Inside Out S'mores Bars

Looking for something new to make for your next family/friend gathering? Here is a yummy recipe for Inside Out S'mores bars that everyone is sure to love! Just in time for the Fourth of July Celebrations!!

Inside Out S'mores Bars

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/500392208577970277/

Ingredients:

1 box family-size fudge brownie mix (for 9x13 pan)

Eggs, oil and water called for on brownie mix box

7 sheets honey graham crackers

Nonstick cooking spray

2 cups mini marshmallows

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350° F. Coat a 9 x 13 pan with nonstick cooking spray. Follow directions on box to prepare brownies. Pour half of brownie mixture into pan, and top with sheets of graham crackers, breaking to fit if needed. Sprinkle marshmallows on top of graham crackers, covering completely, then drizzle remaining brownie batter on top. Bake 25-30 minutes, until edges are crisp and center is set. *The toothpick test won’t work, but the top brownies should be solid to the touch, not gooey. Remove from oven and let cool for 15 minutes to set completely. Slice into bars and serve. YUMMY!!! 

Post by: Chelsea S.

Santa Hat Cookies

Simple cute cookies that are perfect for the Christmas Season

Ingredients

1 package Pillsbury™ ready-to-bake sugar cookies

1 jar (7 oz) marshmallow creme (1 1/2 cups)

1 cup butter, softened

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon red gel food color

48 miniature marshmallows

White candy sprinkles

Step 1) Heat oven to 350°F. Cut each cookie in half. Roll each half into a ball. Place 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.

Step 2) Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until edges are set and golden brown. Cool 5 minutes on cookie sheets before removing to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 10 minutes.

Step 3) To make frosting, in large bowl, beat marshmallow crème and softened butter with electric mixer on medium speed until blended. Beat in powdered sugar until fluffy. Add food color, and beat until well combined.

Step 4) Place frosting in resealable food-storage plastic bag. Cut off 1 tiny corner of bag. Pipe frosting, piling up in hat shape, on top of each cookie.

Step 5) Top each hat with miniature marshmallow. Gently press sprinkles around bottom edge of each hat so they stick to frosting.

Enjoy!

Post By: Melissa K.

Makin’ My Mouth Water Brownie Truffles

http://ow.ly/Tbji5 

Ingredients:

4 squares unsweetened baking chocolate (4 oz.)
1 cup butter
4 eggs
2 cups granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 (12 oz.) bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
Melted milk chocolate for topping and sprinkles (optional) for decoration

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Grease a 9”×13'' inch pan well.

3. Chop butter and unsweetened chocolate into chunks and place together in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave in 30 second intervals (no longer or you might burn it!), stirring in between, until melted. Set aside to cool, stirring occasionally.

4. In a large bowl beat eggs, sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy. While stirring, slowly add the melted chocolate.

5. In a separate small bowl combine flour and baking powder. Stir flour into chocolate batter until combined. Pour batter into greased pan and bake for 20-30 minutes or until a knife poked in the center comes out clean.

6. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely.

7. Once brownies are cool, cut off and remove the very outer edge where a "crust" sometimes forms (eat the crust, don’t throw it away. It’s delicious, it just doesn't go in the truffles.). Then use a fork to fluff the mixture into crumbs. Take a small cookie scoop (or just use your hands) to roll the brownie crumbs into 30-35 small balls. Place them on a large, parchment lined baking sheet. Place in the freezer for 20-30 minutes or until firm.

8. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or in the microwave until smooth. Use a spoon to roll the brownie balls in the melted chocolate--I remove them with a fork to allow the excess chocolate to drip off. Place the truffles carefully on parchment paper. At this point you could add sprinkles if desired. Refrigerate until set. After they are set, you can drizzle them with melted milk chocolate if you’d like.

9. Store in the fridge and remove 5 minutes before serving.

Post by: Cari J. 

Yummy Apple Cobbler Crisp

What you’ll need:
7-8 large cooking apples that are peeled, cored, and sliced (An apple cutter works great!)
¾ cups sugar
¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons baking powder
¾ salt
2/3 cup melted butter
Ice cream

Directions:
Heat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Evenly place your apples in a 9x13 ungreased baking pan. In a bowl, combine ¾ cup sugar and ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon. Once you have that mixed, sprinkle it over the apples. Combine remaining ground cinnamon, flour, sugar, eggs, baking powder and salt in a bowl and mix until mixture looks like crumbs. Sprinkle over apples. Pour the melted butter over the top of the crumbs. Bake for 45-55 minutes or until lightly browned. Serve the apple cobbler warm with ice cream.

Image courtesy of mygoodnessgracious.com

Post by: Chelsea F.

What's Going on the Grill?

I don’t know about anyone else, but this time of year I get super sick of eating brats, hamburgers and hot dogs. My boyfriend wants to grill out most weekends, but if I have to eat another plain old hamburger or brat I might just have to go on a hunger strike! OK,  not really, but I need some variety in my meals.

I recently became a Pinterest addict. We had our friends over for dinner a couple of weekends ago and, instead of making those plain old hamburgers and brats, I tried to look for a recipe on Pinterest using chicken. 

My boyfriend started grilling when we bought our own house. He had a fear of grilling chicken because chicken tends to dry out if you cook it incorrectly. I found a recipe on Pinterest for a chicken marinade that had so many flavors! I didn’t have to worry about eating any boring plain meat. The marinade calls for beer, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and Cayenne pepper. Sounds good right? Here is the recipe for this flavorful chicken:

Photo and recipe courtesy of Pinterest

Garlic Beer Marinated Chicken

Ingredients:

• 12oz beer
• 6 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 2 Tbsp. Italian Seasoning
• 6 garlic cloves, minced (I used the minced garlic that you can buy in the jar at the store to save time)
• 2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• ½ tsp cayenne pepper (this spice was difficult to find. If you are having problems look for Ground Cayenne Red Pepper)
• 2-3 Ib boneless Chicken-You may want to pound chicken to an even thickness before marinating to ensure that the chicken cooks evenly and stays juicy.

Directions:

1. Whisk together beer, lemon juice, olive oil, Italian seasoning, garlic, salt, pepper and cayenne in a bowl. 
2. Add chicken and let marinate for 6-12 hours. I like to put a cover on the bowl and shake it around every few hours to make sure the marinade covers all of the chicken.
3. Remove the chicken from the marinade and grill until done-approximately 12-15 minutes.
4. Serve with your favorite sides. We served ours with salad, buttered noodles and dinner rolls.

Never be a victim of boring grilled meat again. Try this recipe today!  You won’t be sorry.

Happy Grilling!

Written By: Katie B. 

Delicious Sesame Chicken and Crab Meat Rangoon Recipes

I absolutely LOVE Chinese food and most of the time I find myself wishing I had a good, simple recipe that’ll be able to compare to my favorite Chinese places! Here are two of my favorite Chinese food items with recipes that seem simple enough to make at home!

Photo Courtesy of budgetbytes.com

Sesame Chicken

http://www.budgetbytes.com/2013/08/easy-sesame-chicken/

Serves: 4
Prep Time: 10 Minutes Cook Time: 15 Minutes Total Time: 25 Minutes

Ingredients:
- Chicken
- 1 large egg
- 2 Tbsp. cornstarch
- 1 pinch each salt & pepper
- 1 Lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil (for frying)
- Sauce
- 2 Tbsp. soy sauce
- 1 Tbsp. water
- ½ Tbsp. toasted sesame oil
- 1 ½ Tbsp. brown sugar
- 1 ½ Tbsp. rice vinegar
- 1 inch fresh ginger, grated
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 2 Tbsp. sesame seeds
- 1 Tbsp. cornstarch

For Serving:
- 4 cups cooked rice (depending on what kind of rice you like)
- 2 whole green onions

Instructions:
In a large bowl, whisk together the egg, 2 Tbsp. cornstarch, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Trim any excess fat from the chicken thighs, then cut them into small 1 inch pieces. Toss the chicken in the egg and cornstarch mixture. 

Heat a large skillet with 2 Tbsp. of vegetable oil over medium-high heat. When the oil is very hot (it should look wavy on the surface), add the chicken and all of the egg mixture. Cook the chicken, stirring only occasionally, until it is golden brown and cooked through (about 7-10 minutes). Drain off the excess oil, if desired. 

While the chicken is cooking, prepare the sauce. In a small bowl stir together the soy sauce, water, sesame oil, brown sugar, rice vinegar, fresh ginger, minced garlic, cornstarch, and sesame seeds. (ginger can be grated with a small-holed cheese grater) 

Once the chicken is cooked through and golden brown, pour the sauce over top. Toss the chicken to coat in the sauce. The sauce will begin to thicken as soon as it hits the hot skillet. Once the chicken is coated and the sauce thickened, turn off the heat. 

Serve the chicken over a bed of rice and sprinkle the sliced green onions over the top.

Crab Meat Rangoon

http://www.spendwithpennies.com/crab-rangoon-crab-cream-cheese-filled-crispy-wontons/


Photo Courtesy of spendwithpennies.com

Ingredients:
- 1 5oz. can of crab meat, drained (can use fresh or packaged crab as well)
- 4 oz. cream cheese, softened
- 1 green onion, finely sliced
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 18 won ton wrappers
- Oil for frying

Instructions:
1. Preheat 1 inch of oil to 325 degrees over medium heat.
In a small bowl, gently combine crab meat, cream cheese, green onion, garlic powder and Worcestershire sauce.
Lay out 3 wonton wrappers at a time. Place 2 teaspoons of the filling in the center of each. Dab the edges with water and fold the two opposite corners together to form a triangle. Wet the tips of the triangle and fold inward. Continue until all of your filling is used up.

To Fry
Drop the wontons into the hot oil for 2-3 minutes or until brown and crispy.
Drain on paper towels.

To Bake
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking pan with parchment paper.
Assemble wontons and spray each with cooking spray. Bake 12-14 minutes

Chili Cheese Bread-A recipe so simple you will want to make it all the time!

With Football season just around the corner I thought I would share one of my new favorite recipes: Chili Bread. This is a great item to bring to your Fantasy Football draft or to a football party at your friends house. The best part? It’s super easy!

Photo Courtesy of tiphero.com

Ingredients:

1 Can Hormel chili-I have a picky eater in my house so I use the kind without beans

1 loaf of French or Italian Bread-I use Italian bread because it’s a little wider then the French bread

1 16oz block of Velveeta Cheese

Aluminum Foil

Directions:

1.Place a sheet of Aluminum Foil on a cookie sheet. Make sure to use enough foil to wrap up the entire loaf of bread.

2. Hollow out the loaf of bread still leaving a thin layer in the bottom of the bread. Basically you are making a bread bowl. Put the bread that you cut out aside as you will want to use this later for dipping.

3. Place the block of Velveeta cheese inside the loaf of bread. Using a knife or a spoon, hollow out the block of cheese leaving some on the bottom, again making a type of bowl. Put aside the cheese that you took out of the block.

4. Pour the can of chili inside of the hollowed out block of cheese. Cut up cheese that was put aside and place on top of chili.

5. Wrap the bread loaf in foil and bake at 450 degrees for 20-30 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the chili is warm

6. Cut up or tear pieces of the bread that you set aside. I will also buy Doritos to use as extra dippers with this recipe. The bread won’t last very long!

7. Dip into the chili cheese mixture and enjoy!

Photo Courtesy of Yummly.com

Post by: Katie B.