Recipe #16 - OREO Crunch Bars

I finally busted out another recipe from the Oreo With a Twist cookbook... and it did not disappoint! :) In case you missed the first one, here ya go!

Ingredients:
*34 OREO cookies, divided
*1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter or margarine, melted
*1 7.5oz jar of marshmallow creme
*1/2 c semisweet chocolate chips
*1/3 c chopped nuts, optional

Preheat the oven to 350. Coarsely chop 8 OREO cookies, set aside. Finely crush the remaining cookies and mix with the melted butter. Firmly press the cookie crust onto the bottom of a greased 8x8 or 9x9 pan (I actually used a 9" round pan...). Drop the marshmallow creme by spoonfuls onto the cookie crust, coming within about a 1/2 inch of the edges. (I found the marshmallow creme hard to spread once it was on the crust, so it needed a little TLC.) Sprinkle remaining OREOs, chocolate chips and nuts over the top. Bake for about 15 minutes, until the marshmallow creme puffs. Cool completely on a wire rack.

I made this recipe for work, so I did not use nuts, for not knowing about allergies. Next time, I will try them, at least on half. Rather than original OREOs, I used Double Stuf OREOs for the recipe. There aren't 34 in the package, so the numbers are a little bit altered for the first part. I coarsely chopped 6, instead of 8, and then used the remaining cookies for the crust. It was quite delish.

TTFN!

Recipe #15 - Baked Corn on the Cob

I do realize that I've more or less disappeared lately... I haven't slowed down on trying new recipes though! I have a few to catch up on.

Corn is a really popular vegetable in our house. During the spring/summer months, I like buying the ears of corn at the grocery store, rather than canned. Something about it just seems... fun?? Anyway, we ran out of propane for the grill, so I was in need of an alternative way to cook them.

Ingredients:
*Ear(s) of corn, cleaned and completely free of husks and silk fibers
*Foil square
*Butter
*Salt
*Pepper
*any other seasonings, to taste

Preheat the oven to 425. Butter and season the foil squares. Place one ear of corn per foil square, and wrap the corn. I usually wrap it a little loose, but still closed. Bake approximately 30 to 40 minutes, until corn is soft, turning over once halfway through.

Enjoy!! TTFN!

Recipe #14 - Chicken and Brown Rice Pilaf

My mom gets a Kraft Foods magazine every so often. I used to get it, but it randomly stopped. Oh well. It always has a lot of good looking recipes, and I'll honestly admit I've tried quite a few!! So far, I tried 2 from the recent magazine she let me borrow. The first one, yuck! This second one, yummy!! Here is the link to Kraft's website with the original recipe. I'm only going to show my modified recipe below!

Ingredients:
*3-4 slices of bacon, chopped
*4 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves (1 lb)
*1 bag of frozen broccoli
*water
*2 tblsp grated Parmesan cheese
*2 cups hot cooked long-grain brown rice

Prepare the rice according to the directions on the package. I haven't mastered making brown rice yet... it always seems dry. I'm working on it though. In a large skillet, cook chopped bacon, until crisp (about 6-7 minutes). Using a slotted spoon, scoop the bacon pieces out of the skillet, leaving the grease. Lay the bacon pieces on a paper towel covered plate, to drain excess grease.

Before adding chicken to the skillet, make sure it's cut into small sections, or somewhat flattened, to allow it to cook a little faster. My chicken pieces were too plump, resulting in very crispy outsides. Add the chicken to the skillet, cooking about 6-8 minutes on each side, until its golden brown and cooked all the way through. Transfer chicken to a plate and cover to keep warm. Add broccoli to skillet, along with a small amount of water (enough to cover the bottom of the skillet). Cover. Cook until broccoli is tender. Add rice and bacon to skillet with broccoli. Mix well. Top rice mixture with bacon pieces and chicken, and ta da!



So the original recipe only uses two strips of bacon, but OH MY the bacon was my favorite part. That's why I increased it to 3-4 slices here. I'll be trying it that way next time. I don't know what about it made the rest of it WONDERFUL! We prefer broccoli, so that is why I used it, rather than the other veggies. Plus, it's what I had on hand. I will try it with snap peas, once, though.

This was a very yummy and relatively easy meal! I'll definitely make it again.

TTFN!

FOLLOW UP: Recipe #12

Here is a link to the original post...

So I tried these again for Easter, because I knew I could do a better job than I did the first time I made them. I found a mistake that I made... I used a box of Devil's Food cake mix that was too small - it was only 15.25 oz, not 18.25 oz like the recipe called for. In all honestly, the taste was the same. The only noticeable difference was the texture of the cupcakes. The first time, they were more brownie like. This second time, they were more cake-y.

The biggest difference, in my opinion, was the frosting. Instead of using a store bought can, I made a butter cream frosting from scratch. YUM! Here is the blog where I found this recipe - http://savorysweetlife.com/2010/03/buttercream-frosting/. This was actually the second time I've made it, and I was not disappointed! I also used it last year on Rylan's 1st birthday cake. The recipe, as she calls for, makes a lot of frosting. I don't put a ton of frosting on my cupcakes, so I initially cut the recipe in half. I still had some frosting left over, after I iced a batch of 24 cupcakes. Hopefully this will help give you an idea of what to make.

TTFN!

Recipe #13 - Boiled Omelets

Weekend before last, my Nana invited Rusty, Rylan and me over for breakfast... We agreed, packed up and headed over. We were also going to get a picture of Rylan and Paw Paw together with the Bluebonnets in his backyard. After we accepted her invitation, Nana asked if we'd ever tried her boiled omelets. We had not, so this was a new adventure for us!

While I'll still prefer a good old fashion omelet to this, they were very good, SUPER easy and really fun to make! I could see this being a lot of fun to do in a brunch setting with family and friends. It was a lot less stressful than cooking and cleaning up, that is for sure!!

Utensils:
*sealable sandwich bags
*permanent marker
*fork or whisk
*large measuring cup or bowl
*large bowl to discard egg shells (if a trash can isn't handy)
*large pot, on stove with rapidly boiling water (I highly recommend a pot that is shallow and wide, rather than one that is deep and narrow. More bags will fit this way.)
*platter
*tongs



Ingredients:
*eggs (only 2 per omelet!!!)
*any omelet fixin's you want!

In permanent marker, write your name on top most part of the sandwich bag (above where it seals). Add desired omelet fixin's to your bag. Scramble two eggs in the large measuring cup or bowl. Pour eggs into bag. Remove as much air from the bag as possible, then seal. After the bag is sealed, mix up the contents as best as you can. Add prepared omelet bags to water, and allow them to boil for about 13-15 minutes. (If you do more than two eggs, they don't cook throughout very well.)

Using the tongs, remove bags from the water and place them on the platter. Allow the bags to cool for 2-3 minutes. Open the baggies, and the omelets will fall right out onto your plate!!



(Sorry - the picture above didn't turn out very well, but it's the only one I got!!)

After breakfast, Rylan and Paw Paw finally got their bluebonnet picture together! I was really pleased with how it turned out... I usually can't get Rylan's attention for more than a second or two when it comes to snapping a picture.



Enjoy!! TTFN!