Cream Cheese Brownies

Super easy and tasty! From my friend Julie :)

Ingredients:

2 Betty Crocker fudge brownie mixes, prepared as directed on the box

Cream cheese mixture: 

8 oz cream cheese, softened

1 egg white

1/3 C sugar

1/2 C chocolate chips  

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a half sheet metal pan. Prepare brownie mix as directed on the box. Mix all the cream cheese ingredients together well and spoon horizontally in lines across the short side of the pan, then swirl vertically the long way across the pan with a knife to get a pattern. Bake for 25-30 min.

Layered Coconut Cookie Bars

These are very easy and delicious! Good for feeding a crowd. They cut up very nicely into squares once chilled.

Ingredients:
1/2 C butter

1.5 C graham cracker crumbs (about 1 sleeve plus 2-3 rectangles, blended)

1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk

1 C semi sweet chocolate chips

1 1/3 C coconut flakes

1 C chopped nuts (I like pecans or almonds)

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (325 for glass pan).  In a 9x13 inch pan, melt the butter in the oven while it preheats. Sprinkle the graham cracker crumbs evenly over the melted butter. Pour the sweetened condensed milk evenly over the crumbs. Top evenly with the remaining ingredients and press down firmly. Bake 25-30 min or until lightly browned. Cool. chill thoroughly if desired. Cut into bars. Store loosely covered at room temperature.

Peppermint Egg Nog

We made this for the first time this year after dinner on Christmas and everyone loved it. I hope it can be a new tradition! 

Ingredients:
12 eggs

1.5 C sugar

1/2 tsp salt

8 C milk, divided

2 C heavy cream

1 TB peppermint extract

2 TB vanilla extract

1 tsp ground nutmeg

Optional: Crushed candy canes or peppermint sticks for garnish

Instructions: 

In a large saucepan, whisk together the eggs, sugar, and salt. Gradually add 4 C of milk. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture reaches 160-170 degrees (about 30 min). Do not let it boil. 

Remove from heat and immediately transfer to a large bowl. Stir in the remaining 4 C milk, peppermint extract, vanilla, and nutmeg. Chill for at least 3 hours or overnight. 

Just before serving, beat the heavy cream until soft peaks form and gently whisk it into the cooled mixture.

Coleslaw

This is our favorite coleslaw! My favorite is to eat it with BBQ pork sandwiches. Adapted from here.

 Ingredients: 

 2/3 cup olive or avocado oil Mayo 

TB vegetable oil 

1 tablespoon white vinegar 

1/2 teaspoon poppy seeds 

2 TB white sugar 

1/4 teaspoon salt 

 1 (16 ounce) bag coleslaw mix 3

 Directions: 

 Whisk mayo, vegetable oil, vinegar, poppy seeds, sugar, and salt together in a medium bowl until blended. Pour in bag of coleslaw mix and stir until well combined. Ideally you can chill this for at least 2 hours before serving, but we have eaten it immediately and it works too :)

Chicken Pot Pie Soup

Ingredients:
4 TB butter

1 medium onion, chopped

2 medium carrots, thinly sliced

2 celery sticks, chopped

8 oz white mushrooms, sliced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/3 C flour

8 C chicken broth

2 tsp salt, or to taste

1/2 tsp black pepper, or to taste

4 medium Yukon gold potatoes, cubed

5 C cooked chicken, cubed 

(I use a Costco rotisserie chicken)

1 C frozen peas

1 C frozen corn

1/2 C cream or half and half

1/4 C parsley, finely chopped (optional)

Directions:

Heat soup pot over medium/high heat and melt butter. Add onion, celery, and carrots and saute 5-7 min, stirring occasionally, until softened and slightly golden.

Add sliced mushrooms and garlic and saute another 5 min, stirring occasionally until softened.

Add 1/3 C flour and stir constantly for 1 min until golden. 

Add chicken broth, potatoes, salt, and pepper. Bring to boil and reduce to simmer, partially covered and cook for 12-15 min or just until the potatoes are tender.

Add chicken, forzen peas, frozen corn, cream, and parsley. Bring back to a simmer and continue to cook for another 5 min or until the peas and corn are tender. Season to taste with additional salt and pepper and serve.

Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

Ingredients

½ cup salted butter, softened

½ cup granulated sugar + ¼ cup for rolling
½ cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
½ cup creamy peanut butter
1 large egg
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
36 mini peanut butter cups

Directions
Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Unwrap the Hershey's Kisses and set aside.

Combine butter, ½ cup granulated sugar, brown sugar, peanut butter, egg, milk, and vanilla extract in a large bowl. Beat well until light in color. Add flour, baking soda, and salt and mix until just combined. 

Scoop out small, tablespoon size amounts of dough and roll into balls between your palms, then roll each ball in the extra sugar in a shallow bowl. Place on a baking sheet spaced an inch or two apart, then bake for 7-9 minutes. Do not overbake. 

Immediately upon removing the cookies from the oven, gently press a mini peanut butter cup in the center of each cookie. It will melt from the heat of the cookie and then eventually harden again as the cookies cool completely. You can also use Hershey kisses instead of peanut butter cups.

Recipe adapted from here.

Ground Turkey Vegetable soup

This is a new favorite soup of ours! Adapted from here.

Ingredients
2 lbs ground turkey
1 medium onion, diced
2 large carrots, sliced
15 oz (3-4 C) cubed butternut squash 

3 cloves garlic, minced

14.5 oz can diced tomatoes

15.5 oz can kidney beans, drained and rinsed

6 C beef broth (or 6 C water + 2 TB Better than Bouillon)

Seasonings

1.5 tsp cumin

2 tsp granulated sugar

2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground pepper

2.5 tsp chili powder

Instructions

Saute onion, carrots, and squash for 3-4 min. Add ground turkey and cook until meat is no longer pink. Drain excess fat.

Pour in diced tomatoes with juice, add beans, broth, and seasonings. Stir well to combine. Simmer 15 minutes or until vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally. Add additional seasonings to taste.