Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Peanut butter and chocolate are two of my favorite flavors together... who doesn't love a Reese's cup or TJ's dark chocolate pb cups!! I could literally eat all of them in one sitting. 
I also love peanut butter cookies but hate when they get hard the next day. 
I found this recipe and saw it had milk as one of the ingredients.  I haven't used milk in my chocolate chip cookies before but I thought why not.  At first I only used 1/2 Tbs but when i made the first tray they came out kind of dry, so I added another tbs... which made the dough really wet.  So I stuck them in the fridge for an hour.  
They are so delicious.  I made itty bitty cookies and they are so fun to eat.  Great dunked in milk or coffee!  Give them a try!  

Ingredients:
1/2 cup of peanut butter- I used Jiff creamy pb
1/2 cup of butter-softened 
1/2 cup of white sugar
1/2 cup of brown sugar
1/2 tsp of baking soda
1/2 tsp of baking powder
1 egg
1/2 tsp of vanilla
1 and 1/4 cups of flour
1 tbs of milk 
1/2 cup of chocolate chips- I didn't have quite enough chocolate chips so I added pb and white choc ones.

Directions: 
- Mix together butter and pb for 30 seconds.  
- Add the white and brown sugars to the mixture and beat for 2 minutes. 
- Then add in the baking powder and baking soda. 
- Once mixed beat in the egg and vanilla.  
- Beat in the flour- when it's tough add in the milk and mix.  
- Stir the chips in by hand.  

If it is sticky put in the fridge for 30 min - 1 hour.  Preheat oven to 375 and bake 8-10 minutes. 

Try not to eat all the cookies before dinner.  I had to send some to work with the hubby so I wouldn't eat them all!! 

Knorr Pasta Sides

I love easy side dishes!  Knorr Pasta Sides are almost always on sale at the grocery store and there is usually a coupon in the Sunday paper....so they are basically free! I buy them in all flavors!

So they are good on their own and if you are feeding children-they usually love them.  They have some flavor but not overwhelming.  Well my hubby and I like to spice them up.  They are great to add any veggies you have on hand to. You can also make them a meal by adding chicken, beef or shrimp to them.  

Last week we were having pork chops with stuffing and needed a side.  So i make the parmesan pasta side and added asparagus and tomatoes plus a couple spices and boy was it delicious!! 

Ingredients:

Knorr Pasta Side - Parmesan flavor

A handful of asparagus

2 cubes of garic

A handful of yellow baby tomatoes

pepper

Directions: I made the Knorr Pasta according to the directions on the package.  Meanwhile, I sautéed the asparagus in oil and threw in 2 cubes of garlic.  Once sautéed I mixed in the tomatoes.  Once the pasta was finished I mixed in the asparagus and tomatoes.  Added some pepper and voila had a great side dish!! 

Crunchy Tuna Salad

Growing up my Grandma Esther had a fabulous Tuna Salad recipe.  We would make it together and instead of measuring the mayonnaise or the mustard you just put in a spoonful and tasted it as you went.  Well this is how I do a lot of my cooking and every time I make something like this I think of her!

I have tuna salad a lot. It's an easy lunch recipe and lasts a couple of days.  Well lately, I wanted something with a little more flavor- so I made up my own recipe.  I used what I had in the pantry and boy did it come out good!!

Since it lasts a couple days... sometimes  I have it on two pieces of toast or with crackers or on top a of a salad!!

Ingredients:

1 can of tuna in water-drained
2 TBS of light Hellman's Mayonnaise
1 TBS of plain greek yogurt
1 TSP of mustard
2 cups of shredded cabbage- I used the coleslaw mixture which also had carrots.
2 TBS of dried cranberries
1/4 cup of green onions- See note below
Salt and pepper to taste
A sprinkle of sugar

Add all ingredients together and serve how you like!  If you get it too sweet add some apple cider vinegar!! Taste as you go!!

Green onions:  So why can't green onions come in a smaller package.  When a recipe calls for them you usually don't need more than 1/3 cup... ugh and the rest usually go to waste!! Not any more!  

I found this idea awhile ago and it totally helps-- When you get home from the store with your green onions, wash them and let them dry.  Then cut up in small pieces and put in a clean dry water bottle and freeze!  This way when a recipe calls for them you just shake them out of the bottle! It's awesome, I have started doing this with parsley and basil! Works great!! Enjoy!! 

Bahama Mama Chicken

Bahama Mama... is that a cocktail?  I would love one of those right now while sitting on the beach.. oh how nice that would be.  However, I am in my dining room while it's 20 degrees outside and earlier we needed something yummy for dinner.  I brought the Caribbean to us!  I found a recipe for Bahama Mama Chicken from Creme de la Crumb but had to change it a bit to what I had on hand.  The recipe calls for Jamaican Jerk Seasoning... well don't ya know the local Food Lion doesn't carry that spice--lame, so I had to make my own.  The recipe is below:

1TBS of garlic powder

1.5 TSP of cayenne red pepper--- Decrease to 1 TSP -it was too spicy

1 TSP of onion powder

1 TSP of thyme

1 TSP of parsley

1 TSP of sugar

1 TSP of salt

1/2 TSP of paprika

1/4 TSP of black pepper

1/4 TSP of red pepper-- Decrease to 1/8 TSP

1/2 TSP of nutmeg

1/8 TSP of ground clove

1/8 TSP of cinnamon

Mix all seasoning together.... it was quite tasty!! This makes about a 1/4 cup of seasoning!! Save and use later.  

The recipe suggested this dish be served with rice--but if you know me... I kinda hate rice! So instead I used zucchini and squash noodles--super delicious and a great pairing!  The pictures aren't the best... but the taste is amazing! 

As for the chicken I used 2 chicken breasts and rubbed the homemade seasoning on my chicken. Then I let them sit while I prepared the sauce.  Once I had the sauce on the stove I cooked the chicken  about 4 minutes on each side.  

The Sauce:

1/2 cup of canned pineapple--- the dog got the other half-- he was pretty happy!

1/2 TSP of minced garlic

1 TBS of apple cider vinegar

1/8 cup of sugar

2 TBS of soy sauce

1/3 cup of water

1 TBS of cornstarch + 1 TBS of cold water

Instructions: Add pineapple, garlic, vinegar, sugar, soy sauce and water into a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Meanwhile, mix the cornstarch and 1 TBS of water together until dissolved.  Once sauce begins to boil add the cornstarch, turn down the heat to simmer and cover pan.  Simmer until chicken is done 10ish minutes.  

I  sautéed the zucchini and squash noodles in some oil.  

I served the zucchini noodles on the bottom with the chicken on top and the sauce poured over it.  

Ours was really spicy but delicious!! We ate up every bite! I edited the ingredients for the seasoning so that it would not be so hot!  

Next time I am going to serve this with bread to scrape up all the extra sauce!  

Hope you enjoy and it warms up your winter night!! 

Until next time!!

Quinoa Orange Salad

When I hear the word Quinoa all I can think of is the Bud Light Commercial (click the link to see it) with the guy who pronounces it Queeno and talks about how terrible it is... haha.  How many times have you heard it pronounced differently?  Well I found a fabulous quinoa salad recipe by Damn Delicious and you have to try it! I served it warm for dinner last evening then had it cold today... boy was it delicious!! A great power punch of protein!!

Ingredients:

1 cup of quinoa (rinsed and drained)
2 oranges
1 red pepper- diced
1 jalapeno- diced
1 can of black beans- drained and rinsed
1/2 can of corn- drained
1/3 cup red onion-chopped
2 TBS of fresh parsley--- the original recipe called for Cilantro-- I hate cilantro so I used parsley!

Dressing
1/4 cup of olive oil
1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup of fresh orange juice
zest of 1 orange
1 TBS of sugar

Directions:
Cook quinoa according to the directions on the bag.  Mix together dressing using the juice and zest from one orange saving the other for the salad.  Set dressing aside to allow the flavors to mix.  Cut up veggies, cans of beans and corn and combine with quinoa.  Pour dressing and stir.  Enjoy now or save for later-- Even better the next day once the flavors really mix in.

Better than ever Rice Krispie Treats

I don't know about you but I love a good Rice Krispie Treat.  Somehow they are just so simple but amazing at the same time.  They are great if you don't like chocolate (although I love it) and are easy to make.  Growing up we made them all the time by following the recipe on the back of the box.  Well these are about to blow your mind!! They are so yummy I wish I had some left to snack on, but the hubby ate the last one :-(

I got the recipe from Cookies and Cups Blog. This gal makes some amazing things but boy these were just the best.  Could it be the extra marshmallows or the salt.... yes I said salt!! I barely have a picture of these because they went sooooo fast!! My husband said they were the best krispie treat he has ever had!!! They aren't dry and scratch the roof of your mouth and they aren't  the overly sweet store bought kind... they are the perfect Rice Krispie Treat and you need to try it... right now!!!

Ingredients: 

5 TBS of butter-- I used Kerrygold!! 

6 Cups of Rice Krispies

8 Cups of Miniature Marshmallows + 2 Cups of Extra Mini Marshmallows 

1/2 TSP of salt

Directions:  Melt butter in pan.  Add 8 cups of marshmallows and stir till melted.  Mix in Rice Krispies and salt. Once almost mixed add in the extra 2 cups of mallows.  Stir until coated then push into a pan!  (Her recipe calls for a 9x9 but I didn't have one so I did 13x9). 

Try as hard as you can to let them cool then cut! Ok so I couldn't wait!! I ate like 4 once they came out of the pan!! Watch out they are AMAZING!! Enjoy! 

Update: Made these again...just as delicious.... and I even got a picture!! Enjoy!!