Chocolate Chip Oreo Cookies

Found these here


•1 stick softened butter
•6 Tablespoons sugar
•6 Tablespoons brown sugar
•1 egg
•1 teaspoon vanilla
•1 ¼ cup flour
•½ teaspoon baking soda
•½ teaspoon salt
•11 broken pieces Oreo Cookies
•1 cup chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cream butter, and sugars until well combined. Add egg and vanilla until mixed well.
2. Place flour, baking soda and salt into a large bowl, stir to combine. Slowly add dry ingredients to wet ingredients then stir in oreos and chocolate chips until just combined.
3. With a medium cookie scoop, scoop onto baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes or until cooked, but still soft. Let cool on baking sheet for 3 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.

Sweet and Sour Chicken

I made this the other day. It was .R.E.A.L.L.Y. good! I will definitely be making it again.

Chicken Ingredients
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Salt and Pepper
1 c cornstarch
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 c canola oil

Sauce Ingredients
3/4 c sugar
4 T ketchup
1/2 c vinegar
1 T soy sauce
1 t garlic salt

Directions
Cut boneless chicken breasts into chunks. Season with salt and pepper. Dip chicken in cornstarch and then in egg. Fry in a little oil until brown but not cooked through. Place in a single layer in a baking dish. Mix sauce ingredients together and pour over chicken. Bake for one hour at 325 degrees. Turn chicken every 15 minutes. If you like extra sauce, make another batch of sauce and bring it to a boil on the stovetop. Stir constantly and let cook over medium heat until thickened and reduced - about 6-8 minutes.

Old-Fashioned Blueberry Muffins

From Daily Herald (March 28)

2 c flour
2/3 c sugar
1 t baking powder
1/2 t nutmeg
1/2 t salt
1 1/2 c unsweetened blueberries, partially thawed if frozen
2 eggs
1/2 c milk
1/2 c butter

In large bowl mix flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg. Add blueberries; stir to coat evenly. In small bowl beat eggs with fork; beat in milk and butter. Add to blueberry mixture; stir just until blended. Fill greased or paper lined cups 2/3 full. Sprinkle with sugar. Bake 15-20 minutes or until tops spring back when touched.

Six Can Chicken Tortilla Soup

I found this recipe on allrecipes.com. It looked really good on this COLD April day (yes, I said April) and it seemed EASY! And it was...

1 (15 oz) can whole kernel corn, drained
2 (14.5 oz) can chicken broth (*I did 1 can chicken broth and 1 can cream of chicken soup - made it creamier)
1 (10 oz) can chunk chicken
1 (15 oz) can black beans
1 (10 oz) can diced tomatoes with green chili peppers, drained (I only had stewed tomatoes, that I threw in the food processor and added a little can of diced green chilies.)

Pour everything into a large saucepan. Simmer over medium heat until chicken is heated through. Ready in 20 minutes!!! Serve over tortilla chips or just in a bowl with corn bread. Don't forget to add cheese or sour cream also.

*I also added some chili powder, garlic powder, pepper, salt, and a little taco seasoning. Just add whatever spices you want. It is SUPER good...and probably would be fine, if you freezed it.

Easter Story Cookies

I just got this in a forward today...a couple days late. But I will keep it in mind for next year. It sounds like a really neat way to teach kids about Easter, the real Easter.

Let me know if you've tried it and it works.

To be made the evening before Easter.

You need:
1 cup whole pecans
1 tsp. vinegar
3 egg whites
pinch salt
1 cup sugar
zipper baggie
wooden spoon
tape
A Bible

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. This is important! Don't wait until you're half done with the recipe!
Place pecans in zipper baggie and let children beat them with the wooden spoon to break into small pieces. Explain that after Jesus was arrested, He was beaten by the Roman soldiers.

Read John 19:1-3.

Let each child smell the vinegar. Put 1 tsp. vinegar into mixing bowl. Explain that when Jesus was thirsty on the cross, He was given vinegar to drink.

Read John 19:28-30.

Add egg whites to vinegar. Eggs represent life. Explain that Jesus gave His life to give us life.

Read John 10:10-11.

Sprinkle a little salt into each child's hand. Let them taste it and brush the rest into the bowl. Explain that this represents the salty tears shed by Jesus' followers, and the bitterness of our own sin.

Read Luke 23:27.

So far, the ingredients are not very appetizing.

Add 1 cup sugar. Explain that the sweetest part of the story is that Jesus died because He loves us. He wants us to know and belong to Him.

Read Ps. 34:8 and John 3:16.

Beat with a mixer on high speed for 12 to 15 minutes until stiff peaks are formed. Explain that the color white represents the purity in God's eyes of those whose sins have been cleansed by Jesus.

Read Isa. 1:18 and John 3:1-3.

Fold in broken nuts. Drop by teaspoons onto wax paper covered cookie sheet. Explain that each mound represents the rockytomb where Jesus' body was laid.

Read Matt. 27:57-60.
Put the cookie sheet in the oven, close the door and turn the oven OFF.

Give each child a piece of tape and seal the oven door. Explain that Jesus' tomb was sealed.

Read Matt. 27:65-66.

NOW GO TO BED! Explain that they may feel sad to leave the cookies in the oven overnight. Jesus' followers were in despair when the tomb was sealed.

Read John 16:20 and 22.

On Easter morning, open the oven and give everyone a cookie. Notice the cracked surface and take a bite. The cookies are hollow! On the firstEaster, Jesus' followers were amazed to find the tomb open and empty.

Read Matt. 28:1-9

Simply BadAss Chicken Enchiladas

I found this recipe here. Looks like a good "addition" to my usual enchiladas. Hoping they turn out good!

Simply BadAss Chicken Enchiladas

What you'll need:

2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast meat - cut into chunks
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 1/4 cups sour cream
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1 tablespoon butter
1 small onion, chopped
1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chilies, drained
1 (1.25 ounce) package mild taco seasoning mix
1 bunch green onions, chopped, divided
1 cup water
1 teaspoon lime juice
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
5 (12 inch) flour tortillas
3 cups Cheddar cheese, shredded, divided
1 (10 ounce) can enchilada sauce
1 (6 ounce) can sliced black olives

Directions

Place the chicken in a large pot and add water to cover. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the chicken pieces are no longer pink, about 10 minutes. Shred chicken by placing two forks back to back and pulling meat apart. Set the shredded chicken aside. Meanwhile, combine the cream of chicken soup, sour cream, and chili powder in a saucepan. Bring to a simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally, then turn off the heat and cover to keep warm.
Heat the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in the onion; cook and stir until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the shredded chicken, chopped green chilies, taco seasoning, half of the bunch of chopped green onion, and water. Allow to simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in the lime juice, onion powder, and garlic powder; simmer for an additional 10 minutes.
Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Stir 1 cup of the soup mixture into the skillet with the chicken mixture. Spread the remaining soup mixture on the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish.
Fill each tortilla with chicken mixture. Sprinkle Cheddar cheese over the chicken filling before folding the tortillas, reserving half of the shredded cheese for topping the enchiladas. Fold tortillas over the filling and place seam-side down in the prepared pan.
Pour enchilada sauce evenly over the enchiladas. Cover with the remaining 1 1/2 cups of Cheddar cheese. Sprinkle the reserved chopped green onions and the sliced olives on top of the cheese. Bake in the preheated oven until filling is heated through and the cheese is melted and bubbling, about 25 minutes

Freezer Friendly Friday - pb&j

This may be the lamest Freezer Friday post yet, but our lives have been forever changed by one little gadget, and I wanted to share it with you. I have had my eye on it for about a month and couldn't seem to get my hands on one. Finally, because I am super cool/cheap/lucky/blessed, I spotted one at a Savers Thriftstore, in a grab bag, for $1.99, with a set of measuring spoons, half a set of measuring cups, and a veggie slicer gadget that only works if you have a veggie slicer. I was giddy as I walked up to pay my $1.99.

I could have taken it home and sold it on eBay for $7.99 but instead, I gave it a good washing and then put it to use.

It is a Pampered Chef cut-n-seal sandwich maker. It works for any kind of sandwich, but it makes the finest de-crusted pb&j's since they invented Uncrustables, only a lot cheaper!

And because they are sealed, less mess!

There is nothing fancy about the recipe, but I love that I can make a few pb&j sandwiches, place them in a ziploc in the freezer, and I am ready for an impromptu picnic. They will thaw in about an hour, or you can microwave them for about 25 seconds and voila!

Seriously, life changing.

I bet they will freezerburn if left too long, but you could make a weeks worth and throw them in a sack lunch, or send them with the spouse as they are leaving for work.

sorry about the sideways pictures!!