Chocolate Cake Cookies

Now that it's summer my kids are always asking for snacks. I do love to stick to healthier things such as fruits, veggies, yogurt, cheese sticks, crackers, etc. However, every once in awhile you just need something sweet! I love this VERY EASY recipe for Chocolate Cake Cookies. You can make them within a half hour and enjoy!



 Ingredients:
One Chocolate Fudge cake mix (I love Betty Crocker)
2 large eggs
1/2 C vegetable oil

Directions:
Mix all ingredients in bowl. Roll dough into small balls (approx 1 inch). Place 12 on baking sheet and cook at 350 degrees for 8-9 minutes (one pan at a time). You will know the cookies are done when they start to crack on the top. Let cool on pan for about 2 min then transfer to a cooling rack. It's that simple, and they are so delicious!! I usually get 2 1/2 to 3 dozen out of one box of cake mix.

Ham Fried Rice

For some reason my pictures keep turing to the side. Oh well, you can still see it. This is my ham fried rice recipe. We love it. I add something different that my husband doesn't necissarily like, but really you can't taste it (the coleslaw mix). This recipe makes a lot.

Ingredients
4-5 C cooked rice (cooled in the fridge)
1 pkg diced ham (I like to buy the already diced ham pieces)
8 oz coleslaw mix
2-3 scrambles eggs
Soy sauce
1 bunch green onions (chopped)

Instructions
Cook the rice ahead of time. I like to do it the day before. Put the rice in a container in the fridge to cool. Fried rice works best with cold rice. Once ready to cook, heat a wok pan and spray with Pam. Put in diced ham, coleslaw mix, already scrambled eggs, and green onions in pan. Stir and let cook together on medium-high heat for about 5 minutes. Add the rice and stir everything together. Add a few splashes of soy sauce, just until rice in light brown. Add just a little at a time. You can always add more, but can't take any away. Let cook together on medium-low heat for about 15 minutes. I usually just turn it to low after awhile and finish cooking whatever else it is I am making for the main dish. Enjoy!

Chicken with Sweet and Sour Sauce



 This is a delicious one ladies! I have not seen a post for a long time...I want some more of your yummy recipes. Here is this easy and tasty one. Our whole family loves it. The best order is to boil the chicken breasts (I usually do this any time during the day), make the sweet and sour sauce, make the chicken batter, then cook the chicken pieces. Enjoy!

 This is the finished chicken, now here is how to make it... You need:

8 chicken breasts cut into bite size pieces (I cook the chicken first by boiling it)

Then you want to make the the batter...You need:
1 C all purpose flour
1 C cornstarch
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp garlic powder (garlic lovers add 1 tsp)
2 tsp sugar
1 1/3 C cold water (if reducing to half recipe, use 1/2 C plus 2 1/2 Tbsp water)
1-2 tsp sesame oil (optional but good to add...I just use vegetable oil if I don't have sesame)
Oil (for frying)
seasoning salt (optional, I don't use this)

Instructions:
In a large bowl combine flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, garlic powder; add in water and sesame oil; whisk vigorously until smooth. Add handfuls of chicken pieces and use your hands to mix until well coated. Heat oil in a deep fryer or dutch oven to 375 degrees. Carefully add chicken, one at a time, to the hot oil and fry until golden brown (it doesn't take more than about a minute or so because the chicken is already cooked). Remove from oil and place on a paper towel. Sprinkle with seasoning salt immediately after frying if desired (I don't use this).

Now for the yummy sweet and sour sauce:

You will need:
1/2 C ketchup
1 tsp soy sauce
1/3 C white vinegar
1/2 C brown sugar, lightly packed
1 C white sugar (can reduce to 2-3 Tbsp for a less sweet taste)
3/4 C cold water (or can use unsweetened pineapple juice or half of each. I don't like pineapple so I just use the water)
3 Tbsp cornstarch (for a thinner sauce reduce to 2 Tbsp, or for very thick sauce use 4 Tbsp)

Instructions:
In a sauce pan combine the first 5 ingredients and mix until well blended. In a bowl whisk the cold water (or pineapple juice) with cornstarch until smooth and well blended. Then whisk water mixture vigorously into the ketchup mixture; bring to a boil stirring or whisking constantly over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and continue simmering and mixing until thickened (be patient the sauce takes a few minutes to thicken up). Remove from heat and allow to sit at room temperature, or you may cool to room temperature then refrigerate until ready to use. I prefer room temperature.

Once the chicken is done I serve it on a plate and drizzle the sweet and sour sauce over it. It's so delicious! I got this recipe from a friend and I can get all my family to eat it. It may sound hard to make, but it really is easy. I serve it with my Ham Fried Rice. I'll post that recipe next!

Chicken Swiss Bundles

I love the Taste of Home magazine. I always find such yummy recipe's in it. This one I made last night, and it was a hit (even with my 3 year old).

Ingredients:

1 small onion
1/2 C sliced fresh mushrooms (I left this out)
1 1/2 tsp butter
1 garlic clove, minced
1 C cubed cooked chicken breast
1/2 C chopped roasted sweet red peppers
1 Tbsp honey mustard
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp lemon pepper seasoning
1/4 tsp Italian seasoning
2 C (8 oz) shredded Swiss cheese
12 frozen bread dough dinner rolls, thawed
2 Tbsp butter melted

Directions:

In a large skillet, saute onion and mushrooms in butter until tender. Add garlic; cook 1 more min. add chicken, peppers, mustard and seasonings; heat through. Remove from heat and stir in cheese.

Flatten each roll into a 5 inch circle. Place 1/4 C chicken mixture in the center of six circles. Brush edges with water; top with remaining circles. Press edges with a fork to seal.

Place on greased baking sheets; brush with butter. Bake at 350 for 18-22 min or until golden brown. Cut bundles in half to serve. Can serve as side dish with soup or as a main dish. Makes 6 bundles.

My personal notes: I put the frozen rolls on some cling wrap with a lot of Pam. Then I covered them with another layer of cling wrap also sprayed with a lot of Pam. Then I didn't have to worry about them drying out, sticking to anything when I rolled them out, and I didn't have to grease baking sheets.

I love flavor in my foods, so I don't really measure the ingredients. I always add a little bit more. In this I added extra honey mustard, lemon pepper seasoning, and Italian seasoning. Where it calls for a sweet red pepper, I just used a regular red bell pepper. Also, it calls for Swiss cheese and I just used a blended mixture of cheese I already had. I also doubled the recipe and used it as a main dish. With doubling the recipe, I wanted to use a lot of chicken to make sure they were stuffed full, so I boiled 5 chicken breasts and then cut them up into cubes.

First rolled out rolls with chicken mixture ( I added more than 1/4 c each roll)

Tops put on, and buttered.

The final product. They were so, so good!

Potato Cheese Soup

I wish I had a picture of this. It is very easy to make and it is so yummy! It's great for a cold winter night. Serves 8-10.

Ingredients:

3 quarts water
8 potatoes, diced
1 medium onion, chopped
2-3 celery stalks, chopped
2-3 carrots, diced
5 chicken boullion cubes (can add more if would like, I sometimes put 9 if they are small)
salt and pepper to taste

2 cups milk
1 cup flour
3 cups grated cheese

Instructions:

Add potatoes, onion, celery, carrots, chicken boullion, salt and pepper to 3 quarts water. Boil one hour, stirring occasionally. After the soup has boiled for an hour, mix 2 cups milk with 1 cup flour until not lumpy, then add to soup mixture. Cook until soup thickens. Stir in 3 cups grated cheese until melted.

Mexican Rice, Delicious!

2 cups rice

2 Tbs canola oil

2 cups Herdez salsa (or other favorite, homemade, etc., medium or mild)

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

Brown rice in 2 Tbs canola oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add Salsa. Add chicken broth. Bring to a boil. Place in oven heated to 350 for 30 minutes.

I made this today in my new cast iron enameled casserole dish (which I LOVE). It was just a touch over done, so if you use anything like that I would recommend checking it at 20 minutes. Also, we used hot salsa which Claire tolerated, but normally she would eat a ton of rice and she only ate half of what I expected. Whoops!

We had it with Chile Verde burritos, but it would go with anything in a tortilla! Pretty easy and way better than the stuff from a packet.

Green Beans WITH BACON

So the traditional cream of mushroom green bean casserole has never been a favorite. Really, I find it disgusting. I found a really awesome, but really complicated version out of my Martha Stewart cookbook. I loved it until I made it the second time, right when my aversion to food was ramping up while I was pregnant with Claire. Since then, I've not been up to the task as it is very labor intensive. I found this alternative last year and I don't think I will ever do it another way. Who doesn't like bacon anyway?

Serves 8

2 lbs Fresh Green Beans

3 tbs Butter

8 slices Thick Cut Bacon

Fresh Ground Pepper

Snap the beans into one inch lengths. Cut the bacon into one inch squares or smaller. Melt the butter in a skillet. Throw in the bacon and cook until crispy. Set aside. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Cook beans in boiling water for 10 minutes. Drain beans and add to bacon/butter mixture. Stir until coated. Add pepper to taste.

Enjoy!