Happy October!! Yet again, Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

Hello all!! I must say it has been a long time since I posted. I've been meaning to post but I just have not got around to it. I kind of lost my inspiration for awhile, but in the back of my mind I knew I wanted to get back into posting my food. I have made quite a bit of food and I am so excited to share again. I have also made lots of sweets. I have been on the search for the perfect, moist, yellow cupcake. Its been tough, but I have found a few good recipes.

Since it is October, I know I should be posting a new recipe, but I really love this recipe and wanted to share it again. Pumpkin Whoopie pies. I have included the link to the recipe. I really like this recipe so I didn't change it.

I want to thank you guys for coming and hope you come back!!!

Ingredients/Recipe

Recipe from Rachael Ray

1 1/2 sticks  (6 ounces) unsalted butter, 1 stick melted, 1/2 stick softened
1 cup packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature, lightly beaten
1 cup canned pure pumpkin puree
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon plus 2 pinches salt
1 2/3 cups flour
4 ounces cream cheese, chilled
1 cup confectioners' sugar

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees . Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter and brown sugar until smooth. Whisk in the eggs, pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice, 1 teaspoon vanilla, the baking powder, the baking soda and 3/4 teaspoon salt. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the flour.
3. Using an ice cream scoop or tablespoon, drop 12 generous mounds of batter, spaced evenly, onto each baking sheet. Bake until springy to the touch, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool completely.
4. Meanwhile, using an electric mixer, cream the softened butter with the cream cheese. Add the confectioners' sugar and the remaining 2 pinches salt and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla; mix on low speed until blended, then beat on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes.
5. Spread the flat side of 12 cakes with the cream cheese frosting. Top each with another cake.

 
 
 

Thanks guys and enjoy!!! 

Monkey Bread aka Pull Apart Bread

Hello, how is everyone doing? I am excited because this past weekend was my nephews 7th birthday. We had an amazing time at Cedar Point and I cannot believe my nephew turned 7! I remember holding him in my arms when he was just a baby.

My sister, my nephews mother, loves Monkey bread, and well so do I of course, so every time I visit I am asked to make it. This recipe cannot be simpler. This is a great dessert as well as a great brunch dish. I hope you guys try this and enjoy.

Here's how to do it:

Ingredients/recipe

4 cans of biscuits
1 cup of sugar
2 ts of cinnamon or more to taste
1 cup of butter (2 sticks of butter)
1/2 cup of brown sugar
1 ts of vanilla

Pre-heat your oven to 350.

Cut each biscuits into four quarters. Mix the 1 cup of sugar and 2 ts of cinnamon in a zip lock bag or a dish. Put the cut biscuits into the zip lock bag and shake or dip them into the dish. Place the coated pieces into a bundt pan or a 9x13 (its easier to turn over if made in the bundt pan).

Melt the butter, brown sugar and what is ever left of the cinnamon sugar mixture in a pot. Heat until the sugar is dissolved, about 5 minutes. Take off the heat and add in the vanilla. Pour over the coated biscuits. Place in the oven and cook for about 30 minutes or until bubbly and brown.

Once it is cooked, take out of the oven and let sit for about 5 minutes that flip onto a large plate or board. Pull apart, or cut into pieces and enjoy!

Enjoy!

Funfetti Snickers Cake Mix Bars

Hello and Happy Friday! I hope everyone is doing well and I hope everyone has a great weekend. I am super excited that the weather has cooled off for a brief moment so I can show you guys a super simple dessert.  Its only four ingredients and you can mix and match this however you like. It was inspired by Rolo Cake Mix Bars and I decided to make these because I need a quick treat for an amazing dinner I was invited to.

I had all of these ingredients on hand and decided to save money by sticking with these bars. I also wanted something simple too. All you need for this is a white cake mix, I only had a Funfetti mix so I used that, 5 oz of evaporated mix, 1/4 cup of butter and a candy of your choice. The original called for Rolos, but I knew I had the Snickers so I went with those. Since the Snickers are bigger than Rolo's, I chopped them into 3rds and placed them all over the cake mix. You guys this is super simple and quick I hope you guys try these and enjoy!

Here's how you do it:

this is the base, baked, and the Snickers on top. Feel free to use as many as you want.

Ingredients/Recipe

Adapted From Cookies and Cups

1 box (18.25 oz) Funfetti Cake Mix, or your choice, make sure it is 18.25 oz
5 oz evaporated milk
1/4 cup butter, melted
Around 15 Fun Size Snicker, cut into 3rds, or use as many as you like

Preheat oven to 350°

Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray. In a bowl or mixer, beat cake mix, evaporated milk and butter until combined. The mixture will be thick and very sticky. Make a ball with the batter and divide it in half. Press  1 half into the bottom of the pan. **

Bake about 7 minutes and remove from oven and place the Snickers candies all over the cake base. Place the remaining batter on top of the Snickers. (See Note)

Bake for 20-24 minutes longer until top begins to golden.

Cool completely before cutting into squares.**

**Notes:

I find that when working with the batter, to have a small bowl filled with water, dip your fingers in the water so they are slightly moistened then press the cake on the bottom of the pan. This also helps when dropping teaspoons of the batter over the Snickers.

The bottom base will darken a little more than the top. Just watch so you don't over bake. Mine turned out fine.

I find that these taste even better the next day.


I hope you guys try these and enjoy!

Light Breaded Chicken and Cheese Broccoli Rice

Hello everyone! I hope everyone is doing well. While I didn't do to much this weekend, I did get invited for a really nice dinner and I got to bake! You can't go to someones house for dinner and not bring a dessert.  That will be shared later this week or maybe next week. Thankfully it wasn't that hot so turning on the oven wasn't so bad.

How is everyone surviving this heatwave? I've been trying to stay cool, but it is really hard especially when the air conditioning doesn't work where I work.  Does anybody else feel that the heat drains all the energy out of them? I don't feel like doing anything! I hate being lazy, but I really just want to lay around. Does anybody feel me?

Well lets talk about some food. For today I have an easy Chicken and Rice dinner. It's also light if your watching your waist line, but very fulfilling.  You bread the chicken, but instead of putting the chicken in flour than eggs than breadcrumbs, you skip the first too and use mustard. You can use any mustard, but for this one I used normal mustard.

With the rice, I cooked up brown rice with broccoli and light cheese. You mix the cheese in at the end after the liquid is fully evaporated from the rice. Its super simple and I hope you guys like it.

Here's how to do it.

Ingredients/recipe


Breaded Chicken

4 Skinless Chicken Breast, pounded thin
1/4 cup or more of Mustard of your choice
1 1/2 -2 Cups of Panko Breadcrumbs (or as much as needed)
Salt and pepper to taste

Cheese Broccoli and Brown Rice

4 servings of Brown Rice, Cooked according to package directions
2 cups of Broccoli
1 Cup of 2%  cheese or to taste

First preheat  your oven to 350. Prepare a baking pan with a cooling rack sitting on top, if you are able to do this. This will help so air circulates around the chicken breast making sure one sides doesn't get soggy. Make sure you spay the pan and rack with Pam.

Pound your chicken breast to thin cutlets if desired.  Place your mustard in a dish and your Panko breadcrumbs in another dish, add salt and pepper if desired.

Brush your chicken breast with the mustard. I find this the easiest way to make sure the breast is fully covered with mustard. Dip the chicken in the breadcrumbs, adding more if needed. Place the chicken on the cooling rack.

Once all the chicken has been breaded, place in the oven and bake for about 20 minutes if you pounded them thin. Also if you want a really crisp crust place the chicken under the broiler for a seconds.

For the rice, I like to cook it in chicken broth, it gives it more flavor. Add the rice and broccoli. Once all the broth has evaporated, add the cheese and stir until melted.  If you want to add a little more cheese you can do whatever you like to taste.

I hope you guys try this. It really is simple and enjoy!!

Cupcake of the month-Mini Red Velvet Cupcakes

Hello and Happy Friday! I hope everyone had an easy week and have lots of plans for the weekend. Beside working, I am going to keeping myself busy hopefully by cooking and baking and of course working. I am super excited for my nephews birthday which is coming up very soon. We are going to spend the day at Cedar Point and I love roller coasters so I can't wait!

Today I wanted to offer you guys a southern treat, Red Velvet Cupcakes. My roommate received a container of Cream Cheese Frosting and wanted to put it to good use so I decided to go with these cupcakes. Red Velvet has become extremely popular these days and I have made a Red Velvet Cake, but it came out a little dry (I think I know what I did wrong). I went to my favorite site Brown Eyed Baker and found the recipe there. It has a nice crumb and has a slight chocolate flavor.   I doubled the recipe and made 72 minis, but you can make a normal batch if you like.

 I have also included a cream cheese frosting recipe because the stuff in the tube just doesn't cut it. The frosting is really easy, so I would give it a try if its your first time making a cream cheese frosting. I hope you guys like these and enjoy!

Here's how to do it:

Look at that red color!

Ingredients/Recipe

This recipe is for normal sized cupcakes, about 12. If you want to make the minis it should make 24 and only bake for about 10-13 minutes.

From Brown Eyed Baker

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
¾ cup granulated sugar
1 egg
2½ tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
3 tablespoons red food coloring
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup buttermilk
1 cup + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
1½ teaspoons distilled white vinegar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin/cupcake pan with liners.

2. On medium-high speed, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Turn the mixer to high and add the egg. Scrape down the bowl and beat until well incorporated.

3. In a separate small bowl, mix together the cocoa powder, vanilla extract and red food coloring to make a thick paste. Add to the batter and mix on medium speed until completely combined. You may need to stop the mixer to scrape the bottom of the bowl, making sure that all the batter gets color.

4. Reduce the mixer speed to low and slowly add half of the buttermilk. Add half of the flour and mix until combined. Scrape the bowl and repeat the process with the remaining milk and flour. Beat on high until smooth.

5. Again, reduce the mixer speed to low and add the salt, baking soda and vinegar. Turn to high and beat for another couple of minutes until completely combined and smooth.

6. Divide the batter evenly between the cupcake liners and bake for about 20 minutes, or until a thin knife or skewer inserted into the center of the largest cupcake comes out clean.

7. Cool for about 10 minutes and then remove cupcakes from the pan and place them on a cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

From the Food Network

Ingredients

4 ounces unsalted butter, softened
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

 

In a large bowl, beat together the butter and cream cheese with an electric mixer. With the mixer on low speed, add the powdered sugar a cup at a time until smooth and creamy. Beat in the vanilla extract

I hope you guys like these and as always enjoy!

On the healthy side...Cheeseburger Salad

Hello everyone!!! I hope everyone had a great weekend. I finally got on the ball again and worked out! Ya go me! LOL. I didn't go to long, because I wanted to work back into it, but as painful as it was, I felt better afterwards. I am trying to be good and stay on top of my healthy, but you know me I can never pass up a cake or any dessert at that. Everything in moderation though.

I went to the gym thinking that it would be kind of slow, but it was pretty busy, keep in mind this was Sunday afternoon. I am the type of person who likes to work out along or with a friend. I hate thinking that people are watching me, but I guess a lot of people do. I've been told that no one really watches, but I  used to work at a fitness center and every once in awhile someone would say something to me about another member. You can't let that hold you back though. Keep going and push yourself.

On to the food. Since I worked out, and have been having many treats on my site lately, which wont go away trust me, I wanted to give you guys something that was a healthy but satisfying.

Cheeseburger salad. Yes, you can have a healthy cheeseburger while eating well. This is made from ground turkey, but you can use lean ground beef or chicken. The meat is flavored with Worcestershire sauce, onions and steak seasoning.  You put all of this on a salad, any kind you want. I listed what I used on mine, but feel free to mix it up anyway you want, I'm not looking. You top this salad off with an easy mustard vinaigrette.

Here's how you do it:

Ingredients/recipe

Adapted From Rachael Ray

Burgers

1 1/2 pounds ground sirloin or ground turkey
1/4 cup finely chopped onion, eyeball it
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons steak seasoning blend or coarse salt and ground black pepper
Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
3/4 pound brick sharp Cheddar (recommended: Cabot brand or Cracker Barrel brand* )

Salad

3 large hearts romaine lettuce
1 cup sliced pickles, patted dry
1 cup grape tomatoes
1 Cucumber sliced

Dressing:

3 tablespoons yellow mustard
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup  EVOO
Salt and Pepper

Directions

Preheat a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat(you can use your grill if you want)

Combine the meat with onion, Worcestershire and steak seasoning or salt and pepper. Form 2-inch meatballs, then flatten them into patties. Drizzle formed mini patties with extra-virgin olive oil to keep them from sticking to cooking surface.

Slice the brick of cheese into 1/4-inch pieces. Place patties into your skillet. Cook the mini burgers for 3 minutes on each side then add cheese to melt over patties. If you cheese is not melting, cover loosely with foil.

While the burgers are cooking, coarsely chop romaine and combine with sliced pickles and halved grape tomatoes.

Whisk together the mustard and cider vinegar. Stream in the extra-virgin olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.

Arrange mini cheeseburgers on salad and drizzle the vinagrette over the salad. Serve and enjoy!

I really hope you guys try this one, its simple, healthy and did I mention 30 minutes?! It is!


Enjoy!

One Pot Brownies

Hello everyone!

I hope everyone had  a great 4th. I saw a parade and had tons of amazing food at a barbeque. I made homemade Smores ice cream, salsa and a flag cake (all which I will show you later). I was so stuffed that day, but it was worth it.

I don't have many brownie recipes under my plate, but I do have this one and it only takes one pot! It is so simple and a great go to brownie recipe.  I saw this one of my favorite blogs I go to, My Tasty Treasures and knew I had to try this.

My mom was visiting at the time and when I told her she was instantly sold. I didn't get great photos, but you get the point. I hope you guys try this one!!

Ingredients/Recipe

Adapted from My Tasty Treasures

1 2-ounch bag of chocolate chips (I used milk)
1 cup of butter (2 sticks)
1 1/2 cups of sugar
1 ts vanilla
4 large eggs at room temperature
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 ts salt

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. In a medium saucepan over low heat, melt butter and chocolate chips. Stir constantly and remove from heat when the chips are fully melted. In the same pot, blend in the sugar and vanilla. Add the eggs, blending fully one at a time (I added mine slowly and sired at the same time so they wouldn't scramble). Add flur and salt and beat until air bubbles form in the batter. Pour into a greased 9 x 13-inch pan. Bake for 20 minutes. Turn the heat to 325 degrees and bake for 10 more minutes.

I hope you guys try these and enjoy!!!!

Too Long, but Back...Strawberry Shortcake Cake

Hello everyone!! It has been way to long since I've last had a food post. Life has been...well its been busy. There has been quite a few things and changes that have happened and work is keeping me busy, but thankfully I have a job.

I have been thinking a lot that I am ready to get my life going. Not that it hasn't but I need to focus on making things better and trying to figure out what I really want to do. I will still continue to blog and hopefully show you guys good dishes.

I asked on Facebook if I should feature a savory dish or a sweet dish and sweet won. So I am really excited to show you guys this recipe. It is perfect for the summer and oh so good! Its from Pioneer Woman and I actually saw this about a year ago and haven't made it until recently.

This sweet dish is a Strawberry Shortcake. This was really good. I love strawberries and the cake matched it perfectly. The cream cheese frosting is divine too. Its sweet, and has a vanilla flavor that matches the cake very well. I think this would also work well with a whipped cream (cool whip type) of frosting.The Pioneer Woman has great photos of all the steps so click the link to see them if you need to.  I really hope you guys try this, its simple and perfect for the summer.

I tried making a whipped cream frosting, which turned out pretty good, it wasn't sturdy enough to hold the layers together.

This iw what you want by poking the holes, you want the juice to sink into the cake.

This is how you make it.

Ingredients/recipe

Adapted from The Pioneer Woman


1-1/2 cup Flour
3 Tablespoons Cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
9 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter, Softened
1-1/2 cup Sugar
3 whole Large Eggs
1/2 cup Sour Cream, Room Temperature
1 teaspoon Vanilla

Frosting Adapted from Annie Eats

10 oz. cream cheese, chilled
6½ tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
3¼ cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
4 tsp. vanilla extract

For the cake:


Grease two 9 inch cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper. Don't forget to spray or grease the parchment paper.  (I didn't have a 2 inch deep one, so I found this worked well).


Sift together flour, salt, baking soda, and corn starch. Next, cream 9 tablespoons butter with the sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well each time. Add sour cream and vanilla and mix until combined. Add sifted dry ingredients and mix on low speed until just barely combined. DO NOT OVER MIX!

Pour the batter into two 9-inch cake pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 to 50 minutes, until it is set and a toothpick comes out clean. Remove from cake pan as soon as you pull it out of the oven, and place on a cooling rack and allow it to cool completely, about 1 hour.

While the cake is baking, stem the strawberries and slice them in half. Place into a bowl and sprinkle with 3 tablespoons sugar. Stir together and let sit for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, mash the strawberries. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoons sugar and allow to sit for another 30 minutes. Mash one more time than divide them.

While the cake is cooling go head and make the frosting by mixing the cream cheese with the butter until combined. Slowly add the sifted confectioner's sugar. Once combined add the vanilla extract.

When the cake is cool, place one cake on a cake plate so the bottom is facing up. I poked a few holes in it with a wooden spoon. Take one half of your strawberries and some of its juice and put on top. Place in the frezzer for 30 mintures to chill so the strawberries don't move as much when you put on the icing. Do the same with the second cake.

After the cakes have chilled, take some of the frosting and spread it over the strawberries on the bottom cake. Top the bottom cake with the top layer, spreading the icing over the strawberries carefully. Once the top is covered, put the frosting on the sides of the cake.

Serve the cake chilled and store the cake in the fridge.

I hope you guys try this and as always, Enjoy!

Rachael Ray Book of Burgers-Stretch a Buck Beef and Bean Burrito Burgers

Hello everyone! Its been awhile since I posted and I really wanted to get a post up this week. It has been quite a week and tons of things of happened. Some good and some bad, but I have to keep moving on and reach for my goals and stay positive.

Life is so short and we have to remember to enjoy the simple things in life. One of my many simple pleasures is cooking and baking. My next simple pleasure is cooking Rachael Ray meals. I remember when I first started to cook and my friend told me about her. I started watching her back in 2005 and I was hooked.

I have meet her in person and was on her show for a kitchen call. I posted about that about two years ago when it happened. I am so grateful for that opportunity. Last week she released a new book called "Book Of Burgers." She is the self proclaimed "Queen of Burgers," and I was super excited about this book because who doesn't lover a good burger? This book is a collection of her burgers with some new ones thrown in also. It also has fries in it too, which is my favorite side for any burger.

I decided to show one of my favorite burgers from her called Stretch a Buck Turkey and Bean Burrito Burgers. It is so simple and kind of healthy for you too. I used lean turkey meat and whole wheat buns. On the side I made homemade Refried black beans and a Tex-Mex rice.

I couldn't find just a picture of the burger, so here is the burger and the sides. Delish!

Here's how to do it:


Ingredients/recipe. 

Adapted from Rachael Ray

1 cup cold leftover brown rice
1 pound lean ground turkey
1 (15-ounce) can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
Palmful chili powder
1 1/2 teaspoons, half a palmful, cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons coriander, half a palmful
1 tablespoon grill seasoning, I used Montreal Seasoning by McCormick my favorite
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 ripe avocado
1 clove garlic, grated or finely chopped
1 lime, zested and juiced
1 jalapeno seeded and finely chopped
1/2 small red onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup sour cream
4  lettuce leaves
1 ripe tomato, sliced
4 whole wheat burger buns

Combine rice, meat and beans with spices and grill seasoning. Form 4 big patties from the meat and bean mixture then heat 1 tablespoon oil, a turn of the pan, in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook patties 7 to 8 minutes on each side.

While burgers cook, combine avocado with garlic, lime zest and juice, jalapeno and red onion. Mash to roughly combine, then stir in the sour cream.

Place burgers on buns with lettuce and tomato and top with sour cream guacamole.

Cupcake of the Month-Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes

Hello everyone! Life has been very busy, and it is going to continue for the next few weeks. I will be posting but just slightly less than I like.

If you know me than you know I love sweets. I believe I mentioned it millions of times before. My all time favorite is cakes or cupcakes. I don't know why, but I love the texture of cake and than the frosting. Frosting is my favorite. I love it. I could eat a tub of it, but I prefer to make homemade frosting.  Is it bad that I am typing this and craving frosting?!

Today I decided to show you guys my cupcake of the month a little early. These cupcakes are amazing! I found them online and I adapted them to make it a little easier, but when I bring these to work, or my roommate brings my sweets to work they always say that they are very rich. I really don't try to make them rich, they just come out that way.

The cupcakes were very light so I am glad I didn't add a filling. I was a little worried that the cupcakes wouldn't hold the frosting, but it did just fine. I also didn't pipe the frosting because I really wanted the cookie dough frosting to look, well like cookie dough. I left it and hoped it would look a little chunky. It turned out great. You could pipe the frosting, just don't add the chocolate chips to the frosting because they will get stuck in your frosting tips.

I really hope you guys try these they are so good!

Here's how to do it:

Ingredients/recipe

Cupcakes adapted from The Cake Doctor

1 (18.25 ounce) package of plain white cake mix
3 tbs vanilla instant pudding mix
1 cup of sour cream
1/2 cup of vegetable oil
1/2 cup of milk
 3 large eggs
1 ts vanilla extract

Preheat your oven to 350. Line your cupcake pan with liners.

Place the cake mix, pudding, sour cream oil water, eggs and extract in a mixing bowl, and beat on  low speed until the ingredients are mixed. Stop the mixer, scrape down the bowl and increase the speed to medium and beat for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. The batter should be blended.

Scoop 1/4 cup of batter into your cupcake tin. Bake the cupcakes until the tops are golden and spring back about 18-22 minutes. Let the cupcakes cool for 5 minutes and take the cupcakes out of the pan and cool on a wire rack until cool,before frosting.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough frosting, adapted from Annie Eats 

2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ cup light brown sugar, packed
2 1/3 cups confectioners’ sugar
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
½ tsp. salt
2 tbsp. milk
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 bag of chocolate chips chopped (or you could use mini)

Beat together the butter and brown sugar in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until smooth and creamy. Add the confectioners’ sugar until smooth, than beat in the flour and salt. Mix in the milk and vanilla extract until smooth and well blended. Frost Cupcakes.

I really hope you guys try these they are delish and out of this world good.

Enjoy!

Easy Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Hello and Happy Late Memorial Day! I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. I know I did and I ate a ton! I wasn't sure what to show you guys but I decided on a healthy side dish, Roasted Sweet Potatoes. It is so simple and so good. The flavor of roasted veggies is amazing and gets they get a really nice sweet, caramelized flavor. You can do it with any veggie and this time I wanted to show you guys a Roasted Sweet Potato because there is so much nutrition in this potato.

look at that goodness!

Here is how you do it:

2 Large Sweet Potatoes, cut into any shape you like
EVOO
Salt and Pepper or Montreal Steak Seasoning to taste

Pre-heat your oven to 400. Cut your potatoes anyway you like, I did min in triangles. Season with salt and pepper or Montreal Steak seasoning which is my favorite. Toss potatoes with about 2-3 tbs of EVOO and roast in your oven for about 20-25 minutes or until they are browned around the edges. I leave mine so they are still slightly tender. Take out of oven and let cool.

Once cool enough, enjoy!

Smoky Guacamole

Greetings! How is everyone? I am so excited because of this heat wave we are having in the Midwest. It is actually suppose to be hotter than I thought, but it is going to make a great weekend. I am also excited about this weekend because its Memorial Day weekend which means good food. I am hoping to bring out the grill to do some grilling.

One problem I always have is coming up with sides. I don’t know why, but I can never think of anything and I always like to try something different besides potato salad. One thing that I really love is dips. I love chips and love dipping my chips in the dip. 

This one dip is so simple and amazing, and you guys are going to love it. Guacamole! This couldn’t be simpler. You pretty much throw everything into a bowl and mix. One thing that I tried this time was soaking my red onion in the lime and lemon juice. I saw this on Rachael Ray, of course lol, and thought the flavors of the guacamole were amazing. I added two small chipotle in adobo to the mix to make a smoke guacamole. This is optional you don’t have to do that if you don’t want to. The guacamole tastes great also without it.  I hope you guys try this this weekend and enjoy!

Here’s how you do it.

 

Ingredients/recipe

½ small red onion, finely chopped

Juice of 1 lemon

Juice of 1 lime

Salt

2 avocados

1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped

Cilantro- to taste

2 small chipotle in adobo from the can , finally chopped. (this is optional, do not through in the while can!)

2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

First chop your onion and put in a small bowl, add the juice of the lemon and lime and salt. Let sit for ten minutes.

Put your chopped avocado, cilantro and garlic in another bowl.

Once the onion has been sitting in the juice for ten minutes add to your avocado mixture, mix and enjoy!

 

To help your guacamole from browning fast, cover with plastic wrap and put it directly on the guacamole. The juice from the lemon and lime will also help, but I find that keeping the plastic wrap on top helps too.

Enjoy!

Sloppy Joe Mac and Cheese

Hello! What a weekend! It was filed with a graduation, hiking, seeing friends, cake and just good times. The weather was amazing too! It was hot and sunny, I really couldn’t ask for a better birthday weekend.

I would like to say I baked a cake, but I had an amazing turtle ice cream cake filled with caramel, nuts, chocolate and of course ice cream. It was amazing.

I have such an amazing, simple dish, yet again from Rachael Ray, but I love her food, and a lot of her dishes are very satisfying, and easy. This is Sloppy Joe Mac and Cheese. It takes the flavors of sloppy joes and combines with cream mac and cheese. I made a few changes to make it a little “healthier,” but any way you try this it will be good. I hope you guys try this and enjoy!

 

Here’s how to do it.

 

Ingredients/recipe

adapted from Rachael Ray

2 tablespoons dark brown sugar

3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

One 15-ounce can tomato sauce

2 tablespoons EVOO

1 1/2 pounds ground beef (90-percent lean)

Salt and pepper

3 to 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 red bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped

1 onion, finely chopped

1 cup beef broth

12 ounces whole wheat shells

2 cups shredded yellow 2 % Cheddar

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Combine the brown sugar, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce and tomato sauce in a small bowl. Heat the EVOO in a large skillet medium-high heat. Add the beef and cook until well browned. Season with salt and lots of pepper. Add the garlic, bell peppers and onions and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes. Pour the tomato mixture over the beef, add the beef broth and stir until well combined. Simmer until thickened, 5 to 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook the macaroni in a large pot of salted boiling water, about 5 minutes. Drain and add to the sauce. Pour the mixture into a casserole dish and top with the cheese.

Bake until the casserole is bubbling and the top is browned.

This is a winner! I hope you guys try this and enjoy!

Classic-Updated Hawaiian Fruit Salad

Hello everyone! How has everyone's week been? Its almost Friday and almost the weekend (or it could be Friday or the weekend for all I know). I am excited about this weekend, I have a few things planned, but its also the big B-Day for me. Remember I'm still eternally 21.

I am not sure about my cake this year, but hopefully I will figure out what I want for it by this weekend. Last year I had a whoopie pie cake, which I really should share with you guys but today I wanted to share a classic recipe, kind of updated. It is tired and true Hawaiian fruit salad, but I updated it. I learned this from a co-worker and I really wanted to share it with you.

Here is how you do it:

Ingredients/recipe

1 can mandarin oranges 
1 can crushed pineapple 
1 bag shredded coconut-or add to taste
1 bag miniature marshmallows
1 8oz tube of Cool Whip
1 3.4 oz Vanilla Pudding
1 8oz Cream Cheese-room temperature
1/2 cup of chopped walnuts, pecans or almonds

Drain mandarin oranges and pineapple.

While the fruit is draining, in a mixing bowl whip your cream cheese until fluffy and stir in your cool whip. It should be a light, creamy mixture.

 In a large bowl, combine pineapple, mandarin oranges, and coconut. Add miniature marshmallows and mix well. Put in refrigerator and let cool and marinate for a few hours (I find you get the best flavor this way).

I hope you guys try this, it is great for parties and with Memorial Day right around the corner it would amazing for that.

Have a wonderful weekend and enjoy!

Chicken Souvlaki & Tzatziki Sauce

Hello. So I wasn’t sure what I should talk about today because I had two things in mind. I guess one thing that I did want to talk about is things that stay in the dark will come to the light. I always pray that I can see things that I don’t see behind my back and when the time is right I find out what people are really saying or talking about. 

I know this isn’t my normal post to complain, but it is sad that the world is still like this. You put trust into people but you find out the truth later. I am a pretty optimistic person so I just try to let it roll off one shoulder and go to the next.  You move on, but learn from this. 

Anyways, let’s get out to food! I made this dish a few weeks ago and thought it was super simple and wanted to share. It’s a 30 minute meal from Everyday from Rachael Ray and has really nice flavors. It reminded me of a chicken gyro because of the Tzatziki sauce. I also used pita bread instead of the naan bread and it still tasted great.  This one is a winner and I hope you guys like it.

 

 

 

Here is how to do it:

Ingredients/recipe

Adapted from: Rachael Ray

Ingredients/recipe

1 ½ pounds of chicken breast

Salt and pepper

 2 lemons

3 garlic cloves chopped

A pinch of dried oregano

½ a cup Evoo

1 cup of Greek yogurt

1 ts ground coriander (optional)

½ ts ground cumin

½ cup feta crumbles or to taste

½ a cucumber grated and drained

1 tbs of mint leaves

Parsley

Toppings: Tomatoes, red onions and sweet peppers all opitional.

Place the cucumber in a strainer, sprinkle with salt and let sit for 20 minutes. Press out the liquid.

In a large, resealable plastic bag, combine the EVOO, half the lemon juice, three-quarters of the garlic, the parsley and oregano. Season the chicken with salt and pepper, drop into the bag and marinate for 10 minutes while you preheat the broiler. 

Scatter the chicken across a broiler pan and broil, turning once, until charred and cooked through, about 10-12 minutes. 

In a food processor, blender or just chop by hand like I did, purée the drained cucumber, the yogurt, the remaining lemon juice and garlic, the mint, coriander and cumin; season with pepper. 

Pile the chicken onto the pita bread, top with tomatoes, red onions, and sweet peppers, Tzatziki sauce and enjoy!

Buffalo Chicken Wraps

Hello! This is going to sound strange, but doesn’t a new pair of socks feel so good?! I know this is totally strange, but I love new socks. They are more comfy because you are breaking them in. Yeah I went there today.

So I hope everyone enjoyed Mondays post, my Cupcake of theMonth. I’m so excited about them I want to make them again. 

I am moving on today though and giving you guys Buffalo Chicken Wraps. These are so simple, and healthy. I cut out the cheese, but if you really love blue cheese, you can add a little bit. I also put in avocado to take place for the creamy ranch sauce. 

A little messy but so good

Look at all the veggies!

Here’s how you do it:

Ingredients/recipe

1 Grilled Chicken Breast, or chicken Boca patty

Lettuce or bagged dry broccoli cole slaw

Cucumber, 4-5 slices depending on how thick you cut them

Tomato, about 2 slices

Avocado, I used about 3 slices, ¼ of the avocado

Red Hots Buffalo sauce (zero Calories!)

 Lavash Wraps or 100 calorie wrap

Cook your chicken, whichever chicken you choose. Cut your tomato into slices along with the cucumber and avocado. This will be a very stuffed wrap, don’t worry just grab a fork.

When your chicken is done, pour a little of your buffalo sauce into a small dish and dunk your chicken breast in there. 

Build your wrap anyway you like, I start with the veggies and place the chicken on top. Roll your wrap up and enjoy!

It was hard to cut this because it was so filled with so many veggies.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Reese’s Cupcakes-Cupcake of the Month

Well its early in the month, but I am so excited about these cupcakes! I am starting something new for each month and doing a cupcake of the month. I’ve made these last month, actually two months ago for the March Birthdays at my job. It’s also a special month because I turn 21…again lol. Not that I am much older than that, but 21 is a good age because I am able to have a nice beverage. 

I know I normally preach about eating healthy, but I always say everything in moderation. These might go a little over the top, but these are really good, and I hope you guys try these. I took an element from a lot of my favorite blogs and made them into one. These are my Chocolate Peanut Butter Reese’s Cupcakes. These are a doctored up chocolate cake mix, with a Reese’s cup inside and a swirled chocolate and peanut butter frosting. 

If you do not have frosting tips to swirl the frosting, this is what I would do:  Frost the cupcakes with the peanut butter frosting and then make a chocolate ganache. 

Here’s how to do it.

Ingredients/Recipe

Adapted from A Bitchin' Kitchen

Reese's cup inside inspired by Our Best Bites

 

1 box cake mix (I use Devil's Food Cake)

1 box (3.5 ounces) instant chocolate pudding

2 cups sour cream

3 large eggs

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup water

24 Mini Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups plus about 12 extra for garnish

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put cupcake liners in two cupcake pans. 

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine cake mix, pudding, sour cream, eggs, oil and water on medium speed, until well combined. Fill each cupcake liner about 1/3 full with cupcake batter. Top with an unwrapped mini Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup and top  with batter making sure the Reese's cup is covered (I but my Reese's cup upside down) and bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick cups out clean.

While the cupcakes are baking, make the frosting. 

When the cupcakes our cool, frost the cupcakes and garnish with the left over Mini Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.

Frosting recipes follow.

 

Peanut Butter Frosting 

From Ina Garten

1 cup confectioners' sugar

1 cup creamy peanut butter

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/3 cup heavy cream

Place the confectioners' sugar, peanut butter, butter, vanilla, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on medium-low speed until creamy, scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula as you work. Add the cream and beat on high speed until the mixture is light and smooth. 

Chocolate frosting

From Our Best Bites

1/2 c. melted butter
1/3 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
1/3 c. evaporated milk
1 lb. powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

Beat together the frosting ingredients on high speed until light and fluffy

I also learned how to swirl the cupcakes from Our Best Bites and they have a great tutorial here. I had a little problem with the swirling of the frosting, but that was my fault.

Thank you to my favorite blogs that inspired this cupcake. I hope you guys try these they are so good.

 

Enjoy!