Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Scrabble Tile Valentine's Day Cookies

Do we celebrate Valentine's Day around our house??  Sometimes- yes.  Sometimes- no.  I'd rather celebrate the fact that I have an amazing hubby, who is going to be a great daddy & who is an amazing friend...all year long.  We are going out tonight- but we are keeping it pretty low-key.  Just doing stuff that we'd normally do if we went out on a date.  Nothing extravagant- just how we like it :)

So before he left for Dallas on Sunday, he said...."how about we go out to dinner & I take you to buy some new clothes."  {Note: I've been pulling at my t-shirts CONSTANTLY for the past 2 weeks...darn growing belly.}  So that's the plan.  We are headed to Osteria Marco & to Motherhood Maternity!  Hot date night!  Osteria Marco is probably our most favorite restaurant in Denver...I'm excited!!  Motherhood Maternity...not so exciting.  Oh well :)

I was planning on making these cookies last night after I got home from work while I waited for my hubby's plane to land.  What was I thinking- after working 12 hours in an ER, I was going to make Scrabble/Valentine's Day cookies...crazy person!  Anyways, I laid on the couch watching the Bachelor and willing the splitting headache I had to go away. 

So my cookies wil look a little something like this:

photo/idea compliments of Bake at 350

Only with Todd & Kate...

I'll be using my mother's sugar cookie recipe. 
I'll post the recipe & pictures later! 

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! 

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Sweet Chili Cheese Cornbread

Superbowl Sunday should be considered a holiday at our house.  After months of watching enough football to drive me crazy; basing our weekends around it, coordinating multiple televisions in order to "not miss a thing," & switching cable providers so we can get the NFL ticket channel we've made it.   We made it to the final day of football.  That next Monday...my hubby usually sighs & says "now I have to wait months for it to come back" while secretly I'm jumping up & down for joy.  No football for months!  Yes! 
...and then I see my hubby sitting on the couch watching basketball.  Oh great.  More sports. 

Can't a girl get some Real Housewives or Tori & Dean?  Even once?? Nope, not going to happen.  Oh well :)

Anyways, the usual Superbowl dinner at our house in chili.  This year, we had a few friends over to watch the game.  Usually I make a red chili, but I decided to mix it up & make White Chicken Chili {recipe here.}  To accompany the chili, I decided to make a corn bread.  I know, I know...usually I shy away from cornbread because its so dry & crumbly.  So I set out to find a good, moist cornbread.  Where did I find the best?  Our Best Bites of course.  The best recipe, hands down.  The bread was moist & flavorable & a little sweet- no massive amounts of butter & honey needed. 



{Sweet Chili Cheese Cornbread}
recipe compliments of Ourbestbites

1 cup butter (2 sticks), at room temperature
1 cup sugar
4 eggs at room temperature
1 4 0z can chopped green chiles
1 can cream style corn
1 cup flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoons table salt
1 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup grated Monterey jack Cheese
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese (I like medium or sharp)


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Beat butter and sugar together until fluffy, about 1 minute. Add in eggs one at a time, beating well after each one. Add green chiles and corn and mix well. In a separate bowl combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Take a spoonful of flour mixture and toss with grated cheeses (this will help prevent the cheese from sticking together in a big lump.) Add remaining flour mixture, and cornmeal to bowl and stir to combine. Lastly, add grated cheese and mix until well distributed.


Pour mixture into a 9×13 inch baking pan. Reduce heat to 300 degrees and bake for 50-60 minutes or until knife inserted in center of pan comes out with no goopy batter on it.

Friday, February 3, 2012

Buffalo Chicken Dip

In my early stages of pregnancy...when I still didn't know I was preggo- I had this weird craving for buffalo sauce.  Between eating my hubby under the table, constantly making buffalo chicken tacos {recipe here} & covering everything in Frank's Red Hot sauce...I should've known. 

So let's talk football.  Unless you've been living under a rock, this weekend is the SuperBowl!  Who are you cheering for?  I think I'm going to cheer for New England.  Only because the one person I can name from either team is Tom Brady...and well, he's Tom Brady.  Yes, my choice really has nothing to do with football.  I'm ok with it. 

This is a perfect dip for a SuperBowl party.  I've been saving it so I can post it for this weekend- nothing screams football like a combination of buffalo chicken wings & a dip...am I right??!?  Now, this is quite possibly the UGLIEST dip I've ever made.  There is nothing pretty about it....except that it will taste pretty good while you're eating it!


{Buffalo Chicken Dip}
recipe compliments of www.thegirlwhoateeverything.com
1 1/2 cups cooked and shredded chicken or 1 (12 ounce) can chunk chicken, drained
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup Ranch dressing
1/2 cup Buffalo wing sauce (such as Frank's Red Hot, not to be confused with their pepper sauce. Start with less if you want and add more to your desired hotness.)
3/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
Heat chicken and Buffalo sauce in a skillet over medium heat, until heated through. Make sure to break up the chicken so there are no big chunks. Stir in cream cheese and ranch dressing. Cook, stirring until well blended and warm. Mix in shredded cheese & cook until melted. Pour into a shallow dish. (At this point- you could sprinkle blue cheese on top & microwave to melt- but I skip this step.)
 Serve with chips, carrots & celery for dipping.
 
ENJOY