This will be my first (hopefully not last) Christmas candy edition blog post. During the holidays I absolutely love to make cookies and candies. I'm not sure which I like more - making them or eating them. This is my recipe for an extremely simple toffee recipe - all you need is 3 ingredients.
1 stick of unsalted butter
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1-1/2 cups of chocolate chips (I prefer semi-sweet, but you can use milk chocolate if you prefer)

*I don't like nuts at all so I don't use them, but it would be very easy to put them in this recipe


Begin by melting the butter and brown sugar in a pan over medium-high heat.


Bring to a boil. Set a time for 7 minutes and maintain a rolling boil while stirring constantly for 7 minutes.


Yes, 7 minutes. Your arms will get tired and you'll look at the clock ever 10 seconds toward the end, but if you don't keep stirring it will stick to the bottom and burn quickly. There is no reversing this and you'll have to start over. Also, note that I don't use a wooden spoon because the toffee will stick to the wood and it's extremely hard to get off.
It will begin to firm up and separate, very normal. Continue this until you get to a beautiful caramely brown color. Once your 7 minutes is up pour into a butter 8x8 pan. I just rub the wrapper of the butter on the pan after I take it out. There is plenty left on the wrapper to go around.
Immediately pour your chocolate chips over the top of the toffee then cover the pan with a large cookie sheet until the chocolate chips are softened.
Once the chocolate chips are softened/melted start to spread them over the top of the toffee evenly.
Cool on the counter, then chill in the fridge until the chocolate sets up.
Once the chocolate hardens, simply crack into it with a knife and break into pieces. 
Happy Holidays and I hope you all enjoy!

Oh I love love love this recipe! (Sorry Katie - it's another seafood-ish recipe) Crab Cakes are one of my favorite foods and this is an easy version to make at home but with Salmon and the flavor is really fresh and tasty. I actually found the recipe on a package of Chicken of the Sea® Salmon. They don't print the recipe anymore on the package but luckily I have it written down.

1/4 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
1/4 cup finely chopped green onions
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 Tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon seasoned salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Dash cayenne pepper
1 (7.1-oz.) pouch Chicken of the Sea® Premium Skinless & Boneless Pink Salmon
1 large egg, beaten
1 cup seasoned breadcrumbs (or crushed Saltine crackers)
3 Tablespoons butter (or EVOO)


In bowl, combine red pepper, green onions, mayonnaise, lemon juice, seasoned salt, garlic powder and cayenne pepper. Stir in Salmon, egg and 1/3-cup breadcrumbs (mixture may be sticky). Divide and form mixture into 4 balls. Roll salmon balls in remaining breadcrumbs; flatten into cakes about 1/2-inch thick. In skillet, melt butter or EVOO over Medium heat. Fry salmon cakes 3 to 4 minutes per side or until golden brown. Makes 4 servings. Note - this is good for a lunch or light dinner for 2. If you are serving more than two or want a more substantial meal, I suggest doubling the recipe.


Serve with mixed greens and either Basmati rice or whole wheat pasta tossed with butter and fresh Parmesan. Dollop these cakes with an easy Lemon Dill and Chive Sauce. Simply combine 1/3-cup of sour cream with a pinch of lemon zest and 1-teaspoon each of fresh dill and chives. My children's sophisticated palates prefer ranch dressing to dip them in!

One of my husband's absolute favorite things to eat is carnitas. For those that may have never heard of it before - carnitas is really slow cooked pork. It is typically made on some type of rotisserie and the skin is oh-so-crunchy and the meat is fall-apart-tender. It melts in your mouth. Truly delicious! Well...I'm scared of pork. I don't like cooking with it. I usually over cook it or under cook it, but it never turns out right. But, we love carnitas and I love my crock pot and I figured if I cook it for 10 hours it should be cooked all the way through! :) Anyway, I found a recipe that is very simple and it turned out incredibly good. There are a couple of spices in here that you may not have on an ordinary day in your kitchen, but I guarantee that you'll use them again just to make this recipe.

Here's what you'll need:

1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder (NOT garlic salt)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon crumbled dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 (2-4 pound) boneless pork shoulder roast
2 bay leaves
2 cups chicken broth


Mix together salt, garlic powder and all of the spices in a bowl.
Coat pork with the spice mixture.
Place the two bay leaves in the bottom of a slow cooker and place the pork on top.
Pour the chicken broth around the sides of the pork,  being careful not to wash off any of the spice mixture.
Cover and cook on low until the pork shreds easily with a fork, about 10 hours. Turn the meat after it has cooked for 5 hours. I cooked mine a little over 10 hours and it came out perfectly. Also, my pork was completely defrosted when I put it in.
When pork is done, remove from slow cooker and shred with two forks, using cooking liquid as needed to moisten the meat.
I used mine as taco meat and served with chopped onions and cilantro. It was YUMMY! But, you could also serve it as the main dish with a side of beans and rice as well. Enjoy!!

I have several enchilada recipes, but this is one of my favorites because it is so easy. I got the recipe from my mother in law, who is the queen of delicious but quick and easy meals. I'm also sort of embarrassed because I've made it for a lot of people and they think I make the sauce from scratch. Now the truth comes out!


1 can Campbells Healthy Request Cream of Chicken
1 can Campbells Healthy Request Cream of Mushroom
1 can Salsa Verde
Corn Tortillas
1/2 cup chopped onion
Shredded Muenster Cheese
Approx 1/2 cup milk
Approx 1/2 cup water

You will notice I didn't picture the onion or milk, it was one of those nights. I was multi-tasking dinner and 1st grade homework which included an oral spelling bee :) Add 2-3 Tbs EVOO to a large shallow sauce pan. Add the onion and sauté until browned.

Add Cream of Chicken soup and Cream of Mushroom soup. Alternate between adding milk and water to reach the right consistency. I used about 1/2 cup of milk and a 1/2 cup of water. Continue stirring together under medium-low heat. Add salsa. I used a little more than 1/2 of a 7 oz. can.

Once everything is mixed well, reduce heat to low. In small frying pan add a couple Tbs of oil and heat over medium heat. Add corn tortillas one at a time and brown on both sides. I like mine to be slightly crispy. Remove tortilla from frying pan and blot out extra oil with a papertowel.

Cook all the tortillas first. I make about 3 tortillas per adult serving. To construct the fakechiladas layer one tortilla, then cheese, then spoon the sauce over it and repeat. I serve them with rice and salad.

Another variation is to create the layers in a casserole dish.Bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees, top with sour cream. We are too hungry and impatient for that step most nights!

This is by far one of my husband's favorite dinners. I love it because it's super simple and requires NO seasoning from my pantry and the clean up is easy squeezy. It's my lazy man's take on chicken parmesan but with a healthy twist because there is NO frying AND the breading is more of a light crust. Here we go!

I have to say, this recipe is ALL about the gravy. The chicken is nothing fancy but the gravy is just delish. I kept reading recipes that said the same thing, "the chicken doesn't absorb the marinade" which is entirely true, BUT when you use the marinade and cook it down, it renders a lovely orange rosemary gravy that is outstanding and just amazing when poured over the chicken. I hope you all enjoy!

Orange Rosemary Chicken
1lb boneless skinless chicken breast
11/2 cups of Orange Juice
Zest of 2 Oranges
1/4 cup EVOO
2 chopped fresh chives
3tbsp of chopped fresh rosemary
1tsp. salt
1tsp. pepper
garlic salt OR meat seasoning

In a large bowl mix orange juice, zest of 1 orange, EVOO, chives, rosemary, salt and pepper. Lightly season both sides of the chicken with your choice of garlic salt or meat seasoning. Place the pieces of chicken in the bowl of marinade and cover for at least 4hrs.


To cook, use a griddle pan lightly covered in EVOO on medium heat. Place pieces of chicken on the griddle, drizzle a spoonful of marinade on each one. Cook covered on each side for approx 4-6 mins or until fully cooked through when juices are clear.


In a separate saucepan on medium heat, bring the leftover marinade and zest of 1 orange to a simmer for approx. 10 mins or until it thickens up. Once chicken is ready to be served, pour spoonful or two of marinade aka gravy on each piece of chicken.



Sliced n' Diced Lazy Potatoes
3 medium sized potatoes (or 1 potato per person)
1/4 cup of VERY thinly sliced onion
1 medium clove of garlic chopped
3tbsp EVOO
1tsp pepper
1tsp garlic salt (if you don't have it plain salt will do)

Cream Mixture:
2tbsp of mixed cheese blend (I had my infamous mexican blend on hand)
2tbsp of sour cream
1tbsp of butter
1 pinch of pepper


In a large saucepan over medium heat saute EVOO, onion and garlic. Peel and dice potatoes into silver dollar slices (not too thick) and put into pan adding garlic salt and pepper. Cook until potatoes brown up and soften up.

In a small bowl mix cheese, sour cream, butter, and pepper. Once potatoes have fully cooked combine them with the creamed mixture.

Here is the finished product!

Who doesn't love a french fry?! Well these oven fries are super tasty and (dare I say) healthier! I make them often in place of baked potatoes or mashed potatoes. I would add the steak recipe but it wasn't what I deem "blog worthy" so the finished product includes our entire dinner, but the pomme frites are the true star of the show here.

3 medium/large potatoes peeled and cut (see pictures for better idea of how I cut them)
3 tbsp EVOO
1 1/5 tbsp of garlic salt
1 tbsp pepper
3 tbsp freshly grated (or store bought) parmesan cheese

Set oven to 450.
In a large bowl mix sliced potatoes, EVOO, garlic salt, pepper and parmesan. Make sure to get all the potato fries covered in the mixture. On a cookie sheet covered in foil (this makes for the EASIEST clean up) spread out fries and if you like, add another sprinkle of parmesan cheese.


Pop them in the oven for about 20 mins or until cooked through/golden brown. A quick word of caution they might stick to the foil but usually peel off easily.

Oh Fall how we love you because of all the good fall-inspired treats you bring! I had some pumpkin cheesecake at a restaurant a week or so ago and it was absolutely fantastic. All week long I had been thinking about possibly trying to make one at home but I was worried I wouldn't like it once I made it. Well I made it and we ALL loved it, however I didn't take all the "usual" blog pictures so the finished product will have to do. I found this recipe online and changed some things to fit my "the less I have to do the better" attitude. The only downside (if there could be one) is that it is a large recipe, it yielded THREE cheesecakes. So I'd say making this for a party would be just the ticket!

For the crust I just bought a pre-made ones (again the less steps the better)

1 15oz can of pumpkin puree
3 8oz packages of cream cheese at room temperature
3 eggs plus 1 egg yolk
1/4 cup of sour cream
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons of flour
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Beat cream cheese until it's smooth, add pumpkin puree, eggs, egg yolk, sour cream, sugar and pumpkin pie spice. Beat well, then add flour and vanilla. Beat the mixture until it's combined with few to no cream cheese lumps. It will be runny.

Pour into crust (don't fill it to the top) and place in the oven for 1 hour.
Let it cool for 15-25 minutes and cover it with plastic wrap/or pie tin cover and place it in the refrigerator for at least 5 hours.

ENJOY!

I have to say this dinner may not look pretty but it's delish. I haven't posted anything in a while because we literally had soup for daaaaays. So as I cautioned in that recipe I'm going to say it again- it makes a LARGE portion, cut it in 1/2 if you wish.

So back to the quesorittos: the name originates from the basic idea of a quesadilla with the fixings of a burrito but assembled like a pizza. Whew! That's a mouthful. Anyway I have to start by saying that in case you don't know, the EASIEST way to shred chicken is to cook it in the crockpot. I just recently learned this and am SO happy I did because shredding chicken with two forks was much too much work if you ask me. Anyway, once it's cooked it will fall apart and is SO easy to make so many different things. Ok enough of my fantastic new found information and on to the recipe!

1lb of boneless skinless chicken breast (you can use dark meat as well)
1 package of Lawrys chicken taco seasoning
1 1/2 cup of water
1 15oz can of Bush's black beans
1 15oz can of sweet corn
1 package of tortillas
1 package of mexican blend cheese (or whatever you have on hand)
*Optional:
 your favorite salsa
 avocado
 sour cream

Turn your crock pot on low and place either frozen or thawed chicken in with 1 1/2 cups of water and taco seasoning (you can just toss it on top no worries on mixing or anything, that easy!)
If you are cooking frozen chicken it takes about 4-5 hrs, thawed takes an hour maybe 2, (cooking times can vary) but it wont dry out because of the water as long as its on LOW.


Once the chicken has cooked through you can use a fork to pull it apart in the crockpot. Meanwhile heat up beans as well as the corn. Heat up tortillas and you begin the "pizza" making. Heat one tortilla sprinkle some cheese, pulled chicken, a layer of beans and corn, another sprinkle of cheese and top it off with a tortilla. Put it on flat griddle until tortilla crisps on both sides. We like to use a pizza slicer to cut it into smaller, easier pieces to eat. Top it with slices of avocado and salsa, or you can also choose to add salsa IN the quesorittos while you are layering, but it's all preference.


BONUS :)
I also happen to make these with left over pot roast and it's just as fantastic. But I add a few things, you'll have to keep checking for that recipe but I promise you won't be disappointed.

My mother wasn't a big cookie baker when I was growing up. She always said her mom made cookies all the time and she got tired of them. But, she loves to bake and once fall/winter comes around our house is full of goodies! Well, we finally had some true autumn weather this week and it must've brought out her baking spirit because she made her Famous Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Loaf. I absolutely LOVE this recipe. Very easy to make and, besides pumpkin, most of us have the ingredients in our pantry already.