Valentine Treats

I love any excuse to make some sweet treats for others.

To make the little heart candies I used a silicone ice cube tray from the dollar bin at Target. I melted the chocolate in the microwave and then spooned it into the mold. I put the sprinkles on and let them harden back up in the fridge.

The candy cane hearts were pretty easy. I trimmed the candy cane down and formed the heart. Using parchemnt paper on a cookie sheet lay out the hearts. Put them in a 350 oven for about 8 minutes or so. I just kept my eye on them constantly! When they come out place the stick in the middle!

The last treat I made were brownies. I used a box mix and baked it in a 9x13 pan. After they cooled for a bit I used various size cookie cutters to form the hearts. I then melted some icing in the microwave and spooned it over the brownies. As you can tell in the picture there were more brownies on this plate but they were quickly devoured!

More Blueberry Muffins

Don't these muffins look delicious? Ok I'm sure with some better photography skills they would really look as good as they taste!
I have made so many different blueberry muffin recipes! These muffins were just as great as all the others I have made. Now I have so many options to choose from when I make these again :)
I did not wait till breakfast tomorrow morning to taste these. I have already scarfed down 2!

Enjoy!!

Blueberry Streusel Muffins
Source: Vintage Victuals

1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 egg
2 1/3 cups flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups blueberries

1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup butter, softened

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees, and grease or line 18 muffin cups.

In an electric mixer bowl, cream sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Add egg and beat until well-combined.

In a seperate bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Add to creamed mixture alternately with milk, stirring well after each addition.

Finally, stir in vanilla and blueberries. Spoon batter into greased or lined muffin cups, filling two-thirds of the way full.

For topping, combine the sugar, flour, and teaspoon cinnamon. Cut in the butter with a fork or pastry blender until mixture resembles crumbs. Sprinkle on top of muffin batter.

Bake at 375 degrees for 25 – 30 minutes or until golden brown. Yield ~ 18 muffins

Baked Lemon Pasta

The Pioneer Woman doesn't usually disappoint and she didn't with this recipe.
I found this recipe on the Realistic Eats blog. This was simple and quick which is what I am always looking for. I loved the creamy taste of this too.
I changed this up a bit and added some chicken to it. I just threw it in the pan with the olive oil and browned it. When I added the lemon juice and garlic I let it sit in there for another minute our so. I removed it and added the sour cream. I then just mixed it in with the spaghetti in the dish!


Baked Lemon Pasta
Source: Realistic Eats from Pioneer Woman

Ingredients
1 pound Thin Spaghetti
4 Tablespoons Salted Butter
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
2 cloves Garlic, Minced
1 whole Lemon, Juiced And Zested
2 cups Sour Cream
½ teaspoons Kosher Salt, Or More To Taste
Plenty Of Grated Parmesan Cheese
Flat-leaf Parsley, Chopped
Extra Lemon Juice
Preparation Instructions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cook spaghetti until al dente.
In a skillet, melt butter with olive oil over LOW HEAT. When butter is melted, add minced garlic. Squeeze lemon juice into the pan. Turn off heat.
Add sour cream and stir mixture together. Add lemon zest and salt. Taste, then add more salt if necessary. Pour mixture over drained spaghetti and stir together, then pour spaghetti into an oven safe dish.
Bake, covered, for 15 minutes. Then remove foil and bake for an additional 7 to 10 minutes. (Don’t bake too long or the pasta will dry out.)
When you remove it from the oven, squeeze a little more lemon juice over the top. Top generously with Parmesan cheese, then chopped parsley. Give it a final squeeze of lemon juice at the end.
Serve with crusty French bread and a simple green salad.

Cookies and Cream Rice Krispy Treats

So I have to admit I don't remember ever making rice krispy treats. I mean how could I not have made them before, they are so easy!
I made these for the Colts game last week. It took about 3 minutes to whip these things up!


Cookies and Cream Rice Crispy Treats
Source: Picky Palate
4 Tablespoons Butter
4 Cups mini marshmallows
8 Cups rice crispy cereal
8 oz bag mini Oreo cookies

1/2 Cup chocolate chips, melted

1. Place butter and marshmallows into a large microwavable bowl. Microwave for a few minutes until marshmallows puff up nice and large. Remove and stir in cereal and Oreos. Pour into a large 9×13 inch baking dish. With the back of a large spoon that’s sprayed with cooking spray press and smooth treats. Drizzle melted chocolate over top and let cool. Cut into squares.

Chocolate Mousse Torte

We celebrated my moms' birthday yesterday. I was in charge of bringing dessert! I have so many dessert ideas I want to try it was hard to choose one. I went with this torte since I know my mom likes anything chocolate. I on the other hand don't care for chocolate all that much so I didn't taste this but it was given a great review! This was super simple to make and I was so excited when I flipped it out of the pan that it stayed together!

Chocolate Mouuse Torte
Source: Lindsey's Kitchen

Ingredients
37 Vanilla Wafers, divided
4 squares Baker's Semi-Sweet Chocolate, divided
2 pkg. (3.9 oz. each)Chocolate Instant Pudding
2 cups plus 2 Tbsp. cold milk, divided
1 tub (8 oz.) Cool Whip, thawed, divided
1 pkg. (8 oz.)Cream Cheese, softened
1/4 cup sugar
Fresh Strawberries

Directions
Stand 16 wafers around inside edge of 9-inch round pan lined with plastic wrap. Melt 3 chocolate squares as directed on package.

Beat pudding mixes and 2 cups milk in medium bowl with whisk 2 min. Add melted chocolate; mix well. Stir in 1 cup cool whip; pour into prepared pan.

Beat cream cheese, sugar and remaining milk with mixer until well blended. Stir in 1 cup of the remaining cool whip; spread over pudding. Top with remaining wafers. Refrigerate 3 hours.

Meanwhile, shave remaining chocolate square into curls. Invert torte onto plate. Remove pan and plastic wrap. Top torte with remaining cool whip ( so I used all my cool whip and was unable to do this step! oops!), berries and chocolate curls

Garlic Ranch Biscuit Topped Chicken Pot Pie!

Whew thats a long title! :) So I noticed I only tend to post chicken recipes! My husband only cares for beef and chicken. No pork and very few pasta recipes! So I'm stuck with two options. If we are going to choose beef it's going to be hamburgers or tacos mostly! So all I get is to do is experiment with chicken! Good thing chicken is so versatile and there are so many recipes out there!

This recipe came together of course really quickly! Now I'm not too big on using the cream of whatever soups but decided to go for it with this recipe. It was delicious!

I halved this recipe since it was only for me and leftovers for lunch.

Poppin’ Garlic Ranch Biscuit Topped Chicken Pot Pie
Source: Picky Palate

4 large chicken breasts, cooked and shredded (either bake, crockpot or pressure cook chicken for easy shredding)

1 packet dry Ranch Dressing Mix, reserve 1/2 teaspoon for topping

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 fresh cracked black pepper

2 10 oz cans cream of chicken soup

10 oz can cheddar cheese soup

1 Cup chicken broth

1 Cup milk

2 15 oz cans Mixed Veggis, drained

3/4 Cup crumbled bacon pieces, already cooked

1 Cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 6 count can Pillsbury Homestyle Biscuits

1/2 teaspoon Lawry’s Garlic Salt

1/2 teaspoon reserved dry Ranch Dressing Mix

1/2 Cup shredded cheddar cheese

Cholula Hot Sauce to top, if desired

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place shredded chicken into a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle in ranch mix (reserve 1/2 teaspoon for later), salt and pepper. Toss to combine seasonings.

2. In a large rimmed skillet or dutch oven, place soups, broth and milk over medium heat; whisk until combined. Stir in mixed veggis then shredded chicken. Transfer to a large 9×13 inch baking dish sprayed with cooking spray. Sprinkle bacon and cheese over top.

3. Open biscuits and place onto wax paper. Cut each biscuit into 10 little triangle pieces (cut biscuit in half then cut each half into fifths). Place little pieces of biscuit over top of chicken mixture until it’s all covered. Sprinkle biscuits with remaining ranch dressing mix, garlic salt and 1/2 Cup cheese. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until golden brown and biscuits are cooked through underneath. Cover with foil the last 25 minutes of baking to prevent too much browning. Let cool for 10 minutes then serve. Serve with Cholula hot sauce if you like it spicy! Enjoy.

8 servings

Garlic Cream Chicken

I know I haven't been too great at posting lately! I am still cooking but haven't had much energy to try new things. I am experiencing extreme tiredness and I haven't had any energy lately. Since I have been feeling this way I have been on the lookout for easy and quick recipes. This recipe definitely fit the bill. Chad wasn't home the night I made it but it just gives me an excuse to make it again soon. I know it is something he will really like!


Garlic Cream Chicken and Rice
Source: Burnt Toast who Adapted it from Elizabeth's Cooking Experiments, which she adapted from www.adamandmonika.com

6 cloves garlic, pressed (I only used 2)
4 chicken cutlets (or 2 full size breasts)
salt & freshly ground pepper
1 1/2 tbsp butter
1 1/2tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 tbsp flour
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese
flat leaf parsley, rough chopped, for garnish
cayenne pepper, sprinkled over the top



Season chicken liberally with salt & pepper. Heat the butter and oil n a large deep pan over medium heat. Sauté chicken until nicely browned (~5 min per side). Chicken does not have to be fully cooked at this point. Transfer chicken to a plate and get the rice cooking.


Add garlic to the pan, lower heat to medium, and sauté until soft. Be careful not to burn the garlic. Add stock and bring to a boil. Return chicken to the pot. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove chicken to a platter and cover with foil.

Add cream and boil for about 3 minutes. Plate rice, sprinkle parmesan cheese over the rice. Add a little sauce then chicken and more sauce. Top with parsley and sprinkle with cayenne pepper.