Creamy Chocolate Mousse

I got this yummy recipe from Heidi (found here), and she got it from the magazine "Simple and Delicious."  It was yummy!  I made it late last night after my kids went to bed and halved it to make 2 LARGE portions for just me and Brian.  Shhh.  Don't tell the kids.   :)  hee hee.

CREAMY CHOCOLATE MOUSSE
2 cups cold milk
1 package (5.9 ounces) instant chocolate pudding mix
1 carton (8 ounces) frozen whipped topping, thawed
1/2 cup sour cream

In a large bowl, whisk milk and pudding mix for 2 minutes. Let stand for 2 minutes or until soft-set. Fold in whipped topping and sour cream. Pour into individual dessert dishes. Dollop with whipped topping if desired.

Andes Mint Cookies

1 Devil's food cake mix

1/2 c. oil

2 eggs

1 pkg. Andes Mints, broken up

Combine all ingredients. Scoop onto cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 9-10 minutes.

So easy and so delicious. I love everything mint!

New Moon Party Food

We met at a friends for a New Moon party before going to the midnight opening show.  My cute friend Desiree had her house decorated as "Bella's Birthday Party."

I had lots of fun dressing up for this movie!

*Did you have a New Moon party?

*Are you team Edward or Team Jacob?

Twilight Treats

Are you going to the "Big Movie" tonight at midnight?

Which movie?

Hello!!!

I'll be there.

At midnight for the opening show.

And I will be dressed up.  Because I LOVE dressing up.

Last year I went to the opening show of Twilight.  A friend rented out an entire theater, and we all went in Prom dresses (if you've read the book you'll get it, if you haven't you'll probably just think I'm crazy).

A few years ago I hosted our book club at my house.  We sat around the campfire in my backyard, and discussed the saga of vampires and werewolves, played trivia games, and debated into the wee hours of the morning the pro's and con's of Edward vs. Jacob.

Oh, the important things in life.  It really is imperative that we get to the bottom of this.  It was a deep discussion.  I mean really--debating between whether it's better to be married to a vampire or a werewolf.

Deep stuff.

LOL.

But in case you are headed to a New Moon party yourself this weekend (or even better--tonight!) here are some vampire treats ideas.

Bella's Blood Cupcakes

Cold Kisses (straight from the freezer)

Cherry "BITES"

Recipe for Twilight cupcakes (from my friend Ann):

Cream Together:

8 oz. cream cheese
1 egg
1/3 cup sugar
dash of salt (very little salt)
6 oz. chocolate chips 

Note: I added red food coloring to get the blood look
Set aside

Sift together:
1 1/2 c. flour
1 c. sugar
1/4 c. cocoa
1 tsp. soda
1/2 tsp. salt

Add:
1 c. water
1tsp. vanilla
1T. vinegar
3/4 c. oil

Beat until smooth.

Fill muffin tins 1/3 cup full with cocoa mixture. Then spoon cream cheese mixture on top. Bake at 350 for 20-25 min.

Enjoy the show!

(Come back tomorrow to see the werewolf treats I'm working on for the party I'm attending tonight.)

(After all, Book 2 is where all of the werewolves come out!)

Chicken 'n Dumplins

Ingredients:
1 rotisserie chicken, remove chicken and dice
1 box chicken stock
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 1/2 stalk of celery, diced
1 tsp. garlic (fresh minced or powdered)
1 tsp. salt
1 egg, slightly beaten
flour (approx. 2 1/2 cups)
salt and pepper to taste
Lemon pepper
Seasoning salt

Can you believe I lived in Kentucky for 4 years and never had "Chicken 'n Dumplins."  A crime.  We really made an effort to dive into all of the good Southern cooking that is to be had there.  And believe me, there is a lot of good Southern cooking in KY!

But I digress, and I need to be very careful because when I talk about Kentucky I miss it so much and want to move back.  That place holds the dearest of memories for me.  Okay, really.  I need to stop.....

So back to the Chicken 'n Dumplins.

I found this one in the same recipe book as the Creme Brulee French Toast.  That's turning out to be quite a great cookbook.  And I just noticed that there is a Christmas edition of it out.

I was having a hard time picturing what it was supposed to look like, and regrettably this cookbook doesn't have but a few pictures, so I googled Chicken 'n Dumplins to see pictures.  I also looked at a bunch of other versions of the recipe, and incorporated some of the things into this recipe.  For example, this one didn't call for celery, but most of the others did so I added it.

Here's my version.

Fill pot with box of chicken stock (all but 1 cup which you will uses later to make dumplings) and cream of chicken soup.  Bring to a boil, then add diced celery, diced chicken, garlic.  Allow to continue boiling softly while you prepare dumplings.

In a separate bowl, combine 1 cup of hot (not boiling) reserved broth, 1 tsp. salt, beaten egg, and enough flour to create the consistency of bread dough.  Flour a rolling pin, then countertop, and the top of the dough.  Roll the dough out until paper thin (I like mine a little thicker).  Using a pizza cutter, cut dough into 1 inch by 2 inch pieces.  Drop the dumplings one by one into the softly boiling both.  Stir very gently. (If there isn't adequate broth to do this because you added a lot of chicken, just add more.)  Add salt, pepper, lemon pepper, and seasoning salt to taste.  Bring back to a full boil.  Simmer for 5 minutes.  Cover the pot, turn the heat off, and don't peek until you are ready to serve.  Serve within 30 minutes.  (Note from cookbook:  if you keep the heat on, the dumplings tend to stick to the bottom of the pan.)

Comfort food on a cold day, for sure.

And it was cold here today!  Summer, I sure do miss you!  xoxo

Windswept Leaf Cookies

I know fall is nearly past, and with all of the snow that fell over the weekend here it's really time to start making the snowflake cookies, but I just couldn't resist.  I saw these in Woman's Day magazine about a month ago and I knew I had to make them.  It took me a while, but I'm so glad I did.  I love them, and my kids think they "are so awesome."  It makes a mom happy when she can impress her kids!

I really liked the sugar cookie recipe too.  It has a tablespoon of pumpkin spice that gives these cookies a really nice, fall flavor.

***Notes to self:  Follow directions exactly next time so you only have to try once.  Do not try and take a shortcut and buy pre-made sugar cookie dough.  As you found out--it does not work.  Chilling the dough really does make a difference, so just do it.  And read the directions completely on the icing.  I learned many of these the hard way, and had to start over.  Lots of wasted time, but they finally turned out in the end.  Only variation for me from original recipe is to cook 1-2 minutes less as my oven seems to bake hot.

Preparation Time: 45 minutes    Total time including chilling and baking: 3 hours

Ingredients:
1 stick (1/2 c.) unsalted butter (not spread)
1/2 c. sugar
1 Tbs. pumpkin pie spice
1/4 tsp salt (I omitted the salt because the butter I used was already salted)
1 large egg
1 Tbsp. light corn syrup
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/4 c. flour
leaf-shape cookie cutter

Decorating Icing:
1 lbs. box confectioners sugar
1/4 c. powdered egg whites (just whites)
1/3 cup water
yellow, orange, red gel food colors

1. Beat butter, sugar, spice and salt in a large bowl with mixer on mediumhigh until light, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to medium; add egg and beat until combined. Beat in corn syrup and vanilla. Reduce speed to low; gradually add flour and beat until blended. Shape dough into two disks, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour. 

2. Heat oven to 350ºF. Roll out 1 disk between 2 sheets of wax paper to 1⁄4 in. thick. Remove top layer of wax paper and cut out shapes with cookie cutters. Transfer to a baking sheet. Bake 12 to 14 minutes until cookies are golden. Cool on sheet on wire rack 5 minutes; transfer to rack and cool completely. 

3. Icing: Beat confectioners’ sugar and powdered egg whites in a large bowl with mixer on low speed until combined. Add water; beat until blended. Increase speed to high; beat 8 minutes or until icing is very thick and white. 

4. Divide decorating icing into 3 bowls; tint one each yellow, orange and red. Add a few drops water to thin slightly until easy to spread. Spread a little of each color frosting onto a cookie.  Drag a wooden pick through colors to swirl. Let dry at least 1 hour; repeat with remaining cookies and icing.

In case you are wondering about the powdered egg whites (I was, this was the first time I have used them) you can purchase these at craft stores in the baking section (like Roberts) or at cooking stores.  Use can use meringue powder (it says on the front of the container that it can be used in place of powdered egg whites).  Hmm, I learn something new every day!  Actually, I learned a lot of new techniques from making theses cookies.  They were fun.  I want to make them again next fall!

Creme Brulee French Toast

I am sitting in a stupor of happiness right now.  For real.  I am in love with this new dish.  I want to be BFF's with this French Toast.  I know that sounds ridiculous.  But it's G.O.O.D.

Yum.

When we finished eating, we all just kind of sat around the table staring at each other with happy smiles on our face and sighing.  Joey (my 6 year old) said, "I'm not sure if I was eating a meal or dessert!  That was so good!"

I found this recipe in the cookbook "The Worldwide Ward Cookbook," in the breakfast section.  (I've seen this cookbook sold at Deseret Book, Costco, and Walmart in case you are looking for it.)

Um, we will definitely be having this again.  It will be perfect for Christmas morning.  And conference morning.

Ingredients:

1/2 c. unsalted butter
1 C. packed brown sugar
2 Tbs. corn syrup
bread, sliced, to cover butter mixture (if you are using a reg. casserole dish, it will take 6 pieces)
5 large eggs
1 1/2 C. half-and-half (I used heavy cream because I already had some in my fridge.  Oops--not so healthy but very yummy, hee hee)
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. salt (I omitted this because I used salted butter)

In a saucepan, melt butter, brown sugar, and corn syrup.  Pour into a 9 x 13 inch glass baking dish.  Arrange bread pieces on top.  Beat together eggs, half-and-half, vanilla, and salt.  Pour egg mixture over the top of the bread.  Cover and chill overnight in the refrigerator.  The next morning, bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes.

Happy stupor: