Make Your Own Chicken Yakisoba Recipe

Chicken Yakisoba is one of my very favorite take-out dishes, and I usually buy it a couple times a month.

But at almost nine dollars a plate, it gets expensive. So I decided to try making it at home, and I was very happy with the results. Super yummy!!

As you can see, this recipe makes a nice family sized portion. Pair it with rice, or eggrolls, and it makes a delicious dinner.

The recipe comes from the Budget Bytes blog, and comes with lots of great step-by-step photos.

If you love Chicken Yakisoba as much as I do, and you want it to be budget friendly, try this recipe, and I think you'll love it!!

Chocolate Brownie Cupcakes Made With TWIX Bites Candy

One of my very favorite candies, TWIX, now comes in packages of bite-size pieces. And if you are a candy lover like me, this is great news!!

Of course I love eating my TWIX Bites right out of the bag, but I've also been having some fun with using candy in my baking recipes lately.

Brownies are a big favorite around my house, so I decided to pair my best brownie recipe with new TWIX Bites for a yummy treat that my whole family would love.

I adore chocolate and so do my grandchildren. They quickly figured out that the TWIX Bites are the perfect size for those little fingers to pop right in their mouths!!

I was grocery shopping at Walmart when I found the TWIX Bites, and I saw they come in Milk Way, Snickers, and 3 Musketeers varieties, as well. I bought a few bags, thinking these would be the perfect treat for our family movie nights.

When I made my chocolate brownie cupcakes, the first thing I did was to chop up the TWIX Bites. Since they would be going inside the cupcakes and on top, I used the whole package to make sure they tasted really fabulous.

I made my favorite, super-easy brownie recipe, and filled the cupcake liners about a third full. Then I dropped in three pieces of the cut Twix Bites, and then added more brownie mix.

I filled the liners about 3/4 full because I like a big cupcake, and I'd rather have fewer and have them be big and fabulous, than more smaller ones.

My cream cheese frosting recipe is from Martha Stewart, and it really is delicious. I use this frosting for so many baked goods, including cakes, carrot cake, and cookies.

The brownie cupcakes came out of the oven and sank a tiny bit, but it turns out this just made them even more chocolaty. And they smelled so good!!

Recipe for Chocolate Brownie Cupcakes With Twix Bites

Makes 16-18

Ingredients:                                              
                                                        
1 cup butter 
1 cup cocoa  powder
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
                                                                                                                                             

8 ounces (1 bar) cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 Bag of TWIX bites, chopped

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a cupcake pan with paper liners. Melt butter in a small sauce pan, then pour into a medium bowl. Add cocoa powder and stir until well combined.
Add eggs and stir into mixture. Stir in vanilla, flour, and salt. Do not over mix. Fill liner with batter 1/3 full. Drop in chopped TWIX pieces, and fill about 3/4 full. Bake 20-22 minutes.

Frosting:
With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat cream cheese, confectioners' sugar, and vanilla until fluffy. Spread frosting on top of cupcakes when they are cooled, and top with chopped TWIX pieces.
 

The cupcakes ended up tasting super good, so rich and chocolaty, and with TWIX as a delicious center. My family and I ate them for dessert that night, and I snuck one for breakfast the next morning!

This really is an easy recipe, and well worth the effort of making brownies from scratch. They can also be made with the other varieties of candy, and I'm thinking I'll make them with Snickers Bites for my grandson's end of the year barbeque. I'm sure they would be a hit with the kids and the parents, too.
#CollectiveBias

You can find all four varieties, including TWIX Bites, at your local Walmart.

There is also a great coupon at Social Twist that lets you save $1.00 off when you buy two 2.83 oz. or larger bags, or $3.00 off when you buy two 6 oz. or larger bags.

What a great reason to #EatMoreBites, right?

Baked Zucchini Sticks With A Kick

Last year our garden was a little overrun with zucchini. But that was okay because we found some really great recipes to use it for, and we gave away some to friends and family.

I always like to find ways to get my grandchildren to eat veggies, but sometimes that can be a real challenge.

My daughter Samantha came up with this yummy recipe that the whole family loves. It has a nice spicy kick that the grown-ups love, but isn't too spicy for the kids.

Ingredients:

3 medium or in our case 1 extra large zucchini, sliced into thin sticks
2 large eggs, beaten
3 Tbsp. flour
1/2 cup bread crumbs (we used panko)
2 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. paprika
Salt and pepper, to taste
1tsp. Emeril's Essence

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425°. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray so the sticks won't stick.

In a small bowl, beat the eggs. In another bowl place the flour. In a third bowl, place bread crumbs, garlic powder, paprika, Parmesan cheese and Emeril's Essence, mix well. Dip the zucchini sticks into the flour, then egg, and then into the bread crumb mixture. Roll the sticks around to make sure all sides get coated well. Place the sticks on your baking sheet. Bake at 425° for about 20 minutes, or until they are golden brown and crispy.

Zesty Chicken Chili

I always think that you can never have enough chili recipes, and I love eating chili year-round, not just when it's cold outside.

Lots of people prefer a beef chili, and though I love that too, this chicken chili is a nice change. It isn't real spicy, so if you'd like more heat, I suggest you sprinkle in some red peppers flakes when it's done.

This recipe makes six generous dinner size portions, and paired with hot buttered corn bread, it's an easy, and delicious meal.

Recipe for Zesty Chicken Chili

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons olive oil
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts cut into cubes
4 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 large onion, chopped
1 medium green pepper, seeded and chopped
1 can (10 3/4oz.) condensed cream of chicken soup
1 cup water
1 1/2 cups frozen corn
1 can (15oz.) diced tomatoes, drained
2 cans (15oz. each) cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

Heat oil in large stockpot over medium-high heat. Add chicken, chili powder, cumin, onion and pepper, and cook until chicken is cooked through and vegetables are tender, stir often.
Stir soup, water, corn, tomatoes, and beans into pot and heat to a boil. Reduce heat to low.
Cover and cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve in bowls, sprinkled with shredded cheese.

Weekend Cooking With Veggie Pizzas

I started making homemade pizzas with my own dough a few years ago. I really love pizza, and making them from scratch lets me control exactly what is on top of them, and lets me be frugal in the sense that I can use whatever veggies are in the fridge, and still make a delicious pizza.

This weekend it was cold and rainy here in the Seattle area, more like winter than spring. Perfect weather to stay in and make some pizzas for my family to enjoy. This veggie pizza was my favorite.

It had spinach, mushrooms, browned onions, and black olives with a white pizza sauce. I made my super easy pizza dough, and in less than an hour my pizzas were done. And so good!!


Recipe for Veggie Pizza

Ingredients:

For pizza Dough:

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 package all purpose yeast
1 cup warm water
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup white (store bought) pizza sauce
1 cup fresh spinach leaves
1 large onion, sliced and fried until lightly browned
6 mushrooms, sliced
1/2 black olives, sliced in half
1 cup mozzarella cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
In a medium bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes. Stir in flour, salt, and oil. Stir until smooth. Let dough rest 5 minutes.

Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and pat or roll into a round. Sprinkle with extra flour if the dough is sticky. Transfer crust onto a lightly greased pizza pan.
Spread evenly with pizza sauce, then add toppings and bake in a preheated oven for about 20 minutes, or until crust is golden brown. Let pizza set 5 minutes before slicing.

Makes one large pizza.


Enjoy!!