Monster Cookies

This is my first time ever making monster cookies, and they turned out sooooo good.  They are easier than I thought they would be.


Ingredients:

In a medium bowl combine:
1 1/2 cups of flour
1 small box of instant vanilla pudding mix (unprepared)
1tsp baking soda
SET ASIDE

In a large mixing bowl/stand mixer, COMBINE:
1 stick of butter, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter

BLEND UNTIL FLUFFY, then ADD:
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla




















SLOWLY ADD:
Dry mixture: flour/baking soda/pudding mix






















Once combined and smooth, remove from mixer and stir in:
1/2 cup quick oats
1/2 cup chocolate chips (I used mini chocolate chips)
1/2 cup peanut butter chips
1 cup M&M's (you can use mini M&M's but I used regular)

Preheat oven to 350*.  Scoop your cookie dough onto your cookie sheets, however big you want to make them, and slightly flatten them.  Bake for about 10 minutes or until the edges start to brown.  Cool before enjoying them :-)

Doggie Pup Cakes

My boxer girl Roxie just turned 1 last Sunday and of course I had to make her some birthday "pupcakes".  She and her corgi sister devoured them!  These are "human quality" but are pretty bland, I wouldn't recommend them for a human treat... :-)  Here is the recipe!

Ingredients:
3/4 Flour
1/3 cup Milk
2 tbls Honey
1/4 cup Peanut Butter
2 tbls oil
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg

Instructions:

In a large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients and blend well.  Line your muffin tin with paper or spray with oil.  Bake for 18-20 minutes at 350*.  "Frost" them with whipped cream cheese and top them with a dog treat if you wish. 

I'd say the birthday girl enjoyed her treat :-)

Cauliflower Alfredo Sauce

I LOVE alfredo sauce....it is probably my favorite sauce of all time.  Most alfredo sauce is full of fat and calories and therefore, kind of unhealthy.  I came across a recipe on this website: http://pinchofyum.com/creamy-cauliflower-sauce  for a healthy alternative.  This sauce is made with cauliflower....I really dislike cauliflower so I was skeptical, but thought I'd give it a whirl.  I personally don't think this tastes like cauliflower, so if you don't like cauliflower, don't worry!  Now, this doesn't taste EXACTLY like alfredo, but it is still really good.  It has a different texture, too.  

Instructions:

In a skillet, saute' 8 cloves of minced garlic with 2 tablespoons of butter.  Saute' it for 10 minutes or so, do not let it brown.  Remove from heat and set aside.  

In a large pot, bring to boil 6-8 cups of vegetable broth OR water, whatever you prefer. I used vegetable broth.  (well, 5 cups of broth and 2 cups of water because a carton of broth is only about 5 cups, FYI).

Once the broth is boiling, add 6 cups of cauliflower (I used frozen, I don't think it matters).  Cook until the cauliflower is tender. DO NOT DRAIN

With a slotted spoon, remove cauliflower and place in blender.  Add the garlic/butter mix, 1 cup of broth and 1 cup of milk.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Puree this mixture until smooth.  IF it gets to dry, add some olive oil.  (I had to do two batches because my blender isn't very big.  I placed the sauce back into the skillet that I used to saute the garlic with and added some italian seasoning, basil, and a little bit of parmesan cheese to give it a tad more flavor.  If you want, you can add 2 tablespoons of butter into the sauce until it melts to add flavor.

This sauce freezes/thaws well.

The recipe link above has recipes for dishes such as alfredo rice, alfredo pasta, and alfredo pizza.  

Baked Perch....and Fish Tacos

During winter, we eat A LOT of fish tacos.  And I mean, A LOT.  My fiancee loves to ice fish and he can catch 20-30 perch within a couple of hours.  Typically we bread the fish fillets with a flour mixture and deep fry it in oil.  I had to get creative this last time since I am trying to avoid greasy/fatty/fried foods right now.  I googled around and combined a few different ideas to get the following concoction:

Ingredients:
A few fish fillets (white fish....perch, bass, cod, tilapia, etc.)
2 tablespoons bread crumbs (I used panko bread crumbs)
2 tablespoons parmesan
1 teaspoon dill
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
2 tablespoons melted butter


Combine all dry ingredients in a shallow bowl.  Coat the fish in the melted butter and roll the fish around in the dry mix.  Bake for 10-12 minutes at 500 degrees.  Make sure to either spray your baking dish or line with foil to avoid a clean up disaster :-).

For our fish tacos, we keep it simple and just fill the warmed tortillas with coleslaw (either from the deli or making your own).  If you like horseradish, add some horseradish (the kind mixed with mayo) to the tacos for an extra kick.

5 Ingredient Low Fat Spicy Broccoli Cheese Soup

Say What?  A low fat broccoli cheese soup?  This soup is really good if you enjoy eating broccoli cheese soup, but are trying to watch your figure.  This soup only has 5 ingredients and takes about 30 minutes to make.

Ingredients:
16oz frozen broccoli
1 can Rotel (diced tomatoes with chilies)  (I used mild...because I am a wimp...)
14 oz of Chicken Broth
4 cloves garlic, minced
10oz of Velveta (I used reduced fat/2% fat) cubed.

Instructions:
In a large soup pot, combine broccoli, chicken broth, rotel, and garlic.  Simmer for 20-25 minutes or until broccoli is soft but still tender.
Add cubed Velveeta and stir until cheese is melted.  You CAN add more cheese, it will not harm the recipe, just will add more fat content.  I found that 10oz is pretty cheesey...The soup will not be as thick as a typical broccoli cheese soup, but still very tasty.

Enjoy :-)

The Best Apple Pie Recipe

Pies are a staple at many holiday gatherings, and for good reason.  I am usually nominated to make the pies for the gatherings at my future in-laws, but I don't mind...making pies isn't as complicated as one may think.  I use the apple pie recipe out of the old Betty Crocker cookbook, and it is tried and true, even won a prize at the fair once.  I add my own personal touches, such as a funky design in the crust, sprinkling cinnamon or sugar on top, etc.  Here is the recipe I use:

Ingredients:

1/2 cup white sugar

1/4 cup flour

1/2 teas cinnamon (I usually add more, up to 1 teas...)

1/2 teas nutmeg (I add more, up to 1 teas.)

1/8 teas salt

6-8 cups sliced and peeled apples (I use granny smith apples...6 medium granny smiths.  We have an old apple peeler/slicer that makes this task way easier...but make sure you slice your apples super thin)

2 tablespoons butter

Pie crusts for 8-9" pie (I use store bought because I personally have no patience to make homemade...I've tried numerous times :-)    )

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 425*.  Leave your pie crusts out to thaw out/soften while you prepare the filling.  In a large bowl combine all the ingredients except butter and stir until combined and the sugar is evenly distributed. 

 Lay one crust into the pie tin and pour the filling in.  "Dot" the top with butter (see picture).  Lay the second crust over the filling and flute the edges. Sprinkle the top with cinnamon and sugar, or one or the other.  Be sure to cut slits into the top so it can breathe.  Line your edges with 1/2" strips of foil OR this handy metal contraption I have for pie edges (I highly recommend getting one if you make a couple pies a year....they're amazing...). Bake the pie for 35 minutes, remove foil and bake for an additional 15 minutes or until crust is golden brown and juice is bubbling up through the slits.  Total bake time of 50 minutes or so.

dot with butter

cut slits in crust

amazing pie shield

ENJOY!

DIY Sign Making- Great Inexpensive Gift Idea

We have all seen those signs with clever sayings in the stores, and some of us (ahem, me...) cringe at the price tag.  Well, do you have a piece of wood laying around?  Have a bottle of paint?  Then, here is a simple tutorial for making one of those professional signs.  I made this one for my mom, who found a sign with this funny saying on it at a store, but when she went back to buy it, they had already sold it and she had been struggling to find it.  So, I decided to make her the sign.  I didn't really spend money on this project since I already had the bottle of paint and my piece of wood was from my headboard bench project (see blog post about that).  It was a chunk that we took out of the middle of the footboard.  Anyways, read on if you are interested in making a nifty sign!

Materials:

Piece of wood, whatever size/shape you need.

Paint.  I used acrylic for the dark red color.

Sandpaper (optional)

Pencil

Computer/printer (optional--helps get the letters look professional if you have crappy handwriting)

First, paint your piece of wood if it isn't already painted, or leave it as raw wood if that is what you want.  Clean it from debris.  You will need to type up your saying and print it out, making sure the font is large enough and looks right when you lay it all out.  It might take a few tries to get it right.  My tip: SPELL CHECK!  I made this mistake on a different sign and had to re-do part...woops.  Once you get the size of the font you like, print it out, lay it out on the piece of wood.

Next, flip your words/pieces of paper over and shade with a pencil until the letters are completely covered in lead.  See picture.

Tape your words/letters onto your piece of wood to make it stay in place.  The next step is to outline each letter with your pencil.  You will need to push very hard in order for it to make an imprint/stamp onto the wood.  I usually trace the letters a few times just to be sure.  See picture to see what I mean.

Tracing ---><---Outcome

When you're done with this step, it is time to carefully paint the letters.  Use a flat paint brush, or one that will work best for the size of your sign.  After I painted it, I took a piece of sandpaper to the edges of the sign as well as where the words were, to give it a rustic look.  You can put a finishing clear coat on your sign if you wish.  This makes a great gift.  You can glue pop can tabs to the back so you can hang the sign easily, or they do sell actual picture hooks.  Be sure to use a heavy duty glue if your wood is heavy.  Good luck!