Magic Toffee

My brother called and gave me this recipe. Super easy, Super yummy, and I bet you have everything you need right now! 

 This is so easy that I included step by step pics, because you're not gonna believe me!

Seriously!

1 Pkg Saltine Crackers

1 C. Butter

1 C. Brown Sugar

1 Pkg Chocolate Chips

Line cookie sheet with foil

Layer crackers

(I sprayed mine, but you don't need to)

Melt Butter and Brown sugar in pan.

When it starts boiling, stop stirring and boil 3-4 mins.

Seriously. Don't stir it! Resist the urge

Immediately pour Carmel over crackers

Put in 400 Degree oven for 8 Mins

When it comes out put choco chips on top, wait a min, spread chocolate

Cool. This takes 30-45 mins.

Break up and enjoy

Thanks bro for this awesomly easy recipe! It's a total Keeper!



Veggie Noodles

I made this for lunch today and we LOVED it!! It's fresh. It's healthy. It's full of veggies. It's good! I asked the Hubs if there was anything he would want changed and he said "This is a no talking meal"  - Which I took as a No. =)

The  best part. You could make this Veggie style super easy!

1 Small Zucchini

1/2 Small Yellow Squash

8oz sliced Baby Bella mushrooms

2-3 carrots sliced on a diagonal

4 Chicken Tenders

1 C Chicken Stock

1/2 C Cream of Chicken Soup

3 Tbl Butter

2-3 Tbl Flour

1/2 pkg Spaghetti noodles

Heat oven to 350, Cook frozen chicken tenders 20 mins. Chop.

Get water boiling for noodles

Heat lg Skillet coating the bottom with 2 Tbl Olive oil. Saute Carrots for 5 mins, Add Butter and mushrooms, cook till Mushrooms are brown and tender. Add Zucchini and squash until tender. add sprinkle flour on veggies, stir, add chicken stock and simmer till thick. Add Soup and chicken. Simmer 5 mins (or until your noodles are cooked to your liking). Add noodles. I like to use the starchy cooking liquid from the noodles to thin out sauce if needed.

Serve, Enjoy!!

I guarantee this will become a family fav.

To make it more vegetarian friendly, just leave out the chicken. Use Veggie stock, and Cream of Mushroom soup, instead of chicken.

Chocolate cookie Cheesecake!

 This is the best Cheesecake I have ever made! granted it's the first cheesecake I've ever made....
I stayed up all night New Years Eve making this one and it was Totally worth it!! My hubby and I Rocked out while we waited for it to bake. We watched the fireworks at the Space Needle at Midnight. And all though I made this for a New Years Day celebration we were going to it was worth the tired eyes! This one is For SURE a keeper! Super rich, super addicting, Super Yummy!!!

Best made 1-2 days in advance!!! Serves 14-20 depending on slice size.

Adapted from this recipe

1 C. Chocolate cookie Crumbs (1-1 1/2 rows with center removed)

1 C. Chocolate Graham Cracker Crumbs

4 Tbl melted Butter

1/4 C Brown Sugar

Combine in a medium bowl and press evenly on to bottom and up 1 in up the side of a 10'' spring form pan. Bake 350 for 5 mins. Set aside

2 lb (4, 8oz squares)  Cream Cheese softened

1 1/4 C White Sugar

1/3 C Heaven whipping Cream

2 Tbl Flour

1 ts Vanilla

4 Eggs

In a large bowl beat Cream Cheese until smooth (5 mins) Gradually mix in sugar, cream, flour, and vanilla. Mix until smooth. Beat eggs in 1 at a time, beating until smooth after each addition.

Pour 1/3 of the batter into pan. top with Chocolate, cream filled, cookies.

Pour remaining batter on top of cookies.

Bake at 350 for 65-70 mins. I baked mine in a water bath*. If you choose to NOT use the water bath. Only bake for 45 mins.

Combine 16 oz Sour Cream, 1/4 C white sugar, 1 tsp Vanilla.

When Cheese cake is done baking, pull out of oven and carefully top with sour cream mixture. Return cake to oven and bake for 15 mins (7 mins w/o water bath). Turn oven off and leave in oven for 30 mins. Remove cheesecake.

Combine 1 C whipping Cream and 1 1/2 C chocolate chips in saucepan. Stir over low heat until Chocolate melts then stir in 1 tsp vanilla. Pour mixture over cheese cake while still warm. Let cool completely on wire rack, Move to Refrigerator and chill at least 8 hrs! remove 30 mins before serving.

The best way to cut this is to have a glass of HOT water and a napkin or towel. Dip sharp knife in hot water, wipe dry, cut. Do this before EACH cut and you will have perfect slices of cheesecake every time!

What are you waiting for?! Make this, NOW! and prepare yourself for some serious compliments!!

*Water Bath. This is how I do mine. I use a roasting pan with rack. I wrap the outside of my spring form pan in foil (because I'm paranoid about water getting in) and I set my cheesecake in the pan on the rack. Fill it with hot Hot HOT water till it's just about an inch up the side of the pan.

Pizza 101

Pizza Dough
2 Tbl Yeast
1/2 C Warm Water
2 tsp sugar
put in bottom of mixer and let dissolve and foam
while that's working heat, melt and dissolve
1 1/2 C Milk
1/2 C Shortening (I use Olive Oil)
4 Tbl Sugar
Microwave for 2 mins, stirring after 1 to make sure your sugar is dissolving. Add to your yeast slowly while mixing, then add 4 C Flour and 1-2 tsp dried pizza seasoning. Mix well. Dump onto floured surface and knead. roll into ball and let rest.

Toppings:
Whatever you would like. We used (because it's what we had on hand):
Olives
Tomatoes
Ham
Mushrooms
Cheese

Sauce:
Your fav. Spaghetti sauce.
 Here's how you do it:

Spread dough out to desired size

Spread sauce

*sample sauce if desired*

Spread Cheese

Dump on toppings

Bake for 20 mins

Enjoy!!

My boys had so much fun making their own pizza! It is work but Totally worth all the clean up!

Snowy cocoa

What do you do when your house looks like this?!

Make some of this!

I cheated with this one. My neighbor gave me a big tin of Starbucks Hot Cocoa mix. If you know me at all, you know that I'm a sucker for Starbucks Hot Cocoa! I love this because the ingredients are, Cocoa, sugar, vanilla. It's makes just like any other mix. A mug of milk 2 Tbl of mix. I added a big spoonful of homemade whip cream and sprinkled a little extra mix on top to make it fancy. 
Enjoy!

Squash Pasta

This is my family's all time favorite fall dish! I like it because it's easy and fast to make.

1 Butternut Squash
Olive Oil
S & P
Cheese Tortellini (or whatever kind of pasta you have on hand)
Chicken Stock, or Broth
cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice (or whatever your favorite fall spices are)

Preheat oven to 375
Cube Squash in big chunks. coat in olive oil, S&P, and put in oven 20-30 mins.
cook and drain pasta.
When Squash is golden brown and soft, remove from oven and put into blender with spices. Add Chicken Stock, blend until desired consistency. Pour over Pasta and enjoy.

I like to add cubed chicken to it as well, although I did not do that tonight. . . .because, well, Life happened.

Smokey Bacon and Cheesy Mac

I LOVE this stuff!! I made it for our little Bear's 2nd Bday and fell in love! I was so proud of my self because this is an original Recipe, and I.ROCKED.IT.
Keep in mind. I made this for 11 people. Adjust amounts according to what will fit your family.

1 22oz Bag of Large Elbow Macaroni
6 Strips of Bacon
3 Tbl Butter
1-2 C. Milk
1/2 lb Colby Jack Cheese -Grated
8 oz Smoked Mozzarella Cheese -Grated

Cook and Strain Macaroni. I had to cook mine in 2 batches because I don't have a pot big enough to accommodate such a HUGE amount of noodles. While it sits in the strainer I also like to put a Tbl of butter in with the noodles so that they don't stick together (you could also drizzle them with Olive Oil and get the same effect)

Cook Bacon in a Large pot.

When the bacon is all crispy and  yummy looking, Add Butter and flour.

After a minute or 2 slowly add milk while stirring

When you've added enough milk (I never measure this step so I honestly have no clue how much milk I used) to make a sauce consistency Add the cheese

I added all the cheese except for about 1 c Colby Jack and 1/2 c. Smoked Mozzarella

Add noodles, Stir. Pour into Baking dish and sprinkle with remaining Cheese

Bake at 350 for 15 mins, or until cheese is all melty and gooey!

The best part about this dish is that it can be made the day before. When you hit the baking stage, Instead of putting it in the over, cover it with tin-foil and stick it in the refrigerator. When you're ready to cook, Bake in a 350 oven for 30 mins with foil on, remove foil and bake an additional 15-20 mins!