Chocolate Peanut Butter Mug Cake

Found this recipe here The Family Kitchen and am in love with it. very quick and easy... makes a single serving.. perfect for sharing with a loved one.. a little bit of whip cream or ice cream and it is double Perfect! I followed the recipe,  took one and a half minutes in my microwave.. and then I also sprinkled a few chocolate chips on top.

Rhubarb Filled Cookies

Grandmas are a child's best friend... at least my grandma was when I was growing up. I miss my grandma a lot... this time of year is always the hardest... memories of working in the garden and the yard with her and baking.... she made the best rhubarb cookies. Dad says this is not the same as her recipe... but it is close enough for me that it  brings back so many wonderful memories of being young and carefree and playing at grandmas.

Rhubarb Filled Cookies Recipes

Ingredients For: Rhubarb Filled Cookies Recipes
1/2-cup butter
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2-teaspoon salt
1-tablespoon milk
1-teaspoon vanilla

Filling For: Rhubarb Filled Cookies Recipes
3 cups rhubarb, chopped
1/4-cup water
1 cup granulated sugar

Instructions For: Rhubarb Filled Cookies Recipes
Mix filling ingredients and cook until soft. Set aside and chill.

To prepare Dough: Cream butter, add sugar and cream together well. Beat eggs and add to this mixture.
Combine flour, baking powder and salt. Add flour mixture to butter mix alternating with milk and vanilla.
Chill dough.
On floured board, roll out dough 1/2" thick. Using a 2" cutter, cut out cookies .
Place cookies on a greased or sprayed cookie sheet.
Cover dough with a teaspoon of filling. Top with another cookie and press edges together with tines of a floured fork.
Bake rhubarb filled cookies recipes in 400°F oven for 10 minutes.

*these grow when you bake them so make them small :)

Apple Pie.. in an Apple

Saw this today while cruising around looking for something and I can not wait to make them.. Great post HERE on the how to and with lots more amazing photos they took.

Soft Pumpkin Cookies

Old fashioned soft pumpkin cookie recipe. I have been making these at least once a year for as long as I can remember and they are a super easy cookie that everyone seems to love. They are soft almost like a pumpkin bread. We love to eat them with a dab of cool whip to dip them in. In the picture I made a cinnamon glaze.. just a little bit of butter and some powdered sugar with vanilla and cinnamon.. mixed with a little bit of water until thin then drizzled over.

Mix together and set aside

2.5 cups of flour
1tsp baking soda
1tsp baking powder
1tsp cinnamon
.5 tsp nutmeg
.5 tsp salt

Cinnamon and nutmeg are to flavor.. I add at least twice that amount


Mix in a large bowl

1.5 cups sugar
.5 cup of butter ( 1 stick )
1 cup pumpkin
1 large egg
1tsp of vanilla

Mix dry ingredidants into wet and stir well... drop by teaspoons onto cookie sheet and bake about 15-18 minutes at 350 degrees.

I always make at least a double batch and most the time I triple it.

Hidden Vegetable Chili / Soup

We are doing a very VERY low calorie diet, the HCG liquid diet, and can only eat certain foods. We have two servings of fruit, two of protein and 4 of vegetables. Mind you.. only certain foods in those groups. With a honey who does not eat any vegetables.. wait he will eat iceburg lettuce... no other lettuce or vegetable at all though.. so this has been a bit tricky.

This is what I came up with and so far I have done two versions of it.. the only thing that is different is the spices. Today I am doing the chili one since it is his favorite, the other one is Italian spices in it.. that is my favorite.

Hidden Vegetable Chili Soup

recipe is for one serving.. just multiply by whatever number of servings to make more. I make a big pot of it and then just warm up a bowl at a time.

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup of beef broth

1 cup of diced onion

1 cup of diced celery

1 cup of diced cauliflower

1 cup of diced tomato

1 cup of red and green peppers diced up

3.5 oz of ground hamburger ( either in a patty on the side or in the soup )

Boil until tender then mash up... I like it to have some texture but for us it can not look like vegetables at all... the texture would be all up to you.

Add some chili seasoning.. again.. as much or as little as you would like.

1 big bowl of the soup equals 4 servings of vegetables and one protein!

Sometimes we eat this like a soup and have a burger patty on the side.. sometimes we cook up the hamburger and put it in the bowl and pour the soup over and mix it all up. We do sprinkle a tiny bit of cheese on top even though it is not on the approved list of foods.

In a couple of weeks when we are eating a bit more I will also be adding carrots to this mix.

Chili in the Crockpot

I start this recipe the night before.. which sometimes messes me up if I forget. Can also be made with canned beans.

Soak one bag ( about 3 or 4 cups) of kidney beans over night in a pan of cold water ( sometimes I add different kinds of beans with it.. just depends on what I have.. mostly I use kidney beans

In the morning I turn the pot on high and boil just until the beans start to split.

While doing this I brown up some hamburger, or grab some already browned from the freezer.

I add to the crock pot... 2 small cans of tomato sauce, a large can of diced tomatoes, 1 small can of mamwich sauce, 1/2 pound of shredded carrots, some finely chopped celery and onion, some chili seasoning (a lot of a little depending on how spicy I want it ) and the drained beans and the hamburger. I add V8 juice ( low sodium) as it cooks if it needs more moisture. I cook it on low all day.. stirring every so often and adding more V8 as needed. If I am running late I cook it on high for an hour or two is all.

This makes a sweet and spicy chili.. everything in it can be varied depending on how much you want.. sometimes it is meatier than other times.. sometimes I add different types of meat.. can throw in some stew meat or some turkey or deer... basically whatever you have... can even mix it up and add more than one kind... if you want a bit more tomato or less carrot ( I sneak in as many veggies as I can )

I then cook up a bit of rice and a bit of macaroni and people can dish it up as they want.. I love adding fresh diced tomatoes on top and some onion and cheese.. a little corn bread on the side and I am good to go

Blue Cheese

This is not a recipe.. but a request for your favorite recipes that use Blue Cheese!



Camping with my sister this weekend and they grilled up some steaks and topped them with some grilled onions and mushrooms ( no mushrooms on mine ) and then covered them with blue cheese and melted it all together and I was in heaven.

My first experience with blue cheese was when I cleaned a friends fridge for her and threw out all her moldy stinky cheese... I was so disgusted... and now I am in love with it and wanting to add it to everything. I would love to know what you put blue cheese in.

Beer Margaritas

Last summer while camping with my sister she made a pitcher of these and I loved them right away... when we went camping with friends this last weekend I brought along all the stuff to make some and I still love them... going to be keeping the motor home stocked from now on with the supplies needed.

1 can of frozen limeade

that same can 1/2 to 3/4 full of tequila

2 cans/bottle of beer

Pour it all into a pitcher and stir.. serve over ice.

Apple Streusel Muffins

I just used a basic muffin recipe, this one is from the Fannie Farmer Cookbook which I love and have made many many recipes from.

2 cups of flour

1 Tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 Tablespoons sugar

Mix together well

Add ( you want to just add these in gently you do NOT want to super mix this.. you want it lumpy not smooth )

1 slightly beaten egg

1cup of milk

1/4 cup melted butter

Topping ( I am guessing here on the measurements, I just sort of melt some butter and then mix in a bit more sugar than flour to get a crumbly texture I can sprinkle on the cupcakes )

2 Tablespoons melted butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup flour

cinnamon and nutmeg to flavor

These are super easy and taste great.. you can add just about anything to them. I love them plain like this with a streusel topping and decided this time to use up a couple of apples I had laying around too soft to eat. I peeled and chopped them up and I was going to add them to the batter like I have done before ( blue berries are awesome in these too ) but decided to go for the surprise factor. I scooped some batter into the muffin tin and then added the apples, sprinkled with a little of the streusel, layered with more batter then covered with the streusel and baked.

( about 350 for about 20 minutes )

~Michelle

Peanut Butter Brownies

This post will take me longer to write than making these brownies took.. Problem is.. I keep having to stop to sneak a bite. These are everything wonderful about brownies, chocolate and Peanut Butter! So soft and chewy and flavorful. I found this recipe on the best baking site I know of... Java CupCakes, this is the 4th recipe I have tried from there and the 4th that I have Loved! ( 3 of them are peanut butter and chocolate combos..hmmm) I changed the recipe up just a little bit... so be sure and check hers out as it is a little different and looks oh so wonderful, with maybe a bit more chocolate in it *hint*



1 sticks unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cups sugar
3/4 cup peanut butter ( I used freshly ground honey roasted from BelleWoodsAcres* )
1 large egg
1 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cups all-purpose flour
dash salt

I mixed this up and spread it in a square baking pan (this is a half recipe.. a full one does a 9x13 pan) Baked at 325 for about 30 - 40 minutes until they were just starting to turn a light brown, took them out and let them cool.

You would then need to make up some ganache, or be like me and keep some in the fridge at all times and just scoop some out and warm it up slightly. One I got this recipe from javacupcake I have had some in the house since.

For ganache
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened

Put chocolate chips (1 1/2 cups) in a heatproof bowl.
Bring cream to a boil in a small saucepan, then pour over chocolate chips and let mixture stand for one minute.
Gently whisk in butter until it is incorporated, chocolate is melted, and a smooth mixture forms

Spread this on top of the cooled brownies.. and then sprinkle with crushed peanuts if you would like.

BelleWood Acres is a local (lynden, Wa)apple farm that has the best apples and peanut butter ever. When you are lucky you can pick up their stuff at a local Haggens ( grocery store ) that my son and a good friend works at.... as soon as it comes in they both are bringing me some :) *love you guys*

~Michelle

Texas Caviar ( a chip dip )

This stuff is amazing... so many wonderful flavors and no fighting for balance.. they all just do a happy dance in your mouth. A friend brought this over the other night and I loved it before I had even tasted it.. it is so pretty and then scooping it up with the lime chips was the perfect match. I did have some on regular chips and it was not nearly as amazing.. but still very good.



4 large tomatoes-chopped (better to take seeds out so it isnt soupy)
2 avocados-chopped
1/2 c. (small bunch) chopped cilantro
1 can Shoepeg corn
1 can black eyed peas
4-6 (med bunch) chopped green onions
Dressing:
1/4 c red wine vinegar
1/4 c olive oil
1/8 tsp pepper
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp cumin
1/2-1 tsp salt (less if chips salty)
Serve with Lime flavored chips. Enjoy!

Thank you Laura!

Victoria Sponge

When visiting my mother in law, who is from England, I noticed this book on her shelf and while flipping through it saw a recipe for the cake I have been looking for, Victoria Sponge that sounds wonderful. I borrowed the book and was going to type out the recipe on here so I could find it later ( when I have a bit of time to make it ) I got to looking for some links to the book online and found a wonderful link that shares recipes and so much more that I just had to share the site.

Taste the World & Celebrate the Joy of Afternoon Tea
With Margaret M Johnson

Victoria Sponge

Cake:

1 cup of butter (room temp)
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch of salt
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
4 large eggs
2 cups self rising flour

Filling:
5 Tablespoons butter (room temp)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups of confectioner's sugar (plus some for dusting)
2 1/2 teaspoons milk
1/2 cup strawberry jam

preheat oven to 325. Spray a 9 inch round pan with cooking oil. Dust with flour.
In a medium bowl, cream the butter and sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla, salt, lemon zest. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Whisk in flour until smooth.

Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the top is golden and a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan for 15 minutes on a wire rack.

To make the filling Beat the butter and vanilla with an electric mixer until smooth. Beat in the 1 1/2 cups sugar a little at a time. Beat in the milk and continue to beat until light and fluffy.

Invert the cake onto a serving plate, then turn it upright. Cut it in half horizontally and spread the bottom half with the jam. Spread the filling over the jam and place the top half of the cake on it cut side down. Lightly sift confectioners' sugar over the top. Cover and refrigerate the cake for 1 hour before serving. Garnish with fresh strawberries if desired.

This will be the recipe I will be trying. I will also be making some sort of a mocha frosting for the top of half of it as that is what Dave remembers his mom serving it with and it is a childhood memory I hope to recreate for him.

~Michelle

Peanut Butter Cookies

This is to share my favorite recipe for peanut butter cookies, easy and simple.. and while I am at it I am going to share with you one of my very favorite cook books.. a cookie cook book. This is the book I learned to cook from, it is old and falling apart.. I have written in it and spilled on it and taught my children to make cookies from it. Betty Crocker's Cooky Book. My copy is from 1973 but you can still buy it.. right from Betty Crocker's website I pick them up every time I see them at garage sales or thrift stores or anywhere. I am sure that over the years I have made every recipe at least once and most of them a lot more than that.

Now for the recipe:

1/2 cup shortening ( half butter or margarine)

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup of granulated sugar

1/2 cup of brown sugar ( packed )

1 egg

1 and 1/4 cup flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

mix this shortening, peanut butter, sugar and egg thoroughly. Mix in the dry ingredients and chill dough. I roll them into a small ball and either use a fork dipped in sugar to make a criss cross pattern on them or I roll them in balls and press into crushed peanuts until flattened. I bake at about 350 for about 10 minutes. Sort of depends on if I am feeling like soft or crisper cookies. below shows how to double the recipe.. lol I used to have to at least double it when all the kids lived here.

~Michelle

Sour Cream Sugar Cookies in Candy Cane Sprinkles

This is my favorite sugar cookie recipe... well one of them! This one is really easy and always taste great.

Mix together

1/2 cup ( one cube ) softened butter
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup white sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla *you could add a little dash of peppermint too if you wanted*
1 egg

add in
2 2/3 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

I put it in the fridge for a little bit ( while I get the sprinkles ready ) just to make it a little easier to handle.

Today I took a half dozen candy canes and put them in the food processor until they were just short of a powder. I then added a little bit of red sugar sprinkles for color. I poured some onto a plate to roll the cookies in.

I took the dough from the fridge and made small balls ( they will almost double ) with it which I then pressed into the sprinkles, flattening with my fingers. This covers one side and leaves the bottom sprinkle free, I like the way they cook this way. You could also drop by spoon onto the cookie sheet and then using the bottom of a glass you have dipped in the sprinkles to flatten the dough with.

Bake at 350 for about 7 minutes, you want to catch them just before they start to brown.

These are also great with Valentine sprinkles or just in plain sugar too :)

Today I made these for Valentines day... patted them out and used a heart shaped cookie cutter.... then tried the butter cream recipe from java cupcakes to frost them. They are so good! I am not used to decorating anything, having as many kids as I did it was about how many I could make and how fast.. they could eat them faster than I could cook them.. and they could care less what they looked like. So I need a bit more ( ok a lot more  ) practice with my decorating.

~Michelle

Christmas Cocoa, Coffee, or Tea

I was sitting here thinking I had no recipes to put in beverages. While I was sitting here thinking this I was using a candy cane to stir my coffee as I was sipping it. Then it hit me.. I do have a beverage recipe of sorts.

This time of year I love to add a candy cane to my coffee or cocoa and use it to stir with as I am drinking. It adds a hint of the holidays.

Ingredients and directions:

One hot beverage, could be coffee tea or hot cocoa

one regular candy cane, there are lots of other flavors that might work too.

put candy cane in beverage of choice, stir and enjoy :)

~Michelle

Victoria Sponge

Photo from this recipe Which I think will be the one I try if no one has one they have used.


Looking for a Victoria Sponge cake recipe. My honey grew up with this and loves it. I have found a couple online and may try one of them but would love if anyone has one they have used and great results with. Please put it in the comments if you have one.

Mashed Potato Pancakes

Great way to use up left over mashed potatoes.

1 cup mashed potatoes

1/2 cup flour.. sometimes a bit more.. depends on your potatoes.. you dont want them too sticky.

1 egg

salt

pepper

garlic (I love lots of this.. some people do not want any)

Mix it all together and scoop big tablespoons into a hot frying pan with butter in it (or a healthier cooking spray if you wanted) be sure to pat them down flat. Cook on each side until brown and then serve. I love mine with butter and syrup.

Potato Soup

This is not really a recipe as far as there are no real measurements or anything. This is something I grew up eating and that I love and one of those things that is different every time I make it.

Peal and dice ( if you want a smooth texture go small.. if you want a chunkier soup go bigger) some potatoes, depending on how many people you want to serve as to how many potatoes.. that and the size of potatoes makes a difference too. So basically do enough potatoes to feed everyone and throw in some extra because it is great warmed up too :)

Put the potatoes in a pan with water just covering them and boil until soft, here again is up to you as to how soft. When I make it I end up with them very soft like mashed potatoes, but you can leave yours a bit chunkier.

I add salt and pepper to taste, I chop up some onion and garlic to taste. I also like to add bacon. This can be uncooked bacon added while boiling the potatoes, or cooked bacon pieces added after the potatoes are cooked or you can just sprinkle some on top. You could also use ham or sausage or nothing. My mom used to use pieces of halibut sometimes. I also like to add corn to mine, after the potatoes are soft I just add a can or some frozen corn to it. The last thing I so is add one can of evaporated milk, Cook until it is all warm and then spoon into a bowl and sprinkle with cheddar cheese.

~Michelle

Pizza Dough

Daughter and I tried this recipe the other night and it was easy and simple and a lot of fun. It also tasted wonderful!

1 pkg yeast

1/2 cup warm water

mix and let sit a minute then add

1 1/2 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 Tbsp oil

Mix well then add

1 1/4 cup flour

knead ( in the bowl ) for a couple of minutes, if too sticky you can add up to 1/4 cup more of flour. ( no need to let rise ) Just roll it out ( or attempt to toss, we were not so great at that )

into the pan. You can make a larger thin crust or a couple of smaller thick crusts. You can curl the edges for a pizza crust or roll them flat. This is one of those recipes that you can tweak a lot to make it however you would like. We brushed the bottom of the crust with some flour before putting it on the pan ( to keep it from sticking ) next time I am going to do an herb/flour mixture to add a bit of flavor. *tried it and love the herbs in mixed into the flour when rolling out the dough*

Add the sauce and the toppings. We used what we had in the fridge, which was some spaghetti sauce and some cheese and pepperoni. Slide it in the oven until the top is all melted and bubbly and the crust just starts to brown. * about 15 to 20 minutes*

If someone has a good recipe for homemade pizza sauce I would love to have you leave it in the comments and I can post it and add a link here. Would also enjoy if you could leave a comment and share your favorite pizza toppings. I am hoping to do this again soon and have an assortment of toppings out so every one can top their own. Great movie night dinner, a lot cheaper than store bought and a LOT more fun.,

*recipe is from the Celebration 35 years 1950-1985 cookbook from Bellevue Christian School and been slightly edited to our taste*

~Michelle

Cup Cakes

Cup Cakes, originally uploaded by Chelle_Ballard.

This week I found a wonderful site... all about cupcakes.. JavaCupcakes
I believe I found her because someone I follow on twitter was following her and talking to her.. anyway.. one click lead to another click and pretty soon it was hours into looking through her site... and loving it. Great info and pictures and ... recipes! I also spent some time visiting with her on her twitter and now follow her on facebook too. I love company's that interact with people on a personal level.. and who are just fun to talk with :)

Last night I tried two of the recipes on her site... I tried the rhubarb cupcakes and the peanut butter chocolate ones... both are 110% awesome. Only one problem.. trying to decide which one to have. She has a page just for the recipes and I look forward to trying many more.

~Michelle