Not Your Momma's Guacamole

Well technically it is my mom's recipe. But this is not your average guacamole because it is chunky and AMAZING. I actually made this last night and took it to work today for lunch. AND my first grade coworkers loved it so much they made me promise I would bring them some to work tomorrow. SO I thought since they liked it so much, that I would share it with all of y'all!!

So here is whatcha need:

2-3 Avocadas

1 Medium Jalapeno

1/2 Small Red Onion

1 Red or Yellow Bell Pepper

3-5 Grape Tomatoes 

1 Lime

1 Tablespoon of Cilantro (mine is not fresh, it's found in the refrigerated veggie section of your local  grocery store)

Ms. Dash Southwest Chipotle Seasoning

Half your avocados and deseed them... I then cut slices vertical and horizontal and scooped them out with a spoon. 

 
 Next I chopped up half an onion...

 

And about a fourth of the bell pepper, really it just depends on how much you love bell peppers. I like them a lot!

Next is your tomatoes, I am also a tomatoe lover so I used six of them. I cut them into fourths. If you don't LOVE tomatoes I would only use 3 to 4. 

Next I deseeded the jalapenos, then chopped them up into teeny-tiny pieces. 

Here is all the good stuff in the bowl.

Now it's time to slice and squeeze all that delicious lime juice into your bowl!

After the lime juice, add about a tablespoon of cilantro AND chipolte seasoning to taste (I go around the bowl about once).

Then mix it all together and ENJOY with your favorite chips. Bonus it's healthy and tasty!!!

Chicken Salad

Now there are a lot of chicken salad recipes out there, and this is no where near the best. BUT this is a pretty basic/simple recipe that you can build on and make your own. (Sorry about the picture quality, they were all taken with my iPhone.)

I began with 3 raw chicken breast.  The first thing you need to do is bring a pot of water to a simmer (just a few bubbles), make sure you have enough water in your pot to cover all of the chicken. You will simmer your chicken for about 20-25 minutes depending on their thickness.

While your chicken is cooking you can prepare your other ingredients. This time I used celery, green onion, green grapes, purple grapes, almonds, mayonnaise, salt, and pepper.

I love celery, so I chopped 3 stalks up and left them pretty chunky.

 Next green onion, I am not a huge fan of these so I chopped them pretty fine but I did use the whole onion....white parts and green parts

Next I sliced my green grapes and red grapes in half...I forgot to capture that step

 Once my chicken had cooled a little I put all three breast into my stand mixer and mixed it on medium...

 Until the chicken was shredded pretty fine.

 Once my chicken was pulled apart, I added about a 1/2 cup of mayonnaise (feel free to add as little or as much as you like). Then the rest of the ingredients (onions, celery, grapes, almonds, salt and pepper). Just keep tasting until it taste perfect to you! 

 This is the fun part add whatever you want, because its YOUR chicken salad. You could add dill, rosemary, lemon juice, cayenne pepper, spicy mustard, paprika....whatever your heart desires.

Cool, Eat, and Enjoy!

Sausage Balls

WITH CREAM CHEESE! I do not know why cream cheese makes sausage balls so much better, but it just does. This is one of my favorite "snacks". AND since I was craving them the other day I thought I would share this amazing recipe with all of you....did I mention that is one of the easiest recipe of the face of this planet! (Sorry about the picture quality, they were all taken with my iPhone.)

All you need is:
1 lb of Sausage, 1 1/4 cup of Bisquick, 4 ounces of Cheddar Cheese, and 8 ounces of Cream Cheese.

 Put them all in a bowl together and mix, I used my stand mixer with the dough hook.

 Once it was mixed well, I rolled them into 1 inch balls and baked for about 20 minutes or until they were brown.

Eat and Enjoy. They really are AMAZING!!

Why yes, this is me...sitting on my couch, watching a movie, and munching on some sausage balls. Don't Judge.

Chocolate Chip Cookies and No Brown Sugar

One night last week I was craving chocolate chips cookies. So I began the process of making them. Since I had made them a couple of weeks earlier for tailgating, I assumed I had all the ingredients.  Well...half way through making them I realized I was COMPLETELY out of brown sugar. SO what do you do when you are out of sugar?? Run to the store at 9 o'clock at night, call the in-laws...HECK NO. I just "googled" cookies without brown sugar and this is what I found. I found out that you could use HONEY!! And let me tell you they were AWESOME. I might just use HONEY from now on!! They were even hubster approved.

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons of Honey
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups of Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

PREHEAT oven to 375° F.

COMBINE flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, honey and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.

BAKE for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes.

Batter after everything was mixed together. It still tasted awesome!

Before baking...

After I pulled them out of the oven!

The cookies once they cooled, you cant even tell a difference!

Knock You Naked Brownies.

Original recipe from the Pioneer Woman. I changed the recipe a little because I am not a big fan of pecans and the original recipe calls for pecans.

Ingredients:
1 can of evaporated milk
1 box of German Chocolate cake mix
1/2 cup of melted butter
60 caramels, unwrapped
1/2 cup of semisweet chocolate chips

 Preheat oven to 350 degrees, then grease and flour 9x9 inch baking pan.

First pour the box of cake mix into your bowl. Then add 1/3 cup of evaporated milk.

 

Add the 1/2 cup of melted butter.

Mix all the ingredients together. It's really thick so Corey got in on the action!!

Caitlin unwrapped caramels while I was mixing. If you were baking by yourself you would want to do this prior to starting.

Once its all mixed together, you will divide the dough in half.

And press one half into the bottom of your pan. Then bake for 8 to 10 minutes, set aside. 

 In a double boiler (or glass bowl) combine caramels and 1/2 cup of evaporated milk.

It takes a while at first but once it starts melting it will be smooth quickly.

While the caramels are melting, take the second half of the dough and place on a sheet of wax paper. You will press the remaining dough into a square shape slightly smaller than the baking pan.

Now you will pour the melted caramel on top of the cooled brownies.

Then add the chocolate chips, we added the entire bag!

Use the second layer you pressed out on the wax paper, and flip it on top the chocolate chips.

Bake it for 20 to 25 minutes.  Then EAT!!

 They are soo good and very rich. Grab a glass of cold milk and enjoy!!

Mexi-Mac

This post is all about comfort food! Mexi-Mac is a recipe that I got from one of my college roommates. It is really good, and CHEAP (something every college student loves). It is kind of like Hamburger Helper but homemade and better. It is a staple in our recipe line up. AND it's something I LOVE to eat when I am feeling a little down or when I need something quick to make.

You will need:
1 pound of hamburger meat
1 can of Rotel
1 packet of taco seasoning. 
1 box of macaroni noodles
1 bag of Colby and Monterey Jack Cheese
I stick of butter

Begin by browning meat.

And bringing your water to boil. Once your water boils add a WHOLE box of macaroni noodles. 

Once your meat is browned, add one can of Rotel and one packet of taco seasoning.

Mix all together and bring to a simmer.

This is were Darcy sits when I am cooking, she is hoping that I drop something good!

Once your noodles are done, drain the water and place them back in a large pot.

Add your butter. I added about 4 tablespoons (just four large chunks).

Then add your shredded cheese. This is all about how cheesy YOU want it. I usually add about 3-4 cups.

YUMMY. Look at the cheesy goodness!!

Next add your meat to the "macaroni and cheese"

Ta-Da your done!! Now just eat and ENJOY!

Hope you enjoy this easy and delicious recipe! 

Now I am going to watch the Olympics (which I am totally obsessed with. Its has been on 24/7 at our house!!)