Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bites

Holy Hannah Montana these are good!!! So easy, so fast, so delicious! This is guaranteed to sooth your need to eat raw cookie dough or bake cookies. Honestly takes five minutes to mix up (extra for chocolate coating).  Little scrumptious eggless wonders! But let me just say...for the record...melting chocolate and trying to be awesome at it is not my forte. More on that in a second, here's the recipe!!

Ingredients:

1 1/4 C     Flour
1/2 tsp      Salt
1/2 C        Light Brown Sugar
1/4 C        Granulated Sugar
1/2 C        (1 Stick) Butter-softened.
1 tsp         Vanilla
1/2 C        Mini Chocolate Chips

Directions:

Mix together your sugars with your butter until creamy. Add in salt, and vanilla. Then mix in flour and chocolate chips. Using your hands to get it all together works very well. Now shape them into one inch balls and place on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper. If you find it is too dry to form, add a little milk a tbsp at a time. NOW- If you want, you can melt some chocolate and dunk these puppies in there and be all crafty and awesome. OR you can just eat them as is. 

I dunked mine in chocolate. This was my first time working with melted chocolate. I have it all over my face right now. I don't know how that happened. It was messy. But... on the plus side, I made my kid a little extra chocolate treat with the leftover chocolate! 

I call these hershey squirts. Cuz, well, you know. 

Enjoy! ;-) 

Broccoli & Cheddar Quinoa

One of our favorite comfort foods is cheesy broccoli and rice casserole. I saw this and immediately ran into the kitchen to make it for lunch. This is a super quick and healthier version of comfort food. I was amazed at how delicious it was. Quinoa is becoming a go to for me in a lot of recipes. High in protein and fiber, you just can't go wrong with this quick dish!

Ingredients:

1 C         Quinoa
1 1/2  C  Water
2 C         Broccoli
1 C         Shredded Cheddar Cheese
  -            Salt & Pepper to taste.

Directions:

In a pot/sauce pan, pour in your water. Add quinoa and broccoli and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer (stirring occasionally) for about 15 minutes or until liquid is absorbed and quinoa is well cooked.
Mix in your shredded cheddar and season to taste.

So good! Enjoy!

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Rich Chocolate Cake

Now, I am in no way a cake or cupcake lover. I just dont like cake. I don't know why. But this cake. THIS CAKE is the richest, most chocolatey cake recipe out there. One thing I do love? COFFEE!! Yep. There is coffee in this cake mix. It helps add a more intense chocolate flavor. I just had to try this for myself. I am in love. Unfortunately, I made the big huge cake for my husband to take to work, and only a couple little baby cupcakes for my taste testers. I want MORE!! Enjoy! :-)

Ingredients:
   

1 3/4 C Flour
2 C Sugar
3/4 C Cocoa Powder
2 tsp Baking soda
1 tsp Baking powder
1 tsp Salt
2 Eggs
1 C Buttermilk
1/2 C Vegetable Oil
1 tsp Vanilla extract
1 cup of strong black coffee, cooled

Preheat oven to 350. In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, combine buttermilk, eggs, oil, vanilla and coffee. (Make sure your coffee is COOL or it will cook your eggs. Yucko!) With your mixer on medium speed, mix the two together until well combined. The batter is going to be thin. Thats ok. It turns into a big fluffy moist cake. No worries. Now pour that liquid gold into your two greased and floured cake rounds and bake for 30-35 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. (35-40 minutes for one large cake)

TADA!! Beautiful rich moist deliciousness! Now, frost that puppy. In the picture above I made my own peanut butter cream cheese frosting which I will be posting a bit later. Feel free to use any flavored frosting. Enjoy!