Instant Pot Turkey Taco Chili

Instant Pot Turkey Taco Chili
1 pound lean ground turkey (or ground beef will work as well)
1 yellow onion diced
3 cloves garlic minced
1 ounce taco seasoning 1 package
1 ounce dry ranch salad dressing mix 1 package
4 cups chicken broth
14 ounces canned diced tomatoes undrained
4 ounces canned diced green chilies
15 ounces canned black beans rinsed and drained
15 ounces canned corn drained
15 ounces canned refried beans
shredded Mexican blend cheese for garnish

Press SAUTE on Instant Pot and when it's heated up, add in ground turkey and onion. Cook for about 5 minutes or until ground turkey is no longer pink.
Add in garlic, taco seasoning, ranch seasoning, chicken broth, tomatoes, green chilies, black beans, and corn. Mix together.

Add in canned refried beans one tablespoonful at a time.
Place lid on top of Instant Pot. Turn knob to SEALING. Press MANUAL or PRESSURE COOK button and set timer for 5 minutes.

Allow pressure to do a natural release for 5 minutes, then move the valve from sealing to VENTING and do a quick release of the remaining pressure.

Remove lid and mix in the refried beans until creamy and smooth.
Serve topped with shredded Mexican cheese.

Biz's Chocolate Chip Cookies

Every once in a while Biz gets bored and decides to bake. My other daughters get SO EXCITED - of course to eat the dessert - but it's extra special because I personally VERY RARELY bake. My son is allergic to eggs - so even when I tried recipes for desserts with egg substitutes or no eggs at all and he just wasn't impressed or interested and to be honest - they just weren't that good.

Last week she got bored and found a recipe online and then tweaked it and made this recipe and MAN-O-MAN we all flipped out! They were the best, softest, yummiest cookies we've ever had. We never want to lose this recipe! The cookies were eaten so fast we didn't get a picture - but next time for sure!

Biz's Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/4 c brown sugar
1/2 c sugar
1 3/4 c AP flour
1/2 c melted butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 c Milk chocolate chips*

Throw everything into one large bowl and mix. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake for 7-10 minutes.

(Biz just added that she likes to melt a little butter and add it on top when the cookies come out of the oven!!)

*Can use semi-sweet but we LOVE milk chocolate!

Brownie Pudding Dessert

Brownie Pudding Dessert 

1 Brownie mix

Ingredients called for on brownie mix (oil, water, eggs)
8 ounces cream cheese 1 package, softened (light cream cheese works great)
1 cup powdered sugar
16 ounces Cool-Whip frozen whipped topping (2) 8 ounce containers, divided
3 ounces instant chocolate pudding mix 1 package
3 ounces instant vanilla pudding mix 1 package
3½ cups milk
hot fudge or chocolate syrup
1 plain chocolate candy bar (like a Hershey's bar)


Mix brownie mix according to directions and bake in 9×13 inch greased and floured pan.
Mix cream cheese, powdered sugar and 1 container whipped topping. Spread cream cheese mixture on top of the cooled brownies.
Blend puddings and milk together and carefully spread on top of the cream cheese mixture.
Top with second container of whipped topping. Put chocolate shavings and chocolate syrup on top.
Refrigerate until ready to serve (we also like to throw this in the freezer for a yummy summer dessert and it is sometimes easier to cut and serve when it's been in the freezer).

Lunch Lady Peanut Butter Bars

Lunch Lady Peanut Butter Bars
Bars:

1 cup butter softened
1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar firmly packed
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2½ cups peanut butter divided
2 cups old fashioned oats
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt

Frosting:

½ cup butter softened
¼ cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
4 Tablespoons cocoa powder
3 cups powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
In a large bowl, cream together butter, sugar and brown sugar together.
Add vanilla, eggs, and 1 cup of the peanut butter; stir to combine.
Add oats, flour, baking soda and salt and mix until well combined.
Spray a baking sheet (half sheet jelly roll pan that is approximately 17.8 x 12.8 x 1 inch) with nonstick cooking spray and spread out dough in an even layer.
Bake for 15 minutes and remove from oven.
Drop remaining peanut butter (about 1 1/2 cups) by very small spoonfuls (we use a baby spoon) all over on top of warm bars. Let set for about 5-6 minutes and gently spread when peanut butter has begun to melt. It will spread easily when the peanut butter has softened on the warm bars. Don't try to spread it while still thick.
Then let the bars cool until peanut butter has set up.
While cooling, mix together frosting ingredients with a hand mixer until smooth and spread on top of bars.
Cut into bars and serve

Mini Individual Pizookies

Mini Individual Pizookies

Mini Pizookies
1 cup Butter divided
1 cup Brown Sugar
½ cup Sugar
2 Eggs
1 teaspoon Vanilla
2 cups + 2 Tablespoons Flour
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
½ teaspoon Salt
1 ½ cups Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips
Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a skillet, melt 4 Tablespoons of butter over medium heat stirring often, until it starts to bubble and is completely melted.

In mixing bowl, cream together remaining 12 Tablespoons of butter, sugar, and brown sugar for 3 minutes until light and fluffy. Drizzle in warm, melted butter and cream for 1 minute longer.

Add eggs and vanilla and stir well.

Stir in flour, baking soda, and salt.

Mix in chocolate and stir to combine.

Place in ramekins and chill for 30 minutes.

Bake at 350 degrees for 18-24 or until the edges are lightly golden brown, depending on the depth of the ramekin. Let set up for 4-5 minutes.

Top with vanilla bean ice cream and eat warm.

West's Favorite Salad

M goes to Lake Powell every summer with a bunch of friends. The Mom who is in charge of everything is a GENIUS. M always comes home raving about everything including the food.

She got this recipe from Mrs. West and said "Mom - this is literally the best salad on the planet." Quite the salesperson!

West's Favorite Salad

Romaine Lettuce
Cardini's Caesar Dressing
Sugared almonds
Red grapes
Grated Swiss and parmesan
Bowtie pasta
Grilled chicken breast

Sugared Almonds: add almonds with about 1/2 cup sugar in a pan on the stove top. Cook until the sugar sticks.

Boil pasta according to package directions. Don't rinse. Add dressing and stir to combine. Let chill for an hour or longer. Just before serving - combine everything else and eat!

Toffee Apple Dip

I got this from Six Sisters Stuff - and I've been making it on REPEAT around here. The first night we had it - we had our neighbor over for dinner bc his wife was out of town and we all loved it.

The next time I made it, our son had a bunch of his friends over after a day on the lake and they all LOVED it! They even planned a "Dip Night" based on this! They decided everyone would bring their own dip over to share and they'd call it dinner! 

Toffee Apple Dip

16 ounces (2 packages) cream cheese softened
1 Tablespoon vanilla
½ cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon milk
1 bag heath bits (or skor bits)

Slightly soften cream cheese and whip until smooth. I used an electric hand mixer for this step.
Add vanilla, brown sugar, milk and mix.
Add Heath Bits and mix. If you make it in advance - be sure to mix it again right before serving.

*For my family I just made it as per the recipe. When we had all those extra kids here - I doubled the recipe

I just saw a different spin - Philadelphia no bake cheesecake plus store bought caramel apple dip and a bag of heath bits... I'll have to try!!