Cream Cheese Snowman

This appetizer is perfect for holiday “get togethers,” parties, or to whip up for unexpected guests! I found this recipe on Instagram and instantly saved it to make it this Winter. I finally got around to it on Christmas Day and it turned out so cute!

Video Recipe on Instagram

Video Recipe

Heads up, don’t eat the whole peppercorns. Those are for decoration. My husband learned this the hard way as he asked me “what is the really hard thing in this?” Lol

The recipe called for Saran Wrap when placing in the fridge, but we used ziploc bags instead and they worked great. Other than that, this was the easiest dish I made all break. It was also the cutest dish!

How To Make Yummy Goodness (macaroni, mixed veggies and ground beef in Alfredo sauce)

Using only 4 main ingredients, this is easily the favorite and simplest meal we created over this last year.

  • 1 Tablespoon of olive oil
  • Chopped white onion
  • Kosher salt and fresh black pepper to preference
  • 1 lb of ground beef
  • cooked pasta of choice (I used gluten free macaroni)
  • Cooked veggies (I use mixed frozen veggies)
  • Alfredo sauce

I am so excited to share this recipe with you all.

How to Make the easiest and best dinner for your family in 30 minutes or less Using ONLY 4 MAIN INGREDIENTS!

Best Gluten free sausage balls recipe

It’s a holiday tradition in the south to have sausage balls as an appetizer, meal side and after dinner (football watching) treat. 
My momma has been making them for family gathering for years and they are a huge hit.
I went gluten free about a year ago and have found some recipes are easier than others to find gluten free substitutes that are just as yummy or arguably yummier!
This is one of those recipes. 
Let’s start with the ingredients:
2 cups of gluten free bisquick mix
2 lbs of premium pork sausage 
1 lb of shredded sharp cheddar cheese
First, combine the bisquick and the sausage. I do this in a mixer on the lowest setting. Until combined. Then, transfer to a large mixing bowl and combine the cheese by rolling it in with your hands. 
It’s now time to preheat your oven to 350 degrees 
Once the bisquick, sausage and cheese are completely combined, it’s time to make the walnut sized sausage balls. I take a table spoon and scoop heaping scoops and then form the balls. I usually place them in another bowl or rounded plate. 
Once you have your balls formed, place them on a baking sheet. * I’ve tried it with aluminum foil and it sticks to the foil. So, I just bake directly on the baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes. Halfway through, I move the balls with a spatula to make sure they aren’t sticking and I turn the pan.

The result is delicious gluten free sausage balls! 

Can I tell you a secret? If you don’t tell anyone they are gluten free, they will never know. They are seriously delicious and my tummy didn’t hurt even after I ate 10-ish of them throughout the day.
Happy holidays and let me know if you try this recipe.
-El Momma 

UPDATE! Snow Day- Chocolate Chip Cookies

Original post from February 4, 2011
Update: September 6, 2014 THIS RECIPE MAKES 5 DOZEN COOKIES. Just made them today- and forgot just how good they are and how big this recipe is. It sure is delicious and now I have fresh cookies to put in lunches all week. Yum! Yum!

Well, our snow day turned out to be a bit of a bust. No school, lots of movies and momma baking in the kitchen to keep warm. I thought I’d share our favorite recipe for chocolate chip cookies, known elsewhere as the best chocolate chip cookies in the whole entire world!

A while back I discovered a recipe by Debbie Koenig. I’ve since altered it to what works best in my kitchen.

Ingredients:

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 t. baking soda
1 t. salt
½  pound (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 cup sugar
1 ½ cup tightly packed light brown sugar
3 t. vanilla extract

2 large eggs, cold, lightly beaten

12 oz chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350. Adjust racks to lower and upper thirds of the oven.

1) Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl and set aside.

2) Using a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugars on low speed until it is smooth and lump free, about 3 minutes.

3) Add the vanilla and egg and beat on low speed for 15 seconds, or until fully incorporated. Do not overbeat.

4) On low speed, add the flour mixture. Beat until just incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the chocolate chunks and mix until they are just incorporated. If using a hand mixer, use a wooden spoon to stir them in.

The recipe I use calls to “Refrigerate dough for at least an hour, and preferably 24-36 hours.” I just make the cookies immediately- with cold butter and cold eggs, it works for me.

5) Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or Silpats. Spoon the dough using a cookie scooper 2 inches apart onto the prepared baking sheets. (makes about 4 dozen 3-inch round cookies)

6) Bake for approximately 8 minutes [it’s more in other ovens] or until golden brown around the edges but still soft, almost underdone-looking, in the center. Turn the sheets front to back and switch racks halfway through.

Remove the sheet from the oven and carefully slide the parchment or Silpats directly onto a work surface. When cookies are set, remove them to a cooling rack. Wait at least 5 minutes before serving or 20 minutes before storing in an airtight container for up to 3 days at room temperature.

These cookies are amazing! We are enjoying lots of them on this icey winter day!

Our afternoon experiment with HUMMUS!

Whipped Hummus- a delicious and nutritious snack! Made with garbanzo beans (low in fat) and fat free greek yogurt. So tasty!

So, I pretty much make Hummus all the time. My husband would say I don’t make it enough. He would like fresh hummus in the house daily. However, I think he appreciates the fact that I make it about once a week. Considering, all of my other responsibilities, that’s a lot. Well, I’ve been making hummus basically the same way for the last couple of years. I found a blog that I like http://www.dedemed.com/ and I pretty much follow her recipe to the t, except I don’t really measure anything. But, recently, I decided to try making hummus using a bag of garbanzo beans instead of a can. It required overnight soaking, changing of the water and boiling the beans. I really didn’t like the flavor. I later read that it is a good idea to change the water when you are boiling them as well and if you don’t you get a weird after taste. Considering it was more of a pain to make hummus this way, I probably won’t try that again. I really like the drained canned garbanzo beans just fine. However, we have been to a couple of local restaurants that serve a very smooth almost whipped hummus. I’ve tried putting the hummus in the mixer to see if that would “whip” it, but that didn’t seem to do anything. Then, my husband, because of his love of hummus, read online that some people boil the canned beans and peel the skin. And, that makes really smooth “whipped” hummus. So, me and Miss Trinity tried that this afternoon.

Garbanzo beans after being boiled, drained, washed, and peeled

First, I drained the beans- 2 cans. And, rinsed them a few times. Then, I placed them in a pot with water and brought them to a boil for a few minutes, stirring occassionally. Some of the skins came right off and floated to the top. Others, were not so easy. So, I drained them again and washed them removing as much of the extra skin as possible. I basically did this until I got tired of doing it, feeling that I had removed a substantial amount, so it had to make a difference.

Then, I placed the beans in the food processor and added the remaining ingredients- yogurt, garlic, salt, citric acid, lemon juice, tahini

I just throw all of the ingredients in together before processing



 To say it was worth the extra work is a little bit of an understatement. It did take an extra 20 minutes, but it was well worth it.


the result- whipped hummus!