Chocolate Chip Oreo Cookies with PB cups

Sometimes I need a quick recipe for a last minute party, school function, holiday, celebration, or insanity. Only during last minutes desperation, I will make these cookies. Why? Because they are so good. I have several family members that love me when I bring these cookies to a party. Now, you can make your favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe for these cookies. I even have several chocolate chip cookie recipes that you can try. I am only showing you the quick way so you can save time. I normally make my desserts by scratch but if I'm going to save time it will be with this dessert.

Chocolate Chip Oreo Cookies with PB cups
1 (32 oz.) Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
12 miniature peanut butter cups, chopped roughly
12 oreo cookies (even the colorful stuffing works fine)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
3. In a thick freezer bag, crush the oreo cookies with the filling. 
4. Take about 1 1/2 inch scoop of the cookie dough and flatten.
5. Place in the bag and press the crushed cookie into the dough.
6. Roll the oreo dough into the chopped peanut butter cups.
7. Form the dough into a ball.
8. Roll the dough back into the crushed cookies to coat.
9. Place the dough onto the baking sheet with 2 inches between each cookie dough ball.
10. Bake the cookies for about 10 minutes and set aside.
11. Allow to cool for about 5 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a cooling rack.

Recipe adapted from Picky Palate. 
*Throw out any remaining crushed oreos and PB pieces since they were rolled in raw cookie dough.

One year ago.........................I made Rice Pilaf.

Did you already know...........
-There are 36 Reece's miniature peanut butter cups in a bag.
-A 32 oz. package of toll house cookie dough will make 36 cookies.
-There are 30 oreos in a 18 oz. package of Oreo Cookies.

Creamed Spinach

Did you see any leprechauns today? Any leprechauns making trouble? A friend told me about how a leprechauns painted a dog's tail green. I'm glad nothing like that happened here. My children had plans to build a trap to catch one but forgot. I'm glad since I didn't want any mischief. so we made sure to wear green today except my brave husband. I think he secretly enjoys being pinches since the kids have gotten him several times. He could go change but no. In celebration of St. Patrick's Day, I made bangers and mash with creamed spinach. I love baby spinach. I add it to all the salads I make. Also, I use it in place of lettuce on our sandwiches. The kids eat it and never complain. They really liked this side dish and there were no leftovers.

Creamed Spinach
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp butter 
1 1/2 lb. fresh spinach leaves (I used baby spinach leaves.)
2 clove of garlic, minced
1 shallot, minced
3 oz. cream cheese
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper

Directions:

1. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil with the butter. 
2. Add the spinach, garlic, and shallot. 
3. Cook and stir often for about 5 minutes.
4. Add the cream cheese and mix well until the cream cheese has coated the spinach.
5. Stir in the heavy cream and allow the cook for about 5 minutes.
6. Stir in the Parmesan cheese with salt and pepper to taste.
7. Serve warm.

Recipe by Jen of Sweet Morris.

One year ago.....................I made Brownies.

Did you already know.......
-The color blue was first associated with Saint Patrick.
-The Saint Patrick blue can still be found on ancient Irish flags.
-During 1798 Irish Rebellion, the Irish began to wear green to make a political statement.

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

Mint Cheesecake Pie

Do you like math or do you shun it? Today is mathematics day at my children's school. Their school asked the kids to wear a shirt with numbers on it. My son had lots of shirts with numbers on it but I could only find a shirt with tiny numbers on it for my younger daughter. I tried talking her into wearing one of her brother's shirt (since he wore her pants) but she wouldn't agree. My oldest daughter said it needs to be pi day and not math day. My oldest daughter said in high school the kids would bring in pies for pi day. My youngest daughter said she would rather have pie than wear one of her brother's shirts. My oldest daughter will be having pie. How about you?

Green for St. Patrick's Day!

Mint Cheesecake Pie
Crust:
1 1/2 cups oreos
6 oz. butter, melted
Filling:
2 (8 oz.) packages cream cheese, softened
2/3 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1/4 tsp mint extract
1/4 tsp green food coloring (if desired)
8 Andes mints, chopped roughly
8 oreo cookies, crushed

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a small bowl, combine the crushed oreos with the melted butter.
3. Press the oreo mixture into the bottom of an 9 inch pie pan.
4. Place the pie plate in the refrigerator to chill while preparing the filling.
5. In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and sugar until well incorporated.
6. Add the two eggs and mix well.
7. Add the sour cream and combine. Scrap down the sides to make sure the filling is incorporated.
8. Add the mint extract and the green food coloring and mix until the filling is green throughout.
9. Slowly, add the mint chocolates and the crushed oreos to the filling.
10. Pour the filling into the prepared pie pan. Place the pie pan onto an aluminum lined baking sheet just in case it over flows.
11. Bake the pie for 45 minutes or until the filling is almost set in the middle.
12. Allow to cool for at least 10 minutes before serving or chill for a couple of hours. 

Recipe adapted from Domino Sugar.

One year ago................................I made Irish Mint Chocolate Ice Cream.

Did you already know..................
-Pi is used to calculate the ratio of a cirle's circumference to its diamater. 
-Pi is the irrational number 3.14159265359.....
-Albert Einstein's birthday is March 14th (pi day 3.14)

Lasagna French Bread Pizza

Alright, I promised you an easy recipe to use up the filling from the lasagna roll ups. I know it seemed like a lot of work for the lasagna rolls ups but this pizza is simple. What wasn't so simple was figuring out if French bread should be capitalized or not. 

Lasagna French Bread Pizza
Lasagna Filling (See Lasagna Roll Ups recipe)
6 slices of mozzarella cheese
A loaf of French bread

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Cut the French bread in half.
3. Scoop out a little of the bread in the center of the French bread to make a well. 
4. Add the lasagna filling in the center of the French bread.
5. Cover the lasagna filling with the slices of mozzarella cheese. 
6. Cook the pizza uncovered for about 20 minutes and the filling has been heated through. 

*To make ahead, cook the pizza for 10 minutes after preparing the lasagna roll ups. Allow to cool and wrap well. Store in the refrigerator the next day or freeze. 
Recipe by Jen of Sweet Morris.

One year ago............................I made Bourbon Cookies.

Did you already know...............
-Food names should be capitalized if they are a proper adjective or proper noun unless used with a specific meaning. (Confused yet?)
-From the Merriam Webster dictionary, Capitalize the following: French bread, Swiss cheese, Boston baked beans.
-Lower case examples: brussel sprouts, french fries, graham cracker.
-French fry is not capitalized since it refers to a type of cut and not a location.

Lasagna Roll Ups

I wanted to make lasagna but it takes so long. So, I decided I would make some lasagna roll ups. They should be faster, right? I'm not quite sure if they were any faster but they were just as good. I asked my daughter if she would freeze a couple since they would make a great frozen lunch. She told me that there will be none left. She was going to finish the rest for lunch tomorrow. I also prepared supper at the same time as this meal which I will show you on the next post. I didn't want the leftover filling to be wasted and I needed a quick weekday meal especially after recovering from the lost daylight savings hour. To be able to make two meals from one is the best thing ever.

Lasagna Roll Ups
15 lasagna noodles
1 (15 oz) container of part skim milk ricotta cheese
1 large egg
3 cup mozzarella, shredded
1 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
8 cups of spaghetti sauce
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced 
1 Tbsp olive oil
8 links of sweet Italian sausage
Bechamel Sauce:
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups milk (I used skim)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground white pepper

Directions:

1. Add the pasta to a large pot of boiling water. Cook until al dente. 
2. Drain the hot water and rinse with cold water. Allow the cooked pasta to sit in cold water until ready to use.
3. In a large bowl, combine the ricotta cheese, egg, 1 cup of mozzarella cheese, and 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese. Set aside.
4. In a large skillet, heat 1 Tbsp olive oil over medium heat.
5. Add the Italian sausage with casings to the skillet and brown for about 5 minutes.
6. Add 3 cups of spaghetti sauces to the browned sausage and cook for about 3 minutes. Set aside.
7. To make the bechamel sauce: in a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat.
8. Add the flour to the melted butter and whisk for 3 minutes.
9. To the flour mixture add the milk and whisk. Simmer the mixture for about 5 minutes until it thickens.
10. Whisk in the salt and pepper to the flour mixture.
11. To assemble: in a clean surface, lay a lasagna noodle flat.
12. On top of the lasagna noodle cover with the ricotta cheese mixture.
13. Top the ricotta cheese mixture with the sausage mixture.
14. Top the sausage mixture with the bechamel sauce. (See above photo.)
15. In a baking dish, add 1 cup of spaghetti sauce.
16. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
17. Starting from one end, roll the lasagna noodle up to the other end. Don't worry if some of the filling falls out since you can just place it on the next noodle. 
18. Add the noodles to the baking dish with the open side facing down and up. ( See above photo.)
19. Add additional filling to the center of the noodle if needed.
20. Continue the noodle assembly until all the noodles are used.
21. Top the noodles with the remaining cheese.
22. Cook uncovered for 30 minutes and the cheese is golden brown. 
23. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving.
24. To the remaining Italian sausage spaghetti sauce, combine the remaining spaghetti sauce, ricotta cheese filling, and bechamel sauce. Mix well and set aside to assemble Lasagna french bread pizzas.   

Inspired by Giada De Laurentis. 

One year ago.......................I made White Cupcakes.

Did you already know........
-The majority of the U.S and Canada observe daylight savings time.
-Benjamin Franklin is credited for the concept of daylight savings time but Germany was the first to enact it.
-Near the equator, the length of day varies little making daylight savings time unnecessary.