St. Patrick's Mint Chip Cookies (a day late!)

Yesterday was St. Patrick's Day - and that means all things GREEN! Or, perhaps it does if you have it in you to plan ahead! After I tucked my kids into bed Wednesday night I jumped on Facebook to have my 'me time' and unwind & I started seeing my friends mention all the fun things they had planned for St.Patrick's Day - Leprechaun traps, green foot prints all over the house, green toilet water, all sorts of fun green meals with more green food than I think I could handle! Fun treats, special shirts - and what did I have planned!!?? That's right, folks - I just pulled any old green shirt out of their closets & called it good! LOL It was way too late for me to run out & get anything to surprise them with in the morning so instead I went to the store the next day & had these cookies ready for them when they got home from school!

The line up:


Flour, sugar, vanilla, baking powder, salt, butter, Andes chips, butter & eggs(not pictured).


Have you seen these things!?? I could seriously just sit there & chow down on a bag & mindlessly devour the entire thing without realizing it! Way more dangerous than the actual Andes Mints because there is no unwrapping to slow you down!


First up you're gonna cream the butter & sugar together (so make sure you're starting with room temp/softened butter!)


It's so pretty & white! (makes it take on the color well!) Now add the eggs & vanilla & give it another whirl.


Once you've got that all fluffy & wonderful add in your dry ingredients. If you're a responsible baker you should sift the flour, salt & baking powder together first. If you're me, just sprinkle in the salt & powder as the mixer is going, then add the flour. Blend it well & then add in your food coloring. How much? Lots! LOL The original recipe only said 8-10 drops. I did more than that & still feel like I should have done more - I was using the cheap little drops that they sell in the grocery store baking aisle. Just make the dough a little darker than you actually want your cookies since they'll lighten up a little as they bake.


Last step is to add your Andes chips!


It's like a giant bowl of mint-chip ice cream! YUM!

Scoop these out with your 1-tablespoon cookie scoop. You all have one of those, right!?? Don't have one!? GET ONE! (Name that movie, moms!!)


Bake at 375. Original recipe says 12-15 minutes. In my oven they were done at 8 minutes. You know your oven - just watch that first batch!


Breathe it in - they smell so great as they bake! As much as you'll want to eat them hot/warm, I recommend you let them cool. I ate them warm & thought *ehhh - they're OK*. Then I went back & had a cold one & thought *YUM!!!* And then I ate 3 more! LOL Danger, danger!

St. Patrick's Mint Chip Cookies:

3/4 cup butter, at room temperature
2 3/4 cup flour
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Green Food Coloring, 8 – 10 drops
2 cups Andes Creme de Menthe Baking Chips

Preheat oven to 375. Add butter and sugar to stand mixer. Cream until light and fluffy. Add eggs, scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix again. Add vanilla and mix until light and fluffy again.

Sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Add to mixer and mix on low until combined. Add enough green food coloring to get the right color. Different brands will take different amounts, but 8 – 10 drops is about what it will take. (The color of the dough should be a little darker than you want the cookie color to be.) Add mint chips and mix until incorporated.

Drop cookie dough by the tablespoon onto parchment paper on a baking sheet. Bake for 12 – 14 minutes at 375. Let cool.

Source: The Family Kitchen on Babble

4-Times-4

My friend Kristi, from Kristi's Kitchen Kreations, tagged me in a Four Times Four post. Here you go!

Four Places I Go:
1. Target/Walmart/Costco - I need to go somewhere every day!
2. Little Lambs - playgroup
3. The school - 3 times a day!
4. Anywhere that'll sell me a Diet Coke from the fountain!

Four Favorite Smells:
Ok - this is where you're all gonna judge me! There is seriously something wrong with my Olfactory System! LOL Good smells smell good to me - but so do bad smells. Some of the smells that I absolutely gag on are some that a lot of people love, though - cut grass & fresh rain. My 4 favorites are probably:
1. Skunk
2. Cow manure
3. Men's deodorant
4. Lemon

Four Favorite TV Shows/Movies:
1. The Bachelor
2. Survivor
3. Glee
4. Grey's Anatomy

Four Recommendations:
1. Laugh as much as possible
2. Smile at strangers
3. Let your kids get dirty
4. Have a standing date night with your spouse

Tag Four Others:
1. Keri @ Raising Noble Men
2. Heather @ My Little Spoons
3. Jana @ Double the Deliciousness
4. Mandy @ Mandy's Recipe Box

Fry Bread Tacos (aka: Indian or Navajo Tacos)

Twelve years ago I had the chance to have a roommate that grew up on one of the Navajo reservations down in Arizona. She introduced my to fry bread. That act alone has earned her enough good karma to make it through life with blessings to spare!! LOL It was fun to watch her make it, too - no measuring at all. Just 2 handfuls of this, a few pinches of that, keep adding things until the texture is right in her hands. And it was always delicious. Me? Well - this is probably as inauthentic as possible, but sometimes you gotta take the easy route, right!? And frankly, my little white kids will never know the difference (until they spread their wings and find a friend to make the real stuff for them!) Ha! Pillsbury dough is all they get for now!

I flaked out on the ingredients photo, sorry. But all you need for the bread is a can of the classic Pillsbury Buttermilk biscuits. None of the fancy stuff.

You can have them as a treat with a little honey and/or powdered sugar and/or jam.

If you're making tacos you'll need some ground beef, cooked up like you would for tacos. And a can of chili beans - not chili - just chili beans. Lettuce, cheese, tomatoes - some of that, too!

Step 1: POP open that can & separate out the biscuits. Use a rolling pin to smash them flat. Go for 5-6 inch circles. They'll shrink back down a little when they hit the oil.


Heat about 1/2" of oil in a skillet & get it good & hot. Do you know how to check if your oil is ready to fry with? Get your fingers wet & flick some water into the pan. If it sizzles & spits back at you it's ready. If it takes a minute to crackle or if it doesn't crackle at all give it another minute to heat.

Add the dough, one or two at a time. Don't crowd the pan.


If your pan is really hot they'll only take like 30 seconds per side. If not, you'll need a little longer. Just watch them - don't let it burn!


Set them on paper towels to let the oil drip down. That's it for the bread! Wanna turn them into tacos!?!

First layer is some of the taco meat. Then the beans.


Next comes the cheese - if you put it against the hot stuff it'll melt!

Top with lettuce, cheese & whatever else you want. I usually just add salsa to that list.


ENJOY!! Yum, yum, YUM!

Fry Bread Tacos:

Pillsbury buttermilk biscuits
Oil for frying
----------
Taco meat, prepared
Chili beans, from a can/heated
Shredded lettuce
Shredded cheese
Salsa/diced tomatoes

Open biscuits, separate dough into individual biscuits. Use a rolling pin to flatten dough into 5-6 inch circles.

Fill a skillet with 1/2" of oil & heat until flicked water spits back at you. Fry flattened dough on each side until golden; 30-60 seconds per side.

Top with meat, beans, lettuce, cheese & salsa!

Wordless Wednesday - Mystery of the Missing Hair Clips!

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This mystery brought to you by Jack. Shocking, I know!

Garlic Cheddar Biscuits - like Red Lobster's

I've never been to Red Lobster. And, honestly, I don't think I will ever go. Nothing against them - I just hate, hate, hate seafood & even though I know they have more than ocean life to offer, I just can't bear to go to a place with a name that shouts *smelly fish* to me (I know, I know - issues! We've disovered them before - I am full of them - you will find more as you get to know me better!) However, I have this biscuit recipe. And nearly every one I have shared them with has told me they taste just like the Cheddar Bay Biscuits from Red Lobster. So, if you DO like the house of crustaceans, you'll definitely love these biscuits - and if, like me, you don't - fear not, you'll love 'em, too!!

Here's what you'll need:


Flour, baking powder, salt, butter, milk, shredded cheddar, garlic powder.


In a bowl, sift together the flour, salt & baking powder.


Now cut in your softened (NOT melted!) butter. this is easiest with a pastry blender, but if you don't have one you can make it work with 2 butter knives. (It's just kinda miserable!)



Go to town on it, mashing & combining until you have a bowl of coarse crumbs.


From here you're gonna make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Fill it with your cheese & then pour your milk into the center of it, too.


Now mix, mix, mix until it's all incorporated well. Drop by generously heaped tablespoons onto a cookie sheet. You're only aiming to get 12 out of this so don't be shy!



Bake at 450 for 12-15 minutes.


While they are baking melt 1/4 cup of butter & stir in your garlic powder. Brush it generously over the tops of the biscuits when they are fresh out of the oven.


Mmmm...... ENJOY!

Garlic Cheddar Biscuits - like Red Lobster's

1 3/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
5 TBsp butter, softened
1 cup milk
1 cup shredded cheddar
-----
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/2 tsp garlic powder


Heat oven to 450.

In a bowl, sift together flour, salt & baking powder. Cut in the softened butter until it looks like coarse crumbs. Make a well in the center & fill it with the cheese. Add the milk & stir well to combine.

Drop by heaping tablespoons onto a cookie sheet. Bake 12-15 minutes, until they start to brown.

While biscuits bake, melt remaining butter & stir in garlic powder. Brush mixture over hot biscuits.

Makes 12.

I've added this recipe to
Totally Tasty Tuesday
on Mandy's Recipe Box!

Chocolate Crescents

This morning I was craving a little something sweet. I looked in the fridge & saw one last can of crescent rolls from my more-than-necessary sized package I bought at Costco a little while back & then I had my Ah-Ha! Looked in the cupboard & confirmed that I had a package of mini chocolate chips & immediately turned the oven to preheat! LOL The last time I made these little gems was a couple of years ago. We had some friends over for dinner & after the meal I was wanting a dessert but hadn't planned one because we were trying to be good! (P'shaw - like THAT ever works! LOL). Anyway earlier that day at the store I had bought a bag of cinnamon chips & saw a recipe on the bag for Cinnamon Crescents, so I went right to work & 15 minutes later we were enjoying the dessert we didn't have the willpower to avoid. They were really, really good! I figured anything that is good with cinnamon is GREAT with chocolate, right? Surely you all agree! LOL So I made these today - I hope you enjoy! I know we did!

The ingredients don't get any easier than this!


Crescent rolls & chocolate chips (I prefer mini chips for stuff like this).


Unroll your dough into the little triangles & put 2-3 teaspoons of chips at the end. Resist the urge to heap your spoonfuls - you don't want too much in there. Yes, there is such a thing as too much chocolate! I've been there! LOL


Roll them up, sealing the edges to make sure your ships stay put.


Stick 'em on a baking sheet & pop them into the oven - according to the directions on your rolls. Mine were 10 minutes at 375.


Once they come out you can just dig in or, if you have enough self control you can melt some of your chips & drizzle it back & forth across the tops.



SOOOOO good! These are best warm - the dough is still soft & the filling is nice & melty smooth. Don't get me wrong, room-temp is good too, the dough is just stiffer & the chocolate will harden back up!

Go make these!!

Chocolate Crescents:

1 roll of crescent dough
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Unroll the dough into triangles. Place 2-3 teaspoons of chips at the short edge. Roll up, sealing the edges to contain the chips. Bake at 375 for 10 minutes. Drizzle tops with additional melted chips. Serve warm.

Sick Day Flash Back! - Spaghetti Sauce

Hey guys. I have to apologize for the drought on my blog! I've had a house full of sick kids (and all the extra laundry that comes from *that* kind of sick in the middle of the night!) topped off by getting the bug myself. So, as we finally turn a corner towards being well again it's time to get the house back in order! I hope you enjoy a peek back at a favorite I posted in the early days of my blog! I promise - I'll make it back into the kitchen this week!!

Spaghetti Sauce:

I make spaghetti sauce once a year - and when I make it, I go big! I made enough today for 14 dinners & my freezer is now full & ready to serve us a tasty, preservative-free, QUICK dinner on the nights where I've either forgotten to thaw any meat or am craving a baked spaghetti.... like we had tonight! You could make this as a single batch, but really, it's just as easy to double it, triple it, or, in my case times-5 it!! LOL

Here are your ingredients:

Diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, onions, garlic, bell peppers, parsley, lots of spices & some ground beef. Generally speaking I'm not brand specific about many things, but I think Contadina is the best sauce to use in this.

Dice up your parsley, garlic, onions & bell peppers. The size you cut them is the size your chunks will be so if you don't like big pieces of onion/peppers be sure to go for a finer dice.


Next, just pour everything - except the ground beef - into the pot. Or, as Rachael Ray would say, everyone goes into the hot tub together! LOL Don't forget the spices!!


Bring that to a boil over high heat, then cover & reduce the heat to low. Simmer it for an hour, stirring once or twice. About a half hour into it you should get your beef browning.


Then when the hour is up add it to the pot. I mentioned I "times-5'd" this recipe... perhaps I should have just times-4'd it!! LOL I had to pull a little liquid out of the pot to fit all the meat! (This pic is just the first scoop!)


If you think it smelled good simmering without the meat wait 'til you get a whiff of it with the meat! Divine!

Now cover it again & let it go another 20-30 minutes.

MMMMmmmmmmm......


DO YOU SMELL THAT!!!???

Spaghetti Sauce

2 cups canned diced tomatoes
2 cups tomato sauce
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup diced onion
1/2 cup diced green bell pepper
2 cloves garlic, diced
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
1 1/2 tsp seasoning salt
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 small bay leaves
1 - 1 1/2 pounds ground beef

In a stock pot combine all ingredients except for the beef. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to low & let simmer, covered, for an hour.

Crumble beef in a large skillet. Cook over medium heat until fully cooked - no pink remaining. Drain the fat & add to the pot. Cover & simmer an additional 20-30 minutes.