Cowboy Cookies

These cookies are amazing! They may not be the prettiest cookie, but they taste incredible!  If you like a little bit of everything in your cookie, this is the ultimate “throw it all in” recipe! Coconut, nuts, chocolate chips, cereal....  it’s all in there!

1egg
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup flour
1 cup oats
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup chocolate chips, or M&M’s, Reese’s pieces, whatever you like!
3/4 cup cornflakes, or substitute your favorite cereal
3/4 cup coconut
1/2 cup nuts, pecans, walnuts, your choice

Cream egg, butter and sugars until well mixed. Stir in remaining ingredients until combined. I’ve used high fiber cereals like grape nuts, and crispy cereals like rice crispies. These taste amazing using Reese’s Pieces!! Scoop them out in 1/4 cup size scoops. You will need to chill for at least two hours before baking. I usually scoop and shape them, then store them in the freezer. That way I can take them out as I want them. Bake at 350 degrees for 11 minutes. Don’t overbake. They are best when they are a little crispy outside, but chewy on the inside. These have become my new favorite cookie!

Southern Fudge Pie

Yesterday was Pi day, and my cupboards were bare of my usual pie ingredients.... so I searched the Internet for something that matched what I had on hand! I was pleasantly surprised to find a recipe that contained simple ingredients and was super easy to make! Even better, it tasted amazing! This recipe is a definite keeper! I made a second one today, because one pie was not enough!

2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 Tbsp. Cocoa
1/4 cup flour
4 Tbsp. Butter, melted
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1 tsp. vanilla
1 unbaked pie shell

Mix all ingredients and pour into pie shell. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes, then turn oven temperature down to 350 degrees. Continue baking for an additional 30 minutes.

This pie is great all by itself, and even better with whipped cream! Enjoy!!!

Jambalaya

This is an easy and delicious meal that can be prepared and baked in one dish!

1 stick butter, melted
1 14 oz. package smoked sausage, sliced
1 can RoTel
1 can french onion soup
1 can beef broth (14 oz.)
1 12 oz. package small shrimp, raw, peeled deveined and tail removed OR 2 chicken breast, raw and cubed
1 onion, small, chopped
2 cups rice, uncooked
1 can chicken broth (14 oz.)
1 green pepper, chopped
1/2 bunch fresh parsley, minced
Caribbean Jerk Seasoning to taste, optional

Mix all ingredients in large buttered casserole dish. Cover tightly with foil. Bake one hour at 350 degrees THEN remove foil and BAKE ANOTHER 30-45 minutes or UNTIL RICE is done.

Crock Pot Stuffing

My mother-in-law makes this every year for Thanksgiving and it is FANTASTIC!! This year it is MY turn!!
I hope mine turns out as well as hers does! Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!

1 cup butter
2 cups onion,chopped
2 cups celery, chopped
1/4 cup fresh parsley sprigs, chopped
12-13 cups bread crumbs (or two 7 oz. bags of packaged bread cubes for stuffing, try half white bread, half cornbread if you like)
1 tsp. poultry seasoning
1 1/2 tsp. sage
1 tsp. thyme
1/2 tsp. black pepper
2-2 1/2 cups chicken broth, added a little at time AS NEEDED until moist. If using packaged bread crumbs you may need to increase broth to 3-3 1/2 cups. BE CAREFUL not to add too much or you will end up with stuffing soup....
2 eggs, beaten slightly

Melt butter in saucepan. Saute onion, celery and parsley in butter until tender. Pour over bread crumbs in crockpot. Add seasonings and eggs, and moisten with broth as needed. Mix well.

Place crockpot on high for 45 minutes, then turn to LOW for 4-8 hrs.

If you like mushrooms you can add a small can of mushrooms. The original recipe also list 1 tsp. marjoram, but that is optional.

Chocolate-Chip Muffins

These are awesomely good! If you love chocolate chip cookies, you are going to LOVE these too!

2 cups flour
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup white sugar
1 TBSP. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/4 cups milk (I use prepared dry milk, as milk is so expensive these days)
2 eggs
2 TBSP. melted butter
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup chocolate chips, plus a few to sprinkle on the top
sugar to sprinkle on top of muffins

Combine dry ingredients; flour, white and brown sugars, baking powder and salt. In separate container, (I use my two-cup measuring cup), combine wet ingredients; milk, eggs, melted butter, oil and vanilla. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients all at once and mix until just combined.

Pour into greased muffin tins. Sprinkle with sugar and chocolate chips.

Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes, being careful not to overbake. Check them early and often! They re ready when toothpick comes out clean.

Chocolate Chocolate-Chip Muffins

                          

These are the bomb!! So moist, chocolaty and yummy.. especially right out of the oven. I make these for our church Youth and for our Sunday School class and they are always a hit!! Your house will smell terrific!

2 cups flour
3/4 cup cocoa powder
3/4 cup sugar
1 TBSP. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/4 cups milk (I use prepared dry milk since milk is so exspensive these days)
2 large eggs
2 TBSP. melted butter
1/3 cup oil
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup chocolate chips plus a few for the tops of the muffins
granulated sugar to sprinkle on top of muffins.

Mix flour, cocoa, sugar, baking powder and salt in bowl. Combine milk, eggs, melted butter, oil and vanilla in separate container (I use my 2 cup measuring cup), and add all at once to dry ingredients. Mix well, but not for too long, as that will make your muffins tough. Just mix until combined. Stir in 1 cup chocolate chips.

Pour into greased muffin cups. Top with a sprinkle of sugar and a few chocolate chips on each muffin.

Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Be sure and check early and often. You don't want to overcook them. When they are puffed up and slightly cracked and a toothpick comes out clean, they are ready!

This should yield approximately 15-18 muffins, depending on the size of your muffin tins.

Enjoy!

White Chicken Enchiladas

These sound soo yummy!! I must make them soon!

10 soft taco shells
2 cups cooked, shredded chicken
2 cups Monterrey Jack Cheese, shredded
3 TBSP. butter
3 TBSP. flour
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup sour cream
1 (4 oz.) can green chilies

Mix chicken and 1 cup of the cheese. Sprinkle into your tortillas, roll them up and then place them in a greased 9X13 pan.

In medium sauce pan, melt butter, then sprinkle in flour. Cook, stirring constantly for one minute. Add broth and stir or whisk until smooth. Heat over medium heat until sauce thickens.

Remove from heat. Stir in sour cream and chilies.

Pour sauce over enchiladas, then sprinkle with remaining cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

Chicken Pot Pie

Sometimes I don't have any soups around to make my Easy Chicken Pot Pie, and so I need to go from scratch and make Chicken Pot Pie using a white sauce. I have to say it is even better than the easy version, though a bit more time consuming. Your family will love it! You can make this ahead of time and let it chill in the fridge until you are ready to cook it in the evening. You may need to allow a little more cooking time if it is cold. If you feel your crust is getting too brown you can cover lightly with foil and allow the pie more time to get hot and bubbly.

1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup onion
1/4 cup green pepper
1/4 cup flour
2 cups chicken broth (you can use water with 2 bouillon cubes)
1/4-1/2 cup cream or half and half (if you have it and want it, or use milk)
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese (optional)
2 chicken breast, cooked and shredded
1 1/2 cups frozen mixed vegetables
1 small potato, cubed (optional)
3 dashes poultry seasoning
dash of garlic powder
pepper to taste
2 pie crust (see Pie Crusts for a great recipe)

Heat oven to 425 degrees.

Saute onion and green pepper in butter in medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add flour and allow to cook for a few minutes, stirring constantly, (the longer you brown your butter and flour mixture the more flavorful your sauce will be).

Remove from heat and add broth and cream,stirring until well mixed.

Place back on medium heat and add cheese, mix well. When cheese has melted, add bouillon cubes, chicken, vegetables, potato and seasonings. Bring to a low simmer, stirring constantly and allow sauce to thicken slightly. This will just take a few minutes.

Once sauce is thickened pour into prepared pie crust. I use a deep dish pie plate. If your pie plate is not big enough, then just pour it onto a greased casserole dish and cover with your crust! Easy no fuss way to have pie!  Make vent slits in top crust. Bake pie on a cookie sheet so you don't have any accidental spills in your oven.

Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes. Then LOWER temperature to 350 degrees and continue cooking for another 45-55 minutes. Pie is done when crust is browned and you can see bubbles coming out of vent openings.

Peach Cobbler

Simply wonderful! Peach Cobbler is one of my favorites!


3-4 cups sliced peaches
2/3 cup sugar
2 TBSP. flour
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/3 cup butter, melted

Place fruit in bottom of greased small casserole dish, such as an 8X8.

Mix 2/3 cup sugar, 2 TBSP. flour and cinnamon if using and sprinkle over fruit.

Mix together the 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar, baking powder, salt and egg until just combined. Spread over fruit or drop by spoonfuls. Drizzle melted butter over top of crust.

Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 40 minutes, until crust is browned and fruit is bubbly.



Serve warm with ice cream!! Irresistible!

Simply Perfect Lemonade

This refreshing drink makes a summer day perfect!

1 cup water
1 cup sugar
1 cup lemon juice (from either 4-6 fresh lemons, or bottled lemon juice)
3-4 cups water

Boil the 1 cup of water. I place it in the microwave for 3 minutes. Then add sugar and mix until sugar is completely dissolved. Pour into your serving container. Add lemon juice and 3-4 cups water. Mix well. Serve over ice! Enjoy!

Makes just under a half a gallon.

Sweet Potato Fries

I absolutely LOVE sweet potato fries! Irresistible!!

4-5 sweet potatoes, cut into your favorite fry shape (I like them cut like home fries)
olive oil
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste
garlic powder, to taste
dash of chili powder or paprika for a little kick (optional)

You can peel the sweet potatoes if you want, but I don't. I do wash them and dry them really well. If you don't dry them well the oil won't stick, so be sure and really get them dry again!

Toss cut sweet potatoes in just enough olive oil to coat. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, garlic powder and chili powder or paprika to taste. Spread evenly on baking sheet, being sure not to overcrowd them.

Bake at 450 until tender and golden brown, turning occasionally, for about 20 minutes.

Staying Active with the Jawbone Up

During the beginning of summer, I got a Jawbone UP for my birthday. A Jawbone UP is simply, an activity band. You wear it on your wrist and it calculates your movements throughout the day and lets you know how many steps you have walked, jogged and logged. It estimates how many calories you have burned, how long you were active and what your longest idle time was. You can set it to buzz at you periodically to remind you to get up and and move around. It also records your sleep patterns, letting you know how much light sleep you got versus deep sleep. I have found I am not a very good deep sleeper! I must be restless during the night! My husband can attest to this as he says I ALWAYS steal the covers, regardless of what season it is! Poor guy!

You can even shower with the Jawbone UP, though I usually take it off, because I don't want to risk it being harmed... though they assure me it can withstand thousands of showers. I'm not sure exactly how it works, but I know it even seems to know when I am walking while mowing the yard or pushing a cart at Walmart, so it must have a pretty complicated motion sensor. It will also sync with calorie counting apps and other fitness apps so you can log your calories burned. I haven't tried that part as I hate counting calories... I just can't do it for very long before I get frustrated and give up.

The UP band has really helped motivate me during the summer to remain active even though it is harder for me with kids home from school. Now that they are back at school my step count has gone up dramatically as I have gone back to the track and walk/jogged approximately three miles a day or more in the mornings, and then can still add a walk in the afternoon if I'm feeling motivated. My initial goal was 10,000 steps a day, (approximately a little more than 5 miles), which I did most days during the summer,  but not all. Now that school is back in session I want to up my goal to 15,000-17,000 day. I haven't made it to 17,000 yet, but I'm hopeful I will soon.

I can download the UP band directly to by iPad using the UP app, and the band charge holds for up to 10 days! If you want some motivation to stay active I highly recommend the Jawbone UP. It is a great tool, and not bad looking either! I'll try and get a picture of it on here soon.

Skinny Chunky Monkey Cookies

Very similar to the basic no bake cookie, except you do bake it! No boiling, just mix together, let sit and bake!  From "Set Your Fat on Fire Fitness".

3 ripe bananas
2 cups oats
1/4 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp. vanilla

Mash bananas, mix in rest of ingredients and mix well. Then allow mixture to sit for 20 minutes. Then drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes.