Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

I have been craving pumpkin chocolate chip cookies since September arrived. I found them at my local grocery store and was determined to find a recipe for them. Upon mentioning it to a fellow military spouse, she gave me the easiest recipe I've ever used! These didn't turn out "pretty" by any means, but they are delicious! The outside is just the slightest bit crunchy right out of the oven, but later soften and are moist and chewy... inside and out.

This is all you need!

One Spice Cake Mix

One 15 oz can of pumpkin

One bag of chocolate chips (I only used half)

Preheat your oven to 350. Mix the cake mix (do NOT add the oil and egg as suggested on the box; cake mix only) and pumpkin together until well combined. Add chocolate chips. The batter will be pretty sticky which I assume is why they aren't pretty when finished. Spoon dough onto a greased cookie sheet and bake for 16-20 minutes. I found that 19 minutes was perfect otherwise they were still a bit doughy. Enjoy!

Buckeyes

AKA: A Little piece of heaven.

1 cup creamy peanut butter

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

2 cups confectioners sugar

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

1. Line 2 baking sheets with waxed paper; set aside.

2. In a large bowl, beat peanut butter, butter, and sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until well combined. Roll into 1-inch balls and place on baking sheets. If mixture is sticky, wet hands with cold water and continue rolling. Place baking sheets in freezer for 30 minutes or until balls are firm.

3. Microwave chips in a glass bowl on HIGH for 2 minutes, stirring midway (I prefer to use a double boiler, it keeps the chocolate at a more even temperature for easier dipping). (If you don't have a double boiler, I've put a canning ring in a sauce pan, put water in and then put a glass bowl on top - it works great!)

4. Pierce each ball with a toothpick (I've found a fondue fork works better if you have one) and dip into chocolate 3/4 of the way deep wiping excess chocolate on rim of bowl. Place on waxed paper; repeat with remaining balls. Return undipped buckeyes to freezer for 10 minutes if they get too soft. ( It works so much better with COLD buckeyes - I kept taking them to the freezer. Otherwise they just fall off while you're dipping)

5. Chill in fridge for 45 minutes, until set.

6. Try not to eat them all in one sitting!

Makes: about 4 dozen

*found it in Family Circle magazine

EASY Cheese Enchiladas

There's this place I love to eat at when I visit my home-state of Utah called El Matador that has the BEST cheese enchiladas ever. I've been on the hunt for a comparable recipe for awhile now and decided to just wing it based on several recipes I'd seen. They all were pretty similar but had tiny steps that made them different. I took a few and combined them into one super quick, super easy recipe and I was EXTREMELY satisfied by the results. Closest to El Matador I could get at home!
What you need:

2-4 tablespoons olive oil (or vegetable oil)
1 package corn tortillas
1 large can of enchilada sauce
¼ cup red onion, finely chopped (optional)
1 package cheddar, jack cheese, shredded

Take the olive oil, and pour it into a frying pan. Put the oil over medium heat. When the oil is warm, but not scorching, take a tortilla and place it in the pan for one to two minutes, then flip it over. When they are nice and soft, dip the tortillas into the enchilada sauce.

Then sprinkle the cheese (and onion if you'd like) in the middle of each tortilla and roll it up. Spread a thick layer of the enchilada sauce on top and a sprinkle of more cheese. Follow the same process for each tortilla. When you're done, bake in the oven at 400 degrees for about 15 to 20 minutes. Serve with sour cream, guacamole, rice, refried beans or anything else you'd like! Enjoy!

Strawberry Milk & White Chocolate Chip Cookies

I was slightly hesitant to try this recipe, but decided to give it a try because I LOVE both strawberry milk and white chocolate chips. I figured the two together would probably be pretty good... especially in cookie form! I was not let down...

What you need:

2 sticks softened butter

1/2 Cup strawberry milk Powder, Nestles

3/4 Cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1-2 drops red food coloring

1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract

2 1/2 Cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

10 oz bag White Chocolate Chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat the butter, strawberry milk and brown sugar until well combined. Place eggs into a bowl and whisk in 1-2 drops of food coloring. Pour into mixer along with vanilla and beat until combined, about 30 seconds. Place flour, baking soda and salt into a large bowl; mix to combine then slowly add to wet ingredients along with white chips. Mix on low until just combined.

2. Scoop dough onto a greased baking sheet about 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake for 9-11 minute or until edges just start to brown. Let cookies cool for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

Makes about 3 dozen cookies

*Recipe adapted from Picky Palate

Market Street Clam Chowder!

1 cup of potatoes, diced 1/2 inch
1 cup of celery, diced 1/2 inch
1 cup of onions, diced 1/2 inch
1 cup of green pepper, diced 1/2 inch
3/4 cup chopped clams (canned or fresh)
3/4 tablespoon coarse ground black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 tablespoon whole thyme
6 bay leaves
1 teaspoon tabasco
3/4 cup sherry wine (optional)
2 cups water
3/4 cup clam juice (drain from can)
3/4 cup butter, melted
1 cup flour
2 quarts half and half
Method:


In a large saucepan, combine all ingredients except butter, flour, and half and half. Simmer until potatoes are throughly cooked.
In the meantime, combine melted butter and flour in a baking dish and bake at 325 degrees for 30- minutes, (to eliminate raw flour flavor and to stablize chowder) Stif the butter flour mixture, into the chowder and cook, stirring frequently until thick. The mixture should be nearly the consistency of cookie dough.

Remove chowder from heat. Stir in half and half and blend well. Heat to serving temperature, stirring occasionally.

Serve!

I found this on KSL! I thought since the weather is starting to change this would be a great time to make it. It is so yummy! Enjoy!

Pork Lo Mein

OH. MY. GOSH. This was the most yummy homemade lo mein I've ever had in my LIFE! I was skeptical because there were so few ingredients, but I was pleasantly surprised at how incredible this was. Another very quick and very easy recipe too... less than 15 minutes from start to finish!

What you need:

4 ounces of uncooked angel hair pasta (broken in half)

3/4 lb pork tenderloin, cubed

1 bag of frozen broccoli, carrots and cauliflower

1/2 cup teriyaki baste & glaze

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

What to do:

1. Cook the pasta as directed on package (omitting salt).

2. Heat skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork; cook and stir for about 3 minutes. Stir in frozen veggies, teriyaki baste & glaze and ginger. Heat to boiling. Reduce to medium-low; cover and simmer 3-5 minutes, stirring once until pork is no longer pink and veggies are crisp-tender.

3. Gently stir in pasta. Cook until thoroughly heated. Serves 4.

* adapted from Eat Better America

Easy Pesto Pizza

This is just about the easiest thing I make when I'm hungry (and lazy). I found something like it in the biggest loser cookbook (which I've actually posted on this blog previously), but decided to mix it up. It literally only has four ingredients and takes very little time and effort to prepare! Here is all you need....

Your favorite Pesto spread

Mozzarella cheese

Sliced Tomatoes

Your favorite tortillas

All you do is preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Put your tortilla(s) on a baking sheet and bake until crispy, but not quite brown (5-6 minutes does the trick). Pull out of the oven and spread the pesto all over the tortilla like you would with pizza sauce. Then add the cheese and tomato and bake for another 3-5 minutes... and that's it! ENJOY!

Fall off the bone ribs

1 or 2 slabs of pork ribs
1 can or bottle of your favorite beer
1-2 bottles honey barbeque sauce
4 stalks celery, sliced
1 onion, sliced
salt and pepper
2 cloves garlic

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a large pan with heavy-duty aluminum foil. Place cut celery, sliced onions and garlic in pan. Sprinkle salt and pepper over both sides of ribs. Place ribs in pan, bone side down. Pour 2/3 can of beer in the corner of the pan, to prevent washing off the seasoning on the meat. Cover the pan very tightly with heavy-duty aluminum foil.

Place in oven and immediately turn down to 325 degrees for one hour, then to 275 degrees for another hour. Remove pan from oven, remove foil cover, and let cool for one hour. After the hour of cooling, preheat the oven again to 400 degrees. Pour off all liquid, then slather barbeque sauce on both sides of the cooled ribs and return to hot oven for 15 minutes (you could also reheat on a hot grill) until browned and crisp.

*recipe from neighbor