Brown Buttercrunch Cookies

Recipe & Image taken from www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com

For the cookie:

1/2 cup salted butter, softened

1/2 cup light corn syrup

2/3 cup brown sugar, packed

1 cup old fashioned oats (not quick oats)

3/4 cup All Purpose Flour

1 teaspoon pure vanilla

For the chocolate glaze:

1/4 cup heavy cream

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

2 teaspoons light corn syrup

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

In a medium saucepan, melt butter, corn syrup and brown sugar over moderate heat, stirring constantly until sugar dissolves.

Increase heat to high.

When mixture boils remove from heat and stir in oats, flour and vanilla.

Drop half teaspoonfuls, three inches apart on parchment lined cookie sheets.

They will spread a lot so do not place them too close.

Bake for 6-8 minutes or until mixture spreads, bubbles and turns golden brown.

Let cookies cool completely.

To make the chocolate glaze, heat cream in a small saucepan until scalded. Remove from heat and stir in chocolate chips and corn syrup. Cover and let stand about 15 minutes until the chocolate has melted. Using a wire whisk or a wooden spoon, gently mix glaze until smooth, being careful not to create bubbles.

When cookies are cool, drizzle glaze over the cookies or use a spatula to cover the end in chocolate.

Allow to set for 10-15 minutes.

Thai Chicken Skewers with Peanut Sauce

Recipe & IMage taken from http://www.emilybites.com

Chicken & Marinade Ingredients:

3 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce

2 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon sesame oil (found by the Asian sauces)

Juice from one lime

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon Sriracha (Asian chili sauce found with the other Asian ingredients)

1/8 teaspoon of red pepper flakes

2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

1 ½ pounds (24 oz) raw boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized chunks

* You’ll also need 9” skewers – if using wooden skewers you should soak them in water for about 30 minutes before use

Peanut Sauce Ingredients:

2 tablespoons PB2 powdered peanut butter 

1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce

1 tablespoon water

1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

¼ teaspoon black pepper

1/8 teaspoon Sriracha

1 teaspoon brown sugar

1/8 teaspoon sesame oil

Directions:

To create the marinade, combine the soy sauce, honey, sesame oil, lime juice, garlic, sriracha, red pepper flakes and cilantro from the first set of ingredients and mix thoroughly. Pour marinade into a gallon Ziploc bag and add chicken. Seal bag and shake to coat chicken in the marinade. Place the bag in the refrigerator so that the chicken is covered in the marinade and refrigerate for at least 3-4 hours (but can marinate longer – i.e. all day, overnight, etc).

Pre-heat the grill until hot. Divide the chicken evenly onto the four skewers. Place the skewers on the grill over low heat. Depending on your grill, cooking times may vary. On our 4-burner grill the chicken skewers cooked in about 10 minutes, so I suggest cooking yours for about 5-6 minutes and then flipping them and continuing to cook until chicken is cooked through.

To make the sauce, place all sauce ingredients in a bowl and whisk together until combined. Serve each chicken skewer with about a tablespoon of peanut sauce for dipping.

Maple Dijon Chicken

Recipe & Image taken from http://www.wittyinthecity.com

Chicken thighs- 1 package

Dijon mustard- 1/2 cup

Maple syrup- 1/4 cup

Rice/rice wine vinegar- 1 tablespoon

Fresh rosemary

Salt and pepper

Preheat your oven to 450ºF.

Mix together, dijon mustard, maple syrup, and  rice/rice wine vinegar. 

Put a 1.5 pound package of chicken thighs into a foil-lined, oven-proof baking dish. I used boneless chicken thighs.  Then, salt and pepper the thighs. Pour your maple mustard mixture over them, turning the thighs in the mixture so they are fully coated. 

Put the chicken thighs into the oven, and let them bake for 40 minutes or until a meat thermometer reads 165ºF. Baste the tops of the chicken with more sauce half way through.

 Let the chicken rest for 5 minutes before serving. Plate the chicken, making sure to spoon some extra sauce over the top. Sprinkle over some fresh rosemary. 

Basil Lime Chicken

Recipe & Image taken from http://goodenessgracious.com

3 Limes (juice and zest) Divided

3 T Olive Oil

1/4 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

3 T Dijon Mustard

3 T Worcestershire Sauce

3 T Soy Sauce

6 Green Onions Chopped Divided

4 Cloves Garlic Minced Divided

2 T Chopped Basil

Salt and Pepper to taste

3 lbs Chicken Breasts

Combine the zest and juice of 2 limes, Olive Oil, Mustard, Worcestershire, Soy, 3 onions, 2 garlic cloves salt and pepper and mix well.

Cut chicken into even cutlets and place in a gallon sized baggie.

Pour marinade over the chicken and marinate for 1 hour.

Preheat grill.

Place chicken on grill and grill for 7 minutes.

Then flip and cook until internal temp reaches 170.

Remove from grill and let meat rest.

Meanwhile combine juice and zest of one lime with extra virgin olive oil, 3 chopped onions, 2 minced garlic cloves, basil.

Slice chicken into bite-sized pieces and pour sauce over top.

S'mores Bars

Recipe & Image taken from www.realhousemoms.com

3 T. butter

6 c. mini marshmallows, plus 6 c. more for the topping.

1-12 oz box of Golden Grahams

½ c. light corn syrup

2 c. milk chocolate

spray with cooking spray a 13×9 baking dish, a mixing spoon, and a pot

on medium heat melt butter and marshmallows together

add the light corn syrup

once all ingredients are melted and combined add the chocolate stirring constantly

once the chocolate is completely melted and combined add the Golden Grahams and continue to stir until fully coated

pour into 13×9 pan and press down into and even layer

spread additional 6 c. mini marshmallows on top in an even layer

move baking rack to top of oven and turn on broiler

once hot, place s’mores into oven

remove as soon as golden brown color develops on marshmallows, this is very quick DO NOT walk away

Pineapple Breeze Cocktail

Recipe & Image taken from http://www.realhousemoms.com

2 oz. pineapple rum

1.5 oz cranberry juice

0.5 oz orange juice

twist of lime

crushed ice

frozen pineapple chunks, optional to keep drink cold

combine all ingredients and pour over ice

add frozen pineapple chunks to glass in place of ice to keep drink cold without diluting you drink.

Orange creamsicles

Recipe & Image taken from http://www.realhousemoms.com

4 cups low fat honey graham cracker crumbs (or to save time, you can buy the pre made graham cracker crumbs)

¾ cup sugar

1 cup butter, melted

3-1/2 quarts vanilla ice cream, softened (I use Dreyer’s Slow Churned Classic Vanilla-it has ½ the fat and ⅓ fewer calories than regular ice cream)

2 cans (12 ounces each) frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed

In a bowl, combine cracker crumbs and sugar, and stir in butter

Set aside 2 cups for topping

Press remaining crumb mixture into two greased 9×13 pans

Cover and freeze for at least 10 minutes

In a large bowl, combine ice cream and orange juice concentrate until smooth

Spoon over crusts

Freeze for 10 minutes or until partially firm

Sprinkle with reserved crumb mixture and gently press down

Cover and freeze

Remove from the freezer 15 minutes before serving