Triple Chip Blondies

Recipe and Photo Credit

These are amazingly easy and really addictive.  Consider yourselves warned.

1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter
2 cups light brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour, lightly spooned into a measuring cup and leveled with the back of a knife
2/3 cup chocolate chips, plus 1/3 cup for drizzling on top
2/3 cup white chocolate chips
2/3 cup peanut butter chips or butterscotch chips
1 teaspoon coconut oil or shortening
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 9×13″ pan with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
Melt the butter. Combine in a large mixing bowl with the brown sugar. Add the vanilla and the eggs and beat on medium speed until combined. Add the flour and mix until just combined. Add the chocolate chips (excluding the 1/3 cup reserved chips), white chocolate chips, and peanut butter or butterscotch chips and mix until combined.
Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown on top. Allow to cool completely. When cool, combine the reserved chips and the coconut oil or shortening in a small freezer zip-top bag, seal it, and heat it in the microwave in 15-second increments, mashing the bag with your hands until the chocolate and oil are smooth (repeat as long as necessary). Cut a small corner out of the bag and squeeze the melted chocolate over the baked blondies. Allow to cool completely before cutting into bars.

Wassail

1 gallon apple juice
1 can frozen orange juice concentrate
1 can frozen lemonade concentrate
1 cup sugar

Combine in spice bag: (I never have a spice bag so I just let everything float around and just avoid ladeling them into the mugs :)
1 Tbsp. whole cloves
1 Tbsp. whole allspice
1 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 cinnamon stick

Combine all ingredients in crock pot and let it heat up on HIGH and simmer for at least 30 minutes and serve or you can combine all ingredients in a pan over the stove and simmer for 20 minutes and serve.

Baked Potato Soup

A very simple but very hearty meal! I love the basic ingredients and how little time this takes to make. It tastes even better with some buttery rolls to sup with! 

3 TBSP butter

1 C. finely chopped onion

2 TBSP flour

1 (14 1/2 oz) can of chicken broth (I always just use warm water with bullion dissolved in)

4 medium baking potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2" cubes

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp white pepper

1/4 tsp black pepper (I just omitted the white and did twice as much black)

1 tsp dried basil

dash of Tobasco sauce ( I used chalula cause we had it, I'm sure you could leave it out too)

1/2 tsp garlic salt

1 C. half and half (I just used milk)

Garnish with:

Grated Cheddar cheese

Sour cream

Crumbled bacon

Chopped green onion

Melt butter in a 2-quart saucepan on medium heat. Add onion and saute for 2 minutes. Sprinkle flour over the onions and cook about 5 minutes, stirring often. Gradually add chicken broth. Add potatoes, salt, pepper, basil, Tabasco, and garlic salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer 20 minutes. Stir occasionally. Stir in half and half; heat through. Serve with desired garnishes. Serves 4, but doubles easily. DELISH!

Total time: 30 minutes