No bake cocoa cookies

My kids loves these cookies. I think all kids do. I love them because they are super easy and fast to make and they don't heat up the kitchen. It is starting to get hot, so not turning on the oven during the day is so nice. I think most people have a version of this cookie - here is mine!

No Bake Cocoa Cookie

1/2 cup butter

2/3 cup milk

3 Tbs. cocoa

2 cups sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

3 cups oatmeal

This is all you will need! (I doubled my recipe for this picture, that is why there are 2 sticks of butter.)

In a medium sauce pan, combine butter, milk, cocoa, and sugar. Mix over medium heat until the mixture comes to a boil. Continue to stir for 5 minutes while it is boiling.

Take the pan off the heat, add vanilla and mix in, then add oatmeal. Mix till combined.

On and ungreased cookie sheet, drop a spoonful of the mixture onto the pan. The cookie should keep its form and the chocolate and oatmeal should stay together. If the dough spreads, you will need to keep the mixture on boil for another minute or so. Get them onto the cookie sheet as quickly as you can, sometimes they harden in the pan!

This recipe makes about 2 dozen cookies - perfect to be goobled up in a day!

7-up chicken

This is my favorite chicken recipe. We have made it since I was a little girl and I still can't get enough. It is so good!! And it tastes great the next day in sandwiches, so we always make lots of extra.

When I was younger my parents made this for a church youth group activity. They put the marinade right into the frozen chicken bags, let them sit for the day and then took the bags to the activity and grilled them there. This recipe can feed a huge crowd (just adjust the marinade to your amount) or for your family. But, seriously make some extra for the next day!

7-up Chicken

1 cup vegetable oil

1 cup soy sauce

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. horseradish sauce

2 cups 7-up

Chicken breasts or tenders - enough to fit comfortably in a gallon zip-lock bag

Mix all the ingredients together and marinade the chicken overnight. The longer the better! I usually put my zip-lock bag on a cookie sheet in the fridge and I try to remember to turn it over every so often. Grill and enjoy!

Top Ramen Chinese Chicken Salad

One of my very best friends made this for me when I was in High School. I loved it. I made her give me the recipe before I left her house and I have been making it ever since. I wont say how many years that has been! But, it is really one of my favorite meals. Especially this time of year when it is hot and a cool dinner sounds great.

I like this salad also because it seems to taste better the longer it sits and the spices mix together. I usually pan fry my chicken, but you could easily use rotisserie or grilled chicken also. My kids eat this up without any complaints. Actually, they love it too and try to go for the serving with the most top ramen!

Top Ramen Chinese Chicken Salad

Recipe given to me from Cami Stephenson

1/2 head lettuce, cut into bite size pieces

1/2 head cabbage, cut into bite size pieces

3 cups chicken, diced or shredded

2 Tbs. sesame seeds

1/4 cup slivered almonds

2 packages Top Ramen Chicken Soup Noodles, broken into small pieces

2 green onions, diced

Dressing

1 Top Ramen noodle dressing packet

1/2 cup oil

1 tsp. salt

1Tbs. sugar

3 Tbs. vinegar

1 tsp. pepper

Combine all of the dressing ingredients and stir very well. Set aside while you put the salad together.

Add all of the salad ingredients into a large bowl and mix with the dressing. That's it. Sometimes I don't have sesame seeds or almonds & it still tastes great! Enjoy this one!

Easy Breadsticks

I am not quite sure what to think about the weather lately! I keep having to move the kids clothes around in their closets - short sleeves one day and then long the next. Last week it was actually cold and rainy, when last year at this time it was 100 degrees!

It made me in the mood for some soup and bread. I had stumbled upon a new breadstick recipe that looked quick and good, so I thought I would give it a try. My family LOVED them! And they were honestly the easiest bread recipe I have ever made. You don't have to wait for them to rise and you don't even have to roll them out. I found them at here at Jamie Cooks it up - she has a lot of great recipes!

Easy Breadsticks

1 1/2 C warm water
2 T sugar
1 T yeast
1/2 t salt
3 1/2- 4 C flour
1/4 C butter
3/4 C grated Parmesan or mozzarella cheese
Johnny's Seasoning Salt

Mix the water, sugar and yeast together in a measuring cup or in the bottom of your mixer. Let it sit for 5 minutes until it is all foamy.

Add the salt and the flour, one cup at a time, until it is well incorporated. Mix on high for 5 minutes. Let the dough rest for 5 minutes longer.

Melt the butter and pour half of it onto a large cookie sheet. Place the dough in the center of the pan and let it sit for another 5 minutes so it is easy to shape.

This is the best part! Just spread the dough out flat onto the pan with your fingers until it reaches all of the edges. No rolling necessary.

Pour the other half of the butter onto the breadsticks. Use a kitchen brush or your fingers to spread it evenly over the top. Sprinkle with your favorite garlic spread - I used Johnny's Seasoning Salt - it has a yummy flavor and isn't too heavy on the garlic. Then sprinkle with fresh Parmesan or mozarella cheese. I also made one pan without any seasoning and it turned out great too!

With a pizza cutter cut the dough into your breadstick shapes. Put the pan into a 170 degree oven for about 7-10 minutes. The breadsticks should rise about 1 inch. Turn you oven up to 350 and bake for about 12 minutes, or until golden brown.

They are great warm out of the oven & cold the next day. I have a feeling I will be making these a lot!

Rocky Road Chocolate Cake

My mom emailed me this recipe a couple months ago and I put it in my file of new things to try. I was completely intrigued by a crock pot cake. And this one had so many yummy things in it, mainly lots of chocolate! I am a crock pot fan, so I knew this was my kind of cake.

I am so glad I tried it! It was so good. It had a really fudgey (is that a word?) texture, which I love. It was warm, gooey and soft. I wasn't sure how much it would make because the batter didn't seem like much when I put it in the crock pot. But it cooked up to the very top! This cake will feed quite a crowd - and make them happy!

Rocky Road Chocolate Cake

1 package German chocolate cake mix
1 3.9-oz. package chocolate instant pudding mix
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup sour cream
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 1/4 cups milk, divided
1 3.4-oz. package chocolate cook-and-serve pudding mix
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 1/2 cups miniature marshmallows
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Vanilla ice cream (optional)

Beat the cake mix, instant pudding, eggs, sour cream, butter, vanilla and 1 1/4 cups of milk for about 2 minutes until mixed well. Spray the crock pot with Pam and pour the batter in.

Heat remaining 2 cups milk in a heavy non-aluminum saucepan over medium heat, stirring often, 3-5 minutes or just until bubbles appear (do not boil); remove from heat.

Sprinkle cook-and serve pudding mix over batter. Slowly pour the hot milk over pudding so that it stays on top of the batter. Cover and cook on LOW for 3 1/2 hours.

Turn off your beautiful green crock pot and sprinkle the cake with walnuts, marshmallows, and chocolate morsels. Put the cover back on and let it stand 15 minutes or until marshmallows are slightly melted. Spoon the cake into dessert dishes, and serve with ice cream.

The cake may look like it is not completely done, but it if the top is set, then it is done. And it is great!

Strawberries and Cream Cupcakes

We had a birthday party for someone in our house last week. She turned 5 and loves everything pink! I know it wont last for too much longer (even though I never stop liking pink), so we had a fun pink party. I had printed this recipe out a long time ago to try & thought it would work perfectly. Especially since you can get fresh strawberries right now! These cupcakes use a pound of pureed strawberries - so yummy.

We loved them and they were a big hit at the party! I used one of my very favorite buttercream frostings - it is so good and holds shape forever.

Strawberry & Cream Cupcakes

from Our Best Bites blog

2 3/4 c. all-purpose flour

1/2 c. cake flour

1 Tbsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

2 sticks butter, softened

2 1/4 c. sugar

3 large eggs

1 egg white

1 c. buttermilk

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 lb. strawberries, pureed

A few drops of red food coloring

Buttercream Frosting

from Allrecipes

• 
  
• 2 cups shortening
• 8 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream

Preheat oven to 350. Line a muffin pan with paper liners. Whisk flour, cake flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Cream butter and sugar with a mixer until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes).

Add eggs and egg white, one at a time, beating after every addition.

Reduce speed to low. Combine buttermilk and vanilla together and set aside. Add dry ingredients to creamed mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the milk mixture; end with the dry ingredients. Fold in strawberries. If desired, add a few drops of red food coloring until a pretty pink color is reached. Scrape the sides of the bowl to ensure everything has been mixed in. Divide batter among muffin cups (about 30), filling them almost all the way to the top.

Bake cupcakes until a knife inserted into the centers comes out clean, about 22-25 minutes. Allow to cool in muffin tins.

For the frosting, cream shortening until fluffy. Add sugar, and continue creaming until well blended. Add salt, vanilla, and 6 ounces whipping cream. Blend on low speed until moistened. Add additional 2 ounces whipping cream if necessary. Beat at high speed until frosting is fluffy.

I piped the frosting out with a pastry bag and then sprinkled with pink sprinkles!

Guacamole Salsa

I went to a church dinner a couple weeks ago and they made shredded pork with an amazing guacamole salsa over it. I loved it! I was so excited when later in the night they had a class teaching us how to make the same salsa!

It is really easy to make and is healthy also. It is made with all fresh vegetables & herbs ( and a pinch of salt.) It can be made thicker like real guacamole or thinner to make it like a salad dressing - and everywhere in-between. I use it to spread on my turkey sandwiches and it has a bunch of flavor without adding any fat. I keep thinking of all the other ways I can eat this - besides with a spoon!

Guacamole Salsa

1 lb. tomatillos (or more if you want it thinner)

1 jalapeno pepper (or more if you like it spicy)

1/3 bunch cilantro

1 thick slice of onion

1 garlic clove

1 avocado

1 tsp. salt

Peel and wash the tomatillos - they are usually found over by the cilantro & peppers, and have a husk on them. Cut them into quarters and put in the blender. Follow with the jalapeno, cilantro, onion, garlic, avocado & salt. Be sure to put the tomatillos in the bottom of the blender and not the avocado so it doesn't stick to the blade. You might have to help it start by shaking or using a mixer at first. But, once it gets going the juice from the tomatillos will help move the other ingredients around.

That is it! I was told it lasts for about a week in the fridge. I did notice that it thickens up in the fridge, so if you want it thinner grab a couple more tomatillos to mix in again. Super easy and so good!!

Orange Oven French Toast

This is what I woke up to on Mother's day. Yes, my hubby is awesome. He is a great cook and specializes in breakfast food. For some reason he can flip a pancake way better than me! He did such a good job with this breakfast, especially since we had to be to church at 8:30 in the morning!

This meal is made the night before and then put in the fridge until baking, so those busy mornings are made a little easier. I love it because you get a pan full of french toast all at once so the family can actually eat together! They are so good and have a light orange flavor.

Orange Oven French Toast

1/2 cup butter, melted

1/4 cup honey

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

6 eggs

1 cup milk

1 cup orange juice

1/4 cup sugar

2 tsp. grated orange peel

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

16 slices toast (we like french bread)

2 oranges, sliced

In a small bowl, combine the butter, honey and 2 tsp. cinnamon, mix well. Pour the mixture evenly into 2 ungreased 15x10x1-inch baking pans (cookie sheets).

In a medium bowl, slightly beat eggs. Add the milk, orange juice, sugar, orange peel, salt and cinnamon. Mix all the ingredients well. Dip the bread into the egg mixture and place into the baking pans. Pour any remaining egg mixture over the bread. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

In the morning, pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees. Bake the toast for 10 minutes, then flip and bake for another 10 minutes. Serve with some orange slices!

7-up Biscuit

I got this recipe from Steph at an awesome site called Plain Chicken. It is a really fun site with lots of great chicken, grilling and other yummy recipes. You should check out all the ways Steph can make grilled cheese - I was completely impressed!

When I saw this recipe on her blog, I couldn't get it off my mind! Seriously, I thought about it for a couple of days and kept wanting to make it for every meal. I finally got to make them and WOW, they are great!! They only have three ingredients and they are soft, fluffy, buttery and the perfect texture. My whole family devoured them quickly. I think I want to make them tonight!

7 -Up Biscuits

2 cups Bisquick

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup 7-up

1/4 cup melted butter

Cut the sour cream into the Bisquick and then add the 7-up. The dough will be really sticky and soft, just sprinkle with a little bisquick mix to make it into biscuits. Melt the butter in a 9 inch square pan (I doubled mine in a 9x13!). Place the biscuits in the pan and bake at 450 degrees until just golden.

Kookies

I needed to make a treat for cub scouts today, but wanted to do something quick. So, I went to my cookbooks and found a great new cookie recipe. It is from a church cookbook, which I love because it is a compilation of everyone's favorite recipes. They usually turn out well when they are all favorites!

This cookie is actually called Kookie and is really yummy. Double chocolate, with chocolate chips and walnuts - it was almost like a brownie. It made about 5 dozen cookies and took me about 5 minutes to whip up! The kids love them!

Kookies

1 box dark chocolate cake mix

1 box devils food cake mix

1 cup flour

4 eggs

1/3 cup water

1 cup oil

2 cups (16 oz) chocolate chips

1 cup nuts ( I used walnuts)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Mix all of the ingredients together. Make dough into little balls and place on greased cookie sheet. Bake for 8 minutes - DO NOT OVERBAKE! It really makes a difference when the cookies are still soft, promise. That is it! Try not to eat to many.