Katie in the Kitchen

Katie was so cute when she asked me if she could help "make a treat" in the kitchen.

The boys were at school and Julia was down for her nap.

Since the house was quiet, we decided to try a new recipe.  We loved how they turned out.  

If you're looking for a major sugar rush, give these a try:

M&M CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER TRUFFLES

1 1/2 C. peanut butter

1/2 C. melted butter

2 1/2 C. powdered sugar

Stir all of the ingredients together.  

Stir in M&Ms.  

Roll into 1 inch balls and place on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper.

Freeze for 20 min. or until hard.

Melt semi sweet chocolate chips in microwave 

(I heat it up for 1 min., stir, heat 30 more sec., and then stir until smooth.  

I usually start with melting 1 cup of chocolate chips first and use it up before melting more).

 Roll balls in melted chocolate.  Place an M&M on top of truffle and chill until firm.

Enjoy!

Great Side Dish

Ultimate Crock Pot Mashed Potatoes

4.9 from 14 reviews

Print

Recipe type: Side

Author: Sara @ Budget Savvy Diva

Prep time: 15 mins

Cook time: 270 mins

Total time: 4 hours 45 mins

Very Easy To Make and Extremely Yummy – you really cannot go wrong with thisdish.

Ingredients

• 5 Pounds of Russet Potatoes
• 1 garlic clove minced
• 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
• 1/4 cup butter, cut into small cubes chunks
• 1 1/4 cup light sour cream
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/3 cup milk, warmed
• 2 ounces of light cream cheese

Instructions

1. Peel Potatoes and Cube – I try and get 12 cubes per potato.
2. Get your crock pot out and set it to high. Put – Potatoes – Chicken Stock – and Butter into the Crock Pot
3. Cook for 4.5 hours
4. Roughly Mash Potatoes – then add garlic, sour cream, salt, pepper, milk, and cream cheese and finish mashing
5. Enjoy!

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* I use a crock pot liner when I make these so the potatoes don't burn to the side of the pot.

What's For Dinner?

Cinnamon-Apple Pork Chops

Ingredients

• 4 boneless pork loin chops (4 ounces each)
• 2 tablespoons reduced-fat butter, divided
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 medium tart apples, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons chopped Diamond of California® Pecans
• Directions
• In a large skillet over medium heat, cook pork chops in 1 tablespoon butter for 4-5 minutes on each side or until a meat thermometer reads 160°. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.Remove chops and keep warm. Add the apples, pecans, brown sugar mixture and remaining butter to the pan; cook and stir until apples are tender. Serve with chops. Yield: 4 servings.

Lazy Potato Soup

Lazy Potato Soup 
from Jenny Smith

1 bag frozen hash browns
1 can cream of chicken soup
30 oz. chicken broth
smalled diced onion
8 oz. cream cheese
(For more flavor, I added garlic powder)

Let cook on low in crock pot for 5 hours.
Add 8 oz. cream cheese and cook for 30 more minutes.
Eat with bread bowls.  Enjoy!

Pizza Casserole

We all LOVE pizza in this house, especially the kids.  This sounds like a great recipe to try: 

Pizza Casserole from Nicole on The Jones Way blog

This was the pizza sauce I chose, but it came in a little jar, so I used 3.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb sausage (Jimmy Dean)
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 large jar of pizza sauce, or plain spaghetti sauce
• 4 cups shredded Mozzarella cheese
• 1 pkg of pepperoni (I used 1 1/2 pkgs)
• 1 pkg Wide Egg Noodles

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350.

Boil your noodles according to package instructions. Ground up your sausage and brown it in a saute pan with the onion. Drain fat out of the pan and add the sauce. Let the sauce simmer for a couple of minutes. I sprinkled in a little bit of Italian Seasoning on top for added flavor. Time to assemble...

In a 9x13 pan layer half of the meat sauce on the bottom. Then add half of your noodles on top. Sprinkle half of the cheese on top of the noodles. Then cover the cheese with the pepperoni... and start all over. Sauce, noodles, cheese, pepperoni. Done.

Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover the casserole and bake for an additional 15 minutes to make sure all the cheese is melted good. Take it out of the oven and let it cool for 5 minutes before serving and ENJOY! 

Must Try Recipe

 Photo source

I served the pumpkin dip with pumpkin chocolate chip bread, ginger snap cookies, and apple slices.  Delish!

Tastes Like A Candy Bar

Avalanche Bars

12 oz bag of White Chocolate Chips
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter (a little extra peanut butter makes it even better)
3 cups Rice Krispies

1 1/2 cups mini marshmallows
1/4 cup mini chocolate chips + 2 Tbsp for garnish.

Lightly grease a 9x9 pan

In microwave-safe bowl pour in white chips and heat on 50% power for 1 minute. Stir and continue in 30 second increments until chips are melted.
Combine the peanut butter with the melted chips and add the krispies.
Let cool approx 15 – 20 minutes stirring every 5 minutes or so to help cool.
Add the marshmallows and the mini chocolate chips and stir to combine.
Pour mixture into the prepared pan and spread evenly, pressing lightly with the back of your spoon, but do not compact too much, otherwise they will get hard.
Press the remaining chocolate chips into the top for garnish.
When the bars are completely cooled cut into squares and enjoy!

Homemade Paints for Kids

  Homemade Sidewalk Chalk Paint

 2 Tablespoons corn starch

2 Tablespoons water

5 drops of food coloring

* Paint on cement with a paintbrush.

Homemade Puffy Paint

* For best results, mix the paint just before you use it.  

For each color, combine 1 tablespoon each of FLOUR and SALT, 

1 teaspoon of BAKING POWDER,

2 tablespoons plus 1 or 2 tablespoons of WATER, 

and several drops of  FOOD COLORING.  

Stir until smooth.  

Apply the paint to a sheet of sturdy card stock using brushes or cotton swabs.  

To dry and puff the paint, microwave the finished work for 20 seconds.  

(If the paint isn't dry, microwave it for 10 seconds more.)

* The paint is safe to eat (though yucky-tasting), but the food coloring makes it hazardous to clothes.  

Have your child wear an apron and/or an old t-shirt that can get stained.

-----------------------

*** BOTH OF THESE PAINTS HAVE BEEN TRIED AND TESTED 

BY ME, MY KIDS, AND THEIR FRIENDS.

BOTH PAINTS WERE SUPER FUN TO PLAY WITH!

What's for Dinner Tonight?

I love good food!  I just don't like spending too much time in the kitchen.  Preparing food for my family isn't on my list of favorite things to do.  That's where crock pots and ice cream makers come in handy.  Here are a couple of our most recent family's favorite recipes.  Enjoy!


Bacon Chicken
by: Christi Nazer

8-10 slices of ham
4 boneless chicken breast
4-8 slices of bacon
1 C. sour cream
1 can cream of mushroom soup

Grease bottom and sides of crock pot and line the  bottom of crock pot with ham slices.  Wrap each chicken breast with 2 slices of bacon, secure with a toothpick, and then place in crock pot.  Combine sour cream and soup, pour over chicken and cook on low for 8-10 hours or high for 6-8 hours.
__________________________________

My parents gave us an ice cream maker for Christmas.  My kids LOVE to help make ice cream.  It's so fun for them to watch the ingredients churn and turn into ice cream.  The ONLY ice cream we've made so far is this:

Homemade Oreo Ice Cream
adapted from Williams-Sonoma vanilla ice cream recipe
*makes about 1 quart

2 cups whipping cream (I use heavy cream)
1 cup milk
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. salt  
1 Tbs. vanilla extract
1/2 package Oreo cookies, crushed into chunks (*Mint Oreos taste great too!  It's our family's new favorite flavor.)

In a bowl, stir together cream and milk. Add the sugar and salt and whisk until the sugar is dissolved, 3 - 4 minutes. There should be no visible graininess left in the bowl. Stir in the vanilla. Keep cold until ready to pour into ice cream maker. (This is a good time to pour the cookies into a large zip-lock bag and, with a rolling pin, crush them into pieces.) Pour cream mixture only into the mixing container of your ice cream maker and freeze (or hand-crank) according to manufacturer's instructions.

Once the churning is almost through, add the Oreo cookie chunks and churn a bit more until well blended. Pour soft ice cream into containers. (I like using rectangle pyrex pans as they fit so easily into the freezer. Lightly press plastic wrap directly on the surface of ice cream to avoid any freezer burn. For longer storage, wrap a tinfoil layer on top to secure.) Freeze 2 - 5 hours longer and serve.

{ Embrace the Camera } - Mar. 8

Mommy = Master Baker

Tyler = Master Baker in Training

Tyler's baking lesson this week was in making the most perfect 3 loaves of 

Aunt Laura's Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread.

Tyler's Grade = A+

Aunt Laura's Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

From: Laura Ward

3 1/3 c. flour

1 t. salt

3 c. sugar

2 t. baking soda

2 t. nutmeg (optional)* - I skip the nutmeg

3 t. cinnamon

--------------------

4 eggs

1 c. vegetable oil

2 c. pumpkin

2/3 c. water

2/3 c. (or more) chocolate chips

Sift first part then add second part. Make a sort of well in the dry ingredients and pour in second part. Mix together until well blended. Pour into 3 well greased and floured loaf pans. Bake @ 350 degrees for 40 minutes - 1 hour.  Poke a toothpick into the loaves of bread to see if they're cooked all the way through.  Cool in pans. This tastes great served either warm or chilled.

Embrace the Camera, Ladies!  It's fun and totally worthwhile.

Crock Pot Season

After a long day home with the kids, 

 I like to sit down and enjoy a nice meal with my family.

Do you have any favorite meals or desserts that you like to make this time of year?

If so, please share the recipes with us. 

Fall is in full swing at our house.  Sam has been working long days for the past couple months.  
We've made it a point to eat dinner together as a family.  Most nights, it's around 7pm when we eat.  

Katie (17 months) and Me - Oct. 2011

Here are a couple of our favorite crock pot recipes.  Enjoy!  

Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup
by: Lisa Ward

2 large chicken breasts, cooked and chopped into bite size pieces
12+ chopped baby carrots
2-3 chopped celery stalks
1-2 large potatoes, chopped into bite size pieces
chopped onion to taste (optional)
2 cans of condensed Campbell soup of your choice (I like to mix up 2 kinds of soup like cheddar cheese soup and cream of chicken soup or whatever sounds good together. You don't need to add any water). 

Swanson Chicken Broth (Mix some in with the soup before turning on the crock pot).

Egg Noodles

Put all ingredients in the crock pot (except for the chicken and the egg noodles). Mix well. Turn crock pot on to low and cook for several hours (5-7 hours).  For the last hour or so of cooking, put the chicken in the crock pot with the soup so it can heat up.   I cook my egg noodles on the stove when the soup is about done and add the fully cooked noodles to the crock pot. The soup is done when the carrots and potatoes taste done. Enjoy! 

Santa Fe Chicken
By: Tammy Messick (Jenny Olson's friend)

4 frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 cup salsa
1 can black beans (drained)
1 can full of frozen corn
4 oz. cream cheese (cut into chunks)

Serve with:
rice or tortillas

Put all items in crock pot except for cream cheese. Cook on high for 3 to 3 ½ hours. Add cream cheese and stir. Cook for one more hour on high. Serve over rice or in tortilla. (We serve it over rice).

Seasoned Pork Roast and Rice
By: Lindsay Farnsworth

1 boneless center cut pork loin roast
16 oz. bottle of Zesty Italian dressing
1 clove garlic
1/4 C. chopped onion
rice
Swanson beef broth

Put all the ingredients in the crock pot (except for the rice) on low for 5-7 hours. About 30 minutes before pork is done, cook rice on stove top in beef broth instead of water. Serve pork over rice. (This meal serves several people).

Ready for Fall

Apples from OUR apple tree

Fall decor and fall scents

And best of all some Fall desserts!

I LOVE FALL so much that I'm ringing in the season a couple weeks early!

 Chocolate Zucchini Cake

1 c. brown sugar

1/2 c. butter

3 eggs

1/2 c. buttermilk

1/2 t. all spice

1/2 t. cinnamon

2 t. baking soda

4 T. cocoa

2 c. grated zucchini

1 c. white sugar

1/2 to 1 c. choc. chips

1/2 c. oil

1 t. vanilla

2 1/2 c. flour

1/2 t. salt

1. Cream together both sugars, butter, oil

2. Add eggs.

3. Sift flour and other dry ingredients.

4. Add zucchini and stir.

5. Pour into greased and floured 9x13 cake pan.

6. Sprinkle w/ choc. chips

7. Bake at 325 degrees for 45 min.
 

 WHITE CHRISTMAS POPCORN
From: Sarah Orme

3 bags of Microwave Kettle Corn (popped)
2 Cups of white chocolate chips or melted chocolate
3/4 Cup of your favorite chopped nuts (we had almonds) *optional
1/2 Cup English Toffee Bits (optional)  M&Ms are also fun to mix in

Instructions:
Sort and discard the unpopped kernels from the popcorn. Combine all popcorn into one bowl. Melt chocolate in microwave at half power stirring every 30 seconds until smooth. Pour chocolate over popcorn and stir with a large spoon or spatula until popcorn is evenly coated OR place in a lid over bowl and shake to coat popcorn. Add nuts (optional) and sprinkle toffee bits over popcorn and stir again. Divide the popcorn onto two cookie sheets.

You can eat the popcorn while it is gooey or wait an hour for the chocolate to set.

Blueberry Cake

Blueberry Cake
from: Lia Ciccotti

Combine:

• 2 cups flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup soft butter

Fold in:

• 1 1/2 - 2 cups blueberries
• 1 cup walnuts (I prefer mine whole)

Grease an 8" square pan and spread in the batter - it will be thick.  Sprinkle on topping:

Cut with fork or pastry blender:

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1/4 cup cold butter, in slices

Bake at 375* for 35-40 minutes.

Alternately, you can make these as muffins, which freeze well (if they last that long).

I LOVE Homemade Chocolate Eclairs

I love homemade Chocolate Eclairs!  I tend to make these around Easter.  It's been a long time since I've made these.  Give them a try.  You won't regret it!

Quick & Easy Meal

My friend, Jenny brought this meal for us soon after we had Katie.  It is a new favorite at our house.  This meal tastes great with french bread and corn on the cob...MMMmmm!

Poppy Seed Chicken

from: Jenny Smith

***This recipe is for a 9x13" pan. Recipe can be halved.

4-6 cooked chicken breasts, shredded
1 1/2 pints (3 C) sour cream
2 cans cream of chicken soup
2 pkgs. (sleeves) Ritz crackers
2 Tbs. poppy seed
3/4 C (1 1/2 cubes) melted butter
egg noodles

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In 9x13" pan, spread out chicken on the bottom. Mix soup and sour cream together and pour over the layer of chicken. Crunch up crackers, melt butter, and mix together. Stir in poppy seeds. Spread this on top of soup and sour cream layer. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Serve over cooked egg noodles.

Candied Pretzels

CANDIED PRETZELS are so yummy and so easy to make.  Thanks for sharing the recipe, Marcie!

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees,
2.  Lay out pretzels on a 9x13" pan,
3.  Put one Hershey Hugs candy on top of each pretzel,
4.  Put tray in the oven for 2 minutes,
5.  Place an M&M candy on top of melted chocolate,
6.  Place tray in the freezer for it to harden.

White Christmas Popcorn

WHITE CHRISTMAS POPCORN
From: Sarah Orme

3 bags of Microwave Kettle Corn (popped)
2 Cups of white chocolate chips or melted chocolate
3/4 Cup of your favorite chopped nuts (we had almonds) *optional
1/2 Cup English Toffee Bits

Instructions:
Sort and discard the unpopped kernels from the popcorn. Combine all popcorn into one bowl. Melt chocolate in microwave at half power stirring every 30 seconds until smooth. Pour chocolate over popcorn and stir with a large spoon or spatula until popcorn is evenly coated OR place in a lid over bowl and shake to coat popcorn. Add nuts (optional) and sprinkle toffee bits over popcorn and stir again. Divide the popcorn onto two cookie sheets.

You can eat the popcorn while it is gooey or wait an hour for the chocolate to set.

Carmel Dip

This tastes great with freshly cut apples!!!

Seriously Yummy Carmel Dip
From: Sarah Granata

1 pkg. softened cream cheese
3/4 C. brown sugar
1/4 C. white sugar
1-2 tsp. vanilla

Blend all ingredients with a mixer for several minutes until sugar is not grainy. To me, it tastes better cold, so refrigerate the dip before you eat it, if you want to.

Lots of Requests for This...

STIR FRY SWEET & SOUR CHICKEN
Submitted by: Millie (Cooks.com)

3 boneless skinless chicken breast

sesame seeds (optional)

1 green bell pepper (julienned)

1 clove of garlic (chopped)

2 1/2 tbsp. of coconut oil

1 jar of La Choy sweet and sour sauce

Cube chicken into desired chuncks; set aside. Heat oil until melted over low heat. Add sesame seeds and chopped garlic, stir to mix together, turn up heat to med-hi, and add chicken.
Stir fry until chicken is thoroughly cooked, then add bell pepper and sweet and sour sauce. Stir and turn down heat to low. Cover and simmer for about 10 minutes until bell pepper is soft and tender. Serves 2-3.

WoAH... THiS LooKS YuMMY 2 MY TuMMY

My cousin, Michelle posted this recipe on her blog. Even though I haven't made it yet, it looks DE.LiC.OUS! I'm gonna be making this REaLLY soon!

Mint Chocolate Cheesecake

From: Michelle Dunkley

1 1/2 cups crushed grasshopper cookies

2 tsp. butter, melted

1 cup sugar

1 pkg (8 squares) semi sweet baking chocolate, melted

3 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

3 pkg (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup Andes mints, melted

Preheat oven to 325. Mix grasshopper cookies and butter, press firmly onto pan & bake for 10 minutes. Beat cream cheese, sugar & vanilla until creamy. Add chocolate & mix well. Add eggs & stir in (do not over-mix). Pour over crust. Pour Andes mints on top & swirl into cheesecake. Bake for 45 - 55 minutes until center is almost set. Refrigerate 4 hours.