Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Dip (It’s so good!)

We pulled into the motel down by my dad’s and realized our car was leaking radiator fluid (always a good sign, or NOT).  On a positive note, we knew going down that we were coming back with a new (to us) Honda CR-V.  My dad decided to give my step-mom’s van to my brother and sister-in-law because they have been looking for another vehicle and he thought that would work great for what they needed. And because he did that, he thought he needed to get us a vehicle too.  I assured him he did not, but he was having none of it (Thanks Daddy, you’re the best).  So, immediately, he started looking for a suitable vehicle for Buster and I.

Find This:

• 1 stick butter, room temp
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 (8 oz) block cream cheese, room temp
• 1-2 cups powdered sugar, depending on how sweet you want it
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 cup chocolate chips + some for ‘garnish’ (or more depending on how many you like)

Do This:

1. Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add brown sugar and whisk until sugar dissolves and mixture starts to bubble. Set aside to cool, and whisk in vanilla.
2. Cream together cream cheese and powdered sugar for 60 seconds. With mixer on low-speed, add in brown sugar and butter mixture. Mix until combined. I added the chocolate chips at this time so the mixer could break them up into pieces. You can do that, or just fold in the chocolate chips.
3. Garnish with additional chocolate chips. Serves with fruit, cookies, crackers, pretzels or just dig right in with a spoon (not that I did that or anything).

This stuff is really good.  I think I found the original recipe on Pinterest but I didn’t stick to the original recipe because, well…. I’m me!!  Of course now that it’s the new year and I am now on a mission to lose another 40 pounds in the next 5-6 months, sugar (and flour and anything processed) is the enemy and I can no longer eat yummlies like this.  Sigh.

So my dad got online and searched for an all-wheel or 4-wheel drive car that would get as good or better gas mileage as we were getting with our neon.  He and my brother actually looked a couple of Honda CR-V’s, but ended up getting the one we drove home. It’s a black ’99 Honda CR-V with 91,000 miles on it.  It’s in really good shape and even has a remote starter on it! It’s an awesome little truck/car.

When we left my dad the reality of his loss was setting in, but he seemed to be doing well.  I texted him this morning to see how he slept last night and to make sure he had a good breakfast this morning.  He said he had a rough evening but slept well once he got to sleep.  He had fed himself a healthy breakfast and was having a fairly good day.

I just hate the thought of him being lonely.  He is going to take the rest of the week off I think and go back to work on Monday.  He could take Monday off and have it paid, but I told him to be careful not to sit around and stew too much and he agreed.

He has a good support system in place.  He is already plugged into a Promise Keepers group through his work and He is a member of a church and has a good Pastor who will look after him.  I wish I lived closer so I could be there more.  But I will just have to pray a little harder! He will be fine, I know God will take care of him!

I didn’t really make any New Years Resolutions to speak of, but I did decide I needed to work harder at keeping my home uncluttered.  I live in a very small house and it’s very easy for it to become cluttered in a very short amount of time.  I also have decided to get more exercise this year.  Even with my heart murmur and breathing difficulties, I want to lose weight and be healthy and SOME exercise is a must.  So, I have decided to do what I can and call it good.

This morning I went in for the 24-hour Heart Monitor test.  Last week I had a Pulmonary Function test and my Dr.’s office called and said they got the results and want to see me so they scheduled an appointment for Monday.

I haven’t heard anything from my Dr. about the Echocardiogram yet.  I will ask about it when I see him Monday.  I still laugh every time I think about the lady’s reaction when I asked her if the sound I was hearing was the murmur I wasn’t supposed to have anymore.  She said, “A murmur means you have a leaky valve and that’s a loud one!” LOL I knew what it meant.  I was told years ago that I had Mitral Valve Prolapse and that eventually I would probably have to have that valve replaced.  but a few years ago before having major surgery, I had a physical and they told me I didn’t have the murmur anymore.  I guess they were wrong.

Anyway, that’s what’s going on here.  What’s going on with you? Are you well? Did you have a good New Years?

source

Joins us for the fun won’t you?

I wasn’t impressed.  I mean, it wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t wonderful, either!  It was my own fault,  I didn’t follow directions.  I’m good at that.  Not following directions. Yeah, just ask anyone who knows me.    It’s a problem, I’m working on it…

Aaanywho…My bananas weren’t ripe enough, so they weren’t sweet enough.  *insert sad face here*

So, when you make yours, make sure you have very ripe bananas!! 

Home Made Ice Cream

Find this:

• 4 very ripe bananas, sliced and frozen at least one hour
• 2 T. creamy peanut butter
• 2 t. cocoa powder

Do this:

1. slice your bananas
2. freeze your sliced bananas for at least one hour
3. process your frozen bananas in a food processor until they are smooth like whipped topping (this will take some time, they may become course like gravel before they become smooth)
4. once your bananas are smooth add your peanut butter and cocoa and mix until blended well
5. serve once blended to enjoy like soft serve or refreeze to enjoy like hand dipped ice cream

Since my bananas were quite green I added some splenda to my ice cream to sweeten it up.  My ice cream also turned out quite dark in color because I used dark cocoa powder.  Next time  I will use regular cocoa powder and ripe bananas and I won’t have to use splenda and it won’t be so dark! 

I didn’t think to take the picture til I had my ice cream half eaten! Hahaha…

So I sat here thinking to myself, wondering what I was going to do.  I remembered Buster buying some chicken breast tenderloins the other day and I knew I had a couple other ingredients in the fridge that should go well together.  I was like the mad scientist mixing this concoction together in my head, and I thought to myself, “self, this could work!”

MMMUUUAAHAAHHAA Just kidding, sort of.

So this is what I came up with.

Cream Cheese Chicken (for 2)

find this:

• 6 chicken breast tenderloins
• 1/2 block (about 4 oz) cream cheese
• about 1/2 -3/4 c.  (I just eye balled it) sour cream
• garlic salt, to taste
• pepper, to taste
• 2 T. butter, cut into pieces

do this:

• season your chicken breast tenderloins and place tenderloins in baking dish (mine were frozen, would take a lot less time to cook if you thawed them first)
• mix your cream cheese and sour cream together in a bowl
• pour cream cheese mixture over chicken
• cut your 2T. butter into pieces and just put pieces randomly into pan all over chicken and sauce
  
• bake at 350°F for 35-40 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink and cream cheese sauce is bubbly and hot
• periodically stir your sauce as it cooks maybe twice or three times during cooking  so it will be smooth when done

This turned out really good for being thrown together very quickly.  You could serve it with rice or noodles.  I just served it plain with some corn.  I thought about making some egg noodles, but like I said, I wasn’t feeling well, so I didn’t.  Next time I will, It will be yummy!

You could make  it with more chicken to feed more people or less to feed less!

Hope you enjoy  it.  I am linking up with Lisa for Tempt My Tummy Tuesday! Let’s go see what other goodies we can find!!

See you soon!

So, it’s been a while since I’ve done this. A long while.  I thought I’d do it again just for giggles.  We’ll see how it goes.  One of the prompts for this weeks workshop was…

1.)  Share a Thanksgiving recipe you will be cooking up this week.

Thanksgiving was yesterday, I know. So, sue me.

This is what I brought. No, I don’t have any pictures.  Maybe next time…

Green Bean Casserole

find this:

• 4 cans french style green beans (or whole green beans or cut green beans if you prefer, what-ev)
• 1 family size can Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom Soup (yes, it must be Campbell’s, come on people!)
• 1 container Frenchs Fried Onions (yes, it has to be French’s, pay attention folks!)

do this:

• open and drain beans
• put beans in casserole dish
• open and pour soup over beans; mix with spatula
• top with fried onions
• bake @350°F about 30-35 or until onions are golden brown and soup is bubbly and hot
• remove from oven and allow to sit about 5 minutes before serving
• enjoy with family

This is a family favorite not only for the holidays but at other times during the years whenever we decide we get a craving for it.  It’s a great dish.  And it’s easy to make! Hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

You can also make it sugar free by substituting the sugar with Splenda or Stevia.  For those of us that don’t do refined sugar (like me).

Crust-less Pumpkin Pie

What you’ll Need:

• 1 1/2 c. sugar
• 1 t. salt
• 2 t. cinnamon
• 1 t. ginger
• 1/2 t. cloves
• 4 large eggs
• 1 can 100% pure pumpkin
• 2 (12oz) cans evaporated milk
• non-stick spray

What to do:

1. Preheat your oven to 425°F.
2. Mix pumpkin, spices, salt and milk together in large bowls; set aside.  In small bowl crack eggs and whisk.  Add eggs to pumpkin mixture and mix well.  Add sugar and mix well.
3. Pour into sprayed 9×13 baking pan.
4. Bake for 15 minutes @425°F.  Reduce heat to 350°F.; bake 40-50 minutes more or until knife inserted near center comes out clean.
5. Cool on wire rack for 2 hours.  Serve immediately or refrigerate, this, in my opinion is better after it has chilled.
6. Serve with homemade whipped topping!! It’s so easy to make.  Simply take a cup of heavy whipping cream and beat it with a teaspoon of vanilla til it starts to thicken.  Add  1/3 cup of sugar ( again, Splenda or Stevia work great) and beat til it thickens and you have whipped topping! Easy!!

I am linking up with Alli Sweet Tooth Friday cause It’s.So.Much.Fun.  

Til Next Time Friends

So, I thought I should whip up a sample batch of cupcakes for this girl who is considering letting me bake cupcakes for her sweet 16…I chose these babies…

I made a mayonnaise chocolate cake into cupcakes, only I used Miracle Whip® because that’s what my MIL always used, and her cakes are AMAZING!!.  I have made it before, too and have always had great luck with it!

So here is the simple, yet delicious recipe…

Mayonnaise Cake (chocolate)

What you’ll need:

cupcakes:

• 2 c. sifted flour
• 1 c. sugar
• 1/2 c. cocoa
• 1 1/2 t. baking soda
• pinch of salt
• 3/4 c. mayonnaise (mom always used Miracle Whip®)
• 1 c. cold water
• 1 t. vanilla

whipped topping:

• 1 c. heavy whipping cream
• 1/3 c. sugar
• 1 t. vanilla
• 5 large strawberries

What to do:

cupcakes:

1. Sift together in a bowl flour, sugar, cocoa, soda and salt.
2. Make a hole in the center.
3. Add mayonnaise, water, and vanilla.
4. Beat until smooth.
5. Pour batter into one greased 9″x13″ baking pan or two greased 8″ or 9″ round baking pans.
6. Bake at 350°F. for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

whipped topping:

1. Chop strawberries in small processor just until they are thick and liquid.
2. In bowl of electric mixer, beat whipping cream and vanilla til it starts to thicken.
3. Ad sugar and beat til desired consistency.
4. Fold in strawberries.

This is a super-moist cake that will ruin all other chocolate cakes for you!

Please try this and come back and let me know what you think!!

Once the cupcakes are cool, I make a chocolate cream cheese filling that goes inside the cupcakes.  I simply take a small knife and cut a hole in the center of each cupcake, reserving the cake.  I then fill the hole with the frosting and replace the cake.   I am going to leave out the recipe for that because I am selling them.  But I did give you the recipe for the strawberry whipped topping, it is DELICIOUS!!  Originally, this was a filling for these cupcakes!! 

I am showin’ some linky love with Alli for Sweet Tooth Friday, cause that’s how we roll up in here!!  

TTFN,

I’m calling this recipe Crock Pot Chicken because the person who made it before didn’t call it anything.  I need to come up with something more inventive than that, though. Help me out here, folks. This recipe needs a really cool name.  After we try it, it’ll come to me, I just know it.  I have a feeling it’s gonna be AMAZING!!

Trust me, I’ll let you know!

before

In fact, I might wait to post this til after we eat tonight, I don’t know.  Maybe I will just update it later.  We will see.  This is another recipe I found on Pinterest.  It is my new BFF(not really)!! I do adore it so…

Anywhoodle.  Here is the recipe. Again I tweaked it just a bit, cause you know me, that’s what I do… 

Crock Pot Chicken (for now)

What you’ll need:

• bag of frozen chicken breast tenderloins (2-3lbs) or chicken breasts ( I used chicken breasts cause that’s what I had)
• 8 oz block of cream cheese ( can use 1/3 less fat cream cheese) (I never buy whole fat cream cheese)
• can of black beans, drained & rinsed
• can of corn, drained.
• can of Rotel® (or just tomatoes with chile’s)

What to do:

1. put frozen chicken in the crock pot.
2. put cream cheese on top of the chicken.
3. Dump in the black beans (make sure they are drained & rinsed!!!)
4. Dump in the drained corn.
5. Dump in the Rotel®.
6. Cover & cook in your Crock Pot on low for 6-8 hours.
7. Stir ingredients every 2 hours.
8. Shred the chicken when it is done.

Enjoy!! Hope you try this recipe at home!! TTFN…

I think…

I’m so excited, I can barely contain my, well, my excitement (I just had to retype excitement 6 times I’m so excited!!)  

The girl’s BFF is turning 16 and I told her she should let me make cupcakes for her sweet 16 and she said she will probably let me!!!  HA!! I am so excited, oh wait, I already said that, didn’t I? Oh well.  I.AM.SO.EXCITED.

I’m so going to make some samples for her to try before the big day and these are what I am making.

source

YUMMY!!!

Except I am making from my cupcakes from scratch, not a box cake mix. I’m thinking maybe a mayonnaise cake, cause it’s a dark, rich, moist cake.

The party is November 19th, so I have to get those samples done ASAP!!

*runs around getting baking supplies*

Until next time friends,

Anywhoodle, I saw this recipe and I knew I had to try it.  #1, it’s Honey chicken.  #2 It serves two.  #3 It’s.Honey.Chicken.  Hehe.

I tweaked the recipe a bit, cause hey, that’s what I do peeps.  It’s what I do! You can go here for the original. Or you can try mine, it was really good!! 

Before Baking

Before Serving

Honey Chicken

What you’ll need:

• 1 lb chicken boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into bite size pieces
• Natures Seasons® seasonings to taste
• 3/4 c. honey
• 1/4 c. soy sauce
• 2 T. dehydrated onion
• 2-3 T. ketchup
• 1 T. vegetable oil
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• pinch cayenne pepper
• non-stick cooking spray

What to do:

1. Cut your chicken breasts into bite size pieces
2. Season your bite sized pieces of chicken with Natures Seasons® seasonings
3. Place your chicken in a sprayed 8×8 baking dish
4. In a small bowl combine honey, soy sauce, onions, ketchup, oil, garlic and cayenne.
5. Pour over chicken.
6. Bake at 350°F.  for 30 minutes, stirring after 15.
7. Alternately, you can put whole chicken breasts in a crock pot, seasoned on both sides with the seasoning.  Pour the honey mixture over top.  Cook on low for 3 hours or on high for 1 1/2 hours.  Cut chicken into bite size pieces and return to pot and toss with sauce (or shred chicken). Serve with rice or noodles.

Please, please, please, try this recipe, I promise, you won’t be disappointed!!

Til next time friends,

I have an unnatural affection for all things salty and crunchy and unhealthy for you.  There i said it.  I put it out there.  I admitted it.  They say that is the first step, you know, admitting you have a problem.  Hello, my name is Jo, I am a chipaholic!!

So, when I saw this recipe for zucchini chips, I fell in love!

Source

Yes, they are chips, but for goodness sake, they are made from zucchini, so they have to be good for you, no?

What you’ll need:

(serves 1)

• 2 zucchini
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• ground pepper (to taste)

What to do:

1. slice 2 medium zucchini (about 1/2 pound each) thinly with a mandolin
2. toss the sliced zucchini in a bowl with olive oil, salt and garlic powder
3. line the dehydrator screen with the zucchini without teflex sheets or parchment to allow them to dry better
4. sprinkle them with freshly ground pepper
5. dehydrate at 140°F for about 4 hours (until dry and crispy)

I think you could probably do these in the oven as well, if you don’t have a dehydrator.  But you would have to be careful not to burn the zucchini.  So I would use a cool oven, and a little thicker slice on the zucchini.  Hope you enjoy!! Come back and let me know how you like them!!

As always,

That is why I love this recipe.

I did tweak the original recipe to make it my own, cause that’s how I roll. 

Homemade Chewy Granola Bars

What you’ll need:

• 1/2 cup natural (no sugar added) peanut butter (you can totes use regular peanut butter if you wish!!)
  
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1/3 cup coconut oil (or another oil of your choice, i had to use canola, cause that’s what i had)
• 2 T. butter
• 1/2 c. splenda (go ahead and use sugar if you must)
  
• 3-4 T. cocoa
• 1 cup quick oats
• 1 cup TOTAL of any combination of: sesame seeds, coconut flakes, sunflower seeds, dried fruit, mini chocolate chips (gasp)
  

What to do:

1. In a medium sized saucepan, melt together peanut butter, honey, butter, splenda, cocoa and oil.
2. Remove from heat and add one cup of oats. Choose your favorite combination of coconut flakes, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, dried fruit and mini chocolate chips, to equal a total of ONE CUP. (mine just  dried cranberries, yummy) Pour in and stir well.
3. Spread mixture into a 8×8 or 9×9 inch pan.
4. Chill for 2 hours, then cut into bars. (you could probably just drop by tablespoon full on wax paper and let set up like when making no-bake cookies)
5. Wrap in plastic wrap for a quick grab and go snack!

Hope you try this recipe cause they are really good!!

Going to link up with Alli tomorrow for Sweet Tooth Friday!! Cause it’s really fun!! Go see what other treats she has come up with!!

Til we meet again,