Candy Cane Chocolate Chip Cookies

I felt all sorts of creative taking this picture!

One of my guilty pleasures is reading People Magazine weekly.  They always have some type of recipe in there and I always admire them but rarely try them.  They had this recipe in there by Chef Kathleen King and it looked so yummy, I just had to try it out for a cookie exchange/surprise birthday party I attended last night.  These cookies were easy to make and quite tasty.  Daniel really liked the little crunch from the candy canes mixed with the chocolate.


Candy Cane Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 cups plus 2 Tablespoons flour (I used all-purpose flour)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 lb (2 sticks) salted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon water
2 cups (12 oz) semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup crushed candy canes or peppermint chips (I used candy canes I crushed in a food processor)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.  Whisk together flour, baking soda and salt.  Beat butter, sugar and brown sugar with an electric mixer on high about 1 minute.  Beat in eggs, followed by vanilla and water.  On low speed, mix in flour just combined.  Mix in chips and crushed candy.

Using about 2 tablespoons per cookies, drop dough 3 inches apart.  Bake until cookies are golden brown...about 20 minutes.  Cool 5 minutes.  Transfer to rack; cook completely.  Repeat with remaining dough on cool sheets.

Makes about 42 cookies.

Thai Chicken and Noodle Salad

This salad was so delicious!  This past summer on our visit home to Idaho we went and saw some friends who live in Utah who we had met when we were stationed at Fort Knox.  We kind of sprung our visit on them with real short notice but they were gracious enough to welcome us in their home and feed us a scrumptious dinner.  Daniel LOVED this salad.  Daniel has suddenly become our picky eater so when he asked me to please call my friend Dee to get the recipe, I figured I better do it and QUICK.  All the boys helped me put this together tonight and it was as good as we remembered. 

Thai Chicken and Noodle Salad

8 oz. linguine
1/2 medium cucumber, halved and sliced
4 cups shredded greens; any combo of Napa cabbage, romaine lettuce, or spinach
1/4 red onion, thinly sliced
2 cups thinly sliced purple cabbage
3 cups diced grilled chiken
1/2 cup honey roasted peanuts (more if you like)
1/2 red pepper, thinly sliced
1/2 yellow pepper, thinly sliced
1 medium carrot, julienned
1 recipe Thai Peanut Salad dressing

Thai Peanut Salad Dressing

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 lime, juiced and zested
2 1/2 teaspoons sesame oil
1 tablespoon seasoned rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons honey
2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon minced ginger
1/2 c roughly chopped cilantro (stems and all)
2-3 teaspoons Sriracha chili sauce (start with 2 tsp. and add more to taste)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2-4 tablespoons water

1.  Prepare dressing by combining all ingredients except oil and water in a blender.  Blend for 20-30 seconds.  Turn to low and slowly drizzle oil until combined  Add water to thin dressing to desired consistency.

2.  Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.  Add pasta.  While the pasta is cooking chop the vegetables.

3.  Drain pasta and run some cold water over it until it's cool.  If not using it right away, add a drizzle of the salad dressing and stir to coat the noodles to prevent them from getting clumpy.  Refrigerate until ready to use.

4.  When you're ready to assemble the salad, place noodles, veggies, and chicken in a large bowl.  Pour the Thai Peanut Dressing over everything, stirring as you go, until all ingredients are coated.

Homemade Corn Tortillas

Homemade Corn tortillas, are amazing and simple to make!  Really, don't be afraid...they are worth the little extra time to make.

All you need is three ingredients...yup..that's it.

Corn Tortillas

2 cups Masa Harina  (I've linked to an explanation and picture of the most commonly used masa harina)

1+ cup warm water

1 tsp salt

Dissolve your salt in your warm water and add to masa harina.  Combine by hand until it forms a ball.  You may need to add a little more water to help the dough to form.  The dough will not be sticky.  Let the masa rest for about 30 minutes.

Get out your tortilla press...oh...you don't have one?  That's okay...simply get some wax or parchment paper and a rolling pin and it works just as well.  

Roll your dough into golf-ball size balls and place in between paper.  Even if you are using a tortilla press, you will want to use some type of paper so it doesn't stick.  Simply place the masa ball in between the paper and press down.  If using a rolling pin, place ball between paper and roll with pin.

Once flattened, peel off paper and place on heated pan.  You might be using a cast-iron griddle pan or skillet, whatever you have will work.

That's it!  So simple and easy!  Enjoy

Crockpot Flank Steak Tacos

This is what we had for dinner tonight and it was FABULOUS!  I found the idea on Pinterest but the recipe was under the name of "carnita beef tacos".  Well this will sound incredibly silly but the name bothered me.  Carnitas are pork and as you can see this is beef...therefore I cannot in good conscious call them Carnita Tacos.  They are now Flank Steak Tacos....doesn't sound as fancy but trust me, when you eat them you won't care about the name!  Now that I have given you a little food lesson, we can continue on to the recipe!

Do not be scared that there is no liquid...your meat will not burn, I promise!

Flank Steak Tacos
2 lbs flank steak (or 4lbs if you have hungry teenage boys like I do)
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped

2 jalapeno, seeded and chopped (one works fine if you don't want as much heat and if you want more heat, leave the seeds in!)

Spice Rub

2 tsp chili powder (I like to use New Mexico Red Chili but you can use whatever makes you happy)
1 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp salt  (sometimes I like using Kosher salt in rubs, just depends on my mood)
1/2 tsp black pepper

*You can really put any combination of spices you like, it's all about the flavors you like!


Directions:
Mix together all spices in a small bowl. Rub the spices all over your flank steak, really you cannot over spice. Then, place your steak at the bottom of your crock pot.
Cover the steak with the chopped onions, bell peppers and jalapeno pepper. Turn heat on LOW and cook for 8 hours.
After 8 hours, remove meat from crock pot and shred with a fork (honestly by this point, you really don't even need to shred it, it will just fall apart).

Serve with corn tortillas (make your own, they are super easy!)

Top with whatever makes you happy...here are a few variations from our home.

 I simply put the meat on the tortilla, squeezed some lime juice then added fresh avocado.

 Neil put meat, then lime juice, mashed his avocado, added green salsa that you can't see, lettuce and red salsa.

 Daniel just ate his with meat and avocado.

 Michael was the same..meat, lime, avocado and eventually his rice ended up in the taco too.

Crock Pot Sloppy Joes

I have been making these for years, they are my boys favorite sloppy joes.  They have eaten Manwich once and decided they would never eat it again.  I got this recipe out of the book that came with my very first crockpot we bought when Kevin and I first got married.  So we have been making these for over 16 years and they are still a hit!

Sloppy Joes
3 pounds ground chuck
1 onion, finely chopped
1 green pepper, seeded and chopped
2 - 8 ounce cans tomato sauce
3/4 cup ketchup
1 T Worcestershire Sauce
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

Brown beef in skillet and drain off fat.  Put in crock-pot; add remaining ingredients.  Stir thoroughly.  Cover; cook on low 8-10 hours. (High 3 to 4 hours).

I am serving these on Homemade Buns with homemade pickles.  DELICIOUS!

Homemade Yellow Mustard

What happens when you run out of mustard in a home where one of your children LOVES mustard and practically eats it with everything?  Well if you're too lazy to run out to the grocery store, you make your own!  This was so ridiculously easy and I happened to have all the ingredients in my house.  My son loves it and claims he will not be sharing it with his brothers!

Homemade Yellow Mustard

(recipe found here)

1 cup ground mustard (regular or hot) - I used regular

1 cup water

3/4 cup white vinegar

1 tsp flour

2 tsp salt

1 tsp turmeric

3/4 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp paprika

1 tsp cayenne pepper (optional) - I used just a little more

1 tbsp lemon juice

Combine all ingredients except for the cayenne and lemon juice in a small saucepan. Whisk until smooth and then bring to a boil. Regular mustard powder yields a mild mustard.

Once the mixture boils, reduce the heat to medium and let cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Remove from the heat and let cool slightly. Taste for spiciness.

Pour the mustard into a food processor. Add as much cayenne as you feel you want (if any), and the lemon juice.

Purée for 2 minutes to mix well and smooth the mustard out somewhat.

If the mustard appears a little grainy don’t worry. Sitting in the refrigerator will help smooth it out a little more. It will also thicken when cooled.

Place in jars and refrigerate.

Tip: Oven Roasting Corn

 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Rinse corn with husks still on.  Place corn husks directly on the oven rack and roast for 30 minutes or until corn is soft. Peel down the husks and use as a handle when eating.

Black Bean and Corn Salsa

Black Bean and Corn Salsa

Ingredients

20-25 tomatoes
8-10 peppers (we used about 4 small Bell peppers, 2-3 Anaheim, and 2-3 Jalapenos)
2 onions
1/2 cup olive oil + 2 tablespoons
6-8 cloves of garlic finely chopped
1-2 tablespoons cumin
2-3 tablespoons chili powder
2-3 teaspoons red pepper
3 cups corn (cooked and cut off the husks) (Click here for a tip on how to roast your corn easily)
1 can black beans drained
salt to taste
2-3 tablespoons sugar

Directions

1. Cut the tomatoes, peppers and onions in half, and roast them on the grill.

1. When the vegetables are fully grilled, and lightly blackened, pull the vegetables from the grill.  Place the tomatoes in their own separate bowl to let the juices drain.

1. When the vegetables from the grill have cooled, in batches, food process the drained tomatoes and grilled vegetables, along with the olive oil. Set aside.

1. In a large pot, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil and cook the garlic until fragrant.  About 1 minute.
2. Add the chili powder, red pepper and cumin and cook for another minute or until fragrant.
3. Add the corn, drained black beans, and the food processed garden vegetable mixture from before.  Stir well.  Add the sugar and salt, and let simmer for about 15 minutes.

The salsa is now finished.  From here you can eat it fresh, can it, store it in the fridge, freeze it, or use it in your favorite Mexican recipe. 
When canning I use the boiling-water method.  Basically you ladle the hot salsa into hot jars, leaving about 1/4 inch head space.  Put on the two-piece caps and boil for 15 minutes in a pot of boiling water, the jars should be totally immersed in water.

Preheat oven to 350°F 2 Rinse ears. 3 Place corn cobs in middle rack in oven. 4 Bake for 30 minutes. 5 Remove corn cobs. Pull back husks and enjoy!

 

Black Bean and Corn Salsa

Ingredients

20-25 tomatoes
8-10 peppers (we used about 4 small Bell peppers, 2-3 Anaheim, and 2-3 Jalapenos)
2 onions
1/2 cup olive oil + 2 tablespoons
6-8 cloves of garlic finely chopped
1-2 tablespoons cumin
2-3 tablespoons chili powder
2-3 teaspoons red pepper
3 cups corn (cooked and cut off the husks) (Click here for a tip on how to roast your corn easily)
1 can black beans drained
salt to taste
2-3 tablespoons sugar

Directions

1. Cut the tomatoes, peppers and onions in half, and roast them on the grill.
2. When the vegetables are fully grilled, and lightly blackened, pull the vegetables from the grill.  Place the tomatoes in their own separate bowl to let the juices drain.
3. When the vegetables from the grill have cooled, in batches, food process the drained tomatoes and grilled vegetables, along with the olive oil. Set aside.
4. In a large pot, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil and cook the garlic until fragrant.  About 1 minute.
5. Add the chili powder, red pepper and cumin and cook for another minute or until fragrant.
6. Add the corn, drained black beans, and the food processed garden vegetable mixture from before.  Stir well.  Add the sugar and salt, and let simmer for about 15 minutes.

The salsa is now finished.  From here you can eat it fresh, can it, store it in the fridge, freeze it, or use it in your favorite Mexican recipe.  .
When canning I use the boiling-water method.  Basically you ladle the hot salsa into hot jars, leaving about 1/4 inch head space.  Put on the two-piece caps and boil for 15 minutes in a pot of boiling water, the jars should be totally immersed in water.

Easy Jalapeno Jam

 A few weeks ago I had a fairly large amount of jalepenos that were quickly turning from green to red and needed to do something quick with them.  I had made jalepeno jam in the past but thought the process was too long and I have little patience for jams.  As I was venturing through Pinterest, I came across this recipe and saw how simple it was and decided to try again.  Not only was it so easy to do, but the jam is AMAZING!

*CAUTION* working with jalapenos can be dangerous.  Make sure you use rubber gloves when chopping.  I had so many jalapenos it was almost like I created my own gas chamber in my kitchen so make sure you are in a well-ventilated area.

Easy Jalapeno Jam

12 ounces jalapeno peppers, stems and seeds removed

1 cup apple cider vinegar

Blend together in blender or food processor until pureed.

Pour puree into a deep, stainless steel saucepan, and add...

1 cup apple cider vinegar

6 cups granulated sugar

Bring to a boil over high heat, boil 10 minutes.

Stir in 2 (3 oz.) pouches liquid pectin

Boil hard (full, rolling boil) for 1 minute.

Remove from heat, add a few drops of green food coloring (if desired, I did not and my jam is still beautiful!), quickly skim any foam off the top.

Ladle hot jam into hot, sterilized jars, leaving a half inch headspace. Tighten lids on to fingertip tightness and process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes. Remove from canner and allow to cool and seal.

My favorite way to eat jalapeno jam!  With cream cheese on a Triscuit!

Spicy Wholegrain Mustard

 We have some mustard lovers in our home.  I'm always trying out new mustard recipes just keep them guessing what I'll come up with next.  My 14 year old's favorite mustard is the Spicy Brown Mustard.  I thought I'd give this recipe a try after I found it on Pinterest.

 I found the recipe on this site.

Spicy Wholegrain Mustard

• ¼ C + 2 T yellow mustard seeds

• 2 T black mustard seeds*

• ¾ C apple cider vinegar

• 1/3 C water

• 1½ t sugar

• ½ t turmeric

• Clean, glass jar & lid that can hold 2 cups of liquid.  Make sure this is sterilized by putting in the dishwasher OR pouring boiling water in and around it. Let dry before continuing.

*Apparently black mustard seeds are becoming rare. Feel free to use brown mustard seeds, or all yellow, as long as it totals 1/2 cup.  You should be able to find mustard seeds with the spices or Indian foods section.

How-to

• This makes about 2 cups finished mustard. You can pour it into separate jars when made, but to start you need one big jar!

• Place mustard seeds in jar. Pour the apple cider vinegar and water on top of the seeds.

• Put lid on and shake it up! You want to make sure the seeds are covered with the mix, so give it a shake every now and then.

• Soak for 2 days and the seeds will swell with happiness!

• After 2 days, place seeds and liquid in a food processor and add the sugar and turmeric.

• Blend until desired smoothness.

• Place into desired jar(s), replace lid, and set in fridge. Keep refrigerated.  THAT’S IT! YOU’RE DONE!

-It will be pretty spicy after this, and you can let it mellow in the fridge for a day or two. But even after a few weeks it still has bite!

Loaded Potato Casserole

This recipe was a Pinterest find.  I've been drooling over it for a couple months and finally decided I would just break down and make it.  It was a huge hit in our house.  You can find the original recipe here.  I made subtle changes to make it more to my liking.  I don't care for overly wet potato dishes so I adjusted some of the portions.  I'll note the changes.

Loaded Potato Casserole

2 (16oz) containers sour cream (I used one 24 oz container of sour cream)

2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded

2 (3oz) bags real bacon bits

2 packages Ranch Dip mix (I left this out, I'm not a fan of ranch outside of potato chip dip and salads)

1 large (28 - 30oz) bag frozen hash brown potatoes - shredded kind

Combine first 4 ingredients, mix in hash browns.  Spread into a 9x13 pan.  Bake at 400 for 45-60 minutes.

Broccoli Salad

This is one of those dishes I don't make often and when I do I wonder why I don't.  It's super easy to make and really yummy.  Ruby Tuesday has a salad like this and it's something I enjoy when I go there.

Broccoli Salad

1/3 cup hot water
4 tlbs. sugar
4 tlb. vinegar
1 cup mayo
2 heads broccoli cut into small pieces
16oz sharp cheddar cheese cut up (mild cheddar works just as well, that's all I had yesterday when I made it and it was still yummy!)
2 lbs bacon cooked crisp and crumbled  (I cheat and use the real bacon bits from the salad dressing aisle, one 3 oz package was sufficient)
1 medium red onion minced (I usually leave the red onion out, it's all about personal preference)

Put broccoli in a bowl.
Dissolve sugar in hot water.
Pour over broccoli
Add remaining ingredients mix well, refrigerate for a couple hours

Marinated Cucumbers

 

Our local farmer's market is open for business and that makes this girl very happy!  I picked up some fresh cucumbers, tomatoes, green beans and cauliflower this past weekend.  We had pot roast for dinner and I wanted something light and refreshing along with it.  I know cucumbers probably doesn't sound like a good combination but it was actually quite refreshing.  I know many people make something like this with onions but I don't enjoy onions and since I was the one that really wanted it, I made it to make my taste buds happy!

Marinated Cucumbers

4 medium cucumbers, thinly sliced

1/2 cup vinegar

1/4 cup cold water

2 tablespoons chopped dill

3 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

dash pepper

Combine sliced cucumber with all other ingredients; cover and refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours before serving.

Pulled Pork Sandwiches

Delicious dinner tonight...pulled pork sandwiches served on homemade buns with homemade pickles and salad! We figured out this meal cost us less than $1 per person! That's a great deal! Dinner for less than $5 because we had most things in our house or were given the item for free. The pork shoulder/butt I bought for $13 made three meals!  We love good food and great deals!!


I originally made the pulled pork for the baby shower we threw a friend on Saturday.  The pork shoulder/butt was almost 10 lbs so it was going to feed a lot of people.  We had a good turnout but I still came home with plenty to feed my family with.  We still have some leftover that will make a good snack for the boys after school tomorrow.


I used a recipe from Chef Emeril Lagasse.  I mean who doesn't love Emeril?  Well okay, if you are a vegetarian or you have some aversion to pork you might not but I personally love him!  I even have a cook book signed by him that my husband stood in life for hours to get signed for me.  Anyway, I'm sure you are wondering about the recipe, not my infatuation with Emeril...so here it is!  You can also find it on the Food Network website with a recipe for coleslaw and fried pickles.

Don't freak out about all the parts to this recipe, they are all relatively simple to do!  The process is long because of cooking time but I promise it's worth it!  My pork shoulder/butt was double the size of this recipe so I doubled the ingredients and the time cooking.  I did use the mop sauce but since I cooked my roast over night while I was sleeping I only basted it twice and it was still moist and delicious!

Barbecued Pulled Pork Sandwiches with Homemade BBQ Sauce

Ingredients

• 1 boneless pork butt, about 4 pounds
• 3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons Essence, recipe follows
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon cayenne
• Wet Mop Basting Sauce, recipe follows
• Barbecue Sauce, recipe follows
• 8 Hamburger buns

Directions

Place the pork in a baking dish. In a bowl, combine the sugar, Essence, salt, cumin, paprika, pepper, and cayenne. Rub the seasoning evenly over the pork to coat. Cover with plastic and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight.

Preheat an oven or smoker to 225 degrees F.

Bring the pork to room temperature and place in a roasting pan, fat side up. Slow cook in the oven, basting with the wet mop basting sauce every 45 minutes, until tender and the internal temperature reaches 160 degrees F. (The cooking should take about 6 to 7 hours.) Remove from the oven and let rest for 20 to 30 minutes.

With a knife and fork or two forks, pull the meat apart into small slices or chunks. Toss with the barbecue sauce, to taste, and divide among the hamburger buns.

Essence (Emeril's Creole Seasoning):

• 2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 2 tablespoons garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
• 1 tablespoon dried leaf oregano
• 1 tablespoon dried thyme

Combine all ingredients thoroughly and store in an airtight jar or container.

Yield: about 2/3 cup

Recipe from "New New Orleans Cooking", by Emeril Lagasse and Jessie Tirsch. Published by William and Morrow, 1993.

Wet Mop Basting Sauce:

• 1 cup white vinegar
• 1 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon red pepper flakes
• 1 tablespoon cracked black pepper
• 1 tablespoon salt

The night before you cook the pork, combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and whisk well. Refrigerate and let the flavors blend overnight.

Yield: 2 1/4 cups

Barbecue Sauce:

• 1 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 cup ketchup
• 3 tablespoons packed dark brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon yellow mustard
• 1 tablespoon molasses
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper

In a bowl, combine all the ingredients and whisk well to dissolve the sugar. Place in a squeeze bottle and dress the pulled pork sandwiches to taste.

Yield: about 2 cups

Baby Shower Ducky Bath Punch!

 A few months ago when one of my sweet friends told me she was expecting again, I was thrilled!  I just love her and her family.  For those who know me, know I'm not a fan of baby showers.  You can imagine my surprise when I was suddenly inspired to throw this friend a baby shower!  I didn't hesitate and recruited some of our mutual friends to help me with the planning (good thing I did otherwise who knows how this party would have turned out!)  Anyway, we figured out what we wanted as far as decorations and food and as we were looking through Pinterest for baby shower ideas, we came across this cute looking punch!!  We all agreed immediately that we had to serve this punch.  It was quite delicious and easy to make!

Adorable Ducky Bath Punch – The blue Kool-Aid makes it look like bath water and the sherbet mixed with the ginger ale gives it “bath bubbles”.

Ingredients

• 1 packet blue, unsweetened Kool-Aid
• 1 (2 liter) bottle Ginger Ale
• 1 (64 oz) bottle White Grape Juice
• 1 cup sugar
• 8 scoops pineapple sherbet
• 2-3 Rubber Duckies

Instructions

1. Chill ginger ale and grape juice over night
2. Remove sherbet from freezer about 1/2 hour before serving punch to soften
3. In a large bowl, combine Kool-Aid packet, sugar and chilled juice. Stir to blend.
4. Slowly add chilled ginger ale.
5. Float 8 scoops of softened sherbet on top
6. Add Rubber Duckies (don’t forget to wash before using)

No Bake Energy Bites

Two of my three boys are wrestlers and are constantly watching what they eat. We are not in the "let's get serious" time of the season with state championships coming up. What tends to be a habit for many wrestlers is to watch their weight and what they consume all week only to fill themselves up with junk at the concession stand the day of the tournaments. This absolutely drove me crazy so I have been packing coolers (yes, more than one) and filling it with healthy snacks. I've been all over Pinterest looking for ideas and came across this one (be sure to click on the link and see the way more awesome picture on that blog entry!)

These we a hit with all the wrestlers who hovered over our table snacking away. I love when I control what goes into the food that my boys and their friends put into their bodies.

This was also super easy to make which is just an added bonus!

No-Bake Energy Bites Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 cup (dry) oatmeal (I used old-fashioned oats)
• 1 cup toasted coconut flakes (toasted it myself which impressed my boys...haha)
  
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup peanut butter (I used the one I made, added bonus!)
  
• 1/2 cup ground flaxseed
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1 tsp. vanilla

Method:

Stir all ingredients together in a medium bowl until thoroughly mixed. Let chill in the refrigerator for half an hour. Once chilled, roll into balls of whatever size you would like. (Mine were about 1″ in diameter.) Store in an airtight container and keep refrigerated for up to 1 week.

Makes about 20-25 balls.

Basil-Garlic Oil

I love this simple flavored oil on fresh pasta. It is very refreshing.

Basil-Garlic Oil
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
6-8 whole cloves garlic
10 whole fresh basil leaves
Generous pinch crushed red chili pepper flakes

Heat a small saucepan over low heat with 1/4 cup olive oil, garlic cloves, basil leaves and pepper flakes. Keep the heat on low to allow the ingredients to warm slowly and release their flavors. When the garlic is lightly browned, turn heat off and let cool for 10 minutes. The longer you let the oil sit, the more infused the oil. Strain the oil, discarding the solids.

Homemade Fruit Snacks

Today I attempted another Pinterest find. I can't say that I am completely sold on these. The idea was a good one, but I'm just not sure it is worth the effort or cost. Perhaps if my kids were younger and I fed them fruit chews on a regular basis as a snack I would feel different, but my boys are 15, 14 and 10. We buy fruit chews on occasion but they are no longer a staple in our home. That being said, I know I have friends who do have little ones who may find this recipe useful and I also know lots of my friends repinned this on their own Pinterest boards so I thought I'd post my results.

Homemade Fruit Snacks (original recipe can be found here, with other comments and discussion)
1/3 c. 100% fruit juice
3 pkgs unflavored gelatin
molds
As you can see I was prepped and ready to fill up quite a few molds! (Kristi, I was going to use those cute football molds I borrowed and need to bring back, lol) I TRIPLED this recipe and still didn't fill up one of the jello bean molds. It was about that time that I became discouraged because I used almost 2 1/2 boxes of the Knox gelatin and hadn't filled one tray. Because of that, I did not pay as much attention to detail about how I filled it up. You can see in the picture below that I didn't trim it up any so they aren't as pretty as they could be. My oldest son is the only one who has tasted them so far, he says they aren't bad, he actually likes them. I used the cherry juice and he could taste the flavor. Overall, not a bad idea, just not sure its worth it for my family.

Pour-It-On-Peanut Butter Smoothie

We have this little cookbook of sorts that I bought one day, years ago while grocery shopping. You know, the ones that are in the checkout aisle that entice you with the glorious pictures on the cover? This one is all about drinks, it's called Smoothies and Summer Drinks. My 10 year-old is always wanting to try a recipe from it so this morning I made him this Peanut Butter Smoothie...changing it a bit of course.

The original recipe:

Pour-It-On-Peanut Butter Smoothie
2 cups vanilla frozen low-fat yogurt
2 bananas
1 cup fat-free skim milk
1 cup creamy peanut butter
2 Tablespoons honey
2 cups cubed or crushed ice

1. Combine all ingredients in blender, process until smooth, stopping once to scrape down sides.

2. Pour into 4 glasses, serve immediately.

Nay's adapted recipe..

Pour-It-On-Peanut Butter Smoothie
2 containers Vanilla Honey Greek Yogurt (I don't think I have ever bought frozen yogurt)
2 bananas
1 cup fat free milk
1 cup homemade honey peanut butter (that's what's in the red container)
2 cups Sonic ice (what? You don't have Sonic ice in your freezer??)1. Combine all ingredients in blender, process until smooth, stopping once to scrape down sides.

2. Pour into 4 glasses, serve immediately. (You only see 2 glasses, but there was plenty leftover for a couple more glasses)

Daniel and Kevin both gave this recipe two thumbs up!

Cinnamon Orange Pull-Apart Bread

One of my favorite Pampered Chef Recipes ever..my kids always want to take this to breakfast events!

Cinnamon Orange Pull-Apart Bread (Monkey Bread)
1 orange
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
5 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
18 frozen bread dough rolls, thawed (1/2 of 48 oz pkg)
1/3 cup light corn syrup, divided

Spray fluted pan/bundt pan with vegetable oil. Zest orange to measure 1 tablespoon zest. In small bowl, combine sugar, cinnamon and zest; mix well. In microwave safe bowl, melt butter on high for 3 seconds or until melted. Cut each roll in half. Dip half of the cut rolls in butter, rill in sugar mixture to coat. Arrange in pan. Drizzle with corn syrup. Repeat with remaining rolls and corn syrup, sprinkle any remaining sugar mixture over rolls. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and cloth towel. Let rise in warm place (80-85 degrees F) until they double in size, about 1 hour. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Uncover; bake 30-35 minutes or until top is deep golden brown. Cool in pan for 5 minutes. Carefully invert onto serving plate. To serve, pull apart or slice with knife.

Homemade Poptarts

My kids beg for these...really, they love them that much!

Well this morning I went to the fridge for a drink and I saw all these jars of jams/jellies. It made me crazy. Yes, we love jam and jelly as you can see but I can only take so many open at the time. So I pulled them out and decided it would be a good morning to make poptarts for the boys. This is super easy!

Homemade Poptarts
2 pie crusts (the refrigerated kind from the store work great or if you are that good, make your own...I personally dislike making pie crust)
Different kinds of jam/jelly/preserves (make sure your jelly isn't too runny, otherwise you'll have a mess)
Egg (for egg wash)
Sugar (I use raw sugar, I'm sure regular sugar would work great too)

We don't frost ours, they are that good without it, but if you wanted to, just mix up some powdered sugar and milk and make a glaze.

Lay out the pie crust and cut it in fours,then you’ll have to cut off some of the edges to make them square. (I combine the extra pieces and reroll to make more, see how resourceful I am, haha)

Place a spoonful of jam/jelly/preserves on one side.

Wet your finger and run it along the sides of the dough, it helps it stay closed. Press down the edges with a fork.

Then egg wash and sprinkle with raw sugar.

Bake at 350 for about 10-15 minutes, until golden brown.