Scotcheroos

SCOTCHEROOS

These are an easy all time favorite.

1 C sugar
1 C light corn syrup
1 1/2 C peanut butter
6 C Rice Krispies cereal
1 C semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 2/3 C butterscotch chips

*Spray 9x13 baking dish with non stick cooking spray, set aside. In a large saucepan combine sugar, corn syrup and peanut butter over medium heat. Stir frequently until smoothly melted. Remove from heat. Add Rice Krispies and stir until thoroughly coated. Press into bottom of prepared dish. In microwave safe bowl combine chocolate chips and butterscotch chips. Microwave on high for 1 minute. Stir. If necessary, microwave at additional 15 second intervals, stirring just until chips are melted. Spread over cereal mixture. Refrigerate 20-30 minutes or until topping is firm. Cut into bars for serving.

Just before being refrigerated.

I used chunky peanut butter this time, but you can use any peanut butter you like. I couldn't really tell there were nuts in there. I wanted the flavor and crunch of the nuts so the next time I made it with creamy peanut butter, I used 5 1/2 C of cereal and added a cup of peanuts. It turned out ok. They were a little crumbly. I think I prefer the original way better. These are an easy quick treat.

Honey Mustard Chicken

HONEY MUSTARD CHICKEN

This is a recipe I got from my sister, but I didn't have all the ingredients so I improvised.

3 boneless chicken breast halved, cut into 4 pieces
garlic salt and lemon pepper to taste
3/4 C honey
1/2 C prepared mustard
1/2 lb bacon, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 C shredded cheese

*Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place chicken in baking dish and sprinkle with garlic salt (I use garlic salt in just about all my cooking, if you couldn't tell) and lemon pepper, set aside. In small mixing bowl whisk together honey and mustard. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven. Turn oven to Broil and add bacon to chicken. Broil for about 7 minutes, or until bacon starts to crisp. Remove from oven. Sprinkle with cheese and put back in oven to broil for about 5 minutes until bacon is crisp and cheese is melted.

Just before going in the oven

There was a lot more sauce than I was expecting. So next time I could cut down the amount of honey and mustard or I think it would be good on top of rice. I think I would like the bacon crispier so next time I would partially cook the bacon before adding it to the chicken. That way the bacon is crisp and you can cook some of the fat out before adding it to the chicken. The original recipe also calls for mozzarella cheese. I think that would taste better.

Easy Monster Cookies

EASY MONSTER COOKIES

I have been making monster cookies for years, but I found a quick and easy recipe and thought I should try it. This is a great way to make monster cookies fast, but I think I prefer the taste of monster cookies made from scratch.

1 (17oz) pkg peanut butter cookie mix
1 (17oz) pkg oatmeal chocolate chip cookie mix
1/2 C butter, softened
2 eggs
1 C peanut butter m&m's

*Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl combine cookie mixes, butter and eggs until soft dough forms. Stir in m&m's. Drop large spoonfuls of dough on ungreased cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake for 11-14 minutes or until golden brown. Cool 1 to 2 minutes on cookie sheet before moving to wire rack to cool completely.

Just before baking

I think I cooked them a little too long. I ended up baking them for about 15 minutes. They were pretty yummy. You can modify these in a lot of different ways. You can use regular m&m's, add nuts, some people like raisins in them too. But I like just the peanut butter and chocolate.

In case you were wondering, I believe the traditional monster cookies get their name because they are so large, the batch is really large and they have just about everything you could want in a cookie in them.

Christmas Wreath

CHRISTMAS WREATH

This is one of my favorite easy treats to make for Christmas. It's simply my Rice Krispie treat recipe but with Corn Flakes instead of Rice Krispies.
For this wreath I used

4 TBSP butter
4 C mini marshmallows
4 C Corn Flakes
green food coloring

*In medium large saucepan melt butter. Add marshmallows and stir constantly until smooth. Remove from heat. Add food coloring until it is a green color that you like. Add Corn
Flakes and stir until Corn Flakes are evenly coated. Spread treat in a ring shape around a plate to look like a wreath.

As an option you can decorate your wreath. My mom used to always use red hots, but I don't care for red hots with it. I chose to use white sugar pearls, but they didn't show up as well as I would have liked so I added some red mini m&m's.

White Bean Turkey Chili

WHITE BEAN TURKEY CHILI

We use a lot of ground turkey because personally, I like the flavor better than ground beef and we can get ground turkey for a great price at Sam's Club. So I'm always looking for recipes to use the ground turkey. This is another one of my favorites.

20 oz ground turkey
2 TBSP garlic, minced
1 TBSP olive oil
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp black pepper
1 1/2 tsp garlic salt
1 1/2 tsp chili powder
1 medium onion, chopped
2 (15oz) cans great northern white beans, drained and rinsed
1 (32oz) box chicken broth
2 (4oz) cans diced green chiles
1 C sour cream
1/2 C whipping cream

*In a large pot combine turkey, garlic, oil, seasonings and onion. Cook until turkey is browned. Add beans, broth and chiles. Simmer for 20-30 minutes. Add sour cream and whipping cream. Cook until warmed then it's ready to eat.

I doubled the recipe this time so the pot normally isn't this full. This is what the chili looks like after it has simmered for a while, just before adding the sour cream and whipping cream.

The final product, ready to serve.

We love soups this time of year when it's cold outside. This is one of our favorites!

Sweet and Sour Meatballs

SWEET AND SOUR MEATBALLS

1 lb lean ground beef
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1/3 C plain bread crumbs
1/4 C milk
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1 egg
1 (11.5oz) bottle of sweet and sour sauce for basting or simmering
additional sweet and sour sauce for dipping (optional)

*Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl mix beef, onion, bread crumbs, milk, salt, pepper and egg. Shape mixture into 1-inch meatballs and place into ungreased 9x13 baking dish. cover with entire bottle of sweet and sour sauce. Bake uncovered for 15 minutes or until meatballs are no longer pink in the center.

Ready for the oven.

I didn't chop the onions as finely as I should have. I also threw them in a warm crockpot after I pulled them out of the oven since I wanted them to stay warm for a get together. I also added a small can of pineapple tidbits to the crockpot to give it more of a sweet flavor. I picked up a bottle of sweet and sour sauce for dipping too. There is a big difference in flavor, so if you do get the extra sauce for dipping, make sure it's the right one. It didn't really need the additional sauce, but it was nice to have it available as an option.

These were really good and easy. Another recipe I will definitely make again.

Homemade Big Hunk

HOMEMADE BIG HUNK

This is a really easy candy recipe that makes a lot! The picture above is the big hunk wrapped in red cellophane. I was trying to be festive.

3 C peanuts
3 (7oz) jars marshmallow cream
2 1/4 C light corn syrup
2 1/4 C granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
6 TBSP butter
1/4 tsp salt

*Spray an 11x17 cookie sheet (with edges) with non stick cooking spray and sprinkle with peanuts. Set aside. Place marshmallow cream in a large bowl and set aside. In a medium large saucepan combine corn syrup and sugar. Place over medium heat stirring constantly until mixture comes to a boil. Stop stirring. Using a candy thermometer cook to 280 degrees or to a soft crack stage (syrup will make a soft crack sound when dropped into cold water and is hard but pliable when picked up with fingers). Remove syrup from heat and allow to cool for two minutes. While cooling add vanilla, butter and salt to marshmallow cream. Pour hot syrup over marshmallow cream and fold together. Pour over peanuts and spread evenly. Allow nougat to stand at room temperature for 3 hours or until firm. Cut into bite size pieces and wrap in wax paper or cellophane.

Corn syrup and sugar boiling. Just before removing from heat.

All cooled in the pan

I didn't have a candy thermometer so I tried to test it in cold water and thought I heard a soft crack. I think it could have been cooked a little longer though. It was really good and tasted just like a big hunk, except you didn't feel like you were going to break your teeth biting into it. It was very soft. When I twisted the ends of the cellophane, it didn't stay twisted so next time I might try wax paper instead and see if that works better. This was a pretty easy recipe and it makes a ton! I would definitely make this again.

Rice Krispie Treats

RICE KRISPIE TREATS

I know everyone makes Rice Krispie treats. But in my opinion most people make them too dry. I just don't like Rice Krispies when people follow the recipe on the box. Blah. They have to have the right ratios. I think my recipe is the best. For every 1 TBSP of butter, you will need 1 C of marshmallows and 1 C of cereal. From there you can make as much as you want. I did a small square pan this time.

4 TBSP butter
4 C mini marshmallows
4 C Rice Krispies cereal

*In a medium saucepan, melt butter on medium high heat. When butter is melted add marshmallows, stirring constantly until marshmallows are melted and smooth. Remove from heat and add cereal. Mix thoroughly and place into an ungreased baking dish.

I wanted to make them a little festive this time so I threw on some mini m&m's. I have learned from past experience that you can't throw the m&m's in the mix while it's hot and then try to spread it in a pan. The chocolate melts and it's not very pretty. So I put the m&m's on top this time while it was still pretty warm. So the m&m's stuck to the cereal without getting all melted and mushy.

Caramel Popcorn

CRUNCHY CARAMEL POPCORN

I needed to make a snack or appetizer for an activity yesterday and looked at what I had and decided to make this caramel popcorn. This is definitely my favorite caramel popcorn recipe. I like the chewy caramel popcorn recipes, but this is way better. It is seriously so addicting.

5 quarts popped popcorn
1 C butter
2 C brown sugar, packed
1/2 C light corn syrup
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla

*Preheat oven to 250. Place popped popcorn in a very large bowl, or I use two large bowls. In a medium large saucepan melt the butter over medium heat. After butter is melted stir in brown sugar, corn syrup and salt to the saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil without stirring for 4 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in baking soda and vanilla. Pour a thin stream over bowls of popcorn, stirring to coat. Place evenly on two cookie sheets and place in preheated oven. Bake for 1 hour stirring every 15 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool completely before breaking into pieces.

During the boiling process.

I haven't made this for a while so I thought I would be ok using my smaller saucepan. I was wrong. I forgot that it bubbles a lot when you boil it. I made a little bit of a mess since it ran over the pan a little. See this is why I wanted to do this blog so I can remember what I did and what I need to do different. Oh I also forgot to add the vanilla this time. Oops. But it still turned out GREAT! When you pour the caramel sauce over the popcorn, don't worry if it's not totally even, it will soften and melt a little in the oven and you can spread it around when you take it out every fifteen minutes to stir.

After cooking for an hour.

This popcorn is so so simple. It would be easy to cut the recipe in half, but I was making it for an activity so I made the full amount. 5 quarts sounds like a lot, but really it's just about 2 1/2 bags of popped popcorn. I'm sure you could pop your popcorn the old fashioned way but the microwave is so fast. I also like to use butter flavored popcorn because I like the contrast of salty and sweet. You could also add peanuts if you wanted. If you like crunch n munch or fiddle faddle you will like this recipe. It's hard to eat just a little. It's so crunchy, yet the sugars sort of melt in your mouth like candy. It's YUMMY! It doesn't last long in this house.

This is a fun recipe to make this time of year. It's a great snack to make for those Christmas movie marathons.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE BARS

Vinnie loves cookie bars and asked that I make him some. I had to improvise a little with these but they turned out pretty good.

1 C butter
1/3 C shortening
1 C granulated sugar
1 C brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
3 1/2 C flour
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 C semi-sweet chocolate chips

*Preheat oven to 350. In large mixing bowl, combine butter, shortening and sugars. With an electric mixer cream until smooth. Add eggs and vanilla. mix on low until combined. Add dry ingredients and chips. Mix by hand with rubber spatula. Once combined press into ungreased 9x13 baking dish. Bake 25-30 minutes until golden brown all over.

Fresh out of the oven.

I got all the way to the end of baking this and realized I only had a large handful of chocolate chips. While I was looking in my cupboards trying to figure out what to do Malakai grabbed the chocolate chips and downed half of the remaining chocolate chips. I called Vinnie and asked if he wanted m&m's but he didn't. He suggested peanut butter chips instead. I have to admit I was a little skeptical about the peanut butter chips, but it turned out pretty good. I ended up using half chocolate chips and half peanut butter chips.

This recipe easily could have been cut in half, put in a smaller square baking dish and cooked in a shorter amount of time.

Turkey Tomato Celery Soup

TURKEY TOMATO CELERY SOUP

This is actually a recipe that Vinnie found a while ago and we have adjusted it to our liking. It's super easy and one of our favorite healthier soups.

1 1/4lb (20oz) ground turkey
1 TBSP garlic, minced
1/2 TBSP chili powder
1/2 TBSP onion powder
1/2 TBSP garlic powder
1/2 TBSP garlic salt
a dash of cayenne pepper
3 celery stalks, chopped
2 (14.5oz ) cans diced tomatoes
1 (32oz) box chicken broth
3 oz tomato paste
Tobasco (optional)
Salt & Pepper to taste

*In a large pot, brown the ground turkey with the garlic. When turkey is just about browned add the seasonings. I sort of eyeball the seasonings and add more or less depending on how I think it looks and smells. Add remaining ingredients. Let it simmer 20-30 minutes. I like the celery to still have a little firmness so I don't let it simmer too long. Vinnie prefers the celery softer. We like a little kick to it so we add a little Tobasco at the end. You can even add it in individual bowls. If you prefer a more brothy soup you can add more tomato paste, chicken broth and seasonings. I have done that in the past too and it turns out pretty good.

Here's a close up of everything.

If you wanted to make it a little more filling you could also throw in a can of beans, drained. I think kidney beans would be really good with this and make it more like a chili. I like leftovers, but for some reason I don't really care for leftovers of food that I make. This is actually one dish that I really like the next day too.

Pumpkin Angel Food Cake

PUMPKIN ANGEL FOOD CAKE WITH CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

I had to make a dessert for our family dinner on Sunday and decided to try a new recipe. New recipes are always a little risky but this one seemed easy enough. The original recipe called for a ginger cream frosting, but when I think of pumpkin I automatically think it needs cream cheese frosting. I followed the cake recipe.

CAKE
1 (1 lb) box white angel food cake mix
1 TBSP all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
3/4 C canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)
1 C cold water

*Move oven rack to lowest position. Heat oven to 350. In large bowl, mix all ingredients together with electric mixer on low for 30 seconds. Beat on medium speed for 1 minute. Pour into ungreased 10-inch angel food cake pan. Bake 35-45 minutes or until crust is dark golden brown and cracks are dry (I baked it for 37). Immediately turn pan upside down on glass jar and let cool completely (about 2 hours). Loosen cake from side and bottom of pan by running a knife between cake and pan. Turn cake upside down on serving plate. Cut in half with serrated knife.

When the cake came out I was surprised that it rise as much as an angel food cake normally does. I should have figured it wouldn't since the pumpkin is dense. Here's the cake just out of the oven.

The cake flipped upside down and cut in half.

Now it's time for the icing. I would totally change this next time. But this is how I made it.

ICING
1 (8oz) pkg cream cheese
2 TBSP butter
2 TBSP shortening
4 1/2 C powdered sugar
3 TBSP milk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
*Beat everything together with an electric mixer until it is smooth and creamy.

All mixed up

Then I iced the cake

After I iced the cake I just sprinkled a little pumpkin pie spice to make it look a little more finished. The cake was tasty. It tasted like pumpkin. It tasted like angel food cake. But I have to say the cake was good, but not great. When I taste pumpkin treats I think I just expect them to be more dense and this was really light.

WHAT I WOULD HAVE DONE DIFFERENT

First, I would have added a little more pumpkin pie spice to the cake to give it more of a pumpkin flavor. As far as the icing, I was way off. I was trying to make a lot because I was afraid I was going to run out. I would have done less powdered sugar. Like maybe 2 1/2 to 3 cups. Less milk to match the powdered sugar of course. If I wanted to give it a more pumpkin flavor I might have even added some pumpkin pie spice to it. I also think it didn't need that much icing. The icing was really sweet so I probably wouldn't cut it in half and ice the middle. Just ice the outside.

I'd probably make it again, just make it a little different. It just wasn't a must have dessert.

I LOVE TO COOK!

Anyone who knows me knows I love to bake and cook! I like baking more, but I enjoy both. There's something gratifying about making food that tastes good. It feels good to hear that people enjoyed what I made. It gives me some sense of accomplishment. Not to mention it's fun for me.

I could look at cookbooks for hours, and I do! They have to have pictures though. I lose interest when I have to visualize how good a treat is supposed to look. I love to find recipes that sound good and figure out how I can make them better.

I like to make notes in my cookbooks of how to make something better, what I'd do different and how good I thought it turned out. I decided to start this blog so I could keep everything in one place and eventually turn it into a cookbook.

I like pretty simple recipes. Recipes that have few ingredients, or easy to find ingredients. So feel free to follow along, try any recipes, and leave comments.

Everyone's gotta eat, why not make it fun?