Peanut Butter Brownie Cookies

The easiest cookies you will ever make...

1 box brownie mix (I used a dark fudge chunk mix)

1 egg

1 c. peanut butter

1/3 c. oil

2 tbsp water

Mix all ingredients. Roll into balls and bake at 375 for 7 minutes. Remove from the oven and press them down with a fork in a criss cross pattern. Return to the oven for 1-2 minutes.

$5 Guacamole

While I was shopping at Publix on Saturday, I came across a great sale on avocados. The giant green-skinned avocados were on sale from $3.49 each to $1 each!! They were not quite ripe yet, so I bought 3. Californians: you have to understand that 1 of these giants is akin to about 4-5 Hass avocados. They are huge! They are a bit softer in texture than the Hass variety, but still very delicious. I used up 1/2 of one on a few salads over the weekend, but yesterday I realized that they were ripe and it was do or die. So, I decided to make a huge batch of guacamole. I used 2 large avocados, 4 large cloves of fresh garlic, 1 lemon, 1 red diamond tomato (a HUGE one), 2 small red onions, 1 tbsp kosher salt, and a generous sprinkling of onion powder and garlic powder. I ended up with a ridiculous amount of fresh, delicious guacamole and decided to experiment with freezing it. I froze 5 ziploc bags of it and kept a 12 ounce bag in the fridge. I ended up with 59.9 ounces of guacamole for about $5 with all the ingredients I used. You pay about $5 for a 16-oz container at the market!!

One Bottle BBQ Chicken

I have always said that one of these days I would make the famously simple "one bottle BBQ chicken." You put 6-8 chicken pieces (breast, thighs, drums, etc.) into a crock pot with 1 bottle of barbecue sauce and cook into until it falls off the bone, then shred it. Supposedly it's then "ready to eat." When I came home at lunch time today I put 6 bone-in chicken thighs into the crock pot and added 1 regular-sized bottle of Sweet Baby Ray's Honey Chipotle barbecue sauce. I turned the crock pot on high for 5-1/2 hours. When I came home the meat was very tender and had decent flavor, however the barbecue sauce did something strange that I did not care for. In retrospect, I probably should have put the chicken on low for a longer period of time, but that's beside the point. I wasn't too satisfied with the overall flavor, (though to be honest there are probably many restaurants that would have served it as is) so I took it out of the sauce. I threw out the sauce and shredded the meat off the bone with a fork. If your chicken is cooked properly, this takes about 2 minutes.

I then started my customary kitchen dance of opening the cabinet and seeing what looks good to add to my chicken. I drizzled the chicken with honey, then added the tiniest sprinkles of the following: onion powder, garlic powder, mustard powder, ginger (powder) and cayenne. Then I poured about 3/4 cup of honey barbecue sauce into it and stirred it with the fork. I left it in the crock on high for about 30 minutes more. 

It was delicious! Rich really liked it. So, my recipe for one bottle BBQ chicken didn't turn out quite so simple...but, I think mine tastes better than theirs. :) Happy Saturday!

My Little Boo!

Chihuahuas are one of the few breeds that were developed just to sit around and look cute, begging to have their sweatshirts put on when it's 95 degrees outside just because it's 65 in the house :) 

My little guy makes me smile! He loves to "hang out" and no matter what I am doing he will not be happy till he is right next to me.

IT'S A HAIR DAY!!!

Bed head! I've become pretty comfortable with these crazy bedhead curls.

Straight! 

My hair has grown about 5 inches this year since I stopped straightening it every day. It actually annoyed me today to feel my straight hair touching me, it was sticking to my face, neck, and shoulders. It was over 100 degrees today!!! My curls are much lighter and cooler in this heat!

Happy Wednesday!

Recipe Pictorial: Linguine Alfredo alla Avocado!

I made a new recipe today!!! An invented recipe. I try to try something totally new once a week. I saw a recipe on Facebook for fettucine with an avocado-based sauce. I wanted to try it, but then I saw the comments stating that it wasn't very good. Several reviewers complained about the unpleasant lemon flavor and said that the sauce wasn't creamy. The original recipe called for garlic, lemon, olive oil, salt, avocado, fresh basil, and pepper. Below I will post my recipe and a step-by-step picture guide. I made a swordfish loin to go with this meal.

Here is my "invented" recipe:

Alfredo alla Avacado

1 ripe hass avocado, mashed with a fork

3-4 cloves garlic, crushed and minced

1 generous tbsp olive oil

½ tsp dried basil

1 tsp  kosher salt

¼ tsp pepper

½ c heavy whipping cream

¾ c fresh grated parmesan

8 oz linguine, al dente

My pretty avocado

 Pit, peel, and chop the avocado with kitchen scissors 

Mash the avocado 

Peel 3-4 large cloves of garlic and get a massive chopping knife ready to go

Crush the whole cloves: place the knife on top of a clove and SMASH!!! It's really cathartic (and also releases the scent, flavor and oils, yum!)

 Crush, crush, crush!!

Mince like a maniac

Keep going till your fingers want to fall off.

My neat little pile of minced garlic :)

This is how much kosher salt I added. It was about a teaspoon.

My bowl with avocado, garlic, salt, and a tablespoon or two of extra virgin olive oil, just before blending.

3/4 cup of freshly grated parmesan. It must be fresh grated (from a BLOCK!) or it won't flavor the sauce well!

I used an immersion blender to blend 2 oz of heavy whipping cream into the ingredients I showed you in the bowl. Then added a good sprinkle of dried basil for the next round of blending.

I blended in 2 more ounces of cream before pouring the sauce into the pot on medium low. It still had a somewhat thick consistency--you have to remember, the fluidity will increase as it warms. Stir in the cheese first with a spatula, then whisk for 3-5 minutes until melted.

A plate of Linguine Alfredo alla Avocado with two, 2-oz pieces of broiled swordfish loin

Rich's plate: plain linguine drizzled in olive oil with fresh asiago on top, with two 3.5-oz pieces of fish, plus a small "tasting bite" of my new recipe. 

A creamy bite.... it was sooooo amazing!!! Creamy, fresh, with a light avocado flavor. None of the heaviness of traditional afredo. It was spectacular! 

Rich: "It tastes like creamy green sauce." (code for, I don't love it; it's GREEN. GREEN!!!)

Leftover linguine and fish for Rich's lunch tomorrow.

Daily Wisdom

“Today, and every day, deliver more than you are getting paid to do. The victory of success will be half won when you learn the secret of putting out more than is expected in all that you do. Make yourself so valuable in your work that eventually you will become indispensable. Exercise your privilege to go the extra mile, and enjoy all the rewards you receive. You deserve them!”

“In doing what we ought we deserve no praise.”

 “It is better to deserve honors and not have them than to have them and not to deserve them.”

Artisan Bread

I decided to make some bread using a recipe given to me by my dad. One thing you may not know about him is that sometimes, he will simply wake up in the morning and say, "Today I want to learn how xyz is made." Then he will make it, and be done with it for years! This recipe is for Artisan bread. I should have added more flour to my dough but frankly the bread came out quite tasty. My favorite is the round loaf with rosemary, parmesan, and sea salt on top. To view the original blog we got the recipe from, click HERE.

 Before baking

 Forming a loaf

After rising

How To Feel Better

 1. Put things in perspective.

 2. Play out the worst case scenario.

 3. Count your blessings.

 4. Read the Bible.

 5. Do something new.

 6. Look for someone to praise.

 7. Get some exercise.

 8. Schedule joy.

 9. Act happy!

Borrowed this from my friend Ashley! Happy Monday

Sunday Dinner

BBQ chicken thigh, green beans & stovetop potatoes au gratin

I made a cheese sauce for boiled potatoes today because I was in a hurry. I used 2 tbsp butter and 2 tbsp flour to make a roux, then 3/4 c milk and 1 c cheese. You make the roux, add the milk, thicken, and melt in the cheese all over medium heat. I then coated the boiled potatoes with the cheese sauce and let it sit, covered, for about 20 minutes before lunch so the sauce could thicken and set. 

Traditional Potatoes Au Gratin

4 Russet potatoes, thinly sliced

5 tbsp butter

5 tbsp flour

2 C milk

2 C shredded cheese

salt & pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease a 2 quart casserole dish. Layer 1/2 the potatoes in the casserole dish. Sprinkle salt & pepper, then repeat with 2nd layer. In a saucepan melt the butter over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and 1/2 tsp salt. Continue whisking for 1 minute. Whisk in the milk, slowly. Continue until the mixture has thickened. Whisk in the cheese until melted; about 1-2 minutes. 

Pour the sauce over the potatoes and bake about 1-1/2 hours.

ALDI'S FOOD MARKET!!!!!!!!

Now is your chance to laugh at me. I have never been to an Aldi's. They put one in our neighborhood recently, but I didn't go for the longest time. I'm more of a Fresh Market/Whole Foods/Publix person. But recently we have been more focused than ever on living the Dave Ramsey way, and putting away as much money as possible for rainy day? new house? whatever. And grocery prices have just been irritating me. That's when Rich & I happened to drive past Aldi's, and he said he wanted to go there. Apparently that's where he went as a kid, and he said he could show me the ropes. So off we went to Aldi's.  At first I couldn't find a shopping cart. Rich told me he could get me one for a quarter. I was so confused...until he showed me the cart system where they are all chained together. You get a cart by putting in a quarter, and when you give the cart back in the cart bay, you get your $.25 back. By the end of the first aisle, the prices were actually making me laugh. Everything was sooooo inexpensive! I bought a cart full of groceries for $64.81. And not junk, either. I got chicken, steak, hamburger, ground turkey, dairy, romaine lettuce, and all kinds of other stuff. Rich was happy too because I let him pick up some junk food (he would never eat a real meal if I didn't make him). I was actually pretty impressed with my spoils. If you go, remember your own bags or search for boxes in the store. (Which I did, like a wild woman...lol)

All this stuff, and a sack of potatoes (below)

The Last Supper...Tuna and Avocado Quesadillas

Today I had 1/2 of my face completely numbed with local anesthesia and nerve blocks. That was several hours ago and I still can't feel my lips or tongue. In fact I can't even drink water without dribbling and can't get it together enough to even suck on a straw. I knew I wouldn't be able to eat until tomorrow so I decided I would have one of my favs for lunch today :)

I made Omega 3 heaven. Tuna Avocado Quesadillas. They are sooo delish. Recipe & pix below. The pix didn't turn out well, I must have forgotten to use the flash! But oh well. They were sooo good!

In a small bowl mix the following:

2.6-oz pouch of chunk light tuna
2 tsp light mayo
salt & pepper
1/4-1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tbsp salsa

1/4 avocado, thinly sliced (should make 6-8 slices)
1/3 c shredded cheese of choice ( today I used sharp cheddar)
4 small tortillas

olive oil

Heat a frying pan on medium. Pour a small amount of oil, about 2 tsp, into the pan. When the pan is warm add a tortilla, swirling to coat the bottom side in oil for even crisping. Add 1/2 of the tuna, pressed thinly across the tortilla with a fork, then top with 1/2 of the cheese. Add 3-4 avocado slices. After about 30 seconds press the second tortilla on top and flip after about 30 seconds more. Cook until both sides are light golden and the cheese is melted. Makes 2 quesadillas

Cheesecake Pops

Rich & I will be spending Labor Day with our friends Donnie & Megan over in Naples. They are making all the sides and we are bringing the meat. I also decided to try making Paula Deen's Surprise Cheesecake Pops. To make the pops you must choose a center, a cheesecake flavor, and decide what you are going to roll the pops in. I decided to make 2 kinds today. I made a Reeses' pop that has a miniature Reeses' PB cup inside, marble cheesecake, and peanut butter chips on the outside. I also made a Strawberry-Key Lime pop that has a fresh strawberry in the center, a mixture of original and key lime cheesecake, and white chocolate chips on the outside. It was actually pretty easy. It took about 45 minutes to make 12 pops. I'm not sure that the stick is going to hold, but oh well. If I make it again I will probably try to buy a firmer cheesecake. It was difficult to get the cheesecake into a firm ball. I put them in the freezer. I will let them freeze overnight and hopefully they will make the trip to Naples (on ice, of course) without losing shape. Hopefully they will be tasty!

TEETH!!!!

This afternoon I went to the dentist for a cleaning. I was about 5 months overdue for my regular cleaning. Oh my goodness. My mouth is so sore after the deep cleaning & root planing that I had to have done today. Also ever since we got home I have had a raging headache! I do not like going to the dentist or doctor...so enough of this day already. Good night!