Giant Cream Puffs

The Bishop's wife in my student single's ward was an awesome cook! I just loved going to their house for presidency meetings or for FHE activities because I knew she would prepare the most delicious treats!
Her GIANT Cream Puffs were my favorite!

Boil 1 cup water and 1/2 cup butter
then turn the heat down to low and stir 1 cup flour till it forms a big ball.
Put mixture into a mixing bowl and beat in 4 eggs-1 at a time.
Drop by heaping spoonfuls about 1/4 cup or more onto parchment paper on baking sheet. It makes about 9 very BIG puffs. Bake at 400 for 35 min.

While puffs are baking, make 1 small package instant Vanilla Pudding according to package directions and let set up.
Whip 4-8oz of softened cream cheese till fluffy, then add to pudding and whip together.
Next, fold in 1 8 oz package of Cool Whip.

When when ready to serve, cut the puff in half and spoon filling into it. You can use store bought chocolate icing on top or make your own.

Chicken Roll-ups

Whenever I ask Daniel what his favorite meal has been since we've been married...he always says

Chicken Roll-ups. 

This is a fairly popular recipe but if you haven't ever had it, now is the time.

They really are SO good and pretty easy to make!

For 8 roll-ups:

Mix 1 softened 8oz. package of cream cheese with

1 large can of chicken

Salt

Pepper

Green Onions

Garlic Powder

-Set mixture aside-

Open 1 can of 8 count crescent rolls and arrange on baking sheet

Crush one cylindrical package of Ritz Crackers into small crumbs and dump into bowl.

Melt about half a stick of butter in a separate bowl and set aside.

Scope spoonfuls of chicken mixture onto the wide part of crescent roll dough and then roll up the dough like a normal roll and then dip into butter and roll into crumbs. Set on baking sheet.

After you've completed all the rolls, bake at 350 for about 20-25 mins or until golden brown.

This recipe is great because it really is so flexible. If you don't have green onions, you can use regular chopped onions, or even just onion salt. Also, if you don't have Ritz crackers, just experiment with other crunchy crackers! We used Italian pretzels once and it turned out REALLY good. Plus, we usually double the recipe so that we can eat leftovers for a couple of days after.

Chocolate Caramel Brownies

Who knew you can make brownies with a cake mix and without eggs and oil?
Well, here's a recipe for you.
They are way different than the typical brownies yet just as delicious!


Chocolate Caramel Brownies

In a large bowl, combine 1 chocolate cake mix
1 cup finely chopped nuts (optional)
Next, cut in 1/2 cup butter
Stir in 1/2 cup evaporated milk
The batter will be super thick. If there's still cake mix powder that's not getting mixed in, just add a little bit more evaporated milk.
Spread half of the batter on onto a greased 9x13 baking pan and
bake at 350 degrees for 15 mins.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan on low, melt 35 caramels and 1/3 cup evaporated milk, stirring occasionally.

When brownies are done, sprinkle about 1 cup of chocolate chips onto hot brownies.
Next, drizzle the melted caramel over chocolate chips.
Drop the remaining brownie mix in heaping teaspoons on top of the caramel and replace in oven for 20-25 mins.
Don't cook any longer than twenty five minutes or it won't be good!

Be sure to let it cool completely before cutting.

Super easy Smoothies

Probably one of the best gifts we got for our wedding, was the Magic Bullet.

Have you seen those?
It's like a mini up-side down blender?
You put the stuff in the cup and then twist the blade on top and turn it up side down and place it in the base and everything gets blended?

Well, they are awesome!

If you don't have one, save your money so you can get one.
You will LOVE it!

Any Way You Want 'Em SmoothiesPut into the magic bullet cup:

about a cup of frozen fruit
a tsp of vanilla
2-3 spoonfuls sugar
about 1/2 to 1 cup milk

Put the lid on and wa-la!
That was so fast.

PS. Ours really isn't the name brand "MAGIC BULLET" it's a cheaper one from Target that actually looks nicer but works just the same. I think it was about $35-40... much better than the almost $100 for the real Magic Bullet.

Chocolate Cake Mix Cookies

These cookies are simply the most delicious and easiest cookies ever!

They really are so easy, they're no excuse not to make them!

For a quick sugar fix:

Combine 1 box of cake mix (any flavor)
2 eggs
1/2 cup oil
almost half a bag of chocolate chips
(preferable milk chocolate chips)

-Mix all the ingredients together and drop spoonfuls onto pan-
-Cook for 8-10 minutes at 350 degrees-
*If you use a chocolate cake mix, you may need to add a little bit of water. Just add a tablespoon or two until it's proper cookie consistency.

Daniel's Five Dollar Ramen Goodness

When I first made this, Daniel would not even try it.

He just thought "Cabbage? NO WAY!"
The next time I made it, the smell just pulled him in and after one bite, he was hooked!
Now, he calls it "Daniel's Five Dollar Ramen Goodness"

What makes this such a great recipe is it's flexibility - You can add whatever you want to change things according to your tastes.


First we just started with one onion and one head of cabbage sauteed in olive oil and salt, pepper, and garlic

Now, we also add chicken chunks (I apologize if the combination of those two words completely grosses you out. Some words just should never be said together, especially if one of the words is "chunks") or canned chicken.

If you just sautee all of these ingredients, it will be pretty good...and healthy... but if you do the next step, it will be even more delicious!

We found that breaking up 2 packages of Oriental Flavor Ramen with the seasoning packets into a large ziplock bag, then adding the chicken to that, helps spice up the chicken.
Plus, after you dump the ramen bag into the pan of sauteed vegetables, and cook for just a little more, your cabbage will have quite the kick!

The best part is that if you already have left over chicken laying around, this surprisingly filling meal, can cost less than a couple of bucks!

Apple Dip, Pretzels, and Brownies

I am just so proud of myself because I accomplished something I never thought possible-- hosting a party without spending any money!

All week, I had been searching for yummy recipes to serve at our
Halloween Party and really was so excited!
However, when I began making the shopping list of all the ingredients, I realized this was going to cost much more than what we had in the budget.
So, I found different recipes and came up with different ideas so that I could make a "meal" free of cost. Here's what I came up with:

Creamy Caramel Peanut Butter Apple Dip1 cup sour cream or cream cheese
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup peanut butter

Mix everything together and you're done!


Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies
Make box of brownies as directed on box.
When they are done, spread about 9 oz. or 1 1/8 cup of peanut butter over top.
I put my peanut butter in the microwave for about 20 seconds
so it was easier to spread without ripping up the top of the brownies.
After that, refrigerate the brownies for at least 30 mins or until the peanut butter has hardened.
In a small saucepan, melt 1/4 cup butter
mix in 1/6 cup milk and
5 large marshmallows
-stir together until the marshmallows have been completely stirred in.
The texture will be really goopy and not smooth but that's ok, keep with it!
-Remove from heat and stir in 1/8 cup cocoa
begin mixing in about half a bag of powdered sugar.
If you use beaters to mix this all together, the texture will begin to be more smooth and spreadable but this is the kind of icing that hardens soon after you make it so:
hurry and spread the chocolate frosting over top of the peanut butter covered brownies and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes before cutting and serving.

*For large groups you can double the recipe (2 boxes of brownies and 2X everything else) and bake in a jelly roll pan.

Yummy Soft Pretzels
1 1/8 cups water
3 cups flour
3 Tablespoons brown sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
-In the order listed, put into bread machine pan and select dough setting-
-when dough is ready, dump out onto lightly floured surface and cut into pieces-
(I cut mine into very small pieces so I would have just enough to make lots of mini pretzels)
next:
Boil in pot 2 quarts water and 1/2 cup baking soda.
Place shaped dough into boiling water for about 10-15 seconds or until they get really puffy.
Remove from water and place on paper towel to dry a little bit.
Transfer boiled dough to pan layered with parchment paper.
bake at 400 for about 8-10 minutes or until golden brown.
Spritz with water or butter and sprinkle salt on top

IF YOU DON'T HAVE A BREAD MAKER:
Combine yeast, water and sugar and in a bowl and let sit til foamy.
Add flour until it pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
Knead until smooth on a lightly floured surface.
Place in a greased bowl until covered for 45-60 min or until doubled.
Then continue with the normal directions.

* These actually are easier than they sound and really taste way better than they look. They do taste a lot like the ones you'd find at the mall!

Melinda's Cheesy Chicken Chowder

For years, on cold winter evenings, my mother would make homemade chicken noodle soup--vegetable chunks, chicken, and even handmade noodles!
I would crave this soup for days, wishing it would get cold so my mother would decide to make it and I know I wasn't the only member of the family with these feelings.
However, our world changed one day when our very cute neighbor, Melinda, offered to bring our sick family dinner. What she introduced to my family changed us forever.

It was Cheesy Chicken Chowder and
it was BETTER than mom's chicken noodle!

Melinda's Cheesy Chicken Chowder

3 cups chicken broth (about 2 cans)
1 can cream of chicken soup
2 cups diced cooked chicken
2 cups diced peeled potatoes
1 cup diced carrots
1 cup diced celery
1 cup diced onions
1 1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
garlic
-Put all of this in a big pot on the stove and begin boiling-
While that's cooking, in a separate smaller saucepan:
melt 1/4 cup butter
then mix in 1/3 cup flour
-stir together really well and then turn temperature to low-
slowly add: 2 cups milk mixing well after each addition.
When mixture is nice and thick slowly add 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
-stir until melted and smooth-
-stir cheese mixture into chicken/vegetable mixture and simmer until
the potatoes are cooked to your preference.-

Enjoy!

Chocolate Rolo Cookies

Chocolate Rolo Cookies

By a vote of 4 to 2 these cookies were chosen by our Primary Class as a reward for the kids bringing their scriptures every Sunday for three weeks.
Hopefully, when they get them tomorrow, it will all have been worth it.

1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
-beat until super fluffy-
2 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
-add to mixture and beat until even fluffier-
1 tsp. baking soda
2 1/4 cup flour
3/4 cup cocoa
-mix super well and refrigerate dough for at least 2 hours-

You'll need almost 2 bags of rolos to do this:
Unwrap each rolo and cover each one with just enough
dough so that you can't see the candy anymore.
After you've made a ball with a rolo and dough, roll the ball
into sugar and place on cookie sheet.

Bake at 350 for about 8-10 min or until there's little cracks in the cookie.
Take them out and let cool on pan for a couple of minutes before you transfer to cooling rack
(or else the melty caramel with fall through the rack).

Enjoy!

Too Much Chocolate Cake

We first tried this for the BYU vs. Oklahoma game and it was as delicious as it was good luck! A definite hit with all the chocolate lovers at our party. Goes really well with whipped cream and strawberries. Recipe doesn't include chocolate drizzle, but once we get it figured out we'll let you know.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Let the cake cool ~2hrs before serving, falls apart easy when hot. But oh, so yummy!

Recipe:
1 package devil's food cake mix
1 (5.9 oz) package instant chocolate pudding mix
1 cup sour cream
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1/2 cup warm water
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

Mix together the cake and pudding mixes, sour cream, oil, beaten eggs and water. Stir in the chocolate chips and pour batter into a well greased bunt pan.

Bake for 50-55 minutes or until top is spring to the touch and  toothpick comes out clean.

Cool cake thoroughly in pan at least 2 hours before inverting onto plate.