Cream Cheese Cutouts

I apologize for the on-slot of posts today. I have been neglecting the blog since work has been consuming my entire life. Downfall of teaching is that you can't ever just walk away at 4 o'clock and say you will finish it tomorrow. I have been putting in probably 70 hour weeks lately between the commute, work and working at home. Every teacher out there feels my pain right now!
So I had a bunch of things I wanted to post about this morning before I go run. This specific post had to wait until after Valentine's Day because this was Adrian's present. These are his favorite cookies (and I would be lying to not add that these are my favorite's as well).
I must admit that these are not a quick process but it is sooooooo worth it. My mom makes these every year as her Christmas cutouts and then on my birthday usually for me. This year we made them for all my co-workers (bad idea, it took us no less than 8 hours and that doens't include my mom pre-mixing the dough).

Here is the recipe for the Cream Cheese Cutouts. *The directions say to chill the dough overnight. I think 8 hours is a little excessive however these did need about two hours in the freezer in order to not stick to the mat!

My frosting doesn't look as beautiful in the picture as in real life but it is super shiny and dries hard so you can stack them.

1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon corn syrup
splash of almond extract

Mix these three together and then keep adding powdered sugar until it is a thick glaze. You don't want it to be runny, but rather you should have to use a knife (or the back of a spoon) in order to frost them.

Here's what the Christmas mittens looked like...

And I can't post this recipe without giving all the credit to my Momma Louie. These are her showstopper cookies. I just steal all her recipes ;-) Gosh I love her =)

=) Chelsea

Skinny Taco Dip

For the Superbowl this year, I wasn't craving sweets...which is totally unlike me. But taco dip sounded perfect so I searched for a skinny version and found this one on Skinnytaste. I love her recipes and how easy everything is to make. My only addition was avocado on top. *Note to self: Turns out that avocado is not very popular amongst men ages 25-27. Crazies.

I suggest making this right beforehand otherwise it can get a little sloppy. Adrian took the leftovers for lunch the next day...and it looked a little watery but he never complains ;-)

For me, taco dip brings back great memories of my best friend Kristin. In high school, this was our go to snack. And every time we see each other now, there is usually a taco dip in tow. But we are easy people...we sometimes just eat the sour cream mixed with taco seasoning. (Don't knock it 'til you try it!)


=) Chelsea

Boyfriend Chili

It's winter in Minnesota and Super Bowl weekend, therefore all signs point to CHILI! Adi and I make chili a few times a month because not only does he love it, but it makes for great leftovers. Also, it can be made in less than 30 minutes...which works great for week nights after the long commute.

I call this "Boyfriend Chili" because I make it the way he likes it. If it were just me, there wouldn't be much meat involved and it would be more soupy. But, I love him...so our chili is very thick and always includes at least a pound of beef.

My favorite seasoning is Carroll Shelby's because you can control the spice level and thickness. Adrian always "pretends" to add a little bit of cayenne and then ends up dumping in the whole packet when I am not looking. Feel free to add your favorites (corn, beans, peppers, etc) to the recipe and make it your own.

Boyfriend Chili

1 package of Carroll Shelby's chili seasoning
1 pound of ground beef (I use 93% lean)
2 16 oz cans of fire roasted diced tomatoes
1  8oz can of tomato sauce
1 cup of water
1 can of kidney beans
1 can of black beans

Brown the beef and drain. Add all the other ingredients and simmer for 15 minutes. I like mine with a dollop of plain Greek yogurt on top. Healthier than sour cream and I like how thick it is. Adrian eats his was a crap ton of cheese (he likes it when you can barely see the chili through the layer of melted cheese on top).

Leftovers are great as is. Otherwise, Adrian would serve it as chili cheese dogs though. ;-) Opposites attract, right?!?

=) Chelsea

PB Cookie Oatmeal

Don't you just love when you find a recipe and you have every ingredient already at home? Well last night I came across a delicious breakfast recipe and discovered I had everything in the pantry. So this morning I got up early to get a run in before the snow and freezing rain. After a 7.5 mile hill route, I was hungry! So I threw together this baked oatmeal dish and I was pretty happy with the results. The other benefit of this warm breakfast was that it takes 18 minutes to bake which was the perfect time for me to clean the kitchen and do the dishes quick before I crawled under a blanket to watch tv and devour this.

Jump over to The Oatmeal Artist for the recipe. Super easy and filling. Plus, I love the fact that it is a single serving so I don't have a heaping amount of leftovers. (I HATE leftovers!)

So go run and then bake yourself up some oatmeal!

=) Chelsea