Hot Chocolate Floats

Happy Friday! Do you have everything ready for your Super Bowl party? I will be doing my final shopping today, to make sure I have all the food. We are are targeted to get another 5-8 inches tonight. So I want to make sure and be prepared.
 
Even though I love baking and we both love desserts we usually don't have a lot at our super bowl party. We are too entrenched in great appetizers. I decided that I would do something a little different this year, and make hot chocolate floats. The best part of these floats is how easy they are to make. You basically make hot chocolate and add ice cream. They would be perfect to make right before the half time show. So you can sit back and enjoy it and enjoy all the great commercials.

I used peanut butter chocolate ice cream and it was delicious, but you could use any kind. 

 Ingredients
1 pkg hot chocolate mix
hot water
2 scoops of ice cream  (I used peanut butter chocolate)

Boil hot water for cocoa. Add cocoa to mug. Fill the mug about 3/4s full with the hot water. Stir to get the hot cocoa to dissolve. Add two scoops of ice cream. Add remaining hot water if there is room in the mug.
 
Eat and Enjoy!

Recipe Source: Laura's Baking Talent


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Honey Mustard Wings

I'm sure a lot of you are still having really cold and snowy weather like we are.. so I'm not going to dwell on it. Instead I'm going to get excited about the Super Bowl and all the good food that comes with it. I made wings for the first time. It was a test to see if I would make them again for the Super Bowl. They were so easy that I'm kicking myself for not making them before.

Seriously it took almost no effort at all and I got to "tweak" the sauce until it tasted perfectly. No wondering if it will be too hot or too sweet.  You can adjust as you make it and come up with something marvelous.

Ok. I need to know. Does anyone else watch the puppy bowl? If you don't know what I'm talking about please watch this video. Aren't they so cute. Every year I'm trying to get food ready...etc... then it comes on and I'm addicted. I hear a rumor that there is even fantasy puppy bowl this year. It could be fun...

I'm especially excited because there are two Brittany Spaniels in it this year.  For those who don't know that is Ginny's breed. Its funny because when people ask what type of dog we have... usually they give us a weird look and we have to explain. She is about 35 lbs brown and white, kind of like a springer spaniel. Then they are like ahhhhh... Then you meet people who owned a Brittany at some point in their life and they instantly love that you own one. Its like a secret Dog Breed club or something.

I think I will make these wings again for the Super Bowl. Ginny and I can share them as we route the two Brittany's Laney and Loren to victory.


Ingredients

9 wings
2 Tbsp olive oil, divided
salt
pepper
2 Tbsp honey mustard
2 Tbsp yellow mustard
3 Tbsp honey
1 tsp white wine vinegar

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Line a rectangular pan or a cookie sheet with foil. Lay out the wings so that they are not touching each other. Coat them with about 1 Tbsp of olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake them for 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes take the pan out and flip the wings. Coat with the remaining olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake for another 20 minutes.

While the wings bake make the sauce. Put the honey mustard, yellow mustard, honey and white wine vinegar in a a small bowl. Mix them together.

When the wings are done baking take them out of the pan and dip them into the wing sauce. Do each one individually so that it can get the most sauce possible on it.

Eat and Enjoy

Recipe Source: Laura's Baking Talent

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Cheesy Artichoke Dip

So its Super Bowl week! The Super Bowl is really a holiday at our house that beats out New Years, Valentines Day, and rivals Thanksgiving day when it was comes to food. We are totally routing for the Denver Broncos.

They have been hubby's team since the transfer of Peyton Manning to the Broncos. I'm routing for Thunder and the commercials. Did you know that Thunder is going to  Super Bowl? Yes! He is flying on a plane similar to how they would transfer an Olympic horse. Lets hope he doesn't get seasick or have jet lag!

I already did  football week with a lot of our favorite football food. We pretty much watch at least one game from August till February so we need lots of good recipes. I shared guy catching chili. I've had a couple of friends try this recipe after posting and they loved it.

There there is Buffalo "Chicken" Dip, which is an old classic but so easy to make and delicious. Now that I think about it these Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches would also be great. They are #5 on my most popular posts right now, and again so easy to make.


Lastly for football week I shared Caramelized Onion Dip. This got featured over on Spiced this week. All I can say about this dip is YUM!  All of these recipes are great... but I wanted to add some new recipes to the mix for the Super Bowl. I mean it is the Super Bowl...

I tried all of the recipes for this week during the playoff games last weekend. Jim was ecstatic by the food. He saw me with this picture of Cheesy Artichoke Dip and he was like can we make that again today? Alas we are stuck at home with another 2 feet of snow... and we are out of artichokes... but I have promised a redo for next week.

I've started a Super Bowl Idea Board on my pinterest account. Also make sure to follow me on facebook so you don't miss the other great posts that are coming out this week!

Ingredients

1 can artichoke hearts, drained (14 oz)
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup shredded cheese (I used Chipolte White Cheddar)
1 clove of garlic, chopped
1/4 cup of shredded Parmesan cheese
1 tsp paprika

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl mix together the artichoke hearts, mayonnaise, sour cream, shredded cheese, and garlic. When everything is mixed pour into a  1 qt oven safe dish.

Bake for 20 minutes. Sprinkle on the 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Bake for another 2 minutes. Sprinkle with paprika and serve.

Eat and Enjoy!

Recipe Source: Laura's Baking Talent

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French Toast Ham Sandwich

This breakfast is a source of genius. It was invented on a whim when I had no idea what we were going to have for dinner. It was really like one of those cooking shows where the people get 4 random things, then they have to create a masterpiece.

At the end of the show you see that they made risotto out of pig liver and  you are like really? OK maybe its not totally like that at all.  Since french bread, cream cheese, and ham are not that unusual of ingredients.

The result though is good enough for any restaurant.

HAM & CREAM CHEESE SANDWICH + FRENCH TOAST = AMAZING

Now I always feel a little bad because Tonks our elusive feline doesn't make the blog much. She has been appearing more this week. I caught this picture of her with Harry while I was watching the Bachelor.

Tonks: Thanks for watching the bachelor with me Harry. You are so sweet!
Harry: What? I'm not watching the bachelor.. it just came on when I was in the room.


Ingredients

1 egg
1/3 cup milk
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp vanilla
4 pieces french bread, sliced
2 oz cream cheese
2 pieces of ham

 In a shallow bowl or a pie pan whisk together the egg, milk, cinnamon and vanilla. Take two piece of bread and spread a thick layer of cream cheese on one side of each slice. Put one piece of ham on the cream cheese. Place the other piece of bread on top of the ham, so that the cream cheese touches the ham.

Dunk the ham sandwich into the egg mixture. Make sure that the bread is well soaked. Flip the sandwich and soak the other side. Put the sandwich on a skillet over medium low heat. Cook until the bottom is browned. This will be about 2 - 3 minutes. Flip the sandwich over and cook the other side until it is browned. This will be about 1-2 minutes.

Eat and Enjoy!

Serving Size: 2 sandwiches

Recipe Source: Laura's Baking Talent

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Let me give you a few random thoughts...

Today I learned you spell queue like this and not like que. Good thing I have spell check!
Getting a new set of frying pans after seven years is awesome. Look the surface is actually non stick!
Always crack the egg in a separate bowl.... because there are egg shells and bad eggs out there.

I don't actually make this ever. Jim has perfected it. Never mess with perfection. I took step by step pictures so you could all make them as good as him.
This would be perfect for Valentine's Day Breakfast. You could cut out a heart shape. It would be so ROMANTIC.

The only thing better than butter is the ooey gooey center of the egg. Take time this weekend to have some coffee and these eggs in a basket.

Ingredients

1 piece of bread
1 egg
1 Tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper

Start out by cutting the circle out of the center of the bread. 

Then pour the olive oil in the pan and put the frying pan on medium low heat.

Sprinkle on some salt and pepper.

Add the bread and the egg to the pan.

Wait for the egg to set on the bottom, it will take about two minutes.

Flip and cook the other side, for about one minute.

Eat and Enjoy!

Recipe Source: Laura's Baking Talent

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Copycat Cracker Barrel Cheesy Hashbrowns

The plan for this week was going to be a little different. I tried the main recipe for this week yesterday and it did not go as planned. Two batches of cookies later.... I decided to switch ideas. So its going to be Weekend Breakfast week.

We love to make a big breakfast on the weekends, especially in the winter. Take a little time making breakfast while drinking some coffee and planning our days. This week I will share some of our favorites to make. I promise that all the recipes will be absolutely delicious and relatively easy.

When we are traveling we often stop at Cracker Barrel at least once. I'm not sure why except maybe its the attraction of looking at the gift shop. When ever I go I get something with these hash browns so I was excited to get and try this recipe. They really do taste the same if not better.

Ingredients

1/2 bag of frozen hash browns (13 oz)
1 cup shredded Colby cheese
1/8 cup minced onion
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup beef broth
1/2 Tbsp butter, melted
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/2 Tbsp butter

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Combine the hash browns, cheese, and onion in a large bowl. Break up the frozen hash browns with a spoon, and mix everything together. In a smaller bowl combine the milk, beef broth, the 1/2 Tbsp melted butter, garlic powder, salt and black pepper. Mix all of these ingredients until they are well combined. Then pour it all over the hash browns in the other bowl. Mix all the ingredients together in the large bowl.

Put a large saucepan on the stove, medium high heat. Melt the remaining butter in the saucepan. Spoon the hash brown mixture into the pan and cook until the cheese is melted. Stir occasionally. This will be about 7 minutes.

Put the hash browns in a 9X9 pan, and bake for 45-50 minutes. Serve warm.

Eat and Enjoy!

Recipe Source: Top Secret Restaurant Recipes: Creating Kitchen Clones from America's Favorite Restaurant Chains

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Happy Friday!

I have to admit something a little odd. I sometimes wish that I had super animals. Super animals? Yes I knew this would take some more explanation. This morning for example I was looking for a specific scarf. I wish I could be like hey G dog could you go find the black and gray zebra scarf. Then because she is a super dog she would just find it.

Another example... I'm driving to work and suddenly have this moment where I wonder if I unplugged the flat iron. I wish I could call Harry and be like hey H cat can you check that for me. Then he could meow once if it was unplugged and twice if it was still plugged in. You know because he can answer the phone and check the flat iron... but TALKING would be crazy.

Lets jump to Rice Pudding. I love rice pudding, and tried 3 recipes in 3 different cookbooks before I found one that worked for me. The KEY is that it is baked mostly in the oven and not completely on the cooktop. Ironically it came from the Unofficial Harry Potter cookbook. Which is kind of funny, because I think my husband got the cookbook for me as a joke.

These chocolate peanut butter crunch bon bons came from that cookbook as well. They were my third blog post. They are so easy and DELICIOUS that my hubby makes them all the time.

We are suppose to get more snow this weekend. This warm rice pudding would be perfect for a lazy weekend afternoon.

Ingredients

1/2 cup white rice (short grain)
4 cups milk
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 Tbsp butter
2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp nutmeg

Preheat the Oven to 300 degrees.

Grease a 2 quart baking dish. Put the rice, milk, sugar and salt into a large saucepan. Bring it to a boil. At this time reduce the heat, and let it simmer for 15 minutes. Stir it occasionally.

Take the saucepan off the heat and add the butter, vanilla, and nutmeg. Mix it well, the butter should completely melt. Pour everything into the greased baking dish. Bake for 1 hour, stir it every 20 minutes. Then bake for an additional 30 minutes.

Eat and Enjoy!

Recipe Source: The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook: From Cauldron Cakes to Knickerbocker Glory--More Than 150 Magical Recipes for Muggles and Wizards

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Pimento Cheese Spread

Surprised to see me post on a Wednesday.. Even more surprised that I am posting about pimento cheese spread during pudding week! That is good, because I am part of a Surprise Virtual Baby Shower today for Stephanie over at Back for Seconds.


Now before jumping into this amazing pimento cheese spread, I want to share a few of the reasons I love Stephanie's blog.

The first thing I noticed about Stephanie's blog is that she must love purple as much as I do.
I then fell in love with all of her great recipes. Anyone who makes Tagalongs, Kit Kats, and Mounds bars at home is a friend for life. Check out her 13 Favorite Recipes of 2013 to see all of these and some of her other great recipes.

Make Your Own Tagalongs with 3 Ingredients!
Read more at http://backforsecondsblog.com/2013/03/make-your-own-tagalongs-with-3-ingredients/#EtydwtFWSGiJcAxv.99

Make Your Own Tagalongs with 3 Ingredients!
Read more at http://backforsecondsblog.com/2013/03/make-your-own-tagalongs-with-3-ingredients/#EtydwtFWSGiJcAxv.99

Make Your Own Tagalongs with 3 Ingredients!
Read more at http://backforsecondsblog.com/2013/03/make-your-own-tagalongs-with-3-ingredients/#EtydwtFWSGiJcAxv.99

Make Your Own Tagalongs with 3 Ingredients
Read more at http://backforsecondsblog.com/2013/03/make-your-own-tagalongs-with-3-ingredients/#EtydwtFWSGiJcAxv.99

Next check out all this party food.... Hmm I'm virtually stuffed. All the satisfaction without the calories.

Make Your Own Tagalongs with 3 Ingredients
Read more at http://backforsecondsblog.com/2013/03/make-your-own-tagalongs-with-3-ingredients/#EtydwtFWSGiJcAxv.99

Make Your Own Tagalongs with 3 Ingredients
Read more at http://backforsecondsblog.com/2013/03/make-your-own-tagalongs-with-3-ingredients/#EtydwtFWSGiJcAxv.99

Make Your Own Tagalongs with 3 Ingredients
Read more at http://backforsecondsblog.com/2013/12/favorite-easy-recipes/#uTvPpmVbckKh7RvV.99

Make Your Own Tagalongs with 3 Ingredients
Read more at http://backforsecondsblog.com/2013/12/favorite-easy-recipes/#uTvPpmVbckKh7RvV.99

Sweet and Sour Pulled Chicken by Kathy's Kitchen Table
Skinny Chocolate Chip Cannoli Dip by Frugal Foodie Mama
Funfetti Pudding Cookies by Crazy for Crust
Blueberry Boy Bait by Pint Sized Baker
Strawberry Butter Streusel Muffins by Chocolate, Chocolate, and More
White Chocolate Reese's Brownies by Inside BruCrew Life
Blueberry Coffee Cake by Heather's French Press
Skinny Banana Nutella Dip with Star Pie Crust Dippers by Wine & Glue
Celebrating with Star Cookies by Created by Diane
Lemon Meringue Cookie Cups by Mom on Timeout
Skinny Blueberry Cheesecake Bites by Yummy Healthy Easy
Skinny Chocolate Muffins by Kitchen Meets Girl
Flourless Chocolate Cake by Plaid and Paisley Kitchen

Now that we have partied it up, lets talk about this pimento cheese spread. My mom and I are addicted to pimento cheese spread. Growing up it was huge treat to get it, and I think we would devour a whole container of it in one setting. We would have it on crackers and in sandwiches. Even today it is huge treat that I don't splurge on very much.

Since showers are a reason to celebrate, I knew that homemade pimento cheese spread would the be the perfect thing to bring.  I have to admit this is the first time I made this, and let me tell you that it will not be the last. It was so easy, and so much cheaper than buying the spread in the store... and it tastes better. I didn't think that was even possible.


Ingredients

1 package cream cheese (8 oz)
1 jar of pimentos (4 oz)
1 block of Cheddar cheese (8 oz)
1 block of Colby cheese (8 oz)
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground white pepper

The cream cheese should be at room temperature. Set it out while you shred the Cheddar and Colby cheese blocks. Once the cheese is shredded set it aside.

Put the cream cheese and pimentos (including the juice) in a large bowl. Mix together with a mixer. The cream cheese should be smooth and the pimentos well mixed. Then add half of the shredded cheese. Then add in the mayonnaise, salt, and ground white pepper. Mix again so that everything is well combined.

Add in the remaining shredded cheese and mix until the mixture is uniform. Chill in the fridge until ready to serve.

Recipe Source: Laura's Baking Talent

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I have to start out by saying that I am laughing over here. The first reason I'm laughing is because I know that my dad will be reading this very soon. He is going to say something like... she put what in what? Yes I would bet on the fact that my dad is not going to approve of putting avocado in your pudding.

The other reason I'm laughing is because of the title of this post. I'm saying it with a british julia child accent over here and it seems fine. Everyone else who doesn't know to do this, may think its a tad long. Give me credit for being descriptive though.

So I read the best book this weekend The Book Thief. I almost did a post solely on this book. It is about a young orphan girl growing up in a small German town during WWII. You absolutely fall in love with her and the characters around her. If you haven't read it yet, you need too. I'm sure it will be the book I recommend the most this year.

I also watched the scariest movie ever this weekend. A Woman in Black. Do not be deceived by Daniel Radcliffe and his Harry Potter ways... that movie is just SCARY. We started watching it on Friday night, and we had to stop and resume again on Sunday afternoon.

So I'm slightly amazed by this pudding. One because it really does have avocado in it. Secondly it is so easy to make. You basically throw all the ingredients into the blender... and you guessed it blend it. I chilled mine for about an hour, but it was good right out of the blender as well. So if you want a healthy easy snack here you go.

Ingredients

2 avocados
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup brown sugar (can substitute with more honey)
1/3 cup milk (any variety)
2 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 cup peanut butter

Put all of the ingredients into a blender. Blend until well mixed. Put into ramekins or small bowls, and let cool in the fridge.

Eat and Enjoy!

Recipe Source: Laura's Baking Talent

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