Rocky Road Cookies

Justus loves rocky road ice cream, so I thought we'd try a cookie version. Tastes more like a brownie, but it's definitely rocky road flavored. In fact, we thought next time we would try baking it as brownies. Maybe with a little less flour, though. Or add water.

Ingredients:
2 cups chocolate chips (we used semi sweet)
1 stick butter
2 eggs
2/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 t. Vanilla
3/4 cup flour
1/4 c. Cocoa
1 heaping t. Baking powder
1/4 t. Salt
1-2 cups chopped walnuts
1/2 cup mini marshmallows

Directions:
Melt butter and chocolate chips. Let cool. Beat eggs, sugar and vanilla. Add dry ingredients and mix. Stir in walnuts. Drop by tablespoon full onto greased cookie sheet. Push a couple of marshmallows gently into the top of each cookie.
Bake for 10 minutes at 325.

Italian Sausage Soup

I bought some of those chicken sausage links (Italian seasoned) the other day and didn't really know what to do with them. And with all this snow and cold, a soup was calling me.  I've never actually made a sausage soup...weird, I know. So I just started throwing things together and this is what I came up with. It was actually really good and warmed me right up. Kids liked it, too.

Ingredients:
2 Italian sausage links, I prefer chicken sausage (probably about half a pound?) Or ground Italian sausage.
1/2 cup diced onion
1 large or 2 small potatoes, chopped
1 can white beans (any type you like), drained and rinsed
1 cup chopped spinach
4 cups chicken broth
1 cup water (or more, depending on how thin you want it)
1 cup milk
Bay leaf
Basil
Garlic powder, Salt & pepper to taste

Optional: Small pasta, like Ditilini

Directions:
Remove sausage from casings and cook in pot with onions. (I cooked it in bacon grease, because I love the flavor it adds. You could use oil.) Add potatoes and broth/water, bay leaf and other spices. Cook for a few minutes then add beans and pasta, if using. (I don't think it really needs pasta, but I wanted it to be more filling.  Either way will be yummy.)  When potatoes are almost done, add spinach. Cook until noodles and potatoes are tender. Stir in milk. Taste and adjust if needed.

Quick Ranch Dressing

This is so easy to throw together. Its also great to be able to season it to your liking. Try adding cilantro or bacon or cucumber. It doesn't keep long, so only make up how much you will use within a few days.
For base:
Any combination of mayonnaise, sour cream, buttermilk or plain yogurt. (I use whey from straining my home made yogurt if I have it on hand.) What you use depends on how thick you like it, your tastes and what you have in the fridge. Any or all will work. Here's what I used...

1/3 c mayonnaise
1/3 c sour cream
1/3 c buttermilk

Season to taste, example:
1/2 t. Dried chives
1/2 t. Parsley
1/2 t. dried dill
1/4 t. Onion powder
1/4 t. Garlic powder
Dash salt & pepper

Stir and refrigerate for half hour before serving.

Pineapple Upside-down Cake Frozen Yogurt

I was going to make a regular cake batter frozen yogurt, but Justus-in his geniusness- suggested we add pineapple. (he loves pineapple upside down cake.) It was a great idea and turned out AWESOME!  I might make one and a half this recipe next time, it didn't fill my ice cream maker.

Mix in a bowl:
1 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup pineapple juice
1/2 cup boxed cake mix (I used  yellow, the kind with "pudding in the mix")
1/2 cup sugar

Freeze in ice cream maker.

Thai Massaman Curry

Our all time favorite Thai dish. This is really yummy, but we are still trying to perfect it. We keep it mild so the kids will eat it (and they love it) but you can add more curry paste if you like it hot.

Ingredients:
3 T Massaman curry paste (you can substitute other curry paste, but beware some are hotter than others.)
1/4 cup onion, chopped in chunks
1t. Garlic, diced
1/2 t. Fresh ginger, diced
2 cans or <1 quart coconut milk (not lite)
1-2 carrots, coined
1 potato, cut in chunks
1 chicken breast or 2 tenderloins, raw (you could also used already cooked chicken and just at it towards the end)
Optional: 1/2 can pineapple chunks, drained (Jim likes them in his. I don't.)
*some people like to put chopped peanuts our cilantro on top. I don't care either way.

Spices: ( if you don't have these things that is still good without them. You can also adjust the amount to your tastes.)
1/2 t. Ground cardamom
1/2 t. Ground Coriander
Pinch ground cloves

Directions:
saute onion, garlic, ginger and curry paste in a little oil for a couple of minutes. Add in the thick part of the coconut milk that is on the top of the can, about 1/2 cup. let that cook on medium low while you are chopping up the vegetables, at least 5 minutes. add in vegetables, chicken and spices with remaining coconut milk. (the exact amount of coconut milk is not really important, you can add more if you like more liquid) when chicken is done cooking, remove it from the pot and cut into chunks. if you are using pineapple, add it now. continue cooking until vegetables are barely tender. return chicken to the pot then adjust spices to taste.
Serve over jasmine rice.
Tip: serve the curry in a bowl beside the rice so you can scoop it over top as you go. if you pour all on top to begin with, it will soak in and become dry toward the end.

Frozen Yogurt

Ingredients
1-1/2 cups low fat milk
1 cup plain yogurt, store-bought or homemade
2/3 cups sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Optional stir-ins: fruit, chocolate, cookies, etc. (I used frozen raspberries, thawed and mashed.)
In a heavy pot, combine sugar and cornstarch (leave out if using strained/Greek yogurt).  Stir in milk. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture is thickened. Don't worry if mixture doesn't thicken without cornstarch. 

Remove from heat and cool.  Blend in vanilla and yogurt.  Freeze in your ice cream maker about half an hour or until it reaches soft serve consistency. If you want to add something smooth (melted chocolate, pureed fruit, etc.) you can add it now. If it is chunky, add it when ice cream is almost set.

Chicken and White Bean Enchiladas

I can't think of a time I have ever disliked a chicken enchilada. There are so many ways to make them, and I change it up depending on my mood and what I have on hand. This is currently my favorite easy enchilada recipe.

Ingredients:
White sauce seasoned with chicken flavoring, garlic and onion powder
1/2 cup salsa Verde or tomatillo salsa (more our less to taste)
3 oz cream cheese, softened
1-2 cups chicken, cooked and shredded (leftover chicken works great)
1 can white beans, drained & rinsed
1 cup shredded cheese (I used cheddar)
Tortillas

Directions:
Make seasoned white sauce. Add salsa and cream cheese. Reserve about 3/4 cup for topping. Add chicken and beans. Scoop mixture in middle of tortilla and roll up, closing both ends. Place in greased baking pan. Continue until you run out of filling, lining enchiladas side by side. (If you have more than you need, these freeze wonderfully, uncooked)
Top enchiladas with remaining sauce and cheese.
Cook at 375 for about 20 minutes or until cheese is melted.