Copy Cat Cheese Fondue

I listened carefully while at Melting Pot to what they put in their Cheese Fondue, then re-created it at home. SOO good. We love it. Its really good with Rosemary Artisan bread OR homemade bread with a little butter and rosemary then toasted in the oven. Some people like Apples in it (not me). Veggies would be good, crackers, even chips. Use your imagination.

I don't have exact measurments, since this was a Kaeli creation but I'll do my best to estimate.

Cheese Fondue

Using a double boiler - put water in the bottom of course.

In the top pan add (remember these are approximations I NEVER MEASURE when I make this...

1/8- 1/4 cup water

1 tsp chicken boullion

1/2 tsp minced garlic

1 tsp worchestershire sauce

a pinch of powdered spicy mustard

cheddar cheese... enough to make a smooth cheesy consistancy, but not too thick. Maybe like 3/4 cup or so, use your best judgement

flour 1/2 Tbs or so- this makes it so the cheese isn't stringy and hard to eat. It took me forever to figure this out!!! But I did it and am very proud haha

Salt and Fresh ground pepper

Stir until mixture resembles cheese fondue.

Taste it and add whatever you think it needs :)

We just eat it out of the pan so it stays warm. Nothing fancy but so good.

*TIP* When done, poor the water from the bottom into the top and let it soak. This will make clean up SOO much easier. If this isn't done the cheese is super hard to get off. Trust me.

Chocolate Chip Cheese Ball

I haven't tried this, but I am totally going to make it during Christmas time! I had to post it so I didn't loose the recipe. Sounds so good to me - I love cheese balls to begin with, but add powdered sugar, chocolate chips and pretzels... Too good to resist, I'm a sucker for sweets.

Chocolate Chip Cheese Ball (courtesy of Framed Cooks)
Yield: 8-12 servingsPrep time: 15 minutes
Refrigerate: 2 hours

1 (8oz) package cream cheese, softened
¾ cup confectioners’ sugar
½ cup butter, softened
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
¾ cup miniature chocolate morsels
¾ cup finely chopped pecans (or other nut if desired) , divided
Graham crackers, butter cookies or pretzels

1. In a bowl, combine cream cheese, confectioners’ sugar, butter, brown sugar and vanilla, beating with an electric mixer until smooth. Stir in chocolate chips and ½ cup of pecans. Refrigerate until firm, about 2 hours. (I was in a hurry and found 1 hour in the freezer was just as good.)
2. Once chilled, shape mixture into a ball and roll in remaining ¼ cup pecans. Refrigerate until ready to serve.3. Serve with graham crackers, butter cookies or pretzels.

Chocolate Krinkle Cookies

These are my absolute favorite cookie, hands down, in the entire world. Seriously.
They make me happy. Soft and chewy and chocolaty,
rolled in powdered sugar.......MMM!
They do take some time and effort, but
it is so worth it!!

Cream together:
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup shortening
3 1/3 cups sugar
4 tsp vanilla
4 eggs
3/4 cup cocoa

In a separate bowl combine:
4 cups flour
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 cup chopped nuts (optional, I never put them in)

Add to wet ingredients alternately with 2/3 cup of milk. Dough will be sticky. Sometimes I stick it in the fridge for an hour. And depending on the weather, you might need to add another 1/4 cup of flour.

Roll into balls, drop into powdered sugar, roll around. Place on greased cookie sheet (or cookie sheet lined with parchment paper). Bake at 350 for 12-15 mins.

~Do not over bake these! They will turn out crunchy instead of soft and chewy. I find 12 minutes is about perfect, if I make them a little bigger, then 13 minutes is about right.

~ Using two small spoons is the best way, instead of using a cookie scooper. Or you could use your hands and get really messy!

~ I almost always half the recipe because it makes a TON of cookies.

* I saw these on another cooking blog and she added peppermint to it. YUM!

Wingers Chicken Sandwhich

I know, this is way to easy to even be considered a recipe, but it's so good and so fast I had to post. We had absolutely NO food in the house this weekend (I didn't want to leave the house in the snow storm to go shopping) so I had to get a little creative when it came to something to eat. And although this really isn't that creative or that original, I have never thought of doing it before so maybe you haven't either :)

-Cut chicken breast into small/thin strips
-Mix flour, cornstarch, salt and pepper (no measurements, just tossed it in) in a bowl and coat chicken
-Fry them (make sure to get them really crispy!)
-Remove from pan, set onto paper towell to remove excess grease
-Put chicken in a bowl, drizzle with wingers amazin' sauce (the real thing, OR copy cat recipe soon to be posted) and toss to coat
-Put a little mayo on a hamburger bun, a few slices of chicken, lettuce, and salt and pepper.

Seriously, this little number is so good. The best part - the longest step is thawing the chicken! :)

Pumpkin Bread

This recipe is from "The Essential Mormon Cookbook". Its really good and SUPER easy, which makes it even better. I like it in a loaf as well as mini muffins (for some reason the muffins seem to get eaten a lot faster around here... easy access maybe?).
Today as it was snowing and blowing I got bored cooped up in my house, so what better to do than bake to make your house smell good and feel cozy than the smell of pumpkin? :)

Pumpkin Bread

*Ingredients
1/2 cup softened butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
3/4 cup canned pumpkin (not pie filling)
1 3/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves
3/4 cup chocolate chips (I kinda like semi sweet with this)
3/4 cup chopped pecans (optional.. I don't add these)

*Directions
Cream butter, sugar, and eggs. Add pumpkin, mix, and set aside. In another bowl sift dry ingredients. Gradually add dry ingredients to creamy mixture. Beat until blended. Add chocolate chips and pecans, if desired. Grease one loaf pan or four mini loaves (or mini muffin tin). Pour batter into pans. For one loaf bake at 350 for 1 hour or until inserted toothpick comes out clean. For mini loaves bake at 350 for about 35-40 min. Makes one loaf or four mini loaves. (
(Its been a long time since I made them into mini muffins so I don't remember how long they bake or how many it makes. So bake them on 350 for 10-15 min then check them. Use your judgment to tell when they are done then make a note- like I should have done!! )

Mom's Slush

I absolutely love this and it is a must for our family at Christmas time!

1 6 oz package of Strawberry Jello
6 cups sugar
1 large can pineapple juice

Dissolve jello in 1 cup boiling water. Add 6 cups of sugar and 3 cups of water. Boil 7 minutes. Add 7 cups of water and large can of pineapple juice. Stir well and make sure all is dissolved. Cool and then freeze.

To serve, remove slush from freezer and let it slightly thaw. Mix with Sprite, 7-up, or Ginger Ale.

(I think I made this when everyone came up at Thanksgiving time.)

My Favorite Slow Cooker!

GE 6 Quart Digital Slow Cooker

Yes, I am devoting a post to my slow cooker. I love it! When we got married, 8 years ago, I received 2, a big one and a small one. I didn't like the smaller one because the stoneware wasn't removable, which made it a pain to clean. I didn't like the big one because it would get so hot on the outside, I was always getting burned. Then I saw this baby at Wal-Mart and I just had to have it! Lucky for me, my mom gave it to me for Christmas and I use at least 3 times a week, if not more.

Reasons I love this one:
~The outside does not get hot! It does get a bit warm, but will not burn you! A must with little kids who climb up on the counter and have to explore everything.
~Retractable cord. Love it! Makes storing it that much easier.
~Super light-weight!
~Locking Lid. Perfect for transporting meals.
~The insert it non-stick. Need I say more?
~It automatically sets to "Warm" when the time is up.
~Cooks everything perfectly. (My smaller one is HOT, so even on Low, I have to check it frequently so the food doesn't burn.)
~It's HUGE. Which is perfect for cooking large roasts or turkey breasts. I can lay about 4 chicken breasts on the bottom so I just put in frozen ones, instead of thawing them and they cook perfectly.

I ended up getting rid of both my older slow cookers when I received this one. I did buy a 3 quart one for smaller recipes, but its not anything close to how wonderful this one is.

White Chicken Chili

2 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into bite size pieces
1 cup chopped onion
1 large red bell pepper, chopped, about 1 1/2 cups
4 medium garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 can (15.25 oz) corn, drained
1 can (15 to 16 oz) great northern beans, drained and rinsed
2 jars 8 oz each green taco sauce, or 1 large 15 oz jar
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 tsp salt
Fresh cilantro, minced
Shredded cheese (I used Monterey Jack)

Spray 3-4 quart slow cooker with cooking spray. In cooker, mix all ingredients except cilantro. Cover; cook on low for 6-7 hours. Stir well and garnish with cilantro and cheese.

OR, you could serve this inside of tortillas, that's how Dallas likes it.

* I posted this last year, without a picture, but I made it on Sunday and remembered to take one so I had to repost it! Also, this time around, I just put 8 frozen chicken tenders in the bottom of the slow cooker, then mixed all the other ingredients in a bowl and poured it over the chicken. I checked it when there was about 30 mins left and the chicken was cooked all the way so I shredded it and then set the slow cooker to warm until we were ready to eat.

Pumpkin Cookies with Brown Butter Frosting

1 cup sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup shortening
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 375. Mix sugar, pumpkin, and shortening. Mix in flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.

Drop by teaspoons on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake until light brown, 8-10 minutes. Remove from cookie sheet onto cookies rack. Frost when cooled.



Brown Butter Frosting
1/4 cup butter
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 tablespoons milk

Melt butter in saucepan over medium low heat until delicate brown. This might take a few minutes, but it will brown super fast so keep an eye on it. Once it browns, keep stirring constantly and remove from heat. Stir in powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk until smooth. I usually do 3 tablespoons of milk. It will seem runny at first, but will set up quickly. Love this frosting!!


Here's a great recipe to use up that leftover pumpkin!
Pumpkin Waffles with Nutmeg Syrup

Jan's Creamy Chicken & Rice

You might have this recipe... But for those reading this blog that don't - its really good. NOT low fat, but really good *wink.

Jan's Creamy Chicken & Rice
*Ingredients
1 cup whipping cream
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup chopped yellow onion
1/2 tsp salt
1 T worchestershire (Lea& Perrins)
sprinkle of pepper
4-5 chicken breasts (browned) *MUST be browned or the sauce will get watery and gross!

*Directions
1. Mix all ingredients, but chicken, together. Pour over browned chicken into baking dish.
2. Bake @ 300• for 2 hours. Serve over rice.

*I have been meaning to try this in the crock pot, but haven't. If I ever do I will let you know how it goes.

Broccoli Cheese Soup

This is my grandma's broccoli cheese soup recipe. Its really good, and super easy. It only takes a few minutes to make and is really good left over!
*Especially good with homemade rolls toasted with butter in the oven!
I did take a picture of this, but must have deleted it. Oh well, you know what soup looks like :)

Broccoli Cheese Soup
*Ingredients
1/4 cup margarine (I'm sure you could use real butter - I used "I can't believe it's not butter")
2 T chopped onion
1 T flour
4 cups milk
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt
1 tsp worchestershire
12 oz cooked broccoli
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup shredded carrots

*Directions
1. Sautee onion in margarine till soft, then add flour. Cook until bubbly (making a roue)
2. Add milk then heat through, DO NOT BOIL!
3. Add remaining ingredients.... and you're done. Its that easy.

Note - make sure and cook broccoli all the way before adding to soup because the soup mixture won't do the rest of the cooking if you put it in half way done. I like my broccoli in my soup super soft so.. this is just my extra note :)

Slow Cooker Stuffing

From Taste of Home

Ingredients

• 2 celery ribs, chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
• 1/2 cup butter, cubed
• 1/2 cup minced fresh parsley
• 2 teaspoons rubbed sage
• 2 teaspoons dried marjoram
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 6 cups cubed day-old white bread
• 6 cups cubed day-old whole wheat bread
• 1 can (14-1/2 ounces) Progresso ® Chicken Broth

Directions

• In a large skillet, saute the celery, onion and mushrooms in butter until tender. Stir in the seasonings. Place bread cubes in a large bowl. Add vegetable mixture and toss to coat. Stir in broth.
• Transfer to a 3-qt. slow cooker coated with cooking spray. Cover and cook on low for 3-4 hours or until heated through. Yield: 8 servings.

* I halved it since I was just testing it out. I omitted the mushrooms, used dried parsley, ground sage, and no marjoram since I didn't have it on hand. I didn't have any regular poultry seasoning so I just used McCormick Montreal Chicken.

It turned out really good! My smaller crock pot cooks really hot and fast so I checked it after 2 hours and it was done. So I just turned it to warm and stirred it every 30 mins so it wouldn't burn. I was worried it would be super soggy, but it wasn't. The edge pieces were crispy and the middle was perfect. Dallas keeps asking me when I'm going to make it again. We loved it!

Raspberry & Cream Puff Pastry Doughnuts

I made these the other day... Yum they were SOO good, and so so easy! I got them from justgetoffyourbuttandbake.com Although I just used regular raspberry pie filling and didn't have bavarian cream, they were still good. But I bet they are even better with the cream! Yum.

RASPBERRY & CREAM PUFF PASTRY DOUGHNUTS
1 Egg
1 tablespoon water
1 package (17.3 ounces) Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry Sheets, thawed
Raspberry jam or Pie filling like Raspberry, Blueberry, Strawberry, etc.
Bavarian Cream
(I used Raspberry filling and Bavarian Cream from the Prepared Pantry)
Turbinado Sugar
ICING:
1 cup Confectioners Sugar
2 Tablespoons melted butter
1 tsp. Vanilla.
Now add:
*Enough Milk to make it the consistency of glaze that you like.
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Beat the egg and water in a small bowl with a fork. Unfold 1 pastry sheet on a lightly floured surface. Using a round cutter, cut the pastry sheet into 9 (3 inch) circles. Repeat with the remaining pastry sheet. (Don’t waste the scraps – re-roll them and cut into as many circles as possible)
Place half of the pastry circles onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Spoon about 1 tsp. each of the berry or jam filling and also the Bavarian Cream. If you are not using the cream, add 2 tsp. of the berry filling instead. Brush the edges of the pastry circles with the egg wash. Place the remaining pastry circles over the filling. Press the edges firmly to seal. (I crimped my edges with a fork) Using a sharp knife or a pair of kitchen shears, cut a small slit in the top of each filled pastry.
Bake for 15 minutes or until the pastries are golden brown on the top and the bottoms. Let the pastries cool slightly and drizzle confectioners sugar glaze over the top, or simply shake confectioners sugar over the tops.
*You could be creative and add just about anything to the inside of these pastry filled doughnuts!

Crock Pot Italian Chicken

I was totally out of ideas today for lunch, so I decided to do my best and make something up with the little I had in the pantry. It turned out pretty good!

Italian Chicken
1 can stewed tomatoes
1 pkg Lipton garlic & herb soup mix
3-4 chicken breasts

Mix tomatoes and soup mix together, then pour over frozen chicken in the crock pot. Cook on low for about 4 hours.

This would have been good on pasta or rice, possibly with some other veggies added. We just had it plain with rolls and spinach salad. Low fat and EASY as can be!

Slow Cooker Turkey Breast

*Found this on All Recipes

1 4-5 pound boneless turkey breast
1 packet of dry Lipton Onion Soup Mix
1 Tablespoon of Butter (or more if you want)

If your crockpot is not non-stick, then grease well. Place turkey breast in crockpot, rub butter all over the top, then sprinkle onion soup mix all over - top, bottom, and sides. I did add just a little bit of water, but its not necessary. There will be a lot of juices when its done. Cook on low for 7-8 hours until done.
(My crockpot has an automatic setting where it does the first hour on high, followed by 7 hours on low and that is what I set it on.)

Super yummy! It literally melted in my mouth when I was eating it. The turkey came with a small gravy packet, but I'm sure if you wanted to make a gravy with all the yummy juices that were left, it would be tasty. It didn't taste super onion-y so that was nice. We loved it! I also made stuffing in the crockpot, which I will be posting later on this week.