Teachers and Chocolate

Last week, the Mr. and i made a quick run to the grocery store- ok, when he is hungry, he will buy any and ALL junk food there is to be bought. He ran across these no-bake cookies and thought about buying them. Until he saw the price - maybe 8 cookies for almost 3 bucks. im sure people would pay that for them- in a pinch... MAYBE .. but if you've known me long enough, you'll know i dont do pre-made.. i like to be Martha and try to make it all from scratch. i'm obsessed with cooking- REALLY.. so today i made no-bake cookies for the Mr. Im not exaggerating when i say, these cookies MAYBE took me 10 min to make. Literally a few ingredients.

Every week, i send a goodie to mini me's teachers- her main teacher ALWAYS gets a treat, along with the bus driver. Her teacher from last year is literally on her walk to her classroom, so she scores a goodie as well. I try and send them on her days with art , pe, and music to butter those teachers up as well. Our kids teachers work hard and deserve something little. I bought these bags @ my fave dolla store and use them every time. i think a pack has 25 bags in it?! i'm a ribbon hoarder, so i grabbed some football ribbon and some red for the DAWGS-

here is the recipe for the no-bake cookies, courtesy of Cooks.com:


CHOCOLATE OATMEAL NO-BAKE COOKIES

2 cups sugar
1/2 cup cocoa
1 stick butter
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla
3 cups quick-cooking oatmeal
1/2 cup peanut butter

Combine sugar, cocoa, butter and milk in a saucepan. On medium heat, bring to a boil for one full minute.
Remove from heat. Stir in peanut butter (optional), vanilla and oatmeal.

Drop by spoonful onto wax paper. Let cool for at least 30 minutes.

I'm sure we'll be scoring some more brownie points with the teachers, the MR., and with the neighbors we ding-dong- ditched tonight and left these as a present!@ Dont you wish YOU were my neighbor?!

Who loves S'mores?!

Smores.. who doesnt love these suckers?! They remind me of summer- i could probably eat them on a daily basis!

Golden grahams has these smore bars out- they're delish, but honestly, there's only 6 measly bars in the box for almost 3 bucks. LAME- expensive.. and why would i buy something with all additives in it, when i could make it MYSELF?! well.. i did. I found a blog post ( if its' yours PLEASE let me know so i can give you the credit earned!) I couldnt decide what chocolate to use, so i used two different kinds and used an entire box. I made a semi sweet and a milk chocolate. i personally liked the milk chocolate best.

After making it, i broke it into pieces and bagged it up for mini me's teachers and bus driver ( i fully believe in buttering your teachers up- they treat your kid better!!)

SO, here's the SIMPLE 3 ingredient recipe!:

S'mores Bark

Inspired by: Golden Graham S'mores and my co-worker, CL
*Almost 1 bag mini marshmallows
*Almost 1 12 oz box graham cracker cereal
*2 lbs candy melting chocolates


Divide: I found it easier to work in two batches. Divide the ingredients approximately in half.
Melt: Take the first pound of chocolate and in a microwave safe bowl heat in the microwave at 50% power for 30 second intervals. Stir in between. Stop when chocolate is completely melted.
Combine: In a large bowl, mix the melted chocolate with about 1/2 of the cereal and marshmallows. Toss to coat well.
Spread: Take the mixture and spread it out onto a wax paper lined cookie sheet.( I just laid 3 pieces of wax paper to line my counter tops and poured it on there) You may need 2-3 cookie sheets total for the whole recipe.
Repeat: Repeat the steps above with the remaining half of ingredients.
Cool: Allow bark to cool completely for an hour or two.
Assemble: Break the bark apart in small chunks and serve in cupcake liners.
(Note: Recipe can be cut in half. This makes a large amount of bark.)

Our FAVE cheese Dip!

Mothers Day this year, i told you i was given the new Trisha Yearwood Cookbook- i cannot say enough about this book and will be buying it as gifts this year! If you love to cook, BUY THIS!!!

One of the best recipes for a party is the Charleston Cheese Dip. EVERYTIME i make this for the neighborhood get together, its literally gone in minutes. I never take pictures of it, so found this picture on the blog : Stirring the pot. Another great cooking blog!!

The recipe ?!!! you've got it!

*1/2 Cup Mayonnaise

*1 8 0z pckg Cream cheese, Softened

*1 C grated sharp cheddar cheese

*1/2 cup grated Monterey Jack cheese

*2 green onions, finely chopped ( we dont add that, the Mr. cant eat onions)

*dash of cayenne pepper

*8 Ritz or butter crackers, crushed

*8 slices of cooked bacon, crumbled

Pre- Heat oven to 350*

In bowl, mix all ingredients BUT ritz crackers and bacon.

Transfer to a shallow baking dish,

top with crushed ritz and cook for 15 minutes. Remove, and top with bacon-

serve immediately!!

Once again i'll say, this is one of those cookbooks you might as well ALWAYS have out.. i have it literally sitting next to my stove!!

Grits.. its whats for dinner ;)

One of my best friends bought me the Everyday Food magazine by Martha stewart- its little and comes once a month. This months by far is my fave! i searched high and low for the stinking recipe to give her credit and to no avail. The one i foudn that was the closest was from Southern living. This was SO flavorful! The family loved it! I loved that you poured the sauce over the grits. I like my grits creamy- dry is just.. GROSS!
Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds unpeeled, medium-size raw shrimp
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 pound andouille sausage, diced
3/4 cup whipping cream
1/3 cup chicken broth
1/3 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup freshly grated Asiago or Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
Asiago Grits
Garnish: chopped fresh chives
Preparation
Peel shrimp; devein, if desired.

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat; add sausage, and cook, stirring constantly, 5 minutes or until lightly browned. Add shrimp, and cook, stirring constantly, 3 to 5 minutes or just until shrimp turn pink. Remove shrimp and sausage mixture from skillet.

Add cream, broth, and wine to skillet; cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, 5 minutes or until slightly thickened. Stir in cheese and pepper; cook, stirring constantly, 6 to 8 minutes or until cheese is melted. Stir in shrimp and sausage mixture. Serve over Asiago Grits. Garnish, if desired.


From Southern living, october 2007

..
Also from the Everyday food magazine, there is a recipe for Raspberry- Lemon Whoopie pies- i also searched for this recipe and found this posted by a Chelsea on Wegottaeat.com. She said its from the Everyday living magazine, so you're in luck ;)

These are SUPER EASY to make, yummy and perfect for Spring for a shower, party, or just for fun.

RASPBERRY-LEMON WHOOPIE PIES

from Everyday Food Magazine Add Ingredient Add Divider Ingredients
1 stick Butter (room temperature)
1 Cup Brown Sugar
3 tbsp Brown Sugar
1 tbsp Grated Lemon Zest
1 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
1 Egg
2 1/4 Cups All-Purpose Flour
3/4 tsp Baking Powder
1/4 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Coarse Salt
1 Cup Whole Milk
3/4 Cup Heavy Cream
1 Cup Fresh Raspberries Add Cooking Step Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter, 1 cup brown sugar, and lemon zest until light and creamy. Add vanilla and egg and beat to combine, scraping down bowl as needed. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. With mixer on low, beat in flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with milk and ending with flour mixture (Scrape bowl as needed). Beat well to combine.
2. Drop batter in 2-tbsp mounds about 2 inches apart, onto two parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake until puffed and pale golden around edges, 17 to 19 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Let cakes cool completely on sheets on wire racks.
3. In a large bowl, whip cream and 3-tbsp brown sugar to soft peaks. In a small bowl, mash raspberries with a fork, then fold into whipped cream. Divide raspberry cream evenly among bottoms of half the cakes, then sandwich with remaining cakes.

Southern Favorites

I've been on a movie kick lately and have the easy ONE CLICK on an account.. one of those MAJOR websites.. was looking for another one of my FAVE southern movies, Driving Miss Daisy and found it for 7 bucks. REALLY?! Who could pass up THAT deal? And so, like a kid on Christmas, i've checked my mailbox EVERY day for it and it FINALLY came today- guess whats on for background noise while i did math and now blogging? Yup- the girls are watching it ;) Cutest movie ever- and i believe its filmed in Georgia!
About a year ago, my sister in law made me a tomato pie- out of the blue yesterday i remembered it, and i'm a food addict. Once i start thinking about something, i HAVE to get it! I went to the grocery store and bought some fresh tomatoes and made myself one.. dont tell anyone, but i ate HALF of the pie! this pic is taken from the web, but i really wish my picture turned out, because mine looked TEN times better! I used FRESH basil ( about 9 plus leaves) and tore them up and i think it gave it a real kick!

Tomato Pie

*Pie Crust
*Sharp cheddar cheese
*Basil
*3-4 large tomatoes
*salt & pepper to flavor

I thinly sliced my tomatoes, and literally layered them like lasagne in the pie pan. I'd sprinkle salt, pepper, freshly grated cheese and basil on EACH layer. i did NOT use another pie crust, but just added alot of cheese on top-

Put in the oven @ 400 for about 35-40 minutes. I made the mistake of NOT cooking the pie crust before hand and it was Mooshy.. so make sure you cook it first. Seriously.. this is THE BEST ever.. and with all the fresh tomatoes coming up, oh.my.word.. my mouth is salivating just thinking of it!

GO GET YOURSELF SOME INGREDIENTS AND GET COOKING~!

Strawberry BLISS!

Today we threw a little party/ cookout for our neighbors that are getting married. I fond this recipe in blogland and it was SO EASY and tasted OUTSTANDING!!!! i highly recommend making this ASAP! i kid you not everyone had seconds and thirds!! I thought i would share the recipe with ya'll- ENJOY!

Strawberry Coconut Cake Recipe

Ingredients
Cake:
1 1/2 boxes of white cake mix
5 eggs
2 cups water
3/4 cup oil
1/2 box of strawberry jello (3 oz. box)
1/2 cup of chopped strawberries
Icing:
16 oz sour cream
1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 box of strawberry jello (3 oz. box)
7 oz bag of sweetened flaked coconut
1/2 cup of chopped strawberries
1 (8 oz) carton of cool whip thawed

Directions
Preheat oven to 350. Mix all ingredients for cake with an electric mixer. Pour into 3 (8 or 9 inch) round baking pans that have been sprayed with cooking spray. Place in preheated oven and bake for 22 minutes. Let cake cool completely before icing.
Mix all ingredients for the icing, excluding the cool whip. Place one layer of cake on a platter and cover the top with 1/3 of the coconut mixture. Add the second layer and cover that layer with another 1/3 of the mixture. Take the remaining 1/3 mixture and add the 8 oz carton of cool whip. Add the 3rd layer and cover the entire cake with your cool whip mixture. Garnish with strawberries.