Baking -- pinterest and beyond.

 These were so delicious.
Chocolate Molases Cookies.
The only thing I modified from this recipe:
http://sweets.seriouseats.com/2013/03/chocholic-soft-chocolate-molasses-cookies.html
is I added a tablespoon of cocoa powder to the sugar you roll them in before baking.

Ok, I also didn't make them as large.

 

http://amandeleine.com/2013/05/01/cardamom-crescents/  

I made these from a webiste http://www.kitchenbelleicious.com/2012/05/22/homemade-nutter-butters-html/ and only changed the peanut butter in the filling to smooth because that is what I had on hand.  Everyone loved them, told me I was evil because they were so tasty.  I personally prefer actual nutter butters, but, hey... I'm not nabisco.

These take minimal effort and are so delicious, slightly healthy and great to give.  You'll need a food processor for the nuts. 

If you want an easy and fun dish to serve that is hand friendly, make this.  We used prepared pie crust, fresh (uncooked) spinach and the rest of the ingredients found : http://italianchips.com/spinach-pie/ It was gone very quickly, wish I'd made 2!

My big pinterest FAIL.

To be Fair; there were no instructions with this pinterest pin, and I made no effort to find the original info.  I used my cheese grater to shred some potatoes and placed them in my preheated waffle iron. Pictured is 10 minutes in... after 20 minutes there were slightly more crunchy spots.  

Having cooked most of my life, what I would do next time: soak the shredded potatoes in water for 20 minutes or so, drain, place between two dish towels (lined with paper towels) and remove as much excess water as possible (this is the best way to make oven fries - crispy every time) and a small grooved iron - ours is particularly deep.

My husband enjoyed them, I did not.  After looking for the recipe to place in this post, I found a LOT of people have Failed at this recipe.

Here is a post with successful results : http://seasonedwithsarcasm.wordpress.com/2012/06/25/pinterest-idea-waffle-iron-hash-browns/

Best chicken nuggets

Home made chicken nuggets using what you have. (I call them "who needs McDonald's")

This batch we tried Doritos, Cheerios, and gold fish (military style red, white & blue)

First slice your chicken into 1x1" squares, dredge in flour (we use kings)

After dredge in a milk/egg mix (about 1 cup skim & 2 eggs, I also added about 2tbsp honey)

I filled 3 sandwich zip top bags about 3/4 full with each flavor and crushed with back of large spoon.

About 4 pieces of the chicken fit into each bag at a time, shake (like shake and bake) then put in medium heat pan with canola (or your favorite oil) oil 1/2" deep

Tonight they cooked about 2 1/2 minutes per side, check temp or slice one open for doneness.

Top row is goldfish cracker, center is Cheerios and bottom is Doritos.

We've used honey nut Cheerios in the past and they are super delish, tonight was plain Cheerios and it came out sort of bland. These are the results of only 2 chicken breasts!! Seriously cheap meal, and everyone is happy because they choose their own flavor.

Here is what you'll need:

1 deep pan

1 cup skim milk

2 eggs

(Optional) honey 

1/2-1 cup dry cereal, chips, or other crushable food. *per bag* the more daring the choice, the more exciting the outcome.

1 1/2 cups flour (white, whole wheat etc)

2 large shallow bowls

3 sandwich sized zip top bags.

Serving fork for turning chicken in pan

Whisk for blending wet ingredients

Turn the pan on to warm it while you crush the dry ingredients in the bags. Then add oil just before you're ready to place chicken in.

Total prep / cook time for me was 1/2 hour, add 10-15 minutes your first try.

Kids will LOVE & even ask to help crush, be aware it may cause a huge mess. Supervise to ensure bags don't break, but do let them help!

Healthiest delicious muffins

Blueberry, Strawberry, Zucchini muffins.
Yes.

2.5 cups kings whole wheat flour
1 cup diced strawberries & blueberries (1 c. Total)
1 medium zucchini shredded
1 cup larger granule sugar
1.5 cups vanilla Greek yogurt
3 eggs
1/4 cup flaxseed meal
1/4 cup chia seeds
1/2 cup butter melted
1.5 tsp both baking soda & powder (I used the palm of my hand scrunched up)
1/2 tsp. salt
Cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg to your liking..
Whisk all the dry ingredients together.
Place fruit and zucchini in a bowl, dust with flour, then add yogurt. Mix.
Dump this into flour mixture (don't panic) MIX
Pour butter into, Mix
Add eggs, Mix
Use your hands in you must, I promise it will blend and the muffins will be moist.

Bake at 350 degrees 18-20 min or until tops bounce back when gently pressed.

Enjoy, share, and have for breakfast the next day.
Oh, I threw in a handful of chocolate chips to get the kids to eat them.