Double Peanut Butter Paisley Brownies

Last Sunday was my birthday. I had a party for the first since I was a teen. My cousin, Toni, wanted to make cookies. I got down the Reese's Peanut Butter chips I had since Christmas and we found this recipe on the back of the bag. My cousin did an awesome job; these came out awesome!

The recipe can be found here.

Pizza Stuffed Chicken

This recipe is in the January/February 2011 Cooking With Paula Deen magazine. After looking at it for a while, I finally decided to get the ingredients. But, with my schedule, and getting over being sick, I finally made it tonight.

This was a super easy recipe and very good. Next time, tho, I will have pizza or spaghetti sauce on the side.

Pizza-Stuffed Chicken

Ingredients:

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 1 1/2 lbs)

20 sliced pepperoni, divided

3/4 cup shredded provolone cheese, divided

4 large fresh basil leaves (omitted)

1/2 tsp salt (didn't measure)

1/4 tsp ground black pepper (didn't measure)

2 T vegetable oil

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cut a horizontal slit through thickest portion of each chicken breast. Stuff each with 4 slices pepperoni, 2 T cheese and 1 basil leaf. Secure with a wooden pick Lightly spray each side with non-stick cooking spray; sprinkle with salt and pepper.

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook 3 minutes per side or until browned. Bake for 15 minutes or until done.

Remove from oven. Cut remaining 4 slices pepperoni into thin strips. Sprinkle chicken with remaining 1/4 cup cheese; top with pepperoni strips. Bake an additional 5 minutes or until cheese melts.

Belgium Waffles

I have been wanting a Belgium Waffle maker for quite a while. I was at Target Friday and spotted this one at a good price. I had to have it!

We decided to have breakfast for dinner tonight. I wanted to dry out the waffle maker, too. I used the recipe for Quick Waffles that came in the manual. It was simple and good. Makes less waffles than it says, but oh well.

For 1 1/2 waffles, I added chocolate chips. I was going to do blueberries, but they looked a little leery!

Quick Waffles

Ingredients:

3 eggs

1 cup milk

1/2 cup melted butter or margarine

1 T vanilla

2 cups flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1 T baking powder

2 tsp sugar

Directions:

Beat whole eggs in a bowl until thick. Beat milk, melted butter and vanilla into eggs. In a separate bowl, combine remaining ingredients. Sift into egg mixture, and mix well. Bake as directed for waffle maker.

M&M Chocolate Chip Cookies

I found this recipe on one of my favorite blogs, Kaitlin in the Kitchen. I printed it on January 8th and have been dying to make them. My son had a couple friends over last night to watch the Super Bowl, so I decided it was a great time to make them.

I must say this is one of my all time favorite cookies! They cook to a thin cookie loaded with chocolate. The kids had the first batch almost eaten before the 2nd batch was done cooking! Today, I gave another of my son's friends two and he took two more to go! I love recipes that are simple and wonderful!

M&M Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 stick butter, slightly melted

1 egg, room temperature, slightly beaten

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup plain M&M's

Directions:

Cream together butter, egg, and vanilla until just combined. In a large bowl, mix all of your dry ingredients. Dump all of your dry ingredients into your wet ingredients and mix well. Stir in chocolate chips and M&M's.

With a cookie scoop, take a scoop of dough (I just scooped some with my hand) then press it out into your hands and hand roll the dough into a ball. Repeat process and bake cookies in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for 10 minutes, or until the edges of the cookies start to turn golden brown. Do not overcook.

Easy French Dip Sandwiches

I found this recipe by Julie on Better Than Burgers. I love French Dip. This was really simple to make and it was good. Not my favorite, but I think part was the roast beef. I don't think it was as good as I usually get at Publix. I actually made this over a week ago. Just never got around to posting!

Easy French Dip Sandwiches

3 lb. sliced deli roast beef

1-2 packages of Aujus mix (i.e., McCormick's Mix)

6 slices of Swiss or Provolone Cheese

6 sliced sandwich rolls (French Rolls, Kaiser Rolls etc...anything you would like)

In a large frying pan place meat with 1 c. water, simmer/steam until warm. Prepare Aujus mix according to package directions. Butter inside of roll (both top and bottom) and place butter side down in hot frying pan. Cook until browned. Place 1 slice of cheese on inside of browned bun. Top with 1/2 lb. of warmed roast beef (I patted mine dry with a paper towel before putting it on the bun). Pour Aujus in a small bowl and eat to your hearts content.

Buffalo Chicken Tenders

This is another awesome recipe from Donna at My Tasty Treasures. One of my son's all time favorite food is hot wings, so this was right up his alley! He loved it. It was perfect served with the mac 'n cheese.

We do't like bleu cheese dressing, so we didn't make it.

Buffalo Chicken Tenders

Ingredients:

1 cup low fat buttermilk, divided

Coarse salt and ground pepper

1 cup all purpose flour

1 1/2 lbs chicken tenders

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/3 cup hot sauce

2 T melted butter

Directions:

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Place a wire rack on a rimmed baking sheet and transfer to oven.

In a medium bowl, stir together blue cheese and 1/2 cup buttermilk. Season dip with salt and pepper and set aside.

Place flour and remaining 1/2 cup buttermilk, in a separate medium bowls. Season flour with salt and pepper. Set out another rimmed baking sheet alongside. Dip chicken in buttermilk (allowing excess to drip off), then in flour (shaking off excess); place on sheet.

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high. Working in batches, fry chicken until golden-brown and cooked through, 3-4 minutes per side. Transfer to rack in oven to keep warm.

In a large bowl, stir together hot sauce and melted butter. Add chicken and toss to coat. Serve tenders with blue cheese dip.

Easy Homemade Mac 'n Cheese

I found this recipe on Pennies on a Platter site. I LOVE her recipes and I love Mac 'n Cheese. This recipe was super easy and really good. I may use medium cheddar cheese next time. My son definitely gave it a thumbs up!

I've been sick off and now since before Christmas with a never ending cough. I ended up going to doctor on Wednesday. He is testing me for allergies on Friday and next Tuesday; did some other tests too. I got a flu and pneumonia shot but the flu shot made me sick...fever, achy. I must feel better today since I made new dishes! I just want to quit coughing for good. I ALWAYS have a slight tickle and a slightly stuffy nose.

Anyway....on to the recipe. I halved the recipe since it's just my son and I eating.

Easy Homemade Mac 'n Cheese

Ingredients:

12-16 ounces large elbow macaroni (or desired pasta)

1 lb sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

6 T butter, divided

2 eggs

1 (14 oz) can evaporated milk

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Prepare the pasta according to the package directions; cook to al dente.

Meanwhile, melt 2 T butter and pour into the bottom of a 9x13 inch pan. Layer half of the pasta into the pan, then top with half of the cheese. Dot with 2 T of the remaining butter. Repeat layers, ending with dotted butter.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the 2 eggs and evaporated milk. Pour evenly over the pasta. Bake for 20 minutes.

Yield: 8-10 side dish servings.