Mmmm. The vinegar is the secret ingredient to great home made fry sauce! It tasted just like it was from a restaurant. I couldn't stop eating it! We had roasted parmesan potatoes with it. Mmmmm.

White Chili

White Chili
1 1/2 lbs. chicken, cooked and diced
4 15-oz. cans white beans
1 1/2 c. chicken broth (can add more if too thick)
1 4-oz. can green chilies
1 onion, finely chopped
3 T. chopped cilantro
1/2 T garlic in olive oil (I wasn't sure what that means so I just used one clove of minced garlic)
1 1/2 t. ground cumin
1/2 t. oregano
1/2 t. pepper
2 c. Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

Combine all ingredients except cheese. Simmer for 1 hour. Or cook in a crock pot on low all day. Stir in cheese just before serving. Makes 10 servings.

Hot Bean Dip

Hot Bean Dip
1 can refried beans
1 cup (8 oz.) sour cream
4 oz. (or more) Velveeta cheese - cubed

Mix all together in a pot and heat until cheese is melted and bubbly. Or in a crock pot on low for about 2 hours. Serve with Fritos or tortilla chips.

This recipe is a family favorite of the DeFreese's. I made it for the first time today and mmmmm. So good. I would probably add more than 4 oz of Velveeta next time, though.

Taco Seasoning

This was such a great find on Pinterest! Those taco seasoning packets get so expensive when you buy them a lot.  Sean doesn't really even like the taco seasoning on his taco meat but I do. So I made up a batch and just sprinkled some on my taco at dinner. It tastes way better than the packets. Hooray!!

Homemade Taco Seasoning

1 part chili powder
1 part ground cumin
1 part garlic powder
1 part onion powder
1/4 – 1/2 part crushed red pepper

Lemon Loaf Cake

Lemon Loaf Cake

1 1/2 C. cake flour
1 1/2 C. all-purpose flour
2 t. baking powder
1/4 t. baking soda
1 t.  salt
2 1/4 C. sugar
8 large eggs – room temperature
1/4 C. grated lemon zest (from about 4 lemons)
1/4 C. fresh lemon juice
2 C. unsalted butter – melted and cooled
1/2 C. sour cream – room temp.
2 t. pure vanilla extract

Lemon Glaze (Optional)
2 C. confectioners’ sugar

4 to 6 T. fresh lemon juice

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray the sides and bottom of two 9x5x3-inch

loaf pans with nonstick cooking spray. Line the bottom with parchment paper and

spray the paper.

2. Sift both flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl.

Mix the sugar, eggs, lemon zest, and lemon juice until combined. Add the butter, sour

cream and vanilla and mix until combined. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl.

Sprinkle the flour mixture, one third at a time, folding gently after each addition until

just combined. Do not overmix.

3. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans. Bake in the center of the oven

for 20 minutes, rotate the pans, reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees F., and

bake for another 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the

loaf comes out clean. Let cool in the pans for 15 minutes.

Lemon Glaze
In a small bowl, whisk together the confectioners’ sugar and 4 tablespoons of the

lemon juice. The mixture should be thick but pourable. If the mixture is too stiff, add

up to another 2 tablespoons lemon juice and whisk again, adding small amounts of

lemon juice and/or confectioners’ sugar until you get the right consistency. Pour the

lemon glaze over the top of each loaf and let it drip down the sides. Let the lemon glaze

harden, about 15 minutes, before serving.

 

Linguine with Creamy Alfredo Sauce (low-fat)

 Linguine with Creamy Alfredo Sauce (low-fat)

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder or 1 clove garlic, minced

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 3/4 cups Swanson® Chicken Broth (Regular, Natural Goodness® or Certified Organic)

1/3 cup plain yogurt

3/4 of a 16-ounce package linguine, cooked and drained (about 6 cups)

6 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Chopped fresh parsley

• Stir the flour, garlic powder and black pepper in a 4-quart saucepan. Add the broth to the saucepan and stir until the mixture is smooth. Cook and stir over medium heat until the mixture boils and thickens. Remove the saucepan from the heat.
• Stir the yogurt in the saucepan. Add the pasta and 4 tablespoons of the cheese and toss to coat. Sprinkle the pasta mixture with the parsley and remaining cheese.

I've been trying to cook lower fat meals for Sean since his surgery, which hasn't been easy. I remember hearing on The Biggest Loser that one guy made Alfredo with Greek yogurt instead of cream for a healthier alternative. So, I found this recipe from Campbell's Kitchen. I love them. We were skeptical about this recipe since it uses chicken broth but it was actually pretty good! If I didn't know about the substitutions I don't think I would even know it was low-fat. This recipe has 270 calories per serving and only 3g fat per serving. Regular Alfredo sauce recipes have close to 1,000 calories and 40g fat. Ouch!!!

Peanut Butter Bars

Peanut Butter Bars
1 1/2 c. sugar
1 1/2 c. brown sugar
1 1/2 c. butter
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
3 c. flour
1 1/4 t. salt
1 1/2 t. baking soda
3 c. quick oats

Frosting:
3 T. cocoa powder
1/2 c. butter
3 c. powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
6 T. milk

Cream sugar, brown sugar, butter, and peanut butter. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix well. Add flour, salt, baking soda, and oats. Mix well and press into a large ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 325F for 10 minutes; raise heat to 375F and bake for 10-15 minutes longer. In a large saucepan, melt cocoa butter; add powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk. Stir until smooth and creamy; frost bars. Makes 20 servings.

Everyone should have this recipe in their kitchen. I never realized, though, that it calls for 4 sticks of butter...yikes...

Roasted Parmesan Potatoes

Roasted Parmesan Potatoes
4 medium russett potatoes, peeled and diced
1 T vegetable oil
3T grated Parmesan cheese
2T parsley
1 t. paprika
1/2 t. garlic powder
1 t. salt
1/8 t. cayenne pepper

Preheat oven to 450F. Line baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray.
Toss potatoes with oil in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl combine parmesan, parsley, garlic powder, salt and cayenne. Add the Parmesan mixture to potatoes and toss to coat evenly.
Arrange potatoes on prepared baking sheet. Bake until browned and fork-tender, about 25 minutes.

Try dipping them in fry sauce. Mmmm.