Oreo Balls - delicious, award winning, may ruin relationships #AtoZChallenge

Oreo Balls... have you heard of them? They are amazing. I have won three consecutive dessert contests against other amazing desserts with them.

Here's my trophy from last week's Company Picnic. Isn't it awesome?

And they're not hard to make...

Empty one package of Oreos - whichever type you'd like - into a food processor and chop them into dust.

Add in one package of cream cheese and mix until a dough forms.

Roll approximately 45 small balls of the dough. Make them small - trust me. Place them on a cookie sheet covered with wax paper.

Put them in the freezer for at least 10 minutes.

Melt chocolate (I prefer semi-sweet, but pick your poison) and dip the balls into it. Place them on a cookie sheet covered with wax paper and put them back in the freezer.

Once they're set, put them in a container.

Enter dessert competition. Reap the rewards.



However, I will warn you that they could cause relationship problems... Oreo Ball Envy is real...

You have been warned :)

Wendy's Clam Soup

This is supposed to be a clam chowder recipe, but I never make it thick or chowdery. I've been making this for years now, the original came from a cook book so old that it told you to shuck your own clams. I have modified it since then and "just make it" so I apologize for the vagueness of some of my measurements.

Wendy's Clam Soup
1 lb of regular bacon (i.e. not maple, etc. you can use low fat, etc. if you want)
1 medium onion, diced
8 6.5 oz cans of chopped clams
6-8 potatoes, diced
Paprika
Milk - your choice on which fat level. I use 2%.

Slice the bacon into small pieces (I find this easier than cooking it and then cutting it) and cook in a large soup pot until slightly crispy.

Remove bacon and most of the bacon fat, leaving enough to cook the onions in. Saute the onions.

Once the onions are cooked, add the clams, including the juice and potatoes. The clam juice should be enough to cover the potatoes. Add paprika to taste. Potatoes absorb salt, so you'll probably be using more than you'd think. My guess is at least a tablespoon. Bring to a boil and then let simmer until the potatoes are cooked through.

Add milk - approximately 2 cups. Be careful not to add too much, or you'll thin the clam juice too much and it won't be as flavorful. Taste it and add more if you'd like.

Add the bacon and let all the flavors mix for about 5 minutes and it's done!

It doesn't sound like much, but it has a great flavor. Experiment, add other spices and make it your own :)

Bananas make everything better

I love bananas and for about the last year or so I've been adding them to recipes.

Brownies: no matter how you make the brownies, add a mashed up banana to the batter. They will turn out super moist and taste like what would happen if Banana Bread mated with a Brownie. Even the cheap mixes from the store will be improved.

Speaking of Banana Bread, this recipe is the best I have ever tasted. It's great as is, but I add an extra banana, cinnamon, nutmeg and sometimes peanut butter to the mix. Only add a big spoonful of peanut butter though, because more than that and you'll overpower the banana.

And finally pancakes. I use Bisquick. On the back of the box are directions to make "melt in your mouth" pancakes. Use this version - basically they have you add lemon juice (to make the milk buttermilky), sugar, vanilla and baking soda. I also add a mashed up banana, extra sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. They are so good that you don't need to put syrup on them (although my husband still does).

Anyone else hungry? :)

H is for (Un)Healthy Potato Salad

Today we are having a small get-together at the house. As is our tradition, I have made potato salad for the occasion. It's not the healthiest dish you'll ever make - that's probably why it's so yummy!

Everything but the Kitchen Sink Potato Salad

8-10 potatoes, cubed and boiled with Tony Chachere's Original Creole Seasoning

One sweet white onion - cut up

1/2 lb bacon - cut up into small pieces and cooked

4 eggs - boiled and cut up into small pieces

3 stalks celery - cut up

2 dill pickles - cut up

1 1/2 cups (give or take) of mayonnaise

Yellow mustard to taste

Paprika

Tony Chachere's Original Creole Seasoning

Garlic Salt

Cook the potatoes, cool them so they're not hot and mix everything together. Refrigerate. Serve with hamburgers and chips.

Warning - the creole seasoning is pretty spicy, so unlike the potato salads you're used to, this one packs a small punch. Because you cook the potatoes with it in the water, the potatoes are nicely flavored as well.

Meat Cookies

1 lb. Extra Lean Ground Beef

Celery Salt

Garlic Salt

Onion

Mix ingredients together. Pat into a circular shape and grill until done. Serve on a bun with various condiments of your choosing.

Sound like a hamburger? Well it is, or was...

As we ate dinner the other night, Angie was eating her (bun-less) hamburger, smiled at Daddy and said "Cookie!"

Lenny replied, "no baby, that's a hamburger".

"Cookie," Angie insisted.

"Hamburger".

"Cookie!"

Well this went back and forth a few times until we gave in an renamed hamburgers "Meat Cookies". So there you have it.

Wendy's Hamburgers is old news... next up Angie's Meat Cookies!

My Famous Broccolli Salad!

Everyone always asks for this recipe after they try it.

1 bunch of broccoli, chopped - I sometimes use one of those bags of shredded broccoli

1 med. red onion, chopped

1 cup grated cheese (I usually leave this out, actually) - optional

8 strips of bacon (or a half pound! LOL) crisp and crumbled

1/2 cup mayo

1/4 cup sugar

1 tbsp. red wine vinegar

Mix broccoli, onion and cheese

add dressing, chill

add bacon

I know... it doesn't sound all that great, but it really is!!

Meatball Spinach Soup (aka Undead Soup)

This soup is sooooo good! We got the recipe off of the back of a box of Saltine Crackers.

1/2 lb. lean ground beef
1 cup chopped onion, divided
3 cloves garlic, minced, divided
2tsp. dried oregano leaves, divided
20 Saltene crackers, finely crushed (we sometimes substitute bread crumbs)
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 cans (14 oz each) reduced sodium beef broth (or the full leaded stuff - whichever you prefer)
1 can (14 1/2 oz) stewed tomatoes, undrained
1 pkg (10 oz) frozen chopped spinach, thawed, well drained

Combine meat, 1/4 cup of the onion, 1/3 of the garlic, 1/2 tsp of the oregano in large bowl. Add cracker crumbs and egg; mix well. Shape into 1-inch balls; set aside.

Cook and stir remaining 3/4 cup of onion and remaining garlic in hot oil in Dutch oven or large saucepan on medium-high heat 3 to 5 minutes or until onion is tender. Add broth, tomatoes with their liquid, spinach and the remaining oregano; bring to boil. Add meatballs. Reduce heat to low; cover. Simmer 20 to 25 minutes or until meatballs are cooked through.

Serve with additional Saltene crackers.

Don't try to double the recipe, it doesn't work well. It's really yummy! Try it! :)