Oatmeal Cream Pies

When I was a kid, I loved Little Debbie Oatmeal Cream Pies.

I came across a recipe for Oatmeal Cream Pies, and decided to give it a try.

These cream pies are 100 times better than the ones I fell in love with as a kid. 

Note: For me, the recipe made about 40 cookies and enough filling to make 14 cream pies.The cookies are good on their own, though, so I think it turned out well.

INGREDIENTS

For the cookies:

3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp honey
1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 cups quick cooking oats

For the marshmallow frosting:

2 egg whites
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla

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INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and cover baking sheets with parchment paper. Set the baking sheets aside.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or using a hand mixer) cream the butter, sugar, and brown sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, vanilla, and honey and beat until the ingredients are incorporated.
3. In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, cinnamon, and baking soda. Slowly add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, stirring just until incorporated. Carefully stir in the oats until evenly distributed. Transfer the dough to a large bowl and chill in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.
4. Remove the bowl from the fridge and drop 1 tbsp size pieces of dough onto the prepared baking sheets. Bake the cookies 8-10 minutes or until the edges begin to brown. The cookies will be soft and appear slightly undercooked in the middle when removed from the oven; however, they firm as they cool. Cool on a baking sheet until they set and then move the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
5. While the cookies are cooling, prepare the marshmallow frosting. In a double boiler (or using a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water) combine the egg whites, sugar, and cream of tarter. Whisk the mixture frequently until it is very frothy and measures approximately 160 degrees. Carefully add the egg whites to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whisk on high speed until the egg mixture holds stiff peaks and is a light texture (several minutes). Carefully fold the vanilla into the egg whites mixture. Add the frosting to the underside of one cookie and assemble.

Chicken Piccata

This is an easy weeknight meal that is also incredibly delicious! It is also a great meal to make for a large group of people because it is simple and features classic flavors. The method I use to make this recipe comes from my uncle Wiley. It was also one of the first recipes I ever learned to make.

You need:
1 to 1 1/2 lbs. chicken breasts, sliced thin and sprinkled with salt and pepper
1 or 2 T olive oil
1 or 2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
about 2 c. chicken broth
juice from 1 lemon
spoonful of honey
capers (optional)

The Method:
Heat olive oil over medium-high heat in large skillet. Add garlic and saute chicken in garlic and olive oil. Remove chicken from pan when it is cooked through and nicely browned (about 5 minutes per side, depending on thickness of chicken). Turn heat to medium and melt 2 T butter with the leftovers in the pan. Add 3 T flour, stir, and cook for a minute. Whisk in chicken broth and lemon juice. Let cook for 5 to ten minutes until sauce thickens. Add honey and capers (if desired) to taste.

Serve chicken and sauce over angel hair pasta with a salad.

House Salad

This "house salad" gets made quite often at our house! 

It consists of:

• mixed greens
• sliced grape tomatoes
• sliced Persian cucumbers
• chopped green onions
• some kind of dressing (I enjoy Brianna's french vinaigrette or Trader Joe's balsamic vinaigrette)

Home-made dressings are only usually made for special occasions, but "house salads" are pretty much an every day food!

Chicken Marsala

Chicken Marsala is one of our favorite meals. This recipe is especially delicious -- so much so that after we first started making it we stopped ordering Chicken Marsala at restaurants because this tastes so much better than any restaurant meal! The recipe came from Aunt Mary, who originally served it to us with pasta, but we like to eat it with freshly mashed potatoes!

Ingredients

1 1/2 to 2 lbs. of chicken breast

flour, salt, and pepper

1/4 c. olive oil

4 oz. thinly sliced prosciutto

8 oz. sliced crimini mushrooms

1 c. sweet marsala wine

1 c. chicken stock

3 to 4 T butter

Directions

Heat oil over medium high heat. Slice chicken breasts in half (if thick) and pound until 1/4 inches thick if necessary. Season chicken with salt and pepper and dredge both sides of chicken in flour, shaking off the excess. Fry 5 minutes on each side until golden.

Lower heat to medium and add prosciutto to pan. Saute 1 minute. Add mushrooms and saute until browned, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Pour marsala into pan and boil for a while (about 15 minutes). Add chicken stock and simmer for another 15 minutes. Stir in butter and return chicken to pan. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Optional additions: If you'd like the sauce to be thicker, add a tablespoon or so of cornstarch dissolved in a bit of water (do this at the very end). You can add parsley on top as well just for looks, but I never have time to do this :)

Peanut Butter Oreo Ice Cream Pie

This pie was seriously one of the best desserts I have ever eaten, and it was super simple to make. The only difficult part was waiting 6 hours to eat it! The recipe is from Amanda of kevinandamanda.com. Check out her beautiful photos of the pie here.

Here is the recipe:

1 box Oreo cookies
6 T melted butter
2 cups cold heavy cream
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 bottle Trader Joe's Hot Fudge

Finely crush about 25 Oreos in a food chopper. Mix with melted butter and spread in the bottom of a 9″ round pan for the crust. Freeze for about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, lightly crush the remaining Oreos into large pieces. Whisk sweetened condensed milk, peanut butter, and vanilla in large bowl and set aside. Whip the heavy cream to stiff peaks, then fold the whipped cream into the sweetened condensed milk mixture. Pour half of the peanut butter ice cream mixture on top of the frozen Oreo crust. Heat up some hot fudge, and pour some of the fudge in a layer over the ice cream.  Add the remaining ice cream, hot fudge (use the whole bottle at your own risk - I used about 1/4 of the bottle), and top with the Oreo cookie pieces. Freeze for at least 6-8 hours before serving. Enjoy!