No Bake Cookies

This are my husband's favorite cookies and the best part about them is that they are easy to make and they use ingredients I always have on hand.  They are also nice to make in the summertime as they do not require an oven.

3 cups of quick cook oats
3 Tablespoons of Cocoa powder
1/2 cup of peanut butter
2 cups of sugar
1 stick of butter or margarine
1/2 cup of milk

Place the oats and cocoa in a bowl and add the peanut butter in the middle of the bowl.  In a saucepan, melt the sugar, butter and milk.  When it comes to a boil, count to 65 and then pour it over the oat mixture and stir well.  Spoon onto wax paper or foil and allow it to cool.  This batch makes approximately 3 dozen cookies.

Mysteries - Who is your favorite Author?

I love reading mysteries but I am pretty particular about the types I read.  I like them to be in the lighthearted category with a little humor and very little gore.  If I am being truthful, no gore and well, probably always a happy ending where everything works itself out.  That being said, I do like them to be well written so this makes it very hard for me to find one that I love.  My all time favorites are written by Sue Grafton, Diane Mott Davidson and Janet Evanovich.  I need some new authors though as each one only writes and publishes one, maybe two each year.  So, what are your favorite authors?

Yummy Chicken Enchiladas

This is a recipe that I got from a friend and adapted a little as the original recipe made more than my family of 5 can eat in one or even two meals.  It was easy to make though and very delicious.

Chicken Enchiladas
1 onion
1 lb of chicken (either roasted, poached or you may use chicken fajita strips)  I cut mine up into small pieces.
1 jar of Salsa Verde (16 oz. jar)
1 package of 8 inch flour tortillas
8 oz. of heavy whipping cream
finely shredded cheese - you will need a lot.  You can use Cheddar, Mexican or any favorite blend.

1. Chop and saute the onions until soft.
2. Cut the chicken into bite sized pieces.
3. Mix the onion and salsa with the chicken in a large bowl.
4. Place 2 tablespoons of the chicken mixture in the center of a tortilla and sprinkle cheese on top.
5. Roll up and place seam side down in a pan sprayed with Pam.
6. Pour cream around sides and a bit on top of tortillas (until the cream is 1/2 way up the sides)
7. Sprinkle the top of all of the enchiladas with cheese.
8. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until heated through.

This can be made the day before if needed and it is actually better if the cream can soak in for approximately one hour prior to cooking.  Enjoy!

Climbing Aboard the Subway (Art) Train....

Okay, so if you haven't noticed on the web, there is a lot of really cool (and Free) printable subway art.  I have been loving it and enjoying it.  I print it out and I have one 8 X 10 picture frame where I change out my subway art printables for Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, etc.  However, I wanted to make something of my own and after reading all the how to's on the internet, they seemed way too complex for my computer skills.  I am, after all, still trying to figure out this blogging business.  So I remembered a website that I had used in the past to make neat things for my girls, www.wordle.net.  You can create your own subway art of sorts or look at the gallery of words that others have created.  I like how you can change fonts, colors, styles, etc.  My favorite button is randomize.  You just enter the words you want and then play around with how they look and print.  You could enter names of family members, St. Patrick day words, Spring words, the possibles are endless. 



This one took me minutes to make.



Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Monday morning and also Happy Valentine's Day!  We are going to be enjoying wonderful sunshine and temperatures in the 70's today which is fabulous after all of the cold weather, ice and snow of the previous two weeks.  I will post a recipe later for homemade ravioli with red sauce in case anyone doesn't have reservations and needs a last minute dinner for their sweetie!

Tinkerbelle a.k.a. Bellaluna

This is our sweet kitten, Tinkerbelle.  She is from the local animal shelter and we got her when she was only about four weeks old.  She was so weak and puny when we first brought her home but now she has a shiny coat and a shiny personality to match.  She is sweet, gentle and grateful to have a home.  She also fits right in with our two dogs and our other cat, Tigger, who just showed up at the door one day and has made himself at home. I call Tinkerbelle also Bellaluna because she looks like a bat with her large ears which are hard to see in this picture.  She is such a sweetheart and she has become a part of the family in the short time she has been with us.

Best Banana Bread Ever

                                                           Best Banana Bread Ever !!

So this is the recipe that I use whenever I have 2 - 3 bananas laying around that are starting to brown.  The recipe is easy to make, I always have the ingredients on hand, it makes your house smells wonderful while it is baking and it tastes delicious.  You can always add 1/4 cup of nuts but I like it just the way it is.  It is good with a little butter, tastes yummy for breakfast, is perfect with a cup of tea or coffee, and it even works for dessert. 

Banana Bread Recipe

1/2 cup of butter or margarine

2 eggs

2 cups of flour

1/2 tspn. salt

1 cup of sugar

3 ripe bananas

1 tspn. baking soda

Cream the butter and sugar.  Beat in the eggs one at a time and then add the bananas and continue to mix well.  Add the dry ingredients.  Bake in a greased loaf pan for 1 hour at 350 degrees.  Test to make sure the top is done with a toothpick.  I will often have to add an additional 5 minutes to ensure it is done. 

Happy Valentine's Day Weekend !



Ribbons and Bows



 I hope everyone has great plans for a great weekend.  This is the wreath that I made for Valentine's Day this year.  I was inspired by other blogs who had done similar wreaths for Christmas and Halloween.  I bought 10 kinds of ribbon, cut them each in 5 inch strips, hot glued them together and then onto a ribbon wrapped wreath form.  The time consuming portion of the wreath was cutting and hot gluing the ribbons but the actual placing of the ribbons on the wreath was fun (minus the hot glue gun burns).  I really like how it turned out and I am already thinking of ways to make this work for Easter. 

Monday night is a hard night of the week to celebrate Valentine's day but my daughter is going to make heart shaped ravioli for dinner.  She is in the pasta portion of her culinary classes.  How are you celebrating?  With your loved one or with family?