Orange Julius

Pregnant craving!!! I used to have these as a kid an loved them! When I figured out thats what I wanted I found a recipe.

http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/75/d7/99/75d799df6b5f416ea7ce98bcb1e7f175.jpg

Copycat Recipes: Orange Julis
INGREDIENTS
1 can 6 oz frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
1 cup milk
1 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
10-12 ice cubes
DIRECTIONS
In a blender, combine the orange juice, milk, water, sugar and vanilla. Cover and blend until smooth. with blender running, add ice cubes, one at a time, through the opening in the lid. Blend until smooth. Serve immediately.

Well i just added everything at once. It was just what i wanted. Yes...the bigger glass was mine, and yes i finished mine before my hubbie :) YUM

Cookie Dough Brownies

Is your mouth watering too? Mine sure was after I saw this one. I knew that it was something that I would make! Being pregnant...I have been wanting sweet! Mostly I have been wanting cookie dough.

http://www.thehubofourhome.com/2013/05/cookie-dough-brownies.html

Cookie Dough Brownies
Brownie Batter
1 Cup Butter, melted
1 Cup Sugar
1 Cup Brown Sugar
4 Eggs
1 Teaspoon Vanilla
1/3 Cup Cocoa
1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
2 Cups Flour
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. In your mixer add the butter and sugars. Mix until completely combined. Add the eggs and vanilla. Mix well. Add the dry ingredients and stir until fully incorporated. Spread the batter in a greased 9x13 inch pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean or with just a few crumbs. Cool completely before frosting. Enjoy!
Cookie Dough Frosting
1/2 Cup Butter, softened
3/4 Cup Brown Sugar
1 Teaspoon Vanilla
1 and 1/4 Cup Flour
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
5 Tablespoons Milk
1 Cup Chocolate Chips(mini or regular)
Cream together the butter and sugar. Add the vanilla and mix well. Add the flour and salt stir until combined. Stir in the milk and beat until the frosting is fluffy. Gently stir in the chocolate chips. Spread on cooled brownies and frost. Enjoy!

Well, they were awesome!!! There was a downside....I HAD to have milk!! My cute 14 month old daughter was licking the plate after. I took some in to my husbands work and it seemed that everyone liked them. They are pretty rich, you really only need one...or two :) Make these! So worth it!

Cheesy Beans and Rice

This one I sorta followed the recipe, except when I didn't. :) Mostly because I sure did not want to go to the store!

http://www.thetallgirlcooks.com/2010/04/cheesy-beans-and-rice.html

CHEESY BEANS AND RICE
adapted from Allrecipes.com

2 cups cooked rice
1 (16 oz) can beans (kidney, black, or pinto), rinsed and drained
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 tsp. vegetable oil
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes with green chilies, undrained
1/4 cup water
1 Tbsp. chili powder
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. salt
2 cups shredded cheddar or Mexican cheese blend

Heat oil in skillet over medium heat. Saute onions until tender. Add tomatoes, water, chili powder, cumin, and salt. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

In a large bowl, combine rice and beans. Stir in tomato mixture. Spread half into 2 qt. casserole dish; sprinkle with 1 cup cheese. Repeat.

Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Well I didn't have an onion, or a can of diced tomatoes, or ground cumin. So I pulled some tomatoes out of the garden, along with a green bell pepper and blended them up. I didn't do exact measurements....on anything! But it was pretty good I think is was pretty bland though. Next time I will do more spice!

Chicken and Cheese wraps

This is one that is for pinterest! My sister in law makes this one and this was the first time that I made it. Don't know what took me so long to do it!!

You need chicken, cheese, oil, and tortillas. That's it! Well, you probably want something to dip it in like salsa, guacamole, or ranch.

First, cook your chicken. Next, shred your chicken. Then, add cheese and put the chicken and cheese mixture into a tortilla and roll it up. Then lightly cook it in oil. Then enjoy!! How easy right?

So good, so easy!

Fried Eggplant

This year when planting out garden I told my husband we needed to try something new. So we picked egg plant. Well this week we have had a LOT of eggplant ready. So I figured I'd better find a way to cook it. I had fried eggplant once....so I searched pinterest for a recipe.

Here is the recipe. http://www.keyingredient.com/recipes/112883179/fried-eggplant/

Ingredients
1 medium eggplant
3 eggs, beaten
pepper
3 TB grated cheese
garlic powder
Italian bread crumbs


Directions

peel skin off of eggplant; cut to thin slices; set aside. In bowl mix; eggs, garlic, pepper and cheese until well blended. On large plate add breads. Dip eggplant slices into egg mixture then into bread crumbs. In large skillet heat oil; once oil is hot fry eggplant until browned on both sides; add oil as needed


** FREEZE: cook breaded eggplant slices until golden crisp on each side. Place on baking sheet and put in freezer for 2 hours so each individual slice freezes; place in freezer zip bag. Can freeze up to 3 months

Well, I didn't mind it. Thought it was alright, the friedness of it....this baby didn't like. My Husband, father in law, and brother in law all dipped it in spaghetti sauce and thought it was pretty good. My mother in law enjoyed it. I made two people in the family try it without knowing what it was, one said it was not terrible. The other spit it out. So it is always fun to try something new! If you have had eggplant before then i would say to try this one!

Cookie Brownies

My husband is convinced he made this one up all alone....I however have seen many different pictures of similar things on pinterest. Being a good wife, I let him think it was all his original idea :)

We started with a box of brownie mix, prepared as directed. And a tube of cookie dough....much easier! He wanted to try to in a cupcake pan and a regular glass pan. In the cupcake pan he put a little brownie mix in, then some cookie dough and covered with brownie. In the other pan we put cookie dough balls in then covered with brownie mix. The cupcake pan cooked 15-20 minutes. The other pan cooked 25-30 minutes

The pan went over better then the cupcakes. It was softer and yummier :) I thought it was pretty good, being pregnant I can only handle so much sweets. My husband LOVED it! He can't wait to make it again!