One Crazy Cookie

This Presidential election has found my family more involve and interested in what's going on and the issues each candidate proposes.  The foodie in my finds The Presidential Cookie Contest interesting and delicious!!  The Family Circle Magazine has hosted it and s ince 1992, when Hillary Clinton and Barbara Bush bumped spatulas, The First Lady cookie contest has been a terrific tradition and political pacesetter. All but one winner went on to live in the White House.   I'm excited to try out the two cookies from the latest contest: Michelle Obama's  Mama Kaye's White and Dark Chocolate Chip Cookie and Ann Romney's M&M Cookies .  It was a tight race with Michelle Obama's cookies getting 51.4% of the votes and Ann Romney's getting 48.5 %.  I believe it was the closest contest ever which makes me want to try both cookies and have my family pick the winner.  For today, I went back in time to the 2000 Presidential Cookie Contest winner Laura Bush!!  They ar

Lately, I have been looking for ways to make dinner time way less stressful.  This is something I tried and it was awesome and the whole family liked it.  It was simple to put together, clean up was minimal and best of all no stressing over dinner.  I will be making it again. Sausage and Potatoes adapted from about.com 1 pound smoked sausage, such as andouille or kielbasa, dice in to chunks. 1 1/2 pounds potatoes, peeled and cut in 1- to 2-inch chunks 3 to 4 carrots, cut in 1-inch pieces (I used baby carrots and didn't cut them.) 1 cup onions, chopped 1/4 teaspoon  ground black pepper 1/2 teaspoon  salt 1/2 teaspoon seasoning salt 1 large clove garlic, crushed and finely minced 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 - 2 cups shredded cheese *Optional 1/2 cup lemon lime soda Combine the sausage pieces, potatoes, carrots and onions in a large food storage bag or a bowl.  Toss with the pepper, salt, seasoning, garlic,olive oil and soda. I then put mine in the fridge so that dinner

I have had the desire to be a little creative lately, but time has been an issue.  So when I saw a picture of this I knew I could handle it!! So cute simple and cheap!! You need a jar, gauze or cheese cloth (I bought some bloody gauze in the Halloween section at the dollar store.) googly eyes hot glue gun battery operated candle (also 2 for a dollar at the dollar store.) optional: extra Halloween decorations Glue the edge of the gauze to the jar. Wrap the jar with the gauze. Glue on the googly eyes and wrap a little over top of them. Glue your end to the rest.  I then spread open the threads of the gauze just a bit over top of the eyes. I added some plastic spiders I had lying around. Turned the candles on and set them in the bottom of the jars. Voila!! So cute.  The picture does not do them justice! Cheap, simple and a fun decoration!

For some reason we have alot of boxes of Cheerios at our house.  I'm the only one who eats them.  I was so excited to find this recipe so that hopefully I could get everyone else to eat them too.  They were a hit!! I thought they tasted even better the next day.  Cheerio Treats from Kathie Cooks 1 cup white sugar 1 cup corn syrup 1 cup  peanut butter 1 cup chocolate chips 1 teaspoon vanilla 5 cups  Cheerios In a large sauce pan, combine sugar and corn syrup. Bring to boil over medium heat. Allow mixture to boil for one minute and remove from heat. Add peanut butter, vanilla and chocolate chips to mixture and mix until smooth. Add Cheerios and mix until all coated.  Drop mixture by spoonful onto waxed paper and allow to cool. *The chocolate chips are optional. I just love the peanut butter/chocolate combination!   Quick, simple and delicious!!  

Back to school means back to busy weeknight schedules.  Between homework, activities, practices, work and class, preparing a delicious home-cooked meal can be quite a challenge, and getting started is often the hardest part. Let new Progresso™ Recipe Starters™ cooking sauces give you a head start to a home cooked meal, and you’ll ace the dinner time routine this year!   Progresso Recipe Starters sauces are available in five flavorful varieties that can each be used as a starter to create numerous home-cooked meals. For added inspiration, Progresso created 80 recipes utilizing this new line of cooking sauces that can be found on Progresso.com/RecipeStarters. Many of these recipes are classic family favorites, such as Bacon Mac n’ Cheese, Chicken Pot Pie and Chicken Parmesan, and utilize ingredients your family may already have on-hand. In addition, all of the recipes on the site include a Rate and Review feature, so we encourage you to leave a rating and review of your own, in

One Sunday afternoon my oldest daughter and I were both craving chocolate!!  I had  bought some Rollos and decided to make Chocolate Caramel Cookies , well problem was I forgot to buy the cake mix the recipe calls for so we made some adjustments to our plan and this is what we came up with. It was delicious and oh so simple!! Took a few to work the next morning and they got great reviews! Chewy Chocolate Caramel Brownies 2 packages brownie mix 1/2 cup melted butter 1/2 cup milk 2 eggs 1 bag Rollos, unwrapped and cut in half Preheat oven to 350 degrees Mix brownie mix, butter, milk and eggs together.  Spread on a greased cookie sheet.  Push the rollo halves in the batter with the cut side down.  Bake for 20 minutes or until the edges just start to look a little crisp. Cool and enjoy! Wish I would of got some individual pictures, but they didn't last very long!! Double YUMMY!!

It is getting to be soup season and I love it.  This is a good comfort food soup.  I was shocked that the kids LOVED it and my picky eater even went back for seconds.  The kidsate all but a little bit, so hubby did not even get to try it out.  It was delicious and very mild flavor so if you like more kick you'll need to add it, but for the kids it was perfect! Southwest Chicken Corn Chowder from Healthy Cooking 1 cup onions, diced 1 garlic clove, minced 1/2 tsp. olive oil 2 cups chicken broth 1 can (10 3/4 oz.) Cream of Chicken Soup 2 cups chicken breast, cooked and cubed 1 (4 oz.) can chopped green chilies, drained 2 cans (14 3/4 oz. each) cream style corn 1 can (12 oz.) evaporated milk 1 can black beans (drained and rinsed) 3/4 teaspoon chili powder 3/4 teaspoon ground cumin shredded cheddar cheese tortilla chips Quick Version: In a large pan saute the onion and garlic in the oil until tender.  Stir in the broth, soup, chicken and chilies until well blended.