Fudge and Cookies and a few dinner things :)

So this weekend I have the weekend to myself and have been kind of lazy, took this week to use up some random ingredients to make some actual dinner for myself. (Yes I too can cook, not just bake). So having had onion left over, given cans of asparagus, artichoke hearts and mushrooms I threw a few things together and created a dinner with it.

Found out that red onions WILL stain your hands temporarily. Oh well, just looked like I took a hammer to my hand. Haha, but the onion tasted good in my noodle pan stir fry thingy.

 My dinner consisted of ground turkey *80/20

Whole grain pasta - rotini

Artichoke hearts, red onion, sprouts and canned asparagus.

For a sauce I used the KC Masterpiece Honey Teriyaki sauce - quite delicious as a sauce not just a marinade.

I ended up with this while it was in the pan. Mmmmm delicious.

I then added the sauce on top as a garnish. Mmmmmm. Can I just say this was a stroke of genius? Delicious canned foods turned into a delicious and wonderfully simple dinner. If you're watching your sodium look for low sodium canned goods. I also used frozen ground turkey. My local grocer was having a hell of a deal on ground turkey and ground chicken. Of course today I go to the store and for 59 cents a lb I got two GIGANTIC chicken leg quarters (3.33 lbs) for $2. WOO SALES!!!

So mid week I decided to try this super simple fudge recipe I found. I didn't use white sugar like it said to since I was running low. I used brown instead.

The brown sugar peanut butter fudge tasted good but had a slight burnt after taste. So I made more last night and used white sugar, added some oats and topped with crushed graham crackers. And of course I forget to take a picture and give it away before I remembered for the blog :(

The fudge made with the white sugar tasted WAY better, less burnt and the add ins worked marvelously. Now if only I had had some cashews or peanuts (a suggestion from Mike) to add some crunch then drizzle with some chocolate. Mmmm, now we are talking.

This fudge recipe is soooo easy and simple that you can even help a kid make this. I would say about 8-10. You could even double the recipe to spread out in a 9x11 pan and cut out fun shapes once cooled (I place in freezer after cooking up to cool faster.)

Super Easy Fudge:

Ingredients:
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup milk (I used skim - use whatever you have on hand)
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup peanut butter
** add in whatever you like that would go with PB - cashews, peanuts, chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, oats, Oreo bits - use your imagination.

Directions:
Boil milk and sugar, once boiling boil for 2.5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in peanut butter, vanilla and any add ins you like.

Let set or place in freezer to set a bit faster. (I let mine sit for about an hour in the freezer before thinking about cutting.

YUM! See, easy and all ingredients on hand.

So today I spent the first half of the day in bed. I have my reasons, so around 1pm I decided it was time to get up and actually do a few things. I needed to run to the store so I could have pizza for lunch, which became dinner. I also actually shopped for food for more than just a day - that's unusual for me.

So I came home, unloaded groceries, cleaned the kitchen and then checked out knives on eBay that Mike told me I needed to see. Bid on a good chefs knife too :)

So then I made pizza. Turkey, mozzarella, Parmesan, onion, mushrooms, and red bell pepper. As you can see, fresh and oh so yum looking. Makes your mouth water doesn't it? (I did not make the crust, had that in the freezer - didn't feel like making crust.)

Pre baking

Post baking, and pre eating

 I enjoyed this pizza thoroughly. It was about 254 calories per 1/8th of a 12 inch pizza. Not too shabby.


So after that I got bored again and decided that to ward off cramps I would bake and feel less lazy that way.

I can only do so much lazy before I get antsy.

So off to the kitchen sauna to make "The End All for Chocolate Cookie Recipes."

I was curious about the name and wondered if it was as great as it was advertised. So off I went. I didn't have shortening - and also did not feel like going and getting shortening - honestly I hate working with the stuff and would rather use butter. I used oil and hoped for the best. Probably should have used butter but oh well.

Mixing dough

Flower shapes cut out and ready to bake

So after sweating my little tushie off in the kitchen just heating up the oven and cutting out flower shaped cookies I decided that peanut butter frosting would be best with a chocolate cookie. I mean, come on, peanut butter and chocolate just go together like bread and butter.

Peanut butter frosting before sugar is added\

Mixed peanut butter frosting

Frosted cookies

I must say I was having issues with my peanut butter frosting. Too thick and too oily I think. Probably could have left out the butter and just made with peanut butter and a little milk. Oh well, it's almost able to be rolled out and cut to be layed on the cookie, I think I'll do that with the remaining frosting and cookies. I had to stop after these four cookies because I was melting away in my kitchen.

The cookies have a fudgey brownie consistency in the dough. The cookie itself is the perfect texture but I find the chocolate flavor to be a bit chalky. Not a bad cookie but it will need a sweet frosting to accompany it. I think I'll try the vanilla cookies next time.

So this is what I do with alone time haha, I should get the girls together tomorrow but I"m in no mood for company really. Having me time is a good thing too. Though I will be ready for human contact again come Monday.

Enjoy your weekend guys - cheers!