Easy Oreo Truffles

So, Christmas is fast approaching and lots of people are madly baking. Baking is my favorite thing to do in the kitchen because I of course have a huge sweet tooth. But with Ryan being gone so much and with three very needy little kids, I don't get much time to do it. Making dinner usually consists of me trying to cook while my one year old cries and pulls on my legs. Is it any wonder that I just have the kids eat mac and cheese and cereal a lot?

But these are such a breeze to make and so good that I have already made them twice in the last couple of weeks. Once just because I wanted to eat them and again yesterday when I had a dinner to go to. They taste like a lot of work went into them but it didn't. My kind of dessert!

Oreo Truffles

found on: The Girl Who Ate Everything

1 package of Oreos (I used regular but double stuffed probably would be good and I also want to try mint)

1 8 oz. block of cream cheese, softened

1 package of Baker's semi sweet chocolate for dipping (or whatever you want)

If you have a food processor, place Oreos in there and crush into small pieces. I crush mine pretty good. If you don't have a food processor, place Oreos in a ziploc bag and crush with whatever instrument suits you.

I assume you can mix the Oreos and cream cheese in your food processor but since mine is little, I do it by hand. I place the Oreo crumbs in a large bowl, add cream cheese and just knead and mix together until they are combined.

Roll into 1 inch balls and place on tray or baking sheet. Refrigerate for about 3 hours or freeze for about an hour.

You can melt the chocolate in the microwave or use a double broiler.

Dip the balls in the chocolate and place onto waxed paper to harden. Chill and serve!

Apple Butter Pumpkin Pie

I know Thanksgiving is totally over but I wanted to post this recipe anyway. I mean, I am always running on my own time frame and I really don't think the 3 people reading this blog care.

This was a really nice twist on the traditional pumpkin pie. I really love pumpkin pie so I wanted to try this. It had the nice pumpkin flavor along with the crunch of the streusel topping. Perfect for the pie party that I made this for!

Apple Butter Pumpkin Pie

by Tidymom.net

Crust:

1 pie crust (as always, I used store bought!)

Filling:

1 cup solid pack pumpkin

1 cup apple butter

1/4 c packed dark brown sugar

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp salt

3 eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup evaporated milk

Streusel Topping:

3 tbsp butter

1/2 c flour

1/2 c dark brown sugar

1/2 c chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 375.

Put crust in 9 inch pie plate.

In a large bowl, mix ingredients for filling in the order given.

For the streusel topping, combine sugar and flour. Cut in butter until crumbly. Stir in chopped pecans and set aside.

Pour filling into crust lined pie pan. Bake 50 to 60 minutes or until knife inserted in middle comes out clean.

Remove pie from oven and sprinkle streusel topping over pie.

Return pie to oven and bake for additional 15 minutes. She does say to cover crust with foil before returning the pie but I always cover the crust with foil after like 15 to 20 minutes of baking. So I did that step while the filling was baking. Whenever you want.

Cool completely, about one hour.

Chicken Noodle Soup

Yesterday it rained all night and all day. It really didn't stop for one little minute. And today it is snowing. I guess winter is actually upon us which is kind of a bummer. Oh well, I will really appreciate spring this year!

Last night I felt like a nice warm soup and pulled out this recipe that I have had for over 8 years but never tried. It is from my sister Tricia who is an amazing cook along with an amazing wedding cake designer. She has her own company and everything and makes beautiful cakes. She definitely got the talent in our family in that arena.

This soup was really creamy and had great flavor. It definitely will hit on the spot on a cold winter evening. And it is really easy!!

Chicken Noodle Soup

by Tricia Mason

2 tsp chicken bouillon granules

3 c Swanson chicken broth

2 c chopped carrots

2 c chopped celery

3/4 c chopped onion

2 cans (10 0z.) cream of chicken

1 can evaporated milk

2 c cooked chicken, cut into pieces

4 c cooked noodles (I used egg noodles)

salt and pepper to taste

Heat first two ingredients together. Add next 3 ingredients and simmer until tender. Add soup and milk. Add chicken and noodles. Add salt and pepper.