My favorite frosting

I've signed up to bring cupcakes to three different Halloween parties this year, so I went looking for a different frosting recipe than my usual Betty Crocker cookbook one. I came across this recipe given to me by a friend a few years ago and it was so easy to make and so delicious. It would be especially good on banana or red velvet cupcakes, but I used it on top of vanilla cupcakes and it was great too.
ingredients:
1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 tsp. vanilla
1 package (16 oz.) powdered sugar
method:
beat cream cheese, butter, and vanilla in medium bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Gradually add sugar, beating well after each edition.
*keep refrigerated*

We're Back!

After a long break from our repice blog, we are back with some great recipes for this holiday season!
This recipe was given to me by my friend, Lisa, and is one of my new favorite chocolate chip cookie recipes. My two favorite ingredients to add to cookies are oatmeal and vanilla pudding mix and this recipe includes both of them! I doubled the recipe, added Fall-colored M&M's, and brought them to a church gathering this evening, and they were a hit. I can't wait to make them with green and red M&M's this Christmas!

Chocolate Chip M&M Cookies
½ cup butter
½ cup shortening
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
Put above ingredients in mixer and let run on medium for 10-15 mins.
Add 1 small package of instant vanilla pudding and mix.
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
2 cups oatmeal
2 cups flour
Sift above ingredients together then add to wet ingredients
. Mix on low until combined.
Add ½ package chocolate chips and ½ package of m&m’s and stir to combine.
Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.

Review: Power Oatmeal Pancakes

These turned out GREAT! Even after freezing them and re-heating for my 3 year old in the mornings this week. Above, I had them with non-fat vanilla yogurt and sliced strawberries.

Barbeque Chicken

I promise this will be the last of my barbeque sauce recipes for a while, but I just had to post this one because it is my favorite. My friend Darla brought this chicken over for me after I had my second baby and it was so delicious, I called her immediately for the recipe. To my surprise, it was the easiest crock pot recipe I've ever heard! I now make it all the time for salads, sandwiches, or just to have in the refrigerator as a snack.

Crock Pot Barbeque Chicken

Ingredients:
1.Fresh or frozen boneless, skinless chicken breasts or tenders
2.A bottle of your favorite barbeque sauce
3.Shredded cheese
Method:
Pleace chicken and enough barbeque sauce to cover the chicken completely in a crock pot. Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 6-8 hours. Remove chicken and shred with a fork. Serve over salad greens or on your favorite whole wheat roll with shredded cheese and extra barbeque sauce.

Cheat Day- Crock Pot Ribs

Besides the recipe for banana muffins on the previous post, I could NOT make it through my second pregnancy without barbeque ribs. The weird thing was that I had always hated barbeque sauce, but thanks to weird pregnancy/nursing cravings, I can't get enough of it now! I found this recipe for crock pot ribs and they are absolutely delicious and ridiculously easy to make.
(Sorry, I seriously ate them all before I remembered to take a picture. That's how good they are)!
Ingredients:
3 lb. boneless country cut ribs
1 onion, sliced
1 and 1/2 cups barbeque sauce (I prefer Lucille's)
pepper to taste
Method:
Put meat on bottom of crock pot; add onions and pepper. Top with BBQ sauce. Cover and cook on low 8-10 hours or at high for 4-5 hours.

Hailey Muffins

Although I wouldn't call these muffins "healthy," I thought i'd share this recipe with any pregnant/new/nursing mother. My mom first made these when she was staying with my sister after she had her first baby, thus the name "Hailey muffins." I think my mom and sister pretty much lived off these things for the first week of Hailey's life. The ingredients are staples you always have on hand, they are very simple to make, and they are great to have around for any visiting company or when you need something to eat in the middle of night. They have quickly become a staple in our homes before and after we have babies.

Hailey Muffins

Ingredients:
3 large ripe bananas
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1/3 cup melted butter
1 and 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt

Method:
1. Mash bananas
2. Cream sugar and butter.
3. Beat in egg and bananas.
4. Sift in dry ingredients and stir until moistened.
5. Bake in greased muffin cups at 375 degrees for 12-15 minutes.

*tip: they are also great with the buttercream frosting recipe I posted on the very first post (banana cake).

Power Oatmeal Pancakes

My 3-year-old has to have pancakes every morning for breakfast. Most days I just heat up a gross store-bought frozen pancake for her. I'm making these this weekend and then freezing them so she can have something a little more substantial and healthy (I'll let you know later how they taste after being frozen). I'm looking forward to having these readily available for my own breakfast as well.

Power Oatmeal Pancakes
from Tosca Reno's, The Eat-Clean Diet Cookbook

Ingredients:

6 egg whites, beaten until fluffy
1/2 cup low-fat cottage cheese
1 scoop whey protein
1/2 cup oatmeal (uncooked)
1/4 cup wheat germ
1/4 cup flax seed
1 tsp baking powder
1 Tbsp canola Oil
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Preparation:

1. Place all ingredients except beaten egg whites in a food processor and pulse or blend until mixture is uniform.

2. Pour blended ingredients into a bowl and add the egg whites. Fold until just blended.

3. Prepare a griddle with cooking spray. Ladle pancake mixture onto griddle and cook until both sides are browned.

(My daughter will have syrup on hers; I'll try serving mine and my husband's with non-fat vanilla yogurt and sliced strawberries. Not sure how that will taste, leave a comment if you have a better idea of a topping for these pancakes)

*sorry no pictures, I will take some when I actually make these and upload them along with an update about how they taste after being frozen.