Heath Bits Peanut Butter Cookies

Once again I am taking dinner into a friend who just had a baby.  I am making taco soup and breadsticks.  I needed it simple.  This afternoon I went into my pantry to pull out some chocolate chips to make cookies to send along, and of course we're out.  My kids eat mini hershey kisses (aka nestle milk chocolate chips) by the cupful.  Yes we love chocolate here.  The only thing I could find were Heath milk chocolate toffee bits.  So I tried a recipe on the back to make these cookies.  I went to a Relief Society meeting a couple of weeks ago on wheat grinding so I also used some of the wheat flour I came home with.  I really like toffee so I liked these cookies.  Just something different to try other than the norm.

Heath Bits Peanut Butter Cookies

1/2 cup shortening

3/4 cup creamy peanut butter

1-1/4 cups packed light brown sugar

3 T milk

1 T vanilla extract

1 egg

1-1/2 cups flour

3/4 t. baking soda

3/4 t. salt

1-1/3 cups (8 oz. pkg.) Heath Milk Chocolate Toffee Bits, divided

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Beat shortening, peanut butter, brown sugar, milk and vanilla in large bowl until well blended.  Add egg; beat just until blended.  Combine flour, baking soda and salt; gradually beat into peanut butter mixture.  Stir in 1 cup toffee bits; reserve remainder for topping.

3. Drop by heaping teaspoons about 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheet; top each with reserved toffee bits.  Bake 7 to 8 minutes or until set.  Do not overbake.  Cool 2 minutes.  Remove to wire rack.  Cool completely.

About 3 dozen cookies.

You can find more recipe ideas at www.hersheyskitchens.com

Chicken Baseballs

One of my scrapbook friends made this for us during one of our scrapbook retreats and it has always been in the back of mind to make it for my kids since her boys liked it so much.  So in trying to figure out what was for dinner tonight at 5:30 it came back to me and I knew I had all the ingredients luckily.  It is super easy and quick.  The following recipe I found on the web uses low-fat ingredients.  

Chicken Baseballs

3 oz. light cream cheese, softened

2 t. light margarine, melted

1/4 t. salt

1/4t. pepper

2 T. chopped onion

2 cups cubed, cooked chicken

1 - 8oz. can reduced fat crescent rolls

2 T. skim milk

Bread crumbs

In a blender (or by hand) combine cream cheese, butter, salt, pepper, milk and onion.  Blend.  Pour mixture over chicken and stir.  Separate crescent roll dough into four rectangles and seal perforations.  Spoon 1/2 cup mixture into center of each.  Pull opposite corners of dough to center and seal.  Sprinkle each "baseball" with breadcrumbs and place on ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

Taco Salad

This is our simple family meal tonight.  I love it because we just set out bowls of each item and everyone creates their own concoctions.  We make salads, heaping nachos or just bowls of beans and corn. Everyone is happy so mom is happy.

Taco Salad

Layer the following however you wish

Tortilla chips

Lettuce

Taco seasoned ground beef

Kidney beans

Cut corn

Shredded cheddar cheese

Ranch dressing

Salsa

Blueberry Breakfast

My Aunt Lael brought this to a family bridal shower last Saturday.  I have never seen this before and I really liked it.  Kind of like a blueberry muffin.  Adding the sauce on top is really yummy.  I will have to make this because Brad is a huge blueberry fan.

Blueberry Breakfast

2 cups flour

1 t. baking powder

1/2 t. baking soda

1 cup butter

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 cup sour cream

1 lb. cooked bulk sausage

1 cup blueberries

1 1/2 cups chopped pecans

Mix flour, baking powder and baking soda.  In separate bowl cream butter, sugars and eggs, adding eggs one at a time.  Add the flour mixture.  Mix in sour cream.  Add sausage and blueberries alternately.  Put in a greased 9 x 13 pan.  Sprinkle top with 1 1/2 cups pecans.  Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes.

Blueberry Sauce

1/2 cup sugar

2 T. cornstarch

2 cups blueberries

1/2 cup water

1/2 t. lemon juice

Combine sugar, cornstarch, blueberries and water.  Cook and stir until thickened.  Cook 2 more minutes, add 1/2 t. lemon juice.  Spoon sauce over squares of Blueberry Breakfast.  Enjoy.

Pepsi Chicken and Vegetables

Got this recipe off of Good Things Utah.  I am trying to add more veggies to our meals.  My kids will always eat chicken and will hopefully try the veggies.

Pepsi Chicken and Vegetables

(Serves 8)  Cooking Time: 1 to 1 1/2 hours

6 to 8 pounds chicken breasts (large breasts cut in to four pieces, small in to two)

1, 16 ounce bottle of Pepsi

1, 24 ounce bottle of Ketchup

salt & pepper

4 tablespoons cornstarch (make it in to a paste with cold water)

vegetables of your choice

Directions: Cut up your vegetables and meat.  Place half of the vegetables in a layer on the bottom and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Place the chicken on top of the vegetables in the oven and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Pour the ketchup and the Pepsi on top of this layer.  Place the other half of the vegetables on top of the chicken.  Cook until chicken juices run clear, stirring occasionally.  Thicken sauce with cornstarch paste and bring back to boil.  Serve over rice with rolls or biscuits for a great meal.

Variation/Suggested Veggies:

2 orange bell peppers (cut in chunks)

2 yellow bell peppers (cut in chunks)

2 green bell peppers (cut in chunks)

2 medium purple onions (cut in chunks)

Chicken Pesto Rolls

This was a recipe from Good Things Utah last week also.  Looks so good and so easy and I think my kids will even eat it... yeah!

Chicken Pesto Rolls

Ingredients:

2 tubes of buttermilk biscuits (10 count each)

3 T. of your favorite pesto (or more if you want)

1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened

1 1/2 cups rotisserie chicken, shredded

3 T. roasted peppers, chopped

2 T. black olives, chopped

Fresh parmesan cheese

Marinara or alfredo sauce

Preparation:

Lay biscuits on floured countertop to form a 9 x 11 rectangle (4 biscuits down, 5 across). Using flour as needed, press biscuits together well.  Blend pesto into the cream cheese and spread mixture over entire surface of dough.  Distribute chicken evenly over pesto cream.  Sprinkle chopped peppers and olives over chicken (optional).  Carefully roll up from the long end and gently compact as you go.  With seam side down, slice into 12 equal sections.  (Using string - as you do to cut Cinnamon rolls). Place slices, on their sides into greased 10 inch round pan or cast iron skillet.  Drizzle lightly with sauce and sprinkle with parmesan.

Bake 20-25 minutes at 375 degrees.

German Pancakes

This is one of my favorite recipes for breakfast.  I have heard these pancakes called so many things...dutch babies, hootnany pancakes, apple pancakes, etc.  And they really are a german thing so Brad likes them.  They are packed with eggs and (gasp) plenty of butter.  But so yummy!  You could definitely cut down the eggs and butter and it would still work.  I found the following pictures on the web.  I always make mine in a 9 x 13 pan but I might keep my eye open for small round individual pans.  The kids would love them.  I also came across a recipe for homemade maple syrup.  We are out of syrup and if I happen to make these for breakfast tomorrow, I am also going to have to whip up syrup to go with it.

German Pancakes

6 eggs

1 cup milk

1/4 t. salt

1 cup flour

1/2 cup butter

fruit, syrup or powdered sugar for topping

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Combine eggs, milk, and salt in a blender.  Blend the batter until fluffy.  Tap in the flour a little at a time, beating the ingredients until well blended.  Melt butter in a 9 x 13 baking dish in a 425 degree oven.  When the butter is bubbly, pour on the batter.  Immediately return the mixture to the oven.  Bake at 425 degrees for 25 minutes.  Cut into squares and serve with favorite topping.

Homemade Maple Syrup

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup water

1 t. maple flavoring

1 t. vanilla extract

In a small sauce pan, bring the sugars and water to a boil, stirring occasionally.  Remove from heat, allow to cool slightly and add the maple flavoring and vanilla extract.  Stir to combine.  That's it!

Roasted chicken and vegetables

I love asparagus and found this recipe last summer. It actually is from the South Beach Diet. I add cubed chicken and mushrooms to make it a one pot meal.

Oven-Roasted Vegetables
1 med zucchini, cut into bite-size pieces
1 med summer squash, cut into bite-size pieces
1 med red bell pepper, cut into bite-size pieces
1 med yellow bell pepper, cut into bite-size pieces
1 lb fresh asparagus, cut into bite-size pieces
1 red onion, chopped
3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp salt
½ tsp black pepper



1. Preheat the oven to 450°F. Place the zucchini, squash, bell peppers, asparagus, and onion in a large roasting pan, and toss with the oil, salt, and black pepper. Spread in a single layer. *this is where you can add in mushrooms but don't add your cooked, cubed chicken until half way thru cooking or it drys out too much
2. Roast for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are lightly browned and tender.

It smells soooo good while it is cooking!

Slow Cooker Chicken Stroganoff

I got this from one of my scrapbook buddies.  It's easy and my kids love the chicken.  I have tried to use fat free or reduced fat ingredients to lessen the fat intake. 

4 boneless chicken breasts, cubed (can also cut up after chicken has cooked)

1/8 cup margarine

1 (.7oz.) pkg. Good Seasons dry Italian dressing mix

1 (8oz.) pkg. cream cheese (I use a reduced fat)

1 can cream of chicken soup (again I use reduced fat or even cream of mushroom soup)

1/4 cup milk just to thin a little

1. Put chicken, margarine and dressing mix in slow cooker; mix together and cook on low for 5 to 6 hours. (Can cube chicken at this time when cooked)

2. Add cream cheese, soup and milk, mix together and cook on high for another 1/2 hour or until heated through and warm.

3. Serve over egg noodles or rice.  We added asparagus on the side for a vege which only Brad and I ate but worth the try for the kids to experiment.

Sometimes I don't crockpot this but cook it up at night and it is still very good.  I also buy chicken in bulk, bake it, cube or shred it, and freeze in individual baggies to use in a meal such as this one. One less step for me at dinner time.

Taco Soup

This is the easiest dinner recipe and I know many of you use it often. (Circe this is not for you...I think you have it down!)  Brad doesn't really like it a ton, but my kids do so he has to suffer and especially on nights mom isn't so prepared (like today).  This was already posted on my family blog but of course I need to post it here now.  My recipe comes out of the Lion House Christmas Recipes Book.  Not that this is already quick enough, but a short cut I do monthly is to buy bulk ground beef at Sams/Costco and fry it all up then divide into around 1 lb. baggies and freeze.  Then I can thaw a baggie in the microwave and toss it into the soup saving me a step.

Taco Soup

1 lb. ground beef

1 medium onion, chopped

1 pkg. mild taco seasoning mix

1 16oz. can cut corn

1 16oz. can kidney beans, drained and rinsed (I use 2 because my girls love them)

1 28oz. can stewed tomatoes

1 8oz. can tomato sauce

Tortilla chips

Grated cheese

Brown ground beef in heavy saucepan.  Drain.  Saute chopped onion; add to ground beef.  Stir in taco seasoning, corn, kidney beans, stewed tomatoes, and tomato sauce.  Simmer for 20-30 minutes.  Serve topped with tortilla chips and grated cheese.  Makes 8 servings.

Dinner for the Drapers

Tonight we took dinner to our friends, Glen and Mary, who just had their 5th child and finally a precious little girl! Little Julia is adorable and makes me baby hungry! Brad and Glen served their mission together in Germany and so Brad of course throws out the "I'm making brats!" card. He loves the recipe he came across and makes it anytime anything has to do with his mission or Germany. The following are a few items we prepared for dinner.

Bratwurst-Potato Skillet Dinner

Serves 2-4
2 t. extra virgin olive oil
2 medium potatoes, but in half lengthwise and sliced
4-6 fully cooked bratwursts, cut into bite size pieces (we used Johnsonville)
1 small red onion, sliced
1/2 red pepper, sliced
1/2 yellow pepper, sliced
2 T. teriyaki sauce
1 T. orange juice
1/2 t. dried basil
1/8 t. black pepper

1. In a large heavy skillet heat the oil over medium heat.
2. Cook the potatoes until they are lightly browned and crisp-tender, about 20 minutes turning occasionally.
3. Add the bratwurst, onion, and red and yellow bell peppers.
4. Stirring occasionally, cook until the vegetables are crisp-tender and heated through, 10-15 minutes.
5. Combine the teriyaki sauce, orange juice, basil, and pepper in a small bowl.
6. Stir the sauce mixture into the brats and veges, and heat through, about 5-10 minutes.
7. Serve with Stone Ground or Spicy Mustard on the side for dipping the brats.

Rhodes Bake n serv

Thank heavens to the creator of Rhodes roll and bread dough. I know they are a Utah thing and if you are LDS you have probably had a Rhodes demonstration at Relief Society, right! Well I love how it makes my job easier and that there are many things you can do with their dough. Tonight I made simple breaksticks. I love to use the bigger texas rolls. Just let them thaw and then stretch them out. Brush with butter and sprinkle with parmesan cheese and let them rise a bit. My Aunt Wendy puts Salad Supreme Seasoning made by McCormick on her breadsticks and they are yummy as well. Bake as directed.

Strawberry Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing

My sil Katie made this salad and it is soooo delish. An easy throw together salad.

Bag of romaine lettuce

Bag of baby spinach

1 pt. fresh strawberries sliced

1 sm. purple onion sliced

Heath english toffee bits (in chocolate chips aisle but don't get milk chocolate toffee bits just toffee bits...I am learning they are kind of hard to find)

Bottle of poppy seed dressing or make your own...

Poppy Seed Dressing:

1/2 c. mayonnaise

2 T. vinegar

1/3 c. sugar

1/4 c. whole milk

2 T. poppy seeds

Dove Chocolate Eruption

Brad came across this dessert at dovechocolate.com and loves it. They have a few other chocolishous recipes too.

Yield: Makes 8 4oz. cakes
6 DOVE Dark Chocolate 1.3 oz. bars or 29 DOVE Dark Chocolate Miniatures
8 oz. butter, cut into 1 inch pieces
5 eggs, room temperature (about 70 degrees)
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup all purpose flour
Powdered sugar, for dusting

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. Butter eight 4oz. individual remekins and set aside.
3. Melt the chocolate and the butter. Keep it hot.
4. With an electric mixer, whip eggs and sugar on medium speed for about 2 to 3 minutes, just until it turns lemony yellow.
5. Meanwhile, whisk the flour into the chocolate mixture.
6. Add the chocolate mixture all at once to the egg and sugar mixture and whisk for 1 minute.
7. Divide evenly among the ramekins filling up just to the top. Place on a baking pan.
8. Bake for 5 minutes. Turn the pan one-half turn and continue baking for 3 to 4 minutes more. The cakes will be firm on the outside rim and erupting in the center. Lightly dust with powdered sugar and serve immediately.

*** Will probably need ice cream or a large glass of milk to go with it.

Recipe Blog

I love blogging and wanted a dedicated place for family recipes so I am starting Kristi's Kitchen. I love to cook and hopefully I can get on the ball and be a better cook for my family and learn new recipes.