Chocolate Crackle Cookies

My hubby doesn't have much of a sweet tooth but the man does love a good brownie every now and than. I usually keep a box mix in the pantry just in case he gets a craving. I was bored this week and thought what can I make without going to the store. How about some brownies. I grab a box of Ghirardelli double chocolate brownie mix from the pantry and notice a recipe on the box for Chocolate Crackle Cookies. I was curious and well curiosity got the best of me. The recipe was really easy and the cookies turned out great.

Chocolate Crackle Cookies
- 1 box of Ghirardelli double chocolate brownie mix
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup of all purpose flour
- 1/3 cup oil
- powdered sugar

Start by preheating your oven to 350. Grease a baking sheet or use a silpat liner. Mix brownie mix, eggs, flour, and oil together in a large bowl. Roll dough into balls (warning: dough is sticky, coat your hands with flour or powdered sugar to keep the dough from sticking to your hands). Roll the balls completely in powdered sugar and place on baking sheet two inches apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes.

These cookies were light yet very rich at the same time. Delicious warm with a glass of milk. I took them to work and they went like hot cakes.

My Medicine

The other day, I had a long, not so pleasant time at work. Lets just say it involved me, two physical therapist, a slightly obese patient, a small hot bathroom, and lots of bodily functions going on. Get the picture? Not pretty. I often ask myself why me, a speech pathologist, somehow finds herself in these situations. Bathroom duty is definitely not in my job description. I usually work on the neck and up. Anyways, enough of the gross stuff. I came home and this is what I found. My sweet husband had a cold beer poured for me and even personailzed my glass with "Grumpy Bear."

Mexican Goulash

For the record, I don't really know what goulash consists of. I just needed a name for this dish and for some reason goulash came to me in my sleep. Anyways, Chad was on dinner duty the other night and he was having trouble deciding what to make. I was sitting at work, watching my patient fall asleep , I mean working hard in therapy and it hit me! I sent him a text that went something like this "remember the dish with rice, black beans, and stuff with chicken on top?" Somehow he knew exactly what I was talking about. We use to fix this all the time back in the day. It's really easy and really versatile.

Leanne and Chad's Mexican Goulash
- 1 cup of dry rice (white or brown)
- 1 can of black beans
- salsa
- sour cream
- shredded cheese
- cilantro
- hot sauce
- chicken (you can use breast, cutlets, or tenderloins)
- lime wedges

Start by cooking the rice according to the package. Heat up a can of black beans and add a little seasoning like some garlic powder and/or cumin. Season chicken (we used Adobo seasoning, pepper, and chili powder) and cook until done (we cooked chicken cutlets on a grill pan for 3-5 minutes on each side). Now thats the hard part. The rest is up to you. I start with some rice in a bowl, top it with black beans, diced up chicken, fresh grated Monterey cheese, salsa, sour cream, hot sauce, cilantro, a squeeze of lime juice. Heck you could also go crazy and add some avocado.

See I told  you it was easy and versatile.

Low-Fat Orange Cake

Yes, you read that right. LOW-FAT! Seriously. This cake is delicious and easy on the thighs. Winner winner cake dinner! This cake is actually a recipe from weight watchers. I've had it for several years and decided to make it for my co-workers to help jump start the week.

Ingredients

- 1 box of yellow cake mix

- 1 14oz can of mandrin oranges

- 1 16oz bottle of diet sprite

- 1 container of lite cool-whip

- 1 package of sugar free orange jell-o

Directions

Start by preheating oven to 350 and spray a 9 x 13 pan with cooking spray. In a large bowl, mix the yellow cake mix, soda, and fruit together with a hand mixer. Pour into pan and bake for 35-40 minutes. Allow cake to cool. In the meantime, mix the cool whip and jello packet together. Once the cake is cooled, top with the cool whip mixture. Keep refrigerated. You can also make this recipe using other fruit (like canned peaches). They also make sugar free peach jell-o.

Cleaning Day

I realized the pictures on camera on my cellphone were piling up. I decided some were way to cute to just delete, I had to share.

Southern In Alaska

Remember the Taco Party/Going Away Party??? Well they officially "went away" to Alaska. They started a blog to document and share their move from Nashville, TN to Alaska. Quite the change in scenery. If you want some hilarious stories check it out at Southern in Alaska.

We are glad they made it safe and we can't wait to visit them! Also, hope you guys don't mind I stole a picture off facebook :)

Puppy Eyes

How do you say no to this face?

This is the look he gave me as I was getting ready to leave for work.

 Talk about guilt. 

Tortellini Soup

I recently underwent some dental work that left my mouth extremely sore and I needed to eat soft foods for a few days. Luckily, I ran across this delicious soup from Annie's Eats a few days before my dental work. My wonderful husband even cooked it for me while I held ice packs on my face. I think I'm gonna keep him.

Tortellini Soup
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- 1/2 cup onion, chopped
- 2 cloves of minced garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 (15 oz) can diced tomatoes, with juices
- 4 cups of low sodium vegetable or chicken broth
- 9 oz. tortellini (we used cheese but you can use any flavor)
- 3 cups fresh baby spinach
- salt and pepper to taste
- grated Parmesan

In a large pot of Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the chopped onions and cook about 5 minutes. Add in the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add in the oregano and diced tomatoes, then add in the broth. Bring the mixture to a boil. Add in the tortellini and cook according to the package directions. One minute before the tortellini is cooked, stir in the spinach. Remove from heat. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Top with grated Parmesan and enjoy.

Super easy, healthy, and soft for sore mouths!

Key Lime Cupcakes

While planning for my Taco Party, I came across these Key Lime Cupcakes by Three Many Cooks. I thought they would be the perfect ending to my Mexican fiesta, plus, I needed a good excuse to use my new cupcake stand from my wonderful mother-in-law (Hi Lynn).

Key Lime Cupcakes

- 2 sticks of butter, softened

- 1 cup of sugar

- 1 tablespoon of lime zest

- 1 tablespoon of lime juice

- 3 large eggs

- 1 1/2 cups self rising flour

- 1 teaspoon vanilla

- 8 oz. cream cheese, softened

- 1/2 cup condensed milk

- 1/2 cup confectioner's sugar

Preheat oven to 400. Line muffin pan with cupcake liners. Beat 12 tablespoons of butter, 1 cup of sugar, and 1 1/2 teaspoons lime zest until light and fluffy. Starting and ending with an egg, alternate beating in eggs and flour until each is thoroughly incorporated. Beat in lime juice and vanilla until just incorporated. Divide batter evenly among pan. Bake until golden brown, 12-16 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool on wire rack.

For the icing, beat remaining 4 tablespoons of butter, 1 1/2 teaspoons lime zest, and the cream cheese until smooth. Then beat in condensed milk and sugar. Frost the cooled cupcakes. Top with graham cracker crumbs and a slice of lime.

Taco Party

As I mentioned earlier, I recently had a taco party at my casa. It was actually a going away party for some dear friends that are moving to ALASKA!! and Arkansas. I offered to host the party, cause well I love cooking and entertaining. As I started planning, I realized I needed a theme. See, I'm a very organized, anal, slightly OCD person and themes help me organize my thoughts. I settled on a "make your own taco bar." It turned out great and really easy to put together. I decided to have two meats;

Spicy Pulled Pork and Roasted Chicken (you can roast your own or buy rotisserie chicken at the store). 

After you settle on the meat, all you need is the toppings. I served two types of fresh shredded cheese (sharp white cheddar and monterey jack), shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, sour cream, salsa, guacamole, hot sauce, and some lime wedges. I also had soft flour and corn tortillas and some hard corn tortillas. To stick with the theme, I also purchased a Pinata, made some Key Lime Cupcakes, and had a bucket of Corona's on hand. The party turned out great and the food allowed even the pickiest eater or those with certain diet restrictions/allergies to leave full and happy.