"Slutty" Brownies

Recipe from:  According to Jax

I'm not really sure why they're named "slutty" brownies, but they are sinfully delicious!  These are a MUST make! 

Ingredients:

Brownie Mix, prepared with water, vegetable oil, and egg as directed on box

Chocolate Cookie Mix, prepared with butter as directed on package

1 package Oreos

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Prepare cookie mix as directed on package

3. Prepare brownie mix as directed on package

4. Spray cupcake pan with non-stick spray, or line with cupcake liners

5.Assembly:

6. Layer the cookie dough on the bottom of each cupcake tin, pressing down to form the bottom of the slutty brownies.

7. Top the cookie dough mixture with one Oreo cookie. Press down firmly.

8. Pour the brownie batter on top of the Oreo layer and make sure it's evenly layers on top.

Fill to about 3/4 full.

9. Bake for 30-35 minutes.

10. After it's cooled, serve with ice cream and enjoy!

 

Easy Strawberry Crumb Pie

It's as easy and as delicious as it sounds.  This pie was a HIT at our house!  Yum!

 Recipe from:  Keeping Up with the Joneses

Ingredients:

1 refrigerated pie crust (I used a regular graham cracker crust...see the crumbles??)

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup oatmeal

4 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled

6 cups (2 pounds) strawberries, hulled and quartered

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 tsp fresh lemon juice

2 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch

1/4 tsp grated orange zest (or 1/8 tsp valencia orange peel, from the spice section) OMITTED

Directions:

1.  Bake pie crust according to package directions. Allow to cool.

2.  Prepare the crumb topping: Combine the 1/3 cup sugar, 1/2 cup flour, and the oatmeal in a small bowl and toss to combine. Add the melted butter and stir until thoroughly incorporated. Refrigerate until thoroughly chilled.

3.  Preheat oven to 350. In a mixing bowl combine the strawberries with the sugar, lemon juice, and cornstarch and toss to combine. Spoon the strawberry filling into the prepared piecrust and spread the crumb topping evenly over the top of the filling. Bake in the middle of the oven for 45 minutes - 1 hour, or until filling is bubbly and crust and crumb topping are golden brown.

Italian Chicken

 I'm embarrassed to admit, but it's been a long while since I was in the kitchen.  Blame it on the summer heat, just pure laziness or whatever, but I had no motivation for cooking.  That was until I found this recipe on Pinterest. 

{My picture didn't do it as much justice as the original}

Ingredients:
4-5 Roma Tomatoes (all of the Romas looked bad so I opted for Cherry Tomatoes)
1 can Artichoke Hearts
2 garlic cloves
1 tsp. sugar
2 tbsp. flour
6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
mozzarella cheese
EVOO
Salt & Pepper to taste
Basil to garnish

Directions: 
1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2.  Core and chop about the  tomatoes.
3.  Thinly slice two cloves of garlic.
4.  Drain a small jar of artichoke hearts.
5.  Place all ingredients in a bowl and pour in a few tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, a generous amount of S&P, a teaspoon of sugar, a couple tablespoons of flour.
6.  Place the tomato mixture in with the boneless skinless chicken breasts.
7.  Bake until the chicken is almost done.
8.  Take the almost done chicken out of the oven and sprinkle mozzarella cheese over the top.
9.  Place the chicken under the broiler for a few minutes until the cheese is golden brown and the vegetables are caramelized.
10. When you pull the chicken out of the oven, sprinkle some fresh basil on top and the heat of the dish will wilt the basil.

The Verdict:
It was oh, so yummy!  I let Fred add the cheese and he added a little too much, but it was delicious.  The meal was very quick and easy to make.   I served it with the veggie noodles and a salad.  Not bad for a weeknight meal.

Jalapeño Kettle Chip Crusted Chicken

Recipe from: My Life as a Mrs.

ingredients:

For the Jalapeno Ranch Dipping Sauce:

1/4 cup mayo

1/4 cup lowfat sour cream

1/4 cup (plus 2 tablespoons) lowfat buttermilk

1 tablespoon Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing (the powder)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

dash of cayenne

5-6 hot pickles jalapeno slices, finely chopped

For the Chicken:

4 chicken breasts (about 1 3/4 - 2 pounds total)

1 bag Jalapeno Kettle Chips, crushed

1 cup low fat buttermilk (I used Ranch dressing)

1 teaspoon salt

dash cayenne

directions:

For the Jalapeno Ranch Dipping Sauce:

Mix ingredients together (adding additional buttermilk until desired consistency). Refrigerate until ready to use.

For the Chicken:

Preheat oven to 375º. Place an oven safe cooling rack in a large jelly roll pan and spray with non-cooking spray. In a bowl, whisk together buttermilk, salt, and cayenne. Pound out chicken breasts to roughly 1/2" thickness and add to buttermilk mixture (toss to coat well).

Place crushed Kettle chips in a shallow baking dish. Pull one piece of chicken at a time out of the buttermilk and gently shake to remove some of the excess. Dip into the chips and coat thoroughly on both sides. Place on prepared baking sheet. Repeat until all chicken breast are thoroughly coated.

Place into oven and bake for 25-35 minutes, until cooked through (cooking times vary based on chicken thickness and actual oven temperature). Serve hot with jalapeno ranch dipping sauce.

**This was super yummy and a little spicy.  The crispiness was a nice addition! 

Book It

If you're a college student or you know someone who is, this post is just for YOU! I wanted to let you know about an awesome website that will save you a ton on next semester's books.  I sure wish this had been around when I was in school.

It's called... 

Here's how it works:

• You can save 40-90% off of campus bookstore prices - for example, if you wanted to rent the Living Ethics by Michael Minch, Christine Weigel textbook, the campus retail price is $118.95, but with Campus Books, it can be your's for $16.87. 

You just saved yourself 86% on one book!

• There's also free shipping (both ways)

• You can highlight in the book! big perk!

• They have flexible renting periods

• With each textbook rented, a donation is made to Operation Smile love it!

 I love this not only because you save money, but because you're not stuck with those old textbooks that the school won't buy back.  Yes, I even still have some of mine from college.  

If you or someone you know is a college student, tell them about Campus Book Rentals ASAP!

Pesto Cheese Bread

Rather than just have the same ole cheese toast with dinner, I decided to experiment with a healthier version of your regular pesto cheese bread.

 

My version of pesto cheese bread:

Ingredients:

1 Ororwheat Sandwich Thin

1/2 tbsp. pesto sauce (per 1/4)

slice of tomato 

sprinkle of cheddar and swiss cheese

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 400.

2.  Slice bread.

3.  Spread pesto.

4.  Top with tomato and cheese. 

5.  Bake 10 minutes or until brown 

Sweeter Green Beans

Want to give your green beans a little more flavor?

Just add 2 tbsp. of brown sugar per can of green beans!  

Just cook the green beans as stated on the can and you've got a delicious side. It's really that easy and yummy!