Taking baby steps toward enjoying chocolate

Little by little my kids are more and more interested in chocolate. For a long time they wouldn't touch it - but inch by inch - a Kit Kat there, a Hershey bar here... they are coming to the chocolate side of the world. They even like M&Ms. I made these cookies to share at a church event since we didn't know what the food plan was, I figured if I brought something they'd eat just incase they weren't fans of lunch. I had one that said hard pass on the cookies - and one that loved them. Baby steps. Then we brought one cookie one... it's sat on the counter and I've begged and begged, offered it up... finally yesterday someone ate it - hip hip for another empty container! Also for another reason to find another recipe to try out!

M&M Cookie Recipe
1 cup butter 2 sticks
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp table salt
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup M&M’s + more for the tops of the cookies

Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees & line 2-3 large baking sheets with parchment & set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, cream your butter & both sugars together until whipped & well combined.
Mix in eggs & vanilla.
Add in the flour, baking soda & salt & mix well.
Fold in chocolate chips & M&M’s.
Use a large cookie scoop & scoop the dough onto the prepared baking sheet.
Bake 8-10 minutes or until the tops are just barely golden brown.
Remove from the oven & immediately place additional M&M’s into the tops of the cookies, pressing lightly to make sure they get a bit melty.

Allow to cool another 2-5 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack to continue to cool to room temperature.

Once cooled, transfer to an airtight container & store at room temperature.

Potato it up!

I'm terrible at using up a bag of potatoes before they get musty and nasty. Often I'll get a bag to make a roast or something else and forget they are in the canister until I can't figure out where the funk is coming from in the kitchen - almost always the potato bin. We decided to have steak for dinner - from our wonderful Wisconsin cow - and I figured it was a good chance to use up those potatoes. I found this recipe and realized I had no parmesan so Andy grabbed some on his way home. I ended up doubling the recipe since I had more than a pound of potatoes. When I took them out of the oven we were a tad worried how much oil/butter was in the pan, but giving them a 10 minute set, the potatoes absorbed it all and they made very decadent delicious potatoes! These are not potatoes I'd make on the daily - but certainly for special occasions, potato it up!

Crispy Garlic Parmesan Crusted Potatoes
1 Pound Mini Yukon Gold Potatoes, halved
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 Tablespoon Dried Parsley
1 Tablespoon Garlic Powder
½ Teaspoon Sea Salt
½ Teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
¼ Cup Unsalted Butter, melted
1 ½ Cups Parmigiano Reggiano, freshly grated

Instructions
To make these potatoes, start by preheating your oven to 425 F.
Next, wash the potatoes and cut them in half.
Then, take your knife and "score" the potatoes by cutting diagonal lines alongside the cut-side of each potato.
Transfer the cut potatoes to a large bowl and add in the olive oil, parsley, garlic powder, sea salt, and black pepper. Toss until the potatoes are fully coated in the oil and seasonings.
Next, grate the parmigiano reggiano into a bowl and pour the melted butter on top. Mix them together until a thick paste forms.
Transfer the paste to a large baking dish and use a spoon or spatula to spread it out evenly across the bottom of the dish.
Then, transfer the potatoes to the baking dish and place them cut-side down, pressing them into the cheese mixture. Repeat until all of the potatoes are in the dish.
Finally, bake the potatoes for 25-26 minutes.

Once they're done, remove them from the oven and allow the potatoes to rest for 10 minutes, until the cheese hardens.

Then, use a spatula to remove the potatoes from the pan, serve, and enjoy!

Angel Baby turns Eight

Bernard is eight - how is he eight already? He can't possibly be that old and getting older. He's still a young spry pup who gets into trouble and steals food off the table. Or maybe he's getting more stately and laying under the table rather than begging for scraps. He's a good boy - the best boy! (Andy calls him his Angel Baby.) So we wanted to have a birthday party with his best pup friends - the dogs next door: Carl, Sullivan, and Goofy. We whipped up waffles this time. I had this old waffle stick maker from a white elephant gift exchange a lifetime ago- my cousin got it as a wedding gift, wrapped it and entered it into the game! It even had a wedding card tucked inside! It made the perfect sticks, but it took three rounds of baking to get them dry enough to get out of the maker. I also used all pumpkin and no applesauce, probably another reason they weren't the easiest. I will say the pups ALL enjoyed these waffle sticks! They were smaller and less bulky than pupcakes.

Pumpkin Dog Waffles
¾ cup (90 g) oat flour
½ teaspoon (2 g) baking powder
½ cup (64 g) shredded carrots
Wet ingredients:
½ cup (120 g) pumpkin puree
1 (1) egg
½ cup (122 g) unsweetened apple sauce

Instructions
Whisk together ½ cup pumpkin puree and 1 egg until smooth.
Stir in ½ cup unsweetened apple sauce until combined.
Add in all of the dry ingredients: ¾ cup oat flour, ½ teaspoon baking powder, ½ cup shredded carrots Mix until no dry spots remain.
Transfer batter to preheated and greased waffle iron. Cook for about 4 minutes, or waffle iron light turns green / waffles are golden brown.
Let waffles cool before feeding to your pup! Top with dog-friendly ingredients like peanut butter, bananas, strawberries, or chopped treats.

Flying meat flakes make pets live the best day in their life

I've been wanting to try gnocchi for a long time and finally picked up a package at our odd grocery store. The time is now! Decided a slow cooker soup was in order because our life is crazy busy and I like to try to make things easier. I always put the crockpot together early - a day or two even. That way I just ask Andy to put it in and turn it on that morning. I usually try to do crockpot meals when I'm not home for the day - otherwise I worry about it and poke and prod all day long. True set it and forget it is not being home and letting it cook. This recipe had a few additions an hour before serving but worked out great so I could sneak in a little walk before dinner on a cold snowy day. I was so proud of myself that I baked up some prosciutto and had it ready to top our soup! It was clumped in the container the night before so as I put my lunch in the fridge for the next day, I shook the container and shook prosciutto bits all over the kitchen, fridge, freezer, everywhere. Let's just say the dog AND the cat were my best friends and helped me clean up. Then? at serving time? Completely forget I even had the few remaining bits for on top of the soup. But alas! Tonight is leftover night and I plan to have some of that soup and try out those bits! Even if I had to sweep them out of my fridge into a container! Some days...

Slow Cooker Chicken Gnocchi Soup
2 1/2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs (or chicken breasts)
2 cups carrots, small diced
2 cups white onion, small diced
2 cups celery, small diced
2 Tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped
1 Tbsp. Herbes de Provence or poultry seasoning
1/8 tsp. paprika
1/8 tsp. red pepper chili flakes (optional)
1 Tbsp. chicken bouillon, or 1 cube
6 cloves garlic, pressed thru a garlic press
4 cups chicken stock or broth
salt and pepper, to taste. Be generous with the salt
1 lb. potato gnocchi
2 1/2-3 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 cup half and half or heavy cream
5 oz. baby spinach, or curly kale, gently torn or chopped
fresh parmesan, to garnish
3 oz. prosciutto

Instructions
Place the chicken, carrots, onion, celery, parsley, Herbes de Provence, paprika, chili flakes, chicken bouillon, garlic, chicken stock, salt, and pepper in a 6-quart slow cooker.
Be generous with the salt
Gently stir to combine. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours or on low for 7 hours.
Uncover and shred the chicken. I just do this in the slow cooker with two forks, or you can remove to a cutting board if that’s easier. Then add the chicken back in.
Whisk the cornstarch and half-and-half together. Pour into the soup. Add the gnocchi and spinach, place the lid back on, and cook for another 30-60 minutes on high. The soup should thicken and become creamy, keep stirring it and it should thicken. Add a little more cornstarch slurry if not thickening enough for your preference. Taste and adjust seasonings; add more salt and pepper as desired.
To make the crispy prosciutto, preheat the oven to 400°F. Lay prosciutto slices on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 7-8 minutes or until crispy. Allow to cool, then break or chop into pieces.
Ladle into bowls, top with crispy prosciutto, and parmesan, and serve with warm, crusty bread.

Don't you go judging my midwestern weather....

Since I can't seem to get cinnamon chips shipped out to me from Utah... no really - they say it's too warm in my area - at least last I tried, I decided to give this a go with the intended mini chocolate chips. While my family isn't super excited about that, I was. These muffins are amazing. If you want a muffin that means business - these are them! Regardless of the mix in. They have a LOT of baking powder and you pile up the batter to make some tall delicious muffins! Eat them warm or pop them in the microwave for a little bit to melt that chocolate and make it even better! What a treat! Maybe I'll try to order those cinnamon chips again... the nerve, judging me and my midwestern weather! The nerve of some people!

Chocolate Chip Muffin Recipe
Ingredients
4 cups (480g) all-purpose flour
1 ½ cup (300g) granulated sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp nutmeg, can also use cinnamon
4 large eggs
1 cup (240ml) whole milk or 2% milk, can also use buttermilk
½ cup (118ml) vegetable oil, can also use olive oil, avocado oil, canola oil
4 Tbsp (57g) unsalted butter, melted & cooled
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups (340g) semi-sweet chocolate chips, divided (I used regular and minis)
In a mixing bowl combine the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg. Stir with a spoon to combine, set aside.
In a larger mixing bowl combine the eggs, milk, vegetable oil, cooled & melted butter, and vanilla extract. Stir to combine.
Gradually mix the dry ingredients and 1 ½ cups chocolate chips into the wet ingredients, mixing just until combined. The batter will be very thick!
Cover the bowl with a towel and allow the batter to rest for 15 minutes. During this time, preheat the oven to 425ºF / 220ºC.
For bakery style muffins, line a 12 count muffin pan with 6 muffins liners, meaning you’ll only fill every other muffin well with batter. Fill the liners with 6-8 heaping tablespoons of batter. Top the muffins with the remaining chocolate chips. Sprinkle them with sanding sugar.
Place one pan in the center of the oven and bake for 7 minutes at 425ºF / 220ºC, then keep the muffins in the oven, turn the temperature down to 350ºF and bake for 12-16 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow the muffins to cool in the pan. Repeat with the remaining batter, bumping the temperature back up to 425ºF.