Some Pretties

We moved to Louisiana and my crafting bug was zapped for months. I went to a crop and left early. All the crafting and the North Dakota accent made me "homesick" for my friends back in Texas (note: homesick for friends, not for Texas). Then my in-laws came to visit and my sister-in-law just started scrapping. I found myself re-energized and joined a few swaps to keep myself crafting.
These are recipe cards made for a swap entitled "It Starts with a Mix." I cut and stamped and colored and punched and picked out pretty paper from my stash. It was more fun than I remember :) Click on the pictures to make them larger and read the recipes.

Victory

Amish Monster Cookies are possibly the best cookies in the whole wide world. They are every cookie - oatmeal, peanut butter, M&M, and chocolate chip. Goodness gracious. They are worth every calorie and fat. Amazing. More on them later.

I found Washing Soda at Kroger last night around 9 p.m. I needed chocolate chips and Walgreens (where I needed to get in on a peanut butter/mayo/Ragu/tea deal) did not have chocolate chips OR washing soda, so I ended up at Kroger and victoriously found both. They also had a Coin Star machine. My French's Fried Onion container held more than $26 of coinage, which I turned into an Amazon gift card. AWESOME.

Made my laundry detergent. It's a bit more watery than I would like, and I haven't washed anything with it yet, so I have no final verdict on it yet. I also want to break down a cost comparison. I went with the Tide mixture, because having three boys and a dog requires a bit more cleaning power. More on that later too.

Recipe: White Castle Sliders

I discovered Mommy's Kitchen a few weeks back and it is quickly becoming one of my favorite blogs. It features kid-friendly food that reminds you of your childhood.

I made her White Castle Sliders tonight and they were phenomenal. A little less greasy than the real thing, but oh-so-good. They were so good that they disappeared before I could even get any pictures.

I used 1 lb. of ground turkey instead of 2 lbs. of ground beef. (I didn't realize I needed 2 lbs., but they were still meaty enough - my husband didn't complain). I also used Kings Hawaiian Sweet Rolls instead of the brands she recommended. Also, no pickles. (I didn't have them handy and forgot about them anyway.)

Can't wait to try more of her recipes! She has some beautiful stuff on there!

Recipes: Amish Friendship Bread Variations

Amish Friendship Bread is making the rounds amongst my friends, I received two last week from different people. Here is the traditional recipe:

1 c. starter
3 eggs
1 c. canola oil
1 c. milk
1 c. sugar
2 t cinnamon
1/2 t vanilla
1 1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
2 c. flour
1 large box instant vanilla pudding

Preheat oven to 325 degrees, grease 2 large loaf pans and mix an additional 1/2 c. sugar and 1 1/2 t cinnamon. Dust the greased pans with half of the cinnamon/sugar mixture. Pour batter evenly into the pans and sprinkle the top with the remaining mixture.

Bake for 1 hour. Cool until bread loosens from the sides of pan.

For "my" recipes, I did NOT coat the pans with the cinnamon/sugar mixture. Here they are, based on some recipes I found but tweaked by me:

Strawberry Cheesecake Bread
* I have not made this with these exact measurements, but this is how I plan to make it in the future.
- cinnamon
- vanilla pudding
+ 1 small package strawberry Jello
+ 1 small package cheesecake pudding
+ 1/2 c. diced strawberries

One of the recipes I based this off of calls for an extra 1/2 c. of milk and slice thawed strawberries. It took 2 hours to bake and was so moist that it just fell apart. Oh, it tasted good, but I couldn't hand a loaf over to anyone. I suggest skipping the extra milk and dicing fresh strawberries to keep it a true bread.

White Chocolate Lemon Bread
* Created this in a desire to replicate Tastefully Simple's Lotsa Lemon Bars, which they no longer sell. I'm happy to report that the flavor is all there!
- vanilla extract
- cinnamon
- vanilla pudding
+ lemon extra
+ lemon pudding
+ 1/2 to 1 bag of white chocolate chips.

Took about 1 hour and 20 minutes to bake. I used a 1/2 bag of white chocolate chips, but I'll admit that the chips are pretty sparse, you may want more. My lemon bread is pictured below:

Other recipes from various sources, including Mommy's Kitchen (what a great site):

Chocolate Peanut Butter Bread
* I made this one, but I forgot the eggs. I dolled some out to some friends and they still thought it was great, so I think there's a lot to be said for chocolate and peanut butter.
- cinnamon
- vanilla pudding
+ 4 T creamy peanut butter
+ 1/2 bag Reeses peanut butter chips
+ chocolate pudding

Apple Cinnamon Bread
+ 1 c raisins
+ 1 medium, diced apple

Recipe: Skinny Chocolate Chip Cookies

These cookies are from my new cookbook Perfect Light Desserts by Nick Malgieri and David Joachim.

David's Skinny Chocolate Chip Cookies

Makes about 30 cookies

1 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
4T (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 c. light brown sugar firmly packed
6 T sugar
1 large egg
2 T whole milk
1 t vanilla extract
1 1/2 c. (about 3/4 bag) of chocolate chips

Set racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 350.

Mix flour, baking soda, and salt together and set aside.

Beat the butter and sugars togethe

Beat in the flour mixture.

Fold in the chocolate chips.

Chill the dough in the bowl for 15 minutes to keep the cookies from spreading too much while they're baking.

Form the dough into 1 1/2-inch balls. Arrange the balls of dough 2" apart on cookie sheets.

Their specific directions call for a mixer and a rubber spatula, amongst other things. I used my hands, a wooden spoon, and bowls. Why would I make more dishes? Anyway, the cookies were quite good. They have a much different flavor than your usual Nestle Chocolate Chip Cookies, and they're a little on the small side, but they're not as bad for you ... not to say they're good for you. I'm thinking you could even go for a half bag of chocolate chips, because each cookie was LOADED with chips. This is my second recipe with Nick and David - so far, they're wonderful

Per cookie: 114 calories, 5 g fat, 1 g fiber

Recipe: Buffalo Chicken Chili

It doesn't look like much, but it's good. I adapted the recipe from something I saw on either (a) a major food manufacturer website or (b) a frugal mommy blog. I don't remember, so now I'm claiming it. It got a lot of positive feedback from my neighbor's Super Bowl party.

Almost-Famous Buffalo Chicken Chili

Most of a rotisserie chicken (like, cut off a breast to eat for dinner one night, then pick it clean and dice it up)
1 large onion, chopped
2 medium celery stalks, chopped
2 medium carrots (or about 15 baby carrots), chopped
1 (28 oz.) can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 (15 oz.) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 c. chicken broth
2 t chili powder
1/2 t salt
1/4 c. buffalo wing sauce

Spray 5- to 6-quart slow cooker. Mix all ingredients except wing sauce. Cook on LOW for 8 to 10 hours. Stir in sauce.

I made it with 2 T of chili powder last time and, umm, had some bite to it. Still really good, though. I use "Most of a Rotisserie Chicken" because I have it on hand. I hate raw chicken passionately. If you, however, don't buy rotisserie chickens, the original recipes calls for "2 1/2 lbs. boneless chicken thighs, cooked, cut into pieces."

Recipe: Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Remember this post about all the oatmeal and raisins I have?

Well, I made the recipe, and it was a hit! My kiddos LOVED them, my husband LOVED them, my husband's co-workers LOVED them. A single guy asked for the recipe.

These are true oatmeal raisin cookies. Personally, I'd prefer a bit of cinnamon in them (maybe 1/2 teaspoon), but my husband insists they are perfect as is.

I used quick oats, since I didn't have "rolled oats." They worked just fine. I also made 24 cookies (you know, so I didn't have to shuffle pans and wait and what have you) and cooked them for the maximum time. Perfect.

They were SO good that I went ahead and ordered the cookbook. Amazon is offering Amazon Prime 2-Day Shipping for FREE for three months, so I'm all over that (just need to remember to discontinue it before they charge me $79 for the year).

Here are my cookies: I am a HUGE fan of parchment paper. My cookies sheets look fabulous after four years of use!

Recipe: Bruschetta Chicken Packets

We're not big chicken eaters in this house. It's something my husband inherited from his father, and it's something I've gotten used to. I also hate handling chicken. Oh, and when it sits too long in the fridge and goes bad ... that smell! Yuck.

Umm, we do like Tyson chicken (see: frozen, breaded) in all forms :)

Anyways, I am trying to incorporate more real chicken into our dinners.

I prepared Foil-Pack Bruschetta Chicken Bake the other night. I liked it - I like things in packet-form. The chicken was moist. The stuffing was delicious (prepared with canned tomatoes - no butter!). My youngest son also gobbled it up (but he also eats peas by the handful). My oldest son did not (be he doesn't like much beyond peanut butter and jelly). My husband ate it, but he didn't take seconds (and that means he didn't like it).

So, it's a great recipe for chicken eaters ... but not so great that it'll convert the non-chicken eaters.

Need ::A:: Recipe!

Do you have a tried-and-true main dish recipe that starts with the letter A? I'm not talking ::Awesome:: Pasta Bake, I'm talking the REAL dish starts with A - not just has an A word thrown in front to make it work. Please let me know!

I could search the internet, but I'd like a recipe from a reliable source.

Delicious

I made the most delicious yellow cake in the whole wide world.

Actually, it was the most delicious cake. Period. Yes, even more delicious than my beloved CHOCOLATE. (I can't even believe I said that. I'm sorry, Chocolate. You will always be number one with me. I swear.)

Anyway, I apparently did not grease and flour the pans well enough.

Ugh.

But this means I can eat lots of damaged pans full ;)

Will remake tomorrow.

Even Husband was wildly impressed. Wildly.