Teriyaki Chicken

There’s something delicious about chicken and rice! Funny story... I actually tried making a ginger dipping sauce to go with this but Justin distracted me while I was cooking and I put A1 in the sauce instead of soy sauce! Yeah, so the sauce turned out to be a flop. This chicken was excellent though and lucky for us there was lots of extra teriyaki sauce in the pan that we used over our rice!

Ingredients
3 chicken breasts
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
2 cloves pressed garlic

Directions
Rinse chicken halves, and pat dry with paper towels. Cut the chicken into chunks and put in a baking dish. In a medium mixing bowl, combine sugar, soy sauce, grated ginger and garlic. Warm the mixture in the microwave (the sugar will easily mix in if it’s warm) and mix well. Pour mixture over chicken, cover, and refrigerate for at least 3 hours. Bake chicken uncovered at 375 degrees for 30 minutes. When it’s done cut into smaller pieces and serve over white rice (be sure to spoon some of the sauce over the chicken and rice).

Dirt Cake

This is my tried and true dirt cake recipe. I used to make it all the time when we lived closer to our good friends Joey and Corrine because it was Corrine’s favorite. This is a yummy dessert for adults, not just kids! Abbott and I decided to to make it for his birthday this year; we used lots of gummy worms and chocolate rocks and everyone enjoyed it (especially the party boys).

Ingredients
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
2 (3.5 ounce) packages instant chocolate pudding mix
3 1/2 cups milk
1 (10 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
2 (32 ounces) packages of Oreos

Directions
Chop cookies very fine in food processor (the white cream will disappear) and save for later. Mix butter, cream cheese, and sugar in bowl and set aside. In a large bowl mix the milk and pudding to thicken it then fold in the whipped cream and butter/cream cheese/sugar mixture. In a flower pot layer the cake starting with cookies and then the mousse. Repeat layers. For extra fun sprinkle in some chocolate rocks and gummy worms in the layers and on top! Chill the cake and serve!

Aunt Mina’s Cheese Blitz

My aunt Mina brought these to a family breakfast last year and I have remembered them ever since! Even though they are called b-l-i-t-z I always pronounce it as b-l-i-n-t-z! I pronounce it like that because I add an “n” when reading it, how weird is that? I often add/delete letters when I read, it’s bizarre! I was surprised when I saw the Harry Potter movie because the way I read their names and the way they were pronounced couldn’t have been more different. Again I was adding and deleting letters in my head. Here’s something to think about…

Acocdrnig to a reschearer at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.

… Alright, now back to the recipe you’ve all been waiting so patiently for!

Ingredients
2 loaves white bread (I only used 1 loaf and cut each roll in 1/2)
1 - 8 ounce cream cheese
1 egg
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup cinnamon and sugar

Directions
Cut crust off of bread slices. Roll bread flat with rolling pin. Mix together cream cheese, egg, and sugar until smooth. Spread cream cheese mixture on flattened bread slices and roll up. Dip into melted butter and then roll in cinnamon and sugar mixture. You can freeze if you don't need to bake right away.
Bake 30 minutes / 350 degrees if frozen.
Bake 15 minutes / 350 degrees if not frozen.

Apple Dumplings

We couldn’t resist making these because it feels like autumn outside! It was actually too chilly today to keep the windows open! Not that I am complaining, I would take a warm fire and apple dumplings any day over lemonade and sun, but it’s only the 2nd week of September! Andrew picked this recipe out and for a fast and easy recipe these were delicious!

Ingredients
2 granny smith apples
2 sticks of margarine
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
Sprinkling of cinnamon
2 cans of Pillsbury crescent rolls
1 small can (8 ounce) of mountain dew
Vanilla ice cream (optional)

Directions
Butter a 9 x 13 inch baking pan (yes it has to by 9x13 or bigger) and set aside. Peel and core the 2 granny smith apples and cut each of them into 8 slices. Unroll the crescent roll dough and roll up an apple slice in each of the crescent rolls. Lay the crescent rolls side by side in the buttered pan. Melt 2 sticks margarine in a saucepan and take off heat, mix in the in 1 1/2 cups sugar and vanilla but don’t mix it in too much, you want it to be gritty. Pour the mixture on top of the dumplings making sure to thoroughly coat them. Now open up your small can of mountain dew and pour it all around the edge of the pan. Sprinkle the top with cinnamon and bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes, watching to make sure they don’t get too brown. (You’ll definitely want them golden brown and crispy on top, though.) Top with a scoop of ice cream if you want, but I think they were just as good without!

Colleen’s Marshmallow Popcorn Squares

Yeah, the fall TV shows are starting up again! How I Met Your Mother, Hero’s, The Office, oh my! This is a quick easy weeknight dessert (perfect for TV show watching) that came from Colleen at work. She made it for Shalee’s Birthday, they are both sweet as can be and I am so glad I get to work with them!

Ingredients
2 bags regular sized bags of natural microwave popcorn
1 bag of miniature marshmallows
1 stick of butter
1 medium bag of peanut (or regular) M&Ms

Directions
Pop the popcorn in the microwave and set aside. In a large pot melt the butter and marshmallows on the stove. When it’s all melted take it off the heat and stir in the popcorn. Sprinkle in the M&Ms when the popcorn is all covered with the marshmallow mixture. Lightly press into a buttered pan (Colleen used an angel food cake pan and it looked really cute, but I don’t have that pan so I used a 9x13). Let cool and serve!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes

I swear Justin has peanut butter running through his veins. If I want to make him happy all I have to do is buy a jar of peanut butter and M&Ms at the store. He will dip his M&Ms in the peanut butter jar all week long and be blissfully happy.

Ingredients
1 Pkg of devil's food cake (with the oil and eggs listed on the package)
1 Pkg instant chocolate pudding
2 1/2 cups powered sugar
4 tablespoons milk
1 1/2 cups marshmallow fluff
1 cup shortening
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 tablespoons peanut butter

Directions
Make the devil’s food make according to the directions but add the package of instant pudding before mixing. Cook cupcakes and let cool.

Mix powdered sugar, milk, vanilla, and fluff together and then add shortening and peanut butter. I scooped the frosting into a pastry bag and cut the tip of the bag (I didn’t use a tip, I just cut the top off the bag) and frosted the cupcakes!

Grandma’s Chicken and Noodles

My Grandma has always brought chicken and noodles to Thanksgiving and Christmas; we would pour it on top of our mashed potatoes and turkey. Growing up I would request this for every Birthday dinner. This is by far my most favorite meal, if I had to live off one food for the rest of my life this would be it!

Since I’ve had my own family I’ve been making it for them. Whenever I make it the aroma fills our house with smiles and thoughts of holiday break. During the winter I make chicken and noodles all the time; with homemade strawberry preserves and rolls, twinkle lights, and snow! Life doesn’t get any better!

Ingredients
Mashed Potatoes (make ‘em however you like ‘em)
1 chicken breast
3 (14 oz) cans of chicken broth
1 can of cream of chicken
2 cups flour
3 egg yokes
1 egg (yoke and white)

Directions
In a baking dish salt and pepper your chicken, cover with foil, and bake until it is cooked through. Depending on how long your mashed potatoes take, you may need to start them while the chicken is cooking.

In a large pot, pour the 3 cans of chicken broth and cook on medium. When the chicken is done dice it and add to the chicken broth pot. Don’t let the pot boil or your liquid will evaporate, you just want it to simmer and stay warm for you while you make the noodles.

Put 2 cups of flour in a mixing bowl, make a well in your flour and add the 3 egg yokes and 1 egg. Add about a teaspoon of salt and 1/4 – 1/2 cup of cool water. I start stirring with a spoon but once the dry ingredients are sufficiently moistened I press it by hand. Once you have the dough formed into a ball you will cut it into quarters.

Sprinkle flour on your counter (or a cutting board) and roll a quarter of the dough out with a rolling pin. As you flip and roll the dough sprinkle more flour on it. You don’t ever want sticky dough; it needs to be dry and dusted with flour. When it is thin, start at one end of the dough and roll it up to a cylinder shape. Slice the dough (in the opposite direction you rolled it) into circular pinwheels. Unravel each of the pinwheels and you will have a long skinny noodle. Cut the noodle into smaller portions. My little noodles will sit on the counter and dry for 5-10 minutes, but I have cooked them right away before and I don’t notice much difference.

When all the noodles are cut and ready add them to the chicken broth and chicken. If you’ve turned your heat down you need to make sure and turn it back up to medium. Let the noodles cook for 10 minutes, stirring every couple of minutes. After approximately 10 minutes my mom will thicken the broth with corn starch, but I don’t like the gelatinous texture it gives leftovers. I prefer to use 1 can of cream of chicken soup to thicken. Add the cream of chicken and cook for another 2 minutes. Stir regularly, it will be thick enough that the bottom will burn if left unattended for longer than a minute. (I have burned it several times while mashing my potatoes).

Season the mashed potatoes and chicken and noodles with salt and pepper to taste. Pour the chicken and noodles over a dollop of mashed potatoes and enjoy!

Peanut Butter Cups

Justin says “these are the best ever”, that’s all you need to know, right?! These peanut butter cup bars have been Justin’s favorite since I’ve known him (so forever)! Seeing these are Justin’s favorite though, he is helping me make them, write, and post this blog. See if you can find the parts he wrote ;-)

Ingredients
2 sticks margarine
1 3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs/powder (pulsing the graham crackers in a food processor works best)
1 cup peanut butter
2 1/3 cup powdered sugar
2 cups milk chocolate chips (I use the entire bag)

Directions
In a large bowl liquefy the margarine into a buttery mess in the microwave (cook for 45 seconds). Take the bowl out of the microwave (yes, we need to specify) and add the peanut butter to it. Destroy the structural integrity of the graham crackers in the food processor and measure 1 3/4 cup into the bowl. Mix margarine, peanut butter, and graham crackers until it’s runny with chunkage. Add in the powdered sugar and enlist your man servant to stir well. When everything is mixed (you will no longer see the white powdered sugar), put it in a 9x13 pan. Melt chocolate chips and frost over the top.

(In case you can’t follow the lovely directions Justin provided… Add graham crackers, peanut butter, and sugar to the melted butter. Mix Well. Put into 9x13 pan and top with melted chocolate chips.)