Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies
2 c. sugar or Splenda
1/2 c. Hershey's Cocoa
1/2 c. milk
1 stick butter or an equal amount of a healthier butter substitute
3 c. oatmeal
1/2 c. peanut butter
It helps to melt the butter in a bowl in the microwave first. Mix sugar, cocoa, milk and butter in large saucepan and heat to boiling. Boil 1 minute. Stir in oatmeal and peanut butter. Drop by spoonsful on wax paper or aluminum foil. Let cool. They will harden as they cool.
Whereas you can try using Splenda, if you like, I haven't had much success with it. These cookies are also very sensitive to heat and humidity and won't set up well if the house is too hot. They are, however, very easy to do when the weather is cooler outside.
Hope you enjoy these!! My dad and Darci go crazy over them!!
Greg
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
The "Famous Chicken Alfredo Recipe"
Here is PalmettoGreenLiving.com's famous take on Chicken Alfredo. While the sauce is not authentically "alfredo", it's awesome and is close enough.
Here it is.....drumroll, please
Ingredients:
3 tbs butter
2 tbs flour
1 can chicken broth
1/2 cup milk
1 cup mayo
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp dijon mustard
salt and pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
1 cup romano cheese
Bake 1 or 2 chicken breasts, however much you prefer. Cut into bite-size pieces and set aside.
While chicken is baking, prepare the sauce.
In a saucepan, melt the butter and mix in the flour over med-low to med heat until bubbly. Add the chicken broth and milk. Bring to almost a boil, just enough to scald the milk. Remove from heat and stir in the cheese. Mix well until the cheese is melted. Set aside and allow to cool. Prepare pasta of your choice. When the sauce is cool enough to touch without causing 1st degree burns add the mayo, sour cream, and dijon mustard. Salt and pepper to taste, and add the garlic powder. Mix well, and pour over chicken and noodles. Watch everyone lick their plates clean.
Hope you enjoy!!....this is one of Darci's favorites
Greg
Here it is.....drumroll, please
Ingredients:
3 tbs butter
2 tbs flour
1 can chicken broth
1/2 cup milk
1 cup mayo
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp dijon mustard
salt and pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
1 cup romano cheese
Bake 1 or 2 chicken breasts, however much you prefer. Cut into bite-size pieces and set aside.
While chicken is baking, prepare the sauce.
In a saucepan, melt the butter and mix in the flour over med-low to med heat until bubbly. Add the chicken broth and milk. Bring to almost a boil, just enough to scald the milk. Remove from heat and stir in the cheese. Mix well until the cheese is melted. Set aside and allow to cool. Prepare pasta of your choice. When the sauce is cool enough to touch without causing 1st degree burns add the mayo, sour cream, and dijon mustard. Salt and pepper to taste, and add the garlic powder. Mix well, and pour over chicken and noodles. Watch everyone lick their plates clean.
Hope you enjoy!!....this is one of Darci's favorites
Greg
Homemade Fritos and Cheez Whiz
Homemade Fritos and cheez whiz
If you're like me, you LOVE snack food...problem is, most chips and things like that have skyrocketed in price in this new, wonderful economy. We're all looking for ways to pinch a dollar here and there, and here is one way to do so in your snacking....do it homemade!
I love Fritos. Love them. A lot. But I'm not about to pay $3 and up for a bag when I can make them better and cheaper at home. And you can't eat Fritos without Cheez Whiz, but again, $3 or more for a jar is ridiculous, so I'll show you how to make that too.
Let's start with the Fritos.
INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup boiling water
1 teaspoon olive oil
First of all, preheat the oven to 450F degrees.
Combine the cornmeal and salt in a mixing bowl. Pour in boiling water and stir, add olive oil, and stir until well blended.
Drop mixture by heaping teaspoonfuls onto a well-greased baking sheet and press each one with the bottom of a glass. Now a little trick I've learned is to use wax paper for this. Lay some on a baking sheet, drop a heaping tsp full and lay another sheet on top. Then press it with the glass....it doesn't have to be totally flat, but pretty close.
Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown.
Makes approximately 3 dozen chips.
While they cool, it's time to make the Cheez Whiz.
Store bought Cheez Whiz is full of preservatives and other nasty crap like that....We're gonna make it all natural, and it's gonna taste a lot better. You're gonna need a double boiler for this. If you don't have one, that's ok...you can make one. Take a large pot and fill it about a quarter of the way full. (This may take some trial and error to get it right) Then put a smaller pot inside it and put the cheese in that one. The top of the smaller pot should be level with the larger one. Be careful, if you add too much water, it'll boil over past the small pot. If you put too little, the cheese won't melt properly. Like I said, it'll take some practice, or just go to one of those specialty kitchen stores and get a double boiler...I'm pretty sure you can even get one at a cheaper dept store. Either way, the concept is the same. You're using the indirect heat from the boiling water to melt the cheese. This way, it melts more evenly, and it doesn't stick as bad, if at all, to the pot. Anyway, let's make some cheez whiz.
Ingredients:
1 pound cheddar cheese, cubed
2 cups evaporated milk
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
2 beaten eggs
Directions:
Melt the cheese in your double boiler. When melted, add evaporated milk, salt and mustard. (Any time you make a yellow cheese sauce, you will use dry mustard. It's readily available at most, if not all grocery stores. It helps with the flavor and gives the cheese a color without using artificial colors....which suck. Remove from heat and stir in eggs. Return to double boiler and stir and cook until eggs thicken slightly. Remove from heat.
Pour into a dish and cool slowly. Stir as it cools to prevent a crust from forming. (Cover with plastic wrap.) Put in jars, cover and store in refrigerator. If you're like me, you have several jars of sauces you've bought in the past, and some of them might even be Cheez Whiz jars....perfect size. Just be sure to refrigerate it and it'll keep for a couple of weeks...(unless you eat it all the first day, lol)
Enjoy!!
Greg
If you're like me, you LOVE snack food...problem is, most chips and things like that have skyrocketed in price in this new, wonderful economy. We're all looking for ways to pinch a dollar here and there, and here is one way to do so in your snacking....do it homemade!
I love Fritos. Love them. A lot. But I'm not about to pay $3 and up for a bag when I can make them better and cheaper at home. And you can't eat Fritos without Cheez Whiz, but again, $3 or more for a jar is ridiculous, so I'll show you how to make that too.
Let's start with the Fritos.
INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup boiling water
1 teaspoon olive oil
First of all, preheat the oven to 450F degrees.
Combine the cornmeal and salt in a mixing bowl. Pour in boiling water and stir, add olive oil, and stir until well blended.
Drop mixture by heaping teaspoonfuls onto a well-greased baking sheet and press each one with the bottom of a glass. Now a little trick I've learned is to use wax paper for this. Lay some on a baking sheet, drop a heaping tsp full and lay another sheet on top. Then press it with the glass....it doesn't have to be totally flat, but pretty close.
Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown.
Makes approximately 3 dozen chips.
While they cool, it's time to make the Cheez Whiz.
Store bought Cheez Whiz is full of preservatives and other nasty crap like that....We're gonna make it all natural, and it's gonna taste a lot better. You're gonna need a double boiler for this. If you don't have one, that's ok...you can make one. Take a large pot and fill it about a quarter of the way full. (This may take some trial and error to get it right) Then put a smaller pot inside it and put the cheese in that one. The top of the smaller pot should be level with the larger one. Be careful, if you add too much water, it'll boil over past the small pot. If you put too little, the cheese won't melt properly. Like I said, it'll take some practice, or just go to one of those specialty kitchen stores and get a double boiler...I'm pretty sure you can even get one at a cheaper dept store. Either way, the concept is the same. You're using the indirect heat from the boiling water to melt the cheese. This way, it melts more evenly, and it doesn't stick as bad, if at all, to the pot. Anyway, let's make some cheez whiz.
Ingredients:
1 pound cheddar cheese, cubed
2 cups evaporated milk
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
2 beaten eggs
Directions:
Melt the cheese in your double boiler. When melted, add evaporated milk, salt and mustard. (Any time you make a yellow cheese sauce, you will use dry mustard. It's readily available at most, if not all grocery stores. It helps with the flavor and gives the cheese a color without using artificial colors....which suck. Remove from heat and stir in eggs. Return to double boiler and stir and cook until eggs thicken slightly. Remove from heat.
Pour into a dish and cool slowly. Stir as it cools to prevent a crust from forming. (Cover with plastic wrap.) Put in jars, cover and store in refrigerator. If you're like me, you have several jars of sauces you've bought in the past, and some of them might even be Cheez Whiz jars....perfect size. Just be sure to refrigerate it and it'll keep for a couple of weeks...(unless you eat it all the first day, lol)
Enjoy!!
Greg
Chinese Sesame Chicken
Greg's World Famous Sesame Chicken
First, let's start with the chicken.
I usually use frozen chicken breast filets....they're cheaper than the non frozen type, and if you look hard enough, you can find them with no antibiotics or steroids added. Tyson usually has this type. If you buy the frozen kind, obviously you need to thaw them.
Dry Ingredients
1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbs sesame seeds
1/2 to 1 tsp crushed red pepper
Mix together with a fork or your hand until thoroughly mixed.
In a seperate bowl, combine one egg and 1/4 cup milk and beat together thoroughly. Add in the dry ingredients and mix together until it becomes like a paste.
Cut your chicken breast into cubes, slices, chunks, whatever you like. Dredge it through the breading mix you just made until it's nice and coated. In your preheated deep fryer, (360-375 degrees) deep fry the chicken until nice and golden brown. Don't overdo it, it'll dry out and have the texture of shoe leather. (Hint...drop the chicken in the grease with a spoon...don't use the basket that comes with it to lower the chicken into the grease. The breading will bond to it instantly...keep the basket in there, just don't use it to lower the chicken. After a few seconds the breading will get crispy and you can remove it (when it's done) with the basket.
When the chicken is done, put it on a plate with a paper towel to drain. Stick it in the microwave, or somewhere out of the way...we'll come back to it shortly.
SAUCE
This is the famous sesame sauce (at least my take on it) of most Chinese restaurants. The key here is the sesame oil....the sauce will not work without it.
INGREDIENTS
* 3/4 to 1 cup white sugar (you can use splenda if you like)
* 1/4 cup cornstarch
* 1 cup chicken broth
* 1/2 cup water
* 1/8 cup white vinegar
* 2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
* 2 tablespoons sesame oil
* 1 teaspoon Chili Paste
DIRECTIONS
1. In a saucepan, mix together sugar and cornstarch. Stir in chicken broth, water, vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, and chili paste. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes. As it simmers, put the chicken in it...it'll warm the chicken back up, which makes a huge difference.
PRESENTATION:
Make a bed of rice on a plate. Add the chicken/sauce mixture on top and scoop up a little extra sauce if you like. Garnish with broccoli, sesame seeds, and maybe an orange slice. I happen to love broccoli, so I add a lot. Hope all of you enjoy this!!!
First, let's start with the chicken.
I usually use frozen chicken breast filets....they're cheaper than the non frozen type, and if you look hard enough, you can find them with no antibiotics or steroids added. Tyson usually has this type. If you buy the frozen kind, obviously you need to thaw them.
Dry Ingredients
1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbs sesame seeds
1/2 to 1 tsp crushed red pepper
Mix together with a fork or your hand until thoroughly mixed.
In a seperate bowl, combine one egg and 1/4 cup milk and beat together thoroughly. Add in the dry ingredients and mix together until it becomes like a paste.
Cut your chicken breast into cubes, slices, chunks, whatever you like. Dredge it through the breading mix you just made until it's nice and coated. In your preheated deep fryer, (360-375 degrees) deep fry the chicken until nice and golden brown. Don't overdo it, it'll dry out and have the texture of shoe leather. (Hint...drop the chicken in the grease with a spoon...don't use the basket that comes with it to lower the chicken into the grease. The breading will bond to it instantly...keep the basket in there, just don't use it to lower the chicken. After a few seconds the breading will get crispy and you can remove it (when it's done) with the basket.
When the chicken is done, put it on a plate with a paper towel to drain. Stick it in the microwave, or somewhere out of the way...we'll come back to it shortly.
SAUCE
This is the famous sesame sauce (at least my take on it) of most Chinese restaurants. The key here is the sesame oil....the sauce will not work without it.
INGREDIENTS
* 3/4 to 1 cup white sugar (you can use splenda if you like)
* 1/4 cup cornstarch
* 1 cup chicken broth
* 1/2 cup water
* 1/8 cup white vinegar
* 2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
* 2 tablespoons sesame oil
* 1 teaspoon Chili Paste
DIRECTIONS
1. In a saucepan, mix together sugar and cornstarch. Stir in chicken broth, water, vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, and chili paste. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes. As it simmers, put the chicken in it...it'll warm the chicken back up, which makes a huge difference.
PRESENTATION:
Make a bed of rice on a plate. Add the chicken/sauce mixture on top and scoop up a little extra sauce if you like. Garnish with broccoli, sesame seeds, and maybe an orange slice. I happen to love broccoli, so I add a lot. Hope all of you enjoy this!!!
Microwave Peanut Butter Fudge
Thanksgiving and Christmas is coming up so here's a quick, easy recipe to bring to a family get-together that won't take you long at all to make. You don't even need to fire up the stove or oven to do it.
Ingredients:
1 cup unsalted butter, plus more for greasing pan
1 cup peanut butter (use Peter Pan, it gets the best results in baking)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 pound powdered sugar
Directions:
Microwave butter and peanut butter for 2 minutes. Stir and microwave for 2 more minutes. Add the vanilla and powdered sugar to peanut butter mixture and stir to combine. Pour into a buttered 8 by 8-inch pan lined with waxed paper. Place a second piece of waxed paper on the surface of the fudge and refrigerate until cool. Cut into 1-inch squares and store in an airtight container. If God eats, I'm sure He eats something with peanut butter in it.
Hope you enjoy it
Greg
Ingredients:
1 cup unsalted butter, plus more for greasing pan
1 cup peanut butter (use Peter Pan, it gets the best results in baking)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 pound powdered sugar
Directions:
Microwave butter and peanut butter for 2 minutes. Stir and microwave for 2 more minutes. Add the vanilla and powdered sugar to peanut butter mixture and stir to combine. Pour into a buttered 8 by 8-inch pan lined with waxed paper. Place a second piece of waxed paper on the surface of the fudge and refrigerate until cool. Cut into 1-inch squares and store in an airtight container. If God eats, I'm sure He eats something with peanut butter in it.
Hope you enjoy it
Greg
Spinach and Artichoke Dip
Applebees Spinach and Artichoke Dip
I first discovered this stuff about 4 years ago and I fell in love with it instantly. If you haven't tried it, then you don't know what you're missing...I know it doesn't sound good to some of you, but trust me, it's awesome.
Problem is, as always, sometimes you can't afford to go out to eat, even at Applebees which, while it isn't the most expensive place to dine out, it certainly doesn't have a "Dollar Menu". So, when you get a craving for (what I consider to be) Applebees most delicious appetizer, you can now make it at home. Let's get started....
First you're gonna need a few things.....(and I'll cover several ways to do this)...
Go ahead and preheat your oven to 350F degrees and make sure your rack is in the middle. (most likely, it probably already is)
Now, the ingredients.....
1. Spinach. You can use the canned spinach ( I use the Popeye's brand, but it really doesn't matter...one can will do just fine) or you can use a 10oz frozen box of spinach, just make sure you thaw it first. Either way it works the same. Oh, if you use the canned spinach, make sure you drain it COMPLETELY.
2. Artichoke hearts. I use the canned kind. Now they come in several different sizes of hearts...I use the small or medium...it really doesn't matter, it's just the small ones are easier to work with. As with the spinach, make sure these are COMPLETELY drained.
3. A jar of regular Alfredo sauce. I've used the Ragu, as well as the Paul Newman, and they both pretty much work out the same. Not much difference in taste...and as I remember the Ragu is a little cheaper.
4. Cream cheese. You need 4oz of it. Set it out on the counter for about 10 minutes before starting, so it can soften up a bit...(makes it easier to work with). A good idea is to set it in a bowl and put it on top of the oven while it's preheating.
5. Mozzarella cheese. About 1/2 cup shredded. I'd go ahead and get the pre shredded kind, because it's a soft cheese and shredding it can sometimes be a pain.
6. Parmesan/Romano cheese mix. The canned kind. About a cup of it.
7. 1/2 tsp of minced garlic. You can use the powder if you want to, but the real stuff is better for this.
Ok, now get out an 8x8 casserole dish and add all of these ingredients together. Make sure the cream cheese gets evenly mixed throughout. (This is the only hard part) Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the cheeses get melted and bubbly. Serve on tortilla chips or bread.
Hope you enjoy this one guys....Darci actually wants me to make some right now, lol
Later,
Greg
I first discovered this stuff about 4 years ago and I fell in love with it instantly. If you haven't tried it, then you don't know what you're missing...I know it doesn't sound good to some of you, but trust me, it's awesome.
Problem is, as always, sometimes you can't afford to go out to eat, even at Applebees which, while it isn't the most expensive place to dine out, it certainly doesn't have a "Dollar Menu". So, when you get a craving for (what I consider to be) Applebees most delicious appetizer, you can now make it at home. Let's get started....
First you're gonna need a few things.....(and I'll cover several ways to do this)...
Go ahead and preheat your oven to 350F degrees and make sure your rack is in the middle. (most likely, it probably already is)
Now, the ingredients.....
1. Spinach. You can use the canned spinach ( I use the Popeye's brand, but it really doesn't matter...one can will do just fine) or you can use a 10oz frozen box of spinach, just make sure you thaw it first. Either way it works the same. Oh, if you use the canned spinach, make sure you drain it COMPLETELY.
2. Artichoke hearts. I use the canned kind. Now they come in several different sizes of hearts...I use the small or medium...it really doesn't matter, it's just the small ones are easier to work with. As with the spinach, make sure these are COMPLETELY drained.
3. A jar of regular Alfredo sauce. I've used the Ragu, as well as the Paul Newman, and they both pretty much work out the same. Not much difference in taste...and as I remember the Ragu is a little cheaper.
4. Cream cheese. You need 4oz of it. Set it out on the counter for about 10 minutes before starting, so it can soften up a bit...(makes it easier to work with). A good idea is to set it in a bowl and put it on top of the oven while it's preheating.
5. Mozzarella cheese. About 1/2 cup shredded. I'd go ahead and get the pre shredded kind, because it's a soft cheese and shredding it can sometimes be a pain.
6. Parmesan/Romano cheese mix. The canned kind. About a cup of it.
7. 1/2 tsp of minced garlic. You can use the powder if you want to, but the real stuff is better for this.
Ok, now get out an 8x8 casserole dish and add all of these ingredients together. Make sure the cream cheese gets evenly mixed throughout. (This is the only hard part) Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the cheeses get melted and bubbly. Serve on tortilla chips or bread.
Hope you enjoy this one guys....Darci actually wants me to make some right now, lol
Later,
Greg
Welcome
We at PalmettoGreenLiving.com welcome you to our blog. Here we will share recipes, ideas, as well as many other things that can help you find practical, easy ways to "Go Green" while saving yourself a few bucks too. We are not experts on anything. We don't even claim to be, but that's good, because all the things we will share with you can be done by most anyone. It's all common sense. Saving the Earth and saving money shouldn't have to be rocket science, and we're here to show you that it's not. So stop by often, and feel free to copy and paste these posts, recipes, and whatever else we have here....just be sure to tell everyone where you found it, so we can have even more visitors.
Thank you so much,
Greg & Darci
palmettogreenliving.com
Thank you so much,
Greg & Darci
palmettogreenliving.com
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
