Scotcheroos

 

 

It was my dear friend Jessica's birthday and I volunteered to make something for her birthday bash at work. I was told that Scotcheroos are one of her favorite treats. Challenge accepted! I didn't even have any idea what they were really. I knew there was a chocolate icing, that's it.

Where do you turn if you need a good recipe? Brown Eyed Baker! My favorite blogger. Of course she had a recipe and it was a snap. Really! One of the easiest recipes I've made. And oh so good!

My work friends did enjoy these. One said that these are good because they aren't hard and tough. I guess that's a common problem. But not with a BEB recipe :)

These are like rice krispy bars but with peanut butter. And BEB suggests a chunky peanut butter for added texture in the bars. A delightful idea. And the chocolate topping with butterscotch and chocolate melted together? Yum! (I didn't really think I like butterscotch. Turns out I kinda do. Occasionally.)

Click here for the stolen recipe for Scotcheroos.

 

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Lighter Thai Inspired Wraps & Crunchy Asian Cabbage Salad (repeat)

I really love this picture. You can't get any more colorful than that!

 

This is a great combo! Some of the same ingredients are in each food, but it made it easier for chopping.

The peanut sauce in the wrap sandwich is awesome! I actually made a 1 1/2 recipe so we could enjoy it a bit more. (Good decision, Lisa. *pat on the back*) The sauce ingredients are all staples in our household, so even better. -lime juice, peanut butter, sesame oil, soy sauce, ground ginger-

I think we got all of our vitamins through vegetables in just this one meal! No complaints from the husband. He really did dig this meal.

Click here for the stolen recipe for Lighter Thai Inspired Wraps.

I've made the Crunchy salad before. This is the post where I wrote about it.

 

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Broccoli and Cheese Mini Egg Omelets

 

These were made because I had all the ingredients. I froze them for easy breakfasts.

I liked them just fine but I think I like the idea of them more than the actual taste from this particular recipe. I found that these needed a lot of seasoning afterwards to make them taste like something good. They were a bit plain, if you can imagine that with all the cheese and vegetables inside.

Pretty cute little breakfast treats! Mental note: just add more salt and pepper. And maybe some tabasco? Tabasco makes anything good.

Click here for the stolen recipe for Broccoli and Cheese Mini Omelets.

 

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Star Wars geeks

Yes, that is a Tie Fighter and a Death Star PB&J!

 

I get super excited to include something cool in my son's lunchbox but then I don't get a reaction from him. Boo!

 

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Roasted Brussels Sprouts Carbonara

I try and mix Brussels sprouts and bacon whenever possible for my dear husband. He's at the point that he doesn't need the bacon anymore but I still do it. He is sold on the idea that Brussels sprouts are just a part of our household now!

This is an easy recipe. The two times that I've made this I've had my husband roast the sprouts ahead of time (he works at home, slick!) and I finish the rest of the meal when I get home from work. It comes together quite easily at that point.

Roasted sprouts, bacon, and eggy pasta? YES PLEASE!

 

Lately our pasta of choice is bowtie. Our little one just loves the bowties.

Click here for the stolen recipe for Roasted Brussels Sprouts Carbonara.

 

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S'mores truffles

 

 

Truffles are really way too easy. I think I don't make them often because for how easy they are, it is quite painful to wait the hour or so for the chocolate to firm up before you can roll it into balls. For such a little treat, my brain thinks they should be done in little time.

The chocolate mixture is pretty standard I think, nothing to it. I then rolled a mini marshmallow inside of each ball and then rolled the chocolate ball in graham cracker crumbs! If I really want to fancy these up even more, I could make my own marshmallows. I'm crazy like that.

I think I owe my sister Ana a batch of these. She'd love me forever. Or at least stop teasing me for a day about something something.

Click here for the stolen recipe for S'mores truffles.

 

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BBQ Comfort Meatballs

This is comfort food to my family. I don't make these often because there is one fussy, messy step to these meatballs but when I do make them I always thinks I should make them more often. You just can't win in my own head.

 

Also, whenever I make this, I think that this BBQ sauce rocks. And I should use it always whenever a recipe calls for BBQ sauce. Why buy a bottle when you can whip together a few ingredients and make your own?

I'm very surprised I haven't posted about these before. They are GOOOOOD. Add some mashed potatoes and my husband is VERY happy!

Click here for the stolen recipe for BBQ Meatballs by Pioneer Woman.

 

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Bacon and Brussel Sprout Salad

I KNOW Jim is sold on brussel sprouts now but I always try and include bacon when possible. I enjoy them that way too, so no harm done!

For this meal I made a roasted chicken, Thai style.

And the brussel sprout salad was plenty as a side. It was full of texture and tasty bits. Bacon, parmesan cheese, citrus, shredded sprouts, crunchy almonds, and a bit of olive oil.

 

It made a huge amount so I would scale this back a bit when I make it again. Or maybe not? I'm pretty sure we finished it all. The sprouts wilt a bit with the citrus and olive oil by the next day, but it was still good eating!

 

MUST MAKE THIS AGAIN SOON. My husband will kiss me to thank me, I'm sure!

Click here for the stolen recipe for Bacon and Brussel Sprout Salad.

 

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Guinness Beef Stew

We don't really do St. Patrick's Day but we do do Guinness beer and Irish whiskey!

I made this stew the weekend of St. Patrick's Day.

 

It was good. I am still in search of a better stew though. The meat didn't get as tender as I hoped, and I kept needing to put salt in my bowl to give the stew some flavor. Maybe I was just in a foul mood because normally a stew/soup puts me in a good mood! Soup is good food, yo.

I must have been crabby. I didn't even wipe the rim of my bowl for the picture. So messy. Apparently, I wasn't caring about the possible blog picture.

 

I'm sure the stew was fine. I didn't get any complaints from the hubby (he wouldn't dare?)...

Click here for the stolen recipe for Guinness Beef Stew.

 

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Rose's Chicken with Green olives

It's an ancient Mexican secret recipe (:

 

I had to substitute green El Pato for the yellow. Darn!

Mmmm. Tamales leftover from Christmas and Cilantro lime rice complete our plates.

 

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Garlic Toast

Best thing I ever did was start buying French/Italian bread, slicing it, freezing it, and replacing my husband's beloved Texas Toast. I never liked the ingredient list!

 

I'm sure I'm not saving too many calories, or even shortening the ingredient list much...but it is so much cheaper! And I feel better about using my own ingredients for the same taste.

$1.50-$1.99 for a giant loaf, plus a little Smart Balance spread, and garlic salt. Yum!

I freeze the bread in slices and take out what I need. Butter both sides and broil for about 90 seconds per side (about 6 inches from the top of the broiler)..

 

Bonus: James loves it!

 

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Chocolate Sour Cream Poundcake

Yay! I finally used the cupcake cake pan that my baby sis sent me for my birthday!

My experience with cake molds is that you need a firm cake. I looked for a chocolate pound cake recipe online thinking it would go over well with my son. I found a recipe by Paula Deen, full of butter of course, and I figured that would be a winner recipe (she knows her fatty foods!)

I decided not to frost the cupcake. It really isn't needed. I think I might make some pudding for a filling.

Winner winner chicken dinner! James loves the cake. He was so excited to see the "biggest cupcake ever"! The cake wasn't as firm as I thought, but very fluffy and chocolate-y. The outside of the cake became slightly crisp, which worked well for it to hold its shape.

The cake pan was smaller than the recipe so I tried to put the rest of the batter in small loaf pans. I guess I should have greased and floured those pans too. DOH. Well, the scraps made for a good taste test and small snack for James.

I caught James trying to sneak a taste of the cupcake. And he just begged me to let him have the cupcake before dinner :)

 

Click here for the stolen recipe for Chocolate Sour Cream Poundcake.

 

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Boiled Apple Cider and Baked Cider Donuts

DROOL.

I guess the donut doesn't really matter to me because its covered in cinnamon sugar... but this donut was GOOD. I had made boiled cider a few days before and finally I got around to doing something with it. Boiled cider is basically apple cider reduced down to a syrup. It took a few hours and my house smelled wonderful. It was no problem whatsoever to make!

I guess the boiled cider syrup is also good on pancakes. I really need to find more uses for this stuff. It is delicious.

This is a basic baked donut recipe but for the addition of the boiled cider. I probably could have added a bit more for flavor, but the donut was nice and delicious. Even James had one! Or two. Or three?

I finally discovered how to make the donuts look PERFECT. Turn them upside down! The bottom side is perfectly formed by the donut pan, so then the presentation is nice. I mean, if that sort of thing matters to you. These donuts were inhaled pretty quickly so it didn't matter much besides for this picture!

Baked donuts are the way to go! You don't even miss the fried/sugary ones!

Click here for the stolen recipe for Boiled Cider.

Click here for the stolen recipe for Baked Cider Donuts.

 

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Hearty Tuna Casserole

This is one of those recipes that should come out more often but I have to be in a mood to have tuna, so it doesn't get made often. It is easy, pretty healthy, and kid/husband friendly.

Well, my kid doesn't eat it but I can see "normal" kids eating it!

I don't like using "cream of" soups at all so this recipe always appealed to me because you're making your own mix of spices and cream/sauce. It also includes vegetables, which is a good thing.

I don't remember where I got the original recipe because it has been quite a few years since I started making this, but I did find it online. I have made one major change which makes this an even easier recipe to make. Instead of a fresh tomato I use one can of chopped tomatoes with green chiles. It keeps the casserole "m" (moist) and it adds a bit of spice. I add the can of tomatoes on top of it all, before baking.

Click here for the stolen recipe for Hearty Tuna Casserole.

 

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Pumpkin Pie Fudge

I had never made fudge!

 

I made this fudge for my friend Jessica, a fellow pumpkin lover. We had a Secret Santa exchange and I was thrilled to draw her name. She's the best-est!

I bought these pretty little bowls at Target and filled them up with probably 1 1/2 pounds of fudge.

The fudge was very sweet and full of a wonderful pumpkin flavor. I didn't know what to expect but I was pleasantly surprised by how easy fudge is to make. Evaporated milk, white chocolate, marshmallow fluff, walnuts, canned pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice, sugar, etc. I didn't have a good thermometer so I did some guesswork on when it was done. I'm glad it turned out well :)

I froze a bit of the fudge and some of it made it on to my Christmas cookie platters a week later. Yay!

Click here for the stolen recipe for Pumpkin Pie Fudge.

 

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Salted Caramel Chocolate Shortbread Bars

 

 

For a cookie exchange I made these bars. They were a hit! I had several people ask for the recipe. I think that's a good sign that they were liked!

I had one person tell me that they reminded them of a Twix bar. Yes, I see that too!

The bars were not difficult. I think they took a long time though. Each layer needed to be made separately, and allowing for cooling time before adding the next layer.

The shortbread was flakey and buttery. The caramel was firm but soft and chewy. The chocolate was smooth and added a bit of hard texture, kind of keeping all the layers together.

I will definitely make these again!

Click here for the stolen recipe for Salted Caramel Chocolate Shortbread Bars.

 

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Christmas Treats

In early December I started putting together some holiday treats, namely for my baby sis Kiki and my bro-in-law Berto. They are in California and I knew they wouldn't be here for later treats. I was also experimenting on them- could treats be mailed? Would they make it??

I'm told that a gingerbread lost his head. RIP little dude. And one of the stockings broke.

Zeus and Zorro are Kiki's furbabies.

 

Next time I will bubble wrap each cookie! I kid!

I also made homemade Cracker Jacks. I love Cracker Jacks. Why doesn't anyone ever buy me Cracker Jacks?

I made a few Eiffel Towers for giggles. It was a challenge to get the icing thin enough for details. I did the best I knew how.

I think they were pretty for my first attempt!

 

I gave an Eiffel Tower to my friend Jess, at work. She also has a love of Paris and Eiffel Towers :)

 

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Skillet Apple Crisp

I made this deliciousness for Thanksgiving. I was happy to bring leftovers home and enjoy it more and more. My sister sent me this recipe, from Cook's Illustrated. I had to follow the revised instructions since I didn't bake the apple crisp in the cast iron skillet as directed.

I did cook the apples on the stovetop and then transfer the mixture to a 9x13 pan, finishing it off in the oven. I had also never used Golden Delicious apples. I found them to hold their slice well. A great apple crisp apple! Those CI cooks know what they're doing.

I don't think I'm a pecan (or any kind of nut) fan until I love them in a recipe like this. The pecans really, really made the dessert. The topping is out of this world good. It's so good that we've baked apples since this recipe and made small amounts of the topping to bake along with it. SO GOOD.

 

My sister sent me the recipe, via email, but I found a cooking blog with the recipe.

Click here for the stolen recipe for Skillet Apple Crisp.

 

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