Halloween Candy Surprise Cookies

(Sorry for the blurry picture... a photographer I am not...)

Looking for a way to use up some of those oh-so-tempting mini candy bars in your kids Halloween buckets? If you are like me- I am doing a good job at hiding the candy on top of the fridge to where the kids don't really think of it that often. The problem is- I still know it's there! So, I came up with this for when I needed to make some cookies for a function.

First, I used this cookie recipe posted previously on this blog.

Then, I added 1/4 cup peanut butter along with the butter (though I thought it could use a little more, so go up to 1/2 cup if you like).

I reduced the amount of chocolate chips to 1/2 cup

Then, I chopped up random candy bars from the kids Halloween buckets until it equaled 2 cups. I stirred these in and baked as directed in the recipe. (I would stick with things that would go good in chocolate cookies- I used Kit Kats, Reeses cups, Snickers, Hershey bars and M& M's. There are certainly other possibilities!)

These were a HUGE hit and disappeared in no time! Moist and rich and a surprise (a pleasant one) in every bite!

Enjoy!

Honey Mustard Chicken Bake

This is adapted from an allrecipes.com recipe. Very good and so very easy- a perfect weeknight meal. My husband and 2 of my 4 children gave it rave reviews (trust me, that is good! The other two just didn't know what they were missing.) I served it with herb rice and vegis. It would also be good on sandwich rolls.

Serves 4

Ingredients:
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
2 TBSP butter, melted
1/4 tsp black pepper

Directions:

1) Preheat the oven to 375 deg. Grease a 13X9X2 pan.

2) In a small bowl, stir together the honey, Dijon mustard, melted butter and pepper. Place chicken in baking dish and pour the honey mustard sauce over it.

3) Bake for 45 minutes in the preheated oven, basting frequently with the sauce until chicken is firm and juices run clear.

Notes:
- The original recipe called for 1/2 cup honey. One reviewer recommended keeping it even with amount of mustard to keep from being too sweet, so that is what I did and it was oh so good and a bit tangy! (The original recipe also called for a whole stick (1/2 cup) of butter- but trust me- 2 TBSP is plenty!)

-I will definitely make this again as is and I also want to try another tip from a reviewer that sounded good. She recommended dipping the chicken in the sauce- then coat in bread crumbs and then pour remaining sauce over it. She says it adds a little crunch and takes away the need for basting.

Enjoy!!!

INGREDIENTS:

2 cloves garlic, minced
6 tablespoons light olive oil
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
2 (6 ounce) fillets salmon

DIRECTIONS:

In a medium glass bowl, prepare marinade by mixing garlic, light olive oil, basil, salt, pepper, lemon juice and parsley. Place salmon fillets in a medium glass baking dish, and cover with the marinade. Marinate in the refrigerator about 1 hour, turning occasionally.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

Place fillets in aluminum foil, cover with marinade, and seal. Place sealed salmon in the glass dish, and bake 35 to 45 minutes, until easily flaked with a fork.

Harvest Muffins....

Man these are good! Tasty and low in fat and Calories! (if you do weight watchers, each muffin is only one point!)

Ingredients:
1 spice cake mix
1 15 ounce can pumpkin
2 apples cored and chopped into bite sized pieces

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all the ingredients and bake for 20 minutes. EASY! Enjoy!

French Toast Bread Pudding with Warm Peaches

I just made this for the second time this morning and it was even better than I remembered. Even my boys liked it (minus the topping). I just had to share!!!

prep time: 20 minutes

chill time: overnight

bake time: 45 minutes

1 TB butter, softened

1 loaf (about 1 pound) cinnamon-swirl bread, challah, or brioche bread

6 large eggs

1/2 cup sugar

2 1/2 cups milk

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

Peaches:

4 TB butter

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

2 ripe peaches, sliced (you are definitely going to want to at least double the peaches, but nothing else)

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

The night before serving, smear the 1 TB butter over the bottom and sides of a 13x9x2-inch baking dish or other 2 quart baking dish. Tear the bread into small pieces and scatter in the dish. In a bowl, whisk the eggs, sugar, milk, and vanilla. Pour over the bread. Tamp down the bread with a spatula to submerge each piece of bread in the egg. Cover with foil, gently pressing down so the foil is right on the surface of the mixture. Refrigerate overnight.

The next morning, remove the dish and slide it into a cold oven with the foil on (otherwise, the dish will crack). Turn the oven on to 375. After 25 minutes, gently pull off and discard the foil. Continue to bake until mixture is puffed and golden brown, about 20 more minutes. At this point, prepare the peaches by melting the 4 TB butter in a wide nonstick pan then stirring in the brown sugar. When mixture is bubbly, add peaches and cinnamon and cook, stirring, until peaches start to look glazed, about 3 minutes. Turn off heat and set aside (mixture will be really hot.)

When bread pudding is cooked, let it cool for a few minutes on a rack, then spoon onto plates and top with warm peaches.

Enjoy!

Alfredo Sauce....

My sister in Law Nicole had this recipe posted on her blog, I'm not much for shrimp in a pasta but I decided to make just the sauce. I Loved this sauce. I have tried making a few alfredo sauces and they are always way to heavy for me. I have made this a few times now and even my non-alfredo loving husband enjoys this! Thanks for the recipe, Nicole!!

Alfredo Sauce:
1 cup butter
3/4 pint heavy cream
salt and pepper to taste
1 dash garlic salt
3/4 cup grated Romano cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:
In a large pan put heavy whipping cream in and then add your butter and let your butter melt into the cream. Do this over low heat. Then add salt, pepper and garlic salt.
Stir in your cheeses over medium heat. Let the sauce thicken.

PW’s Mom’s Cauliflower Soup

If you like Cream of Broccoli soup you should try this also...it is really good. I added grated chedder cheese to each bowl.

1 stick butter

1/2 onion, finely diced

1 carrot, finely diced

1 celery stalk finely diced

1 to 2 heads cauliflower, roughly chopped

2 tablespoons chopped fresh or dried parsley

2 quarts low-sodium chicken broth or stock

2 cups whole milk

6 tablespoons flour

1 cup half & half

2 to 4 teaspoons salt, to taste

1 generous cup sour cream, at room temperature

In a large soup pot or dutch oven, melt 4 tablespoons butter. Add the onion and cook for a few minutes, or until it starts to turn brown. Add the carrots and celery and cook an addition couple of minutes. Add cauliflower and parsley and stir to combine. Cover and cook over very low heat for 15 minutes.

After 15 minutes, pour in chicken stock or broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and allow to simmer.

In a medium saucepan, melt 4 tablespoons butter. Mix the flour with the milk and whisk to combine. Add flour-milk mixture slowly to the butter, whisking constantly. Remove from heat and stir in 1 cup half & half.

Add mixture to the simmering soup. Allow to simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Check seasoning and add more salt or pepper if necessary.

Just before serving, place the sour cream in a serving bowl or soup tureen. Add two to three ladles of hot soup into the tureen and stir to combine with the sour cream. Pour in remaining soup and stir.

Serve immediately.

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/01/cauliflower-soup/