Tasty Tuesday–Cheesy Cornbread Waffles and Slow Cooker Chicken Chili

Welcome to Tasty Tuesday here at The Young'ns!
There’s a recipe index under the food tab above if you’re ever looking for a recipe I’ve already blogged.

It’s been hot here this week. Like mid-90s hot. Not when I want to use the oven or the stove particularly. Enter the slow cooker. And the waffle maker. I’m learning that my waffle maker is good for more than just plain waffles.

I came across this idea on Pinterest, and thought I’d give it a whirl. I also took a chicken chili recipe from an online cookbook and modified for mild-food-me. Tim said it was still flavorful enough, but I think he ended up adding Tabasco :) So here’s…

Cheesy Cornbread Waffles and Slow Cooker Chicken Chili

{Ingredients}

FOR THE CHILI:

• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into small pieces
• 1 can black or pinto beans
• 2 cans petite diced tomatoes
• 8 ounces tomato paste
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp salt or to taste
• extra cheese for topping later

FOR THE WAFFLES:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup cornmeal
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 cup club soda
• 1/3 cup canola oil

{Directions}

• Put everything for chili in slow cooker and cook for 6-8 hours on low or 3-4 hours on high.
• For the waffles, mix first 5 ingredients in a large bowl (I used my KitchenAid). Stir in cheese. Combine eggs and next 3 ingredients; gently stir into dry ingredients just until blended.
• Pour the recommended amount into your waffle maker. Mine does well with 1/2 cup batter. It will be thin when you pour it in, don’t worry! Cook for 3-4 minutes.
• Once waffle is done, you can eat right away, or freeze on cookie sheet and store in gallon ziplock bag for later use. If you freeze them, thaw them in the microwave, then pop them in the toaster to get a little crispier before adding the chili.
• Place waffle on your plate, load it up with chili, then add some extra cheese. I used Monterey jack, and Tim used pepper jack, so whatever sounds good to you!

Oh yea, one other bonus about this recipe: both my little boys thought it was amazing! (Kahlen is a super picky, plain food kinda kid, just like I was, so she didn’t like the chili at all. Cornbread waffle: good. Chili: yuck). Another bonus: the chili is really easy to throw together, so I actually got it ready on Monday, froze it, then was able to just dump the bag in the crockpot today without any other prep work. Dinner with less than 10 minutes of prep time today? Yes, please!

~S

Tasty Tuesday–Chocolate Chip Cookies Tutorial (Also includes directions for a “Big Cookie”)

Welcome to Tasty Tuesday here at The Young'ns!
There’s a recipe index under the food tab above if you’re ever looking for a recipe I’ve already blogged.

We all have a recipe for chocolate chip cookies, right?? Well, I’ve had several people tell me that mine are fantastic, and I really have no idea why mine turn out better than some. So, I thought maybe a tutorial would help. My husband’s all-time favorite cookies are chocolate chip. Add kids to that, and I basically *have* to be good at making them! I timed myself once, and I can have a batch of dough ready in less than five minutes. If' I take longer to make the dough than it takes the oven to heat up, I’ve taken too long :-)

Anyway, Chocolate Chip Cookies in pictures:

{Ingredients}

• 1 cup butter (2 sticks), salted. The real deal. No substitutions.
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar (that’s the regular white kind)
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla. or so. I actually add a bit more than that,  but that’s a personal preference. Also, you’ll see in the picture that I attempted to make my own vanilla extract. It didn’t work all that well, but that’s a story for another day
• 2 1/4 cup all purpose flour. I usually use Hungarian High Altitude, but I’m currently out, oops.
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 cups Nestle Chocolate Morsels. Do yourself a favor and don’t get the generic ones.

{Tools I Use}

• Stand Mixer. I have a large KitchenAid 6-Quart Stand Mixer that I love, but I bet another one would work just fine too.
• Parchment Paper. You can use a silicone baking sheet too, like a Silpat Non-Stick Baking Mat, but I really just like to use the disposable kind.
• Medium Cookie Scoop. Mine is Pampered Chef, but again, another one would work as well. My smaller one is from Bed, Bath, and Beyond, and works fine too.

{Directions}

• Soften butter. I do this by unwrapping it into a bowl and microwaving it for 20 seconds. You can tell it’s done when you can dent the top with your finger, but there’s no melted butter in the bowl.                                      
• Place both sugars and the softened butter in the mixer and turn on low. Mix until creamy, about one minute. It should look something like this when it’s done:
• While that’s going, mix flour, baking soda, and salt in a separate bowl. I usually just give it a bit of a stir with the teaspoon measurer.
• Add both eggs and the vanilla to the mixer bowl.
• Mix until it looks something like this: Beware of overmixing at this stage. You still have to mix in the dry ingredients and you don’t want your cookies to be tough. Just mix until it’s pretty well combined, but you don’t have to kill it!
• Slowly add in the flour, a bit at a time, until all flour is combined. I basically cover the top of the dough with flour, and then let it mix just a bit before adding more. The reason you don’t want to add all of it is so that it doesn’t make a huge pouf of a mess AND so that you don’t overwhelm your mixer. Also, for this step, you’ll want to make sure that it’s really all mixed in! So if you need to stop the mixer and use a spatula to scrape down the bowl a bit, do it! I also find that sometimes the very very bottom middle doesn’t get mixed well, so I usually scrape  that too.Okay, your dough should look like this now.
• Add the chocolate chips and mix just enough to combine. DO NOT OVERMIX!! This is important because you want those chips to stay whole and you really don’t want tough cookies. Really.
• Now is where you’re going to love that cookie scoop and parchment paper. Lay out the parchment paper on two cookie sheets and scoop away! I have played with the configuration of the cookie balls a lot, and here’s what I have found to be the best: 8 cookies staggered like this will leave enough room between them so they don’t get stuck together, but doesn’t waste too much space either.
• Bake for 9-10 minutes. They won’t look done yet. That’s okay, pull them out anyway. They should be just getting brown along the top and edges, but only a tiny bit.These are done!    These are a little bit overdone. See the one in the bottom right? Brown all over. Too done.
• Let cool on a rack until all the way cool. Then you’ll see why you pulled them out “early”. They brown a bit and harden a bit after they’re cool. Whatever you do, DO NOT stack them before they’re all the way cool. You’ll end up with ball-o-cookie (not that I’ve ever done that before, right Mom?)                      Try not to burn yourself as you break one open and enjoy the ooey gooey chocolately goodness

 

Okay, a note about “bar” cookies. There’s a restaurant (or two or three) that have those yummy big cookies a la mode, some of them being better than others. Want to make one at home? It’s way easier than you think! Use a 9” cake pan and this recipe for cookie dough

It takes half of a batch of dough to make a cookie this size, so you can either make two big cookies, or make one big cookie and about 16 regular cookies, your choice.

To bake the big cookie, pat it into the cake pan and bake in a 350 degree oven for 25 or so minutes. You want it to get a bit browner than the cookies so that the middle gets all the way done. I forgot to take a picture right after I pulled it out of the oven, so this looks a bit darker than when I actually pulled it out

Slice it like a pie and eat with a glass of milk or a scoop of vanilla ice cream, delicious!

 

I hope this helps in your chocolate chip cookie endeavors! Let me know how they turn out :-)

~S

Wordless Wednesday–Waffles

During the snow storm we had on Sunday, I made waffles. Lots of waffles. A double batch of Chocolate Chip Buttermilk Waffles. I used this recipe, but I used cinnamon and vanilla as stated in the recipe instead of orange extract and pure lemon. I put chocolate chips on top of the batter before I closed the waffle maker, and ta-da! Chocolate Chip Waffles! I ended up with three gallon bags full of frozen waffles. I’m hoping they last more than a week, but with my kids (and hubby), you never know…Shane alone can eat almost a whole one for breakfast!

Yum!

~S

Linking up at:

Tasty Tuesday–Carrot and Spinach Lasagna with Lemon Sauce

Welcome to Tasty Tuesday here at The Young'ns!
There’s a recipe index under the food tab above if you’re ever looking for a recipe I’ve already blogged.

I’m going to try embedding a recipe that I have entered into Kitchen Monki, which is a resource that I love! Let’s see if it will work…

~S

Tasty Tuesday–Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Welcome to another week of Tasty Tuesday here at The Young'ns!
There’s a recipe index under the food tab above if you’re ever looking for a recipe I’ve already blogged.
Every Monday, I plan on trying a new recipe. If it goes well, that’s what I’ll be posting on Tasty Tuesday. If not, I’ll post a tried and true (i.e. something I don’t have to think about too hard) ;)

I got this recipe out of the newspaper many many years ago. I still like it with the lettuce occasionally, but hubby doesn’t, so usually I make it and just serve it with rice or noodles. I guess I really should rename it to something else, but originally it was a lettuce wrap recipe, so that’s how I think of it in my brain ;)

{Ingredients}

• 4 Chicken Breast halves, boneless, skinless.
• 3 Tbsp Sesame Oil, warmed
• 4 cloves Garlic, Minced
• ½ cup Carrots
• 1 can Water Chestnuts
• 4 Scallions, Chopped
• 7 oz Mushrooms
• 3 Tbsp Cilantro, Chopped
• 4 Tbsp Soy Sauce
• 1 tsp Sugar
• ½ tsp Hot Red Pepper Flakes
• ¼ c Salted Peanuts
• 8 Large Leaves Iceberg Lettuce OR Rice OR Ramen Noodles

{Directions}

1. Chop chicken, carrots and water chestnuts into very small pieces
2. If you’re making rice, start it now.
3. In a large bowl, stir together Sesame Oil, Chicken, Garlic, Carrots and Water Chestnuts
4. Pour mixture into a wok or large-sided skillet, stir-fry until chicken is firm and cooked through, about 4 minutes
5. Chop Scallions, Mushrooms, and Peanuts into very small pieces.
6. Stir in Scallions, Cilantro, Soy Sauce, Sugar, Red Pepper Flakes, Peanuts, and Mushrooms. Remove from heat.
7. To serve, lay a lettuce leaf on each plate, top with chicken mixture. Pour Teriyaki or Soy Sauce on top. Fold insides of lettuce leaf to create wrap. Serve immediately.

~S

Tasty Tuesday (on a Thursday)–Baked Pasta Casserole

Welcome to another week of Tasty Tuesday here at The Young'ns!
There’s a recipe index under the food tab above if you’re ever looking for a recipe I’ve already blogged.
Every Monday, I plan on trying a new recipe. If it goes well, that’s what I’ll be posting on Tasty Tuesday. If not, I’ll post a tried and true (i.e. something I don’t have to think about too hard) ;)

So, I mentioned in my Menu Plan Monday post that I was making this tasty classic this week and was shocked to see that I haven’t posted the recipe yet! I have no idea where we originally got this recipe, but growing up, we made it often. It’s simple yet delicious and much more interesting than just plain ol’ noodles and sauce. This is the way I make it, I’m sure my mom and my sister (if she still makes it) and even my dad have their own little tweaks to it :) This time, I made it with mini farfalle and served it with a side of peas. Kahlen still won’t eat anything that looks at all interesting, so she had just plain noodles, but Nate thought it was awesome. Fresh garlic bread would also be good with it. And dang, we ate it before I could take a picture :/

Baked Pasta Casserole with Chicken

Serves 6 adults.

Prep Time: 20 minutes + 40 minutes baking time

{Ingredients}

• 1 pound noodles, any kind
• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 teaspoon season salt
• 1 large container cottage cheese, small curd (I think the container is 1 lb 8 oz)
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• 2/3 cup fresh grated parmesan or other hard Italian cheese, plus more for topping
• 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic or about 3 cloves
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 large jar spaghetti sauce

{Directions}

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cook noodles according to package.
3. Melt butter in a skillet. Dice chicken and add to skillet. Cook until about half done, about 5 minutes, and add season salt. Cook until chicken is completely cooked, about 10 minutes total.
4. Combine cottage cheese, mozzarella, parmesan, parsley, garlic, and salt and pepper in a medium bowl.
5. Spray a 9 x 13 or similar-sized casserole dish with cooking spray. Spread a thin layer of sauce on the bottom. Layer half of cheese mixture, half of chicken, a thick layer of noodles, and then a layer of sauce. Repeat all layers. Top with a sprinkling of parmesan cheese.
6. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30-40 minutes, until it’s bubbly and hot through.

~S

A Baby Shower…Thank You, Pinterest!

Almost three months ago (already?!?), I co-hosted a baby shower for a dear friend and her new baby son, Oliver. This is her fourth, so we wanted to keep it simple, but I still wanted it to be special. So, of course, I waited until that week to start planning anything ;) Pinterest saved me! I found all the ideas a gal could want or ever dream up, and then had to pick the ones I actually had time to do before the party :) Being the hostess, I didn’t get as many pictures as I wanted, but I did get a few.

Here are a few ideas I used. Some I got from other showers I’ve been to recently, including the one thrown for Shane and I (by Oliver’s mommy).

Name banner (using my cricut and paper I already had). The wolf painting was just on the wall of the venue.

 

Babies in a blanket (I just used lil’ smokies, crescent rolls, and cheddar cheese)

  Blue Butter Rich Spritz Cookies (L) and Chocolate Crèmes (R) (Scroll down on her post for recipes)

I didn’t get any pictures, but I also made delicious Iced Almond Joy Lattes ahead of time. Iced lattes are so much easier to make than hot ones!! They hold their flavor much better, especially when I used frozen latte cubes to ice it.

Here’s my original recipe for Iced Almond Joy Lattes with Latte Ice Cubes. This recipe makes a 1/2 gallon, so scale accordingly.

{Ingredients}

For the ice cubes

• 3/4 cup espresso or very strong coffee
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup coffee syrup in any flavor, I used caramel

For the lattes:

• 2 cups espresso or very strong coffee
• 1/2 cup white chocolate coffee syrup
• 1/2 cup almond coffee syrup
• 1/2 cup coconut coffee syrup
• 4 cups milk

{Directions}

1. Make the ice cubes ahead of time (obviously) by combining all ingredients and pouring into ice cube tray.
2. Mix all latte ingredients in 1/2 gallon pitcher and store in refrigerator.
3. Just before serving, put ice cubes into pitcher. When they melt, they do not dilute the drink any and they keep it nice and cold.

---

Another idea that I used and loved, but didn’t get any pictures of, was a blessings board. Since Oliver was already here, this worked out to put his name on the cards., but you can really do it anyway you like. There are no directions about how to make one on the site I found it on, so I improvised. Remember, this was the week of, and I still have three kids. And no pictures of the finished product :( Imagine with me…

{Supplies}

• Fabric. Any size will do, but about 14” x 14” would probably be ideal.
• Cardboard. Just a little smaller than your fabric, so about 12” x 12” would be great. I used a smaller piece because all I could find that day was a small diaper box. Use what you have!
• Coordinating ribbon. About 2 feet.
• Glue gun
• Scrapbook paper. 1 or 2 12” x 12” sheets should be plenty. You could use plain paper too.
• Push pins

{Directions}

1. Hot glue the fabric onto the cardboard, wrapping around to the back.

2. Hot glue the ribbon to make a hangar.                               

3. Print scrapbook paper so that it says “Blessings for ____” either putting in baby’s name or just “baby”. I used Publisher to make this Blessings for Baby pdf. I cut the paper in half, so it was 6” x 12”. The tags were each 6” by 3” so that I could fit 4 on a half page. I’ll post the one I used, but it’s a “legal size”. This works for my laser printer, which prints from the middle of the page, but not my ink jet which prints from one side. I just want to give you a visual on what the cards look like, since I don’t have any pictures :(
4. Cut the paper and fold in half.
5. Use push pins to attach to blessings board.
6. Hang somewhere so that guests can write a wish or verse or whatever they desire for the baby and mommy.

Well, this post is getting long, and that’s all I can remember three months later! Hooray for baby Oliver! Thanks, Melissa, for letting me throw you a sprinkle :-)

~S

Tasty Tuesday–White Mac’n’Cheese

Welcome to another week of Tasty Tuesday here at The Young'ns!
There’s a recipe index under the food tab above if you’re ever looking for a recipe I’ve already blogged.
Every Monday, I plan on trying a new recipe. If it goes well, that’s what I’ll be posting on Tasty Tuesday. If not, I’ll post a tried and true (i.e. something I don’t have to think about too hard) ;)

I found this recipe for Macaroni and Cheese Panera Style on Pinterest a few weeks ago, and it sounded quite tasty. But, then I read all the ingredients and the prep method, and it left something to be desired. So, here’s my version. But since I changed several ingredients and I don’t know that I’ve really ever had Panera’s mac’n’cheese, we’ll just call it White Mac’n’Cheese, mmmkay?

{Ingredients}

• 1 pound medium pasta shells
• 5 tbsp butter
• 4 tbsp flour
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 4 oz grated sharp Vermont white cheddar cheese
• 4 oz grated Monterey jack cheese
• pinch of salt
• pinch of pepper
• dash of garlic powder
• 1/4 cup panko bread crumbs
• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
• 1/4 cup Italian dressing

{Directions}

1. Boil pasta shells until just cooked and tender. Drain.
2. While pasta is cooking, melt butter over medium in 2.5 qt sauce pan (or a deep skillet works well too). Add flour and whisk until it starts to turn brown. Just until it STARTS turning brown! If it’s too light, it will taste like flour. If it’s too dark, it will taste burned and be lumpy. So take your time on this step!!
3. Mix milk and heavy cream together. Pour slowly into the butter/flour mixture (now called a roux), whisking the entire time to avoid lumps.
4. Continue to stir until just boiling and it starts to get thick, about 4 minutes. Do not turn the heat up! Medium is fast enough and will give you time to get any lumps out before it gets too thick.
5. Once it is just boiling, remove from heat and add the cheese a bit at a time, stirring the whole time, until cheese is all melted and sauce is smooth. If it’s not melting very well, put the pan back on the heat over low.
6. If, at this point, you think the sauce is much too thick, add a bit more milk to thin it out. But remember, you want it to be pretty thick, just not like library paste.
7. Season with salt, pepper, and garlic. Pour sauce over noodles and transfer to serving dish. Sprinkle top with panko.
8. For the chicken: put thinly sliced chicken in a skillet with Italian dressing and cook over medium heat until chicken is done, about 8 minutes (if you’re me. If you’re my husband, it’s more like 15 minutes because he likes it all dried out, blech). I usually do this step while I’m making the white sauce, but it’s up to you.
9. To serve, scoop some noodles into a bowl and lay some strips of chicken on top. Mmm, creamy and cheesy! Delish!

PS As long as you don’t call it mac’n’cheese, the kids love this dish too! Are my kids the only ones that think mac’n’cheese MUST be yellow in order for it to qualify?? I had to tell them it was noodles with white sauce

~S

Linking up at Beauty and Bedlam and It’s A Blog Party

Tasty Tuesday–Taco Dump Soup

Welcome to another week of Tasty Tuesday here at The Young'ns!
There’s a recipe index under the food tab above if you’re ever looking for a recipe I’ve already blogged.
Every Monday, I plan on trying a new recipe. If it goes well, that’s what I’ll be posting on Tasty Tuesday. If not, I’ll post a tried and true (i.e. something I don’t have to think about too hard) ;)

I can’t believe I haven’t posted this yet! This is a super easy and tasty recipe. There’s a reason it’s called dump soup :)

{Ingredients}

• 1 pound ground turkey (or whatever ground meat you want)
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 package taco seasoning
• 1 package ranch seasoning
• 3 14.5-oz cans diced tomatoes OR 2 big cans
• 1 can black beans
• 1 can pinto beans
• 1 cup frozen corn OR 1 can kernel corn
• 1 cup salsa OR 1 can Rotel

{Directions}

1. Brown meat and onion. Drain.
2. Add seasoning packets.
3. Drain beans.
4. Add rest of ingredients: tomatoes, beans, corn, and salsa.
5. Simmer until well blended and hot, about 5 minutes.
6. Serve with sour cream and shredded cheese, if desired. Also good served with a small quesadilla.

What did I tell you? Super-easy! In fact, Kahlen made most of it this time…

~S

Linking up at Beauty and Bedlam and It’s A Blog Party

Tasty Tuesday–Red Beans & Sausage

Welcome to another week of Tasty Tuesday here at The Young'ns!
There’s a recipe index under the food tab above if you’re ever looking for a recipe I’ve already blogged.
Every Monday, I plan on trying a new recipe. If it goes well, that’s what I’ll be posting on Tasty Tuesday. If not, I’ll post a tried and true (i.e. something I don’t have to think about too hard) ;)

I got this “recipe” from a friend, who brought it to me after I had Shane. I love receiving meals from friends for many reasons, but one is to get new food ideas for my family.

Red Beans & Sausage

{Ingredients}

{Directions}

• Make Zatarain’s as directed. Cut up half of sausage. Put into red beans. Eat and be amazed.

Simple and delicious. Cheating? A bit, but ever so tasty. Thanks, Kayt!

~S

Tasty Tuesday–Bread Machine Pizza Dough

Welcome to another week of Tasty Tuesday here at The Young'ns!
There’s a recipe index under the food tab above if you’re ever looking for a recipe I’ve already blogged.
Every Monday, I plan on trying a new recipe. If it goes well, that’s what I’ll be posting on Tasty Tuesday. If not, I’ll post a tried and true (i.e. something I don’t have to think about too hard) ;)
Wow, how can it be that I have not posted this recipe yet?!? This is another great tried and true bread machine recipe, although I bet it would work without the bread machine too. We like pizza around here, who doesn’t? But we like it to be a tiny bit more healthy, so this is my light wheat version of the crust :) This recipe makes enough for two large pizzas or four individual pizzas.
Bread Machine Pizza Dough
{Ingredients}

• 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 2 cups wheat flour
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 1/4 warm water (microwave for 40 seconds)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 1/4 teaspoons yeast

{The rest of the ingredients}

• Cornmeal
• Olive Oil
• Sauce
• Toppings
• Cheese

{Directions}

• Place in bread machine pan according to your manufacturer’s directions (or your preference, I actually do mine backwards from what my machine says to do)
• Wait 45 minutes (or whatever your machine says) for some tasty goodness. Roll out on a surface lightly dusted with cornmeal. Brush dough with olive oil before adding sauce, toppings, and cheese. Have you tried mixing cheeses, like mozzarella and cheddar? How about adding cream cheese chunks as a topping? So many choices!!
• Bake at 400 degrees for 10-15 minutes, depending on your preferences and the amount of toppings. The kids’ plain cheese pizza cooks for 10 minutes, mine with a few toppings cooks for about 12, and hubby’s cooks for 17 (he likes his crust *well* done plus he puts on a lot of toppings).

NOTE: This recipe works great where I live at high altitude (~5000 feet). You may need to adjust yeast, liquid, and flour amounts by a bit to get it to be perfect for you, especially if you live at lower elevations.

What’s your favorite pizza toppings? I get stuck in a rut with chicken and pineapple, looking for some creative ideas; I’d love to hear from you!
~S
Linking up at Beauty and Bedlam and It’s A Blog Party

*EDITED TO ADD* I just started making this in my mixer instead because I now need to make two batches since we eat a ton of pizza AND we like to have leftovers :) So, here's the modifications/steps to make it in a stand mixer instead:

• Place warm water, yeast, and sugar in mixer bowl. Stir to combine and let sit for five minutes.
• Add oil, salt, and one cup of flour to mixer bowl. Using dough hook, start up the mixer on a low speed. Keep adding flour until all is added. 
• Knead using dough hook for several minutes, until a ball is formed and it looks well mixed.
• Divide into two balls. Place in greased bowl in a warm place, like on top of the stove, covered with a towel, for 30-45 minutes. 
• Continue with directions