Cookie Cups!!

For anyone who stinks at making cookies like myself - here's a little twist that works like a charm!

Cookie Cups

Take your basic chocolate chip cookie recipe or follow the one below:

3/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup granulated white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda (do not substitute with baking powder - trust me - it doesn't work)
1 tsp salt
1 1/4 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
1 1/4 cup M&Ms

Cream together butter, sugars, vanilla, baking soda and salt.  Beat in eggs.  Gradually add flour until well blended.  Fold in chocolate chips and M&Ms.  Line mini-muffin pan with paper cups.  Scoop approximately 3/4 a teaspoon of the mixture into each cup.  Bake at 375 degrees F for approximately 10 minutes or until lightly browned.  Let cool and enjoy!!  Makes approximately 5 1/2 dozen cookie cups.

Muffins by Mom

Ingredients
- 1 package of Betty Crocker Triple Berry Muffin Mix (just add water)
- 1 1/2 Bananas
- 1/4 cup Milk
- 1/4 cup Applesauce
- 1 Tablespoon Honey

Directions:
Mix ingredients together until smooth - spoon out into muffin cups (about 2/3 way full) - makes about 8 muffins
Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes - let cool 2 minutes then remove from pan to prevent overbaking
Let cool additional 10 minutes before enjoying!

My girls eat these up like they are going out of style!!

Sweet Apple Pie - Take 3 - Best one yet!

SWEET APPLE PIE - TAKE 3 – 11/15/09


APPLE PIE FILLING

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

• 4 ½ cups apples, peeled, cored, cut into 16ths (about 8 small apples)

• 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon

• ½ tsp sugar

• ½ cup brown sugar

Directions

Grease pie pan (I used stoneware). In a medium heated skillet add the butter then add the apples. Cook for about 2 to 5 minutes then add the cinnamon, brown sugar, and sugar. Swirl the apples around to make sure they all get coated. (Start mixture for Topping below). Cook another 5 minutes until apples are soft and caramelize. Pour apple pie filling into pie pan.

TOPPING

Ingredients

• ¾ cups melted butter

• 1 cup flour

• 1 cup sugar

• 1 egg

• ½ tsp cinnamon

Directions

Mix ingredients above. Pour topping over apple pie filling in pie pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes until crust turned light brown. Serve warm with Vanilla Ice Cream and Enjoy!!

NOTES: Best one yet!! Whole family likes and stays together well.

Sweet Apple Pie TAKE 2

BASE PIE CRUST – TAKE 2 – 11/04/09


Ingredients

• 1 9” Mrs. Smith’s Deep Dish Pie Shell

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Remove frozen pie crust from package – let thaw 15 minutes. Thoroughly prick bottom and side of crust with fork to reduce shrinkage and bubbling. Place pie crust in empty pie pan same size as pie crust. Place on baking sheet and bake on middle rack for 12 minutes at 375 degrees F. Cool completely while preparing the apple pie filling and top pie crust. Turn oven down to 350 degrees F.

APPLE PIE FILLING

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoons unsalted butter

• 4 cups apples, peeled, cored, cut into 16ths (about 4-6 apples)

• 1 teaspoons ground cinnamon

• ½ cup brown sugar

Directions

In a medium heated skillet add the butter then add the apples. Cook for about 2 to 5 minutes then add the cinnamon, brown sugar and orange juice. Swirl the apples around to make sure they all get coated. (Start mixture for Top Pie Crust below). Cook another 5 minutes until apples are soft and caramelize. Pour apple pie filling into cooled pie crust.

TOP PIE CRUST

Ingredients

• ½ cups melted butter

• ¾ cup flour

• ¾ cup sugar

• 1 egg

• 1 tsp cinnamon

Directions

Mix ingredients above. Pour top pie crust batter over apple pie filling in pie crust. Bake at 350 degrees F for 40 minutes until crust turned tan. Serve warm with Vanilla Ice Cream and Enjoy!!

NOTES: Too cakey/thick – use less flour & cinnamon in Top Pie Crust next time? Try eliminating Base Pie Crust?

Sweet Apple Pie - Take 1

BASE PIE CRUST
Ingredients
1 9” Mrs. Smith’s Deep Dish Pie Shell
Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Remove frozen pie crust from package – let thaw 15 minutes. Thoroughly prick bottom and side of crust with fork to reduce shrinkage and bubbling (I totally forgot to do this until after I bake the pie crust initially - I pricked with a fork then and it seemed to work just fine). Place pie crust in empty pie pan same size as pie crust. Place on baking sheet and bake on top rack for 12 minutes at 375 degrees F. Cool completely while preparing the apple pie filling and top pie crust. Turn oven down to 350 degrees F.

APPLE PIE FILLING
Ingredients
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 ½ cups apples, peeled, cored, cut into 16ths (about 6 apples)
1 teaspoons ground cinnamon
½ cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons orange, juiced
Directions
In a medium heated skillet add the butter then add the apples. Cook for about 2 to 5 minutes then add the cinnamon, brown sugar and orange juice. Swirl the apples around to make sure they all get coated. (Start mixture for Top Pie Crust below). Cook another 5 minutes until apples are soft and caramelize. Pour apple pie filling into cooled pie crust.

TOP PIE CRUST
Ingredients
¾ cups melted butter
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1 egg
Directions
Mix ingredients above. Pour top pie crust batter over apple pie filling in pie crust. Bake at 350 degrees F for 40 minutes until crust turned tan. Serve warm with Vanilla Ice Cream and Enjoy!!

RESULTS: Messy - but tasty! Try less liquid in pie filling for take too and cut ingredients by 1/4 for Top Pie Crust. Maybe add Cinnamon for taste? Stay tuned for Take 2...

Minestrone Soup

Ingredients:
2 1/2 handfuls of baby carrots
32 oz chicken broth
1 can condensed tomato soup
14.5 oz can diced tomatoes (drained)
15.5 oz can white kidney beans (rinsed & drained)
3 stalks of celery
1 c pastina
1 chicken bouillon cube dissolved in 2 c of hot water
1/4 tsp thyme, basil, oregano, rosemary
group pepper to taste

Directions:
Boil carrots in water until fork tender. Chop celery and carrots into bite size pieces. Combine all ingredients (except patina) in a large pot and bring to a boil. Add pastina - continue to boil on medium heat for 7 minutes.

Serve with bread and salad and enjoy!

Chicken Stir Fry

Ingredients:
6 chicken tenderloins
3 cups baby carrots
1 green bell pepper
Mrs. Dash Table Blend Seasoning

Directions:
Spray a rectangular baking dish with olive oil. Place the 6 chicken tenderloins in pan – season both sides with Mrs. Dash Table Blend Seasoning. Bake at broil temp for 9 minutes – flip chicken over and bake for another 9 minutes until chicken is fully cooked. Boil baby carrots in water until fork tender. Cut into bites size pieces the cooked chicken, fork tender baby carrots and bell pepper. Put in a Tupperware container with the chicken at the bottom, then the carrots and lastly the bell peppers on the top. Place in fridge until ready to prepare to eat. ***

In a large skillet, add a small amount of olive oil to the pan (nickel size). Saute peppers until tender, then add the carrots (saute for few minutes to warm) then the chicken last (saute to warm). Add a few herbs such as pepper, thyme and rosemary for taste. Serve with one of the Knorr Rice Sides (the Herb and Butter or Chicken flavored go well – cook according to directions on package). Enjoy!

Apple Cinammon Squares

Ingredients:
1 cup cinnamon applesauce
1/2 c butter
1 c brown sugar
2 eggs
2 c flour
1 c white sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla Mixture of cinnamon and sugar to sprinkle on top - takes about 1 tablespoon of white sugar and 1/2 tsp of cinnamon

Mix all dry ingredients - flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt - in a bowl and set aside. Melt the butter, brown sugar and white sugar and mix well - let cool (this is so the eggs do not scramble when added). You can stick it in the fridge to cool to room temp. (I did not time this but I'm thinking around 5 minutes or so.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Once the butter and sugar mixture is cooled to room temp, add the vanilla and eggs and mix. (I find that using a wooden spoon works best.) Add 1/2 of the dry ingredients at a time and mix well. Add the applesauce and mix well. Grease a rectangular (13x9) pan and add mixture. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar mixture. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20-25 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes before cutting. Enjoy!!

P.S. - Serve hot with a scoop of vanilla ice cream - Yum!!

Chicken Meatloaf

Chicken Meatloaf

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground chicken
1 egg
½ c Italian bread crumbs
¼ tsp. basil, oregano, thyme
¼ tsp. ground pepper
1 large chicken bouillon cube
2 c hot water
2 Tbsp margarine
2 c Stove Top stuffing mix

Directions:
Dissolve the chicken bouillon cube in the 2 cups of hot water. Add 1 cup of the chicken broth with the 2 Tbsp of margarine and stuffing mix – mix well and set aside. In a large bowl combine the ground chicken, stuffing mixture, remaining 1 cup of chicken broth, egg, bread crumbs, herbs and ground pepper. Mix well with wooden spoon. Grease a loaf pan and add mixture to pan. Cover with tin foil. Bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit. for approximately 30 minutes or until chicken is fully cooked. Put in fridge until ready to prepare to eat. *** Remove meatloaf from fridge. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Warm meatloaf in oven for approximately 15-20 minutes. Serve with corn and steamed veggies. Enjoy!

Tomato Meatball Soup

Here is a recipe I created about a year ago. I passed the idea by my husband who thought it sounded pretty good and I've made some enhancements since then. I also made it for my family (parents, siblings and grandparents) who all seemed to like it as well. Let me know what you think.

Tomato Meatball Soup

Ingredients:

• 10 3/4 oz can of condensed tomato soup
• 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes
• 2 14 oz cans of chicken broth
• 1/4 tsp thyme
• 1/8 tsp rosemary
• 1/2 tsp basil
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• fresh group pepper (to taste)
• 12 frozen mini meatballs
• 1 extra large chicken bouillon cube (dissolved in 2 cups of hot water)
• 1 c orzo pasta

1. Cook the frozen meatballs as directed on the package. Cut in eights - set aside covered in tin foil to keep warm.
2. In a large pot combine the condensed tomato soup, diced tomatoes, chicken broth and herbs. Bring to boil and add dissolved chicken bouillon cube to pot.
3. Once pot is boiling, add orzo pasta. Boil on high for 10 minutes stirring frequently. Add meatballs. Let simmer on medium for 5 more minutes stirring occasionally.
4. Serve with fresh bread and salad - Enjoy!

Apple Blueberry Squares

OK - so I had a recipe for "Apple Squares" from a family friend and decided to change a few things. I had blueberries on hand and wanted to add them and I also wanted to use mashed apples instead of diced. It came out pretty good (both my husband and 2 year old daughter ate them with a nod). Here's the recipe:

Apple Blueberry Squares

Ingredients:
1/2 cup chopped apples
1/2 cup blueberries
1/2 c butter
1 c brown sugar
2 eggs
2 c flour
1 c white sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla
Mixture of cinnamon and sugar to sprinkle on top - takes about 1 tablespoon of white sugar and 1/2 tsp of cinnamon

Take the diced apples and blueberries and boil in water until fork tender. Drain, then mash, then drain and set aside. Mix all dry ingredients - flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt - in a bowl and set aside. Melt the butter, brown sugar and white sugar and mix well - let cool (this is so the eggs do not scramble when added). You can stick it in the fridge to cool to room temp. (I did not time this but I'm thinking around 5 minutes or so.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Once the butter and sugar mixture is cooled to room temp, add the vanilla and eggs and mix. (I find that using a wooden spoon works best.) Add 1/2 of the dry ingredients at a time and mix well. Add the apple and blueberry mashed mixture - mix well. Grease a rectangular (13x9) pan and add mixture. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar mixture. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20-25 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes before cutting. Enjoy!!