Monster Cookies

  They are thick, chewy and are perfect with milk.  

1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup granulated white sugar
8 (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened 
3 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups quick cooking oats
2 1/2 cups old fashioned oats
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup M&M's 

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, white sugar, brown sugar, and peanut butter until smooth. 

2. Beat in the eggs, one at a time.

3. Stir in the vanilla.

4. Mix in baking soda and oats until well blended. 

5. Stir in the chocolate candies and chocolate chips.

6. Drop by rounded tablespoon on cookie sheet.  (I use a cookie scoop)

7.  Bake 10 to 12 minutes. Do not overbake!

8.  Cool for 5 minutes on cookie sheets until cookies are set. Transfer to wire racks; cool completely before storing in an airtight container.

Merry Mail Card Holder

My daughter and niece helped me make this cute card holder a couple days ago.

How-

Paint a board
Paint some clothes pins
Glue the pins to the board with hot glue
Decorate.

It was super simple and took less than 30 minutes start to finish.

My Favorite Sugar Cookie Dough

Suzie's Favorite Sugar Cookie Dough

1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) softened butter 

3/4 C. sugar

1 egg

2 tsp vanilla (or any favorite flavor. I use 1 tsp almond & 1 tsp vanilla)

2 C. flour

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking soda

Cream butter and sugar until well mixed. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Slowly add the dry ingredients until well blended. It is a soft dough. Make into a ball and cover with plastic wrap. Chill for 1 hour 

Peanut Butter Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 1 cup crunchy peanut butter
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

Directions

1. Cream butter, peanut butter, and sugars together in a bowl; beat in eggs.
2. In a separate bowl, sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; stir into butter mixture. Put dough in refrigerator for 1 hour.
3. Roll dough into 1 inch balls and put on baking sheets. Flatten each ball with a fork, making a crisscross pattern. Bake in a preheated 375 degrees F oven for about 10 minutes or until cookies begin to brown.

Rainbow Melted Crayon Art

Rainbow Melted Crayon Art is fairly easy to do and so much fun.  The one

pictured was done by me. For instructions head over to this blog.

Pumpkin Dump Cake

This pumpkin dump cake is just as easy as the classic. Yellow cake mix, pumpkin, butter and pecans are the ingredients that make this Pumpkin Dump Cake a favorite.  

1 

(29 ounce) can pure pumpkin

1 

(12 ounce) can evaporated milk

3 

whole eggs

1 

cup white sugar

3 

teaspoons cinnamon

1 

 yellow cake mix

1 

cup chopped pecans (optional but highly recommended)

3/4 

cup butter, melted

• Preheat oven to 350°F and grease a 9x13 baking dish.
• In a large bowl, mix pumpkin, milk, eggs, sugar, and cinnamon until well blended. Spread pumpkin mixture in prepared baking dish. Mixture will be very wet.
• Sprinkle cake mix evenly on top of the batter. If adding pecans, sprinkle them over the cake mix. Pour melted butter over the top of the cake mix. Bake 50 minutes.
• Cool. Top with whipped cream or ice cream.

Dryer Vent Pumpkins

We made the pumpkins and then hot glued them together.  Then I did a coat of gold spray paint.  From there the kids took over.  They used cut up pieces of an old wash cloth to rub their paint on. For the stems we used twisted brown paper sack.

Cake Mix Made Better!

DIY Potato Beads

Did you know you can make beads for necklaces and bracelets out of potatoes?

Peel a potato and cut into 1 inch cubes.

 Thread  the cubes onto wood skewers.

  Let dry for about a week, twisting the potatoes daily.

 Paint them and make something awesome.

The best potatoes ever.

This recipe comes from Susan in my favorite cast iron cooking group. It is a keeper!

Brush bottom and sides of a baking dish or cast iron skillet with olive oil.
Using a mandoline or a sharp knife, slice potatoes crosswise into desired thickness. 
Arrange potato slices vertically and loosely in prepared dish or skillet.
Sprinkle garlic and Italian seasoning on top of potatoes. 
Season with salt and pepper to taste. 
Dot potatoes with butter. 
Cover skillet or dish with foil and bake in a 375 F oven for about 1 hour or until potatoes are tender. 
Remove foil, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes or until crisp.

Blackberry Cobbler in an Iron Skillet

Cobblers taste so much better when made in an iron skillet!

Ingredients
1/2 stick butter, melted, plus more for greasing pan
1 1/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1 cup self-rising flour
1 cup whole milk
2 cups fresh (or frozen) blackberries
Whipped cream and/or ice cream, for serving
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 3-quart baking dish with butter.

In a medium bowl, whisk 1 cup sugar with the flour and milk. Whisk in the melted butter.

Rinse the blackberries and pat them dry. Pour the batter into the baking dish. Sprinkle the blackberries evenly over the top of the batter. Sprinkle 1/4 cup sugar over the blackberries. Bake until golden brown and bubbly, about 1 hour. When 10 minutes of the cooking time remains, sprinkle the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar over the top. Top with whipped cream or ice cream. 

Iron Skillet Taco Bowl

Coat a tortilla in oil and arrange in a small iron skillet.  Then bake at 400 until crunchy. We use these to serve taco salads.  Best of all there is no special as seen on TV items needed.

Snickerdoodle Bars

2 2⁄3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1⁄4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 cups packed brown sugar
1 cup butter, room temperature
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease and/or line a 9×13 inch pan. Combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt and set aside.
In large bowl, beat together butter and brown sugar for 3-5 minutes. Add in the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla, and beat until smooth.
Stir in the flour mixture until well blended. Spread evenly in prepared pan (mixture will be somewhat cookie batter-ish, so it’s best to spread it out with a greased spatula or your hands -- I just spray a spatula with cooking spray). Combine the granulated sugar and cinnamon, in a little bowl. Evenly sprinkle cinnamon sugar mixture over the top of the batter.
Bake 25-30 minutes or until surface springs back when gently pressed. Cool before cutting. Makes 20-24 bars.

Sneaky Squash Muffins

Trust me, your kids will never know these are full of squash!

Squash muffins

Ingredients
Unsalted butter, for coating the pan (if needed)
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
14 ounces zucchini or squash, ends trimmed, grated on the large holes of a box grater (about 3 cups)

Heat the oven to 350°F and arrange two racks to divide the oven into thirds. Line 2 (12-well) muffin pans with paper liners. Alternatively, coat the wells with butter; set aside.
Place the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg, and salt in a medium bowl and whisk to aerate and break up any lumps; set aside.
Place the eggs, sugars, oil, and vanilla in a large bowl and whisk until the eggs are broken up and the mixture is thoroughly combined. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the flour mixture until just combined. Fold in the zucchini until evenly mixed.
Fill the muffin wells about two-thirds of the way. Bake, rotating the muffin pans from front to back and top to bottom halfway through the cooking time, until the muffins are browned and a cake tester or toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 25 minutes.
Transfer the pans to wire racks and let cool for 5 minutes. Remove the muffins from the pans and cool completely.

Can be topped with streusel before baking.

STREUSEL:
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup cold butter
In a small bowl, combine the sugar, flour and cinnamon; cut in butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over muffins before baking.

When life gives you basil...

My basil plant has been producing wonderful this year.  We have been looking for more ways to use it.  This was a simple pasta that we put together.

When life gives you basil, you cook with it!

* Boil 1 package of pasta and drain. 
* Add in 1 stick of REAL melted butter.
* Add garlic powder, salt, and pepper to taste.
* Stir in fresh chopped basil. 
* Top with fresh grated parmesan cheese.

Suzie's Hummus

2 cups canned chick-peas or 2 cups cooked chickpeas
2 tablespoons tahini
4 tablespoons olive oil
1⁄4 cup warm water
2 large heads of garlic (the whole head, not 2 cloves!)
1 lemon, juice of
1/4 tsp cumin
Black pepper to taste (we like a lot!)
1⁄4 teaspoon sea salt
Preheat oven to 375°F Cut off the very top of the garlic cloves (about 1/4") so that the tops of most of the cloves are exposed slightly. Coat with a little olive oil and wrap securely in tin foil. Roast garlic in oven for 1 hour. Remove and allow to cool.
Using your fingers, squeeze the soft, roasted garlic out of each clove into food processor. Rinse and drain cooked or canned chickpeas. Add them, and all other ingredients, to the food processor and blend until completely smooth.
Scrape ingredients off sides of food processor to make sure it blends evenly. If you find that the hummus is too thick, you can add additional olive oil at this time. Add it very slowly, allowing the mixture to combine fully before adding more liquid.
Serve at room temperature with crudites, warm pita or crackers. Top with olive oil if you like.

From Crystal Lampe aka Suzie Homemaker

Creamy Bruschetta Chicken from Knorr

My 11 year old made this. Quick and easy when you are in a hurry.

Ingredients
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, sliced
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 package Knorr® Rice Sides™ - Creamy Chicken flavor
2 large tomatoes, seeded and chopped (about 2 cups)
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella Cheese
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh basil leaves

Directions
1.HEAT oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and cook chicken, stirring frequently, until chicken is thoroughly cooked, about 4 minutes, adding garlic during the last 30 seconds of cook time. Remove and set aside.
2.PREPARE Knorr® Rice Sides™ - Creamy Chicken flavor in same skillet according to package directions.
3.STIR in chicken and tomatoes. Sprinkle with mozzarella and basil.
Tip: Serve with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar.
Cost per recipe*: $9.27 Cost per serving*: $2.31 *Based on average retail prices at national supermarkets

Carrot Banana Bread Recipe

Carrot banana bread is a great twist on the traditional banana bread recipe. 


1⁄3 cup vegetable oil
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1⁄2 teaspoon salt
3⁄4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1⁄4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3 medium bananas, ripe, mashed
1 cup grated carrot
1⁄2 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a non-stick 9-inch by 3-inch loaf pan with vegetable spray.
In a medium size mixing bowl, combine the oil and sugar; add eggs, mixing well.
Combine the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg; gradually add to the creamed mixture alternately with bananas.
Mix in carrots and pecans.
Bake for 55 to 65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean.
Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan, then remove from pan and place on a wire rack to cool completely.