Last-minute holiday recipes for the procrastinator

I've said it time and time again- I am a procrastinator. Not to say I'm proud of it, of course, although sometimes it does feel like quite an accomplishment to sucessfully pull together a last-minute project. So obviously, I put off all my holiday wrapping and baking until the night before I need to have it done. Oops.
Not to fear however- here're two go-to treats that each take about 15 minutes to make, and will be thoroughly appreciated by children. Plus they're relatively mess-free, so if you're really running late you can whip them up in your party outfit right before you leave. (Not that I'd ever recommend piping chocolate in Lanvin.)


QUICK CHOCOLATE TRUFFLES:

RECIPE:
*3 cups of chocolate chips or chopped dark chocolate
*Any topping or filling of your choice- I mixed in some failed toffee that had stuck to the pan and topped it with almonds. Crushed candy canes, walnuts, and jam are all great. You can pretty do whatever for this one.

PREPERATION:
1.) Melt chocolate in microwave for about 1 minute, then mix in filling (optional)
2.) Microwave for another 30 second and stir well
3.) Pipe onto greased cookie sheets, or do as I did and just drop by heaping spoonfuls.

4.) Let chocolate set for 30 seconds and then press topping onto each. Chill for 30 minutes; if you're really pressed for time, pop then in the freezer and you'll be good to go in 10.

PEANUT BUTTER M&M COOKIES:

Simply use this 3-ingredient peanut butter cookie recipe and roll dough into small 1-inch balls, then press an M&M into the center of each.

Cilantro Lime rice

I had some leftover rice from yesterday, so I decided to make some cilantro lime rice (as the title implies.) This classic recipe has become quite well-known to anyone who has been to a Chipotle burrito place. The acidic hint of lime is balanced out with the softer tones of cilantro, and the whole thing is just delicious. My little brother loves this recipe as much as he loves Chipotle (which is a LOT) and I make it whenever I feel like adding a little zing to my plain rice but am tired of regular greasy fried rice.

It makes a great complement to a burrito as well as a nice side dish, and can be served on it's own as well. Of course, I had to check out how the original recipe went from the source itself at chipotlefan.com, and found the ingredients to be super simple. Pretty much just throw in whatever you want, just keep a watch on the lime juice because a little goes a long way on that front.

RECIPE: (from the original source)
*1 teaspoon vegetable oil or butter
*2 tsp. fresh cilantro
*2/3 cup white basmati rice (pretty much any rice will do)
*1 cup water
*1/2 teaspoon salt
*1 Lime

PREPERATION: (If you have pre-cooked rice like I did, just stir-fry everything in a skillet)
1.) In a 2-quart heavy saucepan, heat oil or butter over low heat, stirring occasionally until melted.
2.) Add rice and lime juice, stir for 1 minute.
3.) Add water and salt, bring to a full rolling boil. At boiling, cover, turn down to simmer over low heat until rice is tender and the water is absorbed, about 25 minutes. Fluff rice with a fork.

Chinese-style pasta

Stir-fried tomatoes and scrambled eggs with noodles is like the Chinese version of marinara sauce and pasta. Though originally the noodles are supposed to be hand-pulled, I hadn't had much time today (or the skill, really) to hand-pull the noodles, so I just boiled some angel-hair noodles.
It took took only twenty or thirty minutes to make, and brought back many flashbacks of my early childhood. I feel like this is another classic dish that really personifies simple asian home cooking, and a dish even pickier kids are garanteed to love.

RECIPE:
Serves 4

*2-3 medium sized ripe tomatoes
*5 oz angel-hair pasta
*2 stalks green onion
*7-8 eggs
*2 teaspoons salt
*2 teaspoons pepper
*1 tablespoon dried shrimp
*2 tablespoons vegetable oil

PREPERATION:
1.) Dice tomatoes to pieces about the size of the first joint of the knuckle of your thumb, and dice green onion.

2.) Heat oil in skillet and scramble eggs

3.) Throw in chopped tomatoes and green onions

4.) Sprinkle salt and pepper in skillet with the frying eggs and tomatoes

5.) Add the dried shrimp bits and mix well

6.) Boil pasta until soft and edible

7.) Drain and serve pasta with the eggs and tomatoes

Even easier guacamole

I've posted a guacamole recipe before, but here's a recipe that's super simple, and possibly even tastier than I made before! I was looking and experimenting for a guacamole recipe that can be thrown together in minutes, and found it HERE.
Unfortunately, I had to borrow a pic off of someone else's site for this post, because my family gobbled it up before I could take a pic. About 99.5% of the pictures on my blog, especially the recipe ones, are original, but since I live with someone who's appetite is practically insatiable, occasionally there are times when the dish I made was eaten before I could take pictures. And since I am an extremely live-in-the-moment person, I often will not repeat the recipe again or will forget the recipe unless it was extremely sucessful, and even then I'll probably forget to blog about it.
Anyways, enjoy this quick and delicious guacamole recipe that you can serve as a snack, side dish, or even as a light meal.

RECIPE: Serves 4
3 avocados, peeled and chopped
1 lime, juiced
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp salt

PREPERATION:
Mash together all ingredients and serve wth tortilla chips!