cookie capers

Tracy P. at The Journey is having a Cookie Exchange today. I thought I'd pass along my No Bake Chocolate-Peanut Butter-Oatmeal Cookies. They are to. die. for. Melt-in-your-mouth deliciousness.

You will not be able to resist the goodness of these morsels. Truly.

I thought I had pictures from making a previous batch, but alas, not a pic to be found.

Darn. I guess I'll just have to make them again.

After all, a cookie post without pictures just isn't a cookie post.

Chocolate No-Bake Cookies

2 c. sugar

1/2 t. salt

1/4 c. cocoa

1/2 stick butter
1/2 c. milk
2 c. oats
1/2 c. peanut butter
1 t. vanilla

Mix sugar, salt, and cocoa in a medium saucepan.

Add butter and milk; bring to a boil, stirring continuously

Boil for 1 min 30 seconds
(this is very important and will affect how the cookies set up).



Remove from heat and add remaining ingredients, mix well.
Drop by spoonfuls onto wax paper. Allow to set in refrigerator.

These cookies make a simple but yummy treat to take to a Christmas party or special event. They taste so good, people will think you slaved away making them when all it really took was about 15 minutes and ingredients you already had in your pantry!

Enjoy!

cooking with the carolines

As I mentioned earlier here, I have been keeping a little girl named Caroline for about an hour and half after she gets out of school. Its really an ideal situation, and we have had fun this first week she's been here. We've played many games of Memory (so many in fact, that my el cheapo memory cards bit the dust, so I went out and bought some real ones), watched Shrek 3, danced to ABBA music, and played balloon volleyball.

On Friday, Mr. Baseball and I were having dinner with another family and were to bring a vegetable and dessert, so I enlisted the help of my name twin. She's quite the chef...who knew?

Our first assignment...

Chocolate Chip & Peanut Butter Chip Brownies

12 oz bag of chocolate chips
1 cup peanut butter chips (oops, we used the whole bag - and they were still good)
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 1/2 c. graham cracker crumbs
1 stick of margarine

Melt margarine and mix with graham cracker crumbs. Press to cover bottom of 9x11 dish. Pour sweetened condensed milk over graham cracker and margarine mixture. Mix chocolate chips and peanut butter chips and pout over the milk. Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes depending on your oven. (You may want to pull from oven before chips are completely melted.) Set up until cool and cut into bars.

Paula Deen's Corn Casserole

1 (15 oz) can whole kernel corn, drained
1 (14 3/4) can cream style corn
1 (8oz) pkg. corn muffin mix (Jiffy works well)
1 c. sour cream
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
1 - 1 1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese


Preheat oven to 350. In large bowl, stir together 2 cans of corn, corn muffin mix, sour cream, and melted butter. (Please allow my lovely assistant to demonstrate)

Pour into a greased casserole dish. Bake for 45 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from oven and top with cheddar cheese. Return to oven for 5 to 10 minutes or until cheese is melted. Let stand for 5 minutes and serve warm.

Enjoy!

caro's cuisine

Alright my saucy friends, here's a recipe sure to satisfy the hungry men (and women) in your lives! In my bloggy travels, I've noticed that all the cool people are posting their recipes. Since I only aspire to be cool, I'm going to attempt a recipe too. This is not just any recipe though, this is...LL's Meatloaf.

Lindsey Lohan? She cooks? Well, my guess is no, and this meatloaf is about twice her size. But my friend Liz does cook and this is her meatloaf recipe (it's really easy).

First, start out with around a pound of ground beef.

Add to the beef these ingredients:

1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
3-4 oz. cheese, shredded (I use cheddar)
1/3 c. shredded carrots
1 medium onion, chopped (or 1/2 lg. onion)
1/4 c. milk
3 T. breadcrumbs
1/2 pkg. Onion Soup Mix



Once added to the meat, take off your bling that yo' baby daddy gave you and mush and smush all ingredients together with your hands.



then, form into a giant meatloaf.



At this point, it looks like a chunky turd, but please, for the love of all that is good, stay with me!

Bake at 350 for 45 minutes. While baking, prepare the glaze.

1/3 c. brown sugar
ketchup
BBQ sauce
**I usually just mix to taste.



Pour glaze over baked meatloaf and put back in oven for 20 minutes.



The finished product!



Voila! I also fixed garlic/cheese mashed potatoes and sauteed some squash/zucchini/onions in a little butta and BAM!

The hubby said, and I quote, "I LOVE this meatloaf."

I just about fell over backward in my chair. He never complains about my cooking and will eat almost anything I put in front of him, but he has NEVER as best I can remember said that he LOVED anything I cooked. Said that it was good, maybe. Really good, maybe that too, but LOVE? Never. That was major! So, its sure to be a winner at your house. The redhead even partook of the loaf that was meat.

Sadly, it was so good that it didn't last long at all. The potatoes, well, there's another story. I made enough to feed us until the redhead goes to college. Good thing they are tasty.