Minty Bells

2/3 c. brown sugar (packed)
1/3 cup of butter (I have only used real butter)
1 TB water
1 c. of semi sweet chocolate chips
1 1/4 cup flour
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 package of Andes mints

On medium heat, stirring constantly, melt brown sugar, butter and water. Add chocolate chips and stir until melted. Remove from heat and let cool 10-15 minutes.  Then add flour, egg and baking soda.

Beat thoroughly.  Cover and chill 1 hour. Shape in balls (I use a cookie scoop) and bake on greased cookie sheet at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes (they are better cookies soft rather than crunchy--my oven takes 10 min).  Remove from oven and while still on cookie sheet place an Andes mint (or part of one depending on how big your cookies are) on each cookie and gently press down.  Once it has melted use a knife to 'frost' each cookie with the melted mint and move to cooling racks.

Enjoy!

*D: Oh. My. Goodness. These cookies are DELICIOUS!!! You will want to double the batch - at least - every time. SO good.


Use real butter and semi-sweet chips for best results. Once the mint is melted onto the cookie, you can eat it. But, when the mint cools, it forms a bit of a hard frosting, and that is almost better.


Seriously, these are so good. Pin It

Guest Blogger: Chili Pasta Skillet

1 pound ground beef
3/4 cup chopped onion
1 can of kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 can of diced tomatoes
1 -- 8 ounce can tomato sauce
1 can of corn
1/2 cup dried elbow macaroni
1 -- 4 ounce can diced green chiles, drained
2 to 3 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
A couple squirts of Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup shredded cheese

In a large skillet, cook meat and onion until meat is brown and onion is tender. Drain fat.

Stir in beans, undrained tomatoes, tomato sauce, corn, uncooked macaroni, green chiles, chili powder, garlic salt, and Worcestershire sauce. Bring to boiling, reduce heat. Simmer, covered, about 20 minutes or until macaroni is tender, stirring often. Remove skillet from heat; sprinkle mixture with cheese.

*D: My sister-in-law sent this recipe to me. Her son is a picky eater and will always eat this dish! Pin It

Onion Pasta

1/2 cup olive oil
4 tablespoons butter
5 onions, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 pinch ground black pepper
1 cup water
1 tablespoon chicken bouillon
1 pound pasta, cooked according to package directions


1.In a large skillet place oil, butter and onions and cook until golden brown.
2.Add basil, pepper, water and bouillon and cook on low heat for 10 minutes.
3.Add onion mixture to cooked pasta, sprinkle with cheese, toss and serve.

*D: Ok, folks. I got this recipe by typing "pasta" into the search engine of allrecipes.com. I came up with no less than 3,140 recipes. I chose this one at random and it turned out to be a keeper - which is a good thing since the title is a little bit of a turn off.


Let me start off by saying, yes, you read that right. Five, count 'em, five, onions. Now, I giggled a little. Chuckled a bit, then promptly crossed off the 5 and wrote in a 1. Was it enough? Oddly...no. I would say maybe 2. I cut the oil in half and left the butter amount, and after I sauteed the onions, they became sweet. You'd almost expect to feel like you're biting into an onion when eating this pasta, but the flavor was unexpectedly light and (again) sweet. I used penne, but I would recommend penne, rotini, bow tie, ziti... any pasta besides long and skinny (like spaghetti or angel hair). I don't think those would be as good. But try it out and let me know if you'd like. And if you need ideas or have no clue what rotini is, click here.


So, cut the oil in half, make it two onions, add a little garlic and Bob's you're uncle. This was fast and delicious. Oh! And I forgot to sprinkle with cheese. That may have made a difference, but at least you know I ate it without the cheese and still enjoyed it. Pin It

Creamy Chicken with Bacon & Penne

4 slices OSCAR MAYER Bacon
4 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves (1 lb.)
2 cups penne pasta, uncooked
1/2 cup (1/2 of 8-oz. tub) PHILADELPHIA Chive & Onion Cream Cheese Spread
3/4 cup fat-free reduced-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
2 green onions, chopped

WRAP 1 bacon slice around each chicken breast. Heat large nonstick skillet on medium-high heat. Add chicken; cover. Cook 5 to 7 min. on each side or until chicken is done (165ºF). Remove chicken from skillet; cover to keep warm. Discard drippings in skillet.

COOK pasta in large saucepan as directed on package. Meanwhile, cook cream cheese spread and broth in skillet until cream cheese is melted and sauce is thickened and well blended, stirring constantly with whisk. Stir in tomatoes and onions; cook 2 min. or until heated through, stirring occasionally.

DRAIN pasta; return to pan. Add sauce; mix lightly. Serve topped with chicken.

*D: I used this recipe as a general guideline for a skillet dinner. Here's how I did it:


I cubed the chicken in bite sized pieces (I had 2 breasts instead of 4) and fried it in olive oil until no longer pink. Meanwhile, I had the pasta cooking. I cooked about 3 - 4 rather than 2.


After the chicken was done, I melted half a brick of cream cheese (I guess that's about 4 oz) and 1 cup of broth (it was easier for me to make 1 cup with the bouillon granules rather than 3/4 of a cup) in a pan and added dehydrated chives. To be completely honest, I didn't even taste the chives. So I need to add more in the future. So if you only have plain cream cheese, go for it! I waited until the chicken was done because I didn't want the sauce to cool while waiting for chicken to cook.


After the chicken was done, pasta cooked and sauce melted, I mixed it all together in the skillet I cooked the chicken in and stirred in a few handfuls of crumbled bacon.


It was delicious! And easier than wrapping chicken in bacon.


Possible sides: green salad, asparagus, green beans, steamed carrots, bread. Pin It

Pad Thai with Shrimp

4 cups water
1 package (6 - 8oz) linguine-style stir-fry rice noodles (rice stick noodles*)
1/3 cup fresh lime juice
1/3 cup water
3 TBSP packed brown sugar
3 TBSP fish sauce or soy sauce
3TBSP soy sauce
1 TBSP rice vinegar or white vinegar
3/4 tsp ground red pepper (cayenne)
3 TBSP vegetable oil
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 medium shallot, finely chopped or 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
2 eggs, beaten
12 oz frozen cooked peeled deveined medium shrimp, thawed
1/4 cup finely chopped dry-roasted peanuts
3 cups fresh bean sprouts
4 medium green onions, thinly sliced (1/4 cup)
1/4 cup firmly packed cilantro leaves


*Thin or thick rice stick noodles can be substituted for the linguine-style stir-fry rice noodles.



Tyler and I couldn't decide which one we wanted to try...so we got both. Pictured above, the ones on the right are the noodles the recipe is talking about. But on the left are also rice noodles that are delicious! Below you can see close ups to see the difference between the two.




Neither one is very expensive. They run just a few dollars a package at your local grocery store. I know that seems like a lot (especially since it'll only make one meal, maybe two), but this dish is relatively cheap if you mostly use what you have at home.


1. In a 3-quart saucepan, heat 4 cups water to boiling. Remove from heat; add noodles (push noodles into water with back of spoon to cover them with water if necessary). Soak noodles 3 to 5 minutes or until noodles are soft but firm. Drain noodles; rinse with cold water.

2. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, stir lime juice, 1/3 cup water, the brown sugar, fish sauce, soy sauce, vinegar, red pepper and 1 tablespoon of the oil until well mixed. Set aside.

3. In a nonstick wok or 12-inch nonstick skillet, heat remaining 2 tablespoons vegetable oil over medium heat.

Cook garlic and shallot in oil about 30 seconds, stirring constantly, until starting to brown. Add eggs. Cook about 2 minutes, stirring gently and constantly, until scrambled but still moist.

4. Stir in noodles and lime juice mixture. Increase heat to high. Cook about 1 minute, tossing constantly with 2 wooden spoons, until sauce begins to thicken. Add remaining ingredients except cilantro (note from D: that includes shrimp, peanuts, bean sprouts and green onions). Cook 2 to 3 minutes, tossing with 2 wooden spoons, until noodles are tender. Place on serving platter. Sprinkle with cilantro. Garnish with additional chopped dry-roasted peanuts and green onions if desired.

PAD THAI WITH CHICKEN: Substitute 2 cups chopped cooked chicken for the shrimp.

I'll just give you a second to let your mouth water.

Doesn't that look amazing? It was. My friend, Melanie, made this the other night and we invited ourselves over for dinner. Literally. It was so good we left with full bellies and the recipe.


Melanie used the thin noodles, and it was divine. The thicker noodles soaked up the flavor more, but the thin noodles had a lighter flavor and feel. So they're both delicious and wonderful.


I used fish sauce, only because I had it in my fridge. Melanie did not use fish sauce, and her Pad Thai was less sweet than mine. In the future I'll use soy instead. We also used rice vinegar, but I think Mel used white. Use whatever you have. Don't go out and buy rice vinegar unless you use it on a regular basis. I use rice vinegar for sushi, so I usually have it on hand. But like I said, don't go out ant buy it. Just use white vinegar.


Tyler put in the red pepper and even asked me before he did it, "Are you sure you want this much red pepper?" I told him yes because I think Mel is a recipe-follower and hers wasn't too hot. Well, I don't know if she cut back or if our red pepper is more potent or if Tyler used 3/4 of a tablespoon rather than a teaspoon...but ours was burning hot! In the future I will cut back to probably half a teaspoon of red pepper.


You are always welcome to use jarred garlic rather than fresh. The flavor will be different (some say maybe not as good), but use what you have in your fridge. We always have both, so it doesn't matter to us.


We usually have shrimp in our freezer too (I love Shrimp Scampi!), but if you don't have shrimp, don't go buy it just for this dish. It's expensive! Use chicken. Melanie made hers with chicken and it was delicious! I don't know which one I prefer more, but the chicken will probably be what we make in the future because it's less expensive. If you use chicken, though, a little more preparation will have to go into making it because you'll have to do that before you even start on the noodles.


I did not use peanuts because I didn't have any. I always have cashews on hand because of we love Cashew Chicken. So I used those instead. I'm not sure it made a huge difference. We had peanuts at Melanie's house, but both were good.


I didn't know what bean sprouts were as apposed to alfalfa sprouts. Bean sprouts are bigger. Before you use them, be sure to was them carefully. Who knows where they've been?! I rinse them in cool water until they're no longer slimy. I did not measure them (what a nightmare!). I just took too handfuls and called it good.

And lastly, I thought the dish looked a little bland until I put on the cilantro. I did not sprinkle it on top before I served it because Tyler doesn't love cilantro, so I knew he'd ask me to leave it off if it wasn't mixed it. And I think it added to the flavor of the dish because I let it cook for another minute or so after adding the cilantro.


This is a great and EASY dish. I know all my instructions make it look hard, but it really isn't. It just takes a little effort because you have to chop cilantro and onions and garlic. But once you get all the ingredients together, it literally takes 5 minutes to cook.

Pin It

Cheesy Hamburger Hash

1 lb ground beef
1 TBSP butter or margarine
1 bag refrigerated diced potatoes with onions
1 can (14 1/2 oz) diced tomatoes with Italian herbs, undrained
1 TBSP pizza seasoning or Italian seasoning
1 1/2 c shredded pizza cheese blend (mozzarella and cheddar)
2 TBSP fresh parsley

1. Cook beef in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until brown; drain. Remove beef and drippings from skillet.

2. Melt butter in same skillet. Add potatoes. Cover and cook over medium heat 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tender. Stir in beef, tomatoes, and pizza seasoning. Cook, stirring occasionally, until thoroughly heated.

3. Sprinkle with cheese and parsley. Cover and heat until cheese is melted.

I got this recipe from a quick and easy cook book. Want to know why it's quick and easy? Because the ingredients are already prepared! Ok, so that makes it quick and easy, but it also makes it pricey. I am not about to buy frozen potatoes when I live in potato country. (Tyler raises his eyebrows at me when I buy frozen seasoned fries, but he's learned to live with it.) I don't buy a can of diced tomatoes, I dice my own. And I don't buy shredded cheese. I just use a little elbow grease and shred it myself.


Here's how I do it: I brown the hamburger. Then I throw in the potatoes - into the same skillet with the beef. If I'm not in a hurry I'll pull out the meat and drain off the grease, brown the potatoes and then throw the meat back in. But if I'm in a crunch, the potatoes go in with the meat (once the meet is cooked). I season heavily with garlic powder, onion powder, and Mrs. Dash. I use Mrs. Dash religiously. So if you're not a Mrs. Dash kind of person, just use some sort of seasoning you think would go well on fried potatoes. You can use pizza seasoning or Italian seasoning if you want/have it. I just never have.


Voila. The meal is complete. It's pretty much just frying meat and potatoes. I dish out the hash, sprinkle it with cheese and top it off with diced tomatoes if I have them. If I don't I do without. Salsa might also be pretty good on this. Try it out and let me know.


PS. I fry potatoes all the time, but you may be new to this. When I fry potatoes I first melt butter in a skillet. I chop my potatoes small because the smaller they are the faster they will cook. Once the butter is melted, I pour in the potato chunks. Then I LEAVE THEM ALONE until I hear them start to sizzle and I can see the edges darkening (you can see the potato cook). I season them and stir them up to fry the other side. They are done when they are soft, but I love my crispy, so I cook mine until they crunch on the outside. Mmmmmm. Pin It

Tyler's Mac 'n Cheese!!

This is a coveted recipe, just ask my mom. And actually, for those of you who follow recipe's to the T, sorry, this isn't for you. Ok, so here's what you need to work the magic:


pasta shells (any pasta will work, but really only shells taste good)
green onions (two or three)
garlic (fresh is best, but bottled will do)
oil (olive or canola)
chicken bouillon (powder or cube)
grated cheese (we always use cheddar, but when Tyler was in Russia he used Gouda)

Dice the onions and garlic. Pour a little bit of oil in the pan. You want enough that it covers most of the bottom of the pan, but too much and you'll have very oily mac 'n cheese. Saute the onions and garlic in the oil until the garlic starts to turn a golden brown.

Then pour in the pasta shells. Yup, just pour 'em in. No water, no nothing, just shells. Cook the shells in the pasta for a few minutes, stirring occasionally - frequently. Coat the shells in the oil. After a few minutes, they should also start to brown just a little. You don't want them to burn, but you do want to see signs that they are cooking.

Fill the pan with water to the level of the pasta - just enough to cover the shells. You can always add more later but it's hard to take out, so less is better.

Sprinkle chicken bouillon over the water and stir it in with the pasta. I'd guess maybe a tablespoon or two. If you're using cubes, just one cube probably. Maybe two if you're making a big batch. You get a lot of your flavor from the bouillon, but also all of the salt. Too much and you'll have salty mac 'n cheese.

Bring the water to a boil, then let it simmer. The water should all boil down/off and the shells will be soft. If the water is gone and the shells are still hard, add some more water and boil a little longer. If you still have a lot of water left and your shells are are soft, pour out the excess water.

Pour the grated cheese over the top. I usually grate while the water is boiling. I can't even guess how much to use because it depends on how cheesy you want and how much pasta you've cooked. Mix the cheese in with the pasta (while it's still on low heat) until it melts.

Voila. A delicious meal that is so good! When it's Tyler's turn to cook my options are Hamburger Helper or mac 'n cheese:) Pin It

Cashew Chicken

Cashew Chicken

2 teaspoons chicken bouillon granules
1 cup hot water
1 lb skinned, boned chicken breast halves, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 tablespoon vegetable oil1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 cup sliced green onions
2 teaspoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 (8 oz) package sliced fresh mushrooms
1 small green pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 8-oz can sliced water chestnuts, drained
1/2 cup cashews, toasted
3 cups hot cooked rice

Dissolve bouillon granules in hot water; set aside.Brown Chicken in hot oil in large skillet over medium heat. Remove chicken, reserving drippings in skillet; set chicken aside.Combine cornstarch and soy sauce; stir until smooth. Stir in bouillon mixture, green onions, brown sugar and ginger. Set aside.Cook mushrooms, green pepper and water chestnuts in drippings over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until tender.Add chicken and bouillon mixture to vegetable mixture; cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, 2 minutes or until thickened. Sitre in cashews, serve over rice.

Ok, we do not use the mushrooms and peppers. We do zucchini, but we've had it with the mushrooms and peppers and it's ok too. We also don't use ground ginger. We have chopped, the kind that comes in the little jar and you have to refridgerate after opening. I don't know what the conversion is, but I use the same amount of wet ginger as the recipe calls for for ground ginger. Personally, I think it could use a little more, but Tyler doesn't think so. I like ginger though. We also cut out the whole pull the chicken out and tender the veggies in the drippings. We just put the veggies in when the chicken is cooked, let them cook for a few minutes, then throw in the bouillon mixture. It has to simmer for a while to thicken anyway, and our veggies get too done if we cook them too much longer. We use the sliced chestnuts, but we chop them. We always double the recipe. And lastly, we leave the cashews off and let the individual dish their cashews. Mmmm. It's soo good. I hope you enjoy it! Pin It