Monster Cookies

I'm obsessed with monster cookies. Something about the greatness of like 5 cookies mixed together is pretty hard to resist. This is the best monster cookie recipe I've ever made and from now on will be the only one I make. This lady is a monster cookie genius!

Ingredients

• 1/2 c. butter, softened (not melted)
• 1 1/2 c. peanut butter
• 1 c. brown sugar
• 1 c. sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 tbsp. corn syrup (I've used maple syrup in a pinch-- no maple taste in the cookies)
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tbsp hot water
• 4 1/2 c. old fashioned oats
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 package M&Ms (plain or peanut)
• 1 c. semi sweet chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Beat together the peanut butter and butter until smooth and combined.
3. Beat in the brown sugar and granulated sugar.
4. Add the eggs, one at a time, and mix in between each addition.
5. Mix in the corn syrup and vanilla.
6. Dissolve the baking soda in the hot water, then mix into the batter.
7. Mix in the oats and salt. Fold in the M&Ms and chocolate chips.
8. Scoop cookie dough by rounded tablespoons onto a parchment or silicon lined baking sheet. Bake for 9 minutes, until the edges look set and golden, but the top is not brown.

 In my eyes, these cookies are perfect. They are soft and chewy, and you get a little crunch from the m&ms and chocolate chips, sweet, yet salty from the peanut butter....they are the ultimate mix of all the right flavors and textures and they are pure deliciousness.

I would guarantee you won't be able to eat just one. I ate like 5 tonight alone...and I still have a huge container of them upstairs...maybe I need to send them with Scott to work or else I'll probably eat them all!

Ham & Bean Soup with Buttery Honey Beer Bread

I made this soup for the Bronco game on Thursday; it's one of my family's favorites, super easy, yummy and perfect for a cool fall evening. The original recipe is from an ancient cook book at my parent's house and it calls for kilbasa sausage. One time when I was pregnant I was cravingggg a honey ham, so I made one. A giant one. We had so many left overs it was ridiculous and I didn't want to waste all that left over ham so I tried this soup recipe with ham instead of kilbasa and it turned out delicious; that's the story of how this soup become ham soup instead of kilbasa soup :-)

3 T butter

1/2 medium onion, chopped

4 carrots, chopped

4 celery stalks, chopped

3 cups chicken broth

3 cups water

chopped ham (however much you have left or however much you want to add)

6 red potatoes, chopped

2 cans bean with bacon soup

salt and pepper to taste

1. Melt butter over medium heat in a large soup pot. Add onion, carrots and celery. Cook with the butter for about 10 minutes or until vegetables soften. 

2. Add chicken broth, water, ham and potatoes.

3. Simmer about 30 minutes.

4. Add both cans of soup as well as salt and pepper.

5. Simmer on low until ready to serve.

I served this soup with buttery honey beer bread. The BEST.BREAD.EVER. I'm not exaggerating. It literally takes 5 minutes to make the batter and you end up with this moist, chewy, slightly sweet homemade bread with a crunchy crust. YUM. I could've eaten the whole loaf!

I found the original recipe here.

Buttery Honey Beer Bread

Yield: 1 loaf

Ingredients 

2 cups all-purpose flour 

1 cup bread flour* 

1 tablespoon granulated sugar 

1 tablespoon baking powder 

1 teaspoon salt 

3 tablespoons honey 

1 bottle (12 ounce) your favorite beer 

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9 by 5 inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray or butter. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together both kinds of flour, the sugar, baking powder and salt. Add in the honey and beer and mix until just combined. Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan. Evenly pour the melted butter over the top of the batter.
3. Transfer the pan to the oven and place a baking sheet on the lower rack to catch any butter that may drip from the pan. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until a cake tester inserted in the middle comes out clean and the top is golden brown.

*If you don’t have bread flour on hand, you can substitute all-purpose flour.

YUMYUMYUM. If you ever do anything for me in your life, it should be making this bread. You won't regret it!

Peach Crisp

Peaches are my all-time favorite fruit. Seriously, I'm obsessed. When peaches are in season I eat at least one a day. I go to the Farmer's Market every Saturday morning for fresh Colorado or Utah peaches that are to die for, they are sooo ripe and juicy. Sometimes they start to ripen faster than I can eat then (which is fast) and I am forced to peel them, cut them up and make them into something yummy before they go bad. This time I chose peach crisp. Basically a crisp is just sweet fruit with a sugary oat streusel baked on top. Fruit crisps are delicious, especially when made with ripe, sweet, juicy, fresh fruit. Lots of crisp recipes call for canned peaches...which is okay....but once you make one with fresh, ripe peaches I promise you will not go back! This is originally a recipe for strawberry rhubarb crisp from cooks.com, but I just adapted it by using peaches instead. Also, there is no need for me to make a whole 9x13 pan full...so it's easy to make only half of this recipe if you want :-)

8 cups sliced peaches

1 cup sugar

1 1/3 cup flour

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1 cup browpn sugar

1 cup old fashioned rolled oats

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

1/2 cup butter (melted & cooled)

1. In a large bowl, combine fruit, sugar, 1/3 cup of the flour and cinnamon. Transfer into a greased 9x13 baking dish.

2. In another bowl, combine remaining 1 cup of flour with brown sugar, oats and nutmeg. Add butter and blend well with a fork to create the streusel.

3. Sprinkle streusel over fruit mixture and bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly.

This is best served warm with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream. Such a delicious, fresh, summer dessert. I make this dessert often and it's always a hit!

Enjoy!

Macaroni and Cheese

You are about to be bombarded with recipes from the last few days! Its been crazy around here and I haven't had any time to sit down and post the recipes I've made the last few days. I will try to keep them short and sweet :-) Most macaroni and cheese recipes consist of the same "base" it all changes depending on what you add. This is a simple recipe with cheddar cheese but if you're feeling spontaneous try different adaptations according to your taste!

1/2 lb. pasta (I use rotini)

2 T butter

1 T flour

1 1/2 cups milk

1/4 tsp of the following:

dry mustard

garlic salt

paprika

parsley

salt & pepper

pinch of nutmeg

6 oz. grated sharp cheddar cheese (or any other cheese or combinations you prefer)

panko bread crumbs

1. Put your pasta on to boil in a large pot of salty water- boil per package directions for "al dente".

2. Make your roux: melt butter over medium heat until bubbly, whisk in flour. Stir over heat for a few minutes to cook the raw flavor out of the flour.

3. Whisk in milk, stir until roux begins to thicken.

4. Remove from heat and add seasonings. 

5. Stir in cheese until completely melted.

6. Combine drained pasta with cheese sauce in a casserole dish.

7. Top with panko bread crumbs and extra cheese.

8. Bake in a 425 degree oven until the top is golden brown and bubbly.

This is warm, cheesy, homemade goodness that pairs well as a side dish and will really impress! Enjoy! :-)

Mini Chocolate Chip Crescent Pies

These are a quick, yummy and easy dessert! And you can make them with any combinations you can think of! I was thinking after I made these how good some cherry pie filling would be inside them....mmmm let your mind wander and you might come up with something delicious! We made them with chocolate chips and peanut butter and marshmallows because that's what we had. They are kid friendly too- Griff was a big helper making these little pies!

All you need is refrigerated crescent dough and the filling! In this case; chocolate chips, peanut butter, and mini marshmallows.





Spread your choice of filling over each triangle of crescent dough, roll up, place on a greased baking sheet and bake according to the crescent dough directions.

Garnish with powdered sugar and enjoy while warm! I had one today as a snack and they weren't bad the next day but definitely the best right out of the oven!

Tasty, ooey, gooey, chocolately...need I say much more? If you close your eyes real tight and imagine you might feel like you're actually in a French bakery enjoying a fresh croissant ;-)

Enjoy!

Shrimp and Tomato Pasta

I always feel so fancy when I make this for dinner! Despite it being kinda fancy-schmancy and super delicious; it's not difficult to make! This is one of my favorite dinner recipes and a go-to in our house. It's great left over and would be good for lunch too! You can make a lot of it at once if you are cooking for a crowd, or just a little if you're dining alone!
I honestly don't remember where I got this recipe...I've been making it for awhile now so I have it memorized and I'm sure it's changed a lot from the original as I've experimented with the recipe myself; I will give you my version!

2 Tablespoons butter

1 Tablespoon oil

1/2 pint of cherry tomatoes (halved)

1 Tablespoon minced garlic

1/8-1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)

1/4 cup dry white wine

1/4 cup chicken stock

2 Tablespoons pre-made pesto sauce

1/4 cup milk

~20 raw jumbo shrimp (peeled, deveined and tails off)

~ 7 oz. pasta

1. Start by putting your pasta on to boil in a large pot of salted water. Cook your pasta until it's 

"al dente" as the pasta will finish cooking in the sauce at the end.

2. Heat butter and oil on medium-high heat in a large pan until bubbly.

3. Add minced garlic and cherry tomatoes and red pepper flake; cover and let simmer until tomatoes start to burst.

4. Smash cooked tomatoes (if you like your tomatoes more whole, skip this step)

5. Add white wine, simmer and let reduce about 5 minutes.

6. Add chicken stock, and pesto; stir.

7. Whisk in milk

8. Add shrimp and cook until shrimp are pink (do not over cook as shrimp will become rubbery)

9. Toss sauce with drained pasta over heat for 2-3 more minutes.

10. Serve with grated Parmesan cheese and garlic bread.

Enjoy!!

Pumpkin Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

I had some left over pumpkin puree from the over abundance of pumpkin baking I did this past weekend. Oatmeal chocolate chip cookies are one of my favorite cookies to begin with....and the only possible way to make them better was to add pumpkin! I adapted the recipe I found on this blog.

Here is what you need:

(makes 3 dozen large cookies)

 

- 1 cup sugar

 - 1 cup brown sugar

- 2  cups all purpose flour**

- 1 cup chocolate chips

- 1/2 cup white chocolate chip (I didn't have any white chocolate chips so I just used all semi-sweet)

- 2 cups rolled oats (oatmeal)

- 1/2 tsp of ground cinnamon

- 2 tsp of pumpkin pie spice

- 1 TB vanilla extract

- 1/2 tsp salt

- 1 cup unsalted butter

- 1 tsp baking soda

- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 1 egg

 

**I don't know if it's the altitude, the weather or what but I strongly suggest adding another 1/2 to 1 whole cup of flour to the dough. My first batch turned out really flat (they were still soft and yummy) but once I added more flour they turned out perfectly! 

 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and salt. Set aside.

2. Next beat butter, sugar and brown sugar until well creamed together.

3. Now add in pumpkin, egg and vanilla. Beat until combine well.

4. Gradually add the dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until incorporated.

5. Next, stir in your oats. Mix well.

 

6. Stir in both the white and dark chocolate chips.

7. Drop cookie dough by the rounded tablespoon on to the prepared baking. sheet.

8. Bake cookies for 14-15 minutes or until cookies are lightly browned. DO NOT OVER COOK. They will seem a little soft, but will firm up as they cool. You want to keep the nice, soft texture!

Enjoy these delicious, soft, hint-of-fall cookies!