Friday, January 28, 2011

::Monster Cookies::

Happy Friday to all! Everyone is always welcoming of Friday because it often time means a little "R&R." For me, I will be heading to work in about half an hour. But, before I left, I wanted to post something good to start the weekend. What else could be better than....::Monster Cookies::! A quick little story about when I made these. These are my husband's favorite cookie...hands down...and he was so excited when I made them. Well, I maybe have one thing of what I make and then that's it for me; so I didn't think it would hurt to bring some to work. To make a long story short; he couldn't believe that I brought his favorite cookies to work and he ran out...which made it even worse! I haven't forgot about it since. So, when I was at Target the other day I bought some Valentine's Day M&Ms to make some more! Hope that you enjoy this oldie but goodie recipe!

::Monster Cookies::

3 eggs
1 c. brown sugar
1 c. Karo syrup
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 c. butter
1 1/2 c. peanut butter
4 1/2 c. oatmeal (quick cook kind)
1/2 c. chocolate chips
1/2 c. M&Ms

Mix first 8 ingredients; add chocolate chips and M&Ms. Spoon-drop on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees; approximately 12 minutes or until golden brown.



Beating up the butter with the eggs


...and all the other 6 ingredients. Mix together and then add the "other stuff."


Oatmeal


The best ingredients...to me anyways! :)


Before the chocolates were added..


All ready to bake...or for me...eat! I love cookie dough. Raw eggs never hurt me...
Oh, and these aren't the Valentine's Day M&Ms I bought...in case you were confused.



Pop in the oven...


and wahlah....a great cookie! I make sure not to overbake my cookies. I stand by the rule of taking the cookies out when you think they aren't done...but are close...then they are done!

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

::Spaghetti Squash & Tomatoes::

Sometimes it's hard to get excited about recipes if pictures aren't involved. On top of that, it sometimes is hard to get excited if the pictures aren't of gooey caramel and chocolate running all over the place. In that case, this recipe might not get you that excited. But it should. So get excited! This recipe is kind of unique and I just made up when I had some spaghetti squash and was looking for something healthy for lunch. My mom was the one who showed me how you can use spaghetti squash, so thank you mother! Spaghetti squash is the squash that has the yellow outside and people at the grocery store, when in the produce department, often say "what is that?" "how do you use it?" Well, here is a fast, easy, and healthy recipe and way to use this particular type of squash. There can be many variations to it, but here is just one example. This would also be great for a side dish. Enjoy!

::Spaghetti Squash & Tomatoes::

1 spaghetti squash
1 can tomatoes (anyway you like them)
salt/pepper
garlic salt
onion powder

Poke holes in squash and place in a pan with some water on the bottom. Bake at 350 degrees for about an hour. Spoon out seeds and discard and then spoon out the squash and place in a bowl. Heat tomatoes on the stovetop and add seasonings. Pour over squash and enjoy!
Variations: Use regular spaghetti sauce with hamburger or chicken, add black beans and any other vegetables to the tomato mixture. Just act like the squash is regular noodles...and add the same toppings you would add to the noodles!


And this is why it is called spaghetti squash...looks just like spaghetti!


Heat this up along with the seasonings.


I'm in love with vegetables...so to me, this looks amazing. If it doesn't look great to you or you don't like tomatoes, use some of the variations as listed above in the recipe; such as spaghetti sauce.


Tuesday, January 18, 2011

::30th Birthday Cake::

This post is long overdue; by months! I posted my cake creation on Facebook and then didn't think to put it on here; because it wasn't really a recipe! Anyways, I've made some cakes at home for fun just to practice and I enjoy the time it takes to do the details. Living where we do, my husband and I have been so blessed to have such wonderful neighbors who we call friends; and we are also lucky that we have alot who are around our age! One of my neighbors called me and asked if I would make a cake for his wife for her 30th birthday; a surprise one! I was SO excited yet kinda nervous because I had only done cakes for myself and if I screwed up no one would see it besides me. I kept thinking of how to decorate, etc. etc. I found out her favorite color was green so I decided to run with a green theme. I used lime green and then found some zebra print ribbon and thought that they are fun combo for a surprise 30th birthday cake! The cake was a sour cream white almond cake with a buttercream frosting and then covered in fondant. The bottom of each tier was laced with the zebra print ribbon I mentioned earlier and then on the top I used some "funky" things I found in the floral department. Along with my husbands help, the cake was delivered to their house so it would be there when they got home from celebrating her birthday. Even though fondant is edible; I made a mini cake that was just frosted with the buttercream that I make so that it would be more "palatable" than the fondant. Anyways, all went well and they both liked the cake....whew! Here are some pictures of my first try at a professional cake....


My cake penmanship isn't the greatest...I'm working on getting into a cake decorating class! :)


Those are the "funky" things I was talking about.



A shot of the whole cake.


and another!


haha...and another!


This is the mini cake I made to match the main cake!


I delivered this on a cake plate I had.

If you are interested in a cake....let me know! I would be MORE than happy to assist you in your needs!

Sunday, January 16, 2011

::Better Than Sex Cake::

This is my favorite cake EVER. End of story. It s so moist and the mixture of chocolate, caramel, whip cream and topped off with crushed Heath bars make it extra yummy! If you haven't had this cake you need to make it; it's super easy as well! I've heard this cake being made several ways, but this is the way I've always been making it. The one thing I swear by is the caramel; Mrs. Richardsons...it's the best! Anyways, this is a short post because I just want to get right down to business! Enjoy!

:: Better Than Sex Cake::
1 box german chocolate cake mix
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 jar Mrs. Richardsons caramel
2 containers cool whip
4 Heath bars
Bake cake according to instructions on the box. Poke holes all over cake with the end of a wooden spoon. Pour over the can of sweetened condensed milk and the jar of caramel. Place in the fridge to cool. Once cool, spread on the two containers of cool whip. Crush Heath bars and sprinkle all over the cake.




A few of the ingredients...


Baked cake!


Mrs. Richardson's and the sweetened condensed milk...you HAVE to use that kind of caramel! :)


Poke holes all over the cake...


Pour the sweetened condensed milk all over then top..and then...


the jar of caramel and place in the fridge to cool


spread on the 2 containers of cool whip


so pretty!


I crushed up 2 of these packages! Don't mistake "health" for "heath!"


Yum! You can snitch a piece here...I won't tell!


Sprinkle all over the cake.



All done and ready to serve! SO delicious!

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

::Maxi's Chicken Enchiladas::

One day I said to my husband, and I don't usually say things like this because I usually ask what he wants me to make for supper, "You know what sounds good right now?" "Enchiladas!" I'm not sure why they sounded good that day; but I hadn't had one in a very long time and hadn't made them in probably even longer! I wanted to try something different than just your regular ol' enchilada. So, my mind started to spin circles...about a recipe I could "make up." And it must have made a good circle or two because I came up with a great dish; with all sorts of flavors! This recipe is easy and is a "plus" because you get alot of veggies to disguise within and your children won't even know it (i'm not a parent...so is it really that simple; I don't know?!). I like a little kick in my foods; so it does have some but isn't over-powering and unbearable. I hope you enjoy my creation of ::Maxi's Chicken Enchilaldas::.
Oh, PS: If you are looking to make it healthier; you could use a "light" version of tortillas, light cheese, light crm cheese, or you could use the reg. crm. cheese and use less of that and add more veggies...).
I didn't make it using any "light" items so I can't guarantee how that would be (that's my disclaimer!). Or, by the time you make a healthier version it will tempt you to think "oh, this is healthy, I can eat more," and by that time you could have made the given recipe and just had a smaller portion.
Enjoy, my friends!

::Maxi's Chicken Enchiladas::

Flour Tortillas
Chicken (I like buying the frozen tenderloins; they are very...tender and juicy!)
1 sm. can chopped green chiles
1 can Original Rotel (drained)
1 can black beans (drained and rinsed)
1/4 green pepper
1/4 yellow pepper
1/4 orange pepper
1/2 purple onion; diced
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 can Mexicorn
1-8oz pkg cream cheese
1 qt heavy whipping cream
1 can enchilada sauce (reg sized ccan)
Monterey Jack Cheese
green onions
olive oil
seasoning salt
garlic salt, onion powder
salt/pepper to taste

Dice onions and peppers; saute until tender in olive oil with a little salt. Turn down the heat a little and then add the cream cheese and mix until melted and combined with other ingredients. Add garlic salt and onion powder and the green chiles, mexicorn, black beans, and rotel; heat through.. Taste to see if you need to add more to your liking. In olive oil saute the chicken, seasoned on both sides with a little seasoning salt, until done. Dice the chicken and add to the creamy mixture. On a tortilla place a couple spoonfulls of the chicken mixture and roll up the tortilla and place in a baking dish. For me, I used two 9x13" pans and got about 8-10 per dish. For each dish; pour 2 cups of heavy whipping cream over the top and also pour 1/2 a can of the enchilada sauce over each dish. Sprinkle with chopped green onions and then sprinkle with the cheese (I probably used about 2 cups of cheese for each dish). Bake at 350 degrees uncovered for about 45minutes, or until hot and bubbly. If you think the cheese is getting too dark; cover with tin foil.



The stars of the shower...or should I say, some of them! When creating this dish I just pulled out a bunch of ingredients I thought I would use, but some of them in the picture I didn't...like the sour cream and refried beens to name a few! However, I did use....


Chopped purple onion (1/2 of an onion)


All the peppers and onions together and ready to saute. If you have a red pepper instead of a orange; go ahead and use it!


The can of green chiles....


This ingredient gives it that nice creamy filling and a great creamy flavor!


Starting to melt the cream cheese with the other ingredients!


Black beans; rinsed and drained. I love black beans!


Drain the Rotel!


Also drain the Mexicorn!


Starting to look yummy!...


Sauteing the seasoned chicken.


Diced up and ready for the creamy mixture...


All mixed in and ready to be wrapped in a shell!


Tortillas!


The filling ready to be wrapped. I spoon the filling in the middle of the shells and then on each side of the filling and fold in and then take the end of the shell closest to me and fold over top and then roll (kind of hard to explain!)


All rolled up!


This ingredient may have thrown a few off; but it's no mistake!


Pour over 2 cups for each pan


Then half a can of the enchilada sauce for each pan as well. It kind of looks pretty!


Diced up green onions.


Sprinkled with the cheese and in the oven!


All done; hot and bubbly!


So darn good. Make it!
Enjoy!