Cake Mix Cookies

** Recipe adapted from Pillsbury **

* 1 cake mix (any flavor)
* 1/3 c. oil
* 2 eggs
* 1 c. chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, etc.

Heat oven to 375.  In large bowl, combine mix, oil & eggs.  Add desired chocolate chips & stir with spoon until well combined.  (Depending on how "chocolaty" you like your cookies, you may want to add another 1/2 - 1 c. of chips!)  Shape into 1" balls & place on ungreased cookie sheets.  Flatten to 1/4" thickness.  Bake 6-8 min, or until edges are light golden brown.  Cool 1 min. & remove from cookie sheets. 

Red Velvet Cheesecake Brownies

** Recipe from Sweet Pea's Kitchen **

* 1/2 c. butter
* 2 oz. dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
* 1 c. sugar
* 2 large eggs
* 1 tsp. vanilla extract
* 1 1/2 tsp. red food coloring
* 2/3 c. all purpose flour
* 1/4 tsp. salt
* 8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
* 1/3 c. sugar
* 1 large egg
* 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract


Heat oven to 350. Butter the bottom and sides of an 8" metal baking pan. Put a long piece of parchment paper in the bottom of the pan, letting the parchment extend up two sides of the pan and overhang slightly on both ends. (This will make it easy to remove the bars from the pan after they have baked.) Butter the parchment.  In a small, heatproof bowl, melt butter and chocolate together. Stir until combined and very smooth. Set aside to cool for a few minutes.  In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, eggs, vanilla extract and red food coloring. Add chocolate mixture and stir until smooth. Add flour and salt and stir until just combined and no streaks of dry ingredients remain.  Pour into prepared pan and spread into an even layer.  To prepare cheesecake mixture, beat cream cheese, sugar, egg and vanilla extract in a medium bowl until smooth. Distribute the cheesecake mixture in 8 dollops over batter in the pan. Swirl in with a knife or spatula.  Bake for 35-40 min, until brownies and cheesecake are set. A knife inserted into the cheesecake mixture should come out clean and the edges will be lightly browned.  Let cool completely in pan on a cooling rack before lifting out the parchment paper to remove the brownies.

Homemade Wheat Thins

** Recipe from Sweet Pea's Kitchen **

* 1 1/4 c. whole wheat flour
* 1 1/2 Tbl. sugar
* 1 tsp. salt, plus extra for topping
* 1/4 tsp. paprika
* 4 Tbl. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
* 1/4 c. water
* 1/4 tsp. vanilla

Heat oven to 400.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.  In a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, stir together flour, sugar, salt and paprika. Add butter and toss with a fork to coat with the flour mixture. Mix on med-low speed until the texture resembles coarse cornmeal, with the butter pieces no larger than small peas. Add water & vanilla and mix on low just until dough pulls together. (If dough is still pretty dry, add a little more water until it comes together.)  Divide dough into 4 equal pieces, and cover with a towel so they don’t dry out. Working one piece at a time, on a lightly floured work surface, roll one of the dough pieces into a large rectangle, 1/16" thick. Using a pizza cutter, cut the rectangle into squares about 1-1 1/2" wide.  Transfer dough squares to prepared baking sheets. You don’t need to leave much space in between the crackers-they don’t spread at all in the oven. Sprinkle lightly with salt and cover with a towel. Repeat rolling & cutting process with remaining 3 pieces of dough. Save all of your scraps under the towel and reroll them all at once to create a final batch of crackers.  Bake crackers, one sheet at a time, until crisp and browned, about 5-10 min.  Check crackers after 5 min. to remove some of the thinner ones that are browning too quickly and return the remaining crackers to the oven to finish baking. Transfer crackers to a wire rack and allow to cool completely before storing in an airtight container.

Flourless Fudge Chocolate Chip Cookies

** Recipe from chocolate & carrots **

* 3 c. powdered sugar
* 2/3 c. unsweetened Hershey’s dark chocolate cocoa powder
* 1/8 tsp. salt
* 2 to 4 large egg whites, at room temperature
* 1 Tbl. pure vanilla extract
* 1 1/2 c. 60% cacao chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350.  Set aside two baking sheets with silpat mats or parchment paper sprayed with cooking spray.  In a large bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar with cocoa powder and salt.  Whisk in vanilla & egg whites, starting with just two.  Beat just until batter is moistened.  Look for a brownie-like, thick and fudgy batter consistency. If it seems too thick, add another egg white– then a 4th one if it still seems too thick.  Stir in chocolate chips.  Scoop batter by the tablespoon full onto the prepared baking sheets. Leave enough space between each cookie for them to spread.  Bake 12-14 min, until tops are glossy and lightly cracked.  Let cookies cool completely on the baking sheet and store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

"Faux-tisserie" Chicken

** Recipe from sweet anna's **

* 1 whole chicken, small enough to fit in your slow cooker, thawed
* about 1/4 c. seasoned salt (store bought or homemade)
* aluminum foil or 3 medium onions

Place 3 aluminum-foil balls (about the size of your fist) or 3 medium, peeled onions in the bottom of the slow cooker.  Rinse the chicken in cold water, removing any 'extra-parts' hidden in the body cavities and pat dry with paper towels.  Place the chicken, breast side up, on the foil balls or onions in the slow cooker.  (The foil balls keep the chicken up out of it's juices so that it doesn't steam!)  Slide your hand in between the skin and the breast, separating it without tearing the skin. Take about 1 Tbl. of seasoned salt (or salt and a bunch of seasonings, whatever you like!) and rub it in between the skin and breast.  Take the remaining seasoned salt and rub it all over the outside of the chicken and sprinkle it into the cavity.  Cover the slow cooker, turn on LOW, and cook for 6-8 hrs - depending on the size of your chicken, until the juices run clear and the chicken is falling apart tender.

* (Save the juice to make gravy, or just spoon it as is over the chicken when you serve it!)

Homemade Almond Roca

** Recipe from sweet anna's **

* 1 lb. butter
* 2 1/4 c. sugar
* 1/4 c. water
* 2 c. chopped almonds
* 1 c. chocolate chips
* 1/2 c. finely chopped almonds

In a large heavy pot, on high heat, cook together butter, sugar and water, stirring constantly through 3 stages...  1. smooth and runny, 2. cheesy (like melted white cheese), and 3. smooth and golden brown.  Once caramel mixture reaches the 3rd stage (smooth golden brown) remove pot from heat immediately and stir in 2 c. chopped almonds.  Pour mixture out onto a foil-lined & buttered baking sheet.  Let set for a few minutes & then sprinkle chocolate chips on top.  After about 5 min, or when all chocolate chips look shiny and soft, spread them out thinly & evenly all over the top of the caramel mixture in pan.  Sprinkle top with 1/2 c. almonds & let cool completely.
(If your kitchen/house is too warm, you may need to put this into the fridge to finish cooling and setting the chocolate before breaking!)  Once the candy is completely cool and the chocolate has set, break it into pieces and store in an air-tight container in the fridge!

Grilled Spinach Alfredo Pizza

 

** Recipe from Kraft **

* 1 c. Alfredo sauce

* 1 pkg.  (10 oz.) frozen chopped spinach, thawed, well drained

* 1 tsp. crushed red pepper

* 1 lb.  refrigerated pizza dough, at room temperature

* 2 Tbl. olive oil

* 1 c.  shredded Mozzarella cheese

* 1 boneless skinless chicken breast (4 oz.), cooked, chopped (about 1 c.)

* 4 slices bacon, cooked, crumbled  

HEAT grill to medium heat.  COOK and stir Alfredo sauce in med. saucepan on med. heat 4-5 min. or until heated through. Stir in spinach and crushed pepper. Keep warm.  DIVIDE dough into 4 pieces. Roll each piece into 12" round on lightly floured surface. Brush evenly with half the oil. Place, oiled-sides down, on grill grate. Grill 5 min. or until bottoms are golden brown and lightly charred. Brush with remaining oil; turn.  TOP with spinach mixture, cheese, chicken and bacon; cover grill with lid. Grill 5 to 7 min. or until bottoms of crusts are golden brown and cheese is melted.