No Bake Peanut Drop Cookies

I needed a lot of help getting ready for school this year. So I invited a lot of friends over to help me cut out some laminated things for my classroom. I bribed them with desserts. I needed something fast to make, but still tasty and unique. I found this great recipe after doing some searching on no-bake cookies. I love no-bake cookies but wanted to find another one besides the traditional no-bake oatmeal cookies. These turned out great - especially if you are a peanut butter lover. 

I have these awesome tool that is perfect for measuring peanut butter. You pull the tube out and set it to the amount you need. Fill with peanut butter then use it as a push tube to push out the peanut butter.

Ingredients:
2 packages of 16 oz. chocolate wafer melts
1 cup creamy peanut butter
2 cups unsalted peanuts
2 cups mini marshmallows
3 cups of crispy rice cereal
2 bags of 7 oz. peanut m&m's


Directions:
Melt chocolate wafers in a double boiler, microwave, or if you have a chocolate melter like me. (I use it for cake pops)
Quickly transfer to a large bowl.
Mix in peanut butter until completely stirred together.
Mix in peanuts, cereal, and marshmallows.
Scoop about 2 tablespoons of the mixture onto a cookie sheet lined with wax paper.
Top each one with a peanut M&M.
Place in fridge until they set. 

What do you think? Comments? Suggestions? I would love to know that you visited my blog. Please leave me a message letting me know you were here! Did you try out a recipe? Let me know! I would love to hear from you :-)

Spaghetti Squash & Cucumber Salad

We brought a meal to our friends who had a baby semi-recently and it was enough to bring them the Pastelón (Sweet Plantain Puerto Rican Lasagna). But I had a leftover spaghetti squash from when I made Spaghetti Squash Primavera. I wanted to try something new with it. So instead of doing a hot dish, I tried out this salad. Once the squash is cooked & the veggies are chopped it's very easy to make. I added some laughing cow cheese to do something different with it. I was also proud that I actually made lemon zest from a lemon rather than just buying it from the spice aisle. This is a refreshing salad and incredibly low in fat & calories if you leave out the oil. 

Ingredients:

1 spaghetti squash, cut in half & seeded

1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half

1/2 cup black olives, cut in half
2 cucumbers, peeled, sliced, & cut in half
1 red onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup lemon juice or juice from a lemon
3 wedges of laughing cow cheese, cut into chunks
1 tbsp lemon zest
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp garlic salt
1 tsp black pepper


Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Place the halves of the squash in a baking dish (cut-side facing down).

Bake in oven for about 30 minutes or until it can be cut smoothly.

Scrape out spaghetti squash with fork and let it cool.

Toss the spaghetti squash with olives, tomatoes, cucumbers, onion, cheese & garlic in a large bowl.

Meanwhile, mix the lemon juice & lemon zest in a small bowl.

Pour olive oil into lemon mixture.

Whisk vigorously and add salt & pepper.

Drizzle over the spaghetti squash mixture and toss well.

Refrigerate for about 1 to 2 hours before serving. 

What do you think? Comments? Suggestions? I would love to know that you visited my blog. Please leave me a message letting me know you were here! Did you try out a recipe? Let me know! I would love to hear from you :-)

Pastelón (Sweet Plantain Puerto Rican Lasagna)

Our friend Mari introduced us to this several months ago and I was waiting for the perfect opportunity to try it out for myself. Pastelón, which is a Puerto Rican Lasagna, is just like lasagna but instead of lasagna pasta noodles you used slices of plantain. It has a mix of all these neat flavors, it's incredibly filling, and the sweet plantains are amazing. I'm sure there are many versions of this, but the one I used includes raisins and olives. I'm sure you can leave them out or just use a little. It's also not the healthiest thing I've ever made. But it is delicious, no doubt about it!

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 onion, diced

1 green pepper, diced

1/2 cup chopped cilantro (or just use cilantro paste like I do)

2 tsp adobo (in the international/ethnic food aisle or spice aisle)

2 tsp italian seasoning
2 tbsp vinegar

1 envelope Sazón (in the international/ethnic food aisle)

2 tsp of bay leaves

8 green stuff olives, cut in half

1/2 cup raisins

4 or 5 plantains, peeled & cut into long strips (For really great directions on pictures on plantains, go here. I could try to explain it to you, but it won't be pretty.)

1/2 cup tomato sauce

3 eggs

2 tbsp milk

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

vegetable oil

salt
butter

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Mix ground beef, garlic, onion, green pepper, and cilantro in a large bowl. 

Then mix in adobo, italian seasoning, vinegar, & Sazon.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add 2 tbs of olive oil. 

Toss in the beef mixture and cook until brown.

Add bay leaves, olives, raisins, & tomato sauce. 

Lower heat and simmer for 10 minutes. 

Remove from heat.

Meanwhile, heat another large skillet with oil, on medium heat, just enough to cover the bottom. 

Fry the plantains, a while on each side, until they are golden brown & crispy.

Butter the sides & bottom of an 8 x 13 baking dish.

Layer the bottom most layer with plantains.

Spread a layer of ground beef on top of the layer of plantains. 

Top with a layer of mozzarella cheese and another layer of plantains. 

Continue the process, ending with plantains.

Mix eggs & milk in small bowl. Pour evenly over the last layer. Let it soak in and then sprinkle with a last little bit of cheese. 
Bake in oven for 20 to 30 minutes.
ENJOY!!!!

What do you think? Comments? Suggestions? I would love to know that you visited my blog. Please leave me a message letting me know you were here! Did you try out a recipe? Let me know! I would love to hear from you :-)

Chicken Taquitos

I've always had a strong liking for taquitos from the freezer isle. I don't know what it is, but they are addicting. I found a neat recipe so that I could make my own taquitos. It's very simple and they are easy to make ahead and freeze. 

Ingredients:
3/4 pounds of cooked, shredded chicken (I boil it, then use two forks to shred it)
10 small tortillas
3 oz. fat free cream cheese, softened
1 cup reduced fat shredded cheese mexican blend
1/2 cup red onion, diced

1/4 cup salsa verde
1/4 cup cilantro paste (or fresh cilantro)
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder 
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tbsp chili seasoning
1 tbsp lime juice
Olive oil cooking spray.

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
In a medium bowl mix cream cheese, onions, salsa, cilantro, lime juice, & seasonings.
Add shredded chicken & shredded cheese.
Mix well.
Place about 2 spoonfuls of mixture on the side of tortilla.
Roll up tortilla tightly and place on greased cookie sheet.

Be careful to place it in such a way so that it can't unravel.
Continue with rest of tortillas and mixture.
Spray all over with olive oil cooking spray.
Bake in oven for 20 minutes. 

Watch carefully that they don't burn.
Serve with ranch dressing, guacamole, sour cream, or another yummy dip.


You can make these ahead of time and freeze them. After wrapping the chicken/cheese mixture inside of the tortillas place in gallon-sized freezer bag. When you are ready to eat them you don't have to defrost or thaw. Just place directly in preheated oven and cook for 20 to 30 minutes. Watch carefully. 

I paired the taquitos with this yummy taco salad with spicy ranch dressing. (see below).

What do you think? Comments? Suggestions? I would love to know that you visited my blog. Please leave me a message letting me know you were here! Did you try out a recipe? Let me know! I would love to hear from you :-)

Taco Cups

One of my favorite dishes to make is the Taco Ring. (Pillsbury Dough + Taco Meat = Amazingness) I was asked to bring an appetizer for a dinner party so I decided to make these "mini taco rings". You might see them called taco muffins or taco cups. Either way, they are delicious!

There are lots of different ways to do these. I've seen them with wonton wrappers, pillsbury dough biscuits, or crescent rolls, dough from scratch, and tostito chips. I went with pillsbury dough biscuits. 

I've seen these with black beans, salsa, ground turkey, and ground beef. I went with extra lean ground beef. You can throw in diced onions too. I went with avocados & tomatoes. But you can top with lettuce & sour cream. Endless possibilities, make them your own. 



Ingredients:
3/4 pound lean ground beef or turkey
1 envelope of taco seasoning or 1/4 cup
1/2 cup water
1 can Pillsbury biscuits
1/2 cup tomato, diced

3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese or mexican blend
1 avocado diced


Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Cook ground beef in skillet until brown.
Stir in taco seasoning & water.
Simmer for a few minutes until water is evaporated.
Meanwhile, spray muffin tin with cooking spray.
And place 1 biscuit in each muffin cup and press down on the bottom and partway up the sides forming a cup. (I had 10 biscuits, but used a muffin pan for 12 - see picture).

The trick is to really form a thin muffin cup. It will bubble up when it cooks and you want to make sure they meat & cheese doesn't overflow.
Add meat/onion mixture into center of each cup, but don't add too much.
Bake in oven for about 10 minutes. 
Top with shredded cheese and cook for an additional 5 minutes until cheese is melted.
Top avocado & tomato after removed from the oven.

What do you think? Comments? Suggestions? I would love to know that you visited my blog. Please leave me a message letting me know you were here! Did you try out a recipe? Let me know! I would love to hear from you :-)

4th of July Cake Pops

Well, it's August & I'm blogging about July. (Kind of like the time I blogged about Pi Day in July) I'm alway behind on my holidays. Oops! But that doesn't make these any less cute!!! My husband's family is quickly growing and this past 4th of July marks the first time we've all been together in over a year. Between the birth of my nieces and my youngest sibling in-laws being away at college, we weren't able to all be together on Thanksgiving, Christmas, or Easter of this past year. 

So July 4th marked a reunion of sorts. It was a great day. My sister-in-law & I ran the Ephrata 5 Mile Fire Cracker. It was her first post-triplets race. I especially enjoyed it because I got to push 2 of my nieces in a stroller. Annabelle & Grace were quite the hit and I felt like a rock star for running all 5 miles while pushing a double-wide stroller. We squeezed in a family photo, some dutch blitiz, and had a great dinner. I put myself in charge of dessert where I made a vanilla pudding trifle dish dessert and these awesome mint oreo ball American flag. I make these oreo balls, just like I would cake pop balls, but instead of cake & frosting I use oreo (or mint oreo) and cream cheese. I had to melt 3 different colors to dip these into. You have to use a spoon to scoop them out of the chocolate, then place them on wax paper to dry. I also had special colored sprinkles & paper liners to match. It was a lot of work to make, but worth it. Did I mention I LOVE mint oreo???

 If you are not up for making 42 cake balls, here is a simpler design you can do.

What a good looking group!

What do you think? Comments? Suggestions? I would love to know that you visited my blog. Please leave me a message letting me know you were here! Did you try out a recipe? Let me know! I would love to hear from you :-)

Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread

I usually reek havoc in the kitchen. My poor husband. I whip up a delicious meal, but then I leave behind chaotic mess for him to clean up. So I've been trying to turn over a new strategy in the kitchen. Pre-layout ingredients as much as I can, then clean up as I go. It went very well when I made this chocolate chip zucchini bread. (see picture above). 


Ingredients:
1 cup all purpose unbleached bread flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1& 1/8 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1 large egg, beaten
2 tbsp butter, melted
1 cup apple sauce
1.5 cups zucchini, shredded


Directions:
Preheat oven to 325.
Combine flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. 
Mix well.
Add chocolate chips and mix some more.
In a separate bowl, mix egg, vanilla, butter, apple sauce, & zucchini.
Add to flour mixture and stir until blended. 
Pour into a loaf pan. 
Bake for 45 to 55 minutes. 
Use toothpick to check to see if it's done. 
Cool for 10 minutes before slicing. 

What do you think? Comments? Suggestions? I would love to know that you visited my blog. Please leave me a message letting me know you were here! Did you try out a recipe? Let me know! I would love to hear from you :-)

Chocolate Chip Cookie Cupcakes

I just love dessert! I found a great recipe for Cookie Dough Cupcakes. 


Ideally you would make cookie dough from scratch, the cupcake batter from scratch, and the frosting from scratch. But I pride myself on taking the easy way out if I think the results will be just as good. So I bought a tube of cookie dough and used a box of cake mix to make the cup cakes as well as a can of chocolate frosting. I thought the results were fantastic! You can judge me, but I'm ok with it.


Check out this awesome old-school mixer we have at the beach house. Works just as good as my one at home!



Ingredients:
1 tube of cookie dough (you probably won't use the whole package)
1 box yellow cake mix
1 1/3 cups water
1/3 cup canola oil
3 eggs
1 can of chocolate frosting








Directions:
Roll the cookie dough into 1 inch balls and place in freezer for 2 hours. 
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Using a mixer, beat eggs.
Add cake mix, water, & oil and mix on medium speed for a couple minutes until smooth.
Place cupcake liners in a cupcake tin and fill most of the way (but not all of the way) with the cupcake batter.
Place cookie dough ball in center of each cupcake. 
Don't worry about the ball being completely covered, it will be covered when it bakes. 
Bake in oven for about 20 minutes. Check with toothpick to make sure that the cupcake is cooked through, don't worry about the cookie part.
Remove and let cool for 10 minutes before covering with frosting.
Serve with sprinkles if you so desire!






I had some leftover batter and cookie dough so I poured the rest of the batter in a square cake pan and placed 9 cookie dough balls in the middle then baked it the same way, but a little bit longer because it was cake. It was equally awesome.

What do you think? Comments? Suggestions? I would love to know that you visited my blog. Please leave me a message letting me know you were here! Did you try out a recipe? Let me know! I would love to hear from you :-)