chocolate covered pretzels

So I received my Christmas present *from myself* in the mail the other day, and have been dying to try it out! If you haven't guessed already, it's a new camera! Weee! :) These little treats were the perfect test tool! If you like chocolate covered pretzels, you must try making them at home! They're so much better than the pre-packaged kind...not to mention super easy (though a little time consuming). Perfect for filling into clear gift baggies, tie with some festive ribbon, and send them out as holiday gifts! I was feeling generous today so I packaged some up and gave them to Bear's groomer, she loved them :).

How cute would these be if you could find the pretzels in holiday shapes?!

Ingredients:
2 bags chocolate chips
Bag of mini pretzels
Sprinkles of your choice
wax paper


Directions:
Melt chocolate chips (1 bag at a time) in a bowl according to package directions. Dip pretzels one at a time quickly to coat while chocolate is still melted. Place pretzels on wax paper to set and cool. Finish with sprinkles before the chocolate dries! :)

crockpot pot roast

So I'm pretty convinced I make some of the best pot roast out there. I know there are a billion recipes out there, but most of them call for a ton of packaged spice envelopes and canned ingredients which are LOADED with sodium, fat and calories. This one is super simple but tastes great. My hubby and I love to add in some Louisiana hot sauce to give it an extra kick.

Ingredients:
3.5-4 lb pot roast
1/4 cup flour 
2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
3 carrots, sliced
2 onions, sliced
3 potatoes, quartered (I use a bunch of tiny halved red potatoes)
1 stalk celery, sliced
1 cup mushrooms, sliced
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1 bottle of beer (Guiness is the best for this recipe, or another dark beer)
Louisiana hot sauce, optional


Directions:
1. Combine flour, salt, and pepper; coat meat.
2. Place all veggies except mushrooms and garlic into crock pot.
3. Top with roast.
4. Spread mushrooms and garlic over roast.
5. Cover and cook on low for 10-12 hours or high for 6-8 hours.

quick chicken-corn chowder

This was rated in the top 20 chicken recipes from one of my favorite cooking magazines, Cooking Light. It's healthy AND takes under 30 minutes to prepare! After reading some of the reviews I decided to use a rotisserie chicken and I'm glad I did. It gives it such a great flavor, I'll have to start keeping an eye out for the reduced price rotisseries. :)I still feel like it was missing a tiny bit of something though...maybe a little hot sauce? I'll have to play around with it, still a great recipe overall.

Yields: 6 servings (serving size: about 1 cup)
Only 257 calories per serving! 8.1g fat, 19.1g protein, 28.6g carbs, 668mg sodium

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1/4 cup chopped celery
• 2 cloves garlic, minced 
• 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 
• 3 cups 2% reduced-fat milk
• 2 cups chopped roasted skinless, boneless chicken breasts (I used the 2 breasts from the rotisserie chicken)
• 1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh or 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper (I omitted)
• 1/8 teaspoon salt (or more to taste)
• 1 (14 3/4-ounce) can cream-style corn

Preparation

• Melt the butter in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion, celery, and jalapeño; cook for 3 minutes or until tender, stirring frequently. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add flour; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in milk and remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil; cook until thick (about 5 minutes). Season with extra salt and pepper if needed. Enjoy!

pumpkin spice muffins

These are the moistest muffins I've ever tasted. And to think they only took 2 ingredients! No eggs, oil, or sugar! If you're an amateur at baking like me and want something that tastes and smells just like fall, these are for you. You could even sprinkle with powdered sugar, add chopped nuts, raisins, chocolate chips or top with cream cheese frosting if you're feelin' adventurous! ;)

This recipe makes about 14-16 regular sized muffins.

Ingredients:
1 box spice cake mix
15 oz 100% pure canned pumpkin
paper muffin/cupcake liners


Directions:
-Preheat oven to 350.
-In a large bowl, mix together cake mix and canned pumpkin until well combined.

-Spoon into paper lined small muffin/cupcake tins, 2/3 full. (Batter will be thick)

-Bake at 350 for 23 minutes (roughly 15 min. for mini muffins) or until toothpick comes out clean.

grilled chicken breast tostadas

 

I love nothing more than a tasty yet healthy meal, and this one did the trick! I thoroughly enjoyed this recipe and will be added to our weekly menu....at least until the snow hits and we can't grill anymore! :) Tony and I each had 2 tostadas and were full, the rest will be left overs for lunch tomorrow!

The differences I made from this recipe is instead of marinating my chicken I just rubbed a smashed clove of garlic on them and sprinkled the lime juice over top. You could add any other seasoning you like to it as well (I used a honey-lime seasoning I have) if you don't feel like taking time to marinate. I left out the cilantro in the pico de gallo and the green chiles in the guacamole. You don't put green chiles in guac!

Grilled Chicken Breast Tostadas

• 2 limes
• 3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 3 boneless skinless chicken breast (about 1 1/2 p0unds)
• kosher salt
• fresh ground pepper
• 1 cup sour cream (You could sub plain greek yogurt)
• 6 (6 inch) corn tortillas (I used white corn tortillas)
• additional olive oil
• easy guacamole
• pico de gallo

1. In a gallon sized ziploc bag, combine juice from 1 lime, olive oil, and garlic.  Season with salt and pepper.  Add chicken and marinate for 1 hour. (I skipped this step)
2. While chicken marinates, mix 1 cup sour cream with 1 tsp. lime zest and 1-2 Tbsp. lime juice (from remaining lime) to make a lime crema.  Store in refrigerator until ready to serve.
3. Preheat grill to high.  Grill chicken for about 4-6 minutes per side until juices run clear and chicken is cooked.
4. Brush tortillas with olive oil and toast on grill for about 30 seconds per side or until nice and crisp.  Remove from grill and sprinkle with salt. (I just sprayed with spray oil)
5. Slice cooked chicken breasts into slices and build tostadas.  To build: Spread tortilla with guacamole then top with chicken slices, pico de gallo, followed by lime crema.  Serve with Bush’s Texas Ranchero Grillin’ Beans on the side.  Makes 6 tostadas.

cookies 'n' cream ice cream

This stuff is amazing. 'Nuff said.


If you don't have an ice cream maker yet...you should go buy one.


Right now...

Prep Time: 8 minutes
Ice Cream Maker Time: Approximately 20-25 minutes
Makes: 1 1/2 quarts
Servings: Ten 1/2 cup servings

Ingredients:

1 cup milk
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup crushed Oreo cookies*

*Place Oreo cookies in a Ziploc bag. Seal bag. Crush cookies using the heel of your hand or a kitchen mallet.

Directions: 

Using a wire whisk or hand mixer, mix milk and sugar until the sugar dissolves (about 1 -2 minutes).

Stir in heavy cream and vanilla extract.

Pour into ice cream maker.

Churn about 20 minutes or according to manufacturer's instructions.

Add crushed Oreo cookies to ice cream.

Churn for 5 additional minutes.

May need to freeze for several hours or overnight, mixture will be of milkshake consistency.

baked sweet potato fries

These things are delicious!! I think I might even like them better than regular fries. I love the sweet I get from the potato and the salty I get from the ranch (because everyone knows how much I love ranch right? lol) Ketchup just wouldn't do. It MUST be ranch. MmmMm. Tony loves these things too, he's always asking me to make them. 
Every time I see photos of these recipes though, their fries are always orange...I can't tell if they just have different sweet potatoes or if they are using yams instead. I just stick to the one that's labeled "sweet potato" at the grocery store :)

Ingredients:

- 1 sweet potato, (about 5" long) peeled and cut into 1/4" fries

- 2 tsp olive oil

- about 1/2 a dry packet of Zesty Italian dressing, or to your taste preference

- few shakes of garlic powder 

Directions:

-Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

-In a medium bowl, toss sweet potatoes with olive oil, italian dressing powder and garlic powder. 

-Spread potatoes on a baking sheet or on top of a cooling rack. Avoid crowding so potatoes get crisp. Bake 15 minutes. Turn and bake an additional 10-15 minutes. Ovens may vary so keep an eye on them and be sure to cut all the potatoes the same size to ensure even cooking.