Cookie Dough Brownies

Prepared Brownies in 13x9 pan

1/2 c. butter, softened

1/2 c. packed brown sugar

1/4 c. granulated sugar

3 Tbs. whipping cream

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp. salt

1 c. all purpose flour

1 c. mini chocolate chips

Cool prepared brownies completely and leave in pan.  In stand mixer beat on medium speed the butter until light and creamy; add sugars, cream and vanilla.  Beat until nice and fluffy.  Add salt and flour; beat on medium high for about 10 minutes.  Fold in chocolate chips.  Spread the cookie dough on top of brownies.  Wrap or put a lid on the pan and place in refrigerator until thoroughly chilled. 

Mexican Pot Roast Tacos

3 T. extra virgin olive oil
3 lb. Shoulder of beef
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 large onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 28oz. Can crushed tomatoes
3 drive red chilies
1 T. ground cumin
1 T. ancho chile powder
½ bunch cilantro
1 T. red wine vinegar
corn tortillas
shredded romaine lettuce
½ bunch fresh cilantro leaves
fresh limes
1-3 lb. Cotija cheese

1. Heat the olive oil in a heavy-based pot over medium high heat.
2. Season beef shoulder with plenty of salt and pepper; then sear all over until you have a nice brown crust.
3. Add onion and garlic to the bottom of the pot and stir so they caramelize a little.
4. Add tomatoes, chilies, spices and cilantro. Then add about 2 inches of water, cover the pot, and simmer for about 2 hours until the meat is tender and comes apart with little resistance. Add more water as it cooks down, if necessary.
5. Once cooked, break the meat apart with a wooden spoon, season with salt and pepper, and add red wine vinegar.
6. Serve with warm tortillas.

Autumn Pancakes

Autumn Pancakes

This is a great alternative to regular ol' pancakes! Double the recipe and put half of the batter in the freezer for another time!

1/2 c. quick cooking oats
1 1/2 c. boiling water
1 1/2 c. flour (can use whole wheat also)
2 t. baking powder
1/8 t. salt
3 T. sugar
1/2 t. cinnamon
1 egg, beaten
1 c. milk
1 apple, cored, peeled and coarsely chopped
1/4 c. chopped walnuts
3 T. butter, melted

Place oats in small bowl. Pour boiling water over oats and let stand 5 minutes; set aside. Combine flour, baking powder, salt, sugar and cinnamon in large bowl. Add oat mixture, egg, milk, apple, nuts and butter; mix well. Cook on a lightly greased skillet like regular pancakes. Enjoy with whatever yummy topping you like.

Witches' Brew

One of our favorite Halloween activities for classroom parties is making a brew from all sorts of snacks and candies with gruesome names. You can either ask the children to provide a baggie of one or two ingredients, or gather them yourselves and hand them out the day of the party. It's especially fun if you or the teacher dresses up as a witch and has a big cauldron to mix it up in. We usually do this at the beginning of the party so that while the kids are at their other stations you can bag it for them to take home. Little ones love hearing the names of things and adding it to the brew. You just need about a cup of the number of items that you have people to give it to... so if there are 25 kids in the class, pick 25 items.

• Ghost Guts (Mini Marshmellows)
• Witches' Warts (Chocolate Chips)
• Withered Animal Carcasses (Animal crackers)
• Earthworm Knots (Pretzel Twists)
• Hollowed Out Fish (Goldfish Crackers)
• Bloated Ants (Raisins)
• Bugs and Beetles (Bugs Fruit Snacks)
• Shrunken Teddy Bears (Teddy Graham Crackers)
• Candied Spider Eggs (Gum Drops)
• Owl Eyes (Kix or Cheese Puff Balls)
• Chocolate-Dipped Houseflies (Chocolate-Covered Raisins)
• Compressed Cobwebs (Honeycomb or Chex Cereal)
• Crumbled Bat Wings (Blue Tortilla Chips)
• Dehydrated Dragon Wings (Doritos)
• Flatted Slugs (Fritos)
• Goblin Belly Button Lint Balls (Skittles or M&Ms)
• Plops of Pigeon Poop (Yogurt Covered Raisins)
• Rat Claws (Shelled Sunflower Seeds)
• Shredded Lizard Gizzards (Shredded Coconut)
• Vulture Toenails (Candy Corns)
• Warts from the White Witch (White Chocolate Chips)
• Dried Scabs (Craisins)
• Caramelized Mothballs (Caramels)
• Vampire Veins (Twizzlers)
• Goblin Fingers (Cheetos)
• Baked Skeleton Bones (Pretzel Sticks)
• Bat Brains (Popcorn)
• Splintered Turkey Bones (Shoestring Potato Chips)
• Tasted Cat's Eyes (Blanched Almonds)
• Dirty Shoelaces (Black Shoestring Licorice)
• Dried Seaweed (Chow Mein Noodles)
• Freeze Dried Drops of Blood (Red Hot Candies)
• Roasted Eyes (Peanuts)
• Boiled Lady Bugs (Red Jelly Beans)
• Braised Beetles (Milk Duds)

Of course you can come up with your own spooky ideas if the foods listed above aren't found in your pantry... If you have kids in the class with allergies to peanuts or other nuts you'll want to avoid those things too. The kids love it!

Oreo Cookie Pops

1 pkg. regular oreos

1-8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened

Chocolate Bark

Sprinkles

Sucker Sticks

Process oreos in Food Processor until finely ground. Place in large mixing bowl. Add cream cheese. With a spoon blend the two together real well. (It didn't go well for me when I blended the two in my processor.) Form into balls about the size of large walnuts. Place in wax paper lined pan and put in the fridge to chill. Meanwhile melt the chocolates (I used Wilton milk chocolate and the pink white chocolate) with a little bit of shortening, like 1 to 2 teaspoons to thin it out some. Dip chilled balls in the chocolate. To make like above just let the balls sit for a while and then spoon some of the pink chocolate on top. Add sprinkles. Let set and then pick up and poke a sucker stick underneath. Super cute and fun to do with the kids!

Chicken Lo Mein

Ingredients:

1/2 lb. spaghetti, uncooked
1/4 cup Asian Toasted Sesame Dressing
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 pkg. (16 oz.) frozen bell pepper and onion strips, thawed, drained (or prepared stir-fry veggies)
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup soy sauce

COOK spaghetti in large saucepan as directed on package.

MEANWHILE, heat dressing in large nonstick skillet on medium-high heat. Add chicken and garlic; stir-fry 3 min. or until chicken is no longer pink. Add peppers, onions, andbroth; stir-fry 3 to 4 min. or until chicken is done.

DRAIN spaghetti; return to pan. Add chicken mixture and soy sauce; mix well. Spoon onto platter.

Adapted from Kraft foods

Crock Pot Italian Chicken

Definately a kid favorite.

Ingredients:

12-14 chicken tenderloins
1 pkg. cream cheese (8 oz.)
1 pkg. dry Italian season mix ( I use the zesty one)
1can cream of chicken soup
½ c. chicken broth
Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions:

Place the chicken into the crock pot. Mix the other ingredients together for the sauce and pour over the chicken. Cover and cook about 3-4 hours on high, 6 hrs. on low. Serve over rice or noodles.

Taco Pizza

An Easy Twist for Taco Night

To prepare: Preheat oven to 400.

Ingredients:

1 lb. lean ground beef
Taco Seasoning
Taco shells or tostito chips
1 prepared pizza crust (12 inch)
1 cup Mexican style shredded cheese
1 cup shredded lettuce
1 large tomato, chopped
Sour Cream
Salsa

Directions:

Cook meat with Taco Seasoning mix. Spread evenly onto pizza crust. Sprinkle with cheese.
Bake 8 -10 minutes or until crust is golden brown and cheese is melted.
Top with lettuce, tomatoes, crushed taco shells, salsa and sour cream. Cut into ‘pizza’ slices.

adapted from kraft foods

Non Fried Fried Ice Cream

To prepare: Preheat oven to 425. Leave ice cream out while preparing first portions so it is easier to spread.

Ingredients
2 cups Rice Krispies
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup chopped pecans
½ cup melted butter
1 cup coconut
½ gallon vanilla ice cream
Chocolate/ caramel sauce

Directions:
Mix first five ingredients for topping.
Cook at 425 for 10-15 minutes. You want to stir it every 5 minutes and cook only until the brown sugar is melted. Be careful, it burns.
Put half of the topping mixture in a 9X13 pan. Place vanilla ice cream on top. Put other half of topping mixture on. Freeze.
Drizzle with chocolate or caramel sauce before serving.