Buckeyes (AKA Peanut Butter Cups)

2 cups of peanut butter 2 sticks of butter (or margarine), melted 3 cups confectioners sugar (powdered sugar) 16 ounces chocolate chips 1/3 bar paraffin wax

Melt the butter until it is completely liquid (I do it in the microwave). Stir in the peanut butter and mix by hand until the peanut butter also becomes liquidy. Stir in the confectioners sugar until it forms a dough (looks like peanut butter cookie dough).

Form walnut sized balls and chill (need to firm up...I try to do this overnight). Melt the chocolate over a double boiler with the paraffin (I have done it without the paraffin....you just need to be careful as the chocolate melts over your fingers more when eating). *Note if you don't have a double boiler, use a smaller pan to boil water, then a slightly larger pan sitting directly on top of that to melt the chocolate

Dip the peanut butter mix into the chocolate (i use a fork to hold the peanut butter ball as I dip). Place on a piece of waxed paper or aluminum foil and chill until the chocolate hardens.

Serve

FYI You can also use mini tart pans lined with plastic wrap to make these into peanut butter cups. Line the tart pan with plastic wrap, pour a little chocolate in each form, try to cover the sides some as well. Let harden. Add a little peanut butter mix to each form and lightly press down, make sure to leave a little room around the sides. Pour a little more melted chocolate on top to cover. Refrigerate to harden, then turn the pan over and pop out of the forms with the plastic wrap onto a plate. Carefully pull the plastic wrap off and you now have peanut butter cups.

"Emergency Substitutions"

"Emergency Substitutions"
When you're out of an ingredient you need for a recipe, you might have other ingredients on hand that you can use as a substitute.


Out of This? Try using this instead.
allspice - 1 teaspoon 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon + 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
baking mix, such as Bisquick® - 1 cup 1 cup flour + 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder + 1/2 teaspoon salt + 3 tablespoons solid shortening (such as Crisco®)
baking powder 1/4 teaspoon baking soda + 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar.
bread crumbs - 1 cup 3/4 cup cracker crumbs.
bread crumbs, seasoned - 1 cup 1 cup plain bread crumbs + 1 tablespoon grated parmesan cheese + 2 teaspoons all purpose seasoning + 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder.
chicken or beef broth 1 cup hot water + 1 teaspoon instant bouillon granules or 1 bouillon cube.
brown sugar - 1 cup 3/4 cup granulated sugar + 1/4 cup molasses
butter an equal amount of regular margarine. Do not use lowfat spread or light margarine for baking.
buttermilk - 1 cup 1 tablespoon vinegar or lemon juice + enough milk to equal 1 cup
chocolate, semi-sweet
1 square (1 oz.) 3 tablespoons chocolate morsels; or 1 square (1 oz.) unsweetened chocolate + 1 tablespoon sugar.
chocolate, unsweetened
1 square (1 oz.) 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa + 1 tablespoon shortening or vegetable oil.
cocktail sauce - 1 cup 1 cup ketchup + 2 tablespoons horseradish
(or to taste)
Confectioners' sugar 1 cup granulated sugar + 1 tablespoon cornstarch; Process in a blender until powdery.
cornstarch - 1 tablespoon 2 tablespoons flour
corn syrup Dissolve 3/4 cup sugar in 1/4 cup hot water. Cool to room temperature before using.
cream - 1 cup 3/4 cup milk + 1/4 cup melted butter or 1 use cup evaporated milk
1 egg 1/4 cup egg substitute
flour, self-rising - 1 cup 1 cup all-purpose flour + 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder + 1/2 teaspoon salt.
garlic, 1 clove minced 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon dry minced garlic; or 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder.
honey - 1 cup 1-1/4 cups sugar + 1/3 cup water
Italian seasoning 1 teaspoon oregano + 1 teaspoon basil + 1 teaspoon sage.
ketchup ( to use in a recipe) - 1 cup 1 cup tomato sauce + 1/4 cup sugar + 2 tablespoons vinegar
lemon juice - 1 teaspoon 1/2 teaspoon vinegar
milk, whole - 1 cup 1/2 cup evaporated milk + 1/2 cup water
molasses - 1 cup 1 cup honey

mustard, dry - 1 teaspoon 1 tablespoon prepared mustard.
oil - 1 cup 1 cup melted solid shortening or 1 cup melted margarine
onion - 1 cup chopped 1/4 cup dry minced onion or 1 teaspoon onion powder

pumpkin pie spice - 1 teaspoon 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon + 1/4 teaspoon ginger + 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg +1/8 teaspoon ground cloves.
ricotta cheese - 1 cup 1 cup cottage cheese + 1 tablespoon skim milk
self-rising flour - 1 cup 2 tsp. baking powder + 1/4 tsp. salt + enough all purpose flour to equal 1 cup
shortening - 1 cup 1 cup butter or margarine.
sour cream - 1 cup 1 cup plain yogurt; or 1 tablespoon lemon juice + enough evaporated milk to equal 1 cup.
tapioca, as a thickener - 1 tablespoon 3 tablespoons flour
tartar sauce - 1/2 cup 6 tablespoons mayonnaise or salad dressing + 2 tablespoons pickle relish
tomato puree - 1 cup 2 tablespoons tomato paste + enough tomato sauce to equal 1 cup
tomato sauce - 1 cup 1 can(3 oz) tomato paste + 1/2 cup water
tomatoes, canned - 1 cup Simmer 1-1/3 cups fresh tomatoes wedges for 10 minutes
vinegar - 1 teaspoon 2 teaspoons lemon juice.
whipped cream Prepare whipped topping mix or use frozen whipped topping such as Cool Whip®
wine 1/2 cup grape juice
yogurt, plain (in a recipe) Use an equal amount of sour cream

25 Uses for coffee filters!

Better than paper towels and a lot less expensive....................

Coffee filters -- Who knew! And you can buy 1,000 at the Dollar Store for almost nothing.

1. Cover bowls or dishes when cooking in the microwave. Coffee filters
make excellent covers.
2. Clean windows, mirrors, and chrome... Coffee filters are lint-free so
they'll leave windows sparkling.
3. Protect china by separating your good dishes with a coffee filter
between each plate, bowl, and cup.
4. Filter broken cork from wine. If you break the cork when opening a
wine bottle, filter the wine through a coffee filter.
5. Protect a cast-iron skillet. Place a coffee filter in the skillet to
absorb moisture and prevent rust.
6. Apply shoe polish. Ball up a lint-free coffee filter.
7. Recycle frying oil. After frying, strain oil through a sieve lined
with a coffee filter.
8. Weigh chopped foods. Place chopped ingredients in a coffee filter on
a kitchen scale.
9. Hold tacos. Coffee filters make convenient wrappers for messy foods.
10. Stop the soil from leaking out of a plant pot. Line a plant pot with
a coffee filter to prevent the soil from going through the drainage
holes.
11. Prevent a Popsicle from dripping. Poke one or two holes as needed in
a coffee filter.
12. Do you think we used expensive strips to wax eyebrows? Use strips of
coffee filters.
13. Put a few in a plate and put your fried bacon, French fries, chicken
fingers, etc on them. It soaks out all the grease.
14. Keep in the bathroom. They make great "razor nick fixers."
15. As a sewing backing. Use a filter as an easy-to-tear backing for
embroidering or appliqueing soft fabrics.
16. Put baking soda into a coffee filter and insert into shoes or a
closet to absorb or prevent odors.
17. Use them to strain soup stock and to tie fresh herbs in to put in
soups and stews.
18. Use a coffee filter to prevent spilling when you add fluids to your
car..
19. Use them as a spoon rest while cooking and clean up small counter
spills.
20. Can use to hold dry ingredients when baking or when cutting a piece
of fruit or veggies.. Saves on having extra bowls to wash.
21. Use them to wrap Christmas ornaments for storage.
22. Use them to remove fingernail polish when out of cotton balls.
23. Use them to sprout seeds. Simply dampen the coffee filter, place
seeds inside, fold it and place it into a plastic baggie until they
sprout.
24. Use coffee filters as blotting paper for pressed flowers. Place the
flowers between two coffee filters and put the coffee filters in phone
book..
25. Use as a disposable "snack bowl" for popcorn, chips, etc.


OH YEAH -- THEY ARE GREAT TO USE IN YOUR COFFEE MAKERS TOO! ;-)

Dinner Last Night- Italian Chicken, 7-up biscuits and smashed taters

We had a great dinner last night. My daughter wanted to grill out since it was a gorgeous day here in Oklahoma. I could not have agreed more. We decided to do some Italian chicken and 7-up Biscuits but I knew I wanted a side dish just couldn't figure out which one. I finally found a fast & easy one but y'all know me have to tweek everything lol.....

Ok on to the recipes::

Italian Chicken::

1 bottle of your choice Italian dressing ( this time I used Wishbone)
4-5 chicken breasts


3 hours before dinner
Place chicken breasts in a ziplock baggie and pour in roughly about 3/4 of a bottle of the dressing. Moosh it around so all is coated. Toss in fridge and let it marinade. The longer you let it set the more flavor it will have.


Get your grill ready to cook. We use charcoal here so make sure the grill is hot and most of the coals are turned to the white-ash coloring. Spread them out. If you have the option to keep the charcoals low do that it helps! On top of your aluminum foiled covered grill grate place the chicken over the "cooler" coals. Let it cook for about 3-4 minutes on each side. Then if you can raise the coals up and allow the chicken to continue cooking for another 10-15 minutes ( about 5-7 minutes each side) Making sure that the chicken is cooked all the way through.

Baste the chicken often with some of the remaining dressing.... Your chicken will be most and delicious. Pull off grill and let rest about 3-4 minutes and enjoy.http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif


The recipe for the potatoes comes from Pioneer Woman. These are so easy but do take a bit of time so be prepared. This I also tweaked. I drizzled EVOO over them generously and then added my Garlic-Dill seasoning YUMMY!!. Very versatile recipe! You can find the recipe at her site along with LOTS of other yummy recipes.... Crash Hot Potatoes


The last recipe comes from Budget Savvy Diva. These were so light and fluffy. She used just garlic powder in her recipe but I used a Garlic-Dill seasoning I had gotten from a Tastefully Simple party awhile ago. MUCH better than I anticipated. You can find the recipe here 7up Biscuits and while you are there check out her site and her Facebook. She puts up some awesome stuff there as well great recipes!



Here are some of my pictures!!













Let's Eat!!!




Happy Eating!!

Honey Cupcakes

Oh man I came across a GREAT recipe!!! Its called Honey Cupcakes and they are so moist and yummy!!!
The recipe comes from Half Baked-The Cake Blog. There are so many yummy treats on thehttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifre that are on my to try list....

Anyway here is the link for the recipe Honey Cupcakes

Here is a picture of mine.... You HAVE to try this. They are not overly sweet which is a plus.

Let me know if you do!

French Toast Muffins

I have come across the most amazing recipe! I found this recipe on Pinterest from Bakingdom called French Toast Cupcakes. These amazing cupcakes taste just lhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifike a slice of french toast with syrup on it when you have the maple butter cream frosting added on. One of her readers commented about adding bacon on top afterwards, this is something I want to try! You can find this amazing recipe here: French Toast Cupcakes

Be Prepared this recipe made 2 dozen normal size and 24 mini's and I still enough batter left over for maybe 3-4 more normal ones!


Here is the normal size with the Maple Buttercream Frosting




Here is the mini!



Happy Cooking!

Philly Style Cheese Steaks

This is MY version of these amazing sandwiches!

24 count box of Steakumm's
2 Green peppers cut in 1/4 inch slices
8 shallots sliced and separated ( or diced)
1-2 cans of mushrooms(optional)
Provolone cheese ( 10 slices 2 per sandwich)
Mayo
Hoagie buns

Preheat griddle to 375-400 degrees

This works best on a griddle but can also be done in a large frying pan just would have to separate the the veggies and use just enough for each sandwich


On your preheated griddle add the peppers and onions and mushrooms if you included them. Cook them for about 10 minutes or just until soft stirring them around often. Its ok if they get a bit crispy they will add more flavor.
After veggies are cooked through move them towards the center of the griddle so that the outer edges are clear and lay out 8-9 pieces of the meat ( they are doubled do not separate). Let them cook for about a minute then start shredded them with your spatula. Once you have them all shredded mix them in with veggies and cook about another 3-4 minutes stirring often. Once everything is fully cooked separate enough veggies and meat ( total mixture about a cup to 1 1/4 cups) per sandwich. You should be able to have enough for 5 sandwiches. Lay 2 slices of provolone cheese over each one and let melt( takes about a minute) once cheese is melted pick the entire section up with two spatulas and lay it on your bun put mayo on it ( or whatever you prefer) and you are done.

Should make about 5 sandwiches


*Note I toasted my hoagie bread prior to putting the sandwich together. All I did was spray it with some non stick butter flavored spray and threw it in a HOT skillet just until lightly browned ( edges were on darker side)... This is up to you if you want to do it as close to the real thing.