Fudgy S'Mores Bars

These bars are really nummy and gooey and very rich! The recipe calls for M & Ms but I didn't have any so I just used dark chocolate chips.

Fudgy S'Mores Bars

Crust:

1 cup graham cracker crumbs (12 squares)

1/2 cup ap flour

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup butter (soft)

Topping:

4 cups mini marshmallows

1 cup M & Ms or chocolate chips

1/4 cup hot fudge topping

Heat oven to 350. Grease 13X9 inch pan with cooking spray. In a large bowl beat crust ingredients with an electric mixer on low until coarse crumbs form. Press mixture evenly in bottom of pan. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown. Sprinkle marshmallows evenly over crust and bake for 3 to 4 minutes longer or until marshmallows begin to puff.

Sprinkle chocolate pieces evenly on top of marshmallows and drizzle with hot fudge topping. Cool completely for about an hour. Cut into 8 rows by 4 rows.

Creamy Chicken and Rice Popovers

I love finding new easy and nummy dinner ideas. This one came from the back of a Boil in Bag rice box. When I make this recipe again I'm going to add more chicken.

Creamy Chicken and Rice Popovers

1 bag Success white rice

2 cans (8 oz each) crescent rolls

1 cup cooked chicken (I bought a rotisserie chicken and picked the meat off)

1 pkg. (8 oz) cream cheese~soft

2 tablespoons onion

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

salt and pepper to taste

Prepare the rice according to the package directions. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Spray baking sheet with cooking spray. Unroll dough and make 2 large squares from each pan, pressing the seams together to seal. Combine the chicken, cream cheese, onion, cheese and salt and pepper to the rice. (I put butter on the rice before I mixed it) Evenly divide mixture on dough squares. Pull each corner of the dough towards the center pressing to seal. (This is easier said than done) Place on baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Serves 4

Note: Not sure how but I came out with 6 packets? These are very filling and nummy num. The next day for lunch I reheated a packet in the microwave for 1 minute then popped it in the toaster oven for a couple of minutes so it wouldn't soggy. They were almost just as good!

Homemade Marshmallow Fondant

Making fondant at home is pretty easy but man is it messy! I have made it using a different recipe in the past but this recipe is faster and easier. I took it from The Decorated Cookie, http://chiccookiekits.blogspot.com/ who I think got it from someone else. An awesome added bonus is that you can make fondant for about a tenth of the price of store bought fondant. Here it is:

Marshmallow Fondant

2 cups mini marshmallows

2 tablespoons water

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 pound (4 cups) powdered sugar

shortening

Grease a microwave safe bowl with shortening. Add marshmallows, water and vanilla to the bowl. Heat in the microwave for about 45 seconds. Stir well until fully melted and smooth and runny. Sift the powdered sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer with a flat beater (tip: grease the beater with shortening). Pour the marshmallow mixture into the sugar and blend on low speed until dough forms. Knead briefly on a surface dusted with powdered sugar. Then I coated the fondant with shortening to store it.

Marshmallows in the bowl before being melted.

Melted smooth marshmallow mixture.

Melted marshmallow poured over the powdered sugar.

Fondant ball rolled out onto a sugared surface.

Tada, you've got fondant!

5 Minute Chocolate Mug Cake

A cake that you can make in your microwave in 5 minutes or less? Sounds fantastic (and dangerous) right? Well that's what I thought when someone emailed me the recipe. I went home that night and tried it and let me tell you it wasn't fantastic. Far from it. While it was in the microwave cooking it almost smelled like it was burning. I took it out and let it cool for a minute, while it cooked all of the chocolate chips sank to the bottom of the mug. It was really, really dense and thick and wasn't sweet. I like my cake to be light and fluffy. Maybe it's asking to much for a five minute cake you cook in the microwave to actually taste good. Oh well it was a fun little experiment. I think if I played with the recipe and tweaked it, it might be good but I don't want to invest that much time in it. Here's the recipe if you want to try it.

All the chips stuck in the bottom

The cake dumped out on a plate

My confusion after taking a bite. I was even a little scared to try it.

5 Minute Chocolate Mug Cake

4 tablespoons flour

4 tablespoons sugar (I would try maybe 5 tbsps)

2 tablespoons cocoa powder

1 egg

3 tablespoons milk

3 tablespoons oil

3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional)

a small splash of vanilla

1 large microwave safe coffee mug

Add dry ingredients to mug and mix well. Add the egg and mix thoroughly. Pour in the milk and oil and mix well. Add chocolate chips (if using) and vanilla and mix again. Put the mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts. (I have no idea how you know the watts?) The cake will rise over the top of the mug but don't be alarmed. Allow to cool for a minute and then tip out onto a plate if desired.

Snickerdoodles

Who doesn't love a good snickerdoodle? All the guys at work loved them but they love any food item I bring. I got the recipe from The Complete Magnolia Bakery Cookbook. Warning: These cookies have to chill before you can bake them. I didn't read the recipe all the way through before I started making them. I'm very impatient and I hate to wait for stuff to chill. So make these before you really want to bake and eat them.

Snickerdoodles

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons cream of tartar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter-room temp

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 large eggs-room temp

2 tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

6 tablespoons sugar mixed with 2 teaspoons cinnamon for sprinkling

In a small bowl, combine the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt. Set aside. In a mixer, cream the butter and sugar until smooth about 2 minutes. Add the eggs, milk and vanilla and beat well. Add the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly. Wrap the dough tightly with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for 2 hours. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto un-greased cookie sheet, leaving several inches between for expansion. Sprinkle generously with the cinnamon-sugar mix. Bake for about 9 minutes for chewy cookies and 12 minutes for crunchy cookies. Cool the cookies on the sheet for about 5 minutes and then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Candy Crunch Pudding Pie

While searching through the apps on my IPhone I found one called iFood Assistant. It has all sorts of recipes for dinner or holidays and entertaining and even budget friendly recipes. You should check it out. Well here is one recipe I have tried from it and man on man is it good. The only thing is that it is very rich so you only need a little piece.

Candy Crunch Pudding Pie

2 boxes (3.9 oz each) JELL-O chocolate instant pudding

2 cups cold milk

1 tub (8 oz) Cool Whip-thawed

2 toffee bars (1.4 oz each) such as Heath or Skor-chopped

1 Oreo pie crust

1 square semi sweet chocolate-melted

Beat pudding mixes and milk with whisk for 2 minutes. Stir in half the Cool Whip and all but 3 tablespoons of candy. Pour into crust. Top with remaining Cool Whip and candy, then drizzle withe the melted chocolate. Enjoy. Keep in fridge.

Tator Tot Casserole

I made this for dinner the other night and it wasn't all that great. It was easy but the soup/sour cream mixture was a little too thick. If I make it again I will dilute it with some milk. Also I feel like it would taste better if you broiled it for the last couple of minutes so the tator tots would be a little bit crunchier.

Tator Tot Casserole

• 1 lbs. ground beef
• 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp. freshly-ground black pepper
• 1 10 oz. can low-sodium cream of mushroom soup
• 1 cup sour cream
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided
• 1 32 oz. package frozen tater tots

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 x 13 pan with cooking spray. Brown ground beef. Season with salt and pepper, while browning. Drain. Spread ground beef in the prepared baking dish. Whisk together soup and sour cream. Spread over ground beef in an even layer. Sprinkle one cup of cheddar cheese over the soup layer. Top with tater tots. Bake 30 minutes. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top. Bake another 5-10 minutes until cheese is melted.

Your zucchini bread is better than mine!

My mother gave me some zucchini bread she made from her friend Sandy's recipe, and I have to tell you it was unbelievable! It was moist and flavorful and sooooo nummy num. It's a very simple recipe so I'm not sure what makes it so good. All I can say is thank you Sandy!

Pineapple Zucchini Bread

3 cups of flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup chopped pecans

Combine in bowl and set aside

3 eggs

2 cups sugar

1 cup oil

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 cup shredded zucchini

15 oz can pineapple (tidbits or crushed) well drained

Beat eggs lightly in large bowl. Add sugar, oil and vanilla and beat until creamy. Stir in zucchini and pineapple. Add dry ingredients and stir only until combined. Pour into 2 well greased and floured loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until done. Cool 10 minutes in pan, then turn out on a rack and cool.

Pizza Bites

I'm always on the hunt for something good and fast for dinner. After surfing the internet one day I came across Chaos in the kitchen (a food blog) and they had a recipe for pizza bites. Well I made them for dinner tonight and they were a big hit with my family.

Pizza Bites

• 1 can refrigerated pizza dough
• 8 oz block mozzarella cheese
• thin sliced pepperoni
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 3 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
• pizza or marinara sauce

1. Roughly chop pepperoni. Cut block of mozzarella into cubes.
2. Preheat oven to 400°F. Lightly spray a pie pan with Pam.
3. Pinch off walnut sized pieces of dough.
4. In each dough piece place a couple pieces of chopped pepperoni and a cube of cheese. Seal dough around meat and cheese and place seam side down in pie pan.
5. Repeat, until you have filled the pie plate. (mine made 15)
6. Once assembled, combine oil and spices and brush over the dough. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
7. Now you can cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate or freeze or you can bake right away.
8. When ready to bake: bake at 400°F for 16-20 min. Serve with warm pizza or marinara sauce.

Lemon Shortbread Cookies

I wanted to try out this new recipe and so what better time than for Valentine's Day! The recipe wasn't written very well so this is sort of my adaptation.

Lemon Shortbread Cookies

2 cups unsalted butter-soft

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 egg yolks

2 teaspoons lemon extract

1 tablespoon lemon zest

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 1/2 cups flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream butter until light and fluffy. Gradually add both sugars and beat until fluffy, stopping occasionally to scrape the bowl. Beat in yolks, extract, zest and salt. Add flour a little at a time and beat until just blended.

Roll out the dough and cut into desired shapes, or you can just roll dough into small balls and flatten to make round cookies.

Bake for 10 minutes or until the edges are slightly brown.

I used royal icing to decorate these cookies. Enjoy!

A Sweet for my Sweetie!

It's almost Valentine's Day and I wanted to make something I've never made before for my honey....fudge! I personally am not a huge fudge fan just because it's too rich, but everyone I know loves it. I found this easy recipe on the internet and it turned out great.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge

6 ounces (1 cup) semi sweet chocolate chips

1 cup creamy peanut butter

1/2 cup butter

1 cup powdered sugar-sifted

sprinkles-optional

Line a 8 inch square pan with foil. In a double boiler, melt chocolate, peanut butter and butter. Stir to combine. Stir in sugar until it melts. Pour into prepared pan. Cool on the counter and cut into squares when set. Store int the refrigerator. (I put sprinkles on it while it was still wet to make it more Valentiney)

"IHOP" Pancakes

I can't remember where I found this recipe but I've been making it for years. It's easy and so nummy num!

"IHOP" Pancakes

1 1/4 cup all purpose flour

1 egg

1 cup buttermilk

(Tip: if you don't have buttermilk just add 1 tablespoon vinegar to the milk)

1/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder-heaping

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 cup oil

blueberries-optional

Mix it all together. Pour it in a hot pan. Wait for the bubbles to form. Flip. Then Eat!

Anybody want some cookies?

Made cookies the other day just because. This was a good recipe. It makes thin and chewy chocolate chip cookies which is just how I like em'!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup (1 1/3 sticks) butter-soft

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1 large egg-room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips (I used 1 cup! NUMMMM)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside. In a large bowl, cream the butter with the sugars until smooth about 3 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and mix well. Add flour mixture and beat thoroughly. Stir in the chocolate chips. Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto un-greased cookie sheet leaving some space between for expansion. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until lightly golden brown. Cool in pan for 1 minute then remove to cooling rack.

Makes 2-3 dozen cookies

"Seven Layer Dip"

My husband requested seven layer dip to munch on while we watched the Super Bowl. Normally it would be seven layers, but my husband being the picky eater he is wanted me to leave out the olives and tomatoes. So here's the recipe for my five layer dip.

Five Layer Dip

1 can refried beans

1 packet taco seasonings (use a tablespoon or more if you like it spicier)

guacamole

sour cream

salsa

cheese

Start by putting the refried beans in a bowl and add a tablespoon or so of water and microwave them for about 1 minute to get them softened up. Add the taco seasoning to the beans and stir until combined. On a large plate spread out the beans. Then spread out the guacamole and then sour cream then salsa and cheese. Scoop it up with some tortilla chips and enjoy.

Mini Wedding Cake-White Cake

My sister asked me to make a cake for a party her and her husband were invited to. The party was to celebrate a Korean couple that got married but didn't have a wedding reception. I thought it would be nice to make a mini wedding cake. The cake was a classic white cake with raspberry buttercream filling and iced with buttercream. My sister said they all enjoyed it. Recipe for the white cake is below:

Old Fashioned White Cake

1 stick unsalted butter-soft

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 cups self rising flour

1 cup milk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

4 large egg whites

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 9 inch round pans. In a mixer on medium speed cream butter until smooth. Add the sugar gradually and beat until fluffy about 3 minutes. Add the flour in three parts, alternating with milk and vanilla, beating well after each addition. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Gently fold egg whites into batter, making sure no egg whites are showing. Divide batter between cake pans.

Bake for 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cakes cool in pans for 10 minutes. remove from pans and cool completely on wire rack.

Joel's Tasty Taquito Bake

One of my favorite things is getting a good recipe that someone has already tried. One of the detectives at work made up this easy recipe for a sort of chicken enchilada like taquito bake.

Tasty Taquito Bake

1 box of Chicken Taquitos

1 (10 oz) can of Rotel-drained

1 (10 oz) can of Green Chili Enchilada Sauce

1 (10 oz) can of Cream of Chicken Soup

Cheddar Cheese

Jalapenos-optional

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Thaw the taquitos a little by placing one layer in a 9x13 pan and setting out for about 30 minutes. In a medium saucepan combine Rotel, Enchilada Sauce and Cream of Chicken and heat to almost boiling. Pour the sauce over the taquitos and cover with cheese and jalapenos if desired. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until bubbly and cheese is melted.

Serve them with some Spanish rice and dinner is done!

Lemon Blueberry Poppy Seed Bread

A million years ago I use to work the front desk at an athletic club and we would always have people coming in trying to sell us stuff. Well I usually didn't ever want what they were selling but one day a clever cookbook salesman came in. He handed me a cookbook and told me to just look at it for a couple of days and when he came back to get it I could decide if I wanted to buy it or not. Three days later he came back and I bought the cookbook. It was full of colorful photos and really good recipes. One of my favorite recipes from the cookbook was the Lemon Blueberry Poppy Seed Bread. (BTW the name of the cookbook was Favorite Brand Name Cookbook)

Lemon Blueberry Poppy Seed Bread

Bread:

1 package bakery style blueberry muffin mix

2 tablespoons poppy seeds

1 egg

3/4 cup of water

1 tablespoon lemon zest

Drizzle:

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat a loaf pan with cooking spray. Rinse blueberries from mix with cold water and drain. For the bread combine muffin mix and poppy seeds in medium bowl. Break up any lumps. Add egg and water. Stir until moistened about 50 strokes. Gently fold in blueberries and lemon peel. Pour into pan. Sprinkle with contents of topping packet from mix.

Bake for 1 hour or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes. Loosen loaf from pan. Place on cooling rack and let cool completely.

For the drizzle combine sugar and lemon juice in a small bowl until smooth. Drizzle over loaf.

Garnish with fresh blueberries if desired.

Zucchini Bread

For some reason I have really been wanting to make zucchini bread. I had an old recipe that I hadn't made in forever so I kind of tweeked it. I'll give you the original recipe then in italic I will put my substitutions. It turned out really nummy. Not overly sweet.

Zucchini Bread

3 eggs

3/4 cup veg. oil

1 1/2 cups sugar (1 cup regular sugar and 1/2 cup raw sugar)

1 teaspoon lemon zest (1 teaspoon lime zest)

1/2 teaspoon orange extract

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

(instead of the orange and vanilla extracts I used 3/4 teaspoon Bakery Emulsion)

2 cups grated un-peeled zucchini

2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (I used walnuts)

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger (1/4 teaspoon all spice)

2 1/2 cup all purpose flour (2 cups all purpose flour and 1/2 cup cake flour)(I only used the cake flour because I ran out of all purpose flour)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, beat eggs. Add oil and sugar and beat well. Stir in flavorings and zucchini. In another bowl combine dry ingredients and nuts. Add to zucchini. Pour into two small loaf pans or one large loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour.

Optional glaze: combine powdered sugar and lime juice, then drizzle over the bread.

Peanut Butter & Fudge Swirl Pie

Birthdays are special and I like to make the birthday boy/girl feel special by making their favorite dessert. One of the men I work with loves anything with peanut butter and chocolate. He's not a huge fan of cake so I found this recipe for a peanut butter/chocolate pie. It was good but very rich!

Peanut Butter & Fudge Swirl Pie

1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese-softened

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup creamy peanut butter (I added 1/2 cup because I wanted a stronger peanut butter flavor)

2 cups Cool Whip

1 (6 oz) Oreo pie crust

1/4 cup hot fudge ice cream topping

Beat cream cheese, sugar and peanut butter in large bowl with mixer until blended. Gently stir in Cool Whip until blended. Spoon into crust; drizzle with fudge topping. Swirl gently with a knife. Refrigerate for 4 hours or until firm. Refrigerate any leftovers.

You could also sprinkle with chopped peanuts.

At lady at work tasted this pie and liked it but she wanted to make it lighter so she made it but used low fat cream cheese, Splenda and sugar or fat free Cool Whip. I didn't taste it so I can't say for sure if it was good or not, but she really liked it.

Better than almost anything cake

I found this recipe on the box of a Betty Crocker cake mix and have made it several times. It tastes great and is easy to make.

Better than almost anything cake

1 box German chocolate cake mix

(water, vegetable oil and eggs called for in the cake mix directions)

1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk

1 jar (16 to 17 oz) caramel, butterscotch or fudge topping (I used caramel ice cream topping)

1 container (8 oz) Cool Whip

1 package (6 oz) toffee chips or bits

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Make cake as directed on package for 13x9 inch pan. Cool for 15 minutes. Poke top of warm cake every 1/2 inch with handle of wooden spoon. Drizzle sweetened condensed milk evenly over top of cake; let stand until milk has been absorbed into cake. Drizzle with caramel topping. Run knife around sides of pan to loosen cake. Cover and refrigerate about 2 hours or until chilled. Spread Cool Whip over top of cake then sprinkle with toffee chips. Store covered in the fridge.