$100 Sugar Cookies

This recipe comes because I was feeling very nostalgic a few weekends ago. I lived in Saratoga Springs for about 7 years and absolutely loved it. My ward would do a bake auction every year to earn money for the Young Women. It was one of my favorite ward activities of the year. A few desserts became famous at the auction and would always fetch a very high bid. These cookies were at the top of that list. My dear friend Ramey would make them and they would always go for about $100 a plate! I am not kidding. I am hoping that my Saratoga friends will vouch for me. I am not joking. They are that good. The recipe was printed in a ward cookbook a few years back and I love to pull it out once in a while. Do yourself a favor and try these. I am sure they will take on the the nick-name that my family has adopted: the $100 cookies. Enjoy!

Sugar Cookies:
1/2 C butter
1 C sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 C sour cream
3 1/4 C flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Mix all ingredients together. Roll out to 1/4" thick. Use your favorite cookie cutter. Place on baking sheet. Bake @ 350 for 9 minutes.

Fresh strawberry frosting:
1 C softened butter
1 C chopped fresh strawberries
2 lbs powdered sugar
1/4 tsp almond extract (opt)

Mix all ingredients. Spread on top of sugar cookies.

PF Chang's Lettuce Wraps

The first time I tried lettuce wraps I feel in LOVE! They are so tasty and you don't have the heavy feeling after eating them. I have tried to recreate them several times but they never turned out very good. I found this recipe on http://damndelicious.net/2014/05/30/pf-changs-chicken-lettuce-wraps/ gave it a try and they turned out amazing. They are simple and fast. Here is what you will need.

• 1 Tbs Olive oil
• 1 lb Ground Chicken
• 2 Cloves Garlic Minced
• 1 Onion Diced
• 1/4 C Hoisin Sauce
• 2 Tbs Soy Sauce
• 1 Tb Rice Wine Vinegar
• 1 tsp Sriracha
• 1(8 oz) Can Water Chestnuts drained & diced
• 2 Green Onions , Thinly Sliced
• 1 Head Lettuce
• Salt & Pepper

Add olive oil to pan and add chicken. Cook until brown about 3-5 mins, drain excess fat

Add garlic, onion, hoisin sauce, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar and Sriracha. Cook until onions become translucent. Then stir in chestnuts and cook for another 1-2 mins. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Tear your lettuce leaves off the head and try not to tear. Serve like a taco, add the chicken down the middle of the lettuce, roll like a burrito and enjoy!

I hope enjoy them as much as we do!


 

Crispy Cheddar Chicken

I tried this recipe on my family not long ago and they really enjoyed it. I will use it in the future for a quick dinner when I'm unprepared and have hungry children. The prep work is pretty minimal and so it comes together quick. I found the recipe on justapinch.com. I hope you enjoy it.

1/2 c milk
3 C grated cheddar cheese
2 tubes ritz crackers, smashed
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tsp dried parsley
4 chicken breast quartered

Place milk, cheese, and crackers in separate dipping bowls. Add salt, pepper, and parsley to crackers. Dip chicken in milk, then cheese (pressing cheese into chicken to help it hold), and finally crackers. Place in 9X13 pan.

Cover and bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Remove cover and let bake an additional 15 minutes.

Sauce for over the top:
1 can cream if chicken
2 Tbsp sour cream
2 Tbsp butter
I like to add 1 Tbsp lemon juice for a little kick.

Combine all ingredients and warm on medium heat until heated through.

Homemade Watermelon Gummies

 

 

 

As an addict to all things sugary and sweet I was excited to find a healthy alternative! I found it on the website www.meatified.com. They use all natural ingredients. Find this original recipe HERE. Since the new year began I have been trying to cut back on how many sweets I eat. Yea it's not going so well. I am finding that if I completely avoid sweets I only make it about a day and a half before I break down and eat something sweet. The bigger problem is that I am so desperate I will eat whatever I can find. We're talking chocolate chips and peanut butter or leftover frosting! I know it's pretty terrible. However if I have something lying around that I can eat one of to curb my craving I am way more successful. This recipe has been my sweet treat for the past week and it's worked like a charm! With only fruit juice, lemon juice, and honey you have a yummy healthy treat great for kids as well.

 

What you'll need:

4 cups fresh watermelon chunks

6 Tablespoons Gelatin

1/2 cup lemon juice(fresh squeezed is best)

1/4 cup of honey

Candy Mold

 

You can find the cute penny candy jar HERE

 

Directions:

Liquefy watermelon in a blender

Strain the blended watermelon through a fine mesh strainer, discarding the pulp. You will need about 2 cups of juice.

 

 





 

Divide the juice: Add half to a saucepan and half to a bowl.

Add the gelatin to the juice in the bowl by sprinkling it on the top. Let it sit for a few minutes so that it dissolves the juice. It will solidify.

 

 

 

Gently warm the watermelon juice in the saucepan. DO NOT bring to a boil or simmer! Add the gelatin mixture to the saucepan whisk to combine until mixture is smooth.

Whisk in the raw honey and lemon juice until dissolved.

Pour mixture into molds or pan.

 

 

 

Chill in the refrigerator until set (at least 30 minutes) then remove the molds or slice the gummies in the pan into pieces.

 





 

 





 

These can be stored at room temp or kept chilled in the refrigerator. They are great either way.

You can try many different juices to customize it to your liking, but avoid using these juices as the enzymes in them don't allow the gelatin to set Pineapple, Kiwi, Papaya, Mango, and Guava.

 

 





Heathly Substitutions + The Most Amazing Granola

Happy New Years Everyone! This is my first post for the new year and I'm so excited! One of my news year goals this year is to lose this extra baby weight. I'm so over it! I wanted to share a couple ways that I have found to shed those extra calories but still keeping the amazing taste.

There are so many healthy substitutes out there I couldn't even believe it. As I was doing some research for this post I was shocked at some of the substitutes you can use its amazing. I'm going to share my 10 top favorite substitutes.

1. Mashed up Avocado in place of butter or oil when baking
2. Plain Greek Yogurt in place of Sour Cream or Mayo
3. Coconut Milk for Heavy Cream
4. Unsweetened Apple Sauce for Oil or Butter
5. Rolled Oats instead of Bread Crumbs
6. Whole Wheat Flour for White Flour
7. Mashed Ripe Bananas for Sugar when baking
8. Zucchini Ribbons instead of Pasta
9. Vanilla instead of Sugar (cut your sugar in half and add an extra tsp of Vanilla)
10. Stevia for Sugar

I found a website that has 83 different substitutions and some of them I would have never dreamed of. If you are interested here is the link http://greatist.com/health/83-healthy-recipe-substitutions.

I wanted to share this amazing homemade Granola recipe. My co-worker makes it for all our day breakfast meetings at work and I can never get enough of it. It is hands down the best granola I have ever had. Plus it is easy and so much cheaper than buying granola at the grocery store. Here is what you need :

• 8 Cups Rolled Oats
• 1 Cup Brown Sugar
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1 tsp Cinnamon
• Cashews
• Coconut
• Almonds
• Cranberries
• 1 Cup Honey
• 1 Cup Canola Oil
• 4 tsp Vanilla

Preheat your over to 350

Mix together oats, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, cashews, almonds, and cranberries (the cashews, almonds and cranberries you can put however much you would like).

In a sauce pan bring to a boil honey, oil, and vanilla. Once it comes to a boil pour over the oat mixture. Spread in a single layer on a cook sheet.

Place in the oven for 8 minutes. After the 8 minutes mix around and place back in the oven for another 8 minutes. When you pull it out it will still be a little gooey but let it sit and it will harden up. Add your coconut now before it starts to harden.

Repeat the last step till all of your granola has been baked.

We love eating our granola with yogurt and berries but this is just as good as a snack. I could eat a whole bag all by my self. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

 

Oh Dolly Bars

I love to make these for a quick and easy dessert. They are so easy. Great thing to do with the kids. They can really help with and get their hands dirty. They will love it!

Here's what you'll need:
1/2 C butter
2 C crushed graham crackers
1 C chopped walnuts
6oz chocolate chips
1 C shredded coconut
1can sweetened condensed milk

Melt butter and combine with crushed graham crackers. Press into bottom of 9x13 pan. Sprinkle walnuts and chocolate chips even in pan. Top with coconut. Drizzle with condensed milk. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes. Cut into squares while still warm.

Heidi

Cheesy Twice Baked Potatoes

I came up with this idea some time ago and tried it on a whim one night. It ended up being a smash hit with both the kids and Jake. It really isn't a new idea. There are many recipes out there (i.e. cheesy potatoe casserole, funeral potatoes, mormon cheesy potatoes) but this is a new twist that is a bit fancier and would be fun to serve at a dinner party.

Here's what you will need:
6 large baking potatoes
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 cup sour cream
1 -2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (you can decide how cheesy you want them)
1/2 butter with additional 4 Tbsp butter separated
milk for desired consistency
salt and pepper to taste
2 cups crushed corn flakes





















Wash potatoes. Rub with olive oil and place on cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 1 hour or until potatoes are soft. Remove from oven and cut each potatoe in half lengthwise. Scoop out the inside of each potatoe making sure not to put holes in the skins. Set skins aside.

Place all scooped potatoes in large bowl. Mash potatoes with masher. Add butter and let melt. Add cream of chicken soup and sour cream. Mix well until smooth. Add milk if the consistency is too thick. This is completely up to you and your personal preference. Salt and pepper to desired taste.
Add 1 cup of cheese and combine well.

Scoop mixture back into skins and place back on cookie sheet. 

Top each potatoe with extra cheese.

 Melt 4 Tbsp butter. Mix with crushed corn flakes. Top potatoes with corn flakes.
Bake @ 350 for 30 minutes or until warmed through.

Pistachio, Dark chocolate, and Sea Salt Cookies

 

Ok let me just say that these cookies are beyond delicious! They are the perfect balance of salty and sweet. I thought that they would be good but I vastly underestimated their deliciousness. Even if you don't normally like dark chocolate trust me you will love it in this cookie. I found this recipe on Pinterest from the website  two peas and their pod check out their post and site for more great recipes.  

 

Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups flour

                    1/2 teaspoon sea salt

                    3/4 teaspoon baking powder

                    1/2 teaspoon baking soda

                    1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temp.

                    1/4 cup granulated sugar

                    3/4 cup  light brown sugar

                    1 large egg

                    1 teaspoon vanilla

                    3/4 cup pistachios (can be chopped)

                    1 cup dark chocolate chips

                    Sea salt for sprinkling on cookies

**Makes about 2 dozen cookies**

Directions:

                 Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

                 In a large bowl mix together flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Set aside.



                

 

In a mixer cream butter and sugars together until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and beat for additional 2 mins. With the mixer on low slowly add in the dry ingredients. Mix until just incorporated.

  





 

Stir in the pistachios and dark chocolate.

 

Place tablespoon size balls of dough on your baking sheet, spacing them about 2 inches apart. Sprinkle the tops of the cookie dough balls with sea salt.



 



 

Bake cookies for 12 minutes or until lightly browned on edges. Let cookies cool. Enjoy!

 

 

Find these adorable milk jugs here and cute straws here.