Chocolate Mint Puddles

For Christmas I made a couple different treats. My husband really likes mint so I made these with him in mind. These were easy to make and this batch made a lot of cookies!!!


Chocolate Mint Puddles
Source: Sing For Your Supper
3/4 cup butter
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
2 tablespoons water
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
2 eggs
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 (4.5 ounce) packages chocolate covered thin mints (Andes mints)

In a saucepan over medium heat, cook the sugar, butter and water, stirring occasionally until melted. Remove from heat, stir in the chocolate chips until melted and set aside to cool for 10 minutes. Pour the chocolate mixture into a large bowl, and beat in the eggs, one at a time. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt, stir into the chocolate mixture. Cover and refrigerate dough for at least 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease cookie sheets. Roll cookie dough into walnut sized balls and place 2 inches apart onto the prepared cookie sheets.
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, be careful not to overbake. When cookies come out of the oven, Press one mint wafer into the top of each cookie and let sit for 1 minute. When the mint is softened, swirl with the back of a spoon or toothpick to make a pattern with the green filling of the mint wafer. For smaller cookies, break mints in half.

Brownie Covered Oreos

I love baking at Christmas time. I have a list of new things to try and these were one of them. I made them to take into school one day last week. They were a hit as I left with an empty plate! These were fun to make and I even got Chad to help make them!! That is an accomplishment! :)

Brownie Covered Oreos
Source: Picky Palate

1 Brownie mix (or use your own brownie recipe)

1 package Oreos, I used the Holiday ones

White chocolate, melted for drizzle, or Wilton White frosting pen works great

White nonpariels Sprinkles

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare brownie batter according to package directions. Leave in mixing bowl. Dip Oreos in brownie batter then place in bottom of cupcake tins that have been generously sprayed with cooking spray. Bake for 12-15 minutes, until brownies are cooked through (doesn’t take long). As soon as you remove, take a plastic knife and run along edges, (this is VERY important so you get the cookie out with brownies not stuck to pan

2. Let cool for 5 minutes, remove drizzle with melted white chocolate or the Wilton White icing pen, sprinkle with nonpariels and EAT! Enjoy

Makes entire package of Oreos

Chicken Stir Fry

This meal was delicious!! I love that it is so simple and so good. I have had it starred in my google reader for sometime now but just never got around to it. Now I could make this once a week!




Chicken Stir Fry
Source: Meal Planning Mommies


Ingredients
1-2 eggs, uncooked
1 lb chicken cut into pieces
1 tsp. garlic (1-2 garlic cloves)
1-2 cups rice cooked
vegetable oil
soy sauce (I used about 1/4 cup)
Frozen veggies

Begin to cook rice, according to the directions on the package. Pour 2-3 Tbs. oil into skillet and begin to heat oil. Toss in 1-2 eggs and scramble. Add 1-2 cloves garlic and chicken. Allow to cook until chicken is no longer pink on the inside. Throw in vegetables and cook for 6-8 minutes or until veggies are tender. Stir in rice and soy sauce. (more or less according to taste)

Herbed Rubbed Chicken

We are always looking for new ideas for dinner, aren't we? I have been in a rut the last couple of weeks and I was determined to step out of that rut this week. Since it is a shorter work week it gave me a little more motivation to get back in the kitchen.
The picture of this dish is what drew me to it. Sorry if mine doesn't do the same for you! :) Talk about easy! This dish is so simple. You just put everything in the pan and let it be! I had my kitchen cleaned up by the time this was ready to eat! I love that.
I think the flavor of this is wonderful. I love the angel hair pasta in it too!


Herbed Rubbed Chicken
Source: The Mess Pot from Annie's Eats
Ingredients:

8 oz. orzo pasta, uncooked ( I used a handful of Angel Hair)
2 chicken breasts, butterflied into halves (4 pieces total)
Salt and pepper
2 tsp. Herbes de Provence
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 shallot, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes, with juices
2 cups broccoli florets
½ cup heavy cream
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Bring a saucepan of salted water to boil. Add the orzo and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, about 10 minutes. Drain the pasta, reserving ½ cup of the pasta water.

Season both sides of the chicken breast halves with salt and pepper. Sprinkle evenly with the Herbes de Provence. Heat the olive oil in a 12- or 14-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken breast halves to the pan and cook about 3 minutes per side, until golden brown.

Reduce the heat to medium, add the shallot to the pan and sauté 2-3 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté an additional minute, until fragrant. Add the diced tomatoes with juices and the broccoli florets to the pan, scraping the bottom of the pan to remove any browned bits. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to simmer over medium-low. Cover and let cook until the broccoli florets are crisp-tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in the cooked orzo, heavy cream and Parmesan cheese. Mix until well blended and the cheese has melted. If necessary, add some of the reserved pasta water to smooth out the sauce. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

Pizza Puffs

Most Sunday nights we don't usually want a big dinner. I thought these pizza puffs would be just right for our dinner tonight. They are so easy to put together which makes it another plus. I definitely want to make these again for maybe a football night.

Pizza Puffs
Source: Stephanie Cooks

Ingredients:
3/4 cup flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 cup whole milk
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp. garlic/onion powder blend
4 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded (about 1 cup)
1/2 cup pizza sauce


Directions:Preheat oven to 375o. Grease a 24-cup mini muffin pan.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and baking powder; stir in the milk and egg.

Stir in the cheese and seasonings and let stand for 10 minutes.

Stir the batter and divide among the mini-muffin cups. (I used a regualr size muffin tin) Bake until puffed and golden, about 25 minutes.

Microwave the pizza sauce until warmed through. Serve the puffs with the pizza sauce for dipping.

Cornbread

My grandmother was a great, true southern cook. She passed away a little over a year ago and I still have urges to call her to tell her about my newest cooking adventure. Tonight was one of those nights.
I was able to have many of my Grandma's cooking tools. Tonight I used her cast iron skillet to make this corn bread. I have never cooked with a cast iron skillet and I was excited to try something new.
I made chili for dinner tonight and decided to make cornbread to go with it. I had some buttermilk to use up so I searched on allrecipes.com. This was a simple recipe and the cornbread came out great. Really moist and sweet.

Buttermilk Corn Bread Recipe
Source: All Recipes

1 1/4 cups cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 cup buttermilk
3/4 cup vegetable oil

Directions
1.In a mixing bowl, combine cornmeal, flour, sugars, baking soda and salt. In another bowl, beat the egg, buttermilk and oil; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Pour into a greased 9-in. round or square baking pan (pan will be full). Bake at 425 degrees F for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Serve warm

Cinnamon Swirl Bread

I never used to eat breakfast until I started working. I always try to have something different each week. I also don't give myself a lot of time to eat breakfast so it has to be something I grab and go. This bread fits my criteria! It is also one of the easiest things I have made before. It took me probably 10 minutes to make and that includes pulling out all of my ingredients!
Chad and I each had a slice as a snack and it was delicious. The cinnamon flavor was great and the bread was moist. I will definitely make this often since it is so easy and delicious.

Cinnamon Swirl Bread
Source: Sing For Your Supper
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 cup white sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup cooking oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease the bottom and sides of a 9″x5″x3″ loaf pan. Combine the brown sugar and cinnamon. Set aside.

Combine the 1 cup of white sugar, flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl or mixer bowl. In a separate bowl, beat egg. Stir in buttermilk, vanilla and oil. Make a well in the flour mixture and add the egg/buttermilk mixture. Stir just until mixed. Do not over-mix.
Pour half of the batter into loaf pan. Sprinkle with half of the cinnamon mixture. Repeat With a wide rubber scraper or spatula, swirl mixtures together with a down and up circular motion.
Bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until done. Cool in pan for about 10 minutes. Remove from pan and cool completely on a wire rack.