Double Chocolate Chip Muffins

by penji1

These were good but lacked a little bit of sweetness for me so if I make them again I will probably go with regular sugar instead of the brown sugar.

1/2 cup oil or melted butter

2/3 cup light brown, dark brown, white, or raw sugar

1/2 cup milk, coffee, or water

1 cup plain yogurt

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 eggs

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 cup cocoa powder

1 3/4 cups flour

1 1/3 cups chocolate chips, divided

1 Heat oven to 350. Line muffin pans with paper liners.

2 In a large bowl, whisk together butter, sugar, milk, yogurt, and vanilla. Whisk in eggs. Sprinkle salt and baking soda over batter then whisk to combine. Add cocoa powder and whisk until lumps are gone. Whisk in flour then stir in 1 cup chocolate chips.

3 Scoop batter into prepared pan. Sprinkle tops with remaining chips. Bake 18 – 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

recipe from Smitten Kitchen

Walt Disney’s Chili and Beans

by penji1

This was a good chili recipe, I didn’t love it but the boys in my house did, probably because of all the meat!

1/4 cup olive oil, divided

1 pound beef stew meat

1 onion, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 pound ground beef

1 tablespoon cumin

1/2 tablespoon chili powder

1 tablespoon onion powder

3 tablespoons tomato paste

2 plum tomatoes, diced

1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes

2 tablespoons beef base

1 1/2 cups water

1 (14.5 oz) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed

1 Heat 2 tablespoon olive oil in Dutch Oven over medium heat. Add stew meat and saute until meat is browned on all sides. Remove meat and set aside.

2 Add remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil to pot. Add onions and saute until soft. Add garlic and saute until garlic is fragrant. Add ground beef and cook until beef is no longer pink. Drain excess fat.

3 Return stew meat to pot. Add cumin, chili powder, onion powder, tomato paste, diced tomatoes, can of diced tomatoes, beef base, and water. Bring to a simmer, cover, and simmer over low heat for 3 hours or until stew meat is tender. Add pinto beans and simmer for 10 minutes.

recipe from Disneylandear

Traditional Irish Soda Bread

by penji1

Made some soda bread for St Patrick’s Day. It was surprisingly easy and tasted delicious.

4 cups flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups buttermilk

1 Preheat oven to 425. Grease a cast iron skillet.

2 In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir in buttermilk just until combined and starts to become stiff to stir. Transfer to work surface with floured hands and knead dough 5 – 10 times or until all flour is moistened and dough comes together. Form into an 8″ round and place in prepared pan.

3 With a very sharp knife, cut a 1/4″ deep X on top. Bake 30 – 35 minutes or until golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped on bottom.

recipe from Countryside Cravings

St Patrick’s Shamrock Gold Coins

by penji1

Cute, right? And yummy too. The combo of Oreos and candy melts can’t be beat. You’ll need a Shamrock candy mold which you can fine here on Amazon.

1 bag green candy melts

1 package Oreo Thins Golden

Melt candy melts according to package directions. Spoon carefully into shamrock mold and tap gently to spread candy melts and get rid of any air bubbles. Place in fridge for about 15 minutes or until set. Carefully remove from mold, keeping contact with your hands minimal as it takes away the shine on the candy. With a small knife, place a small dot of melted candy melts on the back of the shamrock and set it on top of an Oreo, pushing down slightly. Let set.

Happy St Patrick’s Day!

St Patrick’s Pots of Gold

by penji1

Got my St Patrick’s on today, starting with these little cuties. Here’s a closer look.

It’s hard to tell but under the gold pearls is a Rolo standing in for the pot alongside an Airhead Extreme Bite for the rainbow with all of that sitting on top of an Oreo thin for the base. They weren’t hard to put together and would be a fun treat to make with older kids. Here’s the how to.

1 package Oreo Thins Cookies

1 bag Rolos

1 bag Airhead Xtremes Bites Candies

1 container Gold Sugar Pearls

1 tube of chocolate frosting

Squirt a thin layer of frosting on the small end of a Rolo, dip it in the gold pearls then put a squirt of frosting on the other wider end of the Rolo and press it carefully onto an Oreo Thin. Squirt some frosting onto an Airhead candy and press it carefully on the side of the Rolo. Let sit until frosting is set.

idea from “Crayons and Cravings”

Happy St Patrick’s Day blog friends!!

Easy Mexican Chicken and Beans

by penji1

This was a really quick and easy one pot dinner. You could serve it as is or wrap it in tortillas or make a salad out of it, whatever your family likes.

1 pound uncooked chicken breast strips for stir fry

1 package (1 oz) taco seasoning mix

1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 (11 oz) can corn, undrained

1/4 cup water

1 Spray 10″ skillet with cooking spray. Add chicken and cook over medium high heat for 8 – 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until no longer pink in center,

2 Stir in seasoning mix, beans, corn, and water. Cook 8 – 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until sauce is slightly thickened.

recipe from Betty Crocker

American Goulash

by penji1

I remember hearing the word goulash when I was a kid and thinking to myself, I don’t want to eat something called goulash but I was wrong, goulash is delicious! And also a one pot meal. And also pretty easy.

1 pound lean ground beef

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 1/2 cups beef broth

1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce

1 (14.5 oz) can fire roasted diced tomatoes, undrained

1 tablespoon Italian seasoning

1 teaspoon paprika

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 cup uncooked elbow macaroni

3 oz cream cheese, cubed

1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

1/2 cup flavored croutons, coarsely crushed

1 Cook beef and onions in a 12″ skillet until beef is cooked through. Drain any excess grease.

2 Add garlic and cook for 1 – 2 minutes. Stir in broth, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, Italian seasoning, paprika, and pepper. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to low and let simmer for 18 – 20 minutes or until slightly thickened.

3 Stir in macaroni, cover and cook for 16 – 18 minutes, stirring occasionally, until macaroni is tender. Stir in cream cheese until melted. Sprinkle with Monterey Jack cheese and crushed croutons.

recipe from Betty Crocker

Pepperoni Fried Rice

by penji1

To be honest, I wasn’t sure about this one but my boys like all these ingredients so I decided to give it a go and it was delicious and also very easy to make.

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion, thinly sliced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 (5 oz) package mini pepperoni or regular size, chopped

1/4 – 1/2 cup jarred pizza or marinara sauce

3 cups cooked white rice

1 (8 oz) can pineapple chunks, drained

1 cup mozzarella pearls or cubed mozzarella

1/4 cup fresh basil leaves

1 In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium high heat. Add onion, garlic, and pepperoni. Stir and cook until onion is softened and pepperoni is starting to sizzle, about 3 minutes.

2 Add sauce and stir until everything is coated. Add rice and cook, stirring constantly, until rice is sizzling and hot, about 2 – 3 minutes.

3 Add pineapple chunks and stir. Add mozzarella and stir. Garnish with basil leaves.

recipe from The Pioneer Woman

Bruschetta Chicken

by penji1

I love bruschetta and this was so delicious! If I had to pick one type of food to eat for the rest of my life, it would be Italian.

3 cups diced crusty bread, cut into 1/4″ cubes (I got baguettes from Costco and they were perfect)

5 tablespoons olive oil

salt and pepper

2 tablespoons butter

1 package chicken tenderloins (or 6 chicken cutlets if you can find them which I couldn’t)

5 Roma tomatoes, diced

2 garlic cloves, pressed

12 fresh basil leaves, cut into a chiffonade, plus more garnish

2 tablespoons Balsamic glaze, plus more for serving – highly recommend getting this from Trader Joe’s

4 ounces Mozzarella, diced

1 Preheat oven to 375. Spread bread cubes on a sheet pan and drizzle with 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Toss to coat. Bake for about 7 minutes or until crisp. Let cool.

2 In a large heavy skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil and butter over medium high heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper and place in pan. Cook until golden on one side then flip until golden on other side and cooked through. Turn off the heat.

3 In a large bowl, combine tomatoes, garlic, basil, and balsamic glaze. Add croutons and stir to combine. Spoon topping over chicken then sprinkle with Mozzarella. Garnish with additional basil and balsamic glaze.

recipe from The Pioneer Woman

Chocolate Chip Walnut Banana Bread

by penji1

My daughter Courtney was having a rough day last week and so I asked here what I could do for her and she said she wanted banana bread with chocolate chips and walnuts so here it is and it was delicious!

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

4 ripe bananas

1 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup chopped walnuts

1 cup chocolate chips

1 Preheat oven to 350. Spray loaf pan with cooking spray for baking.

2 Beat together butter and sugar. Add eggs and bananas and beat until well combined.

3 Add flour, baking soda, salt and vanilla and beat just until incorporated.

4 Stir in walnuts and chocolate chips. Pour batter into prepared pan.

5 Bake for 55 minutes. If browning too quickly, tent with foil.

6 Let rest in pan for 15 minutes before turning out to cool completely.

recipe from Organizing Junkie