Printable Valentine

I made some cute Valentines for you and your kids to use for this Valentine's Day! Print them out on a nice thick paper or card stock, cut them out and give them to anyone to put an instant smile on their face!

 Click here to download.







Bird's Party Blog

Last-Minute Truffles

I'm the kind of person that loves the idea of being prepared for things. However, In reality am the world's biggest procrastinator and am usually left scurrying about last minute to finish a project, buy a gift or mail a card. It seems that my daughter has acquired this trait from me because last night (right before bed) she came up to me and said: "Tomorrow is my teacher's birthday! We have to go buy her a present! I just can't be the only kid who doesn't get her a present!" That was when I jumped into panic mode.

Luckily, I found a bag of guittard chocolate chips in the pantry, which meant that I could make something utterly delicious. I mean seriously, is there anyone who doesn't love chocolate? After searching through my cabinets for ingredients, I decided to throw together what I have decided to call Last-minute truffles, but they really should have been called "thanks for not telling me until 8 o'clock at night that your teacher's birthday is tomorrow" candy.

Last-minute Truffle Recipe:   |Print Recipe|

1 Bag semi-sweet chocolate chips (I always use guittard! They are my favorite!)
1/4 cup vegetable oil


Random things to roll them in:
Toasted coconut
Cocoa powder
Sprinkles
Chopped Nuts


Place 2/3 of chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl. Heat in 30 second intervals, stirring well after each.


Once the chocolate is melted, add in the remaining chocolate chips and stir until they are completely melted and the chocolate is nice and shiny.


Add oil to chocolate and stir until they are completely mixed together. Allow chocolate to cool at room temperature.


Once chocolate has completely cooled, scoop out the amount you want and roll into a ball-like shape (I scooped about a tablespoon full of chocolate for each one.) Immediately roll the ball into your coconut, cocoa, nuts or anything else you may be using to coat them.


Place on parchment paper to harden.


**I'm not completely sure how many truffles this recipe will make because the Mr. and I were eating them as fast as I could make them. I do know that we ended up with about 15 in the end... after we ate like 10.

Printable Valentine's Day Cupcake Toppers

Here are some printable cupcake toppers for you to use for any cupcakes you might be making for this special day!

If you're going to use them just print them out, use a 2" punch and attach some toothpicks or lollipop sticks to the back and you have yourself a cupcake topper!

 Click Here to Download.



---Don't forget to enter the giveaway for a chance to win a copy of Bakerella's Cake Pops Book!---

Cake Pops Book Giveaway

Woo Hoo! Diddles & Dumplings has reached over 300 fans on Facebook! I would like to thank all of you who are fans of the blog and I appreciate you all so much! It has been so much fun to be able to share my recipes with you all and hear your feedback! Just to say thank you, I would like to give you the chance to win a copy of Bakerella's Cake Pops book!  

Giveaway Details:

Use the Rafflecopter form below to fill out your information for a chance to win! Make sure to follow me on Facebook and share this giveaway and the Diddles & Dumplings blog with your friends!! The more fans, the more giveaways we can have!! Good luck to you all!

**If you don't see the Rafflecopter form, or it isn't loading correctly.. Just leave separate blog comments saying that you "Like" Diddles & Dumplings on Facebook, that you Follow the blog (via Google Friend Connect over there to the right) and if you share the giveaway on Facebook!

Giveaway is from January 13, 2012 - February 13, 2012 (12:00 am)

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Chicken & Corn Chowder

I have never been a huge fan of soup, which is why this was my first ever attempt at making soup. I tend to like things that are creamy and rich, so I thought a chicken and corn chowder would be a great beginning soup. I searched online for recipes and none of them seemed to be what I was looking for. I had this perfect vision in my mind of what my soup was going to be like and what was going to be in it, so I decided to just throw a recipe together and see what would happen. The result is a delicious, creamy, flavorful, magnificent soup. Not to toot my own horn or anything, but this soup is probably the best soup in the entire world. Once you have all of your ingredients cut and chopped it comes together pretty quickly! After you have made this chowder you will be a much happier person and your family will thank you.






Chicken Corn Chowder Recipe:   |Print Recipe|

3 slices bacon
6 tablespoons butter
1 onion (minced)
4 potatoes (diced)
1/4 cup flour
1.5 pounds cooked boneless skinless chicken breasts (cut into 1" cubes)
 1 package frozen corn kernels
1/4 cup green onions (sliced)
3 cups chicken broth
1 cup half and half
1 cup milk
salt and pepper to taste


Cut bacon into small pieces and fry in a large saucepan (dutch ovens are awesome!) When bacon is fully cooked, add onions. Sautee over medium heat and throw in 3 tablespoons of butter and cook onions for about 3 minutes.


Add diced potatoes and 3 more tablespoons of butter and cook until potatoes are beginning to soften (about 6-8 minutes).


Sprinkle flour over potatoes and stir until coated. Stir in chicken, corn and green onions and mix together. Add chicken broth, half and half, milk and salt and pepper. Simmer for 10 minutes.


“Come join SoupaPalooza at TidyMom and Dine and Dish sponsored by KitchenAid, Red Star Yeast and Le Creuset”

Today's Creative Blog

Orange Chicken

 Chinese food is one of those things that I have always thought would take too many ingredients and preparation to ever make at home. How sorely mistaken I was. My wonderful husband bought me a deep fryer for Christmas this year, and in order to repay him, I decided to make him some homemade Orange Chicken! My husband is a huge fan of Chinese food and he was eternally grateful to me for surprising him with this delicious homemade dish. This is pretty much one of the tastiest things I have ever made and I have already made it for my husband's side of the family just to show off how utterly delicious it truly is. Make this Orange Chicken and I can guarantee you that you will feel an overwhelming sense of satisfaction spend the entire day strutting proudly around your house.

Orange Chicken:   

{Print Recipe}

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs boneless & skinless chicken breasts (cut into 1.5" cubes)
• 2 cups flour
• 2 eggs (beaten)
• salt (about 1/2 teaspoon)
• pepper (about 1/2 teaspoon)

Sauce:

• 1-1/2 cups water
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (or you can use the little squeeze bottle!)
• 1/3 cup rice vinegar
• 2-1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon freshly grated orange zest
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic (minced)
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 3 tablespoons cold water
• Chopped green onions (to garnish)
• Oil (for frying)

Instructions:

Heat deep fryer to 375 degrees.

Combine flour, salt and pepper in a medium bowl (for coating). Dip chicken pieces in beaten egg and toss in flour mixture to coat. Place chicken in deep fryer and fry until pieces are lightly browned and chicken is cooked through.

In a medium saucepan, combine water, lemon juice, orange juice, rice vinegar, soy sauce, brown sugar, orange zest and ginger. Bring to a boil. In a separate bowl (small) combine cornstarch and cold water. Add to sauce mixture. Cook sauce for 4-5 minutes or until sauce is nice and thick.

Pour sauce over chicken pieces and mix well. Garnish with green onion.



Today's creative blog

Valentine's Day Printable

Here is a fun little Valentine's Day printable for you to decorate your home with or give as a gift, or whatever you'd like! It's the standard 8.5"x11" size. Enjoy!

Click here to download the black version.

Click here to download the white version.

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Chili Lime Chicken

My husband is a huge fan of some crazy mexican chicken from a certain fast food place. Unfortunately, we don't have one in our town, so he never gets to enjoy this very special chicken meal. Being the wonderful wife that I am, I have created my own version of this delicious chicken that goes well with some tortillas, beans, spanish rice and salsa! It is simply amazing and wonderful and can make for a very fun, hands-on dinner!





Chile Lime Chicken Recipe:   |Print Recipe|

1 package chicken thighs or thighs/drumsticks (about 2.5-3 pounds worth)
1/4 c chili powder
1 tbsp onion powder
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp salt
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp cayenne
1/8 cup sugar
Juice of 1 lime


Preheat oven to 400 degrees.


Combine seasonings in a small bowl and rub mixture on the chicken pieces. Squeeze lime juice over the chicken. You can refrigerate for an hour if you'd like, or if you don't have time you can just begin cooking it now.


Cook chicken for 30 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 degrees for another 20-25 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and juices run clear.


Once the chicken is out of the oven, squeeze a little more lime over it, just to give it a little something extra.


Serve chicken in a bowl, family style and dig in. Make sure to have plenty of corn or flour tortillas, beans, rice, salsa and guacamole! Enjoy!

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Ham & Cheese Stuffed French Toast

I absolutely love breakfast foods. Some of my favorite mornings are when we have pretty much nothing in our fridge and I go in there and search for random ingredients to make breakfast with. One morning I happened to find some lunch meat and cheese left in the fridge along with everything I needed to make french toast. Well, being the daring girl I am, I decided to throw them together and make what has now become one of my favorite breakfasts, ham and cheese french toast! Instead of frying the french toast I decided to put a bunch of them together and bake it in the oven to save me from having to clean more and also just because I was feeling lazy!





Ham & Cheese Stuffed French Toast Recipe:   |Print Recipe|

12 slices bread (any bread of your choice! really!)
12 slices ham
2 cups shredded cheese (I used cheddar, because that's what I had, but whatever you have will work!)
3 eggs (beaten)
1.5 cups milk
Confectioner's sugar (for dusting)
Butter
Maple Syrup


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.


Grease a 9"x13" baking dish. Place 6 of the bread slices in the bottom. Layer each piece with 2 slices of ham and top each with about 2 tablespoons of cheese. Once the bread is covered with the ham and cheese, cover it with the remaining bread slices.


In a medium bowl, mix together eggs and milk. Pour over the bread and let it soak in for about 5-10 minutes. Sprinkle the top of the bread with remaining cheddar cheese. 


Bake in preheated oven for about 35-40 minutes, or until top is golden brown.


You should be able to separate each "stuffed french toast" piece. Drizzle maple syrup over the top and dust with confectioner's sugar.

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