Chocolate Crackle Cookies

These are simply AMAZING!
Come join the fun at My Baking Addiction and GoodLife Eats Holiday recipe swap sponsored by OXO

*8oz bittersweet chocolate
*1.25cups all purpose flour
*1/2cup unsweetened cocoa powder
*2tsp baking powder
*1/4tsp salt
*1/2cup (1 stick) unsalted butter at room temperature
*1.5cups packed light brown sugar
*2 eggs
*1tsp pure vanilla
*1/3cup milk
*1cup granulated sugar
*1cup powdered sugar

Directions:
Melt chocolate in the microwave for 30seconds at a time, stirring after each 30second incrament. Set aside and let cool.
Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt
Using a mixer, beat butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla. Add melted chocolate. Mix the dry ingredients with wet, alternating with the milk. Divide dough into four pieces and wrap each in plastic wrap. Store in fridge to harden for 2 hours
Preheat oven to 350degrees and take dough out of fridge. Divide dough into 1" balls and roll in granulated sugar then powdered sugar. Place on cookie sheet at least 2" apart.
Bake until surface crackles. Let cool on cookie sheet and transfer to wire racks.

These are so good!

Lamb Chops, Asparagus and Home Made Au Gratin Potatoes! MMM!

I think I might have spent about $15.00 on this meal and it fed two adults with plenty of veggies left over. Ayden won't eat lamb so I had extra pork tenderloin in the fridge for him. He devoured the potatoes!
We had a rack (8  chops) of lamb chops, a bundle of asparagus and a 28oz bag of fingerling potatoes. I kept saying how good this meal was.. I love lamb but making everything yourself is such a treat.. especially when it's all pretty simple. Here's what I did!

Au Gratin Potatoes:
*Slice potatoes thin ~ I used my food processor
*Boil for 8-10 minutes
*In the meantime, get 2tbsp butter and 2tbsp flour on the stove for the sauce. Whisk in 2cups milk, slowly. If you don't have whole milk, add 1/2tbsp corn starch (to thicken sauce). Keep whisking until the sauce thickens.
*Add salt/pepper to taste. I added about 1.5tsp salt and 1/2tsp pepper
*Drain potatoes, add to same pot and stir in the sauce.
*Add to buttered dish and add about 1cup cheese.
*Place in 350degree oven for approximately 10 minutes.
*Once cooked, turn broiler on to brown cheese.
*EAT! :)

Baked Asparagus:
*Wash and snip ends of asparagus
*Add 1tbsp olive oil to cookie sheet and place asparagus on sheet
*Add salt and pepper and roll around the tray to get evenly coated
*Add shredded parmesan cheese
*Bake for 10 minutes at 350degrees
*EAT!

Lamb Chops (or Lamb Pops):
*Cut all lamb chops apart from each other
*Season with salt, pepper and coat with olive oil. Let the meat come to room temperature before cooking.
*Get a skillet that can go from stove to oven. Todd (my husband) used a cast iron pan. Turn the heat on, add 1-2tbsp olive oil and let that heat up. Once it's hot, brown the lamb chops on both sides and place in oven set at 350degrees.
*Let the lamb cook about 10-15 minutes
*Remove and EAT!

All of these meals can go into the oven at the same time. Start the potatoes first, move onto the asparagus and then onward with the lamb. It's really simple to do and a definate "must try". If you've never eaten lamb, you are missing out.
I hope you try this! Enjoy!
*PS .. I had some purple potatoes mixed in.. they were really pretty!*

Turkey Sausage Biscuits (Toast)

This is a VERY simple recipe and we eat this at least 3 times a week. My son made this about 90% by himself! He loves to help me cook.. I love that :)

Turkey Sausage (very healthy alternative from pork sausage) - However much you think you'll eat
Milk
Pancake mix or regular all-purpose flour

Heat the sausage in a skillet and cook if it's not already pre-cooked. Add flour on top of that and make sure you stir it into the sausage. Hopefully all of the flour disappears! Add about 1/2 cup milk at first (don't use skim milk.. it'll never turn into a sauce!) Keep adding until you're happy with the gravy consistency.
Serve with toast or biscuits!




Ayden took this picture. He is good! :)



"Ru Cake" or otherwise known at Ooey Gooey Butter Cake

These are SOOOO good. Very sweet and these go well with a cup of warm coffee. It's like a brownie slash cake. If you have ever had these, you are seriously missing out. Please try these soon!

Cake Crust:

1 yellow cake mix

1 large egg

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted

Filling:

1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened

2 large eggs

1tsp vanilla extract

1 pound box confectioners sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350degrees and spray a 13x9x2 baking pan with veggie oild. Mix all of the ingredients together for the cake mix. It will be the crust so spread that out in the pan.

Next, combine all ingedients for the filling, mix together and pour into the pan on top of the crust.

Bake until the center stops wiggling :) It took me 25 minutes but yours could be different cooking times depending on your oven. Remove and let cool completely. Cut and serve.

*I think this is delicious cooled. It's "okay" when it's still warm but all of the flavors really come to life when it's at room temperature.

Enjoy!

Quesadilla's

I needed something fast, easy and yummy! I had a few ingredients around and thought I'd try to make a quesadilla. This is a quick meal anyone can throw together.

This is how I made mine:
-Turn on the stove and start heating a pan big enough for your tortilla
-Put a nice slather of mashed beans on your tortilla. I had refried, cheesey beans (such a great flavor)
-Add a layer of cheese
-Add your protein. I had shredded meat in the fridge.
-Add another layer of cheese

You can put another tortilla on top or just fold the one tortilla in half. Flip until it's nice and brown. No need for oil or butter in the pan.

I put some cayenne pepper, lime juice and salt in my sour cream. YUMMO!

Cheesy Potato Soup Recipe

To me, this recipe tastes likee O'Charlie's potato soup. Now, if only I could figure out how to make their yeast rolls, I'd be set!

*4tbsp unsalted butter
*1 diced white onion
*1/4 cup diced carrots
*4tbsp flour
*3 baking potatos, small, diced
*3 cups chicken broth
*1 cup milk
*1/2 cup heavy cream if the milk you have isn't whole milk
*salt and pepper to taste
*8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese

-Add butter to large pot and add the onions and carrots until soft (about 4 minutes)
-Add flour and let cook for a few minutes
-Add liquids and potatoes, bring to boil, reduce to simmer - 30 minutes or until potatoes are soft
-Add cheese and stir until melted
-You can add bacon if you like it and top with sour cream if you like that.

Taco Soup Recipe - MMM! This is spicy and good!

This soup truly warms my heart and tummy. If you want a quick reipce for a tasty soup,

you've got to give this a try!

*Brown 1 lb. hamburger meat in a large pot (use turkey or chicken if you don't want beef)

*Add a whole diced white onion to the meat. Drain meat.

*Add 2 cans rotel (I used 1 mild and 1 hot)

*Add 1 can rinsed/drained black beans

*Add 1 can rinsed/drained pinto beans

*Add 1 can yellow corn with juice

*Add 1 large can tomato sauce

*Add 1 package taco seasoning

*Add 1 package ranch seasoning

*Bring to boil, reduce to simmer for 1 hour

*Add some water if you like it soupy (I added about 1 cup)

Enjoy!

This recipe was viewed from a fellow blogger, Christy Cutler. Here is her version.

Oreo Balls

I've made Todd's belly pretty happy lately. I got a recipe from my step-sister, Stephanie, for some oreo balls. I made them while Todd and Ayden were playing in the water and they were done by the time they came home.

This is a very simple recipe and I must say, pretty good! Todd's face looked like he was trying to process this goodness ... I didn't think he liked them. Halfway through, his eyes lit up and said "OH MY GOD THESE ARE SO GOOD!" So, if you only have 10 minutes to make something, this is your recipe.

*I did not refrigerate them like the directions said and they turned out just fine*

Directions:

*1 package oreos

*1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese

*1 package almond bark (white chocolate)

*1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate

-If you have you a food processor, use it. Blend the oreos until they are crumbles.

-Mix the cream cheese and oreos together

-Roll into balls (I used a tablespoon but use whatever size you'd like)

-Refrigerate for 1 hour (or place in freezer for 15 minutes)

-Dip into melted almond bark

-Drizzle the semi-sweet chocolate on top

-Refrigerate

-EAT AND ENJOY!

At home face wash recipe

So, my sister has decided to start using products around her home to make her own face wash. She called me this morning to tell me how it was going. She LOVES it! I tried it and I must say, my face feels great, smooth and oddly enough ... cool. Day one with make-at-home face wash is a go!

Here's the ingredients:

Baking Soda

Honey

Put about 1tsp baking soda in your hand, add some honey and smooth onto face. You can leave it on for a few minutes like a mask or rinse with water.

Oh mamma! Easy, cheap and feels great!

Thanks for sharing, Chris!

Heard of Swagbucks? Here's the scoop!

Swagbucks is a really great website that lets your earn points by searching the web. In the past month in a half that I've been a member, I have earned enough points equal to $15.00. I am using the swagbucks to purchase amazon.com gift cards. I'm able to recieve 450 points in about 2 weeks (or less sometimes). The 450 points is the amount I need in order to gain a $5.00 amazon gift card. So, how do you get in on the action? Click the link above and sign up! Here's how you win your points...

-You will automatically recieve 30 swagbucks for signing up.. sometimes more than 30. When I signed up, I got 80! Woo hoo!
-Once you're all signed up, download the swagbucks toolbar. In order to get random swagbucks, you'll use the toolbar to search for your websites instead of yahoo or google. I have all of my websites saved in my favorites and thought it would be a pain in the rear end to constantly type facebook or gmail but most of the time I do that, I get 7-12 swagbucks. It's a hit-or-miss though.. you're not guaranteed a swagbuck because you use the toolbar.
-Use the toolbar "Ways to Earn" and click on:
    *surveys
    *noso
    *daily polls
You get one point each for those and you'll recieve one point daily for having the toolbar downloaded. SO, if that's all you do daily, you'll at least get 4 swagbucks.
-Shop and Earn:
If you shop online, you can go through the swagbucks website and shop that way. It's really simple. Go to the shop and earn section, find the store you want to shop at and click on the link to begin shopping. It takes you to that website through swagbucks. (No information is shared to swagbucks.. ie, CC information). Once you shop and it passes a certain time frame, you'll be rewarded with swagbucks doubling the actual amount of money you spent. (You spend 10 dollars, you receive 20 swagbucks)

Those are just a few simple ways to earn swagbucks. Please let me know what questions you have and click the above link to get started! I hope you have fun searching - it's always like a 'reward' for me when I get any type of swagbucks!

Here's the swagbucks link one more time.

(For more tips on winning ... click here )

What did you do today?

Wow! Today was a whirlwind! I can't remember the last time my day was just horrible. Thankfully, today wasn't horrible - it was just a little insane. I had a problem with a certain dentist, I somehow hurt my pinky and I hit my ankle on something. Let's just say, I'm glad I'm going to sleep in a little while.

I made taco soup today! I shared it with one of my neighbors and hope she likes it. Her husband was happy to recieve it when Ayden and I showed up at their house. I'm anxiously awaiting a happy response! I did take a picture of it and will post the recipe tomorrow. It's so good!

Funny thing real quick. Todd loved the cookies I made the other day (he almost ate the whole batch) that he went to the store and bought two bags of chocolate chips and a bag of reeses pieces. I'm assuming he wants a few more cookies and possibly more home made brownies (which I will post another day).

What kind of sweets do you like? Do you like to bake or cook? I enjoy both but I really like baking. Something about soothing someone's sweet tooth just puts a smile on my face. Have a great night!

Spellbinder Cookies

These cookies truly are spellbinding. They are good on their own, but once you add the icing, they are simply amazing! My recipe made 33 cookies.

Cookie Batter Recipe

*1 cup softened butter (or 2 sticks)
*1 cup light brown sugar, packed
*1 egg
*1 1/2 tsp baking powder
*1 1/2 cups flour
*1/4 tsp salt (I always do just a pinch)
*1 cup oatmeal
*1 cup shredded coconut
*1 cup chopped pecans
*1/2 cup crushed corn flakes (I didn't have corn flakes so I used rice crispies)

-Preheat oven to 350degrees.
-Cream butter and add sugar, beat until light and fluffy.
-Add egg and mix completely.
-Sift flour, salt and baking powder together.
-Add dry ingredients and mix until combined.
-Combine oatmeal, coconut, pecans and corn flakes and hand mix into the batter.
-Add to baking sheet lined with parchment paper (easy cleanup and the cookies won't stick or burn.. unless you leave them in the oven too long!)
-Bake for 9 minutes then rotate and bake another minute.
-Cool on pan for 3 minutes then transfer to cooling rack.
-Ice your cookies when they are completely cooled (or you'll have a mess)

Icing Recipe

*2 cups sifted powdered sugar

*2 tbsp butter

*1 tsp vanilla (or coconut, almond .. whatever you'd like the icing flavor to be)

*Approx. 1 tbsp hot water

-In a medium saucepan, melt butter and add vanilla.

-Mix in powdered sugar and correct consistency with hot water.

-Top each cooking with about 1 to 1 1/2 tbsp icing.



Gather all ingredients before you begin. I find this the easiest way to bake!





Mix all of the ingredients together as listed above.






Mis butter, vanilla and powdered sugar - This is for the icing

 



Place cookies on cooling rack.



Ice cookies (tip, place paper towel below to catch icing



Ways to decorate





My garden flowers and cookies. Just another view.

 



I picked flowers from my garden and placed in a stem-less wine glass. Put cookies on cake dish for pretty presentation.



Premier Jewelry for sale

HI!

If you're looking for high-quality jewelry, please stop by my facebook fan page and look at my photos. All of my necklaces are $10.00 and the rings, earrings and bracelets are $5.00. I will have to include shipping in the cost if you are out of state. Please let me know if you're interested by emailing me at aydenandru@gmail.com and include the number on the picture of the jewelry you're interested in.
Thanks for stopping by!
Angela :)

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French Toast with the help from a 7 year old!



Ayden loves french toast and he wanted some this morning. So, while Todd fed the baby, Ayden and I made some breakfast. Do you realize how fast, simple and yummy this stuff is? Here's what we did:

*Crack two eggs into a bowl

*Add 1/4 cup of milk
*Add 1/2 tsp cinnamon

*Add 1/2 tsp white sugar

*Whisk together

*On the side, mix extra sugar and cinnamon together

*Dunk both sides of the bread and place on a hot, greased skillet

*Add more of the sugar/cinnamon mixture to the bread while it's cooking

*Flip until cooked

*Serve with syrup and powdered sugar
*ENJOY!

Delicious Chocolate Chip Cookies - Easy!

I wanted to make some cookies today after watching Food Network. I have always had a tough time with the recipes that I've found but I found a good one today!

ENJOY! These cookies were really good and I hope you enjoy this simple recipe! Please let me know what you think about this recipe and let me know if you made any changes. Happy Baking!

Ingredients and Directions:

1/4 cup butter

1/3 cup low-fat cream cheese

1 cup packed brown sugar

2 egg yolks

3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 and 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

pinch of salt

1 package semi-sweet chocolate chips, about 6 ounces

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Gather all of your ingredients

Separate two eggs using only the egg yolks. (Save the egg whites for breakfast)

Combine brown sugar, cream cheese and butter

Mix eggs yolks and vanilla in the same bowl

Gather together the dry ingredients in one bowl

Get your baking dish ready. I love using parchment paper when baking. No mess and nothing sticks!

Cream the sugar, cream cheese and butter

Add two egg yolks

Mix the dry into the wet and incorporate until all of the flour is gone

Your cookie dough is ready

I made large cookies and used a large spoon

Bake for 9 minutes in a 350 degree oven then rotate and bake for 3 more minutes

Pull cookies out and let them cool for 2 minutes

Place on cooling rack until entirely cooled .. if you're like me, you can't wait that long. ENJOY!

Inspired by food network's recipe