Andes Mint Cake Balls - Week 7 of 12 Weeks of Cookies!

Oh.my.goodness!  I am in love with this chocolate and mint delight!  I'm surprised there were any left to take a photo of after I sampled the first few.  OK, the first six!  Lucky for you guys this recipe makes a lot, so there's enough for you to eat and for you to share with friends (if you want, I won't tell if you don't).  I love making cake balls.  They remind me of little petit fours without all the work.  Don't get me wrong, you will have to do a little work but not much!  It's a delicious little cake covered in chocolate, how could that go wrong?  It can't!  So let's get to the recipe!
Andes Mint Cake Balls
Method: Bakerella
Chocolate and Mint Combo - came to me at 3:00 in the morning, I'm sure!

Ingredients:
1 package Chocolate Cake Mix (your favorite)
1 tub of chocolate frosting
2 packages of Andes Creme de Menthe Baking Chips

Directions:
Cook cake according to package directions in a 13x9 pan.  Let cool completely (don't try to skip ahead, you'll regret the mess).  Crumble cake into a large bowl.  Stir in one tub of frosting...yes the whole thing.  Some people only use 1/2 a tub, but the secret to moist cake balls is the amount of frosting!  Make sure the mixture is thoroughly combined, don't be afraid to get your hands dirty!  Using a small cookie scoop, scoop out cake balls onto a parchment paper lined tray that will fit in your freezer.  You will probably need 2 or 3.  Once complete, place the cake balls in your freezer for at least an hour, longer if you have the time.  Remove a tray from the freezer and working in small batches (think 1/3 cup) melt the Andes chips in a microwave safe bowl for 20-30 seconds.  Stir to create a nice smooth chocolate, then begin by dipping one cake ball at a time into the chocolate.  Cover completely, then remove with a spoon.  Place on parchment paper to cool.  Keep working in small batches until you have 5 to 6 dozen tasty treats!  I like to store these in the refrigerator, there's something about a cake ball being cold!  It just seems right!

That's it!  Easy as...well cake balls of course!  It will seem a little time consuming having to wait between each step, but it will be well worth the wait.  There's just enough mint in each of these to balance out the delicious chocolate goodness!  One bite and you will be hooked.  And remember it's just a method so you can choose whatever cake flavor and frosting flavor you like!  The cake ball world is at your fingertips my friends!  I'm off to polish off the other 5 dozen now, I might need professional help!

I have to add a shameless plug here: Did you check out my Giveaway Post?  You don't want to miss it!

Don't forget to hop on over to the other baker's blogs this week!  It's hard to believe that we are 7 weeks into this project.  That means Christmas is just around the corner.

Week 7 Twelve Weeks of Christmas:

Taco Soup - Paula Deen Style!

Another bowl of soup?  Yep, with the cooler fall weather I'm trying to get in all the soup I can before the 90 degree weather creeps up on us again!  I love this Taco Soup recipe.  My sister-in-law introduced me to it during the holidays last year and I couldn't stop making it.  I've been patiently waiting for the temperature to drop so that we could have Taco Soup for dinner again!  I love this recipe!  It is so simple and feeds a large group of people...very hungry people!  The recipe serving suggestion is 12-16.  I don't know about you guys,  but I rarely feed that many people at once.  That's the best part about this recipe though, it makes enough to freeze at least two nights worth of dinner for us!  This soup freezes so well, you can't even tell you didn't throw it together that day!  After last night's dinner, I have two large containers in the freezer and two in the refrigerator for lunch tomorrow.
I love meals that serve double duty for those nights when I know I won't have time to cook!  I freeze my soups in large round food storage containers and dump the frozen circle of soup into my crock pot.  Turn it on low and walk away until dinner time, no mess, just dinner!  I love it!
This recipe uses a lot of cans of beans, tomatoes and other assorted goodies!  I think I counted 11 cans that I opened and dumped into the pot.  That's the beauty of this recipe, while you are browning 2 pounds of ground beef and an onion, you are opening cans and dumping them into a pot!  Easy, easy!
We love to put corn chips on the bottom of the bowl and then top with the soup and lots of grated cheese.  This soup is filling and comforting, it's exactly what you need when the weather outside is cooling down!  I love all of the beans and tomatoes...Paula Deen has done Taco Soup the right way!  Here's the recipe:
Taco Soup
from: Paula Deen

2 pounds ground beef

2 cups diced onions

2 (15 1/2-ounce) cans pinto beans

 1/2-ounce) can pink kidney beans

1 (15 1/4-ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained

1 (14 1/2-ounce) can Mexican-style stewed tomatoes

1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes

1 (14 1/2-ounce) can tomatoes with chiles

2 (4 1/2-ounce) cans diced green chilies

1 (4.6-ounce) can black olives, drained and sliced, optional

1/2 cup green olives, sliced, optional

1 (1 1/4-ounce) package taco seasoning mix

1 (1-ounce) package ranch salad dressing mix

Corn chips, for serving

Sour Cream, for garnish

Grated cheese, for garnish

Chopped green onions, for garnish 

Pickled jalapenos, for garnish

Brown the ground beef and onions in a large skillet; drain the excess fat, then transfer the been and onions to a large slow cooker or a stockpot.  Add the beans, corn, tomatoes, green chilies, black olives, green olives, taco seasoning, and ranch dressing mix.  Cook in a slow cooker on low for 6-8 hours or simmer over low heat for about 1 hour in a pot on the stove.  To serve, place a few corn chips in each bowl and ladle soup over them.  Top with sour cream, cheese, green onions and jalapenos!  Enjoy! 

Hot Chocolate Mocha Cookies - Week 6 of 12 Weeks of Cookies!

Wow...Friday snuck up on me this week!  It's time for a cookie post already...oh my!  Last night I got to work in my kitchen trying to whip up a batch of chocolate mocha cookies.  Getting all of the ingredients out, I realized that I am out of coffee.  We are not coffee drinkers in our house, I love the smell, not the taste.  I used to have those little Folgers packets that look like tea bags, but I ran out.  (I'm sure those taste icky to people who actually drink coffee, but for cookies they work).  Anyway, I realized that I was out and had to figure out a solution.  I searched my pantry and spice cabinet and came across my Ghirardelli Chocolate Mocha Hot Chocolate, and that's what I used!  Here's the lineup:

 Start by melting 1/2 stick of butter.  Mix in one box of devil's food cake mix, one egg, and 1/3 cup of brewed hot chocolate.  Once combined, mix in one cup of milk chocolate chips and 1/4 cup of white chips.  Using a cookie scoop drop onto your cookie sheet like so:

Yum!  Bake for 10-12 minutes at 350 degrees or until they are soft in the center and crispier on the edges.  Let them cool for a few minutes on the cookie sheet then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.  Serve them up with a tall glass of milk, don't resist when you want to help yourself to more!

These cookies are so soft and chewy!  I just love the texture of cake mix cookies!  Adding the hot chocolate gave these cookies a nice taste, just a little hint of mocha.  Not too overpowering, just a taste!  I love a cookie with lots of chocolate chips in it, and the mixture of white and milk chocolate is oh so yummy!  You and your guests will love these.  Make a batch ahead of time and you can store them in the freezer.  Pull them out the day before you need them and let them thaw on the counter...it couldn't be simpler.  I don't know about you guys, but I'm always looking for time savers, especially around the holidays!  I can't believe Christmas is sneaking up so fast!  Are you ready for the holidays?  Have you done your shopping and made you holiday menus?

Don't forget to check out the other cookie bakers blogs this week.  I'm still making a list of all those fantastic cookies I want to bake and give away!

Week 6 Twelve Weeks of Christmas:

PW's Corn Chowder with Chilies

I have to start out by saying that we don't eat a lot of soups at our house.  I'm not quite sure why, but we just don't.  This is the second one I have made in the last few weeks, remember the Baked Potato Soup.  I think we still both have this notion that it's not very filling, but once I saw this recipe for Corn Chowder over at the Pioneer Woman's website I decided to give it a shot!
Oh man, it was so simple!  The hardest part was cutting up the frozen bacon! :)  That's about the point I realized that my knives could use a serious sharpening!  Have I done it yet, no...maybe I can talk C into it this weekend.  Something about sharpening knives makes me nervous!  Anyway, after the bacon debacle it was basically opening cans and cartons and waiting patiently!  I opted to use a bag of frozen corn kernels rather than fresh corn, I'm all about simplicity people.  If you haven't figured that out yet, you aren't really reading my blog!  The smell of the chilies cooking is something else.  I opted to use a couple of teaspoons of Mrs. Dash Southwest Chipotle Seasoning rather than the Chipotle in Adobo from a can.  I had a bad experience with it last year, and I haven't gotten over it!  I was so upset about the oh so spicy, inedible dinner that I still haven't forgiven the Chipotle in Adobo!  Maybe one day we can be friends again, but not anytime soon!
I let the soup sit for a while after I added the corn meal, but I never got it to thicken up like the Pioneer Woman's, but let's face it...I'm no Pioneer Woman.  I am me and that's enough!  Even though it never really thickened up, it still tasted so refreshingly delicious.  As C said, who thought corn and chilies in a soup would taste so good!
Corn Chowder with Chilies
Adapted from: the Pioneer Woman

2 slices Bacon, Cut Into 1/2-inch Pieces (or Smaller)
2 Tablespoons Butter
½ Onion, Diced
1 bag frozen corn (need about 4 cups)
2 teaspoons Mrs. Dash Southwest Chipotle seasoning
4-ounce Can Diced Green Chilies
32 ounces Low Sodium Chicken Broth
1-½ cup Heavy Whipping Cream
½ teaspoons Salt (more To Taste)
3 Tablespoons Corn Meal OR Masa
¼ cups Water
"(Carefully) slice the corn kernels off the cob. Set aside.
Add bacon pieces to a pot or dutch oven over medium heat. Cook for a couple of minutes. Throw in diced onion and stir, cooking the onion for 3 to 4 minutes. Add butter and melt. Add corn. Stir and cook for one minute. Add both kinds of chilies and stir.
Pour in chicken broth and cream. Add salt. Stir and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low.
Combine cornmeal (or masa) with water. Stir to combine, then pour into the chowder. Cover and cook for 15 minutes over low heat. If chowder needs more thickening, add another tablespoon of cornmeal mixed with water. Cook for another ten minutes.
Serve with crusty sourdough bread or in a bread bowl. Absolutely yummy!"