Oreo Truffles

I'm not sure how many of you out there have seen recipes for these yummy treats, but you can find this recipe pretty much anywhere; Mel's Kitchen Cafe, Bakerella, My Girl's Kitchen blog, Kraft Foods; you name it.  I came across this recipe on this blog while I was just browsing there one day.  I'd always heard of these things & I remember eating them at my sister in-law Tessa's baby shower last year.  They are SOOOOOOOO yummy, but oddly enough, I didn't even think to make them myself until I whipped up a batch for FHE last night for us & the kids.  I wish I could say that my truffles looked as pretty as these do, but my camera battery died right when I went to take a picture of the ones I made & so I had to swipe this image off of a Google search.  Ah, well.  :)  This recipe is so versatile; you can do pretty much anything you want with it & the possibilities for yummy combos & add-ins are endless.  Here's the simple, basic recipe that is really super easy:

1 pkg. (18 oz.) Oreo cookies, crushed into small pieces
1 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened
Chocolate chips for melting (I only use Ghirardelli chips; they are definitely the best)

Mix crushed Oreo's with softened cream cheese until well-combined.  The best way to do this is with your fingers - it will be messy!  Roll into 1-inch balls and place on a baking sheet or tray.  Refrigerate until firm; about 3-4 hours, or stick them into the freezer for about an hour instead.  I refrigerated mine because I made them after we got home from church yesterday at noon.  When truffles are firm, melt chocolate chips (I did mine on the stove but I'm sure it would work if you melted them in the microwave also) & coat each ball evenly.  Place back onto the baking sheet & refrigerate until chocolate has hardened.  Serve chilled.  The next time I make these, I'm thinking about using mint Oreo's instead.  I've also debated about whether or not I want to follow this same recipe, only melt mint baking chips & coat the truffles into that instead of regular milk chocolate chips.  Like I said, the possibilities are pretty much endless with these tasty treats.  They really do taste better cold!  :)  Watch out though; these things are ADDICTING!!!  You have been warned.  :)

Todd's Famous Blueberry Pancakes

I've been wanting to find a good blueberry pancake recipe for quite a while.  I know this isn't a picture that I took myself, but we had Grandma & Grandpa Andersen over for a couple of days & I didn't think to take a picture when I made these for breakfast this morning.  One last thing & then on to the recipe.  I thought if I wanted blueberry pancakes, all I had to do was simply add blueberries into the other recipe I have for just regular pancakes.  Sounds easy enough, right?  Wrong!  I tried this only one time earlier this year & the blueberries didn't even spread evenly throughout the batter, so when I went to pour the batter onto the griddle some of the pancakes had blueberries in them, some didn't, & they didn't even taste good!  So yeah, I decided to Google a blueberry pancake recipe instead, & I found this really tasty one from AllRecipes:

1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tblsp. baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoons sugar (I added a little more)
1 egg
1 cup milk
1/2 Tblsp. butter, melted
1/2 cup frozen blueberries, plus a little more for garnish, if desired

In a large bowl, sift together flour, salt, baking powder and sugar.  In a small bowl, beat together egg and milk.  Stir milk and egg into flour mixture.  Mix in the butter and fold in the blueberries.  Set aside for 1 hour.  This is the only bad thing about this recipe; you really have to plan ahead & get up a little earlier, but trust me, it's worth it!  ;)  Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat.  Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake.  I just grabbed a 1/4 measuring cup out of my cupboard & used it to scoop the batter onto the griddle & it worked great.  Brown on both sides & serve hot.  When we had ours this morning we put both regular maple syrup and boysenberry syrup & they were both good.  We would've used good 'ol blueberry syrup but we were fresh out.  :)  ENJOY!