Triple 'C' Cookies

Who doesn't love cookies?!?!?!  Am I right?!?  Nothing is better than a cookie that is just the right mix of soft and chewy...savory and sweet...a tasty-happy dance for your mouth...beautiful to look at...so good as soon as it hits your lips...

We're still talking about cookies by the way.  Get your head out of the gutter!

This has become one of my favorite cookie recipes and most popular with my friends.  I love it so much that I hesitated sharing it because I secretly love being the person who walks into a party and hears her friends say "OMG she brought those cookies!  Saweeeeet!"  But I'll be nice and share :)

As a side note, the original recipe was from another blog and I can't find it now to give credit.  I'm sorry!!!  I've modified it, as I do with pretty much every recipe.

What you need: 

• 1 canister of seamless crescent roll dough
• 1/4 cup sugar (note: I tried this with stevia, splenda, etc just because I was curious.  verdict: not as good)
• 2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 package (8 oz.) Fat Free Cream Cheese (room temperature)
• 1 bag of mini chocolate chips: how much you use is dependant on how much chocolate yumminess you want!

What you do: 

1. Layout a layer of saran wrap on  your counter that is a good 6 inches longer than what your crescent roll dough is going to be.  Spray a little Pam or something on there so nothing sticks.
2. Spread out your dough.  Don't make it hard...just open it up and unroll.
3. In a bowl, mix your cream cheese, vanilla and sugar until it's all nice and creamy.  I don't need a hand mixer for this, btw.  Just a good spoon or scraper works fine.
4. Spread your mixture out over your dough.  This isn't going to be the easiest thing ever because they're both a little sticky, but just do your best to get it even and as close to the edges as possible.
5. Now that you have your dough and layer or cream cheese mixture, sprinkle those lovely mini chips all over in a single layer.  How many you use is up to  you.  I love chocolate, so I use alot...like at least half the bag.
6. Start at one end of the roll and start rolling it up.  You'll want to get it a little tight at first, but after you get it started it will just naturally even out.
7. Wrap your roll up in that saran wrap, twist the ends, and pop it in the fridge for a good 60 minutes to harden it a little.  If you're shorter on time, you can put it in the freezer for a few minutes.  Keep an eye on it in there, however, because you don't want it to form crystals!!
8. Preheat oven to 350.
9. Pull your roll out and slice it just like cookie dough!  I do about 1/4" thick slices.
10. Place on cookie sheet with non-stick spray...or parchment paper...whatever your "thing" is.
11. Bake about 10-12 minutes.  You're looking for just slightly golden.

My justification for these badboys: simple ingredients, not too shabby on the calorie side, and they stay soft!!!  Plus it's cream cheese and crescent rolls, so you can totally justify these for breakfast, right??  Well, I do...

Shared on: Buns in my Oven

Stuffed Bell Peppers

The quest to make healthy eats is a tough one...am I right??  I try to cook clean as much as possible AND make extra (because leftovers rock).  Sometimes it's dang hard though!!  Today's post is an example of my version: cooking mostly clean!  One of the things I love most about this recipe is that you can change stuff out to suit your taste...you'll see below.  I can't take credit for this recipe, as the original came from my someday sister-in-law :)  However, just like all my recipes, I modify/alter/adapt until I find the mix that is perfect for me.

What you need:

• 4 Bell Peppers (any color)
• 1 lb Ground Turkey (or ground beef)
• 1 Packet Good Seasons Italian Seasoning
• 1 Can Hunt's Diced Tomato with Roasted Garlic (or whatever kind you choose)
• 1 Small Onion (or more if you LOVE onion) diced finely
• Minced Garlic: I used about a tablespoon.  Adjust based on your tastes.
• Uncle Ben's Ready Rice Whole Grain Brown (again, use whatever you want...I just like that I can pop it in the microwave and it's done)
• Mozzarella Cheese

What you do:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Cut the tops off your 4 peppers and discard the insides (all the white stuff).  Fit the 4 peppers in a baking dish.  I like to use one with higher sides because the peppers get heavy and sometimes want to tip.
3. In a skillet, heat some EVOO and start to saute your onions and garlic.  Do this only until they're softened.
4. Add your ground turkey and brown.  After it's browned, I usually try to drain off whatever grease I can.  Call me crazy or picky...but it's what I do.  
5. Turn down your heat and add the Good Seasons.  Mix well and let this simmer for just a few minutes.
6. Open up your diced tomatoes.  Again, I like to drain of the extra liquid...I just don't like liquidy food.  Add your diced tomatoes to your skillet and mix well.  Simmer for about 5 minutes on low heat.
7. Get a big bowl and mix your skillet concoction and cooked brown rice well.  With a spoon, add your mixture to your hollowed out peppers.
8. After filled, put a sheet of foil loosely over the top and cook for 30 minutes in your oven.  
9. Take out, add mozzarella cheese to your heart's desire and stick back in the oven for a few minutes until it's all melty and delicious.
10. Eat and enjoy (after it cools)

You can also do this recipe on the grill.  Seriously.  I tried it this summer.  I used a cookie sheet as a surface and kind of propped the peppers against each other for support.  I think it only took about 15 minutes on the grill...so BONUS!!!

Don't veggies look pretty???

Turkey is just as good as beef!

Shared on: Buns in my Oven, Someday Crafts, Miz Helens Country Cottage, Jam Hands

Crunchy, Non-Fried, Onion Rings

Onion Rings and I have a love-hate relationship.  I love the taste...the crunch...the dippability!!  I hate the frying and all the fatty fat that comes with it.  Yuck!!

A few years ago, I created this recipe based trial and error.  They're tasty, zesty, crunchy, dippable, easy and *shock and awe* NOT fried.  Yes, they can be just as crispy...the trick is just doing them correctly!  I'm not sure what the calorie count would be on these, but you can see from the ingredients below that it is very simple.  The worst ingredient is probably the breadcrumbs, and you can go lowfat on those.

For this round, I decided to go with onion chunks rather than onion rings only because you can do more than one at a time in the dipping process...and I was super hungry :)  Onion rings just take a smidge longer.

What you need:

• 2 peeled onions
• 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• 2-3 egg whites (only the whites!)
• 3/4 cup breadcrumbs (I used lowfat)
• 2+ teaspoons italian seasoning
• 1+ teaspoon garlic powder
• 1+ teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic salt

What you do:

1. Peel then cut your onion rings (or chunks)
2. Spray a baking sheet with evoo cooking spray and preheat oven to 425 degrees
3. Mix your breadcrumbs, italian seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder and garlic salt in a bowl
4. Place your flour and egg whites in two separate bowls...so you'll have 3 shallow bowls--flour, egg white, breadcrumb mix
5. Now you go down the line! Dredge in flour...dip in egg white...douse in breadcrumb mix
6. Place on baking sheet evenly spaced out.  This is the time to add a little extra sprinkling of seasoning if you want.  I always add extra italian seasoning!
7. Bake for about 15 minutes, give or take.  Watch these guys because it really depends on the thickness.  They're done when the edges start to look a little darker brown.  Feel free to snatch one and give it a taste test if you're not sure!!

That's it!!! Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy!!  Crunchy, non-fried, onion rings in the comfort of your home!

Shared on: Jam Hands

Bacon Wrapped Garlic Pork Chops

I'll be honest, I haven't cooked a pork chop in probably 5+ years.  For some reason though, they sounded amazing this past weekend!  So with permission from the htb, I decided to go for it.  I found some inspiration from a few different recipes and melded them together to put my own spin on them.  I give you...

Bacon Wrapped Garlic Pork Chops

I like mine with a little carmelization :)

What you need:

• 2 thick boneless pork chops
• 4 slices of bacon (at least)
• 1 cloves or garlic (or more depending on your garlic love)
• EVOO
• Red Pepper flakes (to taste)
• Salt & Pepper (to taste)

What you do:

1. Preheat your skillet or grill to medium-high heat so it's good and hot.
2. Pat the pork chops down and add salt & pepper to taste.
3. Wrap at least 2 pieces of bacon around each pork chop.  Add more if you have big pork chops...or really like bacon.
4. Drizzle EVOO in your pan and place the pork chops.  You might want to cover with a splatter guard if you're doing it on your house!
5. Cook on one side for about 8 minutes (depending on thickness) and then about the same on the other.  If you have a meat thermometer, you can check them.  I pulled mine off at about 140 degrees, but I wanted some carmelization (see above).
6. As your chops are cooking, mix some EVOO (1/4 cup) with your minced garlic.  Add this as a sauce JUST after you take your chops off the heat.
7. Add red pepper flakes if desired.

These were waaaaay easier than I thought they'd be, btw.  Total time (prep+cooking) was about 20 minutes.   Easy.  Seriously.  And TASTY!!  Dang I love bacon...

Apple Nachos...A Friday Night Experiment

Friday night...salad...super exciting.  Yeah right. 

Soooooo in an attempt to bring a little bit of actual yumminess to an otherwise ho-hum Friday food, I created a twist on a random recipe I found online.  I bring you the most simple-yummy-can't believe this is mostly healthy-snack...ever.

APPLE NACHOS

What you need:
1 medium apple sliced in about 1/4" slices
1 tablespoon of natural peanut butter (I like Smuckers)
1 teaspoon of hot fudge (again...Smuckers)
1 teaspoon of caramel (and again...Smuckers)
Almond slivers and crumbles.  As many as you like!!

1.   Slice your apple.  Thinly.

2.   Throw your peanut butter, fudge and caramel in the microwave if you need to get them oohey-goohey    drizzle worthy.  Then GO TO TOWN!!!  Drizzle to your heart's content.  Add more if you want...it's dessert after all!!!

3.   Sprinkle your almond slivers and crumbles all over.  You could also add more twists such as: coconut, mini chocolate chips, other nut crumbles, or anything that sounds interesting.

Go crazy.  I'm pretty sure you can't mess this up.