Peanut Butter Pretzel Bites

Peanut Butter Pretzel Bite

     Well I've been home alone for the day and I've got nothing better to do than cook and sew. And as you can see by the picture I of course had to make something sweet to nibble on in between my sewing escapades.

     These goodies are similar to the famous Peanut Butter Balls that some of us know and love. These have a little bit of a twist though. They have crushed pretzels in them. It gives them a nice crunch, a little more body. One doesn't feel as if they are eating a spoonful of peanut butter when you eat these (but it's real close).

     I started out trying to figure out what I could do with this bag of pretzels that I had in the cupboard. Now it seems that my family is not big on eating plain pretzels. Not even if they have a beverage (if you know what I mean). These pretzels are even low fat and they taste good. So I looked through a few recipes and what do you know, I found a recipe that uses pretzels in it.

     These are fairly simple to make. However, they are a bit messy when rolling the peanut butter mixture into balls and let's not forget the dunking in chocolate. They are good though and require very few ingredients. Hope you enjoy them.

Peanut Butter Pretzel Bites
1C creamy peanut butter
10 T powdered sugar
2 T room temperature butter
2 C crushed pretzels
1 pkg semi-sweet chocolate chips

In a medium bowl combine peanut butter, powdered sugar, and butter. Add crushed pretzels and mix together.
Roll into 1inch balls or smaller and put them on a tray. Freeze for 1 hour.
Melt chocolate chips in microwave. (Microwave on high 1 minute. Take out an stir. Then microwave about 10-15 seconds stirring each time until melted).
Dip balls into chocolate and then put onto a parchment lined tray. Refrigerate until set. Keep refrigerated when storing.

Recipe adapted from Tasty Kitchen

    

Homestyle Goulash

Homestyle Goulash

     As we prepare to hunker down at home for these next couple days I've had to start thinking about some good home cooked meals that will warm a persons soul. With the temps dropping and businesses potentially closing, it looks like most of us will be staying home getting some good quality family time together.

     Last night for dinner I made goulash. This is a quick, hearty meal that warms one up and just feels like home. It's the stuff my mom would have made for a quick family dinner. Add a salad and rolls/biscuits and you've got a great satisfying meal.

     One nice thing about goulash is you can add practically anything to it and you can't mess it up. I could have added some canned mushrooms to this if I wanted to. Or if you like a little spice, add some red pepper flakes or some Italian seasoning. Substitute a little jarred spaghetti sauce for the tomato sauce to give it a little Italian flare. You just can't go wrong with this recipe.

     If you happen to have leftovers just put them in the fridge and heat them up in the microwave for a take to work lunch or just a quick lunch at home.

Homestyle Goulash
1 lb of lean ground beef
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 green pepper diced
1- 15 oz can diced tomatoes
1- 8 oz can tomato sauce
2 C dry macaroni, cook according to package directions
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 C shredded cheddar cheese

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the macaroni. It should boil about 8-10 minutes. As the macaroni cooks brown the beef, with the onion, pepper and garlic. Drain the beef mixture and set aside. Once the macaroni has cooked drain it in a colander. Return macaroni to the pot and add the beef mixture. Add the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, salt and pepper (if you're doing any add ins now is the time to put those ingredients in). Mix well. Heat on low heat and then add the cheese and stir to melt the cheese. Now serve and enjoy!

Adapted from Lynda's Recipe Box

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

Chicken And Wild Rice Soup

     Happy New Year!!!

     Well another year is behind us and we are looking at a new year. Time to reevaluate our life and try and make some changes that are for the better. Some of us want to make changes to exercise more, or to just exercise period. Some of us want to save more money and spend less, simplifying our lives. And then some of us want to eat better. So many resolutions. Hopefully some of the things we want to change will become a reality.

     I really want to eat better and save some money so I can go on a trip somewhere. Not that I haven't done these things before, but I just want to make a point of really watching what I eat and making sure I put money aside every paycheck so I can afford to go on a nice trip this year. 

     As far as exercise goes, I'm going to make sure that I go to the gym 3 times a week and really work out. No more wimpy exercising. I'm going to make sure I work out for at least 30 minutes when I do go to the gym. Plus I'm going to make sure I do yoga once a week. It's so easy to get out of the habit of regular exercise.

    So to start my better eating I've made a Chicken and Wild Rice soup recipe that I think you're going to love. It is made in the crockpot, which makes it super easy. I wasn't so sure how the wild rice would cook, but it was very easy. It doesn't take much to whip this soup up and my family liked it better than my usual wild rice soup.

So here's to a New Year! Hope you all have a wonderful 2014!

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

8 C of chicken broth

1 C uncooked wild rice

1 T olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

2 rods of celery, sliced

2 carrots, shredded

1/2 t pepper

2 C cooked, diced chicken

1 stick of butter, melted

1/2 C flour

2 C half and half

2 t parsley 

Siracha sauce, if desired

Add chicken broth and rice to crockpot and turn on high. In a frying pan add olive oil and heat on medium heat. Add onion, celery and carrots and saute until cooked. Add the pepper to the vegetables.  Add to the rice and broth mixture. Cook on high for 3-4 hours or on low for 6-8 hours.

Cook the chicken. ( I took 3 chicken breasts and boiled them until done. About 20-30 minutes). Cut chicken up into bite size pieces and put in the refrigerator for later.

In a small sauce pan melt butter. Add the flour and stir completely in. Then slowly add the half and half, mixing well. Add this to the crockpot mixture along with the chicken and the parsley. Mix well.

Let soup cook for another 20-30 minutes and serve.

Add Siracha sauce to individual bowls if desired.

Adapted from Simply This and that