Spiderweb Cupcake toppers

I saw this cute idea in Country Living magazine last year and wanted to try it out. I found this template for the spider webs. All you do is melt white chocolate chips and poor in to a sandwich bag, snip off a tiny hole in the corner of the bag. Put this template under some parchment paper and pipe chocolate on to it. This was my first time piping anything so it looks a little shaky but by the end it was getting easier. I thought they came out really cute!

Fruit Smoothie

Super easy!

In a blender, put 1 cup of lowfat ice cream or frozen yogurt, 1/2 cup of milk and 8 ice cubes. Then add fruit. I made Brian one with grapes and bananas and he really liked it. I made one with pears and grapes. It tasted okay, but the grainy texture of the pears was too much for me. I'm a freak when it comes to food textures. I can't wait to make these in the summer when berries are in season. I can only imagine how good it would be with fresh strawberries, blue berries, raspberries, etc.

Enjoy!!!! :)

Not Sure What To Call This One... I'm Open To Suggestions

Last Sunday, my husband and I experimented with dinner. I had some defrosted boneless, skinless chicken breast, but wasn't entirely sure what to make. So, we threw some random things in the crock pot and the result was surprisingly delicious!!!!

Here is what we used:

1 package of cheesy scalloped potatoes
1 cup of milk
1 can rotel tomatillos
1/2 cup of jalepenos (we like spicy things)
3 boneless, skinless chicken breast
Mashed potato pearls

Pour in the scalloped potatoes and the cheese mix. Add a cup of milk and stir. Add the tomatillos and jalepenos and stir. Throw in the chicken breast. Turn crock pot on high. When the chicken is almost done, add in mashed potato pearls to soak up the extra moisture and stir. Cut into the chicken breast in the center to make sure it is white throughout and then serve. You can top it with sour cream and maybe add salsa or olives or anything else. :)

Spinach Artichoke Dip

My husband and I both love Spinach Artichoke Dip. On Saturday, we got some fresh spinach in our Bountiful Basket (bountifulbaskets.org) and decided to attempt making some. It was easier than I thought it would be.

Ingredients:
1 package cream cheese (I used fat free)
1 14oz can artichoke hearts drained and chopped
1/2 cup spinach rinsed and chopped
1/4 cup mayonaise (I used low fat)
1/2 cup parmesan, romano and asiago cheese (the recipe called for 1/4 cup of parmesan and 1/4 cup of romano, but I couldn't find romano at the store, but I did find a mixture of the three. It turned out though)
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon dried basil (I am going to try just 1/4 teaspoon next time because it was a little heavy on the basil taste...)
1/4 cup grated mozzarella cheese

Take the cream cheese out of the fridge and allow it to come to room temperature. If you aren't patient, let it sit on the counter while you chop the spinach and artichoke hearts and then put the cream cheese in the crock pot on low. It worked for me. :) Mix the cream cheese, mayonaise, cheese, garlic salt and basil together. Add in the chopped spinach and artichoke hearts. Mix it all together and leave it in the crock pot on high for about half an hour. Serve with toasted bread or chips. We ate it with Breton Multigrain crackers from Costco, but I'm thinking Club crackers would taste good too. :)

If you aren't a fan of crock pots, you could also spray a pan with cooking spray, pour the dip in and top it with mozzarella cheese. Bake it at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until the top is browned. The crock pot seemed so much easier to me though.

ENJOY!!!

Nana's Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

My Nana died before I was born, so I never got to taste her cookies, but I'm so excited to make a recipe that she made. :)

Mix:
1 Cup Margerine or Shortening
1 Cup Brown Sugar
1 Cup Sugar
2 Eggs
1 Tsp. Vanilla

Add:
1 1/2 Cups Flour
1 Tsp. Baking Soda
1 Tsp. Salt
3 Cups Quick Oats

You can add chocolate chips, raisins or both. I strongly dislike raisins, but I added chopped walnuts! YUM!!!!

Bake at 350* for 10 minutes. Her recipe doesn't specify a size for the ball of dough. I used a small ice cream scoop to scoop the dough. It works really well and keeps the cookies round and somewhat uniform. One of these days, I will invest in a smaller scoop. I also tried a dozen in my bar pan. Those are in the oven now. I hope they turn out.

Tatertot Casserole

Super easy and very yummy!

What you need is:

1 lb ground beef browned (I use lean. Tastes the same and has very little grease)
2 cans cream of whatever soup. I use cream of potato cuz I think it makes sense (tater tots, cream of potato....)
1 can (use empty soup an to measure) milk
Frozen Tatertots

**Optional**
Cheese - shredded or sliced - Pepper Jack, American, whatever you want

On low heat in a small pan, mix the soup and milk. Stir in the beef. Put mixture in a 9 x 12 glass pan. Cover the top with a layer of tater tots. Add cheese if you want on top of the tater tots. Cook according to the directions on the tater tot package. When it is done, the soup mixture will be bubbling, the cheese (if you used it) melted, and the tater tots golden brown. Serve with ketchup if you would like. Enjoy! It reheats very well too.

Crock Pot Chicken Parmesan

So, can I just say that I love my crock pot? And that would probably be and understatement. My mom just bought me a bigger one, so I'm enjoying using two. :)

Crock pot chicken parmesan is so so so easy and pretty effortless.

Here's what you need:

Chicken breast or breaded chicken breast depending on what you prefer
Rotini noodles
Spaghetti sauce
Mozzarella cheese
Parmesan cheese

Boil water and cook the noodles for a few minutes just to soften them up a little. The crock pot will do the rest. In the crock pot, dump in your noodles and some sauce and mix it around. Top it with some parmesan and mozzarella cheese. Then add in a layer of chicken breast and top it with more sauce and cheese. You can add more layers of chicken if you want on top of that. Turn your crock pot on high for 2 hours, give or take, to fully cook the chicken. Or you can turn it on low for 3 to 4 hours. Once again, just make sure your chicken is cooked so you don't get sick.... Then, enjoy. :) The prep time on it when I have made it is about 10 minutes.

Scotcheroos

This is a family favorite and easy to make. Make sure you have milk though because they are really rich and nothing beats a scotcheroo and a glass of milk. :) **WARNING** May cause weight gain. :)

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar
1 cup light karo syrup
1 cup peanut butter (chunky or regular - either way)
6 cups rice krispies

1/2 a bag of butterscotch chips
1/2 a bag of chocolate chips (I have used both semi-sweet and milk chocolate and both are good)

Get a big pot and put the sugar and karo syrup in it over medium-high heat. If you are going to mess these up, this is really the only place you can do it. You need to cook this part until the sugar melts into the syrup, but not too long or it starts to candy and will make the end result basically unedible. If you are unsure, it is better to err on the side of caution and go a little less melted than over done. When it is done, it should be clear, but not too runny. Turn off the heat. Then, add your peanut butter. Chunky is my personal favorite on this one, but creamy is good too. Mix it in. Next, add your rice krispies and stir well so that the mixture coats all of the rice krispies. Pour this into a glass pan or on a cookie sheet and flatten out. Sometimes, I get the spatula or spoon wet to help smooth it out.

In a small saucepan, melt the chocolate chips and butterscotch chips together. This may be common sense, but this is something that you can't rush. Trust me, I have tried and I ended with a burnt mess. It doesn't take all that long, but don't turn the heat on too high. When it is melted, pour it over the top of the rice krispy mixture and spread around. If you flatten the rice krispies out a lot, you might need more chocolate and butterscotch chips to spread over the top.

Let it set and then cut into squares and enjoy. I have, on occassion, put it in the fridge or freezer to help it set quicker, but the chocolate mixture will harden without being refrigerated.

Lemonade Pie

So, I'm not really a pie person unless the words chocolate and cream are in the title. This pie is so incredibly simple and I'm told it tastes like lemon meringue pie. Now, I have never made lemon meringue pie, but it just sounds complicated. This literally took all of 5 minutes, 10 at the most if you include clean up. It does need to set for a little while in the fridge, so you need to plan ahead just a little.

Here is what you need:

1 tub of cool whip
1 can of condensed milk
1/2 a can of lemonade concentrate (you can even use pink if you want - what could be better than a pink pie)
1 graham cracker or vanilla wafer crust

In a bowl, mix together the cool whip, condensed milk and lemonade concentrate. Pour mixture into crust. Refrigerate for a few hours. Done!!!!

When I made it, I refrigerated it overnight, so I can't really tell you exactly how long it takes to set. Sorry

Blueberry Muffins

So, this isn't a recipe for blueberry muffins unfortunately, although it would be amazing to make homemade from scratch blueberry muffins. To make the actual muffin, I just use a mix. I have tried many and I don't really have a preference. Krusteaz just adds water, so that is what I usually get just because it is easier.

I do, however, have a way to make the blueberry muffins very unhealthy, but very very yummy at the same time. It is something that my mom taught me when I was little. When the muffins are done, melt a little bit of butter (or margerine or whatever) in a bowl. I just pop it in the microwave for about 30 seconds and then go from there until it is melted. Then, put some sugar in another bowl. Dip the top of the muffin in the melted butter and then simply roll it in sugar. Super easy and makes them so YUMMY!