Oatmeal Blossoms

These cookies are amazing!!! I love oatmeal cookies so I was excited to try this recipe and they were a huge hit! I loved that you put the cookies back in the oven once the kiss is on top, even though the kisses eventually firm back up, they don't get as hard as they are right out of the package. This recipe is from Yellow Brick Road.

2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
3 cups rolled oats
1 cup butter (softened)
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar 
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
40 unwrapped milk chocolate kisses

Heat oven to 350.  Whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt and oats. In a separate bowl beat together the butter, white sugar and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg and vanilla extract. Add the dry ingredients to the wet. Form 1 tablespoon size balls and place on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 8-9 minutes. Remove from oven and press a kiss into the center of the cookie then return to the oven for 2-3 more minutes. Be careful not the melt the kisses. Remove from oven and let cool for 3 minutes before removing them to wire racks to cool.  The kisses will be soft for several hours so remember not to smash them.

Crock Pot Honey Garlic Chicken

Sometimes the most delicious recipes are born out of recipes that you think are one thing (because you never read fully through) and then realize, wait, that's not what I want to make for dinner!  Ha! That's what happened on the day I made this recipe.  It was just sort of thrown together and ended up being great!

3 chicken breasts
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup honey
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp hot sauce
6 garlic cloves (minced)
2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp salt

Place the chicken in the bottom of the crock pot.  Whisk the chicken broth, honey, soy sauce and hot sauce together. Stir in the garlic cloves, onion powder and salt. Pour over the chicken breasts. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.  Remove the chicken from the crock pot and shred.  Add back to the crock pot and cook for 15 more minutes then serve. 

Cornbread Muffins

There always seems to be a debate about if corn kernels are a good thing or bad thing in cornbread. Personally, I can go either way on that matter.  Good cornbread is good cornbread! And these little muffins were winners.  This recipe is adapted from Joyously Domestic.

1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 cup whole milk
1 cup flour
2 tsp salt
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 egg
6 tbsp butter (melted)
3/4 cup frozen corn (thawed)

Heat oven to 375. Mix together the cornmeal, flour, salt, sugar and whole milk. Then add in the egg, butter and corn. Stir until it is just combined. Grease or line a muffin tin. Fill 3/4 full. Bake for 18-22 minutes or until the muffins are cooked through. Remove and let stand for 5 minutes before removing from muffin tin.

Garlic Sour Cream Mashed Potatoes

I love mashed potatoes. I could eat them every day I think! For so long my oldest hated anything potatoes but now he finally likes them and he loves mashed potatoes. I tried this recipe a while back and everyone enjoyed them! This recipe is adapted from Le Creme De La Crumb.

2 lbs potatoes
1/2 cup sour cream
1/3 cup heavy cream
2 tsp garlic powder
5 tbsp butter
salt and pepper to taste

Peal the potatoes and cut into chunks. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, place the potatoes into the boiling water and cook until the potatoes are fork tender. Drain the potatoes and place in a large mixing bowl.  Add the sour cream, heavy cream, garlic powder and butter. Mash the potatoes until they reach the desired consistency. Serve hot. 

Smothered Burritos

This recipe was a huge hit at my house and has already been requested again! They were so flavorful and the homemade chili gravy was so good! This recipe is adapted from House of Yumm.

Beef:
2 lbs ground beef
8oz can tomato sauce
1 tbsp chili powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder

Chili Gravy
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp cumin
2 tbsp chili powder
2 cups beef broth

8 burrito size tortillas
4 cups monterey jack cheese
16 oz can refried beans

Heat oven to 350.  In a large skillet cook the ground beef over medium heat and drain off the grease. Turn the heat to low and stir in the tomato sauce, chili powder, salt, cumin, garlic powder and onion powder. Bring to a simmer then remove from heat and set to the side.  Melt the butter in a sauce pan over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and let cook for 3 minutes. Stir in the black pepper, salt, garlic powder, cumin and chili powder. Slowly pour in the beef broth and bring to a simmer and allow the sauce to thicken. Once it has thickened to a sauce consistency remove from heat. To assemble the burritos first place a spoonful of refried beans on a tortilla and spread down the middle. Top with 1/4 cup of ground beef then top with cheese. Roll up then place the seem side down in a 9x13 baking dish. Once all of the burritos are made, top with the chili gravy and 2 cups of cheese. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and top with lettuce, tomato, sour cream and guacamole.

Cheesy Chicken Bacon Sliders

I made these when we got together with friends the other day, I made three pans of these and every single one was gone at the end of the night! These are great for a party or tailgating!

3 cups shredded chicken
8oz cream cheese (softened)
2 tbsp butter (softened)
1/2 cup cheddar cheese
1/3 cup bacon bits
1 pack pull apart dinner rolls
3 tbsp honey mustard
1 tbsp honey
1/2 cup butter
1 tbsp poppy seeds

Heat oven to 350. In a mixing bowl using a hand held mixer combine the cream cheese and butter.  Add the cheddar cheese. Then add the bacon bits and chicken.  Do not pull apart the dinner rolls, cut them in half and place in the bottom of a 9x11 pan  Spread the chicken mixture over the rolls then place the top on. Cut the rolls into sliders.  In a small bowl melt the butter then whisk in honey mustard, honey and poppy seeds. Pour the mixture over the sliders.  Cover and bake for 15 minutes then remove the foil and bake for 3 more minutes. Serve warm.

Chocolate Covered Salted Caramel Rice Krispie Treats

I'm kind of a rice krispie treat purest.  Give me marshmellows and rice krispies! Don't add peanut butter or any other kinda weirdo thing to it. But then I saw these and I just had to see what they were all about.  I have to admit they were pretty good! Next time I would cut them a little smaller because they are so rich. This recipe is adapted from Yellow Bliss Road.

8 cups Rice Krispies
10 cup mini marshmellows
8 tbsp salted butter
1 (11oz) bag caramels or caramel bits
3 tsp sea salt
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
2 tbsp vegetable oil

Line a 9x13 pan with foil or parchment paper then grease well. In a large bowl melt the butter over medium heat. Stir in the marshmellows. Once the marshmellows are halfway melted, add in the caramels. Stir continuously until all of the marshmellows and caramels are melted together and smooth. Stir in 1 tsp of salt. Stir the rice krispies in 2 cups at a time. Once the rice krispies are coated evenly in the marshmellow mixture, pour into the lined and greased baking dish. Let cool completely. Remove and cut into squares. In a microwave safe bowl, add the chocolate chips and vegetable oil.  Heat in 20 second increments, stirring in between, until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Carefully dip each rice krispie treat into the chocolate then sprinkle the top with a little sea salt. Let them cool on parchment paper.

Country Fried Steak Fingers with White Gravy

Country fried steak is a big favorite around here, there is just nothing like it.  These steak fingers were perfect and a great way to serve this classic southern dish to children.  They can eat them with their hands and dip them in the delicious gravy.

3lbs cube steak
1 1/2 cup whole milk
2 eggs
3 cups flour
2 tbsp seasoning salt
1 tbsp black pepper
Canola Oil (for frying)

1/3 cup flour
2 cups whole milk
salt and pepper to taste

Cut the cube steak into strips. In one small mixing bowl combine the flour, seasoning salt and pepper. In another small bowl combine the whole milk and eggs, whisk well.  Dip the cube steak into the flour then into the milk mixture then back into the flour and place on a clean plate. Continue with the remaining cube steak.  Heat canola oil in a deep pan over medium heat.  Place 3-4 steak fingers into the oil at once and let cook until they are golden brown and cooked through. Remove to a clean plate lined with a paper towel. Continue with the remaining steak fingers.  Once all of the steak fingers are cooked, remove all but about 1/2 cup of grease from the bottom of the pan. Whisk in the flour and let cook for 2 minutes. Lower the heat and whisk in the milk. Continue to whisk as the mixture thickens into a gravy. Remove from heat and season salt and pepper, taste as you season so you can add more to your liking.  Serve the steak fingers with the gravy on the side.

Banana Bread

So my kiddos always go from loving bananas and eating them faster than I can keep them in the house to not touching them at all and then I'm left with a bunch of brown bananas. And what do you do with a bunch of brown bananas? Make a simple banana bread of course!

2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
2 tbsp milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3 ripe bananas (mashed)

Heat oven to 325. Grease a loaf pan.  Combine the flour, baking soda and salt in a mixing bowl. In a separate bowl combine the egg, sugar and oil.  Stir the dry ingredients into the wet then add the milk, vanilla extract and mashed banana. Pour into the loaf pan and bake for 50 to 65 minutes or until the bread is cooked through.  Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes then remove to a wire rack to continue cooling.

Crock Pot Sticky Chicken Legs

My oldest loves a chicken leg.  I don't know what it is but he gets so excited any time I make chicken legs. These chicken legs had great flavor and were so simple to throw in the crock pot and let cook all day. This recipe was adapted from Mantitlement.

3-4 lbs chicken legs
1 1/2 cup BBQ sauce
1/4 cup teriyaki sauce
1/4 cup honey

Place the chicken in the bottom of the crock pot. Whisk together the bbq sauce, teriyaki sauce and honey. Pour the mixture over the chicken. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.  Remove from the crock pot and spoon the sauce back over the chicken then serve.

20 Fabulous Super Bowl Recipes

The Super Bowl is just  a few days away and if you are like me you are trying to finalize your menu for the night! Now I am not really an NFL football fan, we are all about some college ball, so it's all about the food and commercials here!  Today I've put together a list of 20 great recipes to serve all of your friends and family this Sunday! 

Dips:

Hot Spinach Ranch Dip

Spicy Black Bean Dip

 

The Best Chip Dip

 

Buffalo Chicken Dip

 

Spicy Lime Salsa

 

Hot Corn Dip

 

 Hand Held Eats:

Cheesy Garlic Meatball Bombs

 

 Turkey Club Pinwheels

 

 Boneless Buffalo Wings

Sausage Balls

 

 Pepperoni Pizza Rolls

Sliders:

Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Sliders

 

Philly Cheesesteak Sliders

 

Bacon Caramelized Onion and Cheddar Sliders

 

Garlic Bread Meatball Sliders 

 

Sweet Treats:

 Salted Caramel Bars

 

M&M Confetti Cookies

 

S'mores Bars

 

Cream Cheese Brownie Cupcakes

 

 Triple Chip Cookies

 

Baked Garlic Green Beans

 

I love a good and easy side dish and this was exactly that! They reminded me of these garlic green beans we used to get at this wonderful Chinese restaurant back in our hometown.  This recipe is from My Kitchen Craze. 

1 lbs fresh green beans 

4 cloves minced garlic

1 tsp olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Heat oven to 350.  Place the green beans in a large bowl and toss with olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper. Pour onto a baking sheet in one even layer, not letting the beans overlap.  Bake in the oven for 10 minutes, remove and toss. Place back in the oven for 10 more minutes. Remove and serve.

Chicken Pot Pie Ring

This recipe came from reading a completely different recipe and then starting to change it up until in my head it was something completely different. Thankfully it worked! This is such an easy and kid friendly way to get that delicious chicken pot pie flavor!

4 tbsp butter
1 medium onion (diced)
1/3 cup flour
2 cups chicken broth
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 cup frozen peas and carrots
1/2 cup frozen corn
4 oz cream cheese
2 cups shredded chicken
2 cans crescent rolls

Heat oven to 375.  Melt butter in medium pot over medium heat. Add onion and saute for 4 minutes or until the onion is tender. Whisk in flour and let cook for 2 minutes. Whisk in chicken broth and bring to a simmer. Stir in salt and black pepper then add the frozen peas, carrots and corn and cook for 3 minutes. Stir in the cream cheese and keep stirring until the cream cheese has melted into the mixture. Stir in the chicken and turn off the heat.  Lay your crescents out in a circle formation on a greased sheet pan or a pizza stone.  Spoon the pot pit mixture into the center of the crescents then fold the dough around the mixture. Bake in the oven for 18-24 minutes or until the crescents are golden brown. Remove and let cool for 5 minutes before slicing and serving.