Oh so Silly

This was taken at Cave Run Lake when I was having one of those photo shoots of Shaina. It had been awhile since I took some photos of her and thought it was about time. I am no where near a photographer but I have fun. Shaina had about enough of photos that day and started getting silly.



Caramel in a can - YUM!

When I first read this on Pinterest I just HAD to try it.

IT WORKS and not only that but it's REALLY good!

Instructions:

Place a full unopened can of sweetened condensed milk (make sure to take the label off) into a crock pot. Fill it full of water till the can is COMPLETELY submersed (I had to turn it sideways but it works just the same).  Place it on low for 8 hours. After the 8 hours have passed, carefully take the can out and let it cool. DO NOT open it because it can explode!! Once cooled, open up the can and VIOLA - Caramel!

Recipe found on: Pinterest

Cake Batter Chocolate Chip Cookies

I am a cookie baking freak. If it's different, I want to try it. I don't know how I missed these in my years of searching on the net for cookies but I'm glad I found them now (thanks to Melody on Pinterest...ohh how I love Pinterest)!

The only change I may make next time would be a few less chocolate chips. Also my cake mix was a little less than what is shown on the recipe but the same amounts still worked with the mix.

After reading the comments from where this recipe was originally posted, I found some really cool variations. Picture this: Strawberry cake mix-white chocolate chips....can you say YUM!!

Ingredients:

• 1 (18.25 oz.) box cake mix
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions: 

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• In a medium bowl, stir together the cake mix and baking powder. Add eggs and oil, then mix until well blended. (It was a bit crumbly for me so I used my hands to really mix it well- it's not as smooth as typical dough.)
• Stir in chocolate chips, or your choice of additions. Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto cookie sheets.
• Bake for 10 minutes in the preheated oven.  Allow cookies to cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe found on: Stephanie Cooks

Yummy Chicken and Dumplings!

Ingredients

 

• 2 cups Flour
• ½ teaspoons Baking Powder
• 1 pinch Salt
• 2 Tablespoons Butter
• 1 cup Milk, A Bit Less Than A Full Cup
• 2 quarts Chicken Broth (add a little extra to account for liquid loss)
• 1 Rotisserie Chicken from the Grocery store
• 3 tbls of Heavy Cream

Preparation Instructions

Take the legs and wings off of the chicken and place them into the broth and bring to a boil. Turn off the burner and let the broth sit till it cools down a bit. Strain the broth to remove bones and skin. Save the meat for later. Also, clean off the whole chicken at this time and place all meat into the refrigerator for later.
In a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Cut the butter into the dry ingredients with a fork or pastry blender. Stir in the milk, mixing with a fork until the dough forms a ball.

Heavily flour a work surface. You’ll need a rolling pin and something to cut the dumplings with. I like to use a pizza cutter. I also like to use a small spatula to lift the dumplings off the cutting surface.

Roll the dough out thin with a heavily floured rolling pin. Dip your cutter in flour and cut the dumplings in squares about 2″x2″. It’s okay for them not to be exact. Just eye ball it. Some will be bigger, some smaller, some shaped funny.

Use the floured spatula to put them on a heavily floured plate. Just keep flouring between the layers of dumplings.

To cook them, bring the broth to a boil. Drop the dumplings in one at a time, stirring while you add them. The extra flour on them will help thicken the broth. Cook them for about 15-20 minutes or until they not doughy tasting. Add  the heavy cream and the cooked chicken to the pot let simmer long enough that chicken heats and you’re done!

This recipe was thanks to Tasty Kitchen - I made some modifications but the main recipe was theirs. KUDOS Tasty Kitchen!

Molasses Sugar Cookies

Molasses Sugar Cookies

• 1 1/2 cups shortening
• 2 cups white sugar
• 1/2 cup molasses
• 2 eggs
• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 4 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Melt the shortening in a large pan on the stove, and cool.
2. Add sugar, eggs, and molasses, beat well.
3. In a separate bowl, sift dry ingredients together and add to the pan. Mix well and chill 3 hours or overnight.
4. Form into walnut-size balls. Roll in granulated sugar. Place on greased cookie sheet about 2 inches apart.
5. Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 8-10 minutes.
6. Store in an airtight container to keep from getting overly crisp. If they do lose their softness, an easy way to restore it is to place one slice of fresh bread in the container with the cookies for a couple of hours or overnight and they will be soft again!

Chocolate Chip Scones

Chocolate Chip Scones

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 cup unsalted butter (room temp.)
• 1/4 cup sugar , plus
• 2 tablespoons sugar (6 TBSP total)
• 3 eggs
• 1/3 cup buttermilk
• 1/2-3/4 cup chocolate chips (mini or regular)

Directions:

1. Mix flour and baking powder in a bowl.
2. In another bowl, with an electric mixer, beat butter on high speed until creamy. Add (all) sugar and beat 3-5 minutes more until pale and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each. Mix in buttermilk then scrape down the sides of the bowl. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture; mix only until blended.
3. Fold in the chocolate chips.
4. Scoop 1/3 cupfuls of dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet, about 2 inches apart.
5. Loosely cover dough with plastic wrap and refridgerate about 45 minutes. (or freeze, and when hard, remove to a plastic bag and freeze for up to 6 weeks).
6. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
7. Uncover scones (or take frozen ones out of freezer) and bake 15 minutes. Turn down the heat to 325 degrees and bake about 13 minutes longer, or until pale golden brown. Cool, uncovered, on a wire rack.