Crownies...?

Somedays, I am faced with making really hard decisions. Choices that will effect my whole family. I am talking about a tough, impossible, life altering, mind blowing, heart stopping, Sliding Dooresque choice.  Brownies or cookies?  Well, today, I answered that question by creating a cross between the two...The Crownie!  It is made like a cookie, but it has more of a brownie thickness and texture.  Whichever you may think they are more like, I do hope you enjoy them! These are a new favorite for us, and they are Chewly Awesome!

White Chocolate Chocolate Crownies

2 1/4 cups AP flour
2/3 cups Cocoa Powder
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Salt
1 cup (2 sticks) Butter - melted and cooled slightly
1/8 cup oil
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups white chocolate chips


Preheat oven to 375 degrees
Makes approx. 2 doz.

Combine dry ingredients in a medium mixing bowl

Cream the cooled butter and sugars in a large mixing bowl with a wooden spoon until smooth

Add the eggs and vanilla and beat until smooth

Stir in the flour mixture until just incorporated

Fold in your white chocolate chips

Spoon by large tablespoon fulls or ice cream scoop fulls onto prepared baking pan - six Crownies per pan because you don't want to over crowd them.  Have a good 2 inches between each spoonful  (I use parchment paper)

Bake in oven for 15 minutes.

Allow to cool for 5 minutes on the pan.  Transfer to a cooling rack.


Enjoy!

White Chocolate Chip Pancakes!

When I was a little girl, I would often spend the weekend at my best friends house.  They had a very large family, and her mom always cooked breakfast for us.  Since I was the early riser out of all of the kids, she would ask me what I wanted for breakfast...my answer (always!) PANCAKES!  Seriously, is there anything better than cake for breakfast???? I think not!  Here is my favorite pancake recipe filled with the yummy goodness that is white chocolate. :) Enjoy!

White Chocolate Chip Pancakes
Serves 4

1 1/2 Cup AP Flour
3 Tbsp Sugar
1 Tbsp Baking Powder
1/4 Tsp Salt
2 lg eggs (room temp)
1 1/4 Cup Whole Milk
1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
3 Tbsp unsalted butter (plus more for the pan)
1 Pkg White Chocolate Chips (or Milk Chocolate, or Pecans, Or whatever you feel like!)

Preheat your oven to 150 or 170 degrees and have a 9x13 pan ready to put cooked pancakes in to keep them warm

In a large bowl, whisk together your dry ingredients (sans the white Chocolate Chips - those are for later)
In a different bowl, beat the eggs and whisk in Milk and Vanilla

Melt a tbsp of butter in your pan over medium heat

Whisk into milk/egg mixture and add to your dry ingredients just until a thick batter is formed *Don't over mix at this point - lumps are okay ;)

With your pan still at medium heat, put about 1/4 cup batter onto the pan for each pancake.  

Add white chocolate chips to each pancake after bubbles break the surface (letting you know that the underside is firm)  When the edges start getting a golden brown (about 2 min. total), flip and cook another minute.

Put the cooked pancakes in your warm oven to keep them hot.

Serve topped with Butter, Maple Syrup, Powdered Sugar, or fresh sliced fruit.

Oh, and DON'T FORGET THE BACON :)

Chicken Burritos with Sour Cream Sauce

When I was a little girl, our family frequented our favorite Mexican restaurant, El Chico, in Brookwood Village.  My dad's favorite dish was the Chicken Chimichanga with Sour Cream sauce.  El Chico closed down many, many years ago, but it continues to be the standard by which we judge all other Mexican restaurants.   Though we have found good chimichangas, we have yet to find one with that yummy sour cream sauce that El Chico had. Now, we don't really do fried foods here, it is just too messy and it makes the whole house smell like grease - no thank you!  Since a chimichanga is basically a fried burrito, I decided to make a recipe that could rival our long time loved El Chico dish.  Success has never tasted so Chewly Awesome!

Chicken Burrito's with Sour Cream Sauce

1 lb Chicken (cooked and shredded)
1 pkg Large Tortillas
1 cup of rice cooked as directed on package
1 can of black beans (optional)
1 7 oz can of Salsa de Jalapeno (found in the Mexican section of your grocery store)
1 tbsp Butter
1 Poblano Pepper seeded and diced
1 Jalapeno (if you want it to be hot!)
1 Medium Onion diced
1 8oz pkg Cream Cheese
2 cup Mozzarella Cheese
1/4 cup Chicken Broth
2 tsp Garlic Powder
1 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Pepper
1 tsp Cumin
2 tsp Chili Powder

Sour Cream Sauce:
1 cup Sour Cream
1/2 stick Butter
1 tsp Garlic Powder

Preheat oven to 375 F
In a pan, melt 1 tbsp of Butter and saute Poblano pepper and Onion
Add your chicken, rice, black beans(If using), Salsa de Jalapeno, Cream Cheese, Mozzarella Cheese, Spices and Chicken Broth.  Stir.

Prepare a 9x13 inch pan by spreading butter on the bottom.

On each tortilla, spoon about 1 1/2 cup of the chicken filling and roll it up - tucking the edges in.

Set each in the pan with the open end down.

If you have any filling left over, you can spread it on top of all the burritos.

Bake in the oven for 20 min.

Sour Cream Sauce:
On the stove top, melt butter, stir in sour cream and garlic powder.  Mix well.

When your chicken burritos are ready, serve them with the sour cream sauce on top.  Enjoy!!

Velata Home Fondue System

Hey!  I am always looking for EASY desserts - this just about puts the icing on the cake of easy!  It's the new fondue warmers from Velata (A Scentsy Company), and they are ahhhmazing! Velata features premium Belgian Chocolate that is to die for! Milk, White, Dark, and Caramel Milk! You can get more information from my website. Velata  With the Velata system, you can have a delicious and unique dessert in just over one minute!

Lemon Pepper Chicken & Rice

Sometimes, I just get in the mood to throw whatever I have on hand together and try to make something great out of it. Sometimes it works...sometimes, we try our best to block the carnage out of our memories, and we run out of the door to grab something edible at a restaurant!  Thankfully, tonight, my "throw whatever together" worked! Not only did it work, it worked so well that I am now about to make another dish exactly like the first since the first was not enough for everyone! (Yes, bowl licking good!) So...prepare to be amazed! :)

Lemon Pepper Chicken and Rice
Serves 4

1 cup brown or white rice prepared in chicken broth
12 chicken tenderloins or 3 chicken breast
1/2 stick of butter
2 celery stalks chopped
3 carrots chopped
1/2 onion diced
3 Garlic cloves diced or minced
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 lemon
1 tablespoon Garlic Powder
Pepper to taste (Fresh ground if possible since it is one of the stars of the show)
Salt to taste

Prepare your rice as directed (if you use the real thing like we do, it's the first step!)
Heat butter in a skillet over medium heat
Add chicken and brown on each side
Add Celery, Carrots, Onion, and Garlic, Salt and Pepper
Saute with your chicken for about 5 minutes
Add Chicken Broth and let simmer for 10 minutes or until veggies are tender
Squeeze Juice from 1/2 Lemon on top stir.

Serve over rice.

Enjoy!

Homemade Meaty Lasagna

I love, love, love lasagna!  Not just any lasagna. To me, the perfect lasagna is thick, meaty, cheesy, tomatoeey, savory, scruptilicious goodness. Since it was mission impossible for me to find it at restaurants, I decided to just make up my own recipe.  When I make lasagna, I usually have a bit of left over sauce and meat which is GREAT for homemade pizza!  Save the extra in the refrigerator or freezer and plan to have a homemade pizza night soon after. Here it is, and I hope you enjoy it!

1 box lasagna noodles (I boil 10 noodles just to make sure I have enough!)

MEAT:

 1/2 lb of Pancetta (Italian Bacon. You can find it in the deli section of most grocery stores.  If you don't have it, you can use regular bacon)

1 lb Ground Italian Style Sausage

1 1b Ground Round Beef

Salt and Pepper to taste

SAUCE:
1 small onion, chopped

2 carrots chopped

2 celery stalks chopped

4 cloves of garlic chopped

2 14 oz cans fire roasted diced tomatoes

1 small can of tomato sauce

1 small can of tomato paste

1/2 tsp. pepper

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup to 1 cup of Chicken Broth

1 tablespoon Garlic Powder

CHEESE:

1 16 oz Ricotta Cheese

3 eggs

1/4 tsp pepper

2 tablespoons fresh basil chopped (About 8 leaves)  (If you are using dried, use half)

2 cups Mozzarella Cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Start by getting your large pan of water boiling for your lasagna noodles (You will start these after you get the sauce simmering)

Fry your pancetta or bacon until golden brown then remove the bacon but leave the grease in the pan.  Add your ground sausage and beef and cook until done. Season with Salt and Pepper to taste

While this is cooking, chop your onion, carrots and garlic.  I use a food processor for this.

After your meat is done, remove from the pan and drain all but about three tablespoons of grease. 

Use this grease to saute your Onion, Carrots, Celery and Garlic.

After about 3 min. (Onions should be translucent) add diced tomatoes, tomato sauce and tomato paste.

Add Salt, Pepper, Chicken Broth and Garlic Powder.  

Chop up your pancetta or bacon very fine and add it to the sauce. 

Let this simmer while you get the Ricotta filling prepared and start boiling your noodles now(10 min to al dente).

In a mixing bowl, mix together your Ricotta, 3 eggs, basil, pepper and 1/2 cup of the mozzarella cheese.

When your noodles are done, you will start putting your lasagna together.  This is the order I do it in.  

put sauce on the bottom of your Lasagna pan or your 9x13 inch pan. Then layer in this order

Noodles

Ricotta Cheese Mixture

Meat

Sauce

Repeat.

Sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top and bake at 375 degrees for 45 min. or until cheese is a golden brown. 

Enjoy!  

Fire Roasted Tomato Linguini... with Bacon

Our schedule has been crazy around here lately; surgery (my husband), doctor's appointments, new born babies (NOT mine, friends!), tornadoes...and the list goes on!  In the midst of all the madness, I am so glad that I can take the time to make a quick homemade meal for my family!  For almost an hour, the madness slips away as we sit down together and talk about our day and our accomplishments. ahhhhh... Okay, peaceful time over; it's time to clean the kitchen!  :)  Have I mentioned that I LOVE one pot meals?  EASY cleanup!  Here is an easy one pot meal that you can try for your family.  I hope you enjoy! ;)

Fire Roasted Tomato Linguini....with Bacon!
Makes 6 servings

16 strips of bacon, sliced into 1/4 inch pieces (Bacon is much easier to cut cold)
1 package of your favorite Linguini
1 14.5 oz can Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes
1 quart (32 oz) Chicken Stock or Broth

1 small onion, chopped
4 cloves of garlic chopped
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 cup of Heavy Cream OR 1 8oz package of Cream Cheese (cut into small cubes)

Garnish:
1/4 cup chopped Parsley
1 cup Italian cheese blend or Parmesan Cheese

In a 12 inch skillet, fry your bacon pieces.  Remove when done and drain all but 1 tablespoon of the grease.
Add your garlic and red pepper flakes and saute until fragrant (about 2 minutes)
Add your onion and saute until translucent (about 4 minutes)
Add your chicken broth and fire roasted tomatoes, cooked bacon and bring to a boil
Add pasta, cover and boil for about 7 minutes.

Uncover, stir, and add your heavy cream or cream cheese
Cook on medium for about 5 minutes or until sauce thickens
Place in serving bowls and garnish with parsley and Cheese.

Enjoy!