Rice Crispy Treats

How hard can they be, right? Why do I need to put them on here, and why is it the first time I've posted in almost two years.....well, life has a way of getting in the way and it's done just that for two years now. I can't promise I'll post on here very often, but every once in a while I think of something that I should save just in case I forget how to make it....especially now that I don't have my mom to ask :(

So, here is my version of Rice Crispy Treats. They are AMAZING and I highly recommend these changes, every time I take them somewhere they are devoured!! I love the addition of the marshmallow pieces!

Ingredients

1 stick of butter
1 bag of large marshmallows
1 bag of mini marshmallows
8-9 cups of rice crispy cereal

Directions

In a large bowl measure out 8-9 cups of rice crispy cereal and half of the bag of mini marshmallows and mix up a little.

In a large sauce pan, melt butter, I like to melt it until the particles separate and it becomes brown butter, if you've never done this before HERE are some instructions. Once melted, add the entire bag of large marshmallows, and the other half of the bag of mini marshmallows into the pan and leave the heat on VERY low. Stir until all the marshmallows are melted.

Pour mixture over rice cripy cereal and mix well until all coated.

Press into 9x13 pan and let cool.

ENJOY!!

Pico de gallo

I love everything Mexican and everything tastes better than when you smother it with sour cream, pico de gallo and guacamole!! Here is my Pico recipe:

{keep in mind my pictures are for a HUGE batch of pico, I have already adjusted the recipe for you to make a smaller batch!}

First gather all your ingredients. I like to seed my tomatoes so that I don't get all of the juice and seeds in my Pico. Then I dice them pretty small. I like everything about the same size.

Next, dice the onion. I like to make it pretty small also, almost the same size as the tomatoes. I use spanish onions.

Next dice the jalapeno, I usually make these as small as I possibly can cut them. I hate biting into a big piece of a jalapeno. Then mix together with all the remaining ingredients.

Pico de gallo

6-8 roma tomatoes, diced {small oval tomatoes, I used large ones today}
1/2-1 medium onion, diced
1 jalapeno pepper, diced small
1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped up small
1 garlic clove {you can use garlic powder if you don't have fresh garlic}
juice of 1 lime
salt and pepper to taste

Mix all together and let sit for 30 minutes to an hour before serving. YUMMO!!!

Fresh Dill Potato Salad

I don't like mustard and I don't eat egg yolks {they make me itchy}....so finding a potato salad that I like and can eat is hard....I needed a side dish for a party and I remembered that I have this awesome recipe for potato salad a friend shared with me several years ago. I made it today and I remember now why I love it so much....it might be the bacon, or the fact that it's made with sour cream and very little mustard, or maybe it's the fresh dill that gives it amazing flavor....or maybe it's all three!!

5 lbs red potatoes  - diced and boiled until fork tender
1 lb bacon - cooked and crumbled
1 bunch of green onions - chopped
1 small bunch of fresh dill - chopped {about 1/4 cup}

Mix all together in a large bowl and add dressing. Refrigerate before serving for best flavor.

Dressing:
1 C mayonnaise
1 C sour cream
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 1/2 Tbsp dijon mustard
1 tsp black pepper
2 tsp salt

Enjoy!

Chicken Enchilada Soup

I found this recipe on pinterest, but then I didn't have everything to make it so I improvised and made up my own recipe. This is delicious on a freezing cold winter day. {which we are having a lot of these days!}

CHICKEN ENCHILADA SOUP

3-4 chicken breasts, trimmed {I used them frozen, straight from the freezer}
3/4 C onion, chopped
3/4 C green bell pepper, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 - 11oz can Mexican Corn, undrained
1 - 14oz can petite diced tomatoes {can use Rotel if you want more spice}
1 - 15oz can black beans, undrained
1 pkg enchilada sauce {found in packages with the taco seasoning, etc}
3/4 tsp ground pepper
1 1/2 tsp salt
4 C Chicken broth
1 C Heavy Cream {I just used milk}
Cheddar Cheese - Can also use Monterey Jack Cheese
green onions
chips

Using large stockpot or dutch oven, add chicken {whole}, onions, peppers, garlic, corn, tomatoes, beans, enchilada sauce, pepper, salt and chicken broth. Bring to a boil and let cook for 40-45 minutes. Remove the chicken and shred it. Add chicken back to the soup. Stir in the milk and mix well. {do not let boil after you add the milk}. Top with cheese, green onions and serve with chips.

You can also cook this in a crock pot, add all ingredients and cook on low for 4 hours. Remove chicken, shred and add back to the crock pot and add milk. Let cook for an additional 15-20 minutes.

ENJOY!

Caramel Pretzel Chocolate Chip Cookies

Oh. My. Goodness.....These are DELICIOUS!!!! They are all of my favorite things combined into one amazing cookie! I found them because I was looking for something to do with all the pretzel pieces I had left over from the chocolate covered pretzels I made for Christmas. These are the perfect way to use up broken pretzels. {or you can break some up if you need to!}

I found the caramel pieces in the baking isle at the grocery store, they are made by Kraft. They are already unwrapped and in little "bits" so you don't have to chop them up. WAY EASIER!!!

Caramel Pretzel Chocolate Chip Cookies

3/4 C butter, softened
3/4 C brown sugar
1/4 C granulated sugar
1 egg
2 tsp vanilla
2 C Flour
2 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 C milk chocolate chips
1 C Kraft caramel bits
1/2 C crushed pretzel pieces

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla and mix well. Add Flour, cornstarch, soda and salt and mix well. Stir in chocolate chips, caramel bits and crushed pretzel pieces. Using a standard size cookie scoop, drop by scoopful onto prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt if desired. I pressed pieces of pretzel into the top of all my cookies.

Bake  8-10 minutes until just golden brown on the edges. DO NOT OVER-BAKE. {mine were 8 minutes}. Let cool and enjoy!

Sugar Cookie Bars

Found these on Pinterest too.....they are from Mel's Kitchen Cafe, which I LOVE...I get lots of new recipes from her website.

SUGAR COOKIE BARS

These are AMAZING! and Super Easy. Find the recipe HERE.

Sugar Cookie Bars

YIELD: MAKES 9X13-INCH PAN OF BARS

INGREDIENTS

Bars:
• 3/4 cup butter (1 1/2 sticks), softened to cool room temperature
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 tablespoon lemon zest (optional)
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
Frosting:
• 6 tablespoons butter, softened
• 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 3 tablespoons milk or cream
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Sprinkles (optional)

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, granulated sugar and powdered sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix for 1-2 minutes. Stir in the lemon zest, flour, baking powder and salt. Mix until combined.
3. Lightly grease a 9X13-inch baking pan with cooking spray. Press and/or spread the sugar cookie mixture gently into an even layer into the bottom of the pan.
4. Bake for 10-13 minutes. Don't overbake! The bars shouldn't have any color around the edges and barely be set in the middle. Let the bars cool completely before frosting.
5. For the frosting, cream together the butter and powdered sugar until smooth (if the mixture has trouble coming together, add a drop or two of milk). Add in the vanilla and mix. Add the milk or cream and mix until the frosting is light and fluffy. Add food coloring, if desired.

Recipe Source: Mel’s Kitchen Cafe

Peanut Butter and Oatmeal Bars

Found these on Pinterest....they are DELICIOUS!!!!

I found the recipe HERE.

Ingredients

1	cup melted butter
1	cup brown sugar (I used Dark brown sugar)
1	teaspoon baking soda
2¼	cups Quick Cooking oatmeal (NOT instant)
1½	cups flour
1	teaspoon salt
½	cup peanut butter (I used creamy)
1	can sweetened condensed milk
1	King size Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup candy bars, roughly chopped
1	cup Milk Chocolate Chips

Directions

Preheat oven to 350.
Line a 9×13 pan with tin foil and spray lighlty with PAM.
In a medium mixing bowl, stir together melted butter, sugar, soda, oatmeal, flour & salt until it’s crumbly.
Set aside about 1 cup or a little more.
Press the rest of the crust into prepared pan. Bake crust for 10 minutes.
While crust is cooking, in a small bowl, stir together the peanut butter and sweetened condensed milk.
Once crust has baked, evenly pour and spread peanut butter filling over the baked crust.Be gentle so you don’t pull up the warm crust while you spread the filling.
Evenly sprinkle the reserved crumbs on top of the peanut butter and sweetened condensed milk mixture. Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes.
After 15 minutes, remove from oven and sprinkle the chopped candy bars and chocolate chips evenly over the top. Return to oven to bake for another 5-10 minutes or until topping is light golden brown and candy bars/chips are melting.
Allow to cool to make cutting and serving easier.

Sloppy Joes

Tanner has decided that he LOVES Sloppy Joes.  He would have them every night and he always wants two! {maybe that is why he has grown another 1 1/2" in the last month}. This is my mom's recipe and it is our favorite recipe.

Sloppy Joes {from Cindy McDonald}

1 lb Hamburger
chopped onion
1 c. ketchup
2 tsp. mustard
2 T. brown sugar
1 can Chicken gumbo soup {this is a MUST for this recipe}
salt and pepper to taste

Brown hamburger and salt and pepper to taste. Add onions to your taste. Add 1 can chicken gumbo soup, ketchup, brown sugar and mustard. Simmer until ready to serve. Serve on hamburger buns.

Taco Soup

This is one of our favorites. I make it ALL the time. It's super easy and I almost always have everything to make it. It is always my food assignment for our scrapbooking weekend and I get tonz of compliments on it every year.


TACO SOUP

{somehow I lost the picture and I can't find it!}

1 lb Ground beef {browned and drained}
1 medium onion {diced}
1 16oz can corn
1 16oz can kidney beans {or any kind you want}
2 16 oz or 1 28oz can of diced tomatoes {I use 1 with green chilies and 1 without}
1 8oz can tomato sauce
1 pkg taco seasoning

Dump all ingredients in crock pot {with all of the juices} and let cook on high for 2-3 hours....or low for 5-6 hours. You can also put it all in a sauce pan and bring to a boil, let simmer for 30-40 minutes.

Serve with sour cream, grated cheese, green onions, chips, guacamole....whatever you want!

ENJOY!

Chicken or Pizza Pockets

Another of Tanner's favorite meals is Chicken Pockets...he would probably have them every meal if I would make them for him...he usually eats 2 or 3 (if I let him)

Anyways....tonight I thought I would try a little twist on them and make pizza pockets. They were REALLY good...I loved them...and because I am so generous (and MaryRuth asked me)... below is the recipe for both. Happy Saturday!


Chicken Pockets

1 pkg Cresent or Grand Biscuits
1 pkg cream cheese (room temp)
1 can chicken
diced green onions (optional)
chives (optional)
seasoning (I use Mrs. dash)
bread crumbs

In bowl, combine cream cheese, chicken, chives, onions and seasoning.
Roll out each piece of dough.
Divide filling equally between dough pieces.
Fold dough pieces to make cresents (or you can make them circles)

Cover with bread crumbs.
Bake at 350 for 15 minutes. (or until biscuits are done.)

Pizza Pockets Filling

(basically the instructions are exactly the same, just different filling)

1 C Ground Sausage (cooked and crumbled)
1/4 C Pepperoni
2 C grated Mozz Cheese
1/2 C grated Parmesan cheese
1 1/2 C Spaghetti or Pizza Sauce

(make sure you get sealed really well, next time I will probably seal with a fork around the edges.)

ENJOY!