Skillet Enchiladas

My friend Amber gave me this recipe and it is amazing! I made it the other night with just a few minor adjustments and it was a BIG time winner with the husband. These enchiladas are cheesy and creamy and loaded with meat, just how my husband likes it. And like its name says, you make these enchiladas in a large skillet but I actually made them in my beloved Le Creuset dutch oven and it worked perfectly. Serve these enchiladas with some yummy spanish rice and you've got a killer meal!

Skillet Enchiladas

• 1 1/2 lb. lean ground beef
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 1- 10oz. can red enchilada sauce
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1- 4oz. can Ortega diced green chilis, mild
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese
• 8-10 corn tortillas
• vegetable oil

in a large skillet, brown beef and onion; drain grease. stir in soup, enchilada sauce, milk, chilis, and cayenne pepper. bring to a boil. reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

while sauce is simmering, heat some vegetable oil in a small skillet. soften tortillas in heated oil and then place on a paper towel to drain. place 1/4 cup of cheese on each tortilla and roll up, reserving 1/2 cup of cheese for later. place tortillas in sauce, cover and cook until heated through, about 5 minutes. sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup of cheese. cover and cook until cheese melts.

Homemade Pizookies

I don't know if any of you have been to the restaurant BJ's, but they have this dessert called a Pizookie that is sinfully good. There's a BJ's right by my parents house in Vegas and my husband and I always like to go there when we're down visiting. Anyway, the Pizookie is amazing! It's a warm, gooey cookie made in a round pan and then topped with big scoops of ice cream. If that doesn't sound good I don't know what does! So here is my simple, homemade version of a BJ's Pizookie.

Now when you make these the options and combinations are really endless. For instance, you could use your favorite homemade cookie dough or you can make things even easier and use store bought cookie dough. Also, you can really use any flavor of cookie dough, for example- chocolate chip cookie dough, oatmeal raisin cookie dough, chocolate-chocolate chip cookie dough, peanut butter cookie dough, etc. AND, on top of that you can try all kinds of different ice creams to serve on top. This really is a fun, simple, and delicious dessert to make!

Pizookies

• cookie dough- any flavor, store bought or homemade
• ice cream- any flavor
• caramel topping
• chocolate topping

preheat oven to 350 degrees. fill ramekins half way full with cookie dough. place ramekins on a baking sheet and cook until the tops turn golden brown, about 15-20 minutes (time could be more or less depending on your oven so just keep an eye on it). remove from oven and place ramekins on a cooling rack to cool for 5-10 minutes. top with ice cream and any other toppings and serve.

ramekins make perfectly sized individual servings

Chocolate, Caramel Dipped Pretzel Rods

Back in junior high I worked at a candy store during the holiday seasons. The owner of the store lived in my neighborhood so all of my friends and I would go and work together. The store made homemade salt water taffy, fudge, caramel apples, and tons of other yummy sweets including dipped pretzel rods. Those were my favorite! Not only did I like to make them but I loved to eat them! It's been years since I worked at the candy store and I've always wanted to make the dipped pretzels by myself at home but I've just never gotten around to it. This last week I decided I was going to take the time to finally make them and I'm SO glad I did! I don't know why it took me so long to make them, they're super fun and easy to make and so delicious!

Besides being addictively good, I love these dipped pretzels because they are the perfect treat for holidays. You can customize and decorate them for any holiday and they make great neighbor gifts. I was going to make cute Valentine's Day pretzels but didn't get around to it in time so I just made regular dipped pretzels. Either way, they taste amazing!

Here is a list of tips and advice to help make your pretzel dipping easier!

*Pretzels- Don't buy cheap Walmart pretzels because they will break and you will be sad. I used Rold Gold pretzels and they worked great. I've heard that Kroger pretzels work really well too.

*Caramel- You want thin layers and homemade caramel is just too thick so make things easy on yourself and buy a bag of Kraft caramels.

*Chocolate- Ok, when I made these I went to the craft store and bought candy melts. I think they're so great because they taste really good and are really easy to use because they don't require the addition of shortening in order to melt them. I like the Wilton Candy Melts and the Make n Mold Candy Wafers.

OR....you can always use chocolate chips, they work great too. If you do, make sure you stir shortening in with the chocolate chips or they won't melt right. Trust me, it will be gross. The formula for melting chocolate chips is 1-2 Tablespoons shortening to every 1 cup of chocolate chips. Melt in the microwave in thirty second intervals, stirring after each interval.

*Dipping- For these pretzels less is more. You want thin layers so that they won't break easily and so that they'll look pretty. When you lay your dipped pretzels down on wax paper you don't want a ton of caramel and chocolate oozing out from the sides.

*Decorating- The possibilities are endless! I think my favorite is white chocolate sprinkled with cinnamon sugar. And I haven't tried this yet but it sounds really good, milk chocolate sprinkled with toffee bits. Or you can use a fork to drizzle white chocolate over a milk or dark chocolate covered pretzel. Seriously, there are so many cute and yummy combinations so be creative!

Chocolate, Caramel Dipped Pretzel Rods

• pretzel rods
• chocolate for melting- white, milk, dark, etc.
• shortening if you use chocolate chips
• kraft caramels
• any other toppings such as cinnamon sugar, toffee bits, chopped nuts, sprinkles, etc.
• wax paper
• non-stick cooking spray

lay down wax paper and spray really well with non-stick cooking spray (if you don't do this your pretzels will most likely break when you take them off). 

in a bowl, melt caramels according to package melting instructions. pour caramel into a tall cup or mug. dip a pretzel into the caramel and turn so that the pretzel is completely coated except for about one inch at the end of the pretzel. slowly spin the pretzel to remove excess caramel, remember, you want a thin layer. using the edge of the cup, scrape the caramel off of the bottom side of the pretzel and set pretzel on wax paper. let cool and dry completely.

in a bowl, melt chocolate. pour chocolate into a tall cup or mug. coat caramel covered pretzel in chocolate following the same instructions for the caramel layer. lay pretzel back down on wax paper making sure it's still coated really well in non-stick cooking spray. let cool and dry completely.

Hearty Beef Soup

Last Sunday was really busy and I was short on time but my in-laws were coming over for dinner so I wanted to make something healthy and good. My mom used to make this when I was growing up and it was always one of my favorites. This soup is simple and like it's name says it's really hearty with the beef and all of the fresh chopped veggies.

The original recipe directions say to cook the soup in a pot but since I was so short on time on Sunday I put it all in the crockpot and let it cook while I was gone. I've included directions for both cooking methods. I probably prefer the original method in the pot because the noodles stay more firm, but either way this soup turns out really good!

Hearty Beef Soup

CLICK HERE FOR MY RECIPE

White Bean and Chicken Chili

I made this the other night for dinner for my husband who's been sick and it was just perfect. I added sour cream, cheese, and tortilla chips to my chili and it made it so creamy and cheesy, oh it was good! When it comes to spicy foods I'm a baby and so for me this chili is at the top of my spicy threshold. For my husband however it was just right. So if you're like me you could reduce the cayenne pepper if you want or if you want a little more kick you could even add more cayenne pepper. Either way this chili is good!

White Bean and Chicken Chili

CLICK HERE FOR MY RECIPE

Tropical Smoothie

I don't know if it's the sun shining outside and the fact that it's a nice 31 degrees outside or if I'm remembering that exactly two years ago I was in Maui, but today I was craving a yummy tropical smoothie. This recipe is easy and SO good! I'm not a big fan of tart smoothies so this one is nice and sweet. I love how the cream of coconut gives it almost a pina colada flavor, yum! My husband is the smoothie maker at our house and he was very impressed with this one!

*If you want to make this smoothie more healthy you can add a handful of baby spinach to it. You won't even taste it and it's a great way to get your kids to eat a serving of veggies!

Tropical Smoothie

CLICK HERE FOR MY RECIPE

Chewy Cherry Chocolate Chunk Cookies

I love the name of these cookies. They are loaded with cherry and chocolaty goodness and are soft and chewy. I just popped these babies out of the oven and they are pure chocolate bliss! It's so satisfying when you have an idea for something and then it turns out just how you envisioned if not even better. I have a feeling I'm going to be sick tonight from eating too many of these!

Chewy Cherry Chocolate Chunk Cookies

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup white sugar
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 3/4 cup flour
• 1 cup cocoa
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1- 6oz. bag Craisins Cherries
• 1- 10oz. bag Hershey's Mini Kisses

preheat oven to 350 degrees. cream butter and sugars together until light and fluffy. add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. add salt and vanilla. 

in a separate bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, and soda. add flour mixture to sugar mixture and stir until just combined. fold in cherries and mini kisses. bake on an ungreased cookie sheet for 8 minutes. remove cookies to a wire rack to cool. store in an airtight container.

*yields about 3 1/2 dozen.

I'm Back!!!

Hey Everyone! Sorry I've been so bad about posting lately! The end of January was super busy and now that February is here all I've felt like doing lately is sit around and do nothing. I blame it on the cold, grey weather. However, today I'm feeling much more motivated and on my list of things to do is make a yummy treat using these:

If you like regular Craisins you'll love these. I think these dried cherries are even better than the Craisins!

Check back later this afternoon for the recipe!

And....if you haven't tried these yet go get yourself a bag right now. I'm pretty sure I ate half a bag all by myself in like half an hour. Isn't Valentine's candy the best?!?!