Chocolate Chip Pudding Cookies

One more post for tonight! My family wanted some cookies for the Red Sox game tonight, so I wanted to make these since I had all the ingredients. 

They were very good! The extra ingredient of the Pudding Mix made the cookies very moist and chewy! 

You can find the original recipe here: http://www.chef-in-training.com/2011/07/pudding-cookies/

Here's what you need:

3/4 Cup of Brown Sugar

1/4 Cup of Regular Sugar

1 and 1/2 Sticks of Butter (3/4 Cup)

1 Packet of Instant Vanilla Pudding Mix

1 Teaspoon of Vanilla Extract

1 Teaspoon of Baking Soda

2 1/4 Cups of Flour

1 1/2 Cups of Chocolate Chips

2 Eggs (I forgot to put them in the picture)

Here's what you do:

1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2) Combine flour and baking soda in a separate bowl.

3) Melt or soften the butter and cream together with brown and regular sugar. Then add the pudding mix.

4) Add the eggs and vanilla extract and stir.

5) Mix in the flour and then mix in the chocolate chips.

6) Roll into 1 inch balls and place on baking sheet.

7) Bake for about 15 minutes or until tops are light brown and cracking.

Serve warm with a glass of milk! Enjoy and GO RED SOX! :)

Love, 

Kaycie Danielle

Ranch Chicken Enchiladas

Hello Hello!

Tonight for dinner in the Vanden Top house I made Ranch Chicken Enchiladas! My mom said they turned out more like Chimichangas... either way they were DELICIOUS! I was skeptical as I'm not a huge mexican food fan... but these were very good and very filling! They were also pretty easy to make! 

You can find the original recipe here: http://therecipecritic.com/2012/12/ranch-chicken-enchiladas/

Here's what you need:

4 Boneless Chicken Breasts 
2 Cups of Cheddar Cheese
1/2 Cup of Bottled Ranch Dressing
1/2 Cup of Salsa
1 Packet of Taco Seasoning (original recipe calls for Chicken Taco seasoning. Regular worked fine)
1 Packet of Dry Ranch Dressing
About 2 Cups of Chicken Broth
Flour Tortillas 

Here's what you do:

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2) Cook the Chicken and cut into strips. The original recipe says to cook it in a slow cooker, but I didn't do that. I cooked mine in a frying pan. Cook the chicken in the broth and mix in the taco seasoning and dry ranch dressing. 

3) In a bowl, mix the 1/2 cup of bottled ranch dressing and the 1/2 cup of salsa. Spread a thin layer of mixture on the bottom of a 9x13 baking pan. 

4) Once the chicken is done cooking, assemble your enchiladas. Spread some of the ranch dressing and salsa mixture on a tortilla, top with strips of chicken, and sprinkle cheese on top. Roll up the tortilla and place in the pan. Repeat with each. 

5) Pour remaining salsa and ranch dressing mixture on top of the enchiladas and cover with the shredded cheddar cheese.

6) Place the pan in the oven and bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. 

7) Once cooked, drizzle ranch dressing over top and serve. 

Hope you enjoy! 


Love, 
Kaycie Danielle

Simple Stir Fry

WARNING: This is NOT a recipe I found on Pinterest! This is my aunt's stir fry recipe that I've adapted slightly, but it's too good to not share! 

It's become a family favorite in my house and you really can eye it and tailor it your liking! 

Here's what you'll need:

 6 Chicken Breasts (not pictured since they were already boiling when I remembered to take a picture)
1 Bag of Frozen Chopped Onions
1 Bag of Frozen Mixed Pepper Strips
2 Tablespoons of Butter
Frank's Red Hot Sweet Chili Sauce OR Buffalo Wild Wing's Asian Zing Sauce
Honey
Soy Sauce

NOTE: Tonight was the first time I used the Asian Zing sauce in this recipe. Usually I use the Frank's Sweet Chili, but I love the B-Dubs sauce and felt like mixing it up. It was very good! Essentially, the sauces taste the same, only the Asian Zing is more spicy. If you like more spicy, use the Asian Zing. If you like more sweet, use the Sweet Chili. I wouldn't suggest using both of them together. 

Here's what you do:

1) Boil your chicken. I boil mine in a water and chicken broth mix, and it turns out pretty flavorful.

2) Defrost the peppers and onions in a skillet with tall sides, you'll want to drain the melted water out of the pan a few times.

3) Once the chicken is boiled, cut it into long strips. Add the strips with butter to the defrosted peppers and onions. So it will look like this at this point: 

(sorry for the fog, it was steamy)

4) Let the chicken, peppers and onions cook for a few minutes until everything is warmed through. Now it's time to add your sauces. I don't measure any of my sauces, I sort of just throw everything together. 

5) Put the Soy Sauce in first... Cover the entire stir fry. Next is the Asian Zing or Sweet Chili, whichever you're using. Add as much as you desire. Finally, add the honey. I like honey, so I add more than someone normally would. Again, add as much as you desire 

At this point it should look like this:

6) Let everything simmer together until well heated. Serve over rice and enjoy! 

Love, 
Kaycie Danielle

Chocolate Chip Cookie in a Mug

Tonight I was scrolling through Pinterest when I came across a picture that said "30 Mug Recipes". I clicked on the link and the only one I knew for sure I had all the ingredients for was the Chocolate Chip Cookie in a Mug. 

Talk about easy! This was the perfect dessert for a cold rainy night... topped with a scoop of Vanilla Ice Cream :) Best part? It cooks right in the Microwave! 

You can find the original recipe here: http://www.number-2-pencil.com/2012/03/06/chocolate-chip-cookie-in-cup/

Here's what you need:

1 Tablespoon of Butter
1 Tablespoon of Firmly Packed Dark Brown Sugar
1 Tablespoon of White Sugar
3 Drops of Vanilla Extract
Pinch of Kosher Salt
1 Egg Yolk
1/4 Cup of All Purpose Flour
3 Tablespoons of Chocolate Chips

Steps to Yumminess:

1. Melt your butter... I melted mine right in my mug.
2. Combine the sugars, vanilla, and salt with the butter, stir.
3. Crack the egg in a separate bowl and separate the yolk and white. Add the yolk to the mug and stir.
4. Add the flour, stir.
5. Add your chocolate chips, if you're like me you'll make the tablespoons heaping. :)
6. Microwave for 60 seconds. 

I was actually surprised at how well it cooked and how yummy this was! 

Hope you enjoy!

Love, 
Kaycie Danielle

Grilled Chicken and Pineapple Quesadillas

Hello again! 

Tonight I made yet another pinterest recipe! Grilled Chicken and Pineapple Quesadillas! I was fairly skeptical of this recipe to start off because Pineapple and Barbecue sauce sounded like a really strange combination. The recipe wasn't my favorite that I've ever made... but it tasted good and is worth sharing! It has most of the Vanden Top's Stamp of Approval... my sister wasn't crazy about it and my dad didn't have pineapple on his. 

You can find the original recipe here: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/05/grilled-chicken-pineapple-quesadillas/

Here's what you'll need:

1 Whole Pineapple
3 Cups of Shredded Monterey Jack Cheese
Round Tortillas (2 for each Quesadilla)
Sea Salt
Pepper
Barbecue Sauce
Your Choice of Seasoning (I used Mrs. Dash)

Also, ignore the Cilantro in this picture, I ended up not using it. 


First, take care of all the prep. Grate the cheese, tenderize and season the chicken and pour some barbecue sauce on it, and chop up that Pineapple. 

**You're going to be skewering the pineapple, so make sure you cut it into long rectangular blocks. 

 Next you want to stick your skewers through the chopped up pineapple and throw them on the grill on high. Grill them for about 10 minutes each. 

Next grill up that chicken! About 5 minutes on each side should get it done and tasting wonderful! Mine ended up looking like this:

If your family is like mine and you like quesadillas, then you'll have a quesadilla maker sitting around the house that worked perfectly for this recipe, but if you don't have a quesadilla maker, you can throw these puppies right on the grill or pop them in the oven. The point is just to get the cheese melted and the tortillas crispy :) 

Cut up the chicken into strips and slice the grilled pineapple into small chunks. Cover one tortilla in cheese and top with chicken, pineapple, and barbecue sauce. 

Like this:

Cover it with the other tortilla shell and cook it however you're cooking them :) When mine was done it looked so good! 

I topped mine with some sour cream, but you could also dip it in barbecue sauce. It ended up to be a really great meal! 

Enjoy!

Love,
Kaycie Danielle

4 Ingredient Chicken Marinade

Hello, Hello!

I've been doing a lot of cooking in my house lately, and I've been looking to good old Pinterest for most of my recipes and ideas :)

I originally pinned this marinade recipe a couple months ago but I didn't make it until just a few days ago. Let me tell you, I've never made anything so easy and delicious! This recipe definitely has the Vanden Top Stamp of Approval! :)

You can find the original recipe here: http://www.nobiggie.net/the-best-4-ingredient-chicken-marinade/

Here's what you'll need: 

1 Cup of Brown Sugar
1 Cup of Vegetable Oil
1/2 Cup of Distilled White Vinegar
1/2 Cup of Soy Sauce

Combine all four ingredients in a bowl with a whisk. You can marinade your chicken however you like, some people set it in a bowl. I poured the marinade into a gallon size Ziplock freezer bag, threw the chicken in with it, and set it in the fridge.

The original recipe calls for it to be marinated for at least four hours or overnight, but I completely forgot to take the chicken out earlier in the day so by the time it was defrosted and the marinade was whipped up, it was only marinating for about 3 hours before my family was too hungry to wait any longer. However, 3 hours was plenty of time and it still came out delicious! 

It was actually my first time grilling so my Dad showed me how to use the grill... I put the chicken on and poured the left over marinade on top. Grill each piece of chicken for about 5 minutes on high and then flip them for another 5 minutes on the other side. 

Here's what it looked like:

Add some mashed potatoes with butter and a cooked vegetable and you have one delicious meal! 

Have fun!

Love,
Kaycie Danielle