Merry Christmas Gift Boxes

This year I decided to whip up a few treats and put them in gift boxes for my girls! All of these recipes are very easy and quick to whip up ahead of time.




White Chocolate Covered Oreos

white chocolate chips
oreos
sprinkles

Melt white chocolate chips over low heat. Dip oreos into the chocolate and then place on parchement paper. Sprinkle holiday sprinkles over the cookies and allow to cool.

Chocolate-Marshmallow Pillows

Cookies
1 pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker® double chocolate chunk cookie mix
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons water
1 egg
2/3 cup chopped pecans
12 large marshmallows, cut in half

Frosting
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (6 oz)
1/3 cup whipping cream
1 teaspoon butter or margarine
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup powdered sugar

Heat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, stir cookie mix, oil, water, egg and pecans until soft dough forms.
On ungreased cookie sheets, drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart.
Bake 7 minutes. Remove from oven; immediately press marshmallow half lightly, cut side down, on top of cookie. Bake 1 to 2 minutes longer or just until marshmallows begin to soften. Cool 2 minutes; remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks. Cool completely, about 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, in 1-quart nonstick saucepan, melt chocolate chips over low heat, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat. Add whipping cream, butter and vanilla; blend well. Stir in powdered sugar until smooth.
Spread frosting over each cooled cookie, covering marshmallow. Let stand until frosting is set.

source: Betty Crocker

White Trash

1 cup Cheerios
1 cup rice Chex
1 cup small pretzels
1 cup mixed nuts
1 cup Peanut M&Ms
12 oz. bag white chocolate chips

Combine cereal, pretzels, M&M's and nuts in bowl; set aside.
Melt vanilla chips over low heat. Pour vanilla mixture over dry mixture and stir to coat.
Pour onto waxed paper and allow to cool. Break up into pieces.

Chocolate chip cookies! Just use your favorite recipe.

Take a Chance on These...

Tonight a large group of friends & I are going to Conner Prairie for a picnic and to attend the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra's Symphony on the Prairie. Tonight's performance is an ABBA tribute, complete with a Swedish ABBA cover band. We are cheating in packing our picnic dinner with carry out from Dagwood's. I thought I should at least take something Swedish to celebrate, so I found this cookie recipe. They are great!

Chocolate Swedish Angel Crisps

1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup butter
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/3 cup granulated sugar for decoration
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Cream together the shortening, sugars, and butter until smooth. Stir in the egg and vanilla extract. Sift together the flour, baking soda, and cream of tartar. Stir into the sugar mixture.
Roll dough into walnut sized balls. Roll the balls in cinnamon sugar mixture. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 12 to 15 minutes.

Source: Allrecipes.com

Cookout Cookies

I'm in charge of bringing a dessert to the Saxe's cookout tomorrow. I'm excited to go, not only to finally meet the newest Saxe, Annabel, but also because the Zimmermans are visiting from California. I decided to make two different but similar treats to feed the crowd.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/2 lb shortening stick
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1-1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
3 Cups Oatmeal
6 oz. semi sweet chocolate chips
6 oz. milk chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Beat together shortening and sugars. Add eggs and vanilla and beat well. Combine flower, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Add flour mixture to sugar mixture and mix well. Stir in oatmeal and chocolate chips by hand. Drop rounded teaspoonfuls on to cookies sheets and bake for 10-12 min.

Source: Me

Oatmeal Carmelitas

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup quick cooking oats
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup melted butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
3/4 cup caramel ice cream topping
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease one 9x9 inch square pan.
Combine the 1 cup flour, baking soda, oats, brown sugar, salt and melted butter. Mix to combine, mixture will be very crumbly. Press half of the mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan.
Bake at 350 degrees F for 10 minutes.
Let cool slightly then sprinkle over the crust the chocolate chips and chopped nuts. Mix the caramel ice cream topping with the 3 tablespoons of flour and drizzle over the chocolate chips. Top with the remaining oatmeal mixture. You will need to break it into small pieces to cover.
Bake at 350 degrees F for 15 minutes. Let bars cool before cutting.

Source: Allrecipes.com

Stormy Weather

Tonight my friend Ali came over for dinner, and luckily she blew in just before the storm! This is crazy Indiana, so if you don't like the weather, just wait 10 minutes. At 7pm when we started eating dinner it was dry and 50 degrees. Before we even got to dessert we had a tornado warning, it was pouring, and the temperature was plummeting! Luckily we never lost power and we had a fun dinner, including 3 recipes below.





Brushetta n' Cheese-Stuffed Chicken Breasts

4 servings

1 can (14-1/2 oz.) Italian-style diced tomatoes, undrained
1-1/4 cups Shredded Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella Cheese, divided
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1 pkg. (6 oz.) Stove Top Stuffing Mix for Chicken
4 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves
1/3 cup Kraft Roasted Red Pepper Italian with Parmesan Dressing

Preheat oven to 350°F. Combine tomatoes, 1/2 cup of the cheese, the basil and dry stuffing mix; stir just until moistened.
Place 2 chicken breast halves in large freezer-weight resealable plastic bag. Pound chicken with meat mallet or side of heavy can until chicken is 1/4 inch thick. Repeat with remaining chicken, adding two at a time to bag. Place chicken, top-sides down, on cutting board; spread evenly with stuffing mixture. Starting at one of the narrow ends, tightly roll up chicken. Place, seam-sides down, in 13x9-inch baking dish. Drizzle evenly with dressing. Bake any remaining stuffing mixture on the sides of the chicken if desired.

Calories 280 Total fat 8 g Saturated fat 3 g Cholesterol 80 mg Sodium 880 mg Carbohydrate 20 g Dietary fiber 1 g Sugars 5 g Protein 32 g Vitamin A 10 %DV Vitamin C 15 %DV Calcium 15 %DV Iron 10 %DV

recipe adapted from Kraftfoods.com

Sauteed Spinach with Garlic and Bacon

4 servings

1/4 cup Kraft Zesty Italian Dressing
2 cloves garlic, minced
8 cups packed baby spinach leaves
2 Tbsp. Real Bacon Bits

Heat dressing in large deep skillet or Dutch oven on medium heat. Add garlic; cook and stir 1 minute or until tender.
Add spinach; cover. Cook an additional 4 to 6 minutes or until spinach is wilted, stirring after 3 minutes.
Sprinkle with bacon bits.

Calories 80 Total fat 5 g Saturated fat 1 g Cholesterol 5 mg Sodium 480 mg Carbohydrate 6 g Dietary fiber 3 g Sugars 1 g Protein 5 g Vitamin A 150 %DV Vitamin C 25 %DV Calcium 10 %DV Iron 20 %DV

recipe adapted from Kraftfoods.com

Crista's Chocolate Chip Cookies

Makes 2 dozen large cookies

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 cup Crisco baking stick
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate morsels

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. Beat crisco, sugars, and vanilla in a large bowl until creamy, adding eggs one at a time. Gradually beat in the dry mixture. Stir in morsels by hand. Use a standard size ice cream scoop to measure out the cookies on to ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes until sides become golden brown.