Marshmallow Toffee, White Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe {Foodie Pen Pal}

I LOVE white chocolate and my foodie pen pal did very well with sneaking alot of it in my foodie box. I haven't had a chance to make the cookies I've been craving, but it's on my to-do list today.

This is my second month I signed up to receive a box from a Foodie Pen Pal and I also sent a box to a lucky foodie penpal, Kat. My pen pal, Kat and her box of goodies that I sent can be found at Eating the Week, you can check that out too. But let's get onto my box of yummy'ness.....

I received my Foodie Pen Pal box from Rachel at Tramplingrose,

my box was filled with lots of WHITE CHOCOLATE (yum, my favorite) and a few other snacks.

We are planning on making a batch of gluten-free cookies (soon), with these white chocolate chips, it's on my to-do list today so I am HOPING I get to do that.

Marshmallow Toffee, White Chocolate Chip Cookies (gluten-free)

recipe found at Hugs & CookiesXOXO 

2 sticks softened unsalted butter
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1-1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 cups better batter flour (gluten free flour)
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp kosher salt
1 cup chocolate chunks
1-1/2 cups white chocolate chips
3/4 cup mini marshmallow bits
1/4 cup toffee chips

Preheat oven to 350 and line large baking sheet with parchment. Beat butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla. Add gluten-free flour, chocolate, chips, marshmallow bits and toffee. Mix until just combined. With a medium cookie scoop, scoop dough onto sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes on baking sheet.

 

This great event was created by The Lean Green Bean. Here are all the details if you'd like to join the Foodie Penpals. If you’re interested in participating for July, please CLICK HERE to fill out the participation form and read the terms and conditions. You must submit your information by August 4th as pairings will be emailed on August 5th!

Thanks again for the awesome treats, Pen Pal.

Pineapple Fruit Tree & Creamy Fruit Dip {TWC Linky Party #92 - Summer Fruits & Salads}

This beautiful fruit tree was so easy to make and I am so glad I attempted it.

What a HUGE success for an awesome display of Summer Fruit.

Yep, I really made this all by myself (well with a little help from the hubby). I had this idea in my head for months, I knew I was going to somehow make this for my twins graduation party. The week of the party I even bought all the fruit and a few extra pineapples. For those of you who read about my "life" my husband works 7 days a week 12 hours per day (going on almost 3 years now, so he is never home). The day before the party he took the day off to help me and YEP, I showed him this idea and said PLEASE can we make this happen. A few ideas floated around (since the pinterest pin lead to no-where-land) a trip to my dad's shop and a few tools, and we were in business.

Here is the creation we made up complete with photos and directions. I hope this saves some people alot of work, because this project is quite simple. And the stand can be saved and used over and over again. What an amazing discovery on my favorite site Pinterest, but once again no source listed. I searched forever looking for the original source of this genius idea, but nothing, so here is my version.

Simple directions on creating the Pineapple base. Large piece of wood for the base about 20" x 20", then you'll need a piece of all-thread (or some kind of very small pipe), we used all thread so we could attach a nut and bolt on the underside of the piece of wood (sorry no photos). I got a plastic serving tray (the gold plate) and had my husband also attach that permanently to the base. Once your base is complete the rest is easy. Cut off the top of the pineapple one the first pineapple, then drill a hole down the center of the pineapple, the second pineapple cut off the top and bottom, drill hole and then for the top pineapple cut off only the bottom and drill hole but not all the way through the top. We picked up some fresh palm leaves at a local flower shop (a whole bundle for only $5 bucks), but you could use fake ones too.

Pineapple Fruit Tree
recreated by Tina Hudgens, idea from Pinterest

20" x 20" piece of wood
1 piece of all-thread (pipe) - make as tall as about 3 pineapples (about 30")
Bundle of Palm Leaves
3 to 4 Pineapples
Variety of your favorite fruits cut up to bite size pieces.

Once your base is created, you can slide all the pineapples down on the piece of all-thread. Then we took the stems of the palm leaves and just pushed them into the top of the top pineapple. We cut up lots of variety of fruits and placed them all around the base, served it with this yummy fruit dip and it was a huge hit.

Creamy Fruit Dip
recipe found at Simply Real Moms

1 (8oz) pkg Cream Cheese, softened

1 (7oz) jar Marshmallow Cream

1 cup Powdered Sugar

Mix all ingredients together with an electric mixer.

This week's theme is: SUMMER FRUITS & SUMMER SALADS

Please only link recipes with our theme!

If you are a regular to THIS WEEK'S CRAVINGS Linky party, then link-up we're excited to see what you made this week. If you are new, please just follow our simple rules, so that everyone can enjoy the linky party! If you forget to follow the theme, your post will be deleted. Please don't feel hurt, just come back and link up a recipe that follows the theme. Thanks a million, we look forward to blogging with you!

Please Grab Our Button!!!

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This Week's Cravings Upcoming Linky "THEMES"

Here is a complete list of the past and what's coming up next on THIS WEEK'S CRAVINGS!

August 6 - Cupcakes (be creative)

August 13 - Summer Grilling BBQ & Vegetables

August 20 - LEMONADE (anything) Desserts, Drinks & More

August 27 - Bananas Galore (anything and everything banana)

Your hostess for this party are: Tina from MOMS CRAZY COOKING, Nicole from The Daily Dish and Kristi from Veggie Converter. We host this theme linky party every Monday (and the party stays open all week long)! We hope to inspire you to make something with our theme or get an old post notice by linking it up to the linky party below. 

The LINKY PARTY is opened ALL Week!

PLEASE do not link more then 3 recipes per week.

This week's theme is: SUMMER SALADS & SUMMER FRUITS
Please only link recipes with our them!

Cake Batter Rice Krispy Treats

Here is just a simple but delicious way to transform the already yummy rice krispy treats we've made for years. I think I will need to whip up a batch of these for our 3-week motorhome trip, coming soon.

Cake Batter Rice Krispy Treats

original recipe with a twist

4 tbsp butter

1 (12 oz) bag of mini marshmallows or 1 jar marshmallow creme

1/4 cup cake mix

6 cups rice krispies cereal

1 (small) container of sprinkles

Melt butter in a large saucepan over low heat and add marshmallows or creme. Stir until they begin to melt, adding in cake mix one spoonful at a time so its combined. Stir in cereal so it is completely coated with marshmallow mixture. Sprinkle in half of the sprinkles and mix. Lay mixture into a 9x13 greased pan lined with wax paper. Sprinkle the remaining sprinkles on top and press into mixture. Cut and Serve, the extra kick of cake batter really adds to the flavor. YUM!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Brownies

My son and I have been on a brownie kick. Any kind of brownie, all kinds of brownies, we even have a Pinterest board just for brownies, we are a little obsessed with finding the perfect brownie recipe. We want to find that one recipe that we will make over and over again. We haven't exactly found it yet, but stay tuned on this FUN and WILD taste test as we continue to make brownie recipe after brownie recipe to find that ONE perfect one.

This brownie was a midnight creation. We are usually sitting around the living room, everyone bored, and my son wants dessert, and yep it's usually a brownie. We jump right over to our brownie board and go to town picking out a recipe.

The brownie in this recipe was soft and chewy and the cookie dough topping, WOW! If you love cookie dough, then this recipe is one that you must try.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Brownies
recipe found at Darn Near Domestic

Brownies:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
2-1/4 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1-1/4 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups chocolate chips

Cookie Dough:
3 sticks butter, softened (at room temperature)
1-1/2 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup sugar
9 tbsp milk
3 cups flour
3 cups mini chocolate chips (or regular size)

Prepare Brownies: Preheat the oven to 350. Lightly grease a 9 x 13 pan.

In a saucepan set over low heat, melt the butter, then add the sugar and stir to combine. Return the mixture to the heat briefly, just until it's hot, but not bubbling; it'll become shiny looking as you stir it. Heating this mixture a second time will dissolve more of the sugar, which will yield a shiny top crust on your brownies.

Transfer the sugar mixture to a medium-sized mixing bowl, if you've heated it in a saucepan. Stir in the cocoa, salt, baking powder and vanilla. Whisk in the eggs, stirring until smooth. Add the flour and chips, again stirring until smooth. Spoon the batter into a lightly greased 9" x 13" pan.

Bake the brownies for about 30 minutes, until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, or with just a few moist crumbs clinging to it. The brownies should feel set on the edges, and the center should look very moist, but not uncooked. Remove them from the oven and cool completely on a rack.

For cookie dough: Cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in milk. With mixer on low, add flour and mix until well combined. Stir in mini chocolate chips.

To assemble: Spread the cookie dough onto the cooled brownies. You can set in freezer for about 30 minutes to speed up the cooling process.

Chill the brownies until the cookie dough is firm. Cut into bars and serve.

Ice Cream Cupcakes {TWC Linky Party #91 - Ice Cream Treats}

Summer Time and Ice Cream, what's not to love?

Ice Cream Cupcakes

adapted , original recipe was found at Bubbly Nature Creations

cake mix and the ingredients on the box to the make cake

First step is to make the cupcakes according to directions on your cake mix box (or if you wish make them from scratch). Line muffin tin with cupcake liners and fill only the bottom of each liner with cake (about 1/4 inch or about 1 tbsp of batter). Bake as directed, but only about half the time, becasue they are so small. About 8 to 10 minutes is all they need.. Remove from oven and cool.

ice cream (homemade or store bought, your choice)

We used store bought vanilla ice cream, mixed with sprinkles. Let ice cream defrost until it's very creamy and can be spread ontop cupcakes easily (about 1 hour out of the freezer to defrost). Once cupcakes cool completely, top them with ice cream and then freeze for about 1 to 2 hours until ice cream re-forms before topping with frosting.

Favorite Frosting Recipe or a tub of Cool Whip

Make up a batch of your favorite frosting and mix a whole bunch of sprinkles into it before topping the cupcakes.

When the ice cream is re-formed remove from freezer and top with frosting, they can then be served immediatley or can be returned to freezer and served when needed.

This week's theme is: ICE CREAM

Please only link recipes with our theme!

If you are a regular to THIS WEEK'S CRAVINGS Linky party, then link-up we're excited to see what you made this week. If you are new, please just follow our simple rules, so that everyone can enjoy the linky party! If you forget to follow the theme, your post will be deleted. Please don't feel hurt, just come back and link up a recipe that follows the theme. Thanks a million, we look forward to blogging with you!

Please Grab Our Button!!!

<a href=" http://momscrazycooking.blogspot.com/search/label/THIS%20WEEKS%20CRAVINGS" target="_blank "><img src="http://i1112.photobucket.com/albums/k498/Hudgens6/Buttons/ThisWeeksCravingsButton.jpg" /></a>

This Week's Cravings Upcoming Linky "THEMES"

Here is a complete list of the past and what's coming up next on THIS WEEK'S CRAVINGS!

July 30 - Summer Fruits & Summer Salads

August 6 - Cupcakes (be creative)

August 13 - Summer Grilling BBQ & Vegetables

August 20 - LEMONADE (anything) Desserts, Drinks & More

Your hostess for this party are: Tina from MOMS CRAZY COOKING, Nicole from The Daily Dish and Kristi from Veggie Converter. We host this theme linky party every Monday (and the party stays open all week long)! We hope to inspire you to make something with our theme or get an old post notice by linking it up to the linky party below. 

The LINKY PARTY is opened ALL Week!

PLEASE do not link more then 3 recipes per week.

This week's theme is: ICE CREAM
Please only link recipes with our them!

Brownie Trifle {SECRET RECIPE CLUB}

It's almost time for my 3-week Family Vacation & Road trip to drive my twin daughters from California (where we live) to Missouri (where they will be going to college for the next 4 years). WOW! That seems like a long time when you say it out loud. I know there are crazy emotions running wild and although a tear or two will be shed, I am SO excited for them and SO thrilled that they get this amazing opportunity. I can't wait to see what God has planned for their young adult lives. And plus I already warned them that I will be visiting once a month.

I can't believe Secret Recipe Club; Group C is already here again, it seems like just yesterday when I wrote last month's post. This is my 15th post for the Secret Recipe Club and I love searching through my secret blog for a recipe. You should see the 10 plus recipes I picked out from this blogger, and YES they were ALL chocolate or sweet related. And YES, I am sure I will be making all 10 of them at some time or another. 

When I am sent my blog assignment, I always jump right over and check it out. Of course, I start pinning everything that I would LOVE to make. My secret blog this month is Hugs and Cookies XOXO. You should see all the AMAZING sweet things she makes, here are just a few on my to-do list Homemade Peanut Butter Twix, Reese's Peanut Butter Cupcakes, and for my daughter GLUTEN-FREE Marshmallow Toffee White Chocolate Cookies, WOW! WOW! I will be making two of these this week I know, for sure! But, let's get onto the recipe I did make for today (please ignore the Christmas bell shaped Reese's I bought for half-price and still had in my cupboard). 

Although I LOVE LOVE Rolo's (which the original recipe called for), my kids LOVE LOVE Peanut Butter (and I am thrifty and like to use stuff I have on-hand) and I love taking pre-made mixes and turning them into a homemade dessert the original recipe called for Homemade Caramel, Homemade Whipping Cream and Homemade Brownies, and in my next life I would LOVE to make it all from scratch, but this time I totally cheated, I hope you all don't mind. It still tasted FANTASTIC Out-of-This World Delicious!

Peanut Butter Brownie Trifle

I adapted this recipe to add in our favorite Peanut Butter EVERYTHING!
original recipe found at Hugs and Cookies XOXO

1 fudge brownie mix; bake as directed

2 packages (13 oz) peanut butter cups

2 packages (5.1 oz) instant vanilla pudding mix; make as directed on pkg with milk

1 cup peanut butter

4 tsp vanilla extract

3 cartons (8 oz) Cool Whip topping, thawed

Prepare brownie batter according to package directions; (stir in peanut butter chips or chocolate chips if desired or buy the brownie mix with chocolate chunks). Bake in a greased baking pan according to directions on package. (do not overbake). Cool on a wire rack; cut into small pieces.

Cut peanut butter cups in half; set aside 1/3 cup for garnish. In a large bowl, make pudding according to package. Let stand for 2 minutes or until soft-set. Add peanut butter and vanilla; mix well. Fold in 1-1/2 cartons Cool Whip topping. (Instead of using plain Cool Whip we wanted to make it more Peanut Butter'y)

Place a third of the brownies in a 5-qt. glass bowl; top with a third of the remaining peanut butter cups. Spoon a third of the Cool Whip pudding mixture over the top. Repeat layers twice. Cover with remaining whipped topping; garnish with reserved peanut butter cups. Refrigerate until chilled.

Here is a list of my past Secret Recipe Club recipes:

• Blueberry Muffins (Gluten-Free)
• Bean Roll-Up (extra post)
• Cucumber Salad
• Raspberry & Nutella Pizza (extra post)
• Pioneer Woman's Chicken Pot Pie 
• Frozen Breakfast Burritos
• Pink Pearl Applesauce (crock-pot)
• Peanut Butter Marshmallow Cake (extra post)
• Cake Mix Cinnamon Chip Brownies
• Sweet and Smokey Roasted Cauliflower
• Cheesy Bacon Ranch Dip
• Trail Mix Cookies
• Creamy Noodles
• German Chocolate Cracker Candy

Chicken Parmesan {crock-pot}

It's summer time and it's hot and some days there is NO WAY I want to turn on the oven. Here is a recipe that is so quick and easy and yet such a hearty meal. We enjoy Chicken Parmesan pretty much anyway it's cooked up, but this was a great way to cook it in a crock-pot.

Chicken Parmesan {crock-pot}
recipe found at Chef in Training, originally from A Year of Slow Cooking

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1/2 cup Italian Seasoned Bread Crumbs or Panko Breadcrumbs
1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese
1/4 tsp  black pepper
1/4 tsp  kosher salt
1 tbsp olive oil
1 egg, beaten
sliced fresh mozzarella cheese
favorite jar of spaghetti sauce (or use homemade)
1 box spaghetti pasta (make according to directions)

Spread the 1 tbsp of olive oil into the bottom of your crockpot stoneware insert. (don't forget the awesome crock-pot bags, live-savers for sure).

Beat the egg with a fork in a separate bowl. Mix the bread crumbs with the seasonings and the Parmesan cheese in a separate bowl or plate. Dip the chicken into the egg, then into the bread crumb mixture, coating both sides with crumbs, cheese and seasonings.

Place the chicken breast pieces in the bottom of the crockpot. Cover chicken with entire jar of marinara sauce. Close lid and cook on low for 6 to 7 hours (or high 3 to 4 hours), about 1 hour before the meal is done add slices of mozzarella cheese on top, depending on how much cheese you like, more or little is okay. Cover lid and cheese will melt.

Boil water and begin cooking your spaghetti noodles to your liking. Serve chicken on top of a bed of spaghetti noodles for a delicious summer time meal, without heating your house with the oven.

Peanut Butter Krispies

These are my step-sons all time favorite favorite dessert. This dessert was found so many years ago, I can't even tell you it's original origin (sorry), but I do know my step-son would love if I mailed him a box of these every week. I may just have to surprise him one day and ship off a box from California to Texas, the next time I am in the baking mood. I did however make an entire double batch for his 21st birthday in May (I know I am just NOW finally posting about this, LIFE IS BUSY!).

I have made these several times (as you can see). First photo was yellow and black chocolate with colored chocolate drizzle for my daughters graduation party, second batch for my step-son's 21st birthday celebration in Las Vegas and the last batch was just for fun! That picture was taken a few years ago when we first discovered this awesome recipe!

We drove from California to Las Vegas, Nevada and he flew there from Plano, Texas. We had a great time celebrating and hanging out with him, just my husband and I. We ate lots of delicious food, tried a few fun new drinks with the newbie and enjoyed downtown, the strip and the Blue Man Group which was a very good show. Kids grow up way to fast, I tell ya! And I am feeling WAY TO OLD to have a 21 year old step-son, two almost 19 year old twin daughters leaving for college in 24 days, and my little man who is now 13 years old! OH MY!

Peanut Butter Krispies
original source unknown

2 cups Rice Krispy Cereal
18 oz (approx 2-1/4 cups) Peanut Butter (we like to use crunchy)
1-1/2 cups Powered Sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla
Milk or White Chocolate Melts (or any kind of chocolate melts)
extra toppings (peanuts, white chocolate or chocolate mixed with peanut butter)

Mix all ingredients together (this is best done with gloves). Once all mixture is completely mixed, roll into balls or use a melon scoop to make into small round balls. Melt chocolate in a microwave safe bowl in 40 second increments, until melted. Krispy balls can then be dipped into the melted chocolate and set onto wax paper to dry. Depending on what kind of topping you'd like you may need to add the topping now while the chocolate is still wet (ie crushed peanuts or sprinkles of any kind). If you want to drizzle with peanut butter chocolate, mix 1 tbsp peanut butter with 1/2 cup or more of white chocolate until desired consistency, you need to be able to drizzle. Or if you want just a plain colored chocolate, melt and drizzle.

Here was the awesome candy bar I made for my twins high school graduation party, complete with Peanut Butter Krispies included and my adorable little nephew who couldn't keep his hands off the candy bar. Gotta Love 'em, so dang CUTE! I will be posting all the recipes we made just as soon as I possibly can, but the count down is here and now, 24 days until our 3 week driving vacation to take my girls from California to Missouri via our motorhome. AH, the days are going by so fast.

ULTIMATE CRAZY COOKING CHALLENGE RECIPE - Fried Chicken

Oh, I wish, I wish, I wish that I could have tasted ALL of your fried chicken recipes. They all looked so delicious. Did you see all the Fried Chicken recipes, WOW? The different recipes are all amazing and the styles are endless.

I am excited today to announce the winner, voted on by you the readers and bloggers. This is our eleventh month of the CRAZY COOKING CHALLENGE; and it just keeps getting better and better! If you missed the post or if you are new here make sure you go back and check them out... we have 56 AWESOME Fried Chicken Recipes from the challenge last week!

The Ultimate Recipe is chosen from the blog that received the most traffic/most clicks from the linky party. Did you know that our little challenge received over 32,000 hits in one week. You guys are AMAZING! That's so wonderful and many bloggers who participate say that their challenge recipes are their most popular posts. If you want more details about this challenge or joining this challenge for next month read all about it here. Next month we will be baking and blogging about the ULTIMATE CHEESECAKE. Please come join us!

Now, let's announce the July WINNER of the CRAZY COOKING CHALLENGE. This recipe won by a land-slide, WOW! WOW! WOW! I think I will be adding this to my menu very soon.
The winner is ..... A BIG ROUND OF APPLAUSE to.....

The Ultimate FRIED CHICKEN Recipe

Copycat KFC Original Recipe

Cook Lisa Cook

Thank you, Cook Lisa Cook for finding this recipe over at CopyKat. We'd like to thank you for sharing your recipe with the CRAZY COOKING CHALLENGE. You deserve a big round of applause and you are entitled to the ULTIMATE CRAZY COOKING CHALLENGE BUTTON, please feel free to grab it below if you wish and post it proudly on your blog.

<a href=" http://momscrazycooking.blogspot.com/p/crazy-cooking-challenge.html"><img src=" http://i1112.photobucket.com/albums/k498/Hudgens6/Buttons/CrazyCookingChallengeButtonVotedUltimateRecipe-1.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket" ></a><br /> </body>

Also a BIG THANK YOU to the bloggers who participated in the challenge!

Lemon Shrimp {TWC Linky Party #90 - Seafood}

It's time for seafood week on THIS WEEK'S CRAVINGS Linky Party. Anyone who knows me knows, I do NOT, repeat, do NOT like seafood. I eat nothing from the sea at ALL, so this week I had to step out and make something for my girls. My daughters on the other hand love love love all kinds of seafood, my oldest son and my husband do too and well my youngest boy, that is still up for debate. He loves popcorn shrimp, fish sticks and that's about it so far, but my other ones will eat it all.

My boys were actually in June Lake, California this entire week for their annual BOYS ONLY fishing trip. This has been an annual trip for many years dating as far back as when my father use to go when I was a little girl. Now, my husband has been going for the past 14 years and both our boys have gotten to join in this awesome trip.  All of the boys in the family go cousins, uncles, friends and more.  They all really really love it and I know they have the best time bonding, fishing, camping and having guy time. They have already taught my son "what happens in June Lake, stays in June Lake". I know they don't get into too much trouble there, but it's still very funny (and my little guy tells his mama everything). This year my son, my 13 year old son caught the BIGGEST fish EVER, in the history of our family going to June Lake (which is about 25+ years of fishing). Not only did he win the annual jackpot amoung the "boys" of $150 bucks, his fish was so big (8lbs 7oz), it was the biggest fish caught in the lake this season and it is the biggest cut-throst fish that the entire lake has seen in at least the last 5 years. He was one happy BOY and I am one PROUD MAMA! ANy of you fisherman, watch for a picture that might be features in Outdoor Wilderness Magazine.

Lemon Shrimp

this recipe is sweeping the Pinterest Board - but with links to no where

1 package frozen shrimp, defrost

1 stick butter, melted
1 to 2 lemons
1 tbsp Herb de Provence

Melt one stick (1/2 cup) of butter and spread onto a cookie sheet (with a lip), thinly slice 1-2 lemons and lay on top of the butter. Lay shrimp on top of the lemon/butter mixture and sprinkle with herb de provence spice.

Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes or until shrimp is cooked. We decided to fry the shrimp up a little after we removed it from the oven. We poured the shrimp, lemons and all the butter into a skillet and cooked for about 2 to 4 minutes before servings.

This recipe is very LEMON'y. So, if you don't like a strong lemon taste I would use onely 1 lemon (or even a half of a lemon).

This week's theme is: SEAFOOD

Please only link recipes with our theme!

If you are a regular to THIS WEEK'S CRAVINGS Linky party, then link-up we're excited to see what you made this week. If you are new, please just follow our simple rules, so that everyone can enjoy the linky party! If you forget to follow the theme, your post will be deleted. Please don't feel hurt, just come back and link up a recipe that follows the theme. Thanks a million, we look forward to blogging with you!

Please Grab Our Button!!!

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This Week's Cravings Upcoming Linky "THEMES"

Here is a complete list of the past and what's coming up next on THIS WEEK'S CRAVINGS!

July 23 - ICE CREAM Goodies & Treats

July 30 - Summer Fruits & Summer Salads

August 6 - Cupcakes (be creative)

August 13 - Summer Grilling BBQ & Vegetables 

Your hostess for this party are: Tina from MOMS CRAZY COOKING, Nicole from The Daily Dish and Kristi from Veggie Converter. We host this theme linky party every Monday (and the party stays open all week long)! We hope to inspire you to make something with our theme or get an old post notice by linking it up to the linky party below. 

The LINKY PARTY is opened ALL Week!

PLEASE do not link more then 3 recipes per week.

This week's theme is: SEAFOOD
Please only link recipes with our them!

Panda Express Cream Cheese Wonton {TWC Linky Party #89 - Fried Food}

THIS WEEK'S CRAVINGS Linky Party #89

(FRIED FOOD)

It's Summer Time! The livin' is easy! And diets are thrown out the window, so let's live it up by having a FRIED FOOD day! My girls and I made these last night and I can tell you this is ALL we had for dinner! They were soooooooooooo DE-LI-CIOUS!

Panada Express Cream Cheese Wonton (copycat recipe)

recipe found at Budget Savvy Diva

1 (8 oz) package cream cheese – softened
1-1/2 tbsp scallions sliced thin
pinch of garlic powder
wonton wrappers
oil for frying
Sweet & Sour Sauce (for dipping)

Mix together (cream cheese, garlic powder, and scallions). Begin to heat oil in a shallow skillet (it should be hot-hot). Place about 1 tbsp of cream cheese mix in a middle of a wonton wrapper, fold wonton wrap by dipping fingers into water and secure shut. Drop wonton into oil and turn over once, wonton will crisp up and then remove onto a paper towel. Serve with sweet and sour sauce.

This week's theme is: FRIED FOOD

Please only link recipes with our theme!

If you are a regular to THIS WEEK'S CRAVINGS Linky party, then link-up we're excited to see what you made this week. If you are new, please just follow our simple rules, so that everyone can enjoy the linky party! If you forget to follow the theme, your post will be deleted. Please don't feel hurt, just come back and link up a recipe that follows the theme. Thanks a million, we look forward to blogging with you!

Please Grab Our Button!!!

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This Week's Cravings Upcoming Linky "THEMES"

Here is a complete list of the past and what's coming up next on THIS WEEK'S CRAVINGS!

July 16 - Seafood Recipes

July 23 - ICE CREAM Goodies & Treats

July 30 - Summer Fruits & Summer Salads

August 6 - Cupcakes (be creative) 

Your hostess for this party are: Tina from MOMS CRAZY COOKING, Nicole from The Daily Dish and Kristi from Veggie Converter. We host this theme linky party every Monday (and the party stays open all week long)! We hope to inspire you to make something with our theme or get an old post notice by linking it up to the linky party below. 

The LINKY PARTY is opened ALL Week!

PLEASE do not link more then 3 recipes per week.

This week's theme is: FRIED FOOD
Please only link recipes with our them!

Pioneer Woman's Fried Chicken {CRAZY COOKING CHALLENGE}

CRAZY COOKING CHALLENGE

Fried Chicken

WOW, WOW, and WOW again. I can not believe I have sucessfully made Fried Chicken. I have attempted a few times before, but this time, let me tell you. The BEST Fried Chicken EVER!!! And so easy and user/cook friendly, really anyone can do this. Believe me, my husband's favorite meal ever is Fried Chicken and I have always just bought a bucket from KFC, he is gonna be so happy now that I can make it fresh, like his mama does. :-)

One year for Valentine's Day, I made a huge delicious meal complete with mashed potatoes, gravy, corn on the cob, homemade coleslaw and YEP Fried Chicken (I purchased this from Kentucky Fried Chicken), no lie. I really went up to the fast food place and bought the chicken because I could not figure out how to make  GOOD Fried Chicken! Well, problem solved this is KFC good.

This month we are making FRIED CHICKEN. I started this CRAZY COOKING CHALLENGE almost a year ago and it's so exciting for a bunch of us bloggers to get together once a month and all make the SAME recipe. Just click on the tab CRAZY COOKING CHALLENGE to see all the details and find out how you can join in for next month. Our theme for August will be Cheesecake.

The CRAZY COOKING CHALLENGE is alot of fun. It's nice to see all the variations and exciting to watch how many other bloggers out there make a similar or almost identical items.

I knew this month was gonna be so easy for me. I have been dieing to make Pioneer Woman's Fried Chicken. When I first started blogging I didn't even know who Pioneer Woman was and a dear sweet blogger named Leigh Anne of Your Homebased Mom had actually made PW Fried Chicken and blogged about it, this is where I first saw the recipe. Perfect! I got to make Pioneer Women's Fried Chicken and I still get to highlight an AWESOME blog Your Homebased Mom.

Leigh Ann is the talent behind this wonderful blog, Your Homebased Mom. And she is also a Facebook friend of mine (I love how we have FB friends, and you feel so close to them, even though you may of never even met)! I just LOVE LOVE watching all she does and what is coming up next in her kitchen. The next time I am in Portland visiting family, I have got to meet her in person. You see I found Leigh Anne by mutual friends, through our Creative Memories contacts. I knew who she was, but did not know her personally and well we have never actually met, YET (a few emails and postings on facebook every now and then)! Then, she hosted an awesome scrapbooking event in Portland and I have a niece in Portland, I hooked them up and well they got to scrapbook together. Lucky for them... but one day I will visit Portland again and I too hopefully will have the privilege of meeting Leigh Anne.

Leigh Anne is a stay at home mom and mother of four grown kids. I watched her all this past year as her youngest went away to college, and now this fall I will be sending my twins off the college. It's nice to see how other moms have done this and survived.

I have made a few other recipes shared by Your Homebased Mom. Here they are: EggNog Cranberry White Choclate Muffins, Shaved Parmesan Chicken & Lemon Creme, Fluffy French Toast, White Chocolate Mousse, Brown Sugar Brie, Buttercream Frosting and our all time favorite cupcake that we've probably made at least 100 times (no exaggeration) Snickerdoodle Cupcakes. So check her blog out, check out my other postings of these fabulous recipes and enjoy!

Again, thank you to Leigh Anne for introducing me to the world of blogging, it it wasn't for Your Homebased Mom and seeing, reading and loving every bit of it. I may not of ever have become a blogger myself! THANK YOU! 

Pioneer Women Fried Chicken
recipe found on Your Homebased Mom and adapted by me with a few small changes, but originally is from The Pioneer Woman Cookbook: Recipes from an Accidental Country Girl by Ree Drummond

2 cut-up fryer chickens (my family loves just legs, so I bought the big pack of just legs)
1 quart plus 1/4 cup buttermilk
5 cups all-purpose flour
3 tbsp Lawry's seasoned salt
2 tsp black pepper
2 tsp dried thyme (we leave out the thyme & add in basil instead)
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 cup milk
canola or vegetable oil for frying

Rinse your chicken and in a large bowl add the chicken with 1 quart buttermilk. Refrigerate overnight. When ready to fry, remove chicken from bowl and let sit on counter for 30 minutes to take chill off. (I actually added the buttermilk to the chicken and then froze it until later when I was ready to make it, didn't hurt it a bit. Then I just let it defrost in the refrigerator overnight)

Preheat oven to 350F. Stir together the flour, seasoned salt, pepper, thyme, paprika and cayenne in a very large bowl. In a small bowl combine the 1/4 cup buttermilk and the milk. Pour the milk mixture into the flour and use a fork to mix until still slightly lumpy. The lumps help the breading stick to the chicken.

Heat 1 1/2 inches of oil in a deep skillet or dutch oven over medium high heat to 365F. Use a thermometer to monitor your heat. Working in batches, thoroughly coat each buttermilk-soaked chicken piece with the breading, pressing to adhere the breading. Add the chicken to the oil 3-4 pieces at a time. Cover pan and fry 5-7 minutes, checking to make sure chicken isn’t getting too brown. Turn, cover and cook additional 3-5 minutes more. Monitor temperature of oil to make sure chicken doesn’t burn. Keep in mind chicken will finish cooking in oven. (I love this, then I don't have to worry about pink in the middle)

Place chicken on baking sheet and continue frying rest of chicken. When done, bake the chicken for 10-15 minutes, until chicken cooked through. You can cut into one of the thicker parts of one of the pieces to make sure it is thoroughly cooked.