Craving Cookies

Lately, I have been craving chocolate.  Last night I wanted chocolate chips cookies. SOFT, homemade  chocolate chip cookies.  None of that break and bake stuff!  However, chocolate chips cookies are not on my diet plan and that stinks.  Maybe if I share the recipe with all of you, it will make my craving go away.  Since I didn't make the cookies, there is no picture, but we all know what chocolate chip cookies look like!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 cup softened butter or margarine
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 firmly packed light brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
1  12 oz. package chocolate chips
1 package (4 serving size) vanilla instant pudding*

Mix flour and baking soda, then set aside.  Combine butter, sugars, vanilla, and dry pudding mix in a large bowl; beat until smooth and creamy.  Beat in eggs.  Gradually add flour mixture; stir in chips.  The batter will be stiff.  Drop by rounded spoonfuls about 2 inches apart onto a baking sheet that has been sprayed with Baker's Joy or covered with parchment paper.  Bake at 375 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes.  Makes about 7 dozen.

*For chocolate chocolate chip cookies, substitute chocolate instant pudding.

Okra is O.K. With Me!

I have been trying to lose weight and my daughter shared this recipe with me.  It only has one ingredient so you can't get any easier than that!   Next time I make it, I'll post a picture.  I know ... baked okra sounds a little strange, but trust me.  It is delicious!  I wouldn't steer you wrong when it comes to food!

Baked Okra

1 bag of frozen whole okra, semi-thawed (or fresh okra)

Spread the okra out on a baking sheet sprayed with Pam.  Bake at 425 degrees for 20 min.

You can add salt and pepper if you’d like.

This fresh okra came from my uncle's garden.  It was so good!

Who You Callin' Chicken?

My granddaughter recently turned 2.  My daughter, Tiffany, had a party for her at her house.  She made all kinds of food including the best tacos I have ever had.  While Tif was getting everything ready to serve, she showed me a little trick she had recently learned about shredding up chicken.  I must say that this is the greatest time saving tip if you use a lot of chicken like we do.  She put a few packages of boneless, skinless chicken breasts in the crockpot after cutting off any extra fat you might find.  Next, she covered the chicken with water and let it cook for 8 hours.  After the chicken was cooked, Tif drained off the broth and saved it for future use.  Then she returned the chicken back to the crockpot and took 2 forks and started pulling the chicken apart.  In minutes, all the chicken was shredded.  I used to  (notice that is PAST tense) bake a bunch of chicken and then sit at the table and shred it by hand after it cooled.  It took forever and the muscle between my shoulder blades would ache.  I'll never do that again!  Thank you Tiffany for sharing this marvelous, time-saving way to prepare shredded chicken so quickly.  If you're like me, you'll take this chicken and divided it into packages and put it in the freezer for future dinners.

See how beautifully it shredded!

Hubby Wants This Again Tomorrow Night!

I was looking around on Pinterest the other day and ran across a recipe that looked good.  I made a few changes and made it even better (in my opinion).  It was really easy too!  The best part is Hubby LOVED it!  He liked it so much, he asked if we could have it again tomorrow night.  HAHAHA!  No.  I have plans for something else tomorrow night, but we will have it again soon!

 

Thai Peanut Chicken 

 

Sauce:

1/3 cup creamy peanut butter

1/3 cup honey

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup water

1 tablespoon lime juice

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4 tablespoons butter

1 (14-ounce) package broccoli slaw

1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh garlic

2 cups cooked shredded chicken breast

1/4 cup dry roasted peanuts, chopped

Directions

 Sauce:

Combine all sauce ingredients in small saucepan; mix well. Cook, stirring occasionally, over medium-low heat until smooth and heated through (about 10 minutes).

                                       ----------------------------------------------------

Meanwhile, melt butter in a pot and add broccoli slaw. Cook, stirring frequently, until vegetables are tender (8 - 10 minutes).  Add garlic and mix well. Add chicken and cook for about 10 minutes. Add peanut sauce to chicken; stir to coat. Serve over a bed of white or brown rice.

These are the leftovers (aka: lunch).

Channeling Chick-Fil-A

I drove past Chick-Fil-A on my way to the grocery store today and started craving a yogurt parfait.  Usually I crave chicken.  I don't know what happened this time.  Anyway, while I was at the grocery store, I passed the strawberries and blueberries and they hopped right in my buggy!  So did the yogurt and granola.  It was amazing.  When I got home, I had everything I needed to make my own yogurt parfait!  I can't wait to finish dinner tonight!  It was hard not to dig in to one while I made them.  This will make a great dessert in the summer since there is NO COOKING INVOLVED.  Which means, no extra heat in the kitchen.  It's like they say; if you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen!

Yogurt Parfait

1 cup of vanilla yogurt (I used Yoplait)
2 - 3 strawberries, sliced
1/4 cup blueberries
1 - 2 Tb. granola

Layer 1/2 the strawberries and 1/2 the blueberries in the bottom of the cup.  Spread 1/2 the cup of yogurt on top of the fruit.  Repeat.  Top with granola.                     Makes 1 parfait

♥ I cut the top strawberries to look like hearts. ♥

Origami Owl Snacks

Recently, a friend of mine and her daughter hosted an Origami Owl party.  If you haven't heard of Origami Owl, you should check out this website:
 https://www.facebook.com/OrigamiOwlBeccaWilsonIndependentDesigner
I'll be placing a catalog order in April if you'd like to order.

At the party, one of the foods that was served was Cream Cheese Cinnamon Roll Ups with Caramel Sauce.  The roll up recipe came from Pinterest and the Caramel Sauce was my friend's recipe.  Since it's her recipe, I won't post it unless she gives me the OK.  I knew once I tasted them, I would be making them myself.  Today is Easter and it's one of the dishes I'm taking to our family celebration.  They're even good without the caramel sauce.

Happy Easter!!

 Cream Cheese Cinnamon Roll Ups

20 slices homemade style white bread, crusts removed
8 oz package cream cheese, softened
1 large egg
1 cup sugar, divided
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 cup butter, melted

Heat oven to 350. Roll out bread slices with a rolling pin until flattened; arrange on work surface.Beat together cream cheese, egg and 1/4 cup sugar. Combine remaining 3/4 cup sugar and cinnamon in a shallow bowl or pie plate.  Divide cream cheese mixture onto bread, spreading about 1 level tablespoon on each. Roll up bread to enclose filling.  Brush rolls all over with butter and roll in cinnamon sugar mixture. Arrange on prepared baking sheets.  Bake until the rollups begin to puff, 15 to 18 minutes. Serve warm.

Breakfast for Dinner

I knew today was going to be a busy day because after work I had physical therapy.  This usually puts me home later than usual so I planned ahead.  Last night I pre-cooked the sausage and put it in my little chopper.  It was ready to be turned into gravy when I got home.  All I had to do was add eggs, toast, and grits and dinner was complete!  You can replace the toast with biscuits and it's even better.

Sausage Gravy

3 Tb. oil

2 Tb. flour

Salt & pepper to taste

1 cup milk

1 roll of cooked sausage

Cook and finely chop sausage before starting.  Mix oil, flour, salt and pepper in a pot and brown.  Add milk and sausage.  Stir and mix well until thickened.  If the gravy becomes too thick, add a little water and stir.