Chocolate Filled Pretzels

So easy and so fun!  This is a great one to let your kids or grandkids help with :)

Small Pretzels
Hershey’s Kisses (unwrapped) 
M & M's

Directions: Top each pretzel with a Hershey’s Kiss, and place in a preheated 200ºF oven for 10 minutes. Remove and immediately press an M & M into the top of each kiss. Let cool completely! Enjoy!

Sugar Free Brownie Bites

My boyfriend is diabetic but loves sweets, so I took a favorite - Chocolate Crinkles - and modified it a bit.  It doesn't flatten out like the original, so we renamed it "Brownie Bites".  It's just as good but without all the sugar!

½ cup oil
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted (you can buy this in melted packets)
2 cups sugar substitute
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 – 12oz package unsweetened chocolate chips
Pecan (think I used ½ cup, but you can use more)

Mix oil, melted chocolate and sugar substitute.  Add 1 egg at a time.  Add vanilla. (I used an electric mixer)

STIR in flour, baking powder and salt.  When well blended, stir in chocolate chips and pecans.

Chill several hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 350.  Roll a teaspoon size of dough into a ball.  Place on greased baking sheet.  Bake 10 – 12 minutes.  Do not over bake.  Enjoy!

Ice Cream Bread

ICE CREAM BREAD Seriously? Only 2 ingredients!

Who out there has ever made ice cream bread? If you haven't, what are you waiting for? You use only two ingredients and two steps. All you have to do is mix self-rising flour with softened ice cream of choice and bake. Poof! You have bread!

You need ice cream that is not sugar free or low fat...just regular full fat ice cream. This one is made with just chocolate but just imagine how awesome a loaf of Ben and Jerry's Rocky Road or Cherry Garcia bread could be. I have made it with Chunky Monkey and it is delicious. I will include that recipe too so you can try it. Go with bold flavors of ice cream such as peanut butter or butter pecan. Don’t forget, you can also add extra ingredients into the mix to make it less plain and more flavorful. Experiment and have fun with it!


Ice Cream Bread

2 cups of your favorite ice cream, softened
1 and 1/2 cups of self rising flour

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour an 8×4 inch loaf pan. Mix the ice cream and flour together in a bowl just until combined. Smooth it out so it looks even. Bake for 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool for a while and then serve.

Chunky Monkey Ice Cream Bread (2 loaves or 1 large loaf)

2 pints Ben & Jerry's Chunky Monkey, softened or melted
3 cups self-rising flour
1 very ripe banana, chopped
1 chocolate bar, chopped
Handful of walnuts, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour bread pan, or line with parchment paper. Mix melted ice cream and flour until well combined. Add chocolate, banana and nuts. Pour into prepared bread pan. Bake for 45 minutes per loaf or 60-90 minutes for a larger double loaf. If the top starts to brown too much, cover it with aluminum foil and continue to bake. The bread
is done when a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Infused waters!

Still drinking SODA, DIET SODA, VITAMIN WATER, PROPEL AND OTHER DRINKS WITH ARTIFICIAL COLORS, FLAVORS AND SWEETENERS?????
TRY THESE INSTEAD!!!

Infused waters. Here are their benefits to help with detoxification energy and hydration. Put as much fruit in water as you like and let the water sit for at least 30 minutes before drinking.

1. Green tea, mint, lime-fat burning, digestion, headaches, congestion and breath freshener.

2. Strawberry, kiwi-cardiovascular health, immune system protection, blood sugar regulation, digestion.

3. Cucumber, lime, lemon- water weight management, bloating, appetite control, hydration, digestion

4. Lemon, lime, orange- digestion vitamin C, immune defense, heartburn, (Drink this one at room temperature)

Ohh la la Queso!

1 block (32 Oz. Block) Velveeta Cheese
1 package (8 Oz. Package) Cream Cheese
1 can (10 Oz. Can) Rotel
1 can (10.75 Oz. Can) Cream Of Mushroom Soup
1 pound Ground Beef OR Sausage (or A Combination Of Both)

Brown ground beef or sausage (or both) in a pan over medium heat and set aside. Cut up the Velveeta and cream cheese into cubes and place into a crock pot. Pour in the Rotel and the cream of mushroom soup and stir ingredients together. Place the crock pot on low setting for an hour, letting the ingredients meld. After about 30 minutes, add the browned meat and continue to let cook, stirring as needed. 

**In a hurry?  Combine all but the meat in a microwave safe dish and microwave on 50% 2-minutes at a time stirring after each.  When completely melted and heated, stir in meat.  Enjoy!

No Bake Oreo Balls

This is one of those recipes that I saw that I just have to try!  I don't have time now, so I'm posting this on the blog so I'll know where to find it when I'm ready to whip up a batch of Oreo deliciousness!

 1 pkg. Oreo cookies
 1 8-oz. pkg. cream cheese
 1/2 bag almond bark


Mix together Oreo cookies and cream cheese in a food processor. Roll dough into small bite size pieces or large balls. Place in refrigerator for at least an hour. Melt almond bark in microwave until smooth (takes a few times at 2-3 minutes), stirring in between each time. Dip Oreo balls in almond bark and let harden in the refrigerator until chilled.  Enjoy!

Tropical Dump Cake

With this being the first day of summer and way too hot already, I figured another "tropical" cake is just what we need!  This one is so easy that you'll still be able to spend a lot of time at the pool instead of in the kitchen.  Enjoy!

1 20 ounce can cubed or crushed pineapple
1 15 ounce can tropical fruit
1 package of orange cake mix
1 1/2 sticks of butter
1/2 cup instant oatmeal
1 cup coconut flakes

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Dump both of the fruits & their juices into a 9 x 12 Pyrex baking dish. Pour the dry cake mix on top of the fruit & spread out evenly. Mix oatmeal & coconut & sprinkle over cake mixture with fingers. Melt butter & pour on top evenly. It should cover the entire cake mix. Bake for one hour & serve with ice cream.