Strawberry Poppyseed Pasta Salad

Real talk for a second.  School is a beast this month.  I don't know why teachers have to wait until the last of the semester to pile up all the work instead of gradually giving it over the four months.  Needless to say, I'm not blogging or cooking as much I'd like lately.  I have so much writing and math to do it's ridiculous.  I'm actually enjoying a math class for once in my life but with my writing class, I haven't been able to focus on math and now I have piles of math problems to do.  Anyways.. Once this semester is over in a couple of weeks I'll be throwing out new recipes left and right!

It's clearly not summer anymore (boo), but that doesn't mean you can't whip up this delicious summer inspired pasta salad.  And let's all take a moment to be grateful for Six Sisters' Stuff.  Seriously, what would I do without them?!  I got this recipe straight from them and wouldn't change a thing- well because it's amazing!  So easy to throw together and only has a few ingredients.

What you need:

1 16 oz package of bow tie pasta

3/4 cup creamy poppyseed dressing

3/4 cup light mayonnaise

2-4 green onions- sliced

1 11oz can of mandarin oranges- drained

2 cups strawberries- sliced

- Cook pasta al dente, drain and put in a large bowl.  I put the noodles in the fridge for about 20 minutes so they cool.

-  In a separate bowl, mix together poppyseed dressing and mayonnaise.  

- Take the dressing mix and fold into the pasta.

- Add strawberries, oranges and onions. 

-  Cool in the fridge for an hour before serving.

Enjoy!

Recipe: http://www.sixsistersstuff.com

Chewy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

It's Fall, so I'm going to post another pumpkin recipe.  These pumpkin cookies are so good because they're way chewy and soft.  I think they taste better the next day paired with a tall glass of milk!

What you need:

1 stick butter- softened

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

6 TBS pumpkin puree

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 cup flour

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1/2-1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

- In a medium bowl, mix together the butter, and sugars.  Whisk in the pumpkin and vanilla.

- In a large bowl, stir together the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon.

- Add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture and stir until well combined.  Add desired amount of chocolate chips.

- Cover the dough and chill in the refrigerator for at least a half hour.

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

- Roll the dough into 1 1/2 TBS balls or use a cookie scoop and put on a large non-stick cookie sheet.  Take your hand flatten the dough halfway down. 

- Bake for 8-10 minutes.  Cool and transfer to a wire rack.

Try to wait at least an hour to devour these yummy cookies!

3 Ingredient Orange Chicken

I really don't think there is an easier dinner out there to make than this Orange Chicken.  Throw chicken in the crockpot with 3 ingredients and bam dinner a few hours later without doing a thing!

What you need:

2-4 boneless chicken breast

3/4 cup Smuckers Sweet Orange Marmalade 

3/4 cup Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ

2 TBS Soy Sauce

- Put chicken in a crockpot (I put it in frozen).

- In a bowl, combine marmalade, BBQ and soy sauce.  Pour over chicken.

- Cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 4 hours.

- Shred chicken and serve over rice.

Really, could it get any easier?! Enjoy!

Peanut Butter & Chocolate Truffle Spider Cookies

It's almost Halloween!  For me, Halloween is less about the costumes and more about the food and candy!  These Spider Cookies are such a fun and cute treat especially for little kids.  They were also fun to make and of course easy!

What you need:

1/2 cup butter- softened

3/4 cup creamy peanut butter

1/2 cup white sugar

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

1 large egg

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

24 round chocolate truffles (Lindt Truffles work great)

chocolate chips- for melting

candy eyes 

(found in the baking section of Walmart or any craft store)

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  

- Cream together butter and peanut butter with a mixer.  Add sugars and beat.  Add egg and vanilla and beat.

- In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and soda, and salt.  Slowly add the flour mixture to the wet mixture beating at a low speed.

- Roll dough into 1 1/2 inch balls and place on a large cookie sheet.  Cook for 8 minutes.  Take out and press the center down (I used a cookie dough scoop).  This will cause the cookie to crack and get flatter in the middle.  Bake for 8 more minutes. 

- Now this is the tricky part.  Let the cookies cool to room temperature then take the truffles and press it down into the middle of each cookie.  If the cookie is still hot enough it will melt the truffle, and if the cookie is cooled too much then it won't stick to the cookie.  Room temperature!  If you're scared the truffle will melt, just wait till the cookies cool completely then take the melted chocolate and use it as glue for the truffle.

- Melt the chocolate and put into a plastic bag.  Cut a tiny hole in the bottom corner and make legs coming out of the truffle.  Take the eyes and put a dab of chocolate on the back to glue the eyes onto the truffle.

Such a fun and easy Halloween treat! Enjoy!

Inspired by http://www.aspicyperspective.com

Crack Dip

This dip is truly amazing.  My friend and neighbor, Brandi, made this for us a couple times when we'd go up to a friend's cabin.  It's one of those dips that you can't stop eating even you're stuffed.  I asked her what she called it and she just said chip dip, so I had to rename it Crack Dip because it's so addicting.  It's also the easiest thing to throw together and only has 4 ingredients!  I went to a family Halloween party last night at my in-laws and decided to make it into pumpkin "throw up" to make it festive, but it can be served just as great in a bowl!

What you need:

1 stick butter

1 8oz block cream cheese

1 can white shoepeg corn

1 4.5 oz can chopped green chilies

In a microwave safe bowl, combine the butter and cream cheese.  Microwave on high for 30 seconds, take out and stir.  Continue microwaving at 30 second increments until all the way melted.  Whisk until smooth.  Add the corn (drained) and green chilies (undrained) to the mixture and microwave until hot.  Serve with tortilla chips.

Enjoy!  And don't feel bad when you eat the whole bowl without realizing it!

Copy Cat Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory Apple Pie Caramel Apples

Raise you're hand if you're obsessed with Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory caramel apples like me!  The only problem is that they can be up to $10.00!  I whipped up 15 of these bad boys for about $15.00 so I was pretty excited about that.  The homemade caramel was heavenly and I could just eat spoonfuls of it all day but I resisted (kind of).  This is the perfect treat to take a Halloween party, Thanksgiving, or if you're just feeling lonely and need to eat away your problems.

What you need:

Apple-

15 granny smith apples

15 popsicle/bamboo skewer/ any type of durable wooden stick

Caramel-

1 cup butter

2 cups brown sugar

1 cup corn syrup

1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

White Chocolate Layer-

24 oz of premium white chocolate chips- I used Nestle Tollhouse 

Cinnamon Sugar Layer-

1 cup white sugar

3 tsp ground cinnamon sugar

- Wash your apples and dry them really well.  They must be completely dry!  Take your sticks and pierce them through the middle of the apple.  Put them on a large cookie sheet and place in the freezer.

- In a large saucepan, melt your butter completely.  Stir in the corn syrup, brown sugar, and condensed milk.  Cook on medium-high heat.  You must stir constantly for 15 minutes.  When caramel is done, remove from heat and stir in the vanilla.

- Take apples out of the freezer and one by one dip you apples into the caramel.  Turn your apple in all directions then turn it upside down to drain excess caramel off and allowing it to coat completely.  Cover the cookie tray with tin foil and spray cooking spray over it.  Return dipped apples to the tray and put in the fridge.

- After 10 minutes, I took the apples out and coated them again and returned them to the fridge for 30 minutes.  If you feel like one coat is enough, let the apples sit in the fridge for 30-60 minutes allowing the caramel to set.

- After the caramel has set, take the apples out of the fridge.

- Combine the sugar and cinnamon in a medium bowl.

- White chocolate is a lot harder to melt than milk chocolate.  Since I don't have a broiler, I used the microwave.  I used one cup of chocolate chips at a time because it melted easier.  I microwaved for 30 seconds, stirred, microwaved for 15 seconds and took the bowl out.  It may seem like they're not melted, and be chunky, but keep stirring and the chocolate will continue to melt and become smooth.
- Take a spatula and cover the apple with the white chocolate all the way around.
- Then take the apple and roll it into the cinnamon sugar mixture.
- Place the apple down on foil and let sit.
- These apples can be stored up to a week in the fridge.  Before eating, let it sit at room temperature for a few minutes so soften.

These caramel apples are quite the process so make sure you have a couple of spare hours.  Even though it takes time, it's so worth it!  $10.00 for an apple at Rocky Mountain?  Pshh not anymore!

Recipe inspired by: http://www.nobiggie.net/

White Chicken Chili

Fall and Chili.  I don't think there's a better combination!  This soup took about 5 minutes to prepare and 10 minutes to cook on the stove.  There's no one out there that could mess this recipe up.

What you need:

5 cups chicken broth

4 cups cooked shredded chicken

4 cups (2 15 oz cans) seasoned southern style Great Northern Beans- drained

2 cups salsa verde

2 tsp ground cumin

optional garnishes:

avocado

sour cream

cilantro

shredded cheese

tortilla chips

- Add chicken broth, chicken, beans, salsa verde and cumin into a large pot.  Stir and cook on high heat until it boils.  Once it's boiling, turn the heat to low, cover and simmer for 5 minutes.  Serve warm with desired toppings. 

Enjoy!

- Note - The seasoned southern style great northern beans make this chili spicy.  If you'd like a more mild taste, use the regular great northern beans without any seasoning.