Pizza Time!

So in our house we love pizza. We seriously have it at least once every 2 weeks, if not more. So a couple of months ago when a friend asked me if I wanted to come over for vegetable pizza I said sure. Well, I was in for a surprise. This is no normal pizza. There is no tomato sauce in site here! This is a recipe that she got from her mother-in-law and is a favorite in her house. I love this recipe because I think it is really easy to change to make it whatever you are in the mood for that day. There are so many possible variations to this pizza that it is sure to please everyone!







Vegetable "Pizza"



Crust (I used already made pizza dough, but you could use homemade, laid out crescent rolls, etc)

Dip (I used sour cream mixed with a ranch dressing mix, but you could use cream cheese instead)

Vegetables (raw or cooked. I used a bag of frozen broccoli, carrots, and cauliflower that I had cooked and cooled)

Shredded Cheese (whatever you prefer. I used cheddar)



Follow the directions for your type of crust (mine was bake at 350 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes). Allow to cool. Make dip mix, chop vegetables into bite size peices. Spread dip mix across the cooled crust. Evenly distrubute vegetable across the crust. You may want to press them down a little so they stick to the dip. Sprinkle with desired amount of cheese. Cut into squares and serve.

Chocolate Heaven

So I haven't updated in a very long time. I blame this on the wedding, the honeymoon, and three months of job hunting. But those are all behind us now: we're married, back home, and I start my new job in a week. So I finally have time to update my blog now. Yippee!

So I've been on a baking kick lately, which does not seem to be a bad think for D. Especially when I ask him what he wants. Two weeks ago he thought he threw me a challenge: chocolate chocolate chip cookies. So I immediately went to my secret weapon (food blogs) and found an incredible sounding recipe on sweet-savory-southern. I've made them a couple of times now and each time they disappear before I can get a picture! So I'm hoping to add one when I make another batch. So are so good, I highly recommend them!

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies
From: sweet-savory-southern


2 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 sticks butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 large eggs, beaten
1 tablespoon vanilla
1/2 cup Hershey's Special Dark cocoa (I used Hershey's regular cocoa)
2 cups white chocolate chips (I used milk chocolate the first time and mint the second)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a bowl stir together flour, salt, and baking soda. In another large bowl stir together butter, both sugars, eggs, vanilla and cocoa. Gradually stir flour mixture into butter mixture and mix until combined. Add white chocolate chips and stir to distribute evenly.
For cookies: Drop dough by tablespoonfuls onto greased baking sheets and bake about 10 minutes. Cool on a baking rack.
For bars: Pat dough into a greased 9 inch square baking pan and bake 20 to 25 minutes. Cut into squares when cooled

Truffle Time

So apparently I have been missing out on one of the greatest pleasures on Earth: Oreo Truffles. They are a regularly requested recipe all over the Internet and even in this household. So I finally decided to make them, since I can take them to our Christmas celebrations and not have them sitting around the house tempting me. They were actually really easy to make, but next time I will use our new food processor to crush the cookies, since I did not end up making them small enough. But they are really good, and I think everyone will really like them.

Oreo Truffles

From Now That's What's Cooking

1 pkg. (1 lb., 2 oz.) OREO Chocolate Sandwich Cookies, divided

1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened

2 pkg. (8 oz. each) BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Baking Chocolate, melted

1. CRUSH 9 of the cookies to fine crumbs in food processor; reserve for later use. (Cookies can also be finely crushed in a resealable plastic bag using a rolling pin.) Crush remaining 36 cookies to fine crumbs; place in medium bowl. Add cream cheese; mix until well blended. Roll cookie mixture into 42 balls, about 1-inch in diameter.

2. DIP balls in chocolate; place on wax paper-covered baking sheet. (Any leftover chocolate can be stored at room temperature for another use.) Sprinkle with reserved cookie crumbs.

3. REFRIGERATE until firm, about 1 hour. Store leftover truffles, covered, in refrigerator.

Big Time Yum

So the girls on the WC board are responsible for most of the really yummy items in my kitchen rotation, including the most requested cookies I have ever made. These cookies are one of the most popular items on the board, and since I made them the first time over the summer, everyone has been asking for them. So I decided to make them for the goody baskets that I am giving out for Christmas. Plus, I figured since these are the cookies in the jars I am giving out, I should make some so everyone knows what to look forward to with the jars.



Big Fat Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

From Now That's What's Cooking

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 egg

1 egg yolk

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.

2. Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.

3. In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended. Beat in the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk until light and creamy. Mix in the sifted ingredients until just blended. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand using a wooden spoon. Drop cookie dough 1/4 cup at a time onto the prepared cookie sheets. Cookies should be about 3 inches apart.

4. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are lightly toasted. Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

Gifts in a jar

So for Christmas this year we decided to give out gifts in a jar to some of our friends and family. The one before was for one of our close friends, and now we are making some for family that will be here for Christmas and our wedding. We ended up doing chicken soup and big fat chewy chocolate chip cookies in a jar. They were a little tedious to make, but I think everyone will like them. The jars are some that I found at Wal-Mart and the recipe cards are ones I found in the dollar bin at Michael's. I wrote what was in the jar on the back of the card, so that people can make them again. I always hate when you get one of these and love them and then do not know what was in the jar.

These baskets are also going to have a jar of spiced nuts in them.

The cookies are the ones in the post below, just the dry ingredients and the chips, with a cute recipe card attached saying what else needs to go in. I figure everyone loves these cookies, so I thought I would share the recipe.

The soup recipe came out of a Gifts in a Jar cookbook. I love chicken soup and was trying to think of nice, comforting recipes to put in the baskets, so I thought these were perfect.

Here is the recipe for the soup

Chicken Noodle Soup Mix

From Gifts In A Jar

4 cups wide egg noodles

2 tbsp dried minced onion

2 tbsp chicken bouillon granules

2 tsp celery flakes1 tsp pepper
Layer ingredients in the order given into a wide mouth

1 quart canning jar

Pack each layer in place before adding the next.
Attach gift tag with cooking directions.

Cooking Directions:

1 jar Chicken Noodle Soup Mix

2 (5 oz) cans chicken

Bring 10 cups of water to a boil in a large soup pot. Add the Chicken Noodle Soup Mix. Add chicken, breaking it up well with a fork. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer uncovered for 12-15 minutes or until noodles are tender.

Christmas Time!

So for Christmas this year we have decided to give most of our friends and family food baskets filled with sweet treats and a couple of different gifts in a jar. We figure the jars are something for them to take home an enjoy later and the sweet treats are something to help them get through the craziness of our wedding, which is four days after Christmas. We actually found the jars, the baggies, and the baskets at Wal-Mart, the jars were with the canning things, the baggies were with the holiday baking items, and the baskets were in the Christmas section. The basket are going to have snickerdoodles and sugar cookies, french chocolates, and divinity (see the recipes below). This one has a gift in a jar of the dry ingredients for big fat chewy chocolate chip cookies. These cookies are a favorite on the WC Board and everyone I have made them for loves them. I also made candy cane hearts by taping candy canes together to form a heart, I think it looks pretty neat and adds a whimsical touch to the baskets for the little kids. This basket also has a baby gift in it (two of our recipients are pregnant, so we got a little something for the future baby). These baskets were really fun to make and everything in them is really good, hopefully everyone will love them.

Big Fat Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

From Now That's What's Cooking

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 egg

1 egg yolk

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.

2. Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.

3. In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended. Beat in the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk until light and creamy. Mix in the sifted ingredients until just blended. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand using a wooden spoon. Drop cookie dough 1/4 cup at a time onto the prepared cookie sheets. Cookies should be about 3 inches apart.

4. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are lightly toasted. Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

Mom's French Chocolates

So for my holiday baskets I decided to make my mom's French Chocolates. These are always one of my favorite things to make and eat at the holidays, so I was really excited to try making them myself. They have to chill and then they are really messy when you roll them out, but they are so worth it! I love them, and hopefully so will everyone who gets some.







Mom's French Chocolates

From My Mom



1 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips (can also use dark chocolate or mint)

1 can sweetened condensed milk

Sprinkles, powdered sugar, or cocoa for topping



Melt the chocolate chips in a bowl, add the sweetened condensed milk and stir well. Refrigerate until completely chilled. Scoop out into small balls and roll between into nice round balls. Roll in choice of topping(sprinkles, powdered sugar or cocoa). Allow to set and harden, keep refrigerated.