Baked Broccoli Tots

I don't know about you, but Napoleon Dynamite really summed it up for me with Tater Tots.

They are just one of those things that plunge me right back into the joys of my high school days. Why wouldn't they? The crispy, greasy, salty goodness of those little potato clouds... so good. But so NOT good for my ever growing rear.. If only there were a healthy alternative... Ha, ok, you obviously know I'm going to throw my alternate choice at you so let's not prolong the build-up.. BROCCOLI TOTS!

If you're like my husband, you're looking at your screen right now with a look of half disgust, half intrigue and thinking that I must have lost my marbles. Don't be so skeptical! I promise, they're delicious.

Nick really loved these with hot sauce (ketchup and broccoli freaks him out), but I went for the good old traditional tot-sauce, Ketchup. You could even get fancy and make a nice little Alfredo sauce for these!

Anyway, here's what you're going to need to make these:
1 Bag frozen broccoli, thawed and drained
2 Large Eggs
1/2 small Sweet Onion, diced into small pieces (about 1/2 Cup)
1/4 cup Graded Parmesan Cheese
2/3 Cup Italian Style Breadcrumbs
1 Tbsp Italian Seasoning
1/2 Tsp Garlic salt (or to taste)
1/2 Tsp Ground Black Pepper

Here's how you make them:
1. Preheat oven to 350 Degrees.
2. Place broccoli in food processor and pulse* until chopped into small pieces (or chop by hand)
3. Transfer broccoli to a medium bowl, add all other ingredients and stir until combined.
4. Form into tots and place on a greased cookie sheet. It helps with forming the tots to make a tight little ball first, then roll it out into the tot shape.
5. Bake 25-35 minutes or until golden brown.

*Be sure when pulsing to do just short bursts and gently shake or stir to ensure bottom pieces do not get turned into puree.

Enjoy!

Easy Pumpkin Spice Cake with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

Here in PA, we have had some crazy winter weather this year... by crazy I mean it has been below freezing like 2 days. I'm totally fine with that, but it has made my taste buds take come crazy leaps. One day I'm craving chili and hot cocoa, the next I'm all for watermelon and lemonade. Last night, I had a pumpkin craving, so I decided to whip up a SUPER easy pumpkin spice cake. 

This one is always a winner with my husband, who is one of those crazy "I don't like sweet desserts" people, and it's incredibly simple to throw together. 

Here's what you need for the cake:

1 Box yellow cake mix

1 (regular size, not the extra large cans) Easy Pumpkin

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

2 teaspoons vanilla

1/2 the amount of water called for on the cake mix box

Here's what you need for the frosting:

1 Brick Cream Cheese (at room temp works best- if not you'll need to microwave it to soften it a bit)

3/4 Cup Powdered Sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 Tablespoon cinnamon

Here's how you make this delicious little treat:

1. Preheat the over to the temperature on the cake mix box.

2. In a large bowl, mix together all ingredients for the cake with electric beaters, until smooth.

3. Bake according to the cake mix box. (* This cake may take a bit longer because of the extra moisture from the pumpkin)

4. Cool cake.

5. In a medium bowl, using electric beaters, mix together all frosting ingredients until a smooth, creamy frosting texture forms. 

6. I like to spread this frosting onto the cake while the cake is still a bit warm. It melts down a bit over the cake and works like a glaze. Plus, the cake tastes AWESOME while it's warm! 

7. To store, just cover and refrigerate! 

Enjoy!! :) 

Fruit Pizza

Cookies + Icing + Fruit = Pizza. 

One heck of an equation, right?  So I'm no mathematician, but I can tell you that adding these ingredients together results in a seriously yummy dessert. BONUS *It has fruit on it, so it's almost healthy. YUM!

This makes a perfect treat to take to dinner parties or to have at home after a meal to sneak a few extra fruits into your kiddo's (or husband's) diet! It is such a nice summery dessert that it can really be a mood booster in the middle of winter if you can get your hands on some decent fruit!

Here's all you need:
- 1 Tube of refrigerated sugar cookie dough (or you can be fancy and make your own!)
- 1 8oz brick of cream cheese, ROOM TEMP
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Fruit (customize to fit what you like!)

Here's how to make it:
1. Slice cookie dough to thickness indicated in directions on package
2. Instead of spreading cookies on a sheet, arrange them all close together in a circle on a pizza pan. I gently pushed the edges of the cookies together to make one giant cookie crust.
3. Bake as indicated on cookie dough packaging.
4. Cool crust.
5. Using electric beaters, mix together cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla extract until well combined and a nice creamy frosting has formed.
6. Spread the cream cheese mixture over the cooled cookie crust.
7. Decorate with whatever fruit you choose!
8. Slice like a pizza and enjoy!

Roasted Beet Chips

Every family has that one food that never survives long enough to even be put on a plate, right? Well, for my family, roasted beets is that food.

I've always been a fan of beets in any form- pickled, plain, canned, cooked, cold.. you name it. Eating them like this, easily takes the cake as my favorite!

They're super easy too! 

Here's what you'll need:

- Fresh beets, peeled (I just use a traditional kitchen peeler, some people use a knife- do what's comfortable)

- Parchment Paper or Cookie Sheet with non-stick cooking spray

- Sea Salt (optional)

Here's how they're made:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees

2. Slice peeled beets to about 1/8" thick using *Mandoline (*Affiliate Link) or knife (try to get them as uniform as possible!) **Don't have time to peel and slice your own? Use canned and follow baking time for crispy chips below!

3. Spread beet slices on baking sheet lined with parchment paper or sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. 

4. OPTIONAL: Sprinkle with sea salt to taste

5. Bake 15 minutes, rotate baking sheet, bake 15 minutes longer.

*We like ours to still be soft and chewy, but if you want yours to be more on the crispy side, extend baking time to 30 min, rotate and bake, checking after 15 minutes and continuing to bake until they have reached your desired crispness. 

That's it! 

Seriously, so easy and SO delicious! 

These can be used as an awesome replacement for crackers if you make them crispy (Or keep them soft and use them as "wraps" or just top them and eat with a fork!). Simply bake and top with crumbled goat cheese and some crushed walnut sprinkles or get creative with your own toppings! 

*This post contains affiliate links. Purchases made by clicking an affiliate link may result in me receiving a small reward from the supplying company. This will not affect your purchase price, return policy or product quality in any way. 

Buffalo Chicken- Two Dinners in One!

*This post contains affiliate links. By completing a purchase through clicking an affiliate link, I receive a small portion of the sale as an incentive. This will not affect your purchase price, return/exchange policy or item quality.

One of the perks of my resolution to get my butt in shape, is that I get to cook TWO different meals many nights because Nick is really not big into the idea of giving up processed/fatty/salty/just plain bad for you foods. While going through my fridge today, I found we had a left over grilled chicken breast from our dinner Sunday night. I pondered a few different options and finally landed on the idea of buffalo chicken.  Well, all that was fine and dandy, except there's no way Nick was going to eat a buffalo chicken salad with me, and I certainly wasn't going to be eating a sandwich.. so, we arrived at two dinners from one breast: for him, Buffalo Chicken Grilled Cheese and for me Buffalo Chicken Salad with Crispy Sweet Potato Curls


The common ingredient? Buffalo Chicken! Here's how I made that:
Dice 1 large chicken breast into small 1/4 inch cubes.
Melt 2 Tablespoons of butter in microwave safe bowl
Add 1/2 cup hot sauce (Room temp works best!)
Stir until combined and toss chicken in the sauce.
**I like my chicken nice and warm so I microwaved the chicken for a minute and a half after I coated it with the sauce.



Now, let's start with Nick's buffalo chicken grilled cheese!

Here's all you'll need:

• Buffalo chicken (recipe above)
• 2 Slices American Cheese
• Ranch Dressing (Or bleu cheese!)
• 2 Slices Sandwich bread
• Butter

Here's how to make it:

1. Butter one side of the bread slices and place one piece butter side down in saute pan.

2. Top the bread in the pan with one slice american cheese.

3. Cover the cheese with buffalo chicken mixture.

4. Drizzle dressing over chicken

5. Top with remaining slice of cheese

6. Cover with remaining bread slice, butter side up. 

7. Cook over medium heat until bottom bread slice has toasted to golden brown and bottom slice of cheese has begun melting.

8. Flip and repeat step 7. 

And now for the Buffalo Chicken Salad with Crispy Sweet Potato Curls

Here's what you'll need:

• 1 Sweet Potato
• Remaining Buffalo Chicken
• Dressing (Bleu Cheese or ranch)
• Salad Fixings (I used spring mix lettuce, bell peppers, fresh string beans, baby carrots and celery)
• Salt (optional)

Here's how to make it:

1. Using a veggie Spiralizer , curl peeled sweet potato (follow directions on spiralizer).
2. Preheat oven to 300
3. Spread curls on baking sheet lined with parchment paper and sprinkle with salt if desired.
4. Bake 45 minutes - 1 hour or until curls have reached your desired crispiness.
5. Assemble salad
6. Top with buffalo chicken, dressing and sweet potato curls.

I hope you enjoy!!!

Healthy Pizza Bite Snacks

Pizza... a staple in so many households. I know when I was growing up I used to LOVE pizza night on Fridays. What is it about that cheese and sauce slathered dough that creates such a soft spot in so many of our hearts? Which of course leads to a whole lot of soft, jiggley, "can't quite button my pants" spots around our waist..

Alas, I've found a way to still indulge without worrying about being banished by my jeans for the next month!  Zucchini!

Fun right??

Here's what you need- I'm not including measurements, as everything is really "to taste", so feel free to pile them up or keep them simple! 

• Zucchini, sliced into 1/4" coins
• Pizza Sauce (We used home canned tomato sauce with a bit of basil, garlic and oregano added)
• Turkey Pepperoni
• Reduced Fat Italian Cheese
• Italian Seasoning
• Salt and Pepper

And here's how you make them:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (or just grease the baking sheet)

3. Lay zucchini slices on the sheet in a single layer, sprinkle with a bit of salt and pepper and bake just until the middle of the coins begins to turn soft. DO NOT OVER BAKE- we want to be able to pick these up, so don't let your zucchini turn to mush (About 8-10 minutes)

4. Remove zucchini from oven and spoon pizza sauce over the coins. 

5. Top with a thin layer of cheese, a pepperoni slice and more cheese. (You'll want the little bit of cheese between the sauce and pepperoni to help hold everything together!)

6. Return to the oven until the cheese has completely melted.

7. Remove and sprinkle with a bit of Italian seasoning and Voila! 

These are so easy and so delicious! I hope you enjoy them as much as my family does! 

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate chip cookies are one of those things that everyone seems to have their own way of making them. Some like them soft, some like them crunchy, some like theirs to be the texture of cake... you get the point. For me, I like them denser than cake so they taste like a cookie, but soft and chewy with a little tiny bit of crunch around the edges.  Now don't judge too hard, I'm not a cookie snob that's going to reject everyone else's cookies.. I'll still chow down, but if I'm making my own, I want them to be made the way I like them.

Ok, enough talking right? Let's get down to business.

Here's what you'll need:

• 1 Cup Granulated Sugar
• 1 1/2 Cups Brown Sugar
• 3/4 Cups Butter, melted
• 3/4 Cups Shortening (I use all vegetable shortening)
• 2 Teaspoons Vanilla
• 3 Eggs, Room Temp
• 4 Cups All purpose Flour
• 2 teaspoons Baking Soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups Chocolate Chips

And here's how you make them:

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Using an electric mixer, cream together brown sugar, granulated sugar, butter, shortening and vanilla in a large bowl. The key here is to actually cream them together. I always used to under beat this step. Keep beating for 3-4 minutes, until your mixture takes on a light tan color and appears smooth and frosting-like. Add in the eggs one at a time, but only beat until incorporated.

3. In a smaller bowl, sift flour, baking soda and salt together. 

4. Slowly beat the dry ingredients into the creamed mixture until combined.

5. Fold in chocolate chips gently. 

6. Drop Tablespoon sized balls onto ungreased cookie sheets, spaced about 2 inches apart.

7. Bake 8-10 minutes. DO NOT OVER BAKE! You only want your cookies to be slightly browned around the bottom edges and set nicely so they don't feel liquidy when touched. 

Pour yourself a nice glass of milk or cocoa and prepare to fall in love. Enjoy! 

Ground Floor Chili

Winter is brutal, there's no denying that. One of my favorite ways to battle the chilly temperatures is to warm up with a nice hot bowl of chili. This recipe is so quick and easy it can be easily thrown together after a long day on the job and enjoyed without much effort!

I call this Ground Floor Chili because it's such a simple base recipe and you can add on as many flavor layers as you wish or leave it exactly as is and it's still delicious!

Here's what you'll need:

1 lb. ground beef or venison (I used venison so it's a bit leaner)
1 Can tomato Puree (29oz)
1 Can diced tomatoes (14.5oz)
1 Can Red Kidney Beans  (16 oz)
1 Pack McCormick Chili Seasoning

Seasonings I used (Feel free to be creative here!)
Sea Salt
Pepper
Hot Sauce


Optional Toppings:
Sour Cream
Cheddar Cheese

So as you can see, lots of options here. The base ingredients are pretty simple and then you can doll it up however you'd like!

Here's how you make it:

1. Cook your meat (If you're into limiting dirty dishes as much as possible like I am, you can cook the meat right in your soup pot) then drain off excess grease.
2. Add tomato puree, diced tomatoes and red kidney beans. Heat all ingredients over medium heat, stirring often as it will bubble and spatter all over!
3. Once chili is warm, begin adding in seasonings as desired.
4.Top however you'd like and enjoy!

Baked Sweet Potato Chips

It's January 3, so all our New Year's resolutions to lose weight/get healthy are in full swing! Doesn't it always seem like as soon as you start a diet you only want sugar and carbs? Well.. I craved potato chips today. so I decided to try a healthier homemade version and they turned out delicious!

They weren't at all difficult, but they did take quite a bit of time to make.

Here's what you'll need:

1-2 small sweet potatoes (try to find potatoes that are mostly uniform in diameter so you'll have even chips)

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

1 teaspoon sea salt

And here's how to do it:

1. Preheat the oven to 275 degrees.

2. Wash your sweet potatoes and slice them to about 1/8" thick using a mandolin (or knife if you don't have a mandolin)

3. Combine the sweet potatoes and olive oil in a bowl and toss them to coat the potatoes.

4. Spread the slices in a single layer on a cookie sheet. 

5. Sprinkle the sea salt over the potato slices.

6. Bake 40 minutes, flip each slice and bake for 30-40 minutes longer, until potatoes are crisp, but not burned.

7. Allow the chips to cool 5-10 minutes and enjoy! 

Mexican Spaghetti Squash Casserole

Ok, so I've been chomping at the bit to share the recipe we made for dinner last night with all of you. We (along with about 60% of people) made a resolution to get in shape and get healthy this year. I have really let myself go since college and I've reached the point of just feeling gross all the time so, it's about to change.

The hard part about shedding the extra pounds for me, is that I am through and through a foodie. So, in true foodie fashion, I've accepted my own challenge to lose weight, get healthy and do so all without giving up my love of food. The good news for y'all is that this means I'll be trying out TONS of new healthy recipes to find low cal, low carb, low fat options that please both me AND my "I'll just have beef and beer for dinner while maintaining my 6-pack from high school" husband!

So last night, we headed up to my parents for dinner and made a Mexican Spaghetti Squash casserole. I had seen a picture somewhere of a spaghetti squash that someone had filled with ground beer and spaghetti squash and it inspired me.

Here's what you'll need:
 1 Medium Spaghetti Squash
 1 lb Ground beef or venison
 1 Small Spanish onion, chopped
 1 Medium Bell Pepper (Any color), chopped
 1 Package McCormick Taco Seasoning
 1 Can Whole Kernal Corn, drained
 1 Can Black Beans or Pinto Beans (drained and rinsed)
 1 Medium Tomato, diced
 1 Small Zucchini, diced
 1 Jar Chunky Salsa (choose if you want mild, medium or hot)- room temp is best
 1 Bag shredded cheddar or Mexican cheese
 1 Container Sour Cream
 1 Hot Sauce (optional)

*You can completely modify the veggie ingredients to suit your liking. If you're not a bean person, simply leave them out. If you're feeding "Anti-Veggie" people, you can mix some rice and corn and use that in place of the beans, tomato and zucchini. If you like your food extra spicy, you can add a chopped jalapeno or other hot pepper.

 Here's what we did:
1. Preheat Oven to 400 degrees
2. Clean your spaghetti squash, cut it in half lengthwise, scrape out the seeds and discard.
3. Place squash halves in a cake pan, fleshy side up and bake 30 minutes (or until spaghetti squash easily pulls apart when a fork is inserted and twisted in the flesh)
4. While the squash is baking, cook your onion and ground meat together in a large skillet. When the meat is about half done, add in your chopped bell pepper.
5. Drain grease off of meat, add taco seasoning according to directions on the package (many brands will have you add a bit of water with the seasoning).
6. When Squash is done, remove from oven.  Spray a casserole dish (or 9x13 cake pan) with non-stick cooking spray. Carefully scrape the fleshy inside from the squash shells and layer on the bottom of your casserole dish.
7. Pour your meat mixture over the squash and top the meat with the corn, beans, tomato and zucchini. (You can layer these individually or mix all the veggies in a large bowl and just pour them over as a single layer).
8. Top the veggie layer with salsa.
9. Top the salsa with shredded cheddar cheese.
10. Place the casserole in the oven for 10-15 minutes or until the cheese has melted over the top of the casserole.
11. Serve and top with hot sauce, sour cream, additional salsa or any other desired toppings!

Enjoy!!!

As a little extra flavor, you can prepare a simple lime crema to use as a topping instead of sour cream. Simply mix 1 cup sour cream, 1/2 tsp cumin and lime juice to taste! The mixture will be slightly thinned and will have a wonderful tangy flavor to top off your meal!

Getting Healthy Day 1!

Oreo Truffles

January 1 is fast approaching, and along with the start of the new year comes New Years Resolutions.

So, in an effort to provide you with one last horrah (or an AWESOME) treat to contribute to your New Year's Eve party, I bring you the most delightful little chunk of chocolatey goodness you've ever sunk your teeth into, the oreo truffle. Ok, maybe that was a bit extreme, but seriously, they're delicious.

These delightful little balls were the highlight of all my holiday parties, and they can easily be modified to fit any occasion! 

Luckily, the process of making them is pretty simple.

Here's what you'll need:

1 Package of REGULAR (not double stuff) oreos

1 8 oz brick of cream cheese at ROOM TEMP

1 bag of chocolate chips (or other melt-able chocolate)

*2 Tbsp Crisco or other thinning agent (optional)

To make them: 

1. Crush the oreos in a blender or food processor. You want them to be crushed nice and fine.

2. Use a spoon to mix the cream cheese and oreo crumbs. It will take a bit of diligence, but if you use a "smashing" motion with the spoon on the bottom of your bowl, it'll work pretty well. You'll end up with a dough-like ball.

3. Put the mix in the refrigerator for an hour to chill, or if you're feeling speedy, pop it in the freezer for 20 minutes or so (until cold, but not frozen).

4. Form little balls with the dough-like mixture and place them back in the refrigerator or freezer to cool (this helps them to not fall apart when you dip them in the chocolate).

5. Melt your chocolate (use whatever method of melting you're most comfortable with. I usually go for a double boiler.) 

6. *If your chocolate is too thick, add some crisco or other thinning agent (you can use coconut oil if you want some coconut flavor to your chocolate and it works pretty well). Add a small amount at a time so you don't over thin your chocolate. 

7. Dip the balls in the chocolate and place them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. If you want to add any sprinkles, do so now. Place them in the refrigerator so the chocolate will harden.

8. If you want to do any icing decorating or drizzle a different type of chocolate, do so once the chocolate covering has hardened.

9. Take them to your next party and let everyone oodle over how delicious they are!!

Enjoy! :)

Meringue Christmas Trees

If your facebook or pinterest pages are anything like mine, I'm sure you've seen the super cute meringue Christmas Trees that seem to be trending. They are adorable, and I love meringues, so I thought I'd give them a try!

The good news, is the ingredients are very simple!

All you need is:
4-5 ROOM TEMP egg whites
1 Cup Sugar
1/2 tsp Cream of Tartar
Green Food Coloring


Now, that's the easy part. The rest isn't necessarily "hard", just very VERY time consuming, so have someone else take the kids and make sure you have a good chunk of free time before you take on this project.
Step 1. Preheat your oven to 200 degrees.

Step 2. Combine egg whites, cream of tartar and sugar in a large bowl (preferably a stainless steel one!)

Step 3. Simmer about 2 cups of water. Holding the bowl above the simmering water (don't set it directly on the pot, you don't want to cook the eggs), constantly whisk the mixture until the sugar dissolves into the egg.

Step 4. Turn off the simmering water and begin beating the eggs with a hand mixer on medium low speed. The egg mixture will turn white, at this point, add in the food coloring.  Continue beating as you add the color, and add only a few drops at a time to prevent overloading the egg mix. Add color until you have reached your desired shade of green.

Step 5. Increase the speed on your mixer, and commit to this for the long haul. You'll want to keep beating the eggs until it has stiffened enough that stiff, but curled peaks hold when the beaters or a spoon is dipped and removed (This takes a LONG time! I did a double batch last night and I was beating for 15-20 minutes before it reached the consistency I was looking for). Don't quit early!

Step 6. Spoon the batter into a piping bag with the tip of your choice and pipe the batter onto cookie sheets lined with parchment paper.
Step 7. If you want to add any sprinkles for decoration, do so now.
Step 8. Bake cookies at 200 degrees for 2 hours or until they no longer stick to your finger when touched and they have slightly browned on the bottom.

Step 9. Turn off the oven and crack it open. Leave the cookies in the oven to allow them to cool gradually.

These should be stored in an airtight container, and I'm told they can be frozen and eaten without having to defrost them but I haven't tried that myself yet!

These are definitely a cute treat, and if you like meringues they taste great! Do take note of the time commitment in making them though, and be sure you have the time you'll need to complete all steps!

Happy Beating :) 

Vanilla Brown Sugar Cookies

These are my favorite cookie ever!

When I was young and foolish, I didn't really like chocolate. I know, I know, clearly I was insane. My insanity did deliver one wonderful thing, though, and that is this cookie.

I loved chocolate chip cookies, but I didn't like the chocolate chips. So when I was probably 10, I started asking my Mom if she would make some of the chocolate chip cookies without the chocolate chips.  She did, and it was bliss.

After a couple years of this, she got an idea one day to add a packet of vanilla pudding into the cookies. OH. MY. HEAVENS. It was so good. I've since enhanced the recipe a tiny bit and thus, I bring you Vanilla Brown Sugar cookies.

Here's what you need:

2 1/4 cups flour
1 package vanilla pudding
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 sticks slightly melted butter
3/4 Cups white sugar
3/4 Cups Brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 eggs

To make them:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Whisk together flour, vanilla pudding, baking soda and salt in a small bowl
3. Use a hand mixer to beat together butter, white sugar, brown sugar and vanilla. Beat this until it turns into a light brown, very creamy mixture.
4. Add in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each one.
5. Drop tablespoon size balls of dough on a cookie sheet.
6. Bake 8-10 minutes until they begin to turn a light golden brown and they spring back when touched.
7. Cool and enjoy!!

Pretzel Melts

Christmas cookies are great, but sometimes it's nice to mix it up a bit. Pretzel melts are delicious, quick, pretty and can be made using just about any kind of chocolate you have hanging out in your cupboard!

All you do to make these glorious little bites of sweet, salty, crunchy deliciousness is lay mini pretzels out on a cookie sheet, top with some kind of chocolate and put in the oven at 250 degrees until the chocolate begins to melt. Then, take them out and either leave them as is, or top them with something to add a little extra element to the party. I usually refrigerate mine or put them outside so they'll cool.

Little Tip: Make sure you don't let the chocolate melt so much that it all falls down in the holes of the pretzels. You want it to stay mostly on top of the pretzel, just melt it enough that it secures to the pretzel and will hold whatever topping you put on it.

Here's some of the varieties I have made.
-Chocolate (or Vanilla flavored) candy meltable wafers topped with M&Ms
-Hershey Kiss topped with Walnut
-Rolo Topped with Pecan Pieces
-Mini Snickers (Cut in half) topped with peanut
-Pretzels drizzled with melted chocolate and peanut butter (these ones are messy, the PB doesn't harden)
-Mini Reese's cup topped with peanut

The options are endless!

Get your creative juices flowing and dream up some delicious melts! They can be anything you want them to be, because it's essentially impossible for chocolate and pretzel to not taste good together!

Enjoy!

Tagalong Cookie Copycat (Kind-of)

Girlscout cookies. I think we can all agree that there's some strangely addictive qualities to these cookies.

My personal favorite- Peanut butter tagalongs. It's like a crunchy, kid version of a Reese cup. These are one of those cookies that last a day (or less) in our house between hubs and me.

At a Christmas party earlier this month, Nick's aunt told me about a recipe that she had heard and wanted to try that supposedly tasted just like these precious peanut butter Girlscout cookies. Of course, I had to try it.

The good news: They are delicious. Cruncy, chocolately, peanut-buttery... yum.
The "not so good" news: They aren't quite how I remember my tagalongs tasting (girlscout cookie season was quite a while ago, though!)

Overall, they're definitely worth a try. They're simple to make and I haven't had anyone dislike them yet!

Here's what you'll need:
Ritz Crackers
Creamy Peanut Butter (You could use crunchy if you want to mix things up a bit!)
Milk Chocolate Chips
Crisco Shortening or Coconut Oil (Optional)

Here's how to make them:
1. Spread peanut butter onto 1/2 of the ritz Crackers.
2. Use the other half of the crackers to top the crackers with peanut butter, forming little cracker sandwiches.
3. Melt your chocolate in a double boiler. (You can melt in a single sauce pan, just do so one medium/low heat and be sure to stir constantly to prevent burning).
4. This is OPTIONAL!!! I don't like my chocolate to be super thick, so you can add crisco, or I used coconut oil (only about a teaspoon of it for 2 cups of chocolate chips- add more as needed). Stir the thinning agent into the melted chocolate until it is not longer clumpy and has completely mixed with the chocolate.
5. Dip each cracker sandwich into the melted chocolate. I used a little pair of tongs to pull them out and a spoon to gently scrape excess chocolate off of the edges.
6. Place on wax/parchment paper and put someplace cold to harden (I put mine in the fridge, if it's cool outside, they could also be put outside).

Ramen Noodle Salad

Ah, Ramen Noodles. The main food group for 90% of college students.

I went through my Ramen stage, when I was young. I LOVED those gross little noodle squares... Then one day I woke up and the smell alone was enough to make me sick. Based on the nutritional benefits (NOT) provided by them, I guess I'm really not all that upset that I have zero desire to eat them.. well at least I didn't until I tried this.

It's so delicious! The perfect blend of sweet and crunch.

Here's what you'll need:
1 Package Slaw Mix (I used a rainbow slaw blend hat had red and green cabbage, broccoli and carrots in it)
2 Packs Ramen Noodles
3/4 Cups Oil (I used canola, you can also use vegetable oil)
1/2 cup Vinegar
1/2 cup Granulated Sugar

To make it:
1. Mix together the Oil, vinegar and sugar.
2. Crush your Ramen Noodles.
3. Combine veggies and noodles in a large bowl.
4. Pour oil mix over the veggies and noodles. Stir to combine.
5. Cover and let sit for an hour (or longer).
6. Stir again right before serving to coat all ingredients with any oil mix that may have fallen to the bottom.

Enjoy!

Oreo Snowman Pops

I love the holidays. Cookies, parties, eggnog, family, presents- I love it all.

I also love Pinterest, especially around the holidays. So, in true pinner-fashion, I just had to take a shot at making these adorable snowman pops.

I have to be honest, this wasn't my first attempt. I had tried this last year, and it didn't quite go so well. Luckily, I tried again and this time I found a few little tips and tricks that made all the difference!

All you need is:
1 Package of Double Stuff oreos
1 Bag white chocolate chips  (Or vanilla meltable wafers)
Chocolate chips to melt for decoration (or you can use gel icing, meltable wafers, sugar cookie frosting made of 10x sugar and milk, sprinkles, etc.)
Something to use for nose (I used sugar cookie frosting, but you can use anything you'd like!)
1 package lollipop sticks

To make them:
1. Pull apart the cookie and press your lollipop stick into the cream filling.
2. Melt your white chocolate chips.
3. Cover the cream and lollipop stick with melted chocolate and put the cookie back together.
4. Allow the chocolate a moment to dry and harden. This is important, as the chocolate will be your only hope for holding the cookie together when you dip it into the melted chocolate to coat the outside.
5. Dip the Oreo into the melted white chocolate, gently scrape excess melted chocolate to prevent drips. Stand oreo pop up in a holder (can make one out of cardboard by poking holes if you don't have one) and allow chocolate to dry.
6. Repeat step 5 until pops are thoroughly coated (I did mine twice each)
7. Decorate! I melted a small amount of chocolate chips and then dipped the end of a lollipop stick and dabbed it on the snowman face. For the nose, I mixed 3 Tbsp powdered sugar with 1 tsp milk and used food coloring to make it orange. I used a lollipop stick to draw the nose on. I've seen these done with candy as the face or sprinkles, so the options are endless.

Everyone at the party LOVED these and they were a visual hit of the night! They are a bit tedious and you have to work semi-quickly to prevent your chocolate from hardening or burning, but they're worth it!

Sparkling Christmas Berries

Cranberries... What does one actually do with Cranberries? Have you ever eaten a plain, raw cranberry? So gross. But then when they're cooked, they explode and you end up with super dense cranberry soup. So how do you take advantage of the infamous holiday berry?

I'll tell you how. 

Soak them, coat them and make those babies sparkle! 

It's such an easy process, but it does involve a "waiting period" so this is a recipe you'll have to plan ahead of time. 

Here's what you need: 

1 bag fresh cranberries

2 Cups+ 1/2 Cup Granulated Sugar

2 Cups Water

1/4 Cup 10x sugar

How to make them:

1. Combine 2 cups sugar and water in a sauce pan. Heat the mixture and stir frequently to dissolve the sugar into the water (it's not necessary to boil it)

2. Pour the cranberries into a bowl or jar with a lid. 

3. Pour the water/sugar mixture over the cranberries. (If you let the mixture boil, allow it to cool 5-10 minutes before pouring over the berries to prevent the berries from popping.)

4. Cover the berries and water mixture, refrigerate and allow them to soak overnight (12 hours or longer if possible)

5. Drain the liquid off the berries. 

6. Spread paper towels over a cookie sheet and pour the berries onto the towels. Allow the berries to dry for an hour. 

7. Pour the berries into a dry bowl and pour the 1/2 granulated sugar and 10x sugar over them.

8. Stir to coat the berries (add more granulated sugar if needed).

9. Use a slotted spoon to place the berries into the serving container of your choice. 

10. Keep refrigerated until time for service to maintain freshness

As a side note: You can also get even more festive with the presentation and use red sugar crystal sprinkles or a combination of the sprinkles with granulated sugar. 

Enjoy!!

Brown Sugar Bourbon Salmon

Confession: I am NOT a salmon person. I want to be. I envy those people who can get excited over going out to eat and getting a piece of plain salmon and enjoy it. I am a salmon doctorer.. The less salmon I taste, the more I enjoy it. And this recipe, I must say, does one heck of a doctor job!

It's actually way easier than I imagined and twice as delicious!

Here's what you need:

2 Tablespoons butter
1/4 Cup Dark Brown Sugar
2 Salmon Steaks
1/5 Cup Bourbon
1/4 tsp Cayenne pepper (optional)

That's all you need! Told you this was going to be easy.

1. Melt the butter in a saute pan over medium heat.
2. Add the brown sugar and cayenne, whisk until combined and let cook for a bit to start to melt down the sugar
3. Place the salmon steaks in the pan on top of the brown sugar/butter mix.
4. Let the salmon cook 3-5 minutes, until about halfway done.
5. Flip the salmon, remove from heat and add bourbon.
6. Return to heat and cook 3-5 minutes longer.
7. If you're like me and want the salmon thoroughly coated, flip the salmon a few more times in the mixture while it thickens.
8. Enjoy!

Irish Cream Mousse Cups

Who doesn't love edible booze?!

Now that the college days are over, jello shots are not quite so acceptable after dinner on a Monday.

So, keeping it classy, I tried my hand at spiked mousse cups and they were AWESOME! Luckily, they're super easy too! They also can be set up to look absolutely stunning and put the perfect cap on a dinner party.

As an extra added perk, this can be super easily modified for the holidays to be a "peppermint mocha mousse" or "chocolate almond".

Here's the ingredients you'll need:
1/4 cup booze (I used Irish Cream)
3/4 cup cold milk
1 Pack instant mousse
Optional whipped cream topping

Prepare according to the directions on the mousse mix- for this brand, I just mixed all ingredients and used the electric beaters on the highest speed for about 5 minutes. Split the mousse into dishes and, if you're super impatient like me, just pop the cups in the freezer for 15 minutes.

Presto! Top with whipped cream if you like and Enjoy!