Sylvia's Santa Hats

Sylvia says" They are easy to make. 

 They are like a "sea foam" cookie."

Santa Hats

2 egg whites (room temp.) 
1/2 tsp. cream of tartar 
1/4 tsp. vanilla 
1/2 cup white sugar 
Red colored sugar (sprinkles)

Beat whites until soft peaks form.  Beating whites, add cream of tartar, vanilla.  Then slowly add white sugar. 
Beat until peaks stiffen.  Spoon meringue into plastic bag.  Snip corner. 

Pipe 2 dozen 1 1/2" tall Santa hat triangles onto parchment lined baking sheet.  (1/4 meringue should be left.) 
Sprinkle triangles with red sugar.  Add pompom and trim at base of hat. 

Bake hats until hard but not brown at 200 degrees--approx. 1 hour and 20 min. 
Turn off oven--leave hats in it for an hour to crisp before moving.

Dangerous Chocolate Cake-In-A-Mug!

Thanks Jo!!

This is an awesome recipe that I recently cut out of our paper. I tried it tonight and it really works and is very tasty! I may make these as Christmas Gifts by putting the dry ingredients into a baggie with the choc. chips in a separate baggie then putting cellophane or colored plastic wrap around a Christmas mug and tying off with a ribbon.......punching a hole in a piece of paper with the recipe on it. The only thing the receiver would have to do is mix with the wet ingredients and.......voila!

Dangerous Chocolate Cake-In-A-Mug

1 coffee mug
4 Tbs. flour (cake or all-purpose)
4 Tbs. sugar
2 Tbs. cocoa
1 egg
3 Tbs. milk
3 Tbs. oil
Small splash of vanilla
3 Tbs. chocolate chips

Add dry ingredients to mug and mix well with a fork. Add egg and mix thoroughly. Add in milk, oil and vanilla and mix well. Add chocolate chips. Put mug in microwave and cook for 3 minutes for a 1,000 watt oven. Cake will rise over the top of the mug - It's OK! Allow to cool a little: tip onto a plate if desired. Serve with vanilla ice cream if desired.

Deb's White Chicken Chili

We went to a Chili Cookoff this weekend and this was the winning recipe, unfortunately I wasn't the winner. I did manage to get the recipe from the winner--it is easy and good!

2 lbs chicken breast, cooked & shredded (I used canned chicken when I made it this weekend)

1 4oz can diced green chilies

2 cups chicken broth

1 16 oz jar chunky salsa (The winner used medium)

1 48 oz jar great northern beans

16 oz shredded Monterey Jack Cheese

Cook in crockpot on low for 4 to 6 hours until cheese is melted and chili is thick.

Teddy Totters

This recipe comes from my niece Cheryl. It's called 

Teddy Totters! Jr is adorable and by the look

on his face, he's enjoying this recipe!

Here is a great snack for the kiddos!
I can believe Jr. ate it.......he's my picky eater.

You need:

Teddy Grahams Chocolate Chip
Apple
Peanut Butter

Cut your apple into wedges
Spread some peanut butter onto the wedges
Place around 3 Teddy Grahams onto the peanut butter

Now enjoy!

Strawberry Scones

Brittany treated us to Strawberry Scones tonight!

The first photo is the finished product.

Britt says she will be making these again!

4 cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar, plus additional for sprinkling
2 tablespoons baking powder
2 teaspoons salt
3/4 pound cold unsalted butter, diced
4 extra-large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup cold heavy cream
3/4 cup small-diced dried strawberries
1 egg beaten with 2 tablespoons water or milk, for egg wash

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine 4 cups of flour, 2 tablespoons sugar, baking powder, and salt. Blend in the cold butter at the lowest speed and mix until the butter is in pea-sized pieces. Combine the eggs and heavy cream and quickly add them to the flour and butter mixture. Combine until just blended. Toss the strawberries with 1 tablespoon of flour, add them to the dough, and mix quickly. The dough may be a bit sticky.

Dump the dough out onto a well-floured surface and be sure it is well combined. Flour your hands and a rolling pin and roll the dough 3/4-inch thick. You should see lumps of butter in the dough. Cut into squares with a 4-inch plain or fluted cutter, and then cut them in half diagonally to make triangles. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Brush the tops with egg wash. 

Sprinkle with sugar and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the outsides are crisp and the insides are fully baked.

Cast of Characters

Easy Parmesan Garlic Chicken

Tonight Brittany cooked a fantastic meal!

She also made dessert, Strawberry Scones!

I'll post that next!

Easy Parmesan Garlic Chicken

Prep: 5 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

1/2 cup KRAFT 100% Grated Parmesan Cheese
1 envelope GOOD SEASONS Italian Salad Dressing Mix
6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (about 2lbs)
1/2 tsp. garlic powder

Directions:
1. MIX cheese, garlic powder, and salad dressing mix.
2. MOISTEN chicken with water; coat with cheese mixture. Place in a shallow baking dish.
3. BAKE at 400F for 20-25 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Makes 6 servings.

Nutrition Information Per Serving:
230 calories, 7g total fat, 3g sat fat, 680 mg sodium, 2g carbohydrate, 37g protein

Cast of Characters 

Finished Product! It smelled so good!

Easy Spanish Rice Casserole

I got this from a recipe exchange and Josh ABSOLUTELY LOVED this tonight! I was excited because it is way EASY. When I start working full-time, I am thinking that I could even do most of this the night before and then put it in the oven the next day. I also think this would freeze well!

1 lb hamburger
1 pkg spanish rice mix bag
shredded cheese
Frito corn chips

1. Brown hamburger and drain grease.
2. Make the Spanish rice per directions in the same pot as the hamburger.
3. Pour into 9x13 pan when done. (you can see I used a round pan)
4. Sprinkle with desired amount of shredded cheese and crushed frito corn chips.
5. Bake in the oven until cheese is melted - 350 deg for about 25 minutes.
6. Top with Salsa and Sour Cream

**For the healthly ones again you could easily use ground turkey and I used the WW Mexican Cheese.