Homemade Magic Shell

Got this recipe off of Pinterest from 52 Kitchen Adventures

7 oz chocolate chips
2 T coconut oil

Heat in microwave for 30 seconds at a time until fully melted.

This recipe really works, and has none of the other ingredients we want to avoid.  You can even make it dairy free if you use dairy free chocolate chips.

I found another recipe online that recommends 1 C chocolate chips to 1 T coconut oil.

What we do most frequently with this is make our EASY ice cream cakes. How? Take ice cream out of it's carton or container, put it on a serving tray. Drizzle magic shell all over and especially down the edges and sides. Sprinkle cake sprinkles or other decorations for added color. Freeze. If you want to have birthday candles on it, put them on the "ice cream cake" BEFORE adding the magic shell. YUM!!

Cranberry Apple Muffins Recipe

My sister introduced these to me when our family visited them recently. I'm including it here, because I couldn't risk losing this recipe - it was SO good, and I had a bit of trouble finding it on the internet. Here's the recipe link where I finally found it. I included the byline from Esther Bowers, because she was the name of the original recipe creator, according to my sister's recipe. 

We did make it with 2/3 parts whole wheat flour and only 1 cup sugar to lighten it up a bit. We could have tried applesauce instead of oil, but we haven't yet. Oh, and I wouldn't make this without using fresh/frozen cranberries - they are the best part!



It's sometimes difficult to get our daughter to eat healthy foods, but she gobbles up these fruit-filled muffins. Although these are a "must" around the holidays, I keep cranberries in the freezer so I can whip up a batch any time of year. —Esther Bowers, Westland, Michigan

• Prep: 20 min. Bake: 25 min.
• Yield: 18 Servings

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Ingredients

• 2 cups shredded peeled apples
• 1-1/3 cups sugar
• 1 cup chopped fresh or frozen cranberries, thawed
• 1 cup shredded carrots
• 1 cup chopped nuts
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander, optional
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

• In a bowl, combine apples and sugar; let stand for 10 minutes. Add cranberries, carrots, nuts, eggs and oil; mix well. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, coriander if desired and salt; stir into apple mixture just until moistened. Fill paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full.
• Bake at 375° for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks. Yield: 1-1/2 dozen.

Nutritional Facts1 serving (1 each) equals 241 calories, 11 g fat (1 g saturated fat), 24 mg cholesterol, 282 mg sodium, 33 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 4 g protein.

Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies (Crisco)

(This recipe is from Crisco, find the original here.)

15 min
20 min
3 dozen cookies

INGREDIENTS:

• 3/4 cup Crisco® Butter Flavor All-Vegetable Shortening (we always use butter flavored shortening)
• OR 3/4 stick Crisco® Baking Sticks Butter Flavor All-Vegetable Shortening
• 1 1/4 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• 1 3/4 cups Flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 (6 oz.) package semi-sweet chocolate chips (1 cup)
• 1 cup coarsely chopped pecans (optional)

PREPARATION DIRECTIONS:

1. HEAT oven to 375ºF.


2. COMBINE shortening, brown sugar, milk and vanilla in large bowl. Beat at medium speed of electric mixer until well blended. Beat in egg. Combine flour, salt and baking soda. Mix into shortening mixture until just blended. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts.


3. DROP by rounded measuring tablespoonfuls 3 inches apart onto ungreased baking sheet.


4. BAKE 8 to 10 minutes for chewy cookies, or 11 to 13 minutes for crisp cookies. Cool 2 minutes on baking sheet on a cooling rack. Remove cookies to rack to cool completely.


5. * If nuts are omitted, [you may] add an additional 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips.
   
   
   VARIATIONS

1. BAR COOKIES
   HEAT oven to 375ºF. Follow recipe above to prepare dough. Spray a 13 x 9-inch pan with no-stick cooking spray. Spread dough evenly in pan. BAKE 19 to 21 minutes or until top is golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean and center feels slightly firm to the touch. Cool completely before cutting into bars.


2. LARGE ROUNDS
   HEAT oven to 375ºF. Follow recipe above to prepare dough. Spray small area in center of baking sheet with no-stick cooking spray. Cover with 12-inch square of foil. PLACE one-fourth of dough in center of foil. Form into a small circle with spatula or rubber scraper. Spray 12-inch square of wax paper with no-stick cooking spray. Place sprayed side down on top of dough. Flatten with round cake pan or pie pan to form a 7-inch circle. Remove wax paper.  BAKE 9 to 10 minutes or until light golden color. Cool 5 minutes on baking sheet on a cooling rack. Remove to rack to cool completely. Repeat with remaining cookie dough.


3. CHOCOLATE DRIZZLE OR DIP
   DRIZZLE: Melt 1 cup semi-sweet or white chocolate pieces with 1 teaspoon shortening over very low heat. Stir well. If too thick to drizzle, add 1/8 to 1/2 teaspoon more shortening to thin. Drizzle from end of spoon back and forth over cookie. Sprinkle with nuts before chocolate hardens. To harden chocolate quickly, place in refrigerator for a few minutes.
   DIP: Spoon melted chocolate into custard cup. Dip one end of cooled cookie halfway up in chocolate. Sprinkle with finely chopped nuts before chocolate hardens, or drizzle with contrasting white or dark chocolate. Place on wax paper.

Southwestern Chopped Chicken Salad

I found this salad on Pinterest, and LOVED it!! I've made it several times for the family since finding it two or three months ago! It is my new favorite taco salad. So I have to post this here, so as to NEVER loose it! The recipe supposedly serves four, since not all my family is as crazy for it as my husband and I are, it "feeds" us all. Click on the picture to go to the original post, although I'm cutting and pasting most of her recipe text below:


salad:
2 cups shredded chicken
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 can black beans, rinsed
1 can sweet yellow corn (or 1 cup frozen corn, thawed)
2 roma tomatoes, diced
4 green onions, sliced
1 head ice berg lettuce, washed and chopped
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
2 ripe avocados, diced
1 cup crushed tortilla chips

dressing:
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2/3 cup Greek yogurt
1 tbsp ranch seasoning
1 tbsp taco seasoning

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine all salad ingredients together, excluding the tortilla chips.  

In a small bowl stir all dressing ingredients together.  Pour dressing over salad, starting with about half of the dressing.   Toss to combine, then gradually add more dressing until it is dressed to your liking.  Top with tortilla chips.  Enjoy!