Peanut Butter Buckeyes

These are so so so good! They come out very creamy too, I gave one to the hubby and you know what it looks like when you give your dog peanut butter? Well that's what he looked like!

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter, melted

1 pound confectioners' sugar

1 1/2 cups peanut butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 package of milk or dark chocolate candy melts

1- Combine the melted butter or margarine, confectioners' sugar, peanut butter and the vanilla together and mix well. Refrigerate for 1 hour or until firm. Roll into 1" balls and place on waxed paper.

2-  Melt your candy melts as directed on package or use a Wilton chocolate melter. Use a toothpick to dip balls into the melted chocolate, leaving a small uncovered area so balls resemble buckeyes. Place balls on waxed paper. Use fingers to blend in toothpick holes. Leave sit until chocolate is firm.

These also store well in a Ziploc.

Red Velvet Truffles

Little ones would love to help roll these into balls!


Prep time: 1 hour 25 minutes
Start to finish: 3 hours (these were very time consuming)
Servings: 80+
Temp: 350

Ingredients:

1 box German Chocolate cake mix
Water, vegetable oil and eggs called for on cake mix box
1 bottle (1 oz) red food color
1 tbsp unsweetened baking cocoa
1 cup of cream cheese frosting (1lb store bought container)
3 bags of white or green candy melts (I find A.C Moore has the best deals on these during the holidays)
Sprinkles

1- Heat oven to 350. Spray a 13x9" cake pan with baking spray (I used the stuff with flour. In a large bowl, beat cake mix, water, oil, eggs, food coloring and cocoa with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Pour into pan.

2- Bake 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely in pan on cooling rack.

3- Lay out wax paper on a table (I used my dining room table because you will need a lot of space). Cut cake into 9 squares and remove from pan and crumble into a large bowl; stir in frosting. Roll mixture into 1 1/4" balls and place on wax paper.

4- Melt candy melts as directed
**I suggest investing in a Wilton chocolate melter, they are like $20 at A.C Moore and you can use you 50% off coupon that you get in the A.C Moore ad in the Sunday paper on it. The also sell them at Walmart. They are a time saver! You just pour in your candy melts set it to melt and stir occasionally then when they are completely melted yo set it to warm and it will keep it smooth and not burn it all day long, it just takes really hot water to rinse it out so you can switch between candy melt colors!
Dip each cake ball into melted coating, tapping off excess and taking care not to get crumbs in the coating. Return to wax paper and decorate with your choice of sprinkles before coating sets. Let them set and dry for a few hours before storing them.

These store well in a Ziploc too!

Chocolate Snowballs aka: Reindeer Poop

These cookies were supposed to be dusted with powdered sugar but the hubby thought it would be better without so now I have cookies that don't look like snowballs but they do look like something else. So we have renamed this cookie to Rudolf Poop....you will see why.....

See what I mean?

Now just an FYI this year since I made over 12 different kinds of cookies I did take a little help from the store in a few recipes, like this one calls for a pre packaged cookie mix but whats nice about that is, it makes it go a little faster and by the time you are done with the recipe you would never know it started out as a pre packaged cookie mix!

Prep time: 1 hour
Start to Finish: 1 hour 20 minutes
Servings: 60
Temp: 375

Ingredients:

1 pouch (1lb 1.5oz) Betty Crocker sugar cookie mix
Egg and butter called for on cookie mix package
1/4 cup AP flour
1/4 cup unsweetened baking cocoa
1/2 cup finely chopped almonds (I could only find slivered and just had to chop them up myself)
1 tsp. almond extract
60 Hershey Kisses, unwrapped of course :) (Next time I think I will use Almond Hershey Kisses)
3/4 cup powdered sugar

1- Heat oven to 375. In a large bowl, stir cookie mix, egg, butter, flour, cocoa, almonds and extract with an electric mixer until soft dough forms.

2- Shape dough into 60 (3/4") balls; wrap each ball around 1 Hershey Kiss. Place on a lined cookie sheet 2" apart.

3- Bake 8-10 minutes. immediately remove from cookie sheet onto cooling racks. Cool slightly, about 5 minutes. Roll cookies in powdered sugar. Cool completely, about 15 minutes. Roll in powdered sugar again. You can also leave them plain without powdered sugar. I would suggest trying 1 cookie before rolling in sugar just to see if they are sweet enough for you.

These were also yummy and store well in a Ziploc bag.

Christmas Ball Cookies

These were very good almost like a shortbread cookie.

Prep time: 50 Minutes
Start to finish: 1 Hour 50 Minutes
Servings: 24
Temp: 350

Ingredients: (cookie)

1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/8 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. almond extract
2 cups AP flour
Red, Green and White sanding sugar (make sure to get sugar that isn't mixed I made that mistake and that is why mine aren't a solid color)

1- In a large bowl, beat  butter,  powdered sugar and the salt with an electric mixer on medium speed for about 2 minutes or until creamy. Beat in almond extract. on low speed beat in flour just until combined. Cover; and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

2- Heat oven to 350. line cookie sheets with parchment. Shape dough in 48 (3/4") balls. Roll 16 balls in each color of the sanding sugar, coating completely. On cookie sheets, place balls 1" apart.

3- bake 15 minutes or until set and bottoms are light golden brown. Remove from cookie sheets and on to cooling racks. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.

Ingredients: (frosting)

1/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1/4 tsp almond extract
1 tbsp milk

In a small bowl, beat butter, powdered sugar, almond extract and milk with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth.

*For each sandwich cookie; spread about 1/2 tsp (I had lots leftover so you can be a little more generous) of frosting on bottom of 1 cookie; top with a second cookie of the same color bottom side down to form a ball.

These turned out so yummy and so adorable! They store very well in a Ziploc bag.

Christmas Cookie Time!

Well it's that time of year again! I love the holidays because of food, family, and the spirit of giving! Thanksgiving really kicks it off, you cook all day then eat and fall into a food coma and in my family your food coma energizes you for Black Friday shopping! We made a pretty good haul this year! We got a Cuisinart Keurig with the hot water button! James also got a RC helicopter to harass the dogs with but Sebastian has gotten pretty good at snatching it out of mid air! We also got a very good deal for a gift for my uncle I wont say what it is just in case he reads this. Then after Black Friday we start to haul out and put up all the Christmas decor as well as plan out our cookie baking strategy. We make a list check it twice and go grocery shopping. This year I shopped pretty smart I made a list of all the baking staples I.E flour, sugar, eggs, butter, brown sugar and went through every recipe and wrote under each one how much each recipe called for and other misc. stuff went at the bottom of the list and I have to say I bought enough to make all of my recipes without buying way to much, like I normally do. I only have like 3 must have items for cookie baking and that's parchment paper, wax paper and a 1" ice cream scoop. Parchment paper and wax paper and must have because it just makes your life and clean up 100% easier. An ice cream scoop because it helps you make uniform sized cookies, especially when most of your recipes call for your dough to be rolled into balls first, like most of mine did, the scoop helps a lot! I hope you try and enjoy a few or all of my Christmas cookies!!

Happy Baking!

Thanksgiving menu

So we are down to the wire I finally have my complete thanksgiving menu:

Brined turkey
Spiral ham
Green bean casserole (from my grandma)
Sweet potato gratin
Candied sweet potatoes
Mashed potatoes
Gravy and lots of it
Corn
Rolls
Stuffing

Chocolate Pecan pie
Apple crumb pie ( from my grandma)

I was going to make carmel apple cake balls but that was vetoed because everyone started eating the cake before I had a chance to crumble it. I was told it would be better with coffee. You have to give the people what they want haha.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

The Best Onion Rings Ever!!!

I hate onions. Well unless they look and taste like these! I have always hated onion ever since I can remember! I don't know why, because I love the taste of them but I won't eat a raw or cooked onion. The hubby and I will go to a restaurant and we will both order French Onion soup, but he will finish his bowl and I only eat the cheese, bread and broth and give him all of my onions. That's just the way it was, until I saw Carla Hall make these onion rings (cue angel music and bright lights, ahhhhh). I have made these 2 or 3 times since the recipe aired and I love them! I just had them on a hamburger last night as well as on the side! So I thought I would share the recipe for the best onion rings ever so no one will ever have to go another day not knowing how to make them!

The Best Onion rings Ever:
http://beta.abc.go.com/shows/the-chew/recipes/Carla-Hall-Onion-Ring

I doubled the recipe for 2 medium sized onions.

*try them on your burger!!!!!! They are amazing like that!

Pumpkin Pie Almond Brittle!

Okay, okay so now that I know how to make brittle, I went a little nuts (get it, nuts lol) with flavors. I found Planters Pumpkin Spiced Almonds at Walmart  and decided to make brittle with that. It turned out amazing! I love anything fall flavored so this to me was heaven, crunchy, crunchy heaven.

Basic Peanut Brittle:

1 c. White Sugar
1/2 c. Light Corn Syrup
1 tbsp. REAL maple syrup
1 tsp. Cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
(or instead of the cinnamon and nutmeg you could just use 1 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice if you have it)
1/4 tsp. Salt
1/4 c. Water
1 tsp. Vanilla
1 1/2 c. Planters Pumpkin Spice Almonds, roughly chopped
2 tbsp. Butter, softened
1 tsp. Baking Soda


*make sure to have all of your ingredients measured out ahead of time because this is a fast process and you can't be measuring as you go. I would also recommend that kids don't help with this recipe, as much as I love the idea of little ones helping in the kitchen you are working with molten sugar that can really injure someone in the blink of an eye. They can help break it apart when it cools.

1- line a cookie sheet with foil and set aside.
2- In a heavy 2 quart saucepan, over medium heat, bring sugar, corn syrup, maple syrup, vanilla, salt and water to a boil. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Stir in almonds and spices. Stir frequently until temperature reaches 300 degrees F (150 degrees C), or if you didn't listen to me and don't have a thermometer, when a small amount of the mixture dropped into very cold water separates into hard and brittle threads (hard crack stage).
3- let boil at 300 for 10-15 seconds (it will smell a little like its burning but I assure you it isn't). Then remove from heat; immediately stir in butter and baking soda until the butter is melted; pour at once onto your cookie sheet. Spread out with the back of your spatula. Let cool. Then brake into pieces (this is the fun part, kids can help at this point)! 

Enjoy!

Cheerios Muffins!

Well it's been a week or so since I posted. Things have gotten busy around here. I have been working on 2 baby cake orders and shopping for a few Christmas presents. I did make time to make this recipe 2x since it aired on The Chew. The first time I followed the recipe to the letter but my second batch I used Apple Cinnamon Cheerios instead of plain ones, they came out slightly sweeter but not too much. I think I will try them with the Chocolate Cheerios (since I like chocolate chips in my banana bread) and maybe even the berry yogurt ones. Everyone in the house house liked them so I will defiantly make it again.

Cheerio Muffins:
http://beta.abc.go.com/shows/the-chew/instructions/Banana-Muffin-Cheerios?cid=facebook_chew

Peanut Brittle!

I'm going to start off by saying this was not as hard as I thought it would be! Until now I had never even eaten peanut brittle let alone make any! I blame James for this recipe, if it weren't for him being picky I wouldn't have had so many extra peanuts in the house! James likes to drop salted peanuts into Coke-Cola (I know, ewww) so when I went to the store he asked if I would pick up a few Coke's and some salted peanuts, so I did. Well I didn't know that you can't use peanuts from a jar to make this concoction, but instead it has to be the plastic tube of peanuts like you get at a gas station! So none the less I bought the wrong kind and didn't know we already had a jar of peanuts at home ergo I'm up to my ankles in peanuts. So the quick thinker I am blurt out "I'll just make peanut brittle!" 20 seconds later I hear my brain saying...."um you don't even know what peanut brittle tastes like dummy!". So the first thing I do is consult good ole' Betty Crocker because she knows everything! I followed her basic recipe and it came out pretty good although I had to have my mom taste it and tell me if it tasted like peanut brittle since my batch was my first piece. To my relief she said it tasted right! So now that I know how to make it, I will pass on the knowledge so I can help rid the world of peanut brittle virgins 1 jar of peanuts at a time!

Before I share this I want to encourage anyone who doesn't have a fry/candy thermometer to get one before you start! I got mine at a kitchen store for like $8 and that sucker has paid for itself 10 times by now. Try and find one like i have that is for oil but can double as a candy one too!

Basic Peanut Brittle:

1 c. White Sugar
1/2 c. Light Corn Syrup
1/4 tsp. Salt
1/4 c. Water
1 c. Peanuts (I like salted)
2 tbsp. Butter, softened
1 tsp. Baking Soda

*make sure to have all of your ingredients measured out ahead of time because this is a fast process and you can't be measuring as you go. I would also recommend that kids don't help with this recipe, as much as I love the idea of little ones helping in the kitchen you are working with molten sugar that can really injure someone in the blink of an eye. They can help break it apart when it cools.

1- line a cookie sheet with foil and set aside.
2- In a heavy 2 quart saucepan, over medium heat, bring sugar, corn syrup, salt and water to a boil. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Stir in peanuts. Stir frequently until temperature reaches 300 degrees F (150 degrees C), or if you didn't listen to me and don't have a thermometer, when a small amount of the mixture dropped into very cold water separates into hard and brittle threads (hard crack stage).
3- let boil at 300 for 10-15 seconds (it will smell a little like its burning but I assure you it isn't). Then remove from heat; immediately stir in butter and baking soda until the butter is melted; pour at once onto your cookie sheet. Spread out with the back of your spatula. Let cool. Then brake into pieces (this is the fun part, kids can help at this point)!

I would like to also point out I did a word count and I used the word peanut (<-----yes, I counted this one) 18 times in this post! Yikes!

Eclair Pie! Yummy!

So I fund out years ago that James loves Eclair's....and this past year for his birthday i tried my hardest to make an Eclair, well I got the puff pastry to turn out just fine (which is what they say is the hardest part!) So I thought I was off to a good start. Then came the "Boston Cream" and it went downhill from there I made super sweet scrambled eggs I couldn't seem to get the cream right so instead of wasting all the ingredients a second time to attempt it I just made homemade almond whipped cream with the heavy cream I had left in the fridge. Sooo it's been a month or so since that fiasco and I came across an Eclair Pie recipe, and low and behold James LOVES it! I would suggest everyone try this recipe it is very good and easy to make! It would be a great dish to pass at a potluck or a summer BBQ since it needs to be made a day ahead anyway!


Eclair Pie:

1 (1 pound) box of Honey Graham Crackers
2 (3 1/4 oz.) boxes of instant French Vanilla pudding (you can use sugar free)
3 1/2 c. Milk
1 (8 oz.) contaner of Cool Whip, thawed (you can use fat free)

Frosting:
1 1/2 c. Confectioners Sugar
1/2 c. Cocoa
3 tbsp. butter, softened
1/3 c. Milk
2 tsp. light corn syrup
2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Butter the bottom of a 13x9x2" pan. Line the bottom with whole graham crackers (you may have to break a few to cover the entire bottom). In a bowl of an electric mixer, mix pudding with milk; beat at medium speed for 2 minutes (you may want to throw a towel over the mixer for the first minute, or you will be cleaning your counter tops and the underside of you cupboards for the next 5 minutes) Fold in Cool Whip (take your time here, if you ust stir it in really fast you will deflate the Cool Whip). Pour half of the pudding mixture over the graham crackers. Place another layer of graham crackers on top of the pudding layer. Pour over the rest of your pudding mixture and cover with another layer of graham crackers. Set aside.

For the frosting, blend together sugar and cocoa. Add the butter and milk, mixing well. Add the corn syrup and vanilla. Sir until creamy. Cover pie with the frosting and refridgerate for 24 hours. Make sure to not cut into the cake untl 24 hours is up that give the graham crackers enough time to soften that way you can cut it.

I hope you guys enjoy!!!

Fried Green Tomatoes

I'm not talking about these:

I'm talking about these babies:

This is the holy grail of fried veggies! I usually just eyeball this recipe but I am putting in writing for one of my favorite cousins, Dan. He had them at my house a few years ago. It was like a magic act as soon as I would pull them out of the oil they would disappear! *POOF* gone! So here it is:

Krysten's Fried Green Tomatoes:

Ingredients:

2 green tomatoes (sliced about 1/8" thick)
*a tip for picking good green tomatoes is they should be firm but give just a little when you squeeze them. I use a mandolin to cut my green tomatoes because they are firm enough, and you get uniform slices.
2 eggs
2 tsp. garlic powder
2 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. seasoned salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. cayenne (if you don't have it just use another 1/2 tsp. of pepper)
2 tbsp water
salt
1 1/2 c. flour
1/2 c. corn meal (if you don't have it no biggie, just adds some extra crunch)

1. Place your tomato slices out in a single layer on a paper towel lined cookie sheet  and sprinkle with salt and place another layer of paper towel on top. Let sit for about 15 minutes. *This helps draw the moisture out of the tomato so your coating will stick and not come off in the oil.
2. Heat you oil to 350-370 degrees in a deep pan. (if you don't have a oil thermometer, get one! I failed most of my frying attempts because my oil had not been hot enough with a thermometer you are sure to be at the right temp.)
3. While the tomatoes are sweating mix together four, corn meal, and spices. Set aside.
4. In a separate bowl whisk together you eggs and water.
5. Then dip a tomato slice into your flour mixture first then into the egg and then back into the flour and then into the oil it goes. *Fry in batches that way when you take a batch out, you can let your oil come back to the temp you started with and you will have uniform tomatoes.
6. After about 4 minutes they should be golden brown and ready to come out and onto a paper towel lined baking sheet with a cooling rack on top. *I do this so air can circulate on all sides so you don't have a soggy fried green tomato. Sprinkle with a little more seasoned salt as they come out of the oil.
7. Set your oven to 200 and pop the done tomatoes in so they stay crispy and warm. Fry the rest of your slices and enjoy!

FYI- If your house is anything like mine, this recipe may cause your tomato plants not to produce red tomatoes, because you will constantly be picking the green ones off before the get red! You've been warned!

This is what our tomato plants looked like this year:

Scary right?

Thank you!

I just want to thank my friend Amanda H. For making the awesome title for my blog! I <3 it! Thank you!!!

Apple Ring Pancakes

These suckers were a huge hit after a few tweeks. First off i made them for James one morning a week or so ago my first batch I always follow the recipie to the T. I used Granny Smith apples since thats what we had in the house. Just and FYI on the Apple Cider Syrup watch it close because one minute it was still liquid and the next it was one step from being apple cider candy! So after making it per the recipie the first time the 2nd batch I made I fried the apples on the griddle first to soften them since we weren't a fan of the crunch ad we also didn't add the cinamn to the Cider Syrup because I think our cider may have had a hint already and the extra made the cinnamon flavor over powering. But all in all another hit!

Apple Rings:
http://beta.abc.go.com/shows/the-chew/recipes/Carla-Hall-Fried-Apple-Pancake-Rings

Hit- 1 Miss- 0

Braised Chicken and Sweet Potato Pancakes

So I tried this one a few weeks ago and have made it twice since then. This recipe is what got me my new enamel coated cast iron pot from my hubby. I agree with Rachael Ray on that one, she always says "they way to anybodies anything is through their stomach" and it works for things you want too! So with this recipe I didn't use the fennel it called for because no one in my house like the taste of anise (black licorice) and that's what fennel tastes like so I used celery instead I could have also used leeks but I just happened to have celery. So the chicken dish was a hit/miss because everybody liked it but James wasn't crazy about the white wine taste in the gravy. I also made another recipe as a side and those were a total HIT we have made them like 4 times since then! The sweet potato pancakes were delicious we have made them just like the recipe calls for with a fried egg on top I have also made just the pancakes as a side and I have mixed super sharp cheddar cheese with them and dipped them in sour cream! They are amazing! If you have a picky kid this is the way to sneak onion, carrot, apple and sweet potatoes in their food without them even knowing it! They think they are eating something sweet and crispy, that's it! So here are the links and try it for yourself!

Chicken:
http://beta.abc.go.com/shows/the-chew/recipes/Michael-Symon-Braised-Chicken-Fennel-Potatoes

Sweet potato pancakes:
http://beta.abc.go.com/shows/the-chew/recipes/Daphne-Oz-Poached-Eggs-Sweet-Potato-Pancakes

Hit- 1.5  Miss- .5

P.S- I promise to take better pictures from now on it turns out my tablet takes crappy pictures :(

The Chew Crew

Just a heads up a lot of the recipes I will be trying or have tried are from the new show "The Chew". James and I love watching all of the chefs, the get along so well and they are hilarious. I can't say enough good good things about that show I literally tried at LEAST 1 recipe from each episode since it started. So far they have all been hits! I think James may even have a small crush on Daphne Oz but I know he's not going anywhere because that man could not live on vegetarian anything and cilium husks (you would get it, if watch the show). So my next couple of posts will be me catching you up on what i have tried from them so far!

Here is a link to the shows website:
http://beta.abc.go.com/shows/the-chew

And of course their Facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/#!/thechewonabc

Ghoul-ash for Halloween....get it?

So for Halloween I wanted to try this since it was a cute play on words but I have never liked any kind of goulash in the past so I was reluctant to waste the ingredients. I was talked into making it by James since he thought it looked really good. So I did and I have to say it was very good! I added a little more parm than it called for and I also added a little more red pepper flakes too because we like spicier food. All in all it was a hit! I also topped it with shredded pepper jack cheese but you could use any kind if you didn't want the extra heat.

Here's the link to make it yourself:
http://beta.abc.go.com/shows/the-chew/recipes/Michael-Symon-American-Goulash

Hit- 1 Miss- 0

1st post!

Well I sat down a week or so ago and decided that I think it's time to stop annoying my Facebook friends with my constant posts about whats for dinner. So I decided to start a food blog so I got onto my blog account and started to redo everything when I realized I was drawing a blank on what to name the darn thing! So once again my Facebook friends came to the rescue I asked for fun and creative names for a food blog and I got a bunch of ideas. The one that i kept saying over and over again was "Kisses and Delicious Dishes" that was suggested by my friend Adeena. I thought about if for a week and decided on that name. I think it fits. So hopefully my food blog lives up to its sweet name! I plan on sharing all of the recipes I try as well as any changes I made to them and I plan on letting you know if it was a hit or miss with my family. Hopefully they are all hits but I expect to find a few misses. I will also give you or link you to the recipes i made that way you can try them at home too. I'm also trying to decide if i should post pictures for every step of the recipe or just the finished product. I'll have to think on that.