Fresh Strawberries out of season

 

How many of you love to pick strawberries? If you’re like me you love to go and pick them fresh off the plants but then you you feel you have to eat them within a couple of days or they all go bad. So you find yourself making strawberry shortcake, strawberry pie, strawberries & cream, And just about anything strawberry you can think of. My mother-in-law taught me a trick years ago and it’s become my favorite of ours. 

When you purchase or pick your strawberries fresh from the strawberry patch, cap them all then rinse. Divide them & place them in quart size freezer bags with 1/2 cup to 3/4 cups of sugar. I usually divide them in small portions so that I can pull them out for single servings. Then place in the freezer. 

When ready to eat pull them out and let them thaw in the refrigerator 6 to 8 hours where on the countertop two hours.

You’ll be so surprised how fresh and delicious they taste just as if you just picked them😊

A marriage for keeps

 

This morning as I was getting ready for work God spoke to me and laid on my heart that I had a word I needed to share.  You see it’s a sensitive subject to many but one that I feel I need to speak about.  Let me start by prefacing that I am NOT a gifted writer.  There will be many grammatical errors so just overlook those nowJ Let me also say I am NOT a marriage counselor or expert but I do feel that because of my personal experiences I can help someone who is seeking answers on how to enjoy a healthy relationship that is on fire with love & passion even after 16 years(and that’s no lie). 

I am a woman, a wife, and a mother.  As I enjoyed a little time with my husband this morning I realized how thankful I am for the relationship I have with this man I get to call my husband.  That title is not a title to be taken lightly or for granted.  I am always very careful to say God blessed me with anything but I can truly say God has blessed our marriage. Not because we are special. Not because we are perfect. But because we strive to seek Him first then make sure our marriage is our first priority under our relationship with God. 

As a kids minister, I have been given the opportunity to have many conversations with some of my sweet moms.  Moms with kids all ages and So often I hear them say…. I love my husband but my kids take up our time. Our kids are our priority. Our kids and their events are whats important to us.  Let me tell you in as much love as I can type…..You are WRONG!!!  Your relationship will never succeed unless you change your priorities. 

Our kids are important. God has entrusted them to us to raise them in his knowledge. But we are failing if they get our complete attention while our marriages suffer. Your children need to see a healthy marriage. They need to see love. Even if it grosses them out sometimes hehe. Moms it’s OK for your children to understand that they are not first priority in your life. In turn if you teach them where they line up in what is the most important you are doing them a huge favor on how they will one day treat their spouses. 

Ladies your husbands need to know the importance they have in your life. They need to hear the words of affirmation. But not only words they need to feell the words of affirmation in your actions. I get it we all are exhausted by the end of the day from taking care of our kids. However there’s many simple things you can do to continue that spark that every marriage needs. I thought I would share a few tips that might be helpful.

 

1. Pray above all things! First and foremost shower your marriage with prayer and devotion every single day. Pray together with your spouse but also have intimate time with God daily praying FOR your spouse. Pray for protection as well as strength. For so long I poured so much into my husband and I realized I had made him my top priority. I had to back away and fall in love with Jesus over again and only at that point was I able to truly love my husband with everything I had. 

2. DATE YOUR SPOUSE!!!! I cannot emphasize this enough… Get dressed up, make dinner plans, even if you have to call your kids minister to babysit your kids. We have date night at least once a month & lunch or breakfast dates weekly.  Don’t have a babysitter that’s OK… if your kids are old enough, Put a movie on in one room and tell your kids you’ll be in the next room enjoying an in home date night! Or stay up one night a week (even if it takes lots of caffeine) and watch a movie with your hubby after you get the kids in bed.  

 3. Take care: Ladies men are visual so take care of yourself. If your spouse works outside of the home make an effort to spruce yourself up a little bit each night so when he comes home so that he’s not meeting a ragged exhausted mom but rather is welcomed by a woman who loves him and is trying to give him her best. Ladies this one is important because majority of men are in work places where there’s lots of ladies. When they come home to a spouse in their pajamas & unwashed hair on a daily basis it’s very easy for them, because they’re (men) visual to begin to have feelings of longing for something else.  

 4. Be romantic!!! Although this is something most women love not all man are romantic people so don’t always expect something in return. Send love notes in your husbands lunchbox. Random love text through the day can really speaks volumes. Write a love note on your husband‘s pillow. By his favorite candy bar and leave it by the coffee pot for him to receive in the morning when he wakes up. Be creative but also MAKE TIME TO BE INTIMATE!!! While intimacy can look many different ways its super duper important that you share intimacy in all ways. From love notes, to pillow talks, to love making with your spouse.  MAKE it happen because ladies truth is if you don’t give them intimacy there are many ladies out there on the prowl willing to give it to them.  Don’t let that happen!

5. Affection is affirmation. Get in the habit of kissing each other before either of you leave home. My husband works in the basement now but he always kisses me every single morning before he goes to work. We NEVER leave home without a kiss and those times are so very dear to my heart.

6. Be careful of the company you keep! While friendship is wonderful, going out on a regular basis with friends can be dangerous. No I’m not talking going out for dinner with a girlfriend or going shopping. I’m talking weekly night outs with ladies. It’s very easy to get caught up in that lifestyle and can only lead to destruction. It’s also very important that when you have marital problems you do not discuss this with ladies who are having similar marital problems or those going through messy relationships at the time. You will be told exactly what your ears want to hear for an easy fix. But it’s not a God fix.

7. Listen & Live life together! Take an interest in what your husband says. I know sometimes we may have zero interest in hearing about their work or business opportunities that happen during their day but that’s important to them to share with you. We often say our husbands never listen to us but women are just as guilty. Its also important to find a way to love the things they love.  For instance I am a city girl but it was really important to my husband years ago that I understand his love for hunting and so I got involved in the sport.  Its amazing the experiences we have had together from just that and he LOVES taking every chance he can to brag about meJ

8. Guard your heart! Ladies what do you watch on TV? What kind of books are you pouring into your mind? What music do you listen to? Ask yourself is this something that will help my marriage or make me have more expectations of a unbiblical ideas about love. Many of these things are fanaticized, made up , and unrealistic and they CAN destroy your union.

 9. Parent together!!!! This does not mean you say “wait till your daddy gets home”. And as soon as they walk in the door we bombard them with discipline issues they need to take care of from your children. We have a rule at our house if our sons have disciplinary issues while they’re in front of me I handle the issues then. And vice versa. Support each other( unless it’s an abusive situation) when disciplining your kids. Children will quickly know how to play one parent or the other so it’s so important to be on the same page.

10. Live as ONE!! From worship to home we should live as one body.  As we are commanded in Mark 10:7-8  “Therefore a man shall leave his mother and father and hold fast to his wife and the two will become ONE FLESH!!” Its very easy to get caught up in you do your thing and I will do mine but that’s a direct defiance of what Gods desire is for a husband & wife. We are in this together  and meant to be ONE!

 

Ladies I’m not asking you to be Stepford wives. I’m asking you to be a faithful loving servant of God. We are called to be helpmates. In Genesis 2:18 it says “ Then the Lord God said it is not good that a man should be alone. I will make him a HELPER fit for him.“ We were created to be a helper that is what I want to urge you to do daily. 

Marriage is hard!  Marriage is tricky! Its not always candlelight & roses.  But it’s also the greatest joy that I have been given besides my salvation.

I mess up often.  I have many annoying habits like most of us. I can be a bit obsessively jealous at times, I tend to keep a messy car that truly bugs my husband.  But he has a few things as well that drive me insane.   We ARENT perfect people but we serve a PERFECT God together and we BOTH have committed to follow our Heavenly Fathers guide and keep our marriage set on the firm foundation from HIS ROCK!!!My desire is that you as well will strive to build your marriage on the ROCK because it will NEVER crumble.

 

 For years I have eaten my Mother in Laws no bake cookies and wondered why mine never turned out perfect like hers.  During quarantine this year I decided to perfect my recipe so here it is. Tried and true. Always turns out and never runny or dry and crumbly.

Ingredients

2 cups sugar               1/2 Cup milk(2%)              1/4 cup cocoa              1 stick of butter(i use blue bonnett)

3/4 cups peanut butter        1 teas vanilla            3 cups of oats

Bring sugar, milk, butter, and cocoa to a boil. Boil hard for 2 minutes(no less or they wont turn out perfect). After boiling remove from heat and add your vanilla, peanut butter, and oats.  Stir well then drop by spoonfuls on wax paper. Will set up in 10 minutes.  

*Important note you will usually have to make multiple batches of these because they are gone instantly

Boiled Cabbage

As a Southern Girl you might be surprised to here that I am NOT a fan of boiled cabbage.However, my husband loves it. I decided to perfect a recipe that would knock his socks off and compliment his bowl of pintos an cornbread.  I would like to state that my husband enjoys everything I usually cook but for the first time ever my husband said its the BEST hes ever had.  I thought I would share :

1.  Cut Cabbage removing the hard stem. Slice each quarter into 1-inch wide strips.
2.  In a large pot, add 2 tbsp butter, 2 TBSP olive oil, 1/2 tea. seasoning salt, 1/2 teas salt & pepper, & cabbage.
3. Stir in 2 cups of chicken broth and mix until coated.
4. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cover and reduce heat to medium low.
5. Simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally until cabbage is tender. Do not overcook.

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Icing

Tis the season for yummy pumpkin recipes so each year.  Here is an easy recipe for the most moist delicious pumpkin spice cupcakes topped with a delectable Cinnamon Cream Cheese icing.

Cupcake Ingredients:

1 cup flour
1 tsp. pumpkin spice pie mix
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 cup Pure Pumpkin
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs


Frosting recipe:
1 1/2 stick softened butter
1 block cream cheese
4 cups powdered sugar (more as needed for desired consistency)
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon


Preheat oven to 350.
Mix flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, cnnamon, pumpkin pie spiceand stir until well blended. I large mixing bowl blend together remaining ingredients beating in eggs one at a time.  When combined mix in dry ingredients until blended.  Scoop into muffin pan filling 3/4 full and bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely before adding frosting.

In small bowl blend cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add powdered sugar until desired frosting consistency. Stir in vanilla and cinnamon.  Add frosting to cooled cupcakes and enjoy!

Mexican Lasagna

This delicious recipe can be made in the crock pot or in the oven if you prefer.  Its simply delicious and so easy. It can be made with lasagna noodles or tortilla shells. My boys prefer the tortilla shells.

Ingredients:
Ground Beef (2 lbs)
3 packs Taco seasoning
1 jar cheese con queso
1 jar salsa
1 block cream cheese
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack Cheese
1 pack of flour tortilla shells ( or 1 box lasagna noodles)

Topping
Lettuce
Sour cream
Tomatoes

In preparation for layers, brown ground beef and mix with 2 packs of taco seasoning and 1 cup of water. Add 2 heaping spoons of the cheese con queso and Let simmer on oven while preparing your other layers.  Mix 1 block of cream cheese with 1 pack of taco seasoning and stir until well mixed.

Spread small layer of salsa across bottom of crock pot.
Lay 2 round tortilla shells on top of salsa (or cooked lasagna noodles if you prefer)
Spread thin layer of cream cheese/taco seasoning on top of shells.
Spoon layer of meat mixture.
Spread small layer of salsa on top of meat.
Top with a layer of shredded cheese (last 30 minutes of cooking).

Continue layers (as with any lasagna~I usually get 4 layers out of mix)
After final layer of meat and salsa add top tortilla shell layer. SPread layer of cheese con queso and cover with remaining shredded cheese. Best results to top with the shredded cheese the last 30 minutes in the crock so it doesnt get too overcooked.

Cook on low for 3 hours or high for 1-2 hours.
If cooking in oven, prepare in casserole dish and back covered for 25 minutes then top with shredded cheese and bake uncovered an additional 10 minutes until cheese has melted completely. Cut and top with favorite taco toppings:)

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes

So a friend of mine posted an easy recipe for Pumpkin Spice cupcakes that were only 3 ingredients and lowfat as well/. I added my own cinnamon cream cheese frosting and it made for a perfect taste.  I thought I would share the recipe with those of you looking for a yummy easy fall treat:)  (sorry I didn't get a picture of them before they were devoured).

Cupcakes
Spice Cake Mix
2 cans pumpkin
2 tbsp. vanilla

Mix all three ingredients until well blended. Batter will be a little thick. Spoon into cupcake pan and bake on 350 for 25 minutes.  (Note:  these tend to be very dense so may not appear done but they are)

Allow to cool then add frosting.

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

1/4 stick of butter (softened)
1 block of cream cheese (softened)
3 cups powdered sugar
2 tea. vanilla
2 teas. ground cinnamon

In stand up mixer beat butter and cream cheese until blended. gradually add powdered sugar until desired texture is reached.  stir in cinnamon and vanilla. Let set up in fridge for 30 minutes then apply generously to cupcakes:)

These were so much better the 2nd day after they had set over night.

Happy Fall Yall

Philly Cheesesteak Sloppy Joes

So one of my boys favorite meals are Sloppy Joes.  However, I am not particularly fond of (except for the fact that it is super easy lol). So a few years ago I saw a recipe about Cheesesteak Sloppy Joes so after a little doctoring it is safe to say it is one of my favorite sandwiches now.  Besides the fact that it too is very easy it is very tasty as well.  So I thought I would share it with you.  This is truly one of the most mouth watering sandwiches made (in my opinion anyway).

Ingredients
Ground beef
Green Pepper
Onion(I prefer white peeled onions)
Salt
Pepper
1 Tbsp Flour
1 Cup of Beef Stock
2 Tbsp of Worschester Sauce
2 Tbsp A1 Sauce
Cheese of choice (I prefer White Cheddar Cheese but provolone is really good too)
Split top buns or plain hamburger buns


Brown Ground beef on stovetop. Add salt & pepper to meat while cooking then drain.  Now stop right here because I want you to know from this point on I transfer everything to the crockpot so it can simmer all day however the remainder of the recipe can all be done in minutes on the stovetop so whichever you prefer.  I personally like to now be cooking right at dinner time hence the reason I put it in the crock pot or if your on the go its great to have it ready when you make it home. 

 

 

In a separate bowl add chopped onions and peppers ( I use 1/4 of each not a whole).  Stir then add into meat.  From this point just add all other ingredients....flour, A1, Worchester, beef stock, and a little more salt & pepper to taste.  Stir completely and let cook on low for 3-4 hours.  After this add slices of cheese on top and let melt then stir.  At this point it is ready to serve on a bun and eat or you may choose to let it simmer a little longer:)

Hope you enjoy this yummy little sandwich and stay tuned til the next fun recipe:)

Chewy Oatmeal Butterscotch Cookies

Ingredients

1 Cup of Butter (softened)
1 Cup Packed Dark Brown Sugar
1 Cup White Sugar
2 Eggs
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 Cups Flour
3 Cups of Cooking Oats ( I grind mine to a fine mix in my grinder instead of whole oats but its good either way)
1 bag Butterscotch Chips (you can add raisins, chocolate Chips, or even toffee bites)

Cream Butter and both sugars together in a mixer until smooth.  Add one egg at a time beating completely in between then add vanilla and stir. In a separate bowl combine flour, salt, & baking soda.  Stir with spoon then gradually beat in to cream mixture until well blended.   Fold in Oats & Butterscotch chips.  Cover & let sit in fridge for 30 minutes - an hour before baking.  Its also ok to let the dough sit over night in fridge and bake the next day. 

Roll and flatten in a nice round shape on your baking sheet.  (these cookies do not expand much so you will want to shape them otherwise they will turn out small and round. Still good but not as big)

Bake on 375 for 10 minutes. Remove from baking sheet onto cooling rack and then try to wait until they cool so you don't burn your tongue lol:) I always have to have a warm one so I love to eat them as soon as I place them on my cooling rack.

White Chicken Chili

Tis the season for that yummy pot of Chili after coming in from the cold weather outside.  Well here is a little twist to your regular chili.  I often make a White Chicken Chili and it is , to say the least, a HUGE hit always. The best part is its cooked in the crock pot with virtually NO clean up and that is the best:)


Ingredients:
3-4 Chicken Breast shredded or 2 cans of  Tysons White Canned Chicken (this is the only canned chicken that tastes good in my opinion
1 package of Shredded Monterray Jack Cheese
2 Cans of Great White Northern Beans
1 can Rotel Tomatoes
1 jar of Salsa
1 large box/can of Chicken Broth


Combine all above ingredients and cook in a crock pot for 4-6 hours on high.  I like to serve this with Tortilla chips or Sante Fe Tortilla Strips. 

Pumpkin Muffins

  I know its been a while since I have blogged and I am so sorry but be on the look out as I plan to start posting recipes again:) 

Here is the recipe for Pumpkin Muffins that a friend shared with me several years ago and I look forward to this time of the year as I bake them often. They are delicious and a must try:)

Pumpkin Muffins

3 ½ c. flour
3 cups sugar
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 ½ tsp. salt
2 tsp. soda
4 eggs
2/3 cups water
1 cup of vegetable oil
2 cups of pumpkin
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)
Chocolate Chips ( Optional but a must at our house)


Mix wet ingredients and dry ingredients in 2 separate bowls, gradually add dry ingredients to wet until well blended. Bake at 350 in well greased muffin pans for about 25 minutes or until done. Enjoy!!!
Makes about 36 muffinsJ

Parmesan Crusted Chicken

Heres is my version of the yummy Parmesand Crusted Chicken that has been posted  on Pinterest recently.  I read this recipe and immediately decided it was one I wanted to try.  Mayo, Chicken, and Parmesan....yummy:))) This recipe was so simple and literally took about 5 minutes to prep and looks like you spent and hour on it. My 11 year old told me it was his favorite dish that I had made so anytime your kids like it as well then I count it a big success.

Parmesan Crusted Chicken

Ingredients
Chicken Breast (rinsed and patted dry)
1/2 cup Mayo(I used light to cut back on calories)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan Cheese
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder(I used garlic salt instead)
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil (i used 1/2 tsp)
1/2 sleeve of Ritz crackers (once again I used the reduced fat Ritz crackers)

Mix Mayo & Parmesan Cheese together in a mixing bowl.

Pat Chicken dry and spread Mayo mix on each piece. (note I had 6 pieces so they were touching each other so I could fit them all  in one dish)

Next crush your crackers in a bowl and had remaining seasonings. Mix well then add to chicken. Sprinkle on top then pat into chicken.  Spray a little butter on top(I use a little parkay spray but this is optional).

Bake on 425 for 20 minutes. (note Cooking time will vary depending on the size of your Chicken.  Mine were the thinly sliced pieces so took a little less time than a regular size breast would take).

I cheated and instead of making some homemade pasta I used the Pasta Roni which is very quick and easy and goes perfecctly with the chicken.

Enjoy!

Lemon Bars via Pinterest

I saw this super interesting recipe on Pinterest and so I thought I would give it a try.  If you like lemon then you will love this 3 ingredient bar:) Best part is each square is only about 2 points on weight watchers if your a point counter.  Very good!!

Lemon Bars

Ingredients
Angel Food Cake Mix
Lemon Pie filling(1 can)
powdered sugar

Mix Cake mix and pie filling together.

Pour into greased 9x13 dish.

Bake on 350 for 20 minutes.

Remove from oven and sprinkle a generous amount of powdered sugar on them.  Let cool then slice and serve.

Applewood Marinaded Pork Roast

A friend of my husband is quite the chef so when he brought a pork roast to work one evening my husband came home and said "you have to get that recipe".  I will be honest I am NOT a huge pork fan so I rarely make anything pork for dinner except bbq.  So I decided to give this recipe a try and it was delicious to say the least.  This is definitely a must try for you and I WILL be having it more often since both my boys loved it as well.

Pork Roast

Ingredients:
Pork Roast (I used a large one I picked up at Walmart for only $12.00. )
Stubbs Pork Marinade
Applewood Rub (by grill mates)
Creole Seasoning
Turkey Roasting bag

Take a large 2 prong fork and poke holes in your Pork.  Pour entire bottle of marinade over it and cover . Place in refridgerater overnight to marinade. 

The next day remove from fridge and place in turkey roasting bag.  Rub the Applewood Rub on it while in the bag on top and bottom.  Sprinkle a small amount of Creole Sseasoning on roast.  Then pour the excess left over marinade over pork and tie bag.  Bake on 350 for 2 to 2 1/2 hours.(be careful to not over bake it so it doesnt dry out)

Remove from oven and untie bag.  Place in serving dish and pour the au jus from bag covering pork.  Slice and serve.

I will tell you this tend to be a little on the spicey side so if you dont like spice then replace your Stubbs marinade with Teriyaki and you will still get the same great tast without the spice I'm told.

Thanks David for this fabulous recipe.  We LOVED it:)

Snowball Tree Cookies

This recipe makes the most adorable and festive tree cookie but let me start off by telling you it is extremely time consuming so if you venture to make this cookie make sure you have plenty of time and lots of patience:)

Snowball Tree Cookies

Ingredients:

For Cookie:

1 cup butter,softened

1/2 cup sugar

1 tbsp milk

1 teas vanilla

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour

Green food coloring



For icing:

4 cups powdered sugar

1 teas vanilla

3-4 tbsp milk

decorative candies

In large bowl beat butter with an electric mixer for 30 seconds.  Add sugar scraping sides of bowl periodically.  Beat in milk and vanilla until smooth.  Gradually add flour (I added 1/2 cup at a time to ensure it mixes well.) 

The origianl recipe said to divide the dough in half and then add food coloring to one half however when I make again I will only remove 1/4 of the dough for the tree stumps because I had lots of plain dough left over. 

Preheat oven to 325. For each cookie use the ggreen dough to make 10 1/2 inch balls and begin shaping like a tree in a triangle shape(Make sure you keep your balls small or your cookies with be huge. Start with the top and work your way down making 4 rows. 1 on the 1st, 2 on the 2nd, 3 on the 3rd, and 4 on the 4th.  Make sure to press slightly together to make sure dough bakes together. Add a slightly larger plain ball at the bottom for the tree trunk.

Bake for 10-12 minutes or until edges are slightly brown.  Cool on cookie sheet for 2 minutes then remove and add to colling rack to cool completely.

TO make your icing:
IN a small bowl mix together powdered sugar, milk and vanilla until desired drizzling cinsistency.  This can be slightly messy. You want to drizzle your icing back and forth like a string of lights. I used my pampered chef icing decorator and used the smallest tip for decorating but remember this icing is slightly runny and quite sticky so be careful when applying.  Ice 3 cookies at a time so the icing doesnt dry out before you place your decorative candies(lights)  This was the hardest part because they wont just sprinkle on them you actually need to place them idividually to make them look right.

Now your ready to tray them up and serve this adorable cookie.  This is a great recipe that I found on the Better Home & Gardens recipe and will be a party hit:)

This recipe will make about 24 cookies.

Mint Chocolate Thumb Print Cookies

Looking for some fun Holiday Cookies I have found some fun treats while surfing the internet so I thought I would share a couple for you to enjoy with your family.  This Betty Crocker recipe is very simple and an extremely tastey Mint Chocolate Thumbprint Cookie! Hope you enjoy:)

Mint Chocolate Thumb Print Cookies

Here are the Ingredients you will need:

Cookies
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup butter (softened)
1 teas. vanilla
1 egg yolk
1 1/2 Cups All purpose Flour
1/4 cup Unsweetened Baking Cocoa

Mint Filling
1/4 cup butter (softened)
1 cup powdered Sugar
1 TBSP. milk
1/4 tsp. peppermint extract
2 drops of green food coloring

Drizzle topping
1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/4 teas. shortening

To make your cookies Heat oven to 375. In large bowl cream together sugar, butter and vanilla until fluffy.  Beat in egg yolk until smooth.  Then gradually add flour and cocoa (I will tell you the recipe only calls for 1 1/2 cups of flour and my batter wqas a little cream and unrollable so I added a little more flour until desired consistency. 

Shape dough into balls about 1 inch in size.  Place on ungreased cookies sheet and then with your thumb make an indentation in the middle of the cookie then bake for 7-9 minutes.  Remove from oven and immediately place cookies on cooling rack.  Let cool completely before adding filling (about 30 minutes).

For filling:
In small bowl cream butter and powdered sugar together on low speed until smooth.  Meat  in milk & peppermint extract then add desired food coloring.

Pplace chocolate chips & shortening in a ziploc bag and heat in microwave for about 1 minute.  Gently squeeze bag until chocolate is smooth. Cut a tiny corner off of the bag then drizzle over each cookie.  Let stand about 1 hour before serving. I placed mine in the fridge to allow filling to set up better.


A variation of this recipe. You could also do red food coloring instead of green adn then sprinkle Crushed Peppermint candies on top and they would be very tasty as well:)
This recipe make about 4 dozen cookies.
Serve & enjoy.

Buffalo Chicken Pizza

So heres a new pizza recipe for all you Buffalo Chicken fans.  I love coming up with new recipes and this one definitely is one of my favorites. It was so good that I will make 2 pies next time because we wanted more:) Hope you enjoy this simple recipe.

BUFFALO CHICKEN PIZZA

1st step is preparing your chicken & onions before you can put your pizza together. Cut 3 Chicken breast up into bite sized pieces and melt 1/4 stick of magarine and stir into the chicken.  Add a little garlic and onion salt to your chicken and stir.

Next you want to cook your chicken(now keep in mind you can use canned chicken if you want but I love the taste of real bites of chicken versus the shredded chicken for this particular recipe). I always line my pan with aluminum foil and spray with cooking sprays for easy clean up.  Bake in oven on 375 for 25 minutes.

While your chicken is baking go ahead and saute your onions. Slice onions however you prefer you can either dice them or slice them I prefer longer strips so I slice them. Then put on stovetop and cook with butter and season with garlic & lawrys seasoning.(just for a yummy flavor). Cook the onions down until they are nice and sauteed.( I always cook mine a little longer because I love the carmelized taste they get when cooked all the way down).

Remove onions from pan. When Chicken is finished cooking in the oven I like to take it out and put it in my pan on the stovetop to make it a little crisp. Cook on medium  for about 5-8 minutes then remove.

Add your buffalo sauce to you chicken and stir. (You can use whatever buffalo sauce you prefer but I like to use the Franks Red Hot Buffalo sauce. It has just enough kick without being too spicy).

Now your ready to assemble your pie.  Roll you dough out onto your pizza dish. You can also use a bakers pan if you would rather have flatbread style slices. I use the Pillsbury Pizza Crust but once again that is just my preference for ease. Make you own crust or use your favorite.  Bake your crust according to the directions on the can. For my particular recipe this is what I did. Roll your crust out onto pan and bake on 400 for 5 minutes then remove and add your ingredients on top of crust.(this just helps to cook the bottom of your pizza).

To assemble: spread a nice layer of Ranch dressing covering your entire crust.

Then its time to put your yummy toppings on. Add you chicken 1st then layer with your onions, mozzarella & fresh parmesean cheese.

 I will tell you I used about 5 tysons breaded chicken tenders and left off the onions on a fourth of the pizza for my boys liking:)

Bake in oven until Crust is nice and golden. Remove and your ready to serve.

Below is a list of all the ingredients I used so you will have it for your shopping list.

3 Chicken Breast(diced into bitesized pieces)
Franks Red Hot Buffalo Sauce(I only used about 3/4 cup)
1/4 cup of Ranch Dressing
1/4 cup of Parmesean Cheese
1 Cup of Mozzarella Cheese
1/2 of a white peeled onion (sliced or diced)
Pillsbury Pizza Crust
Garlic
Onion Salt
Lawrys Seasoning

Putting up Fresh Green Beens without canning them!

Did you know you can freeze green beans?  I thought I would share a few tricks for those of you who do not can but would still like to enjoy fresh veggies through the winter.  Its simple but a little time consuming.  The end result is worth your trouble though.

1. String & Snap Beans then rinse.

2. Bring a pot of water to a rolling boil add 2 cups of beans to boiling water and return to a boil. Cover and boil for 3 minutes.

4. Remove beans from pot with a slotted spoon and add them to ice cold water to cool for 3 minutes.

5. Once Cooled drain your beans and they are ready to store.
6. Repeat the last 3 steps until all beans have been cooked.(You can use the same boiling water 3-4 times just be sure it comes back to a rapid boil before repeating)
7. Once drained then pour into your freezer storage bags.  You can use regular storage bag but you must make sure you remove all the air. I use a vacuum sealer which is ideal for this project.  You place your beans in the fresh seal bags then seal it with your device.  It sucks all air out and seals it completely.

Now all you do is store in the freezer and bring out when your ready to enjoy:)

Beef & Cheese Pizza Casserole

So here is the Pizza Casserole many of you have asked for.  I have always made my pizza casserole with Pepperoni but I decided to give this one a twist.  I did google several recipes and kind of combined them to this one.

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground beef
1 small onion chopped finely(I used Onion salt instead of an onion for my boys)
Italian seasoning
1/4 cup of flour
Pasta sauce of choice ( I used Bertolinni tomatoe & basil 24 oz. however the basil was a bit strong I would probably use a different flavor next time)
1 block mozzarella cheese
parmesean cheese
1 can Pillsbury refrigerated pizza crust
oil(I prefer Olive)
Salt & Pepper to taste

Brown ground beef along with onion, salt, pepper, 2 tbsp. italtian seasoning. Drain and add flour until blended. Add sauce and stir until bubbly. Remove from heat and pour into a 9 x 13 baking dish. 

Sprinkle and even amount of mozzarella & Parmesean cheese over mixture.

Roll your pizza crust out(I press it out on a floured cutting board to get it strecthed out to the right length then place on top of your casserole.

Brush the top with a little oil then sprinkle more of both cheeses covering the entire top.  Bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes or until your crust is golden( keep and eye out so you dont over cook it) 
Slice and serve *note the crust is tough to cut so you will need to use a knife)( I apologize for not posting a finished picture of it but I forgot to take one we were so eager to dig in and try it out lol)

Enjoy and as always please let me know if you have any questions.