Chocolate Mints (mint patties)

I haven't made these in a few years, so I thought I'd make them this year. SO yummy.

Filling:
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup light corn syrup
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp mint flavoring
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Mix all together. Form little patties (I make them about 1 inch size) and place on wax paper. I recommend refrigerating them for a bit. It will make it easier to cover them with chocolate.

Topping:
1 pkg choco chips (I use semi-sweet. Milk or dark would be good too)
1/3 bar of paraffin wax

Melt chocolate chips and wax in double boiler (I just do it directly over the stove on REALLY low heat and stir constantly so it doesn't burn).
Dip each mint and let cool/harden.
You can cheat and just pour the chocolate over each mint, but it won't cover the bottom that way and it will not be as pretty.

Enjoy.

Easy Roll Sugar Cookies

It's christmas time!! Time to start making all of those christmas candies and cookies!! I have tried a LOT of sugar cookie recipes and have finally found my favorite one! This one is quick and easy and you don't have to refrigerate the dough! I always hated that part. And cold dough is not easy to work with.

1 cup butter (soften to room temp)
1 cup sugar
2 egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
3 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder

Mix all ingredients together (I usually only need to use about 2 1/2 cups flour, not the full 3). Roll to 1/8 inch thickness.
I have learned to put parchment paper down, put a ball of dough on it, then put a piece of saran wrap on top of that. No more flour mess on the counter and dough sticking to the rolling pin. If only my mom knew this trick, we probably would've made sugar cookies a lot more (and we already made them quite a bit, we just had a HUGE mess to clean up!).
Cut out the shapes you want (after you remove the saran wrap), then remove the dough from between your cookie shapes. Then, slide the parchment paper onto a cookie sheet.
Bake for 8-10 minutes.
Cool, then frost.

We'll be frosting ours in the morning and I will share a frosting recipe and some pictures!

BBQ Beef (or turkey) cups

I have found a few versions of these and wanted to try them (I like barbecue sauce). Again, I don't eat beef, so I made them with ground turkey. I made my recipe a little smaller because there are only 3 of us, but it makes more if you use all the biscuits in the can and a whole pound of beef or turkey. We enjoyed them, even if the 3 year old only ate the cheese off the top.

1/2 lb ground turkey (or beef)
2 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 cup barbecue sauce
1 can pillsbury rolls (I used the grands jr flaky layers because it's what I had on hand)
Shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Spray cupcake tin with cooking spray.
Brown ground beef or turkey, drain fat.
Mix in brown sugar and bbq sauce.
Stretch/flatten rolls and press into cupcake tins (so they form a little cup).
Fill with meat mixture.
Bake for about 10 minutes (or until biscuits are golden). Sprinkle cheese on top and return to oven for 2 more minutes.
Enjoy!
The pioneer woman makes these and also shares a picture if you'd like to see! http://thepioneerwoman.com/tasty-kitchen/recipes/main-courses/barbecue-beef-cups-2/

Tater Tot Casserole!

I keep hearing about this casserole, so I had to try it. All the recipes I found were different, so I adapted it to what I had on hand and what we like. It was SO good, much better than it sounds!

3/4 lb ground turkey (can use beef, I just don't eat beef)
salt, pepper, onion powder
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 can milk
tator tots
shredded cheddar cheese

Brown the meat and season. Add the soup mix and milk and pour all into a pan (I used a 9X9 square pan). Top with frozen tator tots and bake in oven at 400 degrees for 30 minutes (until tator tots are golden brown).
Top with cheese and put back in oven until melted.
Yummy goodness! Even my picky 3 year old ate it (and she usually doesn't want to try anything)!
This will definitely go on our menu rotation!

Cherry Dump Cobbler

So I was craving cherry cobbler one day, so I bought a can of cherry pie filling. It had been sitting in my pantry for a few weeks, so I finally searched out a recipe and made one. I like cobbler to be a little sweeter and crumbly-er, but this one was still good, just a little more cake-like.

1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup milk
32 oz cherry pie filling
1/2 cup butter

Heat oven to 350 degrees.
Melt butter in 13X9 inch pan.
Mix flour, baking powder, salt, milk and sugar and pour into pan (this was a lot more watery than I expected it to be).
Add cherry pie filling to batter and spread evenly.
Bake 45 min to an hour.
Batter will form a crust on top.

YUM! I ate it directly from the pan.
My cherry pie filling was only 21 oz, so I used 2/3 of everything to make the recipe fit. I also used a 9X9 inch square pan.
Enjoy!

Pulled BBQ Chicken Crescents

I tried these for dinner tonight and they were pretty tasty. I couldn't think of what side would be good with it, so we had cheddar broccoli rice (which my daughter loves).

1 can (8 oz) Pillsbury® refrigerated crescent dinner rolls (I used the butter flake ones-yummy!)
1 cup shredded cooked chicken (I previously boiled 1 boneless, skinless chicken breast)
1/4 cup barbecue sauce (I used my favorite, bulls eye-original)
1/3 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1 egg, beaten


Separate dough into 8 triangles.
In bowl, mix chicken and barbecue sauce. Spoon chicken mixture onto short end of each triangle; sprinkle each with 1 teaspoon of the cheese. Roll up loosely as directed on can. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Brush with egg; sprinkle with remaining cheese.
Bake at 375°F 12 to 15 minutes.

Creamy Cheesy Chicken, Rice & Broccoli dinner

I'm going to try to start posting the things I make around here. I like to have all of my recipes for things I've tried in one place. My system now is just not working. It's a big pile of pages shoved in a cupboard. Hopefully I can compile and share here.
We are having this for dinner tonight and I will come back and post how I like the recipe.

(Found on the Kraft website)
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 can (10-3/4 oz.) condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 soup can milk
1-1/2 cups instant white rice, uncooked
2 cups chopped fresh broccoli
1 cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese (we like it cheesy so I use more)
salt and pepper to taste

SPRAY nonstick skillet with cooking spray. Add chicken; cover. Cook 5 min. or until cooked through. Sprinkle with garlic powder.
ADD soup and milk. Bring to boil. Stir in rice and broccoli; cover. Reduce heat to low; simmer 5 min. or until rice is tender.
STIR in 1/2 cup of the cheese; sprinkle with remaining cheese.

My review: Yum!! I usually like my broccoli steamed until soft, covered in melted cheese and separate from the rest of my food. You know, so I can shove it down, then enjoy the rest of my dinner. Even with it all mixed together, it was really good and I enjoyed it. I would definitely make it again.