Oreo Cookie Cupcakes & Peanut Butter Cup Cupcakes

On Wednesday, my daughter turned 2 years old. I thought it would be fun to do cupcakes for her birthday instead of a cake. I had tasted some cupcakes with oreo's hidden inside so I decided to make those. I found a recipe in my "101 Gourmet Cupcakes in 10 Minutes" cookbook. These cupcakes were a HUGE hit with everyone that tried one. And they were SOOOOO easy. Here are the recipes:

Oreo Cookie Cupcake
1 box chocolate cake mix
3 eggs
1 c milk
24 Oreo cookies

Mix cake mix, eggs, and milk. Pour batter into paper liners and fill 1/2 full. Place a whole Oreo cookie on top and push down slightly to submerge. Cover with remaining batter and fill 3/4 full. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-18 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly touched. Remove from oven and cool completely.

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
8 T (1 stick) butter, room temperature
1/3 c cocoa
3 3/4 c powdered sugar
3-4 T milk or cream
2 t vanilla extract

Beat butter in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy, about 30 seconds. Stop mixer before adding cocoa to avoid a large mess. Add cocoa, sugar, 3 T milk or cream, and vanilla extract. Beat frosting starting on slow speed and add up to 1 more T milk if frosting is too thick.

I also made some Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Cupcakes.
Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes
1 box chocolate cake mix
3 eggs
1 c milk
1 bag chocolate peant butter cups

Mix together cake mix, eggs, and milk. Pour 2 T batter into paper liners and place a peanut butter cup on top. Fill paper liners 3/4 full. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-18 minute or until the cake springs back when lightly touched. Remove from oven and allow to cool on a wire rack. When completely cooled, frost.

Peanut Butter Frosting
1 c peanut butter
1/2 c butter, room temperature
2 c powdered sugar
3-4 T milk or cream
1 t vanilla extract

Combine PB and butter in large bowl, mixing together until light and fluffy. Stop mixer before adding sugar. Add sugar, 3 T milk or cream, and vanilla. Start slow and mix together gradually increasing the speed. Mix until smooth and creamy. Add 1 T milk or cream if frosting is too thick.

Taco Bake

I got this recipe from my friend at work. It was super easy and really good. A good fast meal, that leaves tons of leftovers. The husband mentioned that it would be a really good meal to make if you need to take someone dinner that just had a baby, surgery, etc.

1 lb hamburger
1/2 c onion
1 envelope dry taco seasoning (I have a big container from Costco, so I did 1 T)
15 oz. tomato sauce (I only had 2 mall 8 oz. cans, so I actually did 16 oz.)
15 1/4 oz. can whole corn, drained
2 c. shredded cheese (I didn't even notice this in the meal, so you could cut it out to lose some calories)
2 c Bisquick
1 c milk
2 eggs

Heat oven to 350. Brown hamburger and chopped onion; drain. Spoon into ungreased 9x13 pan. Stir in taco seasoning, tomato sauce, and drained corn. Sprinkle with cheese. Stir Bisquick, milk, and eggs til blended. Pour over beef mixture. Bake for 35 minutes or until light golden brown. You can serve with sour cream, chopped tomatoes, and shredded lettuce. (We just ate it alone, and it was awesome!)

Uh. Maze. Zing.

One of my all time favorite cooking blogs, bakerella.com had these brownies. Or are they cookies. Or maybe blondies. She called them Congo Bars.

Either way, they were delicious!

Here is her recipe:

Congo Bars

2 3/4 cup all purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup butter, softened (room temp NOT melted!)
1 lb. light brown sugar (Oh my and thank you!)
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
11.5 ounce package milk chocolate chips
1 cup chopped pecans (optional)

By mixer:

Sift flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Set aside.
Combine butter and sugar using a mixer until blended.
Add eggs, one at a time to sugar mixture, mixing on low in between each addition.
Add vanilla and mix.
Add flour and mix until combined.
Stir in chips and then pecans.

By hand:

Sift flour, baking powder and salt into a large bowl. Set aside.
Stir brown sugar into softened (not melted) butter in another large bowl until butter disappears. You can use the back of your spoon to help incorporate the two together.
Add eggs one at a time to butter mixture and stir well after each egg.
Add vanilla, chocolate chips and nuts. Mix well.
Add dry flour mixture and stir until well combined.

Coat a 13 X 9 pan with non-stick spray and spread batter evenly into dish.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until top is golden brown. Make sure you don’t over bake.

She recommended to make them by hand - so make them by hand I did. It was tough to mix brown sugar and butter with a spoon - so I dove right in, hands first. A bit messy, but quick.

I cooked mine for about 35 minutes.

Then I ate them for the rest of the night.

Uh. Maze. Zing.

Cheddar and Herb Biscuits

I made these the other day with some soup. They were super yummy. Reminded me of the ones from Red Lobster.

2 c all-purpose flour
1 T baking powder
1/4 t garlic powder
1/2 t salt
2 T shortening
3 T butter, cold
1 c buttermilk
1 1/4 c grated sharp cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, garlic powder, and salt. Cut in shortening and butter until coarse crumbs are formed. Lightly mix in grated cheese. Mix in buttermilk just until moist (dry spots here and there are ok - the biscuits will be tough if they are overmixed). Drop the biscuits onto a greased or lined baking sheet. Bake for 12-14 minutes, until browned and golden. While the biscuits are baking, in a small bowl combine three tablespoons melted butter, 1/4 t dried parsley flakes, 3/4 t garlic powder and a pinch of salt. Right when the biscuits come out of the oven, brush the butter/herb mixure over the biscuits evenly (alternately, you can dip the top of the biscuit into the butter mixture). Serve immediately.

Freezer Friendly Friday - It's a Wrap!

This lady calls it a wrap. I call it a burrito. Not that it matters. All that matters is that I NO LONGER have to pack a lunch (or breakfast!) for my husband before he leaves for work!

This recipe can be mixed up SOOO many ways and, of course, I added some random things of my own, but here goes:

Chicken Taco Wraps

1-2 lbs. cooked, shredded or cubed chicken breast
4 cups water
2 cups salsa - any kind
1/4 cup taco seasoning mix (about 2 pkgs. if you don't buy it in bulk)
4 cups instant BROWN rice (just do it - you know it is healthier!)
1-2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed - (it will decrease the gassiness!!)
1 can corn, drained
flour tortillas
grated cheddar cheese - optional, but yummy!

Boil chicken, water, salsa and seasonings in saucepan. Add rice. Boil for 5 minutes, then remove from heat. Mix with beans, corn, and any other add-ins you love. Spoon into tortilla, add cheese, then wrap up like a burrito (fold the first half in, then the sides, then roll). Place them on a cookie sheet, quick freeze them for a couple hours, then wrap up in plastic wrap or foil and freeze.

To reheat: Microwave for 2-2.5 minutes. Enjoy with sour cream, or ketchup, if you are like my guy.

Makes about 20.

Chocolate Chip Oreo Cookies

Found these here


•1 stick softened butter
•6 Tablespoons sugar
•6 Tablespoons brown sugar
•1 egg
•1 teaspoon vanilla
•1 ¼ cup flour
•½ teaspoon baking soda
•½ teaspoon salt
•11 broken pieces Oreo Cookies
•1 cup chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cream butter, and sugars until well combined. Add egg and vanilla until mixed well.
2. Place flour, baking soda and salt into a large bowl, stir to combine. Slowly add dry ingredients to wet ingredients then stir in oreos and chocolate chips until just combined.
3. With a medium cookie scoop, scoop onto baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes or until cooked, but still soft. Let cool on baking sheet for 3 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.

Sweet and Sour Chicken

I made this the other day. It was .R.E.A.L.L.Y. good! I will definitely be making it again.

Chicken Ingredients
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Salt and Pepper
1 c cornstarch
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 c canola oil

Sauce Ingredients
3/4 c sugar
4 T ketchup
1/2 c vinegar
1 T soy sauce
1 t garlic salt

Directions
Cut boneless chicken breasts into chunks. Season with salt and pepper. Dip chicken in cornstarch and then in egg. Fry in a little oil until brown but not cooked through. Place in a single layer in a baking dish. Mix sauce ingredients together and pour over chicken. Bake for one hour at 325 degrees. Turn chicken every 15 minutes. If you like extra sauce, make another batch of sauce and bring it to a boil on the stovetop. Stir constantly and let cook over medium heat until thickened and reduced - about 6-8 minutes.

Old-Fashioned Blueberry Muffins

From Daily Herald (March 28)

2 c flour
2/3 c sugar
1 t baking powder
1/2 t nutmeg
1/2 t salt
1 1/2 c unsweetened blueberries, partially thawed if frozen
2 eggs
1/2 c milk
1/2 c butter

In large bowl mix flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg. Add blueberries; stir to coat evenly. In small bowl beat eggs with fork; beat in milk and butter. Add to blueberry mixture; stir just until blended. Fill greased or paper lined cups 2/3 full. Sprinkle with sugar. Bake 15-20 minutes or until tops spring back when touched.

Six Can Chicken Tortilla Soup

I found this recipe on allrecipes.com. It looked really good on this COLD April day (yes, I said April) and it seemed EASY! And it was...

1 (15 oz) can whole kernel corn, drained
2 (14.5 oz) can chicken broth (*I did 1 can chicken broth and 1 can cream of chicken soup - made it creamier)
1 (10 oz) can chunk chicken
1 (15 oz) can black beans
1 (10 oz) can diced tomatoes with green chili peppers, drained (I only had stewed tomatoes, that I threw in the food processor and added a little can of diced green chilies.)

Pour everything into a large saucepan. Simmer over medium heat until chicken is heated through. Ready in 20 minutes!!! Serve over tortilla chips or just in a bowl with corn bread. Don't forget to add cheese or sour cream also.

*I also added some chili powder, garlic powder, pepper, salt, and a little taco seasoning. Just add whatever spices you want. It is SUPER good...and probably would be fine, if you freezed it.

Easter Story Cookies

I just got this in a forward today...a couple days late. But I will keep it in mind for next year. It sounds like a really neat way to teach kids about Easter, the real Easter.

Let me know if you've tried it and it works.

To be made the evening before Easter.

You need:
1 cup whole pecans
1 tsp. vinegar
3 egg whites
pinch salt
1 cup sugar
zipper baggie
wooden spoon
tape
A Bible

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. This is important! Don't wait until you're half done with the recipe!
Place pecans in zipper baggie and let children beat them with the wooden spoon to break into small pieces. Explain that after Jesus was arrested, He was beaten by the Roman soldiers.

Read John 19:1-3.

Let each child smell the vinegar. Put 1 tsp. vinegar into mixing bowl. Explain that when Jesus was thirsty on the cross, He was given vinegar to drink.

Read John 19:28-30.

Add egg whites to vinegar. Eggs represent life. Explain that Jesus gave His life to give us life.

Read John 10:10-11.

Sprinkle a little salt into each child's hand. Let them taste it and brush the rest into the bowl. Explain that this represents the salty tears shed by Jesus' followers, and the bitterness of our own sin.

Read Luke 23:27.

So far, the ingredients are not very appetizing.

Add 1 cup sugar. Explain that the sweetest part of the story is that Jesus died because He loves us. He wants us to know and belong to Him.

Read Ps. 34:8 and John 3:16.

Beat with a mixer on high speed for 12 to 15 minutes until stiff peaks are formed. Explain that the color white represents the purity in God's eyes of those whose sins have been cleansed by Jesus.

Read Isa. 1:18 and John 3:1-3.

Fold in broken nuts. Drop by teaspoons onto wax paper covered cookie sheet. Explain that each mound represents the rockytomb where Jesus' body was laid.

Read Matt. 27:57-60.
Put the cookie sheet in the oven, close the door and turn the oven OFF.

Give each child a piece of tape and seal the oven door. Explain that Jesus' tomb was sealed.

Read Matt. 27:65-66.

NOW GO TO BED! Explain that they may feel sad to leave the cookies in the oven overnight. Jesus' followers were in despair when the tomb was sealed.

Read John 16:20 and 22.

On Easter morning, open the oven and give everyone a cookie. Notice the cracked surface and take a bite. The cookies are hollow! On the firstEaster, Jesus' followers were amazed to find the tomb open and empty.

Read Matt. 28:1-9

Simply BadAss Chicken Enchiladas

I found this recipe here. Looks like a good "addition" to my usual enchiladas. Hoping they turn out good!

Simply BadAss Chicken Enchiladas

What you'll need:

2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast meat - cut into chunks
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 1/4 cups sour cream
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1 tablespoon butter
1 small onion, chopped
1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chilies, drained
1 (1.25 ounce) package mild taco seasoning mix
1 bunch green onions, chopped, divided
1 cup water
1 teaspoon lime juice
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
5 (12 inch) flour tortillas
3 cups Cheddar cheese, shredded, divided
1 (10 ounce) can enchilada sauce
1 (6 ounce) can sliced black olives

Directions

Place the chicken in a large pot and add water to cover. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the chicken pieces are no longer pink, about 10 minutes. Shred chicken by placing two forks back to back and pulling meat apart. Set the shredded chicken aside. Meanwhile, combine the cream of chicken soup, sour cream, and chili powder in a saucepan. Bring to a simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally, then turn off the heat and cover to keep warm.
Heat the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in the onion; cook and stir until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the shredded chicken, chopped green chilies, taco seasoning, half of the bunch of chopped green onion, and water. Allow to simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in the lime juice, onion powder, and garlic powder; simmer for an additional 10 minutes.
Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Stir 1 cup of the soup mixture into the skillet with the chicken mixture. Spread the remaining soup mixture on the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish.
Fill each tortilla with chicken mixture. Sprinkle Cheddar cheese over the chicken filling before folding the tortillas, reserving half of the shredded cheese for topping the enchiladas. Fold tortillas over the filling and place seam-side down in the prepared pan.
Pour enchilada sauce evenly over the enchiladas. Cover with the remaining 1 1/2 cups of Cheddar cheese. Sprinkle the reserved chopped green onions and the sliced olives on top of the cheese. Bake in the preheated oven until filling is heated through and the cheese is melted and bubbling, about 25 minutes

Freezer Friendly Friday - pb&j

This may be the lamest Freezer Friday post yet, but our lives have been forever changed by one little gadget, and I wanted to share it with you. I have had my eye on it for about a month and couldn't seem to get my hands on one. Finally, because I am super cool/cheap/lucky/blessed, I spotted one at a Savers Thriftstore, in a grab bag, for $1.99, with a set of measuring spoons, half a set of measuring cups, and a veggie slicer gadget that only works if you have a veggie slicer. I was giddy as I walked up to pay my $1.99.

I could have taken it home and sold it on eBay for $7.99 but instead, I gave it a good washing and then put it to use.

It is a Pampered Chef cut-n-seal sandwich maker. It works for any kind of sandwich, but it makes the finest de-crusted pb&j's since they invented Uncrustables, only a lot cheaper!

And because they are sealed, less mess!

There is nothing fancy about the recipe, but I love that I can make a few pb&j sandwiches, place them in a ziploc in the freezer, and I am ready for an impromptu picnic. They will thaw in about an hour, or you can microwave them for about 25 seconds and voila!

Seriously, life changing.

I bet they will freezerburn if left too long, but you could make a weeks worth and throw them in a sack lunch, or send them with the spouse as they are leaving for work.

sorry about the sideways pictures!!

Glazed Poppyseed Bundt Cake

Glazed Poppyseed Bundt Cake

from The Sister's Cafe

1 yellow cake mix
1 (3.5 oz) box of instant vanilla pudding
1 tablespoon poppyseeds
1/2 cup pinapple or orange juice (I used pineapple)
1/2 cup oil
1 cup sour cream (can use reduced fat)
4 eggs

Mix yellow cake mix, vanilla pudding and poppy seeds. Add juice, oil, and sour cream and mix. Add 4 eggs one at a time, mix well. Grease and flour a bundt pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes (don't over bake).When the cake is about 10 minutes from being done start the glaze.Glaze:1 cup sugar1/4 cup water1/2 cup butter (1 cube)Bring ingredients to a boil and keep bubbling until ready to pour over cake. You can either pour the glaze over the cake while it is in the pan or turn the cake out onto a cooling rack and pour the glaze over the cake that way. It is really like syrup that soaks in. (Some commenters have said that glazing the cake in the pan makes it hard to remove because the glaze gets sticky. I glazed it out of the pan and it worked great.) Give it a few minutes to soak in and then turn it out onto a cake plate. Optional: dust top of cake with powdered sugar.

Awesome Breadmaker Pizza Dough

I am on a roll lately!! If I do say so, anyway. I made the yummiest homemade pizza tonight for dinner. I found a recipe here. It is for a breadmaker - so you put all ingredients into the breadmaker and put it on the "dough" setting. Then voila! about an hour later, it is done! And it smells amazing coming out of the breadmaker too!

1 1/2 cups water
2 T olive oil
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. sugar
4 cups flour
1 T. pizza seasoning. I used a spaghetti seasoning mix. Pesto would be yummy.
4 tsp. active dry yeast

I followed the instructions for the most part. I didn't have cornmeal so I just floured the dough when it came out, rolled it flat, attempted to toss into the air like my Italian ancestors, fixed a couple of holes I poked in it because I had to catch it after I tried to toss it into the air, and then placed it on a square-ish cookie sheet that was sprayed with Pam. I let it rise for about 30 minutes then added the spaghetti sauce (or pizza sauce if you've actually got some!), mozzarella cheese, fresh pineapple, and deli ham (oops! I mean Canadian bacon, don't tell!). We baked it for about 25 minutes. It made a very thick crust, soft chewy pizza. So yummy. You could easilly roll it thinner and get about 2 cookie sheet sized (maybe not quite that big) pizzas. I bet you could even freeze half the dough for another night! I haven't tried it, but I don't see why you couldn't. Someone try it and let me know!

Seriously De-Lish!

Freezer Friendly Friday - Breakfast Burritos!

I've never really caught on to the whole breakfast burrito phenom - but I married into a family that is crazy for them. Me, I prefer my eggs, meat, and bread all in it's own spot on my plate, not rolled into one. Oh well. My hubby loves them. Loves them! In fact, he would eat most of his meals wrapped in a tortilla with ketchup or hot sauce if I'd let him.

So you can imagine my excitement when I found this little gem here. I love that my hubby will eat a healthy non-Pop-Tart breakfast and I don't have to get up before the sun to make it. I made a few changes, so I will post my version of the recipe...

18 eggs
1 lb. sausage
1 lb. bacon
3 cups cheese
1 cup salsa
24 flour tortillas
2-3 cups frozen hash browns

Of course you can add in anything else you like, onions, green peppers, jalapenos, garlic, tomatoes, etc. I sauteed my sausage with some diced onion. And you don't have to add the hash browns either, but they make the filling stretch a little further.

In one large skillet cook sausage, drain and set aside. In same pan cook bacon, set aside, then crumble. Drain most of oil. In same pan (I hate dishes!!) cook hash browns until soft, set aside. In same pan scramble eggs, set aside.

Now, I made two separate batches, to see if the bacon or sausage worked better. You could do one or the other. Because I was making two, I put the meat into separate bowls, then divided up the eggs, potatoes, cheese, and salsa into each bowl. Mixed and dumped in 1/2 cup servings onto tortillas. I used the soft taco size. Rolled them up and froze on a greased cookie sheet for about an hour or two. Then brought them in, individually wrapped them in plastic wrap, placed in a large zipper bag, then froze again. They are ready for my hubby to grab and take on his way out the door!

It might seem time consuming, but it took less than the length of Finding Nemo to make and assemble all of them ;). We made 24.

The verdict: I liked them! My 2 year old loves them! My hubby was in heaven. He claims to prefer bacon to sausage, but said the bacon didn't freeze as well as the sausage, and loved the sausage ones.

Enjoy!

Pineapple Pepper Chicken (Freezer Meal)

FOR ONE FAMILY
2 c unsweetened pineapple juice
1 c sugar
1 c vinegar
3/4 c water
1/2 c packed brown sugar
1/3 c cornstarch
1/4 c ketchup
3 T soy sauce
1 t chicken bouillon granules
1/2 t ground ginger
4 chicken breasts
1 c (8 oz) pineapple chunks, drained
1 medium green pepper, julienned (optional)

FOR 6 FAMILIES
12 c unsweetened pineapple juice
6 c sugar
6 c vinegar
4 1/2 c water
3 c packed brown sugar
2 c cornstarch
1 1/2 c ketchup
18 T soy sauce
6 t chicken bouillon granules
3 t ground ginger
24 chicken breasts
6 cans (8 oz) pineapple chunks, drained
6 medium green pepper, julienned (optional)

TO PREPARE FOR FREEZING:
In a gallon size freezer bag combine the first 10 ingredients, then add chicken. Seal and freeze. Set aside pineapple for pantry and freeze sliced pepper in a separate bag.

TO PREPARE AFTER FREEZING:
Thaw ingredients enough to place in crock pot. Cook on low for 5-6 hours. 30 minutes before it is finished add pineapple and green pepper, cook an additional 30 minutes. Serve over rice.

Freezer Friendly Friday - Leftover Pot Pie

Turkey Pot Pie with Stuffing Crust

Ingredients

2-3 cups leftover turkey breast or chicken, cubed
2 cans cream of something soup - I used chicken
1/2 onion, chopped up, sauteed
4-5 cups of veggies of your choice. I used the frozen corn, green beans, and peas I grew, plus fresh carrots. Canned veggies work fine too. If you use fresh or frozen, cook or steam them to a crisp-tender first.
splash of milk
dollup of sour cream
salt and pepper
1 T garlic powder
1 t sage

Mix together and put into freezer bags. This will make a full 9 x 13 pan or 2 smaller sized pans - like 8x8.

To prepare: Thaw. Make (or use leftover) stuffing. Nothing fancy, just microwaved from a box works fine. Dump filling into a pan, add stuffing on top. Bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes, or until bubbly hot.

Enjoy!