Cheryl's White Chocolate...Stuff

My friend Cheryl made this treat for me a few years ago.  I asked her yesterday for the recipe.  She didn't really know what to call it, so I decided to name it after her!

Warning:  If you have this in your house, you are powerless against it.  It demands to be eaten.  It is addictive.

Recipe:
2 cups Rice Krispies
2 cups mini marshmallows
1 cup chopped pecans, toasted
1 lb white chocolate Almond Bark, melted with a TBSP of shortening

Mix well and pour out onto a sheet of waxed paper.  Let dry until firm and cool.

Break into pieces,  Hide it from the children.

Merry Christmas!

Pumpkin chocolate chip muffins

(Just pretend like it hasn't been 3 months since I've posted a recipe here, mmkay?)

Now that we are getting in the the prime-eating months of the year, I am going to step up my feeble attempts to post more recipes here!

I proudly present to you my very own dreamed-up recipe for Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins!

I would have taken pictures of the mixing/cooking process, but I didn't know if these were going to be good or nasty, so I didn't chance it.  Or I was lazy.  Whatever.

Anyhow...

Ingredients:
1 box Duncan Hines butter flavored yellow cake mix
1 cup pumpkin (you may use canned, although I used fresh puree' and it was FABULOUS!)
1 egg
1/2 cup eggnog (you can use milk if you prefer, but I had it on hand and it just felt like the thing to do)
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 1/4 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Use cooking spray to grease your muffin tins.  The way I doled out my batter, it made 18 muffins, but you can do more or less batter per cup.

Mix together all ingredients except chocolate chips until well blended, but do not overbeat.  Stir in chocolate chips.

Bake for 15-20 minutes until muffins are golden brown and spring-y in the center.

Prepare for some yummy, moist, chocolate-y goodness!

Both my kids (even the non-pumpkin eating one) LOVED this!

Soft Pretzel Heaven!

Yes, I know I've been ignoring this blog. I avert my eyes every time it pops up on the dashboard. But, I am here to remedy the problem.

Behold! The best, easiest, and most fun soft pretzel recipe ever created.
(I found this recipe at AllRecipes.com, but tweaked it to my liking. They call them "Mall Pretzels" because they taste like...wait for it...pretzels you get at the mall!)


Best Soft Pretzels Ever

INGREDIENTS

* 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
* 2 tablespoons brown sugar
* 1 1/8 teaspoons salt
* 1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F)
* 4 cups all-purpose flour
* 2 cups warm water (110 degrees F)
* 2 tablespoons baking soda
* 3 tablespoons butter, melted
* 2 tablespoons coarse kosher salt


DIRECTIONS

1. In a large mixing bowl, dissolve the yeast, brown sugar and salt in 1 1/2 cups warm water. Stir in flour, and knead dough on a floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, and turn to coat the surface. Cover, and let rise for one hour.
2. Combine 2 cups warm water and baking soda in an 8 inch square pan.
3. After dough has risen, cut into 12-16 pieces. Roll each piece into a 2-3 foot rope, pencil thin or thinner. Twist into a pretzel shape, and dip into the baking soda solution. Place on parchment covered cookie sheets, and let rise 15 to 20 minutes.
4. Bake at 450 degrees F for 8 to 10 minutes, or until golden brown. Brush with melted butter, and sprinkle with coarse salt, garlic salt, or cinnamon sugar.Cinnamon Sugar on the left, Garlic salt on the right. I loved them both.

So yummy! The kids put their seal of approval on these pretzels!

Luke wanted to make one special heart-shaped pretzel for his breakfast tomorrow. Here it is before baking:


I added this post to Kimba's Do It Yourself Day Blog Carnival. Check it out!

Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread

I will never forget the first time I had zucchini bread. I was so grossed out by the idea of squash in cake. I was aghast. But, it smelled so good...I had to try it.

It really is just that good. Really. I made some for my grandmother once when I was 12 or 13. I was shocked and honored when she asked me for the recipe. Recipe swapping is not something you get to do with your grandmother every day.

Behold, I present to you:

Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread

Ingredients:

3 eggs
1 cup oil
2 cups sugar
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups shredded zucchini
3 cups flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
6 tsp cinnamon
1 cup chocolate chips (I used the dark chocolate because I like it best. Go your own way.)
1 cup pecans (or whatever nut you like--totally optional. I used whole ones, but you can use pieces, too.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream together eggs, oil, sugar, and vanilla. Stir in zucchini.

Add dry ingredients and stir well.This next step is crucial: Do not skip it!You must stir carefully while a small brown dog sits between your feet. Do not step on small brown dog.

Measure out into well-greased muffin cups, filling each one 2/3 of the way full or pour into 2 well-greased loaf pans. Bake for 20-30 minutes if you make muffins or for an hour or so if you made the loaves of bread.This makes a lot of muffins.Really. Like 48.It's great heated up for breakfast. If it's not already calorie-laden enough for you, smear on a little butter or cream cheese. You'll think you have died and gone to zucchini heaven.

Let me know if you try it!

Low(er) fat French Vanilla Bread Pudding with chocolate chips

I promise I will post something other than desserts soon. I've been on a sweets kick for a while now, as my scale demonstrates every morning.

This is my own creation. It is a reduced-fat version of chocolate chip/french vanilla bread pudding. My Daddy is lactose-intolerant, so I've learned to make it using a non-dairy coffee creamer. You can use any flavor you like, I just happened to have the fat free french vanilla on hand.

My husband said it was good, but he would've preferred the texture of raisins to chocolate chips. (Blasphemer.)

Bread Pudding

Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted butter, melted

3 cups fat free International Delights French Vanilla Coffee Creamer (non-dairy)

1 cup chocolate chips

2 eggs

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 loaf french bread, torn into small pieces

Directions:

1. Tear or cut bread into small pieces. Place in a greased 9 x 14 Pyrex dish.

2. In medium saucepan, over medium heat, heat butter and creamer until it almost comes to a boil, stirring until butter is melted. Cool to lukewarm.

3. Add eggs and cinnamon, whisk for 1 minute. Slowly add to cooled butter/creamer mixture.

4. Pour wet mixture over bread in the dish.

5. Sprinkle with chocolate chips. I like to let my bread soak overnight for maximum flavor, but if time is not on your side, you may bake immediately.

5. Bake at 350 degrees F for 45 to 50 minutes or until set. Serve warm.

Bread Pudding Sauce

Ingredients:

1 cup fat free International Delights French Vanilla Coffee Creamer
2 Tbsp. butter
1 Tbsp. flour

Directions:

Mix ingredients and bring to a boil in a small saucepan for 3 - 4 minutes, stirring constantly. Set aside for 5 minutes, then pour on warm bread pudding. Enjoy!

(I forgot to take a picture before our Memorial Day lunch guests dug into it. Oops!)

Low-fat Lemon-Lime Congealed Salad

For the record, I am not a big congealed salad fan. I love this one, though!

Ingredients*:
1 pkg. sugar-free lime Jello
1 pkg. sugar-free lemon Jello
2 c. boiling water
1 #2 can crushed pineapple
1 can fat free sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated)
1 c. fat free small curd cottage cheese
1 c. fat free mayonnaise
1/2 c. pecans

Mix both packages of Jello into boiling water. Stir with a whisk for about 3 minutes, until fully dissolved. Add only the juice from the can of crushed pineapple. Chill in refrigerator for about 40 minutes.

Add can of sweetened condensed milk. Mix well and place back in refrigerator for about 15 minutes.
Mix cottage cheese, mayonnaise, crushed pineapple, and pecans together. Add to the Jello mixture. Let chill for 4 to 6 hours.

Enjoy!


*You can use regular versions of any of these ingredients, if you don't wish to go the low-fat, sugar-free route. You can also use other flavors of Jello, like strawberry, orange, peach, etc. I couldn't find lemon Jello this time (thanks for nothing, Wal-Mart Supercenter), so I used two packages of sugar-free lime, which makes it a lot greener.

Butterfinger Cake Recipe

• 1 box chocolate cake mix (You can use any flavor you like.)
  
• 1 can sweetened concensed milk, not evaporated
• 1 jar caramel ice cream topping
• 2 Butterfinger candy bars, chilled
• 8 oz. carton of Cool Whip

Bake cake by box directions. While cake is baking, mix milk and caramel topping until well blended. Then, crush up the butterfinger candy bars.
When the cake is done and while it's still hot, poke holes in it with a fork or straw. We used a straw, which filled up with chocolate cake. The kids nearly gave themselves aneurysms sucking the cake out...in a good way.

Pour milk mixture over the cake. Then, sprinkle one candy bar over the cake. Spread Cool Whip over the top.

Finally, sprinkle the other candy bar on tip. Chill.

Tip: Stick the candy bars in the freezer for 30 minutes before crumbling to make it easy. The cake is best when made one day in advance. Do not try to calculate calories. It will make you sad.

This was a huge hit at church yesterday!