The BEST Rice Krispie treats EVER

The BEST Rice Krispie Treats EVER!!!

So, we love a good rice krispie treat at our house, and I found this recipe (and I am sorry, but I can't tell you where, it was just written down on the side of a piece of paper), and it is seriously the BEST we have ever had.  I could easily eat the whole pan.  So good!  They are thick and chewy and soft and so delicious!!!  They will be the hit at every BBQ you take them to this summer, guaranteed!

BEST Rice Krispie Treats EVER

10 Tablespoons butter

3 bags (10 oz each) mini marshmallows

1 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp vanilla

12 cups rice krispie cereal

In a large soup pan, melt butter and put in 2 of the 10 oz bags of mini marshmallows.  From the 3rd bag, remove 4 cups of mini marshmallows, and put the rest in with the butter.  Melt butter and marshmallows over low heat until completely smooth and melted.  Remove from heat.  Add salt and vanilla and stir in well.  Add 12 cups of cereal and the 4 extra cups on mini marshmallows.  Mix until everything is well coated.  Press into a pam sprayed 9x13 pan and allow to cool and set up.  Cut and serve and Enjoy! 

Our New Favorite Waffles

Today is not really a recipe, but a new favorite food of ours.  We don't live very close to a Costco, but I still have a membership, and when I get up to the city about once a month I try to stock up.  I had seen this pancake mix over the last year, and when it went on coupon, I decided to try it.  Man, am I glad I did!  They are really good!  We have made pancakes several times and waffles more than I can count.  Waffles are our favorite!  I triple the waffle recipe on the back and freeze the extras for quick breakfasts.  

It gives you three different options to make the pancakes and waffles, and I go for the one with the most protein which involves making the recipe with milk and eggs versus just water or just milk.  I also found these at my local Wal-mart, so if Costco and buying in bulk are not your thing, they do have them in smaller packages in regular grocery stores.  We really like the taste and with all the protein, it helps keep you full until lunch.  We also enjoy breakfast for dinner, and we have had these several times for dinner with bacon and eggs.  Extra yum!  So enjoy!!

Chocolate Bundt Cake

Chocolate Bundt Cake

This chocolate bundt cake is divine.  It is so moist and yummy.  It doesn't need a frosting.  You just dust it with powdered sugar, serve it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, and you have the perfect dessert.  I have made this for the past 14 years.  

I have two good friends that I make it every year for their birthdays.  They both love chocolate, and they always know it is coming from me for their birthdays. 

  It is super simple as it uses a cake mix, but so very, very good.  Enjoy!

Chocolate Bundt Cake

1 box devil's food chocolate cake mix (you can also use German chocolate or chocolate fudge or just regular chocolate, but our favorite is the devil's food)

1 package regular chocolate pudding mix

4 large eggs

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup warm water

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350 degrees, grease the inside of a bundt pan well. 

In the bowl of a stand mixer combine all ingredients except chocolate chips.  Mix well for 3 minutes--it will be a thick batter.  Stir in the chocolate chips.  Pour the mix into the prepared pan.  Bake for 50-60 minutes, checking with a toothpick in center to make sure it is done.  Remove from oven and cool 20 minutes in the pan, then remove from pan and cool completely.  Once cooled, sprinkle with powdered sugar. 

Minestrone soup or "Junk Soup"

Minestrone Soup or "Junk Soup" 

This minestrone soup is one my mom made for me growing up, and she got it from her mom.  As a kid we always called it "junk soup" because there were so many things in it.  It is a thick Italian type soup perfect for a cold night, which we are still having a lot of here.  My mom would serve this with garlic bread, and it was a total comfort food.  Enjoy!

Minestrone Soup or "Junk Soup"

In a large cooking pot combine the following:

1 lb ground sausage, or turkey sausage, or hamburger, browned and drained

4 cups water

2-3 stalk celery, chopped

1 onion, chopped fine

2-3 large carrots, chopped

2 (8oz) cans tomato sauce

1 can beef broth or 13 oz water and 3 beef bouillon cubes

2 cloves garlic, chopped or 1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp basil

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp salt

1 Tab sugar

Simmer for 1 1/2 hours, then add:

2 cups eggs noodles, uncooked, (or noodles of choice)

1/2 can corn, drained (optional--I didn't use it in this one)

1/2 can garbanzo beans, drained (optional--I don't use those either)

2 cups more water

Bring to a boil, reduce heat and cook another 20-30 minutes until noodles are done and it is all heated through.  Serve with Parmesan cheese on top and garlic bread on the side.  So yummy!

Andes Mint cookies

Andes Mint Cookies

Per my Amazing Aunt Becky's request, I am going to try and post a favorite recipe each week.  Probably shoot for Wednesday or Thursday to do that.  This week is one of Ben's favorite cookies ever.  I originally got this recipe from Becky Higgins in 2007, but her website has changed, and I don't see the recipes column anymore.  There is an "easier" recipe for these out there just using a boxed cake mix, but we have tried both, and this original version is way, way better.  Each year our library has a Valentine's Chocolate sale to raise money for the library.  I have volunteered to bring these cookies for the last 5 years, and I have been told they sell out very first.  These are good!   They freeze well too, and I have doubled and tripled the recipe several times.  I have made these for our neighbor Christmas cookie plates for years too.  Everyone loves them. What is not to love about chocolate and mint in a cookie???  Enjoy!

Andes Mint Cookies

3/4 cup butter

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

2 Tbl water

Melt the above in a saucepan over medium heat until just melted and then add...

2 cups chocolate chips (I always use semisweet)

Stir until completely melted, but don't over heat or boil.  Remove from heat and cool for 10 minutes then pour into your mixing bowl and add

2 eggs, beat well, then add

2 1/2 cups flour

1 1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

Mix together and then cover bowl and chill in fridge for 45 minutes.  Roll into balls (I use the medium cookie scoop from Pampered chef which is about 1 1/2 to 2 Tablespoons of dough) and place on a cookie sheet.  Bake 350 for 10 minutes--do not overbake!  

Right after you take the cookies out of the oven, place an Andes mint on top of each cookie and allow to melt for 10 minutes, then swirl the melted chocolate like icing (see picture above) and then allow to cool completely and ENJOY!

2016 Daily December 23--gingerbread cookies

Gingerbread cookies are another Christmas tradition we have.  We love to make them and especially eat them.  I have this Gingerbread cookies recipe from none other than Mel's Kitchen Cafe--of course.  We use it every year.  It does take a little bit of advanced planning since you do have to either chill the dough in the fridge or freezer, but it is worth it.  Soft, chewy perfect Gingerbread cookies every time.

So many helpers in the kitchen--I promise there are gingerbread cookies in there somewhere. . .

Everyone likes to help cut them and roll them out.  Roll them out thick and do not overbake is very important!!!

We normally are gingerbread cookie purists and don't put anything on them and just eat them plain, but this year I saw this icing at Wal-mart and thought we would try it.  All 3 came together.  You microwave it, and it comes out  so smooth.  The kids really liked using it.  The taste isn't the best as compared with homemade frosting, but it was still fun and nice you could just use the bottles it came in and not have to get frosting bags and tips out.  

The results were pretty cool looking!  The kids like it a lot.

2016 Daily December 22--eggnog French toast

My family loves eggnog, and we enjoy it all December long--the non-alcoholic kind :)  I found this recipe for eggnog French toast a few years ago, and we have enjoyed it every December since.  I find it works best if you just put all the ingredients in the blender to mix them up.  Then you don't get any egg pieces in your French toast which I do not like.  Enjoy!

Eggnog French Toast

8 eggs

3/4 cup eggnog

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1 loaf Texas Toast

Mix eggs, eggnog, brown sugar and cinnamon in a blender until smooth.  Pour into a shallow dish.  Dip each piece of toast in the mix and let is soak up a little on each side.  Transfer to a hot griddle and cook both sides until golden brown.  Top with butter, syrup, peanut butter, powdered sugar, jam or whatever your family likes on French toast.  We also just like them plain.

Enjoy!

2016 Daily December 17--addiction

Sharing one of our favorite Christmas snacks today.  I have made this for the past couple of years, and I get requests for it every year.  

These are the ingredients, plus butter and sugar.  It is called Addiction for a reason :)  So beware.  And it makes a huge, huge batch, so be sure and make it to share.  

Soooooo good!  Enjoy

Addiction

3 sticks butter, or 1 1/2 cups butter

2 cups sugar

2 cups corn syrup

1 large box Rice Chex

1 large box Golden Graham cereal, or as you can see in the top photo, I buy the Malt-O-Meal brand Honey Graham Toasters, the big 38 oz bag, and I use half a bag for one recipe--cheaper than buying Golden Grahams :)

4 cups coconut flakes

3 cups sliced almonds

Mix both cereals, coconut and almonds in a very, very large bowl--I end up having to use 2 large bowls and just divide it evenly between the two.

Melt butter, sugar and corn syrup in a large pot and bring to a boil, then hard boil for 3 minutes.

Pour sugar mix over cereal and mix well.

Put on wax paper to cool and then eat :) 

2016 Daily December 15--giant cookies

I am always looking for new recipes to try.  This week I found these copycat recipes for the New York City Levain Bakery cookies.   They are big!  

These are the chocolate chip cookie recipe.  The recipe only makes 8 cookies, but they are giant.  Find the recipe here.  We liked these better the second day because you don't bake them very long and right out of the oven they are way too underdone in the middle, but let them cool completely and the second day they are perfect.   You bake these at a higher temperature than normal cookies--410 degrees.  Also, the recipe called for walnuts, but my family doesn't like nuts in cookies, so we made them without. 

This is their chocolate peanut butter chip cookies.  They were good, but we liked the plain chocolate chip better.  Again, recipe for these is here.  Same thing with these as the plain--let them cool completely, and they are better.  The recipe called for dark chocolate cocoa powder, which I didn't have, so I just used by regular cocoa powder. 

It is always kind of fun to try something new.  Miss E decided she was going to make the chocolate chip cookies to give to her friends for Christmas.  Who wouldn't want a giant chocolate chip cookie for Christmas???  Awesome!  Enjoy!

2016 Daily December 7--apple pie bread

This bread is divine!!!  So, so yummy!  We made it Sunday night and I was lucky to get a picture because it was all gone very, very quickly!  Enjoy!

Apple Pie Bread

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup buttermilk

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups shredded, peeled apples (about 4 medium)

Streusel Topping

In a small bowl, combine 1/4 cup packed brown sugar and 3 tablespoons flour.  Using a pastry blender, cut in 2 tablespoons butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Preheat oven to 350 and grease the bottom and sides of a 9x5x3 loaf pan.

In a large bowl beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds.  Beat in sugar until combined.  Add buttermilk and baking powder; beat until combined.  Add eggs and vanilla; beat until combined.  Add flour and salt and mix until combined.  Stir in apples.

Spoon dough into prepared pan and spread evenly.  Sprinkle with streusel topping over the batter.  

Bake 60-65 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.

Cool on wire rack for 10 minutes then remove bread from pan to cool completely--if you can before you eat it all :)

What's up Wednesday--Quinoa chocolate chip cookies

It has taken me a while to get on the "quinoa train."  I bought a big bag of it 2 years ago, and it just sat on my pantry shelf for a long, long time.  Finally, I saw this cake recipe that I really wanted to try.  I made the quinoa for the cake, and the cake was divine!  And it looked as good as in the original recipe pictures too which is always a plus.  I have made the cake 3 times now--sooooo good!  Then I saw the recipe for these quinoa chocolate chip cookies.  When I had made the quinoa for my cake I had a little left over and thought, oh I will try these.    

I adapted the recipe a little to fit what I had on hand and what my family likes.  These cookies did not last long.  Yum!  I made them for my Dad (twice) and he also loves them.  Have made them a few times, and they are big hits!  So, I now have 2 quinoa recipe in my cookbook and going strong.  Yes they are both desserts, but that is ok :)  I will slowly branch out--maybe :)  I am very happy with the 2 recipes I have :)    Enjoy!

Quinoa Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup solid coconut oil, melted

3/4 cup aguave (original recipe calls for honey, but we prefer aguave, but both work)

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups white whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

1 1/2 cups cooked and cooled quinoa, cooked only in water, not broth

2 Tablespoons ground flaxseed

2 Tablespoons wheat germ

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Heat oven to 375.  Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or silpat mat or spray with cooking spray.

In a large bowl beat together the melted coconut oil and aguave with an electric mixer.  Add in the eggs and vanilla and mix until combined. Stir in the flour, salt, baking soda until just combined with a few flour streaks left.  Add in the oats, quinoa, flaxseed, wheat germ, and chocolate chips and mix gently by hand.  The dough should be light and fluffy and mix lightly until ingredients are evenly mixed.

Drop by spoon or cookie scoop in about 2-3 tablespoons sized balls onto cookie sheet.  They will be pretty thick, so you can flatten them slightly before you bake if you want a flatter cookie.   

Bake 8-10 minutes or until bottoms are brown but sides and top are soft. 

Adapted from Mel's Kitchen Cafe recipe here

What's up Wednesday--peanut butter no bake cookies

Who doesn't love no-bake cookies?  Divine.  These are especially divine because they are peanut butter--not your typical chocolate no-bake.  Sooooo good!  My girls made these last Sunday.  They freeze well if you have any left over.  We like to eat them straight out of the freezer.  Enjoy!

Peanut Butter No-Bake Cookies

3 cups white sugar

3/4 cup butter

3/4 cup milk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups peanut butter--either smooth or chruchy will work, we have used both

4 1/2 cups quick oats

In a big sauce pan over medium high heat combine the sugar, butter and milk.  Bring to a rapid boil and hard boil for one full minute.  Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and peanut butter.  Mix in the oats stirring until the mixture begins to cool slightly.  Drop batter by teaspoonfuls onto waxed paper and let cool until set.  You can cool them in the fridge if you are in a big hurry to eat them like we normally are :)

Enjoy!

What's up Wednesday--a few new favorites

No original "me" recipes to share today, but wanted to share 3 new recipes I tried from other places and that we have LOVED!  They all went into my permanent cookbook, and even the kids wanted copies for their own cookbooks, so you know they were good!

The first one is a skillet s'mores.  Our family loves s'mores and since it is way too cold to go out and have one by the fire, this skillet one is perfect.  We devoured the whole thing in 5 minutes flat--with vanilla ice cream on top of it just after it came out of the oven.  Divine.  Please make it.  It is from Your Home Based Mom and you can find it here

Second new recipe we tried this week was also from Your Home Based Mom--check out her site, I like it.  I is a slow cooker Mongolian Beef, and we also all loved it.  Very easy and very good.  Love throw in the crock pot recipes that are just waiting for you ready to go at the end of the day.  You can find that one here

Last one was a brownie recipe--a junior mint brownie recipe.  It makes a small batch and uses a 4 oz box of junior mints.  Our family loves, loves, loves mint brownies.  The kind I usually make are pretty involved, but these are super simple, make in one bowl and you're done.  I found them at Skip to my Lou here. One thing about this recipe, in the directions it says to add the vanilla, but in the ingredients list it doesn't say vanilla, so I added 1 teaspoon.  They were good :)

Just sharing some yummy finds this week!  Hope you enjoy!  Have a great day!!!

What's up Wednesday--crock pot chocolate cake

No, this is not a picture of what the cake looks like out of the crock pot :)  This is a picture of what this recipe looks like if you bake it in the oven.  I didn't get a picture of it in the crock pot because my family devoured it in about 10 minutes flat--the whole thing, it was that good.  So, if you want to, you can bake this recipe in a bundt pan in the oven at 350 for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean and dust with powdered sugar, but we LOVED how it tasted in the crock pot---so moist, and yum.  It is really yummy baked also, so 2 great options for this recipe.

Amazing Crock Pot Chocolate Cake

1 box chocolate cake--any kind, milk, devil's food, whatever flavor of chocolate you like

1 cup sour cream

1 cup chocolate chips

1 cup water

4 eggs

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 (4 serving size) box of instant chocolate pudding--again any chocolate flavor you like

Coat the inside of your crock pot with nonstick cooking spray.  Mix all above ingredients in a big bowl until well mixed.  Pour into crock pot.  Cover, Cook on LOW 3-4 hours or HIGH 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 hours.  Serve with vanilla ice cream if you want--we didn't have any and just devoured it with large glasses of milk but it would be extra good with ice cream. Yum!

What's up Wednesday--banana chocolate chip mini muffins

 Going with a muffin theme this month so far, but that is good.  On cold mornings I don't think you could have a better breakfast than a yummy muffin and some hot chocolate, and we have had some cold mornings!  Today school didn't start until 10 a.m. because of ice everywhere.  The kids and I didn't complain.  How nice to sleep in on a Wednesday!!!  Sweet!  I have shared these before, but they are seriously one of our family's favorite muffins.  Banana chocolate chip--yum!  They freeze well if you have leftovers to take out and warm up for another cold morning breakfast.  Enjoy!

Banana Chocolate Chip Mini Muffins

1 1/2 cups flour

2/3 cup sugar

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup mashed very ripe bananas (about 2 large or 3 medium)

1 large egg

1/4 cup butter, melted or coconut oil melted

1/4 cup sour cream, can use fat free or low fat

2 teaspoons vanilla

1/4 cup milk

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350 and either line a mini muffin tin with baking cups or spray with pam.  In a medium sized bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt and mix well.

In a mixing bowl combine the mashed bananas, egg, melted butter/coconut oil, sour cream, vanilla and milk.  Mix well.  Mix in the dry ingredients until barely mixed in.  Do not overmix.  Fold in chocolate chips and fill each muffin tin.  Bake for 12-15 minutes or until top are golden and spring back when touched.  

Enjoy!

What's up Wednesday--Best Ever pumpkin muffins

I know, you are probably thinking, "Pumpkin muffins, in January?  Really Jen?"  Yes, really, and they are seriously the best!  You need them all year round not just in the Fall, and now is the perfect time to stock up on pumpkin because they are on clearance.  I got a pack of 6 (15 oz each) cans of pumpkin for $2 at Costco recently.  Stock up!  $.33 a can!  You cannot beat that.  So we are going to be having lots of these yummy things.  My mother-in-law made these for us in October when we went out to visit, and I sadly did not have time to make them for my family until now, but man were they a hit!  So good!  They freeze really well if there are any left to freeze, but at our house we ate them all up very, very quickly.  Next time I will have to double them so we have extra to freeze for a quick breakfast on busy mornings.  It calls for coconut oil, and it needs to be melted when you add it, so just microwave it for a few seconds to make it liquid before you add it.  I got about 18 muffins from this recipe.  Enjoy!

Best Ever Pumpkin Muffins

 1 3/4 cups flour

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

2 eggs

 1 15 oz can pure pumpkin puree

1/2 coconut oil, melted

1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 375 and line your muffin tin with paper liners.  

Measure out the flour, sugars, baking soda, salt and spices in a medium bowl and whisk together.  Set aside.

In another bowl whisk together the eggs, pumpkin, coconut oil and vanilla.

Mix the wet ingredients with the dry and stir together, but don't over mix.  Stir until everything is just barely all mixed in.

Use a large scoop to measure dough--which is pretty stiff--into paper cups so they are almost full.  I use a large cookie scoop.  

Bake for 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Enjoy!

2015 Daily December 16--peppermint oreos

I love oreos.  Any time I see a new flavor I have to buy them and try them out.  They are a favorite.  About 4 years ago I found this recipe for peppermint oreos and fell in love.  They are sooooo good!  So much better than the ones you buy in the stores!  The frosting is thick and yummy with the crushed candy cane and peppermint extract in them.  If you want regular oreos, just leave those two things out.  The perfect holiday cookie!

Peppermint Oreos

 For chocolate cookies:

1 1/4 cups flour

1/2 cup unsweetened baking cocoa

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup plus 2 Tablespoons butter, at room temperature

1 large egg

In the bowl of electric mixer add flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, salt and sugar.  Mix well.  While on low speed add in the butter and then egg.  Continue mixing until the dough comes together in a mass.

Preheat oven to 375. Place rounded teaspoons of dough on a parchment lined baking sheet about 2 inches apart.  Flatten the dough balls slightly.  Bake 7-9 minutes until the tops look cracked.  Cool completely.

Peppermint filling:

1/2 cup butter at room temperature

2 cups powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon peppermint extract

1 crushed candy cane or 5 small candy canes

Place butter in a bowl and cream.  Put on low speed and gradually add sugar and extracts.  Once these are mixed in turn on high and beat for 2-3 minutes until the filling is light and fluffy.  Stir in the crushed candy cane.  The filling is pretty thick.  If you prefer regular oreos, just increase vanilla to 2 teaspoons and leave out peppermint extract and candy canes.

To assemble, spoon frosting onto inside of one cookie and top with another.  

Makes about 15 cookies so I always double it because that just isn't enough :)  Enjoy!

2015 Daily December 9--addiction recipe

I am pretty sure I have shared this recipe before, but it is definitely worth repeating.  I make it a lot this time of year.  It is called Addiction.  It makes a ton, so it is great when you have a group over--like the whole high school band or the middle school basketball team.  I send it to work with Ben and on field trips with the kids to share.  Everyone loves it.

It comes together really quickly and really is addictive.  Some of the band kids call it "Chex crack" when I make it for them.  Enjoy!

Addiction

3 sticks butter or 1 1/2 cups butter

2 cups sugar

2 cups corn syrup

1 large box Rice Chex type cereal

1 large box Golden Grahams type cereal

4 cups shredded coconut

3 cups sliced almonds

1.  Mix cereals, coconut and almonds in a large bowl--I usually have to divide it into 2 large bowls.  

2.  Melt butter, sugar, and corn syrup in a large pot--I use my big stock pot because it really boils up high when it boils.  Bring this to a hard boil and hard boil for 3 minutes.

3.  Pour sugar mix over cereal and mix well

4.  Put on wax paper to cool and then serve

Enjoy!

2015 Daily December 2--cream cheese chocolate chip cookies

We have tried to have the tradition this year that on Sundays we make a different type of cookie as a treat.  We have tried out some yummy recipes.  This past Sunday Miss E made Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip cookies from a recipe a lady at church gave us.  They were soooo good!  Super light and soft.  Enjoy!

Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookies

 1 cup butter

1 cup sugar

3 oz cream cheese

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp lemon extract

2 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 cup chocolate chips

Cream butter, add sugar and beat until smooth and fluffy.  Add cream cheese, blend then add eggs, vanilla and lemon extracts. Mix well.  Mix in flour, baking powder and baking soda.  Stir.  Add chocolate chips and mix well.  Drop on lightly greased cookie sheet.

Bake 350 for 10-12 minutes.

note:  if you double these, just use a full 8 oz cream cheese instead of 6, then you won't have any leftovers.  They turn out great!

What's up Wednesday--some favorites

On this Veteran's Day, as we honor our military who work so hard so we can be free to blog, cook, and live our lives how we want, I wanted to share two favorite recipes at our house lately.  They come from none other than the famous Mel's Kitchen Cafe.  Love that place!  I make something of hers at least 5 times a week if not every day.  Good stuff there let me tell you!

This first one we have at least once a month. Super easy, quick, and so yum! This ham and pasta skillet dinner is the best!  It calls for red peppers, but we have used yellow, green, or whatever color we have on hand.

This cake decadent chocolate cake with whipped chocolate frosting was an experiment.  It is made with quinoa--no flour, so I wanted to try it.  Oh my yum!  And it looks so good too!  You look like a gourmet chef as you bring it in.  My family was very impressed.  I made it just for fun one day and then Ben requested it for his birthday cake this year, so you know it is good.  It does take a while to make, but it is sooo worth it!

Hope you enjoy these favorites of ours!  And a HUGE THANK YOU to our Veterans and the men and women serving us today!  God bless you and your families!