chicken quesadillas with peppers

I highly recommend these for breakfast, lunch or dinner (I should say breakfast, lunch, AND dinner)- I have eaten them consecutively for my last three meals.   My husband said they tasted gourmet!

chicken quesadillas with peppers (pass the peas, please)
1 grilled chicken breast, thinly sliced (I used leftovers- I always have grilled chicken in the fridge)
1 cup chopped red, yellow and green frozen peppers from Trader Joes
sprinkling of cumin
few drops of olive oil
mozzarella cheese
tortillas (I used white and whole wheat)

Add a few drops of olive into a medium hot fry pan.  Add chicken and about a cup of frozen peppers.  Stir fry until heated through and add a sprinkling of cumin.  Mix thoroughly.
Heat a grill pan on low.  Place a tortilla on the pan.  Add 1/4 cup cheese.  Spread half of the chicken mixture on top of the tortilla.  Sprinkle another 1/4 cup over the top then cover with another tortilla.  Cook on low until you get nice lines on the tortilla.  Flip over.  Cook until cheese is melted and you have lines on the bottom side.
Slice into fourths and serve with green sauce.

do you want to build a snowman?

My daughter went to a Frozen party this afternoon and had an amazing time.  She brought back "Olaf", a decorated snowflake sugar cookie, coloring pages, paper dolls, etc.  For dinner they had pasta with alfredo sauce (snow).  What a great party!  Just the other day my mom's first grade class had a Frozen party at the park and had a marshmallow fight.  My kids would love that!!

do you want to build a snowman? (my daughter made it)
3 marshmallows (2 for the body, 1 for the head)
2 pretzel sticks (arms and hair)
2 mini marshmallows (feet)
2 mini chocolate chips (eyes)
4 blue jolly ranchers (blocks of ice)
orange gum drop (torn to look like a carrot nose)
icing (for glue)

truffle brownies

My all-time go-to brownie recipe is my mint brownie recipe.  I've been wondering if there's a brownie equal to it so have tried a few new recipes but I don't think there's an equal to be had.  There's just something about chocolate and mint- you can't go wrong.  I gave this brownie a shot and served it with homemade ice cream.  It was good!

truffle brownies (adapted from Buttercream Bakehouse) 
1 box brownie mix, prepared in two 9x9 square pans lined with foil

truffle topping*
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, room temperature 

Once you have prepared your brownies according to package directions, you are ready to make the truffle topping.  (*NOTE:  this will make enough truffle topping for one of your pans of brownies.  You can either eat the other pan plain or double the topping and spread it over both pans of brownies)
Place your cream cheese in a mixer bowl and beat until creamy.  Melt the chocolate chips in a double boiler until melted.  Add to the cream cheese and mix until completely combined.   Spread in an even layer over the brownies.  Place in the refrigerator to completely cool before cutting.  Store in an airtight container in refrigerator.

creamy cucumber salad

This is the side- cool, creamy and savory.

creamy cucumber salad (CHOW)
3 pack English cucumbers from Costco (2 to 2.5 pounds), sliced
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 cup sour cream (I used fat free)
2 tablespoons fresh dill or chives or a combination of the two (I used dill)
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Place a colander or fine-mesh strainer over a large bowl.  Add the cucumbers and 1 teaspoon of the salt and toss to combine.  Let sit at room temperature for 1 hour.
Line a work surface with 1 layer of paper towels.  Using your hands remove the cucumbers from the strainer and arrange them in a flat, even layer on the paper towels, top with another layer of paper towels, and gently press to absorb any moisture.  Discard the liquid in the bowl and wipe it dry (no need to wash).
Combine the sour cream, herbs, vinegar, pepper and remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt in the bowl.  Add the cucumbers and stir to evenly coat.  Serve immediately or refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 24 hours.

sis.cooper's buckeye balls

We had the sister missionaries over for dinner on Sunday and served buckeye brownies for dessert because Sis. Cooper is from Ohio.  She mentioned that she'd planned to make buckeye balls the next day.  We didn't expect them to share them with us!  I love these gals- they're great.  Sis. Cooper's companion is Sis. Marble and she is from Arizona so I asked her what I could make for her.  She recommended chips and salsa and shared her salsa recipe with me.  We'll be trying it soon!

sis. cooper's buckeye balls (Sis. Cooper from Ohio)
1/4 pound butter or margarine
1/2 cup peanut butter
2 2/3 cup confectioner's sugar
almond bark

Combine the butter or margarine, peanut butter and confectioner's sugar.  Roll into balls.  Refrigerate for 5 minutes.
Melt almond bark on the stove.
Poke a toothpick into the peanut butter balls.  Dip each ball into the melted almond bark.
Place on a sheet of wax paper to dry.

What Sis. Cooper says- she tripled the recipe and made 62 buckeyes so each batch makes about 20.  She new this recipe off the top of her head!  That's a buckeye for you.

buckeye brownies

When I saw these I knew I had to make them because they look pretty amazing. I thought of our friend John who is from Ohio as I pulled out the ingredients to make them.  I didn't know a lot about Ohio when  I met him (and I still don't) but one thing I learned about Ohio from him is this- being a Buckeye fan is just part of the culture.  John is a Buckeye.  We had the sister missionaries over for dinner on Sunday and one was from Ohio so I made these for her.  She said they made her feel right at home.

buckeye brownies (Lil' Luna)
1 box fudge brownie mix
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
6 tablespoons butter, softened
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup chocolate chips

In a 9x13 prepared pan, make and bake brownie mix according to box directions.  Let cool.
In a bowl mix the powdered sugar, 1/2 cup butter and peanut butter.  Spread with fingers over the brownies and pat down (it has a consistency similar to playdough).  It helped me to wet my fingers because it was sticky!
Melt together 6 tablespoons butter and chocolate chips in a saucepan over low heat stirring constantly.  Spread over brownies.