Pecan Pie Thumbprint Cookies

I came across this recipe awhile back, pinned it on Pinterest and then completely forgot about it (that's never happened to you either, right?!).  A week or so ago, I was doing a big group baking session and really wanted something different and went searching around on my Pinterest.  I came across these and at first thought they were more work than I wanted.  I ultimately ended up deciding to give them a try and let me tell you!  First, they really weren't difficult or time consuming at all and second, they were AMAZEBALLS!  Make these for your next cookie exchange, you won't regret it!  Please excuse my iPhone photography - I left my big girl camera at home!

Enjoy!

Pecan Pie Thumbprint Cookies

3/4 Cup Butter, softened
1 Cup Brown Sugar, packed
1 Egg
1 Tsp Vanilla
2 Cups Flour
1 Tsp Baking Powder

Filling:
1 Cup Pecans, chopped
1 Cup Brown Sugar, packed
1/4 Cup Heavy Cream
1 Tsp Vanilla
1/8 Tsp (pinch) Ginger
1/8 Tsp Cinnamon
1/8 Tsp Cloves

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

For cookie dough; combine butter and brown sugar - mixing until fluffy.  Add egg and vanilla, mix until combined.  Add flour and baking powder, mix until combined and dough pulls together.  Set dough aside.

For filling; in a separate mixing bowl, mix pecans, brown sugar, and spices together.  Add cream and vanilla, mix until well combined.

Roll out cookie dough in 1.25" balls (I use a cookie scoop to measure them out) and space about 2" apart on your pan.  Once you have rolled all the cookie dough into balls, make an indentation in the center of each, rolling your thumb around to slowly stretch the dough out. Fill each indentation with approximately a teaspoon of the pecan filling.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, until edges are brown.  Let cool on pan for 5 minutes or so before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Makes approximately 20 cookies.

Cookies 'n Cream Cupcakes

Mmm....mmmm....mmm!!  Yes, that's about all I can get out about these simple, YUMMY cupcakes!  Really, they are morsels of heaven in your mouth!  If you have ever loved cookies 'n cream anything (such as myself), make these!  You won't regret it!

These can be made in any pan size you wish, I just happened to be in a cupcake mood!  There will be quite a bit of frosting (perfect amount to frost a layered cake, but probably a bit extra with cupcakes) and if there's extra save it in the fridge for dipping graham crackers or whatever suits your fancy.  Not that I did that or anything...

Enjoy!

Cookies 'n Cream Cupcakes

1 White Cake Mix (I prefer Duncan Hines) + Ingredients Called for on Box
1 Package of Oreos
1 - 8 oz Package of Cream Cheese, softened to room temperature
16 oz Powdered Sugar (approximately 3 3/4 Cups)
1/4 Tsp Vanilla
1 - 8 oz Container Cool Whip

Prepare cake according to instructions.  Crush 15 Oreos and fold into cake batter.  Bake according to instructions for pan size used.  Allow cake to cool completely before frosting.

Frosting: Beat cream cheese and powdered sugar together until smooth, add vanilla and beat until combined.  Fold in cool whip together with cream cheese mixture.  Crush 15 oreos and fold into frosting.  Frost cake and serve!

*store cake in refrigerator

Texas Caviar

I came upon this recipe through a blog I followed a few years back.  I apparently became too dependent on finding it online though because when I went to make it a few months ago, the blog no longer existed, thus no recipe to be found!  Gasp!!  To my luck, with some googling and trials, I was able to recreate it!  Let me tell you, if you google "texas caviar recipe" you're bound to find LOTS of variations to this recipe!  I'm sure they're all good, but this version is my favorite!  I serve with corn chips (frito scoops) or Tostitos scoops!  Most of the time I have to control myself from eating the whole bowl and a bag of chips, but I've herd it's excellent as a salad with some shredded chicken or  even as an addition to tacos!  This is a great dish to share at one of your summer potlucks too!

Enjoy!

Texas Caviar

1 Can Garbanzo Beans, drained
1 Can Black Beans, drained
1 Can Light Red Kidney Beans, drained
1 Can Sweet Corn, drained
1 Small Sweet Onion, chopped
3/4-1 Cup Italian Dressing (I eyeball and use about 1/3 of a bottle)
2 Limes
1/2 Cup Sugar
Salt
2 Avocados, cubed
1 Bunch of Cilantro, ripped

In medium bowl, combined beans, corn, and onion.  Add dressing, juice of both limes, sugar, and salt to taste.  Stir well, cover, and chill in fridge overnight or for at least a 2-3 hours.  Before serving, stir and drain off some of the liquid, add avocado, and cilantro to taste.  Toss together and serve!!

Chocolate Chocolate Banana Bread

Before I became a stay-at-home-mom, I worked in a business office with it's own cafeteria.  The cafeteria used to make delicious, chocolate chocolate chip muffins people would vie for.  You often felt like you won the lotto if you made it to the cafeteria in the morning and one was left for you!  So, when I came across this recipe, I couldn't help but give it a try!!

This bread is a dense, chocolate, banana infused slice of yummy!  We couldn't get enough of it and the kids really enjoyed slathering on some leftover cream cheese frosting from some cupcakes we made earlier that day! 

This recipe makes 2 - 8x4" loaves, but can easily be split to make a single loaf.

Enjoy!

Chocolate Chocolate Banana Bread

2 Cups Sugar
4 Eggs
2/3 Cup Oil
2 1/2 Cups Mashed Banana (approximately 5-6 bananas)
2 Tsp Vanilla
3 Cups Flour
1 Cup Unsweetened Cocoa
2 Tsp Baking Soda
1 Tsp Salt
2 Cups ((12 oz bag) Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray bottoms of loaf pans.  In medium bowl, combine sugar, eggs, and oil - beat on medium speed until combined.  Slowly beat in mashed banana and vanilla.  In a separate bowl mix together (I use a wire whisk) flour, cocoa, soda, and salt.  On medium speed, beat in flour mixture with banana mixture until just combined.  Stir in chocolate chips and then divide batter between pans.  Bake for 60-75 minutes - until a toothpick comes out clean from center.  Remove from oven, let cool in pan for 10 minutes.  Remove from pans and finish cooling on wire rack.

Frog Eyed Salad

Summer seems to still be trying to decide if it should show up in our parts, but that hasn't stopped us from having a few picnics already - even if we have to wear pants and sweatshirts!  The name for this salad might mess with a few peoples heads, but it shouldn't deter you from giving it a try!  I've made this fluffy, yummy, fruit salad for years and it's always a hit at picnics, pot-lucks, etc!

Enjoy!

Frog Eyed Salad

1/2 lb Acini Di Pepe Noodles (I buy Creamette which comes in a 1 lb Box)
1 Egg
1/2 Cup Sugar
1 Tbsp Flour
1/4 Tsp Salt
1 - 20 oz Can Crushed Pineapple, drained with juice reserved
1 - 14.5 oz Fruit Cocktail, drained
1 Cup Miniature Marshmallows (or more depending on preference)
1 Cup Heavy Cream
2 Tsp Sugar
1 Tsp Vanilla


Cook acini di pepe per package directions, drain, and set aside.  In a medium saucepan, beat egg until foamy with wire whisk.  Add sugar, flour, salt, and reserved pineapple juice - cook over low heat, stirring often, until thick and bubbly.  In large bowl, mix acini di pepe and egg mixture, cover, and chill thoroughly (at least a hour).  Once chilled, stir in pineapple, fruit cocktail, marshmallows.  In medium bowl, whip heavy cream until it starts to thicken, add sugar and vanilla, then continue to whip until peaks form.  Fold whipped cream into fruit/noodle mixture.  Cover, chill, and stir before serving (sometimes I put a few extra marshmallows or fruit on top for decoration).

Diner Cakes

Have you ever been to a small town diner or cafe and had their pancakes?  You know the ones the fill you up to your toes?!  In these parts, they're always dense, thick, fluffy rounds of yumminess!  Finally, after many failed test batches where the pancakes either spread out too much or fell apart as soon as the syrup hit, I've finally come to the recipe!

Enjoy!

Diner Cakes

1 1/2 Cups Flour
3 1/2 Tsp Baking Powder
1 Tsp Salt
1 Tbsp Sugar
1 1/4 Cup Milk
1 Egg
3 Tbsp Butter, melted

In large bowl, whisk (sift) together flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar.  Make a well in the middle of the flour mixture and pour in milk, egg, and melted butter - whisk until smooth.  Heat a griddle to 375 degrees or large pan on medium-high heat.  Pour 1/4 cup of batter for each pancake.  Once the cake starts to bubble, flip.  Serve and enjoy!

Dorito Hotdish

This dish is not light and therefore, definitely not diet friendly, but it sure does fill you up in the yummiest way!  Yummy with ground beef or shredded chicken (approximately 2 cups), use whatever cheese your heart desires (I like cheddar), and make it as mild or spicy as your family prefers!

Enjoy!

Dorito Hotdish

1 lb Hamburger, browned & drained
2 Cups Shredded Cheese
1 Can Rotel Tomatoes with Chilies (mild)
1 Can Cream of Chicken Soup
1 Can Black Beans, drained
1 Can Corn, drained
1/2 Cup Milk
1/2 Cup Sour Cream
1/2 Packet Taco Seasoning
1 Bag of Nacho Cheese Doritos, crushed

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In large bowl, mix together hamburger, 1 cup cheese, Rotel, soup, beans, corn, milk, sour cream, and taco seasoning.  Spray your baking dish (I use a 9x13 glass pan), take half of the crushed Doritos and spread on the bottom, then layer with 1/2 of the meat mixture, repeat Dorito's and meat mixture, top with remaining 1 cup of cheese.  Cover and bake for 35 minutes, then uncover and bake an additional 10 minutes or until nice and bubbly.

Cheesy Chicken & Wild Rice Hotdish

Lets just say it...I LOVE HOTDISH!!  I'm a good Lutheran girl from Minnesota and we know our hotdishes (go ahead and call them casseroles or whatever you want in your parts)!  Being from Minnesota also throws in love for wild rice too!  :)

I have been a fan of Picky Palate long before I even decided to become a blogger myself.  She likes to post lots of crazy yummy desserts, cookies, and things of the like, but every now and then she throws out a DELICIOUS dinner gem like this one.  I have been making this for a long time, but was finally able to snap a quick pick (albeit on my iPhone and a bit blurry/grainy) so I could share it with you all!  This always goes over well and I hardly get to enjoy leftovers!

Tips: I buy a rotisserie chicken at Costco (they're usually cheaper than preparing the chicken myself) to make this and usually have enough chicken left over to throw another hotdish in the freezer for later (because it makes a great freezer meal for those busy nights).  You can also buy ready-made rice and use in the recipe (from Trader Joe's or your local grocery like PP suggests in her post).

Enjoy!

Cheesy Chicken & Wild Rice Hotdish

3 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Medium Onion, finely chopped
3 Stalks of Celery, finely chopped
3 Carrots, peeled & finely chopped
3-4 Cloves Garlic, minced (use up to 2 TSP of minced garlic from the jar)
2 Cups Chicken, cooked & shredded
2 Cups Prepared White Rice
2 Cups Prepared Wild Rice
1 Tsp Salt
1/2 Tsp Black Pepper
1/4 Tsp Garlic Salt
1 1/2 Cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese (for topping)

Cheese Sauce:
4 Tbsp Butter
1/4 Cup Flour
1/4 Tsp Salt
1/4 Tsp Black Pepper
2 Cups Chicken Broth
2 Cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In large pot or dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat.  Sauté onion, celery, and carrots until soft - approximately 10 minutes.  Stir in garlic and cook for additional minute.  Stir in chicken, rices, and seasoning - reduce heat to low.

In another sauce pan - melt butter over medium-high heat.  Whisk in flour, salt and pepper - then slowly whisk in broth.  Continue stirring until nearly boiling and add in cheese until melted.  Pour cheese sauce into rice mixture and transfer to 9x13 baking dish.  Top with additional cheese and bake for 30 minutes (until cheese is melted through).