5 Ingredient Reese's Cup Freezer Pie

From: Coupon Cousins

Ingredients:
1 Keebler chocolate cookie pie crust
1 large box of instant chocolate pudding
1 1/2 cups of milk
1 8 oz tub of Cool Whip
Reese's Peanut Butter Cups

In a large bowl, mix the pudding with the milk. Whisk in the Cool Whip. Unwrap the Reese's Cups (about 15 large ones or 25 of the minis) and chop them roughly. Fold the chopped candy into the pudding mix. Pour all into the pie crust. Top with a few more chopped Reese's. Store in the freezer until about 15 minutes before serving.

Verdict:
Thumbs UP!! Oh, yuuuuum. This was so delicious and SO easy to make! I will absolutely make this again in the future. Oh, and I do realize the "large box of pudding" is kind of vague... I used the 4 oz (give or take an ounce) box and it was just fine. I'm sure the larger box of pudding would be fine to use as well. HIGHLY recommend this!

Gingersnaps

From: Smitten Kitchen

Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups AP flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 teaspoon table salt
3 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 large egg
1/3 cup unsulphured molasses

Optional, for even more of a ginger kick: Add 1 to 2 teaspoons finely grated fresh ginger (with the wet ingredients) or 1 to 2 tablespoons finely minced candied ginger (with the dry ingredients).

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt and spices. In a large bowl, beat butter and sugars together until fluffy, about three minutes on medium. Add egg and molasses and beat until combined. Add dry ingredient and beat at low speed until just combined. Thoroughly scrape down bowl, ensuring ingredients are evenly mixed.

Transfer your cookie dough to plastic wrap. Chill in fridge for at least two hours, until firm.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Roll dough into 1-inch balls and spread at least two inches apart on baking sheets that have either been greased or lined with parchment paper. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, which is a long range. In the 10 to 12 range, the cookies will be softer. In the 13 to 15 range, a bit snappier. In both cases, you’ll want to leave them on their baking sheets for long enough that they’re firm enough to be transferred to a cooling rack with a spatula, anywhere from 2 to 5 minutes. Cool cookies completely before packing up.

Verdict:
Thumbs up! I am not a huge fan of gingersnaps, but my mom is, so I made these in honor of her! And she did enjoy them. :)  They were extremely simple to make, and you can even freeze the balls of dough up to 2 weeks and just bake them as you need them. Doesn't get much better than that.

The day before I made this recipe I realized I didn't have any allspice. I almost went and bought some, but the market with bulk bins was closed for the night. Then I realized how easy it is to make your own allspice:

2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp ground cloves

I had whole cloves, but I just ground it all together with my mortar and pestle and it worked perfectly. No more purchasing allspice for this gal!

Brownie Mix in a Jar

Easy and yummy gift that can be used for everything from Christmas to housewarming to secret sister to "just because"!

Brownie Mix in a Jar
2 1/4 cups white sugar
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt

Directions:
Mix together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. Layer other ingredients in a 1 quart wide mouth canning jar. Press each layer firmly in place before adding the flour mixture. Note: Be sure to wipe out the inside of the jar with a dry paper towel after adding the cocoa powder.

Here are the instructions to attach to the jar:

*Brownie Mix in a Jar
*Empty jar of brownie mix into a large mixing bowl.
*Use your hands to thoroughly blend mix.
*Add 3/4 cup butter or margarine, melted.
*Add 4 eggs, slightly beaten. Mix until completely blended.
*Spread batter into a sprayed 9x13 inch baking pan.
*Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Cool completely in pan. Makes 2 dozen.

Barbecue Chili With Corn

From: Here

Ingredients:
1 lb lean ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
1 can (22 oz) southern pit barbecue grilling beans, undrained
1 can (14.5 oz) fire roasted diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce
1 box frozen corn
1 Tbsp chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 cups corn chips

In heavy 3-quart saucepan, cook beef and onion over medium-high heat 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until beef is thoroughly cooked; drain. Stir in remaining ingredients except cheese and corn chips. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer uncovered 5 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until corn is tender. Top individual servings with cheese and corn chips.

  

Verdict:
Thumbs UP!! Oh man, there is NOTHING bad about this recipe. I did use venison instead of beef, and canned corn instead of frozen. It is such a simple recipe but I devoured this. Actually, all of us did! I highly recommend this recipe and I'll definitely be making this again in the future!  

Double Thumbprint Cookies

From: Here

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
1 Tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups AP flour
1/4-1/3 cup cherry jam or preserves, or seedless raspberry preserves


Preheat oven to 375 degree F. In a large bowl beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add granulated sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt. Beat until mixture is combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in egg, milk, and vanilla until combined. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Stir in any remaining flour.


Shape dough into 3/4-inch balls. For each cookie on an ungreased or parchment paper-lined cookie sheet place 2 dough balls side by side with one side touching. Press thumbs into each ball to form an indentation in each. Press in center of each with thumb and taper bottom of cookie with fingers to form a heart shape. Repeat with remaining dough balls, leaving about 2 inches between cookies.

Bake for 7 to 9 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Remove from oven and transfer cookies to a wire rack. While warm, fill each indentation with jam or preserves. Cool completely. Makes about 30 cookies.

 

Verdict:

Thumbs up! Although making the heart shape is a lot of trouble. It's cute for Valentine's Day or your anniversary, but for an everyday dessert, I say go with the regular one thumbprint cookie. Also, I prefer peanut butter jammies over these shortbread cookies, but to each his or her own. My mom loves the shortbread instead, so I like switching between recipes. :)

Double Crunch Honey Garlic Chicken

From: Here

Ingredients:
For the chicken
4 chicken breasts
1 cup flour
2tsp salt
2tsp black pepper
1 1/2 tbsp ground ginger
1 tbsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp ground thyme
1 tsp ground sage
1 tbsp paprika
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

For the egg wash:
2 eggs
4 tbsp water
For the sauce:
2 tbsp olive oil
3 – 4 cloves minced garlic
3/4-1 cup honey (depending on how sweet you want it)
¼ cup soy sauce
1 tsp ground black pepper


Combine the flour and spices together in a medium bowl. Prepare the egg wash by gently beating together the eggs and water. Pound the chicken breasts so that they are even and season with salt and pepper. Dip the meat into the flour mixture, followed by the egg wash, and one more time in the flour mixture. If you need to, press the flour mixture into the meat to get good contact. 

Heat a skillet with a half of an inch of canola oil covering the bottom. When the oil is hot, reduce the heat to medium and  fry the chicken breasts for about 5 minutes on each side or until golden brown and crispy. Since the meat was pounded thinly, it should not take longer than that. Transfer to a baking sheet lined with paper towels.

In the meantime, prepare the sauce. Combine the oil and garlic in a medium saucepan, cook slightly, making sure the garlic does not brown. To the garlic, add the honey, soy sauce, and pepper. Simmer together for 5-10 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Dip the cooked chicken breasts into the sauce and serve over noodles or rice.

 

Verdict:
Neutral. I thought I would devour this chicken because of the name. Double crunch? I love crunchy chicken! Honey garlic? Perfection! Although the flavor wasn't bad it was hard to get the skin and the chicken to come off in one piece, if that makes sense. And the flavor just wasn't what I was expecting. It wasn't a favorite of anyone else in the family either, so I'll just mark this one off as "done" and move to the next recipe. But I would certainly not tell anyone else to not make it - it just didn't fit our family.

Crash Hot Sweet Potatoes

From: Here

Ingredients:
2 Medium Sweet Potatoes
½ teaspoon kosher salt
2 quarts water
2 tablespoons melted butter
2 tablespoons olive oil

Topping:
1 & 1/2 tablespoons light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon smoked sweet paprika
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
1/8 teaspoon granulated garlic
10 grinds black pepper – coarse 

Peel the sweet potatoes and slice about 1 & ¼ inches thick. Add ½ teaspoon salt to water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Add potato slices and simmer for about 12 minutes, or until somewhat softened. Remove carefully to a wire rack and allow to cool for about 10 minutes. Blend the topping ingredients together really well with a fork, making to sure to get the sugar completely incorporated. Line a large, heavy sheet pan with parchment paper. Using a flat bottomed bowl, slightly mash each potato slice, taking care that they stay intact. Drizzle each slice with a mixture of the butter and oil and sprinkle evenly with ½ of the topping mixture. Make sure you avoid getting the topping on the sheet between the slices if possible – it will burn and smoke before the potatoes are done.
Gently turn over each slice, drizzle with the remaining butter/oil mixture and sprinkle with the remaining seasonings.
Roast at 375° for 20 minutes, carefully flip each slice and return to oven for about 10 minutes more. Serve hot.

Verdict:
Thumbs up! I didn't get a picture of the finished product unfortunately. But these were such a great little snack during the day. Delicious and healthy! You can't go wrong! I love finding new ways to eat sweet potatoes. I'll definitely be making these again!

Broccoli Cheddar Soup - Panera Style

From: Here

Ingredients:

• 2 T. Butter, melted
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1/2 c. butter, melted
• 1/2 c. all purpose flour
• 4 c. half and half
• 4 c. chicken broth
• 1 lb. fresh broccoli
• 2 cups, julienned carrots
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1/2 t. nutmeg
• 16 oz. sharp cheddar cheese, grated

Saute onion in butter.  Set aside.   Whisk butter and flour over medium heat for 3-5 minutes.  Stir constantly and slowly add half and half.  Add chicken stock, still whisking. Simmer 20 minutes.

Add broccoli, carrots and onion.  Cook over low heat until veggies are tender – about 20-25 minutes.  Add salt and pepper.  The soup will have thickened by now.

Carefully transfer soup mixture to blender and puree.  Return soup to pot (or crockpot) over low heat.  Add cheese.  Stir until well blended.  Add nutmeg right before serving.



Verdict:
Thumbs up! Oh man, what a delicious, delectable soup! I do love the soup at Panera and although I'm not sure this is the real recipe, it is DIVINE. Definitely will be making this again in the future!!