Oatmeal Chip Cookies

I made these while we were in South Padre, and they are just absolutely delicious. I'm really not a fan of oatmeal raisin cookies, but replace the raisins with CHOCOLATE, and oh, em, gee. Delicious.

Recipe adapted from here.

1 cup butter, melted

1 cup white sugar

1 cup packed brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 cups old-fashioned oats

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

1. Cream together the butter and sugars in a large bowl. Beat in the eggs and vanilla.

2. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add to the sugar mixture.

3. Fold in the oats and chocolate chips.

4. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto a lightly greased cookie sheet, about 2 inches apart.

5. Bake at 350 for 11-12 minutes. Cool on wire racks.

6. Eat (for breakfast if you want, because you know they have oats, which means it's basically like oatmeal...hehe)!

Enjoy!

Chocolate Velvet Ice Cream

We're absolutely in love with making homemade ice cream. It just tastes so much better than anything you can buy at the store! Here's a tried-and-true recipe: classic chocolate!

I forgot to get a photo until Jeff was eating the last bit, so this was the best I could do! Haha!

Recipe from here.

2/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup cocoa powder
3 egg yolks, beaten
2 2/3 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips, grated or chopped (I just put them in a Ziploc and crushed them with a rolling pin)

1. Stir together sugar and cocoa.
2. Add in egg yolks and mix well with a mixer.
3. Add cream a little at a time, beating well.
4. Stir in chocolate chips.
5. Put in an ice cream maker and freeze according to your ice cream maker's directions (I put mine in for 30 minutes).
6. Eat! :o)

Yummy!

Strawberry Coconut Cake

This cake is delicious. I mean, all cakes are delicious, but this one is particularly delicious and summery and just lovely! The icing is a perfect cream cheese buttercream, and the cake is so yummy!

Recipe most made up but somewhat adapted from here.

CAKE:

1 box white cake mix
1 3oz box strawberry gelatin powder
2 tbsp flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1/2 cup water
1 lb fresh strawberries, hulled and finely diced
2 tsp vanilla, divided
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
1 8oz block cream cheese, at room temperature
2 sticks (1 cup) butter, at room temperature
32 oz powdered sugar
Extra strawberries and/or coconut to decorate the cake

1. Mix cake mix, gelatin, flour, baking powder, and sugar in a large bowl.
2. Beat in oil, eggs, water, and 1 tsp vanilla. Mix well.
3. Fold in 1/3 cup of the diced strawberries (save the rest) and shredded coconut.
4. Pour into two 8 or 9-inch round cake pans (greased and floured).
5. Bake at 350 for 18-25 minutes.
6. Cool cakes completely on wire racks before icing.
7. To make frosting, cream together butter, cream cheese, and 1 tsp vanilla until smooth.
8. Add powdered sugar a little at a time and mix until smooth.
9. To assemble cake, top the bottom layer with a coat of icing and the rest of the strawberries. Place the upper layer on top, and then ice the entire cake with the frosting. Decorate with strawberries and/or coconut.

Lemon Burst Cookies

My law school friend Courteney recommended this recipe, and it's wonderfully simple and delicious! If you like lemon, you'll love these!

Recipe from here.

1 box lemon cake mix
1 8oz tub Cool Whip (I used the low-fat and it worked just fine!)
1 egg
 1/2 cup powdered sugar (for rolling)

1. Beat cake mix, Cool Whip, and egg until well blended. Dough will be really thick and sticky.
2. Drop dough by teaspoonfuls into powdered sugar and roll to coat.
3. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes.

Crock-Pot Hawaiian Chicken

Here's another super-easy recipe. This recipe is so easy that it shouldn't even be called a recipe. Honestly, you just stick stuff in a slow cooker and it magically makes food. This, my friends, is why slow cookers were invented!

Recipe from here.

4-6 frozen chicken breasts
1 bottle of Target's Archer Farms Hawaiian-style barbecue sauce
1 20oz can of pineapple chunks, drained

1. Spray your slow cooker with cooking spray.
2. Put chicken breasts in the slow cooker.
3. Dump sauce on top of chicken.
4. Dump pineapple on top of sauce.
5. Cook on high for 2-3 hours or low for 4-6 hours.
6. Shred chicken with a couple of forks (while it's still in the Crock-Pot, so it gets covered in the yummy sauce).
7. Serve alone or over rice.

So easy!

Pre-cooking

Post-cooking!

Enjoy!

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Chocolate Rolo Cookies

Lately I've been totally into simple recipes. My summer schedule is more of a "work long business hours and come home just in time to throw dinner together, then relax with the husband" sort of thing, and not so much a "go to school then come home and leisurely cook in the afternoon and then study into the wee hours of the morning" sort of thing. Overall, I think I like the summer schedule, but I'm not spending as much time in the kitchen as I used to. Luckily, these cookies are quick, easy, and yummy!

This recipe is super simple, and I made them especially for my little sister, Kristen, who loves Rolos and recently came home from college (summer school... yuck!) for a few weeks.

Recipe adapted from here.

1 bag of Rolos, unwrapped
1 box Devil's Food cake mix
2 eggs
1/3 cup vegetable or canola oil

Mix the cake mix, oil, and eggs in a bowl. Cover each Rolo in a small amount of the dough (just enough to barely cover the Rolo!) and roll into a ball. Bake at 350 for 7-8 minutes.

I got about 4 dozen out of this recipe, and they were delicious!!!

Yummy!!

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Apple Pie Ice Cream

In my family, homemade ice cream is a July 4th tradition. When I found a recipe for apple pie ice cream, I knew I had to make it for the Fourth! It doesn't get much more American than Apple Pie Ice Cream!

Let me just tell you... I think this is the best ice cream I've ever tasted. I've preferred homemade ice cream over store-bought ever since I learned to use my ice cream maker, but this one is just delicious. You'll never want to go to Cold Stone or Baskin Robbins again after you taste this. Unless you don't like cinnamon and apples... then you're not going to like it at all. Haha.

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients:
8 oatmeal cookies, crushed (it's easiest to use the store-bought ones... they're harder and crumble easier)
2 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and sliced into little cubes
1 cup plus 3 tbsp sugar, divided
3 tsp ground cinnamon
3 cups whipping cream
1 1/2 cups half-and-half
3 eggs, beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup caramel ice cream topping

Directions:
1. Melt 1 tbsp butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir in the chopped apples, 3 tbsp sugar, and 1 tsp cinnamon. Cook until the apples have lightly browned and the sugar has begun to caramelize (about 10 minutes). Remove from the pan and allow to cool COMPLETELY (put them in the fridge or freezer to cool them faster).
2. Combine whipping cream, half-and-half, 1 cup sugar, eggs, vanilla, and 2 tsp cinnamon in a large bowl. Mix well.
3. Pour the cream mixture into an ice cream maker and freeze according to the ice cream maker's directions (probably about 30 minutes).
4. When ice cream is finished, remove from ice cream maker and stir in apples and cookie crumbs. Mix in caramel ice cream topping on spoonful at a time.
5. Refrigerate at least two hours before serving.

Cream mixture

Pouring into the ice cream maker...

Chopped Granny Smith apples

Apple mixture in the skillet

Mmm!

Mixing in the cooled apples and oatmeal cookie crumbs

Ta-da!

If you have an ice cream maker, you HAVE to make this. It's just so delicious! I hope you love it as much as we do!