Chocolate, Chocolate and More Chocolate!

 Are you on Pinterest yet? Well you should be! There are so many amazing things on there like this recipe I am going to share with you. The recipe is the "Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie n' Oreo Fudge Brownie Bar" by Amanda over at KevinAndAmanda.com. This bar cookie is packed with as much yumminess as the title would lead you to believe. 

Edited to add-I just typed out this whole blog post and realized I never got a picture of these yummy bars! Ugh! Well, check out Amanda's site to see her pics. They are amazing!

Ingredients:
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups (12 ounces) milk chocolate chips(I used semi-sweet)
1 pkg Double Stuffed Oreos(I used regular Oreos)
1 Family Size (9×13) Brownie mix
1/4 cup hot fudge topping(I didn't add this, but it would be awesome!)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cream the butter and both sugars in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed for 3-5 minutes. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix well to thoroughly combine. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt, then slowly incorporate into the mixer until the flour is just combined. Stir in chocolate chips. Spread the cookie dough in the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish that’s been lined with wax paper and sprayed with cooking spray. Top with a layer of Oreos. Mix together brownie mix, adding an optional 1/4 cup of hot fudge topping to the mix. Pour the brownie batter over the cookie dough and Oreos. Bake at 350 degrees F for 45-55 minutes.

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Blueberry Streusel Muffins

Usually I prefer blueberry muffins without any sugary topping. Some of the muffins I've had from the bakery are waaay too sweet for me! Not sure why, because I LOVE sweets! Well I decided to try a blueberry muffin recipe I found at allrecipes.com. Oh my! These were amazing! The perfect amount of sweetness for me. The topping was incredible! The kids loved them too. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup white sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 egg

1/3 cup milk

1 cup fresh blueberries

1/2 cup white sugar

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup butter, cubed

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease muffin cups or line with muffin liners.Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, salt and baking powder. Place vegetable oil into a 1 cup measuring cup; add the egg and enough milk to fill the cup. Mix this with flour mixture. Fold in blueberries. Fill muffin cups right to the top, and sprinkle with crumb topping mixture. To Make Crumb Topping: Mix together 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, 1/4 cup butter, and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon. Mix with fork, and sprinkle over muffins before baking. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until done.

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Whole Grain Waffles

In an effort to provide my kids with more healthy breakfast choices, I decided to make up a batch of waffles to freeze. I found a recipe for whole grain waffles over at allrecipes.com that were amazing! The kids loved them! Surprisingly, they do not have a very strong grain taste. Give them a try!

Ingredients:

2 eggs, beaten

1 3/4 cups skim milk

1/4 cup canola oil

1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1/2 cup flax seed meal

1/4 cup wheat germ

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

1 tablespoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

 

Directions:

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, oil, applesauce, and vanilla. Beat in whole wheat pastry flour, flax seed meal, wheat germ, all-purpose flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt until batter is smooth. Preheat a waffle iron, and coat with cooking spray. Pour batter into waffle iron in batches, and cook until crisp and golden brown.

To freeze, I just stacked, cooled waffles into a freezer bag. Pin It

Is Making It From Scratch Any Cheaper?

Lately I've been wondering if it is cheaper to make everyday items from scratch, or to just buy them. Now of course some things just taste better when they are made from scratch, but sometimes it may not be worth the extra time in the kitchen if the cost equals the cost to just buy it. Here's an interesting article I stumbled across, written by Jennifer Resse. It highlights a few everyday pantry items and shows us if it is more cost effective to buy them or to make them. You can check it out here. Pin It

Baked Chicken Skins

Before you get all grossed out, I'll let you know ahead of time, that these were for my dog! That being said, you can certainly make them for yourself. After all, skin off a fried chicken is pretty tasty! Anyway...I always skin my chicken before I cook it(unless I'm baking it, then I skin it after because it keeps it moist). As I was skinning a pack of chicken I decided I'd try to bake it up for my dog, as a treat. All I did was lay it on a lightly sprayed, foil lined baking pan. I baked them at 400 for about 15 minutes. Your dogs will love them! Keep the rest in the fridge if you have leftovers. If you do want to make these for human consumption, I'd sprinkle them with salt, pepper, and any other seasoning of choice(before putting them in the oven). Pin It

Homemade Granola Bars

 I'm really trying to make more everyday items from scratch. My family loves granola bars, so I decided to try these homemade granola bars from Allrecipes.com. We all loved them! Enjoy!

Ingredients

2 cups rolled oats
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup wheat germ
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup all-purpose flour(I used whole wheat pastry flour)
3/4 cup raisins (optional)
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup honey
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Generously grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the oats, brown sugar, wheat germ, cinnamon, flour, raisins and salt. Make a well in the center, and pour in the honey, egg, oil and vanilla. Mix well using your hands. Pat the mixture evenly into the prepared pan.
3. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes in the preheated oven, until the bars begin to turn golden at the edges. Cool for 5 minutes, then cut into bars while still warm. Do not allow the bars to cool completely before cutting, or they will be too hard to cut.  

recipe courtesy of allrecipes.com

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Italian Sausage Tortellini Soup

I have a new favorite recipe site. OnceaMonthMom.com  . I will do once a month cooking from time to time (or my version of it anyways). Once a Month Mom has a TON of wonderful recipes and advice for anyone wanting to try once a month cooking. I made Italian sausage tortellini soup tonight and it was delicious! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

• 1 lb Italian sausage( I used sweet Italian sausage)
• 1 cup onion, chopped
• 2 teaspoons garlic, minced
• 5 cups beef stock
• 2 cups tomatoes, chopped(I used canned)
• 8 ounces tomato sauce
• 2 cups zucchini, sliced
• 1/2 cup carrot, sliced
• 1 1/2 cups red bell pepper, diced  (I didn't use)
• 1/2 cup dry red wine
• 1 Tablespoons basil, dried
• 1 Tablespoons oregano, dired
• 10 ounces tortellini, cheese, fresh
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, shredded

Directions:

 Saute sausage in a large pan. When the sausage is cooked almost all the way through, push to the side and add onion and garlic. Saute for a few minutes, untill onion and garlic are soft. Drain fat. Add stock, tomatoes, tomato sauce, zucchini, carrot, bell pepper, wine, basil and oregano. Simmer for 40 minutes, until carrots are soft. Add tortellini to boiling soup. Follow package directions on tortellini for cook time. Serve with parmesan cheese on top.

Recipe courtesy of Kelly at onceamonthmom.com Pin It